SUWANNEE RIVER WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT INVITATION TO BID RFP 12/13-009 LR WOODS MOWING SERVICES Table of Contents Section Title Page 1 Introduction 2 2 Proposed Schedule 2 3 Instructions to Bidders 2 4 Key Points 3 5 Scope of Work 5 6 Bid Response Form 8 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 1
SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION The Suwannee River Water Management District (District) is requesting bids for woods mowing services on the Manatee Springs South tract in Levy County. The objective of this work is to reduce fuel loads on this tract to facilitate the safe and effective use of prescribed fire and to reduce the severity of potential wildfires. SECTION 2 - PROPOSED SCHEDULE June 7, 2013 Release of Invitation to Bid June 24, 2013 Bids due prior to 10:00 a.m. at District Headquarters. Opening will occur at this time.* July 15, 2013 Anticipated Start Date * Denotes a public meeting. All meetings will be held at District Headquarters located at the corner of U.S. 90 and C.R. 49 in Live Oak, Florida. All times denote Eastern Standard Time (EST). SECTION 3 - INSTRUCTION TO BIDDERS 1. Delivery of Bids: Bidders, also referred to as respondents, are required to complete and submit one (1) original and one (1) copy of the Bid Response Form included in Section 6. Bid forms shall be sent in one envelope to: Pennie Flickinger, Business Resources Specialist I Suwannee River Water Management District 9225 County Road 49 Live Oak, Florida 32060 Phone: 386.362.1001 2. All Bid forms shall be submitted in sealed envelopes with the following clearly marked in large, bold and/or colored lettering. RFP 12/13-009 Woods Mowing Services Bid Opening June 24, 2013 10:00 a.m. Bids delivered in an envelope not properly marked with the RFP number and opening date and time that are inadvertently opened by District personnel will not be considered. The Bids shall be hand-delivered or mailed, preferably by registered mail. 3. Bids are due at the above address by 10:00 a.m. on June 24, 2013. Bids received after this time, for any reason, will be rejected. 4. Bids must be hard copy. FAX transmittals will not be accepted. 5. Additional Information: Additional Bid packages may be obtained by logging on to www.mysuwanneeriver.com. 2
SECTION 4 KEY POINTS Registration with Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations: If awarded, PROPOSER shall represent and guarantee it is duly registered and authorized to do business in the State of Florida. INVOICES: At a minimum, Contractor(s) should invoice the District on a monthly basis for all work completed. Contractor(s) may also submit invoices on a bi-weekly basis if needed. Invoices must include the following information: the day(s) work was conducted, acres treated or hours worked on that day, and tract name. For services utilizing hourly rates, Contractor(s) should also include an itemized list of services rendered, and personnel and equipment used each day and their corresponding rates. Challenge of Solicitation Process: If a potential respondent protests any provisions of this RFP, a notice of intent to protest shall be filed with the District in writing within 72 hours after the posting of the RFP on the District s website and the respondent shall file a formal written protest within ten (10) days after filing of notice of intent to protest. Any respondent 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 (2011). 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. Challenge of District s Intent to Award Contract: If a respondent 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 respondent shall file a formal written protest within ten (10) days after filing of notice of intent to protest. Any respondent 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 (2011). 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 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 the District at 386.362.1001 or 800.226.1066 (Florida only). The District s fax number is 386.362.1056. 3
Minority Business Enterprises: The District recognizes fair and open competition as a basic tenet of public procurement. Respondents 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 respondent shall represent 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, the Contractor shall provide insurance as follows: (a) Contractor will purchase and maintain all insurance necessary to protect it from claims under workers' compensation laws, disability benefit laws or other similar employee benefit laws; from claims for damages because of bodily injury, occupational sickness or disease, or death of its employees, including claims insured by usual personal injury liability coverage; from claims for damages because of bodily injury, sickness or disease, or death of any person other than its employees including claims insured by usual personal injury liability coverage; and from claims for injury to or destruction of tangible property, including loss of use resulting therefrom - any or all of which may arise out of or result from Contractor s operations under this Contract, whether those operations be by the Contractor or by any subcontractor or anyone directly or indirectly employed by any of them or for whose acts any of them may be legally liable. (b) This insurance shall be written for not less than any limits of liability specified in this Contract or required by law, whichever is greater, and shall include contractual liability insurance. The limits of liability for insurance shall be as follows: (i) For workers compensation insurance, the limits shall be as required by law; (ii) For motor vehicular liability insurance, the limits shall be for not less than $500,000 combined single limit; (iii) For general liability insurance, the limits shall be a minimum of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $1,000,000 general aggregate. (c) Before starting the work, Contractor will file with the District certificate(s) of insurance, acceptable to the District, providing evidence that Contractor has in full force and effect the insurance required herein with insurers authorized to do business in the State of Florida. These certificate(s) shall contain provision(s) that provide, without limitation, the following: 4
