RFP 64-811 Weekend Porter and Housekeeping Services FINAL.pdf

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA

The University of North Carolina Asheville

Request for Proposal #: 64-811

Weekend Porter & Housekeeping Services

Date of Issue: June 21, 2024

Proposal Opening Date: July 16, 2024

At 3:00 PM ET

Direct all inquiries concerning this RFP to:

Lane Brown Purchasing Agent

Email: Lbrown@unca.edu

Phone: 828-232-2285

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STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA

Request for Proposal #

64-811

For internal State agency processing, including tabulation of proposals, provide your company’s eVP (Electronic Vendor Portal) Number. Pursuant to G.S. 132-1.10(b) this identification number shall not be released to the public.

This page will be removed and shredded, or otherwise kept confidential, before the procurement file is made available for public inspection.

This page shall be filled out and returned with your proposal.

Failure to do so may subject your proposal to rejection.

Vendor Name

Vendor eVP#

Note: For a contract to be awarded to you, your company (you) must be a North Carolina registered vendor in good standing. You must enter the vendor number assigned through eVP (Electronic Vendor

Portal). If you do not have a vendor number, register at https://vendor.ncgov.com/vendor/login

Electronic responses ONLY will be accepted for this solicitation.

https://vendor.ncgov.com/vendor/login

Proposal Number: [Add RFP #] Vendor: __________________________________________

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AGENCY: THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA ASHEVILLE

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS NUMBER: 64-811

Refer all inquiries to Lane Brown, Purchasing Agent

Lbrown@unca.edu Phone: 828-232-2285 Fax: 828-251-6743

Deadline to submit responses to this RFP: 07/16/2024 at 3:00 p.m.

EXECUTION

In compliance with this Request for Proposals (RFP), and subject to all the conditions herein, the undersigned Vendor offers and agrees to furnish and deliver any or all items upon which prices are bid, at the prices set opposite each item within the time specified herein.

By executing this proposal, the undersigned Vendor understands that false certification is a Class I felony and certifies that:

this proposal is submitted competitively and without collusion (G.S. 143-54), none of its officers, directors, or owners of an unincorporated business entity has been convicted of any violations of Chapter 78A of the General Statutes, the Securities Act of 1933, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (G.S. 143-59.2), and it is not an ineligible Vendor as set forth in G.S. 143-59.1.

Furthermore, by executing this proposal, the undersigned certifies to the best of Vendor’s knowledge and belief, that:

it and its principals are not presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible or voluntarily excluded from covered transactions by any Federal or State department or agency.

As required by G.S. 143-48.5, the undersigned Vendor certifies that it, and each of its sub-Contractors for any Contract awarded as a result of this RFP, complies with the requirements of Article 2 of Chapter 64 of the NC General Statutes, including the requirement for each employer with more than 25 employees in North Carolina to verify the work authorization of its employees through the federal E-Verify system.

As required by Executive Order 24 (2017), the undersigned vendor certifies will comply with all Federal and State requirements concerning fair employment and that it does not and will not discriminate, harass, or retaliate against any employee in connection with performance of any Contract arising from this solicitation.

G.S. 133-32 and Executive Order 24 (2009) prohibit the offer to, or acceptance by, any State Employee associated with the preparing plans, specifications, estimates for public contracts; or awarding or administering public contracts; or inspecting or supervising delivery of the public contract of any gift from anyone with a contract with the State, or from any person seeking to do business with the State. By execution of this response to the RFP, the undersigned certifies, for Vendor’s entire organization and its employees or agents, that Vendor is not aware that any such gift has been offered, accepted, or promised by any employees of your organization.

By executing this proposal, Vendor certifies that it has read and agreed to the INSTRUCTION TO VENDORS and the NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS incorporated herein. These documents can be accessed from the ATTACHMENTS page within this document.

Failure to execute/sign proposal prior to submittal may render proposal invalid and it MAY BE REJECTED. Late proposals shall not be accepted.

COMPLETE/FORMAL NAME OF VENDOR:

STREET ADDRESS: P.O. BOX: ZIP:

CITY & STATE & ZIP: TELEPHONE NUMBER: TOLL FREE TEL. NO:

PRINCIPAL PLACE OF BUSINESS ADDRESS IF DIFFERENT FROM ABOVE (SEE INSTRUCTIONS TO VENDORS ITEM #21):

PRINT NAME & TITLE OF PERSON SIGNING ON BEHALF OF VENDOR: FAX NUMBER:

VENDOR’S AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE*: DATE: EMAIL:

Proposal Number: 64-811 Vendor: __________________________________________

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VALIDITY PERIOD

Offer shall be valid for at least sixty 60 days from date of bid opening, unless otherwise stated here: ______ days, or if extended by mutual agreement of the parties in writing. Any withdrawal of this offer shall be made in writing, effective upon receipt by the agency issuing this RFP.

ACCEPTANCE OF PROPOSAL

If your proposal is accepted, all provisions of this RFP, along with the written results of any negotiations, shall constitute the written agreement between the parties (“Contract”). The NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS are incorporated herein and shall apply. Depending upon the Goods or Services being offered, other terms and conditions may apply, as mutually agreed.

FOR STATE USE ONLY: Offer accepted and Contract awarded this________ day of __________, 20____, as indicated on

The attached certification, by ____________________________________________________________________.

(Authorized Representative of The University of North Carolina Asheville)

Vendor Checklist

By signing the Execution Page of this RFP, you are acknowledging the following items have been reviewed, signed and attached with Vendor response.

