Phase three consists of the submittal and evaluation of bids and the award of the contract to the successful proposer for the final design and construction of the auto ferries, as follows:
(1) The department shall request bids for detailed design and construction of the vessels after completion of the review of technical proposals in phase two. The department will review detailed design drawings in phase three for conformity with the technical proposals submitted in phase two. In no case may the department's review replace the builder's responsibility to deliver a product meeting the phase two technical proposal. The department may only consider bids from selected proposers that have qualified to bid by submitting technical proposals that have been approved by the department.
(2) Each qualified proposer must submit its total bid price for all vessels, including certification that the bid is based upon its approved technical proposal and the request for proposals.
(3) Bids constitute an offer and remain open for ninety days from the date of the bid opening. A deposit in cash, certified check, cashier's check, or surety bond in an amount specified in the request for proposals must accompany each bid and no bid may be considered unless the deposit is enclosed.
(4) The department shall evaluate the submitted bids. Upon completing the bid evaluation, the department may select the responsive and responsible proposer that offers the lowest total fixed price bid for all vessels.
(5) The department may waive informalities in the proposal and bid process, accept a bid from the lowest responsive and responsible proposer, reject any or all bids, republish, and revise or cancel the request for proposals to serve the best interests of the department.
(6) The department may:
(a) Award the contract to the proposer that has been selected as the responsive and responsible proposer that has submitted the lowest total fixed price bid;
(b) If a contract cannot be signed with the apparent successful proposer, award the contract to the next lowest responsive and responsible proposer; or
(c) If necessary, repeat this procedure with each responsive and responsible proposer in order of rank until the list of those proposers has been exhausted.
(7) If the department awards a contract to a proposer under this section, and the proposer fails to enter into the contract and furnish satisfactory contract security as required by chapter
39.08 RCW within twenty days from the date of award, its deposit is forfeited to the state and will be deposited by the state treasurer to the credit of the Puget Sound capital construction account. Upon the execution of a ferry design and construction contract all proposal deposits will be returned.
(8) The department may provide an honorarium to reimburse each unsuccessful phase three proposer for a portion of its technical proposal preparation costs at a preset, fixed amount to be specified in the request for proposals. If the department rejects all bids, the department may provide the honoraria to all phase three proposers that submitted bids.
(9)(a) To accommodate change orders on a fixed price contract, the department shall request that the legislative appropriation for any auto ferry construction project include a contingency in the following amounts:
(i) For the first vessel in any class of vessels designed to be powered by liquefied natural gas, the contingency may be no more than ten percent of the contract price;
(ii) For all other vessels, the contingency may be no more than five percent of the contract price.
(b) The contingency required by this subsection (9) must be identified in the funding request to the legislature and held in reserve until the office of financial management approves the expenditure.