City of Griffin AMI RFP With Pilot.docx

CITY OF GRIFFIN, GEORGIA

INVITATION TO BID

BID #25-010

FOR

Advanced Metering Infrastructure Solution

For all questions about this Bid contact:

April Meeks afmeeks@cityofgriffin.com

Deadline:

April 25, 2025 by 2:00 P.M.

25-010 Advanced Metering Infrastructure Solution

SECTION I – BID INFORMATION

Information in this section is bid-specific. Any conflicting information stipulated in this section shall supersede the General Terms & Conditions noted in Sections III - IX.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The City of Griffin (“the City”) operates under a City Manager/Board of Commissioners form of government. Policy making and legislative authority are vested in the governing council, which consists of seven Commissioners. The City Manager is responsible for carrying out the day-to-day operations of government.

Growing together is the path that we light the way here at the City of Griffin. Proudly serving the community since 1895, the City of Griffin Electric Department provides its residents with power and services 24/7, 365 days a year. These services extend through 334 miles of primary cables via 8 substations thus delivering power to over 16,600 meters. As a public power provider, City of Griffin Electric Department revenues offset property taxes and help fund various City services. As for the Electric Department, we offer diverse services in the area of street and security lighting, Line Construction, Engineering Staff, and 24/7 dispatch. With an operational staff of 33, City of Griffin Electric Department continues to provide proven leadership, professionalism and teamwork as a shining example of what a public power provider should aspire to be.

The City is soliciting proposals from qualified vendors experienced in the design, supply, installation, implementation and support of an Advanced Metering Infrastructure Solution (AMI) for our electric utility, with planned future capability for our water utility (five or more years from now for water implementation). This solution must incorporate the following: real-time usage monitoring, improved safety, energy theft prevention, responsive customer support, reporting, and data flow integration with existing City systems.

1.2. SCHEDULE & SUMMARY

This Invitation To Bid will be governed by the following schedule and criteria:

1.1.

PROJECT SCOPE

The City currently has an Itron cloud-hosted electric AMI solution, with Itron electric meters. We are requesting the submission of proposals from qualified vendors to provide an on-premise AMI solution, along with electric meter installation services, as a replacement. As currently envisioned, the proposed solution should include the following:

· Provide real-time data collection in support of enhanced customer service

· Support full two-way communication between the City and the customer meter

· Enable service to be disconnected and re-connected at the customer premise, remotely where applicable

· Support cost-effective delivery of electric services

· Take advantage of new customer fiber service to improve electric services at customer premises

· Integration with the City’s existing CIS/billing, GIS, Outage Management and Customer Portal Systems

· AMI system testing

· AMI solution training

· Maintenance and support

PACKAGING/SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

The following information and/or documents MUST be included with the supplier’s response and in the order listed below:

a. ___ Information/Cover Page (supplied)

b. ___ Bid Response Disclosures & Acknowledgement sheet (supplied). Note: Non-Collusion and Conflict of Interest Disclosures section must be notarized

c. ___ Griffin GIS Data Confidentiality Agreement

d. ___ Pricing Sheet (supplied)

e. ___ References Sheet (supplied)

f. ___ Tax Compliance form (supplied)

g. ___ Company Registration paperwork – to be done online*

h. ___ Supplier Affidavit – an additional copy (showing as notarized) of the Supplier (EV) affidavit must be included with response

A checklist for your convenience has been provided at the end of this document. This checklist is for your convenience only and should not be returned with the submittal.

* If a complete and compliant registration has been submitted online (both required documents are uploaded), you may include a statement that you have a completed registration on file. Instructions for registration may be found on the Supplier Registration page in this document.

1.5. SPECIAL PROVISIONS

DAVIS-BACON ACT: Revisions have been made to the Davis-Bacon Wage Rates: US Department of Labor General Decision – (Executive Order 14026).

On November 22, 2021, the Department announced publication of the final rule, “Increasing the Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors.” The Department has finalized regulations to implement Executive Order 14026, “Increasing the Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors,” which was signed by President Joseph R. Biden Jr. on April 27, 2021. Executive Order 14026 states that the Federal Government’s procurement interests in economy and efficiency are promoted when the Federal Government contracts with sources that adequately compensate their workers. The Executive Order raises the minimum wage paid by those contractors to workers performing work on or in connection with covered federal contracts to $15.00 per hour, beginning January 30, 2022; and beginning January 1, 2023, and annually thereafter, an amount determined by the Secretary of Labor (Secretary). This final rule establishes standards and procedures for implementing and enforcing the minimum wage protections of Executive Order 14026, and is effective on January 30, 2022. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/government-contracts/eo14026.

