Sole Source Hach Agreement for Equipment and Maintenance

Pinellas County is pursuing a non-competitive procurement method for a sole source agreement with Hach Company to acquire testing equipment and maintenance services for water quality monitoring systems across multiple county locations, including Keller, Water Quality (Logan Lab), South Cross, Dunn, and Solid Waste facilities. The procurement involves comprehensive service partnerships for various scientific instruments such as spectrophotometers, turbidimeters, analyzers, controllers, and probes, with coverage including on-site repairs, annual preventative maintenance, calibrations, unlimited technical support, and free firmware updates. The solicitation requires vendors to submit responses electronically through the county's procurement portal by July 9, 2024, at 3:00 pm, with a deadline for questions on July 1, 2024. The service agreement will span three years, from November 26, 2024, to November 25, 2027, with annual service costs structured to include incremental price increases. The county has issued a Sole Source Notice (No. 24-0638-N) and requires vendors to upload a corporate letter as part of the vendor questionnaire to support the procurement process. The primary contact for this opportunity is Patricia Cortez, Lead Procurement Analyst, who can be reached at pdcortez@pinellas.gov or (727) 464-3766.

The procurement appears to be unrestricted, with no specific set-aside designations or enterprise restrictions mentioned in the documentation. Hach Company is identified as the sole authorized manufacturer and direct distributor of the required instruments, with an existing contract (No. 21-0626-SS) already in place with Pinellas County. The total three-year contract value is $305,351.79, with annual costs broken down by location: South Cross Bayou at $15,511.23, Keller at $190,108.56, Water Quality at $49,602.22, Dunn at $8,834.13, and Solid Waste at $41,295.65. Payment terms are set at Net 45, with annual invoicing, and the pricing includes a 4% annual increase. The Master Sole Source Letter from Hach Company confirms their exclusive manufacturing and distribution rights for a comprehensive range of branded instruments, which supports the non-competitive procurement approach. The existing infrastructure includes multiple water quality monitoring systems across various utility and waste management locations, and the new agreement will ensure continued maintenance and support for these critical scientific instruments.