Sealed bids may be mailed to Gaston County in the office of Gaston County Public Works, Attn: Rebecca Edison, PO Box 1578, Gastonia, NC 28053. It is the responsibility of the bidder to ensure receipt of the mailed sealed proposal prior to Time and Date above. It is the responsibility of the bidder to navigate parking and security to ensure timely arrival at Gaston County Courthouse Harley B. Gaston Public Forum, 2nd floor, 325 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Way, Gastonia NC to ensure receipt of the hand delivered sealed proposal prior to Bid Date and Time. For information regarding the meaning or content of the documents, please contact as follows: Rebecca Edison Gaston County Public Works P.O. Box 1578, Gastonia, NC 28053 Phone: 704-862-7503 Email:rebecca.edison@gastongov.com Bidders must have a license to do work as a contractor in the State of North Carolina, as set forth under Article 1 chapter 87 of the North Carolina General Statutes. Subject to the provisions of the State of North Carolina Contractor's Licensing Law, it will be necessary for the contractor to place their contractor's license number on the envelope containing their bid. No bid shall be considered or accepted by Gaston County unless at the time of its filing the same shall be accompanied by a deposit of cash or certified check on some bank or trust company insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in an amount equal to not less than five percent (5%) of the proposal. In lieu of making the cash deposit, bidder may file a bid bond executed by a corporate surety licensed under the laws of North Carolina to execute such bonds, conditioned that the surety will, upon demand forthwith make payment to the obligee upon said bond if the bidder fails to execute the contract in accordance with the bid bond. This deposit shall be retained if the successful bidder fails to execute the contract within ten (10) days after the award or fails to give satisfactory surety as required herein. The successful bidder shall be required to enter into a contract with Gaston County in writing and shall be required to furnish bond from some surety company authorized to do business in the State of North Carolina, make deposit of money, certified check, or government sureties for the full amount of said contract for the faithful performance of the terms of said contract as required by Section 143-129 of the General Statutes of North Carolina. No bid shall be withdrawn after the opening of bids without the consent of Gaston County, for a period of sixty (60) days after the scheduled time of closing bids. The Bid securities of all bidders, except those submitted with the three (3) lowest acceptable proposals, will be returned within fifteen (15) days after the time of opening the bids. The bid security accompanying the three lowest acceptable proposals may be held by Gaston County, North Carolina, until a construction contract has been executed and a satisfactory Performance Bond in the sum of the total amount of the contract has been delivered to Gaston County. Each bid should be accompanied by a letter from the bidder's insurance representative certifying that said insurer has read the insurance requirements as set forth in the General Conditions of the contract and will issue the required policies if awarded a contract. The award of any contract will be made by Gaston County, North Carolina, to the lowest responsive, responsible bidder. Responsible bidder will be defined as one who furnishes satisfactory evidence that he has the requisite experience and ability and that he has sufficient capital, facilities, and plant to enable him to perform the work successfully and promptly, and to complete the work within the time specified in the contract documents. At a minimum, responsible bidder shall be appropriately licensed by the State of North Carolina, have provided the required bid bond, have the capability of meeting bonding and insurance requirements, and be in compliance with Federal, State, and local laws and regulations applicable to the project. Gaston County reserves the right to reject any proposal for failure to comply with all requirements of this notice or of any of the contract documents; however, it may waive any minor defects or informalities at its discretion. Gaston County further reserves the right to reject all proposals or award a contract which, in its judgment, is in the best interest of the County.