4-STANDARD TERMS CONDITIONS.pdf

STANDARD TERMS & CONDITIONS

ACCEPTANCE AND REJECTION - The City reserves the right to accept or reject any and all Proposal submittals, and to accept the Submittal which best serves the interest of the City of Palm Bay.

ADDENDUM AND AMENDMENTS TO REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS - If it becomes necessary to revise or amend any part of this Request for Proposals, the City’s Procurement Department will furnish the revision by written Addendum through the City’s solicitation hosting software linked on the City’s website. Addenda information will be posted online at the City of Palm Bay’s Procurement website:

http://www.palmbayfl.gov/procurement. Firms are responsible to ensure they have received all addenda before submitting their proposal.

AWARD - Award will be made to the best responsive and responsible offeror(s) whose Proposal is determined by the City to be in the best interest of the City.

COMMITTEE MEETINGS & INFORMATION - The Notice of Committee Meetings will be posted within a reasonable time period (generally 72-hours) in advance of such meetings. Firms are responsible to check the following locations for updates on this RFP’s status: on the bulletin board located in the main lobby of the City Hall Building “B” at 120 Malabar Road SE, Palm Bay, FL 32907, at the City’s Web Page http://www.palmbayfl.gov/procurement.

Any portion of a meeting at which a negotiation with a vendor is conducted pursuant to a competitive solicitation, at which a vendor makes an oral presentation, or answers questions as part of a competitive solicitation is exempt from the Public Meeting requirements in Chapter 286.011 and s. 24(b) Art. I of the State Constitution.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST – The Firm certifies that this Proposal has not been arrived at collusively or otherwise in violation of federal, state, or local laws. The award of any Contract hereunder is subject to the provision of Chapter 112, Florida Statutes. Firms must disclose with their Submittal the name of any officer, director, partner, proprietor, associate, or agent which is also an officer or employees of the City or of its agencies. Firms must disclose the name of any officer or employee of City who owns, directly or indirectly, an interest of five percent (5%) or more in the Firm’s firm or any of its branches or affiliate companies.

DEVIATIONS - Any deviation from specifications must be clearly stated, explained in detail and accepted by the City in writing. Otherwise, items offered are expected to be in strict compliance with specifications and the successful Firm shall be held accordingly.

DISCRIMINATORY VENDOR LIST - An entity or affiliate placed on the Discriminatory Vendor List shall not submit a Proposal for a contract to provide goods or services to a public entity, shall not submit a Proposal on a contract with a public entity for the construction or repair of a public building or perform any public work, shall not submit Proposals for leases of real property to a public entity, shall not award or perform work as a Construction Manager, supplier, Subcontractor, or consultant under any contract with any public entity, and shall not transact business with any public entity (Section 287.134(3)(d), Florida Statute).

ECONOMY OF PREPARATION - The Proposal submittals should be prepared simply and economically, providing a straightforward, concise description of the Firm’s ability to fulfill the requirements of the RFP.

E-VERIFY - The awarded Proposer becomes obligated to comply with the provisions of Section 448.095, Fla. Stat., "Employment Eligibility," as amended from time to time. Beginning July 1, 2023, private employers with 25 or more employees are required to use the E-Verify system for new employees. The public agency must verify, utilizing the E-Verify system, that the Proposer, and any Subcontractors have work authorization status of all new employees of the Proposer or Subcontractor. The public agency MAY NOT ENTER INTO A CONTRACT unless each party to the contract registers with and used the E-Verify system. Proposer must maintain affidavits from sub-Contractors as well. If a public agency, Proposer, or Subcontractor who has a good faith belief that a person or entity with which it is contracting has knowingly violated this requirement shall terminate the contract, and if a Subcontractor is the violator, the Firm must be ordered to terminate the Agreement. Proposer is liable for any additional costs incurred by a public agency as a result of the termination of a contract, and the Proposer may not be awarded a public contract for at least 1 year from the date of termination. Public Agency, Proposer or Subcontractor may file a cause of action with the court to challenge the suspension and requirement to pay costs within 20 calendar days after the date of contract termination.

EX PARTE COMMUNICATION - Ex Parte Communication means any oral or written communication relative to a solicitation, evaluation, award or contract controversy that occurs outside of an advertised public meeting or occurs with someone other than the Chief Procurement Officer, subject to the exclusions identified in Section 38.20 of the City of Palm Bay Code of Ordinance.

