175-25spec_Bid.pdf

Invitation No. 175-25

ITB 175-25 DISTRICT 12 CUYAHOGA FULL SERVICE FACILITY LAWN CARE

REQUIREMENTS/SPECIFICATIONS

Section 1: Intent

The purpose of this request is to establish contract pricing to provide lawn care services at local lots in District 12 Cuyahoga County in accordance with the requirements of the specifications below, and ODOT’s standard terms and conditions contained herein. The Ohio Department of Transportation is soliciting proposals from highly qualified vendors to provide Lawn Mowing and Landscape Services that will adequately meet the needs of the Department while promoting the greatest extent of competition that is practicable. The purpose of this solicitation is to obtain specific proposals from potential vendors indicating how they believe their capabilities and services best match the needs of the Department.

Section 2: Contract Duration

Contract shall be from the date of award until October 31, 2027.

Section 3: Award

Award of the Invitation will be to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder based on the lump sum total cost for the two (2) year contract term.

Vendors must submit their Bid Responses electronically in OhioBuys before the published deadline date & time, Columbus, Ohio local time on the Proposal due date.

Vendors will not be able to submit Bid Responses, or unsolicited Proposal amendments after the deadline.

Vendors must allow adequate time for uploading a Bid Response prior to the due date and time. ODOT recommends that vendors submit Bid Responses as early as possible. If a second round is issued for any reason, vendors must resubmit their bid if they had already submitted in a previous round, as the previously submitted Bid Responses do NOT carry over to the new round.

The Signature process takes place after the award now. The email will come from documents@esign.ohio.gov and will go to the signatory that was identified in the bid submission. The subject line will be the bid # Signature Request, (example: 101G-25 Signature Request).

No contract can be issued to your company until we receive your signature to complete the process. And you must have an OAKS Payor ID before a contract can be issued. To obtain that, you will need to go into https://ohiopays.ohio.gov.

Section 4: Service Location

Lawn Care services will be performed at the following locations and unit pricing shall include freight charges on all items required:

The excess lots: ftp://ftp.dot.state.oh.us/pub/Contracts/Purchase/175-22 mailto:documents@esign.ohio.gov https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fohiopays.ohio.gov%2F&data=05%7C02%7CTodd.VanKirk%40dot.ohio.gov%7C1ac0731aa3fa4f066d5408dc7b4d0c36%7C50f8fcc494d84f0784eb36ed57c7c8a2%7C0%7C0%7C638520818049379076%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=v8I%2Ba6H4M2smMVdNcvpoDrB2Dqsn4%2FJvMONLWyfwoxE%3D&reserved=0 ftp://ftp.dot.state.oh.us/pub/Contracts/Purchase/175-22

Section 5: Hours of Operation

Landscape and Mowing services shall take place between 7:30 AM and 4:30 PM Monday through Friday. Work outside of these time-frames shall require a forty-eight (48) hour advance approval of the District Facilities Maintenance Supervisor or District Designated Representative. Site plans identifying the areas to be maintained follows these specifications. Weekends available upon request. Some areas could include not impacting inbound and outbound traffic during high morning and evening rush, and special events.

Section 6: Site Visit

Vendors are encouraged to visit the site to fully understand all requirements of this Invitation. Those interested may contact Brian Kirksey at (216) 584-2309 to schedule a site visit.

Section 7: General Requirements

• At the end of every work period, all equipment utilized by vendor shall be removed from site. No on-site storage space is provided.

• The vendor shall bring all tools, chemicals, and materials, etc., with them to each service call and take all items with them when finished. No on site storage shall be provided by ODOT.

• All work shall be performed as to not interfere with building operation or such interference is kept to a minimum. The vendor shall leave all areas neat and clean when finished.

• It shall be understood that, from time to time sites may be opened or closed during the life of the contract. Any potential changes in service locations and revised pricing, where applicable, shall be mutually agreed upon by the District Facilities Maintenance Supervisor or their designated representative, the awarded vendor and the Department and shall be included in or removed from the contract.

Section 8: Outside Scope of Work

Any work outside the scope of service of these specifications found to be necessary for the safety, operation, regulatory compliance or beautification of the facility shall be brought to the attention of the District Facilities Maintenance Supervisor or their designated representative immediately. The vendor shall submit a proposal explicitly detailing the work required and listing the labor, material and other charges or items necessary to perform the work in accordance with these specifications. The approved proposal shall then constitute a quote for the performance of the work. An approved quote for work shall be paid by approved methods and timeframes after receipt of a properly formatted invoice.

Written approval must be given by ODOT prior to repairs or services being performed. Non-contract work performed without the approval of ODOT will be at the vendors’ expense.

The Department reserves the right to the following without affecting the terms and conditions of this contract:

• Perform any work not covered by this contract with Department personnel

• Place any work not covered by this contract out for bid

Section 9: Scope of Service

9.2: Mowing and Trimming

Vendor shall mow and trim lawn areas for approximately fourteen (14) cuts per season between April 1st and October 30th annually as detailed below:

Mow and trim as necessary assuring that turf is maintained between three (3) and four (4) inches in height. During hot and dry weather, maintain turf between four (4) and five (5) inches in height to avoid turf stress.

Trimming of grass shall take place within two (2) days of mowing and as needed to keep a neat edge between the buildings, sidewalks, curbs, parking lots and fences, and the lawn.

Trim fence lines of all grass and weeds.

Note: Mowing shall not be performed when it is raining or if the grass is still wet. Not more than 1/3 total blade shall be removed during any mowing event. During droughts, lawns will not be mowed unless requested by the District Facilities Maintenance Supervisor or designated representative.

