REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL: COMMISSARY SERVICES for DETENTION CENTER

Transcription

1 CECIL COUNTY, MARYLAND CECIL COUNTY SHERIFF S OFFICE CECIL COUNTY DETENTION CENTER REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL RFP REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL: COMMISSARY SERVICES for DETENTION CENTER Cecil County, Maryland

2 SECTION I GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS To Supply Commissary Services for the Cecil County Detention Center 1. INTRODUCTION The Cecil County Sheriff s Office is responsible for the housing of inmates in the Cecil County Detention Center. The Cecil County Detention Center has a rated capacity of 200 inmates. At this present time, the average daily population of the jail is approximately SCOPE OF WORK The Cecil County Sheriff s Office with the cooperation of the Cecil County Purchasing Office is requesting proposals from all interested parties to provide computerized inmate commissary services to the inmates of the Cecil County Detention Center. Currently, inmates order food, personal hygiene items, and other miscellaneous items from a pre-approved, vendor provided order form. Items are then delivered at a later time. The objectives of this RFP are: To provide the highest level of service to all inmates of the Cecil County Detention Center; To provide an accurate, economical and efficient means to process inmate orders; To provide a reasonable commission back to the Cecil County Sheriff s Office. The primary scope of this contract consists of furnishing all materials, labor, administration, management and equipment necessary to operate an efficient Commissary at the Cecil County Detention Center. All proposals shall be delivered in two separate packages with one package containing the contractors qualification to complete the project including proposed schedules and listing of required maintenance. The second package shall contain the completed project cost detailing all costs of maintenance, repairs and parts. The contractor shall be selected according to Best Value as determined by a County Selection Committee. 3. PRE-PROPOSAL MEETING A mandatory pre-proposal meeting will be held on March 20, 2013, 9:00AM at the Cecil County Detention Center, 500 Landing Lane, Elkton, Maryland All visitors shall check in at the Visitor s Check-In station for access to the conference room. The purpose of the preproposal meeting is to clarify, explain or provide additional information needed to submit a competitive sealed proposal. 4. CONTRACT ADMINISTRATOR The Contract Administrator for this project shall be Capt. Randy Rudy, Assistant Director, located at 500 Landing Lane, Elkton, Maryland Capt. Rudy can be contacted at

3 5. QUESTIONS OR CLARIFICATIONS All inquiries, questions, etc. concerning the RFP shall be forwarded to Elizabeth Stanley, Purchasing Assistant by to or call or mail requests to Purchasing Office, 200 Chesapeake Blvd, Suite 1400, Elkton, MD All questions shall be in writing. Any changes to the RFP will be in writing, documented and forwarded to all known participating Proposers as soon as possible and posted to the County website. Major changes or an excessive number of changes may result in cancellation of the existing RFP. 6. AWARD OF CONTRACT Award will be made to the successful contractor following the evaluation process. The Contract shall be awarded on the basis of technical and financial evaluations (best value). The County will award a Contract to the responsible contractor who submits a responsive and responsible proposal and which is most advantageous to the County. The County will send written notice of its award to the successful contractor. Said notice shall constitute acceptance of the successful contractor s proposals. The County will notify all unsuccessful contractors in writing after the award of the contract. The County reserves the right to reject the proposal of any contractor where the available evidence or information does not satisfy the County that the contractor is qualified to carry out the terms of the contract as determined by the County. 7. FACTORS OF AWARD The award of a contract resulting from this request for proposal will be based on the most responsive and responsible proposal received in accordance with the evaluation criteria stated below: A. Capability of Contractor s Network B. Contractor s History C. Responsibility of Contractor D. Responsiveness of Contractor E. Commission to County 8. CONTRACT PERIOD This is a Term Contract for three (3) years beginning on or about July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2016, subject to availability of fiscal funding. This contract may be extended for two (2) additional one (1) year periods, provided all terms and conditions, except for the contract period being extended or any price redetermination as authorized elsewhere in this contract, remain unchanged. Any option, if exercised, shall be executed in the form of a Letter of Agreement, to be issued no sooner than ninety (90) days prior to the expiration of this contract, nor later than the final day of the contract period. The option to renew requires the mutual agreement of both parties. Refusal by either party to exercise this option to renew shall require this to expire on the original or mutually agreed date. The total period of this contract, including all extensions as a result of exercising this option may not exceed a maximum combined period of five (5) years. 3

