RFQ #03-25/26 REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS WASTEWATER PLANT MAINTENANCE CONTRACTORS

RFQ #03-25/26
REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS
WASTEWATER PLANT MAINTENANCE CONTRACTORS
RFQ Issuance Date:
May 14, 2026
Response Deadline:
Thursday, June 18, 2026, at 2:00 PM ET
City of Sumter
Attn: David Ferrell, Operations and Asset Manager
21 N. Main Street
Sumter, SC 29150
Deadline to Request Additional Information and Ask Questions:
Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at 5:00 PM ET
All questions will be posted and answered on the City's website
by Thursday, June 11, 2026, at 5:00 PM ET
General Questions About Submission Should Be Directed to:
David Ferrell, Operations and Asset Manager
By E-mail Only to dferrell@sumtersc.gov
Technical Questions About the Project Should Be Directed to:
Ms. Cathryn Poplin, Capital Improvement Manager
By E-Mail Only to cpoplin@sumtersc.gov
RFQ #03-25/26 Pre-Qualifications for Wastewater Maintenance Contractors Page 1 of 7

OVERVIEW
The City of Sumter, South Carolina (the "City") intends to prequalify one or more experienced
firms, partnerships, or individuals ("Vendors") to establish a pool of vendors to perform
construction, repair, rehabilitation, and specialty services for the wastewater treatment facilities
on an as-needed basis starting in fiscal year 2027 (July 1, 2026). The statement of qualifications
required is referred to herein as a "Submission." This is a prequalification request pursuant to
Section 2.H of the City's procurement ordinance and is referred to herein as the "RFQ." This RFQ
will result in multiple awards and NO GUARANTEE of work is implied.
Prequalification and Contract type. The City will conduct a formal process to determine the
vendors to be prequalified pursuant to this RFQ. Vendors that are prequalified will be placed on
a Prequalified Vendors List for future projects. The City will use the Prequalified Vendors List in
determining the firms, partnerships, or individuals to be invited to participate in future projects.
The selected firms will enter into Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) or On-Call
Construction Services Contracts. The contract shall remain valid for a period of two years with an
option for a 2-year renewal from its inception date. All work assigned will be issued via task order
(see page 4).
Submission Deadline and Procedures. Submissions must be received no later than 2:00 PM ET
on Thursday, June 18, 2026. All submittals must be submitted using this link:
www.sumtersc.gov/procurement/rfp-rfq. The front cover of your proposal must clearly identify
the RFQ number, RFQ title, date of submission, the name of the submitting entity, your point of
contact including name, phone number, email address and company's physical address. RFQ will
be limited to no more than 25 pages.
Development Costs. The City shall not be liable for any expense incurred in preparing a response
to this RFQ. Vendors should prepare a straightforward and concise description of the Vendor's
ability to meet the requirements of the RFQ.
Reserved Rights. The City reserves the right to accept or reject any and/or all submissions, to
waive irregularities and technicalities, and to request resubmission. The City reserves the right to
accept or reject all or any part of a submission, if it is deemed in the best interest of the City.
The City reserves the right to investigate as it deems necessary to determine the ability of any
Vendor to perform the work or services requested. Each Vendor, upon request, shall provide such
information as the City deems necessary to evaluate its submission.
GENERAL PROCUREMENT INFORMATION
Responses to the RFQ are not bids. The City reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to reject all
submissions, reissue a subsequent RFQ, or terminate, restructure, or amend this procurement
process at any time. It is the sole responsibility of each Vendor to gather adequate information,
review collateral documents, and make those inquiries that are necessary and prudent as to the
project. The Vendors are not entitled to rely on the City or the City's representations or
information to the exclusion of the Vendors' due diligence.
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No questions may be directed to, or contacts made with the Mayor, other members of City
Council, the City Manager, or other City staff not identified in this RFQ as points of contacts during
the period that this RFQ is made public until the final selection is made. Violation of this
prohibition may disqualify the Vendor from further consideration.
The City designates the following person as its Point of Contact for this solicitation. Respondents
shall restrict all contact with the City and direct all questions regarding terms and conditions to:
Mr. David Ferrell, Operations and Asset Manager email: dferrell@sumtersc.gov.
All questions regarding technical information should be directed to Ms. Cathryn Poplin, Capital
Improvement Manager email: cpoplin@sumtersc.gov.
Questions shall be emailed no later than Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at 5:00 PM ET.
