Scope of Work.pdf

Scope of Work

1. Purpose

The Regents of New Mexico State University (NMSU) are seeking to lease a soundstage complex to a commercial entity to operate for film and television production.

2. Introduction / Background

NMSU and Arrowhead Center Inc (ACI) are collaborating with the New Mexico Economic

Development Department (NMEDD) to fund and build a film and TV soundstage complex on approximately four (4) acres (the Soundstage Complex). More land is available for separate lease if the Offeror requires. The Complex will be constructed adjacent to the existing Dona

Ana Community College Creative Media Technology building and a future NMSU Creative

Media Institute building, all within the Creative Campus development at Arrowhead Park.

The Complex will consist of three buildings – a soundstage, a support building, and an equipment building – along with required site development work, utilities, fencing, and security. Preliminary design, site layout, and renderings have already been completed for the project. See Exhibit 1.

Once construction is completed, the Soundstage Complex will be professionally managed and operated by a commercial entity to attract film and TV productions, provide paid internships for students, support growth of the film workforce, and generate economic impact for the Las Cruces and southern New Mexico region.

3. Definitions

This section contains definitions of terms used throughout this procurement document, including appropriate abbreviations:

a. “Award” means an offer by NMSU to enter into an Agreement with a Responsive

Respondent, contingent upon negotiation of the final terms of the proposed Agreement.

b. “Contract” means any agreement for the procurement of items of tangible personal property, services or construction.

c. “Contractor” means any business having a contract with NMSU for the subject of this

Request for Proposals.

d. “Determination” means the written documentation of a decision of a procurement officer including findings of fact required to support a decision. A determination becomes part of the procurement file to which it pertains.

e. “Desirable” – the terms “may,” “can,” “should,” “preferably,” or “prefers” identify a desirable or discretionary item or factor.

f. “Evaluation Committee” means a committee selected by NMSU to evaluate the proposals.

g. “Final Award” means, in the context of this Request for Proposals and all its attendant documents, that point at which the final required signature on the contract(s) resulting from the procurement has been affixed to the contract(s) thus making it fully executed.

h. “Finalist” means a Responsive Respondent whose score on the evaluation factors is sufficiently high to qualify for further consideration by the Evaluation Committee .

i. “Mandatory” – the terms “must”, “will”, ”is required,” or ”are required,” identify a mandatory item or factor. Failure to meet a mandatory item or factor may result in the rejection of the Offeror’s proposal.

j. “Minor Irregularities” means anything in the proposal that does not affect the price, quality and/or quantity, or any other mandatory requirement.

k. “Offeror” is any person, corporation, or partnership who chooses to submit a proposal.

l. “Procurement Services” means any person or designee authorized by NMSU with the responsibility, authority, and resources to conduct the RFP procurement, make written determinations regarding the RFP procurement, and/or enter into or administer contracts as a result of the RFP procurement.

m. “Request for Proposals (RFP)” means all documents, including those attached or incorporated by reference, used for soliciting proposals.

n. “Responsible Offeror" means an Offeror who submits a responsive proposal and who has furnished, when required, information and data to prove that his financial resources, production or service facilities, personnel, service reputation and experience are adequate to make satisfactory delivery of the services, or items of tangible personal property described in the proposal.

o. “Responsive Offer” means an offer which conforms in all material respects to the requirements set forth in the request for proposals. Material respects of a request for proposals include, but are not limited to price, quality, quantity or delivery requirements.

p. “Staff” means any individual who is a full‐time, part‐time, or an independently contracted employee with the Offerors’ company.

