Concord Public Schools & Concord-Carlisle Regional School District
Leasing for Purchase of Nine (9) School Buses
Bid Due Date: May 30, 2017, 10:00 AM
I. GENERAL INFORMATION
A. General and Requirements
1. The Concord Public Schools & the Concord-Carlisle Regional School District (the “public schools”) are seeking bids from qualified firms to enter into a Five (5) year Lease Purchase Finance Agreement for Nine (9) new school buses. This bid falls under Massachusetts General Laws M.G.L. Ch. 30B. The bidder is bidding as to the provision of lease-purchase financing and hereby certifies that, if awarded this bid, bidder shall pay the full purchase price to the equipment vendors(s).
a. All Bidders should take note that the Lease Purchase Agreement awarded through this IFB is contingent upon the execution of purchase agreement with the supplier of the school buses as well as approval of the School Committees and appropriation of funds by the member towns.
2. The public schools intends to award a contract to the most responsible and responsive bidder offering the lowest price. Estimated value of the school busses and the corresponding Purchase Contract is in the range of $83,398 to $100,000 per bus, or a total range of $750,582 to $900,000.
3. The school buses will be purchased through the use of an Invitation for Bids. The public schools are only seeking bids for financing in order to enter into a lease purchase agreement. The execution of any lease agreement is contingent on the successul purchase of the school buses.
4. No award will be made without final approval of leasing funds and signature of the Deputy Superintendent.
5. The public schools reserve the right to reject any and all bids or proposals if the best interest of the public schools will be served by such action.
6. No Subleasing or transferring of the lease will be allowed without prior written approval from the public schools.
II. CONTRACT AWARD AND BID SUBMISSION
A. Contract Award
1. The public schools intend to award a contract to the most responsible and responsive Bidder that offers the lowest total interest rate for the life of the lease agreement term specified.
2. Lease Term. The term of the lease purchase agreement awarded from this bid will be One (1) year in length with Four (4) annual renewal options. There will be no pre-payment penalty.
3. The awarded contract will be in a similar form as the Sample Contract attached to this IFB as Exhibit B. If a bidder intends to request any additions, deletions, or modifications to the Sample Contract, the bidder must make that request in writing and include the request with the bid delivered to the public schools.
B. Questions and Addenda
1. Questions regarding the IFB should be in writing and delivered via email to:
School Business Office
Attn: John Flaherty, Deputy Superintendent & Matthew Wells, Senior Business Analyst
2. All inquiries related to the requirements should prominently refer to “School Bus Lease”, and the bid opening date. In order to be considered, questions must be made in writing and received by the School Business Office no later than May 25, 2017 at 4:30 P.M. Responses to inquiries will be in the form of a numbered addendum to the specifications issued by the School Business Office and sent to all parties listed in the bid file as Bidders(s) holding the bid documents. Bidders should base responses only on the specifications including any addenda.
3. PLEASE NOTE that all addenda should be acknowledged in the bid response when submitted. Failure to acknowledge any addendum may cause rejection of a bid response per Massachusetts General Laws.
C. Required Forms
1. The Vendor understands that the following documents included in this bid must be included in the Vendor’s response to this bid. If Vendor fails to provide all documents requested below, the bid cannot be considered and will be rejected.
2. Required Documents are documents that must be completed and submitted in your bid response package and received at Procurement before the time set for receipt. Review your bid response carefully to be sure all requirements are included.
3. Unnecessary samples, attachments or other documents not specifically asked for should not be submitted. Please enter the firm price in the space provided on your Cost Sheet. Required Documents are documents that must be completed and submitted in your bid response package and received at Procurement at or before the time set for receipt.
4. The following documents require responses and must be included in the sealed bid response package (See, Exhibit C; Required Documents):
1. Bid Cover Sheet (signed and notarized)
2. Exhibit A, Price Forms
3. Non Collusion/Fraud Form/Conflict of Interest/Certificate of Authority
4. Tax Certification Affidavit (must be notarized)
5. Affirmative Action Sheet
6. Acknowledgement of Any Addenda (If Issued)
7. All Other Documents as Required by this IFB
D. Submission Format
1. Submission of Bids. Bidders are required to submit one (1) original Bid Response and one (1) hard copy. Any Bids must be submitted in sealed envelopes each of which shall be clearly identified on the outside as; package “School Bus Lease”. The Bid envelope shall be placed inside a single container (box, envelope, etc.) clearly identified on the outside as Vendor’s name; package marked “School Bus Lease”, with bid opening date. The proposal shall be delivered to the address below:
Concord PS/Concord-Carlisle RSD
Ripley Building
Attention: John Flaherty, Deputy Superintendent
120 Meriam Road
Concord, MA 01742
2. Bidder forms shall be completed in ink, computer or by typewriter. Bids by corporations shall be executed in the corporate name by the president or other corporate officer accompanied by evidence of authority to sign and attested by the secretary or an assistant secretary, the corporate address and state of incorporation shall appear below the signature. Bids by partnerships shall be executed in the partnerships name and signed by a partner, whose title shall appear under the signature. The official address of the partnership shall be shown below the signature. Bids by joint ventures shall be similarly executed by all joint venture partners. All names shall be typed or printed below the signatures.
3. Each bid submitted should contain an acknowledgment of receipt of all addenda. The address to which communications regarding the proposal are to be directed shall be shown.
