B17.045 Request for Proposal for Qualified Firms For Financial Advisory Services For the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District Proposal Due Date August 18, 2017 4pm Return Proposals to: Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District Purchasing and Contracts Attn: Linda Bertolucci 8800 Grossmont College Drive El Cajon, CA 92020
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NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS CALLING FOR BIDS NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that Grossmont Cuyamaca Community College District of San Diego County, California, acting by and through its Governing Board, hereinafter referred to as the District, will receive up to, but not later than 4:00 PM on August 18, 2017, sealed proposals for the award of a contract for: RFP # B17.045 QUALIFIED FIRMS FOR FINANCIAL ADVISORY SERVICES Proposals shall be received in the Purchasing & Contracts Department at 8800 Grossmont College Drive, El Cajon, 92020-1799. The Proposal document may be obtained by downloading from the District s web-site at http://www.gcccd.edu/purchasing-contracts/bids-and-proposals.html. All questions and requests for information must be made in writing by email only to the attention of Linda Bertolucci, Director, Purchasing & Contracts, Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District, 8800 Grossmont College Dr., El Cajon, CA 92020. Email: Email: linda.bertolucci@gcccd.edu. Proposal return envelope must be addressed to the Purchasing and Contracts Department, Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District, 8800 Grossmont College Drive, El Cajon, CA 92020-1765, and be clearly and prominently marked with the RFP name, number and due date and time. The Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District reserves the right to reject any or all Proposals, to accept or reject any one or more items of a Proposal, or to waive any irregularities or informalities in the Proposals. No bidder may withdraw his bid for a period of thirty (60) days after the due date of August 18, 2017. Sue Rearic Vice Chancellor-Business Services Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District Advertising dates: 8/4/17 8/11/17 Published in: Daily Transcript Page 3 of 12
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FINANICAL ADVISORY SERVICES I. INTRODUCTION The Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District (the District) is inviting qualified and interested firms to submit proposals for financial advisory services to aid in analysis of bonds. It is the desire of the District to contract with a single entity to develop, support, and administer this process. The services requested are addressed in this Request for Proposal. It is essential that the selected firm can demonstrate experience in working with Program Managers, District staff, Board of Trustees, and others as a collaborative team member. II. BACKGROUND GCCCD is comprised of 2 campuses, Grossmont College and Cuyamaca College. In 2012, a $398 million general obligation bond measure was passed by the voters, also known as Proposition V. At this time, the District has sold the initial 2012 issuance bonds series $80 million in 2013. Series B funding is estimated at approximately $100 million. These estimates may change due to construction schedule needs and assessed valuation rates. Submission of Proposal Proposers should submit one (1) electronic version and three (3) printed and signed copies of the entire response in a sealed envelope to be mailed or delivered to: Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District Attn: Linda Bertolucci 8800 Grossmont College Drive El Cajon, CA 92020 (Building 80, Grossmont College Campus: Map attached) Please indicate: RFP, FINANCIAL ADVISORY SERVICES on the outside of the package. Issuance of RFP August 2, 2017 Last day for questions August 11, 2017 Addenda issued to all Proposers August 15, 2017 Deadline for firms submission of proposals August 18, 2017 Issuance of Award to the selected qualified Proposer August 31, 2017 All services will be managed and coordinated by the Vice Chancellor-Business Services or an assigned staff member of the Business Services department. All strategies and negotiations shall be directed by and coordinated through the Business Services department. Proposers shall use their own forms when submitting pricing for services. The District is not responsible for errors or omissions on the part of the preparation of their proposal. Page 4 of 12
The successful Proposer will be required to furnish all labor, equipment, supplies, insurance and materials to provide required services to the District and comply with all applicable laws and regulations. III. SCOPE OF SERVICES Firms wishing to be considered for selection by the Board of Trustees must agree to meet the District s requirements and provide comprehensive financial advisory services at a competitive fee and provide the services outlined below to include, but not limited to, the following: a) Provide the District with expert financial advice and assistance on financing techniques and options on matters pertaining to the issuance and sale of securities including general obligation bonds, certificates of participation, refundings and other municipal financing options available to California community colleges. b) Provide the District with available financing options by conducting studies and analyses to determine the most appropriate and cost effective financing methods, terms, security provisions and repayment structures. Financing options and accompanying studies and analyses shall be presented to the District within an agreed upon timeline. c) Develop a schedule for all participating parties with regard to any of the above transactions. d) Work cooperatively and coordinate the work with recognized bond counsel and/or underwriters, selected by the District, in connection with issuances of bonds. e) Assist disclosure counsel with the preparation of preliminary and final official