26MAPROMS2 - Attachment A - Final.docx

135 Santilli Highway, Everett, MA 02149 | 781.338.3000 | TTY: N.E.T. Relay (800).439.2370

Attachment A

Alternate ID #: 26MAPROMS2 COMMBUYS Bid #: BD-26-1026-DOE02-DOE01-118901

Introduction:

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is seeking bidders to respond to a Departmental Master Agreement (MA) for Catering Services, Conference Space and overnight accommodations provided to the Education Secretariat of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This MA which will be available for use by the following agencies: Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), Early Education and Care (EEC), Children’s Trust Fund (CTF), Board of Higher Education (BHE), and the Executive Office of Education (EOE). Agencies outside of this Secretariat, with approval from the Operational Services Division, may enter into a contract with an approved vendor under this MA. Each agency, using this contract, is responsible for executing its own encumbrance on the state accounting system, creating Purchase Orders in COMMBUYS and CLM and paying their own invoices acquired from this MA. DESE will not be held responsible, nor be part of, a separate executed contract between one of these agencies and an awarded vendor, under this MA.

Scope of Service:

Categories:

· Category 1 - Catering Services: (Bidders provide food/beverage via delivery, to requested locations in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. i.e. local restaurants or catering companies, etc…)

· Category 2 - Conference Space: Bidders provide venue locations with a variety of space options, which may include food/beverage options in-house or catering. i.e. colleges, universities, venues, conventions centers, etc…).

· Category 3 – Overnight Accommodations: (Bidders provide venues with overnight accommodations available and may include conference space and food/beverage options in house or catering. i.e. hotels or inn’s, etc…)

Details:

DESE seeks to award contracts for general catering services, (including on-site office meetings, training sessions, conferences and other events), conference space/centers, which may require the use of their in-house or subcontracted catering services) and overnight accommodations (which may also offer conference space and catering services).

· Email: The ability to receive E-mail is mandatory for this contract. E-mail will be the main method of communication between the vendor and contract users.

· Website: A website is encouraged as the best way to market your company to eligible entities.

· Counties: For purposes of this MA, the Commonwealth has been divided into Counties. Bidders may choose to be qualified in a single County or in multiple Counties. Bidders receiving a contract will be required to provide services to all cities or towns listed within the Counties they are awarded. See attachment entitled “County Listing” under this bid on COMMBUYS for a detailed listing of each District.

· Services: The Commonwealth makes no guarantee that any services will be purchased from any vendor awarded from this MA.

Budget:

The following section provides information about allow expense and what will be included in the response submission to this MA.

· Tax Exempt: The Commonwealth agencies are tax exempt. A copy of the ST-5 and ST-2 will be provided to all awarded vendors, for their files, upon request.

· Administrative/gratuity fees: Percentage must be identified at the time of submission and remain in effect for the life of the contract initial duration phase (see below for price increase options). Gratuity may be allowed for banquet events only.

· Function Room Only Fee: Not all booking will include food / beverages. A room-only fee chart for events that ONLY reserve rooms is requested.

· Concession Stand Pricing: Some events may request food/beverage options for participants to be able to purchase directly. Please include a menu with pricing for events that are requesting participant purchase options (i.e. concession stand) if available

· Food / Beverage Menu’s and Pricing: Include a pricing chart for events that are able to accommodate food/beverage during event.

· Subcontracting: Any services that are subcontracted (i.e. catering, AV equipment etc…) must be identified at the time of submission and provide a full price list

· A/V Pricing: Price list of all A/V equipment options available in-house or with a subcontractor, if applicable

· Other Applicable Pricing: Include pricing for other options available (i.e. parking, valet, security, microphones, podiums etc…) if applicable

· Price Increases: Addendums for updates to current contractual terms of pricing may be submitted for review one (1) time during the life of this contract (initial duration phase) and once at the time of renewal or during the renewal time period.

Contract Duration:

· The duration of the contract will be five (5) years, with two 24-month renewals. Vendors awarded and added after the contract initially begins will join the existing Vendors for the remainder of the contract term. All contracts will expire on June 30, 2030 (regardless of when the individual contract began) and have the option to renew, if applicable. (DESE reserves the right to not renew if in the best interest of the Commonwealth).

Mandatory Requirements:

· Mandatory Specifications must be met for a response to be evaluated and may be used to disqualify Bidders. In addition, certain mandatory specifications have desirable components that may be evaluated by the team. The team reserves the right, in its discretion, to determine if non-compliance with a Mandatory Specification is insignificant or can be easily corrected.

· Solicitation sections that include terms such as, “must”, “shall”, “will” and “required” are mandatory to be met. Failure to meet the requirements of mandatory specifications without providing an equal alternative that is acceptable to the evaluators may result in the disqualification of a bidders response.

Requirements after a contract has been awarded:

· Security and Confidentiality:

· The Vendor shall comply fully with all security procedures of the Commonwealth and Commonwealth Agencies in the performance of this Contract. The Vendor shall not divulge to third parties any confidential information obtained by the Vendor or its agents, distributors, resellers, subcontractors, officers or employees in the course of performing Contract work, including, but not limited to, security procedures, business operations information, or commercial proprietary information in the possession of the Commonwealth Agency.

· Contract Management (Vendor’s interface with DESE’s contract manager):

· Changes to the Vendor’s contact information, company name, legal name, payment address, tax id number, authorized signatories, EFT information or parent company information, must be promptly reported, via email, to the contract manager of this MA. In most cases, additional paperwork will be required and requested to proceed with the change. Not properly notifying the contract manager of any of these changes may cause a delay in payment.

