HomeMy WebLinkAboutADDENDA 2 - RFP - 9720 WATER DEMAND MODEL UPDATEAddendum 2
RFP 9720 Water Demand Model Update
ADDENDUM NO. 2
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Description: RFP 9720 Water Demand Model Update
Closing Date: 3:00 PM MT March 13, 2023
To all prospective bidders under the specifications and contract documents described above, the
following changes/additions are hereby made and detailed in the following sections of this
addendum:
Exhibit 1 – Questions and Answers
Please contact Gerry Paul, Purchasing Director, at gspaul@fcgov.com with any questions
regarding this addendum.
RECEIPT OF THIS ADDENDUM MUST BE ACKNOWLEDGED BY A WRITTEN STATEMENT
ENCLOSED WITH THE RFP STATING THAT THIS ADDENDUM HAS BEEN RECEIVED.
Financial Services
Purchasing Division
215 N. Mason St. 2nd Floor
PO Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522
970.221.6775
970.221.6707
fcgov.com/purchasing
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Addendum No. 2 – Exhibit 1 Questions and Answers
RFP 9720 Water Demand Model Update
1.Will the geographic extent of the updated demand model be limited to the area currently
served by Fort Collins Utilities (FCU), or is it intended to include other areas within the
City of Fort Collins or the overall Fort Collins Growth Management Area that are not
currently served by FCU?
Answer: The intent is for the demand model to be able to evaluate the current Fort
Collins Utilities service area, the current City boundary, and the Growth Management
Area. Fort Collins expects to be able to provide model inputs such as population and
density projections for each of these areas.
2.If the geographic extent of the model is intended to include areas not currently receiving
water service from FCU, can we assume the current water provider(s) serving those
areas will cooperate in providing data for the study?
Answer: See response above. Data not available from Fort Collins could be
requested from other water providers if needed.
3.Regarding Task 5, the optional engagement of city staff and public – can we assume
that FCU facilities and/or other city facilities would be available to host meetings or focus
groups?
Answer: Yes – Fort Collins can provide facilities for in-person meetings, including
typical equipment such as projectors and screens. Fort Collins can also provide a
platform to host virtual meetings if needed.
4.Will Utilities Public Engagement Staff provide contacts to assist in engaging
underrepresented and marginalized communities in the optional Task 5 engagement
task?
Answer: We appreciate this question and emphasize the importance of engaging with
historically and/or currently underrepresented and marginalized communities. Our
ability to provide contact information depends on agreements with and preferences of
individuals or organizations. If we are not able to share contact information, we will
make every effort to conduct outreach to promote events, meetings, etc.
5."This [Growth projections] data is available in GIS layers and the awarded Professional
is expected to refine this information to consider current and future populations within the
Utilities service area as well as populations within the City and GMA boundaries." Ref.
Task 3, pg. 8.
Could you provide more information about the type of refinements expected to be
performed?
Answer: Refinements could include, but would not necessarily be limited to, actions
such as updating GIS layers to reflect most recent data, using Census or other data to
adjust population estimates, or producing alternative future population growth
scenarios.
6.Some of the desired tool features/variables will require variations in the underlying GIS
data and reprocessing of the Master Table. Ref. Task 3
a.Please clarify if a pre-processing tool to automate the processing of the spatial data for
the demand estimation tool could be included in the proposed work.
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Answer: Utilities will take development of a pre-processing tool under consideration
for a proposal and are particularly interested in seeing how the pre-processing tool fits
into budget and scope.
b.If automation of the spatial data processing is desired, what assumptions would be
recommended to use in the proposal regarding the collaboration with the City's GIS
group and their contribution to the GIS GUI development task, as well as the
technology/platform desired?
Answer: We are unclear about the reference in this question to a GIS GUI
development task. For budgeting purposes, please assume that the City’s internal
GIS resource support would be limited to providing data and answering questions.
c.If a spatial preprocessing tool is not part of this project, for desired tool features that
require re-processing of the GIS spatial data and regeneration of the Master Table,
should we assume that this task is performed by the consultant one time, with input from
the City staff, as example, and the updated tool will be delivered with those fixed/static
Master Tables in the SQL Server database?
Answer: For budgeting purposes, you can assume that pre- or re-processing of
geospatial data and generation of combined data sets would be completed one time
for this effort. If new/updated geospatial data were received following completion of
this effort and updates by the Service Provider were requested, please assume that
would be a separate, future work order and not part of this cost estimate.
7.Please clarify if the statement "The tool should be capable of being updated by Utilities
or other City staff, able to add new strategies, and capable of changing other inputs." is
referring to accessibility of the underlying source code for staff to make changes or an
enhancement of the tool Graphical User Interface to include all strategies variables and
other inputs. Ref. Task 3
Answer: Utilities would like to be able to use a simple interface to independently
make changes to input variables in the future to evaluate different scenarios or water
demand management strategies. We do not anticipate making future modifications to
the underlying code.
8.For budgeting purposes, would it be appropriate to ignore at this point features
associated with the item "Others as identified"? Ref. Task 3 – pg. 8
Answer: Yes.
9.In the statement "The awarded Professional will work with Utilities staff and the City’s
Planning Division and others to develop methodologies to adjust the growth projections
based on the physical boundaries of the service area, City limits, and GMA in a way that
can be easily updated in the future by City staff." could you provide examples of the type
of data updates expected to be performed by the City staff? Ref. Task 3- pg. 8
Answer: For example, once method of estimating the population of the Utilities
service area is based on counts of billing account type (e.g., single family residential,
multi-family, duplex) and a population density associated with each account type. It is
necessary to update this estimate at frequently intervals as information such as the
number and type of accounts changes. City staff needs to be able to make those
kinds of regular updates without external support.
