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Request for Proposals

LOWELL HOUSING AUTHORITY

Telephone Answering Services, RFP 2020-1B

Release Date: July 23, 2020

Question Due Date: July 30, 2020 at 3:00 p.m.

Responses Due: Thursday, August 6, 2020 at 11:00

a.m.

DIRECT ALL RFP CORRESPONDENCE TO: RITA V. BROUSSEAU, CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICER

LOWELL HOUSING AUTHORITY

DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND PROCUREMENT

[email protected]

www.lhma.org/bids

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.lhma.org/bids

LHA REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS – RFP 2020-1B TELEPHONE ANSWERING SERVICES

Lowell Housing Authority

(350 Moody Street, Lowell, Massachusetts 01854 T. 978-937-3500 TDD 1-800-545-1833 x178 Fax 888-364-8835)

RESPONDENT’S CHECKLIST

Please ensure all documents listed on this checklist are included, and/or acknowledged with your submission. Failure to do so may subject the proposer to

disqualification.

Electronic submission of proposals will not be accepted. All proposals shall be a hard copy mailed or hand delivered to the location specified by the date and time

specified.

TECHNICAL PROPOSAL ENVELOPE SHALL CONTAIN ONE (1) PROPERLY

TABBED ORIGINAL OF THE FOLLOWING:

_____ Respondent’s Checklist (this form)

_____ Properly Tabbed Proposal

_____ W9 Form

_____ Attachments C, D, F, G & J

_____ Acknowledgement of Addenda (submission of copy of addenda issued, if

any)

COST PROPOSAL ENVELOPE SHALL CONTAIN 1 ORIGINAL OF THE FOLLOWING:

_____ Cost Proposal (cost sheet included in bid) Attachment H




Table of Contents

Section Description Page

Introduction

Request for Proposals (RFP) Justification Statement

Key Dates

1.0 General Information & Key Dates 5

2.0 Description of Required Services 8

3.0 Proposal Format 14

4.0 Minimum Evaluation Criteria 22

5.0 Comparative Evaluation Criteria 24

6.0 Contract Award 28

ATTACHMENTS

A HUD Table 5.1

B HUD-5369-B, Instructions to Offerors, Non-Construction

C HUD 5369-C, Certification and Representation of Offerors,

Non-Construction Contract

D Profile of Firm

E HUD-5370-C, General Conditions for Non-Construction

Contracts

F Form of Proposal

G Transmittal Form, Certificate of Authority, Non-Collusion, Tax

Compliance and W9

H Cost/Price Proposal

I Standard LHA Goods & Services Agreement (Sample)

J Certification for Business Concerns Seeking

Section 3 Preference




INTRODUCTION

POLITICAL SUBDIVISION STATUS

The Lowell Housing Authority (the “LHA”) is an autonomous, public housing authority created

in 1937 as a public body politic and corporate with the City of Lowell and a political subdivision

of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Enabling legislation is Massachusetts General Laws,

chapter 121B, et seq. The LHA is governed by a five-member appointed Board of

Commissioners, which is the LHA awarding authority.

HOUSING UNITS

The LHA owns and/or manages 3,167 units of housing comprising of: (a) 1,698 units in federal

family and elderly/disabled housing developments. The HUD-aided properties are managed

under an Asset Management Project model (“AMP”). The LHA has four (4) AMPs and the state-

aided portfolio. (b) 190 units in state housing developments and (c) 1,279 U.S. HUD Section

8 Housing Choice Vouchers. Images of the LHA housing units may be viewed on the website:

www.LHMA.org.

STAFF

The LHA currently employs approximately 98 full and part-time employees, including its

central administration/management, property managers for each of the five property

development areas, and facilities/maintenance staff.

FUNDING

The LHA receives both federal and state grants that supplement its operational expenditures

and support capital improvements. Annual operational spend is approximately $32M with

state and federal capital expenditures of approximately $4M.

CONTRACT BUDGET

The LHA total budget for the services described herein is approximately $30,000.00 annually.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) PROCESS JUSTIFICATION STATEMENT

A competitive RFP solicitation process is an appropriate method of procurement for this

contract. Proposals are evaluated and contractor selection is based on the evaluation criteria

and factors for award as stated within the RFP. Contract award is based on the best (“most

advantageous”) proposal responsive to the requirements of the statement of work resulting

in the greatest benefit and best value to the Lowell Housing Authority, where price is not the

primary award criterion.

The Lowell Housing Authority is utilizing the Request for Proposal method to procure telephone

answering services. The Authority believes that increased value will be gained through an

evaluation process involving factors other than cost. Criteria such as application process,

effective communication and organization, past success rates, client satisfaction and capacity

will maximize total value received. The successful proposer will be required to present a plan

of service that most effectively meets the needs of the LHA and the tenants it serves.

Therefore, an RFP process with a fair and reasonable fee for the service plan to be applied

under Massachusetts General Laws (M.G.L.), chapter 30B, section 6 and the U.S. HUD

Regulations of Title 2, Subtitle A, Chapter II, Part 200, Subpart D (2 CFR 200.317,

“Procurement Standards”).

Therefore, the best option to evaluate qualified telephone answering service vendors is to

compare, weigh and rank the qualitative strengths, experience and approaches to the items

listed in Section 2.0, Description of Required Services, and then review the pricing submitted

in order to select the most qualified vendor for a fair and reasonable cost.

- Rita V. Brousseau, Chief Procurement Officer 07/23/2020

http://www.lhma.org/index.php?option=com_realestatemanager&Itemid=124




KEY DATES:

RFP issued & available to public Thursday, July 23, 2020 @ 9:00 AM

Deadline for submitting questions Thursday, July 30, 2020 @ 3:00 PM

Proposals Due Thursday, August 6, 2020 @ 11:00 AM

Evaluation Committee Kick-off Meeting Friday, August 7, 2020 @ 10:00 AM

Evaluation of proposals August 10 - 17, 2020 EOB

Contract Award September 9, 2020 – Board Meeting

Vendor Start Date TBD

*Regularly scheduled LHA Board Meetings are held at the Armand P. Mercier Community

Center Board Room, 21 Salem St, Lowell, MA on the second Wednesday of every month at

5:00 P.M.

1.0 GENERAL INFORMATION

LHA RESERVATIONS OF RIGHTS

Informal or Ex parte Communications. No verbal or written information which

is obtained other than through this RFP or its addenda shall be binding by

the LHA. With the exception of written instructions and information from the

Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) or designee, no employee of the LHA is

authorized to interpret any portion of this RFP or give information as to the

requirements of the RFP in addition to that contained in or amended to this

written RFP document. Applicant must not make inquiry or communicate

with any other LHA staff member or official (including members of the Board

of Commissioners) pertaining to this RFP. Failure to submit by this

requirement may be cause for the LHA to not consider an application

submittal received from any Applicant who has not submitted by this

directive.

Rejection & Waivers. The LHA reserves the right to reject any or all

proposals, waive technicalities and informalities in the solicitation

process, or to terminate and cancel the solicitation process at any time, if

deemed by the LHA to be in its best interests. The LHA reserves the right

to reject and not consider any proposals that does not conform to or

meet the solicitation requirements in whole or in part, including but not

limited to incomplete proposals, non-specified items and/or non-

requested services.

No Award. The LHA reserves the right not to award a purchase order

agreement or contract pursuant to this solicitation.

Awards. The LHA shall make awards in its best interest and as required by

applicable law, regulation or policy, and to correct any award

erroneously made as a result of a clerical error on the part of the LHA.

Termination. The LHA reserves the right to terminate a contract awarded

pursuant to this solicitation at any time for its convenience upon written

notice to each contractor.




Performance. The LHA reserves the right to determine the days, hours and

locations that the successful bidder(s) shall provide services called for

in this solicitation.

Retention. The LHA reserves the right to retain all proposals submitted and

not permit withdrawal for a period of up 60 days subsequent to the

deadline for receiving proposals without the written consent of the LHA

Chief Procurement Officer (Contracting Officer or CO).

No Compensation. The LHA will not compensate any potential supplier or

vendor for any costs incurred in responding to this solicitation.

Participation. The LHA shall reserve the right to at any time during the

solicitation or contract process to prohibit any further participation by a

prospective contractor or reject any proposals submitted that does not

conform to any of the requirements detailed herein.

Compliance. By receipt of this solicitation each prospective contractor thereby

agrees to abide by all terms and conditions listed within this document

and with all attachments, and further agrees that he/she will inform the

Contracting Officer in writing within five-days of the discovery of any item

listed herein or of any item that is issued thereafter by the LHA that he/she

feels needs to be addressed. Failure to abide by this time frame shall

relieve the LHA, but not the prospective contractor of any responsibility

pertaining to such issue.

Good Faith. By submitting its proposal, the contractor’s representative

certifies under penalties of perjury that this application, the proposal

has been made and submitted in good faith and without collusion or

fraud with any other person. As used in this certification, the word

“person” shall mean any natural person, business, partnership,

corporation, union, committee, club, or other organization, entity, or

group of individuals.

Taxes. Pursuant to M.G.L. Chapter 62C, §49A, the prospective contractor’s

representative hereby certifies, under the penalties of perjury, that, to

the best of his/her knowledge and belief, he/she is in compliance with

all the laws of the Commonwealth relating to taxes, reporting of

employees and contractors, and withholding and remitting child support.

Negotiation of Performance Plans. The LHA reserves the right to negotiate

with the selected proposer the final terms of proposed performance

plans in order to award a contemplated contract. Plan contents subject

to negotiation include scheduling/metrics, staffing assignments,

professional status or training and certification levels of personnel

required for assignments, manner of value calculation and reporting to

achieve consistency and meet Massachusetts and U.S. HUD

methodology and procedural requirements and expectations.

Indemnification. Each Proposer, at its own expense and without exception,

shall indemnify, defend and pay all damages, costs, expenses including

attorney fees and otherwise hold harmless the LHA, and agents from

any liability of any nature or kind in regard to the delivery of services.




Intellectual Property. All proposals, responses, inquiries and correspondence

relating to or in reference to this RFP, and all reports, concepts, data,

information, charts, and other documentation submitted shall inure for

use by and become the property of the LHA when received. If

copyrighted material is submitted, the LHA will presume that the

proposer grants limited release to the LHA in order to make scan or copy

and distribute documents as necessary for official purposes and for

public record requests.

No Conflicts. The Contractor covenants, that (1) presently, there is no

financial interest and shall not acquire any such interest, direct or

indirect, which would conflict in any manner or degree with the

performance of services required to be performed under this Agreement

or which would violate M.G.L. c.268A, as amended; (2) in the

performance of this Contract, no person having any such interest shall

be employed by the Contractor or engaged as a subcontractor by the

contractor; and (3) no partner or employee of the firm is related by

blood or marriage to any Board Member or employee of the Awarding

Authority. See:

https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartIV/TitleI/Chapter268A

HUD Table 5.1 Mandatory Contract Terms for Small Purchases other

than Construction is incorporated in this RFP, see Attachment A and

also applies to subcontractors.

Contract Terms Incorporated Into RFP. The attached Standard Goods and

Services Agreement (ATTACHMENT I) clauses are incorporated into

this RFP as part of its terms and condition requirements as well as the

anticipated award and all activity there under unless otherwise

amended.

1.2 PUBLIC INFORMATION, PROTECTION OF PERSONAL DATA

1.2.1 Proposers are advised that information provided in estimate samples or

other portions of a proposal, and any submission may be subject to

inspection by the public at the conclusion of the evaluation process or

upon the time for acceptance stated in this RFP, whichever comes first.

Proposers are solely responsible for redacting confidential information

from each proposal.

1.2.2 All responses, proposals, related documentation and information

submitted in response to this RFP are subject to the Massachusetts

Freedom of Information Law, M.G.L. c.66 §10, and to M.G.L c.4 §7(26),

regarding public access to such documents. Any statement submitted

by the respondent that purport to reserve any confidentiality or privacy

rights in submitted responses or that are otherwise inconsistent with

these statutes will be void and disregarded.

1.2.3 By submitting its response to the LHA, the Respondent agrees that the

LHA shall not be liable under any circumstances for the subsequent

disclosure of any materials submitted to it by Respondent pursuant to

this RFP and/or in connection with any contract entered into between

Respondent and the LHA as a result of the RFP process.





1.2.4 Further, any selected Respondent must recognize that in the

performance of the LHA Standards Goods and Services Agreement and

any Work Orders issued thereto, it may become a holder of personal

data (as defined in M.G.L. c.66A) or other information deemed

confidential. Respondent shall comply with the laws and regulations

relating to confidentiality and privacy, including any rules or regulations

of the LHA. Any questions concerning issues of confidentiality, the

submission of materials to the LHA, or any other questions related to

these matters, should be directed to LHA’s Chief Operating Officer.

1.3 RECORD KEEPING / INVOICING

1.3.1 The collection, retention, security and transmittal of data are important

for the effective management of this Project. As part of its services, the

Proposer shall have a reporting and recordkeeping plan so that the LHA

may track work progress as close to real time as possible.

1.3.2 Invoices will reference supporting back-up documentation. LHA will pay

invoices, “Net thirty (30) days”, after acceptance of each invoice. All

invoicing is subject to the LHA Standard Goods and Services Agreement

(“Agreement)

2.0 DESCRIPTION OF REQUIRED SERIVCES

All proposals submitted on June 3, 2020 have been rejected and LHA re-

invites vendors interested in providing the services described herein. The

answering service’s main objective is to quickly and professionally triage and

dispatch all calls received from both staff members and tenants. Ultimately, the goal

is to deliver 100% of calls error-free.

For the purpose of this contract the definition of an outbound call is: “when the

service receives a call (from a tenant, fire department, police department, etc.) It

takes the information down, hangs up, triages the call and then places a call to the

appropriate LHA staff to report the emergency call.”

Call Data. The answering service on average will receive 1717 calls

(approximately 1717 inbound calls and approximately 398 outbound calls) in a

given month (a month being the 1st through the 30th/31st of a month and

not 30/31 days that cross months). Each invoicing shall reflect one complete

month (i.e., January 1 – 31).

Average Handle Time (AHT). This information was not available at the time of

this RFP. A bid addendum listing this information will be issued when it is available.

Knowledge Base. LHA does not have a knowledge base platform. All common

maintenance calls are immediately routed to the property managers via phone or

email. For all common maintenance calls that occur after working hours as defined

in the RFP, the answering service shall respond by telling the caller to call back the

next day during working hours. For all emergency calls as listed below, the call shall

be routed to the Property Manager and then follow the protocol listed in this RFP. A

list of emergency maintenance call listings and a duty roster will be provided to the

awarded contractor. Please see pages 8-9 of the RFP package for examples of

routine maintenance examples.

MAINTENANCE EMERGENCY

Fires of any kind (call 911) Door or window lock failure




Gas leaks or Gas odor (call 912) No heat

Electric power failures No hot water

Electrical Hazards, sparking outlets Snow or ice storm

Broken water pipes or flooding Dangerous structural conditions

No water or unsafe water Inopoerable smoke or CO detectors,

Beeping or chirping detectors

Sewer or toilet blockage Elevator stoppage or entrapment

Roof leaks

Lock outs

CRM. LHA does not have a CRM in place. If a vendor would like to propose a CRM

solution in their plan of service, they may do so.

2.1 COMPUTERIZED DATABASES the vendor must maintain a database that

includes the following information:

2.2.1. Emergency Maintenance Call Listings. This list will be provided by

the LHA and includes maintenance staff, Supervisors, key personnel

and outside services vendors. All changes in call listings will be

forwarded to vendor via email or fax. All changes sent to the vendor

must be promptly entered into computer database and reported to

vendor’s staff members. NOTE: THE VENDOR’S SYSTEMS MUST BE

FLEXIBLE ENOUGH TO ACCOMMODATE DAILY UPDATES TO THESE

LISTS EFFECTIVE WITHIN 2 HOURS OF LHA’S NOTIFICATION TO

VENDOR.

2.2.2. Duty Roster. A roster will be provided by the LHA and includes

Property Managers, Assistant Property Managers and Superintendent

of Facilities. All changes in the roster will be forwarded to vendor via

email or fax. All changes sent to the vendor must be promptly entered

into computer database and reported to vendor’s staff members.

NOTE: THE VENDOR’S SYSTEMS MUST BE FLEXIBLE ENOUGH TO

ACCOMMODATE DAILY UPDATES TO THESE LISTS EFFECTIVE WITHIN

2 HOURS OF LHA’S NOTIFICATION TO VENDOR.

2.2.3 General Property Description. This information will be provided by

the LHA and includes property data such as number of elevators,

number of units in the building, building type (high rise, low rise, or

townhouse), type of heat, etc. Please refer to Exhibit A – General

Property Description for a sample description.

2.2.4 Electronic Records Management. The vendor shall maintain

Electronic Records for each of the properties that includes the following

information:

1. Each call received and made by the vendor, on LHA’s behalf,

must be logged and reported to LHA’s Property Managers via

email.




2. In addition, on Mondays (as well as any other time the

answering service takes calls during LHA work hours) all calls

will be emailed as they come in and the Control Center staff will

dispatch. The information shall be reported in a table format

(preferably MS-Excel). Please refer to Exhibit B – Call Report for

a sample report format.

3. Vendor must electronically record all incoming and outgoing

calls. The vendor must clearly notify everyone that all calls are

being recorded whether the call is an inbound or outbound call.

All recordings must be date and time-stamped, saved, and

available for the LHA to review in an electronic audio file

format, for a minimum of 4 weeks.

