§ 7.302 — Competitive Sealed Proposals; Request for Qualifications

Sec. 7.302. - Competitive Sealed Proposals; Request for Qualifications.

A. Determination of Use. A contract for the procurement of supplies, services, professional services, or construction may be entered into through solicitation of competitive sealed proposals or qualification statements when the Chief Procurement Officer determines that the use of competitive sealed bidding or other authorized procurement methods are either not practical or not advantageous to the City, including but not limited to, a contract for: 1. The procurement of professional or consulting services; or 2. The procurement of construction manager-at-risk and design-build construction project delivery services. B. Request for Proposals; Request for Qualification Statements. Competitive sealed proposals shall be solicited through a Request for Proposals (RFP). Competitive sealed qualification statements shall be solicited through a Request for Qualifications (RFQu). C. Prequalification; Short Listing. A prequalification or short listing process may be conducted as part of or prior to the issuance of an RFP or RFQu. In the event a prequalification or short listing process is used, the Chief Procurement Officer may limit consideration to responses that are submitted from the prequalified or short listed respondents. D. Public Notice. Public notice of an RFP or RFQu shall be given in the same manner as provided for competitive sealed bidding. E. Receipt of Responses. Proposals and qualification statements shall be opened and held in accordance with Florida public records laws. F. Evaluation Criteria. The RFP or RFQu solicitation shall state the criteria to be used in the evaluation of the responses, and shall include their relative importance. G. Advisory Committee. The Chief Procurement Officer may appoint an advisory committee to evaluate and rank the responses and make a recommendation based on the criteria set forth in the solicitation. H. Discussion with Responsible Respondents and Revision to Responses. As provided in the RFP or RFQu solicitation, discussions may be conducted with responsible respondents who submit responses determined to be reasonably acceptable of being selected for award for the purpose of clarification and to assure full understanding of, and responsiveness to, the solicitation requirements. Such respondents shall be accorded fair and equal treatment with respect to any opportunity for discussion and revision of responses and such revisions may be permitted after submission prior to award for the purpose of obtaining best and final offers. I. Award. Award shall be made to the responsible respondent whose proposal or qualification statement is determined to be the most advantageous to the City, taking into consideration the evaluation criteria set forth in the solicitation.

(Ord. No. 2012-44, §§ 1, 2(Att. A), 11-5-2012, Doc. #1211051201)