9250-27-R-RFIN-00027

Mississippi State University is pursuing a sole-source purchase of a Rain Bird VFD pump station under Notice 267-057, with a response deadline of November 5, 2026. The sole-source justification rests on integration and compatibility requirements with the university's existing Rain Bird Cirrus Pro central control system infrastructure; the university states that competing pump stations cannot meet this requirement without voiding the manufacturer's warranty.

The pump station is designed to supply irrigation across the university's 120-acre golf course. The Keeling Company is identified as the sole authorized distributor of Rain Bird irrigation products in Mississippi. The university states it conducted price negotiations with The Keeling Company to secure the best available price and determined that manufacturer warranty protection is non-negotiable to maintain golf course operational reliability and irrigation revenue.

The estimated cost is $200,692.99. The university benchmarked this price against comparable costs at other golf courses and considers it reasonable given the critical operational need.

Interested parties may submit written objections to the sole-source designation to Jennifer Mayfield, Director of Procurement Services, at jmayfield@procurement.msstate.edu with subject line "Sole Source Objection," providing documentation that the commodity is not sole source.