2.3 CALL TRIAGE, DISPATCH AND MANAGEMENT. The vendor will have the

capabilities to provide the following:

2.3.1 Call Triage. When the vendor receives or responds to a particular

complaint or request, they must have a basic understanding of

maintenance issues. They must also understand that issues are

considered emergencies requiring immediate attention and that issues

can be deferred until the next regular work shift. Please refer to

Exhibit C – Emergency / Urgent Requests and Exhibit D – Routine

Requests for sample listings. The following are examples of call triage:

i. If a tenant calls for no hot water, the vendor’s staff should call

an LHA staff ONLY when there is more than 8 hours until the

next regular work shift.

ii. If a tenant calls for a toilet clog and the water is over-flowing,

the vendor’s staff should be able to guide the caller on how to

close the shut-off for the toilet – as this situation presents an

unsanitary condition and can cause more damage to the

unit/building. Once the water is shut-off, then the vendor shall

call an LHA staff.

iii. If a tenant calls for a refrigerator that stopped working, the

vendor staff will notify the tenant that this is not an emergency

or urgent call and to keep the refrigerator’s door closed. Also,

advise the tenant that the call will be referred to the next

regular weekday shift.

iv. LHA will provide specific instructions on how the water is turned

off on equipment such as toilets in the units.

2.3.2 Call Dispatch. All calls received by the answering service will be

dispatched, once the nature of the call has been established, as

follows:

i. If the nature of the call is routine, an LHA staff member will

NOT be notified. However, tenant calling will be informed that




their problem is not an emergency but that their call will be

dispatched to the Maintenance Office the following morning.

ii. If the nature of the call is an emergency or urgent situation,

the Vendor will dispatch Maintenance staff as follows:

• Monday through Friday calls, between 4:30 p.m. and (1:00

a.m.), will be made to the ON-CALL Maintenance cell phone.

• Saturday calls, between 8:00 a.m. & 1:00 a.m., will be

made to the ON-CALL Maintenance cell phone.

• Sunday calls between 8:00 a.m. and 1:00 a.m.

will be made to the ON-CALL Maintenance cell

• Holiday shifts in which Maintenance staff is working, is

reported to the vendor by LHA, will be made to the on-call

Maintenance cell phone;

• In the event that no one is ON-CALL or the ON-CALL staff

does not respond to your call in a reasonable length of time

(within 15 minutes), the vendor will call in staff in the order

they are listed on the Emergency Maintenance Call List for

the specific property.

NOTE: THE VENDOR WILL EXPEDITE THE CALLING SEQUENCE SO THAT

THERE IS NOT MORE THAN 5 MINUTES IN BETWEEN EACH OF THE CALLS

OUT TO THE STAFF ON THE EMERGENCY MAINTENANCE CALL LISTING FOR

THE PROPERTY IN QUESTION.

2.3.3 Call Management. Once a staff member is reached, the vendor

shall:

i. Dispatch the call by providing staff clear information as to the

nature of the call and the location. Once the staff takes the

call, the call is considered closed.

ii. Maintain a working queue of all dispatched calls and the staff

members already responding to each of the calls. If another call

comes in and requires an immediate response, the vendor

shall:

• If a call comes in within 1 hour of a staff member taking a

previous call, contact the staff member already responding

and dispatch the call to the same staff.

(We have night coverage until 1am. Then the emergency calls go

the managers and they call in staff. Calls go the office mangers

phone during the day after 5 rings it’s forwarded to the answering

service who will send out an email to the property manager that

the call originated from unless it’s an emergency and they will call

the manager.)

iii. Anytime a staff member does not answer their phone, and an

answering machine or voice mail is reached, the following MUST

take place:

• The vendor is only to leave a message that an emergency

call has come in for (project name) and to call the vendor

back;

• The vendor must also leave on the answering machine the

time and date they are calling;




• At no time, will the vendor leave the specific address where

the issue exists.

2.4 PHONE SERVICE AND SERVICE INTERRUPTION

a) Phone Service. Vendor MUST provide all the following phone services:

• A dedicated phone number for all incoming maintenance

requests. All times are EST and a (978) area code will be

required.

• A dedicated phone number to be programmed into the

elevators phone system. This phone number must be answered

by a live operator 24/7.

b) Service Interruption. In the event of a loss in phone service the

following must take place:

• The answering service must have a number that all Lowell Housing

Authority phone calls can be transferred to in the event that the

Lowell Housing Authority phones are down.

• The answering service should have either an emergency generator,

a UPS, or some type of adequate back-up in the event that the

answering service’s phones fail.

• The answering service must notify the Superintendent of Facilities

immediately in the event that the answering service’s phones as

well as their back-up systems for the phones are down so the

Lowell Housing Authority can arrange to have the calls forwarded

elsewhere.

2.5 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

a) Vendor responsibilities IN support of these specifications include, but

not limited to:

• Meet response times associated with each type of call.

• Generating reports on service level performance, as specified in

section 4 Performance Goals and Problem Resolution.

• Appropriate notification to tenants and LHA staff for all calls

received.

b) LHA Responsibilities in support of these specifications include, but not

limited to:

• Availability of LHA staff when dispatching calls.

• Communicate specific requirements and performance feedback to

vendor.

2.6 HOURS-OF-COVERAGE, RESPONSE TIMES AND ESCALATION

a) Hours-of-Coverage – the vendor will answer calls for the LHA 24

hours a day, seven days a week. Calls are automatically answered by

the vendor after five rings.

b) Response Times and Escalation – the vendor will answer and

dispatch calls as follows:

• The vendor will call the appropriate staff member during the

following timeframes:

• Monday through Friday, between 4:30 pm and 1:00 a.m.

• Saturday between 8:00 a.m. and 1:00 a.m.

• Sunday between 8:00am and 1:00 a.m.




c) The ON-CALL staff will assess the situation and request additional

resources from the vendor, as needed. For example, the ON-CALL

may need to have an electrician called to abate the emergency. In this

case; ON-CALL will contact vendor and the vendor will contact the

electrician on-call based on the order listed in the Duty Roster.

d) The vendor will call an LHA maintenance staff member, based on the

Emergency Maintenance Call Listing for the specific property, during

the following timeframes:

• Monday through Saturday, between 1:00 a.m. and 8:00AM the

next day

• Sunday, between 1:00 a.m. and Monday at 8:00am.

e) In the event that no one on the Emergency Maintenance Call List

responds, within 30 minutes of an emergency or urgent request, a

Property Manager will be called. If the Property Manager is not

available, the Property Manager’s Assistant will be called. If the

Property Manager’s Assistant is not available, the vendor will call the

Superintendent of Facilities.

f) In the event that any one of the above individuals are not reached, or

has not responded within 15 minutes, the vendor shall start over by

again contacting the Property Manager and so on.

2.7 PERFORMANCE GOALS AND PROBLEM RESOLUTION

a) Performance Goals

i. All and ONLY emergency or urgent requests MUST be

dispatched to LHA staff within 1 hour.

ii. All lockouts and fire alarm calls that come in between 1:00 a.m.

and 8:00 am Monday through Sunday will be dispatched to the

Back-up Supervisor listed on the weekly duty roster.

iii. All dispatched calls MUST be delivered in an error-free manner.

There is an economic impact to the LHA when calls are

mishandled. The vendor will take responsibility for all

mishandled calls that are deemed to be the fault of the vendor

not following procedures.

iv. Vendor shall reimburse the LHA for actual costs incurred by the

LHA for mishandled calls.

b) Performance Problem Resolution – when performance goals described

above are not met, the vendor will work to resolve and report progress to

LHA. The vendor will provide the LHA a plan and a timeline to resolve the

issue(s).

i. In the event that issues are not resolved in a timely manner, a

meeting will be held at the LHA with the vendor to discuss ways

to solve the cause of the performance problems.

ii. In the event that these performance problems are not resolved

to LHA’s satisfaction, the LHA reserves the right to terminate

the contract.

2.8 AVERAGE WAIT TIME

a) Vendor to provide average wait time for all callers including various times

of the day and the percentage of callers to be impacted by these wait

times.




2.9 BILINGUAL STAFF – ENGLISH, SPANISH AND KHMER

a) Vendor to provide bilingual staff, at all shifts, that are proficient in English,

Spanish and Khmer. The LHA has a significantly large population of

Spanish-speaking and Khmer-speaking tenants with very limited

proficiency of the English language. The vendor must demonstrate a

capacity to appropriate handle these types of clientele. Use of a

translation service is acceptable so long as it does not delay a response to

a tenant.

2.10 MANDATORY OVERTIME

a) When vendor is notified by a Maintenance Supervisor of a mandatory staff

call-in (a shift in which staff need to call in to see if they need to report to

work), vendor will log each person’s name and phone number when they

call in and send the listing via email with the other calls.

2.11 PRECEDING LISTED SERVICES/REQUIREMENTS MAY NOT BE ALL-

INCLUSIVE

Each proposer shall submit a proposal that fully details how he/she will provide

the items above. However, please note that the preceding is not intended to be

an all-inclusive listing of all the services that LHA may retain the successful

proposer to provide; meaning, the proposer may have additional services

he/she provides and shall identify such services within the proposal submittal

under Tab No. 4.

2.11.1 SPECIAL AWARD CONDITIONS PERTAINING TO THIS RFP

The LHA anticipates that it will complete award to one successful

proposer only; however, the LHA reserves the right to, at any time

during the ensuing contract period(s), use proper procurement to solicit

these services on a temporary basis.

2.12 SAMPLE REPORTS/SCOPE OF WORK

GENERAL PROPERTY DESCRIPTION

Property Name Address(s) # of

Units

Building

Type

General

Building Information




CALL REPORT

Date In

Time In

Date Dispatched

Time Dispatched

Dispatched To

Address Apt Tenant’s Name

Tenant’s Phone #

Message Staff Called

Time

Staff

Called

Staff Response

The following is a sample listing of Emergency / Urgent Requests:

1. Fire, call Fire Department first and then notify on-call staff member;

2. Flooding, only flooding that would result in extensive property damage;

3. No Electricity, total loss of power in the entire apartment;

4. No Water, total loss of water only;

5. Carbon Monoxide Alarms, notify fire department, on-call staff member, and inform

tenant to leave the unit;

6. Fire or Smoke Alarms Ringing, notify on-call staff member and if there’s any

indication of a fire, see 1. above;

7. No Heat, September 15 through June 15 only when there is more than 8 hours until

a normal work shift;

8. No Hot Water, notify on-call staff member only when there is more than 8 hours until

a normal work shift;

9. Elevator Breakdowns, if one or both elevators are out of order or if a person is

trapped inside an elevator (in this case the Fire Department will also be called in);

10. Lockouts, if anyone is locked out of their unit or the building, on-call staff member

will be notified;

11. Trash chute clogged in high rise buildings, notify on-call staff member only when

there is more than 4 hours until a normal work shift;

12. Threats to Life or Safety, on-call staff member will be notified of any calls which do

not fall in the above emergency categories IF, for any reason, the particular problem

is judged severe enough to threaten the life or safety of a tenant. The on-call staff

member will take any appropriate action deemed necessary.

The following is a sample listing of Routine Requests:

1. Appliance Malfunction – A refrigerator not keeping food cold enough.

2. Clogs – tub and sink clogs that are not the cause of flooding.

3. Extermination Requests – these are handled during the next regular weekday shift.

4. Key / Lock Replacements – these are handled during the next regular weekday shift,

unless the Lowell Police Department deems the situation unsafe for the tenant.

3.0 PROPOSAL FORMAT

3.1 TABBED PROPOSAL SUBMITTAL

The LHA intends to retain the vendor pursuant to a “Best Value” basis, not a

“Low Proposal” basis (“Best Value,” in that the LHA will, as detailed within the




following Section 3.0, consider factors other than just cost in making the award

decision). Therefore, so that the LHA can evaluate the offers received, all

proposals submitted in response to this RFP must be formatted in accordance

with the sequence noted within the table below. Each category must be

separated by numbered index dividers (which number extends so that each tab

can be located without opening the proposal) and labeled with the

corresponding tab reference also noted below. None of the proposed services

may conflict with any requirement the LHA has published herein or has issued

by addendum.

3 . 1 . 1 T A B 1

This is a cover letter signed by an official authorized to bind the

proposer/company, which includes an executive summary stating (a)

how the Proposer meets the minimum qualifications of the RFP, (b) its

staff and sub-consultants, if any, meet or exceed the requirements of

the RFP, and (c) that the proposal is firm during the acceptance period,

which expires 60 calendar days from the proposal due date.

• Form of Proposal: This is a 1-page form that is attached to this RFP

document, as Attachment F

• Transmittal Form: This is a 1-page form that is attached to this RFP

document, as Attachment G.

• Certificate of Authority, Non-Collusion, Tax Compliance and W9

forms shall be completed and submitted under this tab.

3.1.2 TAB 2

HUD-5369-C (8/93), Certifications and Representations of

Offerors, Non-Construction Contract. This 2-page form is attached

as Attachment C to this RFP.

Profile of Firm Form. This Profile of Firm Form is a 2-page form that

is attached to this RFP as Attachment D.

3.1.3 TAB 3

Certificate of Insurance (ACORD 25 or equivalent): Proposer shall

furnish evidence of the minimum amounts of insurance coverage listed

in Section 5.4 of this RFP.

3.1.4 TAB 4

Technical Approach. As more fully detailed within Section 2.0,

Description of Required Services, of this document, the proposer shall,

at a minimum, clearly detail within the information submitted under this

tab documentation showing:

A.) Methodology: Describe your methodology with call triage,

dispatch and management of calls, phone service and service

interruption, coverage and response time. Due to a very diverse

population, it will be imperative that the vendor always have bi-

lingual staff available.

B.) Experience: Provide call-flow charts from housing authorities or

property management companies with diverse populations for

which you currently service.




C.) Key Personnel: Provide the name of the name of the

Supervisor who will be assigned to this account and a copy of

his/her resume.

3.1.5 TAB 5

Firm Qualifications. Proved the following information:

A.) Name, address, telephone number and email address of

primary contact person.

B.) A brief description of your firm, certifications held,

professional organization affiliations, as well as how any joint

venture association would be structured.

C.) Address(es) and location(s) of local offices and service

headquarters that would be involved in servicing the LHA

contract.

D.) Names of all staff, supervisors, and subcontractors who would

work on the contract. Provide:

• The role each staff member and subcontractor would play

in the service;

• Experience, education, and qualifications of each staff

member;

• Written assurance that the staff members listed above will

be performing the work and will not be substituted with

other personnel or reassigned to another project without

prior approval. Assurance must also be made that any

substitute personnel be fully qualified.

3.1.6 TAB 6

Client Information and References. The proposer shall submit a

listing of former or current clients, including Public Housing

Authorities, for whom the proposer has performed similar or like

services to those being proposed herein. The listing shall, at a

minimum, include:

• The client’s name

• The client’s contract name

• The client’s address (Street Address, City, State, Zip Code)

• The client’s telephone number

• The client’s email address

• A brief narrative description and scope of the service(s) and the

dates the services were/are provided.

3.1.7 TAB 7

Equal Employment Opportunity/Supplier Diversity. The

proposer must submit under this tab a copy of its Equal Opportunity

Employment Policy and a complete description of the positive steps it

will take to ensure compliance, to the greatest extent feasible, with

the regulations detailed within the following Section 3.6 herein

pertaining to supplier diversity.

3.1.8 TAB 8

Subcontractor/Joint Venture Information (OPTIONAL).

3.1.9 TAB 9




Section 3 Business Preference Documentation (OPTIONAL).

3.1.10 TAB 10

Other Information (OPTIONAL). Other information and/or sample

forms the proposer believes is appropriate to assist the LHA in its

evaluation.

3.1.11 TABBED PROPOSAL SUMMARY

Tab

No. Description

1 - Proposer’s Letter of Introduction and Compliance

Statement.

- Form of Proposal.

- Transmittal Form.

- Certificate of Authority, Non-Collusion, Tax Compliance &

W9

2 - HUD-5369-C (8/93), Certifications and Representations of

Offerors, Non-Construction Contract.

- Profile of Firm Form.

3 Certificate of Insurance.

4 Technical Approach.

5 Firm Qualifications.

6 Client Information and References.

7 Equal Employment Opportunity/Supplier Diversity.

8 Subcontractor/Joint Venture Information (OPTIONAL).

9 Section 3 Business Preference Documentation (OPTIONAL).

10 Other Information (OPTIONAL).

If no information is to be placed under any of the above noted tabs

(especially the "Optional" tabs), please place there under a statement

such as "THIS TAB LEFT INTENTIONALLY BLANK." Do not eliminate

any of the tabs.

3.2 ENTRY OF PROPOSED FEES

The proposed fees shall be submitted by the proposer and received by the LHA

in a separate sealed envelope. Proposal Submittal Instructions. Do not

refer to any fees or costs within the tabbed proposal submittal - any

proposer that does so may be rejected without further consideration.

Unless otherwise stated, the proposed fees are all-inclusive of any related costs

that the Contractor will incur to provide the noted services.

3.3 Additional Information Pertaining to the above Pricing Items.

3.3.1 Quantities

All quantities entered by the Agency herein and within the corresponding

Pricing Items are for calculating purposes only. As may be further

detailed herein, the Agency does not guarantee any minimum or

maximum amount of work as a result of any award ensuing from this

RFP, as the ensuing contract will be a Requirements Contract, in that

the Agency shall retain one contractor only and shall retain the right to

order from that contractor (successful proposer), on a task order basis,

any amount of services the Agency requires.




3.3.2 Price Escalation

Pertaining to the ensuing contract, there shall be no escalation of the

proposed unit costs (or hourly rates) allowed at any time during the

awarded contract periods. The successful proposer guarantees, by

submitting a proposal, that he/she will hold all proposed costs for the

period of time it takes the successful proposer to provide the detailed

services.

3.3.3 Overtime (if applicable)

Pursuant to the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act,

overtime shall not be less than time and one-half for hours worked in

excess of 40 hours per week. The Agency shall consider regular-time

to be Monday-Friday (excluding holidays), 8:00am – 5:00pm.

Accordingly, the Agency will pay a rate of 1.5 of the listed hourly rates

for any work the Agency requires the successful proposer to perform

specifically during non-regular-time hours (the Agency shall NOT be

responsible to pay the successful proposer for any work that the

successful proposer CHOOSES to work during non-regular-time hours,

only such hours that the Agency gives prior approval for).