4 9. PRICES All pricing shall remain firm for each contract period. The successful contractor shall support a price adjustment request by providing written documentation as to why the adjustment is needed later than 90 days prior to the end of the current contract period. No increase for profit shall be accepted. Cecil County reserves the right to obtain further information regarding separate elements of the unit cost. 10. SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS Prospective packages shall be submitted in sealed envelopes clearly marked in the lower lefthand corner RFP Commissary Services for Detention Center no later than 1:30 p.m. on April 3, No proposal will be accepted after 1:30 p.m. and all proposals shall be delivered to the Purchasing Office, 200 Chesapeake Blvd, Suite 1400, Elkton, MD All material submitted will become the property of Cecil County, Maryland and the only information available at the proposal opening will be the names of Proposers submitting proposals. No facsimile of proposals will be accepted. 11. EVALUATION PROCESS: - EVALUATION- Cecil County, Maryland is required to adhere to the Code of Cecil County, Chapter 92; Purchasing, concerning good public purchasing practices. All available information may be reviewed on the Cecil County, Maryland website ( Additional requirements are attached to the RFP requiring adherence to all Federal, State and local Regulations. The selection procedure for this procurement requires the technical evaluation and scoring of the proposals be completed individually and independently. Technical evaluation and scoring of the proposals be completed before the financial proposals are distributed to the Evaluation Committee. A selection team will rate each proposal and through these ratings will recommend the Contractor that has submitted a proposal most beneficial (best value) to the County in accordance with the criteria. Based on these recommendations, the Cecil County Purchasing Office will recommend the award of contract be made to that Contractor. The County will send written notice to the successful Contractor. Said notice shall constitute acceptance of the successful Contractors proposal; however it does not signify that a contractual agreement has been enter into. Additionally, the County will notify all unsuccessful bidders in writing after the award of bid. 4

5 -ORAL PRESENTATION- Discussions and oral presentations may be held with those qualified Respondents or Offerors whose proposals have been considered as reasonably acceptable for award and requires additional information or clarification. Following completion of the proposal evaluation, finalists may be selected for final negotiation of best and final offer and oral presentations may be held. If Oral Presentations are required, the selected finalists/contractors will be contacted for scheduling of their presentation. The purposes of the discussions and oral presentations are as follows: - To allow Cecil County, Maryland to meet the Respondents key personnel - To allow the Respondents to discuss selected aspects of its proposal - To provide an opportunity to clarify the scope of services for this project Within three (3) working days following the oral presentation, each Respondent will be required to provide an Executive Summary/Overview of their firm s oral presentation inclusive of highlighting the discussion at the presentation. Upon completion of the oral presentations, Cecil County, Maryland will finalize the evaluation of each proposal. Best and final proposals may be solicited by the County at this time. -DISCUSSIONS- A. Discussions shall be held only to clarify individual RFP submissions. At no time shall any part of a proposal of one Proposer be discussed or identified in any part with a separate Proposer. B. During discussion, a Proposer may modify its proposal to coincide with any clarification of the proposal. At no time will a proposal be allowed to be withdrawn without approval of the proper County authorities. C. If any part of the proposal is changed to strengthen the RFP or its process, written documentation of the change shall be made and all Proposers shall be notified of the change/s and be given the chance to modify their proposal accordingly. -NEGOTIATIONS- It is policy to procure from responsible sources at fair prices the goods and services required by Cecil County, Maryland. During the RFP process, Price Negotiation may be required to resolve uncertainties relating to procurement, including the price prior to the final award of the contract. The objective of Price Negotiation is the complete agreement of the parties on all basic issues of the RFP. 5

6 12. PROPOSAL CONTENT Contractors should structure the proposal in the following manner: 12.1Responding Contractor Briefly introduce yourself. Give the location and size of the office that will provide these services. If you will be contracting with subcontractors to provide the required services, your proposal shall identify them. This description should include your history with those subcontractors Project Understanding Describe the services proposed to be supplied based on the specifications Contact Person Who will be the person responsible/point of contact for your company? Provide name and contact information to include address and direct phone number. Also include their experience with your company Relevant Project Experience Identify the last three (3) most recent projects similar in scope to this project. As a basis, contractors shall include the following information for each of those projects: clients; location of projects; extent of the projects in dollar value; and the date services were completed References Provide the name, position and telephone number of a contact person in the client s organization who can discuss contractor s performance on the projects referenced in paragraph Financial Proposal Provide a turnkey price for supplying the services as specified. Preparation, facilities, administration, staffing, transportation, food preparation and equipment, etc. needed to perform this work will be required. 13. EXCEPTIONS A contractor shall forward a complete description of all exceptions to the Terms, Conditions and Specifications. Failure to furnish the statement will construe that the contractor agrees to fulfill all requirements stated herein. The County shall determine if any exceptions are acceptable and if the proposal is considered responsive. 6

7 SECTION II COMMISSARY SERVICES FOR THE CECIL COUNTY DETENTION CENTER DETAILED SPECIFICATIONS 14. QUANTITIES This proposal is an Indefinite Quantity Contract. Cecil County Detention Center is not obligated to purchase any minimum or maximum quantity of supplies or products during the contract period. 15. CONTRACTOR S QUALIFICATIONS A contractor must be capable of supplying the turnkey services as specified. Preparation facilities, administration, staffing, transportation, food preparation and equipment, etc. needed to perform this work will be required. If needed, copies of all permits required to perform this work must be presented to Cecil County Detention Center s Assistant Director, prior to beginning work. Proof of financial and business capability - Contractors shall, upon request, furnish satisfactory evidence of their ability to furnish products or services in accordance with the terms and conditions of these specifications. Cecil County will make the final decision as to the contractor s ability to provide the services required. Certify that the contractor is engaged in a full-time business operation for this type of service and has been in business for a minimum of three (3) years. Have a satisfactory record of performance. Have a satisfactory record of integrity and ethics. The successful contractor shall comply with all Federal, State and Local Laws and regulations. All licenses and permits required to perform this work must be obtained at the expense of the contractor. Must be otherwise qualified and eligible to receive an award as determined by the Cecil County, Maryland. The County may request representation and/or other information sufficient to determine Contractor s ability to meet the minimum standards listed above. All of the services required shall be included in the proposal price. 16. NON-ASSIGNMENT OF CONTRACT The contractor shall not assign the contract, or any portion thereof, except upon the written approval of the County. 7

