18- 554 C.M.R. ch. 8, § 4

Current through 2024-52, December 25, 2024

Section 554-8-4 - Request for Qualifications, RFQ

1.Approval Required

A contract may be awarded for construction of a public improvement by an alternative delivery method only after the Director has received the recommendation of the Review Panel in accordance with this Chapter, and has issued written approval to proceed by the noted alternative delivery method.

2. Issuance

A. The Bureau shall initiate the process of solicitation of bids for contracts for alternative delivery projects by publishing an advertisement requesting qualifications of firms to provide the required services.

B. The Bureau will make copies of each RFQ form available to all firms on an equal basis.

3. Contents

The advertisement must contain sufficient information to summarize the project and evaluation criteria in order to attract qualified firms to respond.

4. Format of Response

All responses to an advertisement for a request for qualifications under this section must be made in a format approved and provided by the Bureau. Responding firms shall limit the information in their responses to the information requested by the advertisement.

5.RFQ Selection Committee

The RFQ selection committee shall be appointed by the Director and composed of a minimum of 3 members, one of which may be a representative of the Owner.

6.Opening of Responses

The Bureau may not open the responses to the advertisement at any time before the date and time specified in the advertisement for final submission of responses.

7.Rejection of Response

The Bureau may reject a response to the advertisement because the response was not filed by the date and time specified in the advertisement, otherwise failed to comply with the terms of the advertisement, or failed to comply with the requirements of any applicable statute or this section. Within a reasonable time after rejecting a response, the Bureau shall notify the firm in writing of the rejection.

8.Evaluation Process

A. The RFQ selection committee shall prepare evaluations based solely on the criteria set forth in the RFQ.

B. Prior to undertaking the evaluation of the responses, the committee shall develop a ranking system. This ranking system may consist of weighting different factors.

C. The committee shall specify in writing a rating for each qualifications.

D. In the event there are more than 5 qualifications statements that would initially qualify, the selection committee must reduce this number to not more than 5.

E. If fewer than 3 responses are received, or if the Committee determines that fewer than 3 firms are qualified for the project, the committee shall ask the Director to approve selection of fewer than 3 applicants for the short list. Upon receipt of such request, the Director shall either (i) approve the request, (ii) deny the request and direct that a new advertisement be published, or (iii) deny the request and terminate the process. The Director's determination shall be based upon the purposes underlying 5 M.R.S.A. §1743 and this Chapter. The determination of the Director is final.

F. In making the required determinations, the Committee's evaluation of each applicant must be based on the information contained in the applicant's response to the request for qualifications and information provided by an applicant's references.

9.Decision and Notification

Once the RFQ selection committee has completed the evaluation of the qualifications and rankings, it shall provide the Director with the rankings and the Director shall make the final decision as to the firms that will be invited to submit a Request for Proposal. The Bureau shall complete the qualification selection process by written notice to the firms selected to participate in submitting a RFP and to all other candidates, if any.

18- 554 C.M.R. ch. 8, § 4

EFFECTIVE DATE:
December 31, 2006

STATUTORY AUTHORITY: 5 M.R.S.A. §1743