134.4 Contract Approval, Execution and Distribution

Once the district and the division agree to the man-hours, salary rates, overhead rates, direct costs, and fixed fee, the information is submitted to the PSC for review and approval, via the email group CODEPSCReview. See Fig. 134.4.1. The submittal letter to the PSC documents that the above procedures have been followed and the requirements of Brooks Act, 23 CFR 172 and RSMO Section 8 have been satisfied. When approved by the PSC, the standard contract language, the scope of services and the consultant’s cost proposal are made part of a formal agreement for execution.

Consultant agreements are to be sent to the assigned Liaison Engineers for “Review by Staff” in eAgreements.

DBE Concurrence must be obtained from Business Development and Compliance prior to sending a federally funded agreement to the consultant for execution. The PM/CA will include Business Development and Compliance (email group DBEConcurrence) as a “Reviewer”, along with the assigned Liaison Engineers, when processing the agreement for “Review by Staff” in eAgreements. Business Development and Compliance will respond to the email notification if any additional DBE information is needed - including, but not limited to, specific DBE details, such as name of DBE firm, DBE Goal, dollar amount of DBE participation, Exhibits such as Scope of Services, Fee Estimate, etc.

After receiving the DBE Concurrence from Business Development and Compliance, the contract may be executed. MHTC authorization to execute the contract may be obtained in one of following ways:

1. Projects in the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP)

The Commission’s approval of the STIP includes delegation of authority to execute professional services contracts for projects contained in the STIP. The execution of agreements is done either by electronic or wet signature. Instructions are included in the eAgreements Training Manual and summarized below.

2. Projects Not Included in the STIP

To obtain authorization to execute contracts for projects that are not included in the approved STIP and have a contract ceiling exceeding $25,000, the contracts must be presented to the MHTC at a regularly scheduled monthly meeting. The appropriate division places these contracts on the Commission agenda for the next meeting. The District Engineer or division engineer should be prepared to discuss this item at the Commission meeting in case questions arise. After obtaining authorization to execute the contract from the Commission, the contract administrator then proceeds with the execution process.

Execution and Distribution of the Professional Services Contract

The Professional Services Contract shall be executed electronically in DocuSign:

• Electronic Signatures – Signing agreements electronically in DocuSign will expedite the execution process. The PM/CA must add all recipients in the DocuSign site that need to sign and/or receive an electronic copy (see below) of the fully executed agreement.

The PM/CA must send an electronic copy of the fully executed agreement to various Central Office Divisions. For electronically executed agreements, this is done by cc:/ in DocuSign. The following are the Central Office Divisions that must be notified:

• Financial Services Division (email group Obligate with message “Obligate - please obligate funds for the fully executed agreement and please advise when we can give a NTP” and provide any specific funding details here, as applicable).
• Design Division (email group CODEPSCReview with message “CODEPSCReview - fully executed agreement for your records”).

Note: If federal funds are used, the PM/CA must wait for email notifications from the following Central Office Divisions before issuing Notice to Proceed the consultant:

• Financial Services indicating the obligation of funds is complete
• Business Development and Compliance (BDC) indicating concurrence in DBE participation.

If federal funds were used to finance the contract, Financial Services submits a copy of the executed contract to the FHWA Finance Section for approval. Federal funds will not be paid for charges to the contract prior to FHWA approval. Any supplemental agreements are also submitted to the FHWA after execution.

Notice to Proceed Letter

The PM/CA is responsible for sending a Notice to Proceed (NTP) Letter (Fig. 134.4.2) to the consultant. The NTP cannot be sent prior to:

• Receiving DBE concurrence from Business Development and Compliance.
• Execution of the contract.