SUWANNEE RIVER WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT INVITATION TO BID NO. 16/17-035AO CHEMICAL APPLICATION SERVICES Table of Contents Section Title Page 1 Introduction 2 2 Bid Schedule 2 3 Instruction to Bidders 2 4 Key Points 3 5 Scope of Work 5 6 Bid Response Form 9 Suwannee River Water Management District 9225 CR 49 Live Oak, FL 32060 386.362.1001 386.362.1056 (Fax) 800.226.1066 (Florida only) www.mysuwanneeriver.com SRWMD ITB 16/17-035 AO - Page 1 of 14
SECTION 1 - INTRODUCTION The Suwannee River Water Management District (District or SRWMD) is accepting bids from experienced contractors to apply chemical herbicides along approximately 41 miles of ditch edges in the Mallory Swamp Wildlife Management Area. Treatment areas were mowed in spring FY2017. The objective of this work is to reduce the growth of vegetation along roadside ditches to help increase the width of defendable area along the roads and decrease the potential for fire to spot across the roads. This work will help facilitate the safe use of prescribed fire, provide benefits to natural systems, maintain the integrity of existing water management structures, and provide open areas along canal and ditch edges for recreational use. The initial contract shall be for a period ending September 30, 2017, with the potential for two subsequent one-year renewals based upon the prior year s performance by the Contractor, the same terms and conditions or terms more favorable to the District, and mutual agreement of the District and the Contractor. SECTION 2 - BID SCHEDULE August 3, 2017 Release of Invitation to Bid (ITB). August 18, 2017 Bids due prior to 10:00 a.m. at District Headquarters in Live Oak. Opening will occur at this time. * September 1, 2017 Anticipated start date. *Denotes a public meeting. All times denote Eastern Standard Time/Daylight Savings Time SECTION 3 - INSTRUCTION TO BIDDERS 1. Delivery of Bids: Bidders are required to complete and submit one (1) original and one (1) copy of all forms included in SECTION 6. Bid forms shall be sent in one envelope to: Penny Flickinger, Business Resource Specialist III Suwannee River Water Management District 9225 County Road 49 Live Oak, Florida 32060 Phone: 386.362.1001 2. All bids shall be submitted in sealed envelopes with the following clearly marked in large, bold and/or colored lettering. ITB NO. 16/17-035AO Bid Opening 7/18/2017 10:00 a.m. Bids delivered in an envelope not properly marked with the ITB number and opening date and time that are inadvertently opened by District personnel will not be considered. 3. Bids are due at the above address by 10:00 a.m. on August 18, 2017. Bids received after this time, for any reason, will be rejected. Bids placed in the mail should be mailed in time for delivery the prior day. No common carrier guarantees next-day delivery to District headquarters. 4. Bids must be hard copy. Electronic or FAX transmittals will not be accepted. 5. Additional Information: Bidders can contact Scott Gregor at 386.362.8130 for additional information about the project. Bid packages may be obtained by logging on to SRWMD ITB 16/17-035 AO - Page 2 of 14
www.mysuwanneeriver.com or by contacting Pennie Flickinger at 386.647.3120 or 800.226.1066, Florida only. SECTION 4 KEY POINTS License Requirements: Bidders shall possess a current Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) Commercial Applicator License with further certification in the Forestry Pest Control or Natural Areas Weed Management categories. Contractors are required to print and submit a license verification form from FDACS for each field supervisor listed in SECTION 6; this form provides current information on license expiration date and license categories; this form can be found online at: http://ceupublicsearch.freshfromflorida.com/personsearch.asp; after conducting a search using the name and/or license number for each field supervisor, click on the last name to see the form with the required information; print this form and include with this bid submittal. Chemical Application Requirements: Contract compliance requires Bidders to ensure 100% coverage of treatment areas and 95% mortality of targeted vegetation within these areas; Bidders should take these requirements into account when providing bids. If coverage and/or mortality rates are not met, Bidders will be required to re-treat areas with no additional cost to the District. Selection of Contractor: In accordance with sub section 287.057(1)(a)4, Florida Statutes, the contract shall be awarded to the responsible and responsive vendor who submits the lowest responsive bid. The District will evaluate references that document past experience completing forestry related herbicide projects. Should the successful Bidder be unable at any time to accomplish the work he has been contracted for, the next ranked Bidder for the same task may be contacted to complete the required work. Challenge of Solicitation Process: If a potential bidder protests any provisions of this ITB, a notice of intent to protest shall be filed with the District in writing within 72 hours after the posting of the invitation to bid on the District s website. Failure to file a protest within the time prescribed in Section 120.57(3), Florida Statutes shall constitute a waiver of proceedings under Chapter 120 of Florida Statutes. Challenge of District s Intent to Award Contract: If a bidder intends to protest District s intent to award Contract, the notice of intent to protest must be filed in writing within 72 hours after posting of a notice of intent to award contract and the bidder shall file a formal written protest within ten (10) days after filing of notice of intent to protest. Any bidder who files a formal written protest pursuant to Chapter 28-110, Florida Administrative Code, and Section 120.57(3), Florida