25-022 - Canned-Frozen RFB Package.pdf

Columbia County Central Services

REQUEST FOR BID (RFB) - #25-022

Canned/Frozen Food Products

Prepared By: Columbia County Central Services

401 State Street, Hudson, NY 12534

Phone: 518-828-2031 marissa.hogencamp@columbiacountyny.gov

Date: October 2, 2025

LEGAL NOTICE

COUNTY OF COLUMBIA

NOTICE TO VENDORS

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that sealed bids will be received for

Canned/Frozen Food Products at the office of Columbia County Central Services, 401 State St., Hudson, New York 12534 until 2:00

PM., Monday, November 3, 2025. Bids shall be contained in a sealed envelope, clearly marked

“Canned/Frozen Foods”. Bids will be publicly opened and read at the Columbia County Office

Building, Committee Room, 401 State Street, Hudson, New York, at 2:15 P.M., Monday, November 3, 2025.

Bid packages can be obtained by any bidder at the Columbia County Department of Central Services, 401 State Street, Hudson, New York, and shall be prepared in accordance with the forms contained in the bid package.

No bid may be withdrawn for a period of forty-five (45) days from the date of the bid opening. The

County of Columbia reserves the right to reject any and all bids.

Bid #: 25-022

Dated: October 2, 2025

GENERAL

1. The date, time and place of bid opening will be given in the Notice to Vendors.

2. All bids must be submitted in accordance with instructions provided in the bid package.

3. All bids received after the time stated in the Notice to Vendors will NOT be considered. The

Bidder assumes the risk of any delay in the mail or in the handling of the mail by employees of

Columbia County.

4. All information required by the Notice to Vendors, Instructions to Bidders, Specifications, etc., must be given to constitute a bid. Incomplete bids will be rejected.

5. Vendors are limited to 1 (one) bid. Prices and information required must be legible. Illegible or vague bids may be rejected. All signatures must be written. Facsimile, printed or typewritten signatures are not acceptable.

6. Purchases by the County of Columbia for its use are not subject to any sales, use or federal excise taxes, and exemption certificates will be executed upon request.

7. Purchases by the County of Columbia for its use shall not be subject to any late or interest charges.

8. Price shall be net and shall include delivery (no fuel surcharges) of the material or item to the location(s) specified regardless of order size (no minimum order requirement). All transportation and delivery charges will be prepaid by the successful bidder to the point of delivery.

9. The County of Columbia guarantees no minimum or maximum purchases.

10. References in the specifications to a particular trade name, manufacturer’s catalog or model number are made for descriptive purposes to guide the bidder in interpreting the type and quality of materials or supplies or nature of work desired. Such descriptions should not be construed as excluding bids on other types of materials and supplies or for performing the work in a manner other than specified, providing that the materials and supplies and manner of performing the work offered are of equal quality to that specified and equally acceptable to the County of Columbia for its purchases. Exceptions must be clearly stated. The Purchasing Agent will have final determination of equal products or services.

11. The County of Columbia reserves the right to waive any formalities or reject any and all bids, or to accept any bid which it deems in the best interest of the County of Columbia.

12. Award of the contract shall be made according to law as soon as practicable after the public opening of bids. No bidder may withdraw a bid for a period of forty-five (45) days from the date of the bid opening.

13. All addenda issued subsequent to the original issuance of the bid shall become a part of the total bid document.

14. The Bidder’s Certification of Compliance with Iran Divestment Act, pursuant to Section 103-g of the General Municipal Law, must accompany each bid.

GENERAL (CONT’D)

15. The Non-Collusive Bidding Certificate as required by Chapter 956 of the Laws of New York State, pursuant to Section 103-d of the General Municipal Law, must accompany each bid.

PROJECT SCOPE AND SPECIFICATIONS

A six (6) month contract for the delivery of various Canned and Frozen Food Products, as specified in the attached Specifications Worksheet, to participating departments, facilities and/or agencies of the County.

The awarded vendor(s) will deliver the products as specified in the attached Specifications Worksheet to areas inside each County building/department as is designated by the respective County department/agency.

During the life of the contract, all awarded products will be delivered and invoiced at the contract price.

