Instruction to bidders.pdf

24131/Botetourt County – Circuit Courthouse

00 2113-1 Instructions to Bidders

SECTION 00 2113

INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS

The Invitation For Bids (IFB) consists the Invitation for Bids document, this Instructions to Bidders, the Bid Form, the Pre-Bid Question Form, the General Conditions of the Construction Contract, the Supplemental General Conditions (if any), the Special Conditions (if any), the Forms to be used, and the Scope of Work as described by the Plans and Specifications, other documents listed in the Specifications, and any addenda which may be issued, all of which request qualified bidders to submit competitive prices or bids for providing the described work on the project.

eVA Vendor Registration: The bidder or offeror shall be a registered vendor in eVA.

1. CONDITIONS AT SITE OR STRUCTURE: Bidders should visit the site and are responsible for ascertaining pertinent local conditions such as location, accessibility, general character of the site or building, and the character and extent of existing conditions, improvements or work within or adjacent to the site. Claims, as a result of failure to have done so, will not be considered by the Owner. See Section 7 of the General Conditions entitled "Conditions at Site."

2. EXPLANATIONS TO BIDDERS: No oral explanation in regard to the meaning of drawings and specifications will be made and no oral instructions will be given before the award of the contract. The Owner shall not be responsible for any conclusions, assumptions, or interpretations made by bidders during the preparation of bids that are contrary to the drawings and specifications and their clear intent. Discrepancies, conflicts, errors, omissions or doubts as to the meaning of drawings and specifications shall be communicated in writing to the Architect / Engineer for interpretation. Bidders must act so as to assure that questions reach the Architect/Engineer not later than 5 p.m., local time, November 7, 2024, to allow a sufficient time for an addendum to reach all bidders before the submission of their bids. Any interpretation made will be in the form of an addendum to the specifications which will be forwarded to all bidders, and its receipt shall be acknowledged by the bidder on Bid Forms. If such discrepancies, conflicts, errors, omissions or doubts are reasonably apparent or should have been reasonably apparent to the bidder, and the bidder failed to submit questions to the Architect/Engineer in the time and manner required herein and the Contract is awarded to the bidder, then any claims shall be deemed waived and the bidder shall not be entitled to additional compensation or time, or entitled to sue the Owner based on such discrepancies, conflicts, errors, omissions, or doubts.

3. TIME FOR COMPLETION:

a. The contract time for completion shall be stated as set forth in the Bid Form. Unless otherwise specified, the Contractor shall achieve Final Completion within thirty

(30) days after the date of Substantial Completion.

b. When the Notice to Proceed is issued, it will state a Contract Completion Date, which has been set by the Owner based on date of the Notice to Proceed and the Time for Completion.

c. The Contractor, in preparing and submitting his bid, is required to take into consideration normal weather conditions. Normal weather does not mean statistically average weather, but rather means a range of weather conditions which

00 2113-2 Instructions to Bidders might be anticipated, (i.e., conditions which are not extremely unusual). Normal weather conditions shall be determined from the public historical records available, including the U.S. Department of Commerce, Local Climatological Data Sheets, Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Environmental Data and Information Service, National Climatic Center and the National Weather Service. The data sheets to be used shall be for the locality or localities closest to the site of the work.

No additional compensation will be paid to the Contractor because of adverse weather conditions; however, an extension of time for abnormal weather will be considered by the Owner as indicated in the General Conditions.

d. If the Owner designates the public historical climatological records to be used, the bidder shall use those records in computing bids. A bidder's failure to designate climatological records when submitting a bid shall not disqualify his bid, but shall constitute a waiver of the right to claim any extension of time as the result of abnormal weather. In either case, the bid submitted and the time of completion shall be presumed to have been based upon normal weather derived from the climatological records used.

4. PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION OF BIDS:

a. Bids shall be submitted on the forms furnished, or copies thereof, and shall be signed in ink. Erasures or other changes in a bid must be explained or noted over the signature of the bidder. Bids containing any conditions, omissions, unexplained erasures, alterations or items not called for in the proposal, or irregularities of any kind, may be rejected by the Owner as being incomplete or nonresponsive

b. Each bid must give the complete legal name and full business address of the bidder and be signed by the bidder, or the bidder's authorized representative, with his usual signature. Bids by partnerships must be signed in the partnership name by one of the general partners of the partnership or an authorized representative, followed by the designation/title of the person signing, and a list of the partners. Bids by joint ventures must be signed in the joint venture name by one of the joint venturers or an authorized representative of one of the joint venturers, followed by the designation/title of the person signing, and a list of the joint venturers. Bids by corporations must be signed with the legal name of the corporation followed by the name of the state in which it is incorporated and by the signature and title of the person authorized to bind it in this matter. The name of each person signing shall be typed or printed below the signature. A signature on a bid by a person who identifies his title as "President," "Secretary," "Agent" or other designation without disclosing the principal firm, shall be held to be the bid of the individual signing.

When requested by the Owner, satisfactory evidence of the authority of the officer signing on behalf of the corporation shall be furnished. Trade or fictitious names may be referenced by using "t/a ,” but bids shall be in the legal name of the person or entity submitting the bid.

c. Bids with the bid guarantee shall be enclosed in a sealed envelope which shall be marked and addressed as indicated in the invitation for bids. If a contract is for one hundred twenty thousand dollars ($120,000) or more, or if the total value of all construction, removal, repair or improvements undertaken by the bidder within any

00 2113-3 Instructions to Bidders twelve-month period is seven hundred fifty thousand dollars ($750,000) or more, the bidder is required under § 54.1-1100 et seq. of the Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended (the “Code”), to be licensed in Virginia as a "Class A Contractor." If a contract is for ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or more, but less than one hundred twenty thousand dollars ($120,000), or if the total value of all construction, removal, repair or improvements undertaken by the bidder within any twelve-month period is one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000) or more, but less than seven hundred fifty thousand dollars ($750,000), the bidder is required to be licensed in Virginia as a "Class B Contractor." The bidder shall place on the outside of the envelope containing the bid and shall place in the bid over his signature whichever of the following notations is appropriate and insert his Contractor license/registration number: Licensed Class A Virginia Contractor No. or Licensed Class B Virginia Contractor No. If the bidder is not properly licensed in Virginia at the time the bid is submitted, or if the bidder fails to provide this information on his bid or on the envelope containing the bid and fails to promptly provide said Contractor license number to the Owner in writing when requested to do so before the opening of bids, he shall be deemed to be in violation of § 54.1-1115 of the Code, and his bid will not be considered.

d. The Board for Contractors has interpreted its regulations to mean "a licensed Contractor can bid on a contract which contains work outside his license classification(s) as long as he subcontracts those items for which he is not qualified to perform to licensed contractors with the appropriate License Classification and the work of the second party is incidental to the contract." Therefore, the Owner may, as a part of determining whether the bidder is "responsible," require the apparent low bidder to submit a listing of his subcontractors along with the license number and classification or specialty of each.

e. The bidder must also place its Employer Identification Number (SSN or FEIN) in the space provided on the Bid Form.

f. Every bidder organized as a stock or nonstock corporation, limited liability company, business trust, or limited partnership or registered as a registered limited liability partnership must be authorized to transact business in the Commonwealth as a domestic or foreign business entity if so required by Title 13.1 or Title 50 of the Code of Virginia, as amended, or as otherwise required by law. Any bidder organized or authorized to transact business in the Commonwealth pursuant to Title

13.1 or Title 50 must include in its bid the identification number issued to it by the State Corporation Commission. Any bidder that is not required to be authorized to transact business in the Commonwealth as a foreign business entity under Title 13.1 or Title 50 or as otherwise required by law shall include in its bid or proposal a statement describing why the bidder or offeror is not required to be so authorized.

A bidder required to be authorized to transact business in Virginia that fails to provide the required information shall not receive an award unless a waiver of this requirement and of any administrative policies and procedures established to implement Section 2.2-4311.2 of the Code of Virginia, as amended, is granted by the chief executive of the Owner. If awarded the Contract, the bidder shall not allow its existence to lapse or its certificate of authority or registration to transact business

00 2113-4 Instructions to Bidders in the Commonwealth, if so required under Title 13.1 or Title 50, to be revoked or cancelled at any time during the term of the Contract. Doing so shall be deemed to be a violation of Section 2.2- 4311.2 and the bidder understands and agrees that the Owner may void the Contract if the bidder fails to comply with this provision.

