National City Municipal Code Ch. 2.62 Alternative Bid Procedures for Public Projects

The purpose of this chapter is to establish alternative competitive bidding procedures for public projects, consistent with the Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act ("Act").

(Ord. No. 2016-2413, § 1, 10-4-2016)

The definitions set forth in this section and in Public Contract Code Section 22002 shall govern the application and interpretation of this Chapter:

"Public project" means any of the following:

A. Construction, reconstruction, erection, alteration, renovation, improvement, demolition, and repair work involving any publicly owned, leased, or operated facility.

B. Painting or repainting of any publicly owned, leased, or operated facility.

C. In the case of a publicly owned utility system, "public project" shall include only the construction, erection, improvement, or repair of dams, reservoirs, power plants, and electrical transmission lines of two hundred thirty thousand volts and higher.

"Public project" does not include maintenance work.

"Maintenance work" includes all of the following:

A. Routine, recurring, and usual work for the preservation or protection of any publicly owned or publicly operated facility for its intended purposes.

B. Minor repainting.

C. Resurfacing of streets and highways at less than one inch.

D. Landscape maintenance, including mowing, watering, trimming, pruning, planting, replacement of plants, and servicing of irrigation and sprinkler systems.

E. Work performed to keep, operate, and maintain publicly owned water, power, or waste disposal systems, including, but not limited to, dams, reservoirs, power plants, and electrical transmission lines of two hundred thirty thousand volts and higher.

"Facility" means any plant, building, structure, ground facility, utility system, subject to the limitation found in of subdivision (C) of the definition of "public project", real property, streets, and highways, or other public work improvement.

(Ord. No. 2016-2413, § 1, 10-4-2016)

A. Bid limits.

1. Public projects of forty-five thousand dollars or less. Public projects of forty-five thousand dollars or less (less than informal) may be performed by the employees of a public agency by force account, by negotiated contract, or by purchase order.

2. Public projects greater than forty-five thousand dollars but less than or equal to one hundred seventy-five thousand dollars. Public projects greater than forty-five thousand dollars and up to one hundred seventy-five thousand dollars (informal bid), may be let to contract through informal procedures as set forth in this chapter and the Act.

3. Public projects greater than one hundred seventy-five thousand dollars. Public projects of more than one hundred seventy-five thousand dollars (formal bid) shall, except as otherwise provided in this chapter or in the Public Contract Code, be let to contract by formal bidding procedure.

B. Statutory maximum amounts as amended. The dollar limits described in this section are intended to match the limits established in Public Contract Code Sections 22032 and 22034 as amended by the state legislature or adjusted by the state controller under Section 22020. State amendments or adjustments to the dollar limits made after the effective date of the ordinance from which this chapter is derived shall act as amendments to the dollar amounts set forth herein without further city council action.

(Ord. No. 2016-2413, § 1, 10-4-2016)

A. Awarding authority.

1. City engineer and purchasing agent authority.

a. Public projects up to twenty-five thousand dollars or less may be awarded by the city engineer.

b. Public projects of forty-five thousand dollars or less may be awarded by the purchasing agent.

2. Three vendor bids.

a. If the public project of forty-five thousand dollars or less is being performed by negotiated contract or purchase order, the city engineer, or designee, may make reasonable efforts to contact and obtain bids from at least three vendors and award to the contractor providing the best value to the city.

(Ord. No. 2016-2413, § 1, 10-4-2016)

These procedures apply to public projects subject to informal bid.

A. Awarding authority.

1. City manager authority.

a. The city manager or designee is authorized to award and execute informal bid contracts for public projects pursuant to this chapter.

B. Written estimate. The dollar limits set forth for informal bidding apply to the city engineer's written estimate of the cost to complete any public project.

C. Splitting projects. It shall be unlawful to split or separate into smaller work orders or projects any project for the purpose of evading the provisions of this section requiring work to be done by contract after competitive bidding.

D. Qualified contractors list for informal bidding. A list of qualified contractors shall be developed and maintained by the city engineer in accordance with the provisions of Section 22034 of the Public Contract Code and criteria promulgated from time to time by the Uniform Construction Cost Accounting Commission. This list of qualified contractors shall be maintained according to work categories.

