3-002116 WHS CATE RMA Instructions to Proposers.pdf

Woodstock HS CTAE RMA Cherokee County School District

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SECTION 002116

INSTRUCTIONS TO PROPOSERS

Instructions to Proposers

A. Introduction: To be considered, Proposals must be made per the following instructions and must be submitted through the EUNA Portal, not later than the date and time outlined in the Request for Proposals ("RFPs") or any extension thereof made by Addendum.

The Owner reserves the right to reject any or all Proposals and to waive any technicalities and informalities.

B. Owner: The Owner for whom the General Contractor ("GC") Services and the Work will be executed is:

Cherokee County School System 1205 Bluffs Parkway Canton, GA 30114

C. Architect: The Architect is:

Cooper Carry 191 Peachtree Street, NE, Suite 2400 Atlanta, GA 30303

D. Mandatory Pre-Proposal Conference and Site Visit: A mandatory Pre-Proposal Conference in conjunction with a site visit will be held at 01:30 p.m. on Monday, April 13, 2026. The Pre- Proposal Conference and site visit will be conducted at the Cherokee County School District Support Services Office, 200 Mountain Brook Ct, Canton, GA 30115.

E. Specific Instructions: Any GC submitting a Proposal in response to the RFPs shall comply with the following Specific Instructions:

1. The submission of a Proposal constitutes a representation by the GC that it has studied and examined the Proposal Documents and such other information as may have been furnished by the Owner or the Architect. Furthermore, the submission of a Proposal constitutes a representation by the GC that it does not know any ambiguities, errors, omissions, or other inaccuracies in any of the Proposal Documents or material furnished by the Owner or Architect in connection with the Project.;

2. Any Proposal must include a fully completed General Contractor Checklist and Certification

- Section 002118.30 and must include all referenced Owner’s Standards Forms. Omission of any required items listed on the GC Checklist and Certification shall cause the Proposal submission to be declared non-responsive and to be rejected.

3. Any Proposal may include such documentation and information as the GC deems appropriate to establish that it is a responsible and responsive Contractor and that its Proposal is the most advantageous to the Board, taking into consideration the specific evaluation factors, listed in their order of relative importance, as outlined in the aforesaid RFPs.

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4. All questions must be submitted through the EUNA Portal and must be received no later than the day and hour set as Final Questions Due on the Master Project Schedule - Section

003113.16. All responses to questions will be answered in writing, and any changes, additions, interpretations, or corrections to or concerning the Proposal Documents before the date for submission of Proposals will be issued as an Addendum by the Architect. Such responses will be posted within the EUNA Portal. Registered GCs will receive an email notification from EUNA of the Addendum. Only such written changes, additions, interpretations, or corrections by Addendum shall be binding. Any changes, additions, interpretations, or corrections given by any other method shall not be valid and the GC shall not rely upon in any manner whatsoever any verbal statements, instructions, interpretations, corrections, or other information provided by the Owner or the Architect or their representatives;

5. Upon submission, all Proposals shall become and remain the property of the Owner. The Owner shall have no liability arising out of the disclosure, dissemination, or publication of any Proposal or any information contained therein.

6. Any Proposal submitted to the Owner shall remain open for acceptance by the Board, and the same shall be honored by the GC, for sixty (60) days from the date and time set forth on the Master Project Schedule to receive Proposals.

7. The Owner reserves the right to amend these Instructions or clarify same by Addendum, within the time provided by Georgia Law. If such revisions or amendments are of such magnitude as to warrant, in the sole discretion of the Owner, the postponement for the date of the submission and receipt of Proposals, written notification will be issued and posted within the EUNA Portal. Although all registered GCs will receive email notification of the same, it is the sole responsibility of the GC to review and acknowledge the issued Addendum.

F. Proposals: Proposals will only be received from GCs who are registered through the EUNA Portal, not later than the date and time outlined in the accompanying RFP or any extension thereof made by Addendum.

The GC is fully responsible for timely electronic submission. The EUNA Portal will not accept proposals received after the set specified time. No paper submissions will be accepted.

G. Documents: Proposal documents must be obtained through the EUNA Portal which can be accessed through the District website www.cherokeek12.net.

Plans and Specifications are available electronically in PDF format on EUNA.

