§ 2-173. Competitive sealed bids for public road construction.

(a)

Budgetary limitation. All purchases authorized by this division shall be for expenditures within the scope of the authorized and approved city budget.

(b)

Conditions for use. All contracts for the city shall be awarded by competitive sealed bids except as otherwise provided in this article.

(c)

Invitation for bids. An invitation for bids shall be issued and shall include all contractual terms and conditions applicable to the procurement.

(d)

"Contract" defined. As used in this section, the term "contract" means a contract or subcontract entered into by a municipality with any person, the state or federal government or an agency of either, with another municipality or municipalities, with a county or counties, or with any combination of any of the foregoing entities, for the construction, reconstruction, or maintenance of all or part of a public road in said municipality, including but not limited to a contract or subcontract for the purchase of materials, for the hiring of labor, for professional services, or for other things or services incident to such work.

(e)

Advertisement. The city shall advertise for competitive sealed bids for at least two weeks. The public advertisement shall be inserted once a week in such newspapers wherein the county sheriff's sales are advertised or in such newspapers or other publications, or both, as will ensure adequate publicity, the first insertion to be at least two weeks prior to the opening of the sealed bids, the second to follow one week after the publication of the first insertion.

Such advertisement shall include but not be limited to the following:

(1)

A description sufficient to enable the public to know the approximate extent and character of the work to be done;

(2)

The time allowed for performance;

(3)

The terms and time of payment;

(4)

Where and under what conditions and costs the detailed plans and specifications and proposal forms may be obtained;

(5)

The amount of the proposal guaranty, if one is required;

(6)

The time and place for submission and opening of bids;

(7)

The right of the municipality to reject any one or all bids; and

(8)

Such further notice as the municipality may deem advisable as in the public interest.

(f)

Charge for proposals. The city may require each bidder to pay a reasonable sum sufficient to cover the cost to the municipality, where applicable, of the bid proposal form, the contract, and its specifications.

(g)

Proposal guaranty. A municipality may require that each bid on a particular contract, as a prerequisite to the bid being considered, be accompanied by a proposal guaranty in the form of a certified check or other acceptable security payable to the city for an amount deemed by the municipality in the public interest necessary to ensure that the successful bidder will execute the contract on which he bid.

Such proposal guaranty will be returned to a bidder upon receipt by the city of the bidder's written withdrawal of his bid if such receipt is before the time scheduled for the opening of bids. Upon the determination by the city of the lowest reliable bidder, the city will return proposal guaranties to all bidders except the proposal guaranty of the lowest reliable bidder. If no contract award is made within 30 days after the date set for the opening of bids, all bids shall be rejected and all proposal guaranties shall be returned unless the city and the successful bidder agree in writing to a longer period of time.

(h)

Bid opening. Bids shall be opened publicly in the presence of two or more witnesses at the time and place designated in the invitation for bids. The amount of each bid, and such other relevant information as the council deems appropriate, together with the name of each bidder, shall be recorded; the record of each bid shall be open to public inspection. All bids and bid documents shall be kept on file in the office of the clerk of the City of Mountain Park as required under the Public Records Act of the State of Georgia.

(i)

Bid acceptance and bid evaluation. Bids shall be unconditionally accepted without alteration or correction, except as authorized in subsection (k) of this section. Bids shall be evaluated based on the requirements set forth in the invitation for bids, which may include criteria to determine acceptability such as inspection, testing, quality, workmanship, delivery and suitability for a purpose. Those criteria that will affect the bid price and be considered in evaluation for award shall be objectively measurable such as discounts, transportation costs, and total or life cycle costs. The invitation for bids should set forth the evaluation criteria to be used.

