2026-06 Bradford Retaining Wall 00_1000_Instruction_to_Bidders.pdf

SECTION 00 1000 – INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS

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Part 1 - GENERAL

1.1. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

A. Instruction to Bidders: AIA Document A701, current edition, is an extension of these specifications and shall be reviewed by the Contractor bidding the project.

B. Site Conditions: The contractor and his subcontractors shall visit the site before submitting his bid to familiarize himself with all existing and new conditions. The failure to do so shall in no way relieve any bidder from any obligation with respect to his bid or the contract.

C. Availability of the Bid Documents: See the Bid Announcement or contact the Architect for details on obtaining Bid Documents.

D. Communications During Bidding: No oral explanation in regard to the meaning of drawings and specifications will be made and no oral instructions will be given before the award of the contract. Discrepancies, omissions or doubts as to the meaning of drawings and specifications shall be communicated in writing/fax to the Architect for interpretation. A full description of the question shall be included as well as contact information in case further explanation is required. Bidders must so act at least five (5) days prior to the time set for the receipt of bids to allow a sufficient time for a reply to reach them before the submission of their bids. Any interpretation made will be in the form of an addendum to the specifications which will be forwarded to all bidders, and its receipt shall be acknowledged by the bidder on Bid Forms.

E. No Contact Policy: No Bidder shall initiate or otherwise have contact related to the solicitation with any Owner representative or employee, other than the Procurement Department, after the date and time established for receipt of bids. Any contact initiated by a Bidder with any Owner representative, other than the Procurement Department, concerning this solicitation is prohibited and may cause the disqualification of the Bidder from this procurement process.

F. Non-Discrimination of Contractors: A bidder or contractor shall not be discriminated against in the solicitation or award of this contract because of race, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, or disability, faith-based organizational status, any other basis prohibited by state law relating to discrimination in employment or because the bidder or offeror employs ex-offenders unless the state agency, department or institution has made a written determination that employing ex-offenders on the specific contract is not in its best interest.

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G. Time for Completion: "Time for Completion" means the number of consecutive calendar days following the receipt of a Notice to Proceed in which the Contractor has to complete everything required of it by the Contract. The Contractor, in preparing and submitting his bid, is required to take into consideration normal weather conditions.

Normal weather does not mean statistically average weather, but rather means a range of weather conditions which might be anticipated, (i.e., conditions which are not extremely unusual). Normal weather conditions shall be determined from the public historical records available, including the U.S. Department of Commerce, Local Climatological Data Sheets, Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Environmental Data and Information Service, National Climatic Center and the National Weather Service. The data sheets to be used shall be for the locality or localities closest to the site of the work. No additional compensation will be paid to the Contractor because of adverse weather conditions; however, an extension of time for abnormal weather will be considered by the Owner as indicated in the General Conditions.

H. General Compliance Provision: By signing this Bid, the Bidder certifies that it is and will remain in full compliance with:

The Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended.

The Federal Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.

The Virginia Fair Employment Act of 1975, as amended, where applicable.

The Virginia Conflict of Interest Act.

The Virginians With Disabilities Act.

The Americans With Disabilities Act.

Section 2.2-4311 (Employment Discrimination Act) of the Virginia Public Procurement Act.

Section 2.2-4354 (Payment to Subcontractor) of the Virginia Public Procurement Act.

Sections 2.2-4367 and 2.2-4377 (Ethics in Public Contracting) of the Virginia Public

Procurement Act.

The Antitrust laws of the United States and the Commonwealth of Virginia.

I. Ethics In Public Contracting: By submitting their bids, Bidders certify that their bids are made without collusion or fraud and that they have not offered or received any kickbacks or inducements from any other Bidder, supplier, manufacturer or subcontractor in connection with their bid, and that they have not conferred on any public employee having official responsibility for this procurement transaction any payment, loan, subscription, advance, deposit of money, services or anything of more than nominal value, present or promised unless consideration of substantially equal or greater value was exchanged.

