4-TB2723-EFDP - Design Professional Services - East High School Fieldhouse Addition.pdf

Salt Lake City School District Purchasing Department

Request for Statements of Qualification for

Design Professional Services, East High School Fieldhouse Addition

Solicitation No. TB2723-EFDP

REQUEST FOR STATEMENTS OF QUALIFICATION

Design Professional Services, East High School Fieldhouse Addition

Solicitation # TB2723-EFDP

This Request for Statement of Qualifications (RFSQ), having been determined to be the appropriate procurement method to provide the best value to the Conducting Procurement Unit, is designed to solicit information regarding the qualifications of potential vendors and provide interested vendors with sufficient basic information to submit statements of qualification. This RFSQ is issued in accordance with State of Utah Procurement Code, Utah Code Annotated (UCA) Chapter 63G-6a, and applicable Rules found in the Utah Administrative Code (UAC). If any provision of this RFSQ conflicts with the UCA or UAC, the UCA or UAC will take precedence.

PART 1: OVERVIEW AND INSTRUCTIONS

1.1 PURPOSE OF REQUEST FOR STATEMENTS OF QUALIFICATIONS

The Salt Lake City School District (SLCSD) is soliciting Statements of Qualifications (SOQ) from qualified design professional firms (vendors) to provide architectural, engineering and consulting services for the design of a new fieldhouse at East High School located at 840 South 1300 East Salt Lake City, Utah 84102.

SITE VISIT: A mandatory site visit is scheduled for 1:00 PM on Monday, November 9, 2026, at East High School. We will meet at the Southwest parking lot of the school located at 840 South 1300 East Salt Lake City, Utah 84102. Please note that parking is limited; attendees should arrive early to allow time to find a parking spot.

Prices & Fees: This RFSQ is not being used to solicit costs or pricing. Prices and fees will be negotiated in accordance with Part 4.3 in this RFSQ.

Anticipated RFSQ Timeline of Events

October 29, 2026 – RFSQ Published on Bonfire November 9, 2026 – Mandatory Site Visit at East High School November 12, 2026 – RFSQ Question and Answer Period ends at 10:00am November 23, 2026 – RFSQ closes at 10:00am November 23 – December 9, 2026 – RFSQ Evaluations Ongoing December 16, 2026 – Potential Fee Negotiations with Vendors January 5, 2027 – Project Approval by Board of Education

1.2 RFSQ PROCESS

Pursuant to UCA §63G-6a-Part 15, this RFSQ is being used to identify qualified design professional service providers.

Vendors will submit SOQs based on the criteria described herein. Vendors will also provide any additions and/or exceptions to the Standard Terms and Conditions. Vendors will be evaluated based on the evaluation criteria noted herein.

1.3 ISSUING AND CONDUCTING PROCUREMENT UNIT, AND RFSQ SOLICITATION NUMBER

The Salt Lake City School District is both the Issuing Procurement Unit and the Conducting Procurement Unit for this RFSQ and all subsequent addenda relating to it. The reference number for this RFSQ is Solicitation # TB2723-EFDP.

This number must be referred to on all SOQs, correspondence, and documentation relating to this RFSQ.

1.4 QUESTION AND ANSWER PERIOD

All questions MUST be submitted through the Bonfire platform (https://www.utah.bonfirehub.com) during the designated time for questions (“Q&A period”) listed on Bonfire. Questions submitted through any other channel will not be answered. Questions may be answered in the order they are submitted or compiled into one document and answered via an addendum. Answers disseminated by SLCSD through the Bonfire system shall serve as the official and binding position of SLCSD and will constitute an addendum to this RFSQ.

Questions, exceptions, or notification to SLCSD of any ambiguity, inconsistency, excessively restrictive requirement, or error in this RFSQ, MUST be submitted as a question through Bonfire during the Q&A period.

Questions may be answered individually or may be compiled into one document. Questions may also be answered via addenda. An answered question or addenda may modify the specification or requirements of this RFSQ. Answered questions and addenda will be posted on Bonfire Source. Vendors should periodically check Bonfire for answered questions and addenda before the closing date. The vendors are responsible for submitting their response as required by this RFSQ, including any requirements in an answered question and/or addendum.

1.5 ADDENDA

Vendors are encouraged to periodically check Bonfire for posted questions, answers, and addenda.

Any modification to this procurement will be made by addendum issued by the SLCSD Purchasing Department. Addenda to this RFSQ may be made for the purpose of making changes to the scope of work, the schedule, the qualification requirements, the criteria, the weighting, or other requirements of this RFSQ.

