(a) Definitions. For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) "Public Contract" or "Construction Project" means either of the following:
A. Any new construction of any public improvement, the total overall project cost of which is estimated to be equal to or more than fifty thousand dollars, ($50,000.00).
B. Any construction, reconstruction, improvement, enlargement, renovation, alteration, repair, painting or decorating of any public improvement, which is estimated to be equal to or more than fifty thousand dollars, ($50,000.00).
(2) "Public Improvement" includes all buildings, roads, streets, alleys, sewers, ditches, sewage disposal plants, water works and all other structures or works owned or operated by the City. A public improvement shall be considered as one project where a review of the nature, scope, and objective, as well as the interrelationship of time and purpose of the project, evidences the undertaking of a single improvement pursuant to Ohio R.C. 4115.033 and Ohio Administrative Code 4101:9-14-17.
(3) "Local Employee" means:
A. A person residing within the City of Lorain or County of Lorain;
B. A person working for a contractor or from a pool of labor whose principal place of business is located within the City of Lorain or County of Lorain;
C. Due to the specialty nature of the employment to be performed, where a suitable person meeting either subsection (a)(3)A. or B. hereof is not available, a person residing or working within a location as close to Lorain as is available. A "suitable person" means a person who is qualified to perform the work or trainable within a reasonable period of time.
(4) "Worker" means a person employed by a contactor or subcontractor who is performing work on a Public Improvement by use of tools and/or equipment.
(b) Requirement for Public Contracts Greater than $250,000.00.
(1) The contractor and all subcontractors performing work thereunder pursuant to a Public Contract or on any Construction Project for a Public Improvement Project with a total overall cost which has been fairly estimated to cost two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000.00) or more based upon an Engineers estimate shall:
A. Pay wages and benefits to workers assigned directly to the Project, which, in total, equal or exceed the prevailing wages for comparable jobs as established by the Department of Conunerce, Bureau of Wage and Hour, for the State of Ohio, inclusive of insurance and other paid benefits. Administration personnel, office personnel and supervisory personnel shall not be considered "workers” for this subparagraph A.
B. Provide the City of Lorain with documentation, satisfactory to the City that wages and benefits are paid in accordance with this ordinance and that said wages are reported to the Internal Revenue Service by way of a W-2 form and not a 1099 form;
C. Provide the City with documentation, satisfactory to the City, that the Contractor has available to its employees, health insurance comparable to health insurance provided to workers in the construction industry in Ohio;
D. Provide the City with documentation, satisfactory to the City, that the Contractor has in place a substance abuse program which includes periodic testing at least once every 12 months, and a treatment program for those employees who test positive for banned or illegal substances;
E. Provide the City with documentation, satisfactory to the City, that the Contractor's employees who are assigned to perform work on the Project have successfully completed a bona fide, OSHA approved safety program and that employees assigned to perform skilled trades work have completed or are currently enrolled in a bona fide, state approved training or apprenticeship program;
F. Provide documentation, satisfactory to the City, that fifty percent (50%) of the worker’s assigned to work on the Project, directly or indirectly, are permanent residents of the City or County of Lorain and have been for at least 180 days prior to the start of the contract;
G. Provide documentation, satisfactory to the City that twenty percent (20%) of the workers directly assigned to the Project are non- Caucasian (Black, Hispanic, Asian, American Indian, etc.) and that at least fifteen percent (15%) of the workers directly assigned to the Project are female. For purposes of this paragraph G., a worker may be counted to meet more than one requirement (e.g. Hispanic female) as well as the residency requirement of paragraph F. above; and,
H. The City reserves the right to grant relief from the requirements of subparagraph F. and G. above provided that the contractor has demonstrated to the City that it has made a good faith effort to comply based on objective, written criteria established by the City from time to time.
(c) Bids and Required Bidder Information. Upon Council approval, the Director of Public Safety/Service shall advertise and accept bids for a construction project in accordance with the following procedures:
(1) Contracts shall be bid as follows:
A. An aggregate bid from a general contractor; or
B. Separate bids for work and materials from multiple prime contractors.
(2) Bidders for all proposed construction projects shall be required to furnish the following information:
A. The work, supplies and materials covered by the bidder's bid.
B. Identification of all work to be subcontracted. All subcontractors are also subject to the approval of the Board of Control based on the criteria contained in this Section 109.01.