H. RFP Addenda: Addenda, if any, will be posted in the EUNA Portal. Although, EUNA will generate an email for notification of Addenda posted for all GCs registered, it remains the responsibility of all Proposers and Subcontractors to check the EUNA Portal for issued Addenda. Copies of Addenda will be made available for inspection wherever Proposal Documents are on file for that purpose. No Addenda will be issued later than seventy-two (72) hours before the time for Proposal openings, except for Addenda withdrawing the RFPs or Addenda which include a postponement of the date through which Proposals may be submitted. Each GC firm shall ascertain before submitting a Proposal that the GC firm has received all Addenda issued if any, 2026.RMA.13.01

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Instructions to Proposers 002116 - 3 and the GC firm shall acknowledge their receipt in the Proposal. Failure of a GC firm to receive or acknowledge any Addendum shall not relieve the GC firm of any obligation under the Proposal.

All Addenda shall become part of the Proposal Documents.

I. Scope of Work: The scope will consist of the following: The GC shall supply all materials, labor, tools, plans, supplies, equipment, transportation, superintendence, temporary construction of every nature, and any other services and facilities necessary to complete the construction of the described Project facilities, including, but not limited to, incidental work described in the Proposal Documents.

J. Interpretations: The GC shall carefully study and compare the Proposal Documents with each other, and with other work being solicited or offered concurrently or presently under construction to the extent that it relates to the GC Services for which the Proposal is submitted, shall examine the site of the Project and the local conditions, and shall at once report to the Owner any errors, inconsistencies, or ambiguities in the Proposal Documents. If a GC is in doubt as to the meaning of any part of the Proposal Documents, or otherwise has questions or requires clarification or interpretation of the Proposal Documents, he or she shall request an interpretation from the Owner. Requests for such interpretations must be submitted through the EUNA Portal by the date and time set forth on the Master Project Schedule, and failure of the successful GC to request such interpretation shall not relieve him or her as a GC of the obligation to execute the GC Services by a later interpretation by the Owner, without additional charge to the Owner.

Interpretations, corrections, and changes to the Proposal Documents will be made by Addendum.

No oral interpretations will be made to GC as to the meaning of Proposal Documents. Any purported interpretations, corrections, and changes of the Proposal Documents made in any manner other than the Addendum will not be binding, and GC shall not rely upon them.

K. Communication: Any communication, or attempted communication, by a GC or its agents concerning this RFP by any means or method other than that provided for in this RFP shall be inappropriate. In the event of such inappropriate communication or attempted communication, the Owner shall have the right to reject such offending Offeror’s Proposal.

L. Substitutions: Substitutions are not acceptable. Provide only products and manufacturers specified.

M. Withdrawal of Proposals: Except as may be otherwise expressly provided by law, a GC’s Proposal cannot be withdrawn after it has been received by the Owner as submitted through the EUNA Portal, for sixty (60) days after the date fixed for receiving said Proposals, and all Proposals are subject to acceptance by the Owner during the said period, and each Offeror so agrees by submitting a Proposal.

N. Background Checks: If applicable, a criminal background check may be performed on all contractors, consultants, subcontractors, volunteers, and vendors (hereinafter jointly referred to as “individuals”) who provide services, supervise services, or has contact with students on any District premises. These Individuals shall undergo the same criminal background check, within the last 365 days, as required by District employees. Such background checks will be performed by the District School Police Department at the expense of the Individual at an individual cost of $45.00. Additionally, any charges against the Individual may be deemed unacceptable in the

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District’s sole discretion regardless of whether dismissed, expunged, sealed, removed from the record, treated as a “first offender” or dead docketed. Upon receipt and evaluation of the District’s background check results, the District may demand that the Individual have no contact with any District students or parents or provide services on any District premises. Any failure of the contractor to obtain a criminal records background check through the District, as stated herein, may result in the termination of any resulting Contract between GC and the District.

O. Irregularities: The Owner, at its sole option, may accept or reject Proposals that contain irregularities of any kind, or Proposals that do not comply fully with the Proposal Documents.

P. Contract Award:

Criteria Possible Points

A. Project Approach, Qualification and Reputation 35 B. Project Staff and Team Experience 25 C. Proposed Fixed Pricing 30 D. Litigation 5 E. Proposal Completeness & Accuracy 5

F. Interview & Presentations (if Owner Requested) - possible 50 additional points

Overall Approach, Methodology, Knowledge of the Site 10 Project Team 10 Project Scheduling 10 Cost Control/Value Engineering 10 References 10

Overall Total Possible Points 150

NOTE: All information identified above in items A-E is required for this Proposal to be considered.