All questions will be posted and answered on the City's website by 5:00 PM ET on Thursday,
June 11, 2026.
SCOPE OF WORK/SERVICES
Work may include, but is not limited to:
- Treatment plant upgrades and retrofits.
- Mechanical equipment installation (pumps, blowers, valves).
- Electrical and instrumentation (SCADA, MCCs, controls etc).
- Structural concrete and rehabilitation.
- Process piping systems.
- Chemical feed systems.
- Emergency and Urgent repairs.
- Coating Systems
SERVICE CATAGORIES
Firms may submit for one or more of the following:
- General Utility Construction
- Mechanical (Process Equipment)
- Electrical & Instrumentation
- Specialty Treatment Systems
- Rehabilitation & Emergency Services
Firms must show they possess both the personnel and past project experience to handle all
aspects of these and like projects. Top-ranked firms will be shortlisted and awarded master
agreements. The City reserves the right to award multiple contracts.
RFQ #03-25/26 Pre-Qualifications for Wastewater Maintenance Contractors Page 3 of 7

TASK ORDER PROCESS AND GENERAL TERMS
- Work will be assigned either by mini competition among selected firms, rotational
assignment for small/urgent work, or availability of firm.
- There will be no guarantee of work and the city reserves the right to reject any/all
submittals.
- Firms will comply with all applicable laws and regulations.
RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS AND SUBMITTAL FORMAT
Submittal Format, Minimum Qualifications and Requirements
Vendors should provide the following information:
1. Corporate Qualifications
a. Brief history of the firm and company profile.
b. Name the type(s) of specialty service(s) your company plans on submitting for.
c. Minimum of five (5) years' experience.
d. Demonstrate experience with municipal wastewater facilities.
e. Ability to respond to urgent work.
f. Resumes of key personnel.
g. Location of office to perform the work.
2. Performance on Previous Projects (past 5 years).
a. At least three (3) references for projects completed at wastewater treatment
plants. Contact names, telephone numbers and email addresses must be included.
b. Safety Records and compliance programs (EMR, OSHA logs).
3. Equal Employment Opportunity policy of the firm.
4. Supplemental information that you feel is important for City of Sumter to consider your
firm. This information shall include the firm's registration certification as a licensed
business in the State of South Carolina. If selected, you must provide evidence of
appropriate insurance coverage listing the city of Sumter as additional insured and Sumter
City-County business license.
5. Regarding litigation with owners, subcontractors, and other construction-related entities,
list any active or pending litigation and explain. List and briefly describe any and all legal
actions for the past three years in which respondent has been a debtor in bankruptcy, a
defendant in a lawsuit for deficient performance under a contract or agreement; a
respondent in an administrative action for deficient performance, or a defendant in a
criminal action. Failure to fully comply with is item will be grounds for elimination from
the solicitation.
6. Has the firm ever failed to complete any work awarded to it or has it been removed from
any project awarded to the firm? Explain.
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7. Local Business Presence
a. Indicate whether the offeror is a "local vendor" as indicated by one or more of the
following three criteria: a.) the vendor has a valid business license issued by Sumter
County or by one of the municipalities within Sumter County, which was issued at
least twelve months prior to the qualifications submission date; b.) for a period of
twelve months or more the vendor has maintained and operated a physical
business address (not including a Post Office Box) located within the limits of
Sumter County; c.) the vendor can prove payment of all applicable Sumter County
taxes and fees.
8. Minority Business Enterprise (MBE)
a. Indicate whether offeror is a Minority Business Enterprise, defined as an MBE
certified in accordance with South Carolina Regulation 19-445.2160, as authorized
by S.C. Code 1976, 11-35-5270, as the regulation and section may be amended
from time to time.
Ownership of Submission Documentation
Upon receipt of submissions by the City, such submissions and all included documentation shall
become the property of the City, without compensation to the Vendor, for disposition or usage
by the City at its discretion. The City assumes no responsibility or obligation to proposers and will
make no payment for any cost associated with the preparation or submission of documents.
Confidential Information
All inquiries or correspondence relating to or about this RFQ and all submissions submitted shall
become the property of the City when received and subject to public disclosure unless exempt
from disclosure by law. Unless required by law, proprietary or financial information submitted by
vendor will not be disclosed if the Vendor visibly marks each part of the submission which vendor
considers to be confidential or proprietary information with the word "Confidential."
