Lawndale Tribune
AND lAwNDAle News
The Weekly Newspaper of Lawndale
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 80, No. 48 - December 2, 2021
The City of Lawndale’s Annual Angel Tree
Lighting Ceremony Will Be in Person This Year
The Annual Angel Tree Lighting Ceremony will be on Friday, December 3rd from 4pm-8pm at the Civic Center Plaza (14700 Burin Ave.). Come down and enjoy winter activities such as visits with Santa, a skating rink, trackless train rides, and much more. For more
information visit www.lawndalecity.org or call (310) 973-3288. Photo courtesy City of Lawndale.
PUBLIC NOTICES
SECTION 1.0 - INVITATION TO SUBMIT
STATEMENTS OF QUALIFICATIONS
1.1. THE OPPORTUNITY
A. The City of Inglewood (City) is seeking
statements of qualifications (SOQs) from
teams (Responders) experienced in providing
design-build-finance-operate-maintain (DBFOM)
services to support the Inglewood Transit Connector
Project including the ATS fixed facilities
and other miscellaneous infrastructure but
excluding the ATS Operating System for the City.
B. The purpose of this Request for Qualifications
(RFQ) is to establish a shortlist of
qualified Responders to be eligible to team
with an eligible Transit Technology Supplier
to propose under a subsequent Request for
Proposals (RFP) process that will result in the
award of a contract for the implementation of
the Inglewood Transit Connector (ITC) project.
No contract will be awarded at this first stage
of the procurement process.
C. The City will be running a parallel process
to determine eligibility of Transit Technology
Suppliers that can provide the ATS Operating
System.
D. The ITC project is an approximately 1.6-
mile long, three station, fully elevated, electrically
powered automated transit system (ATS) that
will connect passengers directly from the Los
Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation
Authority’s (“LA Metro”) Crenshaw / Los
Angeles International Airport (“LAX”) Line’s
Downtown Inglewood station to new housing
and employment centers, and regionally
serving sports and entertainment venues in
the City of Inglewood including The Forum,
the SoFi Stadium at Hollywood Park, and
the Intuit Dome. The Project will also create
a new transit connection to the Opening and
Closing Ceremonies of the 2028 Summer
Olympic Games at the SoFi Stadium. Project
information, including completed studies, are
further described in this RFQ.
E. The City intends to identify three Shortlisted
Responders; however, if the City considers the
difference in scores between the third-highest
ranked Responder and the fourth-highest
ranked Responder to be sufficiently close, the
City may identify four Shortlisted Responders.
If the City receives fewer than three responsive
SOQs, the City may either (a) proceed with
the procurement with a smaller number of
Shortlisted Responders or (b) terminate this
procurement.
1.2. THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS
A. This RFQ, any future RFQ Addenda and
questions and responses related to the RFQ
will be available on PlanetBids.
B. Responders may submit questions and
comments regarding this RFQ via PlanetBids
at the following link (https://pbsystem.planetbids.
com/portal/45619/portal-home) according to
the timeline provided in Section 1.5 below.
The City will not accept or respond to oral
inquiries. Responders shall draft questions and
comments in a manner that does not explicitly
identify or otherwise indicate the Responder’s
identity in the body of the question. The City will
respond to timely and pertinent questions and
comments and may issue addenda to modify
provisions of this RFQ based on questions and
comments received. Responses and addenda
will be posted on PlanetBids. The City will
not be bound by, and proposers shall not be
entitled to rely on, the City’s responses, except
as contained in any addenda. Responders
are responsible to review and be familiar with
all questions and responses and any other
information posted by the City. The City will not
be responsible for any failure of a Responder
to receive posted information.
C. Pursuant to this RFQ, Responders will
be shortlisted on the basis of the evaluation
criteria included in this RFQ.
D. The City seeks a team that has demonstrated
expertise and ability in the following areas:
• Design-Build experience on fixed guideway
transit projects of similar size, scale, and
complexity as the ITC Project.
• High-quality Operations and Maintenance
experience on fixed guideway transit projects
of similar size, scale and complexity as the
ITC Project (beyond the Operations and
Maintenance services assigned to the transit
technology supplier).
• Experience working on Federal Transit Administration
(FTA) funded projects and meeting
FTA requirements.
• Robust financing capability and experience
with similar transactions (both for equity provision
and any debt issuance).
• Coordinating across multiple oversight agencies
and jurisdictions
• Allocating sufficient, qualified resources to
ensure the on time and on-budget delivery
of the project.
E. Participation on the Responder’s team by
certified DBE firms is encouraged. Participation
goals and requirements will be established
as part of the future RFP. DBE Firms must
be certified as a DBE through the California
Unified Certification Program.
F. This RFQ provides specific instructions
regarding SOQ format and other requirements.
