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Contracting Process Upon receiving the bids, the contracting process begins.
The Contract Specialist receives the bids by the designated date and time
in the bidding documents. The CS
must have a witness at the time of bid opening which is usually at the same time as the bid receipt.
The contractors may attend the bid opening.
The CS opens each bid and announces the base bid(s).
The witness compiles the information on the bid tabulation sheet. The bid tabulation form is updated in Excel and is used for
faxing the bid information to anyone who requests the bid results (i.e., The
Dodge Report, The Construction News, contractors, etc.) and is also located at
this website under Construction Bid Results. The contracting process is as follows: Bid Review and Determination of MBE/WBE Responsiveness
The
CS uses these checklists to determine the two lowest responsive bids. The
two lowest bids are used through the contractor qualifications in the
contracting process in the event
that the actual lowest responsive bidder does not meet the qualifications
necessary to carry out their contract. In
the event that the lowest responsive bidder is not the lowest bidder, a bid
rejection letter is generated and sent to the non-responsive contractor.
The content of this letter will list the item(s) where the contractor
was deficient. Contractor Qualification Statement
The
letter and AIA Document A305, a six page form, is sent to the two lowest
responsive bidders. This form
requests that each contractor submit a statement that they have taken into
consideration all their business commitments for the period of the project and
that they will not have a problem completing the project according to the
schedule stated in the contract document. Each
contractor must also submit their: ·
Organization
history ·
Trade
licensing ·
Experience
in the trade for which the contract is to be awarded ·
Trade/Bank
References ·
Financial
Statement The
form must be sign and notarized.
Each contractor's
qualification submission is reviewed by the CS, the project
manager/professional and the project accountant. The
CS distributes the applicable information to the entities listed above.
They are give two days to review the information and notify the CS of
their findings. This process
enables the University to review the contractor's capability of handling the
project, check their references and the contractors’ solvency. Contract Bond Request
Once
the CS has received the approvals on the contractor's qualification submission, a
contract bond request letter is sent to the lowest bidder. This letter directs the contractor to obtain a contract bond
as designated in the bid documents and the procurement decision form.
Failure of the contractor to provide the contract bond within 10 days may
result in the award of the contract to next lowest responsible bidder.
This could also result in the payment of the bid proposal
guaranty to the University (if requested). The blank
Rider F (State System Contract Bond form) is attached with this letter which is to be forwarded to the
contractors’ Surety Company. The
letter also notifies the contractor that the same person who will sign the
Agreement form should sign the Contract Bond. Notice of Award
Once
the final agreement has been approved, three copies of the contract are made.
The Notice of Award is generated which gives the contractor the direction
to sign the contracts and also obtain the Certificate of Insurance. A copy of
Article 10 of Rider B is attached with this letter as well as a sample copy of a
certificate of insurance. MBE/WBE Notification
If
the contractor made a commitment to a MBE/WBE firm to qualify them as the lowest
responsive bidder, the CS must send a notification to that MBE/WBE firm of the
Notice of Award. If the contractor made a commitment to a non MBE/WBE firm due
to a lower quote to qualify them as the lowest responsive bidder,
the CS must send a notification to that contractor of the Notice of
Award. Legal Counsel Transmittal FormOnce
the contractor has returned the signed contracts, the CS obtains the appropriate
University Contracting Officer signature. A
transmittal form is generated which is sent to Legal Counsel.
However, the following stipulations apply: Any
contract $1.00- $499,000 -
the contract goes directly to
legal counsel for approval and then to the A/G’s (Attorney General) office If
a contract is $500,000 or
higher
- the contract must also be approved by
the OGC
(Office of General Counsel) This
transmittal notifies Legal Counsel of the attachments with the contracts, i.e.,
bid tabulations, procurement decision documents, sole source document,
publications where the advertisements were placed. etc. |