1. SIGNED CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT

A signed Confidentiality Agreement is required from all vendors in order to receive a copy of the City’s GIS data. See Attachment A at the end of this document. The signed and dated Agreement must be received by the City on or before Tuesday April 1, 2025. Within (3) business days of receiving the executed Agreement, the City will provide GIS data and will send an invitation to the Mandatory Pre-Bid Meeting.

1. EVALUATION CRITERIA

The basis of selection will be the lowest responsive and responsible bid considering ability to meet the City’s specifications and requirements in addition to price. Other considerations will include, but are not limited to:

· Ability to provide requested products and services

· Quality of workmanship and products used

· Timeliness of project completion or delivery

· Additional costs to the City

· References

· Guarantees and warranties

· Value added services and/or options

1. FUNCTIONAL DEMONSTRATION

Vendor will provide a functional demonstration of HES required functionality listed in section 10 to City of Griffin stakeholders(see Appendix A at the end of this document). This is part of the bid process. The schedule for the functional demonstration will be discussed at the Mandatory Pre-Bid Meeting.

The City reserves the right to accept the BEST-EVALUATED RESPONSE as deemed by the Evaluation Committee, which may or may not be the lowest monetary response.

25-010 Advanced Metering Infrastructure Solution

SECTION II – SOLUTION REQUIREMENTS

This section provides the requirements that the City foresees in an AMI. These requirements are not intended to be all inclusive and respondents are encouraged to describe additional AMI solution capabilities where appropriate.

2.1 AMI Network

The City’s current backhaul utilizes cellular communications to gather meter data. We have an existing fiber optic network. Our Telecommunications and IT teams maintain this existing fiber optic network. Where possible, the City strongly prefers using our fiber network as a backhaul. A propagation study with our current fiber network is needed, so the vendor can propose locations of Collectors, connecting to this backhaul network and facilitate communications to the AMI Head End System (HES).

This section describes the functional and technical requirements for the interoperation of the AMI Network, Collectors, HES and related network equipment. The vendor should provide the following:

· AMI Network shall include two-way transport of data and commands between AMI endpoints and their respective Collectors, which transfer the messages to and from the HES via the backhaul network.

· AMI Solution shall provide a method of redundancy for meter readings (for example, if a Collector is not able to receive readings, other Collectors seamlessly provide redundancy).

· All elements of the proposed AMI Network shall support industry standard best practices for protection of data confidentiality, integrity and operational security.

· To avoid inconvenience to our customers, Collectors should be installed and replaced without disruption to service.

· The AMI Network should be scalable, to add new network devices, reroute when necessary, etc., without manual intervention.

· The AMI Network should have the option of a backup power supply for Collectors with a minimum of 8 hours of backup time.

· Describe the proposed AMI Network and backhaul connectivity that will serve 100% of AMI endpoints.

· Provide a network design showing the number and approximate location of Collectors and related network equipment on a map of the City’s service territory. Use the GIS data provided in the files listed in Section 2.5.

· Provide the percentage of total usable AMI network communication capacity expected to be used in the proposed AMI solution, under baseline operating conditions.

· Describe how AMI radio transmitters will be read by more than one Collector, thereby providing Collector redundancy.

· Describe how data is transferred between Collectors over the network, focusing on security and data encryption protocols.

· Is Radio Frequency (RF) Spectrum license required? Provide detailed information, including license fees, number of channels, etc.

· Redundancy protocols shall be clearly identified by the vendor for assurance of network and system reliability.

· Provide the specification sheet for the Collector and associated equipment. Specifications must include how the Collectors will be powered and if there are any battery requirements or remote antennas needed. If multiple Collectors or external antenna versions are prescribed, then specification sheets will be included for each model variant.

For the purpose of sizing and configuring the network, a propagation study must be done, with the following baseline should be used:

· 100% network coverage

· 99% daily read rate for register and interval data

· On-demand reading requests shall have an average response time of 30 seconds or less at least 90% of the time. Upon failure, the system will support up to 3 retries.

2.2 AMI Trial Project

The City is requesting a new AMI solution in two phases. The first phase will be a trial, deploying the AMI solution in a small area, to demonstrate AMI functionality. This trial phase will involve a mix of residential, commercial, and industrial electric meters, as outlined in the parameters list below. These meters are already in place within the City’s infrastructure. An option for testing a small number of water meters should be included in the trial, to test capabilities for a future water implementation, as also mentioned in section 1.1. The vendor should provide the following for the scope of the trial project:

· The Trial should include meters at residential and C & I locations.

· Optional: Water meter quantities: a small number of water meters, to be discussed at the trial

· All related equipment for the meters and communications for the trial (Collectors, water meter antennas, etc.)

