2004-1290-Resolution No. 2004-118 Recorded 10/13/2004REVIEWED
LEGAL OUNSEL
DESCHUTES COUNTY OFFICIAL
NANCY BLANKENSHIP, COUNTY CLERKDS
COMMISSIONERS' JOURNAL
„011 El,,,..,,.,.-,,.,-.,,...,. 10/13/2004 04;42.23 PM
2004-1200
BEFORE THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF DESCHUTES COUNTY, OREGON
A Resolution Providing for an Alternative
Solicitation and Selection Method for Contract to
Complete Fire Fuel Thinning in the Newberry
Neighborhood
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* RESOLUTION NO. 2004-118
*
*
WHEREAS, the County Community Development Department was awarded a federal grant, for fire
fuel thinning in the Newberry Neighborhood in Deschutes County; and
WHEREAS, the County Community Development Department requested the ability to select a
contractor for the grant work based upon criteria in addition to price; and
WHEREAS, on April 14, 2004, the Board of County Commissioners ("Board") held a duly notice
public hearing on the issue; and
WHEREAS, the Board found that it is in the public interest to allow for an alternative selection method
for this contract but the findings were inadvertently not signed, now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF DESCHUTES
COUNTY, OREGON, as follows:
Section 1. The Community Development Department may solicit potential contractors through the use
of a Request for Proposal format.
Section 2. The findings in support of this decision, attached as Exhibit A and incorporated by reference,
are hereby adopted nunc pro tunc.
DATED this / 'day of 2004.
ATTEST:
`YJ rml I
Recording Secretary
PAGE 1 OF 1— RESOLUTION NO. 2004-118 (10/06/04)
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
OF DESCHUTES COUNTY, OREGON
TOM DEWOlitXommissioner
REVIEWED
LEGAL COUNSEL
FINDINGS IN SUPPORT OF EXEMPTION FROM COMPETITIVE BIDDING REQUIREMENT
The Board of County Commissioners of Deschutes County, Oregon, sitting as the local contract
review board ("Board") finds as follows:
Authority to exempt contract from competitive bidding. ORS 279.015(2) authorizes the Board,
acting as the local contract review board, to exempt certain contracts from competitive bidding upon
approval of appropriate findings. Public contracts may be exempted from the competitive bidding
requirements of ORS 279.015(1) if it is unlikely the exemption will encourage favoritism in the
awarding of public contracts or substantially diminished competition for public contracts and the
awarding of public contracts pursuant to the exemption will result in substantial cost savings to the
public contracting agency. In making such findings, the Board may consider the type, cost, amount of
the contract, number of persons available to bid and such other factors as may be deemed
appropriate.
The Project — Thinning, Fuel Treatment, and Trail Construction in La Pine, Oregon. The public
improvement will consist of thinning and fuel treatment on 19.4 acres of designated open space
corridor along Huntington Road and construction of 1,630 linear feet of a ten foot wide soft -surface
trail using woody material from the Project area.
FINDINGS
The Board makes the following findings in support of the exemption and in compliance with the
statutory requirements described above.
1. Appropriate Alternate Contracting Practice will be used
The qualifications -based Request for Proposal (RFP) process for selecting contractors for the
project falls within the criteria of the ORS 279.015(6) because the process is competitive and
contractors will be selected based not only on price but also on their ability to best complete and
coordinate appropriate aspects of the project. The qualifications -based RFP approach is preferred for
this project because of the various machines and approaches to meet the project objectives. The
project area is highly visible and the proposed trail will be a community asset.
2. No Favoritism or Diminished Competition
In order to assure that this exemption does not encourage favoritism or substantially diminish
competition, a well-defined, competitive procedure will be followed. First, the project contract will be
formally advertised in the Portland Daily Journal of Commerce and The Bend Bulletin in order to
maximize exposure and interest in the project. In addition, written notice of the RFP will be mailed to
a list of contractors that have previously contacted the County expressing interest in this type of work.
The staff believes the market conditions are good and anticipates that the same contractors who
would bid the project under the traditional low competitive bid method will compete in the
qualifications -based RFP process. Second, an evaluation committee will be formed to review the
proposals in detail, conduct interviews if desired, and recommend to the Board a qualified contractor,
PAGE 1 OF 4 - FINDINGS IN SUPPORT OF THE ALTERNATIVE CONTRACTING METHOD
LA PINE THINNING FUEL TREATMENT AND TRAIL CONSTRCUTION WITH NATIONAL FIRE PLAN GRANT FUNDS.
based on specific evaluation criteria provided in the RFP. The committee will not include any person
with an affiliation or conflict with any proposing contractor. Third, the evaluation criteria include
considerations of the proposer's background, references, experience, capacity, personnel, schedule
and approach to the project. Fourth, a scoring system will be utilized to help quantify the committee's
review of each criterion on a contractor -by -contractor basis. The staff believes that consideration of
these performance and cost criteria is important from a public benefit perspective.
