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REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ)For

Predictive Flood Modeling System

# 00140

Issue Date: January 31th, 2019

Responses must be received BEFORE:Thursday, February 28, 2019, 11:00 A.M. C.S.T

Pre-Submittal Conference: There will be a non-mandatory pre-submittal conference held on February 14, 2019 at 11:00 AM CST, located at 100 E. Guenther, Salado Room, San Antonio, TX 78204.

Staff Contact Person: Karen SmithPurchasing OfficerEmail: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

San Antonio River AuthorityRFQ for Predictive Flood Modeling System

ContentsPART I -REQUIREMENTS FOR RESPONSES.......................................................................................5

1. INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................52. BACKGROUND......................................................................................................53. SERVICE DESCRIPTION.......................................................................................54. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS.............................................................................65. SCHEDULE OF EVENTS.......................................................................................76. PRE-SUBMITTAL CONFERENCE........................................................................77. CONTRACT TERM.................................................................................................78. PRICING..................................................................................................................89. ADDENDA AND MODIFICATIONS....................................................................810. SUBMITTAL INSTRUCTIONS..........................................................................811. SUBMISSION FORMAT.....................................................................................912. PREPARATION OF RESPONSE......................................................................1013. WITHDRAWAL.................................................................................................1116. INTERPRETATIONS........................................................................................1117. EVALUATION PROCEDURES........................................................................1118. RIGHT TO REJECT/ AWARD..........................................................................1319. RESTRICTIONS ON COMMUNICATION......................................................1320. INVITATION FOR RESPONSES PREPARATION COSTS...........................1421. ANTI-LOBBYING PROVISION.......................................................................1422. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION & SECURITY..........................................1423. TRANSITION PLAN/PROCESS.......................................................................1524. IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE...................................................................1525. BUSINESS OVERVIEW...................................................................................1526. DEVIATION FROM SPECIFICATION/ REQUIREMENTS...........................1527. CONFLICT OF INTEREST – ATTACHMENT D............................................1528. SMALL, WOMEN HUBZONE, DISADVANTAGED BUSINESSES – ATTACHMENT E........................................................................................................1629. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT - ATTACHMENT F................................................1630. CONTRACT.......................................................................................................16

Part II –STATEMENT OF WORK.....................................................................................................17

1. BACKGROUND....................................................................................................172. PROJECT MOTIVATION.....................................................................................173. DESIGN OBJECTIVES.........................................................................................17

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4. TECHNOLOGY REQUIREMENTS.....................................................................205. SECURITY REQUIREMENTS.............................................................................236. WORK HOURS......................................................................................................237. PROBLEM ESCALATION PROCEDURE...........................................................248. SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENT (SLA).............................................................259. DELIVERABLES...................................................................................................25

Part III –TERMS AND CONDITIONS................................................................................................27

1. DELIVERY OF GOODS.......................................................................................272. INSURANCE.........................................................................................................273. WARRANTIES......................................................................................................284. SUBSTITUTIONS/CANCELLATIONS...............................................................285. INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR........................................................................286. ASSIGNMENT.......................................................................................................287. INDEMNIFICATION CLAUSE............................................................................298. FORCE MAJEURE................................................................................................299. JURISDICTION.....................................................................................................3010. VENUE...............................................................................................................3011. COMPLIANCE WITH ALL STATE, FEDERAL, AND LOCAL LAWS........3012. RESPONDENT’S EMPLOYEES.......................................................................3013. VERBAL THREATS..........................................................................................3014. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY......................................................3015. CERTIFICATE OF INTERESTED PARTIES...................................................3116. NO BOYCOTTING ISRAEL VERIFICATION................................................31

PART IV - ATTACHMENTS..............................................................................................................32

ATTACHMENT A-BUSINESS QUESTIONNAIRE..................................................33ATTACHMENT A-SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE......................................39ATTACHMENT B-SUBMISSION EXCEPTIONS/CLARIFICATIONS...................41ATTACHMENT C - REFERENCES............................................................................42ATTACHMENT D- CONFLICT OF INTEREST QUESTIONNAIRE.......................43ATTACHMENT E - SMALL, WOMEN HUBZONE, DISADVANTAGED BUSINESSES................................................................................................................44ATTACHMENT F -ACKNOWLEDGMENT..............................................................46

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NOTICE TO RESPONDENTSREQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS

# 00140

The San Antonio River Authority (SARA) intends to purchase and invites you to submit a sealed response for:


Sealed responses addressed to the Purchasing Agent will be received BEFORE February 28, 2019 at 11:00 AM, at 100 East Guenther St, San Antonio, Texas 78204. All Responses must be in SARA’s possession on or before the scheduled date and time (no late response will be considered). SARA Purchasing is not open for weekend or holiday deliveries.

The response documents can be obtained at sara-tx.org under About SARA then Contracting Opportunities or by contacting the Purchasing Agent, 100 E. Guenther, San Antonio Texas 78204 or by calling Purchasing at (210) 302-3603.

Be advised that your company may download the documents from SARA’s web page at www.sara-tx.org/contracting-opportunites or can register as a vendor through Texas Purchasing Group at www.bidnetdirect.com to review the documents. Any changes/additions via addendum can be accessed by your company at either site. Vendor registration instructions can be found at www.sara-tx.org . Any questions in reference to this response should be directed to the Purchasing Agent.

The contract will be awarded to the respondent(s) who provides goods or services at the best value for SARA. SARA shall evaluate the responses on the basis of all factors that have bearing on price and performance of the items. SARA reserves the right to refuse and reject any or all responses, waive any or all formalities or technicalities, accept the response or portions of the response determined to be the best value and most advantageous to SARA, and hold the responses for a period of 120 days without taking action. Respondents are required to hold their responses firm for the same period of time.

Hand-delivered & Courier Submissions:Purchasing Officer

100 East Guenther St., San Antonio, Texas 78204

LABELING INSTRUCTIONS: Envelopes must be clearly marked:

SAN ANTONIO RIVER AUTHORITYREQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS


# 00140

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http://www.nbutexas.com/

http://www.bidnetdirect.com/

http://www.sara-tx.org/contracting-opportunites


PART I -REQUIREMENTS FOR RESPONSES

1. INTRODUCTION

In accordance with the provisions of San Antonio River Authority (SARA) Enabling Statute (Chapter 276, 56, Acts of the 45th Legislature, 1937, and subsequent amendments), policies and procedures, SARA is requesting submissions to contract with an individual(s) or business(es) with considerable experience in providing professional services of this solicitation. The responses shall be submitted to SARA in a sealed submission.

The awarded individual(s) or business(es) shall possess a proven track record of using innovative approaches to providing professional services that represent the most qualified to their clients. The awarded individual(s) or business(es) shall have the ability to accomplish all aspects of the requested services. The awarded individual(s) or business(es) should be able to provide innovative methods to deal with challenges, and provide effective solutions.

A firm may submit a solicitation response for one or more of the categories of services requested in this solicitation.

2. BACKGROUND

The State of Texas has empowered SARA to preserve, protect and manage the resources and environment of the San Antonio River Watershed. The San Antonio River flows from its headwaters in highly urbanized San Antonio, Texas (7th largest city in the nation) through a largely agrarian area to its confluence with the Guadalupe River where its freshwater inflows into San Antonio Bay support a thriving ecosystem including endangered species (Whooping Crane). SARA continues to develop the technical and professional expertise needed to fulfill its service mission while promoting a holistic approach to develop and implement projects on a watershed basis. SARA is committed to innovative, collaborative, adaptive and strategic actions that address watershed issues and priorities and as such, the agency has formalized partnerships at the federal, state and local levels and regularly works with community and stakeholder groups to successfully accomplish projects throughout the San Antonio River Watershed. By working collaboratively, SARA is able to sustain and enrich the watershed’s ecosystem and the lives of the people in and the economies of the communities we serve.

SARA’s Vision: Inspiring Actions for Health Creeks and RiversSARA’s Mission: Committed to Safe, Clean, Enjoyable Creeks and RiversSARA’s Core Values: Stewardship, Integrity and Excellence.

3. SERVICE DESCRIPTION

SARA is seeking a contract for professional services for a Predictive Flood Modeling System.

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The goods and/or services shall be accomplished per the solicitation documents and all exhibits and Attachments identified in the table of contents.

4. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

The following minimum requirements must be demonstrated in order for the submission to be considered responsive to SARA. Any submission received, which is determined to not meet these mandatory requirements may be immediately disqualified and rejected as non-responsive.

Licensed professional engineer certified in the State of Texas in good standing with no debarments or discipline actions, assigned to project team. Attach copy of certification or documents from the Texas Board of Professional Engineers.

Engineering Firm must have Firm Registration number issued by the Texas Board of Professional Engineers with an active status.

Vendor must have been the lead developer of at least one deployed and operational predictive flood modeling system within the Continental United States. The system must have been in operation for at least 2 years.

Proposed solution cannot employ flood map libraries or steady flow modeling.

Must have a Meteorologist on the team with expertise in atmospheric dynamics, Texas weather and precipitation patterns, National Weather Service precipitation forecast products and operational weather forecasting.

