Final RFB for Feeder Animals .pdf

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Audubon Commission

Request for Bid

Feeder Animals

ISSUING OFFICE:

AUDUBON COMMISSION

Audubon Nature Institute

Denise LeBlanc, Assistant Director of Procurement and Risk Management

6500 Magazine Street

New Orleans, LA 70118

PH: 504-212-5454

Email: dleblanc@auduboninstitute.org mailto:dleblanc@auduboninstitute.org

Subject: NOTICE OF REQUEST FOR BID

AUDUBON NATURE INSTITUTE FACILITIES – FEEDER ANIMALS

Prospective Bidder’s:

Audubon Commission invites bids from qualified suppliers for the supply and delivery of feeder animals for Audubon facilities.

Bids must be submitted at or before Tuesday, August 26, 2025. Bids may be submitted electronically at https://www.bidnetdirect.com/louisiana/audubonnatureinstitute or in a sealed envelope marked “AUDUBON NATURE INSTITUTE – FEEDER ANIMALS”. Bidders shall supply one (1) original bid. It is the vendor’s responsibility to contact BidNet Direct well in advance of the bid opening date if the bid is submitted electronically to establish an account that will allow for secure bidding.

Bids not submitted electronically shall be delivered to:

Audubon Nature Institute

Procurement and Risk Management Department

Attn: Denise LeBlanc, Assistant Director of Procurement and Risk Management

6500 Magazine Street

New Orleans, LA 70118

Bids, and amendments to bids received after the day and time specified above will be rejected as non-responsive and returned to the bidder unopened. All questions regarding this bid invitation shall be addressed in writing or by means of email to dleblanc@auduboninstitute.org seventy-two hours prior to bid opening.

Sincerely, Denise LeBlanc

Assistant Director of Procurement and Risk Management https://www.bidnetdirect.com/louisiana/audubonnatureinstitute mailto:dleblanc@auduboninstitute.org

SCOPE OF WORK/SPECIFICATIONS

The Audubon Commission is soliciting bids for the provision of feeder animal items as specified for our Audubon facilities (see attached bid form). All prey items shall be euthanized humanely per the current AVMA guidelines https w https://www.avma.org to include acceptable methods for CO2 euthanasia of mice and rats, birds, etc. In addition, the awarded supplier shall be required to provide a detailed description of the acquisition, maintenance, euthanasia, and preservation processes. This documentation must be submitted as part of the bid package.

GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

The National Institute of Governmental Purchasing Dictionary of Purchasing Terms defines all terms used in this document. The Audubon Commission is a Political Subdivision of the State of

Louisiana subject to The Louisiana Public Bid Law, Title 38 Chapter 10. All applicable statues apply.

PAYMENT TERMS

Payment terms shall be net 20 days unless otherwise specified in this agreement. All invoices shall refer to a Purchase Order number and description of work. Audubon may elect to use an

Audubon credit card as payment. Credit cards are the preferred method of payment at the point of transaction. If the credit is not accepted, a purchase order will be issued for each transaction.

NON-APPROPRIATION AND PENALTY CLAUSE

This contract is subject to the availability of funds to purchase the specified services and can be terminated at any time if such funds become unavailable without penalty.

The continuation of this Agreement is contingent upon the appropriation of funds to fulfill the requirements of the Agreement by the legislature. If the legislature fails to appropriate enough monies to provide for the continuation of the Agreement, or if such appropriation is reduced by the veto of the Governor or by any means provided in the appropriations act to prevent the total appropriation for the year from exceeding revenues for that year, or for any other lawful purpose, and the effect of such reduction is to provide insufficient monies for the continuation of the

Agreement, the Agreement shall terminate on the date of the beginning of the first fiscal year for which funds are not appropriated.

TERMINATION FOR DEFAULTS

When the performer has not performed or has unsatisfactorily performed the contract, Audubon

Nature Institute may terminate the contract for default. Upon termination default, payment may be withheld at the discretion of the Audubon Nature Institute. Failure on the part of a proposer to fulfill the contractual obligations shall be considered just cause for termination of the contract.

