TRANSMITTAL LETTER FOR BOARD MEETING OF JULY 13, 2023
COMMITTEE ON PROCUREMENT
Mr. Brian A. Perkovich, Executive Director
Title
Issue purchase order and enter into an agreement for Contract 22-RFP-20 Conduct a Full-Scale Trial of Additives to Reduce Odor and Solids at the Thornton Composite Reservoir, with OptimaBiome LLC in an amount not to exceed $936,400.00, Account 101-16000-612430, Requisition 1587946
Body
Dear Sir:
Authorization is requested to issue a purchase order and enter into an agreement with OptimaBiome LLC (OptimaBiome) to conduct a full-scale trial of additives to promote odor and solids reduction at the Thornton Composite Reservoir (TCR).
Professional services are required to develop and conduct a full-scale trial for mitigating odors and reducing solids by introducing additives at the TCR. This work is in line with the District’s Strategic Plan and is a success measure under Strategic Goal #4: Community Engagement. More specifically, this contract will provide a test plan for conducting a full-scale trial, which will include dosing conditions, volume of additive product to be applied, methods of application, list of necessary equipment, and a description of how performance will be monitored and assessed. The contract will also include the full-scale trial. Multiple dosing of additivities is expected during the duration of the contract. The vendor will be responsible for providing sufficient evidence that the evaluation was successful.
On January 11, 2023, Contract 22-RFP-20 was publicly advertised. Four hundred forty-one (441) firms were notified and thirty (30) requested proposal documents. Seven (7) acceptable proposals were received on February 10, 2023. Acceptable bids were received from Aqua Natural Solutions and Ecological Laboratories, Inc.; BOTRAN Technology, LLC; IHC Construction Companies, LLC; The Lakepointe Environmental Group, Inc; NRP Products, LLC; OptimaBiome, LLC; and SciCorp International Corp.
The proposals were evaluated by a panel consisting of two (2) members from the Monitoring and Research Department, one (1) member from the Maintenance and Operations Department, one (1) member from the Engineering Department, and one (1) member from the Procurement and Materials Management Department. The criteria for these evaluations were outlined in Request for Proposal 22-RFP-20 and included: understanding of the project, proposed product(s), approach to the work, cost of services, technical competence, financial stability, team effectiveness, compliance with insurance requirements, compliance with affirmative action requirements, and submission of all necessary licenses and permits. Following the preliminary evaluation of proposals, excluding cost, three proposers were deemed to be finalists and were invited to interviews conducted on March 28, 2023. On April 6, 2023, a solicitation was sent to the finalists requesting an unqualified “best and final” offer. The “best and final” offers were submitted to the Director of Procurement and Materials Management on April 14, 2023.
A final evaluation matrix, including the review of proposals, interviews, and the best and final offers, resulted in an overall top ranking for OptimaBiome. OptimaBiome’s high score was a result of their experience in odor control, application method, and product.
The agreement for Contract 22-RFP-20 will be in effect from the date of the award through December 31, 2025.
A technical memorandum summarizing the conditions when chemical additive applications should occur, volume of product to be applied, method of application, necessary equipment, and detailed method(s) for assessing product performance, and implementation schedule for set up and application will be provided by the vendor. Other technical memoranda will be provided on the methods, results, discussion, and conclusions following application of the chemical additives.
OptimaBiome estimates that two doses are required to provide the remediation effects sought for the TCR. An estimated five people from OptimaBiome and their partners will be working on this project. OptimaBiome partners include Drylet, Inc.
OptimaBiome will fulfill the 10% Minority Business Enterprises and 10% Small Business Enterprises requirement. The Diversity Section reviewed the agreement and concluded that OptimaBiome is in accordance with the District’s Affirmative Action Policy.
Inasmuch as OptimaBiome possesses a high degree of professional skill, it is recommended that the Director of Procurement and Materials Management be authorized to issue a purchase order and enter into an agreement per Section 11.4 of the Purchasing Act in an amount not to exceed $936,400.00.
Funds in the amount of $10,000.00 for the 2023 expenditure are available in Account 101-16000-612430. The estimated expenditure for 2024 is $463,200.00, and 2025 is $463,200.00, and are contingent upon the Board of Commissioners’ approval of the District’s budget for those years.
Requested, Edward W. Podczerwinski, Director of Monitoring and Research, EWP:RA:JSG:DB:mb
Recommended, Darlene A. LoCascio, Director of Procurement and Materials Management
Respectfully Submitted, Marcelino Garcia, Chairman Committee on Procurement
Disposition of this agenda item will be documented in the official Regular Board Meeting Minutes of the Board of Commissioners for July 13, 2023
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