(j)

Correction or withdrawal of bids; cancellation of awards. Correction or withdrawal of inadvertently erroneous bids before and after bid opening, or cancellation of awards or contracts based on such bid mistakes, may be permitted where appropriate. Mistakes discovered before bid opening may be modified or withdrawn by written or telegraphic notice received in the office designated in the invitation for bids prior to the time set for the bid opening. After bid opening, corrections in bid openings shall be permitted only to the extent that the bidder can show by clear and convincing evidence that a mistake of a nonjudgmental character was made, the nature of the mistake, and the bid price actually intended. After the bid opening, no changes in bid price or other provisions of bids prejudicial to the city or fair competition shall be permitted. In lieu of bid corrections, a low bidder alleging a material mistake of fact may be permitted to withdraw its bid if:

(1)

The mistake is clearly evident on the face of the bid document but the intended correct bid is not similarly evident; or

(2)

The bidder submits evidence which clearly and convincingly demonstrates that a mistake was made. All decisions to permit the correction or withdrawal of bids or to cancel the awards or contracts based on bid mistakes, shall be supported by a written determination made by the council.

(k)

Award of contract. The city, by majority vote entered in its minutes, shall award the contract to the lowest reliable bidder, provided that the city shall have the right to reject any and all such bids whether such right is reserved in the public notice or not and, in such case, may readvertise, perform the work itself, or abandon the project.

(l)

Award. The contract shall be awarded with responsible promptness by appropriate written notice to the lowest responsible and responsive bidder whose bid meets the requirements and criteria set forth in the invitation for bids. If the low responsible and responsive bid for a construction project exceeds available funds as certified by the city council, and such bid does not exceed such funds by more than five percent, the council shall approve and authorize when time or economic considerations preclude re-solicitation of work of a reduced scope, negotiation of an adjustment of the bid price with the low responsible and responsive bidder, in order to bring the bid within the amount of available funds.

(m)

Multistep sealed bidding. When it is considered impractical to prepare initially a purchase description to support an award based on price, an invitation for bids may be issued requesting the submission of unpriced offers to be followed by an invitation for bids limited to those bidders whose offers have been determined to be technically acceptable under the criteria set forth in the first solicitation.

(n)

Performance bonds in the procurement of road construction services. When a road construction contract is awarded in excess of $5,000.00, the following bonds or security shall be delivered to the city and shall become binding on the parties upon execution of the contract:

(1)

A performance bond satisfactory to the city, executed by a surety company authorized to do business in the state or otherwise secured in a manner satisfactory to the city, in an amount equal to 100 percent of the price specified in the contract; and

(2)

A payment bond satisfactory to the city, executed by a surety company registered to do business in the state or otherwise secured in a manner satisfactory to the city, for the protection of all persons supplying labor and material to the contractor or its subcontractors for the performance of the work provided for in the contract. The bond shall be in an amount equal to 100 percent of the price specified in the contract.

(3)

The above stated bonds shall not be modified or released without a vote of council approving such modification or release.

(4)

A road construction contract subject to the above stated performance and payment bond requirements shall require the contractor as a condition of performance to keep in force during the term of the contract the insurance outlined below from an insurance company licensed to do business in the State of Georgia. The insurance policy shall name the city as an additional insured. A certificate of insurance shall provide the city a 30-day written notice in the event of cancellation, non-renewal or adverse changes to the policy. A certificate of insurance documenting the below stated amounts of insurance shall be furnished to the city at the time of execution of the road construction contract.

Liability insurance.

a.

Worker's compensation. Issuance in such amounts as required by the applicable worker's compensation laws of the State of Georgia.

b.

Comprehensive general liability. With a minimum limit of $1,000,000.00 per occurrence covering:

1.

Premises-operations;

2.

Broad form contractual;

3.

Broad form property damage;

4.

Personal injury.

c.

Business automobile liability. With minimum limits of $1,000,000.00 per occurrence, covering bodily injury in connection with and property damage to the following:

1.

Owned vehicles;

2.

Hired vehicles;

3.

Non-owned vehicles;

4.

Leased vehicles.

(5)

Nothing in this section shall prevent the requirements of such bonds on construction contracts under $5,000.00 when the council determines that the circumstances warrant.

(6)

All bonds shall meet the requirements set forth in Chapter 91 or Title 36 of the Georgia Code.

(Code 1982, § 2-5-4(g); Ord. No. 228-99, § 6, 11-22-1999; Ord. No. 258-03, § 2, 10-20-2003; Ord. No. 274-04, §§ 3, 4, 12-20-2004)