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1308 Dunmire Street • Suite A • Pensacola • Florida • 32504 • Ph: 850.494.6662 • Fx: 850.494.6669 www.mehtaeng.com
November 21, 2012
ESCAMBIA COUNTY FLORIDA
Attention: Paul Nobles, CPPO, CPPB, FCN, FCPM, FCCM
Office of Purchasing, Room 11.101
213 Palafox Place; Pensacola, FL 32502
Matt Langley Bell III Building
P.O. Box 1591; Pensacola, FL 32597-1591
Email: paul_nobles@co.escambia.fl.us
RE: Local Agency Program Agreement Project C.E.I. (Construction Engineering Inspections) for
Bellview Avenue Sidewalk Project; Solicitation Identification Number: PD 12-13.007
Dear Mr. Nobles:
Mehta And Associates, Inc. (MEHTA), specialized in Construction Engineering & Inspection services is
pleased to present our credentials to provide Professional services for the above referenced contract for
Escambia County. MEHTA has been doing work in engineering for over 30 years, and over 20 years
specifically with the FDOT on projects (20+ projects as a Prime Consultant, and 100+ projects as a Sub
Consultant) throughout the State. MEHTA is a certified State of Florida Minority Business Enterprise
(MBE) and FDOT Disadvantage Business Enterprise (DBE) firm. MEHTA is pre-qualified to provide
services for FDOT Groups 10.1 and other related FDOT Groups such as 10.2, 10.4, & Surveying – 8.1, 8.2
& 8.4.
MEHTA is local with an office located at 1308 Dunmire Street, Suite A, Pensacola, FL 32504. MEHTA’s
Principals include President, Vipin C. Mehta, P.E., and Vice President, Radha Mehta. MEHTA’s CEI Team
Lead is Senior Project Engineer, Anurag (Anu) Shah, P.E. MEHTA’s DUNS Number is 095787362.
The details shared in the ‘Standard Form 330 – Part I’ Submittal demonstrates MEHTA’s CEI experience
with federally and FDOT-funded projects (per the 10 past FDOT and Escambia County projects we have
listed and described), as well as our proposed staff’s qualifications, certifications, and experience with
design-build and FDOT projects and testing procedures (per our proposed team members’ resumes).
MEHTA proposes the same personnel that have worked on past Escambia County and FDOT District 3
Milton Operations projects together. Our Team is unique amongst our competition in that 1) we
eliminate the need for any learning curve due to our current experience in the same area. 2) We have
extensive experience in dealing with the Public, which is always critical for any project. And, 3) we offer
a cost savings in combining resource roles since our personnel are well cross-trained and able to multi-
task efficiently.
MEHTA does not have any active contracts or task work orders with the Escambia County at this time.
Provided below is a table showing MEHTA’s most recent experience of CEI projects as a Prime
Consultant for Escambia County:
Project Title Year Completed Construction $ Contract $
Escambia County – Construction Engineering
Inspection Ensley Phase IIA (PD 09.10-014) 2012 $2,000,000 $214,999.07
Escambia County – Ten Mile and Chemstrand
Intersection Improvements (PD 08.09-79) 2011 $900,000 $57,290.29
Escambia County – CR 297 Dog Track Road
Milling, Resurfacing and Roadway Improvement
from Gulf Beach to Blue Angel and Blue Angel to
Highway 98 (PD 08.09-083 and PD 08.09-085) 2010 $600,000 $112,272.03
As per this Contract’s RFP, this letter is prepared by a Corporate Officer of the firm obligating the firm,
Mehta And Associates, Inc., contractually. MEHTA as an organization and any officer of the team, have
no record of any incomplete work in the last five (5) years. And MEHTA, and any employees of MEHTA
are not involved in any lawsuits relative to services performed over the last five (5) years.
Provided below are additional details per the RFP.
1. Experience with Federally and FDOT funded project CEI services and the
reporting criteria that go with them (Report number and cost of contracts which
have been completed): Provided below is a table showing MEHTA’s experience of transportation CEI projects as a Prime
Consultant for local governmental agencies including Escambia County and neighboring agency, FDOT
District 3, and the construction cost of each. We take pride in having managed such projects efficiently,
with all reporting requirements being met timely. Irrespective if a project is federally or non-federally
funded, MEHTA takes a consistent approach to each contract by providing the same high level of
reporting as commonly required on federally funded projects.
