1-26RFP011 - AFTER HOURS ANSWERING SERVICES FNL 8.11.25 BONFIRE POST.pdf

Last Update: 02/12/2025 COS RFP Template

ISSUING AGENCY – CITY OF SCOTTSDALE

FORMAL REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

AFTER HOURS ANSWERING SERVICE

SCOTTSDALE WATER AND FACILITIES MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENTS

26RFP011

CRITICAL DATES

PROPOSAL SUBMITTAL DUE: 2:00 P.M. AZ LOCAL TIME, SEPTEMBER 15, 2025

QUESTIONS DUE: 2:00 P.M. AZ LOCAL TIME, SEPTEMBER 5, 2025

SUBMITTAL RECEIPT AND OPENING

The City of Scottsdale is utilizing Bonfire Interactive to provide a procurement portal that allows access to business opportunities and to submit bids and proposals electronically. If you are not registered as a City of Scottsdale Bonfire vendor visit the Bonfire portal at City of Scottsdale, AZ (bonfirehub.com) then follow the link to the Bonfire vendor registration page to register your company. Registration is easy and free. If you have any challenges with the registration process, please contact Bonfire Interactive Support at support@gobonfire.com.

SEALED SOLICITATION SUBMITTALS WILL BE ELECTRONICALLY RECEIVED until the time and date stated in the portal and in the CRITICAL DATES section of the solicitation document. It shall be the responsibility of the proposer to confirm that proposals contain all required documents and are submitted electronically through the City of Scottsdale procurement portal at: City of Scottsdale, AZ (bonfirehub.com).

LATE SUBMITTALS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED The Purchasing office will conduct a remote/online

Microsoft Teams Live Event meeting for the public opening of the solicitation. To virtually attend this meeting, visit us online by clicking the following link 26RFP011

It is strongly recommended you begin your submission upload process at least one (1) day prior to the deadline. Any technical or internet-related issues that may arise during your submission are not grounds to extend the deadline.

INFORMATION REQUESTS

Requests for any information relating to this solicitation should be directed to the purchasing staff listed below:

Kathleen Shipman Bid & Contract Analyst kshipman@scottsdaleaz.gov 480-312-5716

Bidders shall not contact any City of Scottsdale employee, officer, or director other than purchasing regarding this solicitation until after the award of a contract. Any such unauthorized contact may result in bidder being disqualified from further consideration.

https://scottsdaleaz.bonfirehub.com/portal/?tab=login mailto:support@gobonfire.com

INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS AND

GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

The Instructions to Bidders and General Terms and Conditions for formal solicitations are listed as attachments A and B as outlined below and shall be downloaded by prospective Bidders as part of the solicitation.

Attachment A - Formal Solicitation Instructions to Bidders (current version at time of posting).

Applies to all formal Invitation for Bids (IFB) and Request for Proposals (RFP).

Attachment B - Formal Solicitation General Terms and Conditions (current version at time of posting). Applies to all formal Invitation for Bids (IFB) and Request for Proposals (RFP).

Attachment C – “Sample” Scottsdale City Services Contract (current version at time of posting).

Applies to all formal Invitation for Bids (IFB) and Request for Proposals (RFP).

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTION 1 - INTRODUCTION

A. Intent B. Background

SECTION 2 – STATEMENT OF NEED

A. Specifications B. Contractor’s Qualifications C. Contractor’s Responsibilities D. City’s Responsibilities E. Additional Requirements

SECTION 3 – SPECIAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

SECTION 4 – EVALUATION CRITERIA

A. Evaluation Criteria

SECTION 5 – SUBMITTAL PREPARATION REQUIREMENTS

SECTION 6 – REQUIRED FORMS

A. Offer and Acceptance Form or Signature Page B. Proposal Signature Page C. Pricing Proposal Form D. Bidder General Disclosure Form E. Bidder Litigation Disclosure Form F. References G. Subcontractor List H. Bidder Questionnaire-Company Information I. Bidder Questionnaire-Similar/Relevant Projects

SECTION 7 – ATTACHMENTS

A. Instructions to Bidders B. General Terms and Conditions C. Scottsdale “sample” City Services Contract

SECTION 1 - INTRODUCTION

A. INTENT

The City of Scottsdale, Scottsdale Water and Facilities Departments wishes to establish a term contract with a qualified contractor who will provide after-hours answering services from their facility.

1. Scottsdale Water Department receives approximately 150 calls each month after normal business hours (7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) from City water and sewer customers who are reporting emergency situations that must be addressed immediately.

2. Scottsdale Facilities Management Department receives an average of 15 calls per week after normal business hours (7:30am to 4:30pm) from customers who are reporting emergency situations that must be addressed immediately.

B. BACKGROUND

To ensure quality Customer Service to the Scottsdale City Water and Facilities Department customers

24 hours a day, 7 days a week, it is necessary to utilize the services of a professional answering

Service to efficiently document information from customers who contact the City to report emergency situations and accurately relay the information to the On-Call City Technician or City Weekend crew member.