After the due date and time for submitting a response to this RFSQ, at the discretion of the procurement official, addenda to this RFSQ may be limited to the Vendors that have submitted responses, provided the addenda does not make a substantial change to this RFSQ that likely would have impacted the number of Vendors responding to the original publication of this RFSQ, in the opinion of the procurement official.

Authorized and properly issued addenda shall constitute the official and binding position of SLCSD.

Any response to this RFSQ which has as its basis any communications or information received from sources other than this RFSQ or related addenda may be considered non-responsive and be rejected at the sole discretion of SLCSD.

1.6 RESTRICTIONS ON COMMUNICATIONS

From the issue date of this RFSQ until a vendor is awarded a contract and the award is published, vendors are prohibited from communications regarding this RFSQ with the conducting procurement unit staff, evaluation committee members, or other associated individuals EXCEPT the SLCSD procurement officer overseeing this RFSQ. Failure to comply with this requirement may result in disqualification.

1.7 SUBMITTING YOUR SOQ

By submitting a response, the vendor acknowledges and agrees the requirements, scope of work, and evaluation process outlined herein are fair, equitable, understood, and not unduly restrictive. Any exceptions to the content of this RFSQ must be addressed within the Q&A period. The vendor further acknowledges that it has read this RFSQ, along with any attached or referenced documents, including the General Provisions.

All vendor costs incurred in the preparation and submission of a response, including those incurred during interviews, oral presentations, and/or product demonstrations are the vendor's responsibility and will not be reimbursed.

https://www.utah.bonfirehub.com/

Responses must be received by the posted due date and time posted on Bonfire (“deadline”). Responses received after the deadline will be late and ineligible for consideration.

The only method for submitting your response is electronically through Bonfire.

The RFSQ will end at the deadline. Do not wait until the last minute. If a vendor is in the middle of uploading a response when the deadline arrives, the system will stop the upload process and the response will not be accepted by Bonfire. Therefore, the attempted submission will be considered late and ineligible for consideration.

Electronic submissions require a vendor to upload attachments to the Bonfire system. Bonfire will accept a wide variety of document types as attachments. However, SLCSD is unable to view certain documents.

Therefore, DO NOT submit documents that are embedded (zip files), movies, wmp, encrypted, or mp3 files. All documents should be uploaded in Bonfire as separate files.

1.8 CONTRACT AWARD / LENGTH OF CONTRACT

It is anticipated this RFSQ will result in a single contract award which will be for the duration of the project from design through the end of the warranty and project closeout period.

1.9 PRICE GUARANTEE PERIOD

It is the intent of the SLCSD to establish a firm fixed fee with the awarded vendor for the duration of this project. We do NOT intend to establish the fee as a percentage of construction costs.

1.10 STANDARD CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS, EXCEPTIONS, AND NEGOTIATIONS

Any contract resulting from this RFSQ will include, but not be limited to the Salt Lake City School District Standard Terms and Conditions (Attachment A).

Exceptions and/or additions to the Standard Terms and Conditions are strongly discouraged. However, vendors requesting exceptions and/or additions to the Standard Terms and Conditions must be submitted with the SOQ.

Exceptions and/or additions submitted after the date and time for receipt of SOQs will not be considered. Vendors may not submit requests for exceptions and/or additions by reference to a vendor’s website or URL. URLs provided with a SOQ may result in that SOQ being rejected as non-responsive. Vendors may submit questions during the Q&A period regarding the Standard Terms and Conditions.

SLCSD may refuse to negotiate exceptions and/or additions that are determined to be excessive or inconsistent with similar contracts of the SLCSD; with warranties, insurance or indemnification provisions that are necessary to protect the SLCSD after consultation with applicable legal counsel; where the solicitation specifically prohibits exceptions and/or additions; or when exceptions are not in the best interest of the SLCSD.

In a multiple award, SLCSD reserves the right to negotiate exceptions and/or additions to terms and conditions in a manner resulting in expeditious resolutions. This process may include beginning negotiations with the vendor having the least number of exceptions and/or additions and concluding with the vendor submitting the greatest number of exceptions and/or additions. Contracts may be executed and become effective as negotiations are completed.

If negotiations are required, vendor must provide all documents in Microsoft Word format for redline editing. Vendor must also provide the name, contact information, and access to the person(s) that will be directly involved in legal negotiations. Any required acceptance of a vendor’s terms and conditions may result in the SOQ being determined non-responsive.

An award resulting from this RFSQ is subject to successful contract terms and conditions negotiation (if required).

