SS 458 - NOTICE OF PROPOSED SOLE SOURCE PURCHASE.pdf

UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI

Notice of Proposed Sole Source Purchase

#SS 458

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

Commodity or commodities to be purchased (manufacturer, model, description):

Pasco Experiments:

ME-6830 Ballistic Pendulums, SF-8607 Basic Current Balance, SF-8608 Current Balance Accessory Kits, ME-8970 Equal Length Spring Sets, ET-8771B Energy Transfer Generators, SE-8760 Double-Length Slinkys

The need to be fulfilled by this item(s) and why it is the only one that can meet the specific needs of the department:

The UM Physics department already uses these experiments in courses taught in varying physics classes.

UM recently completed a new STEM building and the additional equipment is needed to provide for additional lab sections in the new building. The new labs and current labs need the same experiments for compatibility for students so the curriculum is standard regardless of which lab is used and for instructors to aid in compatibility of lesson plans from lab to lab. Each lab group needs to have the exact same equipment for faculty to write lab procedures that the students can follow and grade the labs accurately. The ballistic pendulum (ME-6830) is a piece of lab equipment used in multiple labs about conservation of energy and momentum, where a ball is launched with a spring gun into a pendulum and the angle of maximum height is measured. The basic current balance experiment (SF-8607) runs a current through coils (several different coil configurations are included in the accessory kit SF-8608) and the resulting magnetic force is measured with a digital balance. The equal length spring set (ME-8970) contains five springs with different (known) spring constants. These are used in our labs about simple harmonic motion. The Energy Transfer Generator (ET-8771B) is used in labs about conservation of energy. It simulates the generation of hydroelectric power by having a falling mass turn a magnet between two coils. The changing magnetic flux causes an induced current, visible because it powers an LED. The Double-Length Slinky (SE-8760) is used in a lab about transverse and longitudinal wave motion.

Name of company/individual selling the item and why that source is the only possible source that can provide the required item(s):

Pasco Scientific is the only manufacturer and distributor of the exact experimental apparatuses.

Why the amount to be expended for the commodity is reasonable:

$22,901.68 is a reasonable amount for items used multiple times per semester for multiple courses and for multiple years. As the department is purchasing these items for compatibility with existing lab equipment, the alternative would be to purchase all new experiments and equipment for every lab and update all curriculum to the new experiments and equipment which would be cost prohibitive.

Efforts that the agency went through to obtain the best possible price for the commodity:

We negotiated a 3% discount.

Submission Instructions and Format of Response from Objecting Parties:

Interested parties who have reason to believe that the item(s) above should not be certified as a sole source should provide information in the following format for UM to use in determining whether or not to proceed with awarding the Sole Source purchase.

1.1 Interested Party Information

1.1.1 Contact Name, Phone Number, Address and email address

1.1.2 Company Website URL, if applicable

1.2 Objection to Sole Source Certification

1.2.1 Interested parties must present specific objections to the Sole Source certification using the criteria listed above.

1.2.2 A statement regarding the Interested Party's capabilities as related to this Sole

Source Certification Request.

1.2.3 Comments will be accepted at any time prior to Wednesday, October 29, 2025 at 10:00 am (Central Time). Comments should be addressed to:

Jeff Wells, Procurement Manager The University of Mississippi Procurement Services 164 Jeanette Phillips Drive PO Box 1848 University, Mississippi 38677

1.2.4 Responses may be delivered by hand, via regular mail, overnight delivery, or e-mail at solesource@olemiss.edu with cc: to purchase@olemiss.edu and must reference the sole source number.

1.2.5 UM WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR DELAYS IN THE DELIVERY OF RESPONSES. It is solely the responsibility of the Interested Parties that responses reach UM on time. Interested parties may contact Jeff Wells to verify the receipt of their responses. Responses received after the deadline will be rejected.

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

If UM determines after review that there is only one (1) source for the required commodity, then UM will appeal to the Public Procurement Review Board for approval to purchase.

mailto:solesource@olemiss.edu mailto:%20purchase@olemiss.edu