Failure to include this information with bid response may render proposal invalid and it MAY BE REJECTED.

Initials Description

Pricing – Attachment A

Instructions to Vendor – Attachment B

North Carolina General Terms & Conditions – Attachment C

HUB Supplemental Vendor Information – Attachment D

Customer References – Attachment E

Location of Workers – Attachment F

Certification of Financial Condition – Attachment G

Invoices – Section 4.2

Vendor Experience – Section 4.5

Any Published Addenda on the electronic Vendor Portal (eVP) for this RFP

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Contents

1.0 PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND

1.1 CONTRACT TERM

2.0 GENERAL INFORMATION

2.1 REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL DOCUMENT

2.2 NOTICE TO VENDORS REGARDING RFP TERMS AND CONDITIONS

2.3 RFP SCHEDULE

2.4 MANDATORY SITE VISIT

2.5 PROPOSAL QUESTIONS

2.6 PROPOSAL SUBMITTAL

2.7 PROPOSAL CONTENTS

2.8 ALTERNATE PROPOSALS

2.9 DEFINITIONS, ACRONYMS, AND ABBREVIATIONS

3.0 METHOD OF AWARD AND PROPOSAL EVALUATION PROCESS

3.1 METHOD OF AWARD

3.2 CONFIDENTIALITY AND PROHIBITED COMMUNICATIONS DURING EVALUATION

3.3 PROPOSAL EVALUATION PROCESS

3.4 EVALUATION CRITERIA

3.5 PERFORMANCE OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES

3.6 INTERPRETATION OF TERMS AND PHRASES

4.0 REQUIREMENTS

4.1 PRICING

4.2 INVOICES

4.3 FINANCIAL STABILITY

4.4 HUB PARTICIPATION

4.5 VENDOR EXPERIENCE

4.6 REFERENCES

4.7 BACKGROUND CHECKS

4.8 PERSONNEL

4.9 VENDOR’S REPRESENTATIONS

5.0 SPECIFICATIONS AND SCOPE OF WORK

5.1 GENERAL

5.2 TASKS/DELIVERABLES

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6.0 CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION

6.1 CONTRACT MANAGER AND CUSTOMER SERVICE

6.2 CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

6.3 ACCEPTANCE OF WORK

6.4 TRANSITION ASSISTANCE

6.5 DISPUTE RESOLUTION

6.6 USE OF THIS CONTRACT BY UNC SYSTEM

6.7 CONTRACT CHANGES

7.0 ATTACHMENTS

ATTACHMENT A: PRICING

ATTACHMENT B: INSTRUCTIONS TO VENDORS

ATTACHMENT C: NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL TERMS & CONDITIONS

ATTACHMENT D: HUB SUPPLEMENTAL VENDOR INFORMATION

ATTACHMENT E: CUSTOMER REFERENCE FORM

ATTACHMENT F: LOCATION OF WORKERS UTILIZED BY VENDOR

ATTACHMENT G: CERTIFICATION OF FINANCIAL CONDITION

THE REMAINDER OF THIS PAGE IS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK

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1.0 PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND

The requested weekend housekeeping services are for portions of two (2) facilities in the Student Life area of UNC Asheville. These facilities are cleaned and maintained Monday-Friday by UNC Asheville personnel from 7am on Monday until 10pm on Friday night. While the usage of the spaces is not as high on the weekends the facilities are still used and the expectation of APPA Level 2 Ordinary Tidiness or Level 3 Casual Inattention is met.

The primary facility is Highsmith Student Union and will be referred to throughout the rest of the document as Highsmith. The secondary facility with minimal needs on the weekends is Brown Hall which will be referred to as Brown.

Highsmith is an active facility on campus where students and others from the University community come to eat in the food court, utilize study or meeting spaces, pass through, visit the student mail center, game room or bookstore, or engage in a variety of University activities. There are also offices throughout the facility but housekeeping in offices is covered by University staff and is not part of this scope of services. Services that are expected under this contract will include keeping the building in reasonable clean and sanitary conditions on Saturday and Sunday and more specific details are found in section 5.0 SCOPE.

Brown is the main dining facility on campus and is managed by both the University and Chartwells Higher Ed for food service needs. Chartwells staff handles the majority of the housekeeping and cleaning services within Brown but this contract will cover service at the main entrance and restrooms area on Saturday and Sunday. More specific details are found in section 5.0 SCOPE.

Proposals shall be submitted in accordance with the terms and conditions of this RFP and any addenda issued hereto.

1.1 CONTRACT TERM

The Contract shall have an initial term of two (2) years, beginning on the date of contract award (the “Effective Date”). The Vendor shall begin work under the Contract on August 17, 2024, as noted in the RFP.

At the end of the Contract’s current term, UNC Asheville shall have the option, in its sole discretion, to renew the Contract on the same terms and conditions for up to a total of one (1) additional one-year term. UNC Asheville will give the Vendor written notice of its intent whether to exercise each option no later than 30 days before the end of the Contract’s then-current term. In addition, UNC Asheville reserves the right to extend a contract term for a period of up to 180 days in 90-day-or-less increments.

Proposals shall be submitted in accordance with the terms and conditions of this RFP and any addenda issued hereto.

2.0 GENERAL INFORMATION

2.1 REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL DOCUMENT

This RFP is comprised of the base RFP document, any attachments, and any addenda released before Contract award, which are incorporated herein by reference.

