Pipe Storage Building Design

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Utilities Department
Request for Letters of Interest and Statements of Qualifications
For Professional Engineering Services
RFQ2744
issue date: 08.17.2026
Proposals shall be complete and comply with the requirements listed herein.
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Submit proposals electronically in PDF format only by
12:00pm, September 4, 2026 to Jake Moyer at jakem@cityofws.org.
Responses received after this date and time will not be considered.
THE CITY OF WINSTON-SALEM DESIRES TO ENGAGE A PRIVATE ENGINEERING FIRM FOR
THE FOLLOWING PROJECT:
PIPE STORAGE BUILDING
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Utilities is seeking engineering services for the design of a pipe storage
building at the Utilities Field Operations facility at 1550 S Martin Luther King Jr Dr. The project scope
includes the design of a minimum 24-foot-wide paved driveway, a concrete apron, a concrete foundation
pad for the building, and the storage structure. See "Scope of Work" section in this document for more
details.
All questions concerning this RFQ or the scope of work should be submitted in writing to (name) at
jakem@cityofws.org by the End of Question period of 5:00pm, August 28, 2026.
This RFQ will in no manner be construed as a commitment on the part of the City to award a contract. The
City reserves the right to reject any or all applications; to waive minor irregularities in the RFQ process or
in the applications; to re-advertise this RFQ; to postpone or cancel this process; select and procure parts of
services; and to change or modify the RFQ schedule at any time.
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SECTION 1: NOTICE TO PROPOSERS:
It is the policy of the City that an employee, officer, or agent of City may not participate in any manner in
the bidding, awarding, or administering of contracts in which they, or a member of their immediate family,
their business partner, or any organization in which they serve as an officer, director, trustee, or employee,
has a financial interest.
The successful proposer must comply with all provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA),
the Equal Employment Opportunity Act (EEOA), and all rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. By
submitting a proposal, the successful proposer agrees to indemnify the City from and against all claims,
suits, damages, costs, losses, and expenses in any manner arising out of, or connected with, the failure of
the Company, its subcontractors, agents, successors, assigns, officers, or employees to comply with the
provisions of the ADA, EEOA, or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
No special inducements will be considered that are not a part of the original bidding document.
City's Rights and Options
The City, at its sole discretion, reserves the following rights:
* To supplement, amend, substitute or otherwise modify this RFQ at any time
* To cancel this RFQ with or without the substitution of another RFQ
* To take any action affecting this RFQ, this RFQ process, or the services subject to this RFQ that
would be in the best interests of the city
* To issue additional requests for information
* To require one or more service providers to supplement, clarify, or provide additional information
in order for the city to evaluate the responses submitted
* To share the Proposals with City employees other than the Evaluation Committee or City advisory
committees as deemed necessary
* To award all, none, or any part of the Services that is in the best interest of the city, with one or
more of the Service Providers responding, which may be done with or without re-solicitation.
* To discuss and negotiate with selected Service Provider(s) any terms and conditions in the Proposals
including but not limited to financial terms
* To negotiate a contract with a service provider based on the information provided in response to this
RFQ
Public Records
Any material submitted in response to this RFQ will become a "public record" once the proposer's
document(s) is opened and the proposer is determined to be a participant in the solicitation process and
shall be subject to public disclosure consistent with Chapter 132, North Carolina General Statutes.
Proposals submitted under this section shall not be subject to public inspection until a contract is awarded
N.C.G.S 143-129.8(d).
Trade Secrets/Confidentiality
Proposers must claim any material that qualifies as "trade secret" information under N.C.G.S. 66152(3) in
their response to this RFQ and must state the reasons why such exclusion from public disclosure is necessary
and legal.
To properly designate material as trade secret under these circumstances, each Proposer must take the
following precautions: (a) any trade secrets submitted by a Proposer should be submitted in a separate,
sealed envelope marked "Trade Secret - Confidential and Proprietary Information - Do Not Disclose Except
for the Purpose of Evaluating this Proposal," and (b) the same trade secret/confidentiality designation
should be stamped on each page of the trade secret materials contained in the envelope.
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Do not attempt to designate your entire proposal as a trade secret, and do not attempt to designate
pricing information as a trade secret. Doing so may result in your bid being disqualified.
