County of Alameda, General Services Agency – Purchasing
RFP No. 900589, Addendum No. 1
Page 2 of 9
July 10, 2009
COUNTY OF ALAMEDA
GENERAL SERVICES AGENCY-PURCHASING
ADDENDUM No. 1
to
RFP No. 900589
For
Public, Education & Government Access Channel Consultant
Specification Clarification/Modification and Recap of the Networking/Bidders Conferences
Held on June 18, 2009 and June 19, 2009
______
Notice to Bidders
This County of Alameda, General Services Agency (GSA), RFP Addendum has been electronically issued to potential bidders via e-mail. E-mail addresses used are those in the County’s Small Local Emerging Business (SLEB) Vendor Database or from other sources. If you have registered or are certified as a SLEB please ensure that the complete and accurate e-mail address is noted and kept updated in the SLEB Vendor Database. This RFP Addendum will also be posted on the General Services Agency (GSA) Contracting Opportunities website located at http://www.acgov.org/gsa/purchasing/bid_content/ContractOpportunities.jsp.
The following Sections have been modified to read as shown below. Changes made to the original RFP document are in bold print and highlighted, and deletions made have a strike through.
Please note that there will be a non-mandatory bid walkthrough of current County equipment on July 24, 2009 at 2:00p.m. at:
1401 Lakeside Drive, Suite 907
Oakland, California 94612
The walk through should take about 30 minutes and no questions will be allowed at this time.
A. CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Event / Date/LocationRequest Issued / June 4, 2009
Written Questions Due / by 2:00 P.M. on June 17, 2009
Networking/Bidders Conference/Site Visit #1 / June 18, 2009 at 10:00a.m. / at: GSA - Purchasing
1401 Lakeside Drive
Room 1105, 11th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
Networking/Bidders Conference/Site Visit #2 / June 19, 2009 at 2:00p.m. / at: City of Pleasanton
200 Bernal Avenue
City Council’s Conf. Room
Pleasanton, CA 94588
Addendum 1 / June 26,2009 July 9, 2009
Site walk through / July 24, 2009
Response Due / July 14, 2009 August 10, 2009, by 2:00 p.m.
Evaluation Period / July 14 through July 24 2009 August 10 through August 28, 2009
Vendor Interviews / July 20 through July 24, 2009 August 19 through August 21, 2009
Board Letter Issued / August 21, 2009 September 11, 2009
Board Award Date / September 8, 2009 September 29, 2009
Contract Start Date / September 30, 2009 October 15, 2009
Note: Award and start dates are approximate.
B. PRICING
1. Prices quoted shall be firm for the first twelve 180 days of any contract that may be awarded pursuant to this RFP.
Responses to Written Questions:
Q1) Will contractors be able to utilize the services of Cal Works Work Experience clients at For- Profit, Non-Profit and/or Alameda County business sites?
A1) The bidders are responsible for checking with Cal Works.
Q2) Will a synopsis of the networking/bidders conference be available to bidders unable to attend the conferences?
A2) Yes.
Q3) Can the County of Alameda please describe services and programming in place today?
A3) No programming is currently in place. The intent of the RFP is to assess the feasibility of implementing a PEG channel.
Q4) Does the County have any existing partnerships today? If so, can the County describe these relationships?
A4) The County has no existing partnerships in place, as there is no PEG channel in place.
Q5) Can the County of Alameda please describe funding mechanisms currently in place?
A5) Pursuant to Section 3.17.060 of the Public Utilities Code section 5860, “Any state franchise holder operating within the County shall pay to the County a state franchise fee equal to 1% of gross revenues of it or any affiliate….” This fee is being collected from cable providers operating in Alameda County, and will be used as funding for a PEG channel if the decision is made to implement a channel in Alameda County.
Q6) What methods of dissemination currently exist for PEG programming? (i.e. Analog and Digital TV, Video On-Demand, Internet, etc.)
A6) Although no PEG channel is in existence for Alameda County, digital TV is now the only option for cable dissemination. Alameda County is also evaluating the possibility of webcasting through the internet.
Q7) At what point will the County want to discuss the most effective methods of PEG channel promotion to potential viewers?
A7) This can be discussed once the contract has been awarded.
Q8) Is it a requirement of a firm to be local to submit a bid?
A8) No.
Q9) Is a non-local firm submitting a bid required to team with a local firm?
A9) Small Local Emerging Business (SLEB) provisions apply to all contracts over $25,000.
