Pontoon Party Barges

STATE OF ARKANSAS
DEPARTMENT OF PARKS, HERITAGE AND TOURISM
1100 North Street
Little Rock, Arkansas 72201
INVITATION FOR BID
SOLICITATION DOCUMENT
SOLICITATION INFORMATION
Solicitation Number: ADPHT-26-033 Solicitation Issued: June 4, 2026
Description: 24 Foot Length Party Barges
Division/Agency: State Parks
BID DUE DATE
Bid Response Due Date: June 10, 2026 Time: 9:00 a.m., Central Time
Bid responses for this Invitation for Bid must be delivered to the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and
Tourism on or before the submission deadline. Bids received after the submission deadline may be rejected as
untimely. See Section 1.2 for information regarding Live Bid Openings.
DELIVERY OF RESPONSE DOCUMENTS
Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism
Attn: Procurement
1100 North Street
Little Rock, Arkansas 72201
Delivery Address and
Delivery providers, USPS, UPS, and FedEx deliver mail to the delivery street
IFB Opening Location
address on a schedule determined by each individual provider. These providers will
deliver based solely on the street address. Prospective Contractors assume all
risk for timely, properly submitted deliveries. ADPHT will not make exceptions
for solicitations delivered after the bid deadline. Electronic bid submissions
will not be accepted.
Seal outer packaging and properly mark with the following information. If outer
packaging of bid submission is not properly marked, the package may be opened for
bid identification purposes.
Bid's Outer Packaging
Solicitation number
Date and time of bid opening
Prospective Contractor's name and return address
DEPARTMENT NAME CONTACT INFORMATION
Buyer's Direct Phone
Buyer: Erin Watson 501-682-7618
Number:
Department's Main
Email Address: erin.watson@arkansas.gov 501-324-9150
Number:
Department Website: Adpht.arkansas.gov
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SECTION 1 - INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS
1.1 INTRODUCTION
This Invitation for Bid (IFB) is issued by the Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism for the State
Parks Department to obtain pricing and a contract(s) for (3) 22 Foot Length Class Party Barges for
Lake Ouachita State Park
Direct all communications regarding this Solicitation to the Buyer on page one (1) of the IFB.
1.2 LIVE BID OPENING
Use the information below to view the bid opening online
Teams Meeting Link:https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/2476118563080?p=lfkk7ffpxQIVuEl21H
Meeting ID: 47 611 856 308 0
Passcode: gf2sn9Kj
Call-In Information:
Dial in by phone
+1 501-244-3310,,159699337# United States, Little Rock
Phone conference ID: 159 699 337#
1.3 OBJECTIVE AND GOALS
The Department seeks to purchase (3) 24 Foot Length Party Barges with delivery to Lake Ouachita
State Park.
1.4 TYPE OF CONTRACT
A. As a result of this IFB, the Department intends to award a contract to a single Contractor (see
Contractor Selection).
B. The anticipated starting date for any resulting contract is June 11, 2026, except that the actual
contract start date may be adjusted unilaterally by the State for up to three (3) calendar months. By
submitting a signed bid in response to the IFB, the Prospective Contractor represents and warrants
that it will honor its bid as being held open as irrevocable for this period.
C. The initial term of a resulting contract will be until June 30, 2026
1.5 DEFINITION OF TERMS
A. Unless otherwise defined herein, all terms defined in Arkansas Procurement Law have the same
meaning herein.
B. The terms "Invitation for Bid," "IFB," and "Solicitation" are used synonymously in this document.
C. "Prospective Contractor" means a responsive and responsible bidder who submits a bid that meets
the Requirements and criteria set forth in this Solicitation.
D. "Requirement" means a term, condition, provision, deliverable, Specification, or a combination
thereof, that is obligated under the Solicitation, resulting contract, or both.
E. "Shall" and "must" mean the imperative and are used to identify Requirements and Specifications.
F. "Specification" means any technical or purchase description or other description of the physical or
functional characteristics, or of the nature, of a commodity or service. "Specification" may include a
description of any Requirement for inspecting, testing, or preparing a commodity or service for
delivery.