2.2 NOTICE TO VENDORS REGARDING RFP TERMS AND CONDITIONS

It shall be the Vendor’s responsibility to read the Instructions to Vendors, the North Carolina General Terms and Conditions, all relevant exhibits and attachments, and any other components made a part of this RFP and comply with all requirements and specifications herein. Vendors are also responsible for obtaining and complying with all Addenda and other changes that may be issued in connection with this RFP.

If Vendors have questions or issues regarding any component of this RFP, those must be submitted as questions in accordance with the instructions in the PROPOSAL QUESTIONS Section. If UNC Asheville determines that any changes will be made as a result of the questions asked, then such decisions will be communicated in the form of an RFP addendum. The State may also elect to leave open the possibility for later negotiation of specific provisions of the Contract that have been addressed during the question-and-answer period, prior to contract award.

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Other than through the process of negotiation under 01 NCAC 05B.0503, the State rejects and will not be required to evaluate or consider any additional or modified terms and conditions submitted with Vendor’s proposal or otherwise. This applies to any language appearing in or attached to the document as part of the Vendor’s proposal that purports to vary any terms and conditions or Vendors’ instructions herein or to render the proposal non-binding or subject to further negotiation. Vendor’s proposal shall constitute a firm offer that shall be held open for the period required herein (“Validity Period” above).

UNC Asheville may exercise its discretion to consider Vendor proposed modifications. By execution and delivery of this RFP Response, the Vendor agrees that any additional or modified terms and conditions, whether submitted purposely or inadvertently, shall have no force or effect, and will be disregarded unless expressly agreed upon through negotiation and incorporated by way of a Best and Final Offer (BAFO). Noncompliance with, or any attempt to alter or delete, this paragraph shall constitute sufficient grounds to reject Vendor’s proposal as nonresponsive.

2.3 RFP SCHEDULE

The table below shows the intended schedule for this RFP. UNC Asheville will make every effort to adhere to this schedule.

Event Responsibility Date and Time Issue RFP State June 21, 2024 Mandatory Site Visit State Monday, July 1, 2024, at 2:30 pm EST Submit Written Questions Vendor Monday, July 8, 2024, at 3:00 pm EST Provide Response to Questions State Wednesday, July 10, 2024, at 5:00 pm EST Submit Proposals Vendor Tuesday, July 16, 2024, at 3:00 pm EST

2.4 MANDATORY SITE VISIT

Mandatory Site Visit Details:

Date: July 1, 2024 Time: 2:30 pm Eastern Time Location: One University Heights – Highsmith Student Union

Mt. Mitchell Room 226 Asheville, NC 28804

Contact #: 828-232-2285

Instructions: It shall be MANDATORY that a representative from each Vendor be present for a pre-proposal site visit.

Attendees must arrive promptly All attendees must sign in upon arrival and clearly indicate each prospective Vendor represented on the sign in sheet. LATE ARRIVALS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO SIGN IN OR PARTICIPATE IN THE SITE VISIT, NOR SHALL THEIR PROPOSAL BE CONSIDERED. Once the sign-in process is complete, all other persons wishing to attend may do so to the extent that space and circumstances allow.

FAILURE TO ATTEND THE MANDATORY SITE VISIT SHALL RESULT IN VENDOR’S PROPOSAL BEING DEEMED NON-RESPONSIVE

AND NOT CONSIDERED FOR AWARD.

The purpose of this visit is for all prospective Vendors to apprise themselves of the conditions and requirements which will affect the performance of the work called for by this RFP. Vendors must stay for the duration of the site visit. No allowances will be made for unreported conditions that a prudent Vendor would recognize as affecting the work called for or implied by this RFP.

Vendors are cautioned that any information released to attendees during the site visit, other than that involving the physical aspects of the facility referenced above, and which conflicts with, supersedes, or adds to requirements in this RFP, must be confirmed by written addendum before it can be considered to be a part of this RFP.

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2.5 PROPOSAL QUESTIONS

Upon review of the RFP documents, Vendors may have questions to clarify or interpret the RFP in order to submit the best proposal possible. To accommodate the Proposal Questions process, Vendors shall submit any such questions by the “Submit Written Questions” date and time provided in the RFP SCHEDULE Section above, unless modified by Addendum.

Written questions shall be emailed to Lbrown@unca.edu by the date and time specified above. Vendors should enter “RFP # 64- 811 Questions” as the subject for the email. Question submittals should include a reference to the applicable RFP section and be submitted in the format shown below:

Reference Vendor Question

RFP Section, Page Number Vendor question …?

Questions received prior to the submission deadline date, UNC Asheville’s response, and any additional terms deemed necessary by UNC Asheville will be posted in the form of an addendum to the electronic Vendor Portal (eVP), https://evp.nc.gov, and shall become an Addendum to this RFP. No information, instruction or advice provided orally or informally by any State personnel, whether made in response to a question or otherwise in connection with this RFP, shall be considered authoritative or binding.

Vendors shall rely only on written material contained in the RFP and an addendum to this RFP.

2.6 PROPOSAL SUBMITTAL

IMPORTANT NOTE: This is an absolute requirement. Late bids, regardless of cause, will not be opened or considered, and will be automatically disqualified from further consideration. Vendor shall bear the sole risk of late submission due to unintended or unanticipated delay. It is the Vendor’s sole responsibility to ensure its proposal has been received as described in this RFP by the specified time and date of opening. The time and date of receipt will be marked on each proposal when received. Any proposal or portion thereof received after the proposal deadline will be rejected.

[eVP]

All proposal responses shall be submitted electronically via the electronic Vendor Portal (eVP). Additional information can be found at the eVP updates for Vendors link: https://eprocurement.nc.gov/news-events/evp-updates-vendors.