· All required HES and all other related AMI software

· All software integrations (the City will assist with bringing together 3rd party vendors)

· Service agreement for the trial

· All associated professional services and training

· Defined acceptance criteria and test plan

The vendor should propose acceptance criteria and a test plan that the City may use, in conjunction with its own expertise, to judge the trial as a success, before going on to a full deployment in the second phase. The City will notify the awarded vendor of an area in which to conduct the trial. The City’s IT and Telecommunications teams will provide access to and maintenance for a backhaul network, which proceeds from the Collectors to the HES. This trial will include a period for implementation and thereafter run for an estimated 60 days. Further details will be discussed at the time of the trial.

2.3 Meter Installation Services

The City currently uses Itron electric meters. Electric meter installation services, with installation costs and project management, should be included in the proposal as an option.

Table 2.3.1 Electric Meter Classifications

TOTAL

16625

Regarding meter installation services, the vendor shall provide the following:

· The vendor must be authorized to work in the State of Georgia and has experience working with municipalities.

· The vendor shall manage the meter installations for all the service locations the City has identified for replacement.

· The City will make initial contact with customers. Then, the vendor should try to contact each individual customer on-site before meter changeouts.

· The vendor must provide a dedicated Project Manager to manage all installation operations from Planning Phase until the last meter is installed and commissioned.

· Meter installation services must be priced per unit based on meter descriptions and locations.

· Meters must be commissioned within 3 business days of being installed.

· Describe the installer staffing process for the project. Identify all training and certifications required for installers. Contact the City for handling of any hazardous situations, tampering and sites where an electrician is required.

· Comply with all Safety and training rules for the State of Georgia.

· Safety equipment is provided by the vendor.

· The vendor must provide their own work management software for managing the daily installations. This system should be accessible by City staff to check status in real-time.

· The vendor must provide reports showing how many meters were installed per day, providing details on successful installs, failures, and re-tries. Reports must track customer or meter issues and failed installations.

· The vendor must collect photographs before and after the installation of each service and provide collected data to the City.

· The vendor must do their best to not disrupt the installation area and leave the scene as it was before.

· The installation vendor must make at least 3 attempts to install the meter before creating a failure status.

· The installation vendor must provide pricing details for all services offered including optional services for the City to review.

· The vendor shall supply standard operating procedures for the City to review and approve.

· Staging meters throughout the service territory in a secured location will be the responsibility of the installation contractor.

Provide detailed responses to the following:

· Describe the meter installation plan for the City. Provide sample installation documentation. The plan should include the use of City personnel to perform or support the installations.

· Does the vendor installer provide your own storage facilities, or would the City have to store meters?

· Describe your capacity to support meter inventory management.

· Provide cost per meter to deploy.

2.4 Integrations

The City requires AMI to integrate with our existing Customer Information System (CIS), Outage Management System (OMS), Mapping and Staking (GIS) and Customer Portal (Silverblaze). The following describes needed integrations, for the vendor to provide:

· AMI software should support webservice calls or MultiSpeak methods for integration.

· OMS Integration: our current OMS system requires Multispeak protocol for integration. AMI software shall integrate with Data Voice OMS to report outages, and restoration in real-time.

· GIS Integration: AMI is required to integrate with GIS using ESRI ArcGIS formats and products.

· CIS Integration: System shall integrate with the City’s utility billing software (CIS).

· Customer Portal Integration: AMI needs to provide usage/consumption tracking data to the Silverblaze Customer Portal system.

Table 2.4.1 The City’s Information Systems For Integration

2.5 GIS Data

Vendors are required to provide a network design (topology, architecture, technology used, third party or contracted connectivity) for the City’s service area.

Data files of the best available location data will be provided for poles, transformers and meters of each member in the City’s service area. The City will provide GIS data files, once the vendor signs the GIS Data Acceptable Use and Confidentiality Agreement (see Attachment A at the end of this document).

2.6 Electric Meter Endpoints

This section defines the functional and technical requirements for new solid-state electric AMI revenue meters (AMI Meters) that shall be provided and deployed as part of this AMI project. Provide responses to the following, based on whether the vendor will comply with the requirement, or an alternative is proposed, with an explanation:

· AMI Meters shall be new and solid state, supporting service disconnect switches, tamper detection, temperature, LSV detection, load profile, power quality.

· Functional features of meters shall be fully accessible and programmable by the City’s utility staff locally and remotely. Initial programming shall be performed to utility specifications at the factory.

· Meters shall be warrantied. Warranty terms shall be specified.

· Vendor shall support replaceable components and parts throughout the life of the system.