3.3.3.1 The Agency shall NOT be responsible to pay the successful

proposer for any work that the successful proposer CHOOSES

to work during non-regular-time hours; meaning, if the

necessity for the work “after hours” is due to, for example, the

Contractor’s lack of staffing or due to other work that the

Contractor may have with other clients, the Agency expects

that such work will be provided during normal work hours.

3.3.4 IMPORTANT NOTICE!!! Entry of Costs

Except as provided for otherwise (e.g. a “No Charge” option), proposers

must submit a realistic cost for each and every Pricing Item detailed

within the Cost Proposal Form.

3.3.4.1 Realistic Cost for each Pricing Item

Each proposer is strongly encouraged to enter where provided

within the Cost/Price Proposal a realistic cost for each Pricing

Item, especially the hourly fees required. For example, if the

successful proposer enters $1.00 per hour (proposers typically

do so in an effort to improve their position in regards to overall

Pricing), then the $1.00 per hour is what the successful

proposer will charge the Agency for any work that the Agency

may retain the successful proposer to provide if the Agency

deems such retention is in the Agency's best interests to do so.

Accordingly, it is the Agency's opinion that it is very much in

the best interests of the proposer to propose a realistic hourly

fee for each Pricing Item. If, despite this warning, the

successful proposer proposes an hourly fee that the Agency

deems is not realistic, then the Agency reserves the right to

require the successful proposer to, at contract execution,

present a cash bond in a suitable amount (e.g. $3,000.00,

which the Agency will hold during the term of the ensuing

contract period) to ensure that the successful proposer will

fulfill his/her obligation in this matter.




3.3.4.2 Deposits

Pursuant to HUD procurement regulation, the Agency will NOT

pay to the successful proposer a deposit in any amount;

however, the Agency will consider a reasonable phased-

payment program (“phased-payment” meaning, the Agency

may agree to pay for programs/services as they are delivered

in phases rather than waiting until all programs/services are

delivered to complete payment.

3.4 Proposal Submission

Within a single delivered package, please provide two (2) sealed packets

(Technical Proposal and Cost Proposal). Please do not include price information

within the Technical Proposal.

The inclusion of any cost, pricing, fee, retainer, discount or related financial

information related to performance of any contract with the LHA may disqualify

the proposal. Also, “retainer” type contracts are not permitted pursuant to

federal HUD procurement regulations (2 CFR 200.317 et seq.). Proposals shall

be submitted in accordance with the requirements set forth in this RFP.

Proposers will be notified in writing by the Lowell Housing Authority (LHA) of

any changes in the specifications contained in this RFP in the form of an

addendum, which must be acknowledged in each proposal.

Proposals shall be submitted in one (1) sealed package marked “Proposal

RFP 2020-1B due (08/06/2020 @ 11:00 AM),” that must contain two (2)

sealed packets as follows:

Packet (1): Shall be clearly marked “Technical/Narrative Information” and

include the detailed description and proposed plan of services.

Packet (2): Shall be clearly marked “Financial Component of Services” and

shall include the Cost Proposal and all pricing information proposed

(ATTACHMENT H).

Any corrections to proposals prior to the submission deadline must be also

sealed and delivered in the same manner as required in this section.

NOTE: Packages mailed via U.S. Postal Service will be delivered to a post office

box. Arrival at the LHA Executive Offices prior to the due date and time cannot

be presumed or guaranteed. Proposers are solely responsible for timely delivery

to the LHA office:


Department of Finance and Procurement

350 Moody Street

Lowell, MA 01853

“PROPOSAL – RFP 2020-1B DUE: (08/06/2020 @ 11:00 AM)”

3.4.1 CONTENT AND BINDING

All proposals are to be prepared in a practical, legible, clear, concise,

coherent and straightforward manner without distracting marketing

material and elaborate forms or exhibits.

No redundancy. If a document supports multiple parts of the proposal,

please reference its first and original location in those multiple sections.




Please do not permanently bind or staple the original documents

for the Technical Proposal or Cost Proposal so that the LHA may

scan or copy submissions.

Please do not submit the entire published RFP document. Only submit

the completed forms and documents required by the RFP.

3.4.2 SUBMISSION CONDITIONS

DO NOT FOLD OR MAKE ANY ADDITIONAL MARKS, NOTATIONS OR

REQUIREMENTS ON THE DOCUMENTS TO BE SUBMITTED. Proposers are

not allowed to change any requirements or forms contained herein,

either by marking or entering onto these documents or the documents

submitted any revisions or additions; and if any such additional marks,

notations or requirements are entered on any of the documents that are

submitted to the Agency by the proposer, the Agency decides that any

such entry has not changed the intent of the proposal that the Agency

intended to receive, the Agency may accept the proposal and the

proposal shall be considered by the Agency as if those additional marks,

notations or requirements were not entered on such. By accessing these

documents, each prospective proposer that does so is thereby agreeing

to confirm all notices that the Agency delivers to him/her as instructed,

and by submitting a proposal, the proposer is thereby agreeing to abide

by all terms and conditions published herein and by addendum

pertaining to this RFP.

3.4.3 SUBMISSION TERMS

3.4.3.1 NO CHARGES: The LHA shall not accept charges for the

requested information.

3.4.3.2 CONTENT OF CONTRACT: The contract shall be based on this

Request for Proposals, addenda and the contractor’s proposal

and work order content.

3.4.3.3 SIGNED SUBMISSIONS: The proposal shall be signed by an

official authorized to bind the company and shall contain a

statement that the proposal is firm during the acceptance

period, which expires 60 calendar days from the proposal due

date.

3.4.3.4 WITHDRAWN PROPOSALS: Proposals may be withdrawn by

the proposer via written request received by LHA no later than

the time set for opening of the proposals. Any proposal that is

withdrawn may nevertheless be opened and reviewed.

Proposals opened on the proposed due date shall not be

withdrawn without the consent of LHA for 60-days after the

proposal due date.

3.4.3.5 LHA’S RIGHTS: ACCEPTANCE, REJECTION, EXCEPTIONS,

AMENDMENT, WAIVING INFORMALITIES, CONTRACT

INCORPORATION, EXCLUSIONS, ETC.: LHA reserves the

right to accept or reject any and all proposals, to negotiate all

plan-related terms and conditions with any qualified source, or




to cancel or amend this RFP in part or its entirety. LHA also

reserves its right to waive non-statutory or non-regulatory

components and other informal (items required only by the LHA

and/or unfairly limited competition) and minor informalities, if

in the best interest of the LHA to do so. Proposals or parts

thereof will be incorporated into the final contract. Proposers

may be excluded from further consideration for failure to fully

comply with the specifications of the RFP. General Conditions

on ATTACHMENT I and are incorporated herein.

3.4.3.6 DEBARMENT AND LIMITED DENIAL OF PARTICIPATION

(LDP): LHA will reject any proposal where its proposer is

debarred or under a relevant (federal) Limited Denial of

Participation (LDP)1 by U.S. Government agencies including the

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and/or

the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or its political

subdivisions from providing goods or services, and reserves the

right to reject the proposal of any proposer who has previously

failed to perform any contract properly for any purchaser, or to

complete on time, contracts of a similar nature, who are not in

the position to perform the contract, or who has neglected the

payment of bills or otherwise disregarded as obligations to

clients, purchasers, subcontractors or employees.

Failure of the successful proposer to accept these and other terms will

void the award. Acceptance of the proposal is subject to the approval of

the LHA Board of Commissioners.

3.4.4 SUBMISSION RESPONSIBILITIES

It shall be the responsibility of each proposer to be aware of and to abide

by all dates, times, conditions, requirements and specifications set forth

within all applicable documents issued by the Agency, including the RFP

document, the attachments, and any addenda and required attachments

submitted by the proposer. By virtue of completing, signing and

submitting the complete documents, the proposer is stating his/her

agreement to comply with all conditions and requirements set forth

within those documents. Written notice from the proposers not

authorized in writing by the CPO to exclude any of the Agency

requirements contained within the documents may cause that proposer

to not be considered for award.

3.5 CONTACT WITH THE AGENCY

It is the responsibility of the proposer to address all communication and

correspondence pertaining to this RFP process to the Chief Procurement Officer,

Rita V. Brousseau (email: [email protected]) only. Proposers must not

make inquiry or communication with any other Agency staff member or official

(including members of the Board of Commissioners) pertaining to this RFP.

Failure to abide by this requirement may be cause for the Agency to not

consider a proposal submittal received from any proposer who has not abided

by this directive.

1 Limited Denial of Participation:

https://www5.hud.gov/Ecpcis/main/ECPCIS_List/main/ECPCIS_List.jsp

https://www5.hud.gov/Ecpcis/main/ECPCIS_List/main/ECPCIS_List.jsp




3.5.1 ADDENDUMS

All questions and requests for information must be addressed in writing

to the CPO. The CPO will respond via posting of an addendum to

www.lhma.org/bids. It is the responsibility of each proposer to

periodically check this website for any updates related to this RFP.

3.6 EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

LHA adopted its Equal Employment Opportunity Contracting Policy (hereinafter

referred to as the Policy) to ensure non-discrimination and equal employment

goals for minorities and females in accordance with Presidential Executive Order

11246 as amended.

Pursuant to the Policy, each proposer shall submit with its bid and Employment

Utilization Report demonstrating compliance with the requirements set forth

under the Policy. Compliance with the provisions of the Policy is required for

acceptable performance of the contract. Failure to submit or sign the

Employment Utilization Report may rule the bid non-responsive. Submission of

incomplete, inaccurate, or inconsistent information on the Report may result in

a formal investigation and/or a rejection of part or the entire bid. Proposer is

required to document “good faith” efforts taken towards compliance with the

Policy.

3.7 RECAP OF ATTACHMENTS

The following is a summary of the attached documents relevant to this RFP.

ATTACHMENT A: HUD Table 5.1, Mandatory Contract Clauses for Small

Purchases Other than Construction.

ATTACHMENT B: HUD-5369-B, Instructions to Offerors, Non-Construction

ATTACHMENT C: HUD-5369-C, Certifications and Representations of

Offerors, Non-Construction Contract (Submit under Tab 2)

ATTACHMENT D: Profile of Firm / Company Profile (Submit under Tab 2)

ATTACHMENT E: HUD-5370-C, General Condition for Non-Construction

Contracts

ATTACHMENT F: Form of Proposal (Submit under Tab 1)

ATTACHMENT G: Transmittal & other required forms (Submit under Tab 1)

ATTACHMENT H: Cost/Price Proposal Form (Submit in sealed envelope 2)

ATTACHMENT I: Standard LHA Goods and Services Agreement (Sample)

ATTACHMENT J: Certification for Business Concerns Seeking Section 3

Preference (Submit under Tab 9)

4.0 PROPOSAL EVALUATION

4.1 MINIMUM EVALUATION CRITERIA

A contract(s) will be awarded to a responsive and responsible contractor who

has submitted a proposal which conforms in all aspects to the Request for

Proposal. A responsive contractor is a contractor who has submitted a

proposal, which conforms in all respects to the request for proposals. A

responsible contractor is a contractor who has the capability to perform fully

the contract requirements and the integrity and reliability to, which assure

good faith performance. At a minimum, the services being offered to the LHA

as a result of this RFP, must meet the following requirements. Proposals

which do not meet the minimum requirements as set forth herein may be

considered unresponsive, at the HA’s sole discretion, and may be rejected

http://www.lhma.org/bids




# MINIMUM QUALIFICATION YES NO

1

The proposer has at least three years of experience with

providing Telephone Answering Services to minimum of

one Public Housing Authority or property management

company with a minimum of 500 units?

2 The Proposer will provide at least one person per shift

that is fully tri-lingual in English, Spanish and Khmer?

3

The Proposer has a back-up generator or UPS

(uninterrupted power supply) for the telephone and

recording system?

4

Any Supervisor assigned to this account shall have no

less than three years answering services experience with

no less than one year as a supervisor?

5 The Proposer records all telephone calls than can played

back and be emailed to client upon request?

6 The Proposer has not been disbarred or otherwise

prevented from participation in HUD-funded?

7

The Proposer has submitted a complete proposal with all

required documents signed; i.e. Non-Collusion, Tax

Compliance, Clerk Certificate and W9; as instructed in

Attachment G; Form and Structure of Bid in this RFP?




4.2 COMPARATIVE EVALUATION CRITERIA

For each comparative evaluation criteria, you will be assigned a rating of

“Highly Advantageous (HA),” “Advantageous (A),” “Not Advantageous” (NA)

or “Unacceptable (U).” The LHA will then assign a composite rating to the

entire proposal. All proposers must fill in the page number for each

criteria showing where evidence of fulfilling each criteria can be

found in their Technical Proposal. The Comparative Criteria is listed in

order of priority. This form must be completed. If the criteria has more than

one requirement proposers must provide a page # of where evidence of each

of those specific criteria can be found

1. PLAN OF SERVICES found on page _________

Proposer has submitted a Plan of Services that details the operating procedures of their

company relative to the tasks of this contract

Highly Advantageous Proposer’s Plan of Services provides a.) A policy

and procedure which demonstrates clearly how

calls will be handled, routed and prioritized; b.)

Details how multiple calls to different operators

will be coordinated; c.) Details the software

system to be used for this contract and how it

pertains to this contract; d.) A clear definition of

each task, within this RFP, and procedures for

meeting those tasks.

Advantageous The proposer addresses each of the above but

does not provide a detailed plan and/or the Plan

of Services is not clearly understood for each of

the above.

Not Advantageous The proposer does not provide a Plan of Services

that addresses each of the above and/or does not

have a software system that will handle the

requirements as stated.

2. KEY PERSONNEL found on page _________

Proposer to include resumes

Highly Advantageous Supervisor(s) assigned to this account has 5

years of experience in the telephone answering

service business, 3 of which is at a supervisory

level.

Advantageous Supervisor(s) assigned to this account has 3

years of experience in the telephone answering

service business, 1 of which is at a supervisory

level.

Not Advantageous Supervisor(s) assigned to this account has less

than 3 years of experience in the telephone

answering service business, with less than 1 year

at a supervisory level.




3. IN HOUSE BILINGUAL STAFF (SPANISH, ENGLISH AND KHMER)

found on page _______

Highly Advantageous A proposal that demonstrates a “guaranteed”

plan that the vendor will always have more than

three (3) fully-bilingual staff (English, Spanish

and Khmer).

Advantageous A proposal that demonstrates a “guaranteed”

plan that the vendor will always have two (2) or

three (3) fully-bilingual staff (English, Spanish

and Khmer).

Not Advantageous A proposal that demonstrates a “guaranteed”

plan that the vendor will always have at least one

(1) fully-bilingual staff member (English, Spanish

and Khmer).

4. CALL REPORTING found on page _________

At the beginning of each workday the answering service must deliver a report to the

Facilities Supervisor. detailing all of the calls which they received during the prior

shift(s). A current SAMPLE of proposers report is included with this Technical proposal.

Highly Advantageous Proposer shall send the daily report in Microsoft

(MS) Excel file or in a table (CSV) format.

Advantageous Proposer only provides daily reports in an email

and/or in a fax.

Not Advantageous Proposer can only fax daily reports.

5. EXPERIENCE found on page _________

Highly Advantageous Currently servicing at least 3 public housing

authorities or property management companies

with more than 500 units each and from urban

areas with diverse populations.

Advantageous Currently services less than 3 public housing

authority or property management company that

each have a minimum of 500 units each and from

urban areas with diverse populations.

Not Advantageous No public housing or property management

companies and/or less than 500 units.

6. WAIT TIMES found on page _________

Highly Advantageous A proposal that demonstrates the wait time for

any given caller averages less than two (2)

minutes per call.

Advantageous A proposal that demonstrates the wait time for

any given caller averages between two (2) to five




(5) minutes per call.

Not Advantageous A proposal that demonstrates the wait time for

any given caller averages more than five (5)

minutes per call.

4.3 EVALUATION METHOD

4.3.1 INITIAL EVALUATION FOR RESPONSIVENESS

Each proposal received will first be evaluated for responsiveness (i.e.

meets the minimum of the requirements).

4.3.2 EVALUATION PACKET

An evaluation packet will be prepared for each evaluator, including a

Proposal Evaluation Form and all pertinent RFP documents.

4.3.3 EVALUATION COMMITTEE

The Agency anticipates that it will select a minimum of a three-person

committee to evaluate each of the responsive “hard copy” proposals

submitted in response to this RFP. PLEASE NOTE: No proposer shall be

informed at any time during the RFP process as to the identity of any

evaluation committee member. If, by chance, a proposer does become

aware of the identity of such person(s), he/she SHALL NOT make any

attempt to contact or discuss with such person anything related to this

RFP. As detailed within this document, the designated CPO is the only

person at the Agency that proposers shall contact pertaining to this RFP.

Failure to abide by this requirement may cause such proposer(s) to be

eliminated from consideration for award.

4.3.4 EVALUATION

Proposals will be evaluated using, as necessary, all or some of the

following Massachusetts statutory ratings (M.G.L. ch. 30B, §6(e)):

“Highly Advantageous”, “Advantageous”, “Not Advantageous”

and “Unacceptable.”

The technical proposal will first be evaluated by an evaluation committee

appointed by the Chief Procurement Officer (CPO). The CPO may

independently and confidentially review the cost proposals prior to the

committee’s review. Only upon conclusion of the technical proposals,

the evaluation committee shall review cost proposals.

4.3.5 CLARIFICATION

The LHA may opt in its sole judgment to clarify proposals and the

abilities of the contemplated vendor through an interview/

presentation/demo process. If so, interviews/presentations/demos will

be limited to a maximum of the top four (4) vendors who are deemed

by the Evaluation Committee to be within the RFP “Competitive Range”

(see Section 4.3.1). The order of invitations to interview/present/demo

for choice of available time slots will be selected by the LHA at random;

the method and result shall be documented to the RFP file.

