1-BH022526 FEI RFI - FINAL.pdf

NOTICE OF PROPOSED SOLE SOURCE PROCUREMENT

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

SALT LAKE COUNTY

Notice #: BH022526

The Division of Contracts and Procurement has received a request to purchase from a “sole source” vendor. If, for any reason, any party does not agree that this sole source purchase is applicable, please email the contact person for Salt Lake County Contracts and Procurement Division prior to the “Comments Due Date:” indicated below:

Title: Enhancements, Maintenance and Hosting of UWITS System (Utah Web Infrastructure for Treatment Services)

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION

Sole source procurement is appropriate when goods or services are only available from a single vendor; when the most important consideration is the standardization or compatibility of equipment, materials, technology, software accessories, replacement parts, or service; where transitional costs are unreasonable or cost prohibitive; or if it otherwise qualifies under County Ordinance 3.20.030.

This is a Standardization Sole Source Request for Enhancements, Maintenance, and Hosting of the UWITS System.

FEI has served as the developer and vendor for the UWITS/WITS platform since 2004, during which time they have continually supported, enhanced, hosted, and maintained WITS implementations nationwide. Today, FEI provides WITS services for 35 state and county entities, each benefiting from FEI’s role as the original architect and sole maintainer of the WITS codebase. Because FEI designed and wrote the system, they remain the only vendor with complete knowledge of all technical components, integrations, and architectural structures necessary to support ongoing development.

FEI also established the WITS Collaborative Partnership (WCP), now known as the Behavioral Health Client Council. This public‑private partnership provides strategic direction for current and future WITS development and ensures that all participating jurisdictions can access and adopt enhancements across the full WITS module suite.

The BHCC model enables FEI to:

• Manage each customer’s instance individually while maintaining a shared base code.

• Maintain expert insight into system operations across all jurisdictions.

• Recommend existing functionality that meets partner needs without duplicative development.

• Design new functionality aligned with system architecture and beneficial to the broader collaborative.

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• Maintain robust quality control and code integrity.

• Facilitate cost‑sharing opportunities by distributing development benefits; and

• Coordinate system updates related to federal regulations, reporting standards, and SAMHSA requirements.

The collaborative model significantly reduces costs for partners such as Salt Lake County Behavioral Health Services (SLCoBHS) by allowing them to adopt enhancements developed by other jurisdictions at a fraction of the cost of independent development. Because FEI is the only entity with complete access to and responsibility for the WITS base code, they are uniquely positioned to deliver enhancements, bug fixes, and system improvements quickly and accurately. Their deep familiarity ensures that all changes remain stable, compliant, and compatible with the shared codebase.

Transitioning to another vendor, whether for development, maintenance, support, or hosting, would incur substantial cost and risk. Under the shared code agreement, all jurisdictions must return enhancements to the collaborative, requiring continued coordination with FEI to avoid code divergence. Additionally, infrastructure modifications involving hosting, security, connectivity, backup processes, restoration protocols, testing, and federal compliance would require reinvestment and introduce operational risk.

For these reasons, FEI Systems is the only vendor capable of providing the services necessary to maintain, enhance, and support the UWITS/WITS platform without jeopardizing functionality, compliance, interoperability, or collaborative cost‑sharing structures.

Proposed Standardization Provider: FEI.com, Inc.

Notice Start Date: March 3rd, 2026

Comments Due Date/Time: March 10th, 2026, before 1:00pm Mountain Time

Estimated Costs: Approximate Annual Total $465,920, with a 6-year term

Contact Person: Bibi Whitehead email address: bwhitehead@saltlakecounty.gov

Materials Provided to Salt Lake County The County is a governmental entity subject to the Utah Governmental Records and Access Management Act (GRAMA), Utah Code Section 63G-2-101 et seq. All documents submitted in response to this RFI will be treated as protected records under GRAMA Section 63G-2-305(7). Please be advised that documents submitted in response to this RFI will become public records upon execution of a contract directly relating to the subject of this request or in the event the County does not enter into a contract which directly relates to the subject matter upon the expiration of two years from the date of issue of this RFI. Trade secrets and commercial information will not be mailto:bwhitehead@saltlakecounty.gov disclosed provided that you have properly compiled with Utah Code Section 63G-2-305 and Utah Code Section 63G-2-309.

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