TAB 1
MASTER AGREEMENT - GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Customer Support
The vendor shall provide timely and accurate technical advice and sales support. The vendor shall respond to such requests within one (1) working day after receipt of the request.
Disclosures
Respondent affirms that he/she has not given, offered to give, nor intends to give at any time hereafter any economic opportunity, future employment, gift, loan, gratuity, special discount, trip, favor or service to a public servant in connection with this contract.
The respondent affirms that, to the best of his/her knowledge, the offer has been arrived at independently, and is submitted without collusion with anyone to obtain information or gain any favoritism that would in any way limit competition or give an unfair advantage over other vendors in the award of this contract.
Renewal of Contract
Unless otherwise stated, all contracts are for a period of three (3) years with an option to renew for up to five (5) additional one-year terms or any combination of time equally not more than 5 years if agreed to by Region 14 ESC and the vendor.
Funding Out Clause
Any/all contracts exceeding one (1) year shall include a standard “funding out” clause. A contract for the acquisition, including lease, of real or personal property is a commitment of the entity’s current revenue only, provided the contract contains either or both of the following provisions:
Retains to the entity the continuing right to terminate the contract at the expiration of each budget period during the term of the contract and is conditioned on a best efforts attempt by the entity to obtain appropriate funds for payment of the contract.
Shipments (if applicable)
The awarded vendor shall ship ordered products within seven (7) working days for goods available and within four (4) to six (6) weeks for specialty items after the receipt of the order unless modified. If a product cannot be shipped within that time, the awarded vendor shall notify the entity placing the order as to why the product has not shipped and shall provide an estimated shipping date. At this point the participating entity may cancel the order if estimated shipping time is not acceptable.
Tax Exempt Status
Since this is a national contract, knowing the tax laws in each state is the sole responsibility of the vendor.
Payments
The entity using the contract will make payments directly to the awarded vendor or their affiliates (distributors/business partners/resellers) as long as written request and approval by NCPA is provided to the awarded vendor.
Adding Authorized Distributors/Dealers
Awarded vendors may submit a list of distributors/partners/resellers to sell under their contract throughout the life of the contract. Vendor must receive written approval from NCPA before such distributors/partners/resellers considered authorized.
Purchase orders and payment can only be made to awarded vendor or distributors/ business partners/resellers previously approved by NCPA.
Pricing provided to members by added distributors or dealers must also be less than or equal to the pricing offered by the awarded contract holder.
All distributors/partners/resellers are required to abide by the Terms and Conditions of the vendor's agreement with NCPA.
Pricing
All pricing submitted shall include the administrative fee to be remitted to NCPA by the awarded vendor. It is the awarded vendor’s responsibility to keep all pricing up to date and on file with NCPA.
All deliveries shall be freight prepaid, F.O.B. destination and shall be included in all pricing offered unless otherwise clearly stated in writing
Warranty
Proposal should address the following warranty information:
• Applicable warranty and/or guarantees of equipment and installations including any conditions and response time for repair and/or replacement of any components during the warranty period.
• Availability of replacement parts
• Life expectancy of equipment under normal use
• Detailed information as to proposed return policy on all equipment
Products: Vendor shall provide equipment, materials and products that are new unless otherwise specified, of good quality and free of defects Construction: Vendor shall perform services in a good and workmanlike manner and in accordance with industry standards for the service provided.
Safety
Vendors performing services shall comply with occupational safety and health rules and regulations. Also all vendors and subcontractors shall be held responsible for the safety of their employees and any conditions that may cause injury or damage to persons or property.
Permits
Since this is a national contract, knowing the permit laws in each state is the sole responsibility of the vendor.
Indemnity
The awarded vendor shall protect, indemnify, and hold harmless Region 14 ESC and its participants, administrators, employees and agents against all claims, damages, losses and expenses arising out of or resulting from the actions of the vendor, vendor employees or vendor subcontractors in the preparation of the solicitation and the later execution of the contract.
Franchise Tax
The respondent hereby certifies that he/she is not currently delinquent in the payment of any franchise taxes.
Supplemental Agreements
The entity participating in this contract and awarded vendor may enter into a separate supplemental agreement to further define the level of service requirements over and above the minimum defined in this contract i.e. invoice requirements, ordering requirements, specialized delivery, etc. Any supplemental agreement developed as a result of this contract is exclusively between the participating entity and awarded vendor.
Certificates of Insurance
Certificates of insurance shall be delivered to the Public Agency prior to commencement of work. The insurance company shall be licensed in the applicable state in which work is being conducted. The awarded vendor shall give the participating entity a minimum of ten (10) days notice prior to any modifications or cancellation of policies. The awarded vendor shall require all subcontractors performing any work to maintain coverage as specified.
