Gen Instructions for Bidders.docx

Jackson County

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR BIDDERS

I. PURPOSE:

The intent and purpose of this Bid Request is to request services for the Jackson County Board of Commissioner, hereinafter referred to as Jackson County for the SR 332 School Frontage Improvements and Boone Road/Wehunt Road Roundabout.

II. SCOPE OF SERVICE:

A. WORK INCLUDED: A digital copy of the plan set can be obtained upon request by emailing Arden Powell at 939ap@ppi.us.

1.01. Bidder shall submit all questions or requests for clarification about the meaning or intent of the Bidding Documents to Engineer in writing. Contact information and submittal procedures for such questions are as follows:

A. All questions or clarifications by email should be sent to Arden Powell at 939ap@ppi.us. and should include company name, contact name, email address, and phone number.

1.02. Interpretations or clarifications considered necessary by Engineer in response to such questions will be issued by Addenda delivered to all registered plan holders. Questions received less than seven days prior to the date for opening of Bids may not be answered.

1.03. Only responses set forth in an Addendum will be binding. Oral and other interpretations or clarifications will be without legal effect. Responses to questions are not part of the Contract Documents unless set forth in an Addendum that expressly modifies or supplements the Contract Documents.

B. QUALITY OF WORKMANSHIP: All work shall be quality work performed according to the standards of the industry, and to the complete satisfaction of Jackson County.

C. PERSONNEL QUALIFICATIONS: Jackson County reserves the right to refuse to accept services from any personnel deemed by Jackson County to be unqualified, disorderly, or otherwise unable to perform assigned work.

D. DETAILED SPECIFICATIONS: See attached. This project will be under the supervision of the County Manager’s Office. A third-party contractor will be inspecting all work completed under this contract.

1. Upon being awarded the contract by Jackson County, the approved contractor will execute a contract with Jackson County to provide services. The contractor agrees to perform all work in accordance with the bid schedule and set bid prices as outlined in their signed proposal. The prices submitted in the bid proposal will be valid until the completion of all projects originally listed in the bid proposal.

2. The approved contractor agrees to commence work within ten (10) days of receiving the Notice to Proceed and will complete all the original work as outlined in this Bid Request within the time specified. Any additional work will be discussed and a reasonable start and completion date will be negotiated.

3. Jackson County will only pay invoices that have been reviewed and approved by county staff for the quantities submitted for payment.

E. MATERIAL SPECIFICATIONS: All material used in the performance of this contract must meet state, GDOT, and local requirements for use by an approved vendor. The contractor will be responsible for verifying this information with the engineer.

F. SCHEDULING AND COORDINATION: It is the responsibility of the contractor to coordinate all work schedules and inspections with the independent inspector the County contracts with for these services. Failure to do so may result in the delay of processing invoices for payment.

G. OTHER REQUIREMENTS: A Bid Bond for 5% of the base bid on the bid form must be submitted with the bid. Performance and Payment Bonds in the amount of 100% of the contract price will be required if the contract is awarded.

III. PRE-BID CONFERENCE: There will not be a pre-bid conference held. Bidders who wish to visit the job site may contact bidopportunities@jacksoncountygov.com. All questions or requests for clarification concerning this bid package or the bid process should be directed to Arden Powell at 939ap@ppi.us. All questions should be submitted in writing no later than 5:00 pm on May 26, 2026 so that an appropriate addendum can be created and sent to all vendors prior to the closing of the bid on June 3, 2026.

IV. GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS:

A. PURCHASING ORDINANCE: This Invitation to Bid (ITB) is subject to the provisions of the Jackson County Purchasing Ordinance and any revisions thereto, which are hereby incorporated into this contract in their entirety except as amended or superseded herein.

B. MANDATORY USE OF JACKSON COUNTY FORM AND TERMS AND CONDITIONS: Failure to submit a bid on the official Jackson County form provided for that purpose shall be a cause for rejection of the bid. Return of the complete document is required. Modification of or additions to any portion of the invitation may be cause for rejection of the bid; however, Jackson County reserves the right to decide, on a case-by-case basis, in its sole discretion, whether or not to reject such a bid as non-responsive.