C. Descriptions of bidder's experience with project of comparative size, complexity and cost within recent years, demonstrating the bidder's ability and capacity to perform a minimum of thirty percent (30%) on a dollar cost basis, of the project with its own forces.
D. Documentation from previous similar projects regarding timeliness of performance, quality of work, extension requests, fines and penalties imposed and payments thereof, liens filed, history of claims for extra work, contract defaults, together with explanations of the same.
E. The number of years the bidder has actively engaged as a contractor in the construction industry.
F. The bidder's recent experience record in the construction industry, including the original contract price for each construction job undertaken by the bidder, the amount of any change orders or cost overruns, and the bidder's record for complying with and meeting completion deadlines on construction projects.
G. Identification of any projects within the previous five years that the bidder was determined by a public entity not to be a responsible bidder, the reasons given by the public entity together with an explanation thereof.
H. Demonstration of financial responsibility to assure that the bidder possesses adequate resources and availability of credit, the means and ability to procure insurance and acceptable performance bonds required for the project and whether any claims have been made against performance bonds secured by the bidder on other construction projects.
I. Disclosure of any suspension or revocation of any professional license of any director, officer, owner, or managerial employees of the bidder, to the extent that any work to be performed is within the field of such licensed professional.
J. Disclosure of any and all OSHA violations within the previous three years as well as all notices of OSHA citations filed against the bidder in the same three year period. Together with a description and explanation of remediation or other steps taken regarding such violations and notice of violation.
K. Disclosure of any and all violations within the previous five years pertaining to unlawful intimidation or discrimination against any employee by reason of race, creed, color, disability, gender or national origin and/or violations of an employee's civil or labor rights or equal employment opportunities.
L. Disclosure of any litigation (including copies of pleadings) in which bidder has been named as a defendant or third party defendant in an action involving a claim for personal injury or wrongful death arising from performance of work related to any project in which it has been engaged within the previous five years.
M. Disclosure of allegations of violations of the prevailing wage law and any other state or federal labor law including but not limited to child labor violations, failure to pay wages or unemployment insurance, tax delinquencies or unfair labor practices within the past five years.
N. Disclosure of violations ofthe workers compensation law.
O. Disclosure of any criminal convictions or criminal indictments involving the bidder, its officers, owners and/or mangers within the past five years.
P. Disclosure of any violation within the past five years or pending charges concerning federal, state or municipal environmental and/or health laws, codes, rules and/or regulations.
Q. Documentation that the bidder provides health insurance and pension benefits to its employees.
R. The experience and the continuity of the bidder's work-force.
S. The identity of the bidder's permanent workforce that will be employed on the public contract, to include number of employees (or contract labor) to be assigned to the contract, their city and state of residence and their job descriptions or trade specialties.
T. The identity of any temporary work force that will be employed on the public contract to include the number of employees (or contract labor) to be assigned to the contract, their city and state of residence, and their job descriptions or trade specialties.
U. Whether the bidder's work force is drawn mainly from Local Employees. The number of Local Employees as defined in paragraph (a)(3) and their job descriptions or trade specialties that the bidder will employ on the public project.
V. When a bidder claims that non-local employees (or non-local contract labor) are to be assigned to the public contract instead of Local Employees, the reasons therefore.
W. When a bidder claims that local employees are not intended to be used by the bidder on the public contract because they are not available, qualified or trainable within a reasonable period of time, the reasons therefore.
X. Whether the bidder participates in a bona fide apprenticeship program that is approved by the Ohio State Apprenticeship Council and the United States Department of Labor.
Y. Whether the bidder has adopted and implemented a comprehensive drug and alcohol testing program for its employees.
Z. Whether the bidder's employees are OSHA-10 and/or OSHA-30 certified.
(d) The factors enumerated in subsection (c)(2), standing alone, shall not be considered determinative of the lowest and best bid. The City shall have complete discretion in assessing the level of importance to be placed upon any one or more of the factors enumerated and in determining the lowest and best bid and in awarding the construction contract; provided, however, that there shall be no deviations from the requirements of subsection (b)(1).
(e) All bid invitations and specifications shall advise prospective bidders of all of the factors that will be taken into consideration by the Board of Control in determining whether a bid is not only the lowest but the "best" bid. Bid specifications shall contain provisions conforming to this chapter, including a form or forms to enable a bidder to provide evidence to the Board of Control of the bidder's compliance with, adherence to, or satisfaction of, the various factors that shall be considered by the Board in determining the lowest and best bid.
(Ord. 102-14. Passed 7-21-14.)