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REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ)
FIBER BUILDOUT ENGINEERING SERVICES
CITY OF BOZEMAN
Bozeman, MT
City of Bozeman
PO Box 1230
Bozeman, MT 59771-1230
December 2021
P age 2 o f 21
NOTICE IS HEREBY given that the City of Bozeman (City) is seeking qualifications from firms to manage all
phases of a multi-year project to install fiber optic cables to all properties within the City limits. This
contract shall include permit review, field inspection and restoration follow up
Copies of the Request for Qualifications are available on the City’s website at
https://weblink.bozeman.net/WebLink/Browse.aspx?id=257677&dbid=0&repo=BOZEMAN
All proposals must be provided as a single, searchable PDF document file and be submitted digitally as an
email attachment to the RFQ Recipient email address below. Respondents are advised that Recipient’s
email attachment size limit is 25MB and that only one PDF file will be allowed per response. The subject
line of the transmittal email shall clearly identify the RFQ title, company name and due date/time. File
sizes greater than 25MB in size may be uploaded to bzncloud.bozeman.net upon special arrangement of
the Recipient; however, it is the respondent’s sole responsibility to ensure the file upload is completed,
and that the Recipient is separately notified via email of same, prior to the given deadline.
Deliver RFQs via email to the City Clerk by January 7,
2022 at 3:00PM MST. It is the sole responsibility of
the proposing party to ensure that proposals are received prior to the closing time as late submittals will
not be accepted and will be returned unopened.
The email address for submission is: agenda@bozeman.net
NON-DISCRIMINATION AND EQUAL PAY
The City of Bozeman is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Discrimination in the performance of any agreement awarded under this RFQ on the basis of race, color,
religion, creed, sex, age, marital status, national origin, or actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender
identity or disability is prohibited. This prohibition shall apply to the hiring and treatment of the awarded
entity’s employees and to all subcontracts.
As such, each entity submitting under this notice shall include a provision wherein the submitting entity,
or entities, affirms in writing it will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex, age,
marital status, national origin, or because of actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity or
disability and which also recognizes the eventual contract will contain a provision prohibiting
discrimination as described above and that this prohibition on discrimination shall apply to the hiring and
treatment of the submitting entity’s employees and to all subcontracts.
In addition, pursuant to City Commission Resolution 5169, the entity awarded a contract under this RFQ
and any subcontractors must abide by the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and Section 39-3-104, MCA (the
Montana Equal Pay Act), and affirm it will abide by the above and that it has visited the State of Montana
Equal Pay for Equal Work “best practices” website, or equivalent “best practices publication and has read
the material.
Failure to comply with the above may be cause for the City to deem the submittal non-responsive.
Any administrative questions regarding proposal procedures should be directed to: Mike Maas, City Clerk
(406) 582-2321, agenda@bozeman.net.
Questions relating to the RFQ should be directed to: Scott Shirley, Interim Director of Public Works (406)
582-2315 , sshirley@bozeman.net.
DATED at Bozeman, Montana, this December 7, 2021 .
Mike Maas
City Clerk
City of Bozeman
For publication on:
Sunday, December 12, 2021
Sunday, January 2, 2022
I. INTRODUCTION
The City of Bozeman (Owner), is seeking qualifications from firms to undertake an engineering contract to
supervise all phases of a multi-year project to install fiber optic cables to all properties within the City
limits. This supervision shall include review of all permit submittals, correspondence with the permitee
to request changes or clarification and field inspections of the work as it is occurring. The contract shall
also include follow up on all restoration items once the work is completed. It is anticipated that this
project will take two years to complete and that there will be between 4 and 6 directional boring crews
working during each construction season.
The Owner intends to enter into a contract with the selected firm that will include processing of all street
cut and encroachment permits, communication with the permitee during permit review, supervision of
all field activities, meetings with all effected City employees to ensure compliance with all applicable City
codes and policies, serve as liasion with residents and business owners and follow up on post construction
restoration.
This RFQ shall not commit the Owner to enter into an agreement, to pay any expenses incurred in
preparation of any response to this request, or to procure or contract for any supplies, goods or services.
The Owner reserves the right to accept or reject all responses received as a result of this RFQ if it is in the
Owner’s best interest to do so.
This procurement is governed by the laws of the State of Montana and venue for all legal proceedings
shall be in the 18th
Judicial District Court, Gallatin County. By offering to perform services under this RFQ,
all Submitters agree to be bound by the laws of the State of Montana and of the Owner, including, but not
limited to, applicable wage rates, payments, gross receipts taxes, building codes, equal opportunity
employment practices, safety, non-discrimination, etc.