SECTION 2 – STATEMENT OF NEED

A. SPECIFICATIONS AND CONTRACTOR REQUIREMENTS FOR SCOTTSDALE WATER AND

FACILITIES DEPARTMENTS:

1. Provide all equipment, location, and personnel necessary to perform the required services.

2. Answer incoming calls in a friendly professional manner identifying to the caller that they have reached the “Scottsdale Water or Facilities Management” after hours emergency phone”.

3. Must provide evidence that a back-up Generator and UPS system exists to ensure uninterrupted answering services to Scottsdale customer calls in the event of a power outage.

4. Must provide evidence that a back-up call-center and well-defined Business Continuity process exists to ensure uninterrupted answering services to Scottsdale customer calls in the event of a need to vacate your primary call center for an extended period of time.

5. Must notify the departments within one hour or less if equipment problems affecting service take place. Contact information will be provided after contract award.

6. Shall provide an option for the departments to record a standard greeting that the customer hears prior to speaking with the call taker.

7. Must provide an option for the departments to create an alternate greeting to inform customers of an outage or system problem so incoming callers know the City is aware of the situation and is working to resolve it.

➢ In this situation the Contractor’s answering service will notify the departments when call volume is high and has increased to over 30 calls reporting the same problem.

➢ In addition, in this situation the answering service may be instructed to change the alternate greeting to inform callers that the City is aware of the problem.

➢ After the problem has been resolved, the answering service will change the greeting back to the normal message.

8. The Answering Service must forward a report showing all call activity at the end of each shift via email to the department’s contract administrators (or designees) that includes the following information:

➢ Time call was received

➢ Call Details to include callers first and last name and contact number.

➢ Time Dispatched to City On-Call Technician or Weekend Crew

➢ Time Notification was acknowledged by the On-Call Technician or Weekend Crew

➢ Time of Arrival by the On-Call Technician or Weekend Crew. Please note: this will not apply to the Facilities Department.

➢ Calls that can be handled during normal business hours will also be included on this report.

➢ Department email information:

a. Facilities Department - facilityworkorders@scottsdaleaz.gov

b. Water Department - WaterOperations-CustomerService@scottsdaleaz.gov

9. On occasion the departments may request answering services for calls during business hours. This situation is rare and shall be priced separately and per minute on the pricing proposal form. Historically this situation doesn’t exceed 20 requests a year and represents 1-2 hours per occurrence.

10. The successful contracted answering service times will be established on average call time (in minutes) after 60 days of contract award; however, it is preferred to keep the average call time to 2.5 minutes per incoming call on a monthly basis. Contractor shall have personnel trained in concisely responding to customer’s issues. In the event contractor continually averages calls exceeding 2.5 minutes the contractor shall provide additional training to staff in order to increase call efficiency. If additional training does not improve average talk time to meet the requirement the contractor shall provide to the contract administrators an action report containing details regarding which steps will be taken to rectify the situation. It will be at the contract administrators discretion to make exceptions should unexpected circumstances escalate call time. As a reference, current call time average during normal business hours is 1.42 minutes.

11. Monthly reports with talk time stats are to be submitted to the department’s contract administrators.

12. Answering Service shall not charge the City for minutes spent while on hold.

13. Call takers will ask each caller if the situation they reporting is an emergency that must be addressed before the normal business hours of 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

a. If the situation can be handled during normal business hours the call taker will take the caller’s name, address, phone number, email address, and a description of the problem, question or concern and assure the caller that the situation will be addressed the next business day.

b. The call taker will email the information to the Water or Facilities Department as follows:

i. For the Water Department an email must be sent with this information to WaterOperations-CustomerService@scottsdaleaz.gov

In the event that electronic mail complications occur the information may be faxed to the City number provided.

ii. For the Facilities Department the call taker will email the information to the City of Scottsdale Facilities Management Work Order shared facilitywo@scottsdaleaz.gov In the event that electronic mail complications occur; Facilities will provide an alternate email address.

mailto:facilityworkorders@scottsdaleaz.gov mailto:WaterOperations-CustomerService@scottsdaleaz.gov mailto:WaterOperations-CustomerService@scottsdaleaz.gov mailto:facilitywo@scottsdaleaz.gov

c. If the situation cannot wait until normal business hours the call taker will take the caller’s name, phone number, address, and description of the water or sewer emergency and will assure the caller that they will receive a call back from the City Technician who is on call or the Weekend Crew.

d. If it is determined that the Call Taker must relay the information to the On- Call Technician or the Weekend crew the call taker will follow specific instructions that will be provided by the Water and/or Facilities Department.

B. Required Service Days and Times:

Water Department:

• Monday – Thursday from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. the following day.

• Friday 4:30 p.m. through Monday 7:00 a.m. (Coverage is required 24 hours for both Saturday and Sunday).

Facilities Department

• Monday – Friday from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. the following day.

• Friday 4:30pm thru Monday 6:00 am (Coverage is 24 hours for both Saturday and Sunday).

C. CONTRACTOR QUALIFICATIONS

1. Shall have a minimum of three consecutive years’ experience in providing telephone customer service to utility services business and must provide references.

2. Must have a minimum of one Spanish speaking Call Taker on duty for each shift.

3. Geographic familiarity with the City of Scottsdale Water and Facilitates Management Departments service area is preferred.

