Alaska Administrative Code
Title 17 - Transportation and Public Facilities
Chapter 45 - Rural Airports
Article 3 - Competitive Award
17 AAC 45.366 - Evaluation of proposals

(a) The department will appoint a proposal evaluation committee to review proposals received in response to a request for proposals. The evaluation must be based on only the evaluation factors set out in the proposal documents. Evaluation factors not specified in the proposal documents may not be considered.

(b) Each committee member shall independently review and evaluate each proposal and document any comments and preliminary scores in writing. A committee member may not consult with any other committee member until all preliminary evaluations by the committee members are complete. Subject to (c) and (e) of this section, the committee shall then meet to discuss the evaluations and to rank the proposals. A committee member may adjust that member's evaluation of a proposal as a result of further information received under (c) of this section or discussions at the committee meeting.

(c) The committee shall hear any presentations required by the proposal documents and conduct any required oral interviews. The committee may request or offer an opportunity for presentations, oral interviews, clarification of proposals, submission of additional responsibility information, or refined or revised proposals. Any opportunity to provide additional information under this subsection must be offered to all proposers who are reasonably susceptible of award. The committee may limit discussions with or any information requests to proposers under this subsection to specific portions of the proposal documents.

(d) Within five days after receiving the committee's written request, a proposer shall provide additional information for evaluation of the proposer's responsibility.

(e) If the committee conducts oral interviews or requests clarification of proposals, additional financial responsibility information, or refined or revised proposals, the committee shall conduct final evaluations as described under (b) of this section after the date and time set for interviews or submission of additional information or refined proposals.

(f) If the committee finds that a need for substantial clarification or material change in the proposal documents exists, the committee may recommend to the department that the request be amended to incorporate the clarification or change. If the department determines the clarification or change would not be materially inconsistent with the notice information provided under 17 AAC 45.354(b) (1) or (4) and is likely to result in proposals that are more advantageous to the state, the department will amend the proposal documents. The department will set a last date and time for response to the amended proposal documents and provide notice of the amendment and the date and time for response to all persons of record to whom the department provided a copy of the proposal documents. A response to amended proposal documents shall be evaluated in accordance with the applicable provisions of this section.

(g) The committee shall provide the department with a written summary of the committee's findings, ranking all proposals identified as within a range acceptable for award, together with a recommendation for award based upon the top ranked proposal from a qualified, responsible proposer. If the committee considers no proposal to be within a range acceptable for award or if the proposal upon which the committee bases its recommendation for award is the only proposal received that the committee found to be responsive within that range and from a qualified proposer, the committee shall so state in the committee's report to the department.

(h) Upon review of the committee's findings, the department will

(i) If the department enters into negotiations under (h)(2) of this section, any changes in the recommended proposer's proposal must be reasonable and must not have the effect of changing the ranking of the proposal under consideration. If the negotiations with the recommended proposer are successful, the department will issue a notice of intent to award to the recommended proposer under 17 AAC 45.375. If, however, the department determines in writing that the recommended proposer has failed to negotiate in good faith, the department may terminate the negotiations and begin negotiations with the next-ranked proposer that the evaluation committee found to be within a range acceptable for award.

(j) If the department begins negotiations with the next-ranked proposer under (i) of this section, the department will negotiate with that proposer and, if the proposer fails to negotiate in good faith, with successively lower ranked proposers within the acceptable range determined by the evaluation committee. The department will conclude negotiations when the department comes to agreement on contract terms consistent with the proposal documents and favorable to the state with the highest ranked proposer possible. Subject to a responsibility determination by the department under 17 AAC 45.372(b) and 17 AAC 45.390, the department will issue under 17 AAC 45.375 a notice of intent to award the contract as negotiated.