Ariz. Admin. Code § 7-2-1101

Current through Register Vol. 30, No. 50, December 13, 2024

Section R7-2-1101 - Qualified Select Bidders List

A. The school district may use the qualified select bidders list method to determine the vendors who receive the notice of competitive sealed bidding for a construction contract. The qualified select bidders list shall be determined in accordance with this Section.

B. Sealed prime contractor or construction materials supplier statements of qualifications shall be solicited through requests for qualifications.

1. Notice of the request for qualifications shall be given by the school district pursuant to R7-2-1022 and R7-2-1024(C).

2. Requests for qualifications shall be issued at least 21 days before the due date and time for submission.

3. Use of the qualified select bidders list shall be restricted to the specific project identified in the request for qualifications.

4. The qualified select bidders list shall consist of at least three prime contractors when a contractor is solicited or three construction material suppliers when material suppliers are solicited.

5. The qualified select bidders list for any specific project is valid for one year but may be extended for an additional year, at the option of the school district.

C. The request for qualifications shall include the following:

1. Notice that all information and statements of qualifications submitted by persons will be made available for public inspection following the establishment of a qualified select bidders list.

2. Instructions and information to persons concerning the statement of qualifications submission requirements, including the due date and time for submission, the address of the office at which the statements of qualifications are to be received, and any other special information.

3. The anticipated evaluation period and selection of a qualified select bidders list.

4. General information on the project site or sites, scope of work, schedule, evaluation criteria, project design and construction budget, or life cycle budget for a procurement that includes maintenance, operations, and finance services.

5. The weight prescribed by the school district for each of the criteria to be used in making the evaluation.

6. The criteria to be used in making the evaluation, which shall include at a minimum:

a. Person's capabilities and qualifications for performing the scope of work;

b. Person's project team, and key members' education, training and qualifications;

c. Method of approach, including subcontractor plan, safety plan;

d. Safety record and worker's compensation rate;

e. Projected construction schedule;

f. Current workload;

g. Five most recent representative examples of similar work along with references for each example;

h. Current bonding availability and capacity;

i. Any judgment or liens against the person within the last three years;

j. Any current unresolved bond claims against the person;

k. Any deficiency orders issued against the prime contractor by the Arizona Registrar of Contractors within the last three years; and

l. Any filing under the United States Bankruptcy Code, assignments for the benefit of creditors, or other measures taken for the protection against creditors during the last three years.

7. The type of contract to be used.

8. The name of the district representative or district representatives.

9. The expiration date of the qualified select bidders list if less than one year.

10. A statement that the school district reserves the right to conduct interviews as part of the evaluation process.

11. The date, time and location of any pre-submittal conference.

D. The school district may conduct a pre-submittal conference not less than 14 days prior to the statement of qualifications due date and time for the purposes of explaining the requirements of the request for qualifications.

E. Amendments to request for qualifications.

1. An amendment to a request for qualifications shall be issued if necessary to do any of the following:

a. Make changes in the request for qualifications;

b. Correct defects or ambiguities;

c. Furnish to persons information given to any other person, if the information will assist the persons in submitting their statements of qualifications or if the lack of the information will prejudice the persons;

d. Provide additional information or instructions; or

e. Extend the due date and time if the school district determines that an extension is advantageous to the school district.

2. Amendments to a request for qualifications shall be so identified and the school district shall ensure that the amendments are distributed or made available to all persons to whom the original request for qualifications was distributed or made available. The school district shall make a copy of the amendments to a request for qualifications available for public inspection at the school district office. If the school district posted the request for qualifications or a notice of the availability of a request for qualifications on a designated site on the Internet, then the school district shall post any amendments to the request for qualifications on the same designated site on the Internet. The school district shall also do one or more of the following:

a. Distribute the amendment, by any method reasonably calculated to ensure delivery, to all persons to whom the request for qualifications was distributed;

b. Make the amendment available and issue a notice of amendment which contains instructions for obtaining copies of the amendment. The notice of amendment shall be distributed, by any method reasonably calculated to ensure delivery, to all persons to whom the request for qualifications was distributed. Upon receipt of such notice of amendment, it is the responsibility of the person to obtain the amendment.

3. Amendments to request for qualifications shall be issued within a reasonable time before the due date and time to allow persons to consider them in preparing their statements of qualifications. If the school district determines that the due date and time in the request for qualifications does not permit sufficient time for statement of qualifications preparation, the due date and time shall be extended in the amendment or, if necessary, by telephone, facsimile, email, or other communications methods, and confirmed in the amendment.

4. A person shall acknowledge receipt of an amendment in the manner specified in the request for qualifications or the amendment on or before the due date and time.

F. Pre-submittal modification or withdrawal of statements of qualifications

1. A person may modify or withdraw a statement of qualifications in writing at any time before the prescribed due date and time if the modification or withdrawal is received before the due date and time at the location designated in the request for qualifications for receipt of statements of qualifications.