In submitting a proposal, each Proposer agrees that the City may reveal any trade secret materials contained
in such response to all City staff and City officials involved in the selection process, and to any outside
consultant or other third parties who assist City in the selection process. Furthermore, each Proposer agrees
to indemnify and hold harmless the City and each of its officers, employees, and agents from all costs,
damages, and expenses incurred in connection with disclosing any material, which the Proposer has
designated as a trade secret.
The City reserves the right to make all final determination(s) of the applicability of North Carolina General
Statutes 132-1.2, Confidential Information.
Familiarity with Laws and Ordinances
The submission of a proposal on the services requested herein shall be considered as a representation that
the Proposer is familiar with all federal, state, and local laws, ordinances, rules, and regulations which affect
those engaged or employed in the provision of such services, or which in any way affects the conduct of
the provision of such services; and no plea of misunderstanding will be considered on account of ignorance
thereof. If the Proposer discovers any provisions in the RFQ documents that are contrary to or inconsistent
with any law, ordinance, or regulation, it shall be reported to the City in writing without delay.
The Proposer agrees that in carrying out this contract, compliance will be maintained with all applicable
federal, state, and local laws, specifically including, without limitations, the Occupational Safety and Health
Act of 1970 and Section 1324A, the Immigration Reform and Control Act.
The Proposer certifies that the proposal is made in good faith and without collusion with any person making
a proposal or with any officer or employee of the City.
The undersigned further agrees, in connection with the performance of this contract, not to discriminate
against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, religion, color, gender, age, handicap,
political affiliation, or national origin.
Proposals are to be signed by an officer of the company authorized to bind the submitter to its provisions.
Failure to manually sign the appropriate proposal form will disqualify the proposer and the proposal will
not be considered.
Ethics Policy / Code of Conduct
The City of Winston-Salem has established guidelines for ethical standards of conduct for City
representatives and to provide guidance in determining what conduct is appropriate in particular cases. City
representatives should maintain high standards of personal integrity, truthfulness, honesty, and fairness in
carrying out public duties; avoid any improprieties in their roles as public servants including the appearance
of impropriety; and never use their position or power for improper personal gain. In establishing an ethics
policy, the City of Winston-Salem desires to protect the public against decisions that are affected by undue
influence, conflicts of interest, or any other violation of these policies as well as promote and strengthen
the confidence of the public in their governing body. For a complete review of the City Policy as it relates
to this solicitation, click the following link. https://www.cityofws.org/820/Procurement-Guidelines
Stimulation of the Local Economy
In an effort to stimulate the local economy, foster development and promote efficiency in the provision of
city services and the completion of various city projects, the City of Winston-Salem has undertaken an
initiative to strongly encourage all parties contracting with the City of Winston-Salem to evaluate their
internal operations and hiring practices and, where appropriate, to initiate efforts to stimulate the local
economy by hiring applicants and contractors from the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Area and by
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utilizing small and local business and service providers. Such efforts to stimulate the local economy may
be accomplished by posting job vacancies with the North Carolina Employment Security Commission, the
Piedmont Triad Regional Council of Governments, and the Winston-Salem Urban League; and utilizing the
Winston-Salem Office of Economic Development to identify Winston-Salem/Forsyth County based
contractors and subcontractors. Stimulation of the local economy requires a collaborative effort of both
the public and private sector. The city is committed to taking reasonable steps to achieve said goal.
Iran Divestment Act
Provider hereby certifies that it is not on the North Carolina State Treasurer's list of persons engaging in
business activities in Iran, prepared pursuant to NCGS 147-86.58, nor will Provider utilize on this
agreement any subcontractor on such list. This list, along with additional information about the Iran
Divestment Act, is available on the Treasurer's Office site:
https://www.nctreasurer.com/inside-the-department/OpenGovernment/Pages/Iran-Divestment-Act-Resources.aspx.
Divestment from Companies that Boycott Israel Contractor hereby certifies that it is not on the North
Carolina State Treasurer's list of companies engaged in a boycott of Israel in violation of NCGS 147-86.80
et. seq. and that it will not utilize on this agreement any subcontractor on said list.