C. PRECEDENCE OF TERMS: Except for paragraphs A, B, C, J, K and N of the General Terms and Conditions, which shall apply in all instances, in the event there is a conflict between the General Terms and Conditions and any Special Terms and Conditions for use in a particular procurement, the Special Terms and Conditions shall prevail.

D. CLARIFICATION OF TERMS: If any prospective bidder has questions about the specifications or other bid documents, the prospective bidder should contact Arden Powell at 939ap@ppi.us no later than the deadline for questions. Any revisions to the invitation will be made only by addendum issued by the County.

E. TESTING/INSPECTION: Jackson County reserves the right to conduct any test or inspection it may deem advisable to assure materials and services conform to the specification.

F. PAYMENT TERMS: Any payment terms requiring payment in less than 30 days will be regarded as requiring payment 30 days after invoice or delivery, whichever occurs last. This shall not affect offers of discounts for payment in less than 30 days, however.

G. INVOICES: Invoices for services ordered, delivered and accepted by Jackson County shall be submitted by the contractor direct to the payment address shown on the contract.

H. DEFAULT: In case of failure to deliver goods or services in accordance with the contract terms and conditions, Jackson County, after due oral or written notice, may procure substitute goods or services from other sources and hold the contractor responsible for any resulting additional purchasing and administrative costs. This remedy shall be in addition to any other remedies which Jackson County may have.

I. ASSIGNMENT OF CONTRACT: A contract shall not be assignable by the contractor in whole or in part without the written consent of Jackson County.

J. ETHICS IN PUBLIC CONTRACTING: By submitting their bids, all bidders certify that their bids are made without collusion or fraud and that they have not offered or received any kickbacks or inducements from any other bidder, supplier, manufacturer or subcontractor in connection with their bid, and that they have not conferred on any public employee having official responsibility for this procurement transaction any payment, loan, subscription, advance, deposit or money, services or anything of more than nominal value, present or promised, unless consideration of substantially equal or greater value was exchanged.

K. DEBARMENT STATUS: By submitting their bids, all bidders certify that they are not currently debarred from bidding on contracts by any agency of the State of Georgia, nor are they an agent of any person or entity that is currently debarred from submitting bids on contracts by any agency of the State of Georgia.

L. NON-COLLUSION CERITFICATION: Bidder declares that the bid is not made in connection with any other bidder submitting a bid for the same project, and that the bid is bona fide and is in all respects fair and without collusion or fraud.

M. APPLICABLE LAW AND COURTS: Any contract resulting from this BID REQUEST shall be governed in all respects by the laws of the State of Georgia and any litigation with respect thereto shall be brought in the courts of the State of Georgia. The contractor shall comply with applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations.

O. WITHDRAWAL OF BID DUE TO ERRORS:

1. The bidder shall give notice in writing of his claim of right to withdraw his bid without penalty due to an error within two (2) business days after the conclusion of the bid opening procedure. Bids may be withdrawn from consideration if the price was substantially lower than the other bids due solely to a mistake therein, provided the bid was submitted in good faith, and the mistake was a clerical mistake as opposed to a judgment mistake, and was actually due to an unintentional arithmetic error or an unintentional omission of a quantity of work, labor or material made directly in the compilation of the bid, which unintentional arithmetic error or unintentional omission can be clearly shown by objective evidence drawn from inspection of original work papers, documents and material used in the preparation of the bide sought to be withdrawn. The bidder’s original work papers shall be the sole acceptable evidence of error and mistake if he elects to withdraw his bid. If a bid is withdrawn under the authority of this provision, the lowest remaining responsive bid shall be deemed low bid.

2. No bidder who is permitted to withdraw a bid shall, for compensation, supply any material or labor or perform any subcontract or other work agreement for the person of firm to whom the contract is awarded or otherwise benefit, directly or indirectly, from the performance of the project for which the withdrawn bid was submitted.