II. SCOPE OF PROJECT - PROJECT BACKGROUND AND DESCRIPTION
Introduction
Bozeman Fiber has received funding to construct a fiber optic network within the City of Bozeman to
serve all residential, institutional and commercial properties. The majority of this work will require
directional boring to install these lines underground. The City is not presently staffed sufficiently to
oversee this work as it will require full time supervision from the permitting process through the
construction and restoration phases. As such we are seeking contractual assistance from a local
engineering firm to provide full time program oversight.
III. SCOPE OF SERVICES
The services will include the following specific responsibilities:
A. Administration – Attend meetings with City staff, Bozeman Fiber representatives, and all
subcontractors as necessary. The consultant shall also attend public outreach meetings as
necessary. Minutes shall be kept of all such meetings throughout the project. Weekly
progress reports will be submitted to the City’s Director of Utilities or his/her designee.
B. Permitting – All permit applications shall be reviewed and only approved once all City
requirements have been met. If necessary, non-compliant permit applications will be
returned to the permitee with a written summary of what additional information is
required. The consultant’s representative will work closely with City staff to ensure that
City infrastructure is protected at all times. All directional boring shall be performed in
compliance with the City’s Boring requirements.
C. Construction Oversight – Consultant’s representative will provide full time inspection
services of the installation work and communicate with City staff as necessary. When
necessary the consultant shall serve as the City’s liasion between residents and Bozeman
Fiber and/or it’s subcontractors.
D. Traffic Control Supervision – Permit applications shall include traffic control plans
compliant with the MUTCD to be reviewed as part of each application.
E. Restoration Compliance – All restoration wil be inspected and must be returned to it’s
original condition or better to the satisfaction of the City and property owners where
applicable.
F. Contract Terms – It is anticipated that this contract will span two constructions seasons
beginning in the Spring of 2022. The successful consultant shall bill the City based on
agreed to hourly rates.
IV. TIMELINES, DELIVERY DEADLINE, AND INSTRUCTIONS
All proposals must be provided as a single, searchable PDF document file and be submitted digitally as an
email attachment to the RFP Recipient email address below. Respondents are advised that Recipient’s
email attachment size limit is 25MB and that only one PDF file will be allowed per response. The subject
line of the transmittal email shall clearly identify the RFQ title, company name and due date/time. File
sizes greater than 25MB in size may be uploaded to bzncloud.bozeman.net upon special arrangement of
the Recipient; however, it is the respondent’s sole responsibility to ensure the file upload is completed,
and that the Recipient is separately notified via email of same, prior to the given deadline.
Deliver RFQs via email to the City Clerk by January 7,
2022 at 3:00PM MST. It is the sole responsibility of
the proposing party to ensure that proposals are received prior to the closing time as late submittals will
not be accepted.
The email address for submission is: agenda@bozeman.net
RESPONSES THAT ARE UNSIGNED OR SUBMITTED BEYOND THE DEADLINE SHALL NOT BE
CONSIDERED AND SHALL BE REJECTED.
A. Contact Information
ALL QUESTIONS AND CONTACTS REGARDING THIS RFQ MUST BE SUBMITTED IN WRITING TO:
Scott Shirley
P.O. Box 1230
Bozeman, MT 59771-1230
(406) 582-2315
sshirley@bozeman.net
Amendments to Solicitation
Any interpretation or correction of this request will be published on the City’s webpage. The deadline for
questions related to this document is 12:00 PM MST on January 04, 2022.
B. Selection Timeline
Advertising dates: 12/02/2021 & 01/02/2022
Receipt of RFQs: No later than 3:00PM MST January 7, 2022
RFQ Review Complete by Committee: January 14, 2022
Selection: January 21, 2022
With the exception of the advertising dates and advertised due date, the City reserves the right to
modify the above timeline.
V. SELECTION PROCEDURE
A. STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS
Respondents must comply with the mandatory requirements provided in this solicitation.
The selection process shall be conducted pursuant to all applicable Montana law including
those criteria set forth in §18-8-204, MCA and applicable City policy.
1. Evaluation of RFQs. The selection committee shall consist of three
persons representing the City. The selection committee will review conforming
RFQ responses using the criteria listed above. RFQ responses that do not contain
the required documentation will be deemed nonresponsive to this solicitation and
may be rejected.
2. Revisions. Responses will be accorded fair and equal treatment with
respect to opportunity for discussion and revision of responses, and such revisions
may be permitted, after submissions and prior to award for the purpose of
obtaining best and final responses.