(A) Adherence to procedures which ensure fairness is essential to the maintenance of public confidence in the value and soundness of the important process of public procurement.

Therefore, any ex parte communication between a bidder, proposer, Firm or protestant (or its employees, agents or representatives) and the City (its members, employees, agents, legal counsel, Firm s, or representatives) during the selection process and award is strictly prohibited.

Ex Parte Communication is prohibited during the following periods:

(1) From the date of advertising of the solicitation through award of a contract; and

(2) From initiation of a protest of an award or contract through resolution for the parties involved in the protest.

(B) Exclusions: This requirement shall not prohibit:

(1) Pre-Bid and Pre-Proposal Meetings: Meetings called or requested by the Chief Procurement Officer and attended by bidders or proposers for the purpose of discussing a solicitation, evaluation or selection process including, but not limited to, substantive aspects of the solicitation document. Such meetings may include, but are not limited to, pre-bid or pre-proposal meetings, site visits to the City’s facilities or property, site visits to bidders’ or proposers’ facilities, interviews/negotiation sessions as part of the selection process, and presentations by proposers or submitting Firms. Such authorized meetings shall be limited to topics specified by the Chief Procurement Officer.

(2) Solicitation documents may provide for communications from bidders or proposers to designated Procurement Department staff or discussion at meetings called or requested by the City pursuant to this subsection.

(3) Addressing the City Council regarding non-procurement topics at public meetings.

(4) The filing and processing of a written protest to any proposed award to be made pursuant to the solicitation, evaluation, and selection process. Protest proceedings shall be limited to open public meetings, with no ex parte communications outside those meetings.

(5) Contacts by the City’s current firms but only in regard to:

a. any work being performed on City projects unrelated to the solicitation, or

b. any City projects under the prohibited ex parte communications for which the current Firms do not intend to submit a response or have not submitted a response to any solicitation documents for those projects.

(6) Communications between the Chief Procurement Officer or other City representatives and the bidder or Firm for routine matters arising from ongoing projects or contracts previously awarded.

(7) Contacts by bidders and proposers (actual or potential) and the City regarding other projects unrelated to the purchase for which the bidders or proposers (actual or potential) may intend to submit a response or have submitted a response to any competitive solicitation;

(8) Communications between the Chief Procurement Officer and bidders and/or proposers (actual or potential) for matters regarding pending purchases. Written questions shall be made to the named contact person.

(9) Addressing the City Council during the designated agenda item public comment portion of a meeting where the Council is considering award or permission to negotiate on solicitation that a bidder or proposer submitted on.

(10) Violation of this provision shall be grounds to: disqualify the violator from the award of the purchase, void any award to or contract with the violator, and/or temporarily suspend or permanently debar the violator from future contracts with the City.

INFORMALITIES - The City of Palm Bay reserves the right to both waive any informality in Proposals and to determine, in its sole discretion, whether or not informality is minor.

INFORMATION AND LITERATURE - Firms are to furnish all information and literature requested. Failure to do so may be cause for rejection.

INTERPRETATIONS - Any questions concerning conditions and specifications shall be directed to the designated Contract Administrator. Interpretations, that may affect the eventual outcome of this Proposal will be furnished in writing to all prospective Firms. No interpretation shall be considered binding unless provided in writing by the City of Palm Bay.

FIRMS’ EXPENSES - No out of scope services shall be provided in the absence of prior, written authorization in the form of a written supplemental agreement and issuance of an appropriate amendment to the contract. The City will not pay a retainer or similar fee. The City is not responsible for any expenses that Firm may incur in preparing and submitting Proposals called for in this request. The City will not pay for any out-of-pocket expenses, such as word processing; photocopying; postage; per diem; travel expenses; and the like, incurred by the Firm. The City will not be liable for any costs incurred by the Firm in connection with any interviews/presentations (i.e., travel, accommodations, etc.).

PAYMENT - Upon acceptance of work by using department of the City, employees and others, the City shall make payment to the Consultant in accordance with the Local Government Prompt Payment Act, Chapter 218, Florida Statutes.

The City reserves the right, with justification, to partially pay any invoice submitted by the Consultant when requested to do so by the using City department. All invoices shall be directed to the Accounts Payable Section, City of Palm Bay, 120 Malabar Road, SE, Palm Bay, FL 32907.

