rutherfordcountync.gov/files/-18686/rutherford county rfp for

Rhonda Owens, CIOInformation Technology Department

289 N Main StRutherfordton, NC 28139

(828) 287-6070

To Whom It May Concern;

Rutherford County is seeking a turn-key solution to construct a new fiber cable network to connect all manned county fire stations to the existing County network. The fiber distributions are from station to existing fiber backbone or in some cases building new backbone. The construction topology will be mostly aerial but some buried cable was required to complete the project. The project will connect 18 fire stations to the network requiring approximately 40 miles of fiber cable. Sealed proposals will be received until February 23, 2009 @ 10:00 AM EST. For more information, please contact:

Sincerely,

Rhonda OwensRutherford County IT Director

Rutherford County, NC RFP: 20090120

Rutherford County, North Carolina

Request for Proposal: 20090120

Construction of the Fiber Expansion Project

February 12, 2009

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RFP Number: 20090120

Title: Construction Fiber Expansion Project

Using Agency: Rutherford County

Issue Date: February 12, 2009

Issuing Agency: Rutherford CountyAttention: Rhonda Owens289 North Main StreetRutherfordton, NC 28139

Important Notice: Sealed proposals will be received until February 23, 2009 @ 10:00 AM EST and should be submitted to Rhonda Owens, Rutherford County IT Director, 289 North Main Street, Rutherfordton, NC 28139. Proposals must indicate the firm name and RFP number on the front of each sealed proposal envelope and/or package. Proposals must contain the signature of a duly authorized officer or agent of the company. Each proposal shall be accompanied by a bid guarantee of five (5%) of the bid. Bid guarantee may be in cash, certified check drawn on a bank or trust company insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or by a Bid Bond executed by a corporate surety licensed under the Laws on NC to execute such a bond. Check or Bond shall be made payable to Rutherford County. The Bid guarantee must be exactly 5% of the bid. Bid Bonds and/or checks will be promptly returned to the unsuccessful bidders, and to the successful bidder upon the execution of the Contract. Should the successful bidder fail to execute the Contract and furnish a Performance Bond within 10 days after notice of acceptance of the Proposal, the Bid Bond or Certified Check will be forfeited to Rutherford County as liquidated damages. Bid Bond, if submitted as security, shall be conditioned that the Surety will upon demand forthwith make payment to the obligee upon said bond if the Bidder fails to execute the Contract in accordance with the Bid Bond, and upon failure to make the payment, that the Surety shall pay to the obligee an amount equal to said Bond.

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Send all proposals directly to the issuing agency address shown above.

Inquiries may be made to: Grey DaughtryONUG Communications [email protected]

Bid will be awarded to a NC Licensed Contractor with an Intermediate Project Limitation and ability to secure required Performance Bond. Each bidder shall, before submitting his bid, examine the site to determine the extent of work involved and the conditions under which he must operate in performing this work. The submission of a bid will be construed as evidence that such an examination has been made, and no subsequent allowance will be made in this connection on behalf of the Contractor for any error or negligence on his part.

All qualified bids will be evaluated and an award will be made to the firm (s) whose bid satisfies the Scope of Work and is in budget and meets schedule requirements. The county reserves the right to select the bid deemed to be in the best interest of the County of Rutherford. The county further reserves the right to reject any or all proposals and/or to waive any and all technical defects in the execution of and informalities in the submission of any proposal if determined to be in the County’s best interest. No bid may be withdrawn for 90 days after the bid opening.

A Performance Bond, which will be due from the successful bidder within 10 days after notice of the acceptance of the proposal, will be required in an amount equal to 100% of the Contract price. The Performance Bond shall be delivered to Rutherford County within 10 days after notice of acceptance of proposal.

Payments will be made by the County on no more than a monthly basis in an amount equal to 90 percent of the work completed and final payment within 30 days after the completion and acceptance of the work. Requests for payment must be approved by ONUG Communications, Inc. before payment will be made.

Liquidated Damages: All work must be completed by June 30, 2009. The Contractor shall pay Rutherford County as fixed, agreed and liquidated damages for each calendar day of delay beyond the completion date stated, until the work is completed, the sum of $300 per day for the first 15 days, $1000 per day after the first 15 days.

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1. OverviewRutherford County is constructing a new fiber cable build to connect all listed fire stations in the county to the existing County network. The fiber distributions are from station to existing fiber backbone or in some cases building new backbone. The construction topology will be mostly aerial but some buried cable was required to complete the project. The project will connect 18 fire stations to the network requiring approximately 40 miles of fiber cable. The project is required to be completed by June 30, 2009.