Statutes, shall post with the District at the time of filing the formal written protest, a bond pursuant to Section 287.042(2)(c), Florida Statutes (2014). Failure to file a notice of intent to protest or failure to file a formal written protest within the time prescribed in Chapter 28-110, Florida Administrative Code, and Section 120.57(3), Florida Statutes, or failure to post the bond or other security required by law within the time allowed for filing a bond shall constitute a waiver of proceedings under Chapter 120, Florida Statutes. More specifically, Failure to file a protest within the time prescribed in Section 120.57(3), Florida Statutes shall constitute a waiver of proceedings under Chapter 120 of Florida Statutes. Americans with Disabilities Act: The District does not discriminate upon the basis of any individual s disability status. This nondiscrimination policy involves every aspect of the District s SRWMD ITB 16/17-035 AO - Page 3 of 14
functions including one s access to, participation, employment, or treatment in its programs or activities. Anyone requiring reasonable accommodation as provided for in the Americans with Disabilities Act should contact Gwen Lord, Contracts and Procurement Coordinator, at 386.647.3164 or 800.226.1066 (Florida only). The District s fax number is 386.362.1056. Minority Business Enterprises: The District recognizes fair and open competition as a basic tenet of public procurement. Bidders doing business with the District are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, creed, national origin, handicap, age, or sex. The District encourages participation by minority business enterprises. Whenever two or more service providers are ranked equally, a minority business enterprise shall be given preference in the award process. Veteran s Preference: In the absence of minority business enterprise, whenever two or more service providers are ranked equally, a veteran-owned business enterprise shall be given preference in the award process. Drug Free Workplace Act: The selected Bidder shall certify that it has established a drug free workplace. Public Entity Crime: Section 287.133(2)(a), Florida Statutes, states A person or affiliate who has been placed on the convicted vendor list following a conviction for a public entity crime may not submit a bid on a contract to provide any goods or services to a public entity, may not submit a bid on a contract with a public entity for the construction or repair of a public building or public work, may not submit bids on leases of real property to a public entity, may not be awarded or perform work as a contractor, supplier, subcontractor, or consultant under a contract with any public entity, and may not transact business with any public entity in excess of the threshold amount provided in s.287.017 for CATEGORY TWO for a period of 36 months from the date of being placed on the convicted vendor list. Insurance Requirements: If awarded, Bidder shall represent and guarantee that all employees, agents, servants or representatives of the bidder, and all employees, agents, servants, or representatives of subcontractors are covered by workers' compensation insurance. Prior to entering into Contract with the District, bidder agrees to furnish the District certificates of insurance on all insurance, naming District as additional insured for items 2 and 3 below, providing evidence that bidder has in full force and effect the following minimum insurance with insurers authorized to do business in the State of Florida: 1) Workers' compensation insurance as required above; 2) Motor vehicular liability insurance with limits of not less than $1,000,000 combined single limit which insurance shall be applicable to any and all vehicles utilized by bidder to provide the services requested by District; 3) General liability insurance for all services rendered by bidder for the requested services with a minimum of $1,000,000 personal and advertising injury and $1,000,000 general aggregate. The certificate of insurance shall also provide that District shall be notified in writing by the carrier at least 30 days prior to any cancellation of said insurance. Rejection of Responses: The District reserves the right to reject any and all bids or other responses submitted in response to District invitation. District also reserves the right to waive any minor deviations in an otherwise valid bid. SRWMD ITB 16/17-035 AO - Page 4 of 14
Renewal of Contract: The initial Contract for the selected Bidder shall be for the period through September 30, 2017. Assuming the consent and agreement of the Contractor, the District at its sole discretion may consider two subsequent one-year renewals of the Contract so long as the terms and conditions are equal or more favorable to the District. SECTION 5 - SCOPE OF WORK Upon request by the District Project Manager, Contractor will be ready to begin all the work as soon as contract is signed. Contractor will then proceed to complete all the work as quickly and efficiently as possible while maintaining the quality standards listed in the Scope of Work. The District Project Manager may stop work and order the removal and/or replacement of any equipment if the equipment is not working or calibrated properly. Contractor then has 48 hours to replace the equipment with an acceptable substitute and remove the inadequate implement. The District Project Manager may prohibit chemical application during adverse weather conditions (heat, cold, dry, wet, etc.). If adverse weather is a problem, Contractor must furnish additional personnel and equipment to make up for lost time and ensure timely completion. Chemical application projects may not stop for a period longer than 48 consecutive hours without advance approval from the District Project Manager. Contractor must guarantee a minimum of 100% coverage