· Meter types should include 1S, 2S(CL200), 2S(CL320), 3S, 4S, 9S, 12S, 16S, 16S(CL320); also see Table 2.3.1.

· Meters shall be tested and certified for accuracy and proper operation from manufacturer prior to deployment.

· Meters shall be capable of recording and storing load profile data in customizable interval lengths which include Voltage, Kw, Kw Peak, Kwh Delivered, Kwh Received, Amps, Power Factor.

· Meter nameplate data shall include utility name, unique meter serial number, manufacturer name, manufacture date, barcode information to include meter serial number. Each meter type shall have a unique colored data label for identification.

· Meters that include service disconnect switches shall have a status indicator that is clearly visible.

· Meters should include customizable channels for display to be observed by utility personnel.

· Meters shall not require any special equipment for shop or field testing. Routine testing shall be conducted using commercially available equipment.

· Allow for integration of water meters, at a future time to be determined.

2.7 AMI Head End System

The City’s IT team shall provide a server on our premises to house the vendor’s proposed AMI Head End System (HES). This section defines the functional and technical requirements for the HES that shall be provided and deployed as part of this AMI project. Provide responses to the following, based on whether the vendor will comply with the requirement, or an alternative is proposed, with an explanation:

· AMI HES server shall be hosted and maintained by the City.

· Single Sign On (SSO) using OpenID Connect (OIDC) is required for the City’s users.

· The HES shall be established, well-proven, commercially available based on widely adopted technology standards.

· The HES shall manage all meter interrogations and communications for the AMI Network.

· Authorized City personnel shall be able to remotely access and modify all configurable AMI meter parameters.

· The HES shall perform the following: manage the schedule to collect the reads from the meters; report unread meters in scheduled routes/cycles; keep track of meters that haven’t reported reads and perform automated retries to obtain reads; reschedule unread scheduled readings for the following day (to provide a reading file for the billing system).

· The HES shall not fail to retrieve billing data from any single meter for more than 15 consecutive days in the absence of a permanent AMI communication failure.

· The vendor shall propose a data archival solution for the City’s meter data, with length of time included.

· The HES shall have disaster recovery services.

· Backup services of all software, data and configurations shall be performed at least daily.

· All user activities, configurations and updates must be logged and tracked.

· Policies, safeguards, and monitoring shall be in place to prevent unacceptable interference (performance, high workload) problems among users.

· The AMI system shall support batch disconnects for non-pay accounts.

· The AMI System should support a customer pre-payment function, as a future possibility.

· The AMI System shall support the measurement of load from electro-technologies such as electric vehicles.

· Lead times for unforeseen issues and load additions to distribution system shall be prioritized in a manner to meet City of Griffin demand.

· The City utility personnel shall have complete access to all software functions and features remotely and locally, regardless of location.

· HES shall provide on demand/scheduled alarms and reports which can include but not limited to LSV, temperature, loss of voltage, missed reads, usage thresholds, etc.

· HES shall provide real-time monitoring dashboards for City utility administrators.

· AMI firmware in the AMI Meters, network devices, and customer premise devices, shall be remotely accessible for review, modification, and possible need for replacement.

· AMI Meters will send outage and restoration notifications to the HES as they occur.

Provide detailed responses to the following:

· Provide an overview of the features and functionality of the HES.

· Provide screenshots of the HES dashboard and key screens or reports available.

· Provide a list or screenshots of all outage management reports.

· Provide details of daily procedures to manage meters, Collectors, and network.

· Provide details of procedures when there is failure of meters, Collectors, and network.

· Describe any test system needed.

· Describe the data protection and operational security provisions in the HES.

· Describe how the move-in / move-out and remote connect / disconnect processes will be handled using remote communications with the meter.

· Describe all the key reports available in the HES required to manage the network and the meters.

· Describe how personnel will perform firmware upgrades (patches) using either the HES or remote meter management software with the AMI Network. Clearly describe the AMI Meter’s ability to sense, reverse, and report unauthorized or unsuccessful firmware replacements.

2.8 System Operations and Support

The City expects the vendor to provide project management implementation services, ongoing support for system operations, training, and quality assurance. Provide responses to the following, based on whether the vendor will comply with the requirement, or an alternative is proposed, with an explanation:

· The vendor shall assign a single project manager for implementation.

· The vendor shall provide weekly and monthly reports during the project delivery phase.

· The vendor shall perform all software product installations on the City’s on-premise computer environment.

· The vendor shall monitor the system daily and alert the City to any issues with any aspect of the AMI solution.

· Support services shall be provided between 7am and 6pm ET.

· Explain the support procedures when there is failure of meters, Collectors, network and/or software.

