00100 INSTRUCTION TO BIDDERS _ Conformed.pdf

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SECTION 00100

INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS

1.01 CONTRACT DOCUMENTS

A. The Contract Documents include the Contract Agreement, Invitation to Bid, Instructions to Bidders, Contractor's Bid (including all documentation accompanying the Bid and any post-Bid documentation required by the Owner prior to the Notice of Award), all Special Conditions, General Conditions, Supplementary Conditions, Specifications, Drawings, and addenda, together with written amendments, change orders, field orders and the Engineer's written interpretations and clarifications issued in accordance with the General Conditions on or after the date of the Contract Agreement.

B. Shop drawing submittals will be reviewed in accordance with the General

Conditions, geotechnical investigations and soils reports, and drawings of physical conditions in or relating to existing surface or subsurface structures at or contiguous to the site are not Contract Documents.

C. The Contract Documents shall define and describe the complete work to which they relate.

1.02 DEFINITIONS

A. Where the following words or the pronouns used in their stead occur herein, they shall have the following meaning:

1. "Owner" shall mean the Columbus Water Works party of the first part to the

Contract Agreement, or its authorized and legal representatives.

2. "Engineer" shall mean Columbus Water Works.

3. "Contractor" shall mean the party of the second part to the Contract

Agreement or the authorized and legal representative of such party.

4. "Work" and "Project" shall mean the entire completed construction required to be furnished under the Contract Documents.

5. "Products" shall mean materials or equipment permanently incorporated into the Project.

6. "Provide" shall mean to furnish and install.

7. "Balanced Bid" shall mean a Bid in which each of the unit prices and total amount bid for each of the listed items reasonably reflects the value of that item with regard to the entire job, considering the prevailing cost of labor, 00100-2 material, and equipment in the relevant market. A Bid is unbalanced when, in the opinion of the Owner, any unit prices or total amounts bid on any of the listed items do not reasonably reflect such values.

1.03 PREPARATION AND EXECUTION OF BID

A. Each Bid must be prepared to represent that it is based solely upon the materials and equipment specified in the Contract Documents.

B. Each Bid must be submitted on the Bid forms, which are attached to the Contract

Documents. All blank spaces for Bid prices, both words and figures, must be filled in, in ink. In the event of a discrepancy, the amount shown in words will govern.

All required enclosed certifications must be fully completed and executed when submitted.

C. Each Bid must be submitted in a sealed envelope, addressed to the Owner. Each sealed envelope containing a Bid must be plainly marked on the outside as, “BID for PAVEMENT PATCHING SERVICES”

D. Any Bid submitted which does not contain the above information on the outside of the sealed envelope will not be opened and will be returned to the Bidder.

E. If forwarded by mail, the sealed envelope containing the Bid must be enclosed in another envelope addressed to the Owner at Post Office Box 1600, 1421 Veterans Parkway, Columbus, Georgia 31902.

F. Any and all Bids not meeting the aforementioned criteria for Bid submittal may be declared non-responsive and subsequently returned to the Bidder.

G. The Contractor, in signing a Bid on the whole or any portion of the Project, shall conform to the following requirements:

1. Bids that are not signed by individuals making them shall have attached thereto the power of attorney evidencing authority to sign the Bid in the name of the person for whom it is signed.

2. Bids which are signed for a partnership shall be signed by all of the partners or by an attorney-in-fact. If a Bid is signed by an attorney-in-fact, the power of attorney executed by the partners should be attached to the Bid to evidence authority to sign it.

3. Bids which are signed for a corporation shall have the correct corporate name thereof and the signature of the president or other authorized officer of the corporation manually written below the corporate name following the wording "By ". The corporation seal shall also be affixed to the Bid.

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4. The Bidder shall complete, execute, and submit the following documents, which are attached to these Contract Documents:

a. The Bid

b. Corporate Certificate, if the Bidder is a corporation

c. Contractor's License Certification, if information is available

d. Local and MBE/WBE Agreement

1.04 METHOD OF BIDDING

The unit or lump sum price for each of the several items in the Bid of each Bidder shall include its pro rate share of overhead and profit so that the sum of the products, obtained by multiplying the quantity shown for each item by the unit price, represents the total Bid. Any Bid not conforming to this requirement may be rejected. Additionally, Unbalanced Bids will be subject to rejection. Conditional Bids will not be accepted. The special attention of all Bidders is called to this provision, for should conditions make it necessary to revise the quantities, no limit will be fixed for such increased or decreased quantities, nor will extra compensation be allowed. CWW reserves the right to eliminate a line item to keep the project under budget.

