Section 096-594-9 - Cost quotes, contract awards and State paymentsA.Bidding procedure. All applicants are required to solicit bids or quotes from area contractors using contract documents for the project. 1 Individually administered projects.A minimum of three competitive quotes from qualified contractors must be obtained.2 Town administered projects.Sealed competitive bids are required for all contracts.An advertisement for bids must be published in a local newspaper at least seven (7) days before bids are opened. The bid advertisement may require separate bids for each individual system or a single bid for multiple systems with an individual price for each system.The contract will be awarded as follows: (a) A separate contract for each individual system will be drawn and payment will be a lump sum for each individual system; or(b) A single contract for a group of individual systems may be drawn with payment being made as a lump sum for construction of each individual system.B.Contract documents. Contract documents must include forms such as: bid proposal; contract agreement; general conditions; construction specifications; and construction plans. These forms may be provided by the Department or similar forms may be used if approved by the department.C.Award of construction contracts. Prior to awarding the construction contract, the department must be notified of the bid results to determine if the costs are reasonable.The applicant shall award construction contracts to the lowest bidder, provided that the contractor(s) selected have demonstrated ability to perform this kind of work and will comply with all state laws and the contract documents required by Section 9(B) of this chapter.D.State payments.(1) Town administered projects.Payments for eligible costs up to the limit of funding are remitted to the appropriate local government entity as they are incurred.(2) Individually administered projects.Reimbursement for project costs will be made when the project is completed and the contractor has certified that payment in full has been received.(3) Payment Requests.A payment request form detailing the eligible expenses must be submitted with appropriate documentation attached. (a) Copies of design invoices, construction contracts, contractor certification form, inspection invoices, advertisement invoices and change order statements are the usual documentation required for payment, however, the department may require additional documentation in certain cases to determine the appropriateness of payment.(4) Low priority projects may be funded from unencumbered funds after October 1 of the calendar year, unless sooner added to the annual priority list.If unencumbered funds are not available during the calendar year, then the reimbursement request will be held and paid if and when funding becomes available.06- 096 C.M.R. ch. 594, § 9