Scope of Professional Services 3.1 On the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement, COUNTY hereby engages CONTRACTOR to provide all labor, materials and equipment to complete the Project/Service in accordance with the Scope of Services, attached hereto and incorporated herein as Attachment A, as modified or clarified by Addendum(s) # , dated , attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference as Attachment B. It is understood that the Scope of Services may be modified by change order as the Project/Service progresses, but to be effective and binding, any such change order must be in writing, executed by the parties, and in accordance with the COUNTY’s Purchasing Policies and Procedures. A copy of these policies and procedures shall be made available to the CONTRACTOR upon request.
3.2 The term of this Agreement shall be as follows (please check box): The parties acknowledge that this is a project specific agreement and that the single Project/Service shall be completed by the CONTRACTOR within ( ) calendar days after the Notice to Proceed is issued. The CONTRACTOR and COUNTY acknowledge that this Agreement is for a twelve (12) month term and that the CONTRACTOR shall complete the work as specified in the Scope of Services. The COUNTY has the option to renewal this Agreement for four (4) additional one (1) year period(s). The prices set forth in this Agreement shall prevail for the full duration of the initial contract term unless otherwise indicated elsewhere in this document. Prior to completion of each exercised contract term, the COUNTY may consider an adjustment to price based on changes in the following pricing index: CPI. It is the CONTRACTOR’s responsibility to request any pricing adjustment in writing under this provision. The CONTRACTOR’s written request for adjustment should be submitted thirty (30) calendar days prior to expiration of the then current contract term and clearly substantiate the requested increase. The written request for adjustment should not be in excess of the relevant pricing index change. If no adjustment request is received from the CONTRACTOR, the COUNTY will assume that the CONTRACTOR has agreed that the optional term may be exercised without pricing adjustment. Any adjustment request received after the commencement of a new option period shall not be considered. The COUNTY reserves the right to reject any written price adjustments submitted by the CONTRACTOR and/or to not exercise any otherwise available option period based on such price adjustments. Continuation of the contract beyond the initial period, and any option subsequently exercised, is a COUNTY’s prerogative, and not a right of the CONTRACTOR. This prerogative will be exercised only when such continuation is clearly in the best interest of the COUNTY. All work shall be performed in accordance with good commercial practice. The work schedule and completion dates shall be adhered to by the CONTRACTOR except in such cases where the completion date will be delayed due to acts of God, strikes, or other causes beyond the control of the CONTRACTOR. In these cases, the CONTRACTOR shall notify the COUNTY of the delays in advance of the original completion so that a revised delivery schedule can be appropriately considered by the COUNTY. No additional days shall be granted for rain delays.
3.3 The CONTRACTOR shall be solely responsible for obtaining all necessary approvals and permits to complete the Project/Service.
3.4 The CONTRACTOR shall remain appropriately licensed and/or employ the services of a subcontractor who is appropriately licensed throughout the course of the Project/Service. Failure to maintain all required licenses shall entitle the COUNTY, at its option, to terminate this Agreement.
3.5 Although this Agreement identifies specific facilities to be serviced, it is hereby agreed and understood that any County department or agency facility may be added to this Agreement at the option of the County. When required by the pricing structure of the Agreement, the CONTRACTOR shall be invited to submit price quotes for these additional facilities. The additional site(s) shall be added to this Agreement by formal modification. The COUNTY may obtain price quotes for the additional facilities from other vendors in the event that fair and reasonable pricing is not obtained from the CONTRACTOR or for other reasons at the County’s discretion. Although this Agreement identifies specific facilities to be serviced, it is hereby agreed and understood that any County department or agency may delete service for any facility when such service is no longer required, upon fourteen (14) calendar days written notice.
3.6 The CONTRACTOR acknowledges that it has sufficient understanding of the nature and location of the work; the general and local conditions, including but not limited to, those bearing upon transportation, disposal, handling and storage of materials; availability of labor, water, electric power, and roads; and uncertainties of weather or similar physical conditions at the site; the character of equipment and facilities needed preliminary to and during the completion of the Project/Service. The CONTRACTOR further acknowledges that the CONTRACTOR has satisfied itself as to the character, quality and quantity of surface and subsurface materials, obstacles or conditions of the site. Any failure by the CONTRACTOR to acquaint itself with any aspect of the work or with any of the applicable conditions shall not relieve the CONTRACTOR from responsibility for adequately evaluating the difficulty or cost of successfully performing the work required, nor shall it be considered a basis for any claim for additional time or compensation. The COUNTY assumes no responsibility for any conclusions or interpretations made by the CONTRACTOR on the basis of the information made available by the COUNTY. The COUNTY also assumes no responsibility for any understanding or representations made by its officers or agents during or prior to the execution of this contract, unless such understanding or interpretations are made in writing and incorporated herein by reference.