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10.Is there a typo in the sentence "The Professional will document the scenario development
and section process in a written memorandum or report”? Ref. Task 4-pg. 9
Answer: Good catch. “section” should be “selection”.
11.In the scenarios to model, regarding the bullet "Climate change conditions that may
influence water demand, specifically increased temperature and decreased precipitation
and changing seasonal patterns such as earlier snowmelt and hotter autumn months.",
how many climate scenarios are anticipated to be required to be simulated by the
consultant? Ref. Task 4-pg. 9
Answer: Utilities Water Conservation staff would work closely with the selected
Professional to determine the scenarios to evaluate based on need, budget, and
timeline. For budgeting purposes, assume a baseline/current condition, plus
temperature increases between 0 – 8 degrees F and precipitation decreases of 0% to
10%.
12.Regarding the milestone "Quantitative water Demand Estimation Tool capable of
evaluating indoor and outdoor water reduction outcomes for a variety of specific
conservation or demand management strategies under variable population growth
trajectories and climactic conditions." Ref. Milestones-pg. 10
a.is correct to assume that it refers to outcomes of the system model simulated water
supply conditions (metrics) with indoor and outdoor water reduction scenarios?
Answer: The model should focus on water demand (use) and does not need to
evaluate water supply.
b.is correct to assume that the indoor and outdoor water reduction are an
assumption/estimation associated with the conservation policies (scenarios) that are
being modeled.
Answer: Our goal is to have quantitative estimates of water demand reduction due to
specific efficiency or conservation policies or programs. We assume that the modeled
water demand reductions would be the result of the efficiency/conservation
policies/programs, but that this would be influenced by scenarios of climate,
population, land cover, or other conditions.
13.For budgeting purposes, should the milestone "Detailed report including executing
summary that outlines all research, methods, modeling/analysis tools, input data, results,
interpretation and description of water demand outcomes in scenario modeling, any
other findings, and recommendations for future analyses." be associated to any of the
Tasks (e.g., extension of the memo in Task 4) or should it be considered a separate
item/task? Ref. Milestones-pg. 10
Answer: Please note the typo: “executing” should be “executive”. The final report
could be an extension of previously produced written products, such as the memo
described in Task 4, and/or the memo could be incorporated into the final report
content or supporting appendix.
14.Is it a correct assumption that the authorization form is the same thing as the
acknowledgement form? In other words, it the acknowledgement form included in the
15-page limit?
Answer: The “Authorization form” should be the “Acknowledgement form” in Section
V and is not counted toward the maximum fifteen (15) page limit.
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15.Is the schedule of rates included in the 15-page limit?
Answer: Yes, the schedule of rates is included in the fifteen (15) page limit.
16.What software platform(s) does the current Demand Estimate Tool use?
Answer: The current Demand Estimate Tool is custom built in VB.NET and connects
to the City’s SQL Server databases.
17.Does the Demand Estimate Tool include indoor and outdoor water demands?
Answer: The Demand Estimate Tool produces a total demand made up of
components including indoor and outdoor demand for residential and commercial
customers.
18.In addition to the system as a whole, does the demand model need to forecast demands
in different geographic areas within Ft. Collins? Would you want to see the demand
output spatially?
Answer: Highest priority is for total demand predictions for the Fort Collins Utilities
service area, City limits, and Growth Management Area. If possible given time and
budget constraints, demand estimates for subareas such as census tracts or zone
districts could be of interest.
19.The historical demand data are parcel-based. What other parcel-level property
attributes are available in addition to water use, if any?
Answer: Historical water demand is determined at the meter/premise level, which is
usually, but not always, consistent with property parcels. Other similar-level data may
include account type/rate code, Larimer County Assessor data such as number of
bedrooms, building age, lot size, building size, etc.), zoning type, and irrigable area.
20.In the sample agreement there are two options for compensation (item 8 and item
9). Which option does Ft. Collins anticipate exercising for the contract?
Answer: The City plans to award a Work Order Type contract with compensation
based on time and materials with a not-to-exceed cost for each awarded Work Order
(Sample Agreement paragraph 9).
21.Can the bidder get a copy of the current Demand Estimating Tool?
Answer: No
22.Who developed the original Demand Estimating Tool?
Answer: The original Demand Estimating Tool was developed as a cooperative effort
between previous FCU staff and consultants.
23.Is the City providing a list of bidders?
Answer: The City does not maintain a bidders list. The RFP is posted at
www.bidnetdirect.com/colorado/city-of-fort-collins and available to any entity
registered on BidNet to respond.
24.Does the City have any intention of using the Water Demand Model in its Water Supply
Operations Model that is used in the Water Shortage Action Plan?
Answer: The intent of the demand model outputs is to compare potential water
savings from conservation and efficiency strategies under a variety of climate and
growth conditions. Use in an operations model may be considered in the future.
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25.What departments does the City envision being involved in the process of updating the
Water Demand Model?
Answer: The Utilities Water Conservation and Water Resources Departments will
have primary involvement. Additional input may involve the Planning and Zoning,
Parks, or other departments.
26.Is the Professional expected to develop the estimates for the effectiveness of any
conservation or demand management strategy? Who is responsible for providing the
data on the effectiveness of any conservation method (e.g., conversion of existing turf to
xeric landscapes)?
Answer: Utilities Water Conservation staff would work closely with the selected
Professional to determine effectiveness of conservation methods based on historical
program participation data or reviews of literature or similar strategies implemented in
other areas.
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