1-IFB Sec.1 Introduction Bid Summary.pdf

Madison County Transit Fuel – Biodiesel and Unleaded No. 26-1-24700

SECTION 1. INTRODUCTION AND BID SUMMARY

1.1 Invitation

The Madison County Mass Transit District (hereinafter "the Owner") is seeking offers from vendors for the purchase and delivery of B11 Biodiesel fuel and 87 Octane Unleaded Gasoline fuel on an as-needed basis for orders placed January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2026. The intent of this Invitation for Bids is to contract with a single contractor thereby establishing fixed prices for fuel delivery. Fuel prices will be established by an Owner approved rack pricing source.

1.2 Date, Time and Place of Bid Opening

Bids will be publicly opened and read out loud. Bid deadline:

Date: October 21, 2025

Time: 2:00 PM CDT

Place: Madison County Transit Administrative Building One Transit Way Pontoon Beach, IL 62040

1.3 Procurement Schedule

Bidders are advised that the Owner shall make a good faith effort to adhere to the following schedule for this procurement:

Date Milestone

September 24, 2025 IFB Issued

October 3, 2025 Deadline for written questions due close of business

October 8, 2025 Addendum Issued, if any

October 21, 2025 Bid Deadline

November 3, 2025 Anticipated Contract Award

The Owner shall be under no obligation to comply with the procurement schedule shown above, provided that all prospective bidders/proposers or other interested parties known to the Owner shall be notified equally of changes made to this schedule by the Owner within a reasonable time after such changes are made. In no event shall any bidder have any redress to the Owner, be it financial or otherwise, in the event that the Owner alters this schedule in any way.

1.4 Owner’s Procurement Representative

Name: J’Vaughn Williams Title: Procurement Project Manager Phone number: (618) 797-4600 E-mail: mctbid@mct.org

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1.5 Pre-Bid Meeting and Project Site Tours

A pre-bid meeting will not be conducted. Site tours will be provided upon request. Please contact the Owner’s Fleet director to schedule a site tour:

Name: Justin Dixon Phone Number: 618-797-4600 ext. 5020 E-mail: Jdixon@mct.org

1.6 Type and Term of Contract

This is an indefinite delivery requirements contract. The contract term will begin January 1, 2026, and expire December 31, 2026. The contract may be extended if mutually agreed in writing by both parties.

Orders must be accepted by the successful bidder throughout the contract erm, including any orders that may be placed on the last day of the contract term.

1.7 Basis of Contract Award

Subject to section 1.18 (Consideration of Offers), contract award, if any, will be made to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, as determined by the Total Bid Price. Acceptance of any bid for contract award may be subject to the approval of the Owner’s Board of Trustees.

1.8 Questions and Approved Equal Request /Substitution Requests Questions and substitution requests are due in accordance with the date and time listed in Section 1.3, Procurement Schedule. If there are further questions related to critical and/or contradictory items that come up after this time, these questions should be submitted to the Owner’s procurement representative without delay so that the Owner can address any issues found prior to the bid deadline. Questions and other communications must be submitted through the Bonfire portal at mct-act.bonfirehub.com.

The specifications contained in this IFB indicate the Owner’s specific preferences. Descriptions of products in the specifications are not intended to unduly restrict competition. Wherever particular brands, manufacturers or product names are used, they are included solely for the purpose of establishing a description of the minimum quality of the item. Such references should not be construed as advocating or prescribing the use of any particular brand, item or product. Minor variances to the specifications will be considered by the Owner and will be evaluated based on the respective quality and condition of such variance and the degree to which it may affect performance in the Owner’s application. In the Owner’s sole judgment, determinations will be made based on the best interest of the Owner; such decisions will be considered final. The Owner approved variance will be made known to all bidders via addenda.

Requests submitted with a bid will be rejected. Substitution requests must come from Prime bidders/contractors; substitution requests from subassemblers/subcontractors/suppliers will not be reviewed.

