(a)

1. (1) Most grantees funded by this grant program must use competitive bidding to purchase goods, services, materials, and labor.
2. (2) Competitive sealed bidding is required for the purchase of any construction-related goods and services of ten thousand dollars and one cent ($10,000.01) or more.
3. (3) All procurement of construction-related products and services from one thousand dollars and one cent ($1,000.01) to ten thousand dollars and one cent ($10,000.01) shall be done by soliciting competitive quote bids by telephone or in writing from at least three (3) qualified vendors.

(c) Invitation to bid.

1. (1)

   1. (A) For projects costing more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), the grantee must seek bids by placing an advertisement once each week for at least two (2) consecutive weeks in a publication that has general circulation in the county where the work is to be performed.
   2. (B) Bid date must be at least one (1) week following last advertisement.
   3. (C) The grantee may also use additional advertising sources.

2. (2)

   1. (A) If a bid bond is required, the amount may be stated as a percentage.
   2. (B) If the contract does not require a performance bond, the bid bond will be held until final acceptance and completion of the contract by payment in full.

3. (3)

   1. (A) The advertisement shall state that the advertiser reserves the right to waive any formalities or reject any or all bids, as well as any other pertinent facts or information that may be necessary.
   2. (B) The advertisement shall:

(i) Include a general description of the goods or services to be procured;

1. (ii) State where bid documents may be obtained;

   1. (iii) State the date, time, and place of bid opening; and

      1. (iv) Inform bidders that:

(b) (b) Relevant rules, restrictions, and applicable laws apply.

1. (4) If, having advertised for bids, no bids are received by the date of the bid closing, the grantee must advertise for the goods and/or services to be procured a second time, with a second bid closing date established in accordance with this part.

2. (5)

   1. (A) Bids shall be opened at the time and place designated in the public notices and the invitation for bid.
   2. (B) When practical, the names of the bidders and the amounts of their bids may be read aloud.
   3. (C) Except where it may be deemed impractical due to the nature or complexity of any invitation for bids, an abstract of bids that contains the amount of each bid and the name of the bidder shall be prepared for each invitation for bids.

   4. (D) An abstract of bids shall be:

      1. (i) Retained in the bid file; and
      2. (ii) Available for public inspection.
      3. (d) Competitive negotiation.
3. (1) Competitive negotiation may be used if conditions are not appropriate for the use of formal advertising.

4. (2) In competitive negotiation:

   1. (A) Proposals are requested from a number of sources and the request for proposals is publicized;
   2. (B) Negotiations are normally conducted with more than one (1) of the sources submitting offers; and
   3. (C) Either a fixed-price or cost­reimbursable type contract is awarded, as appropriate.

5. (3) If competitive negotiation is used for procurement under a grant, the following requirements shall apply:

   1. (A)

      1. (i) Proposals shall be solicited from an adequate number of qualified sources to permit reasonable competition consistent with the nature and requirement of the procurement.
      2. (ii) The request for proposals shall be advertised a minimum of five (5) days statewide, and reasonable requests by other sources to compete shall be honored to the maximum extent practical.
      3. (iii) The request for proposals shall identify all significant evaluation factors.
      4. (iv) This identification must include the:

(b) (b) Relative importance attached to price or cost;

1. (B) The grantee shall provide mechanisms for:

   1. (i) Technical evaluation of the proposals received;

      1. (ii) Determination of responsible offers for the purpose of written or oral discussions; and
      2. (iii) Selection for contract award;

   2. (C)

      1. (i) Award may be made to the responsible offering party whose proposal will be most advantageous to the procuring party, price and other factors considered.
      2. (ii) Unsuccessful offers should be notified promptly; and
   3. (D) Grantees may utilize competitive negotiation procedures for procurement of architectural, engineering, archeological, and other professional services, whereby competitor's qualifications are evaluated and the most qualified competitor is selected, subject to negotiation of fair and reasonable compensation.

(e) Noncompetitive negotiation.

1. (1) Noncompetitive negotiation may be used when the award of a contract is not feasible under competitive bidding (formal advertising) or competitive negotiation procedures.
2. (2) Noncompetitive negotiation is procurement by soliciting a proposal from only one (1) source or when, after soliciting a number of sources, it becomes apparent the competition is not adequate.

3. (3) Circumstances under which a contract may be awarded by noncompetitive negotiation are limited to the following:

   1. (A) The item is available only from a single source;
   2. (B) Public exigency or emergency when the urgency for the requirement will not permit a delay incident to competitive solicitation; and
   3. (C) After solicitation of a number of sources, competition is determined inadequate.
4. (4) Single-source contracts must be approved by the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program.

(f) Bid documentation. The following bid documentation is required, and a copy must be provided to the program:

1. (1) Dated copies of all required advertisements;
2. (2) Dated copies of all sealed bids received;
3. (3) Names and addresses of all vendors contacted for quote bids;
4. (4) Quotes from all bids;
5. (5) Documentation of negotiations for negotiated contracts; and
6. (6) Justification for why the lowest bid was not accepted, if such was the case.

(g) Bid acceptance and award.

1. (1) An award may be made to the lowest aggregate bidder for all items, group of items, or an individual item basis, whichever is deemed to be in the best interest of the project.
2. (2) The right to reject any and all bids and to waive technicalities and minor irregularities in bids should be allowed.

3. (3)

   1. (A) After a reasonable evaluation period, the contract shall be awarded to the responsive and responsible bidder who submitted the lowest bid that meets the requirements and criteria set forth in the invitation for bids.
   2. (B) If after evaluation of the bids, including consideration of any clarifying or explanatory information submitted by the bidders, it is determined that no satisfactory bid has been received, all bids may be rejected.
   3. (C) If all bids are rejected, the grantee must readvertise for the goods and/or services to be provided in accordance with this part.