(A) Advertising.
(1) All sealed bids shall be advertised not less than seven (7) nor more than twenty-one (21) days prior to the date set for opening.
(2) The date the advertisement appears shall not be counted as advertising time.
(3) Advertisements shall be published in the legal notices section of a newspaper meeting the qualifications set forth in KRS 424.120.
(4) The advertisement for bids may be placed in other publications when, in the judgment of the Mayor, such advertisement would best secure the interests of the city.
(5) If it is determined during the advertising period, that additional time should be allowed for the preparation of bids, the bid opening date may be extended by:
(a) Placing a legal notice, specifying the revised bid opening date in the local newspaper with the largest circulation. The revised bid opening date shall not be less than seven (7) nor more than twenty-one (21) days after the appearance of the legal notice; or
(b) Issuing an addendum to the invitation for bids. Such an addendum must be in writing, must be mailed or delivered to holders of the invitation for bids, and must be acknowledged on the form of proposal by each bidder submitting a bid.
(6) Extensions of bid opening date may be permitted when:
(a) Changes are made in specifications after advertisement;
(b) One (1) or more bidders notify the Mayor of discrepancies, errors, or areas requiring clarification in the specifications;
(c) Specifications require design work on the part of bidders, and when unforeseen conditions make completion of bid preparation prior to the bid deadline impossible;
(d) Strikes, disasters, or other uncontrollable factors prevent bidders from acquiring information necessary for bid preparation;
(e) Other reasons as may be determined by the Mayor.
(7) An invitation for bids may be rescinded when:
(a) Conditions leading to issuance of an invitation for bids change sufficiently to make proposed purchase unnecessary.
(b) Funds for the proposed purchase become unavailable.
(c) It becomes apparent that no bids will be received because:
1. The item or service requested is currently unavailable;
2. Bid prices will apparently exceed available funds;
3. Major revisions in the specifications are necessary to ensure that responsive and reasonable bids are received.
(B) Specifications and standard specifications.
(1) Definitions. As used herein the following words have the indicated meanings.
(a) SPECIFICATIONS.
A concise statement of a set of requirements to be satisfied by a product, material, or process indicating, whenever appropriate, the procedure to be used to determine whether requirements given are satisfied.
(b) STANDARD SPECIFICATION.
A specification established through a standardization process to be used for all or most purchases of a commodity or service by the city.
(2) Maximum practicable competition. All specifications use din the procurement process shall be designed to provide the maximum practicable competition consistent with the level of quality required.
(3) All specifications shall be in a standard format and approved by the Mayor.
(4) Specifications shall be as open and accurate as conditions permit. Any restrictive element shall require written justification by the using agency.
(5) The appropriate type of specification, as described below, shall be used for each purchase.
(a) Design specifications describe how an item is to be manufactured or built. This type of specification is particularly suitable for construction projects.
(b) Performance specifications describe the capabilities of the item to be purchased. Criteria are developed to measure the ability of the item to be purchased to perform or last.
(c) A combination of design and performance specifications may be used when appropriate.
(d) Brand name or equivalent specifications may be used only when other types of specifications are inappropriate or unavailable. If brand name or equivalent specifications are used, the specification must: specify more than one (1) brand name if possible; specifically state that an equivalent product may be supplied. The burden of proof of equivalency shall be on the proposing vendor; set forth all salient criteria to be met by all products proposed.
(6) The Mayor may, when appropriate for the anticipated procurement, establish a Qualified Products List and may use such Qualified Products List in place of detailed specifications.
(a) The Mayor shall establish the criteria to be met by any product proposed for inclusion on a Qualified Products List, and shall make those criteria available to the public and to interested vendors.
(b) A bidder may, in response to an invitation for bids issued on the basis of a Qualified Products List, proposed to furnish a product not included on the Qualified Products List if he demonstrates, prior to the award of a contract and to the satisfaction of the Mayor that the product proposed meets all criteria established for inclusion on the Qualified Products List.
(C) Use of forms. All bids shall be submitted on forms provided by the city. Bids submitted on other forms may be rejected as nonresponsive.
(D) Use of bid price or evaluated bid price. Bid shall be awarded to the responsible bidder who submits the responsive bid for the lowest bid price or lowest evaluated bid price.
(1) If bid is to be awarded on the basis of lowest bid price, the method of award shall be clearly stated in the invitation for bids.
(2) If the bid is to be awarded on the basis of lowest evaluated bid price, the evaluation criteria to be used, along with applicable formulas or computation methods shall be clearly stated in the invitation for bids.
(E) Withdrawal of bids. No bid, once submitted, may be withdrawn before the time allowed for acceptance stated in the invitation for bids has elapsed unless:
(1) Bids have not been opened and a written request is received from a bidder for withdrawal of his/her bid more than twenty four (24) hours before the date and time set for opening.
