A. Purchases Not Requiring Sealed Bids:
1. Purchases costing less than five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) in total, shall not require bids of any type. (Purchases shall not be artificially divided so as to constitute a small purchase under this section.)
2. Purchases costing more than five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) but less than twenty five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) in total, shall require three (3) telephone bids, which shall be documented and submitted to Clerk's Office prior to payment to vendor.
3. Purchases made through the cooperative purchasing contracts administered by the Utah State Division of Purchasing or direct comparison thereto, which shall be documented.
4. Purchases made from a single-source provider, which shall be documented.
5. Purchases required during an emergency, i.e., an eminent threat to the public's health, welfare, or safety. However, as much competition as practical should be obtained, and, such purchases should be limited to amounts necessary to the resolution of the emergency.
6. This policy does not preclude following the sealed bid process for purchases under twenty five thousand dollars ($25,000.00).
B. Purchases Requiring Sealed Bids:
1. All purchases or procurements in excess of twenty five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) shall be made pursuant to sealed bidding requirements provided hereafter.
2. An invitation for bids shall be issued when a purchase is to be made by competitive sealed bidding. The invitation shall include a detailed description of specifications and all contractual terms and conditions applicable to the procurement. Notice of the invitation for bids shall be given at least ten (10) days prior to the date set forth therein for the opening of bids. The notice may include publication in a newspaper of general circulation. The bids shall be mailed to the Office of the Meadow Town Clerk, P.O. Box 88, Meadow, Utah 84644.
3. Any purchase in excess of twenty five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) shall require at least three (3) invitations for bid in writing or by telephone, being properly documented, or one advertisement in a local newspaper of general circulation. However, if the procurement is for the repair, alteration, or construction of a public building, the bid shall be let to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder after publication of notice at least once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation published in Meadow.
4. Bids shall be opened publicly in a regularly scheduled meeting of the Governing Body of Meadow and in the presence of one or more witnesses at the time and place designated in the invitation for bids. The amount of each bid and any other relevant information, together with the name of each bidder, shall be recorded. The record and each bid shall be open to public inspection.
5. Bids shall be unconditionally accepted without alteration or correction, except as authorized in this policy. Bids shall be evaluated based on the requirements set forth in the invitation for bids.
6. Correction or withdrawal of inadvertently erroneous bids before or after award, or cancellation of awards or contracts based on such bid mistakes, shall be permitted. After bid opening no changes in bid prices or other provisions of bids prejudicial to the interest of Meadow or fair competition shall be permitted. All decisions to permit the correction or withdrawal of bids or to cancel awards or contracts based on bid mistakes shall be supported by a written determination made by the Purchasing Agent.
7. The contract shall be awarded with reasonable promptness, by written notice, to the lowest bid or bid of best long-term value to Meadow, as determined by Meadow, so long as the bid meets the requirements, specifications, and criteria set forth in the invitation for bids and the policies and provisions of this purchasing policy.
8. In procurements for any new construction of any public (Town owned) building or facility, all electrical and/or plumbing portions of such construction shall be performed by contractors licensed and certified by the proper regulating agency or agencies.
9. All contracts awarded by the Town for the repair, alteration, or construction of any public facility shall only be to contractors licensed and certified by the proper regulating agency or agencies.
C. Cancellation And Rejection Of Bids: An invitation for bids, a request for proposals, or other solicitation may be canceled, or any or all bids or proposals may be rejected, in whole or in part, as may be specified in the solicitation, when it is in the best interests of Meadow. The reasons shall be made part of the contract file.
D. Use Of Competitive Sealed Proposals In Lieu Of Bids: When the Purchasing Agent or designee determines in writing that the use of competitive sealed bidding is either not practicable or not advantageous to Meadow, a contract may be entered into by competitive sealed proposals. Competitive sealed proposals are most appropriately used for professional service-type contracts.
1. Proposals shall be solicited through a request for proposals. Public notice of the request for proposals shall be given at least ten (10) days prior to the advertised date of the opening of the proposals.
2. Proposals shall be opened so as to avoid disclosure of contents to competing offerors during the process of negotiation. A register of proposals shall be prepared and shall be open for public inspection after contract award.
3. The request for proposals shall state the relative importance of price and other evaluating factors.
4. Offerors shall be accorded fair and equal treatment with respect to any opportunity for discussion and revision of proposals, and revisions may be permitted after submissions and prior to award for the purpose of obtaining best and final offers. In conducting discussions, there shall be no disclosure of any information derived from proposals submitted by competing offerors.
5. Award shall be made to the person whose proposal is determined, in writing, to be the most advantageous for Meadow, taking into consideration price and the evaluation factors set forth in the request for proposals. No other factors or criteria shall be used in the evaluation. The contract file shall contain the basis on which the award is made.
E. Architect-Engineer Services Are Qualification Based Procurements: Requests for such services should be publicly announced. Contracts should be negotiated by Meadow based on demonstrated competence at fair and reasonable prices.
F. Determination Of Non-Responsibility Of Bidder: Determination of non-responsibility of bidder or offeror shall be made in writing. The unreasonable failure of a bidder or offeror to promptly supply information in connection with an inquiry with respect to responsibility may be grounds for a determination of non-responsibility with respect to the bidder or offeror. Information furnished by a bidder or offeror pursuant to this section shall not be disclosed outside of the purchasing division without prior written consent by the bidder or offeror.
G. Cost-Plus-A-Percentage-Of-Cost Contracts Prohibited: Subject to the limitations of this chapter, any type of contract which will promote the best interests of Meadow may be used, provided that the use of a cost-plus-a-percentage-of-cost contract is prohibited. A cost-reimbursement contract may be used only when a determination is made in writing that such contract is likely to be less costly to Meadow than any other type or that it is impracticable to obtain the supplies, services, or construction required except under such a contract.
H. Telemarketing Solicitations Prohibited: Procurements shall not be made pursuant to or in response to telephone or telemarketing solicitations to Town employees.
I. Required Contract Clauses:
1. The unilateral right of Meadow to order, in writing, changes in the work within the scope of the contract and changes in the time of performance of the contract that do not alter the scope of the contract work.
2. Variations occurring between estimated qualities of work in a contract and actual quantities.
3. Suspension of work ordered by Meadow. (Ord. 2019-4, 9-18-2018)