Purchasing and Contracts at Bellingham Technical College

Purchasing is dedicated to supporting the College's mission by facilitating the academic and administrative needs in the most economical and efficient manner, and at the highest possible quality while complying with the laws and regulations set forth by the Federal Government, Washington State and Bellingham Technical College.

Doing Business with Bellingham Technical College

Interested in becoming a vendor to BTC? The Purchasing and Contracts Department assists in creating and maintaining relationships with current and potential vendors and oversees the following: bid solicitation, initiation of requests for proposal, issues purchase orders, and establishment of contracts for consulting services and goods and services.

BTC is always looking for new responsible and responsive vendors. If you have not previously done business with us, please send an introductory email to purchasing@btc.edu indicating what goods or services your company can provide. You may also contact us to make an appointment. We will provide the forms for you to fill out to be added as a vendor via email. 

BTC's Standard Terms and Conditions apply to all purchase orders, invitations to bid and requests for proposals and requests for quotations, except as noted.

Supplier Diversity

You can read BTC's Supplier Diversity Strategic Initiative to learn more about our commitment to ensuring that small, diverse, veteran-owned, and service-disabled-veteran owned businesses have the maximum practicable opportunity to participate in purchasing and contracting at the College. We strive to increase the depth and diversity of our supplier pool by promoting fair and open access to the business community. Competitive solicitations are one method Procurement and Contracts uses to meet these goals:

• Informal solicitations are those solicitations between $10,000 and $100,000 that require limited competition and do not require advertising. Informal solicitations require quotes from a sufficient number of vendors to validate price reasonableness. Informal Solicitations should be sent to at least 3 vendors, and must include one (each) OMWBE certified MBE and WBE, in accordance with RCW 28B.10.029. BTC typically posts these opportunities on WEBS (Washington Enterprise Business Solution).
• Formal solicitations are those solicitations over $100,000 that must be formally advertised and provide broad competition. These solicitations are posted on WEBS, both to comply with state law and to maximize opportunities for small and diverse businesses.

The College encourages employees to utilize the WA State Office of Minority and Women's Business Enterprises (OMWBE) Directory and the WA State DES small, diverse, and veteran-owned contract database to search for suppliers when researching purchases. 

To register for the OMWBE Access Equity B2G system or to find helpful resources for your organization, go to Access Equity Help Center | Office of Minority and Women's Business Enterprises (wa.gov). 

Supplier Diversity Program contact: Melisa Nelson, Director of Purchasing | P: 360.752.8343 | E: purchasing@btc.edu 

Interlocal/Interagency Agreements

State law permits a local government to enter into interlocal agreements with other public agencies in the interest of cooperatively sharing resources for their mutual benefit. RCW 39.34.040 permits a public agency to list interlocal agreements on its website in lieu of having the agreement recorded in the county auditor's office.

The interlocal agreements shown below are posted here to comply with RCW 39.34.040 and may not have been recorded with the Whatcom County Auditor's Office. 

This information set continues to be updated and will be maintained with the most current information available. 

City of Bellingham

Bellingham Public Library BTC Connection

Paramedic Training Program and AAS Degree Partnership

Perry Center Land Lease

Perry Center Land Lease Amendment No. 1

Institutions of Higher Education

BTC, Skagit College, Western Washington University, and Whatcom Community College Regional Nursing Agreement

Everett Community College Space Agreement (Radiologic Technology)

