CHAPTER 6
CONTRACTS AND PURCHASING

ARTICLE 5
BID PROCEDURE--FORMAL

Section 6-5-1. Comparative Pricing Required. All purchases or sales of materials, supplies and public improvements for the City shall be based on comparative pricing when such purchase is not in excess of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00).

[Source: Ord. 1312, 2002]

Section 6-5-2. Competitive Bidding Required.

(a)

All sales and purchases of City property, of whatever kind and nature, shall be based on competitive bidding whenever the estimated cost of the same exceeds twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00). For the purposes of this Section 6-5-2, the term "competitive bidding" shall include the competitive selection processes set forth in this Article 5 of Chapter 6 of the Northglenn Municipal Code. Sealed bidding may be utilized by the use of either electronically submitted or physically submitted bids.

(b)

Sealed bids shall be obtained pursuant to section 6-5-2(a) except where Council shall determine by majority resolution of those present at the meeting that the public interest will best be served by joint purchase with or purchase from another unit of government.

(c)

No sale or purchase may be divided for purposes of circumventing the dollar limitation contained hereinabove.

(d)

Sealed bids shall be obtained on any purchase of City property, regardless of the dollar amount, if so directed by resolution of the City Council.

(e)

Purchases shall be made from the lowest competent bidder by the City Manager within the limits of his purchasing authority, meeting specifications unless the City Council shall determine that the public interest will be better served by accepting a higher bid.

(f)

Sales shall be made to the bidder whose bid is most advantageous to the City.

(g)

When determined by the City Manger to be in the City's best interest, bids may be received electronically in an auction style manner. For purposes of this ordinance, an auction style manner means a procurement method wherein bidders are invited to bid on specified goods or nonprofessional services through real-time electronic bidding, with the award being made to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. During the bidding process, bidders' prices are revealed and bidders shall have the opportunity to modify their bid prices for the duration of the time period established for bid opening.

[Source: Ord. 402, 1975; 825, 1986; 1088, 1993; 1312, 2002; 1596, 2011]

Section 6-5-3. Notice Inviting Bids.

(a)

Newspaper. A notice inviting bids shall be published at least once in a manner calculated to obtain the best representation of qualified bidders in the Denver metropolitan area. This notice shall include a general description of the articles to be purchased or sold, shall state where bid blanks and specifications may be obtained, and shall specify the time and place for opening bids.

(b)

Direct Solicitation of Bids. The City Manager, or his designated representative, may solicit bids from responsible prospective suppliers.

(c)

Bidders' list. The City Manager, or his designated representative, may solicit bids from all responsible prospective suppliers who have requested that their names be added to the bidders' list, which the City Manager, or his designated representative, shall maintain, by sending them a copy of such newspaper notice or such other notice as will acquaint them with the proposed purchase or sale.

(d)

Invitations sent to vendors on the bidders' list shall be limited to commodities that are similar in character to commodities ordinarily handled by such vendors in their normal course of business.

[Source: Ord. 402, 1975; 1666, 2014]

Section 6-5-4. Bid Deposits--Performance Bonds.

(a)

When deemed appropriate by the City Manager, he may prescribe bid deposits in the public notice inviting bids.

(1)

Unsuccessful bidders shall be entitled to a return of such deposits.

(2)

A successful bidder shall forfeit any surety required by the public notice if he fails to enter into a contract with the City within ten days after the award.

(b)

The City Manager shall have the authority to require a performance bond or an irrevocable bank letter of credit as a condition of any contract to be awarded to a successful bidder in such amount as he shall find reasonably necessary to protect the best interests of the City.

[Source: Ord. 402, 1975; 1312, 2002]

Section 6-5-5. Bid Opening Procedure.

(a)

Submitted bids shall remain sealed either in an electronic lockbox or in the office of the City Clerk, depending on whether the bids are submitted electronically or in printed form physically to the City Clerk. An electronic lockbox shall not allow city staff to view any electronic bids until the time and date set for opening. Bids physically submitted to the office of the City Clerk shall be identified as sealed bids on the face of the envelope.

(b)

Bids shall be opened in public at the time and place stated in the public notice.

(c)

A tabulation of all bids received shall be posted in the office of the City Clerk for Public inspection.

[Source: Ord. 402, 1975; 1312, 2002]

Section 6-5-6. Rejection of Bids.

