LandCare Property Maintenance

The Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh (URA) is accepting competitive proposals from property maintenance firms to perform all-season maintenance of publicly-held vacant property real estate portfolios*. Approximately 1,700 properties are grouped in various sizes (bundles) and located in geographic clusters throughout the City of Pittsburgh (City). A listing of property groups is included in this proposal package (Exhibit G) and is also available for review online for those companies wishing to submit a proposal. The initial contract period will be for twenty-four (24) months with the possibility of further extension(s) in twelve (12) month increments. The property bundles are subject to change minimally by the URA throughout the contract period as ownership changes**.  

A mandatory pre-proposal meeting for all contractors who wish to submit a proposal for a maintenance contract offered as part of this RFP will be held on Friday, October 18, 2019, 10 a.m. ET at the URA, 200 Ross Street, Wherrett Memorial Conference Room, 13th Floor, Pittsburgh, PA  15219. A representative (direct staff person or board member) from each contractor who wishes to submit a response must be in attendance. Any single attendee may not represent more than one (1) firm. If you do not have a representative in attendance at the pre-proposal meeting, your proposal will be automatically disqualified. Hard copies of this RFP and exhibits, including property bundles, will be available for distribution at this briefing. There will be no additional pre-proposal meeting. 

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* In addition to the URA, bundles may also include vacant land owned by the Pittsburgh Land Bank (PLB) and/or the City of Pittsburgh (City). Maintenance responsibilities for the PLB and City parcels are no different than URA-owned parcels, an all participating public agencies will be covered under a single contract with each selected contractor.

** All City-owned parcels may be removed from their respective bundles prior to the start of the contract period. Information on ownership is clearly identified in Exhibit G and contract amounts will be reflected to account for the change, should this occur.

This LandCare RFP involves the majority of the URA’s real property portfolio, including both vacant land and smaller vacant structures. The only URA-owned properties not included in this RFP are larger scale major sites. Properties included in the RFP are divided into bundles, with slightly different maintenance responsibilities depending on the types of properties included, further explained below.  

Contractors may submit proposals for as many bundles as they are interested in but may only be awarded a single contract. If a respondent submits a proposal for more than one (1) bundle, the respondent must prioritize each bundle in order of most preferred to least preferred (Bundle Ranking and Pricing – Exhibit D), which will be followed to the extent practicable by the URA.  

Activities:

LandCare property maintenance is a 52 week/year effort. Maintenance activities of all bundles (A-M) include, but are not limited to:

• Removal and disposal of debris;
• Cutting of grass and general overgrowth;
• Removal of trees;
• Snow removal and de-icing of sidewalks and drives (to occur on an as-needed basis per City code and in response to URA requests);
• Responding to emergency situations;
• Posting “No-Dumping,” “No Trespassing,” “No Parking,” and other signs as needed;
• Repairing of fencing, cables, and damaged locks; and
• Clean-out of non-hazardous materials from lots.  

The URA owns approximately 70 smaller vacant structures – both commercial and residential – included in bundles L and M. Maintenance responsibilities for vacant structures may include:

• Un/re-sealing and minimal repair of structures as-needed;
• Replacing damaged locks; and
• Conducting condition surveys on a quarterly basis.

A provided web application-based survey includes reporting and photographing exterior conditions such as: open windows or doors, broken locks, fencing, crumbling or separating walls, fallen gutters or downspouts, etc.   

Frequency: Maintenance is to be performed both on an at minimum, monthly recurring and additional as-needed basis.  

Vacant land in bundles L and M have additionally been broken down into two (2) classifications regarding the frequency which they must be maintained: “Active” and “Request Only.” The breakdown of Active or Request Only is provided in Exhibit G.

• Active – These parcels are often relatively flat, vacant land (without improvements) along high visibility corridors, residential neighborhoods, wooded parcels with frontage on a right-of-way, or in some other way in a location requiring routine attention. Active parcels are to be examined and maintained monthly, at minimum.
• Request Only – These parcels are heavily wooded and steeply sloped, not highly visible and not fronting rights-of-way. Request Only parcels should still be visited once every three (3) months regardless of service request to ensure no hazardous or problematic conditions exist.  