2. Scope of Work

Detailed engineering drawings, suitable for construction, will be provided for each connection to a fire station; drawings can be obtained by contacting Rhonda Owens, IT Director for Rutherford County at 289 North Main Street, Rutherfordton, NC 28139 or 828-287-6070. There will be a non-refundable charge of $650 for construction drawings, which upon request and payment received, would ship at no cost to interested bidders. Payments can include cash, money order, or check payable to Rutherford County. The bidder is expected to construct the fiber distributions and backbone in accordance with industry standards and the engineering drawings provided. At each fire station the bidder will terminate the fiber into a specified demarcation point inside the building. All fiber construction practices shall be in compliance with NEC and ANSI specifications. All required permits will be obtained by the County of Rutherford.

Following is a list of proposed fire stations:

2.1 Rutherford Co Annex (hub) 189 N Main St2.2 Green Hill Station 2711 US Hwy 64/74A2.3 Shingle Hollow Station 2621 Cove Road2.4 Hickory Nut Gorge EMS 140 Bills Creek Road2.5 Bills Creek Station 1118 Bills Creek Road2.6 Fairfield Station 1415 Buffalo Creek Road2.7 Lake Lure Town Station 622 Memorial Highway2.8 Chimney Rock Station 109 Terrace Drive2.9 Union Mills Station 6791 Hudlow Road2.10 Cherry Mountain Station 5841 Bostic Sunshine Hwy2.11 Cliffside Station 4600 US Hwy 221A2.12 Rutherfordton Station 144 North Mitchell Street2.13 Hudlow Station 2910 Hudlow Road

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2.14 Bostic EMS 207 North Main Street2.15 Bostic Station 181 North Main Street2.16 Ellenboro Station 175 Depot Street2.17 Sandy Mush Station 557 US Hwy 221A2.18 Danieltown SDO Station 115 Toms Lake Road 2.19 Spindale Station 103 Reveley Street

3. Instructions to Bidders

3.1 Fiber Optic CableThe fiber optic cable shall be All Dielectric, Non-Armor, Single Mode, Loose Tube (12 fiber/buffer tube) cable. The tensile strength shall be 600 Lbs. Fiber counts will vary depending on the location of the cable in the build; the smallest will be 12 fibers (building entrance) to 144 fibers on the main distributions. Other sizes required are 48 and 72 fiber counts. Marking on the cable shall be in Feet, with the Rutherford County name stenciled on the cable. The transmission performance (maximum attenuation in dB/km) of the cable shall be no more than 0.4/0.4/.03. The same cable shall be used in both the aerial and buried builds. The County would also like Corning fiber/glass for the cable. The sheath can be any vendor as long as it meets industry standards for quality.

3.2 Fiber Cable Build RequirementsAerial cable installation will be strand and lash method using 6m strand with double lash. Cable ID-tags will be required and snow shoes shall be placed every 1500 Ft. or designated future drop points, with 100 Ft. service/maintenance loops. The contractor shall provide the strand and all hardware to lash the cable in place and set anchors in all required locations. The strand shall be grounded at every pole per NEC standards. Buried cable, if trenched or plowed shall be placed with warning tape and all underground installations will have fiber marker posts every 500 to 700 feet. Handholes (24x36x30 open bottom 2k lid) required every 800’ or at cable direction changes of 90 degrees. All handholes placed inside public right-of-way must meet all NCDOT standards for traffic loading and be approved by the NCDOT. Two 1 ¼ inch conduits shall be utilized, with the fiber and a locate wire in one duct and second duct spare with pull-tape. The Contractor shall be responsible for all hardware and material.

3.3 Fiber SplicingAll fiber in the distribution shall be fusion spliced with less than .2 dB loss per splice. Fibers terminated in the fire stations may be either fusion spliced or mechanical

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spliced (Corning UnicamTM connector or 3M’s Hot Melt technology). For the purpose of this bid the County would like to see pricing with Tyco splice cases, the bidder can also bid an alternate source for the splice cases. All splices shall be verified and records turned over to the County on the loss. Testing result format must be approved by the County before submittal.

