NOTE: Question and Answers section at the bottom of the page
POWELL COUNTY FISCAL COURT’S REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR EXPANDED BROADBAND INTERNET SERVICES
The Powell County Fiscal Court is requesting proposals for the provision of expanded broadband internet services designed to provide adequate internet speeds to unserved and underserved households and businesses located in the County. This project will be funded in whole or in part using funds authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, Pub. L. No. 117-2 (“ARPA”), including Kentucky’s Broadband Deployment Fund established by House Bills 320 and 382 (Regular Session 2021).
INVITATION TO SUBMIT PROPOSALS
Proposals are invited from private sector entities that have submitted an application to the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority for a grant from the Broadband Deployment Fund.
Questions should be directed via email to: Chip Clark cclark@bgadd.org
SCOPE OF SERVICES
The Powell County Fiscal Court is issuing this Request for Proposals (RFP) to identify a public/private partner(s) best qualified to assess the broadband needs for the county, design, engineer, and construct broadband infrastructure in the underserved and unserved areas of the county. And, once the infrastructure in place, the selected partner(s) will maintain and operate the network(s) and provide broadband services.
- Installation and provision of broadband internet services that are designed to deliver, upon project completion, reliable symmetrical upload and download speeds of at least 100 megabits per second (Mbps), or, if such speeds are not feasible, reliable download speeds of at least 100 Mbps and upload speeds between at least 20 Mbps and 100 Mbps and be scalable to a minimum of 100 Mbps symmetrical download and upload speeds.
- Powell County request that all underserved/unserved areas in the county be served by FTTP infrastructure. If the proposed design includes other technologies, e.g., fixed wireless, respondents are requested to provide the following analysis:
- Estimated CAPX variance between the proposed design and FTTP infrastructure
- Estimated OPX variance between the proposed design and FTTP infrastructure
- Estimated speed-to-construct variance between the proposed design and FTTP infrastructure
- Can the proposed design be upgraded to FTTP in the future? If so, at what cost?
- Powell County request that all underserved/unserved areas in the county be served by FTTP infrastructure. If the proposed design includes other technologies, e.g., fixed wireless, respondents are requested to provide the following analysis:
SUBMISSION PROCESS AND REQUIREMENTS
Submission Deadline: Proposals must be received by the Powell County Fiscal Court on or before April 29, 2022 at 4:00 p.m.. Proposals may NOT be withdrawn for a period of sixty (60) days from the submission deadline.
Method of Submission: All proposal submissions shall mailed or hand-delivered and addressed as follows:
PROPOSAL FOR BROADBAND INTERNET SERVICES
James D. Anderson Jr.
Powell County Fiscal Court
525 Washington Street
Stanton KY. 40380
Required Content of Proposal:
- Contact Information
State the applicant organization’s name and mailing address. State the primary contact person’s name, title, telephone number, mailing address, and email address. State the project manager’s name, title, telephone number, mailing address, and email address. State the application author’s name, title, telephone number, mailing address, and email address.
2. Map and Description of Project Area
Describe the geographic coverage area of the proposed project. Include a map of the proposed project area and/or a complete list of addresses that will be served by the project. A map of a last mile project should include the service area boundaries and also include place names, boundaries, buildings, road/street names or other features that clearly identify the project coverage area. For middle mile projects, the map should indicate the location of the middle mile facilities that will be placed.
3. Project Summary
Describe the project location, type of project construction, number of passings served and speed goals met or exceeded. Identify any project partners for the project. Provide a universal level of service that allows all residents and businesses to have access to comparable levels of service and pricing.
4. Anticipated Broadband Improvements
Identify the speeds currently available, if any, for each type of location and the speeds that will be offered. Provide evidence demonstrating that, upon completion, the installed broadband infrastructure will reliably meet the minimum required 100 Mbps download speeds and 100 Mbps upload speeds. Identify the number of households and businesses located in the County that will be eligible for services upon project completion. Provide evidence in the proposal demonstrating that the proposed project is for unserved or underserved areas.
5. Funding and Costs
Identify and describe all sources of funding for the project. Identify the expected total costs to complete the project. If the project will cover multiple counties, identify the expected costs to complete the portion of the project located in Powell County.
6. Permits and Approvals
Provide copies of all preconstruction permits and approvals granted to begin construction in Powell County.
7. Project Schedule/Work Plan
Provide the proposed project schedule, which shall include all key planning, procurement, construction, installation, testing, and service activation milestones.
8. Financial Information
Provide a five-year stand-alone financial plan for the proposed project, including a description of how the costs and anticipated revenue will result in the financial viability of the project over time.
9. Grant Applications
Provide copies of all grant applications submitted to receive funding for the project.
RFP submissions must be submitted by April 29, 2022 at 4:00 PM, prevailing local time. Planned timeline and milestones:
| DATE | MILESTONE |
| April 7, 2022 | RFP Issued |
| April 14- 25, 2022 | Questions and requests for clarification interval. Inquires due by April 25 at 4:00 PM prevailing local time |
| April 29, 2022 | RFP proposals due by 4:00 p.m. prevailing local time* |
| NOTE* Bids will be opened at the next regular court meeting following submission. | |
CONTRACT/AWARD
The procurement of the contract will be through a competitive negotiation process. Due to the specialized services required to be rendered under the contract, the award of the contract will not necessarily be awarded based upon the lowest price. Rather, the contract will be awarded to the entity that the Fiscal Court determines, in writing, and in its sole discretion, has demonstrated the capability to deliver fast, reliable, and affordable broadband internet services to the County’s unserved and underserved households and businesses and whose proposal is the most advantageous to the County based upon those factors and the reciprocal preference for resident bidders required by KRS 45A.494.
The Fiscal Court reserves the right to reject any and all proposals and to waive any formalities. The award will be made without discussion except as provided in KRS 45A.370.
Questions and Answers
Q. The RFP states that “Proposals are invited from private sector entities that have submitted an application to the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority for a grant from the Broadband Development Fund.” Does this preclude a company that didn’t submit and application to the Broadband Development Fund.
A. No, it does not. Anyone is welcome to submit, and all proposals will be considered.
Q. Is the RFP posted on a website?
A. Yes, https://bgadd.org/powell-county-broadband-rfp/
Q. Do you anticipate the deadline for the RFP being extended?
A. At this time we do not anticipate an extension.
Q. DO YOU HAVE DEDICATED/PROVEN NUMBERS OF HOUSEHOLDS AND BUSINESSES FOR THE ENTIRE COUNTY WE SHOULD USE? (WE HAVE SEEN DIFFERENT NUMBERS PUBLISHED BY STATE AND FEDERAL AUTHORITIES SINCE RELEASE OF THE 2020 CENSUS DATA)
A. The 2020 census shows 4,698 households and 165 businesses in Powell County. Data taken from U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Powell County, Kentucky
Q. DO YOU HAVE ANY NUMBERS FOR HOUSEHOLDS THAT WOULD QUALIFY AS OR EQUIVILENT TO “SECTION 8” HOUSING?
A. No
Q. DO YOU HAVE SPECIFIC COMMUNITIES WITHIN THE COUNTY BY NAME WITH NUMBERS OF HOUSEHOLDS FOR THE UNSERVED AND UNDERSERVED IN THE COUNTY?
A. No
Q. HAS POWELL COUNTY INITIATED A REQUEST FOR ANY STATE AND/OR FEDERAL GRANT/S? IF SO, WHAT GRANTS ARE BEING CONSIDERED BY STATE AND/OR FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS?
A. No
Q. DO YOU HAVE A SEPARATE FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR POWELL COUNTY.
A. No
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