1-Part-8-Exceptions-Form-Sole-Source-Contract amendment-2026-10-13 Posting doc.pdf

Department of Government Operations Division of Purchasing and General Services 4315 S 2700 W, FL 3, Taylorsville, UT 84129-2128 Phone: 801-957-7160 www.purchasing.utah.gov

Issuing Procurement Unit: Division of Purchasing

Conducting Procurement Unit: Environmental Quality, Division Air Quality

NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD A CONTRACT WITHOUT ENGAGING IN A STANDARD PROCUREMENT PROCESS

The Division of Purchasing is publishing this notice pursuant to the Utah Procurement Code. The Conducting Procurement Unit submitted this form to the Division of Purchasing claiming that it intends to award a contract without competition if it is determined by the Division of Purchasing, in writing, that:

• there is only one source for the procurement item;

• transitional costs are a significant consideration in selecting a procurement item; or

• the award of a contract is under circumstances, described in rules adopted by the applicable rulemaking authority, that make awarding the contract through a standard procurement process impractical and not in the best interest of the procurement unit.

In the subsequent pages the Conducting Procurement Unit has identified its justification for wanting to award a contract without engaging in standard procurement process.

Determination of Other Interested Vendors

If the procurement item identified in this notice is to be awarded as a sole source (only one source for the procurement item), then this notice will help determine if there are any other interested and qualified vendors that meet the specifications of this notice. Any such vendors must submit the following information:

• The name of the contesting person; and

• A detailed explanation of the challenge, including documentation showing that there are other competing sources for the procurement item.

In addition, a vendor should include:

• Documentation that your firm can provide a comparable or better procurement item that meets or exceeds the specifications;

• Documentation that your firm can also provide the same proprietary procurement item or an equivalent procurement item; and

• If transitional costs are identified as the justification for this notice, submit a cost comparison of the identified transitional costs with your firm’s anticipated transitional costs.

Regardless of any prior communications with the Division of Purchasing or the State, all vendors interested in responding to this notice must submit a response to this posting containing complete responses to all of the information requested above.

DO NOT CONTACT THE CONDUCTING PROCUREMENT UNIT. Any questions regarding this notice, including obtaining additional information, can be obtained through the Division of Purchasing during the publication period. No action is required if you agree with this Notice.

If the purpose of this notice is an intent to award a sole source, after the public notice period has passed, and the Division of Purchasing determines that there are other interested and qualified vendors that meet the specifications of this notice, then the Division of Purchasing will not award a contract pursuant to this notice. An award without competition may still be made even if there are other interested vendors when the basis for the award is due to transitional costs or impracticality as stated above.

If, after the public notice period has passed, no valid challenges have been received, then the Division of Purchasing may award a contract to the identified vendor without competition.

Read the entire form very carefully before responding to this notice.

It is anticipated that this procurement will result in a:

RESULT ACTION

Agency Contract

The term of this contract (or extension) will be: and renewal options: .

The agency may not make the procurement until the solicitation process is completed and a contract is written and signed by the agency, the vendor, and the Division of Purchasing.

Purchase Order The agency may not make the procurement until the solicitation process is completed, the purchase order is signed by the Division of Purchasing and delivered to the agency and the vendor.

Description of procurement item to be purchased: Add the cost of cloud hosting of SLEIS, the online emission inventory software for Utah Division of Air Quality.

Estimated value of the contract/purchase order/increase: $43,000

Freight Cost (F.O.B. Destination, Freight Prepaid): $0.00

Vendor Name: Windsor Solutions, Inc.

Explain in detail the service or product to be procured (additional information included in attached Scope of Work):

Extend the maintenance agreement for SLEIS, the online emission inventory software for Utah Division of Air Quality.

CHECK THE BOX THAT IDENTIFIES WHY A CONTRACT SHOULD BE AWARDED WITHOUT ENGAGING IN A STANDARD

PROCUREMENT PROCESS:

Sole Source - There is only one source for the procurement item. Complete Section A

Transitional Costs - Transitional costs are a significant consideration in selecting a procurement item and the results of a cost-benefit analysis demonstrate that transitional costs are unreasonable or cost-prohibitive, and that the award of a contract without engaging in a standard procurement process is in the best interest of the procurement unit.

