CITY OF COVINGTON REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL HURRICANE ISAAC VEGETATIVE DEBRIS REDUCTION & TRANSPORTATION

CITY OF COVINGTON REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL HURRICANE ISAAC VEGETATIVE DEBRIS REDUCTION & TRANSPORTATION

OVERVIEW The City of Covington is soliciting proposals for the reduction of Hurricane Isaac vegetative debris, and at the City s discretion, the loading, transportation and recycling or disposal of the reduced material. The City of Covington Debris Site, located on M.P. Planche Road, Covington, Louisiana, is the current location site of the Hurricane Isaac vegetative debris. This debris has been stockpiled separate and apart from debris from prior hurricanes and other general debris. The Hurricane Isaac debris consists of approximately 15,000 cubic yards of solely green waste. The City of Covington requires that vendor chip, grind and compost material as the method of source reduction. All procedures must be compliant with Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) regulations and policies and the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Office of Soil and Water Conservation Best Management Practices Plan for the handling and composting of green waste. Due to Louisiana DEQ regulations, the debris must be reduced by fifty (50%) volume and fifty (50%) mass. The vendor must reduce, remove, recycle or properly dispose of all material. It is the desire of the City of Covington for the composted material to be recycled and sold. Profits of the sales would be shared between the Vendor and the City. However, Vendor applicants wishing to simply dispose of the composted material may apply, but a total cost to the City, including positive reimbursement funds from compost sales, will be part of the evaluation process. Those Vendors must properly dispose of all material. Land-filling at the City of Covington Debris Site is not an acceptable method for disposition of material. The City of Covington reserves the right to reject any and all proposals or select the proposal, which in its opinion, is in the best interest of the City. DESCRIPTION OF WORK Services shall include, but are not limited to the following: 1. As directed by the City, remove and haul to a legal and appropriate destination. 2. The Vendor will utilize its own loading equipment and trucks to perform this work and will provide a safe working environment for its employees. 3. The Vendor will reduce said debris by fifty (50%) percent volume and fifty (50%) percent mass by chipping, grinding and composting for either disposition or sale. 4. It will be the responsibility of the Contractor to develop markets for the processed yard waste materials and should the yard waste materials require further preparation for markets, the Contractor will be responsible for such arrangements. 5. The Vendor will document and the City will monitor all loads using Load Tickets. The City and the Vendor will each retain a copy of each Load Ticket, and billing will be based upon these documents. The Vendor will invoice the City on a regular basis, in billing periods of no more than 30 days. 2

6. The Vendor will fully cooperate with City or City-designated monitors who will be verifying the information on the Load Tickets. 7. The Vendor will provide the site with chairs, table, and sanitary facilities. 8. The Vendor will closeout (meaning the appropriate removal of all debris materials to legal facilities) all sites within thirty (30) days of receiving the last load of debris. The Vendor will cooperate with government inspectors in returning the M.P. Planche Debris Site to its original condition, while complying with applicable local, state and federal environment requirements. If environmental remediation is required for the site, the Vendor will develop a remediation plan for approval by the City and the appropriate environmental agency, and will execute the plan when approval is granted. 9. The Vendor may use subcontractors, but will inform the City within 24 hours of the deployment of any subcontractors; listing the company name, the number of persons deployed, the number and types of subcontractor vehicles and equipment deployed, and the nature of the subcontractor s duties. The City reserves and maintains the right to approve or disapprove subcontractors. 10. The period of performance is February 15, 2013 or before. Should the vendor not be able to complete performance by this date, an extension may be requested no less than sixty (60) days prior to original deadline. ADDENDA: Any addenda to this Request for Proposals shall be issued in writing. No oral statements, explanations, or commitments by anyone shall be of effect unless incorporated in the written addenda. Receipt of Addenda shall be acknowledged by the Vendor. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS Proposals must be based on unit prices (cubic yard). Proposals should be typed and will adhere to the following order and content sections: 1. Vendor Cover Letter 2. Application Form 3. General information about the firm, including the size of the organization, location of offices, years in business, state of incorporation, name of owners and principal parties. 4. Specifications as to any limitations as to the type and size of materials which may be included in green waste at the proposed composting facility. Failure to specify any limitations will be interpreted by the City as meaning that no limitation will exist as to the types and sizes of materials which may be existing in the composting facility as green waste. 5. Declaration and explanation of any limitations on facility capacity or other limitations that could adversely affect processing of green waste during entire term of proposed agreement. 6. Qualifications A. A summary of your firm s demonstrated capability, including length of time that your firm has provided the services being requested in this RFP. 3

