Notice for Consultant Services
(Request for Qualifications)
Notice is hereby given by the West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT), Division of Highways (DOH), that planning consulting services will be utilized for the following project:
Federal Grant Opportunities, West Virginia. This work shall consist of supporting State Agencies expressing interest in federal grant opportunities, on an as-needed (on-call) basis related to the Infrastructure Investment and Job Acts (IIJA).
Method of payment will be lump sum per assignment or cost-plus fixed fee.
Multiple firms will be selected for this work.
Firms interested in being considered for providing these services must submit a “Letter of Qualification" (LOQ) and one unpriced prospectus to Mr. C. Elwood Penn, P.E. Director, Planning Division, Division of Highways, 1900 Kanawha Boulevard, East, Building 6, Room 220, Charleston, West Virginia 25305 or preferably by email to dohplanningservices@wv.gov prior to 4:00 p.m. on May 31, 2024.
Firms submitting LOQ's shall provide proof of the following for themselves and any potential subconsultants. Replacement or addition of any subconsultant after the receipt of the initial Letter of Intent (LOI) prospectus requires proof of “availability" for the director's approval. Firms failing to provide proper documentation as listed below or failure to meet timelines will be deemed nonresponsive and will result in disqualification. In the case of a response to advertisement for services, the firm's LOQ will not be forwarded to the shortlist committee. In the case of prequalification or statewide selection, another firm will be offered the tasks.
- Proof of registration with the WV Secretary of State's office (Certificate of Authorization AND a print off of the Business Organization Detail sheet from the Business and Licensing Section of the WV Secretary of State's office Online Data Services)
- Certificate of Authorization from applicable State Professional Board(s) (Engineering and/or Surveying)
- Indirect Cost Desk Review Memo issued from West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT) Auditing Division showing the most current approved overhead rate (valid as of LOQ submission date)
As a minimum, the prospectus shall include the following evaluation information factors:
- Professional qualifications necessary for consideration and satisfactory performance of the required work and as a minimum shall have a professional engineer licensed by the State of West Virginia. That person shall be located within the office where the work is to be performed and shall demonstrate sufficient past experience performed for the DOH related to the work. This individual shall be the person-in-charge overseeing the work and must be readily accessible to the Department, preferably located in-state.
- Consideration shall be given to specialized experience and technical competence. Specialized experience shall focus on the qualifications of the staff working on the project with emphasis placed on individual specialized expertise required for the project. As a minimum, the firm shall provide a Résumé of those individuals who will be committed to the needs of the project. Strong considerations will be based on the professional and non-professional staff's specialized experience and technical competence stationed within the office where the work is to be performed.
- Capacity consideration shall be made regarding the firm's ability to accomplish the work within the Department's required schedule time frame; personnel dedicated to performing such work.
In addition to the above evaluation factors, the prospectus shall include, as a minimum, the following items:
- A completed copy of the Department's Consultant Confidential Qualification Questionnaire dated January 1, 2024, or later (a standard Form 330 will suffice as well), if not already on file. It must specifically indicate the staff levels by classification located in-state vs. out-of-state.
- Location of office or office(s) in which the work, or part of the work, will be performed.
- Identification of subconsultants by name as to the type of work anticipated to be subcontracted or performed, if proposed as part of the design team.
- Completed copies of the Department's “Consultant Short List Selection Criteria Technical Evaluation" form. Cross referencing on this form to other parts of the prospectus is not acceptable.
- A copy of a valid “Certificate of Authorization" to offer Engineering, Surveying, or other related professional services within the state, issued by the appropriate West Virginia Board.
A single “Letter of Qualification" and one unpriced prospectus are required and must contain all of the above information required to be considered. Failure to provide the required information and/or insufficient information will cause disqualification and the prospectus will be returned. All evaluation factors as noted herein before will be given equal consideration in the selection process, unless a project specific weighting of the evaluation factors is shown in the Notice for Consulting Services.
Prior to entering into any contract negotiations, the selected firm and any subconsultants shall submit a current audited overhead rate computation performed by a State or Federal government agency or independent Certified Professional Accountant (CPA) firm. The submitted overhead audit shall contain a detailed exhibit of the computations with all applicable eliminations and references. The audit shall be done in accordance with Government Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States and all eliminations required by the Federal Acquisition Regulations will be made. The submitted certified audited overhead (Indirect Cost Rate) report shall include the certification, certifying that the allowability of costs used to establish the final indirect cost rate are in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) cost principles, or a verification indicating this certification was previously submitted and accepted by the cognizant agency. This requirement will be waived for the selected firm or any subconsultant when its portion of the fee for the project is less than Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00). In such instances, a company computed overhead rate may be utilized.
It is the policy of the West Virginia Department of Transportation, Division of Highways, that Disadvantaged and Women-owned Business Enterprises shall have the maximum opportunity to participate in the performance of contracts financed in whole or in part with Federal funds.