· Provide a description of the intended support system for the solution (location of support personnel, hours of support, team organizational structure, escalation path and process, support tools used [phone, tickets, etc.]).

· Describe the guaranteed time to respond to and resolve issues for each support issue priority level.

· The vendor shall test and inspect all components of the AMI solution prior to delivery and installation.

· Unacceptable shipments shall be marked, segregated, and reported.

· The vendor shall install or load all shipment files into the HES as applicable.

· Provide details (workflow or description) on the company’s quality assurance plan or process for the solution, including details on how your company responds to service/support related problems, and software quality problems.

· Describe the quality management structure for inspecting and sampling the AMI Meters (and all other components) being proposed. Outline how quality will be achieved, controlled, assured, demonstrated, and managed.

· Describe the information or documentation that the vendor provides and includes with the delivered AMI solution.

· Outline how the vendor controls non-conforming products and deals with nonconforming meters and shipments.

· Explain the Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) process for equipment. Include the typical time span for resolving issues and returning the equipment back to the City. Have there been any times when the RMA backlog has been abandoned by the meter vendor? If so, what steps does the City need to take to replace RMA equipment? What is the recourse for the City should the vendor lose equipment sent back for RMA?

· Describe the proposed methodology and plan for system acceptance testing.

· The vendor shall provide training for all associated City personnel, as well as any training material.

· The vendor shall provide onsite training for the initial deployment phase. Once the AMI solution is fully implemented, other learning methods may be used, depending on the subject.

· The vendor shall provide training materials customized to the City’s AMI solution.

· The vendor shall provide ongoing training services throughout the life of the solution.

· The vendor shall provide a solution or fix for critical issues within 24 hours.

· The vendor shall consult with and request approval from the City to perform any fix, upgrade or new release.

· Describe the vendor support and responsibilities for delivering and installing new releases, upgrades, bug fixes and rollbacks.

REQUESTS FOR PROPOSAL, INVITATIONS TO BID

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sections III - IX review the general terms and conditions. Any bid-specific information noted in Section I or in the Specifications & Response Section will take precedence.

1. SECTION III – GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

All available information, notices and addenda regarding this RFP shall be posted on the City’s website. Effective July 1, 2018, House Bill 489 requires that any solicitation extended by a municipal corporation for goods and services valued at $10,000 or more and any solicitation opportunity extended for public works subject to Chapter 91 of Title 36 of the O.C.G.A. also be posted on the Georgia Procurement Registry (GPR).

It is the Supplier’s responsibility to check the City’s website in order to confirm they have the most current information prior to submitting a response. Subsequent to the opening, all status notices will also be posted on the City’s website.

RESTRICTIONS ON COMMUNICATIONS WITH STAFF

All questions about this bid must be submitted in the following format:

Company Name

- Question Citation of relevant section of the bid

All questions must be in writing to the Procurement Coordinator for this bid. The contact email and deadline for questions is noted in section 1.2.

Direct all questions to the following email address:

Email: afmeeks@cityofgriffin.com No questions other than written will be accepted. No response other than written will be binding upon the City. Questions will be combined into one list of questions and responses and will be posted as an addendum.

From the issue date of this request until an award has either been made or deemed closed for other reasons, institutions or individuals providing submissions are not permitted to communicate with members of the commission, the evaluation team or City employees, other than Procurement, with regard to the purpose or intent of this document. The City reserves the right to reject the submission of the offending supplier if this provision is violated.

Any updates or changes to this and related documents will be posted on the City’s website (https://vrapp.vendorregistry.com/Bids/View/BidsList?BuyerId=52b8c206-866a-4ed2-b7b8-bef7db8a901b) or by selecting “Resources” and then “Bid Opportunities” from the City home page. It is the Supplier’s responsibility to refer to the website for any addenda or other pertinent information before responding to this ITB request.

PUBLIC DISCLOSURE AND PROPRIETARY INFORMATION

All bids and any other public record with respect to solicitation shall be subject to public inspection, upon request, after the posting of the Notice of Intent to Award (NOIA) or Notice of Award (NOA). This is being done in order to protect the integrity of the procurement process unless otherwise required by law. For any Open Records requests, the City may assess fees for the costs of producing these public records as permitted by the Georgia Open Records Act.

Exceptions to the availability of information include 1) bona fide trade secrets meeting confidentiality requirements that have been properly marked and documented; 2) matters involving individual safety as determined by the City; 3) company financial information requested by the City to determine supplier responsibility; and 4) other constitutional protections. All documents that are to be proprietary and confidential are to be clearly marked as such.

