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e Mr. Biedermann said staff continues to research the market by looking through the City's database, which currently has 20,000 vendors on line covering approximately 8,000 commodities. Staff also reviews any departmental contacts made during equipment or trade shows. This information is compiled into a bid list; staff actively solicits responses from the parties on this list. Mr. Biedermann said that if a highly specialized piece of equipment is needed, the City will advertise in trade magazines to promote a competitive market. For very large projects, staff will advertise in other cities. Mr. Biedermann said during the selec~ion process, a formal bid proposal packet is developed. This packet includes bid forms, specifications, an affidavit of non-collusion, and the standard contract provisions of the City. In carrying out the procedures of the formal bid, a pre-bid conference is often held. This allows staff to explain the various specifications to the potential bidders and gives the bidders an opportunity to ask for clarifications or point out errors in the specifications. Minutes of pre-bid conferences and amended bid packets are sent to all respondents who have indicated interest in the bid. Mr. Biedermann said the City holds formal, public bid openings. After bids have been received, the responses are analyzed and the bid is awarded. The final step is contract execution during which the final contract is developed and signed, and the City verifies that the contractor meets all requirements (e.g., insurance requirements, verification by the State of minority status, etc.). Mr. Biedermann said the whole formal bid process may take between e four weeks and four months to complete. Executing the process typically costs between $200 and $1,000. In response to a question from Ms. Wooten, Mr. Biedermann said the City re-bids when all contractors' bids exceed budgeted amounts, when the specifications need to be redesigned, and when no satisfactory bid has been received. He said in some instances, no bid is awarded because the needs have changed or there are budget constraints. Answering a question from Ms. Bascom, Mr. Biedermann said the City is not able to disqualify a contractor from the bidding process because of the quality of their previous work. He said if the City wants to ensure a product of certain quality, the specifications to attain that quality level must be written into the bid specifications. This is one reason staff meets with the user and attempts to define exactly what is wanted. Mr. Gleason added that it is possible to put a warranty in the contract to ensure that the product is maintained for a certain time period. Mr. Rutan said the presentation had been helpful, but that there was information he would like to discuss which has not been presented. Mr. Holmer agreed, saying he had expected the council to discuss the actual Public Contract Law as requested by Mr. Miller. Mr. Holmer distributed a memo encouraging the council to discuss the seven specific amendments he had e MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 12, 1988 Page 6 \