B. A summary of your firm s experience in recycling waste materials. 7. Completed Declaration. See below. 8. Completed Certification. See below. 9. Methodology and Fee Section This section should include: A. A brief explanation of how Load Ticket copies will be compiled and invoices will be published. B. A statement with the fee schedule (per cubic yard) and any equations that will be used in invoicing the City. C. Vendor shall describe the proposed pricing and the percentages of profit of compost sales being divided between the City and the Vendor, if applicable. PROCESS FOR SUBMITTING PROPOSALS Proposal Review and Award Schedule. The following is an outline of the anticipated schedule for proposal review and contract award: Issue RFP 10/18/12 Advertisement Dates 10/18/12, 10/25/12, & 11/01/12 Receive Proposals 11/08/12 Award contracts 11/13/12 Execute contract 11/16/12 Proposal Submission. All submittals become the property of the City. Proposal documents shall be enclosed in a sealed envelope addressed to: City of Covington ATTN: Gina T. Hayes, Director of Administration 317 N. Jefferson Avenue Covington, LA 70433 Sealed proposals must be received by mail or hand-delivery. No FAX or Internet e-mail submittals will be accepted. The proposal must be clearly labeled with the proposal title, 2012 Hurricane Isaac Vegetative Debris Reduction & Transportation, name of bidder, and date and time of proposal opening. Proposals must be received no later than 2:00 pm on Thursday, November 8, 2012. Proposals will not be accepted after this deadline. Proposal copies. Three (3) copies of the proposal must be submitted. Declaration. The Vendor must state that the proposal was made without connection with any other person, company, or parties making a similar proposal and that it is in all respects fair and in good faith without collusion and fraud. Certification. In response to this RFP, the Vendor certifies the following: (a) This proposal is signed by an authorized representative of the firm. 4

(b) It can obtain insurance certificates as required within three (3) calendar days after notice of award. (c) The cost and availability of all equipment, materials, and supplies associated with performing the services described herein have been determined and included in the proposed cost. (d) All labor costs, direct and indirect, have been determined and included in the proposed cost. (e) The potential Vendor has read and understands the conditions set forth in this RFP. Disputes. In case of any doubt or differences of opinion as to the items to be furnished hereunder, the decision of the City shall be final and binding upon both parties. RFP Expenses. Expenses for developing the proposals are entirely the responsibility of the Vendor and shall not be chargeable in any way to the City. PROPOSAL EVALUATION AND SELECTION Proposals will be evaluated based on the criteria listed below: Understanding of the work required by the City Quality and responsiveness of the proposal Demonstrated competence and professional qualifications necessary for satisfactory performance of the work required by the City Recent experience in successfully performing similar services Proposed approach in completing the work Proposed fees As reflected above, contract award will not be based solely on price, but on a combination of factors as determined to be in the best interest of the City. MODIFICATION OR WITHDRAWAL OF PROPOSALS Prior to the scheduled closing time for receiving proposals, any Vendor may withdraw his proposal. After the scheduled closing time for receiving proposals, no proposal may be withdrawn. Only written requests for the modification or correction of a previously submitted proposal that are addressed in the same manner as proposals and are received by the City prior to the closing time for receiving proposals will be accepted. The proposals will be corrected in accordance with such written requests, provided that any such written request is in a sealed envelope that is plainly marked Modification of Proposal 2012 Hurricane Isaac Vegetative Debris Reduction and Transportation. Oral or telephone modifications or corrections will not be recognized or considered. 5

INQUIRIES Questions about this RFP must be directed in writing to: City of Covington ATTN: Gina T. Hayes, Director of Administration 317 N. Jefferson Avenue Covington, LA 70433 e-mail: ghayes@covla.com From the date this RFP is issued and until Vendors are selected and announced, no questions, other than written, will be accepted; and no response other than written will be binding upon the City. AWARD OF CONTRACT The City reserves the right to reject any and all proposals, the right to waive informalities, and the right to disregard nonconforming or conditional proposals or counter proposals. It is the intention of the City of Covington to execute a final, binding Contract with the successful Vendor which incorporates terms and conditions no less onerous than those appropriate to the engagement of a licensed contracting firm in connection with a project of this magnitude, nature and importance. If the contract is to be awarded, it will be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder whose evaluation by the City indicates that the award will be in the best interest of the City. The City shall have a period of four (4) days after the opening of proposals in which to award the contract. INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS At Vendor s sole expense, the Vendor shall procure and maintain the following minimum insurances with insurers licensed in Louisiana and rated A-VII or better by A.M. Best. WORKERS COMPENSATION Statutory limits covering all employees, including Employer s Liability with limits of: $500,000 Each Accident $500,000 Disease Each Employee $500,000 Disease Policy Limit COMMERCIAL GENERAL LIABILITY Covering all operations involved in this Agreement $2,000,000 General Aggregate $2,000,000 Products/Completed Operations Aggregate $1,000,000 Each Occurrence COMMERCIAL AUTOMOBILE LIABILITY $1,000,000 Combined Single Limit 6