of the treatment areas and at least 95% mortality of targeted vegetation within the areas. Acceptable coverage will be determined within five days of application, using several random spot inspections. Contractors are required to use marking dye to help with this process. Signs of mortality will be documented at random spot inspection sites beginning three weeks following application. If coverage and/or mortality rates are not met, the District will require Contractor to retreat the areas at Contractor s expense and at no additional charge to the District. No chemical herbicide applications will exceed the label rates on the herbicide containers. All requirements, including state and/or local requirements, listed on the herbicide label are to be followed. Failure to comply with label instructions is a violation of federal and/or state laws. Contractor is liable for any penalty, fines or damages resulting from misuse of herbicides. All chemical mixtures will be approved by the District Project Manager before application. Chemical delivery methods and rates of application will be mutually agreed upon by District Project Manager and Contractor before work begins. Unless otherwise specified, Contractor will supply and apply all chemical herbicides, adjuvants, and other materials to ensure an effective kill of the target vegetation. No less than 100% of all target vegetation must be treated, and no less than 95% of the treated vegetation must be killed for the control method to be considered acceptable by the District. Contractor is expected to prevent any overspray, drift and/or nontarget damage to surrounding vegetation, open water, structures, and/or facilities. The District is implementing a Come Clean, Leave Clean standard. All equipment used on District lands, including tractors, ATVs, discs, and roller-choppers needs to be free of any plant material. Project managers are required to inspect each piece of equipment before it enters District managed lands. If contractors are to perform work within 30 meters of a non-native weed infestation, the project manager is required to inspect the vehicle before it leaves District property. The District Project Manager will delineate a designated cleaning area on each tract for contractors to clean their equipment. A Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) Licensed Commercial Pesticide Applicator with a current license must be present during all chemical applications. Licensed applicators must have general standards (Core) certification with further SRWMD ITB 16/17-035 AO - Page 5 of 14
certification in the Forestry Pest Control or Natural Areas Weed Management categories. Contractors are required to print and submit a license verification form from FDACS for each field supervisor listed in SECTION 6; this form provides current information on license expiration date and license categories; this form can be found online at: http://ceupublicsearch.freshfromflorida.com/personsearch.asp; after conducting a search using the name and/or license number for each field supervisor, click on the last name to see the form with the required information; print this form and include with this bid submittal. The licensed supervisor is responsible to ensure the following: Chemical pesticides must be kept in original containers until mixing. All mixtures should have temporary labels that list the trade name and rates of chemicals and any adjuvants within the spray container. The licensed supervisor must readily have available during application copies of all chemical pesticides labels and Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) that are being applied. During mixing and application, all recommended Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) will be properly worn to minimize applicator exposure to chemicals. All measuring cups should be rinsed and the effluent poured into the tank/bottle mixture. Chemicals and any rinse material from chemical containers will be applied to specific areas; run-off of any chemical substance is not acceptable. Herbicides that are mixed, transferred, or temporarily stored while on District lands will be done so at designated staging areas. Any and all containers that contain pesticide or pesticide residues will be removed from District lands once the chemical application is complete. Herbicides will not be applied during adverse or non-optimal weather conditions for the application method. Any weather condition, including heat, wind, or precipitation, that minimizes the effectiveness of the herbicide or increases the exposure and/or potential for drift to non-target vegetation, personnel, or objects will not be tolerated. Emphasis must be placed on ensuring the application will minimize exposure to people, facilities and the surrounding environment. Avoid any non-target exposure. A competent FDACS licensed supervisor who speaks English fluently and who can converse with all crew members shall be designated by Contractor as the field supervisor and remain on-site during all chemical application projects. The supervisor must be able to correctly identify the targeted species. A representative from the District will meet with the licensed supervisor at the beginning of each project to discuss treatment area and prescriptions and any special restrictions. Contractor is required to provide District with the following upon request by the District Project Manager: List of chemical herbicide trade names and the rates used to produce all chemical mixtures applied. This list should also include any adjuvants or surfactants included in the mixture. An SRWMD Chemical Control of Vegetation Form (Exhibit A) is required after completion of treatment on each individual infestation, local area or workday depending on time spent at a particular area. Equipment Requirements Contractors are required to use equipment and application techniques that ensure all targeted vegetation is treated within the designated treatment area while avoiding overspray into areas of standing water. Acceptable equipment includes: 1) a system allowing contractors to use large tanks and hand held spray wands with the proper nozzles to effectively broadcast chemical SRWMD ITB 16/17-035 AO - Page 6 of 14