The contract price shall be net and include delivery regardless of order size with no minimum order requirements. Orders are placed on a need-by basis by our individual departments and order sizes may vary greatly. Unauthorized or automatic ordering is strictly prohibited. All transportation and delivery charges will be prepaid by the successful bidder to the point of delivery. If a Holiday falls on the scheduled delivery day, delivery would be expected the following business day.

All products shall be distributed in accordance with all applicable state and federal regulations as well as those outlined within this Request for Bids.

QUESTIONS

Questions regarding this RFB must be provided in writing to Marissa Hogencamp by emailing marissa.hogencamp@columbiacountyny.gov no later than 4:00 pm on Friday, October 17, 2025. All questions must make specific reference to the section(s) from this RFB where applicable. Only answers issued in writing will be binding. Oral interpretations or clarifications will be without legal effect.

The County reserves the right to amend the RFB based on questions and issues raised at any time prior to the RFB submission deadline.

SUBMISSION OF BIDS

An original and one (1) USB Flash drive in PDF format of each Bid Response is to be submitted at the date, time, and location specified in the Notice to Vendors. Electronic Bids will not be accepted. All bids received after the time stated in the Notice to Vendors will NOT be considered. The Bidder assumes the risk of any delay in the mail or in the handling of the mail by employees of Columbia County. All required forms MUST be submitted in the original bid package.

INFORMATION FURNISHED WITH THE BID

Bidder must submit with his bid, detailed specifications, illustrated circulars and all other necessary data on the materials or items he proposes to furnish.

Bidder must submit their suggested delivery schedule with their bid response.

All Bidder required applications, including credit applications, must accompany each bid. No web applications will be considered.

All ordering methods to be made available to the County must be outlined within each Bid submission.

Bidders must indicate their required lead time for items both currently and not currently held in their stock.

Any attachments other than those specified within or provided by Columbia County must be typed on 8

½ x 11 paper and signed by the responding vendor.

COUNTY INQUIRIES

The County may make such inquiries it deems necessary to determine the ability of each Contractor to provide the products and perform the services required and outlined within this Request for Bid.

Contractors shall promptly furnish all information and data for this purpose as may be subsequently requested by the County.

ORDERING

The ordering methods and/or platforms to be made available to the County should be detailed within all bid submissions. Once award is made, awarded vendors will need to work with the individual ordering dept/s to manage ordering method preference and delivery schedules. In all cases preference will be made to respondents who can provide descriptions and/or product images to the County depts. at time of ordering.

Unauthorized or automatic ordering systems are strictly prohibited. If the contractor at any time delivers items that were not ordered, are duplicated, or are over-shipped, they do so entirely at their own expense. It will be at no cost or responsibility to Columbia County.

DELIVERY

All merchandise shall be delivered in good condition, in compliance with the specifications. All damaged merchandise or merchandise which does not comply with the bid specifications will not be accepted by

Columbia County Agencies. The successful bidder must replace such damaged or non-compliance items at his expense, and prior to receiving payment.

Orders are placed on a need-by basis by our individual departments and order sizes may vary greatly.

Respondents are expected to be able to provide for any and all quantities that may be ordered on the scheduled day of delivery. If a Holiday falls on the scheduled delivery day, delivery would be expected the following business day.

Bidders are required to deliver only the items specified on the purchase order or other agreed upon order form. If the contractor at any time delivers items that were not ordered, are duplicated, or are over-shipped, they do so entirely at their own expense. It will be at no cost or responsibility to Columbia

County.

Please Note: Deliveries are required to be made to all participating County Departments and their affiliated sites. The Office for the Aging Nutrition Site, 93 Main Street, Philmont, NY, the primary purchaser from this contract, can only accept deliveries between the hours of 7am-1pm, Monday-Friday.

All other County Buildings can receive deliveries between the hours of 9am-3pm, Monday-Friday. For a full directory of our departments and their locations please visit:

https://www.columbiacountyny.com/department-contact-information.html

INVOICING

Invoices shall be typed or computer generated and submitted by the vendor on an order to order basis.

Vendors shall distribute paper invoices to the Bill-To address indicated on the Purchase Orders or as is otherwise specified by the ordering individual.