3. Evaluation & Elimination. After evaluating all conforming responses based
on the criteria herein the selection committee may eliminate one or more or all
Respondents from further review if they do not meet the qualification criteria
specified herein. Any Respondents eliminated by the selection committee, at any
time, or for any reason, shall have no opportunity to make revisions or participate
further in the selection process.
4. Interviews. After reviewing conforming RFQ responses, the selection
committee may decide to schedule interviews with qualified respondents. Each
firm selected for interview will be notified of the specific time for their interview.
The format of the interview will be left up to the proposing firm; however,
interviews will be no longer than 45 minutes inclusive of questions from the
selection committee.
5. Selection and Final Recommendation. The selection committee will tally
the scores for the RFQ. At that time contract negotiations will take place between
the City and successful Respondent. The City may negotiate a contract with the
next highest ranked Respondent if a contract cannot be made.
B. RFQ – FORM AND CONTENTS
Deliver one (1) original digital copy (via flash drive), prepared as follows:
i. General Instructions:
a. RFQ responses must be signed by an officer or principal of your firm.
b. RFQ responses must be contained in a single searchable PDF document not to
exceed 20 pages total including whatever pictures, charts, graphs, tables, and
text the firm deems appropriate to be part of the review of the firm's
qualifications. A separate transmittal letter, cover page, cover sheets, and
dividers are exempted from the page limit.
c. Schedules may be submitted in addition to the page limit.
ii. Firm Information:
a. Experience. Respondent must demonstrate successful experience and capacity
to act as a contractor on projects of similar size, type and complexity. This
summary shall include experience in the oversight of directional boring
contracts. Provide the name and location of each project, the client, and the
contact person and phone number. Describe experience and qualifications of
the professional personnel to be assigned to this project. Describe your recent
and current work for the City of Bozeman, if any.
b. Firm Background. Provide information about the firm, including location.
Describe the firm’s history. Include information identifying the firm’s annual
volume of business, financial/bonding capacities, and speak to the firm’s
stability in the marketplace. Information identifying the firm’s strengths and
weaknesses along with special capabilities that may be appropriate to the
Project will assist in the evaluation.
c. Firm Workload. Provide the status of current and anticipated work within the
firm in terms of time and magnitude for the anticipated Project schedule as it
relates to availability of key personnel and your firm. Describe the firm’s
capability to meet time and project budget requirements.
d. Claims. At any time in the last ten (10) years has your firm been assessed and
paid liquidated damages after completion of a project under a contract with a
public owner?
e. References. Provide detailed contact information for the Owner for at least
three (3) project undertaken by your firm within the past five years.
C. EVALUATION CRITERIA
Qualifications will be evaluated by the Selection Committee who will individually score
them out of a total of 100 possible points based on the criteria below.The scoring criteria
and possible point values are:
1. Respondent’s experience with projects of similar size and design:
Possible Points: 40
2. Firm’s Qualifications:
Possible Points: 20
3. Capabilities to meet time schedule and project budget requirements.
Possible Points: 20
4. Present and projected workloads:
Possible Points: 10
5. Past projects/experience working with the City of Bozeman:
Possible Points: 5
6. Office(s) location:
Possible Points: 5
VI. FORM OF AGREEMENT
The final form of the contract documents will be disclosed to Respondents during contract
negotiations.
VII. CITY RESERVATION OF RIGHTS
All proposals submitted in response to this RFQ become the property of the City and public records
and, as such, may be subject to public review.
A SUBMISSION IN RESPONSE TO THIS REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS CONFERS NO RIGHTS UPON ANY
RESPONDENTS AND SHALL NOT OBLIGATE THE CITY IN ANY MANNER WHATSOEVER. THE CITY
RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MAKE NO AWARD AND TO SOLICIT ADDITIONAL REQUEST FOR
QUALIFICATIONS AT A LATER DATE.
A. This RFQ may be canceled or any or all responses may be rejected in whole or in part, as
specified herein, when it is in the best interests of the City. If the City cancels or revises
this RFQ, all Respondents who submitted will be notified using email.
B. The City reserves the right to accept or reject any and all submissions; to add or delete
items and/or quantities; to amend the RFQ; to waive any minor irregularities,
informalities, or failure to conform to the RFQ; to extend the deadline for submitting
proposals; to postpone award for up to 60 days; to award one or more contracts, by item
or task, or groups of items or tasks, if so provided in the RFQ and if multiple awards are
determined by the City to be in the public interest.
C. The City reserves the right to reject the submission of any person/firm who previously
failed to perform properly to the satisfaction of the City, or complete on time agreements
of similar nature, or to reject the submission of any person/firm who is not in a position
to perform such an agreement satisfactorily as determined by the City.