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G. "State" means the State of Arkansas. When the term "State" is used herein to reference any
obligation of the State under a contract that results from this Solicitation, that obligation is limited to
the Department using such a contract.
1.6 CONTRACTOR SELECTION
A. Award is expected to be made to the responsive and responsible Prospective Contractor determined
to have submitted the lowest bid that meets the Requirements and criteria set forth in the IFB, based
on the Total Cost of the Official Bid Price Sheet submitted by the Prospective Contractor.
B. The State reserves the right to determine that received costs from any vendor are unreasonable (too
high for the requirements of the subject solicitation) or unrealistic (too low to reflect the ability of the
offeror to meet the requirements of the solicitation). When it is determined by the State that pricing is
potentially unrealistic or unreasonable, the State may request an offeror to clarify elements of pricing,
and the offeror may be removed from consideration for a solicitation, at the sole discretion of the
State.
C. If the State so chooses, negotiations may be conducted with the lowest-bidding, responsive and
responsible Prospective Contractor if:
1. All bids received from responsive and responsible bidders exceed available funding; or
2. It appears that additional savings to the state may result from negotiation.
D. If negotiations fail to result in a contract, the State may negotiate with the next lowest-bidding,
responsive and responsible Prospective Contractor.
1. The negotiation process may be repeated until an acceptable lower bid price is negotiated, or
until such time the State determines negotiations are no longer in the best interest of the state.
2. Negotiations are conducted at the sole discretion of the State.
E. Once the anticipated awardee has been determined, the anticipated award will be posted to the
Solicitation posting page, generally for a period of fourteen (14) days prior to the issuance of a
contract. The postings are anticipated awards only, subject to protest.
F. A contract is not effective prior to final award being made by the State; some contracts may be
subject to Legislative review prior to final award.
1.7 CLARIFICATION OF SOLICITATION
A. Submit questions regarding this Solicitation via email to the Buyer on page one (1) of the IFB by
5:00p.m, Central Time on or before June 5, 2026.
1. For each question submitted, Prospective Contractor should reference the specific Solicitation
item number to which the question refers, as applicable.
2. Prospective Contractors' written questions will be consolidated and answered by the State as
deemed appropriate. The State's consolidated written response is anticipated to be posted to the
the Solicitation posting page by the close of business on June 8, 2026 If Prospective Contractor
questions are unclear or non-substantive in nature, the State may request clarification of a
question(s) or decline to answer.
B. The Prospective Contractor should notify the Buyer of any term, condition, etc., that precludes the
Prospective Contractor from submitting a Responsive Bid. Prospective Contractors should note that it
is the responsibility of the Prospective Contractor to seek resolution of all such issues, including those
relating to the terms and conditions of the contract, prior to the submission of a bid.
C. Prospective Contractors may contact the Buyer with non-substantive questions at any time prior to the
bid opening.
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D. An oral statement by the Department will not be part of any contract resulting from this Solicitation
and may not reasonably be relied on by any Prospective Contractor as an aid to interpretation unless
it is reduced to writing and expressly adopted by the Department.
1.8 RESPONSE DOCUMENTS
A. All bids must be submitted to the delivery address and by the submission deadline on page one (1)
of the IFB.
B. Bid Response Packet
1. Prospective Contractors shall utilize the Bid Response Packet attached to the Solicitation to
submit their bids.
2. The following are bid submission Requirements and must be submitted as part of a Prospective
Contractor's bid.
a. Signed Bid Signature Page; signature may be ink or digital. (Found Bid Packet)
b. Completed Official Bid Price Sheet attached to Solicitation posting.
i. Pricing must be proposed in U.S. dollars and cents.
ii. Quantities stated are estimates only and are not guaranteed. Prospective Contractor
must bid unit price on the estimated quantity and unit of measure specified.
