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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCORRESPONDENCE - BID - 8198 TRANSFORT REROOF (5)City of Fort Collins Purchasing December 22, 2015 Select Roofing Contractors LLC Attn: Zack Stanevich 2614 S Timberline Road, Unit 109-182 Fort Collins, CO 80525 zack(a�selectroofingcontractors.com RE: BID 8198 Transfort Reroof — Good Faith Effort Determination Dear Mr. Stanevich: Financial Services Purchasing Division 215 N. Mason St. 2no Floor PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 970.221.6775 970.221.6707- fax fcgov. com/purcha sing The City has reviewed the good faith efforts made by Select Roofing under Bid 8198 and does not believe your firm has adequately demonstrated the level of diligence required by 49 CFR Part 26.53 to achieve the DBE goal. For your reference, guidance regarding good faith efforts is found in Appendix A to Part 26 which is attached for your consideration. Specifically, based on the documentation submitted it appears Select Roofing did not contact or actively solicit any DBE's as part of the bid preparation. It appears Select Roofing contacted Horizon Sheet Metal and American Industrial on December 18th after the bid closed on December 17th Your bid is not responsive because it has not documented sufficient good faith efforts. In accordance with 26.53 (d), you have the opportunity to request administrative reconsideration. You should make this request in writing to Mr. Mike Beckstead, Chief Financial Officer, at mbeckstead(c�fcgov.com. Mr. Beckstead has not played any role in the original determination that your firm did not document sufficient good faith efforts. The written request with supporting documentation for administrative reconsideration must be received by close of business Monday, December 28, 2015. As part of this reconsideration, your firm has the opportunity to provide written documentation or argument concerning the issue of whether you met the goal or made adequate good faith efforts to do so. If you elect, you also have the opportunity to meet in person with the City's reconsideration official to discuss the issue of whether you met the goal or made adequate good faith efforts to do so. Fort Collins / LN / The City will send your firm a written decision on reconsideration, explaining the basis for finding that your firm did or did not meet the goal or make adequate good faith efforts to do so. Pursuant to 26.53 the result of the reconsideration process is not administratively appealable to the Department of Transportation. Si erely, Ge Paul Purchasing Director Attachment Karl Gannon FTA Grant Compliance Officer CPO Pt. 26, App. A assisted, or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under this part. If you violate this prohibition, you are in noncompli- ance with this part. [64 FR 5126, Feb. 2, 1999, as amended at 68 FR 36656, June 16, 2893] APPENDIX A TO PART 2"UIDANCE CONCERNING GOOD FAITH EFFORTS I. When, as a recipient, you establish a contract goal on a DOT -assisted contract, a bidder must, in order to be responsible and/ or responsive, make good faith efforts to meet the goal. The bidder can meet this re- quirement in either of two ways. First, the bidder can meet the goal, documenting com- mitments for participation by DBE firms sufficient for this purpose. Second, even If it doesn't meet the goal, the bidder can docu- ment adequate good faith efforts. This means that the bidder must show that it took all necessary and reasonable steps to achieve a DBE goal or other requirement of this part which, by their scope, intensity, and appro- priateness to the objective, could reasonably be expected to obtain sufficient DBE partici- pation, even if they were not fully success- ful. II. In any situation in which you have es- tablished a contract goal, part 26 requires you to use the good faith efforts mechanism of this part. As a recipient, it is up to you to make a fair and reasonable judgment wheth- er a bidder that did not meet the goal made adequate good faith efforts. It is important for you to consider the quality, quantity, and Intensity of the different kinds of efforts that the bidder has made. The efforts em- ployed by the bidder should be those that one could reasonably expect a bidder to take if the bidder were actively and aggressively trying to obtain DBE participation sufficient to meet the DBE contract goal. More pro forma efforts are not good faith efforts to meet the DBE contract requirements. We emphasize, however, that your determina- tion concerning the sufficiency of the firm's good faith efforts is a judgment call: meeting quantitative formulas is not required. III. The Department also strongly cautions you against requiring that a bidder meet a contraot goal (i.e., obtain a specified amount of DBE