A.
A request for proposal shall be in writing and indicate in general terms that which is sought to be procured, specifying the factors which will be used in evaluating the proposal, indicating whether a numerical scoring system will be used in evaluation of the proposal, and containing or incorporating by reference the other applicable contractual terms and conditions, including any unique capabilities or qualifications which will be required of the contractor. In the event that a numerical scoring system will be used in the evaluation of proposals, the point values assigned to each of the evaluation criteria shall be included in the request for proposal or posted at the location designated for public posting of procurement notices prior to the due date and time for receiving proposals.
B.
A request for proposal shall include a provision that requires an offeror organized or authorized to transact business in the commonwealth pursuant to Code of Virginia, Title 13.1 or Title 50 to include in its proposal the identification number issued to it by the State Corporation Commission. Any offeror that is not required to be authorized to transact business in the commonwealth as a foreign business entity under Code of Virginia, Title 13.1 or Title 50 or as otherwise required by law shall include in its proposal a statement describing why the offeror is not required to be so authorized.
Notice of the request for proposal shall be posted on the Department of General Services' central electronic procurement website or other appropriate websites at least 10 days prior to the date set for receipt of proposals. In addition, the notice may be published in one or more newspapers of general circulation in the area in which the contract is to be performed. Proposals may be solicited directly from potential contractors.
A.
The Purchasing Agent shall engage in individual discussions with two or more offerors deemed fully qualified, responsible and suitable on the basis of initial responses and with emphasis on professional competence, to provide the required services. Repetitive informal interviews shall be permissible. The offerors shall be encouraged to elaborate on their qualifications and performance data or staff expertise pertinent to the proposed project as well as alternative concepts. In addition, offerors shall be informed of any ranking criteria that will be used by the Purchasing Agent in addition to the review of the professional competence of the offeror. The request for proposal shall not, however, request that offerors furnish estimates of man-hours or cost for services. As the discussion stage, the Purchasing Agent may discuss nonbinding estimates of total project costs, including, but not limited to, life-cycle costing, and, where appropriate, nonbinding estimates of price for services. Proprietary information from competing offerors shall not be disclosed to the public or to competitors. For architectural or engineering services, offerors shall not be required to list exceptions to proposed contractual terms and conditions, unless required by applicable law, until after the qualified offerors are ranked for negotiations.
(1)
At the conclusion of discussion, outlined herein, on the basis of evaluation factors published in the request for proposal and all information developed in the selection process to this point, the Purchasing Agent shall select in the order of preference two or more offerors whose professional qualifications and proposed services are deemed most meritorious.
(2)
Negotiations shall then be conducted, beginning with the offeror ranked first. If a contract satisfactory and advantageous to the County can be negotiated at a price considered fair and reasonable, the award shall be made to that offeror. Otherwise, negotiations with the offeror ranked first shall be formally terminated and negotiations conducted with the offeror ranked second, and so on until such a contract can be negotiated at a fair and reasonable price. If the terms and conditions for multiple awards are included in the request for proposal, the Purchasing Agent may award contracts to more than one offeror. Should the Purchasing Agent determine in writing and in his or her sole discretion that only one offeror is fully qualified, or that one offeror is clearly more highly qualified and suitable than the others under consideration, a contract may be negotiated and awarded to that offeror.
B.
Architectural or professional engineering services.
(1)
A contract for architectural or professional engineering services relating to construction projects may be negotiated for multiple projects, provided:
(a)
The projects require similar experience and expertise;
(b)
The nature of the projects is clearly identified in the request for proposal; and
(c)
The contract term is limited to one year or when the cumulative total project fees reach the maximum cost authorized in this subsection, whichever occurs first.
(2)
Such contracts may be renewable for four additional one-year terms at the option of the County. The fair and reasonable prices as negotiated shall be used in determining the cost of each project performed. The sum of all projects performed in one contract term shall not exceed $750,000.
(3)
The project fee for any single project for architectural or professional engineering services relating to construction projects shall not exceed $150,000. Any unused amounts from a contract term may not be carried forward to subsequent terms.
(4)
Competitive negotiations for such contracts may result in awards to more than one offeror, provided (1) the request for proposal so states and (2) the County has established procedures for distributing multiple projects among the selected contractors during the contract term. Such procedures shall prohibit requiring the selected contractors to compete for individual projects based on price.
C.
Multiphase professional services contracts satisfactory and advantageous to the County for completion of large, phased or long-term projects may be negotiated and awarded based upon qualifications at a fair and reasonable price for the first phase only, when completion of the earlier phases is necessary to provide information critical to the negotiation of a fair and reasonable price for succeeding phases. Prior to the procurement of any such contract, the Purchasing Agent shall state the anticipated intended total scope of the project and determine in writing that the nature of the work is such that the best interests of the County require awarding the contract.
Selection shall be made of two or more offerors deemed to be fully qualified and best suited among those submitting proposals, on the basis of the factors involved in the request for proposal, including price if so stated in the request for proposal. Negotiations shall then be conducted with each of the offerors so selected. Price shall be considered, but need not be the sole or primary determining factor. After negotiations have been conducted with each offeror so selected, the Purchasing Agent shall select the offeror which, in his or her opinion, has made the best proposal, and shall award the contract to that offeror. When the terms and conditions of multiple awards are so provided in the request for proposal, awards may be made to more than one offeror. Should the Purchasing Agent determine in writing and in his or her sole discretion that only one offeror is fully qualified, or that one offeror is clearly more highly qualified than the others under consideration, a contract may be negotiated and awarded to that offeror.