REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS REAL ESTATE APPRAISAL SERVICES PROJECT OVERVIEW The Luzerne County Bureau of Assessments is issuing this Request for Proposals ( RFP ) in order to receive proposals from general appraisers who must be members in good standing of the Appraisal Institute (MAI) or hold Accredited Senior Appraiser Status with the American Society of Appraisers. The County is seeking an appraiser to provide an appraisal of the Mohegan Sun Pocono complex located in Plains Township, Pennsylvania, and having Property Identification Numbers 50-G11-B00A-L01A, 50-G11-B00A-L01D, and 50-G11-B00A- L01C (collectively Complex ). All proposals must be received by the Luzerne County Purchasing Department or postmarked no later than Friday, July 17, 2015. The successful vendor agrees to enter into a contractual relationship with Luzerne County for real estate appraisal services, and the relationship will be governed by the terms of the contract. This project shall be completed and an opinion issued in accordance with the Scope of Work no later than Wednesday, September 30, 2015. PROPOSAL DOCUMENTS All interested vendors shall submit one (1) original and four (4) copies their proposals to: Luzerne County Purchasing Department 20 North Pennsylvania Ave, Suite 203 Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711 All proposals must be received by the Luzerne County Purchasing Department or postmarked no later than July 17, 2015. The Luzerne County Purchasing Department is located in the Penn Place Building. The vendor assumes all responsibility in timely submitting the proposal. All proposals must contain the following documents: 1. Offer to Provide Services (attached to this RFP) 2. Proposal Offer Letter 3. Non-Collusion Affidavit (attached to this RFP) Failure to submit a timely proposal or the failure to submit all required documents may result in instant rejection of a proposal. SCOPE OF WORK The successful vendor shall perform the following duties in completion of the project: 1. Personally inspect the entire Complex, Luzerne County may be able to schedule a walkthrough of the Mohegan Sun Casino for the successful vendor, and all necessary records in such a manner as the vendors find necessary for the completion of the appraisal. 2. Provide an opinion of the fair market value of the Complex, as it is on the date of appraisal. This opinion shall be based upon the practices, standards and evidence routinely relied upon by real estate appraisers in forming opinions.
3. All opinions and statements shall be in writing and delivered to the Luzerne County Director of Assessments no later than Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2015. 4. If subsequently requested by Luzerne County, provide a written appraisal of the fair market value of the Complex as it is on the date of appraisal. 5. If subsequently requested by Luzerne County, appear and testify truthfully before the Luzerne County Board of Tax Assessment Appeals and/or the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas and/or any and all appellate courts regarding the fair market value of the Complex. 6. Any and all additional responsibilities and duties Luzerne County and the successful vendor agree is necessary for the completion of this appraisal. PROPOSAL OFFER LETTER Each vendor submitting a proposal shall submit a Proposal Offer Letter detailing: 1. The vendor s qualifications, certifications as a general appraiser for commercial real estate appraisals, and membership in good standing of the Appraisal Institute or Accredited Senior Appraiser Status with the American Society of Appraisers; 2. In the case that the prospective vendor is a corporation, partnership, or other entity, the Proposal Offer Letter must contain the names of all employees who will perform work on this project, their qualifications, and their anticipated responsibilities; 3. Experience appraising multi-million dollar hotel, casino and/ or resort properties, please provide a list of examples; 4. Furnish proof and provide amounts of professional liability insurance; 5. List number of times and courts/ boards of assessment appeals you have been qualified as an expert witness for real estate appraisal or similar field; 6. Complete cost to Luzerne County for completion of the project; and 7. A list of at least three (3) client references who have knowledge of the vendor s quality of work. The Proposal Offer Letter shall be signed by the individual submitting the proposal, or in the case the prospective vendor is a partnership, corporation, or other entity, the Proposal Offer Letter shall be signed by an individual with authority to bind the entity to contractual agreements. CONFLICTS OF INTEREST In addition, each prospective vendor must provide notice to Luzerne County if the vendor has performed a real estate appraisal on the Complex in the past, or if the vendor has performed real estate appraisal services on behalf of Downs Racing, LP, the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, Wilkes-Barre Area School District, or Plains Township. Please provide information on when such appraisal(s) occurred, who the appraisal(s) was/ were for, and the property appraised (if not the Complex). Luzerne County will not select any vendor who has performed an appraisal of the Complex either for Downs Racing, LP, or the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority. Prospective vendors must also disclose if they personally contributed over $500 to the electoral campaigns of any sitting Luzerne County Councilmember. SELECTION CRITERIA Luzerne County will establish a selection team whose responsibility it will be to evaluate proposals. The selection team may call any or all vendors to provide conduct interview(s) in Page 2 of 6
