6100 Southport Road, Portage, Indiana 46368 www.nirpc.org
Phone: (219) 763-6060
Fax: (219) 762-1653
“Together We Make the Difference”
RFP # 17-16
Description: Legal Services
Method of Procurement: Competitive Negotiation Date Issued: August 1, 2017
Issued by: Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission 6100 Southport Road, Portage, Indiana 46368
Phone: (219) 763-6060
Fax: (219) 762-1653
Submit to: Lisa Todd, Procurement Coordinator NIRPC
6100 Southport Road
Portage, IN 46368
Contact: Lisa Todd, Procurement Coordinator ltodd@nirpc.org
Budget: Contract amount will be based on budgetary constraints.
Deadline: September 1, 2017 at 12:00 noon CST
The Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission, hereinafter referred to as the Commission, is requesting proposals under the terms, conditions, and specifications contained in this solicitation. The Commission anticipates that this solicitation will result in a contract between the Commission and the successful Party. The award of such a contract shall be to the responsible party whose proposals are deemed to be the most responsive to this solicitation according to the evaluation criteria contained within. A fixed-price type contract shall be awarded to the chosen party with whom negotiations have been successful. The Commission reserves the right to reject any and all solicitation packets.
Before signing a contract, the Party shall familiarize itself with the Scope of Work, laws, regulations, and other factors affecting the performance of work. It shall carefully correlate its observations with requirements of the solicitation and contract and otherwise satisfy itself as to the expense and difficulties attending the performance of the work. The signing of a contract will constitute a representation of compliance by the Party. There will be no subsequent financial adjustment, other than that provided by the contract for lack of such familiarization.
The Commission is a multi-purpose, area-wide planning agency representing local government within Lake, Porter, and LaPorte counties in Indiana. It is governed by a board of fifty-three commissioners, all being elected officials. The 1,520 square mile planning area has a population of over 775,000 (according to the 2010 decennial census). There are forty-one cities and towns and forty-four townships within the NIRPC planning area.
The Commission provides a wide range of services to communities and organizations within its planning area. These include the dissemination of technical data, the maintenance of planning certifications qualifying the region for state and federal aid, the conduct and undertaking of planning and development studies, and the general provision of staff services to assist local governments.
The Commission is the designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for transportation planning in Northwestern Indiana.
The following list of activities is intended to be used as a starting point in the development of a contract for legal services. The Commission reserves the right to modify the contract if changes occur. The following is a general description of the legal services for which the retained party will be responsible:
Preparing for and attending all regularly scheduled, special or adjourned meetings of the Commission as from time to time may be called at the discretion of the Commission.
Preparing for and attending all regularly scheduled, special or adjourned meetings of the Executive Board as from time to time may be called at the discretion of the Executive Director.
Preparing for and attending all meetings of the Finance and Personnel Committee of the Commission when requested.
Providing legal services, counsel, consultation, and advice to the Commission and its staff on matters that arise during the ongoing course of business of the Commission. Such work to be included but not be limited to review and approval of agreements, contracts, and leases. Work to include written legal opinions.
Provide legal services, advice, consultation and opinions with regard to extraordinary matters confronted by the Commission and its staff.
Representation of the Commission in matters pertaining to court appearances, administrative boards, and agencies.
The term of the Agreement for services is anticipated to cover a period of one year with the option for the Commission to extend the contract for up to a period of four additional years.
Responding Parties must include the following information in the order outlined below in their submission. If there are items that are not covered below use your own discretion and add those items on a separate page. The response must include and are to be evaluated on the basis of:
Name of attorney or firm;
Full address of attorney or firm’s principal office;
Attorney or firm’s telephone number;
Name(s), telephone number(s), fax number(s), and address if different from above, of primary contact(s) in the responding Parties’ firm with the responsibility for responding to this solicitation and to who matters regarding this solicitation, should be directed;
Brief description of attorney or firm including its proximity to NIRPC;
A one page narrative as to the attorney or firm’s interest, particular abilities and qualifications related to this request;
Statement of experience and demonstrated success. Explain the background of the attorney or firm and its principals. Describe relevant legal services experience, including similar experience with other public agencies or not-for-profit organizations;
References. Provide complete contact information for at least three prior clients, preferably public agencies or not-for-profit organizations which the attorney or firm has worked with on similar assignments within the past three years.
A fee schedule;
Copies of relevant certifications and qualifications.
Proposal Responses and a Fee Schedule will be received at the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission, 6100 Southport Road, Portage, IN 46368 until September 1, 2017, at 12:00 P.M., CST
Interested Parties must submit an electronic copy of the solicitation response packet on a USB flash drive and fifteen (15) printed copies of the response packet in sealed envelopes marked RFP 17-16 Legal Services
Proposals will be subject to an initial review by the Commission’s staff. Parties shall be deemed responsive if they conform to the essential requirements of this proposal document which includes the specifications, terms, and conditions to be met.
All submitted solicitations will then be reviewed by the Selection Committee and a short list of the proposals scoring highest (through the application of the evaluation criteria) will be developed. Where there are apparent deficiencies, ambiguities and uncertainties present in the proposals, the Commission may engage in discussions, in the manner most appropriate (either via writing or verbally) with interested Parties for the sole purpose of addressing these deficiencies, ambiguities, and uncertainties.
Parties who are on the short list may be asked to make an oral presentation to the Selection Committee. Final selection of the successful attorney or firm, in this case, will be made after oral presentations are received from each Party on the short list.
Notwithstanding the above, the Commission reserved the right to select one Party based on the original submission of the Proposals, without negotiations with any Parties or without oral presentations, The Commission further reserves the right to request cost information from the Parties.
The following criteria will be used in evaluating responsive proposals submitted in response to this RFP. The relative importance is shown in ascending order:
Legal Counsel experience and demonstrated expertise in practicing law in the sphere of public administration (50 points)
Qualifications (35 points)
Price (15 points)
After evaluating the proposals, the Selection Committee may wish to interview the top scoring Parties, the interviews will be scheduled at a date to be determined (TBD) if deemed necessary. Interviews, if necessary, will be held at the Commission’s office located in Portage, Indiana.
The legal counsel selected for this project will be that responsible attorney or firm whose solicitation response packet is found to be responsive to this RFP and is most advantageous to the Commission as determined through application of the evaluation criteria shown above. Upon the selection of a legal counsel by the Selection Committee, the Commission’s Board must approve the contract for services. Written notification will be provided to the successful Party only after the Commission’s Executive Board has authorized the award of a contract. Legal counsel will be issued a Notice to Proceed after contract award.
Any question related to this solicitation shall be directed to the Procurement Coordinator whose name appears below. Questions must be submitted in writing no later than August 15, 2017. Any correspondence related to a solicitation must refer to the appropriate solicitation number, page, and paragraph number. Oral interpretations or clarifications will be without legal effect. Only questions answered by formal written solicitation amendment will be binding.
Solicitation packets are “late submissions” when the Contracting Officer receives them after the exact time for the opening. Late submissions will not be considered for award. The Procurement Coordinator shall promptly notify the Party that the packet was received after the due date and will not be considered. Late packets shall be held unopened unless opened for identification, and returned after an award is made.
Lisa Todd, Procurement Coordinator
Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission 6100 Southport Road
Portage, In 46368 ltodd@nirpc.org