8 17. CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK Because of the secure nature of the facility Contractor will be providing services to, all prospective Contractors will be subject to a criminal background check. Additionally, upon award of contract, all employees of that Contractor that will be involved in the services provided to the Cecil County Detention Center will also be subject to a criminal background check. Criminal records will be checked and evaluated by the Sheriff s Office to ensure they do not impose a security or safety risk to the institution. Any employee of the contracting company that does not pass the criminal background check shall not enter the Cecil County Detention Center, nor shall any employee not passing the criminal background check be involved in the packaging or delivery of items to the Cecil County Detention Center. Failure to comply with this stipulation after the award of the contract shall be considered breech of contract. In addition, any Subcontractor and their subsequent staff must also pass a background check as described above. 18. SERVICES PROVIDED The Contractor will provide commissary services to the inmates of the Cecil County Detention Center so as to provide each inmate with access to the system at least one (1) time per week (unless otherwise restricted by the Sheriff). Delivery of completed orders will arrive within 48 hours (2 working days) after order is placed. 19. INMATE ORDERING PROCEDURES Funds will be electronically deducted immediately and the inmate will be given notice of his/her new balance simultaneously with his/her order. The Contractor must have and is responsible for saving a backup file. 20. DELIVERY The Contractor shall deliver the orders to the Cecil County Detention Center individually packaged for each inmate. There shall not be an extra delivery fee charged for the delivery. Please describe within your proposal how delivery will take place. 21. PACKAGING OF INMATE ORDERS Individual inmate commissary orders shall be delivered in clear plastic bags with tamper proof seals. There shall be two (2) copies of the order receipt sealed within the bag. The receipt should contain the following information: A. Inmate name; B. Inmate location; C. Inmate ID number D. Items and quantities ordered; E. Total of order; F. Beginning account balance; G. Ending account balance; and H. 2 signature lines. 8

9 22. COMMISSARY MENU The Contractor, Director, and Buyer shall meet and agree upon the items to be carried on the commissary menu. The Contractor will keep the Detention Center current of any new products that are available. The Contractor will make categories of commissary products available for purchase; including: hygiene products, stationery materials; greeting cards and envelopes; snacks; food; games; personal care items; and under clothing. The commissary list will be structured so that no inmate packages from family members will be necessary. All prospective Contractors shall submit, with this RFP, a list of all items they can provide to the Cecil County Detention Center. From this list the Director shall choose which items he wishes to have carried by the Contractor. All items shall include an item description, manufacturer, product size and weight, and the cost to the inmate. Failure to include any or all of this information shall be considered failure to comply with RFP. 23. COMMISSARY PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS All food items shall be wrapped/packaged and dated for individual consumption and meet all Federal, State and Local health requirements. All containers shall be made of non-breakable materials. No product shall be packaged in metal or glass. No products shall contain alcohol or CDS-based chemicals. No products shall contain tobacco. 24. CONTRACTOR INVENTORY AND RESTOCKING The Contractor shall not substitute or backorder and should have an order fill rate of 98 % or better. The Contractor must provide a method of handling restocking of returned orders for those orders that were sent, but the requesting inmate had been released prior to receiving the order. 25. PRICES The Cecil County Sheriff s Office, Detention Center reserves the right to determine the final retail selling prices to the inmates. Price changes shall not be authorized during contract terms. 26. CONTRACTOR AVAILABILITY The Contractor will be available 24 hour/day, 7 day/week for service calls to maintain the system. 9

10 SECTION III CONTRACTOR NETWORK AND EQUIPMENT AND HARDWARE SPECIFICATIONS 27. NETWORK The Contractor will provide a networked, PC based inmate-banking system, which ties together all Cecil County Sheriff s Office s correctional facilities in a live environment and which can be linked to the jail management system. At a minimum, the inmate trust fund system should include the following: A. Records maintained by inmate name, ID number, and other identifiers; B. Intake, release population tracking; C. Account balances maintained up to the minute and restrictions applied to purchases without sufficient funds; D. Inmate account management for work release; E. Accounting reports for specified periods; F. Inmate purchase restrictions by quantity, date, custody level, and disciplinary/indigent status; G. On-line instant access to all inmates sales information and account balances; H. On-demand generation of reports and sales analysis; I. Inmate and 3 rd party deposit ability; J. Ability to manage inmate co-payments for services provided, such as health care, programs, jail fees, admission kits, etc.; K. Integration with jail management system; L. Integration with the inmate telephone system (ICSolutions) M. System security; and N. All hardware and software to support commissary and account system. 28. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Currently the ordering is paper based with a kiosk in place for family and friends to place money on accounts. In the future the Contractor s system should receive inmate transactions from a kiosk(s) both in receiving funds and in ordering. (Please describe in your proposal to meet this requirement). 29. SYSTEM FEATURES Order quantities must be amended automatically without user intervention (i.e. to adjust for inmate overspending account balance) without canceling the entire order. Items rejected for one (1) or more restriction criteria must be able to be retained with the inmate s order detail and printed on the inmate s commissary receipt with the reason for rejection. 10

