45A.825 Prequalification of interested firms -- Request for proposals -- Responses -
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/ky/45a-825A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
- Procedures for evaluating proposals and negotiating contract -- Exception.
(a)A firm shall not be considered for providing architectural, engineering, or
engineering-related services to the Finance and Administration Cabinet, the
Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, or Transportation Cabinet, unless
the relevant procuring agency has prequalified the firm prior to notice of a
request for proposals to which that firm intends to respond.
(b)A firm's prequalification shall remain in effect for twelve
(12)months from
the date of prequalification.
(a)The procuring agency shall consult with the user agency or user division
before arriving at a request for proposals.
(b)The request for proposals:
1. Shall include as an evaluation factor whether the work tasks are to be
performed in Kentucky or outside Kentucky;
2. Shall indicate the relative weight of evaluation factors, including the
reciprocal preference for resident bidders required by KRS 45A.494;
and
3. Shall establish a timetable for:
a. The selection committee's first meeting held pursuant to
subsection
(6)of this section; and
b. The selection committee's activities conducted pursuant to
subsection (7)(b) of this section or subsection (8)(b), (d), and
(e)of
this section, as appropriate.
(c)The procuring agency shall provide adequate public notice of a request for
proposals and notice of the materials that the procuring agency will provide to
a firm to assist that firm in responding to a request for proposals. Those
materials shall include, but not be limited to, the request for proposals and the
project evaluation sheet to be used by the relevant selection committee. The
notice shall also set a deadline for filing responses to a request for proposals
with the procuring agency. It shall be the intent of this subsection that firms in
all regions of the Commonwealth are given an equal opportunity to be
selected.
(3)A firm shall respond to a request for proposals by submitting before the deadline, a
completed form, devised by the procuring agency, which states the firm's
experience and its qualifications for the project as described in the request for
proposals. A firm which fails to meet the deadline shall be barred from the
procurement process.
(4)The employees of a procuring agency and the members of the selection committee
shall keep all responses to a request for proposals confidential until the procuring
agency has awarded a contract.
(5)The secretary or commissioner of the procuring agency shall designate a procuring
agency employee to determine which firms have prequalified pursuant to subsection
(1)of this section and have filed, in a timely fashion, responses to a request for
proposals. He or she shall create a list of the firms which have done so and certify
the list.
(6)The procuring agency shall organize the selection committee's first meeting. At that
meeting, each selection committee member shall sign a statement of confidentiality.
Also, at that meeting, the selection committee shall:
(a)Elect from among the voting members of the committee a chairman and a vice
chairman who shall hold their positions for the duration of the selection
committee's participation in the project;
(b)Be provided with:
1. The certified list created pursuant to subsection
(5)of this section;
2. The firms' responses to the request for proposals;
3. The request for proposals;
4. The notice of request for proposals; and
5. The project evaluation sheets; and
(c)Discuss the future conduct of its affairs.
(a)When the Transportation Cabinet or Department of Fish and Wildlife
Resources procures any engineering or engineering-related services, or when
the Finance and Administration Cabinet procures architectural services for an
estimated fee of less than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) or engineering or
engineering-related services for an estimated fee of less than one hundred
thousand dollars ($100,000), this subsection and subsection
(9)of this section
shall govern the procurement process.
(b)The selection committee shall meet in executive session to:
1. Evaluate the materials with which it has been provided;
2. Select the three
(3)most qualified firms and rank them in order of
preference, based upon the weighted evaluation factors established in
the request for proposals; and
3. Notify the procuring agency of the ranking.
(c)The procuring agency shall notify each firm which responded to the request
for proposals, informing the firm of:
1. The three
(3)finalists;
2. Their ranking; and
3. The rest of the procedure that will be followed in the awarding of the
contract.
(d)The procuring agency shall then begin negotiations with the top-ranked firm
pursuant to subsection
(9)of this section.
(a)When the Finance and Administration Cabinet is procuring architectural
services for an estimated fee of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) or more or
engineering or engineering-related services for an estimated fee of one
hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) or more, this subsection and subsection
(9)of this section shall govern the procurement process.
(b)The selection committee shall meet in executive session to:
1. Evaluate the materials with which it has been provided;
2. Select, but not rank, the three
(3)most qualified firms, based upon the
weighted evaluation factors established in the request for proposals; and
3. Notify the procuring agency of the three
(3)finalists.
(c)The procuring agency shall notify each firm which responded to the request
for proposals, informing the firm of:
1. The three
(3)finalists; and
2. The rest of the procedure that will be followed in the awarding of the
contract.
(d)The selection committee shall interview the three
(3)finalists, preferably on
the same day. The finalists shall be interviewed one
(1)at a time, and each
interview shall be attended only by representatives of the finalist and
members of the selection committee. Members of the selection committee
shall keep confidential the substance of an interview until the procuring
agency has awarded a contract.
(e)The selection committee shall meet in executive session to:
1. Rank the three
(3)finalists based upon the weighted evaluation factors
established in the request for proposals; and
2. Forward the ranking to the procuring agency.
(f)The procuring agency shall notify each finalist, informing the finalist of:
1. The finalist's ranking; and
2. The rest of the procedure that will be followed in the awarding of the
contract.
(g)The procuring agency shall then begin negotiations with the top-ranked firm
pursuant to subsection
(9)of this section.
(9)The secretary or commissioner of the procuring agency shall designate a procuring
agency employee as the procuring officer in charge of negotiating a contract with
the top-ranked firm, as determined by the selection committee, at compensation
which the procuring officer determines in writing to be fair and reasonable to the
Commonwealth. In making this decision, the employee shall take into account the
estimated value of the services to be rendered, and the scope, complexity, and
professional nature thereof. Should the procuring officer be unable to negotiate a
satisfactory contract with the top-ranked firm, at a price that he or she considers fair
and reasonable to the Commonwealth, he or she shall formally terminate
negotiations with the firm. The procuring officer shall then undertake negotiations
with the second-ranked firm. Failing accord with the second-ranked firm, the
purchasing officer shall formally terminate negotiations. The purchasing officer
shall then undertake negotiations with the third-ranked firm. Should the purchasing
officer be unable to negotiate a satisfactory contract with any of the selected firms,
he or she shall formally terminate negotiations, and the procurement procedure shall
start again from the beginning pursuant to KRS 45A.810.
(10)Once a procuring officer has negotiated a contract, the procuring agency shall
notify the other finalists, informing them of:
(a)Which firm has successfully negotiated a contract; and
(b)The rest of the procedure that will be followed in the awarding of the contract.
(11)Notwithstanding the provisions of KRS 45A.045, when the Transportation Cabinet
or the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources is the procuring agency, the
negotiated contract shall take effect without the approval of the secretary of the
Finance and Administration Cabinet.
(12)The provisions of this section shall not apply to the procurement of architectural,
engineering, or engineering-related services under KRS 45A.837 and 45A.838.