If confidential and proprietary information is included in the proposal, also submit one (1) signed, REDACTED copy of the proposal.

Such information may include trade secrets defined by N.C. Gen. Stat. § 66-152 and other information exempted from the Public Records Act pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. §132- 1.2. Vendor may designate information, Products, Services or appropriate portions of its response as confidential, consistent with and to the extent permitted under the statutes and rules set forth above. By so redacting any page, or portion of a page, the Vendor warrants that it has formed a good faith opinion, having received such necessary or proper review by counsel and other knowledgeable advisors, that the portions determined to be confidential and proprietary and redacted as such, meet the requirements of the Rules and Statutes set forth above. However, under no circumstances shall price information be designated as confidential.

If the Vendor does not provide a redacted version of the proposal with its proposal submission, the Department may release an unredacted version if a record request is received.

Failure to submit a proposal in strict accordance with these instructions shall constitute sufficient cause to reject a Vendor’s proposal(s). Vendors are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to upload proposals.

Critical updated information may be included in Addenda to this RFP. It is important that all Vendors responding to this RFP periodically check the State’s eVP website for any Addenda that may be issued prior to the bid opening date. All Vendors shall be deemed to have read and understood all information in this RFP and all Addenda thereto.

https://evp.nc.gov/

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2.7 PROPOSAL CONTENTS

Vendors shall populate all attachments of this RFP that require the Vendor to provide information and include an authorized signature where requested. Failure to provide all required items, or Vendor’s submission of incomplete items, may result in UNC Asheville rejecting Vendor’s proposal, in UNC Asheville’s sole discretion.

Vendor RFP responses shall include the following items and attachments, which shall be arranged in the following order:

a) Cover Letter, which must contain the following: (i) a statement that confirms that the proposer has read the RFP in its entirety, including all links, and all Addenda released in conjunction with the RFP, (ii) a statement that the Vendor agrees to perform in accordance with the scope of work, requirements, and specifications contained herein; and (iii) Vendor’s agreement to comply with all instructions, terms and conditions, and attachments.

b) Title Page: Include the company name, address, phone number and authorized representative along with the Proposal Number.

c) Completed and signed version of all EXECUTION PAGES, along with the body of the RFP.

d) Signed receipt pages of any addenda released in conjunction with this RFP, if required to be returned.

e) Vendor’s Proposal addressing all Specifications of this RFP. [Indicate relative section references as a guide to responding to sections requiring additional responses outside of the solicitation document. If not required, delete.]

f) Completed version of ATTACHMENT A: PRICING

g) Completed version of ATTACHMENT D: HUB SUPPLEMENTAL VENDOR INFORMATION

h) Completed version of ATTACHMENT E: CUSTOMER REFERENCE FORM

i) Completed version of ATTACHMENT F: LOCATION OF WORKERS UTILIZED BY VENDOR

j) Completed and signed version of ATTACHMENT G: CERTIFICATION OF FINANCIAL CONDITION

2.8 ALTERNATE PROPOSALS

Unless provided otherwise in this RFP, Vendor may submit alternate proposals for comparable Goods, various methods or levels of Service(s), or that propose different options. Alternate proposals must specifically identify the RFP requirements and advantage(s) addressed by the alternate proposal. Any alternate proposal, in addition to the marking described above, must be clearly marked with the legend: “Alternate Proposal #___ [for ‘name of Vendor’]”. Each proposal must be for a specific set of Goods and Services and must include specific pricing. If a Vendor chooses to respond with various offerings, each must be offered with a separate price and be contained in a separate proposal document. Each proposal must be complete and independent of other proposals offered.

2.9 DEFINITIONS, ACRONYMS, AND ABBREVIATIONS

Relevant definitions for this RFP are provided in 01 NCAC 05A .0112 and in the Instructions to Vendors found below which are incorporated herein by this reference.

The following definitions, acronyms, and abbreviations are also relevant to this RFP:

a. BAFO: Best and Final Offer, submitted by a vendor to alter its initial offer, made in response to a request by the issuing agency.

b. BUYER: The employee of UNC Asheville or Other Eligible Entity that places an order with the Vendor.

c. CONTRACT LEAD: Representative of UNC Asheville who corresponds with potential Vendors in order to identify and contract with that Vendor providing the greatest benefit to UNC Asheville and who will administer the contract for UNC Asheville.

d. FOB-DESTINATION: Title changes hand from Vendor to purchaser at the destination point of the shipment; Vendor owns commodity in transit and files any claims, and Vendor pays all freight and any related transportation charges. A solicitation may request Vendors to separately identify freight charges in their proposal, but no amount or charge not included as part of the total proposal price will be paid.

e. LOT: A grouping of similar products within this RFP.

f. ON-TIME DELIVERY: The delivery of all items within a single order to the receiving point designated by the ordering entity within the delivery time required.

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g. QUALIFIED PROPOSAL: A responsive proposal submitted by a responsible Vendor.

h. RFP: Request for Proposal

i. STATE: The State of North Carolina, including any of its sub-units recognized under North Carolina law.

j. STATE AGENCY: Any of the more than 400 sub-units within the executive branch of the State, including its departments, boards, commissions of higher education and other institutions.

k. UNC ASHEVILLE: The University of North Carolina at Asheville is one of 17 schools in the State University System. Also referred to herein as “The University” or “University”.

l. VENDOR: Supplier, contractor, bidder, proposer, company, firm, corporation, partnership, individual or other entity submitting a response to a Request for Proposal.

