25-48 Professional Geotechnical Engineering Services, Continuing Services

The Bay County Board of County Commissioners (County) is seeking Qualifications from Firms for Geotechnical Engineering Services on a continuing services basis for projects within the County. Services will be on an as-needed basis to be coordinated primarily with the Public Works Department; however other County Departments or Divisions may require and access services as well during the terms of the contract. All professional services to be provided under this agreement shall be performed by Professionals licensed to practice in the State of Florida and in strict compliance with the Consultant’s Competitive Negotiation Act, 287.055 F.S. (CCNA). Consultants providing services under this contract shall at all times be knowledgeable of the limiting thresholds of the CCNA statutes and shall insure that full compliance therewith is maintained at all times. All firms chosen to provide professional services to the County must submit annual statement of qualifications, performance data, hourly price schedules, and insurance certificates. QUALIFICATIONSAll firms, to include sub-consultants, shall be State of Florida licensed professionals. Architect and/or Engineering firms shall be Florida licensed firms. Architects shall hold a Florida Professional Architect license. Engineers shall hold a Florida Professional Engineer’s license. Surveyors shall hold a Professional Land Surveyor’s License.Firms shall hold FDOT certifications for the following work classes:•    Group 9.1 Soil Exploration•    Group 9.2 Geotechnical Classification Lab Testing•    Group 9.3 Highway Materials Testing•    Group 9.4.1 Standard Foundation StudiesDesirable FDOT certifications:    •    Group 9.4.2 Non-redundant Drilled Shaft Foundations•    Group 9.5 Geotechnical Specialty Lab TestingSampling and Testing QualificationsThe consultant shall be qualified to perform complete materials sampling and testing.  Where qualified by task order, engineering analysis, design, and report preparation shall also be the responsibility of the consultant.  The Consultant shall be equipped and trained to abide by all federal health and safety codes (including FDOT Traffic Control through Work Zone Practices) and laws of local, state, and federal governments in performance of task orders.  The firm must have a staff member holding a current FDOT Intermediate or Advanced Traffic Control through Work Zones qualification certificate who ensures safe traffic control practices while the consultant is working in the county right of way.  The consultant shall be trained, equipped, and proficient in materials sampling and testing pursuant to the most current published editions of the following standards:ASTM or the equivalent AASHTO testing methods for the items included in the Scope of Services.FDOT Soils and Foundations Manual.FDOT Field Sampling and Testing Manual.FDOT Manual of Florida Sampling and Testing Methods.OBJECTIVEThis contract is intended to be a time saving device for in-house engineers, project managers, and inspectors and to augment staff in areas where specific expertise is not available or where workload will not permit timely accomplishment of budgeted projects.  This contract will allow the County to solicit proposals directly from the consultant for competitive proposals for every project or task.  The County, at any time reserves the right to solicit separate competitive proposals for any and all projects or tasks, regardless of fee or construction value.  Selection by the County as a consultant does not guarantee that the consultant will be called on a regular basis during the contract term, nor does it guarantee a minimum level of compensation with respect of volume of work or fees. Work will be awarded to consultants based on consultant’s current workload or availability, expertise in the project area, and previous work awarded.It is the intent of the County to contract with several firms in order to meet the anticipated need for services. The contract period shall be for three (3) years with two (2) optional one-year renewals. No price adjustments will be allowed during the first twelve (12) months of the contract. After the initial twelve (12) months, price adjustments may be considered if substantiated by the producer price index.  Written notice of a request for price adjustments and proof to substantiate must be submitted to the Bay County Purchasing Department at no less than 90 days prior to the anniversary date of this contract.SCOPE OF SERVICESThe Scope of Services includes full spectrum geotechnical engineering services to support the County’s mission.  Work in this category generally consists of the testing roadway, utility and building construction materials on site and in the laboratory during designing and construction phases, geotechnical exploration and foundation design/studies. When requested, services shall include the engineering evaluation of such information to render opinions and reports related to geotechnical issues by a Registered Professional Engineer as requested. Consultant’s specific scope of work, level of effort, time schedule, charges, and payment conditions shall be set forth in a written Task Order (Exhibit 1). Task Orders for work will be assigned to the selected firms on an alternating basis while utilizing a fair and balanced approach but may consider a firm’s specific qualifications based on the type of work requested, proximity to the project location, or staffing availability at the time of the request.  Each Task Order shall be executed by authorized representatives of the County and Consultant.The administrative process, when work assignments are issued, will be as follows:Step 1 - County staff will contact the Consultant for a meeting to review the assignment and will describe the scope of services required in general.Step 2 - Consultant will prepare a detailed scope of services to be provided and a time frame for completion of various phases. Consultant will prepare a computation of fees to be charged for the services based on the approved hourly rates. These documents will be submitted to the County contact for review and approval. The County may negotiate a fee for services at compensation which the County determines is fair, competitive and reasonable.  Bay County shall negotiate design fee using the Department of Management Services Fee Guide Calculator for AE Services. Contract price shall include all charges for completing the work and include layout, insurance, taxes, field office and supervision, overhead and profit, bonds and miscellaneous items.Step 3 - If acceptable to County staff making the assignment, County staff will issue aTask Order and a Notice to Proceed. There will be a purchase order issued for each work assignment for monitoring and tracking of the budget and project funds. The fee computation will be considered to be a limiting amount, not to be exceeded without subsequent approval by County staff.The County has an evaluation process to monitor the satisfactory performance of services under this contract. Such evaluations may be used as reference information for future solicitations issued by the County. Consultants shall participate cooperatively in the evaluation process. SUBMITTAL DEADLINE/DELIVERYELECTRONIC OR PAPER SUBMITTALS for RFQ NO: 25-48 Professional Geotechnical Engineering Services, Continuing Services will be received by the BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF BAY COUNTY, FLORIDA at the Purchasing Department, 840 West 11th Street, Suite 2500, Panama City, Florida 32401 up until 2:00 pm (CDT) Wednesday, July 23, 2025.  Submittals will be publicly opened immediately following the deadline. It is the sole responsibility of the Respondent to ensure that the Submittal is received on time.Submittals for this solicitation may be submitted either electronically via OPENGOV PROCUREMENT or by paper, sealed and delivered to the Board of County Commissioners Purchasing Department, at 840 W. 11th Street, Suite 2500, Panama City, Florida 32401. Respondents submitting paper should submit one (1) original and one (1) electronic version of the package.   The electronic version should be in pdf format on a USB drive. Electronic versions submitted via e-mail will not be accepted. If the submittal contains confidential information, such information shall be in a separate pdf document. Submittals shall be enclosed in a sealed envelope bearing the title of the solicitation, the name of the Respondent and the date for opening.  Submittals shall be valid to Bay County for a period of 180 days after the opening.Special Accommodation:  Any person requiring a special accommodation at a Pre-Submittal Conference or Submittal opening because of a disability should call the Purchasing Department at +1 (555) 000-0000 at least five (5) workdays prior to the Submittal opening. For Hearing Impaired, Dial +1 (555) 000-0000 (TOO), and +1 (555) 000-0000 (Voice). SOLICITATION DOCUMENTSElectronic versions of the solicitation documents are available via OpenGov Procurement.Bid documents, plans, blueprints, or other materials may also be obtained by contacting the Bay County Purchasing Department, For security reasons, you must enable JavaScript to view this E-mail address., 840 West 11th Street, Suite 2500, Panama City, FL 32401, +1 (555) 000-0000.For those projects with separate plans, blueprints, or other materials that cannot be accessed through the internet, the Purchasing Department will make a good faith effort to ensure that all registered bidders (those who have been registered as receiving a bid package) receive the documents.