Information received in response to this bid request will become the property of the City and will not be returned. If a Proposer feels that any information is confidential or proprietary in nature, the Proposer must prominently mark and initial such information as “PROPRIETARY INFORMATION”. The City will not release or divulge such information to third parties without the consent of the Proposer unless required to do so by applicable law or order a court of competent jurisdiction.

4. SECTION IV – OVERVIEW AND PROCEDURES

Sections III - IX review the general terms and conditions. Any bid-specific information noted in Section I or in the Specifications & Response Section will take precedence.

4.1 COMPANY BACKGROUND & EXPERIENCE

Suppliers should provide a list of clients for whom similar services, as detailed in this bid, have been provided during the past 3-4 years. References must be for the organization or person submitting the bid. Subcontractor’s references are not acceptable.

The list must include:

Dates of service Name of contact person Title of contact person Phone number of contact person The Supplier will also disclose any services terminated by the client(s) and the reason(s) for termination.

Failure to provide this information will disqualify the bid submission.

4.2 REFERENCES

References should be for historical projects of similar size and scope. Details regarding these references are noted on the Reference page.

3.1.

3.2.

4.3 BID REQUIREMENTS

4.3.1 SPECIAL CONDITIONS

By submitting a bid response, Suppliers certify that their proposals are made without collusion or fraud and they have not offered or received any inducements in connection with their proposals. They further agree that this solicitation and any resulting contract shall be governed in all respects by the laws of the State of Georgia and they shall comply with applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations. Any contracts or leases resulting from the award of a Bid are to be for a period of not more than one year, with four renewal options for a total period not to exceed five years. Any exceptions to this policy must be noted and agreed to by both parties in writing, prior to the issuance of the Notice of Award. Pricing must remain firm for the duration of the initial term of the resulting contract; failure to hold firm pricing for the initial contract will be considered as sufficient cause for termination. Proposal submissions must remain valid for a minimum period of ninety (90) days after the submission due date unless otherwise stipulated.

The City reserves the right to reduce or increase the scope of the project if the lowest responsible and responsive supplier’s submittal is not in line with the budgeted amount for the project. The City, at its sole discretion, reserves the right to increase or decrease the scope of work to facilitate an award. This scope reduction will be enacted only if it is in the best interest of the City and constitutes no guarantee of scope.

The City also reserves the right to add to the contract any future work or purchased goods, with the agreement of the supplier, at prices offered in this bid document. This option will be enacted during the contract or within six months subsequent to the end of the contract, if in the best interest of the City and with the agreement of both parties.

0.

4.3.2 RESPONSES

In responding to a bid, ALL item numbers with appropriate formatting must show some type of acknowledgment in order for the response to be properly evaluated. Failure to respond to all specification criteria items may be deemed as sufficient reason to reject a submission. If formatting is not provided for a response at the item level, any non-compliance must be clearly marked, detailed and included with the bid response. Any items not identified shall be deemed as in compliance. Suppliers must: 1) complete any/all required forms; 2) indicate agreement or disagreement on each mandatory requirement and, if requested, provide additional information on how the specifications will be exceeded or not met; and 3) provide complete and detailed responses to any and all non-mandatory requirement that can be fulfilled.

If determined to be in the City’s best interests, a Best and Final Offer (BAFO) may be requested. A BAFO may be requested when:

· The prices for all responsive and responsible submittals exceed budget;

· No single responsive and responsible submittal meets all requirements;

· When all responses are unclear or deficient in one of more areas;

· When the grading scores of two or more submittals require additional evaluation;

· At the discretion of the evaluation team to clarify submittals or to negotiate costs or other deliverables.

4.3.3 PACKAGING OF BID

Submissions must be by EMAIL ONLY to afmeeks@cityofgriffin.com .

The email needs to have only the highlighted information below in the body of the email and the BID Response Documents shall be an attachment to the email. The attachment shall not be opened until the BID opening time as stated in Section 1.2.

(Supplier Name) BID # (Bid Number) (Bid Title)

Supplier response to this bid must consist of the following documents in addition to any bid-specific information requested:

· Pricing

· Schedule of proposed work (when applicable),

· Completion Schedule (when applicable),

· Supplier Registration is to be completed online, with the following forms needing to be uploaded

· Supplier Affidavit (E-Verify) (available online),

· W-9 (available online),

· Some responses may require an additional notarized Supplier affidavit. (See section 1.4),

· The City cannot award to a supplier that is not registered and compliant,

· Tax Compliance form (required if over $99,000) (supplied if required),

· Reference list of a minimum of three (3) references (supplied).

4.3.4 SUBMISSION OF BID

The original and specified copies of the bid response must be delivered to the Procurement Department no later than the time and date specified in Section I. Any bid received after stated time or delivered to department other than Procurement will not be accepted. The City of Griffin will not be responsible for any responses not received by the Procurement Department prior to the deadline.