5. BID GUARANTEE:

a. Any bid (including the Total Base Bid plus all Additive Bid Items) which exceeds five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) shall be accompanied by a Bid Bond, enclosed with the bid package, payable to the Owner as obligee in an amount equal to five percent (5%) of the amount of the bid. The Bid Bond must be issued by a surety company which is legally authorized by the Virginia State Corporation Commission to do surety business in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Such Bid Bond shall guarantee that the bidder will not withdraw his bid during the period of forty-five (45) days following the opening of bids; that if his bid is accepted, he will enter into a formal contract with the Owner in accordance with the Contract Between Owner and Contractor included as a part of the IFB Documents; that he will submit a properly executed and authorized Standard Performance Bond and Standard Labor and Material Payment Bond on the forms included in the IFB documents; and that in the event of the withdrawal of said bid within said period, or failure to enter into said contract and give said bonds within ten (10) days after he has received notice of acceptance of his bid, the bidder shall be liable to the Owner for the difference between the amount specified in said bid and such larger amount for which the Owner may contract with another party to perform the work covered by said bid, up to the amount of the bid guarantee. This amount represents the damage to the Owner on account of the default of the bidder in any particular hereof. See § 2.2- 4336 of the Code.

b. See § 2.2-4338 of the Code for provisions allowing alternative forms of bid security in lieu of a Bid Bond. Forms of Security listed in § 2.2-4338(B) of the Code must be approved prior to submission of a Bid on the Bid Receipt date and time to be acceptable as Bid Security.

c. If the required Contract and bonds have not been executed within thirty (30) days after the date of the opening of the bids, then the bond or other bid security of any bidder will be returned upon his request, provided he has not been notified of the acceptance of his bid prior to the date of such request.

6. WITHDRAWAL OR MODIFICATION OF BIDS

Bids may be withdrawn or modified by written, telefaxed, or email notice received at the designated location from a bidder prior to the deadline fixed for bid receipt. The withdrawal or modification may be made by the person signing the bid or by an individual(s) who is authorized by him on the face of the bid. Written modifications may be made on the bid form itself, on the envelope in which the bid is enclosed, or on a separate document. Written modifications, whether the original is delivered, telefaxed, or sent by email, must be signed by the person making the modification or withdrawal, either by manual signature or an express acknowledgement that the signature is intended to be a binding electronic signature. The modification must state specifically what is to be modified and by what

00 2113-5 Instructions to Bidders amount or it must state the item to be modified and what the corrected amount should be.

(e.g. “Deduct $25,000 from Part A and from the Total Base Bid Amount”; or “Add $23,456 to the Total Base Bid Amount”; or “Deduct $15,650 from the Additive # 2 amount”. A modification to “Deduct $25,000 from Part A” will only be applied to Part A and not to the Total Base Bid Amount) Unless otherwise specified by the Bidder in the modification, the modification will be applied to the TOTAL BASE BID AMOUNT shown on the Bid Form. (e.g., a modification stating only “Deduct $25,000” which is properly signed will be deducted from the Total Base Bid Amount shown on the Bid Form).

7. RECEIPT OF BIDS:

a. Bids will be received at or before the date and the hour and at the place stipulated in the Invitation for Bids as may be modified by subsequent Addenda.

b. It is the responsibility of the bidder to assure that his bid and any bid modifications are delivered to the place designated for receipt of bids by the date and hour (deadline) set for receipt of bids. Therefore, it is the bidder’s responsibility to take into account all factors which may impact on its bid deliverer / courier’s ability to deliver the bid and to implement whatever actions are necessary to have the bid delivered to the proper bid receipt location prior to the bid receipt deadline. No bids or bid modifications submitted or offered after the date and hour designated for receipt of bids will be accepted or considered.

c. The Bid Officer is the Owner's representative designated to receive bids at the time and place noted in the IFB and to open the bids received at the appointed time.

d. The official time used for the receipt of responses is determined by reference to the clock designated by the Bid Officer. The Bid Officer shall determine when the Bid Receipt Deadline has arrived and shall announce that the Deadline has arrived and that no further bids or bid modifications will be accepted. All bids and bid modifications in the possession of the Bid Officer and his assistants at the time the announcement is completed are deemed to be timely, whether or not the bid envelope has been physically date/time stamped or otherwise marked by the time the Bid Officer makes the deadline announcement.

e. In the event the bid receipt occurs during a period of suspended state business operations, the receipt and opening will be delayed one business day.

