PROCUREMENT OFFICE

Florida Department of Transportation
Notice to Contractors / Consultants:

The Department of Transportation (Department) is soliciting contracting and consulting services for the Design-Build projects identified below.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS: Design-Build Firms must be qualified in accordance with Rule Chapter 14-91, Florida Administrative Code. Design-Build Firms shall satisfy the technical qualification requirements of Rule 14-75, and all qualification requirements of Rule Chapter 14-22, Florida Administrative Code. The Contractor or Joint Venture members collectively, must be qualified in the advertised Construction Work Classes. The Contractor or Joint Venture cannot utilize subcontractors to meet the qualification requirements for the Construction Work Classes. The lead design consultant may utilize subconsultants to meet the advertised Professional Services Work Type requirements. Technical qualification is required in at least one of the work types for lead design consultant. All qualification requirements must be met prior to the Response Deadline. Two or more qualified parties submitting as a Joint Venture must meet the Joint Venture requirements of Rule Chapter 14-22, specifically Rule 14-22.007, Florida Administrative Code. Parties to a Joint Venture must submit a Declaration of Joint Venture, Form No. 375-020-18, and receive approval from the Department prior to the Response Deadline for Letters of Interest (LOI) or submittal of the Proposal, whichever occurs first. For projects in excess of $50 million, in addition to meeting all other qualification requirements of Section 337.14, Florida Statutes, and Rule Chapter 14-22, Florida Administrative Code, any Contractor who is not prequalified and in good standing with the Department as of January 1, 2019, must have satisfactorily completed at least two projects, each in excess of $15 million, for the Department or for any other state department of transportation. Evidence must be submitted a minimum of two weeks prior to response deadline to allow sufficient time for review by the Department. Acceptability of the two proposed projects is at the sole discretion of the Department.

BRIDGE QUALIFICATION FORM MUST BE SUBMITTED FOR BRIDGE DESIGN PROJECTS: Design-Build Firms responding to advertisements requiring Group 4 Bridge Design work type qualification must submit a completed and signed Bridge Qualification Form along with the LOI, by the date/time deadline established for the LOI. Please refer to this preamble and the specific project advertisement for other submittal directions.

CONSULTANT ELIGIBILITY: It is a basic tenet of the Department's contracting program that contracts are procured in a fair, open, and competitive manner. The Department requires that consultants representing the Department must be free of conflicting professional or personal interests. In order to prevent potential conflicts of interest, the Department has established guidelines to be followed by design consultants. Please familiarize yourself with the requirements of Procedure No.375-030-006, also known as: "Conflict of Interest Procedure for Department Contracts." By submitting an LOI or Bid/Price Proposal as part of a Design-Build Firm, or Joint Venture, the design consultant certifies that they are in compliance with Procedure No. 375-030-006. This procedure is available at the following link: Procedure 375-030-006. A Proposal Guaranty of not less than five percent (5%) of the total actual Bid/Price Proposal in the form of either a certified check, cashier's check, trust company treasurer's check, bank draft of any national or state bank, or a Surety Bid Bond made payable to the Florida Department of Transportation must accompany each Bid/Price Proposal in excess of $150,000. A check or draft in any amount less than five percent (5%) of the actual Bid/Price Proposal will invalidate the Bid/Price Proposal. Bid bonds shall conform to DOT Form No. 375-020-34 furnished with the Bid/Price Proposal.

SELECTION PROCESS: The listed projects are covered by the selection processes detailed in the Design-Build Procurement and Administrative Procedure, Procedure No. 625-020-010.

For those projects designated as ADJUSTED SCORE TYPE, the Department will conduct a two-phase design-build procurement process. For Phase I, qualified Design-Build Firms must submit an LOI for each project in which they are interested, to the indicated requesting unit by the time and date indicated as the Response Deadline. It is the responsibility of the Design-Build firm to insure that the complete LOI is timely received by the Department. The LOI will be limited to ten (10) 8½"x11" pages with a minimum font size of ten (10). In the LOI, please provide the name, address, phone number, and e-mail address for the Design-Build Firm contact person; the qualification status of the contractor and design consultant as part of the Design-Build Firm, and the key companies and key personnel proposed as participating in the Project. Resumes may be separately submitted, but are limited to one 8½"x11" page each. Resumes are not counted toward the ten(10) page limitation. Please provide one (1) page resumes for each of the following four (4) key staff positions and up to five (5) additional resumes of personnel who best highlight the experience and expertise of the Design Build firm for the particular project, as applicable:

1. Design Project Manager
2. Construction Project Manager
3. Construction Design-Build Coordinator
4. Utility Coordination Manager

A one (1) page 11"x17"organization chart shall be provided, and is also excluded from the page count. Please note: If the contractor and/or design consultant do not have performance history working with the Department or if the performance history is no longer current (older than 5 years), they are permitted to submit evidence of their past performance, including evaluations or grades and letters of reference, or recommendations (provide contact information for verification purposes). The past performance information is limited to three (3) 8½"x11" pages total, and is restricted to firms without performance history with the Department and/or to firms whose performance history with the Department is no longer current (older than 5 years). The additional three pages will not count toward the ten (10) page limitation of the LOI. Note: Resumes, Organizational Chart and three (3) pages of Performance History with the Department are not considered in the ten (10) page count/limitation.  Cover sheets, photos, charts, etc. or other documentation not specifically listed as exclusions will be considered in the page count limitation.

