(a) Any party submitting a bid or proposal for a contract with the City and who believes that they are adversely affected by the City’s relevant ordinances, regulations, procurement process, or by any acts of the City in connection with the award of a City contract, may file a protest appeal with the City Clerk. All protest appeals must be to the City within five (5) calendar days of the issuance of the City’s notice of its intent to award the contract. The appeal must be hand delivered, delivered by mail, or by facsimile and must comply with all requirements of this section. If the fifth day is a City-recognized holiday or a weekend, the deadline for appeal shall be the next work day. It is up to the protester to choose a method of delivery to assure timely receipt by the City.

(b) Rejection of Appeal. The Clerk shall reject an untimely or incomplete appeals. Such rejection shall be final and may be appealed to the Superior Court pursuant to the Court Rules of Appellate Procedure.

(c) The protest appeal must be in writing and shall include the following information:

(d) Stay of Award. If a timely and complete protest appeal is filed, the award of the contract shall be stayed until all administrative remedies have been exhausted, unless the City Manager determines in writing that award of the contract pending resolution of the appeal is in the best interests of the City.

(e) Notice and Response. Notice of the stay and protest appeal shall be delivered to any party who may be adversely affected by the City Manager’s decision by facsimile, first class mail or in person within three (3) business days of receipt of a properly filed appeal.

(f) City Manager Decision. The City Manager shall issue a written decision to the appellant within ten (10) business days of the date the appeal is filed. If multiple appeals have been filed, they may be consolidated for purposes of the decision. Copies of the appeal and decision shall be provided to any interested party requesting one. The decision may include any lawful action, including without limitation an amendment of all or any part of the recommended award. For good cause shown, the City Manager may extend the date for the decision for such additional period as may be necessary.

(g) If the City Manager sustains a protest in whole or in part, the City Manager shall implement an appropriate remedy. In determining an appropriate remedy, the City Manager shall consider the circumstances surrounding the solicitation or procurement including the seriousness of the procurement deficiencies, the degree of prejudice to other interested parties or to the integrity of the procurement system, the good faith of the parties, the extent the procurement has been accomplished, costs to the agency and other impacts on the agency of a proposed remedy, and the urgency of the procurement to the welfare of the City.

(h) Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b) immediately above, if the City Manager sustains a bid protest appeal in whole or part, the protester’s damages shall not exceed the reasonable bid or proposal preparation costs.

(i) Appeal to Superior Court. Appeals may be taken from the written decision of the City Manager within thirty (30) days of the date of the decision pursuant to Part VI of the Alaska Rules of Appellate Procedure.