D. CITY’S RESPONSIBILITIES

1. The Contract Administrators for the resulting contract shall be the Scottsdale Water and Facilities Department designees.

E. ADDITIONAL CONTRACTOR REQUIREMENTS

1. INVOICING

• All invoices submitted for work done under the scope of this contract shall contain a

MINIMUM of the following information:

• Vendor Name • Invoice Number

• Remit to Address • Tax Amount (if applicable)

• Purchase Order Number • Total Invoice Amount

• Invoice Date

• Identify the Department

• Itemization*

2. Itemized list of all charges (total minutes used, total number of calls taken, description, unit pricing per the contract, Average of call talk time)

3. Invoices should be sent to their respective areas:

• Scottsdale Water Operations, WaterOperations-CustomerService@scottsdaleaz.gov

• Scottsdale Facilities Department, FMinvoices@scottsdaleaz.gov

4. Offeror shall provide a flexible tiered pricing plan that will allow City of Scottsdale to pay only for minutes used as indicated on the pricing proposal form with the ability to fluctuate from tier to tier on a monthly basis as needed.

mailto:WaterOperations-CustomerService@scottsdaleaz.gov mailto:FMinvoices@scottsdaleaz.gov

SECTION 3 - SPECIAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

1. ACCEPTANCE / AGREEMENT

Contractor shall act under the authority and approval of the Contract Administrator for the City, further named herein, to provide the services required by this Contract.

If for any reason the Offeror should fail to accept in writing, any conduct by Offeror which recognizes the existence of a Contract/Agreement pertaining to the subject matter hereof shall constitute acceptance by Offeror of the Contract/Agreement and all of its terms and conditions.

Any terms proposed in Offeror's acceptance of City's Contract which adds to, varies from or conflicts with the terms herein are hereby rejected by the City. Any such proposed terms shall be void and the terms herein shall constitute the complete and exclusive statement of the terms and conditions of the Contract/Agreement between the parties.

2. ACCURACY OF WORK

The Contractor shall be responsible for the accuracy of the work requested and shall promptly make all necessary revisions or corrections without additional compensation. Acceptance of the work by the Project Manager will not relieve the Contractor of the responsibility for subsequent correction of any errors and the clarification of any ambiguities.

3. ADDITIONAL LOCATIONS

The City of Scottsdale reserves the right to add or subtract to this Contract as the need arises due to changes in the number of buildings. In the event the City needs to add to this Contract, the pricing for any additions to services shall be applied per the applicable Contract unit costs.

Any additions or subtractions to the Contract shall be done via a written amendment and be a MINIMUM of thirty (30) days prior to the changes taking effect.

4. BACKGROUND CHECK

The Contractor acknowledges that the City may require a background and/or criminal records check of Contractor, which may include fingerprinting. If, in the City’s sole discretion, the City determines that the Contractor refused to participate in a background and/or criminal records check or the City no longer wishes to contract with the Contractor due to the results of a background and/or criminal records check, the CITY may terminate this agreement effective immediately upon the CITY’S notice to the Contractor.

5. CITY ASSURANCE

The Contract Administrator shall report to the Contractor in writing, via email, or other written documentation, all deficiencies in the quality of performance of the maintenance service. All communication, written or verbal, between the City of Scottsdale Water and Facilities Department and the Contractor shall be in English.

COS RFP Template

All deficiencies in the performance of the Contractor’s service shall be corrected promptly by the Contractor as directed by the Contract Administrator.

The Contract Administrator may monitor and review the performance of the Contractor and employees. The outcomes of this oversight may have a direct bearing on the opportunity to negotiate a renewal of the Contract, when applicable.

6. CITY OBSERVED HOLIDAYS

City holiday time frame to be 6:00 P.M. the eve of the holiday until 6:00 A.M. on the day after the holiday.

City Holidays Include: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, President’s Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day (plus Day after Thanksgiving), Christmas Day.

a. New Year’s Day January 1st (or Friday before or Monday after)

b. Martin Luther King Day 3rd Monday in January

c. President’s Day 3rd Monday in February

d. Memorial Day Last Monday in May

e. Juneteenth June 19th

f. Independence Day July 4th (or Friday before or Monday after)

g. Labor Day 1st Monday in September

h. Veteran’s Day November 11 (or Friday before or Monday after)

i. Thanksgiving Day 4th Thursday in November

j. Day after Thanksgiving 4th Friday in November

k. Christmas Day December 25th (or Friday before or Monday after)

7. COMPLETENESS AND ACCURACY

The Contractor will be responsible for the completeness and accuracy of work prepared by the Contractor and will correct, at its expense, all errors or omissions which may be disclosed. The cost to correct those errors will be chargeable to the Contractor. The City’s acceptance of the Contractors work will not relieve the Contractor of any of its responsibilities. The professional standard to which the Contractor is held will be that of a similar Contractor as practiced in the State of Arizona.

8. CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION

The Contract Administrator or designee as identified in the Statement of Need shall audit the billings, approve payments, establish schedules, approve addenda to the contract, and generally be responsible for overseeing the execution of the contract.

