M 41-10 Page 1-19 Award and Execution of Contract 1-031-03 Award and Execution of Contract
1-03.1 Consideration of Bids
After opening and reading Proposals, the Contracting Agency will check them for correctness of extensions of the prices per unit and the total price. If a discrepancy exists between the price per unit and the extended amount of any Bid item, the price per unit will control. The total of extensions, corrected where necessary, will be used by the Contracting Agency for Award purposes and to fix the amount of the Contract Bond. The right is reserved by the Contracting Agency to waive informalities in the bidding, accept a Proposal of the lowest responsible Bidder, reject any or all Bids, republish the call for Bids, revise or cancel the Work, or require the Work to be done in another way if the best interest of the Contracting Agency is served. A Bidder who wishes to claim error after the Bids have been publicly opened and read as required by RCW 47.28.090 shall promptly notify the Contracting Agency that an error occurred. The Bidder shall submit a notarized affidavit or declaration under penalty of perjury signed by the Bidder and accompanied by the work sheets used in the preparation of the Bid, requesting relief from the responsibilities of Award. The affidavit or declaration shall describe the specific error(s) and certify that the work sheets are the ones used in preparing the Bid. The affidavit or declaration shall be submitted no later than 5:00 p.m. on the first business day after Bid opening or the claim will not be considered. The Contracting Agency will review the affidavit or declaration and the certified work sheets to determine the validity of the claimed error and if the error is of the kind for which the law allows relief from forfeiture of the Bid deposit. If the Contracting Agency concurs in the claim of error and determines that the error is of the kind that allows relief from forfeiture, the Bidder will be relieved of responsibility and the Bid deposit of the Bidder will be returned. If the Contracting Agency does not concur in the error or determines that the error is not the kind for which the law allows relief, the Contracting Agency may Award the Contract and if the Bidder refuses to execute the Contract, the Bidder’s Bid deposit shall be forfeited as required by RCW 47.28.100 .
1-03.1(1) Identical Bid Totals
After opening Bids, if two or more lowest responsive Bid totals are exactly equal, then the tie-breaker will be determined by drawing as described in this section. Two or more slips of paper will be marked as follows: one marked “Winner” and the other(s) marked “unsuccessful”. The slips will be folded to make the marking unseen. The slips will be placed inside a box. One authorized representative of each Bidder shall draw a slip from the box. Bidders shall draw in alphabetic order by the name of the firm as registered with the Washington State Department of Licensing. The slips shall be unfolded and the firm with the slip marked “Winner” will be determined to be the successful Bidder and eligible for Award of the Contract. Only those Bidders who submitted a Bid total that is exactly equal to the lowest responsive Bid are eligible to draw.
1-03.2 Award of Contract
Normally, Contract Award or Bid rejection will occur within 45 calendar days after Bid opening. If the lowest responsible Bidder and the Contracting Agency agree, this deadline may be extended. If they cannot agree on an extension by the 45 calendar day deadline, the Contracting Agency reserves the right to Award the Contract to the next lowest responsible Bidder or reject all Bids. The Contracting Agency will notify the successful Bidder of the Contract Award in writing. Page 1-20 M 41-10
1-03 Award and Execution of Contract1-03.3 Execution of Contract
Within 3 calendar days of Award date (not including Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays), the successful Bidder shall provide the information necessary to execute the Contract electronically to the Contracting Agency. The Bidder shall send the contact information, including the full name, email address, and phone number, for the authorized signer and bonding agent to the Contracting Agency at CAPS@wsdot.wa.gov . Within 20 calendar days after the Award date, the successful Bidder shall return the signed Contracting Agency-prepared Contract, an insurance certification as required by Section 1-07.18 , a satisfactory bond as required by law and Section 1-03.4 , the Transfer of Coverage form for the Construction Stormwater General Permit with sections I, III, and VIII completed when provided, and shall be registered as a contractor in the state of Washington. Until the Contracting Agency executes a Contract, no Proposal shall bind the Contracting Agency, nor shall any Work begin within the project limits or within Contracting Agency- furnished sites. The Contractor shall bear all risks for Work begun outside such areas and for all materials ordered before the Contract is executed by the Contracting Agency. If the Bidder experiences circumstances beyond their control that prevents return of the Contract documents within 20 calendar days after the Award date, the Contracting Agency may grant up to a maximum of 20 additional calendar days for return of the documents, provided the Contracting Agency deems the circumstances warrant it.
1-03.4 Contract Bond
The successful Bidder shall provide an executed Contract Bond for the full Contract amount. This Contract Bond shall:
1.Be on a Contracting Agency-furnished form;
2.Be signed by an approved Surety (or Sureties) that:
a.Is registered with the Washington State Insurance Commissioner; and
b.Appears on the current Authorized Insurance List in the State of Washington published by the Office of the Insurance Commissioner,
3.Be conditioned upon the faithful performance of the Contract by the Contractor within the prescribed time;
4.Be conditioned upon the payment of taxes, increases, and penalties incurred on the project under titles 50, 51, and rcw 47. ; and
5.Guarantee that the Surety shall indemnify, defend, and protect the Contracting Agency against all claims of direct or indirect loss resulting from the failure:
a.Of the Contractor (or the employees or subcontractors) to faithfully perform the Contract; or
b.Of the Contractor (or the subcontractors) to pay all laborers, mechanics, all subcontractors, material persons, and all other persons who provides supplies or provisions for carrying out the Work. The Contracting Agency may require Sureties or Surety companies on the Contract Bond to appear and qualify themselves. Whenever the Contracting Agency deems the Surety or Sureties to be inadequate, it may, upon written demand, require the Contractor to furnish additional Surety to cover all remaining Work. Until the added Surety is furnished, payments on the Contract will stop. M 41-10 Page 1-21 Award and Execution of Contract 1-031-03.5 Failure to Execute Contract Failure to return the insurance certification and bond with the signed Contract as required in Section 1-03.3 , or failure to provide Disadvantaged, Minority or Women’s Business Enterprise information if required in the Contract, or failure or refusal to sign the Contract, or failure to register as a contractor in the state of Washington, or failure to return the completed Transfer of Coverage for the Construction Stormwater General Permit to the Contracting Agency when provided shall result in forfeiture of the proposal bond or deposit of this Bidder. If this should occur, the Contracting Agency may then Award the Contract to the second lowest responsible Bidder or reject all remaining Bids. If the second lowest responsible Bidder fails to return the required documents as stated above within the time provided after Award, the Contract may then be Awarded successively in a like manner to the remaining lowest responsible Bidders until the above requirements are met or the remaining Proposals are rejected.
1-03.6 Return of Bid Deposit
When Proposals have been examined and corrected as necessary, proposal bonds and deposits accompanying Proposals ineligible for further consideration will be returned. All other proposal bonds and deposits will be held until the Contract has been properly executed. When the Contract has been properly executed, all remaining deposits or bonds, except those subject to forfeiture, will be returned.
1-03.7 Judicial Review
All decisions made by the Contracting Agency regarding the Award and execution of the Contract or Bid rejection shall be conclusive subject to the scope of judicial review permitted under Washington Law. Such review, if any, shall be timely filed in the Superior Court of Thurston County, Washington.
Source: Washington Standard Specifications for Road, Bridge, and Municipal Construction, 2024 Edition. Pages 71–73 of 1,151.