9.3: Pre-Season Cleanup

Execute a pre-season cleanup of each site in preparation for the growing season between April 1st and April 15th. The cleanup may be done by manual raking, vacuuming, or equipment mounted devices used for this type of cleanup. Minimum services required are as follows:

• Cleaning/Raking of lawn area to remove leaves and debris. Contractor is responsible for removing leaves, limbs, twigs, trash, and debris from site.

• Trimming/pruning of bushes, shrubs, hedges, ornamental trees, ornamental grasses and or brush. Contractor is responsible for removing leaves, limbs, twigs, and debris from site.

• Spot thatch, apply topsoil and seeding of lawn as needed.

• Level out, rake, and reseed area around roadways or parking area, as needed, which were damaged by snow removal operations the prior winter.

9.4: Blowing of Clippings

Keep all walkways, parking lots and entryways free of grass cuttings and debris. Mow in direction to avoid blowing cuttings onto parked cars. (Notify District Designated Representative of mowing schedule so cars can be moved if necessary).

9.5: ODOT Maintained Chemical Weed Control

The department shall provide chemical weed control application for all fence lines with their certified operators. The awarded vendor is NOT responsible for chemical weed control along fence lines of the service property.

9.6: Vendor Coordination of Services

ODOT requires a single contact point for scheduling, contract administration and billing to eliminate confusion for questions to responsible parties after award. All bidders shall specify on the pricing documents, Vendor Contacts tab, a list including name, position/function, email address, phone number and alternate contact number for each office that will service facilities covered by this contract. Vendor staffing may require that the contact(s) for scheduling, contract administration and billing be three different people.

The awarded vendor(s) shall update this contact list whenever changes are made during the term of this contract.

Section 10: Safety

The Vendor shall provide and utilize Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) at all times as appropriate. PPE includes but is not limited to substantial footwear, eye and face protection, hearing protection, and gloves. The Vendor shall wear, at a minimum, a shirt that covers the torso with half sleeves, and full length pants, and protective footwear. Light footwear such as, but not limited to tennis shoes, sandals, etc. shall NOT be worn.

In accordance with OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1200 Hazard Communication Standard a chemical inventory listing all products used, manufacturers name, and copies of Material Safety Data Sheets/Safety Data Sheets (MSDS/SDS) used in performing work outlined in these specifications shall be maintained by the vendor and available when work is being performed. In case of an emergency both the inventory and MSDS/SDS must be readily accessible. All chemical product containers must be properly labeled.

Section 11: Uniforms

All vendor personnel working in or around buildings designated for service under this contract are required to wear distinctive clothing/uniforms. Employees of the vendor shall wear at least one clothing item with the vendor name and/or other identifying wording to provide their identification to anyone entering facilities or properties where they are providing services pursuant to these specifications.

Section 12: Subcontracting

The awarded vendor(s) shall perform work amounting to not less than one hundred (100) percent of the Contract price with its own organization, unless otherwise approved by the Department. The phrase “its own organization” includes only workers employed and paid directly, inclusive of employees who are employed by a lease agreement acceptable to the Department, and equipment owned or rented with or without operators by the vendor. The phrase does not include employees or equipment of a subcontractor, assignee, or agent of the vendor.

The vendor’s percentage of the total Contract Price includes the cost of materials and manufactured products purchased by the vendor, but not the cost of materials and manufactured products purchased by subcontractors.

Vendor shall not subcontract any of the work covered by the contract unless specifically authorized to do so by ODOT. All subcontracting will be supplied to ODOT at cost with no vendor markup. The vendor will be required to submit copies of invoices from subcontractor(s) as proof of costs. Contractor will be fully responsible for making all subcontractor payments and ensuring that subcontractors follow all laws, rules, safety procedures and ODOT expectations as though they were the Contractor.

Section 13: Permits

Any permits required by the authority having jurisdiction shall be obtained by the vendor, and will be reimbursed by the Department at cost.

Section 14: Vendor References

The bidder must have a minimum of five (5) years’ experience in providing and performing lawn care services. Therefore, each bidder shall provide upon request, the name, email address, organization, address and telephone number of at least three (3) references with whom they have provided like services to for at least five (5) years.

The references must be positive and address the overall ability of the vendor and its employees to provide and perform lawn care services in order to be considered a responsible bidder. It is a requirement of the contract that the vendor must have performed like services.

Section 15: Billing

Two (2) copies of each monthly invoice for all lawn care services performed in the month are to be sent to the Ohio Department of Transportation, at the address below:

ODOT District 12 – Highway Management Attn: Cuyahoga County Administrator 5500 Transportation Blvd.

Garfield Hts., Ohio 44125

Vendors must provide on each invoice the vendor’s Tax ID number, the purchase order number for the work performed, a description of the work performed, date(s) work performed and per occurrence fee.

Vendors shall not charge for any items outside of the contract including but not limited to shop supplies and drive time. The Department will not pay any additional charges for such items.

Section 16: Right to Audit

The Ohio Department of Transportation reserves the right to audit all invoices submitted by a Vendor. In addition, when discrepancies arise, the vendor will be required to pay the difference of the amount quoted in the contract and the amount charged on the invoice, plus twenty percent (20%) of the amount invoiced or fifty dollars ($50.00), whichever is less.

Section 17: Insurance

The bidder shall furnish with their bid, proof of insurance consisting of certificates of insurance with limits of not less than three hundred thousand ($300,000) dollars for any one person and one million ($1,000,000) dollars for any one occurrence.

Section 18: Pricing

Vendors shall submit per occurrence pricing for lawn care services, all in accordance per the specifications, terms and conditions. Pricing shall be guaranteed firm for the contract duration.