4-RFB 4463 - Bulk Salt - FINAL.pdf

BULK SALT

RFB 4463

BID OPENS: 2026-03-26 02:00 pm CT

SCOPE:

The City of Owensboro and Daviess County Fiscal Court are seeking qualified companies to provide the City and County with sodium chloride (rock salt), Type 1, Grade 1, for road de-icing. Additional purchases from this bid may be ordered by other public entities. The term “Owner” throughout this bid document shall stand for the City, County and any other public entity that utilizes this bid.

Each agency is to be treated as completely separate. Each agency's data, if requested, must be transferred to them and must also be billed completely separately.

The bid quantity is estimated only for the purpose of obtaining a firm unit price per ton and is based on previous usage. The successful bidder shall supply salt as required by the Owner through the contract period, regardless of the quantity.

VENDOR REGISTRY:

The bid/contract documents and all addenda can be downloaded from the City’s online Bonfire portal at https://owensboro.bonfirehub.com. Once registered, bidders can download all bid/contract documentation.

CONTRACT:

The Award Letter, along with the RFB and awarded vendor’s bid submission (including any negotiations), becomes the Contract between the City and Awarded Vendor. The Contract is contingent upon submission of all applicable contract documentation, including but not limited to, certificate of insurance and business license.

TERM OF CONTRACT:

The contract shall be in effect for one year from the date of the award notice.

With mutual agreement of the vendor and the City, the contract may be renewed for four (4) additional one (1) year periods, at the current bid price. Any increase in price will be negotiated with written proof to justify the proposed increase.

Within at least 30 days prior to the end of each contract period, the vendor may request a price increase in writing. The request must be sent to the City’s Purchasing Department at bids@owensboro.org, or by mail at 101 E. 4th Street, Owensboro, KY, or the contract will automatically renew on the date of the initial award notice.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:

The sodium chloride (rock salt), delivered shall be Type I, Grade 1, and shall meet the latest edition of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Department of Highways Standard Specifications for Road and Bridge Construction.

RESERVED ALLOTMENT: Please provide pricing for both delivery and pick-up as stated below. Although the City typically has rock salt delivered and the County picks it up, both Owners reserve the right to have the rock salt delivered or picked-up at the unit price listed by the bidder on the bid form.

• ITEM 1: DELIVERY

• The allotted quantities are amounts that shall be delivered to the stockpiles and reserved for the

Owner.

• City 3,000 tons

• ITEM 2: PICK-UP

• The allotted quantities are amounts that shall be reserved for and picked-up by the Owner.

• County 2,500 tons

• Vendor must state where their depot is located for pick-up.

• Total Allotment Between the City and County = 5,500 tons.

The Owner will not be required to purchase the allotted quantities if the rock salt is not needed.

PREFERRED AND PRIORITY CUSTOMER: By bidding and accepting a contract, vendors agree to treat the Owner as a preferred and priority customer, as it relates to availability and delivery of material. Failure to do so may be cause for contract cancellation, removal from the bid list or both. When the vendor cannot meet the demand under the terms of this agreement, vendor will within 48 hours, notify the Purchasing Manager in writing that further deliveries will not be possible and the reason why the failure to deliver was beyond the vendor’s control. However, the vendor must obtain the sodium chloride (rock salt) Type 1, Grade 1, from an alternate vendor and supply the Owner with sodium chloride (rock salt) Type 1, Grade 1, at the same contract price and within a reasonable delivery date, as per this agreement. In the event of extreme winter storm conditions, the Owner reserves the right to purchase additional quantities of sodium chloride (rock salt) at the contract bid price to meet the demands of the removal of snow and ice from highway pavements.

DELIVERY REQUIREMENTS: Deliver the sodium chloride (rock salt) in a free-flowing, usable condition, free from lumps and foreign material. Product that does not meet specified conditions at the time of delivery will not be accepted and will be removed by the vendor at no cost to the Owner.

Delivery is required within six (6) calendar days after order is made by phone, fax or e-mail. Minimum order will be for 100 tons per order.