The proposer will be paid for work satisfactorily performed prior to termination less any excess cost incurred by the Audubon Nature Institute in re-procuring the completing the work.

TERMINATION FOR CONVENIENCE

Audubon Commission reserves the right to terminate any resulting order or contract upon thirty days of written notice.

https://www.avma.org/

SUBCONTRACTING

The contract or any portion thereof shall not be subcontracted without the prior written approval of the Procurement and Risk Management Director. No such approval will be construed as making the Audubon Commission a party of or to such sub-contract, or subjecting

Audubon Commission to liability of any kind to any sub-contractor. No sub-contract shall, under any circumstances, relieve the contractor of his liability and obligation under this contract;

and despite any such subletting Audubon Commission shall deal with the contractor. Sub-contractors will be dealt with as workmen and representatives of the contractor.

INDEMNIFY AND HOLD HARMLESS

Vendor further agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Audubon Commission against;

(1) any and all losses, claims, damages, law suits and liabilities for any personal injury, death, or property damage arising out of, or as a consequence of, any work performed pursuant to the contract; (2) any and all expenses related to claims or lawsuits resulting from the above, including court cost and attorney(s) fees; and (3) any and all penalties and damages incurred by reason of contractor’s failure to obtain any required permit or license, or comply with any applicable laws, ordinances, or regulations. Contractor shall hold Audubon Commission harmless from any claimants supplying labor or materials to the contractor or sub-contractor in the performance of the work required under this contract. Audubon Commission reserves the right to request the contractor to provide written certification that all liens against materials and labor have been satisfied, before Audubon Commission will make payment.

TAX EXEMPTION

Audubon Commission is Sales Tax Exempt. The Contractor shall be sales tax exempt when making purchases on behalf of the owner for this project. Documentation will be provided to the contractor for this purpose. Sales tax shall not be included when submitting bid cost. Audubon

Commission & Audubon Nature Institute are exempt from paying Louisiana sales tax and will furnish an exemption certificate upon request.

INTEGRATION

These bid documents, the bidder’s response to this solicitation, and subsequent purchase order to the successful bidder contain the entire understanding between the parties and any additions or modification hereto may only be made in writing executed by both parties.

CHANGE ORDERS

All change orders shall be in writing. Any change order outside the scope of the contract limit shall be let out for public bid. Change Orders within the scope of the contract will be negotiated in the best interest of Audubon Commission.

LIABILITY

The contractor shall be liable to the Audubon Commission for any physical damage to Audubon

Commission property or for the death of, or personal injury to, Audubon Commission personnel arising out of Contractor’s occupancy, maintenance, repair, replacement, installation and/or any other work performed pursuant to the contract. The contractor agrees to indemnify, defend and hold the Audubon Commission harmless from any claim or loss arising from such damage or injury.

PATENTS

Seller agrees to defend buyer at seller’s own expense, in all suits, actions, or proceedings in which buyer is made a defendant for actual or alleged infringement of any United States of

America or foreign letters patent resulting from buyer’s use of goods purchased because of this solicitation. The seller further agrees to pay and discharge all judgments or decrees, which may be rendered in any such suit, action or proceedings against buyer.

The seller agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the buyer from any and all license, royalty and proprietary fees or cost, including legal costs, which may arise out of buyer’s purchase and use of goods supplied by the seller.