8. OPENING OF BIDS:

a. Bids will be opened at the time and place stated in the Invitation for Bids or as modified by subsequent Addenda, and their contents publicly announced. The Bid Officer shall decide when the specified time for bid opening has arrived. No responsibility will be attached to any officer or agent for the premature opening of a bid not properly addressed and identified. Bid opening shall be no sooner than 24 hours after the time set for receipt of bids.

b. Section 2.2-4342 of the Code is applicable to the inspections of bids received.

00 2113-6 Instructions to Bidders

c. In the event the bid opening occurs during a period of suspended state business operations, the opening will be delayed until the next business day.

9. ERRORS IN BIDS:

A bidder may withdraw his bid from consideration if the price bid 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 a bid, which unintentional arithmetic error or unintentional omission can be clearly shown by objective evidence drawn from inspection of original work papers, documents and materials used in the preparation of the bid sought to be withdrawn.

In accordance with § 2.2-4330(B)(ii) of the Code, the bidder must submit to the Owner his original work papers, documents and materials used in the preparation of the bid within one day after the date fixed for submission of bids. Such work papers must be submitted in an envelope or package separate and apart from the envelope containing the bid and marked clearly as to the contents and shall be delivered to the Owner by the bidder in person or by registered mail prior to the time fixed for the opening of bids and may not be withdrawn until after the two-hour period (referred to later) has elapsed. The bids shall be opened at the time designated in the IFB, as amended by addendum. Bid opening is usually one day following the time fixed by the Owner for the submission of bids, but no sooner. Once the bids have been opened, the bidder shall have two (2) hours after the opening of bids within which to claim in writing any mistake as defined herein and withdraw his bid. The Contract shall not be awarded by the Owner until such two-hour period has elapsed. Such mistake shall be proved only from the original work papers, documents and materials delivered to the Owner prior to bid opening. This procedure (ii) shall not apply to when the entire bid is required to be submitted on a unit price basis.

Failure of a bidder to submit his original work papers, documents and materials used in the preparation of his bid on or before the time, date and place required shall constitute a waiver by that bidder of his right to withdraw his bid due to a mistake.

No bid may be withdrawn under this section when the result would be the awarding of the Contract on another bid of the same bidder or of another bidder in which the ownership of the withdrawing bidder is more than five (5%) percent.

No bidder who is permitted to withdraw a bid shall, for compensation, supply any material or labor to or perform any subcontract or other work agreement for the person or 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. The person or firm to whom the Contract was awarded and the withdrawing bidder are jointly liable to the Owner in an amount equal to any compensation paid to or for the benefit of the withdrawing bidder without such approval.

If a bid is withdrawn under authority of this section, the lowest remaining bid shall be deemed to be the low bidder on the project.

00 2113-7 Instructions to Bidders

10. REJECTION OF BIDS: The Owner reserves the right to cancel the Invitation for Bids, to reject any and all bids at its sole discretion when such rejection is in the interest of the Owner, or to reject the bid of any bidder who is determined to be not responsive or not responsible. See § 2.2-4319 of the Code.

11. DETERMINATION OF RESPONSIBILITY

General contractors have been prequalified to bid on this contract. In bidding, a contractor warrants that:

a. The company has not suffered any event that has a material adverse impact on its financial ability to carry out the obligations of the Contract; and

b. The representations in the prequalification remain substantially true and correct.

In the event there has been a material adverse impact or any other material change in circumstances, this must be disclosed with the bid, or the bid may be deemed unresponsive.

12. AWARD OF CONTRACT

a. Basis for Contract Award: The Contract, if awarded, will be awarded to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, if any, provided his bid is reasonable and it is in the best interest of the Owner to accept it and subject to the Owner's right to reject any and all bids and to waive informality in the bids and in the bidding. The Bid Form contains a multi-part Base Bid and may contain Additive Bid Items.