9. CONTRACTOR’S EMPLOYEES’ IDENTIFICATION AND WORK APPAREL

All Contractor employees performing work under the scope of this Contract shall wear conservative style uniform shirts that will have sewn on or embossed identification labels of the Contractor’s company name, and/or, logo, and will appear on the front area of the shirt near chest height of the shirt. Shirts may also have company name or logo appear on the backside of the shirt. Contract Administrator will approve proper identification on uniforms during the life of the Contract.

Contractor shall provide employees with identification nametags to include name and picture of the employee and Contractor's company name and applicable logo. Employee will wear the nametag in plain view on his person at all times while performing the work under the scope of the Contract. All employees shall have the supervisor’s business cards available. In addition, the ‘lead person’ of each crew shall wear a badge clearly identifying the position of crew leader.

Contractor’s employees shall wear uniform style slacks, “Levi” type slacks, or Bermuda type shorts. If shorts are worn, they shall be of Bermuda style length (cut just above the knee). Cut-offs and short-shorts are not acceptable wearing apparel.

Outlandish styles, patterns, hats, colors of wearing apparel, verbiage imprinted on apparel, etc., worn by a Contractor Employee that may promote negativity in the work place, or advertise any product other than the Contractor’s company name and/or logo will not be allowed.

Sandals, flip-flops, open-toed shoes are not acceptable footwear.

The Contract Administrator shall be the sole determinant of the appropriateness of all work apparel.

Contractor shall insure that all employees performing any work at any location under the scope of this Contract are furnished and use the proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) based on the type of work the employee is doing and the type of hazard the employee may encounter or be exposed to.

Walkman type radios or any apparatus, which may impede hearing or sight, will not be allowed.

Earplugs and/or safety glasses are exempt.

The Contractor may instruct all employees, in advance, as to procedures in the event of a medical emergency.

If an injury to an employee is of sufficient nature to warrant immediate professional medical attention, the employee shall seek out proper medical attention immediately.

The employee shall notify the on-duty lead person (or supervisor) of any personal injury, including minor cuts, scrapes or burns. The on-duty lead person shall immediately notify the Contract Administrator of such injuries.

10. DELAYS AND EXTENSIONS

During the course of this Contract, if deemed in the best interest of the City of Scottsdale, an extension of time may be granted. However, any time extension so granted shall not constitute or operate as a waiver by the City of Scottsdale of any of its rights herein.

11. DELIVERY

Once a Purchase Order is placed with the Contractor, the Contractor shall complete all work associated with the Purchase Order within thirty (30) days, or as approved by the Contract Administrator.

12. FREIGHT

All shipments of goods covered under the scope of this Contract are F.O.B. City of Scottsdale.

All standard freight and/or delivery charges shall be included in the unit pricing quoted/bid herein.

The only allowable freight and/or delivery charges shall be if the Contract Administrator specifically requests other than standard freight and/or delivery (e.g., overnight delivery, etc.).

Special freight charges shall be quoted to and authorized by the Contract Administrator prior to invoicing.

13. INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS

Insurance Representations and Requirements

General

Contractor agrees to comply with all applicable City ordinances and state and federal laws and regulations.

Without limiting any obligations or liabilities of Contractor, must purchase and maintain, at its own expense, this Contract’s stipulated minimum insurance with insurance companies properly licensed by the State of Arizona (admitted insurer) with an AM Best, Inc. rating of B ++ 6 or above or an equivalent qualified unlicensed insurer by the State of Arizona (non-admitted insurer) with policies and forms satisfactory to City of Scottsdale. Failure to maintain insurance as specified may result in termination of this Contract at City of Scottsdale’s option.

No Representation of Coverage Adequacy By requiring the insurance stated in this Contract, the City of Scottsdale does not represent that coverage and limits will be adequate to protect Contractor. City of Scottsdale reserves the right to review any and all of the insurance policies and/or endorsements required by this Contract but have no obligation to do so. Failure to demand any evidence of full compliance with the insurance requirements stated in this Contract or failure to identify any insurance deficiency does not relieve Contractor from, nor may it be construed or considered a waiver of Contractor’s obligation to maintain the required insurance at all times during the performance of this Contract.

Coverage Term All insurance required by this Contract must be maintained in full force and effect until all work or services required to be performed under the terms of this Contract are satisfactorily performed, completed and formally accepted by The City of Scottsdale, unless specified otherwise in this Contract.

Claims Made In the event any insurance policies required by this Contract are written on a “claims made” basis, coverage shall continue uninterrupted throughout the term of this Contract by keeping coverage in force using the effective date of this Contract as the retroactive date on all “claims made” policies. The retroactive date for exclusion of claims must be on or before the effective date of this Contract and can never be after the effective date of this Contract. Upon completion or termination of this Contract, the “claims made” coverage shall be extended for an additional three

(3) years using the original retroactive date, either through purchasing an extended reporting option; or by continued renewal of the original insurance policies. Submission of annual Certificates of Insurance, citing the applicable coverages and provisions specified herein, shall continue for three (3) years past the completion or termination of this Contract.