SUPPLIER PARTICIPATION

Audubon Nature Institute continues to acknowledge the desirability of participation by business enterprises owned by members of racial and ethnic minorities, those individuals or businesses defined as economically disadvantaged, women-owned, veteran-owned, LGBT-owned, or small business registered in the State of Louisiana under the Hudson Initiative in all Audubon projects, whether they involve construction, professional services or commodities. Such participation assists Audubon Nature Institute in its efforts to provide real economic opportunity to those in the community who in the past and now, have not had access to the capital required or to resources needed to acquire or develop ownership interests in the enterprises, firms, or corporations contracting for such projects. In support of Audubon Nature Institute’s Supplier

Diversity Policy, the requirements of any contract more than Ten Thousand Dollars shall include a commitment to make good faith efforts to comply with the intention of the Plan which is to award contracts to diverse owned business historically underutilized. Contractors are encouraged to when practical to subcontract with diverse companies. Contractors shall provide the name and address of any diverse company who will be involved in the Contract, along with the description of work to be performed.

QUALIFICATIONS

All bidders must be primarily engaged in the business of manufacturing or supplying animal feeders and must have been actively involved in this field for a minimum of two (2) years. No contract shall be awarded except to responsible bidders who demonstrate the capability to supply the specified product.

Any property or work provided by the bidder under this contract shall remain at the bidder’s risk until written acceptance is issued by the Audubon Commission. The bidder shall be responsible for replacing, at their own expense, any property or work that is damaged or destroyed by any cause prior to acceptance.

DURATION

Audubon Commission, if it chooses to award this bid, will establish a contract for three years with the successful contractor. The contract, upon mutual agreement of both parties, may be extended for two additional one-year periods. Only one year may be extended at a time. The maximum number of years the contract can be effective is (5) years.

The Contract shall cover the period of September 1, 2025, through August 31, 2026, or an equivalent period depending upon the date of contract award.

Notice of intent to renew will be given to the Contractor in writing by the Audubon Commission;

normally 90 days before the expiration date the current contract. This notice will not be deemed to commit the Audubon Commission to renew the contract for the renewal period, until the

Audubon Commission takes official action to commit to such a renewal.

RETURN OF BID

One (1) entire set of the offer package shall be submitted. Bids shall be submitted on the official attached Bid Form. Failure to return the required documents may be cause for rejection of the bid. Any bid submitted that is not on this form will be declared irregular and rejected.

Bid documents shall be submitted to the Audubon Nature Institute, Procurement and Risk Management

Department, 6500 Magazine Street, New Orleans, LA 70118. Bid package should be clearly marked

“Feeder Animals”, or electronically through the official bidding website at https://bidnetdirect.com/louisiana/audubonnatureinstitute.

The submission of a BID on this service will be considered as a representation that the bidder has carefully investigated all conditions which affect or may, at some future date, affect the performance of the work as described in the attached specifications and other contract documents and that the bidder is fully informed concerning the conditions to be encountered, character quality and quantity of work to be performed and equipment and items to be furnished; also, that the bidder is familiar with all Federal , State, and local laws, all codes and ordinances of the city which in any way affect the prosecution of the work or persons engaged or employed in the work or the materials and equipment used in the work.

EFFECTIVE PERIOD OF OFFER

This bid shall remain in effect for a period of (45) calendar days from the bid due date.

OFFER PRICE CORRECTIONS

All prices and notations shall be written in ink or typed. Changes or corrections made on the offer form shall be initialed in ink, by the individual signing the offer. No corrections will be permitted after the offer has been opened.

https://bidnetdirect.com/louisiana/audubonnatureinstitute

AWARD

Bids will be opened and publicly read. Bid will be awarded the lowest responsive and responsible supplier. This bid will be an all or none award. Audubon Commission will consider quality as well as price and will award to the lowest responsible bidder to meet the specifications. Records of reliability of supply and timely delivery upon request will be an essential part in the evaluation process.

VENDOR PERFORMANCE

Prior bidder performance regarding product, service, or representation of/from the bidder may be used in evaluation of this offer. The unsatisfactory performance of Audubon Commission may be considered sufficient grounds for rejection of this offer. No offer will be awarded to any bidder who is in default on any contract with the Audubon Commission.

