In a request for qualifications (RFQ) released Sept. 14, the California Department of General Services (DGS) Real Estate Services Division, Project Management and Development Branch is calling for statements of qualifications for a “parkwide surveillance system” at a large, well-known public facility in Los Angeles County. Among the takeaways:
- DGS wants to hear from architectural and engineering firms that can offer “professional architectural and engineering services for the preliminary plans phase of the Parkwide Surveillance System Project at Exposition Park” in Los Angeles, according to the RFQ. The park is 147 acres that are open to the public 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It is “comprised” of eight major entities – including the city, state, county and private operators. Tenants include the California Science Center, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, the Natural History Museum, the Los Angeles Football Club, the California African American Museum, EXPO Center and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
- The project is to stand up a “parkwide surveillance system that can provide coverage of the facilities that are maintained by the (Office of Exposition Park Management) OEPM” – including “much of the public space adjacent to the tenants’ property perimeters and the sidewalks, pathways and roadways that link the facilities.” The new system will need physical infrastructure to mount the surveillance equipment; electricity to run the field devices and surveillance system; and a communications network to empower cameras to send video feeds to OEPM’s dispatch center. Access control points that communicate will also be needed in elevators and parking structure stairwells. The surveillance system will need enough storage to record video – and a server either locally hosted or based in the cloud.
- The scope of services covers three areas. The firm chosen must provide preliminary plans – “professional architectural and engineering design, and additional services as required”; and must have experience in designing similar surveillance projects – and have a security consultant to join. Tenants/facilities in OEPM have their own surveillance system but some want to integrate these systems with the new system, so compatibility and integration will be needed. An “open architecture” for the system is desired to accommodate routing video feeds and controls to a “future” situation room for parkwide emergency operations. Also required are working drawings (not in contract), to include “regulatory reviews, utility coordination for site infrastructure, coordination of multiple independent tenants” and “assistance with preparation of California Environmental Quality Act document.” Also required is construction (not in contract), including “construction submittal and (request for information) RFI response support, design support for changes and unforeseen conditions during construction.”
- Minimum requirements include the firm’s Federal Identification Number (FEIN), an executive summary no more than two pages, a Federal Form SF330 (“Architect-Engineer Qualifications”) Parts I & II for the firm and Federal Form SF330 Part II for any proposed subs. Written statements of qualifications that are “responsive to the selection criteria” are also required. Selection criteria include experience of firm, principals and key personnel, firm’s resource availability and ability to meet deadlines, and demonstrated experience and expertise on “security issues and surveillance system design for large, existing facilities that involve coordination of new and existing infrastructure and integration of multiple surveillance systems.”
- The construction’s estimated cost is roughly $5,396,300 according to the RFQ and the contract’s estimated duration will be six months. Firms will be chosen based on “written responses to this RFQ and an oral interview”; submittals will be evaluated and scored based on selection criteria for companies that have met the minimum qualification requirements. A typical short list contains three firms with the highest scores, which are then invited for interviews and oral presentations. The single firm ultimately chosen will be asked to turn in a “fee proposal specifying the hourly rates for specific classifications of employees, subcontractors and/or services.” Hard-copy document submissions are due by 5 p.m. Oct. 20.