Complete Section B

Impracticality - The award of a contract is under circumstances, described in rules adopted by the applicable rulemaking authority, that make awarding the contract through a standard procurement process impractical and not in the best interest of the procurement unit.

Complete Section C

Trial use contract for a new or innovative procurement item, or for a procurement item with a novel or unproven use or application. Complete Section D

Extension of a contract without engaging in a standard procurement process. If extension will result in a request to increase the contract total, complete Section F below as well. Complete Section E

Request to increase total contract amount. Complete Section F

SECTION A: ONLY ONE SOURCE

1. What is unique about this procurement item to justify an award of contract without engaging in a standard procurement process? (Explain in detail why the service or product is only available from a single supplier.)

Windsor Solutions owns the proprietary rights to SLEIS, therefore only they can assist with technical difficulties while using the software. Switching to a different software would require transferring the data from SLEIS to the new platform, then quality checking it for errors. Windsor has also implemented numerous custom enhancements, therefore tailoring SLEIS to have specific attributes necessary for Utah emissions reporting. We would not want to lose these enhancements if switching to another software company. It would also require training facilities to use a new software, which was required for the 2017 triennial inventory, when SLEIS was introduced. Facilities are now on their eighth year of using SLEIS. Also, facilities tailor their equipment profiles; switching platforms would require them doing this work again.

In terms of hosting, other hosts do exist (currently hosted on state servers) but DTS has informed us that costs have increased substantially and we either need to move to Amazon Web Services (AWS) or have Windsor host the product.

When we discussed this with DTS (LaRon Taggart), he stated that Windsor’s quote was comparable to the DTS costs they would pass on to us by hosting on AWS. When it was noted that Windsor would be able to more rapidly deploy and troubleshoot SLEIS updates/enhancements as well as rapidly troubleshoot hosting issues, LaRon noted that was correct since Windsor would no longer need to coordinate with DTS technicians to handle those issues. Finally, LaRon noted that while DTS is happy to help host on AWS, the task is small, but it does draw DTS resources to it which could be better used for other software development and support tasks they have.

2. Could the procurement item be reasonably modified to allow for competition?

No.

3. Explain the market research performed.

We have listened to multiple presentations about EPA’s Combined Air Emissions Reporting system (CAERS) and systems that other states utilize and have learned how these products work. CAERS is not currently capable of performing many of the functions SLEIS is able to do, particularly the enhancements that Windsor has provided to Utah's SLEIS implementation. Further, making adjustments to CAERS appears to be complex and requires substantial state IT software development support which many state IT departments simply do not have the financial or human resources to support. Utah would likely also face this barrier.

Many states build their own software, and some states still conduct their inventory process via paper and mail. We always feel confident that SLEIS is a superior product, and the best option for emissions reporting.

See Section A1 above – contacted our local DTS liaison (LaRon Taggart) to discuss hosting options.

4. What research have you conducted to ensure the requested procurement item is not available on an existing state cooperative contract?

Using the Utah Division of Purchasing and General Services Contracts search feature, staff found no current cooperative contracts relating to "air quality" or "emissions inventory". The search feature presented results for "emissions", however they all pertained to auto parts. “Inventory” returned Lucidea Technologies Corp., but this is related to general collections management system, and not specific to the nuances of air emissions reporting.

Searching “hosting” in the state contracts lead to many “cloud solutions” services but they seemed to be specific to a particular software or application. It was challenging to interpret if any could be used to host SLEIS. This is where it would be best to defer to DTS expertise – When LaRon Taggart was consulted, he only mentioned the option of moving to AWS or having Windsor host.

5. If there is only one source for the procurement item, list the names of other similar vendors contacted, contact person, and a summary of their response, When SLEIS was originally contracted in 2015, DAQ staff conducted the necessary research to determine the best vendor to use for procuring an Emissions Inventory software. Because this is a maintenance agreement for our existing software, no additional research is necessary.

See Section A1 above – contacted our local DTS liaison (LaRon Taggart) to discuss hosting options.

SECTION B: TRANSITIONAL COSTS

1. Describe the existing equipment, technology, software, accessories, replacement parts, or service, hereafter referred to as equipment; include the original purchase price and date of purchase for the existing equipment.

