The Public-Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act of 2002, Code of Virginia, § 56-575.1 et seq. (the "PPEA"), grants to public entities, including Warren County, Virginia (the "County"), the authority to develop and/or operate public-private partnerships for a wide range of qualifying projects if the public entity determines that there is a need for a qualifying project and that private involvement may provide the project to the public in a more timely or cost-effective fashion.
A. 
In general, projects that qualify for public-private partnerships under the PPEA include:
(1) 
Education facilities;
(2) 
Buildings or facilities that meet a public purpose and are developed or operated by or for any public entity;
(3) 
Improvements and equipment necessary to enhance public safety or the security of public buildings;
(4) 
Utility and communications infrastructure;
(5) 
Recreation facilities;
(6) 
Technology infrastructure, services and applications;
(7) 
Services designed to increase the productivity or efficiency of a public entity;
(8) 
Technology, equipment or infrastructure designed to deploy wireless broadband services; and
(9) 
Any solid waste management facility that produces electricity from waste.
B. 
The term "qualifying project" is more fully defined in the PPEA.
A. 
The PPEA provides that a public entity may not consider any proposal by a private entity for approval of a qualifying project pursuant to the PPEA until the responsible public entity has first adopted and made publicly available reasonable guidelines that:
(1) 
Are sufficient to enable the responsible public entity to comply with the PPEA; and
(2) 
Encourage competition and guide the selection of projects.
B. 
Accordingly, these guidelines (the "Guidelines") are adopted by the County, on behalf of itself and for all other public bodies for which the County's Board of Supervisors serves as the governing body, and shall apply to the submittal, review and selection of qualifying projects under the PPEA.
The definitions set forth in § 56-575.1 of the PPEA are incorporated herein by reference, as the same may be updated from time to time.
A. 
Pursuant to § 56-575.4 of the PPEA, a proposal to provide a qualifying project to the County may be either solicited from private entities by the County (a "solicited bid/proposal") or delivered to the County by a private entity on an unsolicited basis (an "unsolicited proposal"). In either case, any such proposal submitted to the County shall be clearly identified by the private entity as a "PPEA Proposal."
B. 
The requirements for any particular solicited bid/proposal shall be as specified in the solicitation by the County for that particular proposal and shall be consistent with all applicable provisions of the PPEA and these Guidelines.
C. 
Any unsolicited proposal may be submitted to the County by delivering six complete copies, together with the required initial review fee as provided below in § 39-11F, to the County Administrator, 220 North Commerce Avenue, Suite 100, Front Royal, Virginia 22630. Other requirements for an unsolicited proposal are set forth below in § 39-11. A working group may be designated by the County Administrator to review and evaluate all unsolicited proposals.
D. 
The County may require that any unsolicited proposal or solicited bid/proposal be clarified at any time during the review process. Such clarification may include but is not limited to submission of additional documentation, responses to specific questions and interviews with potential project participants.
A. 
Any private entity submitting a solicited bid/proposal or an unsolicited proposal to the County for a qualifying project must provide any other affected jurisdiction with a copy of such proposal by certified mail, express delivery, or hand delivery within five business days of submission of the proposal to the County. Any such other affected jurisdiction shall have 60 days from the date it receives its copy of the proposal to submit written comments to the County and to indicate whether the proposed qualifying project is compatible with the affected jurisdiction's local comprehensive plan, local infrastructure development plans, capital improvements budget or other government spending plan. The County will consider comments received within the sixty-day period prior to entering into a comprehensive agreement pursuant to the PPEA regarding the proposal. However, the County may begin or continue its evaluation of any such proposal during the sixty-day period for the receipt of comments from affected jurisdictions.
B. 
In the event that the County is an affected local jurisdiction for a qualifying project submitted to another public entity, the County Administrator is authorized to develop and submit written comments on such project.
A. 
Any proposal provided to the County shall be subject to disclosure under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA"), with the exception that confidential and proprietary information may be protected pursuant to § 56-575.4(G) of the PPEA, provided that:
(1) 
The protection of § 56-575.4(G) is requested by the submitting party;
(2) 
Such confidential and proprietary information is clearly identified in the proposal; and
(3) 
The reasons why such protection is necessary are stated.
B. 
A private entity may request and receive a determination from the County as to the anticipated scope of protection prior to submitting the proposal. The County is authorized and obligated to protect only proprietary information, and thus will not protect any portion of a proposal from disclosure if the entire proposal has been designated as proprietary by the private entity without reasonably differentiating between the proprietary and nonproprietary information contained therein.
Virginia constitutional and statutory requirements as they apply to appropriation and expenditure of public funds apply to any comprehensive agreement entered into under the PPEA. Accordingly, the processes and procedural requirements associated with the expenditure or obligation of public funds shall be incorporated into planning for any PPEA project or projects.
Nothing in the PPEA shall affect the duty of the County to comply with all other applicable law not in conflict with the PPEA. The applicability of the Virginia Public Procurement Act (the "VPPA") is as set forth in the PPEA.