Q10) Is there a small local emerging database that out of state bidders can use for partnering?
A10) Yes. Please the following website:
http://www.acgov.org/sleb_query_app/gsa/sleb/query/slebmenu.jsp
Q11) Since this is a service contract, is a Dunn and Bradstreet Supplier Evaluation Report
required?
A11) Yes, please see RFP Exhibit M letter G.
Q12) Can a vendor obtain an insurance waiver for the term of the contract?
A12) No, a waiver is not possible.
Responses to Verbal Questions:
Q13) Would a bidder be in compliance with the RFP if a bidder agreed to provide certificates of insurance from Exhibit C, upon acceptance of his/her bid?
A13) No. You must submit all insurance information with your bid.
Q14) Does the County of Alameda tape any of the board meetings to date?
A14) No. The audio is on the internet, but there is no visual.
Q15) What is the approximate dollar amount that Comcast pays to the County of Alameda?
A15) Pursuant to Section 5860 of the California Public Utilities Code, “any state franchise holder operating within the county shall pay to the county a PEG fee equal to 1% of the gross revenues…” For FY 09/10, we anticipate receiving approximately $150K in PEG revenue from Comcast.
Q16) Can the County provide an idea of what is defined as the unincorporated areas of Alameda County?
A16) The unincorporated areas of Alameda County include Ashland, Castro Valley, Cherryland, Fairview, Sunol, San Lorenzo, Oakland Township, Alameda Township, Brooklyn Township, Eden Township, Washington Township, Murray Township.
Q17) Does the County want the station to go out on cable throughout the County of Alameda?
A17) The County believes that the signal would have to be broadcast throughout the County.
Q18) So is this going to be a 24/7 single station? Because typically before it was a state franchise there used to be multiple stations allocated.
A18) The consultant will provide assistance in this area.
Q19) Is the County looking to operate the channel 365 days a year 24/7?
A19) We will use the analysis conducted by the consultant, as well as direction from the Board of Supervisors, to make this determination.
Q20) Are in person meetings with the vendor required during the term of the contract?
A20) Yes. Please assume all meetings will be in person at the County offices.
Q21) Have you done any negotiations with Comcast or AT&T?
A21) There have been preliminary discussions. An agreement is not necessary because there is a general ordinance in place that governs cable franchises.
Q22) Has it been determined where the operations for the channel will take place?
A22) No.
Q23) Is there a station that Alameda County already has?
A23) The County does not have a studio. The Board chamber’s does has some existing equipment. However, the consultant would determine if the existing equipment could be used for the intended purpose.
Q24) Has there been any planning for a location in the Eden area at this point?
A24) Not at this point. But again the County would want to assess the probability of that.
Q25) Does the County have an agreement with AT&T or is that still being negotiated?
A25) The County has a general ordinance that governs all the activities for cable franchise within Alameda County.
Q26) So there are only two cable providers and those are AT&T and Comcast?
A26) Yes, and we don’t have to go out and get an agreement with each one of them because the County has a standard ordinance and anyone who operates as cable provider in Alameda County will have to abide by the ordinance.
Q27) So AT&T contributes to this fund as well as Comcast?
A27) Yes, the one percent.
Q28) Does it help to have the studio facilities already with equipment ready to go?
A28) No, this contract will be for consultation, not production, so a studio will not be of benefit to any bidder.
Q29) Is it a plus to have equipment and infrastructure, as well as programming ready to go in the bid response?
A29) What the County seeks is a thorough analysis of all of our options so that our Board of Supervisors and our County Administrator can select the best option.
Q30) In the previous and current references, can the organizations combine their experiences on those forms because there are three spots?
A30) No.
Q31) Can the organizations that are collaborating combine those references?
A31) No.
Q32) Once a contract is signed who will get the money directly from the County, will it be the SLEB or the prime contractor who submitted the bid?
A32) The prime contractor is the one who submits the bid, not the SLEB partner. The prime will be paid directly from the County and the SLEB will be paid from the prime who submitted the bid.
Q33) Does the County expect this channel to be broadcast 24 hours a day?
A33) It could definitely lead into that. The County wants to make it clear that this contract is for consulting services only.
Q34) The County could choose another prime contractor to implement this channel based on what the consultant offers through this bid and hire County staff to implement this channel?
A34) That is possible.
Q35) So the analysis that is done could eventually be used to help somebody else actually implement the program?
