7.15.070 Innovative Procurements and Other Exceptions.
(a) A contract may be awarded for supplies, services, professional services, or construction using an innovative procurement process, with or without competitive sealed bidding or competitive sealed proposals. A contract may be awarded under this section only when the City Manager or designee determines in writing to the City Council that it is advantageous to the City to use an innovative competitive procurement process in the procurement of new or unique requirements of the City, new technologies, or to achieve the best value. This process is appropriate when it may be in the best interest of the City to consider an award to other than the lowest priced offer or other than the highest technically rated offer.
(1) To utilize an innovative procurement procedure the requesting department shall submit:
(A) A detailed procurement plan to the City Manager for review and approval before public notice is issued as required under KMC 7.15.040. The plan shall, at a minimum, address the method of solicitation, scope, method of award, protest procedures, and proposed contract provisions; and
(B) An explanation of how use of this procedure will achieve the best value, or why it is advantageous to the City. To the maximum extent allowed by law, costs and benefits associated with the location of the bidder, may be considered in determining the best value for the City.
(2) When using the process authorized in this section, all of the following apply:
(A) The City Manager must first approve the use of the proposed innovative procurement plan.
(B) All evaluation factors and significant sub-factors that will affect the contract award and their relative importance shall be clearly stated in the solicitation.
(C) The solicitation shall state whether all evaluation factors other than cost or price, when combined, are significantly more important than, approximately equal to, or significantly less important than cost or price.
(D) In developing evaluation factors, generally, where the requirement is clearly definable and the risk of unsuccessful contract performance is minimal, cost or price may play a dominant role in source selection. The less definitive the requirement, the more development work required, or the greater the performance risk, the more technical or past performance considerations may play a dominant role in source selection.
(b) The following may be purchased without giving an opportunity for competitive bidding:
(1) Supplies, materials, equipment, or contractual services which can be furnished only by a single dealer or which has a uniform price wherever bought.
(2) Supplies, materials, equipment, or contractual services purchased from another unit of government at a price deemed below that obtainable from private dealers, including war surplus.
(3) Contractual services purchased from a public utility corporation at a price or rate determined by State or government authority.
(4) Supplies, materials, equipment or contractual services purchasable under the contract of another governmental agency in which contract the City is authorized to participate.
(5) The City may award a contract for supplies, contractual services, or professional services without competition, formal advertising or other formal procedure where the City Manager determines in writing that an emergency threatening the public health, safety or welfare requires that the contract be awarded without delay. The City Manager shall make a report on such contract to the Council no later than the next regular meeting following award of the contract.
(A) For purposes of this subsection, an “emergency” is defined as the occurrence or imminent threat of widespread or severe damage, injury, loss of life or property, or shortage of food, water, or fuel resulting from:
(i) An incident such as storm, high water, wind-driven water, tidal wave, tsunami, earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, mudslide, avalanche, snowstorm, prolonged extreme cold, drought, fire, flood, epidemic, explosion or riot;
(ii) The release of oil or a hazardous substance if the release requires prompt action to avert environmental danger or mitigate environmental damage;
(iii) Equipment failure if the failure is not a predictably frequent or recurring event or preventable by adequate equipment maintenance or operation;
(iv) Enemy or terrorist attack or a credible threat of imminent enemy or terrorist attack in or against the State that the Adjutant General of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs or a designee of the Adjutant General, in consultation with the Commissioner of Public Safety or a designee of the Commissioner of Public Safety, certifies to the Governor has a high probability of occurring in the near future; the certification must meet the standards of AS 26.20.040(c); in this subsection, “attack” has the meaning given under AS 26.20.200; or
(v) An outbreak of disease or a credible threat of an imminent outbreak of disease that the Commissioner of Health and Social Services or a designee of the Commissioner of Health and Social Services certifies to the Governor has a high probability of occurring in the near future; the certification must be based on specific information received from local, state, federal, or international agency, or another source that the Commissioner or the designee determines is reliable.
(Ord. 2852-2015)