The Vendor shall provide evidence of continuation or renewal of Insurance for a period of two (2) years following termination of the Agreement. ADDITIONAL INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS The Vendor s Commercial General Liability and Commercial Automobile Liability policies shall be endorsed, specifically or generally, to include the following as Additional Insured: THE CITY OF COVINGTON, ITS OFFICERS, AGENTS AND EMPLOYEES ARE INCLUDED AS ADDITIONAL INSURED WITH RESPECTS TO THE GENERAL LIABILITY INSURANCE POLICY. Policy endorsement for Additional Insured status shall be provided to Certificate Holder within sixty (60) days of inception of contract. Before commencement of any work or event, the Vendor shall provide a Certificate of Insurance in satisfactory form as evidence of the insurances required above. The Vendor shall have no right of recovery or subrogation against the City of Covington (including its officers, agents and employees), it being the intention of the parties that the insurance policies so affected shall protect both parties and be primary coverage for any and all losses covered by the above-described insurance. All certificates of insurance shall show that the Worker s Compensation, Commercial General Liability and Commercial Automobile Liability policies are endorsed to provide a waiver of subrogation in favor of the City of Covington, and are all primary and non-contributory. The City of Covington shall have no liability with respect to the Vendor s personal property whether insured or not insured. Any deductible or self-insured retention is the sole responsibility of the Vendor. All certificates of insurance shall provide that the policy or policies shall not be changed or cancelled without at least thirty (30) days prior written notice. Notwithstanding the notification requirement of the insurer, the Vendor hereby agrees to notify Certificate Holder immediately if any policy is cancelled or changed. Insurance procured by the Vendor shall not reduce nor limit the Vendor s contractual obligation to indemnify, save harmless and defend the City of Covington for claims made or suits brought which result from or are in connection with the performance of this Agreement. In the event the Vendor receives Notice of Cancellation of Insurance required pursuant to this Agreement, the Vendor shall immediately cease performance of all services and shall provide Notice to the City of Covington s Director of Administration within twenty-four (24) hours. 7

Certificate Holder shall be listed as follows: City of Covington Attention: Gina T. Hayes, Director of Administration 317 N. Jefferson Ave. Covington, LA 70433 If the Vendor is authorized to assign or subcontract any of its rights or duties hereunder and in fact does so, the Vendor shall ensure that the assignee or subcontractor satisfies all requirements of this Agreement, including, but not limited to, maintenance of the required insurance coverage and provision of certificate(s) of insurance and additional insured endorsement(s), in proper form prior to commencement of services. SURETY BOND REQUIREMENTS The Vendor shall provide a payment and performance bond in the amount of the total contract. CONTRACT TERM The term of the contract shall be for the period of performance. LAWS TO BE OBSERVED The Vendor shall perform all work in strict compliance with all federal, state and local laws, ordinances, regulations and adopted codes during its performance of the work. PERMITS AND LICENSES The Vendor shall procure all permits and licenses at its cost, pay all charges and fees, and give all notices necessary. VENDOR NON-DISCRIMINATION In the performance of this work, the Vendor agrees that it will not engage in, nor permit such subcontractors as it may employ, to engage in discrimination in employment of persons because of age, race, color, sex, national origin or ancestry, sexual orientation, or religion of such persons. AUDIT The City may inspect and audit all records and other written materials used by the Vendor in preparing its invoices to City as a condition precedent to any payment to Vendor. 8

