Doug is always excited to be able to move forward on new projects as the Job Order Contracting outreach and solicitation process begins again . In September , his department was in the final stages of preparing bid documents in order to get the next round of contracts issued , and hoping to have contracts awarded in December and January . He was expecting to again have five participating contractors , each starting with a $ 1 million limit , but with the Building Maintenance Department having the leeway to award up to $ 3 Million in contract work , based on the contractor ’ s performance and the Department ’ s budget limitations . “ The Building Maintenance Department would like to hire as many local contractors as possible , but usually has a few more bidders than we have available slots ,” says Doug . “ We would like to see more participation from and healthy competition between local contractors - it ’ s a great contract to be part of , but they have to take the time to put in the submission . Some contracts are 12-18 months long , but we also have many smaller projects – and while most of them may take a couple of months to set up and plan , the construction phase is usually between 2 weeks to 2-3 months , so they are not the longest or hardest to tackle and are a great way for local contractors to become more familiar and comfortable with this arena .”
Doug expresses a deep sense of satisfaction knowing that , working behind the scenes throughout Alameda County , the Building Maintenance Department keeps the County ’ s buildings and facilities operating smoothly and safely , and he strongly encourages local contractors to take the necessary steps to participate in Job Order Contracting . As Doug points out , “ There are a lot of resources available to help local contractors prepare to take on these projects , but contractors have to be willing to reach out , ask questions , and make an effort to learn and get involved .” These resources include the County ’ s third party vendor , Gordian , which provides an online platform and contractor assistance in understanding the JOC catalog of projects and project pricing , the Alameda County Contractor Technical Assistance Program ’ s ( CTAP ’ s ) individualized contractor assessments , technical support , and bonding assistance , as well as a number of other local and statewide sources of information and guidance .
Contractors can reach out to Rich Lowther , Facilities Manager , for more information about Alameda County ’ s JOC program at
Richard . Lowther @ acgov . org or ( 510 ) 667-3035 .
For more information about or assistance with Gordian , contractors can contact Gordian Account Manager Valerie Storm at
v . storm @ gordian . com or ( 510 ) 227-9053 .
FALL / WINTER 2020 CONTRACTOR REPORT - 11