A35) Yes, that is possible because this is a contract only for consulting services only. A contract for implementation could be issued as well.
Q36) Looking at the deliverables, how long of a contract?
A36) The contract will be written for one full year. However, we may need to extend the contract.
Q37) Does the County know of other Counties that have a Public Access Channel?
A37) Yes, many other California counties have a Public Access Channel.
Q38) Does the County think it would be advantageous to show programming surrounding the various departments of Alameda County offices e. g. interviewing of the department heads?
A38) Alameda County will consider various programming options.
Q39) Will this be the panel in Pleasanton tomorrow?
A39) Yes.
Q40) Will the conference tomorrow be the same format at to days?
A40) Yes, the exact same format.
Q41) Will we see the questions and answers from tomorrow’s conference on the addendum?
A41) Yes.
Q42) Will you be including the bidders in attendance to the list so that we will know who was here today and tomorrow?
A42) Yes.
Q43) Why is the County setting up this channel?
A43) The Board of Supervisors would like to be transparent and accessible in their operations and this will be another avenue for them to reach the public.
Q44) So part of this vendor’s responsibility would be to say whether or not this is a good idea?
A44) Yes.
Q45) How do we know when the contract is complete?
A45) An award and non award letter will be sent to the vendor indicating the end of the bidding process.
Q46) If I understand that correctly it is when the Board accepts the findings?
A46) The award and non award letters will be sent out when the evaluation process is complete and a recommendation has been made to the Board. If the Board then approves the award, the Purchasing Agent is authorized to negotiate and sign a contract. The process is complete if and when the contract is signed by both parties.
Q47) With the channel you are intending, is it going to be government access only or will it be public access as well?
A47) It’s probably going to be mostly government access.
Q48) Has the channel been requested with Comcast?
A48) No channel has been issued, as we are not at the stage of implementation.
Q49) Does the County have to apply for PEG fees though the state?
A49) No, we have an ordinance which implements the state regulations so we receive the money automatically quarterly from the cable providers.
Q50) In terms of Comcast, has a channel been assigned?
A50) Not as of yet.
Q51) Will the location of the channel be in a County building?
A51) Based on what we know so far, 1221 Oak Street in Oakland is probably the location of where the studio may be.
Q52) Is that the secured building?
A52) Yes, but this is not where you would submit the bids.
Q53) Is there any other interest in funding this channel mostly through grants, or commercials , infomercials time sales, is that all open gain?
A53) We will look at all funding sources.
Q54) What are the insurance requirements?
A54) Please see Exhibit C.
The following participants attended the Bidders’ Conferences:
2nd Site Productions
1138 Delaware Street
Berkeley, CA 94702 / Fred Kaplan / Phone: 818-648-1799
E-Mail:
Prime Contractor:
Subcontractor:
Certified SLEB:
Human Red Productions
361 40th Street
Oakland, CA 94609 / Josh Kahn / Phone: 510-393-0140
E-Mail:
Prime Contractor: X
Subcontractor: X
Certified SLEB: Yes
Computers & You
5026 Melrose
Oakland, CA 94601 / Cheryl Dockey / Phone: 510-433-0194
E-Mail:
Prime Contractor:
Subcontractor: X
Certified SLEB: No
Computers & You
5026 Melrose
Oakland, CA 94601 / Pamela Stearne / Phone: 510-433-0194/510-858-4444
E-Mail:
Prime Contractor:
Subcontractor: X
Certified SLEB: No
OURTV
10700 MacArthur Blvd.
Oakland, CA 94603 / Leonard Stephens / Phone: 510-913-9569
E-Mail:
Prime Contractor:
Subcontractor: X
Certified SLEB: Yes
OURTV
10700 MacArthur Blvd.
Oakland, CA 94603 / Earl Roberson / Phone: 707-655-0970
E-Mail:
Prime Contractor:
Subcontractor: X
Certified SLEB: Yes
William Dodge Productions
37750 Second Street
Fremont, CA 94536 / William Dodge / Phone: 510-793-6737
E-Mail:
Prime Contractor: X
Subcontractor:
Certified SLEB: No
Phone:
E-Mail:
Prime Contractor:
Subcontractor:
Certified SLEB:
Phone:
E-Mail:
Prime Contractor:
Subcontractor:
Certified SLEB:
COUNTY OF ALAMEDA, GENERAL SERVICES AGENCY-PURCHASING EXHIBIT A – BID ACKNOWLEDGEMENT