The Department will judge the relative ability of each submitting company/entity to perform the required services based on qualification information and the LOI. Unless otherwise noted in the specific Design-Build advertisement, the criteria for evaluating the Phase I submittals will include:

1. Design-Build Firm Name and prequalifications
2. Past Performance Evaluations, Design-Build Project Experience, Organization, and Staffing (0-7 Total Points):
   • Contractor Grades
   • Professional Consultant Grades
   • Performance History with other States or Agencies, if none with the Department
   • Design-Build Project experience of the Contractor and Professional Consultant
   • Similar types of work experience
   • Environmental Record
   • Contractor Experience Modification Rating (Current Year)
   • Design-Build Firm organization
   • Design-Build Firm staffing plan
   • Design-Build Firm coordination plan
3. Design-Build Project Requirements and Critical Issues (0-13 Total Points):
   • Understanding of Design-Build Project Requirements
   • Identification of critical issues
   • Outline for addressing critical issues

Relative weightings for all Phase I criteria are specified within the project advertisement. All qualified firms submitting a responsive LOI will be scored on a scale of 0-20 points(Phase I). The Department will determine the short-listed firms with the objective to short-list the four highest ranking LOI scores. If four or less responsive firms submitted LOIs, all firms will be shortlisted. In the event of scoring ties, more than four firms may be eligible to move forward.

The Department will post the Short-List to the Department's website on the date shown below. The Short-Listed Design-Build Firms will be issued a Request for Proposal (RFP). The requirements for Phase II Technical Proposals will be described in the RFP. Phase II Technical Proposals will be scored on an 80-point scale. The total score from Phase I and Phase II will be added to determine the Design-Build Firm's Total Technical Score. Unless otherwise specified in the RFP, the award of the Project will be determined on a Total Adjusted Score as shown in the RFP based on both the Bid/Price Proposal and Technical Score.

The Phase I and the combined Phase I and Phase II results will be posted on the Department's website: (www.fdot.gov/procurement) on the indicated date.  Public meeting dates and times are provided with new listed projects.  All public meetings will be held in District headquarters unless otherwise noted. People who require special accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act should contact the advertisement contact at least 48 hours prior to the meeting. Changes to meeting dates and times will be updated on the Department's website. The agenda for all public meetings is as follows: a) Opening Remarks (approx. 3 minutes); b) Public Input (minimum 15 minutes will be allotted); c) Department business; d) Closing. For more information, contact the designated responsible office. The Short-Listed firms will be provided a RFP containing a design criteria package and requested to provide a Technical Proposal and Bid/Price Proposal for the Project. The selection results will be posted on the Department's website at the date and time indicated in the advertisement. Partners/Teaming Arrangements or proposed key staff of the Design-Build Firm shall not be changed after submittal of the LOI on ADJUSTED SCORE TYPE projects without written consent of the Department. Failure to receive approval on such a change may result in the Proposal being declared non-responsive.

Actual commitment and final execution of contracts are contingent upon an approved legislative budget and availability of funds.

RESPONSE PROCEDURE FOR ADJUSTED SCORE TYPE:  The LOI and required attachments shall be submitted electronically in adobe.pdf format (unzipped) and attached to a single email. The Department has a 10 MB limit on email. Emails that exceed this 10 MB email server limit may be rejected by the Department's email server. Files shall be attached to the email via attachment.  Zipped email attachments or hyperlinks containing attachments are NOT acceptable, and will be disabled by FDOT’s email server due to security reasons. It is solely the Design Build Firm's responsibility to ensure that the LOI is received by the Department's server by the LOI due date and time. Only (1) LOI per legal entity is acceptable. All LOI files should be sent to the indicated requesting unit, and must be received by the Department by the Phase I LOI response deadline shown below.

For those projects designated as LOW BID TYPE, Technical and Bid/Price Proposals must be submitted by the date and time indicated in the Advertisement. It is the responsibility of the Design-Build Firms to insure that Technical and Bid/Price Proposals are timely received. For Low Bid Type projects, an RFP may be requested by any interested party at the response address provided below. The deadline for obtaining bid packages shall be 24 hours prior to scheduled letting date and time. In order to receive bid documents, the Design Build firm must complete Low Bid Design-Build Qualification Validation Form No. 700-011-36, for all qualifying team members, at least 24 hours in advance of the scheduled letting. The form shall be submitted to the appropriate district, who will confirm qualification for the prospective Design-Build Firm. The form must be submitted at least 24 hours in advance of the response deadline (Bids Due Date/Bid Opening Date).
Low Bid Technical Proposals shall be submitted using Low Bid Design-Build Technical Proposal Form No. 700-010-21.  The Technical Proposal of the low bid Proposer will then be reviewed to determine its responsiveness. If found to be non-responsive, the next lowest bid Proposer will be considered. A Proposal will be considered non-responsive if it does not contain all of the information and level of detail requested in the RFP.  All Bid Openings and public meetings will be held in District headquarters unless otherwise noted. People who require special accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act should contact the advertisement contact at least 48 hours prior to the meeting. Changes to meeting dates and times will be updated on the Department's website. The agenda for all public meetings is as follows: a) Opening Remarks (approx. 3 minutes); b) Public Input (minimum 15 minutes will be allotted); c) Department business; d) Closing.  For more information, contact the designated responsible office. The selection results will be posted on the Department's Website at the date and time indicated in the advertisement. Partners/Teaming Arrangements or key staff of the Design-Build Firm shall not be changed after submittal of the Proposal on LOW BID TYPE projects without written consent of the Department. Failure to receive approval on such a change will result in the Proposal being declared non-responsive.