E-Verify Compliance
Per N.C.G.S. 143-133.3 "E-VERIFY. CONTRACTOR shall comply with the requirements of Article 2 of
Chapter 64 of the North Carolina General Statutes. Further, if the CONTRACTOR utilizes a subcontractor,
the CONTRACTOR shall require the subcontractor to comply with the requirements of Article 2 of Chapter
64 of the North Carolina General Statutes.
Right to Audit
To confirm compliance with the terms of this Agreement, local, state, and federal laws and regulations, the
City may, at all reasonable times upon reasonable prior notice during usual business hours, inspect, audit
and examine for a period up to five (5) years after completion of the service or project detailed in this
Agreement, all accounts and books of Contractor and, where necessary, make copies of the Contractor's
documents necessary to determine compliance. Such right may be exercised through any agent or employee
of City or by independent certified public accountants designated by the City. The Contractor shall permit
the aforementioned inspection, audit and examination, and where necessary, the City to make copies of
documents verifying compliance as indicated herein.
Qualifications
Pursuant to N.C.G.S. Chapter 55 Article 15 entitled Foreign Corporations, the successful bidder, if bidding
on behalf of a corporation or LLC, must have on file with the Secretary of State of the State of North
Carolina a Certificate of Authority to transact business in this state. If bidding on behalf of a sole
proprietorship or business under an assumed name, the successful bidder must be registered as such with
the Forsyth County Register of Deeds. Submission of a bid while not in compliance with this requirement
will result in the bid being rejected as non-responsible.
Termination
Unless otherwise agreed upon in writing by the parties, this Agreement may be terminated by either party
for convenience with no less than ten (10) calendar days' notice. In the event of termination, the Contractor
will be paid for all Services properly rendered to the date of termination and shall promptly discontinue all
Services affected (unless a termination notice from the City directs otherwise). In the event of any
termination, the Contractor will be paid for all Services properly rendered to the date of termination and
shall (i) promptly discontinue all Services affected (unless a termination notice from the City directs
otherwise); and (ii) deliver to the City all documents, data, reports, estimates, summaries, and such other
information and materials as may have been accumulated by the Contractor in performing the Services
herein. Other than being paid for Services properly rendered to the date of termination, Contractor hereby
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waives any and all other claims for lost profits, lost opportunity, and for any and all other direct, indirect,
special, and consequential damages. In the event that the City terminates this Agreement due to the
Contractor's poor workmanship, failure to perform the Service set out herein or, otherwise, for breach of
this Agreement, or in the event that the Contractor terminates this Agreement for convenience or otherwise,
the City may pursue and recover all remedies available at law or in equity, as these remedies are cumulative
and do not exclude each other.
IMPORTANT: Winston-Salem City Code (Chapter 2, Article 1, Sec. 2-3) provides that the City may
disqualify any business from bidding on contracts of the City if a business fails to perform satisfactorily on
past or current projects.
Nondiscrimination Ordinance
As a condition of entering into this contact, the Contractor represents and warrants that it will fully comply
with the City's Non-Discrimination Policy, as set forth in Chapter 2, Section 2-8 Entitled "Policy of
Nondiscrimination" of the Winston-Salem City Code. As part of such compliance, the Contractor shall not
discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity,
gender expression, pregnancy, veteran status, disability, age, marital status, familial status, protected
hairstyle, political affiliation or national origin in the screening of applicants, the hiring and treatment of its
employees, the provision of the goods and/or services set forth herein, or the solicitation, selection, hiring,
or treatment of its subcontractors, vendors or suppliers, (hereinafter collectively "subcontractors"), if any,
in connection with this contract or the contract solicitation process if applicable, nor shall the Contractor
retaliate against any person or entity for reporting instances of such discrimination. The Contractor shall
enact employment policies consistent with this obligation to refrain from such discrimination and shall
provide evidence of such to the City within 90 calendar days of the first receipt of City funds. The Contractor
shall provide equal opportunity for subcontractors to participate in all of its subcontracting and supply
opportunities, if any, under this contract, provided that nothing contained in this clause shall prohibit or
limit otherwise lawful efforts to remedy the effects of marketplace discrimination that has occurred or is
occurring in the marketplace. The Contractor understands and agrees that a violation of this clause shall be
considered a material breach of this contract and may result in termination of this contract, disqualification
of the Contractor from participating in future City contracts pursuant to Winston-Salem City Code Section
2-3 or other sanctions. Furthermore, as a condition of entering into this contract, the Contractor agrees to:
(a) promptly provide to the City in a format specified by the City all information and documentation that
may be requested by the City from time to time regarding the screening of applicants, the hiring and
treatment of its employees particularly if City funds were used in connection with hiring and compensation
process, and the solicitation, selection, treatment and payment of subcontractors, if any, in connection with
this Agreement; and (b) if requested, provide to the City within sixty days after the request a truthful and
complete list of the names of all subcontractors that the Grantee has used under this contract, including the
total dollar amount paid by the Contractor on each subcontract or supply contract. The Contractor further
agrees to fully cooperate in any investigation conducted by the City pursuant to the City's
Nondiscrimination Policy, to provide any documents, relevant to such investigation, that are requested by
the City. The Contractor agrees to provide to the City from time to time on the City's request, payment
affidavits detailing the amounts paid by the Contractor to subcontractors and suppliers in connection with
this contract within a certain period of time. Such affidavits shall be in the format specified by the City
from time to time. Nothing in this contract shall infringe upon any rights afforded to the Contractor by state
or federal law.