J. Debarment Status: By submitting their bids, Bidders certify that they are not currently debarred from submitting bids on contracts by any agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia, nor are they an agent of any person or entity that is currently debarred from submitting bids on contracts by any agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

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1.2. PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION OF BIDS

A. Bids must give the full business address of the Bidder and be signed by him/her with his/her usual signature. Bids by partnerships must furnish the full name of all partners and must be signed in the partnership name by one of the members of the partnership or any authorized representative, followed by the designation of the person signing. Bids by corporations must be signed with the legal name of the corporation followed by the name of the State in which it is incorporated and by the signature and designation of the president, secretary or other person authorized to bind it in the matter. The name of each person signing shall also be typed or printed below the signature. A bid by a person who affixes to the signature the word "President", "Secretary", "Agent" or other designation without disclosing the principal, may be held to be the bid of the individual signing. When requested by the CSB, satisfactory evidence of the authority of the officer signing on behalf of the corporation shall be furnished. The bidder shall place on the outside of the envelope containing the bid and shall place in the bid over his signature his Contractor license/registration number.

B. Qualification of Bidder: It is required, as a condition of bidding, that all Bidders complete the attached Contractor Data Sheet and show sufficient evidence of previous satisfactory experience in constructing at least three (3) projects of comparable size. If the Bidder is deemed to be the apparent low Bidder, the Owner reserves the right to require a listing of such projects, including more specific information to adequately permit checking of references for such projects.

C. Identification of Bid Envelope: The signed bid should be returned in a separate envelope or package, sealed and identified as follows:

From:

Name of Bidder Due Date Time Street or Box Number City, State, Zip Code

Licensed Class A Virginia Contractor No. _____________________________________

D. The envelope should be addressed as directed on Page 1 of the solicitation.

E. If a bid is mailed, the Bidder takes the risk that the envelope, even if marked as described above, may be inadvertently opened and the information compromised which may cause the bid to be disqualified. Bids may be hand delivered to the designated location in the office issuing the solicitation. No other correspondence or other Bids should be placed in the envelope.

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1.3. BID BOND:

A. Each bid shall be accompanied by a bid bond or guarantee of five percent (5%) of the amount of the bid, which shall be a certified check, cashier's check, or a bid bond payable to Rappahannock Area Community Services Board. The sureties of all bonds shall be of such surety company or companies as are approved by the State and are authorized to transact business in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Such bid bond or check shall be submitted with the understanding that it shall guarantee that the Bidder will not withdraw such bid during the period of (60) days following the opening of bids;

that if such bid is accepted, the Bidder will accept and perform under the terms of the Invitation for Bid and purchase order or contract. The bid guarantee will be returned upon award of contract.

1.4. WITHDRAWL OR MODIFICATION OF BIDS:

A. Bids may be withdrawn or modified by written notice received from bidders prior to the time fixed for bid receipt. The withdrawal or modification may be made by the person signing the bid or by an individual(s) who is authorized by him on the face of the bid.

Written modifications may be made on the bid form itself, on the envelope in which the bid is enclosed, or on a separate document. Written modifications, whether the original is delivered or transmitted by facsimile, must be signed by the person making the modification or withdrawal.

B. Errors In Bids: A bidder may withdraw his or her bid from consideration if the price bid was substantially lower than the other bids due solely to a mistake therein, provided the bid was submitted in good faith, and the mistake was a clerical mistake as opposed to a judgment mistake, and was actually due to an unintentional arithmetic error or an unintentional omission of a quantity of work, labor or material made directly in the compilation of a bid, which unintentional arithmetic error or unintentional omission can be clearly shown by objective evidence drawn from inspection of original work papers, documents and materials used in the preparation of the bid sought to be withdrawn.