CONTRACT QUANTITIES

The quantities specified in this contract are estimated only. They do not indicate the actual quantity, since such volume will depend upon requirements which develop during the contract period. Quantities shown shall not be construed to represent any amount which Audubon Commission shall be obligated to purchase under the contract or relieve the contractor of his obligation to fill all orders placed by the

Audubon Commission.

BID WITHDRAWAL

A bid may be withdrawn by the supplier if done by affidavit within 48 hours of opening, but only for patently obvious, unintentional and substantial mechanical, clerical or mathematical errors.

BID CANCELLATION

Bid solicitation may be cancelled for any reason before the opening but only after bids are opened for just cause. Just cause includes, but is not limited, to unavailability of funds for the project or purchase, all bids come in over budget; substantial change in scope or design of project; or decision not to go forward with the project for at least 12 months.

OFFEROR ERRORS OR OMMISSION

The Audubon Commission is not responsible for any supplier’s errors or omissions on the bid form.

ADDENDA

Audubon Commission shall not be responsible for any oral instructions made by any employees or officers of Audubon Commission regarding the instructions, specifications, or contract documents.

Any changes to the plans and specifications will be in the form of an addendum, which will be furnished to all who are listed with Audubon Commission as having received the solicitation or to any other bidders who request an addendum.

REJECTION OF OFFERS

Audubon Commission reserves the right to reject all offers, or any part thereof; to accept any offer or any part thereof; or to waive any informality when it is deemed to be in Audubon

Commission’s best interest.

OFFER MODIFICATION

Audubon Commission will not be responsible for adjusting their offer based on oral instructions by any member of Audubon Commission staff or by contracted consultant or agent. Offers will be modified by issuance of an addendum by Procurement Management.

OFFER IDENTIFICATION

Audubon Commission is not responsible for the pre-opening of, post-opening of, or the failure to open, an offer not properly addressed or identified.

DELIVERY TERMS AND PRODUCT REQUIREMENTS

Freight and Delivery Terms:

All prices bid shall be F.O.B. Destination, with freight prepaid by Audubon utilizing the organization’s FedEx account.

Delivery Locations:

• Audubon Zoo Commissary

6500 Magazine Street, New Orleans, LA 70118

• Audubon Aquarium of the Americas

1 Canal Street, New Orleans, LA 70130

Inspection and Receipt of Goods:

All deliveries are subject to quantity and quality inspection at the time of receipt. Goods will be reviewed against the original order, and acceptance will be evidenced by the receipt listed on invoices or bills of lading.

Order Frequency:

• Aquarium: Orders are placed once per month

• Zoo: Orders are placed weekly

Delivery Timeline:

All items must be available for delivery upon demand or must be received within three (3) working days from the date of the order.

Product Quality and Shipping Guarantee:

The seller must guarantee the following:

• Frozen delivery of all products

• Adherence to exact size specifications

• Assurance of quality, appearance, and freshness of every item shipped

Each food item must be carefully produced, packaged, and transported to ensure optimal condition upon delivery.

Nonconformance and Resolution:

If any product is received thawed or in the incorrect size, Audubon will notify the seller within one (1) business day of delivery. The vendor is required to submit a corrected invoice for the affected items.

Default and Substitution:

Failure to meet delivery terms or specifications—without an accepted reason—will authorize

Audubon to procure goods from an alternate supplier. Any additional costs incurred, including increased product and handling charges, will be charged to the defaulting vendor.

Any shortage in delivery must be corrected on the same business day, unless alternate arrangements have been made with an Audubon representative.

BRAND NAME & OR EQUAL

If specifications preclude an otherwise qualified bidder from submitting an offer, written request for modification, must be received by the Buyer at least Seven (7) “working” days prior to the bid opening will be notified by an addendum to the solicitation of any approved changes. Brands, manufacturers, devices, specifications, materials are denoted only to set forth and convey to prospective bidders the general style, type character, and quality of the item desired. Brand name is specified to denote the quality standard of product desired and does not restrict the bidder to the specific brand, make and manufacturer, or specification named; they are only used to set forth and convey the general style, type, character, and quality of product desired. It shall be the responsibility of Audubon Commission to determine what is considered equivalent.