· Single Point of contact: Contract Manager must be identified in the bid response a single point of contract to address ordering, delivery, and any other issues. (see Bid Response Form).

· Replacement of contract manager must be reported immediately to DESE Contract Manager.

· Invoicing:

· All invoices MUST include the following information:

· Invoice #

· Company name and location

· Date(s) of Service

· Description of Service

· Agency contact name

· PO number (also referred to as MMARS ID #, Mosaic ID #, Encumbrance # or CT #)

· Bidder agrees to submit all invoices electronically to the following Email address for DESE services ONLY: AccountsPayableESE@Mass.gov

· Bidder agrees to submit invoices for requesting agency to the email or physical address specified at the time of the reservation

· By submitting a response to this MA, the bidders understand and agree DESE is not responsible for payments to invoices belonging to other agencies and will not be held responsible nor requested to intervene.

· The Commonwealth of MA does not pre-pay for services (Bill paying policy available on the Comptrollers website and/or can be provided upon request).

· Order Cancellations:

· Category 1 – General Catering Services: Seven (7) calendar days’ notice

· Category 2 – Conference Space with/out Catering Services: Fourteen (14) calendar days’ notice

· Category 3 – Overnight Accommodations – 24 hours’ notice

· Shipping, Delivery and Acceptance:

· Delivery must be made at no extra cost to the Commonwealth with all deliveries being FOB destination.

· All orders will be processed, confirmed and delivered based on established delivery schedules with the ordering department.

· The ordering department will establish a mutually agreed upon delivery schedule with the vendor(s). The vendor(s) will make delivery of items as requested by the ordering department.

· Any change in the specified delivery schedule is subject to approval by the ordering department.

· Any item not delivered during an established delivery period may be canceled at no cost to the Commonwealth.

· Any additional costs incurred by the Commonwealth because of the vendor’s failure to deliver is the responsibility of the vendor (s).

· Any product delivered that does not conform to this requirement will be returned at the vendor’s expense.

· The vendor(s) may be asked to provide emergency delivery and may charge a compensation rate for such deliveries if agreed to in advance by the ordering entity.

Failure to fulfil contractual obligations:

· Termination/Suspension:

The Team reserves the right to terminate or suspend any contract if it is determined the vendor(s) is not performing the contractual obligations as stated within this MA according to the Commonwealth Terms and Conditions.

Required Qualifications:

· Company Experience:

· Years in Experience: Bidders MUST have a minimum of two (2) years’ experience

· Geographic Service and Delivery areas:

· Catering Only: Bidders must indicate the County(ies) they will provide services for and MUST be able to provide service for all cities/towns listed under the Counties on which they are bidding.

Preferred Qualifications:

· Multiple dietary options (vegan, gluten-free, etc.)

· Allergen friendly options

· Category 2 (only):

· Strong Wi-Fi Connection

· Multiple room options (set up, capacity, etc.)

· Free parking and/or access to public transportation

· Participant food/beverage purchase options (i.e. Concession Stand availability)

· To respond to this bid, please register on the COMMBUYS website and upload your response documents. If you need assistance with registering, please contact the COMMBUYS helpdesk at OSDHelpDesk@mass.gov or (888) 627-8283 or (617) 720-3197 or view the available job aids.

· Responses MUST be uploaded to COMMBUYS. Responses not posted to COMMBUYS will not be considered for evaluation. Do not Email and/or mail responses to the department.

Submission Requirements:

The following items must be submitted to respond to this bid:

· Bid Response Form (Category 1, 2 and 3) (read carefully and be sure to include all items on the form when responding)

· County list form (Category 1 – required, category 2 & 3 only if catering delivery is offered)

· Municipal Board of Health License (establishments that serve food)

· 2 written reference letters

· Provide copy of menu or link to menu and/or link to full website

· Supplier Diversity Program Plan Form (Category 1, 2 and 3)

· Prompt Payment Discount Form (Category 1, 2 and 3)

· Pricing for all items included in securing services as explained in Budget section above (Category 1, 2 and 3)

· Bidder has submitted a map and description of each conference room available, AV services available in each of these rooms and Internet Connectivity availability in each of these rooms.

· Contractor Authorized Signatory Listing (CASL) form (Category 1, 2and 3). Please note electronic signatures are acceptable if they are hand-drawn or uploaded image of a handwritten signatures. Typed/cursive font of preselected signatures is not acceptable.

· Sample Quote (Category 1, 2 and 3)

· Copy of vendor’s contract document, if applicable

· Bidders must not, as part of their bid Responses, propose additional contractual terms, or supplemental or clarifying language pertaining to contractual terms that conflict with the Commonwealth Terms and Conditions, the Standard Contract Form, or other documents comprising this MA. Any proposed terms that conflict with state forms will result in termination, suspension or non-award. Be sure to review these documents prior to drafting the business contract. Please take note often times the standard contact used by businesses have terms that conflict with the Commonwealth that cannot and will not be accepted. A specific form / agreement must be created for this MA award and be used by agencies for the life of the contract (initial plus renewals, if applicable)

· Most items within the Bidder Response Form will be scored to determine the apparent successful bidders.

· It is essential for Contracting Departments that all Vendors Contracts can be depended upon to incorporate the same terms and only those terms for each encumbrance.

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