11 30. SYSTEM CONTROLS The Contractor s system must allow for the addition of inmate information to control commissary purchases (i.e. discipline controls, dietary restrictions) including at the minimum: A. Quantity per order; B. Quantity per time span; C. Orders per time span; D. Disallowed items; E. Category quantity restriction; F. Category age restriction; G. Spending limit restriction; H. Spending limit override; I. Restriction assignment by housing location; and J. Recognize if inmate fills out more then one form; The Contractor s order processing software must include the ability to configure and automatically apply multi-level spending limits. SECTION IV INSTALLATION, TRAINING, AND MAINTENANCE OF CONTRACTOR S EQUIPMENT 31. INSTALLATION The Contractor shall accept full responsibility for the installation and efficient operation of all equipment used and bare all costs associated with same. 32. SERVICING All equipment will be serviced weekly or as needed or specified by the County during the entire contract period. All proposals shall include an approximate time of day for servicing equipment. Contractor will check in with a pre-named contact person each time equipment is serviced. 33. INSTALLATION TIME All proposals shall specify the number of days required to install commissary system. Failure to state installation time will cause proposal to be rejected. Transition shall provide minimal interruption of inmate current orders. 34. TRAINING The Successful Contractor shall be responsible for training all necessary Detention Center personnel in the use of all equipment necessary for the operation of the Commissary system. Training shall take place the first day after installation has been completed, inspected, tested and accepted by the County and shall be scheduled at the convenience of the Director of the Detention Center. 11

12 35. UTILITIES AND OTHER CONSIDERATIONS The County will provide electricity, lighting, heating, and air conditioning of the designated premises, but without liability on the County s part arising from temporary interruption thereof on account of breakdown, power failure, or like causes. Successful Contractor agrees that in using of such utilities, they will exercise the same degree of care and economy as would be exercised if they were paying for such utilities. No service specified herein will include janitor service. Except for utilities, successful bidder will be responsible for all bills for materials, supplies, equipment, maintenance, taxes, etc., to or at such designated premises, or of any person employed or claiming to have been employed by the successful bidder. 36. POSSESSION OF DESIGNATED PREMISES The Successful Contractor will not take possession of the designated premises nor cause installation of commissary system until all requirements of this RFP are fulfilled. Failure to provide all pre-possession requirements will constitute default of the contract and the County may terminate the award and re-award the contract to the next Contractor as it deems to be in the best interest of the County. 37. COMMISSIONS SECTION V COMMISSIONS AND ACCOUNTING REQUIREMENTS The Contractor will provide a firm, fixed percentage commission of the total net sales for all requirements set forth in this RFP. All firm, fixed percentages shall be shown in the financial proposal. The successful Contractor agrees that a breach or a failure to perform contract duties, as set forth herein, will entitle the County to recover from the successful Contractor all lost profits. When lost profits cannot be determined with certainty, the County will be entitled to recover from the successful Contractor an amount equal to 25% of all gross sales, both commissary and vending. For the purposes of the provision only, gross sales will be computed by multiplying the highest gross sales for any month of the contract by the number of months of the contract affected by the breach or failure. The County will recover 25% of that amount. 38. ACCOUNTING REQUIREMENTS On a monthly basis (unless an agreement is reached changing the schedule), the Successful Contractor will remit to Cecil County a percentage commission of the total net sales for all commissaries. The total net sales will be gross sales less sales tax. The percentage commission used will be that which is shown on the contractor s RFP form. Within ten (10) calendar days following the conclusion of the previous commission period, the Contractor will submit its calculations of the percentage commission and will make all commissions payable to the Cecil County. The successful Contractor will be responsible for paying all sales tax and will not deduct such from the commissions owed to the County. The Contractor must include with the commission payment a detailed report of sales. 12