4.3.5.1 SCOPE; PARTICIPATION BY LEAD PERSONNEL

If held, lead personnel such as principles, project managers

and lead analysts who are listed in the proposal must




participate in the interview/presentation/demo. The

interviews/presentations/demos will be approximately 60

minutes.

Presentations are for clarification and focus and shall only

contain concepts for the proposal that were reviewed by the

Evaluation Committee with the submissions. Requests for

written clarifications, questions and answers may be employed

by the LHA after any presentation/interview.

4.3.5.2 PERSONNEL SUBSTITUTIONS DURING AGREEMENT

TERMS

Personnel substitution during any contemplated contract, Work

Order or agreement of any principal, project manager, or other

key individuals may be grounds for contract termination. No

subcontracting or personnel substitution or re-assignment to

this project is permitted without advance notice and approval

by the LHA. The LHA reserves the right to review qualifications,

resumes, references and meet/interview any proposed

replacement personnel and may determine whether contract

performance may be met by the contractor. The LHA may

impose a reasonable review period to determine if the

replacement personnel meets or exceeds the performance

requirements of the contemplated agreement.

4.3.6 NEGOTIATION WITH TOP-RANKED PROPOSER PROCESS

LHA reserves the right to make a contract award based solely upon the

proposals, or to negotiate with one of more proposers’ plan delivery to

the extent permitted by law.

Following the proposal submission, technical reviews and after

interviews/presentations/demos, if any, the LHA will attempt to

negotiate a plan agreement with the top ranked vendor, which may

include meeting the balance of the proposed team. If no agreement can

be reached with the top ranked vendor, that vendor shall be dismissed

and the LHA shall proceed to negotiations with the next ranked vendor.

This process may be repeated as necessary until a satisfactory

agreement is negotiated or process is otherwise terminated.

4.4 RULE FOR AWARD

A three-year contract is anticipated for award to the responsive and responsible

Telephone Answering Service vendor whose proposal is most advantageous to

the LHA, taking into consideration the requirements of this RFP, references and

plan for providing the scope of services as well as the proposal price. The LHA

Evaluation Committee will consider the comparable value/price for the level of

services offered by proposals determined within the “Competitive Range”. Since

price is not the primary award criterion, the LHA is not restricted to award a

contract to the responsive, responsible vendor with the lowest price, but must

substantiate its decision not to do so.

Each element and item of information requested must be answered completely,

or any omissions completely explained and justified. A maximum of four

proposals that are ranked highest within the Competitive Range of proposals

will advance to interviews and cost evaluation.




The evaluation committee shall be sole judge as to evaluation and ranking

proposals. Based on the responses, evaluation and ranking, a recommendation

will be submitted to the CPO for procedural and cost review, who may return

the recommendation to the evaluation committee for procedural clarifications

if necessary, with a final recommendation forwarded by the CPO to the LHA

Executive Director and Board of Commissioners for approval and contract

execution if the total contract amount will exceed $50,000.

4.4.1 COMPETITIVE RANGE

Competitive Range means meeting at least the minimum

technical/mandatory qualifications and has an overall ranked as

“Advantageous”.

5.0 CONTRACT AWARD

5.1 CONTRACT AWARD PROCEDURE

If a contract is awarded pursuant to this RFP, the proposer is agreeing to abide

by all terms and conditions pertaining to this RFP as issued by the Agency when

the proposer completes, executes and submits a cost proposal in response this

RFP. Accordingly, the Agency has no responsibility to conduct after the

submittal deadline any negotiations pertaining to the contract clauses already

published.

5.2 CONTRACT CONDITIONS

The following provisions are considered mandatory conditions of any contract

award made by the Agency pursuant to this RFP:

5.2.1 CONTRACT FORM

The Agency will not execute a contract on the Contractor’s form-

contracts will only be executed on the Agency’s form (please see Sample

Contract), and by submitting a proposal the Contractor agrees to do so

(please note that the Agency reserves the right to amend this form as

the Agency deems necessary). However, the Agency will during the RFP

process (prior to the submittal deadline) consider any contract clauses

that the proposer wishes to include therein and submits in writing a

request for the Agency to do so; but the failure of the Agency to include

such clauses does not give the Contract the right to refuse to execute

the Agency’s contract form. It is the responsibility of each prospective

proposer to notify the Agency, in writing, prior to submitting a proposal,

of any clauses that he/she is not willing to include in the final executed

contract and abide by. The Agency will consider and respond to such

written correspondence with a decision.

5.2.1.1 HUD FORMS

Please note that the Agency has no legal right or ability to (and

will not) at any time negotiate any clauses contained within

ANY of the HUD forms included as part of this RFP. These forms

are required terms and conditions.

5.2.2 UNAUTHORIZED SUB-CONTRACTING PROHIBITED

The Contractor shall not assign any right, nor delegate any duty for the

work proposed pursuant to this RFP (including, but not limited to, selling




or transferring the contract) without the prior written consent of the

Contract Officer (CO). Any purported assignment of interest or

delegation of duty, without the prior written consent of the CO shall be

void and may result in the cancellation of the contract with the Agency,

or may result in the full or partial forfeiture of funds paid to the

Contractor as a result of the proposed contract; either as determined by

the CO.

5.3 CONTRACT PERIOD

The Agency anticipates that it will award a three year contract to the responsive

and responsible proposer offering the most advantageous proposal.

5.4 LICENSING AND INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS

Upon notice of award, the Lowell Housing Authority shall be named as additional

insured on each certificate of insurance (CoI) within five (5) business days and

prior to issuing any contract. The insurance coverage shall have at a minimum:

5.4.1 WORKERS COMPENSATION INSURANCE to apply to all employees

for statutory limits in compliance with applicable state and federal laws.

5.4.2 EMPLOYER’S LIABILITY INSURANCE with a minimum limit of

$100,000.00 each incident.

5.4.3 COMMERICAL GENERAL LIABILITY INSURANCE shall have a

minimum limit of $1,000,000.00 per occurrence combined single limit

for personal injury, bodily injury, and property damage liability of

$2,000,000.00 aggregate.

5.4.4 BUSINESS AUTO POLICY OR SIMILAR shall have a minimum limit of

$1,000,000.00 per occurrence combined single limit for bodily injury

and property damage liability. This shall include owned, hired and non-

owned vehicles.

5.4.5 PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY AND/OR “ERRORS AND OMISSIONS”

INSURANCE shall have a minimum limit of $2,000,000.00 per claim.

5.4.6 CITY/COUNTY/STATE BUSINESS LICENSE. If applicable, a copy of

the proposer’s business license allowing that entity to provide such

services within the City of Lowell, Middlesex County, and/or the State of

Massachusetts.

5.5 CONTRACT SERVICE STANDARDS

All work performed pursuant to this RFP must conform and comply with all

applicable local, state, and federal codes, statutes, laws and regulations.

5.6 PROMPT RETURN OF CONTRACT DOCUMENTS

Any and all documents required to complete the contract, including contract

signature by the successful proposer, shall be provided to the Agency within 5

business days of notification by the Agency.




ATTACHMENT A HUD Table 5.1 Mandatory Contract Clauses for Small Purchases other than Construction

follows this page.

TABLE 5.1 of HUD Procurement Handbook 7460.8 REV 2

MANDATORY CONTRACT CLAUSES FOR SMALL PURCHASES OTHER THAN CONSTRUCTION

The following contract clauses are required in contracts pursuant to 24 CFR 85.36(i) and Section 6002 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. HUD is permitted to require changes, remedies, changed conditions, access and records retention, suspension of work, and other clauses approved by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy. The PHA and contractor is also subject to other Federal laws including the U.S. Housing Act of 1937, as amended, Federal regulations, and state law and regulations. Examination and Retention of Contractor’s Records. The PHA, HUD, or Comptroller General of the United States, or any of their duly authorized representatives shall, until three years after final payment under this contract, have access to and the right to examine any of the Contractor’s directly pertinent books, documents, papers, or other records involving transactions related to this contract for the purpose of making audit, examination, excerpts, and transcriptions. Right in Data and Patent Rights (Ownership and Proprietary Interest). The PHA shall have exclusive ownership of, all proprietary interest in, and the right to full and exclusive possession of all information, materials, and documents discovered or produced by Contractor pursuant to the terms of this Contract, including, but not limited to, reports, memoranda or letters concerning the research and reporting tasks of the Contract. Energy Efficiency. The Contractor shall comply with all mandatory standards and policies relating to energy efficiency which are contained in the energy conservation plan issued in compliance with the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (Pub.L. 94-163) for the State in which the work under this contract is performed. Procurement of Recovered Materials (a) In accordance with Section 6002 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Contractor shall procure items designated in guidelines of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at 40 CFR Part 247 that contain the highest percentage of recovered materials practicable, consistent with maintaining a satisfactory level of competition. The Contractor shall procure items designated in the EPA guidelines that contain the highest percentage of recovered materials practicable unless the Contractor determines that such items: (1) are not reasonably available in a reasonable period of time; (2) fail to meet reasonable performance standards, which shall be determined on the basis of the guidelines of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, if applicable to the item; or (3) are only available at an unreasonable price. (b) Paragraph (a) of this clause shall apply to items purchased under this contract where: (1) the Contractor purchases in excess of $10,000 of the item under this contract; or (2) during the preceding Federal fiscal year, the Contractor: (i) purchased any amount of the items for use under a contract that was funded with Federal appropriations and was with a Federal agency or a State agency or agency of a political subdivision of a State; and (ii) purchased a total of in excess of $10,000 of the item both under and outside that contract. Termination for Cause and for Convenience (contracts of $10,000 or more). (a) The PHA may terminate this contract in whole, or from time to time in part, for the PHA’s convenience or the failure of the Contractor to fulfill the contract obligations (cause/default). The PHA shall terminate by delivering to the Contractor a written Notice of Termination specifying the nature, extent, and effective date of the termination. Upon receipt of the notice, the Contractor shall: (1) immediately discontinue all services affected (unless the notice directs otherwise), and (2) deliver to the PHA all information, reports, papers, and other materials accumulated or generated in performing the contract, whether completed or in process. (b) If the termination is for the convenience of the PHA, the PHA shall be liable only for payment for services rendered before the effective date of the termination. (c) If the termination is due to the failure of the Contractor to fulfill its obligations under the contract (cause/default), the PHA may (1) require the Contractor to deliver to it, in the manner and to the extent directed by the PHA, any work described in the Notice of Termination; (2) take over the work and prosecute the same to completion by contract of otherwise, and the Contractor shall be liable for any additional cost incurred by the PHA; and (3) withhold any payments to the Contractor, for the purpose of set-off or partial payment, as the case may be, of amounts owned by the PHA by the Contractor. In the event of termination for cause/default, the PHA shall be liable to the Contractor for reasonable costs incurred by the Contractor before the effective date of the termination. Any dispute shall be decided by the Contracting Officer.

2.0 - HUD 7460.8c05 Table 5.1 Required Clauses for Small Purchases Rev 2.8.13.doc

Page 1 of 1



Page 32


ATTACHMENT B HUD-5369-B Instructions to Offerors Non-Construction follows this page.



Page 33


ATTACHMENT C HUD-5369-C Certifications and Representations of Offerors Non-Construction Contract

follows this page.



Page 34


ATTACHMENT D Profile of Firm/Company to be provided by Proposer and submitted under Tab 2 of your

proposal submission.



Page 35


ATTACHMENT E HUD-5370-C General Conditions for Non-Construction Contracts follows this page.

General Conditions for Non-Construction Contracts

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Public and Indian Housing

Section II – (With Maintenance Work) Office of Labor Relations OMB Approval No. 2577-0157 (exp. 1/01/2014)

Public Reporting Burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 0.08 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the Reports Management Officer, Office of Information Policies and Systems, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Washington, D.C. 20410-3600; and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (2577-0157), Washington, D.C. 20503. Do not send this completed form to either of these addressees. Applicability. This form HUD-5370C has 2 Sections. These Sections must be inserted into non-construction contracts as described below:

1) Non-construction contracts (without maintenance) greater than $100,000 - use Section I;

2) Maintenance contracts (including nonroutine maintenance as defined at 24 CFR 968.105) greater than $2,000 but not more than $100,000 - use Section II; and

3) Maintenance contracts (including nonroutine maintenance), greater than $100,000 – use Sections I and II.

==================================================== Section II – Labor Standard Provisions for all Maintenance Contracts greater than $2,000 ==================================================== 1. Minimum Wages

(a) All maintenance laborers and mechanics employed under this Contract in the operation of the project(s) shall be paid unconditionally and not less often than semi-monthly, and without subsequent deduction (except as otherwise provided by law or regulations), the full amount of wages due at time of payment computed at rates not less than those contained in the wage determination of the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development which is attached hereto and made a part hereof. Such laborers and mechanics shall be paid the appropriate wage rate on the wage determination for the classification of work actually performed, without regard to skill. Laborers or mechanics performing work in more than one classification may be compensated at the rate specified for each classification for the time actually worked therein; provided, that the employer’s payroll records accurately set forth the time spent in each classification in which work is performed. The wage determination, including any additional classifications and wage rates approved by HUD under subparagraph 1(b), shall be posted at all times by the Contractor and its subcontractors at the site of the work in a prominent and accessible place where it can be easily seen by the workers.

(b) (i) Any class of laborers or mechanics which is not listed in the wage determination and which is to be employed under the Contract shall be classified in conformance with the wage determination. HUD shall approve an additional classification and wage rate only when the following criteria have been met:

(1) The work to be performed by the classification required is not performed by a classification in the wage determination;

(2) The classification is utilized in the area by the industry; and

(3) The proposed wage rate bears a reasonable relationship to the wage rates contained in the wage determination.

(ii) The wage rate determined pursuant to this paragraph shall be paid to all workers performing work

in the classification under this Contract from the first day on which work is performed in the classification.

2. Withholding of funds

The Contracting Officer, upon his/her own action or upon request of HUD, shall withhold or cause to be withheld from the Contractor under this Contract or any other contract subject to HUD-determined wage rates, with the same prime Contractor, so much of the accrued payments or advances as may be considered necessary to pay laborers and mechanics employed by the Contractor or any subcontractor the full amount of wages required by this clause. In the event of failure to pay any laborer or mechanic employed under this Contract all or part of the wages required under this Contract, the Contracting Officer or HUD may, after written notice to the Contractor, take such action as may be necessary to cause the suspension of any further payment or advance until such violations have ceased. The Public Housing Agency or HUD may, after written notice to the Contractor, disburse such amounts withheld for and on account of the Contractor or subcontractor to the respective employees to whom they are due.

3. Records

(a) The Contractor and each subcontractor shall make and maintain for three (3) years from the completion of the work records containing the following for each laborer and mechanic: (i) Name, address and Social Security Number; (ii) Correct work classification or classifications; (iii) Hourly rate or rates of monetary wages paid; (iv) Rate or rates of any fringe benefits provided; (v) Number of daily and weekly hours worked; (vi) Gross wages earned; (vii) Any deductions made; and (viii) Actual wages paid.

(b) The Contractor and each subcontractor shall make the records required under paragraph 3(a) available for inspection, copying, or transcription by authorized representatives of HUD or the HA and shall permit such representatives to interview employees during working hours on the job. If the Contractor or any subcontractor fails to make the required records available, HUD or its designee may, after written notice to the Contractor, take such action as may be necessary to cause the suspension of any further payment, advance or guarantee of funds.

4. Apprentices and Trainees

(a) Apprentices and trainees will be permitted to work at less than the predetermined rate for the work they perform when they are employed pursuant to and individually registered in: (i) A bona fide apprenticeship program registered

with the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (ETA), Office of

Section II - Page 1 of 3

form HUD-5370-C (10/2006)

Apprenticeship Training, Employer and Labor Services (OATELS), or with a state apprenticeship agency recognized by OATELS, or if a person is employed in his/her first 90 days of probationary employment as an apprentice in such an apprenticeship program, who is not individually registered in the program, but who has been certified by OATELS or a state apprenticeship agency (where appropriate) to be eligible for probationary employment as an apprentice;

(ii) A trainee program which has received prior approval, evidenced by formal certification by the U.S. Department of Labor, ETA; or

(iii) A training/trainee program that has received prior approval by HUD.

(b) Each apprentice or trainee must be paid at not less than the rate specified in the registered or approved program for the apprentice’s/trainee’s level of progress, expressed as a percentage of the journeyman hourly rate specified in the applicable wage determination. Apprentices and trainees shall be paid fringe benefits in accordance with the provisions of the registered or approved program. If the program does not specify fringe benefits, apprentices/trainees must be paid the full amount of fringe benefits listed on the wage determination for the applicable classification.

(c) The allowable ratio of apprentices or trainees to journeyman on the job site in any craft classification shall not be greater than the ratio permitted to the employer as to the entire work force under the approved program.

(d) Any worker employed at an apprentice or trainee wage rate who is not registered in an approved program, and any apprentice or trainee performing work on the job site in excess of the ratio permitted under the approved program, shall be paid not less than the applicable wage rate on the wage determination for the classification of work actually performed.

(e) In the event OATELS, a state apprenticeship agency recognized by OATELS or ETA, or HUD, withdraws approval of an apprenticeship or trainee program, the employer will no longer be permitted to utilize apprentices/trainees at less than the applicable predetermined rate for the work performed until an acceptable program is approved.