3.0 METHOD OF AWARD AND PROPOSAL EVALUATION PROCESS

3.1 METHOD OF AWARD

North Carolina G.S. 143-52 provides a general list of criteria the State shall use to award contracts, as supplemented by the additional criteria herein. The Goods or Services being procured shall dictate the application and order of criteria; however, all award decisions shall be in UNC Asheville’s best interest. All qualified proposals will be evaluated, and awards will be made to the Vendor(s) meeting the specific RFP Specifications and achieving the highest and best final evaluation, based on the criteria described below.

While the intent of this RFP is to award a Contract(s) to a single vendor, UNC Asheville reserves the right to make separate awards to different Vendors for one or more line items, to not award one or more line items or to cancel this RFP in its entirety without awarding a Contract, if it is considered to be most advantageous to UNC Asheville to do so.

UNC Asheville reserves the right to waive any minor informality or technicality in proposals received.

3.2 CONFIDENTIALITY AND PROHIBITED COMMUNICATIONS DURING EVALUATION

While this RFP is under evaluation, the responding Vendor, including any subcontractors and suppliers, is prohibited from engaging in conversations intended to influence the outcome of the evaluation. See the Paragraph 29 of the Instructions to Vendors entitled

COMMUNICTIONS BY VENDORS.

Each Vendor submitting a proposal to this RFP, including its employees, agents, subcontractors, suppliers, subsidiaries and affiliates, is prohibited from having any communications with any person inside or outside the using agency; issuing agency; other government agency office or body (including the purchaser named above, any department secretary, agency head, members of the General Assembly and Governor’s office); or private entity, if the communication refers to the content of Vendor’s proposal or qualifications, the content of another Vendor’s proposal, another Vendor’s qualifications or ability to perform a resulting contract, and/or the transmittal of any other communication of information that could be reasonably considered to have the effect of directly or indirectly influencing the evaluation of proposals, the award of a contract, or both.

Any Vendor not in compliance with this provision shall be disqualified from evaluation and award. A Vendor’s proposal may be disqualified if its subcontractor and/or supplier engage in any of the foregoing communications during the time that the procurement is active (i.e., the issuance date of the procurement until the date of contract award or cancellation of the procurement). Only those discussions, communications or transmittals of information authorized or initiated by the issuing agency for this RFP or inquiries directed to the purchaser named in this RFP regarding requirements of the RFP (prior to proposal submission) or the status of the award (after submission) are excepted from this provision.

3.3 PROPOSAL EVALUATION PROCESS

Only responsive submissions will be evaluated.

UNC Asheville will conduct a One-Step evaluation of Proposals:

Proposals will be received according to the method stated in the Proposal Submittal Section above.

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All proposals must be received by the issuing agency not later than the date and time specified in the RFP SCHEDULE Section above, unless modified by Addendum. Vendors are cautioned that this is a request for offers, not an offer or request to contract, and UNC Asheville reserves the unqualified right to reject any and all offers at any time if such rejection is deemed to be in the best interest of UNC Asheville.

At the date and time provided in the RFP SCHEDULE Section above, unless modified by Addendum, the proposal from each responding Vendor will be accessed via the eVP and all offers (except those that have been previously withdrawn, or voided bids) will be noted. Since negotiations after receipt of bids is authorized pursuant to G.S. 143-49 and 01 NCAC 05B.0503, only the names of offerors and the Goods and Services offered shall be noted at the time of opening. Interested parties are cautioned that proposals and their components are subject to further evaluation for completeness and correctness and therefore may not be an exact indicator of a Vendor’s final position.

At their option, the evaluators may request oral presentations or discussions with any or all Vendors for clarification or to amplify the materials presented in any part of the proposal. Vendors are cautioned, however, that the evaluators are not required to request presentations or other clarification—and often do not. Therefore, all proposals should be complete and reflect the most favorable terms available from the Vendor.

3.4 EVALUATION CRITERIA

BEST VALUE: "Best Value" procurement methods are authorized by N.C.G.S. §§143-135.9 and 143B-1350(h). The award decision is made based on multiple factors, including: total cost of ownership, meaning the cost of acquiring, operating, maintaining, and supporting a product or service over its projected lifetime; the evaluated technical merit of the Vendor's offer; the Vendor's past performance; and the evaluated probability of performing the specifications stated in the solicitation on time, with high quality, and in a manner that accomplishes the stated business objectives and maintains industry standards compliance. The intent of "Best Value" procurement is to enable Vendors to offer and the Agency to select the most appropriate solution to meet the business objectives defined in the solicitation and to keep all parties focused on the desired outcome of a procurement.

A ranking method of source selection will be utilized in this procurement using evaluation criteria listed in order of importance in the Evaluation Criteria section below to allow UNC Asheville to award this RFP to the Vendor(s) providing the Best Value and recognizing that Best Value may result in award other than the lowest price or highest technically qualified offer. By using this method, the overall ranking may be adjusted up or down when considered with, or traded-off against, other non-price factors.

EVALUTION METHOD: Narrative and by consensus of the evaluating committee, explaining the strengths and weaknesses of each proposal and why the recommended awardee(s) provide the best value to UNC Asheville.