SLCSD, at its sole discretion, will determine when contract terms and conditions negotiations become unproductive and will result in termination of award to that vendor and SLCSD may move to the next eligible vendor.

1.11 PROTECTED INFORMATION

The Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA), UCA § 63G-2-305, provides in part that:

the following records are protected if properly classified by a government entity:

(1) trade secrets as defined in Section 13-24-2, the Utah Uniform Trade Secrets Act, if the person submitting the trade secret has provided the governmental entity with the information specified in UCA § 63G-2- 309 (Business Confidentiality Claims);

(2) commercial information or non-individual financial information obtained from a person if:

(a) disclosure of the information could reasonably be expected to result in unfair competitive injury to the person submitting the information or would impair the ability of the governmental entity to obtain necessary information in the future;

(b) the person submitting the information has a greater interest in prohibiting access than the public in obtaining access; and

(c) the person submitting the information has provided the governmental entity with the information specified in UCA § 63G-2-309;

(6) records, the disclosure of which would impair governmental procurement proceedings or give an unfair advantage to any person proposing to enter into a contract or agreement with a governmental entity, except, subject to Subsections (1) and (2), that this Subsection (6) does not restrict the right of a person to have access to, after the contract or grant has been awarded and signed by all parties,…

Pricing may not be classified as confidential or protected and will be considered public information after award of the contract.

Process for Requesting Non-Disclosure: Any Vendor requesting a record be protected shall include with their response a Claim of Business Confidentiality. To protect information under a Claim of Business Confidentiality, the Vendor must complete the Claim of Business Confidentiality form, which is provided as a separate attachment with this solicitation, and include the following information:

1. Provide a written Claim of Business Confidentiality at the time the information (SOQ) is provided to SLCSD, and

2. Include a concise statement of reasons supporting the claim of business confidentiality (UCA §63G-2- 309(1)).

3. Submit an electronic “redacted” (excluding protected information) copy of the response. Copy must clearly be marked “Redacted Version.”

An entire response cannot be identified as “PROTECTED”, “CONFIDENTIAL” or “PROPRIETARY”, and if so identified, shall be considered non-responsive unless the Vendor removes the designation.

Redacted Copy: If a Vendor submits a response that contains information claimed to be business confidential or protected information, the Vendor must submit two separate SOQs: one redacted version for public release, with all protected business confidential information either blacked-out or removed, clearly marked as "Redacted Version"; and one non-redacted version for evaluation purposes, clearly marked as "Protected Business Confidential."

1.12 INTERVIEWS, PRESENTATIONS AND/OR ON-SITE TOURS OF PAST WORK

If it is determined to be in the best interest of the SLCSD, interviews, presentations and/or site tours of past work may be held. The SLCSD shall establish a date and time for the interviews or presentations and shall notify eligible vendors of the procedures. Vendors invited to interviews or presentations shall be limited to those vendors meeting any minimum requirements and/or minimum technical score threshold specified in the RFSQ. If the SLCSD elects to conduct interviews, presentations and site tours of past work, they will be mandatory. Please note that the SLCSD may elect NOT to conduct site tours or interviews.

Representations made by a vendor during interviews or presentations shall become an addendum to the vendor’s SOQ and shall be documented. Representations must be consistent with the vendor’s original SOQ and may only be used for purposes of clarifying or filling in gaps in the vendor’s SOQ. Interviews and presentations will be at the vendor’s expense.

PART 2: SCOPE OF WORK AND REQUIREMENTS

2.1 DETAILED WORK REQUIREMENTS

Project Overview. The SLCSD is seeking a qualified design professional to provide architectural, engineering, and consulting services for the design of a new fieldhouse at East High School. The fieldhouse will be a new building of approximately 31,000 sq. ft., constructed on the existing East High School campus.

Building Program. The fieldhouse will be used for athletic training and physical education classes. The building program is anticipated to include, but is not limited to:

• A 35-yard indoor turf field with end zone

• Locker rooms

• Spaces for sports training and physical education instruction

• A 165-stall parking garage beneath the fieldhouse

• Associated support spaces, as determined during schematic design

Site and Location. The SLCSD anticipates the fieldhouse will be placed in the southwest corner of the campus as a one-story building atop the parking garage. However, the SLCSD is willing to consider alternatives. The selected vendor will identify at least two potential locations on the current site, including the southwest corner, evaluate each, and recommend a preferred location to the SLCSD.