(i) (ii) Name the District as a named or additional insured without waiving any defense of sovereign immunity or increasing the limits of District s liability in excess of the statutory cap provided under Section 768.28, Florida Statutes. The coverage afforded under the policies will not be cancelled or material changed until at least 30 days prior written notice has been given to the District. Rejection of Responses: Pursuant to Rule 40B-1.812, Florida Administrative Code, the District reserves the right to reject any and all proposals or other proposals submitted in response to District invitation. District also reserves the right to waive any minor deviations in an otherwise valid proposal. Renewal of Contract: The initial contract shall be for a period of one year 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 5 SCOPE OF WORK All work must be coordinated with the District s Project Manager and must be completed no later than September 30, 2013. Once contractors begin work they will be required to keep their equipment on-site and operating until work is complete. Work quality must comply with the Quality Standards listed below and be certified by one of the District s Project Managers who will be supervising the project prior to submitting invoices for payment. Project Area Description (see attached photos and Location Map): The project area is located on the Manatee Springs South tract in Levy County and consists of 40 year old slash pine stands that have been thinned to a density of approximately 100-200 trees/acre. The treatment area is approximately 135 acres. Vegetation underneath the thinned pine includes a thick mixture of shrubs and tree saplings that are approximately 5-12 ft. high. Approximately 90% of the project area included vegetation with a stem diameter of 2 inches or less. 10% of the work area contains vegetation that ranges from 2 4 inch diameter. Some pockets of larger hardwood exist that contractors will have to work around. Bidders are strongly encouraged to look at the project area before submitting a bid. Required Equipment: A minimum of 2 fully caged 100 hp or greater rubber tired tractors. Tractors must be equipped with heavy duty (tree cutter) rotary mowing decks capable of mowing a maximum stem diameter or 3-4 inches. Mowing decks must be 6-7 ft. wide. Bidders must submit a photograph of the equipment that will be dedicated to the project on a daily basis. Equipment Cleaning: COME CLEAN, LEAVE CLEAN: Invasive, exotic plant (IEPP) infestations are found throughout the United States. Contractors working on behalf of the District may unknowingly import noxious weed material from outside areas or take weed material off District lands and infest other locales. All equipment used on District lands, including tractors, ATV, discs, roller-choppers, etc. needs to be free of IEPP 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 an IEPP infestation, the project manager is required to inspect the vehicle before it leaves District property. District staff will designated cleaning areas on each tract for contractors to 5
clean their equipment; staff are responsible for monitoring the cleaning areas for new infestations. QUALITY STANDARDS All work shall be performed in full compliance with any and all applicable laws, rules, and regulations as required by local, state, and federal authorities with jurisdiction concerning the execution of this project. All contractor activities must comply with the 2008 revision of Florida s Best Management Practices for Silvicultural Operations. Minimum Standards: 1. Gopher Tortoises are present within the project area. Equipment operators are required to avoid collapsing or damaging burrows and should stay approximately 10 away from the edge of burrows. 2. All vegetation will be mowed within 8-12 of the ground surface. No strips, streaks, or pockets of standing vegetation should remain after operations are complete. 3. All roads and firelines will be kept free of debris such as pushed over trees and brush; debris should not be piled up along the edges of roads or firelines. 4. All wetland areas will be avoided and no debris will be pushed into wetland areas, drains, or areas where water quality or movement may be adversely affected or restricted. 5. Because ground cover vegetation is thin in some areas, excessive turning or maneuvering of equipment resulting in the cultivation of the soil is prohibited. 6
SECTION 6 Bid Response Form RFP 12/13-009 LR Woods Mowing Services Project: Manatee Springs South Woods Mowing (approximately 135 acres) Bid Information: Woods Mowing $ / Acre Please submit a photograph of the equipment that will be used on a daily basis for this project. Anticipated Acreage/Day/Tractor: Acres References: Required: List names, addresses and phone numbers of three references for which contractor has recently provided similar services. 1. 2. 3. ATTACH PROOF OF INSURANCE Contractor s signature: Please Print Name: Company: Address: Phone Number: Date: Title: 7
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