Under Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5 §1743, the Bureau of General Services may award contracts for public improvements that the State or any of its agencies hold in fee involving a total cost that exceeds $100,000, except contracts for professional, architectural and engineering services.
Construction projects include new construction or renovation of buildings and sites, but do not include maintenance and operations activities. Replacement of building systems or major components is considered a construction project rather than a maintenance project. Construction services are generally procured through a traditional Design-Bid-Build Delivery Method.
The selection process is based on competitive bidding, and awarded to the lowest dollar value responsive and responsible bidder.
In special circumstances, Alternative Project Delivery Methods may be authorized for certain projects. The Alternative Delivery Methods are Construction Manager at Risk (CMR), Construction Manager-Advisor (CMa), and Design/Build (D/B).
An Alternative Delivery System Review Panel is established under Title 5 §1743.4, at the direction of the Bureau of General Services Director to advise in developing alternative project delivery policies, procedures and rules, and in selecting public improvement projects for construction under an alternative delivery method. The panel considers the technical complexity of the project, substantial time or scheduled savings that are necessary to the success of the project, project cost control, the bureau’s’ capacity to plan and manage the selected alternative project delivery method of construction either in-house or through outside contract, consistency and fairness in the procurement process the assurance of competition, and the advancement of the public interest.
The panel is composed of the following, two (2) representatives of the Bureau of General Services designated by the Commissioner of the Department of Administrative and Financial Services (DAFS), two (2) representatives of the construction trade, one (1) of who is building contractor designated by the president of a state-based organization that represents building contractors and one (1) of whom is designated by the president of a state-based organization that represents specialty contractors, one (1) representative designated by the president of a state-based organization that represents architects, and one (1) representative designate by the president of a state- based organization that represent consulting engineers.
The private sector members serve terms of three (3) years each and each appointing authority shall designate an alternate who shall serve in the event of a conflict of interest.