Any bid received after said time and date will not be considered by the Owner. No bid may be withdrawn after the closing time for the receipt of bids for a period of sixty (60) days except as specifically provided in the Instructions to Bidders and/or by State law. The RFI deadline will be Friday, November 10, 2023, at 5:00 PM. RFIs should be addressed to Robert Barber at 678-414-1434 or rbarber@cityofcovington.org. The Project consists of approximately 3,800 feet of 8-inch DIP water main with valves, system connections, service reconnections, hydrants and other related appurtenances for portions of S. Dinah Circle, N. Dinah Circle, and Tara Drive in Covington, Georgia. Engineer will transmit to all Plan Holders such addenda as Engineer considers necessary in response to questions and discussion arising at the conference. Oral statements may not be relied upon and will not be binding or legally effective. The Scope of Work as described herein is defined as "utility contracting" in accordance with O.C.G.A 43-14-2(17) so the Contractor performing the work must provide proof of a valid license by the State of Georgia as a "Utility Contractor" and must also employ a "Utility Manager" certification holder who will have oversight of all the utility work. See Instructions to Bidders for additional bidding requirements. A Bid Bond in the amount of five percent (5%) will be required. A Performance Bond and a Payment Bond, each in the amount of one hundred percent (100%) of the contract, must be furnished by the successful bidder upon award of the contract. Each Bond shall be accompanied by a "Power of Attorney" authorizing the attorney-in-fact to bind the surety and certified to include the date of the bond. All qualifying Contractors and Subcontractors performing work with the City of Covington must register and participate in the federal work authorization program commonly known as E-Verify, or any subsequent replacement program, to verify the work eligibility information of new employees. In order for a Bid to be considered, it is mandatory that the Bidder's Affidavit of Compliance with O.C.G.A. SS13-10-91 be completed and submitted with the Bid. The Owner reserves the right to reject any or all Bids, including without limitation, the rights to reject any or all nonconforming, nonresponsive, unbalanced or conditional Bids and to reject the Bid of any Bidder if Owner believes that it would not be in the best interest of the Project to make an award to that Bidder, whether because the Bid is not responsive or the Bidder is unqualified or of doubtful financial ability or fails to meet any other pertinent standard or criteria established by the Owner.