Time-bound required services to be performed regardless of parcel classification include:

• Cut and clean all assigned URA-owned properties along Marathon Route the week before the Pittsburgh Marathon (1st Sunday in May)
• Cut and clean all assigned properties in neighborhood business districts the week before summer holidays (Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day)
• Cut and clean all assigned properties in proximity (500 feet) to schools the week before school year commences (late August) and concludes (early-mid June)  

The above maintenance may be completed and account for the contractor’s monthly maintenance obligation and is not considered additional work over and above recurring maintenance. A schedule of property maintenance must be submitted after contract award.

Service requests are separate from regular monthly maintenance and occur when a Code violation notice, 311 request, or other direct request for maintenance is received by the property owner (URA, City, or PLB). Should a service request be received on a property, the contractor must field verify and assess property conditions within 48 hours of being notified of the request by the URA and address the issue(s) within seven (7) calendar days from date of initial request, providing documentation of any work performed via the web-based application provided.  

Community Engagement: Contractors must be present in the communities they service, including attending community meetings and publicizing maintenance schedules for monthly services. Contractors are required to log at least two (2) points of community engagement each month. Every quarter (three months), selected contractor(s) must appear on the agenda at a community meeting. A basic plan for community engagement and coordination shall be provided in response to this RFP. Documentation of community engagement activities should appear on monthly invoices.  

Community engagement activities can vary, including but not limited to:

• impromptu interactions with residents on-site,
• phone conversations with local community-based organizations,
• in-person one-on-one meetings with local community stakeholders, and more.

Performance documentation: Work performed is to be logged via a web-based mapping and survey application provided by the URA. Contractors and their crew(s) must have access to smart-enabled technology in the field to document the work conducted under the terms of this RFP’s resulting contracts.

The selected contractors must utilize the required web and mobile-based software for reporting all maintenance activities to allow the URA the opportunity to verify completed work. This app will be demonstrated at the mandatory pre-proposal meeting.  

Additional Information: The contract term will be November 15, 2019 to November 14, 2021 (24 months).  

Individual bundle parcel inventory lists and classifications are subject to change at any point during the contract term. Contractors will be notified in writing via email of any changes to their respective bundle, and the changes will be reflected in the GIS web-based application. The inventory size in total square footage should not change by any more than ten percent (10%) – increase or decrease – during the contract term.  

It is the intent of the URA that Contractors be paid monthly, and that each such payment be a 1/12th pro rata share of the total yearly amount of each contract. Monthly invoices must be submitted electronically to the URA by the 15th day of the month for work performed in the month prior for review and payment. The information entered into the web application becomes the backup and documentation to the monthly invoice.  

Contractors must provide all labor, tools, equipment, materials and technology needed to carry out the described work. Subcontracting activity is permitted and to be outlined in the RFP Summary Page (Exhibit B). If during the contract term the contractor were to engage a subcontractor not outlined in the RFP Summary Page, any work over $1,000 in value must receive the prior written consent of the URA. 

The selected contractor should be familiar with the physical layout of the City, as well as the various City Departments that will be encountered on a daily basis while performing this work.

To be considered for this work, the qualification standards are as follows:

● Contractor is in compliance with City required licenses and is current, or has made satisfactory arrangements, with the City to become current with City taxes;

● Contractor’s business address is within the City;

● Contractor must employ a majority of City residents to conduct the work of this contract (both front and back office and in the field); and

● Contractor has demonstrated experience with conducting similar work as described herein

Equipment Information: Contractor has access to all equipment necessary to carry out the work of this contract. A sample equipment list to perform this type of work could include:

• Storage facility;
• Vehicle(s), preferably with trailer;
• High-weed cutter(s) or brush cutter(s);
• Commercial mower(s) (33” or larger, either ride-on or walk-behind), smaller push mower(s) (22” or smaller for harder to access areas);
• Commercial gas-powered string trimmers; and
• Hand rakes, loppers or hand saw for pruning trees.