Three (3) years’ experience providing similar products or services.

Three (3) references from entities for which the Respondent provided the products or services requested. SARA cannot be used as a reference.

The responding individual or business must be registered in the State of Texas, or the County of Bexar, to provide the products or services required in the solicitation, and the individual or business must have all licensure required by the State to provide any services required under this contact.

To learn how to obtain information about filing with the State of Texas, or obtaining copies or certificates from the Secretary of State visit Webpage: http://www.sos.state.tx.us/corp/copies.shtml; Phone 512-463-5578; or email [email protected].

Submittal documents including a cover sheet, Executive Summary, Attachments A -F, Transition Plan/Process, Implementation Schedule and Service Level Agreement per the method described in Error: Reference source not found.

5. SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

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Following is a list of projected dates with respect to this RFQ

Issue Solicitation: 1/31/2019Pre-submittal conference 2/14/2019 at 11:00 AM CSTDeadline for Submission of Questions: 2/19/2019 at 11:00 AM CSTDeadline for Submission of Responses: 2/28/2019 at 11:00 AM CSTEvaluate and rank initial results: 3/7/2019Interview(s) with top ranked firms: 3/21/2019Demonstration(s) with top ranked firms: 4/5/2019Completion of Negotiations: 4/18/2019Contract Execution: 4/25/2019

SARA reserves the right to change the dates indicated above.

6. PRE-SUBMITTAL CONFERENCE

A Pre-Submittal conference will be held at the San Antonio River Authority Main Office at 100 E. Guenther, Salado Room, San Antonio TX, 78204, at 11:00 AM Central Standard Time, on Thursday, February 14, 2019. Respondents are encouraged to prepare and submit their questions in writing in advance, in order to expedite the proceedings. SARA’s responses to questions received in advance, may be distributed at the Pre-Submittal Conference and posted with this solicitation. Attendance at the Pre-Submittal Conference is optional, but highly recommended.

This meeting place is accessible to disabled persons. The San Antonio River Authority Main Office Building is wheelchair accessible. The accessible entrance is located at 100 E. Guenther. Accessible parking spaces are located in the San Antonio River Authority Main Office Building main parking lot at 100 E. Guenther.

Any oral responses provided by SARA staff at the Pre-Submittal Conference are not confirmed until they are in writing and posted with this solicitation. Only written responses shall be official and all other forms of communication with any officer, employee or agent of SARA shall not be binding on SARA. Respondents are encouraged to resubmit their questions in writing, to SARA Staff person identified in the Restrictions on Communication section, after the conclusion of the Pre-Submittal Conference.

7. CONTRACT TERM

An agreement awarded in response to this RFQ will be for the purchase of the solution, plus maintenance for up to three (3), one (1) year terms, renewable on the anniversary of the original date provided both parties are in mutual agreement. All renewals shall be in writing and signed by SARA’s General Manager, or their designee. However, SARA may terminate a contract at any time if funds are restricted, withdrawn, not approved or service is unsatisfactory.

8. PRICING

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This contract is for professional services. SARA will select a firm on the basis of demonstrated competence and qualifications to perform the services described in this RFQ. Once the most qualified firm(s) is selected, a fair and reasonable price will be set.

It is anticipated that accepted negotiated prices will remain firm for the entire contract period, including any periods of extension or renewal. However, at the time of any renewal or extension of the contract, SARA or the firm(s) may request a price adjustment. All requests for a price adjustment must include detailed documentation and rationale to support the requested adjustment. The party to whom a request for price adjustment is made may, in its sole discretion, accept or reject the request. Any price adjustment must be mutually agreed upon in writing by the parties, and shall be effective for the applicable

9. ADDENDA AND MODIFICATIONS

Any changes, additions, or clarifications to the RFQ are made by amendments (addenda) and will be posted at sara-tx.org under About SARA then Contracting Opportunities and on the Texas Purchasing Group website at www.bidnetdirect.com/texas. Any Respondent in doubt as to the true meaning of any part of the RFQ or other documents may request an interpretation from the Purchasing Agent. At the request of the Respondent, or in the event the Purchasing Agent deems the interpretation to be substantive, the interpretation will be made by written addendum issued by the Purchasing Agent. Such addendum will be attached to the original RFQ at sara-tx.org under About SARA then Contracting Opportunities and in the Texas Purchasing Group file and will become part of the RFQ package having the same binding effect as provisions of the original RFQ. It shall be the Respondent(s)’s responsibility to ensure that they have received all Addenda in respect to this RFQ. Furthermore, Respondents are advised that they must recognize, comply with each Addendum. Respondent(s)’s signature on Addenda shall be interpreted as the Respondent’s recognition and compliance to official changes as outlined by SARA and as such are made part of the original RFQ documents. Failure of any Respondent to receive any such addendum or interpretation shall not relieve such Respondent from its terms and requirements. Addendums are available online at sara-tx.org under About SARA then Contracting Opportunities and at Texas Purchasing Group website at www.bidnetdirect.com. No verbal explanations or interpretations will be binding. SARA does not assume responsibility for the receipt of any addendum sent to Respondents.

10. SUBMITTAL INSTRUCTIONS

Respondent shall submit one (1) original signed document and (2) two copies. The original shall be clearly marked. In addition, the submittal shall be provided electronically on a USB drive. Statements of Qualifications must be received, in a sealed envelope, at the San Antonio River Authority Main Office no later than published date and time on the cover sheet at the address below. Submittals sent by facsimile or email will not be accepted. Any submittal or modification received after this time shall not be considered, and will be returned, unopened to the Respondent. Respondents should strive for early submission to avoid the possibility of rejection for late arrival.

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Address: San Antonio River AuthorityAttn: Purchasing Solicitation # 00140100 E. GuentherSan Antonio, Texas 78204

Each respondent is responsible for taking the necessary steps to ensure their submission is received by the date and time noted herein. SARA is not responsible for missing, lost or late mail or any mail delays, internal or external, that may result in the submission arriving after the set time.

All submissions shall be opened in a manner that avoids disclosure of the contents to competing respondents and keeps the responses secret during negotiations. A public opening will not be conducted with this process.

11. SUBMISSION FORMAT

Each submittal shall be typewritten, single spaced and submitted on 8 ½” x 11” white paper. Font size shall be no less than 12-point type and be in full color. All pages shall be numbered and should be printed two-sided. Margins shall be no less than 1” around the perimeter of each page. Submittals shall be no longer than 80 pages. Websites or URLs shall not be submitted in lieu of the printed submittal or electronic submission.

Each submittal must include the sections and attachments in the sequence listed below, and each section and attachment must be indexed and divided by tabs and indexed in a Table of Contents page. If Respondent is proposing as a team, provide the same information for each member of the team. The electronic submittal should be submitted in Adobe PDF and excel, with each separate section attached as a separate file.

Submission shall be in the following order:

A. COVER SHEET: including solicitation number and name, firm name, address, contact phone, fax, website and email address.

B. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The summary shall be no more than two (2) pages and include a statement of the work to be accomplished, how consultant proposes to accomplish and perform each specific service and unique problems perceived by consultant and their solutions.

C. SOLICITATION PACKET ATTACHMENTS:

Attachment A – Business QuestionnaireAttachment B – Submission Exceptions/Clarifications FormAttachment C – ReferencesAttachment D – Conflict of Interest FormAttachment E – Small, Women, Hubzone, Disadvantage Business Form

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Attachment F – Acknowledgment

D. TRANSITION PLAN/PROCESS: A detailed description of the process it intends to use to leverage/migrate existing model geometry from SARA FEMA floodplain and/or FloodWorks/ICM models into the proposed modeling environment.

E. IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE

F. SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENT (SLA)

Include the proposed service level agreement (SLA), which will include performance measurement tables for system performance, problem response times, and help desk calls. The SLA should be provided electronically in word format as well as hard copy.

G. EXPERIENCE AND RESOURCES

1. Background of respondent and support personnel, including professional qualifications and length of time working in respondent’s capacity. Include résumés of key personnel for services that respondent proposes to perform including relevant experience of respondent as it relates to the scope of services contemplated by the RFQ. Include an organization chart of the proposed team and attach copy of certifications, licenses or supporting documents of key personnel.

2. Specific experience with public entity clients, especially large municipalities. If respondent has provided services for SARA in the past, identify the name of the project and the department for which respondent provided those services. If respondent is proposing as a team or joint venture, provide the same information for each member of the team or joint venture.

3. Other resources, including total number of employees, number and location of offices, legislative and administrative tracking services, number and types of equipment available to support this project.

4. If respondent has had experience in working as a member of a joint venture or team, describe that experience, including the type of project for which the joint venture or team was formed.