All qualified proposals will be evaluated, and award made based on considering the following criteria listed in descending order of importance, to result in an award most advantageous to UNC Asheville:

1. Vendor Technical Approach

2. Vendor Qualifications

3. Vendor Experience/References

4. Pricing

3.5 PERFORMANCE OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES

Vendor shall complete ATTACHMENT F: LOCATION OF WORKERS UTILIZED BY VENDOR. In addition to any other evaluation criteria identified in this RFP, UNC Asheville may also consider, for purposes of evaluating proposed or actual contract performance outside of the United States, how that performance may affect the following factors to ensure that any award will be in the best interest of UNC Asheville:

a) Total cost to UNC Asheville

b) Level of quality provided by the Vendor

c) Process and performance capability across multiple jurisdictions

d) Protection of UNC Asheville’s information and intellectual property

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e) Availability of pertinent skills

f) Ability to understand UNC Asheville’s business requirements and internal operational culture

g) Particular risk factors such as the security of UNC Asheville’s information technology

h) Relations with citizens and employees

i) Contract enforcement jurisdictional issues

3.6 INTERPRETATION OF TERMS AND PHRASES

This RFP serves two functions: (1) to advise potential Vendors of the parameters of the solution being sought by UNC Asheville;

and (2) to provide (together with other specified documents) the terms of the Contract resulting from this procurement. The use of phrases such as “shall,” “must,” and “requirements” are intended to create enforceable contract conditions. In determining whether proposals should be evaluated or rejected, UNC Asheville will take into consideration the degree to which Vendors have proposed or failed to propose solutions that will satisfy UNC Asheville’s needs as described in the RFP. Except as specifically stated in the RFP, no one requirement shall automatically disqualify a Vendor from consideration. However, failure to comply with any single requirement may result in UNC Asheville exercising its discretion to reject a proposal in its entirety.

4.0 REQUIREMENTS

This Section lists the requirements related to this RFP. By submitting a proposal, the Vendor agrees to meet all stated requirements in this Section as well as any other specifications, requirements, and terms and conditions stated in this RFP. If a Vendor is unclear about a requirement or specification, or believes a change to a requirement would allow for UNC Asheville to receive a better proposal, the Vendor is urged to submit these items in the form of a question during the question and answer period in accordance with the Proposal Questions Section above.

4.1 PRICING

Proposal price shall constitute the total cost to UNC Asheville for complete performance in accordance with the requirements and specifications herein, including all applicable charges for handling, transportation, administrative and other similar fees. Complete ATTACHMENT A: PRICING FORM and include in Vendor’s proposal. The pricing provided in ATTACHMENT A, or resulting from any negotiations, is incorporated herein and shall become part of any resulting Contract.

4.2 INVOICES

The Vendor must submit one monthly invoice within fifteen (15) calendar days following the end of each month in which work was performed. Electronic invoices can be emailed to acctspayable@unca.edu. Invoices should include, at a minimum: Vendor’s Billing Address, Customer Account Number, Order Date, Buyers Order Number, Manufacturer Part Numbers, Vendor Part Numbers, Item Descriptions, Price, Quantity, and Unit of Measure. Hard copy invoices must be submitted to:

Accounts Payable

106 Phillips Hall CPO 1423

One University Heights

Asheville, North Carolina 28804

INVOICES MAY NOT BE PAID UNTIL AN INSPECTION HAS OCCURRED AND THE GOODS OR SERVICES ACCEPTED.

4.3 FINANCIAL STABILITY

As a condition of contract award, the Vendor must certify that it has the financial capacity to perform and to continue to perform its obligations under the Contract; that Vendor has no constructive or actual knowledge of an actual or potential legal proceeding being brought against Vendor that could materially adversely affect performance of this Contract; and that entering into this Contract is not prohibited by any contract, or order by any court of competent jurisdiction.

Each Vendor shall certify it is financially stable by completing ATTACHMENT G: CERTIFICATION OF FINANCIAL CONDITION. UNC Asheville is requiring this certification to minimize potential issues from contracting with a Vendor that is financially unstable. From the date of the Certification to the expiration of the Contract, the Vendor shall notify UNC Asheville within thirty (30) days of any mailto:acctspayable@unca.edu

Ver: 11/2023 12 occurrence or condition that materially alters the truth of any statement made in this Certification. The Contract Manager may require annual recertification of the Vendor’s financial stability.

4.4 HUB PARTICIPATION

Pursuant to North Carolina General Statute G.S. 143-48, it is State policy to encourage and promote the use of small, minority, physically handicapped, and women contractors in purchasing Goods and Services. As such, this RFP will serve to identify those Vendors that are minority owned or have a strategic plan to support the State’s Historically Underutilized Business program by meeting or exceeding the goal of 10% utilization of diverse firms as 1st or 2nd tier subcontractors. Vendor shall complete

ATTACHMENT D: HUB SUPPLEMENTAL VENDOR INFORMATION.

4.5 VENDOR EXPERIENCE

In its Proposal, Vendor shall demonstrate experience with public and/or private sector clients with similar or greater size and complexity to UNC Asheville. Vendor shall provide information as to the qualifications and experience of all executive, managerial, legal, and professional personnel to be assigned to this project, including resumes citing experience with similar projects and the responsibilities to be assigned to each person.

4.6 REFERENCES

Vendor shall provide at least three (3) references, using ATTACHMENT E: CUSTOMER REFERENCE FORM, for which it has provided Services of similar size and scope to those proposed herein. UNC Asheville may contact these users to determine whether the Services provided are substantially similar in scope to those proposed herein and whether Vendor’s performance has been satisfactory. The information obtained may be considered in the evaluation of the Proposal.

4.7 BACKGROUND CHECKS

Any personnel or agent of Vendor performing Services under any Contract arising from this RFP may be required to undergo a background check at the expense of the Vendor, if so requested by UNC Asheville.