PUBLIC ENTITY CRIMES – By submission of response to the City’s Request for Proposal on this project, Firm acknowledges and agrees to the following: A person or affiliate who has been placed on the Convicted Vendor List following a conviction for a public entity crime may not submit a proposal on a contract to provide any goods or services to a public entity, may not submit a proposal on a contract with a public entity for the construction or repair of a public building or public work, may not submit proposals for leases of real property to a public entity, may not be awarded or perform work as a Successful Firm, supplier, Subcontractor , or consultant under a contract with any public entity, and may not transact business with any public entity in excess of the threshold amount provided in Section 287.017 Florida Statutes, for CATEGORY TWO for a period of 36 months from the date of being placed on the Convicted Vendor List (Section 287.133, Florida Statutes).

PROHIBITION AGAINST CONSIDERING SOCIAL, POLITICAL, OR IDEOLOGICAL INTERESTS IN

GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING - Proposers are hereby notified of the provisions of section 287.05701, Florida Statutes, as amended, that the City will not request documentation of or consider a Proposer's social, political, or ideological interests when determining if the Proposer is a responsible Proposer.

Proposers are further notified that the City's governing body may not give preference to a Proposer based on the Proposer’s social, political, or ideological interests.

PUBLIC RECORDS - Sealed bids, proposals or replies received by an agency pursuant to a competitive solicitation are exempt from Section 119.07(1) and 24(a) Article I of the State constitution until such time as the agency provides a notice of an intended decision or until 30-days after opening the bids, proposals, or final replies, whichever is earlier.

Certain exemptions to the public records law are statutorily provided for in Section 119.07, Florida Statutes.

If the Firm believes any of the information contained in his or her response is exempt from disclosure, then the Firm, must in his or her response, specifically identify the material which is deemed to be exempt and cite the legal authority for the exemption, otherwise, the City will treat all materials received as public records once that information is determined to be available.

If an agency rejects all bids, proposals, or replies submitted in response to a competitive solicitation and the agency concurrently provides notice of its intent to reissue the competitive solicitation, the rejected bids, proposals, or replies remain exempt from Section 119.07(1) and Section 24(a) of the State Constitution until such time as the agency provides notice of an intended decision concerning the reissued competitive solicitation, or until the agency withdraws the reissued competitive solicitation. A bid, proposal, or reply is not exempt for longer than 12-months after the initial agency notice rejecting all bids, proposals or replies.

The City is a public agency subject to Chapter 119, Florida Statutes. The CONSULTANT shall comply with Florida’s Public Records law. Specifically, the CONSULTANT shall:

1. Keep and maintain public records required by the public agency to perform the service.

2. Upon request from the public agency’s custodian of public records, provide the public agency with a copy of the requested records or allow the records to be inspected or copied within a reasonable time at a cost that does not exceed the cost provided in this chapter or as otherwise provided by law.

3. Ensure that public records that are exempt or confidential and exempt from public records disclosure requirements are not disclosed except as authorized by law for the duration of the contract term and following completion of the contract if the Firm does not transfer the records to the public agency.

4. Upon completion of the contract, transfer, at no cost, to the public agency all public records in possession of the Firm or keep and maintain public records required by the public agency to perform the service. If the Firm transfers all public records to the public agency upon completion of the contract, the Firm shall destroy any duplicate public records that are exempt or confidential and exempt from public records disclosure requirements. If the Firm keeps and maintains public records upon completion of the contract, the Firm shall meet all applicable requirements for retaining public records. All records stored electronically must be provided to the public agency, upon request from the public agency’s custodian of public records, in a format that is compatible with the information technology systems of the public agency.

The failure of the CONSULTANT to comply with the provisions set forth in this section shall constitute a material breach of Agreement and shall be cause for immediate termination of the Agreement.

If the CONSULTANT has questions regarding the application of

Chapter 119 Florida Statutes, to the CONSULTANT duty to provide public records relating to this contract, contact the custodian of public records at the City of Palm Bay Procurement Department, 120 Malabar

Road SE, Palm Bay, Suite 200, Florida 32907; 321-952-3424 or procurement@palmbayfl.gov.

PROPOSAL ACKNOWLEDGE - By submitting a proposal, the proposer certifies that he/she has full knowledge of the scope, nature, and quality of work to be performed.

