§ 7.02

As used in this title the following terms have the meanings indicated which are applicable to both the singular and plural thereof:

"Awarding authority" means the city council, the city manager or the city manager's designee who has been given signature authority to approve contracts under this title.

"Bid" means an offer submitted by a bidder setting forth the price for the city's procurement of supplies, services, or for construction of public projects, on bid forms issued by the city.

"Bidder" means any person or business submitting a bid to the city in response to an Invitation for Bid (IFB) issued by the city.

"Business" means a corporation, partnership, individual, sole proprietorship, joint stock company, joint venture, or any other private legal entity.

"Change Order" means any city-issued written document used to amend an existing construction contract authorizing changes within the scope of work, additions or deletions to the work, an adjustment to the price, or changes to any other terms and conditions of the contract. The term also refers to a change to a purchase order in the city's ERP system.

"City" means the city of Palm Springs.

"Coachella Valley" means the area between the Salton Sea on the south, the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountains on the west, and the Little San Bernardino Mountains on the east and north. For the purposes of this definition, "Coachella Valley" includes the nine cities of Cathedral City, Coachella, Desert Hot Springs, La Quinta, Indian Wells, Indio, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage along with the cities of Beaumont and Banning and the unincorporated areas between Banning and the city of Palm Springs.

"Construction manager at risk (CMAR)" means a project delivery method in which the city hires a general contractor through a Request for Proposal or Request for Qualifications competitive process, who serves as both a construction manager and general contractor to perform construction work on a project.

"Construction" means the process of building, altering, repairing, improving, or demolishing any public structure or building, or other public improvements of any kind to any public real property, but excluding the routine operation, routine repair, or routine maintenance of existing structures, buildings, or real property.

"Contract administrator" means the department director or other city employee designated by the city manager to administer a contract between the city and a contractor and oversee and monitor the contractor's performance under the terms of the contract.

"Design-build" means a project delivery method in which the city enters into a single contract for both the design and construction of a public project pursuant to a competitive negotiation process. Design-build includes public projects where in addition to design and construction, other functions may be incorporated, including, but not limited to, financing, operating and/or maintenance.

"Director" means the director of procurement and contracting.

"Enterprise Resource Planning System (ERP)" a software system that helps business manage their core processes in a centralized way such as accounting, procurement project management, human resource management, etc. The city currently uses Tyler Munis as its ERP system.

"Environmentally preferable purchasing policy" means a procurement policy created and maintained by the sustainability department that governs the procurement of goods and services in an environmentally sustainable manner.

"Force account" means services performed by, or public projects constructed by, city employees.

"Invitation for Bids (IFB)" means all documents, whether attached or incorporated by reference, utilized for soliciting bids for supplies or services, including maintenance work, or for construction of public projects.

"Local business" means a person or business who has a valid physical business address located within the Coachella Valley, at least six months prior to bid or proposal opening date, from which the person or business operates or performs business on a day-to-day basis and holds a valid business license by a jurisdiction located in the Coachella Valley. Post office boxes are not verifiable and shall not be used for the purpose of establishing such physical address.

"Maintenance work" has the same meaning as contained in Public Contract Code Section 22002, as amended which currently includes routine, recurring and usual work for the preservation or protection of any publicly owned or publicly operated facility for its intended purposes; minor repainting; resurfacing of streets and highways at less than one inch; landscape maintenance, including mowing, watering, trimming, pruning, replacement of plants, and servicing of irrigation and sprinkler systems; or 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 230,000 volts or higher.

"Procurement Cards (P-Cards)" are credit cards issued by the procurement and contracting department which are used to spot purchase items needed to complete City work. P-Cards are also used for City business travel. A separate policy governs the use of the P-Cards.

"Procurement" means the purchasing, renting, leasing, or otherwise acquiring of any supplies, services, or construction. It also includes all functions that pertain to the procurement, including description of requirements, selection, and solicitation of sources, preparation, and award of contract. It is also a reference to the combined functions of purchasing, inventory control, traffic and transportation, receiving, inspection, storekeeping, salvage and disposal operations.

"Professional services" means services provided by a person or business engaged in a profession based on a generally recognized special knowledge, skill, license, and/or certification to perform the work. This includes the services of architectural, landscape architectural, engineering, environmental, land surveying, appraisal, construction project management, financial or other professional services, including, but not limited to, those defined by Government Code Sections 4525 and 4526 as professional services, which defines these services as those of a firm permitted by law to practice the profession of architecture, landscape architecture, engineering, environmental, land surveying, or construction project management.

"Proposal" means: an offer submitted by a proposer in response to a Request for Proposals (RFP), where selection for award is based on criteria specified in the RFP documents.

"Proposer" means any person or business submitting a proposal to the city in response to a Request for Proposals (RFP) issued by the city.

"Public project" has the same meaning as contained in Public Contract Code Section 22002, as amended, which defines a "public project" as:

• (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, the construction erection, improvement or repair of dams, reservoirs, powerplants, and electrical transmission lines of 230,000 volts and higher;

• (d)

• Public project does not include maintenance work.

"Purchase order" means a city-issued document with any necessary terms and conditions, which authorizes the procurement of supplies or services, or for construction of public projects, which encumbers city funds for the payment.

"Purchase requisition" means an electronic procurement request submitted via the city's Enterprise system and submitted by the using department to the procurement and contracting department for the approval of a purchase order for such procurement.

"Quote" means an informal purchasing process that solicits pricing information from several sources.

"Request for Proposals (RFP)" means a document that solicits persons or businesses to submit a proposal to perform the scope of work associated with a proposed project. Cost is not the sole basis for selection in the RFP instead other qualifications including experience, staff experience, understanding of the scope of work, reference, turnaround time and approach to work are important factors when evaluating proposals. Also known as best value method of procurement.

"Request for Qualifications (RFQ)" means a document that solicits persons or businesses to submit information about their qualifications and capabilities to perform the type of work associated with a proposed project, often called "Statements of Qualifications" or "SOQs". The RFQ may be used as a pre-qualification step for receiving a RFP. If a RFQ is issued, only those persons or businesses who successfully respond to the RFQ and meet the qualification criteria stated in the RFQ will be included in the subsequent RFP process or placed on a pre-qualification list for on call work.

"Responder" means any person or business submitting a Statement of Qualifications to the city in response to a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) issued by the city.

"Responsible bidder" means a bidder who has demonstrated the attribute of trustworthiness, as well as quality, fitness, capacity, and experience to satisfactorily perform the public works contract.

"Responsive bid" means a bid or proposal submitted to the city that conforms in all material respects to the solicitation, without material qualification or exceptions, as determined by the city.

"Signature authority" means the level of authorization by which the city council has delegated to the city manager, or such other designee, pursuant to this title, to approve contracts or purchase orders without the prior approval of the city council.

"Solicitation" shall mean the city's process to obtain formal bids, proposals or qualifications as provided in this title for the purchase of supplies, services, or for construction of public projects.

"Specifications" means any city-issued detailed written description of the physical or functional characteristics or of the nature of the supplies to be furnished, the services to be performed, or the construction to be performed on a public project. Specifications shall promote overall economy for the purposes intended and encourage competition in satisfying the city's needs.

"Surplus property" means personal property no longer needed by city departments for their operations, obsolete property, property in poor or non-working condition, or property that is a by-product (e.g., scrap metal, used tires, and oil, etc.). (Ord. 2108, 1/23/2025)