Scope of Services. The selected vendor’s services are anticipated to include, but are not limited to:

• Evaluation of potential building locations and recommendation of a preferred site

• Programming and schematic design in coordination with district representatives

• Design development and construction documents for the fieldhouse and parking garage

• Cost estimating at each design phase, with value engineering as needed

• Coordination of plan reviews and approvals with Salt Lake City and DFCM

• Coordination with East High School administration to limit disruption to school operations and athletic programs

• Construction administration through project closeout and the warranty period

DFCM Oversight. This project will follow the requirements of Senate Bill 164 (2026), School Construction Amendments, under which the Utah Division of Facilities Construction and Management (DFCM) has oversight authority over public school construction projects. The selected vendor will be expected to coordinate with DFCM throughout design and construction and comply with all applicable SB 164 and DFCM requirements.

The project must always be in coordination with SLCSD and the Project Management Team (PMT) described in Part 2.3(B). The PMT will work with the SLCSD Auxiliary Services Department to organize, plan, and administer the following phases of the project:

• Phase I – Design:

• Jan – Mar 2027 – schematic design meetings with district representatives

• Apr – July 2027 – construction drawings, plan reviews, city/DFCM approvals

• Sept – Oct 2027 – final conformance set, minor changes, updates

• Phase II – Construction (2027-2029): Begin and complete construction.

The SLCSD will provide the PMT with any needed geotechnical studies or site survey information.

NOTE: The SLCSD will have a discussion regarding the selection of design consultants prior to starting any Phase. At any time throughout the project, the SLCSD reserves the right to remove anyone from the PMT determined to be unacceptable. Should this occur, the SLCSD will work with the awarded design professional to find a suitable replacement.

2.2 MANDATORY MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS/QUALIFICATIONS

This section contains mandatory minimum requirements that must be met in order for an offer to be considered responsive. If required, vendors shall include a detailed narrative outlining how the proposed solution meets the following minimum mandatory requirements. For ease of evaluation, a vendor’s SOQ must be a point-by-point response, addressing in detail each area of the mandatory minimum requirements and/or qualifications.

Failure to meet any one of the mandatory requirements/qualifications will result in the SOQ being rejected pursuant to the Utah Procurement Code and the SOQ will not move forward in the evaluation process.

All of the items described in this section are non-negotiable. A rejection of a SOQ due to a SOQ not meeting mandatory minimum requirements can occur at any time in the evaluation process.

A. Professional and Business License Requirement

Vendor shall have and maintain all professional licenses required by the State of Utah. Evidence of this required license shall be included with vendor’s SOQ. In addition, a copy of the vendor’s business license is also to be submitted with the SOQ. Submitting a license number alone does not meet the requirements of this section.

B. Insurance Requirement

Vendor shall obtain and maintain insurance as required in the attached Terms and Conditions (Attachment A).

Documentation showcasing the required insurance shall be included with vendor’s SOQ.

C. Project List for Possible Site Tours

Vendor shall provide a project list that includes a minimum of three projects to be included in any site tours of past projects. Each project identified on the list shall include the name of the project, location (physical address), and any required contact information (phone & email). As noted in RFSQ Section 1.12, the SLCSD may elect NOT to perform site tours.

D. Mandatory Site Visit

Vendor shall attend the mandatory site visit at East High School on Monday, November 9, 2026, at 1:00 PM (see Section 1.1). Attendance will be recorded by sign-in sheet. SOQs submitted by vendors that did not attend will be rejected.

E. Page Limits

SOQ submissions shall not exceed a total of forty (40) pages (11 pt font with a standard page size of 8.5” x 11”).

SOQs that exceed this page limit will be automatically rejected. The following will not count toward the page limitation:

i. Potential Conflicts of Interest, refer to RFSQ Section 3.1

ii. Exceptions to Terms and Conditions, refer to RFSQ Section 1.10

iii. Claims of Business Confidentiality, refer to RFSQ Section 1.11

iv. Responses to Mandatory Minimum Requirements, RFSQ Section 2.2

2.3 DETAILED STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATION

To determine which SOQ provides the best value to SLCSD, the evaluation committee will evaluate each responsive and responsible SOQ that has not been disqualified or rejected using the criteria below.

A. Vendor Qualifications and Relevant Company Experience

Provide a brief description of your firm’s historical background and the scope and nature of services routinely provided by your firm on projects of this size and scope, including education-related projects. Describe your firm’s experience with athletic facilities and with buildings constructed over parking structures. This experience may be demonstrated through your firm or its proposed consultants.