participation) in order to be awarded a contract, even though the bidder makes an adequate good faith efforts showing. This rule specifically prohibits you from ignoring bona fide good faith efforts. IV. The following is a list of types of ao- tfons which you should consider as part of the bidder's good faith efforts to obtain DBE participation. It is not intended to be a man- datory checklist, nor is it intended to be ex- clusive or exhaustive. Other factors or types 49 CFR Subtitle A 00-1-09 Edition) of efforts may be relevant in appropriate cases. A. Soliciting through all reasonable and available means (e.g. attendance at pre -bid meetings, advertising and/or written notices) the interest of all certified DBEs who bave the capability to perform the work of the contract. The bidder must solicit this inter- est within sufficient time to allow the DBEs to respond to the solicitation. The bidder must determine with certainty if the DBEs are interested by taking appropriate steps to follow up initial solicitations. B. Selecting portions of the work to be per- formed by DBEs in order to increase the likelihood that the DBE goals will be achieved. This Includes, where appropriate, breaking out oontract work items into eco- nomically feasible units to facilitate DBE participation, even when the prime con- tractor might otherwise prefer to perform these work items with its own forces. 0. Providing interested DBEs with ade- quate information about the plans, specifica- tions, and requirements of the contract in a timely manner to assist them in responding to a solicitation. D. (1) Negotiating in good faith with inter- ested DBEs. It is the bidder's responsibility to make a portion of the work available to DBE subcontractors and suppliers and to se- lect those portions of the work or material needs consistent with the available DBE sub- oontraotors and suppliers, so as to facilitate DBE participation. Evidence of such negotia- tion includes the names, addresses, and tele- phone numbers of DBEs that were consid- ered; a description of the information pro- vided regarding the plans and specifications for the work selected for subcontracting; and evidence as to why additional agreements could not be reached for DBEs to perform the work. (2) A bidder using good business judgment would consider a number of factors in negoti- ating with subcontraotors, including DBE subcontractors, and would take a firm's prioe and capabilities as well as contract goals into consideration. However, the fact that there may be some additional costs in- volved in finding and using DBEs is not in itself sufficient reason for a bidder's failure to meet the contract DBE goal, as long as such costs are reasonable. Also, the ability or desire of a prime contractor to perform the work of a contract with its own organiza- tion does not relieve the bidder of the re- sponsibility to make good faith efforts. Prime contractors are not, however, required to accept higher quotes from DBEs if the price difference is excessive or unreasonable. E. Not rejecting DBEs as being unqualified without sound reasons based on a thorough investigation of their capabilities. The con- tractor's standing within its industry, mem- bership in specific groups, orgaafzatfons, or 322 Office of the Secretary of Transportation associations and political or social affili- ations (for example union vs. non -union em- ployee status) are not legitimate causes for the rejection or non -solicitation of bids in the contractor's efforts to meet the project goal. P. Making efforts to assist interested DBEs in obtaining bonding, lines of credit, or in- surance as required by the recipient or con- tractor. G. Making efforts to assist interested DBEs in obtaining necessary equipment, sup- plies, materials, or related assistance or services. H. Effectively using the services of avail- able minority/women community organiza- tions; minority/women contractors' groups; local, state, and Federal minority/women business assistance offices; and other organi- Pt. 26, App. A zations as allowed on a case -by -case basis to Provide assistance in the recruitment and placement of DBEs. V. In determining whether a bidder has made good faith efforts, you may take into account the performance of other bidders in meeting the contract. For example, when the apparent successful bidder falls to meet the contract goal, but others meet it, you may reasonably raise the question of whether, with additional reasonable efforts, the appar- ent successful bidder could have met the goal. If the apparent successful bidder falls to meet the goal, but meets or exceeds the average DEE participation obtained by other bidders, you may view this, in conjunction with other factors, as evidence of the appar- ent successful bidder having made good faith efforts. 323