5. Disputes concerning labor standards

(a) Disputes arising out of the labor standards provisions contained in Section II of this form HUD-5370-C, other than those in Paragraph 6, shall be subject to the following procedures. Disputes within the meaning of this paragraph include disputes between the Contractor (or any of its subcontractors) and the HA, or HUD, or the employees or their representatives, concerning payment of prevailing wage rates or proper classification. The procedures in this section may be initiated upon HUD’s own motion, upon referral of the HA, or upon request of the Contractor or subcontractor(s). (i) A Contractor and/or subcontractor or other

interested party desiring reconsideration of findings of violation by the HA or HUD relating to the payment of straight-time prevailing wages or classification of work shall request such reconsideration by letter postmarked within 30 calendar days of the date of notice of findings issued by the HA or HUD. The request shall set

forth those findings that are in dispute and the reasons, including any affirmative defenses, with respect to the violations. The request shall be directed to the appropriate HA or HUD official in accordance with instructions contained in the notice of findings or, if the notice does not specify to whom a request should be made, to the Regional Labor Relations Officer (HUD).

(ii) The HA or HUD official shall, within 60 days (unless otherwise indicated in the notice of findings) after receipt of a timely request for reconsideration, issue a written decision on the findings of violation. The written decision on reconsideration shall contain instructions that any appeal of the decision shall be addressed to the Regional Labor Relations Officer by letter postmarked within 30 calendar days after the date of the decision. In the event that the Regional Labor Relations Officer was the deciding official on reconsideration, the appeal shall be directed to the Director, Office of Labor Relations (HUD). Any appeal must set forth the aspects of the decision that are in dispute and the reasons, including any affirmative defenses, with respect to the violations.

(iii) The Regional Labor Relations Officer shall, within 60 days (unless otherwise indicated in the decision on reconsideration) after receipt of a timely appeal, issue a written decision on the findings. A decision of the Regional Labor Relations Officer may be appealed to the Director, Office of Labor Relations, by letter postmarked within 30 days of the Regional Labor Relations Officer’s decision. Any appeal to the Director must set forth the aspects of the prior decision(s) that are in dispute and the reasons. The decision of the Director, Office of Labor Relations, shall be final.

(b) Disputes arising out of the labor standards provisions of paragraph 6 shall not be subject to paragraph 5(a) of this form HUD-5370C. Such disputes shall be resolved in accordance with the procedures of the U.S. Department of Labor set forth in 29 CFR Parts 5, 6 and 7. Disputes within the meaning of this paragraph 5(b) include disputes between the Contractor (or any of its subcontractors) and the HA, HUD, the U.S. Department of Labor, or the employees or their representatives.

6. Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act

The provisions of this paragraph 6 are applicable only where the amount of the prime contract exceeds $100,000. As used in this paragraph, the terms “laborers” and “mechanics” includes watchmen and guards. (a) Overtime requirements. No Contractor or subcontractor

contracting for any part of the Contract work which may require or involve the employment of laborers or mechanics shall require or permit any such laborer or mechanic in any workweek in which he or she is employed on such work to work in excess of 40 hours in such workweek unless such laborer or mechanic receives compensation at a rate not less than one and one-half times the basic rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in such workweek.

(b) Violation; liability for unpaid wages; liquidated damages. In the event of any violation of the provisions set forth in paragraph 6(a), the Contractor and any


form HUD-5370-C (10/2006)

subcontractor responsible therefor shall be liable for the unpaid wages. In addition, such Contractor and subcontractor shall be liable to the United States (in the case of work done under contract for the District of Columbia or a territory, to the District or to such territory), for liquidated damages. Such liquidated damages shall be computed with respect to each individual laborer or mechanic, including watchmen and guards, employed in violation of the provisions set forth in paragraph (a) of this clause, in the sum of $10 for each calendar day on which such individual was required or permitted to work in excess of the standard workweek of 40 hours without payment of the overtime wages required by provisions set forth in paragraph (a) of this clause.

(c) Withholding for unpaid wages and liquidated damages. HUD or its designee shall upon its own action or upon written request of an authorized representative of the U.S. Department of Labor withhold or cause to be withheld, from any moneys payable on account of work performed by the Contractor or subcontractor under any such Contract or any federal contract with the same prime Contractor, or any other federally-assisted contract subject to the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act, which is held by the same prime Contractor such sums as may be determined to be necessary to satisfy any liabilities of such Contractor or subcontractor for unpaid wages and liquidated damages as provided in the provisions set forth in paragraph (b) of this clause.

7. Subcontracts

The Contractor or subcontractor shall insert in any subcontracts all the provisions contained in this Section II and also a clause requiring the subcontractors to include these provisions in any lower tier subcontracts. The prime Contractor shall be responsible for the compliance by any subcontractor or lower tier subcontractor with all the provisions contained in these clauses.

8. Non-Federal Prevailing Wage Rates

Any prevailing wage rate (including basic hourly rate and any fringe benefits), determined under state law to be prevailing, with respect to any employee in any trade or position employed under the Contract, is inapplicable to the contract and shall not be enforced against the Contractor or any subcontractor, with respect to employees engaged under the contract whenever such non-Federal prevailing wage rate, exclusive of any fringe benefits, exceeds the applicable wage rate determined by the Secretary of HUD to be prevailing in the locality with respect to such trade or position.


form HUD-5370-C (10/2006)



Page 36


ATTACHMENT F Form of Proposal provided by proposer and submitted under Tab 1 of proposal.

LHA REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS – RFP 2019-8 – GRANT WRITING SERVICES



ATTACHMENT F FORM OF PROPOSAL

(This Form must be fully completed and placed under Tab No. 1 of the “hard copy” tabbed proposal.) Instructions: Unless otherwise specifically required, the items listed below must be completed and included in the proposal submittal. Please complete this form by marking an “X,” where provided, to verify that the referenced completed form or information has been included within the “hard copy” proposal submittal submitted by the proposer. Also, complete the Section 3 Statement and the Proposer’s Statement as noted below:

X=ITEM INCLUDED SUBMITTAL ITEMS (Three exact copies of each proposal, including one with original signatures)

__________ __________ __________

Tab 1 Proposer’s Letter of Introduction and Compliance Statement Form of Proposal (Attachment F) Transmittal Form (Attachment G)

__________ __________

Tab 2 Form HUD-5369-C (Attachment C) Profile of Firm Form (Attachment D)

__________ Tab 3 Certificate of Insurance __________ Tab 4 Technical Approach __________ Tab 5 Firm Qualifications __________ Tab 6 Client Information and References __________ Tab 7 Equal Employment Opportunity Statement and Diversity Plan __________ Tab 8 Subcontractor/Joint Venture Information (Optional) __________ Tab 9 Section 3 Business Preference Documentation (Optional;

Attachment J) __________ Tab 10 Other Information (Optional)

SECTION 3 STATEMENT

Are you claiming a Section 3 business preference? YES___ or NO____. If “YES,” pursuant to the Section 3 portion within the Conditions and Specifications, and pursuant to the documentation justifying such submitted under Tab No. 9, which priority are you claiming? ____________.

PROPOSER’S STATEMENT The undersigned proposer hereby states that by completing and submitting this Form and all other documents within this proposal submittal, he/she is verifying that all information provided herein is, to the best of his/her knowledge, true and accurate, and that if the Agency discovers that any information entered herein to be false, such shall entitle the Agency to not consider or make award or to cancel any award with the undersigned party. Further, by completing and submitting the proposal submittal, and by entering and submitting the costs where provided within the noted Internet System, the undersigned proposer is thereby agreeing to abide by all terms and conditions pertaining to this RFP as issued by the Agency, either in hard copy or on the noted Internet System, including an agreement to execute the attached Sample Contract form. Pursuant to all RFP Documents, this Form of Proposal, and all attachments, and pursuant to all completed Documents submitted, including these forms and all attachments, the undersigned proposes to supply the Agency with the services described herein for the fee(s) entered within the areas provided within the noted Internet System pertaining to this RFP. ____________________ _________ ________________ _____________________ Signature Date Printed Name Company



Page 37


ATTACHMENT G Transmittal Form provided by proposer and submitted under Tab 1 of proposal.




ATTACHMENT G TRANSMITTAL FORM

Required Certifications

I. Pursuant to M.G.L. Chapter 62C, §49A, I hereby certify, under the penalties of perjury,

that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, compliance with all the laws of the Commonwealth relating to taxes, reporting of employees and contractors, and withholding and remitting child support subject to the conditions stated in the statute referenced herein.

II. The undersigned further certifies under the penalties of perjury that this bid or proposal is in all respects bona fide, fair and made without collusion or fraud with any other person. As used in the section the word “person” shall mean natural person, joint venture, partnership, corporation or other business or legal entity.

III. The undersigned further certifies under penalty of perjury that this entity is not presently debarred or limitation from doing work for any federal, state or local public agency or political subdivision in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts under the provisions of M.G.L. ch. 29, §29F or any other applicable debarment provisions of the federal government or under the Massachusetts General Laws.

IV. The following Addenda are acknowledged and incorporated herein: Addendum No. Dated Addendum No. Dated Addendum No. Dated Addendum No. Dated

Signed: _________________________________________________________

Printed Name and Title of Authorized Signatory:

Company Name:

Company Address:

Tel./Fax:

E-mail:

Date:

If a corporation, attach a Certificate of Corporate Vote authorizing proposal signatory. Use the form at Exhibit E of the LHA Standard Goods and Services Agreement (ATTACHMENT I) or similar. Claiming a Section 3 business preference: YES / NO . If “YES,” pursuant to the Section 3 portion of RFP Attachment J, which priority are you claiming (I-VII)? . Supporting information must be placed under Tab No. 9.

08/20/2015 CERTIFICATE of CORPORATE VOTE of AUTHORIZATION 00.53.00 1 of 1

CERTIFICATE OF CORPORATE VOTE OF AUTHORIZATION Date:__________________ 20____

I hereby certify that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the:

_______________________________________________________________________________________ NAME OF CORPORATION

duly called and held at ___________________________________ on the ___ day of _________ 20____

at which a quorum was present and acting, it was voted that ___________________________________ NAME OF CORPORATE OFFICER

of the ____________________________________, be and hereby is authorized to execute and deliver NAME OF CORPORATION

for and on behalf of the Corporation, a Contract with _______________________Housing Authority, for

work to be done at State-Aided Housing Development No. _____ in the City/Town of _________

And to act as principal to execute bonds in connection therewith, which Contract and Bonds were

presented to and made part of the records of said meeting.

I further certify that ___________________________________ is duly qualified and acting NAME OF CORPORATE OFFICER

___________________________________ of the Corporation and that said vote has not been repealed, TITLE

rescinded or amended.

A true copy of the record,

ATTEST:_______________________________________

(CORPORATE SEAL)

On this ___ day of _________ 20____, before me, the undersigned Notary Public, personally appeared ___________________________________, duly designated by the board of directors and proved to me, through satisfactory evidence of identification, which was __________________________, that s/he is the person whose name is signed on the foregoing documents, and acknowledged to me that s/he signed it voluntarily for its stated purpose and that it was her/his free act and deed.

________________________________ Notary Public My Commission Expires:

REQUIRED FORMS

CERTIFICATE OF NON-COLLUSION Pursuant to M.G.L. Ch. 30B, §10, the undersigned hereby certifies, under penalties of perjury, that this bid or proposal has been made and submitted in good faith and without fraud or collusion with any other person. As used in this certification, the word “person” shall mean any natural person, business, partnership, corporation, union, committee, club, or other organization, entity, or group of individuals.

___________________________________ ________________________ Signature of person submitting contract/bid Date ___________________________________ Name of Business CERTIFICATE OF TAX COMPLIANCE Pursuant to M.G.L. c. 62C, §49A, I certify under the penalties of perjury that, to the best of my knowledge and belief that I, or the company for which I am completing this bid, is in compliance with all laws of the Commonwealth relating to taxes, reporting of employees and contractors, and withholding and remitting child support.

_________________________ _________________________________ Federal Identification Number or Signature of Individual or Corporate Name SS #

__________________________________ Corporate Officer Signature

(If a corporation, attach a certificate of corporate vote authorizing the signatory to execute this document.)

Form W-9(Rev. October 2018)Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service

Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification

▶ Go to www.irs.gov/FormW9 for instructions and the latest information.

Give Form to the requester. Do not send to the IRS.

Pri

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pe.

S

ee S

pec

ific

Inst

ruct

ions

on

pag

e 3.

1 Name (as shown on your income tax return). Name is required on this line; do not leave this line blank.

2 Business name/disregarded entity name, if different from above

3 Check appropriate box for federal tax classification of the person whose name is entered on line 1. Check only one of the following seven boxes.

Individual/sole proprietor or single-member LLC

C Corporation S Corporation Partnership Trust/estate

Limited liability company. Enter the tax classification (C=C corporation, S=S corporation, P=Partnership) ▶

Note: Check the appropriate box in the line above for the tax classification of the single-member owner. Do not check LLC if the LLC is classified as a single-member LLC that is disregarded from the owner unless the owner of the LLC is another LLC that is not disregarded from the owner for U.S. federal tax purposes. Otherwise, a single-member LLC that is disregarded from the owner should check the appropriate box for the tax classification of its owner.

Other (see instructions) ▶

4 Exemptions (codes apply only to certain entities, not individuals; see instructions on page 3):

Exempt payee code (if any)

Exemption from FATCA reporting

code (if any)

(Applies to accounts maintained outside the U.S.)

5 Address (number, street, and apt. or suite no.) See instructions.

6 City, state, and ZIP code

Requester’s name and address (optional)

7 List account number(s) here (optional)

Part I Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN)Enter your TIN in the appropriate box. The TIN provided must match the name given on line 1 to avoid backup withholding. For individuals, this is generally your social security number (SSN). However, for a resident alien, sole proprietor, or disregarded entity, see the instructions for Part I, later. For other entities, it is your employer identification number (EIN). If you do not have a number, see How to get a TIN, later.

Note: If the account is in more than one name, see the instructions for line 1. Also see What Name and Number To Give the Requester for guidelines on whose number to enter.

Social security number

– –

orEmployer identification number

–

Part II CertificationUnder penalties of perjury, I certify that:

1. The number shown on this form is my correct taxpayer identification number (or I am waiting for a number to be issued to me); and2. I am not subject to backup withholding because: (a) I am exempt from backup withholding, or (b) I have not been notified by the Internal Revenue

Service (IRS) that I am subject to backup withholding as a result of a failure to report all interest or dividends, or (c) the IRS has notified me that I am no longer subject to backup withholding; and

3. I am a U.S. citizen or other U.S. person (defined below); and

4. The FATCA code(s) entered on this form (if any) indicating that I am exempt from FATCA reporting is correct.

Certification instructions. You must cross out item 2 above if you have been notified by the IRS that you are currently subject to backup withholding because you have failed to report all interest and dividends on your tax return. For real estate transactions, item 2 does not apply. For mortgage interest paid, acquisition or abandonment of secured property, cancellation of debt, contributions to an individual retirement arrangement (IRA), and generally, payments other than interest and dividends, you are not required to sign the certification, but you must provide your correct TIN. See the instructions for Part II, later.

Sign Here

Signature of U.S. person ▶ Date ▶

General InstructionsSection references are to the Internal Revenue Code unless otherwise noted.

Future developments. For the latest information about developments related to Form W-9 and its instructions, such as legislation enacted after they were published, go to www.irs.gov/FormW9.

Purpose of FormAn individual or entity (Form W-9 requester) who is required to file an information return with the IRS must obtain your correct taxpayer identification number (TIN) which may be your social security number (SSN), individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN), adoption taxpayer identification number (ATIN), or employer identification number (EIN), to report on an information return the amount paid to you, or other amount reportable on an information return. Examples of information returns include, but are not limited to, the following.

• Form 1099-INT (interest earned or paid)

• Form 1099-DIV (dividends, including those from stocks or mutual funds)

• Form 1099-MISC (various types of income, prizes, awards, or gross proceeds)

• Form 1099-B (stock or mutual fund sales and certain other transactions by brokers)

• Form 1099-S (proceeds from real estate transactions)

• Form 1099-K (merchant card and third party network transactions)

• Form 1098 (home mortgage interest), 1098-E (student loan interest), 1098-T (tuition)

• Form 1099-C (canceled debt)

• Form 1099-A (acquisition or abandonment of secured property)

Use Form W-9 only if you are a U.S. person (including a resident alien), to provide your correct TIN.

If you do not return Form W-9 to the requester with a TIN, you might be subject to backup withholding. See What is backup withholding, later.

Cat. No. 10231X Form W-9 (Rev. 10-2018)

Form W-9 (Rev. 10-2018) Page 2

By signing the filled-out form, you:

1. Certify that the TIN you are giving is correct (or you are waiting for a number to be issued),

2. Certify that you are not subject to backup withholding, or

3. Claim exemption from backup withholding if you are a U.S. exempt payee. If applicable, you are also certifying that as a U.S. person, your allocable share of any partnership income from a U.S. trade or business is not subject to the withholding tax on foreign partners' share of effectively connected income, and

4. Certify that FATCA code(s) entered on this form (if any) indicating that you are exempt from the FATCA reporting, is correct. See What is FATCA reporting, later, for further information.

Note: If you are a U.S. person and a requester gives you a form other than Form W-9 to request your TIN, you must use the requester’s form if it is substantially similar to this Form W-9.

Definition of a U.S. person. For federal tax purposes, you are considered a U.S. person if you are:

• An individual who is a U.S. citizen or U.S. resident alien;

• A partnership, corporation, company, or association created or organized in the United States or under the laws of the United States;

• An estate (other than a foreign estate); or

• A domestic trust (as defined in Regulations section 301.7701-7).

Special rules for partnerships. Partnerships that conduct a trade or business in the United States are generally required to pay a withholding tax under section 1446 on any foreign partners’ share of effectively connected taxable income from such business. Further, in certain cases where a Form W-9 has not been received, the rules under section 1446 require a partnership to presume that a partner is a foreign person, and pay the section 1446 withholding tax. Therefore, if you are a U.S. person that is a partner in a partnership conducting a trade or business in the United States, provide Form W-9 to the partnership to establish your U.S. status and avoid section 1446 withholding on your share of partnership income.

In the cases below, the following person must give Form W-9 to the partnership for purposes of establishing its U.S. status and avoiding withholding on its allocable share of net income from the partnership conducting a trade or business in the United States.