Provide a list of up to five (5) comparable projects completed within the last ten (10) years. This information may be used for reference checks. For each project, include the following information:

• project name/location

• year completed

• your firm’s role (prime or consultant)

• members of the proposed team who worked on the project

• contact person with phone and email information

• brief description of services performed

• original and final design fee

• the initial construction cost estimate and actual construction cost (provide explanations for differences between the two figures)

• any problems, including corrective action taken

• project duration

Evaluation Criteria:

• Vendor’s understanding of the purpose and scope of the proposed services as evidenced by the quality of the submitted SOQ.

• Vendor’s demonstrated ability to perform the services described in the Scope of Work (Section 2.1).

• Experience of the vendor and its proposed consultants with athletic facilities, fieldhouses, buildings constructed over parking structures, and school building projects.

• Accuracy of the vendor’s construction cost estimates on past projects.

• Project examples and comments obtained from contact persons.

B. Project Management Team

Identify the proposed Project Management Team (PMT) members and describe each member’s knowledge and experience relative to this project, with specific reference to athletic facilities, fieldhouses, and school building related projects. Résumés are not required and should not be submitted. Identify the key personnel who will be assigned to this project from design through construction administration and project closeout, and include an organizational chart showing each team member’s role and anticipated time commitment to this project.

Identify the key consultants proposed for this project (e.g., structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, civil, cost estimating, and any athletic/turf or parking specialists) and describe their relevant experience.

Key personnel and consultants identified in the SOQ may not be substituted without prior written approval from

SLCSD.

Evaluation Criteria:

• Knowledge and experience of the proposed PMT members and key personnel relative to this project.

• Relevant experience of the proposed key consultants.

• Current workload and availability of the proposed team.

C. Project Approach / Management Plan

Provide a management plan that demonstrates your understanding of the project scope of work for all phases of the project. Review the SLCSD’s anticipated schedule in Section 2.1, comment on whether it is achievable, and identify any risks to that schedule and how you would address them. Timelines should be aggressive but realistic, allowing enough time for each phase of work to be completed on time and within the SLCSD’s project budget.

Describe your approach to the following:

• proposed project phasing, scheduling, budget, and other key project management elements, including major milestones

• evaluating the potential building locations and recommending a preferred site

• designing the fieldhouse over the parking garage, including the long-span roof structure, waterproofing between levels, garage ventilation, and vehicle traffic and circulation on and around the site

• maintaining East High School operations, including athletic programs, during design and construction

• managing plan reviews and approvals with Salt Lake City and DFCM

• working with DFCM under SB 164, including its oversight, review, and approval requirements

• cost estimation, cost control, value engineering, risk identification, and risk mitigation

• handling submittals, requests for information, meeting minutes, reports, etc.

• minimizing design-related change orders and reviewing contractor change requests

The management plan should be concise but contain sufficient information to meet the criteria in this section.

Provide a suggestion, with sufficient justification, of the best construction delivery method for this project (e.g., Design-Bid-Build, CM/GC, etc.).

Evaluation Criteria:

• Vendor’s understanding of the project scope, phasing, scheduling, budget, and other key issues.

• Vendor’s assessment of the SLCSD’s anticipated schedule and identification of schedule risks.

• Vendor’s approach to evaluating potential building locations and designing the fieldhouse over the parking garage.

• Vendor’s approach to maintaining school operations during design and construction.

• Vendor’s approach to managing plan reviews and approvals.

• Vendor’s approach to working with DFCM under SB 164.

• Vendor’s approach to cost control, value engineering, and risk mitigation.

• Vendor’s process for handling submittals, requests for information, meeting minutes, reports, etc.

• Vendor’s approach to minimizing design-related change orders and reviewing contractor change requests.

• Vendor’s suggested construction delivery method.

PART 3: INFORMATION REQUIRED IN SUBMISSION OF A SOQ

3.1 SOQ FORMAT

SOQs should be concise, straightforward and prepared simply and economically. Please note the page limitations for the detailed response outlined in Section 2.2(E) above. Expensive displays, bindings (on hard copies), or promotional materials are neither desired nor required. Outside of these limitations and suggestions, there is no intent in these instructions to limit or exclude relevant or essential data from a SOQ. Note that all materials submitted become the property of SLCSD. Materials may be evaluated by anyone designated by SLCSD as part of the SOQ evaluation committee.

Organize the SOQ using each of the following specific headings. Failure to format the SOQ as follows may result in disqualification.

1. Section Title: Protected Information.

All protected/proprietary information must be identified in this section of the SOQ by completing the Claim of Business Confidentiality referenced in Section 1.11.