Policy Deductibles and or Self-Insured Retentions The policy requirements may provide coverage which contains deductibles or self-insured retention amounts. Any deductibles or self-insured retention are not applicable to the policy limits provided to City of Scottsdale. Contractor is solely responsible for any deductible or self-insured retention amount. City of Scottsdale, at its option, may require Contractor to secure payment of any deductible or self-insured retention by a surety bond or irrevocable and unconditional letter of credit.

Use of Subcontractors If any work under this Contract is subcontracted in any way, Contractor must execute a written agreement with Subcontractor containing the same Indemnification Clause and Insurance Requirements as stated in this Contract protecting City of Scottsdale and Contractor. Contractor will be responsible for executing the agreement with Subcontractor and obtaining Certificates of Insurance verifying the insurance requirements.

Evidence of Insurance and Required Endorsements Before starting any work or services under this Contract, Contractor must furnish City of Scottsdale with Certificate(s) of Insurance, or formal endorsements as required by this Contract, issued by Contractor’s insurer(s) as evidence that policies are placed with acceptable insurers as specified in this Contract and provide the required coverage, conditions, and limits of coverage

COS RFP Template and that this coverage and the provisions are in full force and effect. If a Certificate of Insurance is submitted as verification of coverage, City of Scottsdale will reasonably rely upon the Certificate of Insurance as evidence of coverage, but this acceptance and reliance will not waive or alter in any way the insurance requirements or obligations of this agreement. If any of the above cited policies expire during the life of this Contract, it is Contractor’s responsibility to forward renewal Certificates within ten (10) days after the renewal date containing all the aforementioned insurance provisions. Certificates must specifically cite the following provisions endorsed to the Contractor’s policy:

1. City of Scottsdale its agents, representatives, officers, directors, officials and employees must be named an Additional Insured under the following policies:

a) Commercial General Liability

b) Auto Liability

c) Excess Liability - Follow Form to underlying insurance as required.

2. Contractor’s insurance must be primary insurance as respects performance of subject contract.

3. All policies, except Professional Liability Insurance, if applicable, waive rights of recovery (subrogation) against City of Scottsdale, its agents, representatives, officers, directors, officials and employees for any claims arising out of work or services performed by Contractor under this Contract.

4. If the Contractor’s receives notice that any of the required policies of insurance are materially reduced or cancelled, it will be Contractor’s responsibility to provide prompt notice of same to the City, unless such coverage is immediately replaced with similar policies.

Required Coverage

Commercial General Liability Contractor must maintain “occurrence” form Commercial General Liability Insurance with a limit of not less than $1,000,000 for each occurrence, $2,000,000 Products and Completed Operations Annual Aggregate, and a $2,000,000 General Aggregate Limit. The policy must cover liability arising from premises, operations, independent contractors, products-completed operations, personal injury and advertising injury. If any Excess insurance is utilized to fulfill the requirements of this section, the Excess insurance must be “follow form” equal or broader in coverage scope than underlying.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance Contractor must maintain Workers’ Compensation Insurance to cover obligations imposed by federal and state statutes applicable to Contractor’s employees engaged in the performance of work or services under this Contract and must also maintain Employers’ Liability Insurance of not less than $100,000 for each accident, $100,000 disease for each employee and $500,000 disease policy limit. If the Contractor is a sole proprietor or a single member limited liability company with no employees and has elected not to purchase Workers’ Compensation Insurance; a completed and signed Workers’ Compensation Waiver Form will substitute for the insurance requirement.

Professional Liability If the Contract is the subject of any professional services or work, or if Contractor engages in any professional services or work adjunct or residual to performing the work under this Contract, Contractor must maintain Professional Liability Insurance covering errors and omissions arising out of the work or services performed by Contractor or anyone employed by Contractor or anyone for whose acts, mistakes, errors and omissions Contractor is legally liable, with a liability insurance limit of $1,000,000 each claim and $2,000,000 all claims.

14. INVOICING

All invoices submitted for work done under the scope of this Contract MUST BE ITEMIZED.

Itemized invoices shall contain a MINIMUM of the following information:

COS RFP Template

• Vendor Name

• Remit to Address

• Purchase Order Number

• Invoice Date

• Invoice Number

• Date service/work was completed

• Complete description of work completed

• Location where service/work was performed

• Itemized list of all charges (quantity, description, unit pricing per the contract)

• Tax Amount (if applicable)

• Total Invoice Amount

The Contractor shall submit invoices with all supporting documentation within thirty (30) days after the service/work is completed and approved by the Contract Administrator. Please Note for the Facilities Department please submit all invoices to facilitywo@scottsdaleaz.gov

15. KEY PERSONNEL

The Contractor shall provide an adequate staff of experienced personnel capable of and devoted to the successful accomplishment of Contract work. The Contractor shall assign the specific individuals identified in its proposal to key positions. The Contract is predicated, in part and among other considerations, on the utilization of the specific individual(s) and/or personnel qualification(s) identified and/or described in the Contractor’s offer. Therefore, no substitution of such specified individuals and/or personnel shall be made without prior written approval of the CA. Any substitution of personnel under this Contract shall be equal or better than those identified in the Contract. The City’s approval of a personnel substitution shall not be construed as an acceptance of the substitution’s performance potential. No approval shall be unreasonably withheld of a proposed substitution of personnel. The Contractor shall bear all transitional expenses incurred for any costs associated with removing or replacing Key Personnel who are performing work under the Contract.