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SECTION 2: SCOPE OF WORK:
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Utilities is seeking engineering services for the design of a pipe storage
building at the Utilities Field Operations facility at 1550 S Martin Luther King Jr Dr. The project scope
includes the design of a minimum 24-foot-wide paved driveway, a concrete apron, a concrete foundation
pad for the building, and the storage structure.
The proposed building will be open to the front, enclosed on the remaining three sides and roofed. It will
be approximately 28 feet deep and either 50 feet or 73 feet wide, depending on whether a two-bay or three-
bay configuration is selected. The building will be used to store commonly utilized utility materials, namely
20' sticks of PVC pipe and ductile iron pipe. Pipes will be placed on cantilever racks.
Additional design elements will include site grading and drainage, as well as the evaluation and design of
a retaining wall, if required, to accommodate the existing hillside located behind the proposed building site.
Location of Future Storage Building
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SECTION 3 - FORMAT FOR SUBMISSION OF A LETTER OF INTEREST
Firms submitting Letters of Interest and Statements of Qualifications (LOI/SOQs) are encouraged to
carefully check them for conformance to the requirements identified herein. All qualified firms who submit
responsive proposals will be considered. If, however, a LOI/SOQ does not meet these requirements, they
will be disqualified, and no exceptions will be granted. Do NOT submit fee information with your proposal!
FORMAT FOR SUBMISSION:
Submit only electronic proposals in PDF format only as noted on Page 1. To ensure delivery, proposals
larger than 20 MB in size should be split into Part 1, Part 2, etc. If you cannot split the PDF, please send
to bids@cityofws.org (no file size limit) and copy the contact on Page 1 on the email.
All Proposals should be limited to 20 pages including the cover sheet. Letters of Interest containing more
than the page limit will not be considered.
All questions concerning this request for Letters of Interest/Statement of Qualifications, or the scope
of this work must be submitted in writing only by the date and time listed on Page 1. If you feel the
information provided is inadequate to submit a Letter of Interest, please contact Jake Moyer at 336-734-
1247 during normal business hours or by e-mail at jakem@cityofws.org. The firm selected will be notified
by telephone. Notification will be given to those firms that were not selected by e-mail.
Each LOI/SOQs should be assembled as follows:
Section I - Cover/Introductory Letter
The introductory letter should be addressed to Jake Moyer, Civil Engineer. The letter should contain the
following information:
* Expression of firm' s interest in executing the work.
* Statement of understanding of services listed in RFQ.
* Statement of any possible conflicts of interest.
* Summation of information contained within the letter of interest, including an email address and
telephone number for the firm's contact person.
Section II - Evaluation Factors (see also "Evaluation Criteria" in Section 4)
This section should contain information regarding evaluation and other factors listed in the advertisement
such as:
* Identify project key personnel/sub-consultants' qualifications and relevant work experience.
* Understanding of project (site and structure conditions, traffic and safety concerns, etc.)
* Unique qualifications of key team members.
* Proposed schedule for completion; and
* Identify type and location of similar work performed within the last five (5) years
Section III - Supportive Information
This section should contain the following information:
* Capacity Chart/Graph (available work force).