Legal Obligations
It is the Respondent’s responsibility to be aware of and comply with all local, state, and federal laws governing the sale of products/services identified in this RFP and any awarded contract and shall comply with all while fulfilling the RFP. Applicable laws and regulation must be followed even if not specifically identified herein.
Protest
A protest of an award or proposed award must be filed in writing within ten (10) days from the date of the official award notification and must be received by 5:00 pm CST. Protests shall be filed with Region 14 ESC and shall include the following:
• Name, address and telephone number of protester
• Original signature of protester or its representative • Identification of the solicitation by RFP number
• Detailed statement of legal and factual grounds including copies of relevant documents and the form of relief requested
Any protest review and action shall be considered final with no further formalities being considered.
Force Majeure
If by reason of Force Majeure, either party hereto shall be rendered unable wholly or in part to carry out its obligations under this Agreement then such party shall give notice and full particulars of Force Majeure in writing to the other party within a reasonable time after occurrence of the event or cause relied upon, and the obligation of the party giving such notice, so far as it is affected by such Force Majeure, shall be suspended during the continuance of the inability then claimed, except as hereinafter provided, but for no longer period, and such party shall endeavor to remove or overcome such inability with all reasonable dispatch.
The term Force Majeure as employed herein, shall mean acts of God, strikes, lockouts, or other industrial disturbances, act of public enemy, orders and regulation of any kind of government of the United States or any civil or military authority; insurrections; riots; epidemics; pandemic; landslides; lighting; earthquake; fires; hurricanes; storms; floods; washouts; droughts; arrests; restraint of government and people; civil disturbances; explosions, breakage or accidents to machinery, pipelines or canals, or other causes not reasonably within the control of the party claiming such inability. It is understood and agreed that the settlement of strikes and lockouts shall be entirely within the discretion of the party having the difficulty, and that the above requirement that any Force Majeure shall be remedied with all reasonable dispatch shall not require the settlement of strikes and lockouts by acceding to the demands of the opposing party or parties when such settlement is unfavorable in the judgment of the party having the difficulty
Prevailing Wage
It shall be the responsibility of the Vendor to comply, when applicable, with the prevailing wage legislation in effect in the jurisdiction of the purchaser. It shall further be the responsibility of the Vendor to monitor the prevailing wage rates as established by the appropriate department of labor for any increase in rates during the term of this contract and adjust wage rates accordingly.
Termination
Either party may cancel this contract in whole or in part by providing written notice. The cancellation will take effect 30 business days after the other party receives the notice of cancellation. After the 30th business day all work will cease following completion of final purchase order.
Open Records Policy
Because Region 14 ESC is a governmental entity responses submitted are subject to release as public information after contracts are executed. If a vendor believes that its response, or parts of its response, may be exempted from disclosure, the vendor must specify page-by-page and line-by-line the parts of the response, which it believes, are exempt. In addition, the respondent must specify which exception(s) are applicable and provide detailed reasons to substantiate the exception(s).
The determination of whether information is confidential and not subject to disclosure is the duty of the Office of Attorney General (OAG). Region 14 ESC must provide the OAG sufficient
information to render an opinion and therefore, vague and general claims to confidentiality by the respondent are not acceptable. Region 14 ESC must comply with the opinions of the OAG.
Region14 ESC assumes no responsibility for asserting legal arguments on behalf of any vendor.
Respondent are advised to consult with their legal counsel concerning disclosure issues resulting from this procurement process and to take precautions to safeguard trade secrets and other proprietary information.
PROCESS
Region 14 ESC will evaluate proposals in accordance with, and subject to, the relevant statutes, ordinances, rules, and regulations that govern its procurement practices. NCPA will assist Region 14 ESC in evaluating proposals. Award(s) will be made to the prospective vendor whose response is determined to be the most advantageous to Region 14 ESC, NCPA, and its participating agencies. To qualify for evaluation, response must have been submitted on time, and satisfy all mandatory requirements identified in this document.
Contract Administration
The contract will be administered by Region 14 ESC. The National Program will be administered by NCPA on behalf of Region 14 ESC.
Contract Term
The contract term will be for three (3) year starting from the date of the award. The contract may be renewed for up to five (5) additional one-year terms or any combination of time equally not more than 5 years.
It should be noted that maintenance/service agreements may be issued for up to (5) years under this contract even if the contract only lasts for the initial term of the contract. NCPA will monitor any maintenance agreements for the term of the agreement provided they are signed prior to the termination or expiration of this contract.
Contract Waiver
Any waiver of any provision of this contract shall be in writing and shall be signed by the duly authorized agent of Region 14 ESC. The waiver by either party of any term or condition of this contract shall not be deemed to constitute waiver thereof nor a waiver of any further or additional right that such party may hold under this contract.