12. PREPARATION OF RESPONSE

Responses MUST give full firm name and address of respondent, and be manually signed in the Acknowledgment, Attachment F. Failure to do so will disqualify your submittal. The person signing the response must show title or AUTHORITY TO BIND FIRM IN A CONTRACT. Firm name and authorized signature must appear on each page that calls for this information. The legal status of the Respondent whether corporation,

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partnership, or individual, shall also be stated in the submittal. A corporation shall execute the submittal by its duly authorized officers in accordance with its corporate by-laws and shall also list the state in which it is incorporated. A partnership Respondent shall give full names and business addresses of all partners. All partners shall execute the submittal. Partnership and Individual Respondent shall state in the submittal the names and addresses of all persons with a vested interest therein. The place of residence of each respondent, or the office address in the case of a firm or company, with county and state and telephone number, shall be given after the signature. Any costs associated with assembling this submittal will be at the sole expense of the respondent.

13. WITHDRAWAL

Responses may be withdrawn prior to the due date for submission. Written notice of withdrawal shall be provided to the Purchasing Agent. No response may be withdrawn after opening time without reasonable exception in writing and only after approval by SARA.

14. TIME ALLOWED FOR ACTION TAKEN

SARA may hold response responses 120 days after submittal deadline without taking action. Respondents are required to hold their Responses, including pricing, firm for same period of time.

15. ALTERATIONS/AMENDMENTS TO RESPONSES

Responses CANNOT be altered or amended after the opening deadline. Alterations made before opening time must be initialed by respondent guaranteeing authenticity. 16. INTERPRETATIONS

Any questions concerning the requirements or scope of work with regards to this RFQ shall be directed to the designated individuals as outlined herein. Such interpretations, which may affect the eventual outcome of this solicitation for Responses, shall be furnished in writing to all prospective respondents via Addendum. No interpretation shall be considered binding unless provided in writing by SARA in accordance with paragraph entitled “Addenda and Modifications”.

17. EVALUATION PROCEDURES

SARA’s selection committee will conduct a comprehensive, fair and impartial evaluation of all submittals received. Each submittal will be analyzed to determine overall responsiveness and qualifications. SARA Purchasing Department reserves the right to contact any responder, at any time, to clarify, verify or request information with regard to any response. The evaluation process consists of three steps:

Step 1: SARA will evaluate the submittal in accordance with the selection criteria and will rank the firms on the basis of the submittals. SARA may elect to conduct

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oral discussions, request clarifications, and presentations concerning the project approach and ability to furnish the requirements during the evaluation process, and rescore submittals based upon the interviews/presentations. SARA reserves the right to consider information obtained in addition to the data submitted in the response. The selection criterion is listed below:

a) Proposed Solution (FACTOR: 40%)

Responsiveness to, and understanding of, the design objectives and requirements. Sophistication of the technology and handling of data streams. Understanding of open-source data and ability to meet the technical requirements.

b) Experience and qualifications of the Respondent (FACTOR: 40%).

Ability to demonstrate experience with implementation of live data streams in an operational analysis environment. Experience with clients who implemented different data streams and analysis. Live demonstration of proposed software solution.

The qualifications of the respondent in terms of experience, service capability and resources will be reviewed in order to assess the ability of the respondent to successfully complete the project assignment. The firm’s ability to provide the necessary professional and technical expertise and supervision will be a major consideration.

The qualifications and experience of the individuals who will be directly assigned to the primary areas is a major evaluation factor to be considered. The personnel cited shall be designated as to whether they are an employee, consultant or contract employee of the RFQ respondent. Their educational and professional credentials as well as direct experience on similar projects will be considered in evaluating the respondent. Experience with other government funded projects and familiarity with River Authority requirements and procedures will also be considered in the evaluation process.

c) Schedule presented for the proposed solution and defined in the scope of work (FACTOR: 10%).

Proposed schedule for competition of the scope of work.

d) Small, Minority, Woman Owned and HUB (FACTOR: 5%).

Preference will be given to proposals that are otherwise equal to a certified Small, Minority, Woman-Owned or HUB Business Enterprise (SMWBE). When a proposal is received from a multi-party team, either with a prime respondent or a joint venture, SMWBE status will be based on the status of the prime members of the team.

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e) Local Understanding (FACTOR: 5%).

Preference will be given to proposals where the individuals and/or firms whose understand the local flooding requirements/issues within SARA’s jurisdictional boundary (Bexar, Wilson, Karnes and Goliad counties). Firms shall demonstrate their understanding and presence in the market.

Step 2: Upon final evaluation and scoring, SARA will proceed to negotiate a contract with the highest ranked firm.

Provided the SARA cannot successfully contract with the highest ranked firm, the SARA shall formally, and in writing, end all negotiations with that firm and the SARA may elect to proceed to negotiate with the next firm in the order of the selection ranking until a contract is reached or negotiations with all ranked firms end, in accordance with Texas Government Code 2254.

Step 3: A written recommendation will be presented to the appropriate approving authority for SARA (the General Manager or Board of Directors) requesting authorization to proceed with contract execution for the proposed goods/services.

18. RIGHT TO REJECT/ AWARD

SARA reserves the right to reject any or all Responses, to waive any or all formalities or technicalities, and to make such awards of contract(s) as may be deemed to be in the best interest and most advantageous to SARA, considering the relative importance and other evaluation factors specified herein.

19. RESTRICTIONS ON COMMUNICATION

Respondent(s) are prohibited from communicating with: 1) SARA Board of Directors and SARA staff regarding the RFQ or submittals from the time the RFQ has been released until the contract is posted as a Board agenda item; and 2) SARA employees from the time the RFQ has been released until the contract is awarded. These restrictions extend to “thank you” letters, phone calls, emails and any contact that results in the direct or indirect discussion of the RFQ and/or submittal by Respondent. Violation of this provision by Respondent and/or its agent may lead to disqualification of respondent’s submittal from consideration.

Exceptions to the restrictions on communication with SARA employees include:

A. Respondents may ask verbal questions concerning this RFQ at the Pre-Submittal Conference (if applicable) or submit clarification requests pursuant to Section entitled: CLARIFICATION OF REQUIREMENTS AND QUESTIONS

B. Respondents may provide responses to questions asked of them by the Purchasing Agent after submittals are received and opened. The Purchasing Agent may

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request clarification to assist in evaluating Respondent’s Response. The information provided is not intended to change the Response in any fashion. Such additional information must be provided within two (2) business days from SARA’s request. Respondents may also respond to requests by the Purchasing Agent for best and final offers, which do allow Respondents to change their Response. Requests for best and final offers will be clearly designated as such.

Respondents shall direct all inquiries and communications concerning this solicitation to the Point of Contact(s) listed below:

Karen SmithPurchasing Officer(210) [email protected]

20. INVITATION FOR RESPONSES PREPARATION COSTS

Issuance of this RFQ does not commit SARA, in any way, to pay any costs incurred in the preparation and submission of a response. All costs related to the preparation and submission of this RFQ shall be borne by the respondent.

21. ANTI-LOBBYING PROVISION

During the period between RFQ submission date and the contract award, Respondents, including their agents and representatives, shall not directly discuss or promote their response with any member of the Board of Directors or SARA staff except in the course of SARA-sponsored inquiries, briefings, interviews, or presentations. Violation of this provision may result in the rejection of the respondent's response and disqualification from future consideration of a similar RFQ.

22. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION & SECURITY

Any information deemed to be confidential by the respondent should be clearly annotated on the pages where confidential information is contained. SARA cannot guarantee that it will not be required to disclose all or part of any public record under Texas Public Information Act, since information deemed to be confidential by the responder may not be confidential under Texas Law, or pursuant to a Court order. See Attachment E.

Should the successful respondent be awarded a contract and become the holder of, and have access to, confidential information, (in the process of fulfilling its responsibilities in connection with the contract), the successful respondent agrees that it shall keep such information confidential and will comply fully with the laws and regulations of the State of Texas, ordinances and regulations of SARA, and any applicable federal laws and regulations relating to confidentiality.

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23. TRANSITION PLAN/PROCESS

A detailed description of the process it intends to use to leverage/migrate existing model geometry from SARA FEMA floodplain and/or FloodWorks/ICM models into the proposed modeling environment.

24. IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE

Include a detailed timeline for implementation with specific milestones for completion of major tasks. Provide the number of calendar days to complete the project from issuance of the notice to proceed to project completion.

25. BUSINESS OVERVIEW

Respondent shall complete the Business Overview Questionnaire as applicable per Attachment A.

26. DEVIATION FROM SPECIFICATION/ REQUIREMENTS

Please read the requirements thoroughly and be sure that your response complies with all requirements/specifications noted. Any variation from the solicitation requirements/ specifications must be clearly indicated in Attachment B, on a point-by-point basis, attached to and made a part of your response. If no exceptions are noted, and you are the successful respondent, SARA will require that the good/service(s) be provided as specified.

Respondents shall itemize all exceptions on Attachment B. Additional pages may be added as necessary. Do not mark or change the text of the solicitation document, exceptions shall be noted only on Attachment B.

