2. MC-2026-2 Instructions To Bidders.pdf

Specification No. MC-2026-2

INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS

CAMARILLO SANITARY DISTRICT

BIOSOLIDS HAULING, COMPOSTING, AND DISPOSAL SERVICES

SPECIFICATION NO. MC-2026-2

1. Terms Defined

1.1 Terms used in these Instructions to Bidders which are defined in the General

Conditions/Specifications have the meaning assigned to them in the General Conditions/Specifications.

1.2 The term “successful bidder” means the lowest, responsible bidder to whom District makes an award of contract on the basis of District’s evaluation as provided in these Instructions.

2. Copies of Contract Documents

2.1 Complete sets of Contract Documents may be obtained from PlanetBids https://cityofcamarillo.org/bidding. Bidders must be registered with PlanetBids to receive bid updates and to submit a bid. It is the bidder’s obligation to ensure that the bidder has obtained a complete set of Contract Documents. Neither District nor its agents, officers or employees assume any responsibility for errors or misinterpretations resulting from the use of incomplete sets of Contract Documents.

3. Qualifications of Bidder

3.1 Bidder shall be solely responsible for obtaining, maintaining, and complying with all licenses, registrations, permits, certifications, insurance, and other authorizations required by applicable federal, state, and local law to perform the work, including sludge transportation, handling, disposal, beneficial reuse, or composting, as applicable. Bidder shall identify the proposed receiving facility or facilities and, upon request, provide evidence that each facility is legally authorized to accept and manage the District’s sludge.

3.2 Bidder must also obtain a City of Camarillo business tax certificate before commencing work. The business tax certificate may be secured after the bids are opened but must be obtained before the Contractor commences work. New Business licenses may be applied for by following this link: Business Tax - City of Camarillo.

3.3 In order for District to determine the successful bidder, the bidder must be prepared to submit in writing, within five days after being requested to do so by District, such information and data as District may request, including without limitation, financial data, and previous experience. District reserves the right to reject any bid if the evidence submitted by, or investigation of, such bidder fails to satisfy District that the bidder is the lowest responsible bidder properly qualified to carry out the contract.

https://cityofcamarillo.org/bidding https://camarilloca.portal.opengov.com/categories/1084

3.4 Bid responses shall include a list of key personnel proposed for this Contract, including the Contract Manager/Supervisor and any personnel responsible for scheduling, compliance, hauling operations, and coordination with receiving facilities. For each key person listed, the following information shall be included

a. Name, job title, and years of employment

b. Role the individual will perform under this Contract

c. Relevant experience, certifications, and qualifications

3.5 Experience: The bidder shall demonstrate a minimum of ten (10) years of verifiable experience providing biosolids/sludge hauling, transportation, and beneficial reuse, composting, treatment, or disposal services of comparable character and magnitude. All work shall be performed by properly trained and qualified personnel with experience in biosolids handling, hauling, regulatory compliance, spill prevention and response, and operation of equipment necessary to safely transport biosolids from wastewater treatment facilities to approved receiving facilities.

Personnel proposed to meet these requirements, or equally qualified substitutes, shall remain assigned for the entirety of the contract. Any change in key staffing, hauling operations, or proposed receiving facility must be submitted to the District for review and approval prior to implementation.

The District reserves the right to request the removal of any employee of the Contractor for good cause.

4. Examination of Contract Documents and Site

4.1 Before submitting a bid, the Bidder is responsible for thoroughly reviewing all Contract Documents, including all specifications, exhibits, and any Addenda issued through the City of Camarillo PlanetBids portal. The Bidder must also be knowledgeable of all applicable federal, state, regional, and local laws, regulations, permits, codes, and safety requirements governing biosolids/sludge hauling, transportation, handling, beneficial reuse, composting, treatment, disposal, spill prevention, and emergency response activities.

4.2 It is the Bidder’s responsibility to correlate all observations, site information, hauling conditions, receiving facility requirements, and applicable regulatory requirements with the Contract Documents to ensure the bid submitted is complete, accurate, and fully responsive.

4.3 Under Public Contract Code section 3400 and the Contract Documents, all specifications are deemed to include the words “or equal,” provided, however, permissible exceptions may be noted in the General Conditions/Specifications.

4.4 If the District possesses any reports of investigations or tests regarding subsurface or latent physical conditions at the work site, or other conditions that may affect the cost, progress, or performance of the work, such reports will be made available to bidders upon request.

These reports are provided for informational purposes only and are not guaranteed for accuracy or completeness, nor are they considered part of the Contract Documents. Before submitting a Bid, each Bidder is responsible, at its own expense, for conducting any investigations, examinations, or tests the Bidder deems necessary to evaluate site conditions and prepare a Bid in full compliance with the Contract Documents.