1.05 ADDENDA AND INTERPRETATIONS

No interpretation of the meaning of the Drawings, Specifications, or other pre-bid documents will be made to any Bidder orally. Every request for such interpretation should be made in writing and addressed to the Project Engineer, Columbus Water Works Engineering, 1421 Veterans Parkway, Columbus, Georgia 31902, and to be considered, must be received at least five business days prior to the date fixed for opening Bids. All such interpretations and any supplemental instructions will be in the form of written Addenda to the Contract Documents, which, if issued, will be mailed to all prospective Bidders (at the respective addresses furnished) prior to the date fixed for the opening of Bids. Failure of Bidders to receive or acknowledge any Addendum shall not relieve them of any obligation under the Bid. All Addenda shall become part of the Contract Documents.

1.06 BID MODIFICATIONS

Bidders may modify their Bid by telegraphic communication at any time prior to the scheduled closing time for receipt of Bids, provided such telegraphic communication is received by the Owner prior to the closing time, and provided further, the Owner is satisfied that a written confirmation of the telegraphic modification over the signature of the Bidder was mailed prior to the closing time. Telegraphic communication should not reveal the Bid price but should provide the addition, subtraction, or other modification so that the final prices or terms will not be known by the Owner until the sealed Bid is opened. If written confirmation is not received within two business days from the closing time, no consideration will be given to the telegraphic modification.

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1.08 RECEIPT AND OPENING OF BIDS

The Owner may consider a minor irregularity to any Bid not prepared and submitted in accordance with the provisions hereof and may waive any minor irregularities or reject all Bids. Any Bid may be withdrawn prior to the above-scheduled time for the opening of Bids or authorized postponement thereof. Any Bid received after the time and date specified shall not be opened.

1.09 SUBCONTRACTS

The Bidder is specifically advised that any person, firm, or other party to whom it is proposed to award a subcontract under this Contract must be approved by the Owner.

1.10 CONDITIONS OF THE PROJECT

A. Each Bidder must be informed fully of the conditions relating to the construction of the Project and the employment of labor thereon. Failure to do so will not relieve a successful Bidder of the obligation to furnish all material and labor necessary to carry out the provisions of the Contract. Insofar as possible, the Contractor, in carrying out the work, must employ such methods or means as will not cause any interruption of or interference with the work of any other Contractor.

B. The Bidder is advised to examine the location of the Project and to be informed fully as to its conditions; the conformation of the ground; the character, quality, and quantity of the products needed preliminary to and during the prosecution of the work; the general and local conditions and all other matters which can in any way affect the work to be done under the Contract. Failure to examine the site will not relieve the successful Bidder of an obligation to furnish all products and labor necessary to carry out the provisions of the Contract.

C. The Bidder shall notify the Owner of the date and time the Bidder proposes to examine the location of the Project. The Bidder shall confine examination to the specific areas designated for the proposed construction, including easements and public right-of-ways. If, due to some unforeseen reason, the Owner's proceedings for obtaining the proposed construction site (including easements) have not been completed, the Bidder may enter the site only with the express consent of the property owner. The Bidder is solely responsible for any damage caused by examination of the site.

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1.11 EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

A. During the performance of this Contract, the Contractor agrees as follows:

1. The Contractor shall not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, religion, color, sex, or national origin. As used herein, the words "shall not discriminate" shall mean and include, without limitation, recruited, whether by advertising or other means; compensated, whether in the form of rates of pay, or other forms of compensation; selected for training, including apprenticeship; promoted; upgraded; demoted;

downgraded; transferred; laid-off; and terminated.

2. The Contractor shall, in all solicitations or advertisements for employees placed by or on behalf of the Contractor, state that all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, sex, or national origin.

3. The Contractor shall send to each labor union or representative of the workers, with which the Contractor has a collective bargaining agreement or other contract or understanding, a notice advising the labor union or worker's representative of the Contractor's commitments under the Equal Employment Opportunity Program of the Columbus Water Works and under this Article and shall post copies of the notice in conspicuous places available to employees and applicants for employment.

4. The Contractor and his subcontractors, if any, shall file compliance reports at reasonable times and intervals with the Owner in the form and to the extent prescribed by the Columbus Water Works. Compliance reports filed at such times as directed shall contain information as to the employment practices, policies, programs, and statistics of the Contractor and its subcontractors.

5. The Contractor shall demonstrate by the documentation required in 7. below, that a "Good Faith Effort" has been made to achieve compliance with the Owner's goal, that a minimum of 10 percent of the Contract Amount sum shall be to Minority Owned Firms (MBE), and 5 percent of the Contract Amount sum shall be to Women Owned Firms (WBE).

6. The Contractor shall include the provisions of paragraphs 1 through 7 of this

Equal Employment Opportunity Clause in every subcontract or purchase order so that such provisions will be binding upon each subcontractor or vendor.

7. To determine whether a bidder may receive a Contract, the Owner must, among other things, know whether the effort the bidder made to obtain MBE/WBE participation was a "Good Faith Effort".