order to aid in the final determination. The selection team will evaluate the proposals based upon: qualifications; experience; reputation; time to complete; and cost. By issuing this RFP, Luzerne County specifically reserves the right to select the vendor whose proposal is in the best interest of Luzerne County regardless of total cost. PROVISIONS GOVERNING THE RFP PROCESS A. By issuing this RFP, Luzerne County has not created a contractual relationship with any person, partnership, corporation, or other entity. B. All prospective vendors assume all costs and liabilities associated with the development of a proposal in response to the RFP. Luzerne County will not reimburse any vendors for any costs associated with the development of the RFP nor any travel if interviews are conducted. C. All prospective vendors who submit proposals agree that their proposals shall remain open offers for a period of one hundred twenty (120) days after the closing of this RFP. D. Any and all questions must be directed to Mark Zulkoski, the Director of Purchasing, at mark.zulkoski@luzernecounty.org. Luzerne County will answer all questions received by Wednesday, July 15, 2015 4:00 P.M. Eastern Time. Luzerne County will attempt to answer any questions received after this point, but cannot guarantee a response. In no event will questions delay the closing date of this RFP. E. Luzerne County reserves the right to amend this RFP up to Thursday, July 9, 2015 at 4:00 P.M. Eastern Time. All amendments will be posted with the RFP on the Luzerne County Procurement website. Prospective vendors are encouraged to send their contact information via email to Mark Zulkoski, the Director of Purchasing, at mark.zulkoski@luzernecounty.org. By providing contact information, the vendor will be sent any amendments to the RFP. It shall be the responsibility of all vendors who do not submit contact information to the Purchasing Department to check the Luzerne County Procurement website for any amendments. No amendment will delay the closing date of this RFP unless specifically stated in the amendment. F. Luzerne County specifically reserves the right to cancel this RFP, reject any and all proposals for any reason, or to re-issue this RFP at a later date. G. Luzerne County reserves the right to negotiate the terms of a contract, including time of completion and compensation with any and all vendors. H. Luzerne County reserves the right to waive any formality in the RFP process. Any and all waivers are independent decisions made on a case-by-case basis. No waiver shall set any precedent nor impair any rights held by Luzerne County in this RFP process for future determinations. Page 3 of 6
I. Any contract negotiated and tentatively agreed to shall be subject to all provisions of the Luzerne County Home Rule Charter. This includes approval by the Luzerne County Manager and the possibility of approval being required by the Luzerne County Council. Luzerne County shall have no liability to the successful vendor if the contract fails to receive approval from the appropriate entity. J. Luzerne County will notify all prospective vendors once a final decision is made. Luzerne County is not obligated to provide any unsuccessful vendor with an explanation for the County s decision. ATTACHMENTS Attachment A- Offer to Provide Services Attachment B- Non-Collusion Affidavit Page 4 of 6
ATTACHMENT A OFFER TO PROVIDE SERVICES TO: Luzerne County Attn: Purchasing Department 20 North Pennsylvania Ave, Suite 203 Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711, herein called the Vendor, hereby offers professional real estate appraisal services to Luzerne County at the cost contained in this offer. The Vendor hereby agrees that this offer will remain open for one hundred twenty (120) days after the closing date of this Request for Proposals. Total Cost of Offer: $ I have read this Request for Proposals in its entirety and understand and agree to all provisions. I do hereby certify that I am an agent of the above-mentioned Vendor with the legal authority to bind the Vendor to contractual agreements. Name of Authorized Agent: Address: Telephone: Facsimile: Email Address: Signature: Date: Submittal: To ensure proper identification and handling, please submit your offer in a sealed envelope. This offer may be hand delivered or mailed; it must be delivered by the date and time specified in the RFP documents. Page 5 of 6
Non-Collusion Affidavit ATTACHMENT B State of County of, being first duly sworn, deposes and says that: (1) She/ He is the of the Vendor that had submitted the attached proposal. (Owner, partner, officer, representative or agent) (2) She/ He is fully informed with respect to the preparation and contents of the attached proposal and of all pertinent circumstances respecting such proposal. (3) Such offer is genuine and is not part of any conspiracy, collusion or deception. (4) Neither the said Vendor nor any of its officers, partners, owners, agents, representatives, employees or parties in interest, including this affiant, has in any way colluded, conspired, connived or agreed, directly or indirectly with any other Vendor, firm or person to submit a collusive or sham proposal in connection with the contract for which the attached proposal has been submitted or to refrain from proposing in connection with such contract, or has in any manner, directly or indirectly, sought by agreement or collusion or communication or conference with any other Vendor, firm or person to fix the price or prices in the attached proposal or of any other Vendor, or to fix any overhead, profit or cost element for the proposal prices or the proposal price of any Vendor, or to secure through any collusion, conspiracy connivance or unlawful agreement any advantage against the any person interested in the proposed contract; and the price or prices quoted in the attached proposal are fair and proper and are not tainted by any collusion, conspiracy, connivance or unlawful agreement on the part of the Vendor or any of its agents, representatives, owners, employees, or parties in interest, including this affiant. (5) The price(s) and amount of this proposal have been arrived at independently and without consultation, communication or agreement with any other contractor, proposer, or potential proposer. (6) Neither the price(s) nor the amount of this proposal, and neither the approximate price(s) nor the approximate amount of this proposal, have been disclosed to any other firm or person who is a Vendor/proposer or potential Vendor/proposer, and they will not be disclosed before bid/proposal opening. (7) No attempt has been made or will be made to induce any firm or person to refrain from submitting a bid/proposal on this contract, or to submit a bid/proposal higher than its bid/proposal, or to submit any intentionally high or noncompetitive bid/proposal or other form of complementary bid/proposal. (8) The bid/proposal of my firm is made in good faith and not pursuant to any agreement or discussion with, or inducement from, any firm or person to submit a complementary or other noncompetitive bid/proposal. (9) The above representations are material and important, and will be relied on by Luzerne County in awarding the contract(s) for which this bid/proposal is submitted. I understand and my firm understands that any misstatement in this affidavit is and shall be treated as fraudulent concealment from Luzerne County of the true facts relating to the submission of bids/proposals for this contract. (Signed) Subscribed and sworn to before me this day of, 2015 Name Title My commission expires: (Name) (Title) Page 6 of 6