4. Basic Scope of Performance Required by the Offeror under this RFP

A Responsive Offer to this RFP must describe the Offeror’s fulfillment of the following minimum basic requirements.

a. The Offeror will commit to provide all requirements for day‐to‐day operations and maintenance of the Soundstage complex;

b. The Offeror’s plan for marketing, promotion, and leasing of the Soundstage Complex to maximize production occupancy;

c. The Offeror will commit to achieve a minimum occupancy level of 30% of each calendar year for productions;

d. The Offeror will provide a base level of six (6) paid student internships on each production hosted at the Soundstage Complex;

e. The Offeror’s commitment to enter into a triple net lease with NMSU with a term of at least five (5) years. (A sample lease is provided in Exhibit 2) which will include standard lease terms including, but not limited to:

i. Soundstage complex building maintenance

ii. Site and grounds maintenance

iii. Utilities, Services

iv. Alterations to the Soundstage complex

v. Signage

vi. Site Security

f. The Offeror’s commitment to a minimum annual base rent (the Base Rent) of

$240,000.00 (two hundred forty thousand dollars and zero cents), to be paid monthly.

5. Additional Services / Financial Performance Required by Offeror

In order to provide the best overall proposal to NMSU, the Offeror may incorporate additional provision of services or financial benefit in their Responsive Offer including but not limited to:

a. Student Internships beyond 6 per production

b. Student and Faculty engagement with the academic programs at NMSU and DACC

c. Additional rents or financial participation for NMSU above the Base Rent described in

Section 4.f.

d. A proposal for additional land rent if required

e. Additional items to be proposed by the Offeror for the benefit of NMSU

6. NMSU Responsibilities under this RFP

Under this RFP and the triple net lease described in Section 4.e. above, NMSU will be responsible for primary structural maintenance, the roof, central HVAC systems, and underground utility. (See Exhibit 2 Draft Triple‐Net Lease for more detail)

7. Offeror Technical Experience and Capabilities

The Offeror will provide a thorough overview of their technical experience and capabilities in the production industry for film, television, and other media content in order to allow

NMSU to evaluate fit for the purposes of this RFP. This should include, but not be limited to:

a. Soundstage operations

b. Production sizes, volume

c. Equipment leasing

d. Green screen or VFX capabilities

8. Offeror Financial Strength

The Offeror will provide their Dun & Bradstreet number and a balance sheet that reflects the financial strength of the responding company. Also, provide two years of unaudited financial statements, or audited if statements if available.

9. Communications

Any inquiries or requests regarding this procurement should be submitted, in writing, to

NMSU Procurement Services. Offerors may contact ONLY NMSU Procurement Services regarding this procurement.

NMSU Procurement Services Melinda Lujan‐Severns mellujan@nmsu.edu

10. Proposal Response Format

The Offeror will submit their proposal according to the following requirements:

a. Only electronic submissions will be accepted.

b. Respondents must submit proposals through the NMSU online bidding at https://bids.sciquest.com/apps/Router/PublicEvent?CustomerOrg=NMSU and the upload of the proposal must be completed no later than the Submission of Deadline as indicated in the Project Schedule of this RFP, at which time proposals will be opened and recorded as received.

c. The Offeror’s proposal must be organized according to the structure below, and contain all necessary information and responses required by this RFP:

i. Signed Letter of Transmittal

ii. Table of Contents

iii. Proposal Overview

iv. Proposal Detail

v. New Mexico Preferences

vi. Other Supporting Material (if applicable)

11. General Requirements

a. Incurring Cost

Any cost incurred by the potential Offeror in preparation, transmittal, and/or presentation of any proposal or material submitted in response to this RFP shall be borne solely by the Offeror. Any cost incurred by the Offeror for set up and demonstration of the proposed equipment and/or system shall be borne solely by the Offeror.

b. Prime Contractor Responsibility

Any contractual agreement that may result from this RFP shall specify that the prime contractor is solely responsible for fulfillment of all requirements of the contractual agreement which may derive from this RFP. NMSU will only make payments to the prime contractor.

c. Subcontractors/Consent

The use of subcontractors is allowed. The prime contractor shall be wholly responsible for the entire performance of the contractual agreement whether or not subcontractors are used. Additionally, the prime contractor must receive approval, in writing, from NMSU before any subcontractor is used during the term of this agreement.

d. Amended Proposals

An Offeror may submit an amended proposal before the deadline for receipt of proposals.

e. Offeror’s Rights to Withdraw Proposal

i. Offerors will be allowed to withdraw their proposals at any time prior to the deadline for receipt of proposals.