RESPONSE PROCEDURE FOR LOW BID TYPE: The Technical Proposal and required attachments shall be submitted electronically in adobe.pdf format (unzipped) and attached to a single email. The Department has a 10 MB limit on email. Emails that exceed this 10 MB email server limit may be rejected by the Department's email server. Files shall be attached to the email via attachment.  Zipped email attachments or hyperlinks containing attachments are NOT acceptable, and will be disabled by FDOT’s email server due to security reasons. It is solely the Design Build Firm's responsibility to ensure that the Technical Proposal is received by the Department's server by the due date and time. Only (1) Technical Proposal per legal entity is acceptable. All Technical Proposal files should be sent to the indicated requesting unit and must be received by the Department by the response deadline shown below.

Note: The Department reserves the right to reject all Proposals and/or to waive minor Proposal irregularities.

The Contractor or Lead Design Consultant shall not team with other Proposers to submit more than one Proposal per project.

COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN DESIGN-BUILD FIRMS AND DEPARTMENT: Respondents to these solicitations or persons acting on their behalf may not contact, between the release of the solicitation and the end of the 72-hour period following the agency posting the notice of intended award, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and state holidays, any employee or officer of the executive or legislative branch concerning any aspect of this solicitation, except in writing to the procurement officer or as provided in the solicitation documents. Violation of this provision may be grounds for rejecting a response. In order to ensure a fair, competitive, and open process, once a project is advertised under Current Advertisements, all communications between interested firms and the Department must be directed to the Department's Bid Question and Answer website.   It is the responsibility of the Design-Build Firm to review the Bid Question and Answer website and the project advertisement for updates prior to the Response Deadline.

Pursuant to Sections 120.57(3) and 337.11, Florida Statutes, and Rule Chapter 28-110, Florida Administrative Code, any person adversely affected by the agency decision or intended decision shall file with the agency both a notice of protest in writing and bond within 72 hours after the posting of the notice of decision or intended decision, or posting of the solicitation with respect to a protest of the terms, conditions, and specifications contained in a solicitation and will file a formal written protest within ten days after the filing of the notice of protest. The required notice of protest and bond, and formal written protest must each be timely filed with the Florida Department of Transportation, Clerk of Agency Proceedings, 605 Suwannee St, Mail Station 58, Tallahassee FL 32399-0458. Failure to file a notice of protest or formal written protest within the time prescribed in section 120.57(3), Florida Statutes, or failure to post the bond or other security required by law within the time allowed for filing a bond shall constitute a waiver of proceedings under Chapter 120 Florida Statutes.

The Department will pay stipends to the Short-Listed Design-Build Firms for Adjusted Score Design-Build, based on the following guidelines: 

• The Design-Build Firm must submit responsive Technical and Price Proposal in Phase II in order to be eligible for a stipend.
• The Design-Build Firm who is ultimately awarded the Contract is not eligible for a stipend.
• The Design-Build Firm must execute and transmit to the Department within one (1) week after the Short-List protest period, the Design-Build Stipend Agreement, Form No. 700-011-14. Terms of said agreement are non-negotiable. A fully executed copy of the Design-Build Stipend Agreement will be returned to the Design-Build Firm.
• All responsive shortlisted firms not awarded the contract will be eligible to receive a stipend.

The exceptions to above referenced stipend guidelines are Factored Design-Build contracts, and Design-Build Push Button contracts. For Factored Design-Build projects, the Department will pay stipends to the top two Short-Listed Design-Build Firms that were not selected. For Design-Build Push Button contracts, the Department will not pay stipends.

It is the policy of FDOT to encourage the participation of businesses in all facets of the contracting activities of FDOT, consistent with applicable federal and state laws and regulations.  Consultant firms shall fully comply with all federal laws. 

FEDERAL DEBARMENT: By submitting a Letter of Interest, the Design-Build firm certifies that no principal (which includes officers, directors, or executives) is presently suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible or voluntarily excluded from participation on this transaction by any Federal Department or Agency.

INSPECTOR GENERAL: The contractor/consultant/vendor agrees to comply with section 20.055(5), Florida Statutes, and to incorporate in all subcontracts the obligation to comply with section 20.055(5), Florida Statutes.

ANTITRUST VENDOR VIOLATOR CONTRACT LANGUAGE: Pursuant to section 287.137(2)(a), Florida Statutes, a person or an affiliate who has been placed on the antitrust violator vendor list following a conviction or being held civilly liable for an antitrust violation may not submit a bid, proposal, or reply for any new contract to provide any goods or services to a public entity; may not submit a bid, proposal, or reply for a new contract with a public entity for the construction or repair of a public building or public work; may not submit a bid, proposal, or reply on new leases of real property to a public entity; may not be awarded or perform work as a contractor, supplier, subcontractor, or consultant under a new contract with a public entity; and may not transact a new business with a public entity.

