Low
-8 to 12%vs local median
Helps later task-order competitions inside the pool, but carries margin risk across a three-year rate lock.
Pre-bid brief · Live RFQ · Under NDA 
A prime's pre-bid brief for Town of Erie RFQ N26-409.
Town of Erie, Colorado, On-Call General Engineering Consulting Services. A qualifications-based pool of up to five teams, a $500,000 per-contract ceiling, and a town expected to roughly double by 2050. Techtiz drafts, structures, and packages behind a US prime who owns the license, the seal, and the signature.
Live · qualifications close Jun 26, 1 PM MT
Awarding body Town of Erie
Jurisdiction Colorado
Status Responding under NDA
Solicitation
RFQ N26-409Qualifications-based
Award
Up to 5 teamsNon-exclusive on-call pool
Ceiling
$500kPer contract, 3-year term
Techtiz role
Back-officeNDA-first, never Town-facing
Schedule of events
One portal, one hard close, and a published time conflict.
Questions move through the Town portal only. No phone calls are accepted. Anything not submitted through the portal, with SUBMIT clicked, by the close is not received.
Published
RFQ N26-409 released, reference 0000425659
Pre-proposal, 10 AM MT
Erie Town Hall Council Chambers. Recommended, not mandatory
Questions due, 9 AM MT
Online only through the portal. No phone calls
Final addendum
Any addendum issues by this date. Acknowledge every one
Close, 1 PM MT
Portal-authoritative. Displays as 3 PM Eastern on some screens
Execution
Portal lists the term as 08/12/2026 to 08/03/2029
The closing time conflicts inside the packet. The RFP invitation text states 12:00 PM local; the schedule and the portal state 1:00 PM local. Treat 1:00 PM Mountain as governing, hit 12:00 PM Mountain as the safety cutoff, and confirm the binding time in writing with the Town before relying on either.
Award model
A pool, not a project. The $150,000 line decides how work arrives.
This is a relationship purchase. The Town is building a standing bench for a decade of growth, not buying a single deliverable.
SelectionUp to five multidisciplinary teams form the on-call pool. Qualifications-based; no pricing is scored at selection.
Task ordersA task under a $150,000 fee estimate may be assigned directly to a chosen pool firm. A task over $150,000 is competed among pool members through a second, smaller task-order RFP.
Single sourceThe Town reserves the right to single-source a specialty firm where the specialty experience sits only there.
The fine printExclusive to the pool, with a guaranteed annual minimum and a five-year base term that renews automatically unless either party objects in writing. (NDA)
Administrative discipline · The differentiator
The Town wrote its real evaluation into the administrative requirements, and most engineering firms will read past it.
The packet requires BlueBeam Studio redline markups, CAD and GIS compatible with Town survey data, accessible digital deliverables under C.R.S. 24-85-103, and itemized billing at 15-minute increments. It also carries separate environmental liability and cyber liability on a contract it repeatedly states is not construction, a signal of real concern about regulatory exposure and about SCADA and fiber work touching Town systems. The qualities this RFQ rewards are administrative: the winning submission proves the prime will administer task orders cleanly, with a documented intake-to-delivery workflow, Town-standard output, and a gap-free compliance matrix.
Techtiz produces the Town-standard CAD and GIS output, the accessible PDFs, and the documented intake-to-delivery workflow that lets the prime prove exactly that.
Task allocation
What a remote back-office Subcontracting performs, and what stays with the prime.
The boundary that keeps a Subcontracting model clean on a licensed, stamped, field-heavy scope.
A hard professional bar plus contractual gates. The Agreement requires Colorado-licensed professionals for stamped work (Section IV.A) and in-person field, inspection, survey, and Council attendance throughout the scope. None of that can be performed remotely. The contractual gates: no Subcontractings except as set out in the Scope (Section IV.C), work made for hire assigned through the prime to the Town (Article V), Colorado accessibility and confidentiality obligations that flow down, and annual appropriation.
Remote technology & back-office Subcontracting
Non-stamped production, behind the prime
Proposal assembly and formatting to the required component order
Compliance checklist build and verification against every mandatory item
Project-sheet research compiled from the prime's inputs, up to five sheets to the fixed template
Non-stamped CAD and GIS production support to Town survey data standards
Narrative and graphics drafting for the prime's review and sign-off
Accessible PDF assembly to the C.R.S. 24-85-103 standard
Task-order intake and billing structure built to 15-minute itemized invoicing
Techtiz operates only in this column, behind the prime, under a signed NDA, never contacting the Town.
US prime only
Licensed, in person, accountable
Engineering design and stamping by Colorado-licensed staff
Field, survey, subsurface utility, geotechnical, and inspection work
Town Council attendance and Town meetings
Handling of Town SCADA, fiber, and controls data, which never leaves the United States
Gates, stated plainly. A signed NDA binds the offshore entity and each named individual before any data moves. The NDA assigns all work product to the prime so the prime can assign it to the Town as work made for hire, prohibits retention or cross-use of Town data, requires deletion on request, and flows down the Colorado accessibility and confidentiality obligations. Town network data stays with the US prime only. Any subcontracting beyond the named Scope requires the Town's written approval.