1. In accordance with Section 2.2-4330 A.(ii) of the Code of Virginia, the bidder must submit to the contracting authority his or her original work papers, documents and materials used in the preparation of the bid within one day after the date fixed for submission of bids. Such work papers shall be delivered by the bidder in person or by registered mail at or prior to the time fixed for the opening of bids. Such work papers, documents and materials may be considered as trade secrets or proprietary information subject to the conditions of subsection D of Section 2.2-4342, Code of Virginia. The bids shall be opened one day following at the time fixed by the contracting authority for the submission of bids. Thereafter, the bidder shall have two (2) hours after the opening of bids within which to claim in writing any mistake as defined herein and withdraw his bid. The contract shall not be awarded by the contracting authority until such two-hour period has elapsed. Such mistake shall be proved only from the original work papers, documents and materials delivered to the contracting authority as required herein.

2. No bid may be withdrawn under this section when the result would be the awarding of the contract on another bid of the same bidder or of another bidder in which the ownership of the withdrawing bidder is more than five percent. No bidder who is permitted to withdraw a bid shall, for compensation, supply any material or labor to or perform any subcontract or other work agreement for the person or firm to whom the

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contract is awarded or otherwise benefit, directly or indirectly, from the performance of the project for which the withdrawn bid was submitted.

3. If a bid is withdrawn under authority of this section, the next higher bidder shall be deemed to be the low bidder on the project.

1.5. RECEIPT AND OPENING OF BIDS:

A. It is the responsibility of the Bidder to assure that the bid is delivered to the place designated for receipt of bids and prior to the time set for receipt of bids. No bids received after the time designated for receipt of bids shall be considered. If a bid is mailed, the Bidder takes the risk that the envelope, even if marked as described above, may be inadvertently opened and the information compromised which may cause the bid to be disqualified. Bids may be hand delivered to the designated location in the office issuing the solicitation. No other correspondence or other Bids should be placed in the envelope.

B. Bids will be opened at the time and place stated in the advertisement, and their contents made public for the information of the bidders and others interested who may be present either in person or by representative. The officer or agent of the Owner, whose duty it is to open them, will decide when the specific time has arrived. No responsibility will be attached to any officer or agent for the premature opening of a bid not properly addressed and identified.

C. Bid Acceptance Period: Any bid in response to this solicitation shall be valid for (60) days. At the end of the (60) days the bid may be withdrawn at the written request of the Bidder. If the bid is not withdrawn at that time it remains in effect until an award is made or the solicitation is canceled.

1.6. QUALIFICATIONS OF BIDDERS:

A. The Owner may make such reasonable investigations as deemed proper and necessary to determine the ability of the Bidder to perform the work/furnish the item(s) and the Bidder shall furnish to the Owner all such information and data for this purpose as may be requested. The Owner Board reserves the right to inspect Bidder's physical facilities prior to award to satisfy questions regarding the Bidder's capabilities. The Owner further reserves the right to reject any bid if the evidence submitted by, or investigations 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 work/furnish the item(s) contemplated therein.

B. The Owner reserves the right to ask any bidder to submit information missing from its bid, to clarify its bid, and to submit additional information which the Owner deems desirable.

C. Responsible Bidder: In determining a responsible bidder, a number of factors, including but not limited to the following, shall be considered. The bidder shall:

1. have the ability to comply with the required delivery or performance schedule, taking into consideration other business commitments;

2. have a satisfactory record of performance;

3. have a satisfactory record of integrity; and

4. have the necessary facilities, organization, experience, technical skills, and financial

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resources to fulfill the terms of the contract

1.7. NEGOTIATION WITH THE LOWEST BIDDER:

A. Unless all bids are canceled or rejected, the Community Services Board reserves the right granted by Section 2.2-4318 of the Code of Virginia to negotiate with the lowest responsive, responsible Bidder to obtain a contract price within the funds available. For the purpose of determining when such negotiations may take place, the term "available funds" shall mean those funds which were budgeted by the Community Services Board agency for this contract prior to the issuance of the written Invitation for Bids.

Negotiations with the low Bidder may include both modifications of the bid price and the Scope of Work/Specifications to be performed.

1.8. AWARD OF CONTRACT:

A. An award will be made to the lowest responsive and responsible Bidder. The Owner reserves the right to reject any and all bids in whole or in part, to waive any informality, and to delete items prior to making an award.

End of Section