E-VERIFY: The Design-Build firm shall utilize the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's E-Verify system to verify the employment eligibility of all new employees hired by the Design-Build firm during the term of the contract and shall expressly require any subcontractors performing work or providing services pursuant to the state contract to likewise utilize the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's E-Verify system to verify the employment eligibility of all new employees hired by the subcontractor during the contract term.

AFFIDAVIT REGARDING LABOR AND SERVICES: Prior to contract execution, extension or renewal, the Department shall notify the Contract awardee of the need to download, complete, and submit FDOT Form No. 375-030-31. Please have the form signed and notarized and send a scanned copy to the Department. The nongovernmental entity (Contract awardee) must maintain the original copy in accordance with other provisions of this Agreement or Contract, and in accordance with Florida law.

SCRUTINIZED COMPANIES: Section 287.135, Florida Statutes, prohibits agencies from contracting with companies for goods or services of $100,000 or greater, at the time of contracting, the company is on the Scrutinized Companies or Other Entities that Boycott Israel List, created pursuant to Section 215.4725, Florida Statutes, or is engaged in a boycott of Israel. Section 287.135, Florida Statutes, also prohibits a company from bidding on, submitting a proposal for, or entering into a contract for goods or services of $1 million or more if the company is on either the Scrutinized Companies with Activities in Sudan List, or the Scrutinized Companies with Activities in the Iran Terrorism Sector Lists which were created pursuant to section 215.473, Florida Statutes.

PUBLIC RECORDS: All submittals may be subject to public records requests.

Notice to Professional Consultants
State of Florida Department of Transportation

Notice: All Letters of Response are required to be submitted via E-mail. The size limit for Letters of Response has been increased to 1MB. Please read the Response Procedure carefully!