Quantity weighing will be over scales with a current year certification by an independent scale company. The weighman authorized by the vendor shall be bonded and shall be responsible for the following:

• Compliance to contract quantity

• Entry of accurate weights on weigh slips

• Adherence to road weight limits as prescribed by law

All salt "delivered" shall be delivered by supplier to the City of Owensboro Street Department, 1410 West 5th Street, Owensboro, Kentucky.

Payment for materials, whether delivered or picked-up, shall be verified by and based on delivery tickets signed by Owner’s personnel. These delivery tickets shall accompany the weight vouchers and be submitted to the Owner for payment.

Vendor shall identify location or locations of stockpiles where deliveries will be made from, or in emergency situations, where salt could be picked-up. Bidders shall identify this location on the quotation sheet in space provided. Maps or other identifying materials may be sent with the bid. The vendor must have adequate loading and weighing equipment available for facilitating loading on trucks sent in by the Owner.

Should the vendor fail to make deliveries in accordance with these Terms and Conditions, the Owner may exercise the option of canceling this contract and purchase the quantity of material not furnished by the vendor from another source of supply. All costs and expenses in excess of the stipulated contract amounts will be charged to the defaulting vendor against any money due the vendor at the time of the default..

GENERAL COMPLIANCE:

Please read these instructions carefully.

“OR EQUAL”: It is not the intention of the specifications contained herewith to eliminate any bidder; however, quoted items must EQUAL or exceed stated specifications. PLEASE NOTE: Any brand name mentioned within this bid document are descriptive, but NOT restrictive, unless otherwise specified. Bids on equivalent items meeting the standards of quality indicated will be considered, providing the bid clearly describes the article offered and indicates how it differs from the referenced brands. Descriptive literature or manufacturer’s specifications, plus any supplemental information necessary for comparison purposes should be submitted with the bid, or the bid on that item may be rejected. Reference to literature submitted with a previous bid or on file with the City’s Purchasing Department will not satisfy this requirement. The burden is on the bidder to demonstrate the item bid is equivalent to the item specified in this RFB.

ALTERNATE BIDS: Separate pricing options for different scopes of work outside the base bid scope must be approved by the City at least 7 days before bid opening to be considered.

BIDDER’S EXCEPTIONS: Any deviation from the specification or where submitted literature does not fully support meeting the specification(s), must be clearly cited on the attached page labeled “Exceptions to Bid Specifications.” No deviation below “minimum” specifications will be accepted.

BID SUBMISSION: Bids must be submitted through the online Bonfire Portal at:

https://owensboro.bonfirehub.com. Submissions by other methods will not be accepted. Minimum system requirements: Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Safari, or Mozilla Firefox. (Javascript and browser cookies must be enabled.)

Vendors should contact the Bonfire Support team at Support.Bonfire@eunasolutions.com for technical questions. Vendors can also visit Bonfire’s help forum at https://vendorsupport.gobonfire.com/hc/en-us.

Submission materials should be prepared in the file formats listed under Requested Information for this opportunity in the Bonfire Portal. The maximum upload file size is 1000 MB. Documents should not be embedded within uploaded files, as the embedded files will not be accessible to be evaluated.

All submission documentation shall become the property of the City and will not be returned to the bidder, unless an agreement in writing is secured before the bid is submitted to the City.

At the time of bid submission, each bidder will be presumed to have read and to be thoroughly familiar with the bid specifications and requirements (including all Addenda/Public Q & A/Public Notices). The failure or omission of any bidder to examine any form, instrument, or document shall in no way relieve any bidder from any obligation in respect to his bid.

A conditional or qualified bid will not be accepted.

BID OPENING: All submissions are due prior to the scheduled bid opening as show on the Bonfire portal. The bid opening will be held via a Microsoft Teams meeting. Teams link and information can be found in the events section of the Bonfire portal.

METHOD OF PROCUREMENT: Competitive Sealed Bidding (KRS 45A.365) will be the method of procurement for the purchase of the item(s) specified herein.

