This is in response to “City sweetened bus shelter deal; Losing bidders cry foul over contract French firm won” (Page 1, Jan. 10).
The story quotes losing vendors for the bus shelter contract who said they thought shelters were not to be placed on Michigan Avenue and State Street. In fact, the request for proposals (RFP) did not exclude any parts of the city from the placement of bus shelters; it clearly states that proposers could recommend additional sites for the city’s consideration.
If any proposers had doubts about this issue, they were free to ask for clarification at the city’s pre-submittal conference, attended by all bidders including those quoted in the story. Given these facts, it is difficult to understand how a proposer can now claim that State Street and Michigan Avenue were not within the scope of the RFP.
Contrary to the assertions made in the story, all of the vendors who responded to the RFP were competing on a level playing field. The city followed an exhaustive, 14-month review process that included reviews by an evaluation committee and a selection committee, a review of the financial proposals by the accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche, and a final review by the city’s chief procurement officer.
The evaluation committee reviewed the proposals based on the specific criteria listed in the RFP, including qualifications and experience, design and manufacturing qualifications, maintenance and operations qualifications, MBE/WBE (minority and women’s business enterprise) participation and compensation proposal and financial plan. The committee also reviewed the analysis of the financial proposals by Deloitte & Touche.
JCDecaux Co. received high ratings from all members of the evaluation committee, while proposals submitted by other vendors were deemed to be inadequate for reasons other than the proposed compensation package. JCDecaux was selected as the vendor in the city’s best interests based on all the criteria, including its financial compensation proposal.
In general, RFPs inform bidders of program requirements that must be included in a proposal in order to be considered responsive, but they allow flexibility in the submissions.
Given the scope of the coordinated street furniture program and the desire to encourage creative proposals, the city did not include in the RFP every detail relating to the program.
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The very nature of the RFP process promotes a creative flow of ideas to maximize the benefits recognized by the negotiating parties.
The RFP was not meant to be a boilerplate for the future contract but was meant to establish the parameters of the project and serve as a starting point for negotiations with the chosen vendor. Negotiations with JCDecaux began only after it was selected as the best vendor for the project. Through these negotiations, the city obtained favorable concessions, including an expedited installation schedule and an increase in compensation to the city.
The contract negotiated by the city provides a large revenue stream for the city for the next 20 years and provides every community in Chicago with attractive, high-quality bus shelters and other street furniture at no cost to taxpayers. This program will provide the residents of Chicago with twice as many bus shelters as they now have, improving the quality of life in our neighborhoods at no cost to taxpayers.