16. MULTIPLE AWARDS

If deemed to be in the City of Scottsdale’s best interests, the City reserves the right to award multiple Contracts as a result of the solicitation process. While multiple awards are possible, the preferred procedure is to make a single award for each commodity or category of commodity.

17. NON-COMPLIANCE CONDITIONS AND REMEDIES

Schedule Non-Compliance – Failure to maintain the approved or adjusted schedule will result in the issuance of a notice of non-compliance by the Contract Coordinator, or designee. Failure to correct the non-compliance situation within the time imposed by the City may result in the Contractor’s forfeiture of payment for the work that was not completed in the timeline issued by the Contract Administrator, or designee. At this point the City of Scottsdale will exercise its right to either perform the work itself or use another approved company to perform the work. Any work done in this manner will be deducted from the monthly billing. This action will in no way alleviate the responsibility of the Contractor to continue the maintenance of this site once the area has been recovered.

Employee Non-Compliance – Any employee(s) not following the standards set forth herein will be asked to leave the job site until basic work standards are met. This shall not alleviate the Contractor from fulfilling its responsibility to adhere to the schedule established with the Contract Administrator, or designee.

mailto:facilitywo@scottsdaleaz.gov

COS RFP Template

Throughout the life of this Contract every effort will be made to maintain effective communication with the Contractor. Phone calls, emails and faxes will be the normal way of alerting the Contractor to minimal violations. Persistent and/or negligence will be dealt with in a formal setting.

Failure of the Contractor to perform any services or requirements of the Contract shall be cause for the Contract Administrator to deduct payment based on administration costs, cost of labor for services having to be accomplished by others, supplies and materials; to be determined by the Contract Administrator. The disciplinary procedure for this section shall be:

First Infraction – A letter of ‘non-compliance’ shall be issued by the Contract Administrator. The Contractor shall have twenty-four (24) hours to respond in writing detailing what steps shall be taken to bring the maintenance back to compliance with the Contract. Remedy shall be executed within seventy-two (72) hours of notice issued by Contract Administrator to avoid a second letter of non-compliance. A letter of non-compliance will not result in any money charged against the Contractor.

Second Infraction – The second infraction in the same area or the same type of infraction shall result in a meeting with the Contractor. Failure to correct the non-compliance situation within the time imposed by the City may result in the Contractor’s forfeiture of payment for the work that was not completed in the timeline issued by the Contract Administrator. At this point the City of Scottsdale will exercise its right to either perform the work itself or use another approved to perform the work. Any work done in this manner will be deducted from the monthly billing. This action will in no way alleviate the responsibility of the Contractor to continue the maintenance of this site once the area has been recovered.

Third Infraction - The third infraction, within six (6) months, shall result in a meeting between the Contractor, City of Scottsdale staff and City of Scottsdale Purchasing staff. The Contractor shall explain, and put in writing, the action they are going to implement to avoid this situation further.

The third infraction results in the Contractor being put on forty-five (45) day probation, beginning with the meeting with City staff. At any time during the forty-five (45) day probation period the Contractor may be terminated with a seven (7) day notice. Any payments due at that time shall be frozen until the Contract has been serviced to specifications. If this is not possible the Contractor has no expectation of payment

18. OWNERSHIP OF PROJECT DOCUMENTS

All documents, including but not limited to notes, records, data compilations, studies, and reports in any format, including but not limited to, written or electronic media, prepared in the performance of this Contract will remain the property of the City and must be delivered to the Contract Administrator before final payment is made to the Consultant.

When the work details cover only the preparation of preliminary reports or documents, there will be no limitations upon the City concerning the use of the ideas or recommendations in the reports or documents. The City will release the Consultant from any liability for the preparation and use of preliminary reports or documents.

Any use of the project documents for purposes other than intended under this Contract will be at the sole risk of the City, and the Consultant will not be liable for any losses or injuries arising out of that use.

19. PAYMENT AND PERFORMANCE BONDS

Bonds in the following amounts will be required at the time of executing the formal Contract and shall be made payable to the City of Scottsdale.

(1) Performance Bond - One Hundred (100%) percent of the Contract price.

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At the time of approval of any additional work by CHANGE ORDER, the Contractor may be required to provide an additional amount for Performance Bond as deemed appropriate by the Contract Administrator or designee.

Performance Bonds must be submitted on Statutory Forms provided herein.

Each bond shall be executed solely by a surety company or companies holding a Certificate of Authority to transact surety business in the State of Arizona issued by the Director of the State Department of Insurance pursuant to Arizona Revised Statutes Title 20, Chapter 2, Article 1. The bonds shall not be executed by an individual or personal surety or sureties. Additionally, the surety company issuing any bond shall have an A.M. Best Company Inc. Financial Strength Rating of not less than “A-VI”.

20. PRICE ADJUSTMENTS

Price increases may only be requested by the Contractor, thirty (30) days prior to the anniversary date of the Agreement. Failure to do so may result in the denial of any increase requested.