statements to provide the market with timely and accurate information about the District and its bond issuances. f) Assist District officials in preparing materials for presentation to the national credit rating services agencies regarding the District s financial condition and debt structures. g) Have representatives present at meetings, when requested or notified, on matters concerning financing techniques and bond issues. h) Prepare other analyses that may be utilized by the District in its financings. i) Prepare such other functions normally contemplated to be within the scope of a fully qualified financial advisor. IV. RESPONSE CONTENT Proposals must contain sufficient detail to enable the District s Selection Committee to determine the merits of the firm. Please avoid submitting marketing materials which do not explicitly respond to the questions below. Responses should be limited to ten (10) Page 5 of 12
pages; this page count excludes the number of pages associated with any cover letter, financial statements or any transaction lists or numerical analyses that can be included as appendices. Responses are required to address all elements requested below: a) Company name, address, telephone number, fax number and email address for individual submitting the proposal. b) Qualifications. Briefly summarize the qualifications and experience of your firm in municipal finance in general, California education finance and with community colleges in particular. Please include a list of California community colleges and contact information in which your firm acted as financial advisor during the past five years. c) Organizational Structure. Describe your firm s organizational structure. Supply the name or names of the individuals who will be working with the District along with the firm s senior representative, and the roles and locations of each individual. Please provide brief resumes of these individuals. d) Experience. Briefly describe your firm s experience with California community colleges. Please include the date-to-date, par-amount, issuer, type of bond, new money or refunding and lead financial advisor. Please also include your firm s experience with local agencies, and large community college district finance and elections in the past five years, as well as financing packages your firm has worked with. e) Fees. Please provide your firm s fees for the issuance of General Obligation Bonds, Certificates of Participation, Tax and Revenue Anticipation Notes, Refunding Issuances and Bond Anticipation Notes. Further, identify consultant fees, if any, for services the District might require for municipal financing. If there are to be charges for reimbursable expenses, please list all charges to be considered reimbursable and provide a not-to-exceed amount for said expenses. The District may consider an hourly rate rather than contingency fee. Please provide the hourly rates for your team. f) Distinguishing Characteristics. Please describe what distinguishes your firm from other financial advisory firms and how said services will benefit the District financially. g) Recent Transactions. Please select four (4) recent short term and long term, fixed rate and/or adjustable rate competitive sale or negotiated transactions since 2012 for which your firm s professionals were involved. List the following information regarding each transaction: sale date, issue size, maturity amounts, scale and optional call features, underwriting spread, credit rating, credit enhancement (if any) and any other relevant information. Page 6 of 12
h) Agreement. The financial advisory firm approved by the Board of Trustees to serve as the District s financial advisor will be required to enter into an agreement with terms and conditions of said agreement to be acceptable to both parties. Please confirm in your RFP your firm s willingness to enter into an agreement acceptable to the District. i) References. Please provide the names and contact information for at least five (5) California community college districts your firm has worked with as a financial advisor over the past five (5) years. j) Legal Issues. Please respond to each of the following questions: a. Is there now pending any legal action alleging violations of the law in connection with an offering of municipal securities in a California transaction against the firm or any employee of the firm? Please describe each such pending action. b. Have there been any settlements of judgments involving such actions within the last seven (7) years? c. Are there pending legal or disciplinary matters involving such actions against the firm by any State or Federal regulatory agency and if yes, describe. Include information about any criminal indictments or convictions against the firm or its attorneys where the charges involve municipal securities in the United States. Also include information about any material pending legal action, settlement or judgement involving a claim or fraud, whether civil or criminal. V. EVALUATION OF RESPONSES Proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria, not listed in order of importance: Evaluation Criteria a) Response completeness and clarity (10%) b) Experience with California Community College Districts (15%) c) Demonstrated understanding and responsiveness of the request for proposal (15%) d) Qualifications and experience of firm and personnel named in the RFP (10%) e) Competence and experience of assigned staff in structuring and completing California community college financings (10%) f) Past experience in assisting California community college districts with financial information necessary for the successful issuance of bonds, certificates of participation, tax and revenue anticipation notes, refundings, etc. (15%) Page 7 of 12
