§ 3.16.120. Bid protest procedures.

An unsuccessful bidder must follow these procedures:

A.

Bidders must timely protest defects in a request for proposal (RFP), invitation to bid/request (ITB), and/or request for qualifications (RFQ). If a timely protest is not submitted, bidders may not subsequently raise the issue in a bid protest.

B.

Unsuccessful bidders may protest the intended contract award only upon the grounds that they would have been eligible for the award of the contract if the city had evaluated the unsuccessful proposal correctly or if the city had correctly followed the procedures of the Kotzebue Municipal Code and/or the bid and contract documents. However, if an unsuccessful bidder's bid does not comply with the RFP/ITB/RFQ requirements, the unsuccessful bidder may not protest that its bid should have been selected.

C.

Unsuccessful bidders may file a written protest with the city manager, no later than five working days after the issuance of an intent to award.

D.

The protest shall be accompanied by:

1.

A certified check, bank or teller's check or money order payable to the City of Kotzebue in the amount applicable to the nature of the value of the contract award, as follows:

a.

Five percent of the protester's bid, up to a maximum of seventy-five thousand dollars; or

b.

In the case where the protestor did not submit a bid, five percent of the lowest responsive and responsible bid received by the city, up to a maximum of seventy-five thousand dollars; or

c.

In the case of an RFP, ITB or RFQ, the following amount based on the city's estimation of the value of such contract:

i.\Greater than seven thousand five hundred dollars and less than twenty-five thousand dollars ..... $2,000.00

ii.\Equal to or greater than twenty-five thousand dollars and less than one hundred thousand dollars ..... 2,500.00

iii.\One hundred thousand dollars and greater ..... 3,500.00

Such fee shall be returned if the bid protest is upheld otherwise the fee is nonrefundable if the protest is dismissed or the protest is denied; and,

2.

A detailed description of the nature of the protest, the issues, a statement of facts and any further supporting documentation which might prove helpful to the city.

E.

The bid protest shall be addressed as follows:

Bid Protest for RFP ____________ , or;
Bid Protest for ITB ____________ , or;
Bid Protest for RFQ ____________
City Manager
P.O. Box 46
Kotzebue, Alaska 99752-0046

or

258A Third Avenue
Kotzebue, Alaska 99752

Faxed or emailed bid protests will not be accepted.

F.

If a protest is timely filed, the contract shall not be awarded until either the protest has been withdrawn or the city manager has decided the matter.

G.

The unsuccessful bidder bears the burden of proof and must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that it is the lowest responsive, responsible bidder meeting specifications of the RFP/ITB/RFQ in order for the protest to be granted.

H.

The city may dismiss the protest if the detailed statement of protest as set out in D.2. above, is not timely filed, if the bid protest does not include the check/money order required by D.1. above, if the detailed description of the protest fails to support the bid protest or if the bid protest is entirely without merit.

I.

The city shall review the information relevant to the bid protest and shall render a decision on the protest, with the advice of the city attorney and the city's engineer, in a prompt manner but not later than thirty days after the protest was received.

J.

All documentation concerning the bid protest and the decision shall be retained by the city.

K.

The decision of the city manager on the bid protest shall be final and conclusive. However, if the city manager upholds the protest and determines that the contract should have been awarded to the successful bid protester, the matter must go back to the city council for review and approval before a final award can be made.

(Ord. No. 08-09, § 3(Exh. A), 6-5-2008)