1.9 Addenda to this Solicitation

Any or all changes, additions, or clarifications in connection with this IFB shall be issued by the Owner in the form of written addenda posted at mct-act.bonfirehub.com. Bidder must acknowledge all addenda issued as part of their bid submittal in Bonfire in the requested information section and on the Solicitation and Offer Form. Oral comments, responses and/or representations shall not be binding upon the Owner.

1.10 Bidder’s Terms and Conditions

Bidder imposed terms and conditions submitted with their bid which conflict with this solicitation are considered counteroffers and, as such, may cause the bid to be considered non-responsive. Terms or conditions that a bidder would like to have considered by the Owner must be submitted by the date and time stated in block 11 of the Solicitation, Offer and Award Form. Requests that are acceptable to the Owner will be made available to all prospective bidders.

https://mct-act.bonfirehub.com/ https://mct-act.bonfirehub.com/

1.11 Organizational Conflict of Interest

Unless specifically exempted from the conditions of this provision by the Owner, any Owner contractor, subcontractor, subsidiary, or other entity which is legally related and which develops or drafts specifications, requirements, statements of work, or solicitations, is excluded from competing for the directly ensuing procurement.

1.12 Responsive and Responsible

All bids or proposals received in accordance with the requirements stated in this solicitation shall be screened initially in order to confirm the responsiveness of the written bid, including minimum qualifications, if any.

To be considered a responsive bid, it must comply with all material aspects of the solicitation, both as to the method and timeliness of submission, and as to the substance of any resulting contract. The Owner will ensure that offers received contain all required forms, signatures, attachments, and other information as specified herein. Bids that do not comply with all material aspects of the solicitation will be rejected as non-responsive.

To be considered a responsible bidder, the individual, firm or team must exhibit adequate organization, financial condition, personnel qualifications, facilities, record of past performance, and other characteristics necessary to carry out work related to this solicitation with a high degree of quality and timeliness.

1.13 Withdrawal of Bid

The Bonfire portal permits an electronically submitted bid to be withdrawn prior to the final bid deadline.

After the bid deadline, no bid may be withdrawn for the period of time stated in Solicitation and Offer Form. Negligence on the part of a bidder in preparing its bid shall not confer a right of withdrawal after the bid deadline.

1.14 Owner’s Tax Status

The Owner is a governmental entity exempt from the payment of applicable Retailer’s Occupation Tax, Service Occupation Tax, Use Tax, Service Use Tax. The Owner’s Illinois governmental exemption certificate number is E99897751 expiring on 03/01/2030.

1.15 Law Governing

Bidder shall recognize that all applicable Federal and State laws, including, but not limited to the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act, certifications, municipal ordinances, and rules and regulations of all authorities having jurisdiction over the services to be provided shall apply to the Contract throughout, and they will be deemed to be included in the Contract the same as though herein written out in full. All matters of law pertaining to this Contract shall be governed by, and construed according to, the laws of the State of Illinois, excluding, however, choice of laws principles.

1.16 Execution of a Contract

The Solicitation, Offer, and Award Form will serve as the bidder’s offer to furnish the items and/or services as described in this solicitation and will serve as the Owner’s award document upon acceptance. Prior to the Owner placing it’s first order, the Contractor shall provide the Owner with proof of insurance per the requirements stated in Section 2, Special Conditions.

1.17 Representations and Certifications

By responding to this solicitation with a bid or proposal, the bidder/proposer certifies the following:

a) It has no direct or indirect pecuniary or proprietary interest, and that it shall not acquire any interest which conflicts in any manner or degree with the work required to be performed and/or provided under this contract, and that it shall not employ any person or agent having any such interest. In the event that the successful bidder, its agents, employees or representatives hereafter acquire such a conflict of interest, the successful bidder shall immediately disclose such interest to the Owner and immediately take action to eliminate the conflict or to withdraw from this contract, as the Owner may require.

b) No person or selling agency except bona fide employees or designated agents or representatives of bidder or proposer has been employed or retained to solicit or secure this contract with an understanding that a commission, percentage, brokerage, or contingent fee would be paid; and no gratuities in the form of entertainment, gifts or otherwise were offered or given by bidder or proposer or any of its agents, employees or representatives, to any official, member or employee of the Owner or other governmental agency with a view toward securing this contract or securing favorable treatment with respect to the awarding or amending, or the making of any determination with respect to the performance required under, a contract with the Owner.