4.5 Upon request to the office of the Water Reclamation Superintendent at (805) 383-5665, District will provide each bidder with reasonable access to the job site to conduct such investigations and tests as the bidder may deem necessary for submission of its bid. Bidders performing investigative testing must obtain permits and restore areas affected by such activities, if applicable and with prior written permission from the Water Reclamation Superintendent. Investigations and tests that cause unreasonable disruptions may not be permitted.

4.6 The lands upon which the work is to be performed, rights-of-way for access thereto and other lands designated for use by contractor in performing the work are identified in the Drawings and/or Specifications.

4.7 By submitting a bid, the bidder warrants that it has complied with every requirement of this Section 4 and that the Contract Documents are sufficient in scope and detail to indicate and convey understanding of all terms and conditions for performance of the work.

5. Interpretation

5.1 In the event of any inconsistency or conflict within the Contract Documents, the governing order of precedence shall be as follows: (a) written addenda, with the most recent addendum taking precedence over earlier ones; (b) the Bid Proposal, as accepted, and all related attachments; and

(c) the Notice Inviting Bids and Instructions to Bidders. In the event of any discrepancy between written words and figures, the figures shall govern.

5.2 All questions about the meaning or intent of the Contract Documents must be submitted to the Water Reclamation Superintendent in writing no later than eight (8) calendar days before the bid opening.

5.3 All interpretations will be issued by written Addenda, which will be posted to the City’s PlanetBids portal, and distributed to the planrooms. It is the bidder’s responsibility to inquire as to any Addenda issued. Failure of the bidder to acknowledge any such Addenda in the City’s PlanetBids portal will not relieve the bidder from any obligation under its submitted bid and may deem their bid nonresponsive.

5.4 Only interpretations issued by written Addenda will be binding. All such Addenda will become part of the Contract Documents. Interpretations issued orally or by any means other than as specified in this Section 5 will have no legal effect.

6. Bid Proposal

6.1 Each bid must be submitted on a Bid Proposal Form furnished by District as part of the Contract Documents. Any change in, or addition to, the Bid Proposal or any other modification of the Bid Proposal which is not specifically called for in the Contract Documents or the omission from the Bid Proposal of any information or response which is specifically called for in the Contract Documents may result in District’s rejection of the bid as not being responsive to the Notice Inviting Bids.

6.2 All blanks in the Bid Proposal must be appropriately responded to. If an answer or other response to a blank is not applicable, the bidder should respond with “N.A.”

6.3 Bid all items listed in the Pricing Schedule and provide a unit price for each item.

6.4 State in figures the unit prices, lump sum prices and extensions as indicated, which will be the prices for which you propose to supply all services and materials and to perform all work required by the plans and specifications. All items described are to be construed as complete and in place.

6.5 Include in the items for which bids are entered, all work shown on the plans or required by the specifications for which a specific bid item is not provided.

6.6 The Bid Proposal may not contain any erasures, interlineations or other corrections, unless each such correction is suitably authenticated by affixing in the margin immediately opposite the correction the initials of the person(s) signing the bid.

6.7 The Bid Proposal and each Attachment must be executed in the manner required by Section 14 below.

6.8 No person, including without limitation, any individual, partnership or corporation, may make, file or be interested in more than one bid for the work unless alternate bids are specifically called for in the Specifications. A person that has submitted a sub-bid to a bidder or that has quoted prices of materials to a bidder is not disqualified from submitting a sub-bid or quoting prices to other bidders or making a prime bid.

7. Submission of Bid

7.1 The bid must be submitted within the time and at the place indicated in the

Notice Inviting Bids.

7.2 The bid form and all other documents required to be submitted with the bid must be submitted via electronic transmission on the City of Camarillo PlanetBids portal site as further described in the Notice to Bidders.

7.3 Bidders must be registered on the City of Camarillo’s PlanetBids portal in order to submit a bid. Bidders may visit the PlanetBids portal side for bid results. It is the responsibility of the bidder to submit the bid with sufficient time to be received by PlanetBids prior to the bid opening date and time. Please allow time for technical difficulties, uploading, and unexpected delays. Late or incomplete bids will not be accepted.

7.4 Submission of a bid on PlanetBids portal shall constitute acknowledgement and acceptance of all terms and conditions set forth herein.

8. Withdrawal or Modification of Bid

The bidder may withdraw or modify its bid via the City of Camarillo PlanetBids Portal system at any time prior to the opening of bids.

9. Bids to Remain Open

All bids will remain open for 30 days after the date of the opening of bids.