The selected contractor shall purchase and maintain the following insurance coverage and minimum limits during the contract period. With the exception of Workers Compensation Insurance, the URA, City, and PLB must be named as "additional insured" and “certificate holder” on the contractor's policy. A certificate of insurance specifying these coverages must be provided at the time of award prior to contracting.

Respondents must submit their proposal responses electronically via email to Tim Dolan at tdolan@ura.org. Responses received via other means will not be considered. ALL RESPONSES MUST BE RECEIVED BY THE RESPONSE DUE DATE AND TIME AS STATED IN THE RFP TIMELINE FOR CONSIDERATION. Any late responses will not be reviewed.  

Each proposal submitted must contain the following (1-8) in completion, regardless of the number of bundles being submitted for. If submitting for more than one (1) bundle, items 1 through 7 are only required to be submitted once. Items 3-6 should be no more than 5 pages in length. Item 8 must be submitted separately for each bundle being proposed. Submissions lacking one (1) or more of the requested documents may be considered irregular. The URA reserves the right to reject any irregular submission and to waive any irregularities in submissions.

1. RFP Summary Page (Exhibit A)

2. Contractor Information Form (Exhibit B)

3. Project Narrative

a. A description of the project organization and staffing to manage the work; the names and titles of all managerial personnel to be assigned to the project should be identified. The number of employees that will be dedicated to this effort, along with the equipment on-hand to adequately handle the workload must be identified.

b. A statement of similar contracts currently or previously held, identifying the client and contact person.

c. Subcontractor/Partner information: If you are using a for-profit subcontractor or partner to perform any part of this work, list the business name, type, address, owner information (including if minority/woman/disabled business enterprise certified) and experience.

d. A description of the workforce development practices, if any, which would occur in the contract. This may include but is not limited to:

• efforts related to the recruitment and hiring of crew members,
• targeted communities/programs/populations for recruitment of team,
• resumé writing/interview skill training
• and personal financial literacy training.

Be as detailed as possible in describing how your LandCare team - both front and back-office as well as in the field - would engage in regular work requirements as well as participation in workforce development efforts.

4. Firm Profile – Provide a brief profile of your firm

a. A narrative description of the firm and its history with an emphasis on the type of work performed by the firm, the ability to handle a property maintenance effort of the scale/bundle your firm is submitting a proposal for, and an approach, both technically and organizationally, to providing the required services; work tasks and methodology should be identified.

b. The URA supports the utilization of minority and women-owned business enterprises (MWBE). The respondent’s narrative should reference whether the submitting firm is a MWBE owner/partnership firm. 

5. Other Information – Please provide any other information which you believe is pertinent to the URA’s consideration of your firm.

6. Bundle Selection and Fee (Exhibit D) – Identify and rank numerically the bundles for which you are submitting proposal(s).  Provide two (2) fees per bundle you are interested in: 1) Fee for bundle inclusive of all properties, regardless of ownership entity, and 2) Fee for bundle without City-owned properties. The List of Parcels (Exhibit G) provides the information needed to determine this. The Fee shall be for the entire contract period and include all labor, equipment and materials required to perform the work.

7. Signature Page (Exhibit F)

8. Community Outreach Plan

a. Identify your plans to publicize your activities in the neighborhood(s) in which you will be working and how you intend to involve the community in which you will be working.

b. Provide any links to public or online information or relevant organizational profiles. 

Public Purchase: Please note that the URA uses Public Purchase as its bid notification and Q&A platform. All questions about this RFP must be submitted through this RFP’s Public Purchase page. Answers to the questions submitted on Public Purchase by October 22, 2019, 5 p.m. ET, as well as those asked verbally at the pre-proposal meeting, will be posted exclusively on Public Purchase by October 25, 2019, 5 p.m. ET. Inquiries received after that time or not in writing will not be responded to.   Instructions for registering on Public Purchase are available as Exhibit A to this RFP. Registration can be done by using the following link: https://www.publicpurchase.com/gems/register/vendor/register.