27. CONFLICT OF INTEREST – ATTACHMENT D

Chapter 176 of the Texas Local Government Code requires that any vendor or person considering doing business with a local government entity must disclose in the Questionnaire Form CIQ, the vendor or person’s affiliation or business relationship that might cause a conflict of interest with a local government entity. This questionnaire must be filed, by law, with SARA no later than the 7th business day after the date the person becomes aware of facts that require the statement be filed. See Section 176.006, Local Government Code. A person commits an offense if the person violates Section 176.006, Local Government Code. An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor. For more information or to obtain the Questionnaire CIQ, go to the Texas Ethics Commission web page at www.ethics.state.tx.us/forms/CIQ.pdf.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT COMPLIANCE, PLEASE CONSULT YOUR OWN LEGAL COUNSEL. COMPLIANCE IS THE INDIVIDUAL

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RESPONSIBILITY OF EACH PERSON OR AGENT OF A PERSON WHO IS SUBJECT TO THE FILING REQUIREMENT. AN OFFENSE UNDER CHAPTER 176 IS A CLASS C MISDEMEANOR.

28. SMALL, WOMEN HUBZONE, DISADVANTAGED BUSINESSES – ATTACHMENT E

The San Antonio River Authority encourages Small, Women Owned, HUBZONE and disadvantaged businesses. A preference may be granted to such businesses, using the size regulations as set forth on the Small Business Association’s website, http://www.sba.gov/size/. Businesses must be at least 51% minority-owned, woman-owned, veteran owned, or service disabled veteran owned for designation to apply. Historically Underutilized Businesses or Disadvantaged Business Entities must be certified by state or regional agency for these designations to apply.

29. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT - ATTACHMENT F

Submit a signed acknowledgement by authorized agent of the responding firm.

30. CONTRACT

The successful respondent will be required to execute a contract using SARA’s standard terms and conditions. A copy is available upon request.

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Part II –STATEMENT OF WORK

1. BACKGROUND

SARA currently operates a predictive flood modeling system (System) that covers the Upper San Antonio River, Leon Creek, Salado Creek, Medio Creek, Martinez Creek and portions of the Medina River watersheds in Bexar County. The current System was constructed in FloodWorks 16.5. The System constantly monitors availability of new data and automatically downloads the latest rainfall estimates retrieved from the Austin/San Antonio National Weather Service Forecast Office NEXRAD radar. The System currently has the capability to accept predicted rainfall depths by distributing forecast rainfall depth onto a set of pre-defined temporal hyetographs. The System calculates mean areal precipitation, soil moisture, streamflow, water surface elevations, and maps floodplains every model run. The System is divided into three computational networks. Each system network run takes less than 15 minutes, on average. The system has run full-time since July, 2011.

The System is currently represented by two stand-alone software applications, the FloodWorks Server and the FloodWorks Event Manager. The FloodWorks Server contains the model configuration and input data. The Event Manager processes operator interactions with the simulation model. The second application is a custom-built web interface that provides external customers access to a limited sub-set of the FloodWorks model results dataset. The web interface is a GIS-enabled mapping application that displays the model’s forecast points and indicates the current and/or predicted response status. The end-user can access static charts of flow, stage, and velocity and static maps of inundation centered on the particular forecast point.

2. PROJECT MOTIVATION

SARA is seeking to modernize its predictive flood modeling system (System) to leverage updated stream models available to SARA, upgrade its graphical user interface (Interface) to display information available from the City and County low water crossing sensors, and integrate flood-related data flowing out of crowd-source applications and technologies rising out of the City of San Antonio Smart City initiative.

It is expected that that the modernized predictive modeling system will provide a higher level of situational awareness to SARA and its Bexar Regional Watershed Management (BRWM) partner agencies by presenting a Common Operating Picture (COP) of weather-related issues during heavy rain events. A higher level of situational awareness will give SARA’s BRWM partners advantages in documenting impacts and managing response resources and personnel during heavy rain/flood events and more frequent, smaller events that impact partner operations.

3. DESIGN OBJECTIVES

A. The System should be able to automatically ingest available rain and stream level gauges from multiple networks, National Weather Service radar precipitation

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estimates or gauge-adjusted radar data, forecast model precipitation data and available digital quantitative precipitation forecast (QPF) data for routine forecasting applications.

B. The System simulation model should leverage/ingest available SARA model geometry to construct a domain to provide near-real-time continuous simulation of hydrologic and hydraulic processes of all watersheds covering the Bexar County modeling domain. The domain may be subdivided into sub-domains for numerical efficiency. Each sub-domain should produce model results every 15-minutes using the latest available input data. The System modeling environment and Interface must also be readily expandable to watersheds outside Bexar County in the future.

C. System models must be able to simulate hydraulic structures such as the San Antonio River Tunnel, San Pedro Creek Tunnel and Olmos Dam.

D. System models must account for ambient soil moisture conditions and evapotranspiration rates for the Bexar County, Texas area

E. System models must be calibrated to existing USGS full-range rating stations, where available.

F. The System should maintain its current ability to manually add forecast precipitation to facilitate “what-if” analyses when forecast model precipitation input is not representing the situation well.

G. The System must include a desktop modeling application available for model calibration and model updates and must present an option for SARA staff to develop or update the models. The desktop user application must have a seamless interface to import any data sets used by the System for testing purposes.

H. The System Interface should be able to be configured to ingest flood-related data from any georeferenced data stream the end-users feel provides actionable information during flood events.

I. The Interface should include end-user tools to set alert thresholds of parameter exceedance for visual flood alert notification and store rule information for future retrieval. The rule development tools must be independent of, but interactive with, the underlying System simulation model. At a minimum, rules should be available for flow, depth, and velocity. Alert rules should be configurable anywhere within the computational domain, where model results exist.

J. The System should include end-user tools to generate/manage alert email and text messages based on alert rules described in item 3.9

K. Charts of model data should also be available anywhere within the model domain where model results exist. If the model results data is co-located with sensor gauges, charts should be show the measured and modeled parameters for comparison/verification.

L. The System should be able to map current and forecast flood inundation for every model run.

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M. The System should have a map-based Interface that serves as a COP for flood analysis and prediction information. The map source should be a commonly used platform used for mapping purposes to ensure data interchangeability with other data platforms, should that be desired in the future. The map interface should have pan and zoom functionality. All flood mapping should be exportable.

N. The System should be able to provide estimates of anticipated structure flooding (roadways and buildings) with anticipated depth of flooding.

O. The Interface should be able to display the time of occurrence or the time a threshold value was reached. Example: the map should be able to display the location, time, and description of a flood report received by the 311 system as an icon on a map with a received date and time associated with it.

P. If the software resides on a server not under the direct control of SARA, the vendor must ensure the security of the server to prevent data breach or malicious control of the software environment.

Q. Routine system maintenance will be required to keep the software running without interruption for the first year.

R. All data generated through the execution of the contract will remain the property of SARA.

S. Examples of desired data, if available, that could be ingested and visually represented/exported by the Interface:

1. City/County Fire Department dispatch reports for flooding

2. Flood reports from City of San Antonio 311 system3. Twitter feeds pertaining to flooding

4. Radar reflectivity from National Weather Service

5. Rain gauge information from the City of San Antonio (CoSA), Bexar County (BCO), San Antonio River Authority (SARA), Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA), National Weather Service (NWS), and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

6. Low water crossing status from Bexarflood.org

7. The System should be able to determine and display a percent to “next threshold value reached” table for the following:

8. Rainfall depth-duration-frequency

9. Low water crossing closure

10. Stream gauge depth/heights

11. The System should be capable of storing simulation data for a storm event “replay” for after-action review and training.

12. The System must be constructed with software that is able to run in a virtual computing environment, either locally or in “the cloud.” Proposals that include license management hardware/dongles will not be considered.

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13. The System should be able to produce a draft, editable post-event report containing pertinent storm data/results that were process through the system.

14. The Interface should have tools to manage end-user access permissions and track the usage statistics of each registered user.

4. TECHNOLOGY REQUIREMENTS

A. Required Project Policies, Guidelines and Methodologies

The Respondent shall be required to comply with all applicable laws, regulations, policies, standards and guidelines affecting information technology projects, which may be created or changed periodically. It is the responsibility of the Respondent to ensure adherence and to remain abreast of new or revised laws, regulations, policies, standards and guidelines affecting project execution. B. Certifications of Staff

Any IT services personnel provided under this solicitation shall maintain any required professional certifications for the duration of the resulting Contract.

C. Transition-Out Requirements

1. During the transition-out period, the Respondent will continue to be paid Monthly Charges as set forth in the contract. The price of any reasonable transition services, not included in normal Monthly Charges, shall be negotiated as required at rates not to exceed the labor rates set forth in the final executed contract..

2. The Respondent shall support end-of-contract transition efforts with technical and project support to include but not be limited to:

a. Provide transition services for up to 60 days prior to contract end, consisting of:

i. 30 day processing with Respondent as the back up to the successor contractor

ii. Provide additional services and/or support as requested to successfully complete the transition

iii. Provide sufficient experienced personnel during this transition period to ensure an efficient and smooth transition. Guarantee that the services called for by the Contract are maintained at the required level of proficiency and during the transition period.

b. Updated System Documentation and all other System Source Materials

c. Current Operating Procedures

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D. Export, Backup, Disaster Recover (DR)

1. Export/Import

The solution shall provide to SARA the ability to export data at will. If proposed solution provides SARA the ability to export data, access and instructions shall be provided. If the respondent intends to perform export data on SARA’s behalf, the respondent must perform an export of data that comply with the periodicity required by SARA. This will be define at the time of negotiation and / or once the contract comes into effect. The extracted information should be deposited in a container that is easily accessible for the use of data integration automation tools, such as SQL Server Integration Services, in an appropriate format.