c) The number and amount of other contracts and awards pending which the bidder or proposer is or will be obligated to perform, now and during the course of this project, will not interfere with or hinder the timely prosecution of work.

d) The bid/proposal price has been arrived at independently, without consultation, communications, or agreement for the purpose of restricting competition.

e) It has not offered any money or other valuable thing to any person to induce them not to bid or propose on this project, or as recompense for his not having bid or propose on this project.

f) The bidder/proposer is properly organized and qualified to do business in the State of Illinois and has any and all approvals, registration, and licenses to do business in the State and with the Owner and that the person executing the bid/proposal on behalf of the bidder is the duly authorized representative of the bidder/proposer and has the requisite authority to do so.

g) It will accomplish the work in accordance with the contract.

h) It has read and understands the terms and conditions set forth in this solicitation and agrees to them with no exceptions.

i) It will comply with the requirements of 2 C.F.R. part 180, subpart C, as supplemented by 2 C.F.R.

part 1200, while this offer is valid and throughout the period of any contract that may arise from this offer.

1.18 Consideration of Offers

The Owner shall not be obligated to award a contract solely on the basis of any response made to this solicitation, nor does the Owner intend to, nor will it be obligated to pay for the information solicited or obtained. the Owner maintains the right, but shall be under no obligation, to award a contract to the responsive and responsible bidder or proposer whose offer is deemed by the Owner to be most advantageous. The Owner reserves the right:

a) To reject any offer and to remove from mailing lists for future procurements the names of any firm or team engaging in collusive or other unlawful practices.

b) To award contract(s) without discussion based upon the initial offers.

c) To waive informalities and minor irregularities in offers received if it believes there is a sound documented business reason for doing so, and to negotiate matters of contractor performance and other matters prior to awarding a contract.

d) To reject any offer if, in the Owner’s sole discretion, the offer is incomplete, the offer is not responsive to the requirements of this solicitation, the bidder does not meet the qualification requirements set forth herein, if any, or it is otherwise determined to be in the best interest of the Owner to reject the offer.

e) To supplement, amend, substitute or otherwise modify the terms of this solicitation at any time prior to the execution of a final contract.

f) To accept or reject any or all of the items in any offer and award a contract for the whole or only a part of any offer if the Owner determines, in its sole discretion, that it is in the Owner’s best interest to do so.

g) To reject the offer of any bidder that, in the Owner’s sole judgment, has previously been delinquent or unfaithful in the performance of any contract with the Owner, is financially or technically incapable or is otherwise deemed to not be a responsible bidder/proposer.

h) To waive any informality, defect, non-responsiveness and/or deviation from this solicitation that is not, in the Owner’s sole judgment, material to the offer.

i) To permit or reject, at the Owner’s sole discretion, amendments (including information inadvertently omitted), modifications, alterations, and/or corrections to offers by one or more of the bidders or proposers following bid or proposal submission.

j) To request additional or clarifying information.

k) To investigate the qualifications of any and all individuals and firms under consideration, to confirm any part of the information furnished in an offer, and to require further evidence of managerial, financial or professional capabilities which are considered necessary for the successful performance of work described in this solicitation.

l) To cancel the procurement at any time during the process if it appears that the offers received are not suitable for any reason whatsoever.

m) To reject offers that are materially unbalanced, i.e., that contain high unit prices for some items and/or low unit prices for other items.

n) To evaluate offers based on unit prices which will govern over extended prices.

o) To award this contract to a single or multiple service providers deemed to best meet the Owner’s specifications and needs.

p) To award tie bids by drawing lots.

1.19 Single Proposal Response

In the event that only one responsive and responsible bid is received in response to this IFB, the Owner may require assistance from the single bidder in the preparation of a bid price analysis, in order to determine whether the single bid received by the Owner is fair and reasonable.

1.20 Protest Procedures

Any protest initiated by a protesting party concerning procurement actions will be administered in accordance with the agency’s Protest Procedures, which are available at www.mct.org/procurement.

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