A requested price increase will become effective only after approval by the Contract Administrator and the Purchasing Director. Once approved the price increase will be adjusted into a new base price for the remainder of the contract period. Any future requested price increases to the base price will only be reviewed at annual renewal time and require the approval of the Contract Administrator and Purchasing Director.

The proposed increased rate shall be based upon presentation by the Contractor and review by the Contract Administrator; however, the Contract Administrator shall evaluate the Contractor's performance, services and records documentation to determine the appropriateness of the increase requested.

The percentage increase in the unit pricing may not exceed the percent in the U.S. City Average “Consumer Price Index” (C.P.I.) All Items, 1982-84=100 for All Urban Consumers for the Percentage Change from the previous twelve (12) months, as published by the U.

S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics.

21. PRICING

Pricing shall be listed on the Pricing Proposal Forms. Prices quoted by the Offerors shall be applicable during the entire initial term of the Contract.

The pricing provided on the Pricing Proposal Form shall be the pricing used for both Scottsdale Water and Facilities departments. For reasons of clarity all submissions of pricing shall be priced in the same unit (size, volume, quantity, weight, etc.) as requested on the Pricing Proposal Form herein. Offerors failing to comply with this requirement may be declared non-responsive.

All charges associated with this Contract MUST be shown on the Pricing Proposal Form returned by the Offeror or other supporting documentation. Any charges not listed on the Pricing Proposal Form or supporting documentation submitted with the Offeror’s proposal response shall not be allowed during the Contract period and any applicable extensions.

Unit prices quoted shall be applicable for any quantity ordered by the City of Scottsdale or differentiated on the Pricing Proposal Form or other supporting documentation.

22. PURCHASING PROCEDURE

All orders require a City of Scottsdale purchase order that will be communicated by phone, fax or e-mail. No parts or commodities or work shall be rendered/are to be delivered without the issuance of a City of Scottsdale purchase order. Any invoices received from the Contractor without a City of Scottsdale purchase order number, referenced on the invoice, may remain unpaid.

23. QUANTITY

The estimated quantities that will be required during the initial term of this Contract are indicated on the Pricing Proposal Form contained herein.

The actual service requests, and service requests for future years may be more or less, and any quantities listed herein should be used for information purposes only.

The actual service requests, and service requests for future years may be more or less, and any quantities listed herein should be used for information purposes only.

24. REVIEW OF CONTRACTOR’S WORK

Work performed by the Contractor shall be subject to periodic reviews and partial acceptance at various stages. The Department may make such reviews and pass upon the acceptability of Contractor’s work. Partial acceptance shall not relieve the Contractor of its obligation to correct, without charge, any errors in the work on this project.

The City reserves the right to perform background checks on the Contractor and their employees who will be conducting onsite activities and have direct contact with the City’s client

25. SUBSTANCE ABUSE SCREENING & BACKGROUND CHECK REQUIREMENTS

Any and all employees, including all owners and officers of Contractors who perform work in City facilities, shall submit to and pass a criminal background investigation and substance abuse screening as outlined herein.

The Contractor shall provide the City of Scottsdale written certification that all employees of the Contractor, who will be performing work in City of Scottsdale facilities, have successfully completed and passed both a criminal background investigation and substance abuse screening prior to engaging in any work in any City of Scottsdale facility.

All employees of the Contractor shall abstain from the use of illegal drugs and/or alcohol, and the misuse of controlled substances while performing work in City of Scottsdale facilities. The Contractor shall be notified and required to immediately remove any employee that is suspected of being under the influence of a controlled substance while performing work in a City of Scottsdale facility. The employee removed under these circumstances may return to performing work in City of Scottsdale facilities only after it has been determined and verified by the City of Scottsdale, that the employee was not under the influence of a controlled substance at the time of the incident.

• Substance Abuse Screening Contractor’s employees, prior to engaging in work in any City of Scottsdale facility, shall be required to submit to and successfully complete a substance abuse screening for illegal drugs and controlled substances that includes at least the following: Amphetamines, Barbiturates, Benzodiazepines, Cocaine, Marijuana, Methadone, Opiates, PCP, and Propoxyphene. The substance abuse screening shall be performed by a laboratory legally authorized to perform such screenings and any related cost will be at the sole expense of the Contractor.

• Criminal Background Investigation Contractor and/or Contractor’s employees, prior to engaging in work for or in any City of Scottsdale facility, shall be required to submit to and successfully complete a full state and local federal criminal background investigation. The Contractor (if the Contractor performs work individually) shall not perform any work and the Contractor shall not allow any employee to perform work for or in a City of Scottsdale facility, if it is determined through the background investigation that the person has a history of conviction or arrest involving crimes of violence against others, sex offense, theft, or the sale and/or use of illegal drugs. Any cost incurred by

COS RFP Template the Contractor as a result of performing background investigation on their employees shall be at the sole expense of the Contractor.

Following Contractor award, the Contractor shall provide the Contract Administrator with a list of the “routine” contract assigned employees and include their Legal Name (First/Last), Date of Birth and Social Security Number. The City will conduct an ACJIS background check and issue an ID Badge to each routine contract employee who successfully passes the City’s background clearance.