2. Backup

a. The Respondent shall provide backups of the configuration and data on a regular basis as a Contract option. Respondent shall describe backup services offered, and shall offer pricing for this option in the Price Sheet (Exhibit 1).

b. The Respondent shall meet the Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and Recovery Point Objective (RPO) metrics defined in final contracted Service Level Agreement.

3. Disaster Recovery

The Respondent must maintain or cause to be maintained disaster avoidance procedures designed to safeguard SARA data and confidential information, Respondent’s processing capability and the availability of hosted services.

a. System shall come back online within 2 hours.

b. System shall be restored with less than 1 hours’ loss of data.

c. Respondent shall describe in its Proposal its disaster recovery approach, including an explanation how the data will be recoverable.

E. Respondent Supplied Hardware, Software, and Materials

1. SaaS applications shall be accessible from various client devices through a thin client interface such as a Web browser (e.g., Web-based email) or a program interface.

2. SARA shall be permitted limited user-specific application configuration settings.

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3. The Respondent is responsible for the acquisition and operation of all hardware, software and network support related to the services being provided, and shall keep all software current.

4. All Upgrades and Regulatory Updates shall be provided at no additional cost.

F. Custom Software

1. SARA shall solely own any custom software, including, but not limited to application modules developed to integrate with a commercial-off-the-shelf software, source-codes, maintenance updates, documentation, and configuration files, when developed under this Contract.

2. Upon a Respondent's voluntary or involuntary filing of bankruptcy or any other insolvency proceeding, Respondent’s dissolution, Respondent’s discontinuance of support of any software or system, the Respondent shall convey to SARA all rights, title, and interests in all custom software, licenses, software source codes, and all associated Software Source Code Documentation that comprises any solutions proposed as a part of the Master Contract or Contract These rights include, but are not limited to, the rights to use, and cause others to use on behalf of SARA, said software, software documentation, licenses, software source codes, and Software Source Code Documentation.

G. Custom Source Code

1. For all custom software provided to SARA pursuant to any Contract, the Respondent shall either provide the source code directly to SARA in a form acceptable to SARA, or deliver two copies of each software source code and software source code documentation to a SARA-approved escrow agent at no additional cost to SARA following the terms set forth in contract.

2. SARA shall have the right to audit custom software source code and corresponding software source code documentation for each software product that comprises the solution as represented by the Respondent. This audit shall be scheduled at any time that is convenient for the parties to be present. SARA shall be provided with software or other tools required to view all software source code.

3. The Respondent shall provide the current source code and documentation for all custom software to SARA at the time of Contract termination.

H. Data

1. Data, databases and derived data products created, collected, manipulated, or directly purchased as part of the solicitation shall become the property of SARA. SARA the custodian of the data and shall determine the use, access, distribution and other conditions based on appropriate statutes and regulations.

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2. Licensed and/or copyrighted data shall be governed by the terms and conditions identified in the Contract or the license.

I. Respondent Responsibilities

The Respondent shall provide staffing and resources to fully supply the following services as identified: 1. Help Desk 2. Technical Support Services3. Backup and Recovery services

J. Functional/Business Requirements

All updates and enhancements to the software must be tested and verified before implementation.

K. Reporting

The Respondent shall submit the following reports in the form required and at the frequency specified below as part of satisfactory performance under the Contract.

Monthly progress reports of development

5. SECURITY REQUIREMENTS

A. The Respondent agrees that it and Respondent Personnel shall (i) abide by all applicable federal, State and local laws, rules and regulations concerning Security of Information Systems and Information Technology security and (ii) comply with and adhere to SARA IT Security Policy and Standards as each may be amended or revised from time to time.

B. SARA shall, at its discretion, have the right to review and assess the Respondent’s compliance to the security requirements and standards defined in the Contract.

C. Access to Security Logs and Reports -The Respondent shall provide reports to SARA in a mutually agreeable format. Reports shall include latency statistics, user access, user access IP address, user access history and security logs for all SARA files related to this Contract.

6. WORK HOURS

A. Business Hours Support: The collective assigned Respondent Personnel shall support core business hours (8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, CST), Monday through Friday except for SARA holidays. Respondent personnel may also be required to provide occasional support outside of core business hours, including evenings,

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overnight, and weekends, to support: specific efforts and emergencies to resolve system repair or restoration.

B. Non-Business Hours Support: After hours support may be necessary to respond to IT Security emergency situations. Additionally, services may also involve some evening and/or weekend hours performing planned activities in addition to core business hours. Hours performing activities would be billed on actual time worked at the rates proposed.

7. PROBLEM ESCALATION PROCEDURE

A. The Respondent must provide and maintain a Problem Escalation Procedure (PEP) for both routine and emergency situations. The PEP must state how the Respondent will address problem situations as they occur during the performance of the Contract, especially problems that are not resolved to the satisfaction of SARA within appropriate timeframes.

B. The Respondent shall provide contact information to the Contract Officer, as well as to other SARA personnel, as directed should the Contract Officer not be available.

C. The Respondent must provide the PEP no later than ten (10) Business Days after notice of recommended award. The PEP, including any revisions thereto, must also be provided within ten (10) Business Days after the start of each Contract year and within ten (10) Business Days after any change in circumstance which changes the PEP. The PEP shall detail how problems with work under the Contract will be escalated in order to resolve any issues in a timely manner. The PEP shall include:

1. The process for establishing the existence of a problem;2. The maximum duration that a problem may remain unresolved at each level in

the Respondent’s organization before automatically escalating the problem to a higher level for resolution;

3. Circumstances in which the escalation will occur in less than the normal timeframe;

4. The nature of feedback on resolution progress, including the frequency of feedback to be provided to SARA;

5. Identification of, and contact information for, progressively higher levels of personnel in the Respondent’s organization who would become involved in resolving a problem;

6. Contact information for persons responsible for resolving issues after normal business hours (e.g., evenings, weekends, holidays) and on an emergency basis; and

7. A process for updating and notifying the Contract Officer of any changes to the PEP.

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D. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit any rights of the Contract Officer or SARA which may be allowed by the Contract or applicable law.

8. SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENT (SLA)

Respondent should provide a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with their submittal as outlined in Part 1, Section 11, Submission Format. The SLA should be provided electronically in word format as well as hard copy.

A. SLA Effective Date (SLA Activation Date)

SLAs set forth herein shall be in effect beginning with the commencement of monthly services as of the completion of the implementation. TO Respondent shall be responsible for complying with all performance measurements, and shall also ensure compliance by all Subcontractors. Beginning on the SLA Activation Date, for any performance measurement not met during the monthly reporting period, the SLA credit for that individual measurement shall be applied to the Monthly Charges.

B. Service Level Reporting

The Respondent shall provide detailed monthly reports evidencing the attained level for each SLA set forth herein. Monthly reports shall be available at an agreed upon time frame each month.

The Contract Manager or designee will monitor and review Respondent performance standards on a monthly basis, based on Respondent-provided reports for this Contract. The Respondent shall provide a monthly summary report for SLA performance via e-mail to the Contract Manager.If any of the performance measurements are not met during the monthly reporting period, the Contract Manager or designee will notify the Respondent of the standard that is not in compliance.

C. Root Cause Analysis

If the same SLA measurement yields an SLA credit more than once, the Respondent shall conduct a root cause analysis. Such root cause analysis shall be provided within 30 days of the second breach, and every breach thereafter.

9. DELIVERABLES

A. Deliverable Submission

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1. For every deliverable, the Respondent shall request the Contract Officer/Project Manager confirm receipt of that deliverable by sending an e-mail identifying the deliverable name and date of receipt.

2. For every deliverable, the Respondent shall submit by e-mail an Agency Deliverable Product Acceptance Form (DPAF), to be provided to the awarded firm, to the Contract Officer in MS Word (2007 or greater).

3. Unless specified otherwise, written deliverables shall be compatible with Microsoft Office, Microsoft Project and/or Microsoft Visio versions 2007 or later. At the Contract Officer’s discretion, the Contract Officer may request one hard copy of a written deliverable.

4. A standard deliverable review cycle will be elaborated and agreed-upon between SARA and the Respondent. This review process is entered into when the Respondent completes a deliverable.

B. Deliverables Required

1. Fully function predictive modeling system2. Development process documentation3. Users Manuals4. Training – minimum of four (4) hour onsite session, with video training

session available throughout contract period. 5. Maintenance support schedule- minimum three (3), one (1) year terms.

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Part III –TERMS AND CONDITIONS

1. DELIVERY OF GOODS

Delivery of materials shall be F.O.B. Destination, to a location outlined in the specifications, OR by mutual agreement between the parties OR unless stated otherwise to 100 East Guenther, San Antonio, Texas 78204. Any action necessary to expedite replacement of equipment or materials delivered in an unacceptable condition shall be the sole responsibility of the Responder.