If the vendor’s SOQ contains protected/proprietary information (refer back to the Protected Information section of this RFSQ for additional information), then vendor must submit a redacted copy of the SOQ at the same time vendor submits its SOQ. The redacted copy of the vendor’s SOQ must be submitted in compliance with other sections of this RFSQ.

If there is no protected information, write “None” in this section.

Failure to comply with this Section 3.1 and Section 1.11 releases SLCSD from any obligation or liability arising from the inadvertent release of vendor information.

2. Section Title: Potential Conflicts of Interest.

Vendor must identify any conflict, or potential conflict of interest, that might arise during the contract. If no conflicts are identified or expected, write “None” in this section.

3. Section Title: Exceptions and/or Additions to the Standard Terms and Conditions. Proposed exceptions and/or additions to the Standard Terms and Conditions must be submitted in this section.

Vendor must provide all proposed exceptions and/or additions, including a Vendor’s terms and conditions in Microsoft Word format for redline editing. Vendor must also provide the name, contact information, and access to the person(s) that will be directly involved in terms and conditions negotiations.

If there are no exceptions or additions to the Standard Terms and Conditions, write “None” in this section.

4. Section Title: Mandatory Requirements.

As described in Section 2.2, vendor must provide the required narratives that demonstrate compliance with the stated Mandatory Minimum Requirements/Qualifications. Vendor’s failure to meet any one of the mandatory requirements will result in the SOQ being classified as non-responsive and will be rejected under the provisions of the Utah Procurement Code.

Please provide a response to all requirements noted in Section 2.2 as follows:

A. Professional and Business License Requirement B. Insurance Requirement C. Project List for Possible Site Tours D. Mandatory Site Visit E. Page Limits

5. Section Title: Detailed Statement of Qualifications.

As described in Section 2.3 above, this section will constitute the major portion of the SOQ and must be a concise overview of the vendor’s assessment of the required work, the vendor’s ability and approach, and the resources necessary to fulfill the requirements. This section should demonstrate the vendor’s understanding of the desired overall performance expectations, deliverables, if any, and outcomes.

Clearly indicate any options or alternatives proposed (if allowed). In any case wherein the vendor cannot comply with an evaluation criterion outlined in Section 2.3, such inability must be stated in response to the applicable requirement. Vendors should reference the Scope of Work in Section 2.1 in their response.

SOQs will be evaluated against the SOQ evaluation criteria described in Section 2.3 and listed in Attachment E, RFSQ Evaluation Scoresheet. Attachment E provides the scoring methodology, states the relative weight that will be given to each score for the criteria, and the minimum scoring thresholds associated with the evaluation criteria.

For ease of evaluation, the Detailed Statement of Qualifications section must be a point-by-point response, addressing in detail each area of the evaluation criteria as follows:

A. Vendor Qualifications and Relevant Company Experience B. Project Management Team (PMT) C. Project Approach / Management Plan

PART 4: SOQ EVALUATION

4.1 SOQ EVALUATION

All SOQs in response to this RFSQ will be evaluated in a manner consistent with the Utah Procurement Code, Administrative Rules, policies and the evaluation criteria in this RFSQ.

Vendors bear sole responsibility for the items included or not included within the SOQ submitted by the vendor. Each area of the evaluation criteria must be addressed in detail in the SOQ.

4.2 SOQ EVALUATION PROCESS

Step 1: Initial Review In the initial phase of the evaluation process, the conducting procurement unit will review all SOQs timely received. Non-responsive SOQs, those not conforming to RFSQ requirements or unable to meet the minimum and/or mandatory requirements, will be eliminated from further consideration.

Step 2: Statement of Qualifications Evaluation Responsive SOQs will be evaluated against the SOQ evaluation criteria noted in Attachment E. This attachment establishes any minimum score thresholds for this RFSQ. PLEASE NOTE: If site tours and/or interviews are conducted, additional SOQ evaluation worksheets will be used, and copies provided to all firms being evaluated via an email addendum.

4.3 FEE NEGOTIATIONS

After the SOQ evaluation is complete, the evaluation committee will rank the three highest scoring vendors in order of their scores pursuant to UCA §63G-6a-1503.5, and the SLCSD will enter into negotiations with the highest scoring vendor pursuant to UCA §63G-6a-Part 15. If a fair and reasonable contract cannot be negotiated with that vendor, the SLCSD will enter into negotiations with the next highest scoring vendor, and so forth until a fair and reasonable contract can be established.