(a)

The City Manager, or his designated representative, may reject any bid, all bids, or any part of any bid for any supplies or contractual services when such rejection is in the public interest.

(b)

The City Manager, or his designated representative, shall not accept the bid of any person who is in default on the payment of taxes, license fees, or other money to the City.

[Source: Ord. 402, 1975]

Section 6-5-7. Award of Contract.

(a)

Pursuant to section 6-5-2, in determining the lowest and best responsible bidder, the awarding authority shall consider, in addition to price, the ability, capacity and skill of the bidder to perform the contract or to provide the service required; whether the bidder can perform the contract or provide the service promptly or within the time specified without delay or interference; the character, integrity, reputation, judgment, experience, and efficiency of the bidder, the quality of the bidder's performance of previous contracts and services; the previous and existing compliance by the bidder with the ordinances and other laws relating to the contract or service; the sufficiency of the financial resources of the bidder; the quality and availability of the bidders supplies and contractual services and their adaptability to the particular use required; the ability of the bidder to provide future maintenance and service for the use of the subject of the contract; and the number and scope of conditions attached to the bid.

(b)

When the award is not given to the lowest bidder, a complete statement of the reasons of the awarding authority for placing the order with another bidder shall be made available to all bidders upon request.

(c)

If two or more bids received are competitive in amount or unit price, and the quality and service is determined to be equal, the contract shall be awarded to a bidder having a place of business in the City of Northglenn.

(d)

If all bids received are for the same total amount or unit price, and the quality and service is determined to be equal, and none of the tie bidders has a place of business in the City of Northglenn, the awarding authority may award the contract to one of the tie bidders by drawing lots in public. The City may, however, negotiate with either or both such tie bidders for a reduction of price in the best interests of the City.

[Source: Ord. 402, 1975; 1520, 2008]

Section 6-5-8. Competitive Sealed Proposals.

(a)

Procurements for the following are eligible for award by competitive sealed proposals:

(1)

Materials and services when the City Manager, or the City Manager's designee, determines in writing that the use of competitive sealed bidding is either not practicable or not advantageous to the City based on the specialized nature of the materials and/or services sought by the City;

(2)

Professional services, except professional services paid for in whole or in part by federally funded grants, in which case said services shall be solicited as required by federal regulations and according to the City's written procedures; and

(3)

City improvements when the City Manager or the City Manager's designee determines in writing that the use of alternative delivery methods will provide substantial benefit to the City while retaining sufficient competitive pricing and/or performance.

(b)

Procurements accomplished pursuant to this Section shall be solicited through a request for proposals.

(c)

Public notice shall be given and shall include the proposal title, place, date and time of proposal opening.

(d)

Proposals shall be opened so as to avoid disclosure of contents to competing offerors during the process of negotiation. A register of proposals shall be maintained containing the name of each offeror and shall be open for public inspection after the award of the contract in the office of the City Clerk in the same manner as are other public records.

(e)

The request for proposals shall state evaluation factors and their relative importance. Such factors may include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1)

Specific expertise in the materials or services to be provided;

(2)

Relevant experience;

(3)

Unique skills or techniques applicable to the materials or services to be provided.

(f)

After proposal opening, interviews may be conducted with the highest ranked responsible offeror or offerors for the purpose of clarification and to assure full understanding of, and responsiveness to, solicitation requirements, subject to the following requirements:

(1)

Offerors selected for interview shall be accorded fair and equal treatment with respect to any opportunity for discussion and revision of proposals.

(2)

Revisions to a proposal may be permitted after submissions and prior to award in order to reflect clarifications in the proposal's scope of work or contract amount.

(3)

In conducting interviews, no disclosure by the City or any officer, employee or committee thereof shall be permitted of either any information derived from proposals submitted by competing offerors or of any information discussed in selecting the highest ranked offeror(s).

(4)

After the contract has been awarded and a written contract executed with the selected offeror(s), the total points of the evaluation committee will be retained by the City Clerk for a period of time consistent with the City's record retention policy. Individual rating sheets and notes prepared or utilized by members of the evaluation committee shall not be made available for public inspection.

(g)

The contract shall be awarded with reasonable promptness by written notice to the responsible offeror whose proposal is determined in writing to be the most advantageous to the City, taking into consideration the evaluation factors set forth in the request for proposals. No other factors or criteria shall be used in the evaluation.

(h)

The City Manager or the City Manager's designee is authorized to negotiate the final price and precise scope of work with the selected offeror.

