§ 1-12 Competitive Sealed Bids.
RCNY § 1-12
(a)General.
(1)Concessions shall be awarded in accordance with competitive sealed bidding procedures whenever practicable and advantageous to the City. Concessions may be awarded through a competitive sealed proposal process if the agency makes a written determination that the use of competitive sealed bidding is not practicable or not advantageous to the City for one of the reasons set forth in 12 RCNY § 1-13(a). Such determination must be approved in writing by the agency head and must be included in the concession file. A copy thereof shall be forwarded to the Committee.
(2)At least 40 days prior to soliciting bids, or less at the discretion of CCPO, the agency shall make a written determination as to whether a concession is a major concession. Such determination shall be approved in writing by the agency head and shall be included in the concession file. If a concession is determined to be a major concession, it shall be subject to review and approval pursuant to Sections 197-c and 197-d of the Charter following the agency selection of the successful bidder. Once a determination of whether a concession is a major concession has been made, an agency may proceed with the sealed bid process but shall provide written notification of its determination to each affected community board and Borough President and shall simultaneously post such notification on the City's website in a location that is accessible by the public with its distribution. A copy of such notification shall be provided to the members of the Committee within 5 days of provision to the community board(s) and Borough President and publication on the City's website, provided however, that inclusion of the concession in the agency's Plan pursuant to 12 RCNY § 1-10 shall constitute notice to the affected community board and Borough President and posting on the City's website for purposes of this requirement, and no copy need be provided to the members of the Committee in such circumstance. The written notification shall include a summary of the terms and conditions of the proposed solicitation and whether the concession is significant.
(i)If an agency provides the aforementioned notice to the affected community board and Borough President and there are no material changes to the terms described in the notice, the agency shall not be required to issue a second notice when issuing or reissuing the Invitation for Bids within a 12-month period.
(3)At least 40 days prior to soliciting bids for a significant concession, or less, at the discretion of CCPO, the agency shall consult with each affected community board and Borough President on developing the scope of the Invitation for Bid, provided however, that inclusion of the concession in the agency's Plan pursuant to 12 RCNY § 1-10 shall constitute consultations with the affected community board and Borough President for purposes of this requirement.
(b)Preparation of invitation to bid.
(xiv)Where applicable, for concessions that entail construction, the following information shall be additionally included: (A) A statement establishing minimum insurance requirements which the City will require of the bidder if successful; and (B) A statement that the bidder will be required to meet all licensing or permit requirements required to perform the construction.
(ii)The advertisement shall include: (A) The place the Invitation for Bids may be obtained, and the required fee or deposit amount, if any, for obtaining the Invitation for Bids; (B) The time, date, and location of any pre-bid conference or site visit, if any, and if attendance is mandatory; (C) The place where and the day and hour when the bids will be publicly opened; (D) A brief description of the concession under consideration for resolicitation or initial award; and (E) The name, telephone number, and email address of the agency contact person.
(iii)A bidding time of at least 30 days between the advertisement's first appearance in the City Record and the opening of bids shall be provided, unless the concession manager makes a written determination that a shorter period is reasonable. A copy of such determination must be included in the concession file.
(iv)Agencies shall provide for special outreach to minority and women owned business enterprises certified by the City of New York as such entities are defined in Section 1304 of the Charter. Special outreach can include but is not limited to; providing notice in newspapers, trade publications, websites or social media that are dedicated to minority and/or women owner business enterprises or trade groups. Agencies may additionally employ any outreach technique sanctioned by DSBS that is not otherwise in violation of these Rules.
(c)Soliciting mailing lists.
(4)Utilization. When a concession is to be granted in a category for which a solicitation mailing list has been developed, all entities on the list shall be sent a solicitation letter. This letter must include the same information contained in the advertisement announcing the solicitation and should be distributed 5 days prior to the advertisement's first appearance in the City Record. Once a solicitation letter has been sent, it is presumed to have been received by all entities. Agencies have no obligation beyond assuring that the solicitation letter has been sent.