3. Supplier has up to forty-eight (48) hours to notify the Jackson County Purchasing Office of an obvious clerical error made in calculation of bid in order to withdraw a bid after bid opening. Withdrawal of bid for this reason must be done in writing within the forty-eight (48) hour period. Suppliers who fail to request withdrawal of bid by the required forty-eight (48) hours shall automatically forfeit bid bond (if one was required). Bid may not be withdrawn otherwise.

4. Bid withdrawal is not automatically granted and will be allowed solely at Jackson County’s discretion.

P. LATE OFFERS: Jackson County will not be responsible for or consider late receipt of bids.

Q. EO/AA STATEMENT: Jackson County, an Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action institution covered by Presidential Executive Order 11246 as amended, advises all contractors, subcontractors, vendors and suppliers that direct or indirect receipt of federal funds may require appropriate action on their part.

R. ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION REFORM AND ENFORCEMENT ACT OF 2011

Vendors submitting a response to this RFP must complete the Contractor Affidavit under O.C.G.A. §13-10-91(b)(1) which is provided with the RFP package to verify compliance with the Illegal Immigration Reform and Enforcement Act of 2011.

1. The form must be signed by an authorized officer of the contractor or their authorized agent.

2. The form must be notarized.

3. The contractor will be required to have all subcontractors and sub-subcontractors who are engaged to complete physical performance of services under the final contract executed between the County and the contractor complete the appropriate subcontractor and sub-subcontractor affidavits and return them to the County a minimum of five (5) days prior to any work being accomplished by said subcontractor or sub-subcontractor. Format for this affidavit can be provided to the contractor if necessary.

V. SPECIAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS:

A. AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS: It is understood and agreed between the parties herein that Jackson County shall be bound hereunder only to the extent of the funds available or which may hereafter become available for the purpose of this agreement.

B. AWARD OF CONTRACT: Jackson County will make award to the lowest responsive and responsible bidders. Due consideration will be given to price, quality as judged by tests and previous experience, and the ability of the bidders to render required services. Jackson County reserves the right to conduct any test it may deem advisable and to make all evaluations. Jackson County also reserves the right to reject any or all bids, in whole or in part, to waive informalities and to delete items prior to making the award, whenever it is deemed in the sole opinion of Jackson County to be in its best interest.

C. BID ACCEPTANCE PERIOD: This bid shall be binding upon the bidder for 60 calendar days following the bid opening date. Any bid on which the bidder shortens the acceptance period may be rejected.

D. BID PRICES: Bid prices submitted by the Contractor must remain firm for the entire length of the initial bid period and/or until the original list of projects as outlined in the specifications are completed.

E. CANCELLATION OF CONTRACT: Jackson County reserves the right to cancel and terminate any resulting contract, in part or in whole, without penalty, upon 60 days written notice to the contractor. Any contract cancellation notice shall not relieve the contractor of the obligation to deliver and/or perform on all outstanding orders issued prior to the effective date of cancellation.

F. CHANGES: By written notice to the contractor, Jackson County may from time to time make changes, within the general scope of the contract, in the goods or services to be provided by the contractor.

G. CONTRACT DOCUMENTS: The contract entered into by the parties shall consist of this Invitation To Bid, the signed bid submitted by the contractor, the Jackson County Contract Form, General Terms and Conditions, Special Terms and Conditions, Specifications and Attachments, including all modifications thereof, all of which shall be referred to collectively as the Contract Documents.

H. CONTRACT PERIOD: The contract period is defined above in paragraph II.D.1.

I. IDENTIFICATION OF BID ENVELOPE: The signed bid and a digital copy of the signed bid should be returned in a separate envelope or package, sealed and identified as follows:

From:

Name of Bidder Bid Due Date Time

Street or Box Number Bid Number

City, State, Zip Code Bid Title

The envelope should be addressed to Jackson County Board of Commissioners, Attention: Jennifer Scott, Purchasing, 4965 Jackson Parkway, Jefferson, GA, 30549.

