PLEASE READ-INSTRUCTIONS TO VENDORS.pdf

Revised 10/17/2024

INSTRUCTIONS TO VENDORS SUBMITTING BIDS

1. REVIEW DOCUMENTS THOROUGHLY: The attached documents contain a solicitation for bids. Please read these instructions and all documents attached in their entirety.

These instructions provide critical information about requirements that if overlooked could lead to disqualification of a Vendor’s bid. All bids must be submitted in accordance with the provisions contained in these instructions and the Solicitation. Failure to do so may result in disqualification of Vendor’s bid.

2. MANDATORY TERMS: The Solicitation may contain mandatory provisions identified by the use of the words “must,” “will,” and “shall.” Failure to comply with a mandatory term in the Solicitation will result in bid disqualification.

3. PRE-BID MEETING: The item identified below shall apply to this Solicitation.

A pre-bid meeting will not be held prior to bid opening

A MANDATORY PRE-BID meeting will be held at the following place and time:

All Vendors submitting a bid must attend the mandatory pre-bid meeting. Failure to attend the mandatory pre-bid meeting shall result in disqualification of the Vendor’s bid. No one individual is permitted to represent more than one vendor at the pre-bid meeting. Any individual that does attempt to represent two or more vendors will be required to select one vendor to which the individual’s attendance will be attributed. The vendors not selected will be deemed to have not attended the pre-bid meeting unless another individual attended on their behalf.

An attendance sheet provided at the pre-bid meeting shall serve as the official document verifying attendance. Any person attending the pre-bid meeting on behalf of a Vendor must list on the attendance sheet his or her name and the name of the Vendor he or she is representing. It is the Vendor’s responsibility to locate the attendance sheet and provide the required information. Failure to complete the attendance sheet as required may result in disqualification of Vendor’s bid.

**A pre-bid meeting will not be held**

Vendors who arrive after the starting time but prior to the end of the pre-bid will be permitted to sign in but are charged with knowing all matters discussed at the pre-bid.

Any discussions or answers to questions at the pre-bid meeting are preliminary in nature and are non-binding. Official and binding answers to questions will be published in a written addendum to the Solicitation prior to bid opening.

4. VENDOR QUESTION DEADLINE: Vendors may submit questions relating to this

Solicitation to the Purchasing Division. Questions must be submitted in writing. All questions must be submitted on or before the date listed below and to the address listed below to be considered. A written response will be published in a Solicitation addendum if a response is possible and appropriate. Non-written discussions, conversations, or questions and answers regarding this Solicitation are preliminary in nature and are non-binding.

Submitted emails should have the solicitation number in the subject line. Question

Submission Deadline:

Submit Questions to:

2019 Washington Street, East Charleston, WV 25305

Fax: (304) 558-3970

Email:

5. VERBAL COMMUNICATION: Any verbal communication between the Vendor and any State personnel is not binding, including verbal communication at the mandatory pre-bid conference. Only information issued in writing and added to the Solicitation by an official written addendum by the Purchasing Division is binding.

6. BID SUBMISSION: All bids must be submitted on or before the date and time of the bid opening listed in section 7 below. Vendors can submit bids electronically through wvOASIS, in paper form delivered to the Purchasing Division at the address listed below either in person or by courier, or in facsimile form by faxing to the Purchasing Division at the number listed below. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Purchasing Division may prohibit the submission of bids electronically through wvOASIS at its sole discretion. Such a prohibition will be contained and communicated in the wvOASIS system resulting in the Vendor’s inability to submit bids through wvOASIS. The Purchasing Division will not accept bids or modification of bids via email.

July 20, 2026 at 10:00 AM ET

Crystal Hustead crystal.g.hustead@wv.gov

Bids submitted in paper, facsimile, or via wvOASIS must contain a signature. Failure to submit a bid in any form without a signature will result in rejection of your bid.

A bid submitted in paper or facsimile form should contain the information listed below on the face of the submission envelope or fax cover sheet. Otherwise, the bid may be rejected by the

Purchasing Division.

VENDOR NAME:

BUYER:

SOLICITATION NO.:

BID OPENING DATE:

BID OPENING TIME:

FAX NUMBER:

Any bid received by the Purchasing Division staff is considered to be in the possession of the

Purchasing Division and will not be returned for any reason.

Bid Delivery Address and Fax Number:

Department of Administration, Purchasing Division 2019 Washington Street East

Charleston, WV 25305-0130

Fax: 304-558-3970

7. BID OPENING: Bids submitted in response to this Solicitation will be opened at the location identified below on the date and time listed below. Delivery of a bid after the bid opening date and time will result in bid disqualification. For purposes of this Solicitation, a bid is considered delivered when confirmation of delivery is provided by wvOASIS (in the case of electronic submission) or when the bid is time stamped by the official Purchasing

Division time clock (in the case of hand delivery or via delivery by mail).

Bid Opening Date and Time:

Bid Opening Location:

Department of Administration, Purchasing Division 2019 Washington Street East

Charleston, WV 25305-0130

8. ADDENDUM ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: Changes or revisions to this Solicitation will be made by an official written addendum issued by the Purchasing Division. Vendor should acknowledge receipt of all addenda issued with this Solicitation by completing an Addendum

Acknowledgement Form. Failure to acknowledge addenda may result in bid disqualification.

The addendum acknowledgement should be submitted with the bid to expedite document processing.

Crystal Hustead

CRFQ BMS2700000001

July 29, 2026

1:30 PM ET

304-558-3970

July 29, 2026 at 1:30 PM ET

9. BID FORMATTING: Vendor should type or electronically enter the information onto its bid to prevent errors in the evaluation. Failure to type or electronically enter the information may result in bid disqualification.

