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

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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