within the entire treatment area. This system must incorporate large enough tanks, pumps, wands and hoses needed to thoroughly and effectively cover all targeted vegetation. Backpack sprayers are only acceptable in areas containing small amounts of target vegetation and should mainly be used to treat vegetation in areas where individual hardwood trees or groups of trees are being saved. Boom mounted sprayers, and chemical mist/blowers are not acceptable pieces of equipment. Contractors should include all the equipment they will be using to complete the project on the attached equipment list. Invoicing Invoices must include the following information: the tract/project name, the day(s) work was conducted, miles of ditch edge treated, and the rate/mile. With each invoice, Contractor must also submit a fully completed SRWMD Chemical Control of Vegetation Form (Attached as Exhibit A) for each day work was conducted documenting the amount of herbicide used each day. Payment will be processed after District personnel field check and verify that coverage/mortality requirements have been met. Payments shall be made within 30 days of staff approving the invoice. Contractor may not bill for travel time or unused herbicides. Project Area Information Location: The project area is located on the Mallory Swamp Wildlife Management Area in southeastern Lafayette County. Directions to the Mallory Swamp Wildlife Management Area can be found online at: http://myfwc.com/media/2515808/mallory-swamp-map.pdf. Access can be obtained from the north on Crapp s Tower Grade and from the southeast on McCall s Chapel Grade off County Rd. 349 (see attached map). Access is available from sun-up to sunset. Contractors are strongly encourage to look at the treatment area before submitting a bid. Treatment Area History: The treatment area was mowed in spring 2017; vegetation size was variable but in many places it contained large areas of thick, woody vegetation that were 5 6 DBH. This treatment will be conducted to help control all the woody/herbaceous re-sprouting in this area. (see attached pictures). Treatment Area: Adjacent to each road edge there is an approximate 3-5 foot wide strip of grass that is mowed bi-annually; this area WILL NOT be treated. The remaining area from the ditch side edge of this grassy strip all the way to the centerline of the ditch WILL be treated. The width of this linear treatment area is variable and ranges from approximately 5 10 feet. Within the treatment area there are also single trees or strips of trees that were not mowed and WILL NOT be treated; the area beneath these trees up to the edge of their dripline should only be treated with the chemical mix designated for these areas (Item 2 under Chemical Mix). Approximate Vegetation Height: 1 4 ft. Application Type: Broadcast Miles of Treatment Area: 41.0 Approximate Treatment Acres: 35.0 Application Method: Adequate tanks, pumps, hoses and hand-held wands with proper design/nozzles to thoroughly broadcast chemical within the entire treatment area and limit overspray into standing water. SRWMD ITB 16/17-035 AO - Page 7 of 14
Minimum spray volume/acre: 20 gallons/acre; all target vegetation must be thoroughly covered. Spray until thoroughly wet with no run-off. Chemical Mix: 1) Mix for areas that contain no hardwood over-story to be saved: 6% Garlon 3a; 2.0% Nu- Farm Polaris; 1% Non-Ionic Surfactant; 025% Marking Dye. WATER IS NOT AVAILABLE ON- SITE FOR MIXING PURPOSES. 2) Mix for areas that contain hardwood over-story to be saved: 6% Garlon 3a; 1% Non- Ionic Surfactant; 025% Marking Dye. WATER IS NOT AVAILABLE ON-SITE FOR MIXING PURPOSES. Precautions: Avoid apply herbicide directly to standing water. DEADLINE: All work must be completed and invoiced by September 29, 2017. SRWMD ITB 16/17-035 AO - Page 8 of 14
SECTION 6 Bid Response Form ITB 16/17-035 AO Bidders are required to complete and submit all the following forms in Section 6. One original and one copy shall be delivered in one envelope as discussed in Section 3. ITB AO BID TABLE Tract Name Application Purpose Miles Application Type $BID/MILE Mallory Swamp Vegetation Control 41.0 Broadcast; Ditch Edges $ Company Name Address Company Phone Number Company Fax Number Primary Contact Person Primary Contact Phone Primary Contact Cellular Licensed Field Supervisor: Required: List the name of the Field Supervisor(s) and their current FDACS Commercial Pesticide Applicator license number; and indicate which required additional certification they hold (Natural Area Weed Management or Forestry Pest Control). 1. 2. 3. SRWMD ITB 16/17-035 AO - Page 9 of 14
References (Bidders must include references for similar type of work) Project Area Project/Site Manager Contact Information 1 2 3 SUB-CONTRACTOR DOCUMENTATION List the name, address (base of operation), and telephone number of sub-contractors you plan to use to accomplish services/tasks. Also, list the type of task they will be conducting. The use of sub-contractors must be approved by District Staff. Sub-contractors will be required to meet all the requirements of this Invitation to Bid before approval is granted. SRWMD ITB 16/17-035 AO - Page 10 of 14
Equipment List Please provide a list of equipment that will be used to complete this project. Include the number of personnel that will be available on a daily basis to complete this work. SRWMD ITB 16/17-035 AO - Page 11 of 14
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