g) Proposed fees (10%) h) Quality and strength of references (15%) VI. SELECTION PROCESS The Selection Committee will make its recommendation to the Chancellor of Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District. District staff will notify the successful firm in writing of the intent to enter into a successful agreement. VII. CONTRACT The District intends to enter into a contract for this work or related work. The District may select a firm based on the highest rated response(s) and/or interview one or more firm(s) without further discussion or interviews with other firms. The District is not obligated to invite any or all finalists for an interview. a. Insurance Requirements: The selected firm shall maintain necessary insurance that is sufficient to protect the firm s business against all applicable risks and such insurance coverage shall meet, at a minimum, the District s Insurance Requirements. VIII. REJECTION AND WAIVER OF RESPONSES This Request for Proposal does not commit the District to award a contract or pay any costs incurred in the preparation of a response to this request. The District reserves the right to accept or reject any or all responses received; to negotiate with qualified Proposer(s) or cancel the request; and, to waive any minor irregularities and informalities in the response or RFP process. a. Non-Collusion Affidavit: By submittal and signing the response, the Proposer is certifying that the response document is genuine and not a sham or collusive, and not made in the interest of any person not named and that the Proposer has not induced or solicited others to submit a sham offer, or to refrain from responding. b. Compliance with Laws and Regulations: The Proposer shall comply with federal, state and local laws, regulations, and industry standards. The Proposer shall also comply with the Drug-Free Workplace Act requirements of the California Government Code Section 8350 et seq. Page 8 of 12
IX. QUESTIONS/CONTACT PERSON All questions and clarifications must be done via e-mail ONLY to: Linda Bertolucci Sr. Director/Purchasing and Contracts linda.bertolucci@gcccd.edu (No phone contact, please). Proposers shall not contact any District employee, Board of Trustees, or official regarding this Request for Proposal other than the individual listed above as the contact person. Contacting District staff or officials regarding this work may result in disqualification. Meetings, teleconference calls or one-on-one briefings will not be granted to any Proposer. No verbal comments made by District staff or officials are binding regarding this RFP except for that which is made in writing. This will assure that all Proposers receive the same information in a timely manner. a. Public Records Act: By submittal and signing the response, responses to this Request for Proposal will become the exclusive property of the District. At the time a bond underwriting firm is hired and the decision is made public, all documents shall be considered public records. Exceptions to this policy will be those elements in each response that are defined by your firm as business, or trade secrets and marked proprietary trade secret or confidential. The District shall not be held responsible for the disclosure of any business or trade secrets that are not clearly identified. Page 9 of 12
PROPOSAL FORM TO: GROSSMONT-CUYAMACA COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT, a California Community College District, acting by and through its Board of Trustees (the District ), 8800 Grossmont College Drive, El Cajon, California 92020. FROM: (Firm Name of Proposer) (Address) (City, State, Zip Code) (Telephone, Facsimile and Email) (Name(s) of Proposer s Authorized Representative(s)) 1. Proposal. 1.1 Proposal Amounts. The undersigned Proposer proposes and agrees to provide the labor, equipment, supplies, service, and related reports/documentation required for the Request for Proposal described as: Financial Advisory Services. 1.2 Acknowledgement of Proposal Addenda (if applicable). In submitting this Proposal, the undersigned Proposer acknowledges receipt of all Proposal Addenda issued by or on behalf of the District, as set forth below. The Proposer confirms that this Proposal incorporates, and is inclusive of, all items or other matters contained in Proposal Addenda. Addenda Nos. received, acknowledged, and incorporated into this Proposal. (Initial) 2. Documents Accompanying Proposal. The Proposer has submitted with this Proposal the following: (a) Required documents as stated in Section IV; and (b) Proposal Signature Form. The Proposer acknowledges that if this Proposal and the foregoing documents are not fully in compliance with applicable requirements set forth in the RFP document and in each of the foregoing documents, the Proposal may be rejected as non-responsive. 3. Award of Contract. The successful Proposer will be required to enter into a contract with the District. The intent is to award the contract to one (1) firm for the term indicated. However, the District reserves the right to award in whole or in part if it is in their best interest. It is the intent of the District to issue a Purchase Order(s). It is expected that the successful Proposer(s) will meet all requirements of the contract and the purchase order. Page 10 of 12
4. Acknowledgement and Confirmation. The undersigned Proposer acknowledges its receipt, review and understanding of the business requirements, specifications, and other contract documents pertaining to this Proposal. The undersigned Proposer certifies that the contract documents are, in its opinion, adequate, feasible, and complete. The undersigned Proposer certifies that it has all necessary equipment, personnel, materials, technical and financial ability to complete the Work for the amount of Proposal herein within the Contract time and in accordance with the Contract Documents. PROPOSAL SIGNATURE FORM The undersigned agrees to: Provide all financial advisory services for Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District. All equipment, accessories and services shall comply with the applicable Federal and State Law, Codes, Regulations, and Requirements. By: (Authorized Signature) (Typed or Printed Name) (END OF SIGNATURE FORM) Page 11 of 12
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