The Responder expressly covenants and agrees that in undertaking to complete the scheduling of deliveries as set forth herein, they have taken into consideration and made allowances for ordinary delays and hindrances incident to such schedules, whether growing out of delays in securing materials or other factors.

Normal delivery hours are: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, except holidays. Delivery to job sites should be prearranged with SARA before delivery attempt is made. Care should be taken to arrange deliveries at those times. The ability to accept deliveries other than those times is extremely limited and not assured.

SARA shall have a reasonable time (but not less than 30 days) after receipt to inspect the goods and services that are tendered by vendor. SARA at its option may reject all or any portion of such goods or services which do not, in SARA’s sole discretion, comply in every respect with all terms and conditions of the contract. SARA may elect to reject the entire goods and services tendered even if only a portion thereof is nonconforming. If SARA elects to accept nonconforming goods and services, SARA, in addition to its other remedies, shall be entitled to deduct a reasonable amount from the price thereof to compensate SARA for the nonconformity. Any acceptance by SARA, even if non-conditional, shall not be deemed a waiver or settlement of any defect in such goods and services.

When delivery is not met as provided for in the contract, the Purchasing Department reserves the right to make the purchase on the open market, with any cost in excess of the contract price paid by the contractor/supplier, in addition to any other damages, direct or consequential, incurred by SARA as a result thereof. In addition, failure of the successful respondent to meet the contract delivery dates will be cause for removal of the from SARA’s list of eligible respondents.

2. INSURANCE

The successful respondent will be required to maintain, at all times during performance of the contract, the insurance detailed below:

Professional Liability $1,000,000/$3,000,000

General Liability (Premises $500,000/$1,000,000

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Operations)

Workers CompensationWC StatutoryEmployers’ Liability - $500,000

Automotive Liability $500,000 Combined Single Limit

SARA shall be named as an additional insured and provide a Waiver of Subrogation in favor of SARA, its officials, agents, employees and volunteers.

3. WARRANTIES

Respondents shall furnish all data pertinent to warranties or guarantees which may apply to items in the response.

The Responder shall warrant that any equipment furnished or work performed shall be free from defects in design, materials, workmanship, and will give successful service under the specified operating conditions. Furthermore, the Responder agrees, upon notice from SARA, to make good all defects in design, materials, or performance developing in the materials or equipment under its intended use for at least twelve (12) months from the date of installation and initial operation, or the manufacturer’s warranty, whichever is greater length of time.

In the event that the equipment must be returned to the factory under warranty, the Responder shall be responsible for delivery charges both to and from the factory.

4. SUBSTITUTIONS/CANCELLATIONS

No substitutions or cancellations are permitted without written approval of SARA.

5. INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR

It is expressly understood and agreed by both parties hereto that SARA is contracting with the successful respondent as an independent contractor. The parties hereto understand and agree that SARA shall not be liable for any claims which may be asserted by any third party occurring in connection with the services to be performed by the successful respondent under this contract and that the successful respondent has no authority to bind SARA.

6. ASSIGNMENT

Respondents are advised that SARA shall not allow the successful respondent to sell, assign, transfer, or convey any part of any contract resulting from this response in whole or in part, to a third party without the written approval of SARA.

7. INDEMNIFICATION CLAUSE

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CONSULTANT covenants and agrees to FULLY INDEMNIFY and HOLD HARMLESS, SARA and the elected officials, employees, officers, directors, volunteers and representatives of SARA, individually or collectively, from and against any and all costs, claims, liens, damages, losses, expenses, fees, fines, penalties, proceedings, actions, demands, causes of action, liability and suits of any kind and nature, including but not limited to, personal or bodily injury, death and property damage, made upon SARA directly or indirectly arising out of, resulting from or related to Consultant’s activities under this SUBMITTAL, including any acts or omissions or negligence of CONSULTANT, any agent, officer, director, representative, employee, consultant or subcontractor of CONSULTANT, and their respective officers, agents, employees, directors and representatives while in the exercise of performance of the rights or duties under this SUBMITTAL, all without however, waiving any governmental immunity available to SARA under Texas Law and without waiving any defenses of the parties under Texas Law. IT IS FURTHER COVENANTED AND AGREED THAT SUCH INDEMNITY SHALL APPLY EVEN WHERE SUCH COSTS, CLAIMS, LIENS, DAMAGES, LOSSES, EXPENSES, FEES, FINES, PENALTIES, ACTIONS, DEMANDS, CAUSES OF ACTION, LIABILITY AND/OR SUITS ARISE IN ANY PART FROM THE NEGLIGENCE OF RIVER AUTHORITY, THE ELECTED OFFICIALS, EMPLOYEES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS AND REPRESENTATIVES OF RIVER AUTHORITY, UNDER THIS AGREEMENT. The provisions of this INDEMNITY are solely for the benefit of the parties hereto and not intended to create or grant any rights, contractual or otherwise, to any other person or entity. CONSULTANT shall advise SARA in writing within 24 hours of any claim or demand against SARA or CONSULTANT known to CONSULTANT related to or arising out of Consultant’s activities under this SUBMITTAL and shall see to the investigation and defense of such claim or demand at Consultant’s cost. SARA shall have the right, at its option and at its own expense, to participate in such defense without relieving CONSULTANT of any of its obligations under this paragraph. It is the express intent of the parties to this AGREEMENT, that the indemnity provided for in this section, is an indemnity extended by CONSULTANT to indemnify, protect and hold harmless, RIVER AUTHORITY, from the consequences of RIVER AUTHORITY’S own negligence. CONSULTANT further agrees to defend, at its own expense and own behalf of and in the name of RIVER AUTHORITY, any claim or litigation brought against RIVER AUTHORITY and its elected officials, employees, officers, directors, volunteers and representatives, in connection with any such injury, death or damage for which this indemnity shall apply, as set forth above.

8. FORCE MAJEURE

If either party shall be wholly or partially prevented from the performance of any contractual obligation or duty by reason of or through strikes, stoppage of labor, riot, fire, flood, acts of war, insurrection, accident, order of any court, act of God, or specific cause reasonably beyond the party's control and not attributable to its neglect or nonfeasance, in such event, the time for the performance of such obligation or duty shall be suspended

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until such disability to perform is removed. Determination of Force Majeure shall rest solely with SARA.

9. JURISDICTION

Contract(s) executed as part of this solicitation shall be subject to and governed under the laws of the State of Texas. Any and all obligations and payments are due and payable in Bexar County, Texas.

10. VENUE

The parties agree that venue for purposes of any and all lawsuits, cause of action, arbitration, and/or any other dispute(s) shall be in Bexar County, Texas.

11. COMPLIANCE WITH ALL STATE, FEDERAL, AND LOCAL LAWS

The respondent shall comply with all State, Federal, and Local laws and requirements. The respondent must comply with all applicable laws at all times, including, without limitation, the following: (i) §36.02 of the Texas Penal Code, which prohibits bribery; (ii) §36.09 of the Texas Penal Code, which prohibits the offering or conferring of benefits to public servants. The respondent shall give all notices and comply with all laws and regulations applicable to furnishing and performance of the Contract.

12. RESPONDENT’S EMPLOYEES

Neither the Respondent nor his/her employees engaged in fulfilling the terms and conditions of any awarded contract shall be employees of SARA. The method and manner of performance of such undertakings shall be under the exclusive control of the respondent on contract. SARA shall have the right of inspection of said undertakings at any time.

13. VERBAL THREATS

Any threats made to any employee of SARA, be it verbal or written, to discontinue the providing of item/material/services for whatever reason and/or reasons shall be considered a breach of contract and SARA may immediately sever the contract with the successful respondent.

14. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

Respondent agrees that it will not discriminate in hiring, promotion, treatment, or other terms and conditions of employment based on race, sex, national origin, age, disability, or in any way violate Title VII of 1964 Civil Rights Act and amendments, except as permitted by said laws.

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15. CERTIFICATE OF INTERESTED PARTIES

Effective January 1, 2016, pursuant to House Bill 1295 passed by the 84th Texas Legislature (Section 2252.908, Texas Government Code, as amended) and formal rules released by the Texas Ethics Commission (TEC), all contracts with private business entities requiring approval by the SARA Board of Directors, and/or with the amount of the contract being in excess of $1,000,000, will require the on-line completion of Form 1295 "Certificate of Interested Parties." Form 1295 is also required for any and all contract amendments, extensions or renewals. The awarded respondent(s) will be required to complete and file electronically with the Texas Ethics Commission using the online filing application.

Please visit the State of Texas Ethics Commission website, https://www.ethics.state.tx.us/whatsnew/elf_info_form1295.htm and https://www.ethics.state.tx.us/tec/1295-Info.htm for more information.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT COMPLIANCE, PLEASE CONSULT YOUR OWN LEGAL COUNSEL. COMPLIANCE IS THE INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY OF EACH PERSON OR AGENT OF A PERSON WHO IS SUBJECT TO THE FILING REQUIREMENT.