KENTUCKY OPEN RECORDS LAW: At the time a bid or proposal is submitted to the City, vendor shall identify any information that is submitted as part of the bid that is proprietary or confidential in nature and not subject to release for public inspection. The City will protect any proprietary or confidential information to the extent allowable under the Kentucky Open Records Act.

NEW GOODS, FRESH STOCK: Unless otherwise specifically stated, all vendors shall provide new commodities, fresh stock, the latest model, design or package.

METHOD OF AWARD: This bid will be evaluated on the evaluation criteria established in the bid specifications.

Award will be made to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder meeting specifications.

The City reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bids received, to take exception to these bid specifications, or to waive any informalities, to negotiate all terms and conditions, or to cancel or amend in part, or in its entirety, this bid. The right is also reserved to award bids based on the best interest and/or most advantageous to the City. The City reserves the right to consider as a part of the bid evaluation the stated warranty, stated delivery schedule and payment terms.

PRICING: All prices shall be quoted exclusive of any taxes. The City is exempt from Federal excise, transportation and/or Kentucky sales tax. Any items supplied directly to the City from a supplier/manufacturer are exempt from sales tax. Any items purchased by a vendor that will be used in the fulfillment of a contract are not exempt from sales tax.

In case of a discrepancy in the extension of a unit price, the unit price shall govern the total price.

Bidders must provide manufacturer’s product literature if available and appropriate with the bid submission.

Prices quoted shall remain firm and open to acceptance by the City for a minimum period of sixty (60) days after bid opening.

WARRANTY: One year workmanship warranty (minimum) with manufactured material warranty stated.

SHIPPING CHARGES: All items quoted shall be “F.O.B. Destination.” No additional freight charges will be allowed.

DELIVERY SCHEDULE: Delivery date shall be specified on each item quoted. The vendor will be expected to fulfill the delivery as specified.

PAYMENT: The bid must clearly state the payment terms, including prompt payment discounts and payment due dates. Discounts should be figured in the unit price of the quoted item. The City reserves the right to select the most beneficial terms.

FAILURE TO PERFORM: Any vendor awarded a contract who fails to fulfill all obligations on this contract may be disqualified from bidding on any City procurement opportunity for a period of up to five (5) years.

Should the vendor fail to perform as indicated herein, the City reserves the right to procure the required products elsewhere at its discretion, either temporarily or permanently, and to either suspend or cancel all or part of the contract. Should such action be taken the vendor shall be responsible for all excess costs incurred by the City.

OWNER’S RIGHTS – RIGHT OF OWNER TO TERMINATE CONTRACT: City may terminate a contract because a vendor fails to perform its contractual duties.

If a vendor is determined to be in default, the City shall notify the vendor in writing and may either 1) terminate the contract immediately or 2) set a date by which the vendor shall cure the identified deficiencies. The City may proceed with termination if the vendor fails to cure the deficiencies within the specified time.

A default in performance by a vendor for which a contract may be terminated shall include, but not be limited to:

Failure to make delivery within the time specified or according to a delivery schedule fixed by the contract;

Failure to diligently advance the work under a contract for services;

The filing of a bankruptcy petition by or against the vendor;

or Actions that endanger the health, safety or welfare of City or its citizens.

If, during the terms of this Contract, funds are not appropriated for the payment of the City’s obligations hereunder, the City’s rights and obligations herein shall terminate on the last day for which an appropriation has been made.

AT WILL TERMINATION: Notwithstanding the above provisions, the City may terminate this contract at will in accordance with the law upon providing a thirty (30)-day written notice of that intent. Payment for goods received prior to termination shall be made by the City provided those goods were delivered in a manner acceptable to the City. Payment for those goods shall not be unreasonably withheld.

INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS: The successful bidder covenants and agrees to maintain and keep in force during the term of the contract worker’s compensation, property, casualty, and general liability in the following minimum amounts:

Type of Insurance Limits Worker’s Compensation Statutory Commercial General Liability $1,000,000 (per occurrence)/$2,000,000 (aggregate) Commercial Automobile Liability* $1,000,000 CSL *Provide only if the vendor is delivering with company vehicles on-site.