• In the case of a disregarded entity with a U.S. owner, the U.S. owner of the disregarded entity and not the entity;

• In the case of a grantor trust with a U.S. grantor or other U.S. owner, generally, the U.S. grantor or other U.S. owner of the grantor trust and not the trust; and

• In the case of a U.S. trust (other than a grantor trust), the U.S. trust (other than a grantor trust) and not the beneficiaries of the trust.

Foreign person. If you are a foreign person or the U.S. branch of a foreign bank that has elected to be treated as a U.S. person, do not use Form W-9. Instead, use the appropriate Form W-8 or Form 8233 (see Pub. 515, Withholding of Tax on Nonresident Aliens and Foreign Entities).

Nonresident alien who becomes a resident alien. Generally, only a nonresident alien individual may use the terms of a tax treaty to reduce or eliminate U.S. tax on certain types of income. However, most tax treaties contain a provision known as a “saving clause.” Exceptions specified in the saving clause may permit an exemption from tax to continue for certain types of income even after the payee has otherwise become a U.S. resident alien for tax purposes.

If you are a U.S. resident alien who is relying on an exception contained in the saving clause of a tax treaty to claim an exemption from U.S. tax on certain types of income, you must attach a statement to Form W-9 that specifies the following five items.

1. The treaty country. Generally, this must be the same treaty under which you claimed exemption from tax as a nonresident alien.

2. The treaty article addressing the income.3. The article number (or location) in the tax treaty that contains the

saving clause and its exceptions.4. The type and amount of income that qualifies for the exemption

from tax.5. Sufficient facts to justify the exemption from tax under the terms of

the treaty article.

Example. Article 20 of the U.S.-China income tax treaty allows an exemption from tax for scholarship income received by a Chinese student temporarily present in the United States. Under U.S. law, this student will become a resident alien for tax purposes if his or her stay in the United States exceeds 5 calendar years. However, paragraph 2 of the first Protocol to the U.S.-China treaty (dated April 30, 1984) allows the provisions of Article 20 to continue to apply even after the Chinese student becomes a resident alien of the United States. A Chinese student who qualifies for this exception (under paragraph 2 of the first protocol) and is relying on this exception to claim an exemption from tax on his or her scholarship or fellowship income would attach to Form W-9 a statement that includes the information described above to support that exemption.

If you are a nonresident alien or a foreign entity, give the requester the appropriate completed Form W-8 or Form 8233.

Backup WithholdingWhat is backup withholding? Persons making certain payments to you must under certain conditions withhold and pay to the IRS 24% of such payments. This is called “backup withholding.” Payments that may be subject to backup withholding include interest, tax-exempt interest, dividends, broker and barter exchange transactions, rents, royalties, nonemployee pay, payments made in settlement of payment card and third party network transactions, and certain payments from fishing boat operators. Real estate transactions are not subject to backup withholding.

You will not be subject to backup withholding on payments you receive if you give the requester your correct TIN, make the proper certifications, and report all your taxable interest and dividends on your tax return.

Payments you receive will be subject to backup withholding if:

1. You do not furnish your TIN to the requester,

2. You do not certify your TIN when required (see the instructions for Part II for details),

3. The IRS tells the requester that you furnished an incorrect TIN,

4. The IRS tells you that you are subject to backup withholding because you did not report all your interest and dividends on your tax return (for reportable interest and dividends only), or

5. You do not certify to the requester that you are not subject to backup withholding under 4 above (for reportable interest and dividend accounts opened after 1983 only).

Certain payees and payments are exempt from backup withholding. See Exempt payee code, later, and the separate Instructions for the Requester of Form W-9 for more information.

Also see Special rules for partnerships, earlier.

What is FATCA Reporting?The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) requires a participating foreign financial institution to report all United States account holders that are specified United States persons. Certain payees are exempt from FATCA reporting. See Exemption from FATCA reporting code, later, and the Instructions for the Requester of Form W-9 for more information.

Updating Your InformationYou must provide updated information to any person to whom you claimed to be an exempt payee if you are no longer an exempt payee and anticipate receiving reportable payments in the future from this person. For example, you may need to provide updated information if you are a C corporation that elects to be an S corporation, or if you no longer are tax exempt. In addition, you must furnish a new Form W-9 if the name or TIN changes for the account; for example, if the grantor of a grantor trust dies.

PenaltiesFailure to furnish TIN. If you fail to furnish your correct TIN to a requester, you are subject to a penalty of $50 for each such failure unless your failure is due to reasonable cause and not to willful neglect.

Civil penalty for false information with respect to withholding. If you make a false statement with no reasonable basis that results in no backup withholding, you are subject to a $500 penalty.


Criminal penalty for falsifying information. Willfully falsifying certifications or affirmations may subject you to criminal penalties including fines and/or imprisonment.

Misuse of TINs. If the requester discloses or uses TINs in violation of federal law, the requester may be subject to civil and criminal penalties.

Specific InstructionsLine 1You must enter one of the following on this line; do not leave this line blank. The name should match the name on your tax return.

If this Form W-9 is for a joint account (other than an account maintained by a foreign financial institution (FFI)), list first, and then circle, the name of the person or entity whose number you entered in Part I of Form W-9. If you are providing Form W-9 to an FFI to document a joint account, each holder of the account that is a U.S. person must provide a Form W-9.

a. Individual. Generally, enter the name shown on your tax return. If you have changed your last name without informing the Social Security Administration (SSA) of the name change, enter your first name, the last name as shown on your social security card, and your new last name.

Note: ITIN applicant: Enter your individual name as it was entered on your Form W-7 application, line 1a. This should also be the same as the name you entered on the Form 1040/1040A/1040EZ you filed with your application.

b. Sole proprietor or single-member LLC. Enter your individual name as shown on your 1040/1040A/1040EZ on line 1. You may enter your business, trade, or “doing business as” (DBA) name on line 2.

c. Partnership, LLC that is not a single-member LLC, C corporation, or S corporation. Enter the entity's name as shown on the entity's tax return on line 1 and any business, trade, or DBA name on line 2.

d. Other entities. Enter your name as shown on required U.S. federal tax documents on line 1. This name should match the name shown on the charter or other legal document creating the entity. You may enter any business, trade, or DBA name on line 2.

e. Disregarded entity. For U.S. federal tax purposes, an entity that is disregarded as an entity separate from its owner is treated as a “disregarded entity.” See Regulations section 301.7701-2(c)(2)(iii). Enter the owner's name on line 1. The name of the entity entered on line 1 should never be a disregarded entity. The name on line 1 should be the name shown on the income tax return on which the income should be reported. For example, if a foreign LLC that is treated as a disregarded entity for U.S. federal tax purposes has a single owner that is a U.S. person, the U.S. owner's name is required to be provided on line 1. If the direct owner of the entity is also a disregarded entity, enter the first owner that is not disregarded for federal tax purposes. Enter the disregarded entity's name on line 2, “Business name/disregarded entity name.” If the owner of the disregarded entity is a foreign person, the owner must complete an appropriate Form W-8 instead of a Form W-9. This is the case even if the foreign person has a U.S. TIN.

Line 2If you have a business name, trade name, DBA name, or disregarded entity name, you may enter it on line 2.

Line 3Check the appropriate box on line 3 for the U.S. federal tax classification of the person whose name is entered on line 1. Check only one box on line 3.

IF the entity/person on line 1 is a(n) . . .

THEN check the box for . . .

• Corporation Corporation

• Individual • Sole proprietorship, or • Single-member limited liability company (LLC) owned by an individual and disregarded for U.S. federal tax purposes.

Individual/sole proprietor or single-member LLC

• LLC treated as a partnership for U.S. federal tax purposes, • LLC that has filed Form 8832 or 2553 to be taxed as a corporation, or • LLC that is disregarded as an entity separate from its owner but the owner is another LLC that is not disregarded for U.S. federal tax purposes.

Limited liability company and enter the appropriate tax classification. (P= Partnership; C= C corporation; or S= S corporation)

• Partnership Partnership

• Trust/estate Trust/estate

Line 4, ExemptionsIf you are exempt from backup withholding and/or FATCA reporting, enter in the appropriate space on line 4 any code(s) that may apply to you.

Exempt payee code.

• Generally, individuals (including sole proprietors) are not exempt from backup withholding.

• Except as provided below, corporations are exempt from backup withholding for certain payments, including interest and dividends.

• Corporations are not exempt from backup withholding for payments made in settlement of payment card or third party network transactions.

• Corporations are not exempt from backup withholding with respect to attorneys’ fees or gross proceeds paid to attorneys, and corporations that provide medical or health care services are not exempt with respect to payments reportable on Form 1099-MISC.

The following codes identify payees that are exempt from backup withholding. Enter the appropriate code in the space in line 4.

1—An organization exempt from tax under section 501(a), any IRA, or a custodial account under section 403(b)(7) if the account satisfies the requirements of section 401(f)(2)

2—The United States or any of its agencies or instrumentalities

3—A state, the District of Columbia, a U.S. commonwealth or possession, or any of their political subdivisions or instrumentalities

4—A foreign government or any of its political subdivisions, agencies, or instrumentalities

5—A corporation

6—A dealer in securities or commodities required to register in the United States, the District of Columbia, or a U.S. commonwealth or possession

7—A futures commission merchant registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission

8—A real estate investment trust

9—An entity registered at all times during the tax year under the Investment Company Act of 1940

10—A common trust fund operated by a bank under section 584(a)

11—A financial institution

12—A middleman known in the investment community as a nominee or custodian

13—A trust exempt from tax under section 664 or described in section 4947


The following chart shows types of payments that may be exempt from backup withholding. The chart applies to the exempt payees listed above, 1 through 13.

IF the payment is for . . . THEN the payment is exempt for . . .

Interest and dividend payments All exempt payees except for 7

Broker transactions Exempt payees 1 through 4 and 6 through 11 and all C corporations. S corporations must not enter an exempt payee code because they are exempt only for sales of noncovered securities acquired prior to 2012.

Barter exchange transactions and patronage dividends

Exempt payees 1 through 4

Payments over $600 required to be reported and direct sales over $5,0001

Generally, exempt payees 1 through 52

Payments made in settlement of payment card or third party network transactions

Exempt payees 1 through 4

1 See Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Income, and its instructions.2 However, the following payments made to a corporation and reportable on Form 1099-MISC are not exempt from backup

withholding: medical and health care payments, attorneys’ fees, gross proceeds paid to an attorney reportable under section 6045(f), and payments for services paid by a federal executive agency.

Exemption from FATCA reporting code. The following codes identify payees that are exempt from reporting under FATCA. These codes apply to persons submitting this form for accounts maintained outside of the United States by certain foreign financial institutions. Therefore, if you are only submitting this form for an account you hold in the United States, you may leave this field blank. Consult with the person requesting this form if you are uncertain if the financial institution is subject to these requirements. A requester may indicate that a code is not required by providing you with a Form W-9 with “Not Applicable” (or any similar indication) written or printed on the line for a FATCA exemption code.

A—An organization exempt from tax under section 501(a) or any individual retirement plan as defined in section 7701(a)(37)

B—The United States or any of its agencies or instrumentalities

C—A state, the District of Columbia, a U.S. commonwealth or possession, or any of their political subdivisions or instrumentalities

D—A corporation the stock of which is regularly traded on one or more established securities markets, as described in Regulations section 1.1472-1(c)(1)(i)

E—A corporation that is a member of the same expanded affiliated group as a corporation described in Regulations section 1.1472-1(c)(1)(i)

F—A dealer in securities, commodities, or derivative financial instruments (including notional principal contracts, futures, forwards, and options) that is registered as such under the laws of the United States or any state

G—A real estate investment trust

H—A regulated investment company as defined in section 851 or an entity registered at all times during the tax year under the Investment Company Act of 1940

I—A common trust fund as defined in section 584(a)

J—A bank as defined in section 581

K—A broker

L—A trust exempt from tax under section 664 or described in section 4947(a)(1)

M—A tax exempt trust under a section 403(b) plan or section 457(g) plan

Note: You may wish to consult with the financial institution requesting this form to determine whether the FATCA code and/or exempt payee code should be completed.

Line 5Enter your address (number, street, and apartment or suite number). This is where the requester of this Form W-9 will mail your information returns. If this address differs from the one the requester already has on file, write NEW at the top. If a new address is provided, there is still a chance the old address will be used until the payor changes your address in their records.

Line 6Enter your city, state, and ZIP code.

Part I. Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN)Enter your TIN in the appropriate box. If you are a resident alien and you do not have and are not eligible to get an SSN, your TIN is your IRS individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN). Enter it in the social security number box. If you do not have an ITIN, see How to get a TIN below.

If you are a sole proprietor and you have an EIN, you may enter either your SSN or EIN.

If you are a single-member LLC that is disregarded as an entity separate from its owner, enter the owner’s SSN (or EIN, if the owner has one). Do not enter the disregarded entity’s EIN. If the LLC is classified as a corporation or partnership, enter the entity’s EIN.

Note: See What Name and Number To Give the Requester, later, for further clarification of name and TIN combinations.

How to get a TIN. If you do not have a TIN, apply for one immediately. To apply for an SSN, get Form SS-5, Application for a Social Security Card, from your local SSA office or get this form online at www.SSA.gov. You may also get this form by calling 1-800-772-1213. Use Form W-7, Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, to apply for an ITIN, or Form SS-4, Application for Employer Identification Number, to apply for an EIN. You can apply for an EIN online by accessing the IRS website at www.irs.gov/Businesses and clicking on Employer Identification Number (EIN) under Starting a Business. Go to www.irs.gov/Forms to view, download, or print Form W-7 and/or Form SS-4. Or, you can go to www.irs.gov/OrderForms to place an order and have Form W-7 and/or SS-4 mailed to you within 10 business days.

If you are asked to complete Form W-9 but do not have a TIN, apply for a TIN and write “Applied For” in the space for the TIN, sign and date the form, and give it to the requester. For interest and dividend payments, and certain payments made with respect to readily tradable instruments, generally you will have 60 days to get a TIN and give it to the requester before you are subject to backup withholding on payments. The 60-day rule does not apply to other types of payments. You will be subject to backup withholding on all such payments until you provide your TIN to the requester.

Note: Entering “Applied For” means that you have already applied for a TIN or that you intend to apply for one soon.

Caution: A disregarded U.S. entity that has a foreign owner must use the appropriate Form W-8.

Part II. CertificationTo establish to the withholding agent that you are a U.S. person, or resident alien, sign Form W-9. You may be requested to sign by the withholding agent even if item 1, 4, or 5 below indicates otherwise.

For a joint account, only the person whose TIN is shown in Part I should sign (when required). In the case of a disregarded entity, the person identified on line 1 must sign. Exempt payees, see Exempt payee code, earlier.

Signature requirements. Complete the certification as indicated in items 1 through 5 below.


1. Interest, dividend, and barter exchange accounts opened before 1984 and broker accounts considered active during 1983. You must give your correct TIN, but you do not have to sign the certification.

2. Interest, dividend, broker, and barter exchange accounts opened after 1983 and broker accounts considered inactive during 1983. You must sign the certification or backup withholding will apply. If you are subject to backup withholding and you are merely providing your correct TIN to the requester, you must cross out item 2 in the certification before signing the form.

3. Real estate transactions. You must sign the certification. You may cross out item 2 of the certification.

4. Other payments. You must give your correct TIN, but you do not have to sign the certification unless you have been notified that you have previously given an incorrect TIN. “Other payments” include payments made in the course of the requester’s trade or business for rents, royalties, goods (other than bills for merchandise), medical and health care services (including payments to corporations), payments to a nonemployee for services, payments made in settlement of payment card and third party network transactions, payments to certain fishing boat crew members and fishermen, and gross proceeds paid to attorneys (including payments to corporations).

5. Mortgage interest paid by you, acquisition or abandonment of secured property, cancellation of debt, qualified tuition program payments (under section 529), ABLE accounts (under section 529A), IRA, Coverdell ESA, Archer MSA or HSA contributions or distributions, and pension distributions. You must give your correct TIN, but you do not have to sign the certification.

What Name and Number To Give the RequesterFor this type of account: Give name and SSN of:

1. Individual The individual

2. Two or more individuals (joint account) other than an account maintained by an FFI

The actual owner of the account or, if combined funds, the first individual on

the account1

3. Two or more U.S. persons (joint account maintained by an FFI)

Each holder of the account

4. Custodial account of a minor (Uniform Gift to Minors Act)

The minor2

5. a. The usual revocable savings trust (grantor is also trustee) b. So-called trust account that is not a legal or valid trust under state law

The grantor-trustee1

The actual owner1

6. Sole proprietorship or disregarded entity owned by an individual

The owner3

7. Grantor trust filing under Optional Form 1099 Filing Method 1 (see Regulations section 1.671-4(b)(2)(i)(A))

The grantor*

For this type of account: Give name and EIN of:8. Disregarded entity not owned by an

individualThe owner

9. A valid trust, estate, or pension trust Legal entity4

10. Corporation or LLC electing corporate status on Form 8832 or Form 2553

The corporation

11. Association, club, religious, charitable, educational, or other tax-exempt organization

The organization

12. Partnership or multi-member LLC The partnership

13. A broker or registered nominee The broker or nominee

For this type of account: Give name and EIN of:14. Account with the Department of

Agriculture in the name of a public entity (such as a state or local government, school district, or prison) that receives agricultural program payments

The public entity

15. Grantor trust filing under the Form 1041 Filing Method or the Optional Form 1099 Filing Method 2 (see Regulations section 1.671-4(b)(2)(i)(B))

The trust

1 List first and circle the name of the person whose number you furnish. If only one person on a joint account has an SSN, that person’s number must be furnished.2 Circle the minor’s name and furnish the minor’s SSN.3 You must show your individual name and you may also enter your business or DBA name on the “Business name/disregarded entity” name line. You may use either your SSN or EIN (if you have one), but the IRS encourages you to use your SSN.4 List first and circle the name of the trust, estate, or pension trust. (Do not furnish the TIN of the personal representative or trustee unless the legal entity itself is not designated in the account title.) Also see Special rules for partnerships, earlier.