Upon completion of the initial evaluation process for the project, the committee may in its
discretion decide to negotiate certain terms and conditions of the contract, including but not limited to
price, with the apparent best proposer. The committee may decide simply to recommend the best
proposer to the Board without negotiation. However, if negotiation is implemented, and the
negotiations fail with the apparent best proposal, the committee may either recommend the apparent
best proposal based on the original proposal or move to negotiations with the next apparent best
proposal. This process will continue until the committee is prepared to recommend one of the
proposals to the Board as the best final proposal for the project.
The procurement decision is subject to review in accordance with the protest provisions of
OAR 137-030-0104.
3. Substantial Cost Savings
The Board also believes that using the qualifications -based RFP process will result in
substantial project cost savings. First, the proposer's guaranteed maximum price (GMP) is one of the
most significant evaluation factors. Because the selection process is competitive and price will be a
factor, proposers will have every incentive to offer the lowest, most competitive bids and GMP
possible. In addition, the County may negotiate with the successful proposer until an acceptable price
is reached. This will help define and contain project costs. Because the project is funded by a
National Fire Plan Grant, the available funds are limited. There are no other operational funds to
expand the project budget. It is important that contract price and approach be carefully considered
and, if desirable, negotiated up front by the County and the best proposal unanticipated costs and still
meet the project objectives. It is also critical to allocate the grant funds among private contractors and
the Heart of Oregon Corps and the juvenile work crews in accordance with the grant requirements.
Negotiated pricing will assist in meeting this requirement. The additional factors below further indicate
that the use of the qualifications -based RFP process will help secure the overall best price for the
work of the project.
4. Most Capable Proposer
The project is located in a high profile, visually sensitive area and has three objectives of 1)
reducing wildfire hazard, and 2) maintaining aesthetic values in a highly visible designated open
space corridor and 3) constructing a public trail using material from the project area. There are
various approaches to meeting these three objectives. Although specific specifications can be written
for thinning, the approaches for fuel treatment and removal, and trail construction are varied
depending on the type and capabilities of equipment. The qualifications -based RFP process will allow
the County to give appropriate weight to the Proposers who are not only reasonably priced, but also
the most skilled and experienced in performing work in visually sensitive areas, and working with land
owners to develop specifications. Therefore, using selection criteria to evaluate different approaches
will realize substantial cost savings over the traditional low bid procedure where bid price is the only
factor.
PAGE 2 OF 4 - FINDINGS IN SUPPORT OF THE ALTERNATIVE CONTRACTING METHOD
LA PINE THINNING FUEL TREATMENT AND TRAIL CONSTRCUTION WITH NATIONAL FIRE PLAN GRANT FUNDS.
5. Unique Site Conditions and Challenges
The specialized, integrated and aesthetic nature of various elements of the work requires the
use of a qualifications -based RFP process. As stated, a negotiated arrangement with the most
capable, reasonably -priced contractor will help identify the approach that will best integrate the three
elements of the project (thinning, fuel treatment, trail construction) to create an aesthetic result that is
most cost effective, reduces wildfire risk, creates a durable trail and causes minimal ground
disturbance. The nature of the work involves unique aesthetic elements that will demand early and
close coordination with the selected contractor and the County. The qualifications -based RFP process
will allow selection of a contractor that has experience in performing fire hazard mitigation work in
aesthetically sensitive areas. The RFP process will allow the County to realize savings from creative
approaches to integrating the elements of the project and negotiating specifications to achieve the
objectives of fuel reduction and a durable trail. The specific factors that warrant a qualifications -based
RFP process include:
1. Need to evaluate different approaches to fuel removal and treatment.
2. Need to evaluate different approaches to using woody material from the site to construct the
trail.
3. Need to evaluate proposers experience in working on projects in aesthetically sensitive areas.
4. Need to evaluate proposers experience in working with County to develop specifications for
fuel treatment/removal and trail construction.
Conclusion.
The project is in a highly visible public open space and there are a number of different approaches
that could achieve the desired objectives. The qualifications -based RFP process will help identify the
best methods for integrating the work and selecting a contractor with the experience and best
approach to meet the project specifications and goals of creating a fire safe open space area with a
trail constructed with material from the site. This process will also help identify the best contactor who
can offer a reasonable price and commit to working with the County to develop additional
specifications for fuel treatment and removal and trail construction. This contract meets the
requirements of ORS 279.015(2)(a) and 279.015(1)(b) to be exempt from the competitive bidding
requirements of ORS 279.015(1).
PAGE 3 OF 4 - FINDINGS IN SUPPORT OF THE ALTERNATIVE CONTRACTING METHOD
LA PINE THINNING FUEL TREATMENT AND TRAIL CONSTRCUTION WITH NATIONAL FIRE PLAN GRANT FUNDS.
Decision.
The public improvement described herein is exempt from the competitive bidding requirements for
ORS 279.015(1).
Dated this 14th day of April, 2004.
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
OF DESCHUTES COUNTY, OREGON
Michael M. fly, Chair
Tom DeWolf, Commission
ATTEST:
Dennis R. Luke, Commissioner
Recording Secretary
Page 4 of 4 - FINDINGS IN SUPPORT OF THE ALTERNATIVE CONTRACTING METHOD
LaPine Thinning Fuel Treatment and Triail Construction with National Fire Plan Grant Fund