On all general and automobile liability policies of insurance, as primary and non-contributory, the vendor shall have the City named as an additional insured and shall further require that their liability carrier(s) notify the City at least thirty (30) days prior to the effective date of any change(s) in or cancellations of said insurance policies. A waiver of subrogation shall also be provided for all insurance policies, as allowed by law. The awarded vendor shall have 10 business days from the date of the award letter to provide a certificate of insurance meeting all requirements in this section. Submission of certificate of insurance may be included with the bid package.

HOLD HARMLESS AGREEMENT: The vendor/subcontractor covenants to save, defend, keep harmless, and indemnify the City and all of its officers, departments, agencies, agents, and employees from and against all claims, loss, damage, injury, fine, penalties, and costs including court costs and attorney’s fees, charges, liability, and exposure however caused resulting from, arising out of, or in any way connected with the vendor’s/subcontractor’s negligent performance or non-performance of the terms of the contract.

BIDDER’S QUALIFICATIONS: The vendor must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the City that it has adequate equipment, personnel, experience and an understanding of the specifications for performing the service under the contract.

No contract will be awarded to any vendor who, in the opinion of the City, is not qualified to perform satisfactorily due, but not limited, to the following:

• A previously unfavorable performance

• Reputation or lack of experience

• Organizational stability

• Insufficient Equipment

• Insufficient Personnel to conduct and complete the services in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contract.

The City may make such investigations as deemed necessary to determine the ability of the vendor to perform the work, and the vendor shall furnish the City all such information and data for this purpose as the City may request. The City reserves the right to reject any bid if the evidence submitted by, or investigation of, such vendor fails to satisfy the City that such vendor is properly qualified to carry out the obligations of the agreement and to complete the work contemplated therein.

The successful vendor must comply with the City’s occupational license fees ordinance, and any other ordinances which may apply to any bid package.

BUSINESS LICENSE: Awarded vendor must obtain a business license from the City.

1. Resident vendor must have a valid City business license.

2. Non-resident vendor providing services, delivering products via a private carrier (as defined below), or delivering products via vendor’s employees must have a valid City business license.

Non-resident vendor does not have to obtain a business license if vendor spends less than twelve (12) hours or twelve (12) visits per year for the purpose of reporting, delivering and receiving instructions.

Non-resident vendor does not have to obtain a business license if vendor acquires merchandise by using the Kentucky Master Agreement (unless the Master Agreement requires local licensing).

Resident: An individual, co-partnership, association, corporation or other entity domiciled or having a business situs within the corporate limits of the city.

Nonresident: An individual, corporation, partnership, fiduciary, association or other entity domiciled outside the corporate limits of the city.

The business license application and applicable fees can be found under the “Occupational/Net Profit

License Fee Forms” at the following link: https://www.owensboro.org/departments/finance. Vendor has 10 business days from the date on the award letter to submit the application and applicable $75 fee.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY STATUTES: The City is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, physical or mental disability, or any other characteristic protected by law. The City is also committed to employing only United States citizens and aliens who are authorized to work in the United States. The City complies with the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. Therefore, the successful bidder must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the City that he also conforms to all Federal, state, and local equal opportunity statutes. Further, the vendor will reimburse the City for any damages incurred due to any violation of the above-mentioned statutes by the vendor, while under contract to the City.

ADDENDA AND INTERPRETATIONS: No interpretation of the meaning of the plans, specifications or other bid documents will be made to any bidder orally.

Any communication related to solicitations, including the posting of Addenda, will be available at https://owensboro.bonfirehub.com. Any questions can be asked through the available “Ask A Question” button within the solicitation in the Bonfire portal. Vendors must be registered and logged in to ask questions and should contact the Bonfire Support team at Support.Bonfire@eunasolutions.com, if they have any issues.

To be given consideration, questions/clarification requests must be received 7 days before the bid due date.

The “question due date” is also displayed on the Bonfire portal. Failure of any bidder to receive any such addendum or interpretation shall not relieve such bidder from any obligation under his/her bid as submitted. All addenda so issued, or answer(s) posted through the Bonfire portal shall become part of the contract documents.