16. NO BOYCOTTING ISRAEL VERIFICATION

Contractor agrees that it does not boycott Israel and will not do so during the term of this Agreement. This provision is in compliance with §2270.001 of the Texas Government Code. The Water System agrees to comply with the United States and Texas Constitutions in consideration of whether to enforce this provision.

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https://www.ethics.state.tx.us/tec/1295-Info.htm

https://www.ethics.state.tx.us/whatsnew/elf_info_form1295.htm


PART IV - ATTACHMENTS

All Attachments are to be returned with Submittal

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ATTACHMENT A-BUSINESS QUESTIONNAIRE

Provide the following information regarding the Responders.

(NOTE: Co-Responders are two or more entities proposing as a team or joint venture with each signing the contract, if awarded. Sub-contractors are not Co-Responders and should not be identified here. If this submittal includes Co-Responders, provide the required information in this Item #1 for each Co-Responders by copying and inserting an additional block(s) before Item #2.)

1. Contract Information (for formal contracting purposes):

The following information will be used to write a contract, should your firm be selected for award.

1. Firm’s Legal Name:

2. Principal Address:

3. Telephone No.

4. Fax No:

5. Agent Authorized to sign contract (Name):

6. Authorized Agent’s Job Title

7. Authorized Agent’s email address:

2. Provide any other names under which responders have operated within the last 10 years and length of time for each

3. Website address:

4. Organization Class (check ):

Individual or Sole Proprietorship, if checked, list Assumed Name, if any:___________________________________________________________

Partnership Corporation, if checked check one:

For-Profit Nonprofit Domestic Foreign

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5. Federal Employer Identification Number:

6. Texas Comptroller’s Taxpayer Number, if applicable (NOTE: This 11-digit number is sometimes referred to as the Comptroller’s TIN or TID.)

7. DUNS Number:

8. Date Established:

Number of years in business under present name:

9. Provide address of office from which this project would be managed:

Principal Address:

Telephone No.

Fax No:

Total Number of Employees:

Total Number of Current Clients/Customers:

10. Contact Information: List the one person who SARA may contact contract concerning your submittal:

Name

Title

Address:

Telephone No:

Fax No:

Email address:

11. Does your firm anticipate any mergers, transfers or organization ownership or management reorganization within the next twelve (12) months?

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No Yes

12. Is firm authorized and/or licenses to do business in Texas?

No Yes, If yes, list authorizations/licenses:

13. Does the firm have an office located in Bexar County?

No Yes, If yes, respond to “a” and “b” below:

a. How long has the respondent conducted business from it’s Bexar County Office?

b. State the number of full-time employees at the Bexar County office:

14. Has the firm or any of its principals been debarred or suspending from contracting with any public entity?

No Yes, If yes, identify the public entity, contact name and phone number of

representative familiar with the debarment or suspension, and state the reason for or the circumstances surrounding the debarment or suspension, including but not limited to the period of time for such debarment or suspension:

15. Has the firm ever had a bond or surety canceled or forfeited?

No Yes, If yes, state name of bonding company, date, amount of bond, and reason

for cancellation or forfeiture:

16. Has the firm ever been declared bankrupt or filed for protection from creditors under state of federal proceedings:

No Yes, If yes, state the date, court jurisdiction, cause number, amount of liabilities

and amount of assets:

17. Has the firm ever received ever received any disciplinary action, or any pending disciplinary action, from any regulatory bodies or professional organizations? If “Yes”,

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state the name of the regulatory body or professional organization, date and reason for disciplinary or impending disciplinary action:

18. Has the firm ever failed to complete any contract awarded?

No Yes, If yes, state name of the organization contracted with, services/goods

contracted, date, contract amount and reason for failing to complete the contract:

19. Has any officer or partner proposed for this project/contract ever failed to complete a contract handled in her or her own name:

No Yes, If yes, state name of the organization contracted with, services/goods

contracted, date, contract amount and reason for failing to complete the contract:

20. Litigation Disclosure:a. Has the project manager or any member of the firm’s team to be assigned to this

engagement ever been indicted or convicted of a felony of misdemeanor greater than Class C in the last five (5) years?

No Yes

b. Has the project manager or any member of the firm’s team been terminated (for cause or otherwise) from any work being performed by SARA or any other federal, state, or local government, or private entity?

No Yes

c. Has the project manager or any member of the firm’s team been involved in any claim or litigation with SARA or any other federal, state or local government, or private entity during the last ten (10) years?

No Yes

21. Has your company implemented an Employee Health and Safety Program compliant with 29 CFR 1910 “General Industry Standards” and/or 29 CFR 1926 “General Construction Standards” as they apply to your Company’s customary activities?

http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owasrch.search_form?p_doc_type=STANDARDS&p_toc_level=1&p_keyvalue=1926

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22. Resident/Non-Resident Bidder Determination:Texas Government Code Section 2252.002: Non-resident bidders. Texas law prohibits governmental agencies from awarding certain contracts to a non-resident firm unless the amount of such a bid is lower than the lowest bid by a Texas resident by the amount the Texas resident would be required to underbid in the non-resident bidders’ state. In order to make this determination, please provide the name, address and phone number of:

a. Responding firms principle place of business:

b. Company’s majority owner principle place of business:

c. Ultimate Parent Company’s principle place of business:

23. How did your firm learn about this solicitation from the San Antonio River Authority (SARA)?

☐ Newspaper Legal Notice☐ Email notification from the Purchasing Department☐ SARA website: www.sara-tx.org ☐ 3rd Party solicitation service: www.bidnetdirect.com ☐ Plan Room. Please identify plan room☐ Other. If so, please indicate

24. Provide details to support the evaluation criteria, including experience and delivery.

25. Provide details on how firm meets the minimum qualifications stated in Part 1, Section 4.

RFQ 00140

http://www.bidnetdirect.com/

http://www.sara-tx.org/


a. The details must be completed on this form, and shall not point to another document in the respondent’s submittal.

b. Sign below and return form with final submission.

I certify that our firm meets the minimum qualifications as stated in Part 1, Section 4.

_______________________ _____________________ _____________________Signature Company Date

RFQ 00140


ATTACHMENT A-SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE

Please answer the supplemental questions below:

1. How many predictive flood modeling applications have you developed, where are they deployed, and how long have they been in operation?

2. How are alert threshold criteria set in the proposed solution? If they are set in the hydrology and hydraulic simulation model, can the setting functionality be moved to the operational interface?

3. What precipitation forecast products would you intend to integrate into the system and why were they selected?

4. Does the proposed modeling environment explicitly simulate hydraulic structures like the San Antonio River Tunnel, San Pedro Creek Tunnel, Olmos Dam, and NRCS-style dams? If not, describe how the continuous hydrology and hydraulic simulation model accounts for those types of hydraulic structures.

5. Describe the capability of the proposed system’s ability to ingest live data streams for decision support. What are the limitations?

6. How are historical event data stored? What are the data maintenance needs? Are there any limitations to data storage?

7. What level of system monitoring do you propose? Describe your monitoring plan to ensure there are no system outages.

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8. What are the key factors that differentiate your solution from others in the market?

9. If your solution monitors the quality of data stream links, how is that done; i.e., how often is the data gathered? Where is it gathered? What network characteristics are measured? What actions are taken based on this data?

10. Discuss the scalability of your solution. For example, is there is limit on the watershed size or number of sub-domains to maintain a 15-min calculation cycle? If SARA desires to expand beyond Bexar County, are there trigger points (i.e., number of sub-domains, number of users) that would require having to add additional capability?

11. What procedures are in place to ensure secure operations of the proposed systems including, but not limited to, change control and patch management?

12. What functionality does your solution provide to ensure the security of direct Internet access?

13. Please describe the recurring duties and responsibilities and their frequency proposed. For example: virus scans, data back-up, user support, reporting.

14. Please describe the customization and integration services for the required for the proposed solution.

15. Describe the change control process.

16. Please describe how credit will be granted to SARA for failures by respondent to meet SLA requirements and performance standards.

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ATTACHMENT B-SUBMISSION EXCEPTIONS/CLARIFICATIONS

Any exceptions or clarifications taken to this solicitation must be itemized on the lines below. Additional pages may be added as needed. If there are no exceptions or clarifications, please sign where indicated at the bottom of the page.

Item # Description

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

The above exceptions and clarifications (and any additional pages identified) are the ONLY exceptions/clarifications to the specifications. I understand that SARA may not accept additional exceptions produced after final submission of this submittal.


No Exceptions are taken to this solicitation.


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ATTACHMENT C - REFERENCES

Provide three (3) references, that the Respondent has provided goods/services to within the past three (3) years. The contact person named should be familiar with the day-to-day management of the contract and be willing to respond to questions regarding the type, level, and quality of service provided.