The County of Columbia will only fill out and/or produce one credit application or other required documentation, for the County as a whole, to the awarded vendor/s. The responsibility to create the appropriate accounts and deliver products and paper invoices to the varying locations will fall on the awarded vendor.

Invoices must itemize the quantities, product being invoiced, unit and total cost by the department/agency receiving services. The vendor shall be paid only when the County has given their satisfactory approval that goods and/or services have been delivered in accordance with this Bid.

AWARD

Award of the bid shall be made by the Columbia County Board of Supervisors. In cases where two or more responsible bidders submit identical bids as to price, the Contract may be awarded to either of such bidders. The award shall be made on the most advantageous bid, on a quality versus price basis, taking into consideration the responsibility of the bidder, materials of items deemed to be best adapted to the uses of Columbia County, delivery timeframes and ordering procedures/methods submitted by respondents. Failure on the part of the successful bidder to comply with all the terms of the Contract and

Specifications as set forth herein may result in disqualification of the bidder from future bidding, and/or termination of the Contract.

Columbia County reserves the right to award the Canned/Frozen Food Products Bid by line item.

The estimated date of Notice of Award is December 11, 2025.

BID PRICES & PRICE INCREASES

If the vendor considers a revision in pricing they will be required to notify the Central Services department and provide backup documentation as to the reason(s) for such an increase before County approval for price increase is granted.

EXCEPTIONS

Unless explicitly stated in the RFB response, the County shall assume that all responses are in full compliance with all specifications, without exception. All items in the RFB response that are not in full compliance or that vary from any of the specifications shall be clearly defined as exceptions. Specific reference to the relevant section(s) in the specifications and the precise nature of the variance or non-compliance shall be clearly stated in the RFB response.

The County reserves the right to accept any and/or all/none of the exceptions(s) substitution(s) deemed to be in the best interest of the County.

Non-compliance or variance with any items in the specifications shall not necessarily result in rejection of a bid.

CONTRACT

The Contract shall bind the successful bidder on his part to furnish, deliver, and maintain at the prices and in accordance with the conditions of his bid.

A copy of Columbia County’s General Contract Form is available upon request

NOTICE: It is mutually understood and agreed that the successful bidder shall not assign, transfer, convey, sublet or otherwise dispose of the Contract or his right, title, or interest therein, or his power to execute such contract, to any other person, company, or corporation, without consent of Columbia

County.

CONTRACT PERIOD

The contract period will be for six (6) months beginning on January 1, 2026 and expiring EOB on June

30, 2026.

If during the Contract period, the Contractor is unable or unwilling to meet contractual requirements it shall immediately notify the Central Services department in writing. Such notification shall not relieve the Contractor of its responsibilities under the Contract. The County may, but is not required to, consider an equitable adjustment in the Contract terms, pricing, or price structure.

TERMINATION

(a) Without Cause. The County may terminate this Contract upon thirty (30) days prior written notice to the Contractor of its intent to terminate without cause.

(b) With Cause. The County may terminate this Contract effective immediately, with subsequent written notice to be given to the Contractor of termination with cause. Substandard performance as determined by the County will constitute non-compliance and may result in a “with cause” termination.

NEW YORK LAW AND VENUE

The contract/agreement resulting from this RFB shall be construed under the laws of the State of New

York. All claims, actions, proceedings, and lawsuits brought in connection with, arising out of, related to, or seeking enforcement of this contract/agreement shall be brought in the Supreme Court of New York, Columbia County.

In addition, all County contractors not incorporated in the State of New York shall produce a

Certificate to Do Business in the State of New York from the New York Secretary of State prior to executing their contract with the County.

INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS

The successful company must furnish the County with Certificates of Insurance prior to the commencement of work. The required coverage shall not be less than the following:

• Workers Compensation Statutory Requirements

• New York State Disability Coverage Statutory Requirements

• Commercial General Liability insurance with minimum limits of $1,000,000.00 per occurrence, subject to a $2,000,000.00 annual aggregate. Coverage shall include bodily injury, property damage, personal injury, and blanket contractual liability.

• Automobile Liability insurance with minimum limits of $1,000,000.00 each accident. Coverage shall provide for any vicarious liability of the County of Columbia and be applicable to all owned, non-owned, hired, borrowed, or temporarily used vehicles by the Contractor if applicable.