RECOMMENDATION OF AWARD INFORMATION - The Notice of Consideration for Award for Proposal will be posted at least five (5) business days in advance of such award. Firms are responsible to check the City’s Web Page http://www.palmbayfl.gov/procurement. Firms who do not have Internet access may request documentation by contacting the Procurement Department.

REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION/CLARIFICATION - The Firm shall furnish such additional information/clarification as the City may reasonably require. This includes but is not limited to information that indicates financial resources as well as the ability to provide and maintain the services requested. The City reserves the right to make investigations of the proposer as it deems appropriate, including but not limited to, a background investigation of service personnel.

REQUEST FOR MODIFICATION - The City reserves the right to negotiate a final agreement with the top-ranked Firm to more fully meet the needs of the City. Should the City be unable to negotiate a satisfactory contract with any of the selected Firms, the City will select additional Firms in the order of their competence and qualification and continue negotiations in accordance with Section 287.055, Florida Statutes.

RESPONSIBLE FIRM - A Firm, business entity or individual who is fully capable to meet all of the requirements of the solicitation and subsequent contract. Must possess the full capability, including financial and technical, to perform as contractually required. Must be able to fully document the ability to provide good faith performance.

RESPONSIVE FIRM - A Firm, business entity or individual who has submitted a bid, proposal or submittal that fully conforms in all material respects to the IFB/RFP/RFQ and all of its requirements, including all form and substance.

SCRUTINIZED COMPANY LIST – STATE OF FLORIDA REQUIREMENT -Sections 287.135 and 215.473, Florida Statutes, prohibit Florida municipalities from contracting with companies, for goods or services over $1,000,000 that are on either the Scrutinized Companies with Activities in Sudan List or the Scrutinized Companies with Activities in the Iran Petroleum Energy Sector List, or to engage in any Business operations with Cuba or Syria. Sections 287.135 and 215.4725 also prohibit Florida municipalities from contracting with companies, for goods or services in any amount that are on the list of Scrutinized Companies that Boycott Israel.

The list of “Scrutinized Companies” is created pursuant to Section 215.473, Florida Statutes. A copy of the current list of “Scrutinized Companies” can be found at the following link:

https://www.sbafla.com/reporting/global-governance-mandates/.

The company representative authorized to sign on behalf of the bidder, hereby CERTIFIES that the company identified as the Respondent is not listed on either the Scrutinized Companies with Activities in Sudan List; or the Scrutinized Companies with Activities in the Iran Petroleum Energy Sector List; is not participating in a boycott of Israel; and does not have any business operations with Cuba or Syria.

Authorized representative understands that pursuant to Sections 287.135 and 215.473, Florida Statutes, the submission of a false certification may subject the Respondent company to civil penalties, attorney’s fees, and/or costs.

Bidder/proposer understands and agrees that the City may immediately terminate any contract resulting from this solicitation upon written notice if the company referenced above are found to have submitted a false certification or any of the following occur with respect to the company or a related entity: (i) for any contract for goods or services in any amount of monies, it has been placed on the Scrutinized Companies that Boycott Israel List, or is engaged in a boycott of Israel, or (ii) for any contract for goods or services of one million dollars ($1,000,000) or more, it has been placed on the Scrutinized Companies with Activities in Sudan List or the Scrutinized Companies with Activities in the Iran Petroleum Energy Sector List, or it is found to have been engaged in business operations in Cuba or Syria.

TAX EXEMPTIONS - The City of Palm Bay is tax exempt. The City of Palm Bay’s tax-exempt number is 85-8012646361C-4.

TERM - The term of this Agreement shall be governed by the Solicitation Documents. The initial term and any renewal options shall be as stated therein and shall commence upon the date of award.

TIME FOR CONSIDERATIONS – Proposals will be irrevocable after the time and date set for the opening of Proposals and for a period of ninety (90) days thereafter.

TRADE SECRETS - Respondents should not send trade secrets. If, however, trade secrets are claimed by any respondent they will not be considered as trade secrets until the City is presented with the alleged secrets together with proof that they are legally trade secrets. The City will then determine whether it agrees and consents that they are in fact trade secrets. If a respondent fails to submit a claim of trade secrets to the City before obtaining the City’s agreement, any subsequently claimed trade secrets will be treated as public records and will be provided to any person or entity making a public records request for the information (F.S. 119.01).