4. A Bidder may correct, modify or withdraw its proposal by written notice received by the public schools and the address specified above prior to the time and date specified for receipt of bids. After such time, a Bidder may not change its proposal in a manner prejudicial to public schools or fair competition. All submitted Bid pricing will be held firm by the public schools for a period of not less than Ninety (90) days.
5. The public schools shall notify the selected Proposer within the time for acceptance specified above. The selected Bidder will be required to sign a contract with the public schools (See Contract Form in Exhibit B), consistent with this bid proposal, within ninety (90) days of receipt of notice of award. Inclusion of any conditions in a proposal response to this bid proposal, which deviate from this bid proposal, shall be cause for rejection of the proposer’s response to this bid proposal.
6. Bid responses must be received by 10:00 AM EST on May 30, 2017. Bid responses received after the bid opening time will not be accepted. Bids delivered to any other office or location will be rejected as non-responsive. If at the time of the scheduled IFB opening, the public schools are closed due to uncontrolled events such as fire or building evacuation, the IFB opening will be postponed until 10:00 AM on the next normal business day. IFB’S will be accepted until that date and time.
7. All blank spaces on the proposal page and questionnaire page of this specification must be correctly filled in. Either a unit price or a lump sum price must be stated for each and every item, either typed or written in ink, in figures, and if requested, in words.
E. Compliance with the Law
1. The bidder shall at all times observe and comply with all laws, ordinance and regulations of the Federal, State, Local and Public schools Government, which may in any manner affect the preparation of proposals of the performance of this contract.
F. Submittal of any other documents, letters, etc., unless requested as part of this specification, will be considered informal and not part of the contract.
G. A bidder may take exception on the Bid Exception Form to certain sections of the specifications, but under no circumstances will he be allowed to negate the public schools specifications with a counter-proposal.
III. SCOPE OF BID
A. General
1. The public schools are seeking bids to enter into a Lease Purchase Agreement to finance nine school buses.
2. The school buses will be purchased through an invitation for bids. This bid specification is for the Lease Purchase only. The estimated cost of the school buses is in the range of $83,398 to $100,000 per bus, or a total range of $750,582 to $900,000.
B. Lease Information
1. The public schools are seeking a Five (5) year Lease Purchase Finance Agreement.
2. The Structure of the Contract will be for One (1) year with Four (4) additional renewal years for each year of the Lease Purchase Agreement. The public schools, upon the school committee’s approval and Concord Public Schools and Concord-Carlisle Regional School District appropriation of funds, will exercise its option to renew the agreement each of the additional Four (4) additional years on the lease.
3. The public schools wishes to make Five (5) equal and annual payments on the lease. The Annual cost of the lease is to remain FIXED. There will be no pre-payment penalty.
C. Award Information
The public schools will award to the bidder who offers the lowest price and:
1. Quotes a fixed, numerical interest rate which the public schools may accept up to Ninety (90) days after the opening of bids. The public schools are planning to award the school bus bid on July 1, 2017 with delivery of buses to the public schools in August 2017 (5 buses) and October 2017 (final 4 buses).
2. Agrees to Five (5) equal, annual payments for the term of Sixty (60) Months, at the end of which the public schools (Lessee) will own the school buses for no additional cost.
3. Includes a lease factor that can be multiplied by the total cost of the school buses to produce the cost figure of each annual payment amount.
4. There will be no prepayment penalty in the contract.
D. Sample Contract Terms
1. The following are examples of some of the terms of the Purchase Lease the Vendor will be required to sign if awarded a contract. All bidders should review both these terms and the Sample Contract (Exhibit “B”). If a bidder intends to request any additions, deletions, or modifications to the Sample Price Agreement, the bidder must make that request in writing and include the request with the bid delivered to the Public schools.
2. The Vendor certifies and warrants that the Vendor has not engaged in any conduct nor is the Vendor aware of any conduct on the part of others that would constitute a violation of conflicts of interest laws regarding the award of this contract or the products or services or proceeds to be provided under this contract.
3. The Vendor shall comply with Affirmative Action/Equal employment opportunity requirements, MBE/WBE requirements, and Laws prohibiting unlawful discrimination.
4. The Vendor shall defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the public schools from all damages of any kind based on the acts or omissions of the Vendor and the Vendor’s agents, employees, and sub-Vendors, including arising from or caused by the use of any materials, goods, or equipment of any kind and including any services performed.
5. Vendor shall comply with all state and local laws and regulations in order to provide the services contemplated in these specifications. Vendor will be required to obtain and pay for all permits required.
6. It is understood that neither this contract nor any representation by any employee or officer creates any legal or moral obligation to request, appropriate or make available monies for the purpose of the contract.
E. Default
1. The public schools may, by written notice of default to the Vendor, terminate this contract in whole or in part in any one of the following circumstances:
i. Vendor fails to perform the services within the time specified herein or any extensions thereof; or
ii. Vendor fails to perform any of the other provisions of this contract, or so falls to make progress as to endanger the performance of this contract in accordance with its terms, and in either of these two circumstances does not cure such failure within a period of ten (10) days (or such other period as the Chief Procurement Officer may authorize in writing) after receipt of notice from the Chief Procurement Officer specifying such failure.
iii. In the event the Chief Procurement Officer terminates this contract in whole or in part, the public schools may procure, upon such terms and in such manner as the Chief Procurement Officer may deem appropriate, supplies or services similar to those so terminated, and the Vendor will be liable to the public schools for any excess costs for such similar supplies or service, provided that the Vendor continues the performance of this contract to the extent not terminated under the provisions of this section.