D. The City reserves the right to determine the best qualified Respondents and negotiate
a final scope of service and cost, negotiate a contract with another Respondents if an
agreement cannot be reached with the first selected Respondents, or reject all
proposals.
E. The successful Respondents will be required to enter into a contract with the City,
which will incorporate the Respondents' scope of service and work schedule as part of
the agreement.
F. This RFQ does not commit the City to award a contract. The City assumes no liability or
responsibility for costs incurred by Respondents in responding to this request for
qualifications or request for interviews, additional data, or other information with
respect to the selection process, prior to the issuance of an agreement, contract or
purchase order. The Respondents, by submitting a response to this RFQ, waives all
right to protest or seek any legal remedies whatsoever regarding any aspect of this
RFQ.
G. This project is subject to the availability of funds.
VIII. NONDISCRIMINATION AND EQUAL PAY POLICY
The City of Bozeman requires each entity submitting under this notice shall affirm, on a separate form
provided, that it will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex, age, marital status,
national origin, or because of actual or perceived sexual orientation, sexual preference, gender
identity, or disability in fulfillment of a contract entered into for the services identified herein and that
this prohibition on discrimination shall apply to the hiring and treatment of the submitting entity’s
employees and to all subcontracts it enters into in the fulfillment of the services identified herein.
Failure to comply with this requirement shall be cause for the submittal to be deemed nonresponsive.
The City also requires each entity submitting under this notice shall affirm it will abide by the Equal Pay
Act of 1963 and Section 39-3-104, MCA (the Montana Equal Pay Act), and has visited the State of
Montana Equal Pay for Equal Work “best practices” website, or equivalent “best practices publication
and has read the material.
IX. MISCELLANEOUS
A. No Oral Agreements. No conversations or oral agreements with any officer, employee, or agent of
the City shall affect or modify any term of this solicitation. Oral communications or any
written/email communication between any person and City officer, employee or agent shall not be
considered binding.
B. No Partnership/Business Organization. Nothing in this solicitation or in any subsequent
agreement, or any other contract entered into as a result of this solicitation, shall constitute, create,
give rise to or otherwise be recognized as a partnership or formal business organization of any kind
between or among the respondent and the City.
C. Employment Restriction and Indemnity. No person who is an owner, officer, employee,
contractor, or consultant of a respondent shall be an officer or employee of the City. No rights
of the City’s retirement or personnel rules accrue to a respondent, its officers, employees,
contractors, or consultants. Respondents shall have the responsibility of all salaries, wages,
bonuses, retirement, withholdings, worker’s compensation and occupational disease
compensation, insurance, unemployment compensation other benefits and taxes and
premiums appurtenant thereto concerning its officers, employees, contractors, and consultants.
Each Respondent shall save and hold the City harmless with respect to any and all claims for
payment, compensation, salary, wages, bonuses, retirement, withholdings, worker’s
compensation and occupational disease compensation, insurance, unemployment
compensation other benefits and taxes and premiums in any way related to each respondent’s
officers, employees, contractors and consultants.
D. Accessibility. Upon reasonable notice, the City will provide assistance for those persons with
sensory impairments. For further information please contact the ADA Coordinator Mike Gray at
406-582-3232 or the City’s TTY line at 406-582-2301.
E. Procurement. When discrepancies occur between words and figures in this solicitation, the
words shall govern. No responsibility shall attach to a City employee for the premature opening
of an SOQ not properly addressed and identified in accordance with these documents.
F. Governing Law. This solicitation and any disputes arising hereunder or under any future
agreement shall be governed and construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the
State of Montana, without reference to principles of choice or conflicts of laws.
X. ATTACHMENTS
The following exhibits are incorporated in this RFQ:
Appendix A: Non-Discrimination Affirmation
END OF RFQ
Attachment A
NONDISCRIMINATION AND EQUAL PAY AFFIRMATION
____________________________________(name of entity submitting) hereby affirms it will not
discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex, age, marital status, national origin, or
because of actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity or disability and acknowledges and
understands the eventual contract will contain a provision prohibiting discrimination as described above
and this prohibition on discrimination shall apply to the hiring and treatments or proposer’s employees
and to all subcontracts.
In addition, ____________________________________(name of entity submitting) hereby affirms it will
abide by the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and Section 39-3-104, MCA (the Montana Equal Pay Act), and has
visited the State of Montana Equal Pay for Equal Work “best practices” website, or equivalent “best
practices publication and has read the material.
______________________________________
Name and title of person authorized to sign on behalf of submitter