A. Other Methods: When the purchasing agent, or designee, determines in writing that the use of competitive sealed bidding is either not practicable or not advantageous to the City, an agreement may be entered into using methods, as approved and authorized under this chapter, other than the competitive sealed proposals method.
B. Request For Proposals/Request For Statement Of Qualifications: Competitive sealed proposals shall be solicited through a request for proposals ("RFP") or a request for a statement of qualifications (RFQ).
C. Public Notice: Adequate public notice of the RFP or RFQ shall be given in the same manner as provided in subsection 3.10.080C, "Public Notice", of this article.
D. Receipt Of Proposals: No proposals shall be handled so as to permit disclosure of the contents, except for the names of the offerors, of any proposal to competing offerors during the process of negotiation. A register of proposals shall be prepared containing the name of each offeror, the number of modifications received, if any, and a description sufficient to identify the item offered. The register of proposals shall be open for public inspection only after award of the agreement.
E. Evaluation Factors:
1. The RFP or RFQ shall state the relative importance of price and other evaluation factors, including the quantitative basis for evaluation. No criteria may be used in an RFP or RFQ response evaluation that are not set forth in the RFP or RFQ.
2. Pursuant to State law, if the RFP or RFQ is for a construction project, RFP criteria must include, and require the offeror to show, the existence and quality of:
a. An offeror's company safety plan; and
b. The offeror's safety plan for the specific project that is the subject of the proposal.
F. Mandatory Selection Committee: All RFP or RFQ awards shall be made by a Selection Committee, which shall evaluate RFP or RFQ responses according to the evaluation factors required by subsection E of this section. The Selection Committee shall be comprised of no less than three (3) members. Not less than one member shall represent the department to which the RFP or RFQ applies, and not less than one member shall be the purchasing agent, or his/her designee. For RFPs or RFQs with an anticipated award amount of more than two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000.00), not less than one member shall represent the Finance and Administration Department. No member of any Selection Committee shall communicate or negotiate with any potential offeror, except in the presence of the entire Selection Committee.
G. Discussion With Responsible Offerors And Revisions To Proposals: As provided in the RFP or RFQ, discussions may be conducted with responsible offerors who submit proposals determined to have a reasonable chance of being selected to clarify and to assure full understanding of, and conformance to, the solicitation requirements. Offerors shall be accorded fair and equal treatment to discuss and revise proposals in writing and such written revisions may be permitted by the Selection Committee after submissions and prior to award to obtain best and final offers. In conducting discussions, there shall be no disclosure of any information derived from proposals submitted by competing offerors, except for the names of the offerors.
H. Award: Award shall be made to the responsible offeror whose proposal is determined in writing to be the most advantageous to the City, taking into consideration price and the evaluation factors set forth in the RFP or RFQ. No other factors or criteria shall be used in the evaluation. The agreement file shall contain the basis on which the award is made. (Ord. 19-05: Ord. 17-14)