10. ALTERNATE MODEL OR BRAND: Unless the box below is checked, any model, brand, or specification listed in this Solicitation establishes the acceptable level of quality only and is not intended to reflect a preference for, or in any way favor, a particular brand or vendor. Vendors may bid alternates to a listed model or brand provided that the alternate is at least equal to the model or brand and complies with the required specifications. The equality of any alternate being bid shall be determined by the State at its sole discretion. Any Vendor bidding an alternate model or brand shall clearly identify the alternate items in its bid and should include manufacturer’s specifications, industry literature, and/or any other relevant documentation demonstrating the equality of the alternate items. Failure to provide information for alternate items may be grounds for rejection of a Vendor’s bid.

This Solicitation is based upon a standardized commodity established under W. Va. Code § 5A-3-61. Vendors are expected to bid the standardized commodity identified. Failure to bid the standardized commodity will result in your firm’s bid being rejected.

11. COMMUNICATION LIMITATIONS: In accordance with West Virginia Code of State Rules §148-1-6.6.2, communication with the State of West Virginia or any of its employees regarding this Solicitation during the solicitation, bid, evaluation or award periods, except through the Purchasing Division, is strictly prohibited without prior Purchasing Division approval. Purchasing Division approval for such communication is implied for all agency delegated and exempt purchases.

12. REGISTRATION: Prior to Contract award, the apparent successful Vendor must be properly registered with the West Virginia Purchasing Division and must have paid the $125 fee, if applicable.

13. UNIT PRICE: Unit prices shall prevail in cases of a discrepancy in the Vendor’s bid.

14. PREFERENCE: Vendor Preference may be requested in purchases of motor vehicles or construction and maintenance equipment and machinery used in highway and other infrastructure projects. Any request for preference must be submitted in writing with the bid, must specifically identify the preference requested with reference to the applicable subsection of West Virginia Code § 5A-3-37, and must include with the bid any information necessary to evaluate and confirm the applicability of the requested preference. A request form to help facilitate the request can be found at: www.state.wv.us/admin/purchase/vrc/Venpref.pdf.

15A. RECIPROCAL PREFERENCE: The State of West Virginia applies a reciprocal preference to all solicitations for commodities and printing in accordance with W. Va. Code

§ 5A-3-37(b). In effect, non-resident vendors receiving a preference in their home states, will see that same preference granted to West Virginia resident vendors bidding against them in

West Virginia. Any request for reciprocal preference must include with the bid any information necessary to evaluate and confirm the applicability of the preference. A request form to help facilitate the request can be found at:

www.state.wv.us/admin/purchase/vrc/Venpref.pdf.

15. SMALL, WOMEN-OWNED, OR MINORITY-OWNED BUSINESSES:

For any solicitations publicly advertised for bid, in accordance with West Virginia Code §5A-

3-37 and W. Va. CSR § 148-22-9, any non-resident vendor certified as a small, women-owned, or minority-owned business under W. Va. CSR § 148-22-9 shall be provided the same preference made available to any resident vendor. Any non-resident small, women-owned, or minority- owned business must identify itself as such in writing, must submit that writing to the Purchasing Division with its bid, and must be properly certified under W. Va. CSR § 148-

22-9 prior to contract award to receive the preferences made available to resident vendors.

16. WAIVER OF MINOR IRREGULARITIES: The Director reserves the right to waive minor irregularities in bids or specifications in accordance with West Virginia Code of State

Rules § 148-1-4.7.

17. ELECTRONIC FILE ACCESS RESTRICTIONS: Vendor must ensure that its submission in wvOASIS can be accessed and viewed by the Purchasing Division staff immediately upon bid opening. The Purchasing Division will consider any file that cannot be immediately accessed and viewed at the time of the bid opening (such as, encrypted files, password protected files, or incompatible files) to be blank or incomplete as context requires and are therefore unacceptable. A vendor will not be permitted to unencrypt files, remove password protections, or resubmit documents after bid opening to make a file viewable if those documents are required with the bid. A Vendor may be required to provide document passwords or remove access restrictions to allow the Purchasing Division to print or electronically save documents provided that those documents are viewable by the Purchasing

Division prior to obtaining the password or removing the access restriction.

18. NON-RESPONSIBLE: The Purchasing Division Director reserves the right to reject the bid of any vendor as Non-Responsible in accordance with W. Va. Code of State Rules § 148-

1- 5.3, when the Director determines that the vendor submitting the bid does not have the capability to fully perform or lacks the integrity and reliability to assure good-faith performance.”

19. ACCEPTANCE/REJECTION: The State may accept or reject any bid in whole, or in part in accordance with W. Va. Code of State Rules § 148-1-4.6. and § 148-1-6.3.”

20. WITH THE BID REQUIREMENTS: In instances where these specifications require documentation or other information with the bid, and a vendor fails to provide it with the bid, the Director of the Purchasing Division reserves the right to request those items after bid opening and prior to contract award pursuant to the authority to waive minor irregularities in bids or specifications under W. Va. CSR § 148-1-4.7. This authority does not apply to instances where state law mandates receipt with the bid.

21. EMAIL NOTIFICATION OF AWARD: The Purchasing Division will attempt to provide bidders with e-mail notification of contract award when a solicitation that the bidder participated in has been awarded. For notification purposes, bidders must provide the

Purchasing Division with a valid email address in the bid response. Bidders may also monitor wvOASIS or the Purchasing Division’s website to determine when a contract has been awarded.

22. EXCEPTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS: The Solicitation contains the specifications that shall form the basis of a contractual agreement. Vendor shall clearly mark any exceptions, clarifications, or other proposed modifications in its bid. Exceptions to, clarifications of, or modifications of a requirement or term and condition of the Solicitation may result in bid disqualification.