INTENT TO AWARD SOLE SOURCE- PACE

The South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) Purchasing Branch has issued an Intent to Award Sole Source contract for Pace, Inc. to provide miscellaneous Marley Cooling Equipment, parts, engineering, and service for repairing or upgrading institutional chiller and cooling systems across all SCDC facilities. The procurement specifically targets Marley cooling system equipment and related services, with Pace being identified as the only authorized Marley dealer in South Carolina and North Carolina. Potential vendors must be authorized Marley dealers for South Carolina to respond to this opportunity. The solicitation was posted on June 21, 2022, with responses due by July 7, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. Submissions can be made via email to purchasing@doc.sc.gov or mailed to the SC Department of Corrections Purchasing Branch at 4530 Broad River Road, Columbia, SC 29210. No pre-bid conference or site visit is scheduled, and the award becomes effective after the opening date if no responses are received. The procurement officer is Brittany Driggers, who can be contacted at (803-896-8533), with Ruthie Bishop serving as Procurement Director.

The sole source procurement appears to have no specific set-aside designations or restrictions on organizational types beyond the requirement of being an authorized Marley dealer. Offerors must submit signed cover page copies and hold their offers open for a minimum of thirty calendar days after the opening date. Vendors who are aggrieved by the intended award may file a protest within five business days of the notice posting date, with the full protest due within fifteen days. The notice will be posted in the South Carolina Business Opportunities (SCBO) for at least ten business days as required by state procurement regulations. Protests must be submitted in writing to the Chief Procurement Officer at the Materials Management Office, either via facsimile, email, or physical mail. While no specific award value or budget range is disclosed in the documentation, the procurement covers cooling equipment and services for all SCDC facilities, suggesting a potentially significant contract scope. The sole source nature of the procurement indicates a specialized need that can only be met by Pace, Inc. as the authorized Marley dealer in the region.