REFERENCE ONE

Firm/Company Name:

Contract Person and Title

Address:

Telephone No:

Email:

Scope of Work:

Contract Period:

Annual dollar value of contract:

REFERENCE TWO

Firm/Company Name:


Address:

Telephone No:

Email:

Scope of Work:

Contract Period:


REFERENCE THREE

Firm/Company Name:


Address:

Telephone No:

Email:

Scope of Work:

Contract Period:


ATTACHMENT D- CONFLICT OF INTEREST QUESTIONNAIRE

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CONFLICT OF INTEREST QUESTIONNAIRE - FORM CIQFor vendor or other person doing business with local governmental entityThis questionnaire reflects changes made to the law by H.B. 23, 84th Leg., Regular Session.

This questionnaire is being filed in accordance with Chapter 176, Local Government Code, by a vendor who has a business relationship as defined by Section 176.001(1-a) with a local governmental entity and the vendor meets requirements under Section 176.006(a).

By law this questionnaire must be filed with the records administrator of the local government entity not later than the 7th business day after the date the vendor becomes aware of facts that require the statement to be filed. See Section 176.006(a-1), Local Government Code.

A vendor commits an offense if the vendor knowingly violates Section 176.006, Local Government Code. An offense under this section is a misdemeanor.1 Name of vendor who has a business relationship with local governmental entity.

2 Check this box if you are filing an update to a previously filed questionnaire.

(The law requires that you file an updated completed questionnaire with the appropriate filing authority not later than the 7 th business day after the date on which you became aware that the originally filed questionnaire was incomplete or inaccurate.)

3 Name of local government officer about whom the information in this section is being disclosed.

Name of Officer

This section, (item 3 including subparts A, B, C & D), must be completed for each officer with whom the vendor has an employment or other business relationship as defined by Section 176.001(1-a), Local Government Code. Attach additional pages to this Form CIQ as necessary.

A. Is the local government officer named in this section receiving or likely to receive taxable income, other than investment income, from the vendor?

Yes No

B. Is the vendor receiving or likely to receive taxable income, other than investment income, from or at the direction of the local government officer named in this section AND the taxable income is not received from the local governmental entity?

Yes No

C. Is the filer of this questionnaire employed by a corporation or other business entity with respect to which the local government officer serves as an officer or director, or holds an ownership of one percent or more?

Yes No

D. Describe each employment or business and family relationship with the local government officer named in this section.

4I have no Conflict of Interest to disclose.

5

Signature of vendor doing business with the governmental entity Date

ATTACHMENT E - SMALL, WOMEN HUBZONE, DISADVANTAGED BUSINESSES

RFQ 00140


Please complete the following information, if your business falls into any of the below categories, using the size regulations as set forth on the Small Business Association’s website, http://www.sba.gov/size/. Businesses must be at least 51% minority-owned, woman-owned, veteran owned, or service disabled veteran owned for designation to apply. Historically Underutilized Businesses or Disadvantaged Business Entities must be certified by state or regional agency for these designations to apply.

The River Authority encourages all businesses that fall into the categories listed below to become certified by the South Central Texas Regional Certification Agency. For more information, please contact 210-227-4722 or www.sctrca.org.

Firm Name:

Check all that Apply:

Small Business Entity Small Disadvantaged Business Entity Minority Owned Business Entity Woman Owned Business Entity Veteran Owned Business Entity HUBZone Business Entity Service Disabled Veteran Owned

Business Entity Other _________________________

Is your firm certified by an Agency?

No Yes, if yes, name of agency(ies) certified by:

Check the answer that applies to your organization for the following statements:

o The company and/or its principals are are not presently debarred, suspended, or determined to be ineligible for an award of a contract by a Federal Agency.

o The company and/or its principals comply does not comply with the non-segregated facilities in accordance with FAR 52.222-21.

Under 15 U.S.C. 645(d), any person who misrepresents its size status shall (1) be punished by a fine, imprisonment, or both; (2) be subject to administrative remedies; and (3) be ineligible for participation in programs conducted under the authority of the Small Business Act. As prescribed in FAR 19.301(d), the U.S. Government may impose a penalty against a firm misrepresenting its business size and/or disadvantaged status for the purpose of obtaining a procurement award. The information contained herein is complete and accurate in all details to the best of my knowledge and belief.

__________________________ _________________ ____________ ______Signature of Authorized Official Printed Name Title Date

RFQ 00140


1. The respondent represents that it ____ is, ______ is not a small business concern.

2. Complete only if respondent represents itself as a small business concern in question 1.) The respondent represents that it _______is, _______is not, as small disadvantaged business concern as defined in 13 CFR 124.1002.

3. (Complete only if respondent represents itself as a small disadvantaged business concern in question 2.) The respondent shall check the category in which its ownership falls:

Black American

Hispanic America

Native American (American Indians, Eskimo, Aleuts, or Native Hawaiians)

Asian-Pacific American (persons with origins from Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Japan, China, Taiwan, Laos, Cambodia (Kampuchea), Vietnam, Korea, The Philippines, U.S. Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (Republic of Palau), Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Samoa, Macao, Hong Kong, Fiji, Tonga, Kiribati, Tuvalu, or Nauru).

Subcontinent Asian (Asian-Indian) American (persons with origins from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, the Maldives Islands, or Nepal).

Individual/concern, other than one of the preceding.

4. The respondent represents that it ___is, ___ is not a women-owned small business concern.

5. The respondent represents that it ____ is, ____ is not a veteran-owned small business concern.

6. (Complete only if respondent represents itself as a veteran-owned business concern in question b.5.) The respondent represents that it ____ is, ____ is not a service-disabled veteran-owned small business concern.

7. The respondent represents that:

A. It ____ is, ____ is not a HUBZone small business concern listed, on the date of this representation, on the List of Qualified HUBZone Small Business Concerns maintained by the Small Business Administration, and no material change in ownership and control, principal office, or HUBZone employee percentage has occurred since it was certified by the Small Business Administration in accordance with 13 CFR part 126; and

B. It ____ is, ____ is not a joint venture that complies with the requirements of 13 CFR part 126, and the representation in paragraph (b)(6)(i) of this provision is accurate of the HUBZone small business concern or concerns that are participating in the joint venture. Enter the name or names of the HUBZone small business concern or concerns that are participating in the joint venture: ________________. Each HUBZone small business concern participating in the joint venture shall submit a separate signed copy of the HUBZone representation.

RFQ 00140


ATTACHMENT F -ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The undersigned agrees this submission becomes the property of the San Antonio River Authority (SARA) after the official opening.

The undersigned affirms he has familiarized himself with the specification, drawings, exhibits and other documents; the local conditions under which the work is to be performed; satisfied himself of the conditions of delivery, handling and storage of materials and equipment; and all other matters that will be required for the work before submitting a response.

The undersigned agrees, if this submission is accepted, to furnish any and all items/services upon which prices are offered, at the price(s) and upon the terms and conditions contained in the specification. The period for acceptance of this submission will be 120 calendar days unless a different period is noted.

The undersigned affirms that they are duly authorized to execute this contract, that this submission has not been prepared in collusion with any other respondent, nor any employee of the SARA, and that the contents of this submission have not been communicated to any other respondent or to any employee of the SARA prior to the acceptance of this submission.

Respondent hereby assigns to SARA any and all claims for overcharges associated with this contract which arise under the antitrust laws of the United States, 15 USCA Section 1 et seq ., and which arise under the antitrust laws of the State of Texas, Tex. Bus. & Com. Code, Section 15.01, et seq .

The undersigned affirms that they have read and do understand the specifications, all exhibits and attachments contained in this solicitation package.

The undersigned agrees that the solicitation package posted on the website are the official specifications and shall not alter the electronic copy of the specifications and/or pricing sheet (Exhibit 1), without clearly identifying changes.

The undersigned understands they will be responsible for monitoring the SARA Purchasing Website at: https://www.sara-tx.org/public-information/about-sara/contracting-opportunities/ to ensure they have downloaded and signed all addendum(s) required for submission with their response.

I certify that I have made no willful misrepresentations in this submission, nor have I withheld information in my statements and answers to questions. I am aware that the information given by me in this submission will be investigated, with my full permission, and that any misrepresentations or omissions may cause my submission to be rejected.

In submitting a response to SARA, the responder offers and agrees that if the response is accepted, the responder will convey, sell, assign or transfer to SARA all rights, titles and interest in and to all causes to action it may now or hereafter acquire under the Anti-trust laws of the United States and the State of TX for price fixing relating to the particular commodities or services purchased or acquired by SARA. At SARA’s discretion, such assignment shall be made and become effective at the time SARA tenders final payment to the responder.

Acknowledge receipt of following addenda to the solicitation:

Addendum No 1 Dated _______________________ Received _________________Addendum No 2 Dated _______________________ Received _________________Addendum No 3 Dated _______________________ Received _________________

NAME AND ADDRESS OF COMPANY: AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE:

___________________________________ Signature

___________________________________ Date

___________________________________ Name __________________________

___________________________________ Title ___________________________

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https://www.sara-tx.org/public-information/about-sara/contracting-opportunities/%20%20


Tel. No. ____________________________ Fax No. _______________________________________

Email. ____________________________

RFQ 00140

the city of schertz, texas · web viewthe system modeling environment and interface must also be...

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