*Note: The grantor also must provide a Form W-9 to trustee of trust.

Note: If no name is circled when more than one name is listed, the number will be considered to be that of the first name listed.

Secure Your Tax Records From Identity TheftIdentity theft occurs when someone uses your personal information such as your name, SSN, or other identifying information, without your permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. An identity thief may use your SSN to get a job or may file a tax return using your SSN to receive a refund.

To reduce your risk:

• Protect your SSN,

• Ensure your employer is protecting your SSN, and

• Be careful when choosing a tax preparer.

If your tax records are affected by identity theft and you receive a notice from the IRS, respond right away to the name and phone number printed on the IRS notice or letter.

If your tax records are not currently affected by identity theft but you think you are at risk due to a lost or stolen purse or wallet, questionable credit card activity or credit report, contact the IRS Identity Theft Hotline at 1-800-908-4490 or submit Form 14039.

For more information, see Pub. 5027, Identity Theft Information for Taxpayers.

Victims of identity theft who are experiencing economic harm or a systemic problem, or are seeking help in resolving tax problems that have not been resolved through normal channels, may be eligible for Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) assistance. You can reach TAS by calling the TAS toll-free case intake line at 1-877-777-4778 or TTY/TDD 1-800-829-4059.

Protect yourself from suspicious emails or phishing schemes. Phishing is the creation and use of email and websites designed to mimic legitimate business emails and websites. The most common act is sending an email to a user falsely claiming to be an established legitimate enterprise in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft.


The IRS does not initiate contacts with taxpayers via emails. Also, the IRS does not request personal detailed information through email or ask taxpayers for the PIN numbers, passwords, or similar secret access information for their credit card, bank, or other financial accounts.

If you receive an unsolicited email claiming to be from the IRS, forward this message to [email protected]. You may also report misuse of the IRS name, logo, or other IRS property to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) at 1-800-366-4484. You can forward suspicious emails to the Federal Trade Commission at [email protected] or report them at www.ftc.gov/complaint. You can contact the FTC at www.ftc.gov/idtheft or 877-IDTHEFT (877-438-4338). If you have been the victim of identity theft, see www.IdentityTheft.gov and Pub. 5027.

Visit www.irs.gov/IdentityTheft to learn more about identity theft and how to reduce your risk.

Privacy Act NoticeSection 6109 of the Internal Revenue Code requires you to provide your correct TIN to persons (including federal agencies) who are required to file information returns with the IRS to report interest, dividends, or certain other income paid to you; mortgage interest you paid; the acquisition or abandonment of secured property; the cancellation of debt; or contributions you made to an IRA, Archer MSA, or HSA. The person collecting this form uses the information on the form to file information returns with the IRS, reporting the above information. Routine uses of this information include giving it to the Department of Justice for civil and criminal litigation and to cities, states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. commonwealths and possessions for use in administering their laws. The information also may be disclosed to other countries under a treaty, to federal and state agencies to enforce civil and criminal laws, or to federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies to combat terrorism. You must provide your TIN whether or not you are required to file a tax return. Under section 3406, payers must generally withhold a percentage of taxable interest, dividend, and certain other payments to a payee who does not give a TIN to the payer. Certain penalties may also apply for providing false or fraudulent information.



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ATTACHMENT H

COST/PRICE PROPOSAL Submit in a separate sealed envelope labeled “Cost Proposal”

TELEPHONE ANSWERING SERVICES The undersigned Proposer certifies under penalties of perjury that this Price Proposal,

including the attached documents, has been made and submitted in good faith and without

collusion or fraud with any other person. As used in the certification, the word “Person” shall

mean any natural person, business partnership, corporation, union, committee, club or

other organization, entity or group of individuals. The undersigned further certifies that he

has carefully examined the RFP, including the attached exhibits and all addenda, and it

proposes and agrees that it will contract with the LHA to provide all of the services

described therein in the manner and time set forth therein for the prices set forth below.

The Proposer certifies that the information contained in this Price Proposal is current,

truthful and complete.

Sealed Price Proposal includes Addenda #’s _____________

All fees/expenses associated with fulfilling this contract must be included here. No other

fees/expenses will be accepted. The proposal contract price is:

YEAR ONE

Description UOM Unit Cost Est.

Qty Total

Base Rate

2,200 calls per month – total

inbound and outbound

Per

Month $

12

mos $

Additional Inbound/Outbound

Operator Assisted Calls

Per

Call $

1,600

calls $

Patch Minutes

Tenant connected directly to

Property Manager and/or

designee(s)

Per

Minute $

10

min $

YEAR ONE TOTAL $

YEAR TWO


Qty Total

Base Rate



Per

Month $

12

mos $



Per

Call $

1,600

calls $

Patch Minutes



designee(s)

Per

Minute $

10

min $

YEAR TWO TOTAL $



Page 39


YEAR THREE


Qty Total

Base Rate



Per

Month $

12

mos $



Per

Call $

1,600

calls $

Patch Minutes



designee(s)

Per

Minute $

10

min $

YEAR THREE TOTAL $

GRAND TOTAL $ _______________________

(years 1, 2 & 3)

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have caused this instrument to be executed in one (1)

original counterpart as of the day and year first above written.

Date_________________

_________________________________________

(Name of Proposer)

By_______________________________________

(Name of Person Signing Proposal and Title)

_________________________________________

(Business Address)

_________________________________________

(City and State)

__________________ / _____________________

(Telephone) (Fax)

_________________________________________

Email Address



Page 40


ATTACHMENT I Sample Standard LHA Goods and Services Agreement follows this page.

Contract for:

V5, 07/23/2014 G&S Contract RFP/ IFB/Quotes$10K+ Page 1

AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE LOWELL HOUSING AUTHORITY

AND

THIS AGREEMENT made effective ______, 201 , by and between the LOWELL HOUSING AUTHORITY, a public housing authority, acting by and through its Board of Commissioners and Executive Director, with offices at 350 Moody Street, Lowell, Massachusetts 01854 (hereinafter called the "LHA"), and . whose principal office address and state of incorporation are as set forth on Exhibit A (hereinafter called the "CONTRACTOR").

RECITALS:

WHEREAS, the LHA desires to retain the CONTRACTOR to provide certain services for the LHA, as described below, and the CONTRACTOR is willing to accept such engagement, all on the terms hereinafter set forth;

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants hereinafter set forth, and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, the parties agree as follows:

ARTICLE 1 - ENGAGEMENT OF THE CONTRACTOR

1.1 The LHA hereby engages the CONTRACTOR, and the CONTRACTOR hereby accepts the engagement to perform certain services for the LHA, as described in Article 2.

1.2. In the performance of any service under this Agreement, the CONTRACTOR acts at all times as an independent contractor. There is no relationship of employment or agency between the LHA, on the one hand, and the CONTRACTOR, on the other, and the LHA shall not have or exercise any control or direction over the method by which the CONTRACTOR performs its work or functions aside from such control or directions which are consistent with the independent contractor relationship contemplated in the Agreement.

ARTICLE 2 - SERVICES OF THE CONTRACTOR

2.1 The CONTRACTOR will perform the services described in the Scope of Services set forth on Exhibit A (the "Work").

2.2 The CONTRACTOR shall report, and be responsible, to the LHA and its designee (if any) as set forth on Exhibit A.

2.3 There shall be no amendment to the Scope of Services or Work provided for in this Agreement without the written approval of the LHA. The LHA shall be under no obligation to pay for any services performed by the CONTRACTOR which are not explicitly agreed to by the LHA in writing.

2.4 The CONTRACTOR represents and warrants to the LHA that the CONTRACTOR (including all of its personnel, whether employees, agents or

independent contractors) will be qualified and duly licensed (if necessary) to perform the services required by this Agreement and further agrees to perform its services in a professional manner, and in accordance with the reasonable standard of care implied by law and all applicable local, state or federal ordinances, laws, rules and regulations, all of which are incorporated herein by reference. The CONTRACTOR will obtain and pay for any and all permits, bonds and other items required for the proper and legal performance of the Work.

2.5 The CONTRACTOR represents and warrants to the LHA that it is not a party to any agreement contract or understanding which would in any way restricts or prohibits it from undertaking or performing its obligations hereunder in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement.

2.6 All written materials and any other documents (whether in the form of “hard” copies, graphics, magnetic media or otherwise) which are received and produced by the CONTRACTOR pursuant to this Agreement shall be deemed to be “work for hire” and shall be and become the property of the LHA upon the receipt and production of such items by the CONTRACTOR. The LHA acknowledges that such materials are being prepared with respect to the specific project contemplated hereby and that any reuse of such materials by the LHA in connection with any other project shall be at the LHA’s sole risk, unless otherwise agreed to by the CONTRACTOR in writing.

P.O#

Contract for:


2.7 The CONTRACTOR shall be responsible for the professional and technical accuracy, and for the coordination, of all designs, drawings, specifications, estimates and other work or services furnished by CONTRACTOR or its consultants and subcontractors. The CONTRACTOR shall perform its work under this Agreement in such a competent and professional manner that detail checking and reviewing by the LHA shall not be necessary. The CONTRACTOR shall supervise and direct the Work, using its best skills and attention, which shall not be less than such state of skill and attention generally rendered by the design and engineering profession for projects similar to the subject project in scope, difficulty and location.

2.8 The CONTRACTOR shall not use any subcontractors or sub-consultants (not identified herein) for any work required under this Agreement unless such use has been approved in advance in writing by the LHA.

2.9 Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, the CONTRACTOR shall not be relieved of its obligations under this Agreement by the LHA’s performance, or failure to perform, any of the LHA’s administrative duties under this Agreement, including, but not limited to, the LHA’s review and/or approval of plans, estimates, programs, documents, materials, work and services furnished by CONTRACTOR.

ARTICLE 3 - PERIOD OF SERVICES

3.1 Unless otherwise provided on Exhibit A, the term of this Agreement shall commence on the date hereof and continue until the Work is completed to the LHA's reasonable satisfaction.

3.2 The CONTRACTOR shall proceed with the Work promptly after receiving Notice to Proceed and will diligently and faithfully prosecute the Work to completion in accordance with the provisions hereof. In any event, the Work shall be completed no later than the date set forth on Exhibit A. The CONTRACTOR acknowledges that time is of the essence of this Agreement.

3.3 If the CONTRACTOR is delayed in the performance of any of its obligations under this Agreement by the occurrence of an unforeseen event beyond its control such as fire or other casualty, abnormal adverse weather conditions, acts of God (collectively, "Unavoidable Events") which materially and adversely affect its ability

to perform the Work, then the time for the CONTRACTOR to perform the Work shall be extended for such time as the LHA shall reasonably determine is necessary to permit the CONTRACTOR to perform in light of the effects of the Unavoidable Event. If an Unavoidable Event occurs which, in the LHA’s reasonable determination, makes the performance of the Agreement impossible without the expenditure of additional LHA funds, the LHA may, at its option, elect to terminate this Agreement upon thirty (30) days written notice.

ARTICLE 4 - PAYMENTS TO THE CONTRACTOR

4.1 The compensation due to the CONTRACTOR shall be paid in the amounts, and in the manner, set forth on Exhibit B, attached hereto. Unless otherwise provided in Exhibit B, net payments are made by the LHA within 30 days of an invoice submitted by the Contractor that is accepted by the LHA.

4.2 The CONTRACTOR will bill the LHA at the completion of the work unless otherwise provided on Exhibit B, with one or more invoices broken down to show the quantity of work performed and the percentage of the entire project completed, categories and amount of reimbursable expenses (if any), and provide such supporting data on the invoice required by the LHA, including without limitation:

4.2.1 A unique invoice number; 4.2.2 Contractor’s name, address and

telephone number; 4.2.3 Date of invoice and/or billing period; 4.2.4 Applicable contract number; 4.2.5 Applicable purchase order number; 4.2.6 Description of goods/services

rendered; 4.2.7 Service time period, total hours billed

per-service, per-site, the approved rate and product delivery date(s);

4.2.8 Work order approved by LHA designee;

4.2.9 Total U.S. ($) dollar amount billed; and

4.2.10 Weekly applicable certified payroll, Federal Form WH-347 or MA Prev. Wage Forms.

4.3 The LHA will pay the CONTRACTOR upon review and approval of such invoices by the LHA or its designee.

http://bit.ly/Fed-Wage-Report

http://bit.ly/MA-PW_Payroll

http://bit.ly/MA-PW_Payroll

Contract for:


4.4 This engagement may be subject to budgetary restrictions which may limit the total amount of funds available for the Work. Accordingly, unless otherwise stated on Exhibit B, the LHA will not be obligated to pay any amount in excess of the maximum project amount without the express written approval of the LHA.

4.5 The CONTRACTOR and its sub-contractors shall not be compensated for any services involved in preparing changes that are required for additional work that should have been anticipated by the CONTRACTOR in the preparation of the documents, as reasonably determined by the LHA.

ARTICLE 5 - TERMINATION

5.1 This Agreement may be terminated, with cause, by either the LHA or CONTRACTOR, upon written notice given by the non-defaulting party. For the purposes of this provision, "cause" shall include the failure of a party to fulfill its material duties hereunder in a timely and proper manner.

5.2 The LHA shall have the right to terminate this Agreement for its convenience and without cause upon ten (10) days written notice.

5.3 Following termination of this Agreement, the parties shall be relieved of all further obligations hereunder:

(a) Unless the LHA terminates for cause under paragraph 5.1, in which event the LHA shall be under no obligation to make any payments to CONTRACTOR except for those services satisfactorily provided, the LHA shall remain responsible for payments for the services satisfactorily performed and, unless this Agreement is for a lump-sum, expenses of CONTRACTOR reasonably accrued prior to the effective date of the notice of termination in compliance with this Agreement (less the value of any claims of the LHA), all as determined by the LHA in its sole discretion, but for no other amounts, including, without limitation, claims for lost profits on Work not performed; and

(b) The CONTRACTOR shall remain liable for any damages, expenses or liabilities arising under this Agreement (including its indemnity obligations) with respect to WORK performed pursuant to the Agreement.

ARTICLE 6 - INSURANCE AND INDEMNIFICATION

6.1 The CONTRACTOR agrees to indemnify and save the LHA harmless from any and all manner of suits, claims, or demands arising out of any errors, omissions or negligence by CONTRACTOR (including all its employees, agents and independent contractors) in performing the Work, or any breach of the terms of this Agreement by such CONTRACTOR and shall reimburse the LHA for any and all costs, damages and expenses, including reasonable attorney's fees, which the LHA pays or becomes obligated to pay, by reason of such activities, or breach. The provisions of this Section 6.1 shall be in addition to, and shall not be construed as a limitation on, any other legal rights of the LHA with respect to the CONTRACTOR, in connection with this Agreement, and shall survive termination or expiration of this Agreement.

6.2 Before commencing work the CONTRACTOR shall obtain and maintain at its expense and from insurance companies of a Best Rating of A or better, which are licensed to do business in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, insurance as set forth below. If the CONTRACTOR is permitted to sub-contract a material portion of the Work, or is otherwise identifying a third party to perform services for the LHA, the CONTRACTOR shall assure that such sub-contractor or other third party also has such insurance. Commercial or Comprehensive General Liability Insurance, Professional Liability Insurance (for a period extending two years past the date of completion of construction), and other insurance as are required by law, all in minimum amounts as set forth below

(a) Workers' Compensation, covering the obligations of the CONTRACTOR in

Contract for:


accordance with applicable Workers' Compensation or Benefits laws.

(b) Commercial General Liability Insurance on an occurrence basis with a combined single limit of not less than $1 million. Coverage is to include premises and operations, coverage for liability of subcontractors. The policy shall contain an endorsement stating that the aggregate limits will apply separately to the work being performed under this Agreement.

(c) Automobile Liability Insurance of not less than $1 million combined single limit covering owned, hired and non-hired vehicle use.

(d) Errors and Omissions Insurance of not less than $2 million per claim. The coverage shall be in force from the date of execution of the Agreement to the date when all design and construction work is completed and accepted by the LHA, unless, however, the policy is a “claims made policy,” in which event the policy shall remain effective and in full force for a period of six (6) years after completion of all design and construction work relating to the engagement.

(e) Such additional insurance as may be required to be carried by the CONTRACTOR by law.

(f) Such additional insurance as the LHA may reasonably require, as set forth on Exhibit A.

CONTRACTOR shall maintain such insurance during the term of Agreement and give the LHA twenty (20) days written notice of any change or cancellation of coverage. Each insurer providing policies hereunder shall waive its rights to subrogate claims against the LHA. The LHA will be added as an additional named insured with respect to each such policy and such endorsement shall be reflected on a Certificate of Insurance to be delivered to the LHA upon the execution of this Agreement and at such times thereafter as the LHA may reasonably request.

ARTICLE 7 - GENERAL PROVISIONS

7.1 Upon the expiration or the termination of this Agreement for any reason, all data, drawings, specifications, reports, estimates, summaries and other work product which have been accumulated, developed or prepared by the CONTRACTOR (whether completed or in process) shall become the property of the LHA upon payment for such to the CONTRACTOR and the CONTRACTOR shall immediately deliver or otherwise make available all such material to the LHA.

7.2 Neither party may assign, transfer or otherwise dispose of this Agreement or any of its rights hereunder or otherwise delegate any of its duties hereunder without the prior written consent of the other party, and any such attempted assignment or other disposition without such consent shall be null and void and of no force and effect.

7.3 Except as otherwise expressly provided in this Agreement, any decision or action made by the LHA relating to this Agreement, its operation, amendment or termination, shall be made by the Board of Commissions through its Executive Director of the LHA specified in the initial paragraph of this Agreement, unless specifically authorized or delegated by a lawful vote of such body.