Completed Construction Engineering Inspection Projects in Last 5 Years
Project Title
Year
Completed Construction $
Escambia County – CEI Ensley Phase IIA (PD 09.10-014) 2012 $2,000,000
Escambia County – Ten Mile and Chemstrand (PD 08.09-79) 2011 $900,000
Escambia County – CR 297 Dog Track Road M&R and Roadway 2010 $600,000
FDOT District 3 SR 173 Blue Angel Parkway 2010 $300,000
FDOT District 3 SR 292 Milling and Resurfacing 2010 $5 Million
FDOT District 4 I-95 South Bound Weigh in Motion Station 2011 $15 Million
Seminole County SR 434 Widening from I-4 to Montgomery 2011 $8 Million
FDOT District 5 SR 513 South Patrick Drive Improvement 2010 $7 Million
OOCEA Vick Road Extension 2009 $5 Million
FDOT District 3 SR 292 Perdido Keys 2009 $400,000
FDOT District 4 I-95 North Bound Weigh in Motion Station 2009 $22 Million
FDOT District 3 US 29 Resurfacing 2008 $8 Million
FDOT District 3 Hurricane Emergency Sign and Signal repairs 2007 $800,000
2. Availability of FDOT Certified Personnel to perform the work: Provided below is a table that demonstrates the experience and certifications of all our proposed
personnel. Additional details of each team member proposed are provided in the resumes submitted in
‘Standard Form 330 – Part I’.
Proposed Personnel Title Asphalt
Roadway
Pavi
ng
Asphalt
Plant I
nspec
tion
Class
1 C
oncrete
Tech
nicia
n
Soils
& A
ggre
gate T
echnic
ian
Eart
hwork
Tec
hnicia
n
Nucl
ear Guage
Tra
ined &
Pro
ficie
nt
SWPPP C
ertifi
ed
Anu Shah, P.E. Senior Project Engineer X X X X X X
John Collins, P.E. Senior Project Engineer X X X X X X
J.W. Hornsby Project Administrator X X X X X X
David Presson, P.E. Project Engineer X X X X X X
Teresa Cutting Contract Support Specialist X X X X X X
Jigar Shah, BSCE Senior Inspector X X X X X X
Manish Shah, MSCE Inspector X X X X X X X
Srinivas Addiga, BSCE Inspector X X X X X X X
Brandon Roberts Inspector X X X X X X
3. Firm’s ability to respond in a timely and acceptable manner to circumstances
that may arise involving project: Quick responsiveness and attention to detail while keeping in mind the sight of the big picture is an
attitude that permeates at all levels of the MEHTA Organization. Provided below is a snap shot of our
approach and elements critical to managing this Contract properly and responding to Escambia County
in a timely manner.
Communication and Public Awareness: Effective communication between all parties is key to this
Project’s success, including communication between Escambia County, Contractor, CEI, utility
companies, and traveling public via minimizing delays and communicating the construction schedule
with local emergency services of Escambia County and the FDOT’s Public Information Office (PIO).
Scheduling: MEHTA will work closely with the Contractor in ensuring a Project Schedule is created and
utilized as an accurate tool to assure work is progressing as effectively as possible. We will ensure that
activities are sequenced properly and durations are reasonable in order to complete all projects within
the allowable contract time. We will receive monthly updates, including a narrative report that describes
the project status and identifies potential delays, from the Contractor and review them thoroughly to
ensure the schedule reflects the actual work that has been completed to date.
Issue Resolution, Claims Avoidance, and Contract Modifications: The MEHTA Team believes in
proactively and effectively recognizing and resolving issues that can adversely impact the construction
schedule or budget. When necessary, we recommend negotiating and resolving claims and potential
contract modifications as early as possible while facts and data are ‘current’. Prior to negotiations, we
will prepare an independent analysis of the degree of entitlement, if any, and the cost and time impacts
to the Contractor. Any discovered entitlement for extra work or delay will be based on our
interpretation of the Contract documents and its affect on the Critical Path of the accepted schedule.
The above is only a snap shot of the MEHTA approach to managing construction projects. In direct
relation with our ability to respond to Escambia County in a timely manner, the above three areas are
what we have recognized as the most critical factors in ensuring a project is run smoothly, efficiently,
and that communication between all parties is done effectively. MEHTA will ensure a chain of command
and escalation matrix are established and well communicated to all Project stakeholders at the start of
the Project, and that all issue resolution be managed in accordance to that chain of command.