The State may order more or less than the estimated quantity on term contracts, and
the Contractor shall sell to the Department quantities ordered at no more than the
bid price.
iii. If pricing documents do not allow for accurate pricing, Prospective Contractor should
notify the Buyer at least seventy-two (72) hours before the bid opening time.
iv. Prices must be firm offers.
v. Discount from list bids pricing is not acceptable unless requested elsewhere in the
Solicitation.
vi. State and local sales taxes should not be included in the bid price. Trade discounts
should be deducted from the unit price and the net price should be shown in the bid.
c. Proposed Subcontractors Form (see Standard Commodities Contract, section 14) (Found in
Bid Packet)
d. Specification Self-Certification Compliance Checklist (Found in Bid Packet)
3. The following items, which must be submitted prior to a contract award to the Prospective
Contractor, may also be included with the Prospective Contractor's bid response:
a. EO 98-04 Contract & Grant Disclosure Form (see Standard Commodities Contract, section
11) (Found in Bid Packet)
b. Copy of Prospective Contractor's Equal Opportunity Policy
i. Pursuant to Arkansas Code Annotated 19-60-104, OSP requires a Prospective
Contractor bidding on a state contract to submit a copy of the Prospective Contractor's
Equal Opportunity (EO) Policy. Prospective Contractors not required by law to have an
EO Policy must submit a written statement to that effect.
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4. Prospective Contractors should not include any other documents or ancillary information, such
as a cover letter or promotional marketing information unless it is necessary to show that
commodity meets the specifications.
C. Prospective Contractors should not alter any language in Solicitation document(s) or Official Bid
Price Sheet provided by the State.
D. Prospective Contractors' bids cannot be altered or amended after the bid opening except as
permitted by law or rule.
E. As requested, Prospective Contractors shall provide clarification regarding Prospective Contractor's
bid response.
F. Prospective Contractors may submit multiple bids.
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SECTION 2 - SPECIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS
2.1 SPECIFICATIONS
A. The commodity must meet the following specifications in Appendix A
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SECTION 3 - SOLICITATION TERMS AND CONDITIONS
3.1. ACCEPTANCE OF REQUIREMENTS
A. A Prospective Contractor's past performance with the State may be used to determine if the
Prospective Contractor is responsible (19-CAR 1-401).
1. Bids submitted by Prospective Contractors determined to be non-responsible will be rejected.
B. A single Prospective Contractor must be identified as the prime contractor.
1. The prime Contractor shall be responsible for the resulting contract and jointly and severally
liable with any of its subcontractors, affiliates, or agents to the State for the performance thereof.
C. By submitting a bid, the Prospective Contractor represents and warrants:
1. That the prices in the bid have been arrived at independently, without any collusion with
another competing Prospective Contractor.
a. Collusion violates Arkansas Procurement Law and can lead to suspension, debarment,
and can be referred to the Attorney General's officer for investigation and appropriate legal
action (Arkansas Code Annotated 19-61-403 and 19-61-702).
2. That the Prospective Contractor has not retained a person to solicit or secure the resulting
contract upon an agreement or understanding for a commission, percentage, brokerage, or
contingent fee, except for retention of bona fide employees or bona fide established
commercial selling agencies maintained by the Prospective Contractor for the purpose of
securing business.
D. Qualifications, services, and commodities must meet or exceed the required Specifications as set
forth in the Solicitation.
3.2. GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS
A. The Contractor must be registered as a vendor to receive payment and may register online by
visiting ark.org/vendor/index and clicking the Start Here button.
B. All payments to the Contractor under a resulting contract shall be made exclusively through ACH
(Automated Clearing House) direct deposit.
1. The Contractor shall provide the necessary banking information, including account number,
routing number, and any other details required to facilitate ACH direct deposits.
2. The Contractor shall be responsible for ensuring that the provided banking information is
accurate and up to date. Any delays or errors in payment caused by incorrect or outdated
information provided by the Contractor shall not be the responsibility of the Department.
3. The Department will process payments according to the agreed payment schedule, and all
payments made via ACH direct deposit shall be considered as duly received upon successful
transmission to the Contractor's designated bank account.
