Bid: The Purchase, Upgrade, Operations and Maintenance of City of Derby Water Pollution Control Authority’s Wastewater Assets

Bid details: The Purchase, Upgrade, Operations and Maintenance of City of Derby Water Pollution Control Authority’s Wastewater Assets

ID: WPCA - RFQ

Title: The Purchase, Upgrade, Operations and Maintenance of City of Derby Water Pollution Control Authority’s Wastewater Assets

Bid Start Date : May 19, 2021, midnight

BidEnd Date: June 30, 2021, 5 p.m.

Status: Closed

Active: True

Submittal Info: All Submittals shall be made through the City of Derby Website Portal

Bid Opening Info: Bids shall be opened publicly in the Office of the Town/City Clerk on or after Wednesday June 30, 2021 at 5:00 pm

Description:

The City of Derby Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) has issued this RFQ to explore the sale of its wastewater assets to a private regulated utility and to generate a list of the most qualified utility companies.  This RFQ is not intended to commit WPCA to a wastewater asset sale.  This RFQ is to solicit firms interested in a full ownership model, including but not limited to operations of the wastewater treatment plant and wastewater systems.

The WPCA has has participated in a proposed Regional Waste Water Study and information regarding the City’s wastewater assets are available to allow firms to prepare a response to this RFQ.  All of these documents may be found at   https://nvcogct.gov/project/current-projects/regional-wastewater-treatment-consolidation-study/

Qualifications:

Minimum criteria for interested utility companies:

• Currently operate as a public service company focused on water and/or wastewater
• Currently regulated by the CT Public Utilities Regulatory Authority

All questions shall be submitted in writing by emailing Andrew Baklik at abaklik@derbyct.gov

All questions shall be submitted by Wednesday June 9, 2021 via email only.

Answers to questions will be published in an Addendum and shall be published on the portion of the City of Derby’s website concerning bids. 

Special Requirements:

Possible Benefits to the WPCA, City of Derby, and its Citizens

The WPCA’s wastewater system requires investment to comply with existing administrative orders from the State of Connecticut and United States Environmental Protection Agency.  While the WPCA has made significant progress in upgrading it’s facilities since 2014, there is still much work to be completed.  When reviewing the responses to this request for proposal the WPCA shall review the possible benefits to the WPCA, City of Derby, and its Citizens which may include:

• Rate stabilization: The increase in regulation and technical support needed to operate a wastewater treatment system leaves the ratepayers of the system at risk of rate fluctuations.  Ownership of the system by a firm with more technical and financial resources could result in long term rate stabilization for WPCA users. 
• Reduced risk: Operating a wastewater system has become increasingly technical and regulated.  Many systems in the state have already outsourced their sewer operations.  Ownership of the system by a firm with more technical and financial resources than the WPCA will minimize the risk to the City and potentially assist in its financial status and bonding capabilities. and could result in rate stability over the long term, and reduced risk for the City.
• Reduce Debt and Eliminate Future Municipal Borrowing: While the WPCA owns the wastewater assets and is responsible for the operation of the system, the debt incurred for upgrading the system is backed by the City of Derby.  A sale would eliminate the need for future borrowing by the City for wastewater and sale proceeds could retire existing debt which allows the City to reduce spending and/or invest in further economic development.
• Fund Other Projects: Sale proceeds could also be used to fund other City capital projects with out additional borrowing.

Provisions for the Contractual Relationship with the Selected Firm

1.  After review of the responses to this RFQ, the WPCA and Board of Alderman/Alderwoman (Hereinafter “Board”) may enter into an exclusivity agreement with the most qualified firm to negotiate a purchase price and terms and conditions for the sale of the WPCA’s wastewater assets.  The WPCA and Board reserve the right to qualify one company, multiple companies or to qualify no company at all.

2. The most qualified firm will have a 90-day period of exclusivity to negotiate an Asset Purchase Agreement with the WPCA and the Board.  This Agreement shall be negotiated to the satisfaction of the WPCA, Board and Corporation Counsel.  This period may be extended by mutual agreement of both the WPCA and Board and the most qualified firm.

3. If at the end of the period of exclusivity, the WPCA and Board is unable to reach an agreement with the most qualified company, WPCA and Board may at their discretion, decide to enter into an exclusivity agreement with next most qualified company or the WPCA or Board may abandon the wastewater asset sale process entirely.  This process may continue until the list of qualified companies is exhausted or upon the WPCA’s and/or Board’s determination to abandon the wastewater asset sale process entirely.

Misc. Info:

Statement of Qualifications

1. Cover Letter -- Key contact(s) for your response to the RFP; contact information shall include email address and telephone contact numbers; and pronouncement of the contact(s) that are authorized to commit your organization to contractual obligations.

2. Executive Summary – 1 page summary of the firms overall response.

3. Experience
   1. Company History and Existing Operations: Provide a summary of your firm’s history and summarize existing utility operations.
   2. CT PURA Regulatory Experience: Any wastewater asset sale will ultimately need to be approved by the CT Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA). Provide a summary of the company’s history with the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority. 
   3. Financial capabilities: Provide a financial summary of the firms operations and demonstrate the financial capabilities to both purchase, upgrade, and maintain the WPCA’s wastewater assets.
   4. Capital Program Management: Provide a history of the firm’s last 5 years of capital expenditures and how capital programs are managed and execute
   5. Ratemaking: Provide a recent history of existing rates for CT customers, an approach to ratemaking, and a comparison to other CT utilities.
   6. Customer Service: Explain and demonstrate how customer service activities are executed and measured for existing customers and how customer satisfaction ratings have compared to existing utilities. 

4. Ownership and Operations Approach

With the understanding that the firm’s overall approach to ownership and operations of the plant would be subject to additional due diligence, please provide an explanation of how you would approach ownership of and continued maintenance of the WPCA’s wastewater facilities.

1. 1. Existing Operations: Provide your understanding of the current WPCA facilities and a narrative for how existing operations would be transitioned to the utility.  Highlight any possible benefits to the City of Derby and its ratepayers.
   2. Utility Plant upgrade approach: Provide a conceptual approach to future upgrades to the WPCA’s existing treatment facilities.
   3. Treatment of Rates: Explain how the City’s existing wastewater rates may change as a result of private ownership.
   4. Staffing: Explain how the facilities would be staffed and how existing WPCA staff would receive employment opportunities.
   5. Customer Service and Billing: Explain how customer service activities and billing activities would be handled.
   6. Regionalization: Explain the firm’s approach to regionalization and how a privatization could affect both short term and long-term regional wastewater initiatives.

 Administrative Orders: Explain how privatization will affect any current Administrative Orders currently in place against the City and/or WPCA.

Contact Person:

Andrew Baklik - 203.736.1450 Extension 1257 or abaklik@derbyct.gov

All questions shall be submitted by Wednesday June 9, 2021 via email only.

All questions and responses will be published to this listing.

Download Available:

Additional Resources on Regional Study being performed by the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments - https://nvcogct.gov/project/current-projects/regional-wastewater-treatment-consolidation-study/

Categories:

• RFP/RFQ