2. Supply the following:

a. Procurement method that was used to purchase the existing equipment? (IFB, RFP, Sole Source):

b. Solicitation number, RQS number, or sole source number for the existing equipment:

c. Contract number for the existing equipment:

3. Attach the cost-benefit analysis, as required by Utah Code Section 63G-6a-802, that demonstrates that transitional costs are unreasonable or cost-prohibitive.

SECTION C: STANDARD PROCUREMENT PROCESS IMPRACTICABLE

1.

Review R33-8-101c and provide supporting justification why awarding the contract through a standard procurement process is impractical and not in the best interest of the procurement unit under the circumstances; including any supporting documentation.

2. Supply the following, if applicable:

a. Procurement method that was used to purchase the existing equipment? (IFB, RFP, Sole Source):

b. Solicitation number, RQS number, or sole source number for the existing equipment:

c. Contract number for the existing equipment

SECTION D: TRIAL USE CONTRACT

1. Describe how this trial use contract for the new or novel procurement item will benefit your agency.

2. Describe how the procurement item is new or innovative, or how the procurement item has a proposed use/application that is novel or unproven.

3. Describe why a trial use contract exception is necessary for this procurement item at this time as opposed to conducting a standard procurement process to procure the procurement item.

4. What research have you conducted to ensure the requested procurement item is not available on an existing state cooperative contract?

5.

How long does the agency need to test the procurement item and what quantities of the procurement item (if applicable) will be necessary to test this procurement item? Note trial use contracts generally cannot exceed a period of 24 months.

SECTION E: EXTENSION OF CONTRACT WITHOUT ENGAGING IN A STANDARD PROCUREMENT PROCESS The procurement official may extend a contract up to 120 days. For extensions beyond 120 days, the procurement official may extend the contract after consulting with legal counsel.

Contract Start Date: Enter date. Current End Date: Enter date.

Proposed End Date: Enter date. Contract Number: Enter text.

1.

Is this request for a contract extension the result of a protest, appeal or court action? If yes, agency does not need to complete items 2-5 below. Provide the solicitation number that resulted in a protest and date of the protest, appeal or court action.

2.

Describe why extending this contract without engaging in a standard procurement process is necessary to avoid a lapse in a critical government service, OR to mitigate a circumstance that is likely to have a negative impact on public health, safety, welfare, or property.

3.

Confirm the procurement unit is currently engaged in a standard procurement process for the procurement item that is subject to the contract extension request and that the standard procurement process is delayed due to an unintentional error.

4.

Justification for Extension: check all that apply:

☐ The standard procurement process is delayed due to an unintentional error.

☐ A change in an industry standard requires one or more significant changes to specifications for the procurement item.

☐ To prevent the loss of federal funds.

☐ To mitigate the effects of a delay of a state or federal appropriation.

☐ To enable the procurement unit to continue to receive a procurement item during a delay in the implementation of a contract awarded pursuant to a procurement that has already been conducted.

☐ To enable the procurement unit to continue to receive a procurement item during a period of time during which negotiations with a vendor under a new contract for the procurement item are being conducted.

5. For the selection(s) above, provide any additional details regarding the circumstances justifying a contract extension.

SECTION F: REQUEST TO INCREASE TOTAL CONTRACT AMOUNT

If the original solicitation type was an ACWESPP (e.g. sole source) and the additional amount will make the contract total go above $50K, then a public notice is required to increase the contract total. This public notice is not necessary if the procurement official waives the public notice requirement in accordance with R33-8-101e.

Contractor Name: Windsor Solutions, Inc. Contract Number: 256472

Original Contract Total: $254,000 Current Contract Total: $254,000

Proposed Contract Total: $297,000 % Increase from Original: 16.93%

Solicitation Number: JH25-88 Solicitation Type: Sole source Product or Service Description:

Add the cost of cloud hosting of SLEIS, the online emission inventory software for Utah Division of Air Quality.

Why is the contract total being increased? Check all that apply.

☐ The term of the contract is being extended (also complete Section E above if extending).

☐ The quantity of products or services needed has increased.

☐ The price, rate, or fee for a product or service has increased.

☒ A new or upgraded product or service is needed.

Provide details for the answer that was selected in the previous question. Provide any reasons for the increase.

The cost of cloud hosting of our database that is created by Windsor needs to be added to the contract for each of the five years in the contract.