4. Firm’s experience with submitting the required EOE and DBE reporting:
MEHTA has one of the most FDOT District 3 experienced personnel proposed to handle EEO (Equal
Employment Opportunity) and DBE (Disadvantaged Business Enterprise) reporting for this Escambia
County Contract. It is absolutely critical that EEO and DBE reporting be done timely on federally funded
projects. Our proposed EEO Officer / Resident Compliance Specialist, Rene’ Hinton, has provided this
expertise on most of our projects in District 3 over the past 10 years.
Rene’s primary responsibility is to ensure the Prime Contractor and Subcontractors are in compliance
with the Contract in areas of EEO, DBE, and OJT (on-the-job training). Provided below is a snapshot of a
typical Resident Compliance Specialist’s day-to-day duties:
EEO Reporting: 1) Conduct EEO Compliance Interviews to ensure employees are being treated fairly and
are aware of the company’s EEO requirements; 2) Inspect the Jobsite Bulletin Board and ensure that all
requirements posted by the Prime and/or Subcontractor are correct; 3) Prepare and submit the Annual
EEO Report; 4) Receive and review Project EEO Reports; 5) Receive and review Certifications of Sublet
Work and Rental Agreements for accuracy.
DBE Reporting: 1) Monitor and ensure DBE payments are entered in by the Prime Contractor; 2) Collect
and monitor the Anticipated DBE Participation Statement.
OJT Reporting: 1) Ensure contractors follow all OJT requirements; 2) Prepare and submit monthly OJT
reports to the FDOT District Compliance Office.
Wages: 1) Certify payrolls by ensuring all payrolls are in compliance with federal requirements; 2)
Conduct Labor Interviews and ensure employees doing work are being paid as per their classification
guidelines; 3) Ensure all Contractors are paying employees the required wages.
All responsibilities will be managed efficiently and timely as we have done in the past on several projects
throughout the past 20 years.
5. Firms and current staffs experience with design-build contracts, FDOT
projects and FDOT testing procedure:
Majority of all of MEHTA’s Contracts have been awarded by the FDOT throughout the past 20 years, and
13 years by FDOT District 3. Listed below addresses MEHTA’s and the MEHTA Team’s experience with A)
Design-Build Contracts, B) FDOT Projects, and C) FDOT Testing Procedures.
A) Experience with Design-Build Contracts:
As the CEI, we understand that we track and assist in design reviews only and that we do not approve
Design-Build documents. Ultimately, the Design-Build Team is responsible for the delivery of this
project, but as the CEI we are a partner in that process and we know it is our responsibility to: track and
assist in Design-Build schedule review for progress and pay; track permit and utility schedules to keep
the project moving; oversee and ensure permit compliance and provide status updates if needed; and
track all submittals and keep reviews moving with duration accounting.
MEHTA’s Team Members have vast experience in Design-Build projects in the area of Escambia County,
specifically for FDOT District 3, as listed in our ‘Standard Form 330’ Submittal.
Details on how MEHTA managed such Design/Build projects are described in the section ‘Example
Projects Which Best Illustrate Proposed Teams Qualifications for this Contract’, primarily for the
following Design/Build projects:
-FDOT District 3 – Permanent Emergency Repairs due to Hurricane Ivan Design/Build Project
-FDOT District 4 - I-95 Weigh In Motion (WIM) Station NORTH and SOUTH Bound Design/Build Project
B) Experience with FDOT Projects:
Throughout the past 20 years, MEHTA has successfully completed over 120 contracts with the FDOT as a
Prime Consultant and Subconsultant. Majority of MEHTA’s contracts are with the FDOT, hence, we are
very experienced working on FDOT projects. Please look to details of our and individual’s experience
with FDOT Projects in our ‘Standard Form 330’ Submittal.
C) Experience with FDOT Testing Procedures:
All FDOT projects we have served on as either Prime Consultant or Subconsultant, MEHTA has been
required to administer and execute FDOT testing procedures either with materials testing expertise in-
house or through a partner firm specialized in materials testing. FDOT projects require CEI firms to
manage projects with CQC (Contractor Quality Control), where the Contractor is held responsible for
testing their materials, and the CEI firm is required to verify, inspect and oversee that process as well as
obtain the necessary materials certifications for all materials used on the project. This is done to ensure
all materials used adhere to the agreed upon Contract and Specifications. MEHTA will discuss the
current status and requirements for material certifications at every weekly progress meeting; monitor
the Project for conformance with the CQC Plan; and monitor the QC testing and it’s reporting into LIMS
(Laboratory Information Management System).