ii. The approval or denial of withdrawal requests received after the deadline for receipt of the proposals is governed by the applicable NMSU procurement regulations, and 1.4.1.5 & 1.4.1.36 NMAC.

f. Proposal Offer Firm

Responses to this RFP, including proposal prices for services, will be considered firm for one‐hundred twenty (120) days after the due date for receipt of proposals or ninety (90) days after the due date for the receipt of a best and final offer, if the Offeror is invited or required to submit one.

g. Disclosure of Proposal Contents

i. The contents of all submitted proposals will be kept confidential until the final award has been completed by the Agency. At that time, all proposals and documents pertaining to the proposals will be available for public inspection, except for proprietary or confidential material as follows:

ii. Proprietary and Confidential information is restricted to:

1. Confidential financial information concerning the Offeror’s organization;

and

2. Information that qualifies as a trade secret in accordance with the

Uniform Trade Secrets Act, §§57‐3A‐1 through 57‐3A‐7 NMSA 1978.

iii. An additional but separate redacted version of Offeror’s proposal shall be submitted containing the blacked‐out proprietary or confidential information, in order to facilitate eventual public inspection of the non‐confidential version of

Offeror’s proposal. Offeror’s proposal must also include an executed copy of the Indemnification Agreement as given in Exhibit 3.

iv. IMPORTANT: The price of products offered, or the cost of services proposed

SHALL NOT be designated as proprietary or confidential information.

v. If a request is received for disclosure of proprietary or confidential materials, NMSU shall examine the request and make a written determination that specifies which portions of the proposal should be disclosed. Unless the Offeror takes legal action to prevent the disclosure, the proposal will be so disclosed.

The proposal shall be open to public inspection subject to any continuing prohibition on the disclosure of proprietary or confidential information.

h. No Obligation

This RFP in no manner obligates NMSU to the use of any Offeror’s services until a valid written contract is awarded and approved by appropriate authorities.

i. Termination

This RFP may be canceled at any time and any and all proposals may be rejected in whole or in part when NMSU determines such action to be in its best interest.

j. Legal Review

NMSU requires that all Offerors agree to be bound by the General Requirements contained in this RFP. Any Offeror’s concerns must be promptly submitted in writing to the attention of the Procurement Manager.

k. Governing Law

This RFP and any agreement with an Offeror which may result from this procurement shall be governed by the laws of the State of New Mexico.

l. Basis for Proposal

Only information supplied in writing by the Procurement Manager or contained in this RFP shall be used as the basis for the preparation of Offeror proposals.

m. Contract Terms and Conditions

i. The contract between NMSU and a contractor will follow the format specified by NMSU and contain the terms and conditions set forth in the Draft Triple Net

Lease in Exhibit 2. However, the contracting agency reserves the right to negotiate provisions in addition to those contained in this RFP (Draft Lease) with any Offeror. The contents of this RFP, as revised and/or supplemented, and the successful Offeror’s proposal will be incorporated into and become part of any resultant lease.

ii. NMSU discourages exceptions from the lease terms and conditions as set forth in Exhibit 2. Such exceptions may cause a proposal to be rejected as nonresponsive when, in the sole judgment of NMSU (and its evaluation team), the proposal appears to be conditioned on the exception, or correction of what is deemed to be a deficiency, or an unacceptable exception is proposed which would require a substantial proposal rewrite to correct.

iii. Should an Offeror object to any of the terms and conditions as set forth in the

Draft Lease (Exhibit 2) strongly enough to propose alternate terms and conditions in spite of the above, the Offeror must propose specific alternative language. NMSU may or may not accept the alternative language. General references to the Offeror’s terms and conditions or attempts at complete substitutions of the Draft Lease are not acceptable to NMSU and will result in disqualification of the Offeror’s proposal.

iv. Offerors must provide a brief discussion of the purpose and impact, if any, of each proposed change followed by the specific proposed alternate wording.

v. If an Offeror fails to propose any alternate terms and conditions during the procurement process (the RFP process prior to selection as successful Offeror), no proposed alternate terms and conditions will be considered later during the negotiation process. Failure to propose alternate terms and conditions during the procurement process (the RFP process prior to selection as successful