SELECTION PROCESS
Acceptance and Rejection
Any submissions that do not conform to the essential requirements of the RFQ shall be rejected.
The City reserves the right to waive informalities and minor irregularities in submittals and
reserves the sole right to determine what constitutes informalities and minor irregularities. The
City also reserves the right to accept or reject any or all submissions received in response to this
RFQ. The City is not obligated to enter into any agreement on the basis of any submittal in
response to this RFQ. The City reserves the right to request additional information from any firm
submitting under this RFQ if the City deems such information necessary to further evaluate the
firm's qualifications
Selection / Award Criteria
The City of Sumter's administrative team will review and evaluate the submittals received based
upon the criteria shown in the table below. Upon completing the review process, one (1) to three
(3) per service category of the highest-ranking submittals will be added to the approved list for
RFQ #03-25/26 Pre-Qualifications for Wastewater Maintenance Contractors Page 5 of 7

future Wastewater projects. The Owner has listed each major category of criteria in order of
importance.
The services being sought under this RFQ are considered professional in nature. Consequently,
the evaluation of submittals will be based upon consideration of the demonstrated qualifications
and capabilities of the firms. Absent modification by addendum, factors to be considered in the
evaluation will be limited to the following:
Major Category Criteria Summaries
Organization and Key Personnel * Depth of resources with experience and ability,
Qualifications qualified and available for general scopes of work
(POINT VALUE=25) starting on page 3 of this document.
Relevant Experience
* Experience with municipal wastewater projects.
(POINT VALUE=20)
* Extent to which the instructions in the RFQ were
Performance followed.
(POINT VALUE=20) * Company's litigation record.
* Satisfaction from past clientele.
* How well does firm comply with regulatory standards.
Safety Record
* How quickly does the firm report injuries.
(POINT VALUE=15)
* Firm's OSHA and SAM record.
* Firm's unique ability to provide services at least to the
Capacity and Availability
extent described in this document.
(POINT VALUE=15)
* Firm's short notice availability.
Local Business Presence * Firm is local business based on the criteria listed in
(POINT VALUE=5) item 7.a. on page 5 of this document.
Discussions
The City reserves the right to conduct individual discussions or interviews if they are deemed
necessary with any Vendor deemed acceptable or potentially acceptable.
GENERAL INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS
Receiving Submissions
Submissions received prior to the time of opening will remain with the procurement department.
No submission will be accepted after the advertised date and time.
Ambiguous Submissions
Submissions which are uncertain as to terms, compliance to requirements and/or specifications
shall be rejected.
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Conflict of Interest
Vendors must describe all potential conflicts of interest for any prospective business association,
interest, or other circumstance, which may influence or appear to influence the Vendor's
judgment or quality of services being provided hereunder. Such notification shall identify the
prospective business association, interest, or circumstance; the nature of work that such a person
may undertake; and a request for an opinion of the City as to whether the association, interest,
or circumstance would, in the opinion of the City, constitute a conflict of interest. By submitting
a submission, the Vendor certifies that it has no conflict of interest with any employee, agent,
elected official or officer of the city or any other conflict except as described in the submission.
Protest Procedures
1. Right to protest. Any actual or prospective Vendor who is aggrieved in connection with this
RFQ or the prequalification process may protest to the appropriate procurement officer.
The protest setting forth the grievance shall be submitted in writing within five (5) days
after such aggrieved persons know or should have known of the facts giving rise thereto,
but in no circumstance after 10 days of notification of prequalification.
2. Authority to resolve protests. The appropriate procurement officer shall have the authority,
prior to the commencement of an administrative review as provided in this article, to settle
and resolve a protest of an aggrieved Vendor. This authority shall be applied in a manner
consistent with regulations or laws governing the procurement of supplies, services, and
construction for the City.
3. Decision. If the protest is not resolved by mutual agreement, the appropriate procurement
officer shall issue a decision in writing within 10 days. The decision shall state the reasons
for the action taken.
4. Notice of decision. A copy of the decision under Number 3 above of this section shall be
mailed or otherwise furnished immediately to the protestant and any other party
intervening.
5. Finality of decision. A decision under Number 3 of this section shall be final and conclusive,
unless fraudulent, or unless any person adversely affected by the decision requests a review
in writing, setting forth the grievance to the City Manager within 10 days of the decision.
The protestant may also request an interview with the City Manager.
6. Request for review. The request for a review shall not stay the agreement unless fraudulent.
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