Project Observations & Constructability Review:
The MEHTA Team has reviewed the plans provided on the website and visited this Project site multiple
times and we have provided a brief project overview and constructability review for this project below.
PROJECT AWARENESS & UNDERSTANDING OF SCOPE MEHTA as a team has thoroughly reviewed the scope of services and the preliminary proposed plans for
the Bellview Sidewalk Project. This Local Area Program project includes approximately 1700 LF of 6’
wide sidewalk on the Southside of Bellview Avenue, 976 LF of 5’ wide sidewalk on the Westside of Dallas
Avenue, 2311 LF of 5’ wide sidewalk on the Westside of Memphis Avenue, 2376 LF of 5’ wide sidewalk
on the Westside of Denver Avenue, and 2598 LF of 5’ wide sidewalk on the Westside of Community
Drive. On these street 82 driveways and 25 ADA curb ramps with detectable warning surfaces will be
constructed to ADA Guidelines and FDOT design standards. Thermoplastic striping will be placed at the
side street crossings for the sidewalk constructed on Bellview Avenue to provide safe crossings. Typical
clearing and grubbing will be necessary to construct the new sidewalk along with the relocation of signs,
mailboxes, irrigation, chain link fences, concrete posts, trees, shrubs, existing landscaping, etc. There
are several utilities within the project limits that will have to be either relocated and or protected prior
to or during construction which include but not limited to water meters, fire hydrants, and power poles
and guy wire anchors. Drainage upgrades are proposed in the preliminary plans that include valley curb
and gutter, Type F curb and gutter, flumes, mitered end sections, 12” pipe installation with 18” x 18”
grate inlets with slots, and pipe desilting. Also, associated with drainage upgrades in certain areas,
handrail will need to be installed to shield potential hazardous drop offs throughout the project. If this
project is let as a Design-Build project based on MEHTA’s experience with Design-Build projects it is
necessary to actively participate and be proactive during the review process as the plans are developed
by the Design-Build Firm so that potential issues are identified early in the process to avoid delays to the
contract.
UNDERSTANDING OF PROJECT ISSUES
After conducting several site visits and plan reviews (Dated May 2012), we have identified the following
project concerns and offer recommendations on how we plan to approach them.
Maintenance of Traffic: There is a current project under construction by Anderson Columbia on Bellview
Avenue that is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2013. Action: MEHTA will ensure that all
MOT and construction operations are coordinated between the contractors to ensure the least amount
of impact to the travelling public and homeowners.
Public Information: Driveways, mailboxes, and landscaping can be very
personal and carry a sense of pride with adjacent property owners.
Recommendation/Action: MEHTA will take time to touch base on a personal
basis during construction with property owners as much as needed so they are
aware of what is taking place in regards to their driveways, mailboxes, and
landscaping, so all concerns are addressed to prevent potential delays and
complaints.
ADA Compliance: Ensuring ADA requirements are met for newly constructed
sidewalk and curb ramps. Recommendation/Action: MEHTA will ensure that
all ADA guidelines and FDOT indexes are enforced and checked throughout
the project.
Concrete Driveways: The preliminary plans on Sheet 2 of 15 indicate 4” thick
concrete to be placed on the driveways with 4” Sand-Clay or Limestone Base.
Recommendation: Based on MEHTA’s Experience with Escambia County and
the FDOT Design Standard Index 515 we recommend that 6” concrete to be placed on turnouts to
prevent cracking from traffic.
Chain link fence just east of Birmingham Ave on Bellview Ave: The
preliminary plans on Sheet 3 of 15 calls for 70 LF of chain link fence to be
removed and replaced. The existing chain link fence starts at
approximately Sta. 19+50 RT and continues all the way to approximately
Sta. 22+60 RT. The plans do not address how to tie into the existing fence
line and the need for a fence gate to be placed for the driveway at
approximately Sta. 20+00 RT.
Recommendation: MEHTA would ensure that this is addressed by the EOR
and that the homeowner is informed of what will be taking place.
Utility Relocation/Protection: There are several utilities within the project
limits that will have to be either relocated and or protected. For example
sheet 3 of 15 of the Plans shows this pole and guy wire to be relocated by
others. Recommendation/Action: MEHTA will ensure that utilities are
identified and contacted to prevent any potential delays.
Sincerely,
Mehta And Associates, Inc.
Vipin Mehta, P.E.
President
Recommended