Insurance certificates shall name the County of Columbia as an additional insured party.

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION LAW (FOIL)

New York State's Freedom of Information Law (generally referred to as “FOIL”) entitles the public to access state and local government records. Any member of the public can request a government agency's records. Additionally, the Freedom of Information Law defines a record to be any information kept, held, filed, produced or reproduced by, with, or for an agency or the state legislature, in any physical form whatsoever. Under the law, all records are accessible, except records or portions of records that fall within one of nine categories of deniable records as stated in §87(2) of the Public Officer’s Law.

FALSE CLAIMS AND WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS POLICY

COLUMBIA COUNTY (sometimes referred to as “Columbia County” or “the Columbia County”) is committed to prompt, complete, and accurate billing of all services provided to service recipients.

COLUMBIA COUNTY and its employees, interns and contractors shall not make or submit any false or misleading entries on any claim forms. No employee or contractor shall engage in any arrangement or participate in such arrangement at the direction of another person, including any supervisor or manager that results in the submission of a false or misleading entry on claims forms or documentation of services that result in the submission of a false claim.

This policy applies to all Board members, all employees including the Chairman of the Board, members of the Board of Supervisors, Department Heads, Managers, Supervisors and Contractors.

PURCHASING FROM ALTERNATE SOURCES

The County reserves the right to purchase items included in this proposal from another County Contract or NYS OGS Contract, NYS Industries for the Disabled, Department of Correctional Services, Industries for the Blind of NYS, Inc., or the NYS Office of Mental Health or National Cooperative when available or required by law. The County also reserves the right to obtain quotes from other vendors on large quantity orders, and/or items with a substantial cost, and purchase those items from other vendors, if it is in the best interest of the County. In the event of a declared emergency, the County reserves the right to obtain such products and/or services from any source, including but not limited to this contract, as the

County in its sole discretion determines what will meet the needs of such emergency.

PARTICIPATION BY POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS

The successful bidder shall upon order by a political subdivision, fire district or district in such political subdivision, located in whole or in part within Columbia County, provide the goods or services bid upon to such upon the same terms and conditions as such bidder supplies same to Columbia County. The successful bidder shall be paid by each purchaser; and Columbia County shall not be liable to the successful bidder for any such purchases made pursuant to this paragraph. The County of Columbia shall not be liable to any purchaser for non-performance of this Agreement in any manner and for any reason.

TITLE VI

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and related statutes and regulations, as amended, require that no person in the United State shall, on the grounds of race, color, sex, national origin, age, or disability be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any program or activity for which it receives Federal financial assistance.

CONTRACTOR’S ASSURANCE OF EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

The undersigned assures Columbia County that it will comply with all applicable laws and regulations prohibiting discrimination in employment on the grounds of race, religion, creed, color, national origin, sex, disability, marital status and other non-merit factors. The undersigned understands and agrees that the contract understanding or agreement to which this assurance relates can be terminated upon a finding by any governmental agency that the undersigned is in violation of applicable discrimination laws and that such finding will also disqualify the undersigned for future contracts with the County. The undersigned certifies to the County of Columbia that there is no pending or outstanding decision, ruling or order against it finding the undersigned in violation of the laws against discrimination.

STATEMENT OF NON-COLLUSION

By submission of this proposal, each Vendor and each person signing on behalf of any Vendor, certifies, and in the case of a joint proposal, each party thereto certifies as to its own organization, under penalty of perjury, that to the best of his knowledge and belief:

1) The prices in this proposal have been arrived at independently without collusion, consultation, communications oral agreement, for the purpose of restricting competition, as to any matter relating to such prices with any other Vendor or with any competitor;

2) Unless otherwise required by law, the prices which have been quoted in this proposal have not been knowingly disclosed by the Vendor and will not knowingly be disclosed by the Vendor prior to opening, directly or indirectly, to any other Vendor or to any competitor; and

3) No attempt has been made or will be made by the Vendor to induce any other person, partnership or corporation to submit or not to submit a proposal for the purpose of restricting competition.