The Department reserves the right to reject all Proposals and/or to waive minor irregularities.
The Department of Transportation anticipates seeking professional consultant services on the projects listed in this advertisement. Consideration will be given to only those firms that are qualified pursuant to law and that have been prequalified by the Department to perform the indicated MAJOR Type(s) of Work. Prime Consultants must be prequalified in at least one or more of the MAJOR Types of Work specified in the advertisement. A prequalified subconsultant(s) may be used to meet the other Types of Work specified in the advertisement. Persons and firms used whether prime consultant or subconsultant, can only perform the work for which they are prequalified with the Department, in accordance with Rule Chapter 14-75, Florida Administrative Code. Consultants technically prequalified but without unlimited audit status, will only be considered as primes for projects less than $500,000. Any firm not prequalified by the Department and desiring consideration for these projects must submit a complete Request for Prequalification Application to fdot.psprequalification@dot.state.fl.us by the advertised Letter of Response Deadline Date and Time. Please call 850-414-4054 if you have any questions on the prequalification process. A Department approved overhead audit (Technical Prequalification + Approved Unlimited Audit) is required for projects $500,000 or more. The technical work type(s) and audit must be approved by the shortlist date referenced in the advertisement in order for the responding firm to be considered responsive for shortlisting.
CONSULTANT ELIGIBILITY: It is a basic tenet of the Department's contracting program that contracts are procured in a fair, open and competitive manner. The Department requires that Consultants representing the Department must be free of conflicting professional or personal interests. In order to prevent potential conflicts of interest, the Department has established guidelines to be followed by professional services Consultants. Please familiarize yourself with the requirements of Procedure No. 375-030-006, also known as: "Conflict of Interest Procedure for Department Contracts". By submitting a Letter of Response, the Consultant certifies that they are in compliance with Procedure No. 375-030-006. This procedure is available at the following link: Professional Services Publications Menu. In addition to the restrictions identified in Procedure No. 375-030-006, please be advised of the following prohibition: A consultant firm or its affiliate who was the Designer or Engineer of Record is precluded from bidding on the same project as the Construction contractor, or as a member of the construction team (subcontractor).
COMPLIANCE WITH NONDISCRIMINATION STATUTES AND AUTHORITIES: It is the policy of FDOT to encourage the participation of businesses in all facets of the contracting activities of FDOT, consistent with applicable federal and state laws and regulations. Consultant firms shall fully comply with all federal laws. 
FEDERAL DEBARMENT: By submitting a Letter of Response, the consultant certifies that no principal (which includes officers, directors, or executives) is presently suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible or voluntarily excluded from participation on this transaction by any Federal Department or Agency.
PUBLIC ENTITY CRIMES: A person or affiliate who has been placed on the convicted vendor list following a conviction for a public entity crime may not submit a bid, proposal, or reply on a contract to provide any goods or services to a public entity; may not submit a bid, proposal, or reply on a contract with a public entity for the construction or repair of a public building or public work; may not submit bids, proposals, or replies on leases of real property to a public entity; may not be awarded or perform work as a contractor, supplier, subcontractor, or consultant under a contract with any public entity; and may not transact business any public entity in excess of the threshold amount provided in s. 287.017 for CATEGORY TWO($35,000) for a period of 36 months following the date of being placed on the convicted vendor list.
INSPECTOR GENERAL:  The Vendor/Contractor agrees to comply with section 20.055(5), Florida Statutes, and to incorporate in all subcontracts the obligation to comply with section 20.055(5), Florida Statutes.
ANTITRUST VENDOR VIOLATOR CONTRACT LANGUAGE: Pursuant to section 287.137(2)(a), Florida Statutes, a person or an affiliate who has been placed on the antitrust violator vendor list following a conviction or being held civilly liable for an antitrust violation may not submit a bid, proposal, or reply for any new contract to provide any goods or services to a public entity; may not submit a bid, proposal, or reply for a new contract with a public entity for the construction or repair of a public building or public work; may not submit a bid, proposal, or reply on new leases of real property to a public entity; may not be awarded or perform work as a contractor, supplier, subcontractor, or consultant under a new contract with a public entity; and may not transact a new business with a public entity.
E-VERIFY: The Vendor/Contractor shall utilize the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's E-Verify system to verify the employment eligibility of all new employees hired by the Vendor/Contractor during the term of the contract and shall expressly require any subcontractors performing work or providing services pursuant to the state contract to likewise utilize the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's E-Verify system to verify the employment eligibility of all new employees hired by the subcontractor during the contract term.
AFFIDAVIT REGARDING LABOR AND SERVICES: Prior to contract execution, extension or renewal, the Department shall notify the Contract awardee of the need to download, complete, and submit FDOT Form No. 375-030-31. Please have the form signed and notarized and send a scanned copy to the Department. The nongovernmental entity (Contract awardee) must maintain the original copy in accordance with other provisions of this Agreement or Contract, and in accordance with Florida law.
SCRUTINIZED COMPANIES: Section 287.135, Florida Statutes, prohibits agencies from contracting with companies for goods or services of $100,000 or more if, at the time of contracting, the company is on the Scrutinized Companies or other entities that Boycott Israel List, created pursuant to Section 215.4725, Florida Statutes, or is engaged in a boycott of Israel. Section 287.135, Florida Statutes, also prohibits a company from bidding on, submitting a proposal for, or entering into a contract for goods or services of $1 million or more if the company is on either the Scrutinized Companies with Activities in Sudan List, or the Scrutinized Companies with Activities in the Iran Terrorism Sector Lists which were created pursuant to section 215.473, Florida Statutes.
PUBLIC RECORDS: All submittals may be subject to public records requests.
PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY INSURANCE: The Professional Liability Insurance minimum amount will be specified in the project advertisement.  For purposes of contracting, only Professional Liability Insurance from a company or companies authorized to do business in the State of Florida is acceptable.  The selected prime consultant shall submit proof of Professional Liability Insurance coverage in the minimum threshold amount designated above, prior to contracting.  The policy/ies and coverage described herein may be subject to a deductible. Pay all deductibles as required by the policy. The Department shall be notified in writing within ten days of any cancellation, notice of cancellation, lapse, renewal, or proposed change to any policy or coverage described herein. The Department’s approval or failure to disapprove any policy/ies, coverage, or ACORD Certificates shall not relieve or excuse any obligation to procure and maintain the insurance required herein, nor serve as a waiver of any rights or defenses the Department may have.  No policy/ies or coverage described herein may contain or be subject to a Retention or a Self-Insured Retention.  A commitment letter from a financial institution is also not acceptable for purposes of contracting.
SELECTION METHOD: The listed projects are procured in accordance with the processes detailed in the Rule Chapter 14-75, Florida Administrative Code, and the Professional Services Procurement Manual, Topic Number 375-030-003.  Some or all of the responding firms may be requested to provide Written Technical Proposals, Oral Presentations, Interviews, or Expanded Letters of Response, for the ranking process. Unless otherwise noted in the specific advertisement, factors considered by the Project Manager, Department designee, or Technical Review Committee in developing the longlist and shortlist recommendation (where applicable) include:
  (A) Past performance evaluations received by the Consultant on current and previous Department projects, or other performance data included by the Consultant in the LOR or Letter of Qualification, and work experience including specialized experience.
  (B) Staff capabilities.
  (C) Local presence- The location of the Consultant in relation to the work to be performed, for projects where Consultant proximity to project location is pertinent and adds value to the quality and efficiency of the project (e.g., CEI project). If a Consultant from outside of the local area indicates that it will satisfy the criteria in some manner, such as establishing a local office, that commitment shall be considered to have satisfied the local presence criteria. However, local preferences, i.e., State or local requirements that limit competition, are not allowed.
  (D) Any restrictions placed on the Consultant by the prequalification evaluator.
  (E) Availability of proposed consultant personnel.
  (F) Technical approach, innovation, and any other information contained in the LOR or Letter of Qualification

