Invitation to Bid (ITB) for Professional Office Cleaning Services, # ITB.2024.2025-0001

1. Organization Information

The Early Learning Coalition of the Big Bend Region, Inc. (ELC) operates as a not-for-profit corporation and incorporated as the Leon School Readiness Coalition in 2001 as required by the School Readiness Act of 1999 (F.S. 411.01). In response to legislative requirements, ELC has gone through several transitions, mergers as well as name changes, and expanded its service area to encompass the seven counties it serves today.

Headquartered in Tallahassee, Florida, ELC currently has 48 employees and proudly serves Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Taylor, and Wakulla Counties. A contracted partner with the Florida Department of Education’s (DOE) Division of Early Learning (DEL), ELC is responsible for the administration of the School Readiness (SR), Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) and Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) programs within its service area.

1. Statement of Need

The objective of this Office Cleaning Invitation to Bid (ITB) – #ITB.2024.2025-0001 solicitation is to procure a Contract for a responsive Vendor who will provide professional office cleaning services for ELC’s office located in Quincy, Florida. ELC intends to make a single award. However, ELC retains the right to grant an award to one or more Bidders, or to make no award, as deemed to be in the best interest of the state.

Responsive Proposals will demonstrate Bidder has a minimum of two (2) years of professional office cleaning services and has the staffing capacity to provide these services in a high-quality manner with excellent customer service at a reasonable cost to the organization.

1. Contract Term

The initial Term of the Contract resulting from this solicitation will be for a five-year period. The renewal term may be equal to the term of the original contract or a period not to exceed a combined period of three years, whichever is greater (§ 287.057 Fla. Stat.).

Any renewal is subject to the same terms and conditions set forth in the initial Contract and any written Amendments signed by the parties, contingent upon the satisfactory performance of the Vendor, and subject to the availability of funds.

ELC anticipates the first Term will begin by January 1, 2025, or on the date the Contract is signed by the last party required to sign (“execution date”), whichever is later, and end on December 31, 2029, or five years from the date executed.

ELC may exercise the option to extend the final Term exercised for a period of no more than six months.

1. Definitions

In this ITB, capitalized terms used herein shall have the meanings ascribed thereto in § 287.057 and   411.01, Fla. Stat., and, in addition, the following terms shall have the meanings specified below, unless otherwise expressly provided or unless the context otherwise requires:

Agreement: A legally binding Contract (“Agreement”) between ELC and a Contractor for the provision of commodities (goods and/or services) that includes Terms and Conditions, Scope of Work (SOW), Appendices, Exhibits, Attachment(s), and any Amendments.

Amendment: A document by which substantial changes are made to the terms of an executed Contract. Any Amendments will be incorporated as part of the original Contract.

Attachment: A document or material object added to the Contract’s Proposal.

Bid – The completed bid application form as submitted online using the template provided by ELC.

Bidder – A Vendor who submits a complete/timely application using the template provided by ELC.

Board: ELC’s governing body.

Board Member: A member of ELC’s governing body.

Contract: See Agreement. Contract and Agreement have the same definition and may be used interchangeably throughout the ITB.

Contractor(s): The Vendor(s) selected to provide the goods and/or services outlined in the SOW under the Terms and Conditions of the awarded Contract.

Executive Committee: Committee consisting of ELC officers and committee chairs from ELC’s Board.

Invoice: A standardized form used by Contractor to request payment from ELC which itemizes the completed deliverables and billing rates outlined in the Contract for a specified billing period.

Proposal: A written Proposal prepared in response to this ITB using ELC’s Proposal template which includes all required document uploads.

Scope of Work (SOW): The Scope of Work (SOW) outlines the specific deliverables, timelines, and responsibilities the Contractor must perform in accordance with the executed Agreement.

Term: The initial Term of the Contract resulting from this solicitation will begin on the date the last required party signs ELC’s Professional Service Agreement (Agreement) and end five years from that date. Upon written Agreement, the Contract may be renewed, in whole or in part in accordance with subsection § 287.057(13) Fla. Stat. Any renewal is subject to the same terms and conditions set forth in the initial Contract and any written Amendments signed by the parties. Any renewal is contingent upon the satisfactory performance of the Vendor and subject to the availability of funds.

