County To Host Contracting Opportunities Workshop for Local Businesses

Announcement from the County of Napa:

As part of the implementation of the Local Vendor Preference policies adopted by the Napa County Board of Supervisors, the County will host a Contracting Opportunities Workshop for Professional Services Consultants and Construction Contractors in August.

The workshop will be held Friday, August 22, 2014, at 2:00 p.m. in the Community Room of the Napa City-County Library, 580 Coombs Street, in Napa.

The Board of Supervisors has expressed a commitment to active competition in the purchase of professional and other services, with a goal of selecting the best qualified firm(s) to provide services at the least cost to County taxpayers. The Local Vendor Preference policies were designed to improve opportunities for local vendors to fully participate in the County’s contracting process and to encourage larger, out-of-County firms to partner with local firms.

The purpose of the August 22 workshop is to discuss with local business people anticipated upcoming projects.

Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions about specific project scope and anticipated timelines. Other topics that will be covered include an overview of the California Uniform Public Construction Accounting Act (CUPCAA). Additionally, staff will provide an overview of the contractor prequalification process for construction contracts and the County’s consolidated RFP/RFQ Web site and subscription service.

Napa County Public Works, as well as the Purchasing division, will be represented at the event. Other County departments and agencies will separately announce their programs to ensure the distribution of information regarding contract opportunities in their specific areas of expertise.

“Both staff and the Board of Supervisors have heard that the local business community would like to do business with Napa County, and it is our desire to do business with local vendors whenever possible,” said Supervisor Keith Caldwell. “We have adopted the local vendor preference policy which provides, when not prohibited by law, for local service providers to be awarded contracts when all else is equal in the competitive evaluation process. I hope that our local companies will attend this workshop to better understand their opportunities to do business with the County.”

For additional information about this event, please contact Juan Arias at (707) 259-8374 or at Juan.Arias@countyofnapa.org.