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B. In determining whether a Contractor has made "Good Faith Efforts", it is important for the recipient (Owner) to look not only at the different kinds of effort that a Contractor has made, but also the quantity and intensity of these efforts.

C. The following list of kinds of efforts is provided for consideration:

1. Whether the Contractor attended any pre-solicitation or pre-bid meetings that were scheduled by the Owner to inform MBE/WBE’s of contracting and subcontracting opportunities;

2. Whether the Contractor advertised in general circulation, trade association, and minority-focused media concerning the sub-contracting opportunities;

3. Whether the Contractor provided written notice to a reasonable number of specific MBE/WBEs that their interest in the Contract was being solicited, in sufficient time to allow the MBE/WBEs to participate effectively;

4. Whether the Contractor followed up initial solicitations of interest by contacting MBE/WBEs to determine with certainty whether the MBE/WBEs were interested;

5. Whether the Contractor selected portions of the work to be performed by

MBE/WBEs in order to increase the likelihood of meeting the MBE/WBE goals (including, where appropriate, breaking down contracts into economically feasible units to facilitate MBE/WBE participation);

6. Whether the Contractor provided interested MBE/WBEs with adequate information about the Drawings, Specifications, and requirements of the Contract Documents;

7. Whether the Contractor negotiated in good faith with interested

MBE/WBEs, not rejecting MBE/WBEs as unqualified without sound reasons based on a thorough investigation of their capabilities;

8. Whether the Contractor made efforts to assist interested MBE/WBEs in obtaining bonding, lines of credit, or insurance required by the Owner or Contractor (lack of bonding is not a reason to disqualify a local nor MBE/WBE subcontractor; lack of sufficient insurance, with the exception of Workman's Compensation, is not a reason to disqualify a local nor MBE/WBE subcontractor); and

9. Whether the Contractor effectively used the services of available minority community organizations; minority contractor's groups; local, state, and federal minority business assistance offices and other organizations that provide assistance in the recruitment and placement of MBE/WBEs.

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D. Each Bidder shall include with his or her Bid an agreement that he or she will meet the requirements of A. 5. above. The Bidder agrees to provide a plan prior to the Notice of Award of the contract that includes, as a minimum, completion of Section 00423; the names and addresses of all subcontractors including minority owned firms providing subcontracting services, furnishing products or materials, etc.; the nature of the work to be contracted; and the anticipated cost of the services by each named firm as a percentage of the total Contract amount in the Proposal. The percentage participation should be calculated on the basis of the proportion of total dollar value of the Contract, including bulk purchase materials supplied to MBE/WBE firms. The maximum credit for MBE/WBE material and equipment suppliers will be a total of 10 percent of the material and equipment provided by the MBE/WBE supply firm.

E. It is the wish of the Owner that minority businesses be given the opportunity to bid on the various parts of the work. This desire on the part of the Owner is not intended to restrict or limit competitive bidding or to increase the cost of the work. The Owner supports a healthy, free market system that seeks to include responsible businesses and provide ample opportunities for business growth and development.

1.12 NOTICE OF SPECIAL CONDITIONS

A. If any special federal, state, county, or city laws, municipal ordinances, and the rules and regulations of any authorities having jurisdiction over construction of the Project, enclosed, herein referred to, or applicable by law to the Project, conflict with requirements of the Contract Documents, then the most stringent requirement prevails.

B. The work to be performed under this contract must be coordinated with the Owner, and any required downtime of CWW facilities must be planned and coordinated through CWW.

1.13 OBLIGATION OF BIDDER

By submission of a Bid, each Bidder warrants that Bidder has inspected the site and has read and is thoroughly familiar with the Contract Documents (including all addenda). The failure or omission of any Bidder to examine any form, instrument, or document shall in no way relieve any Bidder from any obligation in respect to the Bid.

1.14 METHOD OF AWARD

A. The Contract will be awarded to the responsive, responsible Bidder submitting the lowest Bid complying with the conditions of the Contract Documents. Award will be made on the basis of the prices given in the Bid and determination by the Owner of the Bidder's responsiveness and responsibility.

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B. The Bidder to whom the award is made will be notified. The Owner reserves the right to reject any and all Bids and to waive any minor irregularities in Bids received whenever such rejection or waiver is in the Owner's interest.

C. A responsive Bidder shall be one who submits a Bid in the proper form without qualification or intent other than as called for in the Contract Documents; who binds himself or herself on behalf of the Bid to the Owner; who properly completes all forms required to be completed and submitted at the time of the Bidding; and who agrees to comply with all contract requirements relative to the Notice of Award.

The Bidder shall furnish all data required by these Contract Documents. Failure to do so may result in the Bid being declared non-responsive.

