A public improvement contract is defined pursuant to the Public Contracting Code and does not include contracts for minor alterations, ordinary repair and maintenance of public improvements, contracts for projects for which no funds of the city are directly or indirectly used except for participation that is incidental or related primarily to project design or inspection, and does not include any other construction contract that is not defined as a public improvement under the Public Contracting Code. A public improvement contract shall not be artificially divided to qualify for a different award procedure than that provided by this section.
(A) Generally. All public improvement contracts shall be awarded by the City Council based on competitive sealed bids pursuant to the Public Contracting Code.
(B) Exemptions. The requirements of division (A) do not apply to the following classes of public improvement contracts.
(1) Public improvement contracts valued at less than $5,000: Public improvement contracts valued at less than $5,000 shall be awarded by the Contracting Agency based on informal quotes.
(2) Public improvement contracts valued at $5,000 or more but less than $25,000: Public improvement contracts valued at $5,000 or more but less than $25,000 shall be awarded by the City Council based on formal quotes.
(3) (a) Emergency public improvement contracts may be exempted from competitive bidding if the Contracting Agency determines that an emergency exists and that conditions require the prompt execution of a contract. Emergency public improvement contracts shall be awarded in accordance with the Public Contracting Code.
(b) The Contracting Agency shall provide the City Council with a written statement indicating the nature of the emergency and stating with particularity the emergency conditions and why they pose an imminent threat to the public health, safety or welfare. The contracting agency shall not declare the same emergency more than two times in any 90-day period.
(4) By resolution, the City Council may exempt from competitive bidding a public improvement contract or class of public improvement contracts not otherwise exempt under this section pursuant to O.R.S. 279C.335.
(5) When an exemption allows for award of the contract through competitive proposals, the provisions of O.R.S. 279C.400 to 279C.410 shall apply.
(C) Amendments. Amendments to public improvement contracts shall comply with the Public Contracting Code.
(D) Performance and payment bonds. The performance and payment bonds requirements and exceptions of the Public Contracting Code shall apply to all public improvement contracts.
(E) Public improvement; least cost to city. The City Council or contracting agency may undertake to construct a public improvement using its own equipment and personnel if doing so will result in the least cost to the city or public. For purposes of this section, resurfacing of roads at a depth of two or more inches and at an estimated cost of more than $125,000 is a public improvement. If the City Council or Contracting Agency decides to construct a public improvement estimated to cost more than $125,000 using its own personnel and equipment, it shall prepare adequate plans and specifications and the estimated unit cost of each classification of work, and maintain an accurate accounting in accordance with O.R.S. 279C.305.
(F) Exceeding budget and price negotiation. If all responsive offers on a public improvement contract exceed the budget for the project, the Contracting Agency may, prior to contract award, negotiate for a price within the budget under the following procedures:
(1) Negotiations shall start with the lowest responsive, responsible bidder, If negotiations are not successful, then the contracting agency may negotiate with the second lowest responsive, responsible bidder, and so on.
(2) Negotiations may include value engineering and other options to attempt to bring the project cost with in the budgeted amount.
(3) A contract may not be awarded under this section if the scope of the project is significantly changed from the description in the original solicitation documents.
(4) The records of a bidder used in contract negotiations under this section are not subject to public inspection until after the negotiated contract has been awarded or the negotiation process has been terminated.
(Ord 252, passed 1-7-2010)