2. All documents concerning a modification or withdrawal of a statement of qualifications shall be retained in the procurement file.

G. Late statements of qualifications, late withdrawals and late modifications

1. A statement of qualifications, modification or withdrawal is late if it is received at the location designated in the request for qualifications for receipt of statements of qualifications after the due date and time.

2. A late statement of qualifications, late modification, or late withdrawal shall be rejected, unless the statement of qualifications, modification or withdrawal would have been timely received but for the action or inaction of school district personnel and is received before the qualified select bidders list is established.

3. Upon receiving a late statement of qualifications, late modification, or late withdrawal, the school district shall record the time and date of receipt and promptly send notice of late receipt to the person. The school district may discard the document 30 days after the date on the notice unless the person requests the document be returned.

4. All documents concerning acceptance of a late statement of qualifications, late modification, or late withdrawal shall be retained in the procurement file.

H. Receipt, opening and recording statements of qualifications

1. A school district shall maintain a record of statements of qualifications and modifications received for each solicitation, shall record the time and date when each statement of qualifications or modification is received, and shall store each unopened statement of qualifications or modification in a secure place until the due date and time.

a. If required to confirm a vendor's inquiry regarding receipt of its statement of qualifications prior to the due date and time, a school district may open a statement of qualifications to identify the vendor. If this occurs, the school district shall record the reason for opening the statement of qualifications, the date and time the statement of qualifications was opened, and the solicitation number. The school district shall secure the statement of qualifications and retain it for public opening.

b. One or more witnesses shall be present for the opening of a statement of qualifications under subsection (H)(1)(a).

2. Statements of qualifications and modifications shall be opened publicly at the date, time and location designated in the request for qualifications in the presence of one or more witnesses. The name of each person and any other relevant information deemed appropriate by the school district shall be recorded. The person opening the statements of qualifications and all witnesses shall sign the record.

a. The record created in subsection (H)(2) shall be available for public inspection.

b. The statements of qualifications shall not be open for public inspection until after the qualified select bidders list has been established.

I. Establishing the qualified select bidders list.

1. The qualified select bidders list shall be established by determining the highest rated persons from the statements of qualifications received. This will be a minimum of three and a maximum of five.

2. For each qualified select bidders list process there will be established by the school district an evaluation committee composed of five members. These members shall include the project designer or construction material specifier, one member from the prime contracting or construction material supplier community that performs commensurate level work and is disinterested in this project, a school district facilities representative and two other members as designated by the school district.

3. The evaluation committee shall review and score each statement of qualifications received according to the established evaluation criteria. The committee shall rank the statements of qualifications in accordance with the scores.

4. The committee may conduct interviews before making the final determination of the qualified select bidders list. The committee shall document the interviews in writing.

5. The committee shall select at least three and not more than five of the highest scoring persons for the qualified select bidders list.

6. The district representative shall review the committee's qualified select bidders list. The district representative shall:

a. Accept the list as submitted;

b. Return the list for additional committee review;

c. Reject the list and terminate the process.

7. A one-year eligibility period for the qualified select bidders list shall begin on the date the district representative accepts it. The qualified select bidders list may be extended one year at the option of the school district.

8. Once the qualified select bidders list is established, a written notice of the selected persons shall be sent to all the persons that submitted statements of qualifications.

9. After the establishment of the qualified select bidders list, a written record showing the basis for determining the qualified select bidders list shall be prepared by the district representative and retained in the procurement file. Within 10 days after the qualified select bidders list has been established, the school district shall make the procurement file, including all statements of qualifications, available for public inspection.

a. If the procurement file contains information that is confidential under R7-2-1006, a copy of the applicable documents with the confidential information redacted shall be placed in the procurement file for the purpose of public inspection.

b. The unredacted original copy of the confidential information shall be placed in a sealed envelope or other appropriate container, identified as confidential information, and maintained in the procurement file.

10. The qualified select bidders shall be provided an invitation for bids in accordance with R7-2-1024 to R7-2-1032. For any projects not identified in the request for qualifications, the school district may not solicit bids on those projects under the qualified select bidders list either in the initial one-year period or the one-year extension period.

11. The project identified in the request for qualifications shall have invitation for bids issued within the initial one-year period, or in the one-year extension period, to be awarded a contract under that qualified select bidders list.

J. Terminating the process for insufficient response or selection

1. In the event that less than three statements of qualifications are received, this procurement process shall cease and the school district may elect to reissue the request for qualifications or pursue other procurement methods.

2. In the event that less than three persons are identified by the selection committee as being the most highly qualified, this procurement process shall cease and the school district may elect to reissue the request for qualifications or pursue other procurement methods.

K. A copy of the request for qualifications shall be made available for public inspection at the school district office.

Ariz. Admin. Code § R7-2-1101

Adopted effective December 17, 1987 (Supp. 87-4). Amended by exempt rulemaking at 33 A.A.R. 1526, effective 7/1/2014. Amended by final exempt rulemaking at 26 A.A.R. 597, effective 7/1/2020.