Bids must be submitted to:

City of Griffin Attention: April Meeks – Procurement Coordinator

AFMEEKS@CITYOFGRIFFIN.COM

4.3.5 ALTERNATE BID DOCUMENTS

Documents prepared by the City must be used for the submission of Bid Response. Alternate bids or bids that deviate from the requirements of this solicitation may not be considered. Suppliers shall not insert in their submission any written statement which will have the effect of making any material change or changes in the Scope of Services or in any contract between the parties covering the subject matter thereof.

4.3.6 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION/ADDENDA

The City will issue responses to inquiries and any other corrections or amendments it deems necessary in written addenda issued prior to the bid opening date. Suppliers should not rely on any representations, statements, or explanations other than those made in this Invitation to Bid and its’ addendums. Where there appears to be a conflict between the Invitation To Bid and any addenda issued, the last addendum issued will prevail. It is the Supplier’s responsibility to check for addendums (under Bid Opportunities) on the City’s website.

Suppliers must acknowledge any issued addenda. Bids which fail to acknowledge the supplier’s receipt of any addendum will result in the rejection of the bid if the addendum contains information which substantively changes the City’s requirements.

4.3.7 PROPOSAL PRICING, ERRORS AND OMISSIONS

4.3.7.1 In the event there is a discrepancy between a unit price submitted and the extended price, the unit price will prevail.

4.3.7.2 All corrections, changes or erasures to the proposal submission are to be initialed in ink.

4.3.8 WITHDRAWAL OF BID

A supplier may withdraw its bid before the submittal deadline without prejudice to the supplier by submitting a written request of withdrawal to the Procurement Coordinator.

4.3.9 LATE SUBMITTAL, LATE MODIFICATIONS & LATE WITHDRAWALS

Bid submittals received after the bid opening date and time will not be accepted. Modifications received after the bid opening date will not be considered. The City assumes no responsibility for the premature opening of a bid not properly addressed and identified or not delivered to the proper designation.

4.3.10 MINIMUM BID ACCEPTANCE PERIOD

Bids shall be valid and may not be withdrawn for a minimum period of 90 days from the date specified for receipt of bids. Suppliers will be asked for an ‘expiration date’ for the bid submitted, when appropriate. This does not impact the contract price once a bid has been awarded.

4.3.11 DISQUALIFICATION OF BIDS OR SUPPLIERS

Suppliers may be disqualified from participation in the bid process for reasons which include, but are not limited to the following:

4.3.11.1 Evidence of collusion;

4.3.11.2 Attempting to manipulate the submittal pricing for its’ own benefit (i.e. pricing resulting in a failure of the City’s ability to enforce the Contract or impose the remedies intended following breach by Supplier);

4.3.11.3 Being in arrears on any of its existing contracts with the City or in litigation with the City or having defaulted on a previous contract with the City;

4.3.11.4 Being in arrears on taxes owed to the State of Georgia;

4.3.11.5 Poor, defective or otherwise unsatisfactory performance of work for the City or any other party on prior projects which, in the City's judgment and sole discretion, raises other party on prior projects which, in the City's judgment and sole discretion, raises party on prior projects which, in the City's judgment and sole discretion, raises doubts as to Supplier's ability to properly perform the work;

4.3.11.6 Any offering of gifts, unauthorized compensation or other unethical actions to City employees with respect to interest in any business activity; or

4.3.11.7 Any other cause which, in the City's judgment and sole discretion, is sufficient to justify disqualification of the supplier or the rejection of their submittal;

4.3.12 REJECTION/CANCELATION/AWARD OF BIDS

The City reserves the right to:

a) reject any and all submittals received outside the time/place stated in the notice;

b) reject any submittals which show omissions, irregularities, alteration of forms or unsolicited responses;

c) waive any minor technicalities of form, or formalities of the responses without prejudice to other responses;

d) reject any or all bids or any part thereof;

e) obtain clarification on any point in a respondent submittal or obtain additional information;

f) accept the bid that is in the best interest of the City, regardless of whether or not it is the lowest bid;

g) award the bids received on the basis of individual items or on the entire list of items.

The City also reserves the right to cancel this bid at any time and will not be liable for any cost/losses incurred by the Supplier throughout this process.

Where applicable, the City reserves the right to make multiple awards or to award a contract by individual line items or alternatives, by group of line items or alternatives, or to make an aggregate award, whichever is deemed most advantageous to the City. If the City determines that an aggregate award to one supplier is not in the City’s best interest, "all or none" offers will be rejected.