Green River College JSP Grant Training Agreement

Northwest Indian College High School + Agreement

South Puget Sound CEC Executive Board Member Travel Reimbursement Agreement

Walla Walla Community College Title III CAD Grant Agreement

Washington State Institutions of Higher Education Information Sharing

K-12 System Agreements

Career and Technical Education (CTE) Agreements

• Bellingham Public Schools

• Blaine School District

• Ferndale School District

• Lynden-Christian Schools

• Lynden School District

• Meridian School District

• Mount Baker School District

• Nooksack Valley School District

Child & Family Agreements

• GRADS Program 

Running Start Agreements

• Bellingham Public Schools

• Blaine School District

• Burlington-Edison School District

• Concrete School District

• Federal Way School District

• Ferndale School District

• Goldendale School District

• Lummi Tribal Agency

• Lynden School District

• Meridian School District

• Mount Baker School District

• Mount Vernon School District

• Nooksack Valley School District

• Oak Harbor School District

• Sedro Woolley School District

• Whatcom Intergenerational High School

Youth Reengagement (IMPACT!) Program

• Bellingham Public Schools and OSPI

• Blaine School District and OSPI

• Ferndale School District and OSPI

• Lynden School District and OSPI

• Meridian School District and OSPI

• Mount Baker School District and OSPI

• Nooksack Valley School District and OSPI

Port of Bellingham

1000 F Street Lease

Consent to Sublease Agreement with Inland NWAGC, BTC, and Port of Bellingham 

State of Washington

Arts Commission Acquisition of Artwork Agreement

Dept. of Enterprise Services (DES) Contract Usage Agreement

Dept. of Fish and Wildlife Chinook Fish Coop Agreement

DSHS LEP ESL Agreement - 2365-48536

DSHS Indirect Cost Rate Agreement

Public Institutions of Higher Education, DSB, and DVR Collaborative Agreement - 130330

State Auditor's Office Data Sharing Agreement 

Whatcom County

Whatcom County Emergency Services

Whatcom County Health and Community Services Cont. 202401001

Whatcom County Health and Community Services Cont. 202403030

Current Solicitation Opportunities

BTC is currently inviting bids on:

Offset and Digital Printing Services for BTC. RFP # BTC-2024-RFP-001 closes Monday, May 6, 2024. Pre-bid conference was on Thursday, April 18th at 11:00 am PDT via Zoom. Meeting ID available on the RFP document found on WEBS.

Past Solicitation Results

NCSIMUL CNC Simulation and Virtual Machining Software for the Machining Program at BTC. RFQ# BTC-2024-RFQ-002 - Cognisco Technologies

Diesel Cylinder Trainer BTC-2023-RFQ-003 - Silverstone Systems LLC

Auto Collision Cars BTC-2023-RFQ-002 - No award

Quarterly Schedule BTC-2023-RFP-001 

Mini Excavator BTC-2022-RFP-002

Solicitation Process and Rules

In order to access any opportunities when the College is inviting bids, all interested vendors should make sure they are registered with Washington's Electronic Business Solution (WEBS). In order to do so, head over to WEBS for Vendors.

State of Washington and Federal purchasing rules require that purchases over the Direct Buy Limit be competitively solicited in the absence of a contract, funding source mandate, or a sole source justification. The Procurement & Contracts Department is responsible for issuing competitive solicitations.

The direct buy limit does not apply to catalog orders but does apply to non-catalog, BPO, and non-po invoice even when using a contract.

The solicitation process is determined by the dollar amount of the purchase including shipping & handling, and excludes tax, and the commodity type.

Direct Buy Limit

The dollar limitation set by state law under which purchases may be made without securing competitive pricing (Current Enterprise Procurement Policies | Department of Enterprise Services , RCW 39.26.125).  Departments may submit purchase requisitions indicating suppliers of choice within the direct buy limit without prior approval of the Procurement & Contracts Department. When the ultimate aggregate cost to the department for a service or the purchase of a product over a 12 month period will exceed the direct buy limit, contact the Procurement & Contracts Department for guidance at purchasing@btc.edu.

Effective January 1, 2013 the direct buy limit for institutions of Higher Ed is set at $10,000 excluding sales tax.

NOTE: Orders must not be split to avoid competition. For example, if a department intends to purchase 20 each of the same item valued at $2,000 each, the total will exceed the direct buy limit, and unless the department is utilizing a College-approved contract, he Procurement & Contracts Department should be consulted regarding the appropriate buying method. Some exceptions may apply to the purchase of certain items and by order method.

BTC's FY24 opportunities are located in the spreadsheet linked below.

BTC Forecasting for FY24

Bellingham Technical College contemplates awarding a sole source contract to Industrial
Plankton, Inc. for one Research Algae Bioreactor 100L. See Industrial Plankton Sole Source September 2023 for more information.