13 39. RECORD KEEPING The contractor shall maintain statistical data with regard to quantity purchased, unit price, extended cost, information using standard accounting procedures and practices, and made available to the buyer and or the assistant warden upon reasonable notice. 40. COUNTY RECORDS SUBJECT TO AUDIT The Successful Contractor agrees that the County, or its designee, reserves the right to audit, examine, and copy any and all books, records, and information relating to the operation of the commissary and vending machines. All records will be maintained until the audit is completed, and all questions arising there from are resolved, or five (5) years after this contract expires or is terminated, except that records will be retained beyond the fifth year if an audit is in progress or the findings of a completed audit have not been resolved satisfactorily. 41. CHANGES TO CONTRACT If any such changes cause an increase or decrease in the cost, Purchasing will make an equitable adjustment in the contract price and will modify the contract. INSTRUCTIONS BASIS FOR THE RFP (Request for Proposal) PROCESS It is the intent of the County to conduct the procurement process in an expeditious manner, and the respondents must comply with the time limitations imposed. SCOPE OF THIS RFP The County reserves the right to modify the terms of the Proposal requested by this RFP at any time so long as the modifications requested do not modify the stated primary goal and objective. ERRORS AND OMISSIONS Following the submission of the Proposals, no Contractor may, without written consent of the Purchasing Officer, modify or amend its Proposal in any respect, except to correct an obvious arithmetic error that can be confirmed using the detailed cost breakdowns provided with the Proposal or except in connection with the clarifications and negotiation process described herein. Any alterations, erasures, or inter-lineation made on the Proposal shall only be considered valid if initialed by the Proposal signer. LABOR AND PROCUREMENT REQUIREMENTS The Contractor and all subcontractors of the Contractor shall comply with the labor laws of the State of Maryland and all other laws, ordinances, and legal requirements affecting the work in Cecil County, Maryland. 13

14 INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS A. Workers Compensation and Employer s Liability Insurance: The successful bidder shall take out and maintain during the entire life of the Contract: I. Workers Compensation Insurance with full Statutory coverage. Covering a sole proprietor, all employees, partners, officers, members, leased employees and any other person working for or with the successful bidder; and II. Employer s Liability Insurance with limits of: $100,000 accident/$100,000 disease each employee/and $500,000 disease policy limit If any portion of the project is subcontracted, the successful bidder shall require all of the Subcontractors to maintain the same policy limits in workers compensation and employer s liability insurance required for the successful bidder. B. Commercial General Liability Insurance: The successful bidder s Commercial General Liability policy shall be on an occurrence basis and shall include: Policy limits not less than $1,000,000 each occurrence and $2,000,000 general aggregate. Coverage for Premises/Operations, Actions of Independent Contractors, Products/Completed Operations, Contractual Liability, and Personal Injury. Coverage shall include explosion, collapse, or underground (XCU) hazards as applicable to classification. Products or Completed Operations coverage shall be purchased for at least three years after the completion of the contract and shall cover the operations performed under the contract. 14

15 C. Business Automobile Liability: The successful bidder shall provide insurance coverage for any owned, hired, or non-owned motor vehicles. The policy limits shall not be less than $1,000,000 combined single limit or $1,000,000 bodily injury and $1,000,000 property damage each accident. The policy will provide $1,000,000 of uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage and include contractual liability coverage. D. General Insurance Requirements for all Insurance Policies: The County shall be added as an additional insured to the general liability policy with the following wording: The County, its officers, agents, employees and volunteers are additional insured s with regards to the General Liability policy for work performed under terms of the contract. The coverage provided by the successful bidder shall be primary with respect to the County and any insurance coverage it may possess. The successful bidder s Certificate(s) of Insurance shall include the following: I. A cancellation provision requiring a written forty-five (45) day notice of cancellation or non-renewal be furnished to the County by the successful bidder s insurance carrier(s) or insurance agent(s). II. A Project description in the body of the form. The successful bidder shall provide the County with Certificate of Insurance, within three (3) days of bid award notification, evidencing the coverage required above. Insurance shall be procured from insurance companies authorized to do business in the State of Maryland and acceptable to Cecil County. The insurers shall have an A.M. Best s insurance rating of A- or better and a financial size of Class VIII or better unless the County Risk Manager grants specific approval for an exception. E. Bidders Insurance Requirement: All Bidders shall provide, with their bid package, evidence of the required insurance coverage. Commercial General or Other Required Liability Insurance Claims Made Basis: 15

16 I. If Commercial General or other liability insurance purchased by the successful bidder has been issued on a claims made basis, the Contractor must comply with the following additional conditions. The limits of liability and the extensions to be included as described in the Check List remain the same. The Contractor must either: A. Agree to provide certificates of insurance evidencing the above coverage s for a period of three (3) years after final payment for the contract. Such certificates shall evidence a retroactive date, no later than the beginning of the Contractors or sub-contractors work under this contract; or B. Purchase an extended (minimum two (2) year) reporting period endorsement for the policy or policies in force during the term of this contract and evidence the purchase of this extended reporting period endorsement by means of a certificate of insurance or a copy of the endorsement itself. C. All construction projects exceeding $300, will require a five (5) year extended reporting period (trail). Contractor shall not begin to perform work on County property until certificate is received by the County. COUNTY S RIGHTS AND LIABILITIES The County reserves and holds the following rights and options which may be exercised at its sole discretion with respect to this RFP process: 1. To accept or reject any or all Proposals which in its judgment is for the best interest of the County, and all Contractors are notified that such acceptance or rejection shall be without liability on the part of the County for any action brought by any Contractor because of such acceptance or rejection, nor shall the Contractor seek any recourse of any kind against the County because of such acceptance or rejection. The submittal of a Proposal in response to this notice shall constitute an agreement of the Contractor to these conditions; 2. To select and enter into an Agreement with the Contractor which, at the County's sole discretion, best satisfies the requirements and the goals and objectives of the County; 3. To terminate or resume the procurement process by written notice to the Contractors for any reason whatsoever; 4. To reject or set aside for subsequent reactivation any and all Proposals by written notice to such Contractors for any reason what-so-ever; 5. To supplement, amend, or otherwise modify the scope of services at any time after receipt of proposals; 6. To execute the Agreement with the most responsible and responsive Contractor as evidenced by the content of the Proposal and any clarifications and changes made thereto during the procurement process that meets the requirements and evaluation criteria as set forth in the RFP and not necessarily with the Contractor that presents the lowest cost to the County in its Proposal; 7. To seek and receive clarifications of any changes to any Proposal at any time; 16