Technical assistance to help in understanding this RFP and assembling a response is available to interested firms for up to three (3) hours per firm through third-party technical assistance providers. If you are interested in utilizing this voluntary service, contact Tim Dolan, URA Data & Project Management Specialist at tdolan@ura.org no later than Friday, October 25. No phone calls. Utilizing this service is not a guarantee of selection.

The URA intends to select contractors based upon information in the response to the RFP submitted by the respondent(s), performance in previous undertakings, and other pertinent factors. Selected respondent(s) will be chosen on the basis of the selection criteria listed below.  

The URA shall be the sole judge as to which respondent(s) best meet the selection criteria. The URA reserves the right in its sole discretion to reject any or all proposals received, to waive any submission requirements contained within this RFP, and to waive any irregularities in any submitted proposal.  

A review committee made up of URA staff will review each proposal submitted and shall recommend to the URA Board of Directors a respondent or respondents based upon their responses to this RFP.  

The URA reserves the right to verify the accuracy of all information submitted. 

Contractor Selection Criteria

Selection will be made using the criteria below:

1. Mandatory Elements

a. The respondent(s), including any and all team members, must have no conflict of interest with regards to any other work performed for the URA or related entity.

b. The respondent(s) must adhere to the instructions contained in this RFP in preparing the submitted proposal.

2. Technical Qualifications

a. Experience and Expertise
i. The firm’s past experience on comparable issues
ii. The qualifications and capacity of the firm’s professional personnel to be assigned to engage with the URA

b. Community Outreach Plan

c. Workforce Development Activity

d. Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) participation

e. Fee Information

f. Business location

The URA has a long history of diversity and inclusion within all its programs and other activities. The URA encourages the full participation of minority and women business owners and professionals in this effort. The URA requires that all respondents demonstrate a good faith effort to obtain minority and women-owned business enterprise participation (MWBE) in work performed in connection with URA projects. In the form of a narrative, state as succinctly as possible your firm’s efforts to provide opportunities for MWBE firms. MWBE participation can be satisfied by:

1. Ownership/partnership of firm;

2. Use of minority or women-owned businesses as vendors for legal, printing, office supplies, travel, etc.; and

3. Subcontracting with organizations owned and controlled by minorities and/or women. If this is to be done, that fact, and the name of the proposed subcontracting organizations, must be clearly identified in the proposal.   

Any questions about MWBE requirements should be directed to MWBE@ura.org.

The URA shall have the right to verify the accuracy of all information submitted and to make such investigation as it deems necessary to determine the ability of a respondent to perform the obligations in the response. The URA in its discretion reserves the right to reject any response for any reason, including when the available evidence or information does not satisfy the URA that the respondent(s) (i) is qualified to carry out properly the obligations of the response; (ii) is a person or firm of good reputation or character for strict, complete and faithful performance of business obligations; or (iii) if the respondent(s) refuses to cooperate with and assist the URA in the making of such investigation.  

1. Disclaimer of Liability: Respondent(s) acknowledge by submitting information and proposals to the URA that the URA does not undertake any obligations and shall have no liability with respect to this RFP, and responses thereto, nor with respect to any matters related to any submission by a respondent.  

2. Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) Requirements: The URA will demonstrate a good faith effort to obtain minority and women-owned business participation in the project. The URA’s goal is eighteen percent (18%) minority and seven percent (7%) female participation.  

3. The respondent(s), for itself and its employees, and primary subcontractors, agrees not to discriminate in employment, contracting or any other matter against or segregate any person or group of persons on any unlawful basis or on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and/or gender.  

4. The URA reserves the right to accept an offer or proposal other than that which has the lowest price.  

5. The URA shall be the sole judge as to which proposals and respondent(s) best meet the selection criteria. Notwithstanding anything in this RFP to the contrary, URA reserves the right to reject any or all proposals received, to waive any submission requirements contained within this RFP and to waive any irregularities in any submitted proposal.