Title
AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO CONTRACTS WITH NINE FIRMS FOR INCLUSION IN THE GENERAL CONTRACTOR SERVICES PRE-QUALIFIED POOL
SPECIFICATION NO. P-16008
Body
To the Honorable Board of Commissioners of the Chicago Park District:
I. Recommendation
It is recommended that an order be entered authorizing the General Superintendent and CEO or his designee to enter into individual contracts with 9 firms for inclusion in the General Contractor Services pre-qualified pool. The pre-qualified firms were selected pursuant to a publicly advertised Request for Qualifications. No minimum amount of work is required or guaranteed to the firms in the pre-qualified pool. Finally, each firm must execute a contract for inclusion in the pool, and no work may commence and no payment shall be made until a firm is awarded a project and an executed Notice-to-Proceed for the respective project is issued.
II. Award Information
Contractors: Nine (9) companies as listed on Exhibit A (attached and incorporated by this reference.)
Contract Type: Term Agreement
Contract Period: One (1) year initial term, with three (3) additional one (1) year extension options.
Contract Amount: Overall funding for the General Contractor Services program is based upon the annual Capital Program appropriation which is approved by the Board and is subject to any possible increase from funding that the Chicago Park District may receive from grant, TIF, or other sources. Annually, the General Contractor Services program accounts for about $14.6 million, or 21%, of the approximate $70 million capital budget.
Scope of Services: General Contractor Services in three (3) categories of service: New Construction/Renovation; Playground Construction; and Environmental Remediation.
Affirmative Action
Goals: The Request for Qualifications (“RFQ”) is not project specific and is instead utilized to establish a pool of pre-qualified firms that can bid on specific projects in the future. Additionally, the RFQ spoke in general terms about the vast types of possible projects that may be bid to and undertaken by firms in the pool. Further, the RFQ did not seek pricing for a specific project, and the estimated budget of any possible project that may be bid to the pool is unknown at the time the RFQ was advertised. Accordingly, firms would not be able to submit with their qualification packages meaningful project specific schedules that would identify minority and woman owned business enterprises to be utilized for the project and the corresponding dollar amount and percentage of their participation. For these reasons, the RFQ did not include the schedules. Instead, the RFQ included a Compliance Affidavit which for inclusion in this pre-qualified pool, required the firms to commit to: (i) meeting the 25% MBE and 5% WBE goals during the duration of this pre-qualified pool; and (ii) submitting the schedules with their pool project bids. Lastly, at the time a project is bid to the pre-qualified pool, only then will that bid include the schedules where the firms will identify the MBEs and WBEs to be utilized and the corresponding dollar amount and percentage of participation for that project.
II. Award Information
Authorization: Authorize the General Counsel to include other relevant terms and conditions in the written agreements. Authorize the General Superintendent to execute the agreements and the Secretary to attest as to the signing of the agreements and keep an original copy of the agreements on file.
III. Budget and Financial Information
Budget Classification: Capital
Fiscal Year: 2017-2020
Source of Funds: Various Capital Sources
IV. Procurement Information
Specification Number: P-16008
Date Advertised: December 16, 2016
Date of Pre-submittal Conference: DNA
Date Qualifications Due: The RFQ remains publicly advertised until September 30, 2020 so that any firm can submit their qualification package at any time until this final due date. The goal is to review all qualification packages received on a quarterly basis. Once a firm is included in the pool, they will not have to re-submit their qualification package.
Number of Qualifications
Received: Twelve (12)
Qualifications Evaluation Detail: Acceptable qualifications most advantageous to the Park District.
This contract was advertised as a Request for Qualifications (“RFQ”), there were three (3) categories of service and firms could submit their qualifications on one, two, or all three categories. Twelve (12) qualification packages were received, and the Department of Purchasing determined they were all compliant and responsive.
The Evaluation Committee (“EC”) was comprised of five (5) voting members, all CPD staff. The EC began their evaluation of the 12 qualification packages at their first meeting on March 3, 2017. They met again on (2) occasions including their final meeting on April 14, 2017. The EC decided that one (1) firm did not have the capacity to perform the services as described in the RFQ and their qualification package was removed from consideration. The EC found the remaining eleven (11) qualification packages to be acceptable and most advantageous to the CPD and recommend them for inclusion in the General Contractor Services pre-qualified pool of responsible firms eligible to provide these services to the Chicago Park District (see Exhibit B for a list of the firms by category.)
V. Explanation
The Chicago Park District (“CPD”) is establishing this pool of pre-qualified firms to provide general contractor services. Annually, the CPD regularly requires services for construction projects of various scopes that tend to be larger in size such as new building or park construction, playground construction, swimming pool improvements, artificial turf field installations, interior and exterior building renovations, ADA compliance upgrades at facilities, and environmental remediation. During the previous General Contactor Services pool, on average approximately 12 projects were bid and awarded annually, and all of these projects exceeded $100,000 in value with 43% between $100,000 and $500,000 in value, 23% between $500,000 and $1,000,000 in value, and 34% over $1,000,000 in value.
Establishing a pre-qualified pool of firms to provide General Contractor Services will ensure that only firms with the required experience, ability, and capacity to provide the services required for the various projects will be eligible to bid. Additionally, the pool will also allow for an expedited bid and award process, thus enabling the CPD to complete projects on schedule while maintaining a competitive bid process.
When work is required, the CPD will issue a bid to the pool, and the firm awarded the project will commence work upon receipt of a Notice-to-Proceed from the CPD. Further, compensation to firms in this pre-qualified pool is on a per project basis, and only firms awarded a project will be compensated. Lastly, the CPD will report to the Board twice per year regarding a summary of the pool project awards and new firms that may have been added to the pool.
Therefore, it is in the best interest of the CPD to recommend these 9 firms for award for inclusion in the General Contractor Services pool.
VI. General Conditions
1. Conflicts: No agreement authorized herein shall be legally binding on the Chicago Park District if entered into in violation of the provisions of the Public Officer Prohibited Activities Act, 50 ILCS 105/0.01 et seq.
2. Ethics: The Chicago Park District’s Ethics Code, Chapter III of the Code of the Chicago Park District, shall be incorporated into and made part of all agreements authorized herein.
3. Contingent Liability: Any agreement lawfully entered into for a period of more than one year shall be executory only for the amounts for which the Park District may become liable in succeeding fiscal years pursuant to Section 17(i) of the Chicago Park District Act, 70 ILCS 1505/17(i). All agreements authorized herein shall contain a clause that any expenditure beyond the current fiscal year is subject to appropriation in the subsequent fiscal year budget.
4. Economic Disclosure Statement and Affidavit (“EDS”): Contractors have submitted a full and complete EDS prior to execution of the contracts.