All background checks are required to be updated annually based on the issuance date of the City issued picture identification badge, such annual updates will be performed by the City at the City’s expense.

Further, Contractor agrees that City policy does not permit, and the Contractor shall not allow, any individual who meets any of the following criteria to have unescorted access to any area that is considered vital infrastructure or to have unsupervised contact with members of a vulnerable population (such as children, those with mental disabilities or the elderly):

List of Automatic Disqualifiers:

➢ Pending criminal charges of any kind except for minor traffic offenses.

➢ Active warrants of any kind.

➢ Violent felony convictions within either the last 10 years after conviction or release from prison, whichever is longer.

➢ Non-violent felony convictions within either the last 5 years after conviction or release from prison, whichever period is longer.

➢ Affiliation, past or present, with a terrorist organization.

➢ Current affiliation with an organized crime syndicate or street gang or past membership within the last 10 years.

City of Scottsdale Vital Infrastructures includes but is not limited to:

➢ Public Safety Facilities

➢ Water Department Facilities

➢ Prosecutors’ Office

➢ City Courts

➢ City Hall

Any facility defined under A.R.S. 41-1801 - “Critical Infrastructure”, means systems and assets, whether physical or virtual, that are so vital to this state and the United States that the incapacity or destruction of these systems and assets would have a debilitating impact on security, economic security, public health or safety.

26. TERM OF AGREEMENT

The term of this Contract shall be for a one (1) year period from the effective date of the contract award.

The City and Contractor may mutually agree to extend this Contract for four (4) additional one (1) year periods, upon the recommendation of the Contract Administrator, concurrence of the Purchasing Director and/or City Council, depending on the Contract.

27. THIRD PARTY BENEFICIARY

Nothing under the Contract Documents will be construed to give any rights or benefits in the Contract Documents to anyone other than the City and the Consultant, and all duties and responsibilities undertaken in accordance with the Contract Documents will be for the sole and exclusive benefit of the City and the Consultant and not for the benefit of any other party.

28. VALUATION OF CONTRACTORS PERFORMANCE

The contractor will be evaluated regarding its performance of this Contract. This evaluation will include, but not be limited to, the following considerations for:

Completeness Accuracy Technical Expertise Organization Working Relationship with City Staff and Others Availability Communication Skills (meetings, correspondence, etc.)

This evaluation will be prepared by the staff and used to evaluate the desirability to proceed with negotiations for additional services.

SECTION 4 – EVALUATION CRITERIA

A. EVALUATION CRITERIA

GENERAL

After receipt of all proposals, each submittal shall be screened to determine if any shall be deemed non-responsive. Unsigned proposals, incomplete proposals, non-conformance with mandatory requirements, etc., may result in the determination of non-responsive.

Subsequent to the initial review, all remaining proposals shall be reviewed by the Proposal Evaluation Committee.

PROPOSAL EVALUATION

All responsive proposals shall be evaluated by the Proposal Evaluation Committee using the criteria listed below. The recommendation for contract award will be made to the responsible Offeror whose proposal is determined to be the most advantageous to the City.

The following are the criteria that will be used to review the proposals:

DESCRIPTION

Key Personnel/Staff Qualifications & Resumes

Key Project Areas

Pricing

Local Knowledge of Scottsdale, Arizona

References and Exceptions

The following items may be used by the Proposal Evaluation Committee to evaluate each proposal submitted:

1. Cost factors associated with performing the work required by the contract.

2. The returned satisfaction surveys from the Offeror’s submitted references.

3. The Offeror’s demonstrated experience on similar types of projects, including satisfactory reference checks relating to past work relationships, past performance on projects of similar scope and size, level of knowledge, reliability, flexibility and ability to meet deadlines.

4. The ability and willingness of the Offeror to meet or exceed the specifications and standards of this solicitation and Offeror’s understanding and perceived perception of the scope of work contained herein.

5. The content and quality of the Offeror’s proposal and other presentation materials.

Each proposal will be reviewed in entirety and assigned a score with respect to each of the criteria. The proposals will be ranked by the evaluation committee.

The evaluation committee may establish a short list of those proposals considered most advantageous to the City of Scottsdale.

➢ Short-listed Offerors may be invited to make presentation. At the presentation, the evaluation committee will score each Offeror.

➢ At the conclusion of all presentations, an overall ranking of proposals will be performed.

The City of Scottsdale intends to enter into negotiations with the top ranked Offeror determined to provide the most advantageous combination of product and services as determined by the proposal and presentation.

Should negotiations with the top ranked Offeror fail to reach a satisfactory conclusion, the City of Scottsdale may at is sole discretion enter into negotiations with the second ranked vendor, or the City of Scottsdale may determine that no further negotiations will be conducted.

SECTION 5 – SUBMITTAL PREPARATION REQUIREMENTS

All required documents shall be submitted electronically through the City of Scottsdale procurement portal at: City of Scottsdale, AZ (bonfirehub.com). Offerors are expected to download the solicitation documents from the Bonfire procurement portal at City of Scottsdale, AZ (bonfirehub.com). To prepare your electronic submission please do the following:

Review the solicitation document downloaded from the procurement portal and navigate to Section 5 – Submittal Preparation Requirements.