The City of Columbus (hereinafter "City") is accepting bids for Southerly WWTP Post Aeration Diffuser Replacement, C.I.P. No. 650354-100000, the work for which consists of the replacement of existing blowers, diffusers, and butterfly gates, blower rehabilitation, sluice gate rehabilitation, structural concrete repair, stop logs installation, piping and valve replacement, railing replacement, HVAC and building improvements, electrical, instrumentation, and control system improvements, and other such work as may be necessary to complete the contract, in accordance with the drawings, technical specifications, special provisions, and City of Columbus Construction and Material specifications Pursuant to Columbus City Code Sections 329.20, 329.21, and 329.211, the bidder must demonstrate that it has satisfied the city's construction pre-qualification requirements (note that this includes licensed trade subcontractors); that it is pre-qualified responsible or provisionally responsible at the time of bid due date, and is eligible to bid on City construction projects. Note that these requirements are separate and in addition to the contract compliance requirements of the Equal Business Opportunity Office (described in Section F). If you are unsure about your construction pre-qualification status, contact the Pre-Qualification Office at (614) 645-0359 or electronically. Both the City MBE/WBE goal and the U.S. EPA goals are required to be met and the associated forms for both City and U.S. EPA goals must be completed and submitted with the bid. If the U.S. EPA DBE goals or the City MBE/WBE goal cannot be met, the specifications require the demonstration and documentation of a good faith effort using the appropriate forms for both provided in the IFB. Please note that if there is not a City MBE/WBE goal associated with the project the U.S. EPA DBE goals are still required to be met. For contracts the City estimates will exceed $500,000.00, bidders must be pre-qualified responsible or provisionally responsible at bid due date to be awarded a contract for City construction work. Subcontractors performing work in a licensed construction trade as defined by City Code 329.01 (heating, ventilating, and air conditioning; refrigeration; electrical; plumbing; hydronics; or fire protection or firefighting equipment) must also be pre-qualified responsible or provisionally responsible at the bid due date. Bidders must submit Form B9, an affidavit confirming their prequalification status. For information on pre-qualification status, contact the Office of Construction Prequalification at (614) 645-0359 or electronically. Note that the prequalification requirements are separate from and in addition to the contract compliance requirements of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (described in Section F below), the contractor licensing requirements of the Department of Building and Zoning Services, and the Water/Sewer Contractor Tappers License requirements of the Department of Public Utilities. For contract values estimated to not exceed $500,000, prequalification of bidders and subcontractors is not required, and licensed construction trade subcontractors are not required to be prequalified. Contract Estimated To Be In Excess of $2,000,000 All work shall be substantially complete within 1,520 calendar days of the Notice to Proceed, with final completion to occur within 1,610 calendar days. The City anticipates issuing a Notice to proceed on or about April 29, 2023. Questions pertaining to this Invitation For Bid must be submitted by January 2, 2024 at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time via email to DPUConstructionBids@columbus.gov. The email should reference the project number and the project name. No phone calls will be accepted. The City or its representative will not be bound by any oral interpretations which are not reduced to writing and included in addenda. Any interpretations of questions so raised, which in the opinion of the City or its representative require interpretations, will be issued by addenda and posted electronically City certified MBE/WBE firms that submit a bid may be eligible to receive a bid discount of 5% of the bid amount. Each bid shall contain a bid bond to ensure if the bid is accepted a contract shall be executed. The resulting contract shall require a performance and payment bond. The bid bond amount shall be equal to or exceed ten percent (10%) of this total amount. If the contract estimated to cost over $100,000.00, the successful bidder will be required to secure a contract performance and payment bond in the amount of 100 percent of the contract price, including the guarantee period, in accordance with Columbus City Code Chapter 329 and the current edition of the City of Columbus Ohio Construction and Material Specifications (CMS) to ensure the faithful performance of the work.