4.3.13 COST INCURRED BY SUPPLIERS

All expenses involved with the preparation and submission of the bid to the City, or any work performed in connection therewith, is the responsibility of the supplier(s).

4.3.14 BID OPENING

All bids will be opened on the pre-determined bid opening date. The bid details and related documents will not be publicly announced or reviewed at the bid opening; they will be turned over to an evaluation committee. No awards will be made or implied at this time. The Status field on the City’s website will be updated following any change in the Bid process. Refer to section 3.1 for details regarding this Status. Any bid-specific exceptions to the ‘non-public opening’ will be noted in the Schedule (section 1.2).

4.3.15 AWARD AND RESULTING CONTRACT

Award will be made to the lowest responsive and responsible Supplier whose submittal is compliant to the terms of this bid request. The quality of the articles to be supplied, their conformity with the specifications, their suitability to the requirements of the City, the delivery terms and other criteria, as well as price, will be taken into consideration in making the award.

Any resulting contract shall not be binding upon the City nor should any action be started until it has been executed by both parties and a copy of the fully executed contract has been delivered to the successful Supplier. Specifications noted in this bid request shall be incorporated into the resulting contract. The City reserves the option to prepare and negotiate its own contract, giving due consideration to the stipulations of the supplier’s proposed contract and associated legal documents.

4.3.16 PROTESTS

Protest may be filed by the affected party regarding any aspect of the solicitation, evaluation or award. All protests must be in writing, include the information listed below and directed to the Procurement Department. Protests regarding the specifications or how a solicitation was written must be filed at least seventy-two (72) hours prior to the deadline. Protests regarding the validity of the evaluation team or the evaluation process must be filed within seventy-two (72) hours of the notice to bidders. Protests regarding the recommended awardee must be filed within ten (10) days of the Notice.

4.3.16.1 FILING A PROTEST

Only suppliers intending to submit a response may protest a solicitation and only suppliers that respond to a solicitation may protest the evaluation /award. All Protests must be directed to the Procurement Department, be in writing and contain the following information in order to be valid:

4.3.16.2 The name (company), address, telephone number and email of the protestor

4.3.16.3 Signature and printed name of the protestor

4.3.16.4 Identification of the solicitation and the sections contested

4.3.16.5 A statement of reason for the protest including copies of relevant supporting documents

4.3.16.6 A description of the remedy requested.

4.3.16.7 A decision will be rendered by Procurement. Should the protest need to be escalated, it shall continue as needed through the following stages: City Attorney, Board of Commissioners, court system.

4.4 INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE OF EQUIPMENT (FOR PURCHASE)

Where applicable, all items bid and furnished that are to be purchased must be completely new, free from defects and operate as intended unless otherwise specified in writing. Discontinued, remanufactured or demonstrator items will not be accepted unless specifically requested. The manufacturer’s standard warranty shall be identified and copies of the warranties are to be presented upon request. In addition, all items supplied shall comply with all Federal and State regulations, applicable and effective on the date of acceptance. All items must meet or exceed all existing Federal, State and Local health, safety, lighting, emissions and noise standards.

The City reserves the right to inspect and test any equipment being offered in the bid prior to making any award. The City may also request a demonstration or site visit for evaluation purposes. The equipment delivered under this bid shall remain the property of the seller until a physical inspection of the equipment is made and accepted by the City. In the event that the equipment supplied to the City is found to be defective or does not conform to the City’s specifications, the City reserves the right to cancel the order upon written notice to the seller and to return the equipment to the seller at the seller’s expense.

4.5 STATEMENT OF EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS

The supplier may be required, upon request, to prove to the satisfaction of the City that he/she has the skill and experience and the necessary facilities and ample financial resources to perform the contract(s) in a satisfactory manner and within the required time. If the available evidence of competency of any supplier is not satisfactory, the response of such supplier may be rejected. The City reserves the right to request clarifications of any response or to conduct discussions for the purpose of clarification. Any clarifications made as a result of these discussions are to be provided in writing.

4.6 NON-COLLUSION AFFIDAVIT

By submitting the notarized signature in the response, the Supplier represents and warrants that such response is genuine and real and not made in the interest or on behalf of any person not therein named. It is further warranted that the Supplier has not directly or indirectly solicited any other Supplier to put in a sham submittal, or any potential Supplier to refrain from submitting and that the Supplier has not in any manner sought by collusion to secure any advantage over any other Supplier. By submitting a response, the Supplier represents and warrants that no official or employee of City has, in any manner, an interest directly or indirectly in the RFP or in the contract which may be made under it, or in any expected profits to arise therefrom. It is further warranted that the Supplier is independent of the City.

4.7 HOLD HARMLESS…