GREEN INITIATIVE

Audubon encourages the use of Green Certified products. Audubon’s goals are to utilize green purchasing methods to reduce our environmental footprint by reducing negative impacts on the environment and find better performing products.

PRICE ADJUSTMENT

The contract may be increased or decreased for each contract period. The increase/decrease shall be the same increase/decrease as the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) for Feeder Animals

(029403253) for the Southeast region.

If tariffs imposed by superseding governmental authorities change during the term of the contract and directly impact the cost of a product or a clearly defined component part thereof, either party may request a price adjustment if the next change in cost is attributable solely to such tariff change exceeds 5% of the total contract price. Any such adjustment shall be limited to the lesser of (i) 20% of the original contract price or (ii) one half (50%) of the net increase by the tariff.

The basis date for evaluating eligibility for tariff adjustments should be the latest 5 days prior to the bid submission date, on the basis form.

Request for tariff adjustments:

1. This must be submitted in writing and includes a comprehensive cost breakdown detailing how the tariff has impacted on the total cost of the finished product.

2. Must include official importer receipts of custom documentation showing proof of tariff payment and transaction date.

3. Will only be considered if they clearly demonstrate a direct impact from the tariff on the specific goods or components being purchased under this contract.

4. Are subject to Audubon’s sole discretion and written approval are required prior to implementation of any price change.

In the event Audubon requests a tariff adjustment, the contractor shall provide all required supporting documentation, as outlined above, within 30 calendar days of the request. No retroactive adjustment shall be allowed for tariff changes prior to the applicable basis date

SAMPLE

A sample may be required if requested. The cost of samples shall be borne by the supplier.

BID FORM

The contractor certifies that they have read, understand, and will fully and faithfully comply with this solicitation, its attachments, and any referenced documents. Contractor also certifies that the prices offered were independently developed without consultation with any of the other contractors or potential contractors.

Bid Title: RFB for Audubon Nature Institute – Feeder Animals

Audubon Commission reserves the right to reject all bids. Audubon reserves the right to award online item based on multiple contractors.

Acknowledgement of Addenda:

Number______ Issued Date:______

Number______ Issued Date ______

Number______ Issued Date ______

Company’s Legal Name: ________________________________________________

Printed Name and Address _______________________________________________

Telephone Number ________________________________________________

Email Address_________________________________________________________

Federal Taxpayer ID Number ____________________________________________

Name of Authorized Bidder _____________________________________________

*Authorized Signature __________________________________________________

Title ________________________________________________________________

Aquarium

ITEM Estimated

Annual

Usage

DESCRIPTION UNIT

PRICE

EXTENDED

COST

1. 600 Mice – White Large

Adults

2. 1500 Mice – White XL Adults

3. 100 Guinea Pig – Medium

4. 300 Rats - Small

5. 100 Rats - Medium

6. 50 Rats - Large

7. 500 Chickens – Extra Small

8. 9500 Mice - Pinkie Mice

Zoo

ITEM Estimated

Annual

Usage

DESCRIPTION UNIT

PRICE

EXTENDED

COST

1. 520 Rabbits – Small

2. 400 Rabbits – Medium

3. 400 Rabbits – Large

4. 2600 Quail – Day Old

5. 520 Quail – Jumbo

6. 52,000 Mice – Pinkie Mice

7. 5200 Mice – Fuzzie Mice

8. 5200 Mice – Hopper Mice

9. 26,000 Mice – Large Adults

10. 1040 Rats - Small

11. 600 Rats - Medium

12. 400 Rats - Large

AQ. EXTENDED COST TOTAL (LINES 1-8) $_____________________________

ZOO EXTENDED COST TOTAL (LINES 1-12) $____________________________