SECURITY CLAUSE: In accordance with KRS 61.932, any party that contracts with the City and has access to, possesses, or maintains “personal information,” as a part of that contract, shall implement, maintain, and update security and breach investigation procedures and practices that are appropriate to the nature of the information disclosed. Such procedures and practices shall be designed to protect personal information from unauthorized access, use, modification, disclosure, manipulation, or destruction and shall be at least as stringent as the security and breach investigation procedures and practices established by the Kentucky Department for Local Government in Protection of Personal Information, Security and Incident Investigation Procedures and Practices for Local Governmental Units, Fall 2014 edition.

A vendor that is provided access to personal information by the City, or that collects and maintains personal information on behalf of the City as a part of this contract shall notify the City in the most expedient time possible and without unreasonable delay but within seventy-two (72) hours of determination of a security breach relating to the personal information in the possession of the vendor. The notice to the City shall include all the information the vendor has regarding the security breach at the time of notification. The cost of the notification and investigation of a security breach required by KRS 61.933 shall be borne by the vendor.

The term "personal information" means an individual's first name or first initial and last name; personal mark; or unique biometric or genetic print or image, in combination with one (1) or more of the following data elements:

(a) An account number, credit card number, or debit card number that, in combination with any required security code, access code, or password, would permit access to an account;

(b) A Social Security number;

(c) A taxpayer identification number that incorporates a Social Security number;

(d) A driver's license number, state identification card number, or other individual identification number issued by any agency;

(e) A passport number or other identification number issued by the United States government; or

(f) Individually identifiable health information as defined in 45 C.F.R. sec. 160.103 except for education records covered by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, as amended, 20 U.S.C. sec.

1232g.

**A copy of the Protection of Personal Information Security and Incident Investigation Procedures and Practices for Local Government Units can be viewed at http://bit.ly/2J9Cmwrt.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST: All bidders are responsible for complying with the following KRS 45A.455:

“Conflicts of Interest - Gratuities and Kickbacks - Use of Confidential Information.”

It shall be a breach of ethical standards for any employee with procurement authority to participate directly in any proceeding or application; request for ruling or other determination; claim or controversy; or other matter pertaining to any contract or subcontract, and any solicitation or proposal therefore, in which to his knowledge:

He, or any member of his immediate family has a financial interest therein; or a business or organization in which he or any member of his immediate family has a financial interest as an officer, director, trustee, partner, or employee, is a party; or any other person, business, or organization with whom he or any member of his immediate family is negotiating or has an arrangement concerning prospective employment is a party. Direct or indirect participation shall include but not be limited to involvement through decision, approval, disapproval, recommendation, preparation of any part of a purchase request, influencing the content of any specification or purchase standard, rendering of advice, investigation, auditing, or any other advisory capacity.

It shall be a breach of ethical standards for any person to offer, give, or agree to give any employee or former employee, or for any employee or former employee to solicit, demand, accept, or agree to accept from another person, a gratuity or an offer of employment, in connection with any decision, approval, disapproval, recommendation, preparation of any part of a purchase request, influencing the content of any specification or purchase standard, rendering of advice, investigation, auditing, or in any other advisory capacity in any proceeding or application, request for ruling or other determination, claim or controversy, or other matter, pertaining to any contract or subcontract and any solicitation or proposal therefor.

It is a breach of ethical standards for any payment, gratuity, or offer of employment to be made by or on behalf of a subcontractor under a contract to the prime vendor or higher tier subcontractor or any person associated therewith, as an inducement for the award of a subcontract or order.

The prohibition against conflicts of interest and gratuities and kickbacks shall be conspicuously set forth in every local public agency’s written contract and solicitation, therefor.

It shall be a breach of ethical standards for any public employee or former employee knowingly to use confidential information for his actual or anticipated personal gain, or the actual or anticipated personal gain of any other person.

For further information on the conflict-of-interest statutes, see the “Recovery of Value of Anything Transferred or Received in Breach of Ethical Standards” at KRS 45A.460, and “Definitions for Terms Used in KRS 45A.445 to 45A.460” at KRS 45A.445.