SCMTD February 2004 Board of Directors Agendas - Santa Cruz ...

PART VII
SANTA CRUZ METROPOLITAN TRANSIT DISTRICT
PROTEST PROCEDURE
PROCUREMENT PROTESTS
All protests shall be filed, handled and resolved in a manner consistent with the requirements of Federal Transit
Administration (FTA) Circular 4220.1E Third Party Contracting Guidelines dated June 19, 2003 and the Santa Cruz
Metropolitan Transit District’s (DISTRICT) Protest Procedures which are on file and available upon request.
Current FTA Policy states that: "Reviews of protests by FTA will be limited to:
(1) a grantee’s failure to have or follow its protest procedures, or its failure to review a complaint or protest; or
(2) violation of Federal law or regulation.
An appeal to FTA must be received by the cognizant FTA regional or Headquarters Office within five (5) working
days of the date the protester learned or should have learned of an adverse decision by the grantee or other basis of
appeal to FTA” (FTA Circular 4220.1E, Section 7, paragraph l., Written Protest Procedures)
Protests relating to the content of this Request for Proposal (RFP) package must be filed within ten (10) calendar days
after the date the RFP is first advertised. Protests relating to a recommendation for award solicited by this RFP must be
filed by an interested party within five (5) calendar days after the staff's written recommendation and notice of intent to
award is issued to the offerors. The date of filing shall be the date of receipt of protests or appeals by the DISTRICT.
All Protests shall be filed in writing with the Assistant General Manager, Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District, 370
Encinal Street, Suite 100, Santa Cruz, CA 95060. No other location shall be acceptable. The DISTRICT will respond
in detail to each substantive issue raised in the protest. The Assistant General Manager shall make a determination on
the protest normally within ten (10) working days from receipt of protest. Any decision rendered by the Assistant
General Manager may be appealed to the Board of Directors. The Protester has the right within five (5) working days of
receipt of determination to file an appeal restating the basis of the protest and the grounds of the appeal. In the appeal,
the Protester shall only be permitted to raise factual information previously provided in the protest or discovered
subsequent to the Assistant General Manager’s decision and directly related to the grounds of the protest. The Board of
Directors has the authority to make a final determination and the Board of Director's decision shall constitute the
DISTRICT's final administrative remedy.
In the event the protestor is not satisfied with the DISTRICT's final administrative determination, they may proceed
within 90 days of the final decision to State Court for judicial relief. The Superior Court of the State of California for the
County of Santa Cruz is the appropriate judicial authority having jurisdiction over Proposal Protest(s) and Appeal(s).
Bid includes the term "offer" or "proposal" as used in the context of negotiated procurements.
The Offeror may withdraw its protest or appeal at any time before the DISTRICT issues a final decision.
Should the DISTRICT postpone the date of proposal submission owing to a protest or appeal of the solicitation
specifications, addenda, dates or any other issue relating to this procurement, the DISTRICT shall notify, via addendum,
all parties who are on record as having obtained a copy of the solicitation documents that an appeal/protest had been
filed, and the due date for proposal submission shall be postponed until the DISTRICT has issued its final decision.
A letter of protest must set forth the grounds for protest and shall be fully supported with technical data, test results, or
other pertinent information related to the subject being protested. The Protestor is responsible for adhering to the
DISTRICT's protest procedures.
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