C. Pursuant to Arkansas State Procurement Law, the Contractor shall certify that, unless they offer to
provide the goods or services for at least twenty percent (20%) less than the lowest certifying
Prospective Contractor:
1. They are not engaged in and shall not, during the aggregate term of the resulting contract,
engage in a boycott of Israel (Arkansas Code Annotated 25-1-503),
2. They are not engaged in and shall not, during the aggregate term of the resulting contract,
engage in a boycott of an Energy, Fossil Fuel, Firearms, or Ammunition Industry (Arkansas Code
Annotated 25-1-1102).
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D. Pursuant to Arkansas Procurement Law, the Contractor shall certify that the Contractor does not
knowingly employ or contract with illegal immigrants and that the Contractor shall not knowingly
employ or contract with illegal immigrants during the aggregate term of any contract with the State or
any of its departments, institutions, or political subdivisions (Arkansas Code Annotated 19-60-105).
E. The Contractor shall invoice the State as required by the Department and should not invoice the
State in advance of delivery and acceptance of any commodities or services (Arkansas Code
Annotated 19-4-1206).
1. The Contractor should invoice the agency by an itemized list of charges. The Department's
purchase order number and/or the contract number should be referenced on each invoice.
2. Payment will be made in accordance with applicable State of Arkansas accounting procedures
upon acceptance of commodities and services by the Department.
3. Payment will be made only after the Contractor has successfully satisfied the Department as to
the reliability and effectiveness of the commodities or services purchased as a whole.
F. The Contractor should be able to accept the State's authorized VISA Procurement Card
(p-card) as a method of payment. Price changes or additional fee(s) must not be levied against the
State when accepting the p-card as a form of payment.
G. The Prospective Contractor shall certify that they are not a company owned in whole or with a
majority ownership by the government of the People's Republic of China (a "Scrutinized Company")
and that they do not and shall not during the aggregate term of the resulting contract employ a
Scrutinized Company as a contractor (Arkansas Code Annotated 25-1-1203).
H. This IFB incorporates all terms of the Standard Commodities Contract Template (found here).
1. The contract template is attached to the Solicitation as a sample for your information only.
2. A Prospective Contractor's bid may be rejected if a Prospective Contractor takes exception to
any terms, conditions, or Requirements in this IFB.
I. The Prospective Contractor agrees and shall adhere to all terms, conditions, and Requirements if
selected as the Contractor.
1. Items may only be modified if the legal requirement is satisfied and approved by the State during
negotiations.
J. Pursuant to Arkansas State Procurement Law, the Contractor shall in all other respects comply with
the laws, rules, and executive orders of the state that apply to the Contractor's performance under a
resulting contract.
3.3. GUARANTEES, SAMPLES, AND BRAND NAME REFERENCES
A. By submitting a bid, the Prospective Contractor represents and warrants that goods its sells to the
Department under a resulting contract shall be merchantable.
B. Samples or demonstrators, when requested, must be furnished for inspection free of expense to the
State if in current stock.
C. Unless otherwise specified in the Solicitation, a catalog brand name or manufacturer reference used in
the Solicitation is descriptive only, not restrictive, and used to indicate the type and quality desired.
1. Bids on brands of like nature and quality will be considered.
a. The State shall have the right to determine whether a substitute offered is equivalent to and
meets the standards of the item specified, and the State may require the Prospective Contractor
to supply additional descriptive material.
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b. Prospective Contractors not bidding an alternate to the referenced brand name or manufacturer
shall furnish the product according to brand names, numbers, etc., as specified in the
Solicitation.
3.4. DELIVERY: FOB DESTINATION
LAKE OUACHITA STATE PARK
5451 Mountain Pine Road
Mountain Pine, AR 71956
A. The Contractor shall take all reasonable measures to ensure that commodities purchased must be
delivered within thirty (30) days of the Department's issuance of the relevant purchase order unless
otherwise agreed upon in writing.
1. The Contractor shall give the Department immediate notice of any anticipated delays or plant
shutdowns that will affect the delivery requirement. The Contractor will not be liable for delays in
performance or for non-performance due to unforeseen circumstances or causes beyond the
Contractor's reasonable control.
