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Downtown Oakland Association and the Lake Merritt/Uptown Association
Bidding Policy and Procedures
1. Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to ensure that goods and services purchased by the Downtown Oakland
Association and/or the Lake Merritt/Uptown Association (each, a Community Benefit District or CBD) are
obtained in a cost-effective manner and in compliance with applicable regulations and the Disbursement
Agreement with the City of Oakland dated February 10, 2009, as amended or renewed from time to time,
2. Precedence
In the event of any conflict between this bidding policy and the Disbursement Agreement, as amended, the
then-applicable terms and conditions of the Disbursement Agreement shall control. This bidding policy is
also subject to any applicable bylaw or policy of the CBDs, including any conflict of interest policy.
3. Formal Bidding Procedures
All contracts that receive funds pursuant to the Disbursement Agreement and are worth over $5,000 in any
calendar year are subject to Formal Bidding Procedures. Formal Bidding Procedures include:
a. Advertisement. The appropriate CBD shall advertise the RFP on its website for at least 10
calendar days before the due date for bids, have copies of RFPs available at its
administrative offices, and provide a copy of the RFP to the City of Oakland for its possible
referral of the contracting opportunity to local Oakland vendors or consultants. The
appropriate CBD will make reasonable efforts to advertise Formal Bidding RFPs on other
websites, such as industry association websites, to seek qualified applicants. The RFP will
provide a clear and accurate description of the service or good desired, including the range
of acceptable standards or minimum acceptable standards.
b. Qualifications. The CBD shall determine the necessary qualifications for a successful bid,
and evaluate and weigh bids based on those criteria. This may include consideration of the
quality of the performance to be provided by the bidder; the ability, capacity and skill of the
bidder; the ability of the bidder to perform promptly; the character, integrity, reputation,
judgment, experience and efficiency of the bidder; the environmental impact of the proposed
service or good; the quality of bidders performance on previous contracts with the
Community Benefit District; and the ability of the bidder to provide future services. The
CBD may waive informalities or minor irregularities in any Formal Bids.
4. Informal Bidding Procedures
The Community Benefit Districts may use Informal Bidding Procedures for any contract not subject to the
Formal Bidding Procedures, above. Informal Bidding Procedures may include an informal cost/price
analysis; selecting a vendor offering the best combination of quality, service and price for the specific need;
and verbal or written bids, or price lists on websites or catalogues. Reasonable efforts shall be made to ensure
fair and competitive pricing.
5. Non-Competitive Vendor Selection.
Notwithstanding the previous sections, a CBD may choose not to competitively bid a contract where there is
(i) only one vendor capable of fully meeting the requirements, including where the only other vendors fail to
meet performance standards or have provided inadequate service or goods in the past, or (ii) insufficient time
to conduct a competitive source selection due to the extreme urgency of the requirement, in which case the
CBD shall only contract for the goods or services subject to that extreme urgency. The CBD shall provide a
detailed narrative justification for any non-competitive vendor selection.
6. Records.
Records regarding the Informal and Formal Bidding RFPs shall be kept as required for all records of the
CBDs, in accordance with the requirements of the Disbursement Agreement.
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Staff Recommendation

To: Joint Organization Committee
From: District Staff
Date: 7/18/14
Re: Proposed amendment to the Disbursement Agreements with the City of Oakland

Staff is recommending the below amendment to Section 5.2 of the Disbursement Agreements
between the City of Oakland and the Downtown Oakland Association and the Lake Merritt
Uptown/District Association. This amendment will alleviate the undue burden of the requirement to
go out to bid every three years on all contracts exceeding $5,000 per year.

Once the proposed amendment is approved by the boards of directors, staff will submit the
amendment to the City Attorneys Office for approval. Upon approval from the City Attorneys Office,
the amendment is final.

Current Disbursement Agreement:
5. Recipient Responsibilities
5.2. Competitive Bidding. Recipient shall competitively bid all contracts over $5,000 and shall keep
and provide copies of all bids submitted for review to any affected property owners or to the City
upon request. The lowest qualified bidder shall receive any service contract that is bid. Recipient
shall present its written bidding policy and procedures to the City for review and approval. Once the
contract has been publicly bid and the lowest qualified applicant has been selected, that selected
contract may remain for up to three years from the commencement of the contract, but may not
extend beyond the term of this agreement without the express written consent of the City and is
subject to provisions outlined in Section 5.8.3 below.

Staff recommends adopting the following language pending approval from the City of Oakland:
5. Recipient Responsibilities
5.2. Competitive Bidding. Recipient shall competitively bid all contracts over $5,000 per year which
use CBD funds received by Recipient pursuant to this Agreement (each, a "Bid Contract"). Recipient
shall keep copies of all bids submitted for review for a Bid Contract for five (5) years and provide
copies thereof to any affected property owner or to the City upon request. The lowest qualified
bidder on a Bid Contract shall receive any service contract that is bid. Recipient shall present its
written bidding policy and procedures to the City for review and approval. A Bid Contract may not
extend beyond the term of this agreement without the express written consent of the City and is
subject to the provisions outlined in Section 5.8.3 below.

Upon approval of the amendment from the City Attorneys Office, staff will pursue amending the
districts Bidding Policies and Procedures, as required by the Disbursement Agreements.
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