Upon approval of the GC by the Owner, the District will issue a Notice of Award (NOA) in writing, to the GC. The selected GC shall submit all required documentation, including Payment Bond - Section 006113.14 and Performance Bond - Section 006113.13 on the exact forms provided by the Owner in the RFP, insurance certifications, executed Contract, etc. within five (5) days of NOA issuance. The GC shall submit the Builder’s Risk policy required by the RFP and Contract. The Contractual Schedule included in the RFP and the Contract will be reduced by any days that exceed the total of five (5) business days identified in the Master Project Schedule, Section

003113.16 with the final executed Contract and a revised schedule, if appropriate, shall be issued to the GC upon receipt of all documents.

After evaluation of the Proposals received in response to the RFP, the District may interview two or more Proposers deemed fully qualified, responsive, responsible, and suitable based on initial responses, and with professional competence to provide the required services. The District is under no obligation to perform interviews for this RFP. The Proposers may be awarded up to an additional fifty (50) points based on their interview.

After the interviews, if they are held, and based on evaluation factors outlined in Section K of the General Conditions - Section 001119.16 and the information provided and developed in the

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Instructions to Proposers 002116 - 5 selection process to this point, the District Selection Committee (“Committee”) shall rank, in the order of preference and begin negotiations with the firm whose Proposal is determined to be most advantageous to the Owner. If a contract satisfactory and advantageous to the District cannot be negotiated, then the Owner reserves the right to automatically, without notification, terminate such negotiations and enter into negotiations with the second most qualified firm. Failing accord with the second most qualified firm, the District shall terminate negotiations and enter into negotiations with the third most qualified firm. Should the District be unable to negotiate a contract at a fair and reasonable price with any of the top three (3) selected firms, the Committee shall select additional firms in order of their rankings, and the District shall continue negotiations until an agreement is reached.

Q. GC’S Qualifications: The Owner, before Contract award, will require GC to document that they are “responsible” to the satisfaction of the Owner. They will thus be required to show that they have the necessary facilities, technical ability, licenses, and financial resources to execute the Scope of Work as referenced in the design documents herein, in a satisfactory manner, and within the time specified; that they have had experience in the Scope of Work of a similar nature; and that they have history and references which will verify their qualifications for executing the Scope of Work. The Owner shall have the right to make such additional inquiry as it deems necessary to determine the ability of the GC to perform the Scope of Work promptly and efficiently following the Proposal Documents. The failure of a GC to promptly supply information in connection with the Owner’s inquiry shall be grounds for a determination that such GC is not responsive, not responsible, or both. In determining the qualifications and responsibility of the GC, the Owner may take into consideration any relevant facts and circumstances available to it including, but not limited to, the GC’s experience, capacity, facilities, previous work standing with the District financial standing, skill, available supervisory personnel, available labor, the current volume of work being performed for the District at the time of this procurement process, quality and efficiency of construction plant and equipment proposed to be utilized on the Project. The Owner shall have the right to reject the Proposal of any GC failing to show to the satisfaction of the Owner the GC could perform the Scope of Work promptly and efficiently following the Proposal Documents. GCs may be afforded an opportunity for discussion, negotiation, and revision of Proposals to obtain Best and Final Offers - Section 004215. In the event the Owner deems it necessary or appropriate, responsible GCs found by the Owner to have submitted Proposals reasonably susceptible of being selected for the award shall be allowed to participate in such discussions, negotiations, and revisions.

The successful GC will also be required to submit appropriate entity and authority certificates acceptable to the Owner as a part of this RFP.

R. Owner as Outlined in The Contract for Construction and Incorporated General Conditions:

Included and made a part of this RFP is the Owner’s Contract for Construction and Incorporated General Conditions - Section 007213 (the “Agreement” or the “Contract”). GCs are responsible for the review of this document in the preparation of their Proposals. The successful GC shall comply with all insurance requirements outlined in the Agreement and any other Contract Documents, and the GC’s attention is directed to the insurance section within the Agreement.

These insurance requirements shall be considered in the preparation of the GC’s Proposal.

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S. Commencement, Prosecution, and Completion: The GC will be required to commence its services under the Owner’s form of Agreement immediately after its receipt of a written Notice to Proceed from the Owner and to prosecute the effort with competence, faithfulness, and energy.

T. Bid Bond: The GC’s Proposal shall be accompanied by a Bid Bond - Section 004313 in the exact form set forth herein. The Bid Bond shall be in an amount not less than five percent (5%) of the Fixed Price Proposal. The amount stated in the Bid Bond shall be included as an exact dollar figure written in numeric and word form. Failure to do so shall result in your proposal being deemed non-responsive. A Bid Bond submitted using an AIA document is unacceptable and shall result in your Proposal being deemed non-responsive. The attorney-in-fact who executes the Bid Bond on behalf of the Surety shall affix to the Bid Bond a certified and current power of attorney. The Surety must be satisfactory to the Owner and must be licensed to do business in Georgia as approved by the State Insurance Commissioner’s Office.