If a bid not contained in the special envelope is mailed, the bidder takes the risk that the envelope even if marked as described above, may be inadvertently opened and the information compromised which may cause the bid to be disqualified. Bids may be hand delivered to the office of the Purchasing Department issuing the invitation at the location given above. No other correspondence or other bids should be placed in the envelope.

J. INDEMNIFICATION: The contractor agrees to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Jackson County and their officers, agents, and employees from any claims, damages and actions of any kind or nature whether at law or in equity, arising from or caused by the use of any materials, goods, or equipment of any kind or nature furnished by the contractor/any services of any kind or nature provided by the contractor.

K. INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR: The contractor shall not be an employee of Jackson County, but shall be an independent contractor. Nothing in this agreement shall be construed as authority for the contractor to make commitments, which shall bind Jackson County, or to otherwise act on behalf of Jackson County, except as Jackson County may expressly authorize in writing.

L. INSPECTION OF WORK SITE: Contractors desiring to submit a proposal for this BID REQUEST are encouraged to visit the sites listed. Claims, as a result of failure to do so, will not be considered by Jackson County.

M. INSURANCE:

1. Premises – Operations

C. Jackson County reserves the right to require higher limits on any contract provided notice of such requirements is stated in the proposal for such contract. Included in the certificate of insurance shall be a hold harmless agreement saving Jackson County harmless from any liability from the contractor or from any subcontractors or by anyone directly or indirectly employed by either. Jackson County is to be named as additional insured.

A 30-day notice of cancellation or non-renewal in writing shall be furnished by certified mail to the certificate holder at the address indicated on the face of this form. Also, when deemed necessary, the contractor will provide explosion, collapse and underground coverage (X, C and U coverage).

The contractor agrees to be responsible for, indemnify and save harmless Jackson County and their representatives from the payment of all sums of money by reason of any claim against Jackson County or their representatives under the Workmen's Compensation Act, and by reason of all or any other occurrences resulting in bodily injury or property damage that may happen to occur upon or about said work. The contractor agrees that it will, at all times, and at least for one year after the completion of the work, indemnify and save harmless Jackson County against liabilities resulting from bodily injury or property damage directly or indirectly arising out of the performance or nonperformance of the contract.

D. ALL BIDDERS PROVIDE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION:

If a bidder fails to provide all the above information or does not indicate an amount of coverage, the bidder's signature on this invitation constitutes certification that, if the bidder is awarded the contract, the bidder shall obtain the necessary coverage as specified within ten days of notification of award of the contract.

If at any time or times any claim or claims shall be made to Jackson County by a subcontractor or other persons for any money due for any work, labor or material done upon or supplied upon the work herein contracted for, done for, furnished, or supplied, to the party of the first part, Jackson County may retain such amount as may be due, or may thereafter become due under this contract, or may pay the same when said claim shall thereafter be finally established in court, and such amount is hereby assigned to Jackson County to pay such claim or claims, such payment to be done when so established, but the contractor shall not be entitled to demand or receive payment of this agreement until all disputes, disagreements, and questions between the parties herein affecting the right to any portion of the amount claimed, shall have been settled as above provided for, and Jackson County is hereby authorized to deduct from the said amount any money due it upon any account or claim.

N. PROTECTION OF PERSONS AND PROPERTY:

1. The contractor shall take every precaution at all times for the protection of persons and property, including Jackson County's employees and property and its own.

2. The contractor shall be responsible for initiating, maintaining and supervising all safety precautions and programs in connection with the work under this contract.

3. The contractor shall continuously maintain adequate protection of all work from damage and shall protect Jackson County property from injury or loss arising in connection with this contract. The contractor shall make good any such damage, injury or loss.

