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<br />. <br />((D) <br /> <br />OIARLOTTE~ <br /> <br />PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT CONTRACTS <br />Solicitation Summary <br /> <br />'ackl:!round <br />In the Spring of2003, U.S. Communities Government Purchasing Alliance selected Charlotte-Mecklenburg <br />Procurement Services as a Lead Public Agency to solicit proposals from qualified companies to enter into a <br />Master Agreement to provide a complete line of Park and Playground Equipment, Surfacing Materials, Site <br />Furnishings and related services including, but not limited to, installation, layout, design and inspections. <br /> <br />U.S. Communities is a non-profit public benefit corporation established by government to provide a national <br />purchasing forum for public agencies nationwide. U.S. Conununities is jointly sponsored by the Nationa! <br />Institute ofGovemmental Purchasing (NIGP), the National Association of Counties (NACo), the National <br />League of Cities (NLC). the Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO), and the United <br />Slates Conference o[Mayors (USCM). U.S. Commucities has a multi~state Advisory Board consisting of <br />r'~presentatives from public agencies and associations including John Trunk, Charlotte-Mecklenburg <br />Procurement Services Director. <br /> <br />By providing a comprehensive and competitively solicited Master Agreement through a single bid process, <br />govermnent agencies, school districts, and institutions of higher education or authorities in all fifty (50) states <br />can utilize the subsequent contract Wirllout the need for further solicitation. <br /> <br />Combining the volumes of government agencies nationwide achieves cost effective pricing and reduces the <br />administrative and overhead costs of suppliers and government agencies alike. All suppliers awarded contracts <br />must sign a commitment that the U.S. Communities pricing is the lowest available to local agencies nationwide <br />and a further commitment that, if an agency is eligible for lower pricing through a siate, regional or local <br />contract, the supplier will match the pricing under U.S. Communiti.es. <br /> <br />11.11 contracts let through U.S. Communities are convenience contracts and do not preempt public agencies from <br />using other contract vehicles or competitive processes as required by individual state law. <br /> <br />~olicitationProcess <br />A Request for Proposals tRFP) was issued in accordance with NC State Statutes (G.S. 143-129) on 4121/03. <br />. We advertised the solicitation in the Charlotte Observer (COP)' enclosed) and posted on the NC <br />Interactive Purchasing System website at: \\lww.ips.state.nc.us. <br /> <br />. A Pre-proposal conference was held to review specifications and aHo',', the suppliers to ask questicns <br />pertaining to the bid process or specifications. (Although law does not require a pre-bid/proposal, it is <br />our practice to conduct pre-proposals. We actually scheduled a second pre-proposal meeting to <br />encourage corporate representatives versus local distributors to attend so we could adequately prepare a <br />competitive and comprehensive proposal that would work nationwi<ie. <br /> <br />. We received seven (7) sealed proposals in response to the RFP from the following: <br />o Gametime <br />o Landscape Structures <br />o Little Tikes <br />o Playworld <br />o Castle Rock <br />