3.7 If required, the Contractors shall attend a mandatory pre-bid meeting. Whether or not there is a mandatory or non-mandatory pre-bid, the contractor shall be required to carefully examine any supplied drawings and/or specifications and be thoroughly aware regarding any and all conditions that may in any manner affect the work to be performed under the contract. If a pre-bid meeting is not required the Contractor shall visit the site to familiarize themselves with the Project/Service, see existing conditions, and take measurements. No additional allowances will be made for lack of knowledge of these conditions.
3.8 In the event of any conflict between the drawings and specifications contained within this Agreement, the following shall govern:
A. Addenda shall supersede all other contract documents to the extent specified in the addenda. Subsequent addenda shall supersede prior to addenda only to the extent specified therein.
B. Drawings and specifications are intended to agree and be mutually complete. Any item not contained within the drawings, but contained in the specifications, or vice-versa, shall be provided and/or executed as shown in either the drawing or specification at no extra costs to the COUNTY. Should anything not included in either the drawing and/or the specifications be necessary for the proper construction and/or operation of the Project/Service as herein specified, or should any error or disagreement between the specifications and drawings exist or appear to exist, the CONTRACTOR shall not derive unjust benefit thereby, or use such disagreement counter to the best interests of the COUNTY. The CONTRACTOR shall immediately notify the COUNTY’s Project Manager of any discrepancy and await the Project Manager’s direction before proceeding with the work in question.
3.9 CONTRACTOR acknowledges and agrees that CONTRACTOR shall utilize the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s E-Verify system in accordance with the terms governing use of the system to confirm the employment eligibility of:
A. All persons employed by the CONTRACTOR during the term of this Agreement to perform employment duties within Lake County; and
B. All persons, including subcontractors, assigned by the CONTRACTOR to perform work pursuant to the contract.
3.10 CONTRACTOR acknowledges and agrees that, in accordance with Section 255.099, Florida Statutes, if the Project/Service assigned to CONTRACTOR is being supported in whole or in part by State funding the CONTRACTOR shall give preference to the employment of state residents in the performance of the work on the Project/Service if state residents have substantially equal qualifications to those of non- residents. If the CONTRACTOR is required to employ state residents, the CONTRACTOR shall contact the Department of Economic Opportunity to post the employment needs in the State’s job bank system. However, in work involving the expenditure of federal aid funds, this section may not be enforced in such a manner as to conflict with or be contrary to federal law prescribing a labor preference to honorably discharged soldiers, sailors, or marines, or prohibiting as unlawful any other preference or discrimination among the citizens of the United States.
Expert Subject to Clause 16.1, where any matter may be referred to an expert pursuant to Clause 11.2 or is required by this Agreement to be referred to an expert then except as otherwise provided for in this Agreement, the matter must be referred for determination by a person:
(a) who is appointed by the Parties, or in default of such appointment within ten (10) Business Days after either Party giving notice in writing to the other Party requiring the appointment of an expert then that person is to be nominated at either Party’s request by:
(i) if the Parties agree that the Dispute is of a financial nature, the President for the time being of CPA Australia;
(ii) if the Parties agree that the Dispute is of a non-financial nature, the President for the time being of the Engineers Australia – Queensland Division; and
(iii) in any other case, by the President for the time being of the Queensland Law Society Incorporated;
(b) who has appropriate qualifications and practical experience having regard to the nature of the Dispute;
(c) who has no interest or duty which conflicts or may conflict with his function as expert, he being required to fully disclose any such interest or duty by written notice to the Parties before his appointment;
(d) who is not an employee of the End User, any Operator or Aurizon Network or of a Related Body Corporate of any of them;
(e) who shall not be permitted to act until he has given written notice to both Parties that he is willing and able to accept the appointment;
(f) who shall have regard to the provisions of this Agreement and consider all submissions (including oral submissions by either Party provided that such oral submissions are made in the presence of the other Party), supporting documentation, information and data with respect to the matter submitted by the Parties or submitted by the Parties as soon as reasonably practicable at his request and who must provide both Parties with a copy of his determination in the form of a report within a reasonable time after his appointment;
(g) who shall be required to undertake to keep confidential all matters coming to his knowledge by reason of his appointment and performance of his duties;
(h) who shall be deemed to be and shall act as an expert and not an arbitrator and the law relating to arbitration (including, without limitation, the Commercial Arbitration Act 1990 (Qld)) shall not apply to him or his determination or the procedures by which he may reach his determination;
(i) whose decision, in the absence of manifest error, shall be final and binding upon the Parties; and
(j) whose costs (and the costs of any advisers to the expert) shall be borne by the Parties in equal shares with each Party bearing its own costs of participating in the dispute resolution process (unless otherwise agreed by the Parties). Any determination made by an expert must be consistent with the provisions of this Agreement.