Factors to be considered by the Selection Committee when making the shortlist decision  include but are not limited to the following:
  (A) Past performance evaluations received by the Consultant on current and previous Departmental projects, or other performance data included by the Consultant in the LOR/Letter of Qualification/Expanded Letter of Response as applicable, and work experience including specialized experience.
  (B) The workload of each Consultant, as evidenced by the number of similar projects the Consultant is shortlisted on that have not had a final selection, as well as the residual fees remaining to be paid to the Consultants on active agreements.
  (C) Availability of proposed Consultant personnel.
  (D) Balancing the needs of the project to the abilities of the Consultants.
  (E) The Consultant's working relationship/experience with the Department on previous projects.
  (F) The general and specific information used to longlist the Consultants (i.e., prequalification restrictions, etc.).
  (G) Proposed subconsultant teaming. Firms will submit the Professional Services Commitment form as required by the advertisement when selecting from Expanded Letters of Response, otherwise the form will be required with the Request for Proposal. 
  (H) Detailed Consultant Analysis Report, where available.
After ranking of the consultants the contract fee will be negotiated in accordance with Section 287.055 Florida Statutes. Funding on all projects is subject to legislative approval. Registration in MyFloridaMarketPlace is required prior to contracting. Note: The shortlist and final selection meeting dates and times are provided within the advertisement. All public meetings will be held in the District headquarters or Central Office headquarters unless otherwise noted. People who require special accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act should contact the advertisement contact at least 48 hours prior to the meeting. Changes to meeting date, times, and/or locations will be updated under the All Advertisements link. The agenda for each public meeting is as follows: a) Opening Remarks (approx. 3 minutes); b) Public Input (minimum 15 minutes will be allotted); c) Department business; d) Closing. For more information, contact the designated responsible office. In order to ensure a fair, competitive and open process, once a project is advertised under Current Advertisements, all communications between interested firms and the Department must be directed to the appropriate Professional Services Office. The advertisement contact is referenced in the Respond To: section of each advertisement. Respondents to this solicitation or persons acting on their behalf may not contact, between the release of the solicitation and the end of the 72-hour period following the agency posting the notice of intended award, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and state holidays, any employee or officer of the executive or legislative branch concerning any aspect of this solicitation, except in writing to the procurement officer or as provided in the solicitation documents. Violation of this provision may be grounds for rejecting a response.
NEGOTIATION: All FDOT Professional Services contract negotiations are subject to the guidance provided in the FDOT Negotiation Handbook.
CONTRACT: If awarded, the consultant will be expected to adhere to contract requirements referenced in the standard professional services agreement terms available at the following link.
RESPONSE PROCEDURE: Qualified consultants are encouraged to submit a Letter of Response, for each project in which they are interested, to the indicated requesting unit by 5:00 PM Eastern time on the date indicated as the Response Deadline. Letters of Response will be submitted as an attachment to an E-mail, submitted electronically to the indicated response address. The Standard FDOT Professional Services Letter of Response form, Form No. 375-030-22 must be completed and submitted to the indicated response e-mail address. Consultants, be advised that you are responsible for downloading the latest version of the Letter of Response Form when responding to the advertisement.  The 8/25 version must be used when responding to the advertisement.  The form will be a single file not to exceed 1MB in size in Adobe PDF format (unzipped), and the form completed in its entirety will not exceed the six 8 ½ x 11 pages provided in the form unless otherwise indicated in the advertisement.  The content of the Letter cannot go beyond Page 3 of the form.  Pages 4, 5, and 6 of the form are reserved for the tables listing prime and subconsultants by work type.  Consultants must not add additional pages to the form.  File shall be attached to the email via attachment.  Zipped email attachments or hyperlinks containing attachments are NOT accepted, and will be disabled by FDOT’s email server due to security reasons.   Formatting requirements consist of a font size of 11, with ½ inch margins. Please be aware that all font (including graphics, tables, and captions on photos) must be standard arial narrow, 11 point font, single line spacing with no modification of font or spacing allowed. Please retain the source document as it may be requested at a later date within the procurement process, for audit purposes. The Department reserves the right to periodically sample letters of response to ensure compliance with format submittal requirements. All other advertisement submittal requirements will be verified with each Letter submittal. Failure to comply with the submittal requirements may cause the Letter of Response to be considered non-responsive. Consultants should receive an e-mailed Return Receipt acknowledgement within 2 hours of submittal to the indicated response address. If a Return Receipt acknowledgement is not received by the Consultant, please call the appropriate Professional Services Office (within normal business hours) to verify the Department's receipt of your e-mailed Letter of Response.  The advertisement contact is referenced in the Respond To: section of each advertisement. Letters of Response shall not contain links to other web pages since doing so would introduce additional information beyond the page limit of the Letter of Response submittals. Inclusion of links to other web pages may cause your submittal to be found non-responsive. The Letter of Response should, at a minimum, include the following information:

• a. Project Name/DOT Financial Management Number
• b. Consultant's name and address (Firm must use the name shown on the Consultant's qualification letter)
• c. Proposed responsible office for consultant
• d. Contact person, phone number and Email Address
• e. Statement regarding prequalification of consultant or proposed subconsultants in advertised type(s) of work
• f. Proposed key personnel and their proposed roles (do not include resumes)
• g. Subconsultant(s) that may be used for the project
• h. Indication as to whether the prime firm and/or subconsultants are Small Businesses
• i. Project Approach and Understanding of Critical Issues
• j. Relevant project experience - Similar type of work experience

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Pursuant to the Federal Brooks Act, and Section 287.055, Florida Statutes, price may not be an evaluation criterion during the advertisement and selection phase for professional services procurements. Consultants are prohibited from including references to their proposed professional services fees or indirect rates in Letters of Response, Written Technical Proposals, Oral Presentations, or Interviews. It is permissible to address cost savings specifically related to the construction project. Inclusion of prohibited professional services cost data in a Letter of Response or Technical Proposal may cause the Letter of Response or Technical Proposal to be considered non-responsive.