* Organizational chart indicating personnel to be assigned by discipline.
* Resumes of key personnel.
* Names, classifications, and location(s) of the firm's North Carolina personnel and resources to be
assigned to the work; and
* Other relevant information
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SECTION 4 - SELECTION and EVALUATION CRITERIA:
All qualified firms who submit responsive Letters of Interest will be considered. The evaluation of these
firms will be based on the firm's overall experience, past performance, knowledge, familiarity with the type
of work required, and the experience of proposed staff to perform specific work required, including any sub
consultants.
Do NOT submit fee information with your proposal! The City selects firms to provide professional services
based on demonstrated competence and qualification. Once a firm is selected, the City will enter into
contract negotiations with that firm; and, as part of that negotiation, will determine a fair and reasonable
fee for the services to be provided. Should contract/fee negotiations fail, the City reserves the right to
terminate negotiations with the selected firm(s) and proceed to negotiate with the next most qualified
firm(s).
The selected firm will be notified by telephone. Once a firm is selected, a detailed scope of services, and
associated fee proposal, and implementation schedule will be refined, agreed to and once signed, will be
identified and attached to the City's standard professional services agreement. The successful bidder for
this project will be required to execute the City's "Professional Services Agreement". A copy of this
document can be provided upon request.
Insurance. The selected firm(s) will be required to furnish proof of Professional Liability insurance
coverage in the minimum amount of $1,000,000.00 per claim. The firm(s) must have an adequate
accounting system to identify costs chargeable to the project. The City of Winston-Salem MUST be named
as additional insured on the certificate of insurance supplied to the City.
Any firm wishing to be considered must be properly registered with the Office of the Secretary of State.
The professionals performing the work and in responsible charge of the work must be registered in the State
of North Carolina and must have a good ethical and professional standing. It will be the responsibility of
the selected private firm to verify the registration of any corporate subsidiary or subcontractor prior to
submitting a Letter of Interest. The firm must have the financial ability to undertake the work and assume
full liability.
The City of Winston-Salem in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 78 Stat. 252, 42
U.S.C. 2000d to 2000d-4 and Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Department of Transportation, Subtitle
A, Office of the Secretary, Part 21, Nondiscrimination in Federally-assisted programs of the Department of
Transportation issued pursuant to such Act, hereby notifies all bidders that it will affirmatively insure that
in any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, minority business enterprises will be afforded
full opportunity to submit bids in response to this invitation and will not be discriminated against on the
grounds of race, color, or national origin in consideration for an award.
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EVALUATION CRITERIA
All proposals received prior to the established due date/time will be evaluated and considered based on the
completeness of the responses to the defined specifications. The City of Winston-Salem reserves the right
to award this contract to the vendor deemed best suited to achieve the goals and desires outlined in this
proposal.
Respondents will be evaluated for selection on the basis of the Proposer most qualified to meet the
requirements of this RFQ. Major criteria to be considered in evaluation may include, but shall not
necessarily be limited to:
1. Work Experience - The background, education, and experience of the proposed project team in
providing similar services elsewhere, including and especially the level of experience in working
with municipalities. Determination that the selected respondent has no contractual relationships that
would result in a conflict of interest to the City's contract.
2. Understanding of Project - The proposer's demonstrated understanding of the project scope,
background, and purpose, as well as any other pertinent details and/or innovative approach that
would help exhibit clear understanding of potential project obstacles/challenges. This should include
a proposed plan in which the proposer details the approach they would follow to carry out the
project.
3. Past Work Performance - How the Proposer has successfully remediated and completed similar
past environmental projects. The Proposer must include three (3) similar projects within the past
five (5) years with the evaluation criteria listed in "Section 3 - Format for Submission; Section II -
Evaluation Factors". More is encouraged. A facet of this criterion includes the Proposer's past
performance and client satisfaction on previous projects for public and private entities.
4. Proposed Plan of Action - Proposer's demonstrated ability to meet the project's performance
requirements with respect to schedule.
The following "Weighted Scale" will be used to evaluate each proposal
Evaluation Criteria Weight
Work Experience 35%
Understanding of Project 25%
Past Work Performance 25%
Proposed Plan of Action 15%
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