17 8. To enter preliminary or final negotiations at any time with any Contractor individually or simultaneously with one or more other Contractors; 9. To conduct any clarification or negotiation process with any Contractor(s) 10. To set or modify any deadline for the completion of any clarification or negotiation phase of the procurement process; 11. To reduce or expand at any time the list of Contractors with which the County is actively engaged in any clarification or negotiation process, based on the evaluation factors set forth in this RFP as applied to the state of development of each Proposal as revised to such date; 12. Not to enter the Agreement as contemplated in this RFP; 13. To designate another agency, group, person, or authority to act on behalf of the County during the negotiation process or to assist it in the negotiation process; and 14. To establish minimum qualifications for subcontractors and suppliers and to disapprove proposed subcontractors and suppliers other than those originally included in the team designated in the Statement of Qualifications from each Contractor. Furthermore, each Contractor, by submitting its Proposal, agrees to hold the County harmless and free from all liability, loss, injury, and/or cost and expense which might be incurred by such Contractor in responding or as a consequence of its response to this RFP and agrees to waive any and all claims for damages arising in connection with the procurement process contemplated by the RFP. COST TO BE BORNE BY CONTRACTORS Contractors who participate in this procurement process and negotiations shall prepare their Proposals and the required materials at their own expense, with the express understanding that there shall be no claims whatsoever for reimbursement from the County for any cost, expense, or damage that may be incurred during the bidding process through the signing of the Agreement. ADDENDA TO THE RFP PRIOR TO PROPOSAL DUE DATE The County reserves the right to amend or clarify the RFP by addendum. An addendum may be issued at any time prior to the date for receipt of Proposals. If such revision or clarification is of such a magnitude as to warrant, in the opinion of the County, the postponement of the date for the receipt of Proposals, written notification will be issued to the Contractors to announce the revised date. Addenda will be mailed to all Contractors with return receipt required. All addenda issued to this RFP shall become part of the RFP document. DISCLAIMER It is expressly understood by each Contractor responding to the RFP that the County is providing the information contained herein as a matter of courtesy to the Contractors. It is further understood that the County is not and shall not be liable for omissions or errors contained in this RFP. 17

18 WITHDRAWAL FROM THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS Any Proposal may be modified or withdrawn before the time and date set for the Proposal's submission. If a Contractor withdraws its Proposal, the withdrawal shall be in writing, signed by an authorized individual, and received by the Purchasing office at the address set forth herein. LATE PROPOSALS The Purchasing Office shall not accept and will return any Proposal, any request for withdrawal, and any request for modification received after the time and date set for receipt of Proposals. PROCEDURE IN THE EVENT OF THE RECEIPT OF ONLY ONE PROPOSAL If only one responsive Proposal is received, an award may be made to the responsive Contractor, further negotiations may be conducted, or the Proposal may be rejected. If the Proposal is rejected, new Proposals may be solicited. If the Proposal is not rejected, further negotiations may be conducted under the following conditions as determined at the sole discretion of the County: 1. The need for the procurement continues; and 2. The price and terms of the one Proposal are fair, reasonable, and responsive. CONDITIONAL PROPOSALS Any Proposal that is conditioned upon receiving an award of another contract shall be deemed non-responsive and will be rejected. PRE-SELECTION INVESTIGATION The County reserves the right to conduct a pre-selection investigation of any contractor to verify any information furnished by the Contractor or potential subcontractor or to require evidence of managerial, financial, technical, and other operating capabilities the County deems necessary for the successful performance of the Agreement. The County or its agent may interview Contractors during the Proposal evaluation period. During these interviews, clarifications will be sought where determined necessary in the County's opinion. NON-COLLUSION CERTIFICATION By submission of this Proposal, the Contractor hereby certifies: 1. The prices in this Proposal have been arrived at as the result of an independent business judgment, without collusion, consultation, communication, agreement or otherwise for the purpose of restricting competition, in any matter relating to prices, with any other person, partnership or corporation; 18

