As contract negotiations with large ASUO programs get under way spring term, the Co-op Family Center could face opposition from similar providers wanting to fill the center’s current role on campus.
No groups have yet come forward to try to be the new child care provider, but the Co-op Family Center, with the help of the ASUO, is currently in the preliminary stages of the complex “Request For Proposal” process.
ASUO Accounting Coordinator Jennifer Creighton said a RFP process means the Co-op Family Center, or possibly another child care provider, must have a contract agreeing to tailor its services to the ASUO’s requests and show how it will meet those requests.
Other organizations, such as Lane Transit District, are termed “Sole Providers” and do not have to go through the RFP process because they are the only provider of a specific service in Eugene.
Creighton said the Office of Business Affairs and Contract Office will help the ASUO advertise about the bid competition for the contract. The advertising will explain that the contract is open to those groups locally that provide child care services similar to those the Co-op Family Center provides.
But Creighton said the details of the RFP process for the Co-op Family Center are still in the very early stages. She said ASUO President Jay Breslow sent the Co-op Family Center a letter last week explaining that by entering the RFP process, no communication should take place between the ASUO and the groups involved who are the bidding for the contract, including the Co-op Family Center.
But Creighton said the ASUO can still maintain contact with groups about necessary current issues that could arise such as student payroll problems.
“We will know a lot more details in a couple weeks after we meet,” Creighton said.
Creighton said the RFP will be developed by the ASUO on March 16 and will eventually be sent to the State Attorney General’s office. All contracting parties are required to have signed their contracts by the July 1 deadline, and University Vice President Dan Williams will be involved in the process as the contracting officer from the University.
Alisa Stull, acting co-director for the Co-op Family Center in Spencer View Family Housing, said she is nervous about the whole contract process. But she also said the group’s autonomy on campus for the past 20 years will be a major advantage for the group.
“We felt that going for the contract was best for the Co-op,” Stull said. “We are comfortable with the fact that we have been here a long time and provide an invaluable service.”
Creighton said the Co-op Family Center received a funding increase of $53,980 for the 2001-02 school year from the Programs Finance Committee. The center needs a formal agreement with the University and the ASUO defining the services it provides because it receives ASUO funding from student incidental fees.
Tami Brown, acting co-director for the Co-op Family Center, said while the ASUO writes the RFP for the center, members of the center are not allowed to participate in the proceedings because it is an open bidding process and other child care groups can also compete for the contract.
“We hope it is written in a way that is conducive to what we are and what we provide,” Brown said.
Brown said the Co-op Family Center is a non-profit group, not a University program, though they receive ASUO funding. Brown also said she hopes the center will be competing against as few other groups as possible. She said she felt confident that the center is unique based on its extremely high parent involvement.
“We are hoping it will be an easy process, but we haven’t gone through it before and we don’t know,” Brown said. “It’s a new endeavor.”
Co-op Family Center begins ‘RFP’ process
Daily Emerald
March 11, 2001
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