A bid shall not be considered for award nor shall any award be made where 1), 2), 3) above have not been complied with; Provided however that if in any case the bidder(s) cannot make the forgoing certification, the bidder shall so state and shall furnish below a signed statement which sets forth in detail the reasons therefore:

[AFFIX ADDENDUM TO THIS PAGE IF SPACE IS REQUIRED FOR STATEMENT]

FIRM BY

PRINTED NAME DATE

IRAN DIVESTMENT ACT COMPLIANCE RIDER FOR COLUMBIA COUNTY, NY

CONTRACTORS

The Iran Divestment Act of 2012, effective as of April 12, 2012, is codified at State Finance Law

(“SFL”) §165-a and General Municipal Law (“GML”) §103-g. The Iran Divestment Act, with certain exceptions, prohibits municipalities, including the County, from entering into contracts with persons engaged in investment activities in the energy sector of Iran. Pursuant to the terms set forth in SFL §165-a and GML §103-g, a person engages in investment activities in the energy sector of Iran if:

(a) the person provides goods or services of twenty million dollars or more in the energy sector of

Iran, including a person that provides oil or liquefied natural gas tankers, or products used to construct or maintain pipelines used to transport oil or liquefied natural gas, for the energy sector of Iran; or

(b) The person is a financial institution that extends twenty million dollars or more in credit to another person, for forty-five days or more, if that person will use the credit to provide goods or services in the energy sector in Iran and is identified on a list created pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision three of Section 165-a of the State Finance Law and maintained by the

Commissioner of the Office of General Services.

A bid or proposal shall not be considered for award nor shall any award be made where the bidder or proposer fails to submit a signed and verified bidder’s certification.

Each bidder or proposer must certify that it is not on the list of entities engaged in investment activities in Iran created pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision 3 of Section 165-a of the State Finance Law. In any case where the bidder or proposer cannot certify that they are not on such list, the bidder or proposer shall so state and shall furnish with the bid or proposal a signed statement which sets forth in detail the reasons why such statement cannot be made. The County of Columbia may award a bid to a bidder who cannot make the certification on a case by case basis if:

(1) The investment activities in Iran were made before the effective date of this section (i.e., April 12, 2012), the investment activities in Iran have not been expanded or renewed after the effective date of this section and the person has adopted, publicized and is implementing a formal plan to cease the investment activities in Iran and to refrain from engaging in any new investments in Iran: or

(2) The County makes a determination that the goods or services are necessary for the County to perform its functions and that, absent such an exemption, the County would be unable to obtain the goods or services for which the contract is offered. Such determination shall be made in writing and shall be a public document.

BIDDER’S CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH IRAN DIVESTMENT ACT

Pursuant to General Municipal Law §103-g, which generally prohibits the County from entering into contracts with persons engaged in investment activities in the energy sector of Iran, the bidder/proposer submits the following certification:

[Please Check One]

BIDDER’S CERTIFICATION

By submission of this bid or proposal, each bidder/proposer and each person signing on behalf of any bidder/proposer certifies, and in the case of a joint bid each party thereto certifies as to its own organization, under penalty of perjury, that to the best of its knowledge and belief, that each bidder/proposer is not on the list created pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision 3 of Section 165-a of the State Finance Law.

I am unable to certify that my name and the name of the bidder/proposer does not appear on the list created pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision 3 of Section 165-a of the State

Finance Law. I have attached a signed statement setting forth in detail why I cannot so certify.

Dated: _______________________, 20___ ______________________________

SIGNATURE

PRINTED NAME

TITLE

Sworn to before me this

______ day of _________, 20___

Notary Public

The undersigned, being experienced and responsible for the performance of same, agrees to furnish and deliver to Columbia County at the location(s) specified herein, the following described item(s), material(s), or service(s) in accordance with the attached contract documents and Bid Specifications and described in Detail below (attach additional materials to Proposal, if necessary):

Proposal: Canned/Frozen Food Products_______

Guaranteed Delivery Date: January 1, 2026 thru June 30, 2026

CONTACT PERSON PERSON, FIRM, OR CORP.

TELEPHONE EMAIL ADDRESS

ADDRESS

AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE

ADDENDA PAGE

The bidder acknowledges receipt of the following addenda to the Documents (provide number and date of each):

Addendum No._______________________, dated_______________________

Failure to acknowledge receipt of all amendments may cause the bid to be considered not responsive, which would require rejection of the bid.