(2) An error has been made that is obvious on the face of the bid (for example, error in extensions, arithmetical errors, and the like).
(3) The bidder can demonstrate from worksheets or other documents that an error has been made in preparation of the bid documents.
(4) Request for withdrawal of a bid is made in writing to the Mayor clearly stating the reason for the request for withdrawal. Any bid withdrawal except under the circumstances set forth herein shall require forfeiture of bid security.
(F) Waiver. The Mayor may waive any informalities and may establish conditions under which such incomplete bids may be considered if it is determined that such waiver is in the best interest of the city.
(G) Opening time for bids.
(1) An opening time for each bid shall be stated in the advertisement and invitation for bids.
(2) The time set for opening shall be established by a clock in the office of the Mayor or his designee. It shall be the bidder's responsibility to assure that his/her bid is in the office before the time set for bid opening.
(3) The Mayor shall, at the time set for opening bids, declare bids to be closed and shall publicly open all bids submitted. If the structure of the invitation for bids permits, all bids submitted shall be read aloud.
(4) Bids shall not be examined, inspected or reviewed by persons present at the opening until all bids have been opened.
(5) The Mayor shall, with reasonable promptness, prepare a tabulation of all bids received in response to an invitation for bids and shall make such tabulation available to the public upon reasonable request.
(H) Evaluation and awards.
(1) Immediately after bids are opened, the Mayor, or his designee, shall review all bids for compliance with specifications, terms and conditions.
(2) The Mayor, or his designee, shall forward copies of all bids received to the head of the using agency. The head of the using agency shall submit his recommendation for acceptance of a bid or bids to the Mayor upon request.
(3) Every bidder shall, when requested by the purchasing official responsible for the particular procurement, clarify or explain in writing, any matter contained in his bid which the purchasing official determines needs clarification or explanation. The bid of any bidder who fails to provide such written clarification or explanation of his bid when such clarification or explanation is requested shall not be considered for award. The written clarification or explanation of a bid shall be incorporated in and become part of any contract awarded on the basis of that bid.
(4) Alternate bids will be considered for award only if the invitation of bids specifically requests that alternates be submitted and establishes conditions under which alternate bids will be considered for award.
(5) After a reasonable evaluation, a contract shall be awarded to the responsive and responsible bidder whose bid (or alternate bid, if alternates are requested in the invitation for bid) is either the lowest bid price or the lowest evaluated bid price as designated in the invitation for bids as the basis for award of the contract.
(6) If the Mayor determines, in writing, that no satisfactory bid has been received, all bids may be rejected and new bids may be invited on the basis of the same or revised specifications, or competitive negotiations may be undertaken for the procurement. The basis for rejection of all bids and subsequent action taken with respect to the invitation for bids shall be recorded in writing and filed in the bid file relating to the particular procurement.
(I) Rejection of bids. The Mayor reserves the right to reject any and all bids and to waive technicalities and minor irregularities in bids. Grounds for the rejection include, but shall not be limited to:
(1) Failure of a bid to conform to the essential requirements of an invitation for bids;
(2) Failure to conform to specifications contained in or referred to in any invitation for bids unless the invitation authorized submission of alternate bids and the alternate proposal meets the requirements specified in the invitation for bids.
(3) Failure to conform to a delivery schedule established in an invitation for bids.
(4) Imposition of conditions which would modify the terms and conditions of the invitation for bids, or which would limit the bidders liability to the city, under terms of the contract awarded on the basis of such invitation for bids.
(5) Failure of a bid, as determined in writing by the Mayor to be reasonable in price.
(6) Determination that a bid was submitted by a bidder determined to be not responsible.
(7) Failure to furnish a bid guarantee when such a guarantee is required by an invitation for bids.
(J) Bid conditions. The Mayor shall adopt and revise as necessary, general conditions for bidding. The general conditions for bidding shall be applicable to, include in, or incorporated by reference in all invitations for bids issued by the city. The Mayor may, as required by a particular procurement, develop and adopt special bid conditions supplemental to the general bid conditions. Any bidder who submits a bid in response to an invitation for bids shall be deemed to have agreed to comply with all terms, conditions and specifications of such invitation for bids.
(K) Contract pricing. The following matters shall be applicable to all invitations for bids issued, bids submitted, and contracts awarded for the purchase of commodities, supplies and equipment pursuant to KRS 45A.365 and this regulation. Discounts shall not be considered unless stated in invitation for bids. In case of discrepancy in the extension of a price, the unit price shall govern over the total price for all items. An award may be made to the lowest aggregate bidder for all items, group of items, or on an individual item basis, whichever is deemed to be in the best interest of the city. The methods and bases of evaluation of bids and award the contract shall be stated in the invitation for bids.
(Ord. 79-336, passed - -)