O. SAFETY: The contractor shall maintain an adequate safety program to ensure the safety of contractor employees, subcontractor employees, and all other individuals working under this contract. In addition, the contractor must also provide Jackson County with a written safety program that he intends to follow in pursuing work under this contract. No work under this contract will be permitted until Jackson County is assured that the contractor has an adequate safety program in effect.

P. SUBCONTRACTS: No portion of the work shall be subcontracted without prior written consent of Jackson County. In the event that the contractor desires to subcontract some part of the work specified herein, the contractor shall furnish Jackson County the names, qualifications and experience of their proposed subcontractors. The contractor will, however, remain fully liable and responsible for the work to be done by his subcontractor(s) and shall assure compliance with all requirements of the contract.

Nothing in the agreement shall be constructed as authority for the contractor to make commitments, which shall bind Jackson County, or to otherwise act on behalf of Jackson County, except as Jackson County may expressly authorize in writing.

Q. SUPERINTENDENCE BY CONTRACTOR: The contractor shall be responsible for all work means, methods, techniques, sequences and procedures and for coordinating all portions of the work under the contract except where otherwise specified herein. The contractor shall, at all times, enforce strict discipline and good order among the workers, and shall not employ any unfit person or anyone not skilled in their work.

R. WORK SITE DAMAGES: Any damage, including damage to finished surfaces, resulting from the performance of this contract shall be repaired to Jackson County's satisfaction at the contractor's expense.

S. OTHER SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS/TERMS: See Section II G – Other requirements concerning bid and bid award.

VI. METHOD OF PAYMENT: Jackson County will authorize payment to the contractor after providing satisfactory service and receipt of the contractor's invoice for services rendered. Payment will be made on a monthly basis at the prices as bid, Net 30.

VII. SPECIFICATIONS OF BID SUBMITTAL:

Scope of Work: Provide all materials, labor and equipment necessary to construct the SR 332 School Frontage Improvements and Boone Road/Wehunt Road Roundabout project per the plans and specifications. The project shall be constructed in strict accordance with Georgia DOT Standards and Specifications, latest edition and any amendments thereto.

The project consists of the widening of SR 332 to provide a center left turn lane and deceleration lanes for a new school at this location, and the construction of a new roundabout at SR 332 and Boone Rd/Wehunt Rd.

Bidder will perform the Work at the indicated unit prices on the Bid Form. Unless otherwise directed, all work performed shall be in accordance with the Georgia Department of Transportation Standard Specifications Construction of Transportation Systems, 2021 Edition, General Conditions, Supplements thereto (Published and Not Published) and Special Provisions modifying them. All materials used in the process of completion of the work included in the contract will be furnished from Georgia Department of Transportation certified suppliers only.

One (1) original copy of the Request for Bid must be submitted with one (1) digital copy on thumb drive. Bids must be sealed, marked with the bidder’s name and address and Labeled: ITB 260048, “SR 332 School Frontage Improvements & Boone Road/Wehunt Road Roundabout”

Sealed bids will be received by Jackson County Board of Commissioners, Attention: Jennifer Scott, Purchasing, 4965 Jackson Parkway, Jefferson, GA, 30549 until 10:00 AM EST June 3, 2026.

Bids received after the stated time will not be accepted.

The Bid should be submitted and include:

1. Completed Bid Form

2. Partnership Certificate or Corporate Certificate (if applicable)

3. Bid Bond, Certified Check or Cashier’s Check

4. Bidder Experience Statement

5. List of Subcontractors

6. Statement of Equipment

7. Contractor Affidavit Under O.C.G.A. §13-10-91(b)(1)

8. Noncollusion Affidavit of Prime Bidder

9. Certificate of Insurance

10. GDOT Prequalification

Bidding Documents are available upon request by contacting Arden Powell at 939ap@ppi.us. A digital copy of the plan set can be obtained upon request by emailing Arden Powell at 939ap@ppi.us.

SR 332 School Frontage Improvements & Boone Rd./Wehunt Rd. Roundabout T24-075B | ITB 260048 | 04-2026 General Instructions for Bidders