E. Noticing and award of informal bid contracts. Any contract awarded pursuant to this section shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder. The following shall apply to informal bids for public projects:

1. Required notice. All contractors on the list developed as required by Section 2.62.040(D) for the category of work being bid shall be mailed, faxed, or emailed a notice inviting informal bids unless the product or service is proprietary. The purchasing agent or city engineer may elect to mail, fax, or email a notice inviting informal bids to all construction trade journals specified in Public Contract Code Section 22036.

2. Time for providing notice. All mailing of notices to contractors pursuant to this Section 2.62.040 shall be completed not less than ten calendar days before bids are due.

3. Description of project. The notice inviting informal bids shall describe the project in general terms and how to obtain more detailed information about the project, and state the time and place for the submission of bids.

4. Change orders. The city manager may approve change orders for public projects in amounts not exceeding an aggregate of twenty-five percent or fifty-thousand dollars, whichever is greater, over the original authorized contract price without prior city council approval.

5. Bids exceeding one hundred seventy-five thousand dollars. If all bids received are in excess of one hundred seventy-five thousand dollars, the city council may, by adoption of a resolution by a four-fifths vote, award the contract, at one hundred eighty-seven thousand five hundred dollars or less, to the lowest responsible bidder, if it determines the cost estimate of the public agency was reasonable.

(Ord. No. 2016-2413, § 1, 10-4-2016)

These procedures apply to public projects subject to formal bid.

A. Notices inviting formal bids.

1. Contents of notice. Notices inviting formal bids shall state the time and place for the receiving and opening of sealed bids and distinctly describe the project.

2. Publication date of notice. The notice shall be published at least fourteen calendar days before the date of opening the bids in a newspaper of general circulation, printed and published in the city or otherwise comply with the applicable requirements of Public Contract Code Section 22037.

3. Mailing date of notice. The notice shall be mailed at least fifteen calendar days before the date of opening the bids to all construction trade journals specified in Public Contract Code Section 22036. The notice inviting formal bids may also be sent electronically, if available, by either facsimile or electronic mail, within the same time frame specified for regular mail, to all construction trade journals specified in Public Contract Code Section 22036.

B. Plans and specifications for formal bids. The city engineer, as the city council's designated representative, shall adopt plans, specifications, and working details for all public projects subject to the form bidding procedures. Any person may examine the plans, specifications, or working details, or all of these, adopted by the city engineer for any public project.

(Ord. No. 2016-2413, § 1, 10-4-2016)

This section applies to public projects subject to either formal bid or informal bid.

A. Rejecting bids. In its discretion, the city council may reject any bids presented, if the city, prior to rejecting all bids and declaring that the project can be more economically performed by employees of the agency, furnishes a written notice to an apparent low bidder. The notice shall inform the bidder of the agency's intention to reject the bid and shall be mailed at least two business days prior to the city council meeting at which the city intends to reject the bid. If after the first invitation of bids all bids are rejected, after reevaluating its cost estimates of the project, the city council shall have the option of either of the following:

1. Abandoning the project or re-advertising for bids in the manner described by this chapter.

2. After passing by a resolution by a four-fifths vote of the city council declaring that the project can be performed more economically by the city employees, have the public project done by force account without further complying with this chapter.

B. Lowest responsible bidder. If a contract is awarded, it shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder. If two or more bids are the same and the lowest, the city may accept the one it chooses.

C. No bids received. If no bids are received through the formal or informal procedure, the project may be performed by the employees of the city, by force account, or negotiated contract without further complying with this chapter.

(Ord. No. 2016-2413, § 1, 10-4-2016)

In cases of emergency when repair or replacements are necessary, the city council may proceed at once to replace or repair any public facility without adopting plans, specifications, strain sheets, or working details, or giving notice for bids to let contracts. The work may be done by day labor under the direction of the city manager, by contractor, or by a combination of the two. In case of an emergency, if notice for bids to let contracts will not be given, the city shall comply with Chapter 2.5 of Part 3 of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code (commencing with Section 22050).

(Ord. No. 2016-2413, § 1, 10-4-2016)