NOTICE 267-025.pdf

Mississippi State University Notice of Proposed Sole Source Purchase

267-025

Mississippi State University anticipates purchasing the item(s) listed below as a sole source purchase. Anyone objecting to this purchase shall follow the procedures outlined below.

1. Commodity or commodities to be purchased (make, model, description):

Shanks BP 360 Degree Rotary Livestock Containment Chute X2

2. Explanation of the need to be fulfilled by this item(s), how is it unique from all other options, and why it is the only one that can meet the specific needs of the department:

This is the only rotary squeeze chute that adequately restrains the patient’s legs. The other tilt chutes that we have identified do not have any way to restrain the legs once the floor is removed to examine and treat the feet. Practices that use other available models have to retrofit straps and ropes to restrain the legs. In a teaching environment and working with students that are not accustomed to cattle, leg restraint is paramount to safety. The Shanks model is fitted with straps and blocks that work through an integral wench system to ensure that the legs are restrained adequately. This system has been very effective in the older Shanks model that we do have in preventing cattle from kicking students when we are doing foot trims and foot surgeries. This model is the only one that we have identified that provides the level of safety we need in a teaching environment.

3. Name of company/individual selling the item and why that source is the only possible source that can provide the required item(s): Shanks Veterinary Equipment. Shanks is the only provider of tilt chutes that offer leg restraints once the flooring is removed, which is critical to the safety of students unaccustomed to cattle.

4. Estimated cost of item(s) and an explanation why the amount to be expended is considered reasonable: $104,238.40. We believe this price is reasonable because of the level of safety these chutes will be able to provide in a teaching environment, and because Shanks is the only vendor that provides this level of safety.

5. Explanation of the efforts taken by the department to determine this is the only source and the efforts used to obtain the best possible price: Faculty evaluated models from other manufacturers, and the leg restraints were either not adequate for our purposes and diversity of caseload or completely absent from their design. We feel strongly that the lack of leg restraint once the animals are tilted represents a significant danger to our students and employees.

Any person or entity that objects and proposes that the commodity listed is not sole source and can be provided by another person or entity shall submit a written notice to:

Jennifer Mayfield, CPPO Director of Procurement Services, Chief Procurement Officer jmayfield@procurement.msstate.edu Subject Line must read “Sole Source Objection”

The notice shall contain a detailed explanation of why the commodity is not a sole source procurement. Appropriate documentation shall also be submitted if applicable.

If after a review of the submitted notice and documents, MSU determines that the commodity in the proposed sole source request can be provided by another person or entity, then MSU will withdraw the sole source request publication from the procurement portal website and submit the procurement of the commodity to an advertised competitive bid or selection process.

If MSU determines after review that there is only one (1) source for the required commodity, then MSU will appeal to the Public Procurement Review Board. MSU will have the burden of proving that the commodity is only provided by one (1) source.

mailto:jmayfield@procurement.msstate.edu