19 2. Unless otherwise required by law, the prices which have been quoted in this Proposal have not directly or indirectly been knowingly disclosed by the Contractor, prior to Proposal "opening," to any other person, partnership or corporation; and, 3. No attempt has been made, or will be made, by the Contractor to induce any other person, partnership or corporation to submit, or not to submit, a Proposal for the purpose of restricting competition. NONDISCRIMINATION During the performance of this contract, the Contractor agrees as follows: 1. The Contractor will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, creed, color, national origin, or disability. The Contractor will also take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are recruited and employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, creed, color, national origin, or disability. Such action shall include, but not be limited to, the following: employment, upgrading, demotion, or transfer; recruitment or recruitment advertising; layoff or termination; rates of pay or other forms of compensation; and selection for training, including apprenticeship. The Contractor agrees to post in conspicuous places, available to employees and applicants for employment, notices setting forth provisions of this non-discrimination clause. 2. The Contractor, where applicable, will, in all solicitations or advertisements for employees placed by or on behalf of the Contractor, state that all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, creed, color, national origin, or disability. 3. The Contractor, where applicable, will send to each labor union or representative or workers with which it has a collective bargaining agreement or other contract or understanding, a notice, advising the labor union or workers' representative of the Contractor's commitments under this act and shall post copies of the notice in conspicuous places available to employees and applicants for employment. 4. The Contractor agrees to attempt in good faith to employ minority and female workers consistent with the applicable state employment goals as amended and supplemented from time to time in accordance with a binding determination of the applicable county employment goals. 5. The Contractor agrees to provide written notice to all recruitment agencies, including employment agencies, placement bureaus, colleges, universities, labor unions, that it does not discriminate on the basis of age, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, marital status, or sex, and that it will discontinue the use of any recruitment agency that engages in direct or indirect discriminatory practices. 19

20 6. The Contractor or subcontractor agrees to review all procedures relating to transfer, upgrading, downgrading, and layoff to ensure that all such actions are taken without regard to race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, creed, color, national origin, or disability, and conforms with the applicable employment goals, consistent with the statutes and court decisions of the State of Maryland, and applicable federal law and applicable federal court decisions. ANNULMENT OF CONTRACT Should the PROPOSER fail to fully satisfy the customer, or to comply with orders of the County, or to perform anew such work that has been rejected as defective and unsuitable, or if the PROPOSER shall become insolvent or be declared bankrupt or shall make an assignment for the benefit of creditors or from any other cause shall not carry on the work in an acceptable manner, the County shall have the right to annul its Contract and all Departmental Contracts at the County s convenience. APPROXIMATE QUANTITIES The PROPOSER s attention is called to the fact that the quantities given are estimated quantities and are intended as a guide to the PROPOSER but in no way bind or limit the County to the actual amount of work to be performed or the quantity of material to be furnished. Any estimates of quantities herein furnished by the County are approximate only and have been used by the County as a basis for estimating the cost of the work and will also be used for the purpose of tabulating and comparing the proposal and awarding the Contract. The County has endeavored to estimate these quantities correctly according to their knowledge and the information as shown; but, it is not guaranteed that these estimated quantities are accurate and if the PROPOSER, in making up and/or submitting his proposal or proposal relies upon the accuracy of said estimated quantities, does so at his own risk. PERSONAL LIABILITY OF PUBLIC OFFICIALS In carrying out any of the provisions of this Contract or in exercising any power of authority granted herein, there shall be no personal liability upon the County or its authorized assistant, it being understood that in such matters he acts as the agent or representative of the County. METHOD OF PAYMENT A Purchase Order will be sent to the contractor upon award of the contract. All payments will be remitted within thirty (30) days (net 30) upon receipt of an invoice All invoices shall be submitted to: Cecil County Detention Center 500 Landing Lane Elkton, MD All invoices shall be reviewed and approved by a Contractor Representative and the County s Representative before submission. All Proposals, RFPs, IFBs or RFQs are contingent upon budgetary constraints. 20

21 TRANSPORTATION Prices quoted shall be net, including transportation and delivery charges fully prepaid by the seller, f.o.b. destination (Cecil County, Maryland/designated location/s). No additional charges shall be allowed for packing, packages or partial delivery costs. By submitting their quote, all Proposers certify and warrant that the price offered for f.o.b. destination includes only the actual freight rate cost as at the lowest and best rate and based upon actual weight of the goods to be shipped. Standard commercial packaging, packing and shipping containers shall be used, except as otherwise specified herein. PROPOSAL PROTEST Any party who feels the proposal process has not meet the guidelines as stated within the Code of Cecil County Maryland or as outlined within the proposal may submit a protest in accordance with the guidelines as stated within the Code of Cecil County Maryland, Chapter 92, Purchasing, section 92-8 Bid Protest. These guidelines are available upon request at the Purchasing Office or on the Cecil County Government Website ( Any questions concerning the purchasing process or this proposal should be forwarded to Cecil County Purchasing Agent at or to dpyle@ccgov.org. 21