Offeror) is an explicit agreement by the Offeror that the contractual terms and conditions contained herein are accepted by the Offeror.

n. Offeror’s Terms and Conditions

Offerors must submit with the proposal a complete set of any additional terms and conditions they expect to have included in a lease negotiated with NMSU.

o. Contract Deviations

Any additional terms and conditions, which may be the subject of negotiation

(such terms and conditions having been proposed during the procurement process, that is, the RFP process prior to selection as successful Offeror), will be discussed only between NMSU and the Offeror selected and shall not be deemed an opportunity to amend the Offeror’s proposal.

p. Offeror Qualifications

The Evaluation Committee may make such investigations as necessary to determine the ability of the potential Offeror to adhere to the requirements specified within this RFP. The Evaluation Committee will reject the proposal of any potential Offeror who is not a Responsible Offeror or fails to submit a

Responsive Offer as defined in §13‐1‐83 and §13‐1‐85, NMSA 1978.

q. Right to Waive Minor Irregularities

The Evaluation Committee reserves the right to waive minor irregularities, as defined in Section 3.13. The Evaluation Committee also reserves the right to waive mandatory requirements, provided that all of the otherwise responsive proposals failed to meet the same mandatory requirements and the failure to do so does not otherwise materially affect the procurement. This right is at the sole discretion of the Evaluation Committee.

r. Change in Contractor Representatives

NMSU reserves the right to require a change in contractor representatives if the assigned representative(s) is (are) not, in the opinion of NMSU, adequately meeting the needs of NMSU.

s. Notice of Penalties

The New Mexico Procurement Code, §§13‐1‐28 through 13‐1‐199, NMSA 1978, imposes civil, and misdemeanor and felony criminal penalties for its violation. In addition, the New Mexico criminal statutes impose felony penalties for bribes, gratuities and kickbacks.

t. Agency Rights

NMSU in agreement with the Evaluation Committee reserves the right to accept all or a portion of a potential Offeror’s proposal.

u. Right to Publish

Throughout the duration of this procurement process and contract term, Offerors and contractors must secure from NMSU written approval prior to the release of any information that pertains to the potential work or activities covered by this procurement and/or agency contracts deriving from this procurement. Failure to adhere to this requirement may result in disqualification of the Offeror’s proposal or removal from the contract.

v. Ownership of Proposals

All documents submitted in response to the RFP shall become property of the

NMSU. If the RFP is cancelled, all responses received shall be destroyed by NMSU unless the Offeror either picks up, or arranges for pick‐up, the materials within three (3) business days of notification of the cancellation. Offeror is responsible for all costs involved in return mailing/shipping of proposals.

w. Confidentiality

i. Any confidential information provided to, or developed by, the contractor in the performance of the contract resulting from this RFP shall be kept confidential and shall not be made available to any individual or organization by the contractor without the prior written approval of NMSU.

ii. The Contractor(s) agrees to protect the confidentiality of all confidential information and not to publish or disclose such information to any third party without the procuring NMSU’s written permission.

x. Electronic mail address required

A large part of the communication regarding this procurement will be conducted by electronic mail (e‐mail). Offeror must have a valid e‐mail address to receive this correspondence.

y. Use of Electronic Versions of this RFP

This RFP is being made available by electronic means. In the event of conflict between a version of the RFP in the Offeror’s possession and the version maintained by NMSU, the Offeror acknowledges that the version maintained by

NMSU shall govern.

12. Disclosure Regarding Responsibility

a. Any prospective Contractor and any of its Principals who enter into a contract greater than sixty thousand dollars ($60,000.00) with NMSU for professional services, tangible personal property, services or construction agrees to disclose whether the Contractor, or any principal of the Contractor’s company is presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, or declared ineligible for award of contract by any federal entity or New Mexico state agency.

13. Exhibits

a. Exhibit 1 Proposed Soundstage Complex Site Plan

b. Exhibit 2 Draft lease template

c. Exhibit 3 Indemnification Agreement