D. A responsible Bidder shall be one who can fulfill the following requirements:

1. The Bidder shall maintain a permanent place of business. This requirement applies to the Bidder where the Bidder is a division of a corporation, or where the Bidder is 50 percent or more owned by a person, corporation or firm.

2. The Bidder shall demonstrate adequate construction experience, a minimum of 5 years of paving experience, and sufficient equipment to properly perform the work under and in conformance with the Contract Documents.

This evaluation will be based on a list of completed or active projects and a list of construction equipment available to the Bidder for performing the work. The Owner may make such investigations as deemed necessary to determine the ability of the Bidder to perform the work, and the Bidder shall furnish to the Owner all such information and data for this purpose as the Owner may reasonably request. The Owner reserves the right to reject any Bid if the evidence submitted by, or investigation of, such Bidder fails to satisfy the Owner that such Bidder is properly qualified to carry out the obligations of the Contract and to complete the Project contemplated therein.

3. The Bidder shall demonstrate financial resources of sufficient strength to meet the obligations incident to the performance of the work covered by these Contract Documents. The ability to obtain the required Performance and Payment Bonds will not, by itself, demonstrate adequate financial capability.

E. Acceptance of the Bidder's documentation and substantiation or Contract Award by the Owner does not relieve the Bidder of liability for non-performance as covered in the Contract Documents, nor will the Bidder be exempted from any other legal recourse the Owner may elect to pursue.

1.15 EMPLOYMENT OF LOCAL LABOR

Preference in employment on the Project shall, insofar as practical, be given to qualified local labor.

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1.16 EMPLOYMENT OF LOCAL BUSINESSES AND CONTRACTORS

A. Preference in procurement for the Project shall, insofar as practical, be given to qualified local businesses and contractors.

B. It is the wish of the Owner that local businesses, including contractors, be given the opportunity to bid on the various parts of the work. This desire on the part of the Owner is not intended to restrict or limit competitive bidding or to increase the cost of the work. The Owner supports a healthy, free-market system that seeks to include responsible local businesses and to provide ample opportunities for local business growth and development.

C. In determining whether a Contractor has made Good Faith Efforts, it is important for the Owner to look not only at the different kinds of effort that a Contractor has made, but also the quantity and intensity of these efforts.

D. The following list of kinds of efforts is provided for consideration:

1. Whether the Contractor attended any pre-solicitation or pre-bid meetings that were scheduled by the Owner to inform local businesses of opportunities on this Project;

2. Whether the Contractor advertised in general circulation, trade associations, and local media concerning the business opportunities;

3. Whether the Contractor provided written notice to a reasonable number of specific local businesses that their interest in the Contract was being solicited, in sufficient time to allow the local business to participate effectively;

4. Whether the Contractor followed up initial solicitations of interest by contacting local businesses to determine with certainty whether the local businesses were interested;

5. Whether the Contractor selected portions of the work to be performed by local businesses to increase the likelihood of meeting the Owner's desire to support local businesses and contractors (including, where appropriate, breaking down contracts into economically feasible units to facilitate local business participation);

6. Whether the Contractor provided interested local businesses with adequate information about the Drawings, Specifications, and requirements of the Contract Documents;

7. Whether the Contractor negotiated in good faith with interested local businesses, not rejecting local businesses as unqualified without sound reasons based on a thorough investigation of their capabilities;

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8. Whether the Contractor made efforts to assist interested local businesses in obtaining bonding, lines of credit, or insurance required by the Owner or Contractor; and

9. Whether the Contractor effectively used the services of available local community organizations and local contractors' groups.

E. The apparent low Bidder will be required to demonstrate the results of its Good

Faith Efforts to contact and negotiate with local businesses for any items of work that are procured or are constructed via a subcontract. Such results shall include, as a minimum, the names and addresses of all subcontractors providing subcontracting services and furnishing products or materials, etc.; the nature of the work to be contracted; and the anticipated cost of the services by each named firm as a percentage of the total Contract amount in the Proposal. The percentage participation should be calculated based on the proportion of the total dollar value of the Contract, including bulk-purchased materials supplied by the local business.

F. The apparent low Bidder shall be prepared to present documentation of its Good

Faith Efforts to contact and negotiate with local businesses. This documentation shall specifically address efforts similar to those stated in paragraph D. above. The documentation shall include the business name, address, phone number, contact person, method of contact, and type of service solicited for each effort made towards local businesses.

1.17 LOCAL LICENSES, TAXES AND FEES

The Bidder's attention is directed to the fact that the City of Columbus requires a business license for contractors working within its jurisdiction. A Gross Receipts Tax is also required and is based in part on the amount of the Contract. A fee will also be assessed for each vehicle operated by the Contractor within the City's jurisdiction. Further information may be obtained from the City's Business License Office at 706-653-4092.

END OF SECTION