2. If a delivery date specified in this IFB cannot be met, the Prospective Contractor must state the
alternate number of days required to place the commodities in the ordering Department's
designated location.
3. Failure to state the alternate delivery time obligates the Contractor to complete delivery by the
Department's requested date. Extended delivery dates may be considered when in the best
interest of the State.
B. All deliveries must be made during normal State work hours.
C. The Contractor shall pay all transportation and handling charges, unless otherwise agreed upon in
writing by the Contractor and Department.
D. The Contractor shall bear responsibility for loss or damage that occurs during shipping, prior to the
order being received by the Department.
1. Risk of loss of the order will pass to the Department upon Contractor's delivery of the order
conforming to the resulting pursuant to a purchase order.
2. All orders should be properly packaged to prevent damage during shipping.
E. The State assumes no liability for commodities produced, processed, or shipped in excess of the
amount specified on the Department's purchase order.
F. Unless otherwise agreed upon in writing by the Contractor and Department, payment will be made
within thirty (30) days of the date of the Contractor's delivery of product(s) conforming to the resulting
contract and receipt of the Contractor's invoice, whichever is later.
3.5. INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE
A. The State may inspect any commodities delivered, tendered, or identified to the State as being
procured under a resulting contract to determine whether they conform to the contract.
1. The State's right to inspection may be exercised at any reasonable place and time and in any
reasonable manner, as determined in the State's reasonable discretion, prior to acceptance of
and payment for any commodities procured under a resulting contract.
2. If the commodities are found to be conforming as the result of inspection, the State will bear the
cost of inspection, if any.
3. If any of the commodities are found to be non-conforming, the State:
a. May elect to recover expenses of inspection, if any, from the Contractor and the Contractor
shall bear the cost
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b. The Contractor shall be responsible for the cost of any retrieval, return, or disposal of the
commodities. Payment for commodities does not constitute acceptance of the commodities
as conforming to the contract if the State has not had a reasonable opportunity to inspect
the commodities or in the event of Contractor's fraud or concealment of defects.
B. The State has the option to return any product(s) within the thirty (30) day timeframe for any reason.
C. The Contractor shall include a total satisfaction return policy for all products and shall not impose
any liability on the State for such returns.
3.6. PROPRIETARY INFORMATION
A. The release of public records is governed by the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act (Arkansas
Code Annotated 25-19-101 et. seq.).
B. Submission documents pertaining to the Solicitation become the property of the State and may be
subject to the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
C. In accordance with FOIA, and to promote maximum competition in the State competitive sealed
bidding, the State may maintain the confidentiality of certain types of information described in FOIA.
Such information may include trade secrets and other information exempted from public disclosure
pursuant to FOIA.
D. Under no circumstances will pricing information submitted in response to an invitation for sealed bids
be designated as confidential after the sealed bids have been opened.
E. Consistent with and to the extent permitted under FOIA, any Prospective Contractor may designate
appropriate portions of a bid as confidential by submitting a redacted copy of the bid. By so redacting
any information contained in the bid, the Prospective Contractor warrants that, after having received
such necessary or proper review by counsel or other knowledgeable advisors, it has formed a good
faith opinion that the portions redacted are not considered public records under FOIA.
F. If a Prospective Contractor deems part of the information contained in a response not to be a public
record, the Prospective Contractor should submit one (1) complete copy of the submission
documents from which any proprietary or confidential information has been redacted in their bid
response. Except for the redacted information, the redacted copy must be identical to the original
copy, reflecting the same pagination as the original and showing the space from which information
was redacted.
G. The Prospective Contractor is responsible for identifying all proprietary information and for ensuring
the electronic copy is protected against restoration of redacted data.
H. The redacted copy will be open to public inspection under the FOIA without further notice to the
Prospective Contractor. If the State deems redacted information to be subject to a public record
request under FOIA, the State will endeavor to notify the Prospective Contractor prior to release of
the redacted record.
I. The State has no liability to a Prospective Contractor with respect to the disclosure of Prospective
Contractor's confidential or proprietary information ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction
pursuant to FOIA or other applicable law.
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