3.4 Building Entrance RequirementsUnless designated as a POP site, all fire stations will use the same building entrance cabinet. There may be one or two POPs in the network. The cabinet shall be either wall or floor mounted. The cabinet shall be capable of mounting 19” electronic units/shelves, have provisions for a fan assembly and provide power connections (AC) for the equipment that will be installed inside. The cabinet shall be lockable and have ventilation. The County would like a cabinet similar to the Black Box Network Services model number RM241A. The POP fire stations may use a cabinet in the same product family as the RM241A cabinet or a rack mounted system. If the requirement is for a cabinet the model will depend on the amount of equipment needed at the POP locations. When any termination cabinet is located more than 50 feet from the building entrance point, the fiber cable must be run in a rigid fireproof duct from point of entry to the cabinet. All fiber handling inside the fire stations shall comply too the ANSI/NECA/FOA 301-2004 specification.

3.5 TestingWhen the construction is complete, the contractor shall perform continuity testing of optical fibers using an OLTS power meter and source. Test the fiber from end to end through any interconnections to ensure that the path is properly installed and that polarization and routing are correct and documented. Insertion Loss and Return Loss measurements shall be taken on each fiber per TIA/EIA 526-7. The fiber shall be tested at 1310 and 1550 nm as a minimum, testing at 1490 and 1680nm is optional. Any out of spec. terminations shall be fixed. Documentation of the fiber optic cable plant (test results) should follow ANSI/TIA/EIA-606 Administrative Standard for Telecommunications infrastructure of commercial Buildings. This documentation shall include the insertion loss data.

3.6 PricingThe Contractor shall provide pricing that includes all labor and materials to complete the construction project as defined in this RFP. Pricing shall be per fire station utilizing the chart provided in attachment A.

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4. DefinitionsThe following definitions apply throughout this RFP.Contractor: The contractor shall mean the respondent that is selected to complete the construction tasks outlined in the Scope of Work of this RFP.

County: County shall mean Rutherford CountyProposal: Proposal shall mean the document in accordance with this RFP submitted by the respondent to the County for consideration in selecting and awarding a contract for the project.Request: Request shall mean this RFP.Respondent: The respondent shall mean the firm that submits a proposal to the County for any portion of the request.

5. ChangesRutherford County reserves the right to modify or change any information presented in this request as more information becomes available.

6. ConfidentialityThe County of Rutherford will make every effort to hold Respondent information confidential. However, given the open nature of the public records, Respondents are discouraged from sending any information that they do not wish to have discovered as part of the open record.

7. Proposal Requirements

Proposal should contain at least the following information in the order listed below:

a. Company information, including a full description of all experience in developing broadband networks in competitive markets.

b. Current status of projects.c. Biographical information on the members of the project team assigned to work on this

project, including related work experience.d. List of references of related work, including contacts. e. Outline of methodology, steps, and procedures to be used to develop the business case

and a timeline for completion after award.f. Other information that proposer considers to be important in evaluating their proposal.g. Fee Structure, including the following.

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1) Lump sum for project proposal for exact scope of work as obtained in this RFP.

2) Additional sums for any alternatives proposed, including tasks that proposer believes are critical for satisfying the intent of this RFP

3) Hourly rate for additions, including any presentations not already included in lump sum, as requested by Rutherford County.

8. Authorized SignatureProposals must contain the signature of the duly authorized officer or agent that is empowered with the right to bind the proposing firm. Please print, sign, and return with bid the attached Proposed Signature Form.

9. Effective Period of ProposalsAll proposals and related pricing must be valid for a minimum period of 90 days following the RFP due date.

10. ExceptionsAny exceptions to the Scope of Work and/or requirements set forth in this RFP must be noted by the Respondent.

11. Prime Contractor ResponsibilitySuccessful proposer will be required to enter into a contract with Rutherford County. The relationship of Rutherford County and the successful proposer shall be that of an independent contractor to Rutherford County. An insurance requirement certifying that Workers' Compensation Insurance, professional liability, and general liability insurance of not less than $1,000,000.00 are in effect and proof of coverage will be required of the successful proposer. Respondents have the option of subcontracting parts of the services that they propose. All proposals must include a description of any anticipated subcontracting arrangements, including, but not limited to, the name, address and qualifications of consultants and subcontractors. The Contractor shall cause all appropriate provisions of the contract with the County to be inserted in the ensuing subcontracts to ensure fulfillment of all contractual provisions be subcontractors.

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12. Final Decision/Right to Reject

Proposers assume all costs and risks associated with any submission of a proposal. Rutherford County reserves the right, after opening the proposals or at any other point during this process, to:

1. Reject any or all proposals.2. To modify or amend this RFP.3. To modify or postpone the engagement of services.4. Accept one or more proposals that in Rutherford County's sole judgment are in the best

interest of Rutherford County and its citizens.5. Select no proposals at all.