Vendor: A Bidder who is registered in MyFlorida Market Place (MFMP) or who will register in MFMP prior to contracting with ELC.

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• Timeline of Events

Procurement Schedule		Due Date	Time (EST)
1.	Release ITB in Florida Administrative Registrar (FAR) and on ELC Website	09/30/24	1:00 PM
2.	Deadline to e-mail Letter of Intent (LOI) to apply	10/04/24	5:00 PM
3.	Deadline to e-mail Technical Questions	10/04/24	5:00 PM
4.	Mandatory Vendor Office Visit (15 minutes) *	10/07/24	9:00 AM – 4:30 PM*
5.	Anticipated date to post FAQ’s on ELC’s website (click here to view)	10/07/24	5:00 PM
6.	Proposal due date	10/14/24	1:00 PM
7.	Public opening of Proposals (Zoom Meeting)	10/14/24	1:01 PM
8.	Review Period – Identify Responsive Proposals and Rank-Order Bids on Price	10/14/24 to 10/16/24
9.	Anticipated date to post Notice of Intent to Award (NOIA): click here to view	10/16/24	8:00 AM
10.	Anticipated End of 72 Hour (Three Business Day) period to protest NOIA.	10/21/24	8:00 AM
11.	Anticipated End of 10 Calendar Day Period for Formal Written Protest with 1% Bond	10/30/24	5:00 PM
12.	Anticipated Contract Start Date	01/01/25

*Note: Call 850-901-4188 to schedule your Mandatory Vendor Office Visit (15-minute appointment to view the office). Vendors must complete the Mandatory Office Visit on 10/07/24 or they will be disqualified.

ELC must receive any formal written protest post-marked or hand-delivered before the end of the ten (10) calendar day period (see above Timeline of Events). Any individual or firm submitting a formal written protest must also submit a bond equal to 1% of the Contract value per § 287.042(2) (c) and 120.57(3)(b), Fla. Stat.

Failure to file a formal written protest within the time prescribed in § 120.57(3)(c) Fla. Stat., shall constitute a waiver of proceedings under Chapter 120, Fla. Stat.

Each Proposal will be reviewed to determine it meets all requirements and is responsive. Non-responsive proposals will not be included in the list of rank-ordered proposals based on price (lowest to highest) and these Bidders will receive a notification their Proposals have been disqualified.

In the event of a tie score, both firms will have an equal rank. If Bidders have tie scores in first place, ELC may give preference to Certified Minority Business Enterprises (CMBE). If no CMBEs tie in first place, ELC may negotiate with both firms to determine which firm agrees to the most beneficial terms, conditions, and offers the best price.

Prior to engaging in any Agreement with the successful Bidder (“Contractor”), ELC will conduct reference checks and verify Contractor is not on any state or federal discriminatory, excluded, convicted felon, or debarred lists that would deem its firm ineligible.

ELC reserves the right to select more than one firm from the ITB and engage with them for any part of the work outlined in the SOW.

• General Instructions to Bidders

      Electronic Submission

All Bidders must use the electronic templates provided by ELC to submit their LOI’s and Proposals before the noted deadline date/times.

1. Letter of Intent and Technical Question Form

Complete and submit each form no later than 5:00 p.m., Friday, October 4, 2024 (see links below in each bulleted sub-section).

• Letter of Intent (LOI) Form

Use the below link to the LOI Form to communicate your company’s intent to submit a Proposal in response to this ITB. ELC uses the company name, e-mail address, and contact person information from the LOI Form to efficiently communicate any notices/updates regarding this solicitation to all interested parties.

• https://form.jotform.com/242681539608162
• Technical Questions (Optional Section on LOI Form)

Use the LOI form link to submit your technical questions about the ITB or Required Proposal Template

• https://form.jotform.com/242681539608162
• Required Proposal Template

ELC must receive all electronic Proposals by 1:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST), Monday, October 14, 2024. Use the following link to complete/submit your Proposal:

• https://form.jotform.com/242678409227161

Plan for possible heavy system traffic and submit your Proposals at least one hour prior to the noticed deadline time to avoid having the system reject any late or incomplete Proposals.