22 CERTIFICATION OF PROPOSER S QUALIFICATIONS All applicable questions must be answered and included with the RFP. The data given must be clear and comprehensive. A copy of the Proposer s State of Maryland Construction Firm License or required applicable license shall be attached to this form. Information concerning this license can be obtained from Cecil County Clerk of the Court s Office at (410) You can also receive information necessary for corporations to do business in the State of Maryland from the State of Maryland Sales and Use Tax Division. Ask for a Corporation Qualifying Package at (410) All Proposers shall ensure they are qualified to do business within the State of Maryland. Businesses established outside the State of Maryland must be qualified as a Foreign Business to be eligible to provide service within the State of Maryland. Questions concerning Foreign Businesses may be referred to (410) Name of Contract: Commissary Service for Detention Center 2. Contract No.: RFP # Name of Proposer: 4. State of Maryland Construction Firm License No.: N/A 5. Business Address: 6. When Organized: 7. Where Incorporated: 8. Foreign Business No.: 9. Has the Proposer paid any sales tax on the equipment to be used on the project? Yes No 10. If so, at what rate was the sales tax paid? Percent to State of 11. How many years has the Proposer been engaged in this business under your present firm name? 12. Have you ever refused to sign a contract at your original RFP/Bid? Yes No 13. Have you ever defaulted on a contract? Yes No Remarks: 14. Will you, upon request, furnish any other pertinent information that Cecil County Government may require? Yes No 15. Does your business maintain a regular place of business in the State of Maryland (Resident) or would your business be considered Non-Resident? 16. Has the Proposer or firm ever been disbarred, suspended or otherwise prohibited from doing work with the federal government. Yes No (If yes, explain ) With the submission of this certification, the Proposer thereto certifies that the information supplied is, to the best of your knowledge, accurate and correct. Dated this day of, (Name of Proposer) By: Title: 22

23 PROPOSER CERTIFICATION The above statements are certified to be true and accurate and we have the equipment, labor, supervision and financial capacity to perform this Contract. Dated at this day of, 20. State of County of, ss. By: (Title of Person Signing) (Name of Organization) being duly sworn, states he is of (Office) and that the answers to the foregoing questions and all statements therein contained are true and correct. Sworn to before me this day of 20. Notary Public (My Commission Expires: ) (NOTARY SEAL) 23

24 Cecil County, Maryland 200 Chesapeake Blvd. Suite 1400 Elkton, MD Indemnity/Hold Harmless Agreement To the fullest extent permitted by law, the undersigned Organization agrees to indemnify and hold Cecil County, Maryland, its elected and appointed officials, employees, and volunteers, and others working on behalf of Cecil County, Maryland, harmless from and against all loss, cost, expense, damage, liability or claims, whether groundless or not, arising out of the bodily injury, sickness or disease (including death resulting at any time there from) which may be sustained or claimed by any person or persons, or the damage or destruction of any property, including the loss of use thereof, based on any act or omission, negligent or otherwise, of the Organization, or anyone acting on its behalf in connection with or incident to Request for Proposal #13-15: Commissary Service for Detention Center except that the Organization shall not be responsible to Cecil County, Maryland on indemnity for damages caused by or resulting from Cecil County, Maryland's sole negligence; and, the Organization shall, at its own cost and expense, defend any such claims and any suit, action, or proceeding which may be recovered in any suit, action, or proceeding, and any and all expense including, but not limited to, costs, attorney's fees and settlement expenses, which may be incurred therein. Name of Organization: Authorized Signature: Address of Organization: Phone: Date: Return this letter with Proposal Package 24

25 STATE OF MARYLAND SALES AND USE TAX ADMISSIONS AND AMUSEMENT TAX LAWS AND REGULATIONS ISSUED BY COMPTROLLER OF THE TREASURY SALES AND USE TAX DIVISION Nonresident Property The sales and use tax does not apply to use of tangible personal property or a taxable service that: (1) A non-resident. (i) Acquires before the property or service enter the state; and (ii) Uses: 1. For personal enjoyment or use or for a use that the Comptroller specifies by regulation, other than for a business purpose; or 2. Does not remain in the state for more than 30 days Taxation by Other Law (c) Sales tax paid in other jurisdiction (1) To the extent that a buyer pays another state a tax on a sale or gross receipts from a sale of tangible personal property or a taxable service that the buyer acquires before the property of service enters this state, the sales and use tax does not apply to use of the property or service in this state. (2) If the tax paid to another state is less than the sales and use tax, the buyer shall pay the difference between the sales and use tax and the amount paid to the other state in accordance with the formula under (b) Depreciation Allowance (a) In general - a buyer is allowed a depreciation allowance as an adjustment to taxable price if: (1) Tangible personal property or a taxable service is acquired before the tangible personal property is brought into the state for use in the state or before the taxable service is used in the state; and (2) The use first occurs in another state or federal jurisdiction. (b) Amount allowance - The allowance under subsection (a) of this section for each full year that follows the date of purchase is ten percent (10%) of the taxable price paid to acquire the tangible personal property or taxable service. 25