INTERESTS OF VENDOR The Vendor covenants that it presently has no interest, and shall not acquire any interest, direct or indirect or otherwise, which would conflict in any manner or degree with the performance of the work hereunder. The Vendor further covenants that, in the performance of this work, no subcontractor or person having such an interest shall be employed. The Vendor certifies that no one who has or will have any financial interest in performing this work is an officer or employee of the City. It is hereby expressly agreed that, in the performance of the work hereunder, the Vendor shall at all times be deemed an independent Vendor and not an agent or employee of the City. HOLD HARMLESS AND INDEMNIFICATION The Vendor agrees to defend, indemnify, protect, and hold the City, and its agents, officers and employees harmless from and against any and all claims asserted or liability established for damages or injuries to any person or property, including injury to the Vendor s employees, agents or officers which arise from or are connected with or are caused or claimed to be caused by the act or omissions of the Vendor, and its agents, officers or employees, in performing the work or services herein, and all expenses of investigating and defending against same; provided, however, that the Vendor s duty to indemnify and hold harmless shall not include any claims or liability arising from the established sole negligence or willful misconduct of the City, its agents, officers, or employees. CONTRACT ASSIGNMENT The Vendor shall not assign, transfer, convey or otherwise dispose of the contract, or its right, title, or interest, or its power to execute such a contract to any individual or business entity of any kind without the previous written consent of the City. CITY CONTRACT REQUIREMENT The Vendor will be required to execute the City s standard contract and to comply with all of its terms and requirements including, but not limited to, the insurance coverage requirements discussed above. ACKNOWLEDGMENT REGARDING FALSE CLAIMS The Vendor will be required to execute a statement acknowledging that if a false claim is submitted to the City, it may be considered fraud and the Vendor may be made subject to criminal prosecution. Additionally, pursuant to law, Vendor acknowledges that civil penalties may be assessed when a person knowingly submits a false claim to a public entity. 9

CHANGES IN CONTRACT SCOPE If circumstances arise during the composting operation that require work to be performed that is beyond the scope of the original contract, any additional fees will be negotiated prior to the commencement of the work, and an amended contract will be submitted for approval by the Mayor and Director of Administration. TERMINATION If, during the performance of the contracted work, the City determines that the Vendor is not faithfully abiding by any term or condition contained herein, the City may notify the Vendor in writing of such defect or failure to perform. If the Vendor does not cure the deficiency within 48 hours of such notice to the satisfaction of the City, whose decision shall be final, such shall constitute a breach of the contract and the City may terminate the contract immediately by written notice to the Vendor to said effect. Thereafter, neither party shall have any further duties, obligations, responsibilities, or rights under the contract except any and all obligations of the Vendor s surety shall remain in full force and effect, and shall not be extinguished, reduced or in any manner waived by the termination thereof. In said event, the Vendor shall be entitled to the reasonable value of its services performed from the beginning date in which the breach occurs up to the day it received the City s Notice of Termination, minus any offset from such payment representing the City s damages from such breach. Reasonable value includes fees or charges for goods or services as of the last milestone or task satisfactorily delivered or completed by the Vendor as may be set forth in the Agreement payment schedule. Compensation for any other work, services or goods performed or provided by the Vendor shall be based solely on the City s assessment of the value of the work-in-progress in completing the overall work scope. In no event, however, shall the Vendor be entitled to receive in excess of the compensation quoted in its proposal. 10

2012 HURRICANE ISAAC VEGETATIVE DEBRIS REDUCTION AND TRANSPORTATION REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS VENDOR APPLICATION FORM Legal Contractual Name of Corporation: Contact Person for Agreement: Corporate Mailing Address City, State and Zip Code: E-mail address: Contact Person for Proposals: Title: E-mail address: Business Telephone: Business Fax: Is your business (check one) CORPORATION LIMITED LIABILITY PARTNERSHIP INDIVIDUAL SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP PARTNERSHIP UNINCORPORATED ASSOCIATION 1. Price per unit to load and transport debris from city site to vendor s reduction site $ 2. Price per unit to chip debris(price to $ include all equipment, mobilization, demobilization, fuel, labor and any other costs associated with the task). 3. Price per unit to grind vegetative debris (price $ to include all equipment, mobilization, demobilization, fuel, labor and any other costs associated with the task). 4. Price per unit to dispose of debris (price to include all $ transport, equipment, mobilization, demobilization, fuel, labor and any other cost associated with the task). Final disposition must be in compliance with LADEQ & LADAF regulations. Proof of LA DEQ approved final location for disposition of material must be included. OR Or Percentage paid per unit to city for sale of reduced compost material as mulch % (unit base) 11