Where bids fail
Uploading without clicking SUBMIT Portal mechanics
The trap
An upload that sits in the portal without the final SUBMIT click is treated as not received. There is no cure after the close.
The fix
Submit a complete package early, confirm the portal shows a submitted status, and keep the confirmation record.
Value & pricing
There is no bid number. The only price is a rate table held for three years.
Hourly structure, not-to-exceed $500,000 per contract, monthly itemized invoices at 15-minute increments. The $150,000 threshold separates direct assignment from internal competition. Positioning bands below are pre-bid intelligence estimates against the local median, not Town figures.
MidRecommended
+3 to 6%vs local median
The recommended positioning band. Selection is qualifications-based, so the right band rarely costs the win. Model under NDA
High
+8 to 12%vs local median
Acceptable only where the qualifications clearly justify it.
The variable that most affects winning is rate stability and completeness across every named labor category over the three-year lock. Mid-term escalation may not be permitted and must be confirmed in writing before submission.
Techtiz back-office pricing is scoped per engagement after NDA and is not part of the public solicitation intelligence.
Agency context
Who is buying, and why this pool matters for a decade.
Erie is a home rule town in Boulder and Weld Counties on the Front Range north of Denver. The buyer is the Engineering Division within the Public Works Department. The named contact and signer is Emma Atwell, P.E., Project Manager and Civil Engineer II, reached online through the portal only; no phone calls are accepted for questions. Mailing address: 645 Holbrook St, P.O. Box 750, Erie, CO 80516. A town expecting to roughly double is buying a standing engineering bench, which makes this a relationship purchase, not a one-time deliverable.
~40,000
Residents today, est. (30,038 at the 2020 census)
~80,000
Projected by 2050, est.
2 counties
Boulder & Weld, home rule
The competing field
86 primes mapped, and the field is heavily local.
From the prime-contractor database. The field is large and heavily local, so the takeaway is to differentiate on fit and clean administration, not breadth. All figures are public-source estimates for prime targeting.
86
63 / / 23
72
~$34.5 / B
7national, $1B+24large, $100M to $1B21mid-market, $25M to $100M34boutique, under $25M
The $34.46B total is dominated by the largest three: Burns and McDonnell at about $8.6B, Stantec at about $6.5B, and Black and Veatch at about $3.8B, all parent-company scale. Read it as who shows up, not money chasing one on-call pool.
Seven firms carry all four scored NIGP codes, the depth signal that defines the serious end of the field. Codes: NIGP 925, 92517 Civil, 92528 Drainage, 92549 Highways and Streets, 92588 Structural. NAICS 541330 is inferred from scope, not stated in the solicitation, and must be confirmed. Seven named firms, scored Named under NDA
The full named map and the relevance scoring are in the full document pack, shared under NDA.
How Techtiz fits
The production line behind your qualifications package.
Techtiz drafts, structures, and packages for the prime's review. The prime owns the license, the seal, the field work, the past performance, and the signature.
Signed NDA first
Binding the entity and each named individual before any data moves, assigning all work product to the prime, prohibiting retention of Town data, and requiring deletion on request.
Draft & verify
The gap-free compliance matrix against every mandatory item, the technical narrative for the prime's sign-off, and up to five project sheets to the fixed template.
Town-standard production
CAD and GIS output compatible with Town survey data, accessible PDFs under C.R.S. 24-85-103, and a BlueBeam-ready redline workflow.
Your firm faces the Town
Signature, portal submission, Council attendance, field work, and every word said to the Town stay with the prime, always.
NDA Prime name and engagement scope stay under NDA. Town network data, SCADA, fiber, and controls never leave the US prime. Techtiz never contacts the Town.
Bidding N26-409? The window is open.
Request the full N26-409 decode pack.
The gap-free compliance matrix, the full trap list, the task-order intake-to-delivery workflow draft, and the offshore allocation model, plus a 15-minute call. All NDA-first. A US-based engagement manager replies within one business day, never Town-facing.
Frequently asked questions
Pre-bid brief & confidentiality
Quick answers about how to use this engagement example and what detail is available under NDA.
Why is the prime contractor name withheld?
Most SLED subcontract work sits under mutual NDA and prime branding requirements. Public summaries describe engagement type, technical surface, and outcomes. Partner names and proposal content are shared only with explicit written permission or under an executed teaming agreement.
Can Techtiz support our bid on a similar pursuit?
Yes. If your pursuit matches this engagement type, email sled@techtiz.co or use the teaming intake form. Within 1 business day a U.S.-based partner manager replies with a mutual NDA template and a calendar slot—never agency-facing.
What do we receive under NDA?
Full RFP-decode packs, compliance matrices, technical volumes, submission runbooks, and named-resume options scoped to your vehicle and timeline. Prime name, pricing, and agency data stay inside the prime boundary.
Does Techtiz contact the procuring agency?
No. Techtiz is subcontract-only and never faces the agency. Your program manager holds the client relationship, sign-off, and all agency communication.