13. Selection Criteria/Award

The Contractor will be selected on the basis of: the following criteria:

Suitability of the Services to meet the needs of the County including (30%):

Services Offered

Vendor Experience and Qualifications (20%):

Qualifications and capabilities of the vendor and its personnel References for current clients Commitment of team

Cost Proposal (25%)

Actual Service Costs Payment discounts

Compliance with the RFP requirements and process specified in this section (25%):

The extent to which written proposal addresses items specified in Scope of Services section of this request, cost and merits of the proposed work program.

14. Hold Harmless agreement

Contractors shall hold harmless Rutherford County, and all elected officials, agents and employees from suits, actions and claims of any character brought for or on account of any injuries to or death of or damages received by any person, persons or property resulting from the operations of the Contractor or any of his subcontractors in prosecuting the work under

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the agreement with the County. Except only such damage, injury or death as shall have been occasioned by the sole negligence of the County.

15. Negotiations

The County reserves the right to negotiate all elements of the response to ensure that the best possible consideration be afforded all concerned.

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RFP ATTACHMENT “A”

Rutherford County Fire Station Builds

Const. Costs Splice Costs

Labor Materials LaborMateria

ls Total

Ntwk Lat Cost Cost Cost CostRC Co Annex 144F N/A Green Hill FD 144F 12F Shingle Hollow 24F 12F Hickory Nut EMS 144F N/A Bill's Creek FD 24F 12F Fairfield FD 24F 12F Lake Lure FD 24F 12F Chimney Rock FD 24F 12F Union Mills FD 72F* 12F Cherry Mtn. FD 72F* 12F Cliffside FD 48F* 12F Rutherfordton FD 72F* 12F Hudlow FD 72F* 12F Bostic EMS 72F* 12F Bostic FD 72F* 12F

Ellenboro FD 144F

* 12F

Sandy Mush FD 144F

* 12F SDO FD 48F* 12F

Spindale FD 144F

* 12F

Total

* existing Network

Total

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RFP PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

1. Company information, including a full description of all experience in developing broadband networks in competitive markets, as well as, current status of projects.

2. Biographical information on the members of the project team assigned to work on this project, including related work experience.

3. Outline of methodology, steps, and procedures to be used to develop the business case, and a timeline for completion after award notice.

4. Other information that proposer considers to be important in evaluating their proposal.

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RUTHERFORD COUNTY, BIDDER REFERENCES

List and describe fully the last three contracts performed by your firm, which demonstrate your ability to provide the services required in this RFP. Attach additional pages if required. The County reserves the right to contact each of the references listed for additional information regarding your firm's qualifications.

Reference No. 1

Customer Name:________________________________________

Contact Individual:_______________________________________ Phone No:_______________

Address:_______________________________________________

______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

Contract Amount: ________________________________________ Year:___________________

Description of Supplies, Equipment, or Services Provided:

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Reference No. 2

Customer Name:________________________________________


Address:_______________________________________________

______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

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__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Reference No. 3

Customer Name:________________________________________


Address:_______________________________________________

______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________



__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

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PROPOSAL SIGNATURE FORM

(Complete & return)

Responding to a Request for Proposal, the undersigned proposer agrees to provide professional services in accordance with the specifications.

All information submitted by proposer, including signatures, must be original. Copies will not be accepted. The representations herein are made under penalty of perjury.

We hereby certify that:

This proposal was not made in the interest of or on behalf of any undisclosed person, partnership, association or corporation;

This proposal is genuine and not collusion or sham; and that we did not, directly or indirectly, induce or solicit anyone else to submit a false or sham proposal;

We have not, directly or indirectly, by agreement, communication or conference with anyone attempted to induce action prejudicial to the interest of Rutherford County, or any other proposer or anyone else interested in the proposed contract; and further,

We did not, in any manner, directly or indirectly, seek by agreements, communications, or conference with anyone to raise or fix any overhead, profit, or cost element of this proposal price, or that of anyone else.

We hereby offer to sell Rutherford County the above services at the prices shown and under the terms and conditions printed hereon or attached or referenced.

(Please type or print)

_______________________________________ ____________________________________

COMPANY NAME SIGNATURE OF AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE

_______________________________________ ____________________________________

ADDRESS NAME AND TITLE (PLEASE PRINT)

_______________________________________ ____________________________________

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CITY, STATE AND ZIP CODE E - MAIL ADDRESS

_______________________________________ ____________________________________

PHONE NUMBER WEB PAGE

_______________________________________ ____________________________________

FAX NUMBER DATE

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