Price Increases
Should it become necessary, price increase requests may be submitted at any point during the term of the contract by written amendment. Included with the request must be documentation and/or formal cost justification for these changes. Requests will be formally reviewed, and if justified, the amendment will be approved.
Products and Services Additions
New Products and/or Services may be added to the resulting contract at any time during the term by written amendment, to the extent that those products and/or services are within the scope of this RFP.
Competitive Range
It may be necessary for Region 14 ESC to establish a competitive range. Responses not in the competitive range are unacceptable and do not receive further award consideration.
Deviations and Exceptions
Deviations or exceptions stipulated in response may result in disqualification. It is the intent of Region 14 ESC to award a vendor’s complete line of products and/or services, when possible.
Estimated Quantities
While no minimum volume is guaranteed, the estimated (but not limited to) annual volume for Products and Services purchased under the proposed Master Agreement is $400 million dollars annually. This estimate is based on the anticipated volume of Region 14 ESC and current sales within the NCPA program.
Evaluation
Region 14 ESC will review and evaluate all responses in accordance with, and subject to, the relevant statutes, ordinances, rules and regulations that govern its procurement practices.
NCPA will assist the lead agency in evaluating proposals. Recommendations for contract awards will be based on multiple factors, each factor being assigned a point value based on its importance.
Formation of Contract
A response to this solicitation is an offer to contract with Region 14 ESC based upon the terms, conditions, scope of work, and specifications contained in this request. A solicitation does not become a contract until it is accepted by Region 14 ESC. The prospective vendor must submit a signed Signature Form with the response thus, eliminating the need for a formal signing process. Contract award letter issued by Region 14 ESC is the counter-signature document establishing acceptance of the contract.
NCPA Administrative Agreement
The vendor will be required to enter and execute the National Cooperative Purchasing Alliance Administration Agreement with NCPA upon award with Region 14 ESC. The agreement establishes the requirements of the vendor with respect to a nationwide contract effort.
Clarifications/Discussions
Region 14 ESC may request additional information or clarification from any of the respondents after review of the proposals received for the sole purpose of elimination minor irregularities, informalities, or apparent clerical mistakes in the proposal. Clarification does not give respondent an opportunity to revise or modify its proposal, except to the extent that correction of apparent clerical mistakes results in a revision. After the initial receipt of proposals, Region 14 ESC reserves the right to conduct discussions with those respondent’s whose proposals are determined to be reasonably susceptible of being selected for award. Discussions occur when oral or written communications between Region 14 ESC and respondent’s are conducted for the purpose clarifications involving information essential for determining the acceptability of a proposal or that provides respondent an opportunity to revise or modify its proposal. Region 14 ESC will not assist respondent bring its proposal up to the level of other proposals through discussions. Region 14 ESC will not indicate to respondent a cost or price that it must meet to neither obtain further consideration nor will it provide any information about other respondents’ proposals or prices.
Multiple Awards
Multiple Contracts may be awarded as a result of the solicitation. Multiple Awards will ensure that any ensuing contracts fulfill current and future requirements of the diverse and large number of participating public agencies.
Past Performance
Past performance is relevant information regarding a vendor’s actions under previously awarded contracts; including the administrative aspects of performance; the vendor’s history of reasonable and cooperative behavior and commitment to customer satisfaction; and generally, the vendor’s businesslike concern for the interests of the customer.
EVALUATION CRITERIA
Pricing (40 points)
Electronic Price Lists
• Products, Services, Warranties, etc. price list
• Prices listed will be used to establish both the extent of a vendor’s product lines, services, warranties, etc. available from a particular bidder and the pricing per item.
Ability to Provide and Perform the Required Services for the Contract (25 points) • Product Delivery within participating entities specified parameters • Number of line items delivered complete within the normal delivery time as a percentage of line items ordered.
• Vendor’s ability to perform towards above requirements and desired specifications. • Past Cooperative Program Performance
• Quantity of line items available that are commonly purchased by the entity. • Quality of line items available compared to normal participating entity standards.
References and Experience (20 points)
• A minimum of ten (10) customer references for product and/or services of similar scope dating within past 3 years
• Respondent Reputation in marketplace
• Past Experience working with public sector.
• Exhibited understanding of cooperative purchasing
Value Added Products/Services Description, (8 points)
• Additional Products/Services related to the scope of RFP • Marketing and Training
• Minority and Women Business Enterprise (MWBE) and (HUB) Participation • Customer Service
Technology for Supporting the Program (7 points)
• Electronic on-line catalog, order entry use by and suitability for the entity’s needs • Quality of vendor’s on-line resources for NCPA members. • Specifications and features offered by respondent’s products and/or services
December 1, 2022
December 1, 2022
01-148
Matthew Mackel
Director, Business Development
PO Box 701273
Houston, TX 77270
December 1, 2022