7.4 This Agreement, together with Exhibit A (Contractor, Scope of Work, Term), Exhibit B (Payments), Exhibit C (Tax Compliance Certificate), Exhibit D (HUD Table 5.1, HUD-5370-C1, General Conditions for Non-Construction Contracts), the Contractor’s bid or proposal, and any additional exhibits referred to therein, constitute the entire agreement of LHA and CONTRACTOR with respect to the matters set forth therein and may not be changed, amended, modified or terms waived except by a writing signed by the LHA and CONTRACTOR. If there is any conflict among the terms set forth in the body of this Agreement and the terms or provisions set forth in Exhibit A or Exhibit B, or in any other attachment hereto, or

Contract for:


in any other document or law incorporated by reference herein, such conflict shall be resolved by giving precedence to the party's address above by certified mail, return receipt requested Terms or provisions contained in the following documents in accordance with the following hierarchy, with the topmost document of the highest priority:

A. Applicable federal, state and local laws, rules and regulations,

B. Amendments to this Agreement, if any. C. Exhibits A and B. D. This Agreement. E. Any other attachments to this Agreement. To the extent the conflict is not resolved by

applying the above hierarchy, the conflict shall be resolved in a manner that results in the highest quantity and best quality of goods and services to the LHA.

7.5 This Agreement is governed by the law of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts and shall be construed in accordance therewith. The parties agree that exclusive jurisdiction for any action arising out of or relating to this Agreement shall lie with the state and federal courts having jurisdiction over the county and state in which the LHA is located and the parties hereby irrevocably waive, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any objection which they may now or hereafter have to the venue of any proceeding brought in such location and further irrevocably waive any claims that any such proceeding has been brought in an inconvenient forum.

7.6 Any notices required or allowed shall be to the person's address above by certified mail, return receipt requested.

7.7 Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, this Agreement is subject to the appropriation and availability of funds.

7.8 The Contractor covenants, that (1) presently, there is no financial interest and shall not acquire any such interest, direct or indirect, which would conflict in any manner or degree with the

performance of services required to be performed under this Agreement or which would violate M.G.L. c.268A, as amended; (2) in the performance of this Contract, no person having any such interest shall be employed by the Contractor or engaged as a subcontractor by the contractor; and (3) no partner or employee of the firm is related by blood or marriage to any Board Member or employee of the Awarding Authority. https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartIV/TitleI/Chapter268A

7.9 Organizational Conflicts of Interest: (a) The Contractor warrants that to the best of its knowledge and belief and except as otherwise disclosed, it does not have any organizational conflict of interest which is defined as a situation in which the nature of work under this contract and a contractor's organizational, financial, contractual or other interests are such that:

(i) Award of the contract may result in an unfair competitive advantage; or (ii) The Contractor's objectivity in performing the contract work may be impaired.

(a) The Contractor agrees that if after award it discovers an organizational conflict of interest with respect to this contract or any task/delivery order under the contract, he or she shall make an immediate and full disclosure in writing to the Contracting Officer which shall include a description of the action which the Contractor has taken or intends to take to eliminate or neutralize the conflict. The LHA may, however, terminate the contract or task/delivery order for the convenience of the LHA if it would be in the best interest of the LHA.

(b) In the event the Contractor was aware of an organizational conflict of interest before the award of this contract and intentionally did not disclose the conflict to the Contracting Officer, the LHA may terminate the contract for default.

(c) The terms of this clause and clause 7.8 shall be included in all subcontracts and consulting agreements wherein the work



Contract for:


to be performed is similar to the service provided by the prime Contractor. The Contractor shall include in such subcontracts and consulting agreements

any necessary provisions to eliminate or neutralize conflicts of interest, (per Form HUD-5370-C, Section I, clause 11).

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement the day and year first written above:

By:

LOWELL HOUSING AUTHORITY Middlesex County Lowell, Massachusetts

By:

CONTRACTOR:

Gary K. Wallace, Executive Director

ATTEST: __________________________________ Witness: _______________________________ Certified LHA Board Vote for signatory authority attached. Corporations: A notarized Certificate of Corporate Vote authorizing

signatory is required with this Contract.

Fund: Certified as to available funds: _______________________________________ Adam J. Garvey, Chief Financial Officer

MA Tax Exempt # 046-003-186

FEIN:

(Continued to Exhibits)

Contract for:


CONTRACT EXHIBIT A

CONTRACTOR, SCOPE OF WORK, TERM

1. Name of Contractor:

2. State of Incorporation:

3. Principal Office Address:

4. Description of Goods and/or Services:

5. Person, Department, or Committee, if any, to whom CONTRACTOR reports (§ 2.2):

6. Term of Agreement (§3.1):

7. Start and Completion Date (§3.2):

8. Additional Insurance Coverage (§6.2(e)):

Contract for:


AGREEMENT EXHIBIT B PAYMENTS Pursuant to Article 4 of this Agreement, all payments to the Contractor are net 30 days upon an accepted invoice by the LHA unless otherwise provided in this Exhibit. APPLICABLE NET PAYMENT (if ):

A Net Payment Discount of % will be taken when payment is made within 10 days. 1. Lump Sum Method

a. Maximum Project Amount: Base contract amount: $

See Attachment (copy of solicitation document, etc.): b. Invoicing and Payments: CONTRACTOR shall itemize the invoice by facility. c. Certified Payrolls: If weekly or project certified payrolls are required by this Contract or

extraordinary repair and maintenance/work order there under, each such certified payroll shall be submitted as required by law.

d. Reimbursable Expenses (if any): N/A.

Contract for:


EXHIBIT C TAX COMPLIANCE CERTIFICATION

Pursuant to M.G.L. Chapter 62C, §49A, I hereby certify, under the penalties of perjury, that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, compliance with all the laws of the Commonwealth relating to taxes, reporting of employees and contractors, and withholding and remitting child support subject to the conditions stated in the statute referenced herein.

By:

Print name & title of authorized officer Dated:

COMPANY FEIN

Contract for:


CERTIFICATE OF CORPORATE AUTHORITY 1. I hereby certify that I am the Clerk/Secretary of 2. (Insert full name of Corporation)

3. A Corporation, and that 4. (Insert the name of officer who signed the contract and bonds)

5. is the duly elected 6. (insert the title of the officer in line 2)

7. of said corporation, and that on 8. (Insert a date that is ON OR BEFORE the date the officer signed the contract and bonds.)

9. at a duly authorized meeting of the Board of Directors of said corporation, at which all the directors were present or waived notice, it was voted that:

10.

the

11. (insert name from line 3) (insert title from line 5)

12.

of this corporation be and hereby is authorized to execute contracts and bonds in the name and on behalf of said corporation, and affix its Corporate Seal thereto, and such execution of any contract of obligation in this corporation’s name and on its behalf, with or without the Corporate Seal, shall be valid and binding upon this corporation; and that the above vote has not been amended or rescinded and remains in full force and effect as of the date set forth below:

13. ATTEST: AFFIX CORPORATE SEAL HERE: 14. (Signature of Clerk or Secretary)* 15.

Name: 16. (Please print or type name in line 13)*

17. Date:

18. (insert a date that is ON OR AFTER the date the officer signed the contract and bonds.)

*The signature and name inserted in lines 13 &15 must be that of the Clerk or Secretary of the corporation. **If the attesting corporate clerk or secretary is the same person as the individual executing this bid or contract, the clerk/secretary’s signature requires notarization: THE ABOVE NAMED , PERSONALLY APPEARED AND PROVED TO ME, THROUGH SATISFACTORY EVIDENCE OF IDENTIFICATION, WHICH WAS: , OR OF MY OWN PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE, THAT S/HE IS THE PERSON WHOSE NAME IS SIGNED ON THE FOREGOING DOCUMENTS, AND ACKNOWLEDGED TO ME THAT S/HE SIGNED IT VOLUNTARILY FOR ITS STATED PURPOSE AND THAT IT WAS HER/HIS FREE ACT AND DEED. SWORN TO AND SUBSCRIBED BEFORE ME THIS DAY OF , 20 :

(TYPE/PRINT NAME BELOW SIGNATURE)

NOTARY PUBLIC MY COMMISSION EXPIRES:

Contract for:


CONTACT INFORMATION

COMPANY/FIRM NAME:

COMPANY MAILING ADDRESS:

CONTACT TEL. NUMBER:

COMPANY WEBSITE: GUYDER-HURLEY.COM

STATE OF CORPORATION:

NAME OF SIGNATORY & TITLE:

SIGNATORY E-MAIL:

ALTERNATE CONTACT:

ALTERNATE CONTACT TEL. NUMBER:

(Insert as required HUD Table 5.1, Form HUD-5370-C, Sections I, II.)



Page 41


ATTACHMENT J Certification for Business Concerns Seeking Section 3 Preference follows this page and can

be submitted under Tab 9 of your proposal.




ATTACHMENT J CERTIFICATION FOR BUSINESS CONCERNS SEEKING SECTION 3 BUSINESS PREFERENCE

IN CONTRACTING AND DEMONSTRATION OF CAPABILITY

NAME OF BUSINESS:

ADDRESS OF BUSINESS: TYPE OF BUSINESS: Corporation Partnership Sole Proprietorship Joint Venture

Attached is the following documentation as evidence of status: For business claiming status as a Section 3 resident-owned Enterprise:

Copy of resident lease Other evidence Copy of evidence of participation in a public assistance program For the business entity as applicable:

Copy of Articles of Incorporation Certificate of Good Standing

Assumed Business Name Certificate Partnership Agreement

List of owners/stockholder and % of each Corporation Annual Report

Latest Board minutes appointing officers Additional documentation

Organization chart with names and titles and brief functional statement For business claiming Section 3 status by subcontracting 25% of the dollar awarded to qualified Section 3 business:

List of subcontracted Section 3 business and subcontract amount

For business claiming Section 3 status, claiming at least 30% of their workforce are currently Section 3 residents or were Section 3 eligible residents within 3 years of date of first employment with the business:

List of all current full time employees List of all employees claiming Section 3 status

PHA Residential lease (less than 3 years Other evidence of Section 3 status (less than3 years from date of employment) from date of employment)

Evidence of ability to perform successfully under the terms and conditions of the proposed contract:

Current financial statement List of owned equipment

Statement of ability to comply List of all contracts for the past 2 years with public policy

Corporate Seal

Authorizing Name and Signature Notary

My term expires: Title _____________________________________________________________________________________ Signature Date Printed Name




ATTACHMENT J continued SUGGESTED AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PLAN FOR UTILIZATION OF PROJECT AREA BUSINESSES

Number Of All Contracts Proposed:

Name Of Company:

Dollar Value Of All Contracts Proposed:

Project:

To The Greatest Extent Feasible, Contracts Will Be Awarded Through Negotiation Or Bid To Qualified Project Area Businesses.

Goal Of These Contracts For Project Area Businesses:

PROPOSED TYPE OF CONTRACT APPROX. COST PROPOSED TYPE OF CONTRACT APPROX. COST

Outline The Program To Achieve These Goals For Economically And Socially Disadvantaged:

NOTE: To Complete The Affirmative Action Plan, Follow Steps Outlines In Attached Exhibit. (INSERT THIS DOCUMENT IN BID DOCUMENTS AND WITH BID) DATE:

_____________________________________________________________________________________ Signature Date Printed Name




ATTACHMENT J continued SUGGESTED AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PLAN FOR UTILIZATION OF PROJECT AREA BUSINESSES

(con'd) SUGGESTED SECTION 3 PRELIMINARY WORKFORCE STATEMENT UTILIZATION OF LOWER INCOME PROJECT AREA RESIDENTS AS REGULAR, PERMANENT EMPLOYEES, TRAINEES, APPRENTICES.

COMPANY NAME:

ADDRESS:

PROJECT:

PRESENT PERMANENT EMPLOYEES

(At Time of Contract Signing)

SECTION 3 WORKFORCE PROJECTION (Residents)

TOTAL PROJECTED WORKFORCE

INCREASE

TRAINEES

APPRENTICES

JOURNEYPERSONS

LABORERS

SUPERVISORY

SUPERINTENDENT

PROFESSIONAL

CLERICAL

NOTE: RESIDENTS ARE THOSE LOWER INCOME PROJECT AREA RESIDENTS WHO HAVE BEEN QUALIFIED AS ELIGIBLE.

_____________________________________________________________________________________ Signature Date Printed Name




ATTACHMENT J continued

This contract is subject to the following conditions under Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968, as amended, 12 U.S.C. 1701u (Section 3). A. The work to be performed under this contract is subject to the requirements of Section 3 of the

Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968, as amended, 12 U.S.C. 1701u (Section 3). The purpose of Section 3 is to ensure that employment and other economic opportunities generated by HUD assistance or HUD-assisted projects covered by Section 3, shall, to the greatest extent feasible, be directed to low and very low-income persons, particularly persons who are recipients of HUD assistance for housing.

B. The parties to this contract agree to comply with HUD's regulations in 24 CFR Part 135, which

implement Section 3. As evidenced by their execution of this contract, the parties to this contract certify that they are under no contractual or other impediment that would prevent them from complying with the Part 135 regulations.

C. The contractor agrees to send to each labor organization or representative of workers with which the

contractor has a collective bargaining agreement or other understanding, if any, a notice advising the labor or organization or workers' representative of the contractor's commitments under this Section 3 clause, and will post copies of the notice in conspicuous places at the work site where both employees and applicants for training and employment positions can see the notice. The notice shall describe the Section 3 preference, shall set forth minimum number and job titles subject to hire, availability of apprenticeship and training positions, the qualifications for each; and the name and location of the person(s) taking applications for each of the positions; and the anticipated date the work shall begin.

D. The contractor agrees to include this Section 3 clause in every subcontract subject to compliance

with regulations in 24 CFR Part 135, and agrees to take appropriate action, as provided in an applicable provision of the subcontract or in this Section 3 clause, upon finding that the subcontractor is in violation of the regulations in 24 CFR Part 135. The contractor will not subcontract with any subcontractor where the contractor has notice or knowledge that the subcontractor has been found in violation of the regulations in 24 CFR Part 135.

E. The contractor will certify that any vacant employment positions, including training positions that are

filled (1) after the contractor is selected but before the contract is executed, and (2) with persons other than those to whom the regulations of 24 CFR Part 135 require employment opportunities to be directed, were not filled to circumvent the contractor's obligations under 24 CFR Part 135.

F. Noncompliance with HUD's regulations in 24 CFR Part 135 may result in sanctions, termination

of this contract for default, and debarment or suspension from future HUD assisted contracts. G. With respect to work performed in connection with Section 3 covered Indian housing assistance,

Section 7(b) of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450e) also applies to the work to be performed under this contract. Section 7(b) requires that to the greatest extent feasible (preference and opportunities for training and employment shall be given to Indians, and (ii) preference in the award of contracts and subcontracts shall be given to Indian organizations and Indian-owned Economic Enterprise. Parties to this contract that are subject to the provisions of Section 3 and Section 7(b) agree to comply with Section 3 to the maximum extent feasible, but not in derogation of compliance with Section 7(b).

SECTION 3 BUSINESS PREFERENCE CLAUSE




ATTACHMENT J continued PREFERENCE FOR SECTION 3 BUSINESS CONCERNS IN CONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES

The HA has established the following priority for preference when providing contracting opportunities to Section 3 Businesses: Priority I

Category 1a Business Business concerns that are 51 percent or more owned by residents of the housing development or developments for which the Section 3-covered assistance is expended.

Priority II Category 1b Business Business concerns whose workforce includes 30 percent of residents of the housing development for which the Section 3-covered assistance is expended, or within three (3) years of the date of first employment with the business concern, were residents of the Section 3-covered housing development.

Priority III Category 2a Business Business concerns that are 51 percent or more owned by residents of any other housing development or developments.

Priority IV Category 2b Business Business concerns whose workforce includes 30 percent of residents of any other public housing development or developments, or within three (3) years of the date of first employment with the business concern, were “Section 3” residents of any other public housing development.

Priority V Category 3 Business Business concerns participating in HUD Youth-build programs being carried out in the metropolitan area in which the Section 3-covered assistance is expended.

Priority VI Category 4a Business Business concerns that are 51 percent or more owned by Section 3 residents in the metropolitan area, or whose permanent, full-time workforce includes no less than 30 percent of Section 3 residents in the metropolitan area, or within three (3) years of the date of employment with the business concern, were Section 3 residents in the metropolitan area.

Priority VII Category 4b Business Business concerns that subcontract in excess of 25 percent of the total amount of subcontracts to Section 3 business concerns.

Eligibility for Preference A business concern seeking to qualify for a Section 3 contracting preference shall certify or submit evidence that the business concern is a Section business concern.




ATTACHMENT J continued HUD directs within 24 CFR 135 that the HA may make award to qualified Section 3 business concern with the highest priority ranking and with the lowest responsive bid if that bid is:

(a) within the maximum total contract price established by the HA; or

(b) not more than “X” higher than the total bid price of the lowest responsive bid from any

responsible bidder. “X” is determined as follows:

“X” = LESSOR OF: When the lowest responsive bid is less than $100,000

10% of that bid, or $9,000.00

When the lowest responsive bid is at least: $100,000.00, but less than $200,000.00 9% of that bid, or $16,000.00 $200,000.00, but less than $300,000.00 8% of that bid, or $21,000.00 $300,000.00, but less than $400,000.00 7% of that bid, or $24,000.00 $400,000.00, but less than $500,000.00 6% of that bid, or $25,000.00 $500,000.00, but less than $1,000,000.00 5% of that bid, or $40,000.00 $1,000,000.00, but less than $2,000,000.00 4% of that bid, or $60,000.00 $2,000,000.00, but less than $4,000,000.00 3% of that bid, or $80,000.00 $4,000,000.00, but less than $7,000,000.00 2% of that bid, or $105,000.00 $7,000,000.00, or more 1.5% of the lowest responsive and

responsible bid with no dollar limit