Pertinent data about the Project and the City
of Inglewood are also included.
G. Transit Technology Supplier
1. The City will determine the eligibility of
Transit Technology Suppliers seeking to participate
in the procurement for the Project through
a separate Eligibility Determination Process.
2. Following the Eligibility Determination
Process and the RFQ process, the City
intends to provide a period of time for eligible
Transit Technology Suppliers and Shortlisted
Responders to coordinate with one another
and form integrated teams (each such team
an “Integrated Proposer Team”). The City will
establish a date by which Integrated Proposer
Teams must submit their integrated team
information (e.g., org charts, updated financial
or qualification information, etc.). City approval
of the Integrated Proposer Teams, among
other things, may require the submittal of the
eligible Transit Technology Supplier’s financial
information demonstrating its financial strength
and capabilities to perform the work. The City
anticipates that the RFP will include evaluation
of the Integrated Proposer Team’s structure,
capability, and approach to delivering the
Project, among other factors, that are more
detailed than those factors used in the Eligibility
Determination Process and RFQ process.
3. Integrated Proposer Teams will be required
to include in their Proposal a Transit Technology
Supplier that has been deemed eligible by the
City through the Eligibility Determination Process.
4. Responders shall not identify or include
information regarding Transit Technology Suppliers
in their SOQs. The City will not consider
the experience, capabilities or qualifications
of Transit Technology Suppliers or their Key
Personnel as part of the evaluation of SOQs.
5. By submitting an SOQ, each Responder
expressly recognizes and agrees to the following:
(a) A notice of eligibility issued by the City to
a Transit Technology Supplier does not imply
a certification or guarantee by the City of the
proposed Transit Technology Supplier’s, or
the proposed ATS Operating System’s, ability
to perform in accordance with the technical
requirements for the Project.
(b) The City reserves the right to continue developing
and refining the technical requirements
for the Project after the Eligibility Determination
Process is completed, even if any changes made
to the technical requirements, had they been
included in the Submittal Instructions, would have
impacted the Eligibility Determination Process.
(c) Proposed ATS Operating Systems that
are deemed eligible will be further evaluated
during the future RFP process in the context
of the Integrated Proposer Team’s proposal.
H. Request for Proposals
Following the formation of Integrated Proposer
Teams, the City intends to issue a draft RFP to
the Integrated Proposer Teams for review and
comment. The City may schedule confidential
one-on-one meetings to exchange ideas and
to discuss issues raised by the Integrated
Proposer Teams. Following the release of the
draft RFP, the City intends to issue a final RFP
to the Integrated Proposer Teams.
I. Overall Procurement Process for
Developer
The anticipated ITC Project procurement
process and RFP are illustrated and briefly
described below.
J. Payment for Work Product
Under the RFP, the City is considering payment
of a specified amount for the work product
of unsuccessful Integrated Proposer Teams
submitting a compliant proposal in response
to the RFP. The RFP may also provide for
a partial payment for work product of each
Integrated Proposer Team in the event the City
cancels the procurement prior to submission
of Proposals. Upon making such payment,
the City will have the right to use, as it deems
appropriate, any of the concepts, techniques or
other ideas contained in such work product. It
is anticipated that the RFP will set forth specific
provisions regarding the City’s payment for
work product.
K. Participation with More Than One
Proposer
1. To ensure a fair and competitive procurement
process, the Responder’s Equity Member(s),
Lead Designer(s), Lead Contractor(s), and
Lead O&M Provider(s), including any joint
venture members thereof, are forbidden from
participating, in any capacity, as a Member of
another Responder. In addition, entities that are
under direct or indirect common ownership or
have the same upstream parent may not team
with separate Responders.
2. The foregoing restrictions do not apply
to eligible Transit Technology Suppliers, who
are permitted to be included in more than one
Proposal at the RFP stage. However, if a Transit
Technology Supplier is also an Equity Member
of a Proposer, that Transit Technology Supplier
is forbidden from participating, in any capacity,
on another Proposer team.
3. If a Responder is not shortlisted as part of
the SOQ evaluation process, the Members of
the unsuccessful Proposer are thereafter free to
become Members of Shortlisted Responders,
subject to the requirements in this RFQ and
the City’s prior written consent.
Any Responder that fails to comply with the
prohibitions contained in this section may be
disqualified from further participation as a
Proposer for the Project.