4.8 PERSONNEL

Vendor warrants that qualified personnel shall provide Services under this Contract in a professional manner. “Professional manner” means that the personnel performing the Services will possess the skill and competence consistent with the prevailing business standards in the industry. Vendor will serve as the prime contractor under this Contract and shall be responsible for the performance and payment of all subcontractor(s) that may be approved by UNC Asheville. Names of any third-party Vendors or subcontractors of Vendor may appear for purposes of convenience in Contract documents; and shall not limit Vendor’s obligations hereunder. Vendor will retain executive representation for functional and technical expertise as needed in order to incorporate any work by third party subcontractor(s).

Should the Vendor’s proposal result in an award, the Vendor shall be required to agree that it will not substitute key personnel assigned to the performance of the Contract without prior written approval by the Contract Lead. Vendor shall further agree that it will notify the Contract Lead of any desired substitution, including the name(s) and references of Vendor’s recommended substitute personnel. UNC Asheville will approve or disapprove the requested substitution in a timely manner. UNC Asheville may, in its sole discretion, terminate the Services of any person providing Services under this Contract. Upon such termination, UNC Asheville may request acceptable substitute personnel or terminate the contract Services provided by such personnel.

4.9 VENDOR’S REPRESENTATIONS

If Vendor’s Proposal results in an award, Vendor agrees that it will not enter any agreement with a third party that may abridge any rights of UNC Asheville under the Contract. If any Services, deliverables, functions, or responsibilities not specifically described in this solicitation are required for Vendor’s proper performance, provision and delivery of the Service and deliverables under a resulting Contract, or are an inherent part of or necessary sub-task included within such Service, they will be deemed to be implied by and included within the scope of the Contract to the same extent and in the same manner as if specifically described in the

Ver: 11/2023 13

Contract. Unless otherwise expressly provided herein, Vendor will furnish all of its own necessary management, supervision, labor, facilities, furniture, computer and telecommunications equipment, software, supplies and materials necessary for the Vendor to provide and deliver the Services and/or other Deliverables.

5.0 SPECIFICATIONS AND SCOPE OF WORK

5.1 GENERAL

The schedule for these services in academic year one will cover 9:00am-9:00pm on Saturday and Sunday from Saturday August 17, 2024 through Sunday, May 4, 2025 with the following weekend exceptions. No services needed on November 30, 2024 or December 14-15, 21-22, 28-29, 2024, or January 4-5, 2025. The schedule of services for year two (2) will follow a similar schedule of required weekends and exemptions. There are a total of 33.5 academic year weekends.

The schedule for these services in summer of year one will cover 10:00am-8:00pm on Saturday and noon-8:00pm on Sunday from June 7, 2025 - August 10, 2025. The schedule of summer services for year two (2) will follow a similar schedule. There are a total of 10 summer weekends.

Highsmith will develop patterns of higher use on certain days and on-site staff are expected to notice these patterns and plan their services to respond to needs. This may include specific times of wiping tables in the food court area, specific times of removing trash, and touching up meeting rooms after gatherings or activities.

Brown will need to have service at the entrance and restroom areas three (3) times throughout the day on Saturday and Sunday. Once between 9:30am-10:00am, once between 2:00pm and 3:00pm, and once between 7:30pm and 8:30pm. These times are based on historical use and may need to be adjusted in conversations between vendor and University staff if needed.

The University will make available access to supplies and equipment needed for these services and in addition if the vendor chooses to provide, bring, use, their own equipment or supplies, the University will provide secure storage for those items.

Keys will be picked up and returned each Saturday and Sunday from the Guest Services Desk located at the main entrance of Highsmith. The on site staff will sign out keys and then return them at the end of each work day to the same location. On site staff will wear a shirt, uniform, or apparel that identify them as working for the vendor.

The housekeeping or porter services provided will be general in nature and ongoing throughout the time of service. It is expected that some areas may need to be touched up multiple times throughout the day as the spaces are used. Restrooms and trash, recycling, compost will be areas of focus and specific expectations are outlined in 5.2 TASKS/DELIVERABLES.

5.2 TASKS/DELIVERABLES

APPA Level 2 - 3 Levels of Cleaning – Ordinary Tidiness to Casual Inattention

• Floors are swept or vacuumed clean daily. Upon close observation dust or streaks may be observed on base or in corners. There is no heavy buildup in corners or along walls.

• All vertical and horizontal surfaces including tables, counters, ledges, etc are kept generally clean from build up, spills, or debris but dust, smudges and fingerprints are noticeable with close observation.

• Restroom floors, surfaces, and fixtures gleam and are odor free.

• Restroom supplies including toilet paper, hand towels, and hand soap are available in each location.

• Trash containers, recycling containers, and compost bins are checked every three (3) hours, emptied as needed, clean and odor-free. (Dumpsters and disposal areas are located adjacent to both facilities for removal of trash, recycling, and compost.)

• Glass and doors at entrances are sanitized frequently and kept free of splatters or stains. Upon close observation fingerprints and smudges may be observed.

• Stairs are swept daily and spot mopped as needed. Debris, wrappers, trash is removed as needed and any spills, slick spots, tripping hazards, or other environmental concerns are resolved immediately.

Ver: 11/2023 14

Trash containers, recycling containers, and compost bins are checked every couple of hours, emptied as needed, clean and odor-free.

6.0 CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION

All Contract Administration requirements are conditioned on an award resulting from this solicitation. This information is provided for the Vendor’s planning purposes.