Determination of the lowest responsible bidder, if any, will be based on the Total Base Bid Amount entered on the Bid Form including any properly submitted bid modifications plus as many Additive Bid Items taken in sequence as the Owner in its discretion chooses to Award. Where the sum of the values entered in the multiple parts do not agree with the Total Base Bid amount, the Total Base Bid amount entered on the bid form, including any properly submitted bid modifications, shall take precedence.

In the event that the Total Base Bid from the lowest responsible bidder exceeds available funds, the Owner may negotiate the Total Base Bid amount with the apparent low bidder to obtain a contract price within available funds, pursuant to § 2.2-4318 of the Code, and Section 12(c) herein.

b. Informalities: The Owner reserves the right to waive any informality in the bids when such waiver is in the interest of the Owner.

c. Negotiation with Lowest Responsible Bidder: If award of a contract to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder is precluded because of limitations on available funds, under the provisions of § 2.2-4318 of the Code, the Owner reserves the right to negotiate the Total Base Bid amount with the lowest responsive, responsible bidder to obtain a contract price within the available funds. This may involve changes in either the features or scope of the work include in the Base Bid. Such negotiations with the apparent low bidder may include reducing the quantity, quality, or other cost saving mechanisms involving items in the Total Base Bid. Negotiations for Additive Bid Items are excluded. The Owner shall notify the lowest responsive and responsible bidder that such a situation exists and the Owner and bidder shall then

00 2113-8 Instructions to Bidders conduct their negotiations in person, by mail, by telephone or by any means they find convenient. If an acceptable contract can be negotiated, the changes to the Invitation for Bid documents agreed upon in the negotiations shall be summarized in a "Post Bid Modification" and included in the contract. If an acceptable contract cannot be negotiated, the Owner shall terminate negotiations and reject all bids.

d. Notice of Intent to Award or Notice of Award: The Notice of Award or the Notice of Intent to Award will be posted at the Agency’s standard location for posting notices as shown on the “Notice of Invitation to Bid”. In addition the Agency may also post such notice on the Agency’s Website and/or the DGS central electronic procurement Website. Any bidder or offeror who desires to protest the award or decision to award a contract shall submit the protest in writing to the public body no later than ten days after the posting of the Notice of Award or Notice of Intent to Award, whichever comes first (§ 2.2-4360).

13. CERTIFICATION: The bidder, by his signature on the Bid Form, certifies that neither his organization nor any of its officers, directors, partners or owners is currently barred from bidding on contracts by any Agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Botetourt County, Virginia, or any public body or agency of another state, or any agency of the federal government. See the statement " Disqualification of Contractors" in the Bid Form.

14. ETHICS IN PUBLIC CONTRACTING: The provisions, requirements and prohibitions as contained in § 2.2-4367 et seq. of the Code of Virginia pertaining to bidders, offerors, contractors, and subcontractors are applicable to this project.

15. BUILDING PERMITS: The Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code applies to the Work and shall be administered by the Building Official for Botetourt County, Virginia.

The Building Permit will be obtained and paid for bv the Contractor.

16. BID DOCUMENTS: Bid Documents are the property of the Owner. There is no fee for downloading of electronic construction documents. A reasonable non-refundable printing fee may be charged by the owner or the Architect for printing paper copies.

17. GENERAL CONDITIONS: The General Conditions of the Construction Contract are incorporated in the bid documents. If the General Conditions are incorporated by reference, the bidder may obtain a copy of the current edition of the General Conditions of the Construction Contract at no cost by written request to the Architect/Engineer and/or the County.

18. PREBID CONFERENCE: See the Invitation For Bids for requirements for a prebid conference and whether such conference is mandatory or optional.

19. INSPECTION OF BID DOCUMENTS: Copies of the Invitation for Bids documents including Plans and Specifications and the General Conditions of the Construction Contract will be available for inspection at the County Administrator’s Office, at the Architect/ Engineer's office, and at the locations listed in the Notice of the Invitation for Bids.

END OF SECTION