L. Changes in Members and Key Personnel
1. Following shortlisting, the following actions
may not be undertaken by a Shortlisted Responder
without the City’s prior written consent,
in the City’s sole discretion:
(a) Deletion, substitution or change in the
composition of Members identified in the SOQ
or a change in the role or scope of work of
a Member;
(b) Deletion or substitution of Key Personnel
or a change in the role or position of such
Key Personnel;
(c) Deletion or substitution of Responder’s
Equity Member, a Guarantor or any other entity
that will bear financial responsibility or provide
credit or other support for the performance of
the Shortlisted Responder; and
(d) Other changes, direct or indirect, in the
equity ownership of a Shortlisted Responder.
except, however, each Shortlisted Responder
will be required to add an eligible Transit
Technology Supplier to its team pursuant to
information provided in this RFQ.
2. The Shortlisted Responder shall, in accordance
with Section 3.1B of this RFQ,
promptly request the City’s written consent for
any changes in Members and Key Personnel
and shall provide the City with sufficient details
of the proposed change so as to facilitate the
City’s consideration thereof. The City may, in its
sole discretion, accept, reject or seek additional
information regarding a Shortlisted Responder’s
request and will base its decision on whether
the Shortlisted Responder as a whole still meets
the minimum criteria contained in this RFQ and
whether the City would still have shortlisted the
Responder if the change had occurred before
the Shortlisted Responder submitted its SOQ.
If a Shortlisted Responder seeks to change the
composition of its Members, the Shortlisted
Responder shall provide, among other things,
all the information that is required in this RFQ
regarding the proposed new Member(s).
M. Guarantors
Shortlisted Responders qualified partially based
on the support of one or more Guarantors shall
maintain such Guarantor support throughout
the RFP process and through acceptable
performance security packages, including
written guaranties, provided in connection
with the Contract.
Any change to the proposed Guarantor is
subject to the City’s prior written consent in
its sole discretion.
N. Urban Design
The future RFP will address how the City will
evaluate matters of urban design including
architectural treatment of stations, guideways,
and fixed facilities as well as approach to landscape,
streetscape, passenger flow, and design
of Project components in the public realm that
are part of the passenger experience. The City
will place a high priority on a contextual design
for the ITC that is sensitive to its surrounding
urban architecture and environment. The City
anticipates placing significant emphasis on
technologies and on elements that enhance
the Project’s compatibility with the surrounding
community, including the Market Street business
area, the Forum, SoFi Stadium and LASED at
Hollywood Park, and the Intuit Dome.
The City anticipates providing guidelines and
standards to the future Integrated Proposer
Teams prior to finalization of the RFP. Both
public and private stakeholders may play a
role in the design evaluation process.
1.3. THE AGREEMENT
There will not be an agreement resulting from
this first stage of the process. Only a shortlist
will be developed at this time for firms to move
forward in the subsequent RFP process. The
agreement will result at the conclusion of this
subsequent RFP process.
1.4. FEDERAL FUNDING
The City has elected to pursue a Capital
Investment Grant (“CIG”) from the Federal
Transit Administration (FTA) for the Project,
and as a result the Project and Contract will
be subject to federal requirements. Required
federal contract terms will be set forth in the
sample Contract in the future RFP.
Form D (Commitments Regarding Federal
Requirements) requires Responders to make
representations with respect to certain federal
requirements and to acknowledge the federal
certifications that will be required to be submitted
with proposals in response to the future RFP.
A robust and credible plan for complying with
Buy America requirements within the required
time frame to successfully deliver the Project
is part of the Form D submittal. In addition,
the approach of Integrated Proposer Teams
to meeting the federal requirements is anticipated
to be a scored element of the proposal
evaluations as part of the future RFP process.
As a potential recipient of federal funding,
the City also will establish DBE goals and
requirements to be included in the future RFP.
1.5. THE TIMELINE
The City anticipates carrying out the procurement
process for selecting Shortlisted Responders
according to the following schedule. The City
may, at its own discretion, conduct interviews
and other evaluations of some, all, or none
of the Responders prior to shortlisting. The
procurement schedule is subject to modification
at the sole discretion of the City. The City will
issue notice on PlanetBids of any changes to
the procurement schedule.
RFQ Process Date and Time
Public Release of Request for Qualifications
12/6/2021
Pre-Submittal Conference
12/15/21 at 1:00 pm PT
Questions from Responders Due
1/5/22
Answers to Questions Posted on PlanetBids
1/12/22
Deadline for SOQ Submittals
(SOQ Due Date)
1/26/22 at 4:00 pm PT
Publication of the shortlisted teams
February/March 2022
1.6. THE CONTACT
For general and process questions concerning
this RFQ contact:
Bianca Plascencia, Procurement and Contracts
Coordinator
City of Inglewood
Office of Purchasing Division, 8th Floor
One Manchester Boulevard
Inglewood, CA 90301
310.412.5266
Louis Atwell, PE
City of Inglewood
Assistant City Manager
Public Works Director
Inglewood Daily News Pub. 12/2, 12/9/21
HI-27376