6.1 CONTRACT MANAGER AND CUSTOMER SERVICE

The Vendor shall designate and make available to UNC Asheville a project manager. The project manager shall be UNC Asheville’s point of contact for contract related issues and issues concerning performance, progress review, scheduling and service. If University is notified that the vendor does not have staff present on a day of the contract, the project manager will be contacted and it will be their responsibility to have staff onsite. In addition to the project manager, the vendor shall provide University with the name and contact information of the on-site staff.

6.2 CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

UNC Asheville encourages the Vendor to identify opportunities to reduce the total cost UNC Asheville. A continuous improvement effort consists of various ways to enhance business efficiencies as performance progresses.

6.3 ACCEPTANCE OF WORK

UNC Asheville shall have the obligation to notify Vendor, in writing ten (10) calendar days following completion of such work or delivery of a deliverable described in the Contract that it is not acceptable. The notice shall specify in reasonable detail the reason(s) it is unacceptable. Acceptance by UNC Asheville shall not be unreasonably withheld; but may be conditioned or delayed as required for reasonable review, evaluation, installation, or testing, as applicable to the work or deliverable. Final acceptance is expressly conditioned upon completion of all applicable assessment procedures. Should the work or deliverables fail to meet any specifications, acceptance criteria or otherwise fail to conform to the Contract, UNC Asheville may exercise any and all rights hereunder, including, for Goods deliverables, such rights provided by the Uniform Commercial Code, as adopted in North Carolina.

6.4 TRANSITION ASSISTANCE

If this Contract is not renewed at the end of this term, or is canceled prior to its expiration, for any reason, Vendor shall provide, at the option of UNC Asheville, up to one inspection cycle after such end date all such reasonable transition assistance requested by UNC Asheville, to allow for the expired or canceled portion of the Services to continue without interruption or adverse effect, and to facilitate the orderly transfer of such services to UNC Asheville or its designees. If UNC Asheville exercises this option, the Parties agree that such transition assistance shall be deemed to be governed by the terms and conditions of this Contract (notwithstanding this expiration or cancellation), except for those Contract terms or conditions that do not reasonably apply to such transition assistance. UNC Asheville shall pay Vendor for any resources utilized in performing such transition assistance at the most current rates provided by the Contract for performance of the services or other resources utilized.

6.5 DISPUTE RESOLUTION

During the performance of the Contract, the parties agree that it is in their mutual interest to resolve disputes informally. Any claims by the Vendor shall be submitted in writing to UNC Asheville’s Contract Manager for resolution. Any claims by UNC Asheville shall be submitted in writing to the Vendor’s Project Manager for resolution. The Parties shall agree to negotiate in good faith and use all reasonable efforts to resolve such dispute(s).

During the time the Parties are attempting to resolve any dispute, each shall proceed diligently to perform their respective duties and responsibilities under this Contract. The Parties will agree on a reasonable amount of time to resolve a dispute. If a dispute cannot be resolved between the Parties within the agreed upon period, either Party may elect to exercise any other remedies available under the Contract, or at law. This provision, when agreed in the Contract, shall not constitute an agreement by either party to mediate or arbitrate any dispute.

Ver: 11/2023 15

6.6 USE OF THIS CONTRACT BY UNC SYSTEM

By entering into an agreement with UNC Asheville as a result of this Request for Proposals, Vendor agrees to honor the prices, terms, and conditions of this agreement with any other University of North Carolina institution, including any of the 17 University of North Carolina constituent institutions and University of North Carolina General Administration, at that University of North Carolina institution’s option, in a separate, written agreement between Vendor and the other University of North Carolina institution. Should another University of North Carolina institution choose to enter into a separate agreement with Vendor with terms similar or identical to an agreement resulting from this Invitation for Bids/Request for Proposals, UNC Asheville shall not be responsible for payments or other obligations contained in that separate agreement.

6.7 CONTRACT CHANGES

Contract changes, if any, over the life of the Contract shall be implemented by contract amendments agreed to in writing by UNC Asheville and Vendor. Amendments to the contract can only be through the contract administrator.

Ver: 11/2023 16

7.0 ATTACHMENTS

**IMPORTANT NOTICE**

RETURN THE REQUIRED ATTACHMENTS WITH YOUR RESPONSE

FOLLOW THE LINKS TO ACCESS EACH ATTACHMENT

ATTACHMENT A: PRICING

Complete and return the Pricing associated with this RFP, which can be found in the table below:

Weekend Rates Price per Weekend

Times Weeks

Extended Total

Weekend Rate for Weekend Porter & Housekeeping Services Academic Year One

$ X 33.5 $

Weekend Rate for Weekend Porter & Housekeeping Services Summer Year One

$ X10 $

Weekend Rate for Weekend Porter & Housekeeping Services Academic Year Two

$ X 33.5 $

Weekend Rate for Weekend Porter & Housekeeping Services Summer Year Two

$ X 10 $

Total for the Life of the Contract $

Indicate percentage of increase, if any, for optional 1-year renewal period ____________%

Ver: 11/2023 17

ATTACHMENT B: INSTRUCTIONS TO VENDORS

The Instructions to Vendors, which are incorporated herein by this reference, may be found here:

https://ncadmin.nc.gov/formnorth-carolina-instructions-vendors032023/download?attachment

ATTACHMENT C: NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL TERMS & CONDITIONS

The North Carolina General Terms and Conditions, which are incorporated herein by this reference, may be found here:

https://www.doa.nc.gov/form-north-carolina-general-terms-and-conditions-11-2023/open

ATTACHMENT D: HUB SUPPLEMENTAL VENDOR INFORMATION

C…