Planning Bid and Contract Award Schedules

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Guidance for Planning Bid and Contract Award Schedules

This document has been prepared to provide information in order to better understand the bidding and contract award time frames.

It can take up to 14 weeks from submission of the Notice to Bidders for publication to the Notice to Proceed. The entire schedule hinges around timing the process to coincide with Public Works Committee and Council meeting dates. Our internal procedures for advertising, awarding, and approval of contracts determine how the schedule will progress. The following schedule applies for projects solely governed by Overland Park requirements. Projects involving KDOT, Johnson County CARS or SMAC, or other agencies may involve additional requirements. If you have a special case or need more information, please contact the Contract Specialists.

The critical path is as follows:

Review of Contract Documents – At least 5 to 7 days prior to publication of the Notice to Bidders, the project manager and contract specialist need to review the contract documents to ensure accuracy.

• Week 1 - Thursday - The Notice to Bidders will be prepared by the contract specialist and reviewed by the project manager. The Notice is provided to the City Clerk, no later than 10:00 a.m., so publication can be arranged for the following Tuesday edition of The Legal Record. Try to allow 14 to 21 days from date of publication to date of bid opening for preparation of bids.

• Week 2 - Tuesday - Notice to Bidders published in The Legal Record. The Contract Specialist must have a full set of final bid documents, including plan sheets, no later than 2:00 p.m. on this day. The Contract Specialist will upload the bidding documents to QuestCDN.com. The Notice to Bidders will be provided to those Contractors on the Bidders List either by email or by regular mail.

• Week 3 or early part of Week 4 – Hold the pre-bid meeting. Any pre-bid meeting should be held in sufficient time that if defects in the contract documents are noted, an addendum can be issued.

• Week 4 - Thursday - Any addenda must be uploaded to QuestCDN.com by the end of this day, which is 4 days prior to bid opening, unless the bid date is being postponed.

• Week 5 - Tuesday - Bid opening, held at 2:00 p.m. in City Hall. Bids must be provided through QuestCDN.com.

The next steps will happen in conjunction with the Public Works Committee agenda deadline dates. These can happen immediately after the bid opening or up to 4 weeks after opening.

• Week 5 up through Week 9 - Project Manager/Consultant review the bids and provide their recommendation to the Public Works Committee in the Staff Comments.

• Week 10 - Monday – Public Works Committee recommendation is provided to the full Governing Body at the Council meeting. NOTE: The Governing Body regularly meets the 1st and 3rd Monday's of the month, but it is not unusual for meetings to be cancelled in certain months when conflicts arise with holidays or other events. Project managers should check the Council meeting schedule periodically to determine if the anticipated meeting is still planned.

• Week 10 - Tuesday - Contract Specialist will have the prepared contracts ready for execution by the successful contractor. Contractor is notified they have been awarded the contract and they have 10 days to return executed contracts.

• Week 11 - Friday - Final date for contracts to be returned from successful bidder. If the contractor returns the contracts sooner, the remaining items may all be moved up and notice to proceed issued more quickly.

• Week 12 - Monday - Contract documents are reviewed by the contract specialist and given to the Law Department for approval. The contracts are then forwarded to the Mayor for signature.

• Week 12 - Wednesday - Contracts returned to Public Works with Mayor's signature.

• Week 13 - Project Manager will hold the pre-construction meeting. Contractor's copy is returned to them at this meeting.

• Week 14 - If contracts have been executed, video/photos received and schedule received, the Notice to Proceed and be issued.