ATH21-001 Sound System Upgrades

Traverse City Area Public Schools (TCAPS), in Grand Traverse County, Michigan, issued a single prime, stipulated sum contract solicitation for sound system upgrades at three educational facilities: West Senior High School Gymnasium, West Middle School Athletic Field, and East Middle School Athletic Field. The procurement scope includes removal and salvage of existing sound systems, provision and installation of new sound systems with specified audio components, and reuse of selected existing equipment including Shure microphone mixers, Denon media players, and equipment racks. West Senior High requires eight RCF HDL28-A two-way loudspeakers, two RCF HDL36-AS subwoofers, two Electrovoice EVF loudspeakers, one Crown XTi-6002 amplifier, wireless microphone systems, and AC power sequencing equipment, while both middle school fields require four JBL CBT-70J loudspeakers, Crown CDi-6000 amplifiers, Shure mixers, Denon media players, and associated audio infrastructure. Sealed bids were due June 29, 2021, at 3:00 PM at 1212 Cass Road, Traverse City, Michigan, with TCAPS Board approval scheduled for July 12, 2021, and substantial completion dates to be determined. Site visits were required to be coordinated in advance through the Facilities Office with Paul Thwing (231-933-1935) or Kathy Booker-Graham (231-933-1939); no pre-bid conference was scheduled. Successful bidders must provide one-year warranties on all materials and labor, including system testing, adjustment, training, and operating manuals, with all work requiring compliance with the National Electrical Code, local building codes, NECA standards, and industry best practices.

Two pre-qualified audio-visual contractors were identified as eligible bidders: Sound Environments LLC (Traverse City, Michigan) and Ascom North Inc. (Acme, Michigan), restricting competition to these pre-qualified entities. Bidders were required to submit sealed proposals on furnished Proposal Forms in duplicate, accompanied by sworn and notarized statements regarding familial relationships and Iran Economic Sanctions Act compliance, with bid security in the form of a bid bond equal to five percent of the bid amount. All bid proposals were required to remain irrevocable for sixty days following submission. Bidding documents were available through the State of Michigan SIGMA website, Bid4Michigan, the Builders Exchange of Northwest Michigan, and Traverse Reproduction. TCAPS reserved the right to accept or reject any or all bids and to accept the bid deemed in the best interest of the school district. The contract was structured as a Blanket Purchase Order with stipulated sum pricing; specific budget ranges or award values were not disclosed in the available solicitation materials.