Private attorney services may not be utilized on Department contracts without advance approval from the Attorney General’s Office.  The advance approval may only be requested by Agency General Counsel (FDOT), and not the consultant firm.  Since approval cannot be assumed, consultant firms shall refrain from proposing legal firms as part of the professional services consultant team in their procurement response and proposal documents. As referenced in Section 287.059(3), F.S.:

 “An agency requesting approval for the use of private attorney services shall first offer to contract with the Department of Legal Affairs for such attorney services at a cost pursuant to mutual agreement. The Attorney General shall decide on a case-by-case basis to accept or decline to provide such attorney services as staffing, expertise, or other legal or economic considerations warrant. If the Attorney General declines to provide the requested attorney services, the Attorney General’s written approval shall include a statement that the private attorney services requested cannot be provided by the office of the Attorney General or that such private attorney services are cost-effective in the opinion of the Attorney General. The Attorney General shall not consider political affiliation in making such decision. The office of the Attorney General shall respond to the request of an agency for prior written approval within 10 working days after receiving such request. The Attorney General may request additional information necessary for evaluation of a request. The Attorney General shall respond to the request within 10 working days after receipt of the requested information.”

When universities or colleges are needed to perform services, the Department’s Project Manager shall procure such services by means of either a University Master Agreement task work order, a governmental agency contract, or a competitive solicitation for contractual services, as appropriate (reference Section 287.057(23), F.S. Universities proposed as subconsultants will not be added to the professional services contract.  Inclusion of a University on the Prime’s submittal may cause the Prime’s submittal to be found non-responsive.

STANDARD NOTES: (Applicable to following projects where indicated)
1. This project does not fall within the FDOT standard Professional Services Types of Work, therefore technical prequalification of responding consultants in a work type is not mandatory. If the Prime submitting on this project is not a Prequalified Professional Services firm and desires to submit for the project, the following requirements must be met:

• a. Prime must be currently registered as a Professional Engineering firm in the State of Florida by the advertisement response deadline.
• b. Prime must possess professional liability insurance (include a professional liability insurance certificate with Letter submittal) by the advertisement response deadline.
• c. For projects $500,000 or above: a recent overhead audit (dated within 6 months of the Consultant's fiscal year end must be on file with the Department, or a recent overhead audit dated within 6 months of the Consultant's fiscal year end must be submitted to the Prequalification Administrator via e-mail to fdot.psprequalification@dot.state.fl.us prior to the Letter of Response deadline in the advertisement. In all cases, the overhead audit must be prepared by an independent Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or governmental agency and in conformance with the Department's current Reimbursement Rate Guidelines. A completed Request for Qualification Form No. 375-030-01 must accompany the submittal of an overhead audit to the Prequalification Administrator.  In the email to the Prequalification Administrator, consultant must note that this is being submitted in response to advertisement no. xxxxx which has Standard Note 1 referenced.

The Standard FDOT Letter of Qualification form, Form No. 375-030-24 is required to be submitted to the indicated response e-mail.  Consultants, be advised that you are responsible for downloading the latest version of the Letter of Qualification form, Form No. 375-030-24 when responding to the advertisement.  The 8/25 version must be used when responding to this ad.

The Standard FDOT Letter of Qualification form, Form No. 375-030-24 completed in its entirety must not exceed the six 8 ½ x 11 pages provided in the form. The content of the Letter cannot go beyond Page 3 of the form.  Pages 4, 5, and 6 of the form are reserved for the tables listing prime and subconsultants prequalification by work type.  Additional pages must not be added to the form. The Letter of Qualification shall be submitted as a single electronic file not to exceed 1MB in size in Adobe PDF format (unzipped). File shall be attached to the email via attachment.  Zipped email attachments or hyperlinks containing attachments are NOT accepted, and will be disabled by FDOT’s email server due to security reasons.   Format requirement is a font size of 11, with ½ inch margins. Failure to comply with the submittal requirements shall cause the Letter of Qualification to be considered non-responsive.

If the project advertisement states that selection is from Expanded Letters of Response, please submit the Expanded Letter of Response form, Form No. 375-030-23 in lieu of the Letter of Qualification Form. If there are questions regarding submittal, please contact the advertisement contact.

2. Funding on all projects is subject to legislative approval. 

3. Reserved. (Standard note not used).

4. Selection will be made from the Standard FDOT Expanded Letters of Response form, Form No. 375-030-23. Consultants, be advised that you are responsible for downloading the latest version of the Expanded Letter of Response Form when responding to the advertisement. The 8/25 version must be used when responding to this ad. The Standard FDOT Expanded Letters of Response form completed in its entirety must not exceed the nine 8 ½ x 11 pages provided in the form. The content of the Letter cannot go beyond Page 6 of the form. Pages 7, 8, and 9 of the form are reserved for the tables listing prime and subconsultants by work type. Consultants must not add additional pages to the form. Consultant shall also submit resumes which are restricted to 2 pages each and an organization chart or staffing chart (can be either 8-1/2x11 or 11x17, at the discretion of the Consultant). Construction Training and Qualification Program (CTQP) printouts may also be submitted, if applicable.  Staff hours on summary sheet (one sheet showing the hours of prime and all subs) will be submitted where applicable.
Examples of acceptable and unacceptable content for organization charts, staffing charts, staff hour estimate charts, and a link to the Construction Training and Qualification Program (CTQP) system can be found at this submittal examples link. Organization, staffing, or staff hour estimate charts containing extra narrative content (not in conformance with examples) will be deemed unacceptable, at the sole discretion of the Procurement Office, and will not be passed on to the Technical Review Committee for review and evaluation with the other submittals. Prime Consultant should submit:

• Professional Services Commitment Form (375-030-83)
• Truth In Negotiation Certification (375-030-30)
• Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility and Voluntary Exclusion for Federal Aid Contracts (375-030-32)
• Certification for Disclosure of Lobbying (375-030-33)
• Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (375-030-34)
• Vendor Certification Regarding Scrutinized Companies Lists (375-030-60)
• E-Verify (375-031-06)
• Consultant Affirmation (375-030-18) (For projects with 2.0 major or minor types of work)

All submittals except organization chart, staffing chart, other required forms , and certifications shall adhere to a font size of 11 with 1/2 inch margins. The Expanded Letter of Response file size is not restricted to 1MB, however Consultants are advised that the Expanded Letter of Response Form electronic submittal should not exceed FDOT’s internal server file size restriction of 15 MB. Zipped email attachments or hyperlinks containing attachments are NOT acceptable, and will be disabled by FDOT’s email server due to security reasons.  Failure to comply with the submittal requirements may cause the Expanded Letter of Response to be considered non-responsive. 

After submittal of Letters and up through contract execution, proposed subconsultants/ subcontractors/ sub-vendors, teaming arrangements, or key staff of the Consultant cannot be changed or substituted except in instances of force majeure or in the event of circumstances that cannot reasonably be anticipated and/or are beyond the control of the prime consultant. In such cases, changes or substitutions are subject to the discretion of the Department, and cannot be made without written approval of the Department. All such requests made during the contract procurement must be routed through PSU. After contract execution, subconconsultant/ subcontractor/sub-vendor, teaming arrangement, or key staff changes/substitutions require pre-approval of the Department’s Project Manager before implementing. All qualification/certification requirements of the original advertisement shall govern, where applicable.

5. Reserved. (Standard note not used).

6. Reserved. (Standard note not used).

7. This project has been reserved for competition among only small businesses in accordance with the Department's Business Development Initiative (BDI) Program. Letter submittals for this project will only be accepted from firms that meet the definition of a small business set forth by section 337.027, Florida Statutes. The prime consultant submitting a Letter must be a qualified professional services firm and meet the small business definition of section 337.027, Florida Statutes at the time of submittal of the Letter and must maintain this status as a small business through contract execution. All subconsultants utilized for the project, including lower-tier and non-professional services firms, must also be a small business pursuant to section 337.027, Florida Statutes at the time of submittal of the Letter and must also maintain this status as a small business through contract execution. Contract execution is contingent upon firms maintaining small business status through contract execution. To ensure regulatory compliance and accountability for the BDI Program, firms agree to furnish any pertinent information requested by the Department to verify the statements in the Small Business Affidavit. The small business status of the prime and subs may be subject to audit of financial documents to confirm small business status prior to BDI contract execution. Small business certification may be rescinded immediately upon the determination that a firm is no longer eligible per the small business definition. Note: Any professional services consultant firm prequalified under Rule 14-75, F.A.C., that is shown as a Small Business on the Professional Services Prequalified Small Business Report (please check Small Business column) is not required to supply the Small Business Affidavit  Form with the Letter. Any non-professional services subconsultant firm that is shown as a Small Business on the Small Business listing for Construction, Maintenance and Other Contractual Services Firms is not required to supply the Small Business Affidavit  Form with the Letter.

SMALL BUSINESS ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:

• a. The prime and subconsultants proposed for this project must meet the small business definition set forth by section 337.027, Florida Statutes.  They are also required to submit a notarized copy of the Small Business Affidavit Form with the Letter. Professional Services firms who appear on the Department’s Small Business listing (please check Small Business column) are currently self-certified, and are not required to resubmit the Form.  Non-Professional Services firms who appear on the Small Business listing for Construction, Maintenance and Other Contractual Services Firms are currently self-certified, and are not required to resubmit the Form. Please refer to the advertisement for other submittal requirements or Supplemental Information.
• b. Submitting firms that are small businesses must completely comply with the professional services prequalification process as described in the Florida Administrative Code Chapter 14-75, F.A.C.

Small Business listing for Professional Services  - (check Small Business column)

Additionally, firms will submit the Professional Services Commitment form as required by the advertisement when selecting from Expanded Letters of Response, otherwise it will be required with the Request for Proposal. 

8. Reserved.

9. Reserved. 

10. This contract will require field office personnel; therefore, all firms performing inspection services must utilize CEI field office rates.

11. When assigned to facilities testing for 6 months or more, the field office rate will be used.

12. For geotechnical and materials testing continuing contracts or district-wide minor professional services contracts, the consultant asphalt plant inspection staff must utilize field office rates.

13. This project is anticipated to utilize American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. For informational purposes only.

14. Florida and federal law require a competitive negotiation process to establish contract fee, including negotiation of work effort and cost of services (wage rates, audited rates, operating margin, etc). The Method of Payment for the subject CEI Project will be Lump Sum.