No other form of bid security will be accepted. The Owner shall have the right to retain the Bid Bond of all GCs until either (a) the Agreement has been executed and a satisfactory Payment Bond and Performance Bond have been furnished, or (b) sixty (60) days after Proposal opening, or (c) all Proposals have been rejected. Except as otherwise expressly allowed by law, no Proposal may be withdrawn for sixty (60) days following the closing time and date for receipt of Proposals, and all Proposals are subject to acceptance by the Owner during the said period, and each GC so agrees by submitting a Proposal.

U. Non-Collusion Affidavit: As a part of the response to this RFP, the GC shall submit with its Proposal an affidavit in the form of the Offeror’s and Individuals’ Affidavit of Non-Collusion - Section 002116.35.

V. Conflict of Interest: If any officer, director, or agent of the GC is also an employee of the District, then the GC shall clearly identify it in their Proposal including the name of the individual(s) and the position he or she holds in the organization. Further, the GC shall disclose the name(s) of any District employee(s) who owns, directly or indirectly, any interest in your organization or any of its affiliates, excluding stock in a publicly-traded organization if such person owns an interest of ten percent (10%) or less. The GC must complete and have notarized a Conflict of Interest Form

- Section 002118.40 and include the same in their Proposal.

W. Existing Conditions: The GC is responsible to visit, examine, and inspect the site of the proposed Project, obtaining first-hand knowledge of existing conditions, the conformation of the ground, the character, quality, and quantity of the products needed preliminary to and during the prosecution of the Work, the general and local conditions and all other matters which can in any way affect the Services or the Work to be done under the Agreement, and become thoroughly familiar with all conditions under which the Work is to be performed and correlate all the GC’s observations and any other facts or conditions that are known to be reasonably knowable by the GC with the requirements of the Proposal Documents, including the proposed Contract Documents.

X. Subsurface Investigations: If soil and subsurface investigations were conducted at the site of the proposed Project, a copy of the report is included in this RFP as an Appendix. Such information is provided for disclosure only and shall not relieve the GC from its obligation to investigate the soil and subsurface conditions. The Owner does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the data and shall not be responsible, therefore. The GC shall not rely on such

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Y. Consent To Release Information: By submitting a Proposal, the GC authorizes the Owner, and the Owner’s agents, attorneys, and other representatives, to contact every reference, person, or entity identified in the Proposal. The GC agrees that any information concerning the GC in possession of any identified reference, person, or entity may be fully disclosed, and made available, to the Owner and its agents, attorneys, and other representatives. The enclosed Consent to Release Information - Section 002118.45 must be executed by the GC and submitted to the Owner with the Proposal.

Z. Communications with District Staff: It is intended that this Proposal be adequate for any vendor to respond to the District requirements. However, should Proposers have questions, all questions should be submitted electronically via the EUNA Portal. Questions submitted in any other format will not be considered. The deadline for receipt of Proposers' questions is the day and time set forth on the Master Project Schedule. Questions received after the deadline time will not be considered. Questions received by the deadline time will be answered in writing and posted to the EUNA Portal.

Only responses posted to the EUNA Portal will be binding upon the District.

The assigned contact person(s) for this RFP is the Meghan Washabaugh, Coordinator ~ Procurement Services. Prospective Proposers must limit their contact regarding this RFP to the assigned contact person(s) and/or his/her designee(s).

Except with the consent of the proposal contact person, all Proposers, including any persons affiliated with or in any way related to Proposers, are strictly prohibited from contacting the District on any matter having to do in any respect with this RFP, other than as provided herein. Any contacts with such persons associated with the District shall be in writing, in appropriate circumstances or cases, as directed by the contact person(s) above. Except as expressly provided in, or permitted by, the RFP documents, for the date of issuance of the Request for Proposals until the Owner action of approval of Contract award, the Proposer submitting a proposal shall not initiate any communication or discussion concerning this procurement with any employee, agent, representative, or member of the Board of Education for the Cherokee County School District. Any violation of this restriction may result in the rejection of the proposal response.

Except as expressly provided in, or permitted by, the Proposal Documents, from the date of issuance of the RFP until the final Board of action approval of contract award, the GC submitting a Proposal shall not initiate any communication or discussion concerning the Project, the RFP or the GC’s Proposal or any part thereof with any employee, agent, or representative of the Owner or Architect. Any violation of this restriction may result in the rejection of the GC’s Proposal.

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002116 CCSD - Instructions to Proposers