The following procedures shall be applicable to bidding and awarding of contracts for the design and construction of the veterans homes provided for in this rule.
  (1) The Board may request proposals from individuals, firms, partnerships, corporations or a joint venture, or other similar business arrangement, of such entities interested in the design, construction and operation and management of one or more of the state veterans homes provided for in this rule.
  (2) The Board shall award the design, construction and operation and management of the veterans home(s) on the basis of the proposers demonstrated competence and qualifications to perform the requested job at fair and reasonable prices.
  (3) The selected proposer must be a registered architect or registered professional engineer or the selected proposer must employ a registered architect or registered professional engineer that would be responsible for the design and construction of the state veterans home(s).
  (4) The selected proposer will be required to supervise and coordinate all architects, engineers, subcontractors during the design and construction of the state veterans home(s).
  (5) Each state veterans home must be a skilled nursing care facility, certified for dementia/Alzheimer's care, which meets the requirements for licensure by the State of Texas as a nursing care facility and the requirements for recognition by the USDVA as a state veterans home. The facility should be modular in nature, so as to allow for incremental changes in size and types of care with a minimum of redesign. The facility should also be designed to avoid an institutional atmosphere by creating a supportive, therapeutic, home-like environment. Additional requirements may be specified in the Request for Proposals.
  (6) The Board may require the proposers to submit separate pricing proposals for the construction phase and the operations phase of the state veteran home(s). The Board may consider the pricing proposals together or individually.
  (7) Each request for proposal approved by the Board shall contain detailed instructions of the procedure the proposer must follow when developing the pricing proposal for the construction phase.
  (8) Pricing proposals for the construction phase shall be evaluated based on the dollar amount of the proposal, the proposers financial resources, surety and insurance experience, construction experience, completion ability, personnel available, equipment available, work load, and client relationship. The contract will be awarded based on the proposal most advantageous to the Board after evaluation of all proposals.
  (9) Once a contract is awarded the proposer shall provide all necessary insurance certificates and bonds. The selected proposer will then begin design of the state veterans home(s) and shall be paid in accordance with the terms of its contract with the Board.
  (10) The Board may contract with an individual, firm, partnership or corporation to act as the Board's representative in all aspects of the proposal process, construction phase and operation phase of the state veterans home(s). The representative must be a registered architect or registered professional engineer or the representative must employ a registered architect or registered professional engineer that would be responsible for the functions of the representative. The functions of the representative include, but are not limited to, the following:
    (A) Providing expertise and professional advice to the Board regarding the proposals, proposer selection process, design and construction and operation and management of the state veterans homes.
    (B) Monitoring the design and construction of the state veterans home(s) to insure that the construction quality and standards agreed to by the Board are implemented by the selected proposer.
    (C) Completing periodic reports to the Veterans Land Board on the progress of the design and construction of the state veterans home(s).
    (D) Fulfilling any other requirements or services outlined with its contract with the Board.

Source Note: The provisions of this §176.11 adopted to be effective February 15, 1998, 23 TexReg 1117.