Fire pump replacement at BPS 97

Buffalo Public Schools Division of Plant Services & School Planning is procuring fire pump replacement services for Harvey Austin Elementary School (Building 97) located at 1405 Sycamore Street, Buffalo, New York 14211, under New York State Education Department Project Number 14-06-00-01-0-302-031. The procurement involves the complete replacement of an aging fire protection system that has exceeded its expected operational life, requiring installation of a new Armstrong fire pump rated at 750-1,000 gallons per minute capacity, a 60-horsepower electric motor, jockey pump, fire pump controller, automatic transfer switch, and all associated piping, valves, and suppression equipment meeting NFPA 20 standards and New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code requirements. Contractors must attend a mandatory pre-bid conference and site walkthrough on April 8, 2026 at 1:00 PM at Harvey Austin School or arrange a documented alternative site visit prior to bid submission; the question period runs through April 13, 2026 at 4:00 PM EDT; sealed proposals are due April 22, 2026 at 1:00 PM EDT through the Bonfire portal; and bids will be publicly opened the same day at 1:00 PM at the Plant Services office, 403 City Hall, Buffalo, NY 14202. Successful contractors must complete all work within 6-7 months from contract award and comply with all prevailing wage requirements under New York State Labor Law Section 220, electrical codes, fire protection standards, and asbestos remediation protocols. Bidders must submit detailed technical qualifications, Equal Employment Opportunity Employer Information Reports, non-collusive bidding certifications, insurance certificates, and bid bonds equal to 10 percent of the base bid, with the successful contractor required to furnish performance and payment bonds equal to 100 percent of the contract price.

The procurement includes mandatory subcontractor and minority/women-owned business enterprise (MWBE) utilization requirements, with contractors required to achieve a 25 percent minority workforce goal and 5 percent women workforce goal in each trade, along with subcontractor business utilization goals of 25 percent for minority business enterprises and 5 percent for women business enterprises. Bidders must submit comprehensive subcontractor listings identifying all subcontractors' tax identification numbers and percentage of total contract value, MWBE certification documentation, and detailed workforce demographic data organized by job category and segmented by gender and race/ethnicity. The base bid structure includes a $20,000 allowance for additional construction services, with any unused allowance reducing the final contract amount through deduct change order; unit price provisions are included for additional work. The contract requires workers' compensation insurance and public liability and property damage liability insurance with minimum policy limits of $500,000 per person and $1,000,000 per accident for bodily injury, plus $300,000 for property damage. All work must comply with New York State Education Law Section 7209, State Energy Conservation Construction Code, and various procurement policies including Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (Policy 5414) and Uniform Grant Guidance for Federal Awards (Policy 5413). The district reserves the right to reject any or all bids and to cancel the contract with or without cause upon seven days' notice.