(d)Pre-Bid Conferences. Pre-bid conferences may be conducted by the concession manager to explain the agency's requirements. Written notice of any conference shall be provided to all prospective bidders. A pre-bid conference should be held long enough after the Invitation for Bids has been issued to allow bidders to become familiar with it, but sufficiently before bid opening to allow consideration of the conference results in preparing their bids. Nothing stated at the pre-bid conference shall change the Invitation for Bids unless a change is made by amendment as provided in this section. A summary of the conference shall be prepared and if a transcript is made, it shall be a public record. A record of attendance shall be kept of all conferences.
(e)Amendments and addenda to the invitation for bid.
(5)If a change to an Invitation for Bid is so extensive that it warrants complete revision of a solicitation, the concession manager shall cancel the Invitation for Bid and issue a new one. In making the determination whether to cancel an Invitation for Bid based on a change, the concession manager shall consider whether the change is such that new bidders, as a result of those revisions, might now be interested in satisfying the requirements of the changed Invitation for Bid.
(6)Agencies must require that bidders acknowledge the receipt of all the amendments as part of their bids. Failure to acknowledge the receipt of all amendments in a bid for a significant concession may be waived if the concession manager, upon written approval of the Agency Head, determines that it is in the best interests of the City to do so. Failure to acknowledge the receipt of all amendments in a bid for a concession, other than a significant concession, may be waived if the concession manager makes a written determination that it is in the best interests of the City to do so. Such determination must be included in the concession file.
(f)Bid deposits. The concession manager may establish a reasonable bid deposit requirement. Where a deposit amount is specified in the Invitation for Bid, no bid shall be valid unless accompanied by such deposit. Every Invitation for Bid shall contain a provision that in the event of the failure of a successful bidder to execute a concession agreement in accordance with the terms of its bid, any such deposit shall be retained by the City unless the bid has been permitted to be withdrawn.
(g)Submission of bids. The Invitation for Bids shall provide a form on which the bidder shall insert the bid price (i.e., proposed revenue) and shall sign and submit along with all other necessary submissions. Bids shall be submitted in the form required by the Request for Bids and signed by the bidder. Erasures or alterations shall be initialed by the signer If so provided in the solicitation, sealed bids may be submitted electronically. Bidders must submit sealed bids to be opened at the time and place stated in the Invitation for the public opening of bids. Each bid shall show the time specified for receipt, the solicitation number and the name and address of the bidder on the outside wrapper.
(h)Receipt and safeguarding of bids. All bids received before the time set for the opening of bids shall be placed unopened in a safe or a secured cabinet in the custody of the concession manager. Bids shall be time and date stamped upon receipt. Before bid opening the agency may not disclose the identity of any bidder.
(j)Late bids and modifications.
(k)Withdrawal of bids.
(l)Mistake in bid. Allegations of mistakes in bids shall be processed by the concession manager according to 9 RCNY § 3-02(m) of the Rules of the Procurement Policy Board ("PPB Rules"). A written determination shall be made and shall be included in the concession file.
(m)Single bids. When a single bid has been received in response to an Invitation for Bid, an award may be recommended only after it has been documented by the concession manager that a sufficient number of other entities had a reasonable opportunity to bid; why, as a result of inquiries made by the agency, representative firms chose not to submit bids; that the bid submitted meets minimum requirements for award; and that a resolicitation would not be in the City's best interest. If the above specified circumstances cannot be documented, the single bid must be rejected and the concession may either be pursued, subject to the approval of the concession manager, by the solicitation of new bids or the concession cancelled. Notwithstanding the foregoing, when a single bid has been received in response to an Invitation for Bid for a concession, other than a significant concession, the agency shall not be required to make inquiries as to why representative firms chose not to submit bids.
(n)Award and processing.
(o)Bid retention. The agency must retain all submitted bids and modifications in the permanent concession file. Although the Agency may consider only the latest version of a bid, the retention of these documents will serve as a reference for responses to future inquiries. When bids are rejected or a solicitation canceled after bids are received, the bids shall be retained and the bid security, if any, shall be promptly returned, and the file so documented.
(p)Accessibility.