(i)

In undertaking the process utilizing competitive sealed proposals, the City Manager's right to reject any or all submissions is reserved.

[Source: Ord. 1596, 2011; 1744, 2017]

Section 6-5-9. Competitive Selection Following Request for Qualifications.

(a)

Procurement for specialized goods and services as determined by the City Manager in writing shall be eligible for award by a competitive selection process following a request for qualifications under this Section, provided that the following conditions are met:

(1)

The City Manager or the City Manager's designee determines that a request for qualifications process is necessary and advantageous to the City to determine the best and most appropriate contractors or vendors taking into account the specialized nature of the goods or services to be provided;

(2)

The City Manager or the City Manager's designee identifies and applies criteria to determine acceptability as a contractor or vendor for the specialized goods or services to be provided, which may then be utilized to create a list of qualified bidders invited to bid in lieu of public notice for soliciting competitive sealed bids or competitive sealed proposals;

(3)

There is a minimum of two (2) contractors or vendors able to be qualified to engage in the competitive selection process;

(4)

The City engages in a competitive selection process as otherwise provided by the Northglenn Municipal Code.

(b)

In order to initiate a competitive selection process following a request for qualifications, the City shall identify potential appropriate and qualified vendors of the goods or services to be procured, investigate and research the market for such goods or services, and identify those vendors determined to be appropriate and qualified candidates in light of the competitive and other interests of the City.

(c)

The City may contact selected vendors, or may consider appropriate and qualified vendors that have initiated contact with the City, provided that a rational basis for identifying and selecting candidate vendors in view of the interests of the City is applied consistently to all vendors reasonably known to the City.

(d)

The basis for final selection of a vendor under a competitive selection process, and the final terms of the contract under which goods or services shall be procured under this Section, shall each be subject to the review and approval of the City Manager, and shall contain such minimum criteria that the City Manager determines appropriate based on the specialized nature of the goods or services to be provided.

[Source: Ord. 1596, 2011]

Section 6-5-10. Competitive Selection Process -- "Design-Build Contracts".

(a)

General: Contracts for the construction, reconstruction or remodeling of general public improvements may be let through a "Design-Build" process as an alternative to those processes set forth in this Article 5 of Chapter 6 of the Northglenn Municipal Code, where the City Council determines by Resolution, upon the City Manager's recommendation, that the City's best interests are served by the use of such an alternative competitive selection process. Subject to any requirements and limitations provided for in this section, the City Manager shall be responsible for determining and administering the competitive "Design-Build" selection process and project delivery method appropriate for construction of each such improvement. For purposes of this Section 6-5-10, a "Design-Build" contractor shall be responsible for the design and construction of the general public improvement for which the process is utilized.

(b)

Contractor Selection/Design Build: The City may utilize a competitive selection process by means of a fair, open and free competition using a Design-Build process. At a minimum, any competitive Design-Build selection process shall include the following:

(1)

A written solicitation adequate to notify potential qualified contractors, subcontractors and suppliers of the nature of the work opportunity, including a general description of the contemplated scope of the project work, the anticipated method of project delivery, and a recitation of the significant standards and legal and technical requirements applicable to the project work. Said solicitation shall be published at least once in a manner calculated to obtain the best representation of qualified bidders in the Denver metropolitan area, and in addition, the City Manager, or his designated representative, may solicit bids from responsible prospective contractors;

(2)

A written description of the competitive "Design-Build" selection procedure the City will utilize to award a contract for the project work; such description to include: a recitation of any responsiveness requirements applicable to each submission, a listing of the significant selection procedure milestones and deadlines impacting submissions, a description of the minimum qualifications required, including all applicable prequalification rules and regulations, and a discussion of any other requirements necessary to deliver a complete and responsive submission to the department's solicitation;

(3)

A written statement of the criteria and other factors to be used by the City in evaluating each responsive submission; such evaluation factors shall include, but shall not be limited to: proposed fees (including general conditions and markup), expenses or cost saving considerations, as appropriate to each project; ability of professional personnel; past performance on similar projects; ability to meet time and budget requirements; recent, current, and projected workloads of the firm; and as applicable, the concept of the project. The statement will also include a brief narrative describing the review, evaluation, selection and, as applicable, the contract negotiation process; and

(4)

A written notification of selection, ranking for negotiation or rejection issued to each entity making a submission in response to the City's solicitation.

[Source: Ord. 1666, 2014]