10. Errors in Bid

10.1 If a discrepancy between the unit price and the item total of a bid exists, the unit price will control unless the unit price is illegible, omitted, or the same as the item total, in which case the bid will be deemed nonresponsive. If applicable, the total bid amount will be adjusted according to any revised item totals.

10.2 If a discrepancy between the item totals and the total bid amount exists, the item totals will control unless the total bid is illegible or omitted, in which case the bid may be deemed nonresponsive.

10.3 Except as provided in Sections 10.4 and 10.5 below, bidders may or may not be released from their bids on account of error. It shall be at the discretion of the District.

10.4 Where the prime contractor asserts a claim of inadvertent clerical error in the listing of a subcontractor, District will allow the substitution of the intended subcontractor under the procedures set forth in Public Contract Code section 4107.5.

10.5 Where the bidder gives District notice within five days of the opening of the bid and can establish to the satisfaction of District that a mistake was made which makes the bid materially different than intended, that the mistake was made in filling out the bid and not due to error in judgment or carelessness in inspecting the site or in reading the plans or specifications and specifies how the mistake occurred, District may relieve the bidder without forfeiture of security in accordance with Public Contract Code section 5100 and following.

11. Bid Analysis and Determination of Responsive Bid

11.1 After the bids have been opened the Bid Schedule will be verified and compared; and after the withdrawal of any bids as provided in Section 8 above; and after errors in bids are adjusted as provided in Section 10 above, the results may be made public to Bidders on the City’s PlanetBids portal.

11.2 A bid submitted from any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, or association which helped prepare, in part or in whole, the Plans, Specifications, or estimates for the Contract will be rejected.

11.3 More than one bid for the same Contract from any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, or association under the same or different names may be rejected. Reasonable grounds for believing that any bidder has an interest in more than one bid for the Work may be cause for rejecting all bids in which such bidder is interested. However, this requirement does not prevent a bidder who submits a bid from being listed as a subcontractor by another bidder. Apparent collusion among bidders may be sufficient cause for rejecting any or all bids, and the participants in such collusion may be barred from future bidding.

11.4 A bid in which a bid item is left totally blank will be considered non-responsive and will be rejected.

11.5 A bid in which the Contract Unit Prices are unbalanced may be considered non-responsive and may be rejected.

11.6 A bid in which the signature of the bidder has been omitted may be considered non-responsive and may be rejected.

11.7 A bid in which each section of the Bid Proposal form has not been completely filled out, or which shows any alteration of form or irregularities of any kind, or which contains any additions or conditional or alternate bids that are not called for, may be considered nonresponsive and may be rejected.

11.8 A bid in which the Acknowledgement of Addenda Received form is missing, or in which the receipt of each Addendum issued has not been acknowledged, may be considered nonresponsive and may be rejected.

11.9 A bid in which the Noncollusion Declaration form is missing, or in which the form has not been executed and signed, may be considered non-responsive and may be rejected.

11.10 A bid in which the List of Subcontractors form is missing will be considered non-responsive and will be rejected.

11.11 A bid in which the List of Subcontractors form is incomplete, or the data included therein is inaccurate, inconsistent, or a misrepresentation of the work to be subcontracted or materials to be procured, may be considered nonresponsive and may be rejected.

11.12 The bidder must perform, with its own organization, Contract work amounting to at least 50 percent of the Contract Price. A bid which fails to meet this requirement will be considered nonresponsive and will be rejected.

12. Award of Contract

12.1 District reserves the right to reject any and all bids. District also reserves the right to reject any bid that is not in strict accordance with the Contract Documents or, in the alternative, to waive any irregularity or informality in any bid or in the bidding.

12.2 If alternate bids are called for in the Specifications, the contract may be awarded at the election of District to the successful bidder on the base bid or on the base bid and any alternate or combination of alternates specifically identified in the Specifications as being used for the purpose of determining the lowest bid price.

12.3 If the contract is to be awarded, it will be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder. District may conduct such investigations as it deems necessary to assist in the evaluation of any bid and to establish the responsibility, qualifications and financial ability of the bidders. The award, if made, will be within 60 days after the opening of bids.

12.4 Lowest responsible bid will be determined by the unit price for Biosolids Hauling, Composting, and Disposal Services.

12.5 If the lowest responsible bidder refuses or fails to execute the contract, District may consider the next lowest bidder to be the lowest responsible bidder.

12.6 The periods of time specified in this Section within which the award of contract may be made, are subject to extension for such further period as may be agreed upon in writing between District and the bidder concerned.

13. Delivery of Contract

13.1 Prior to award by the District Board, the apparent lowest responsible and responsive bidder will be required to sign District’s contract and provide required insurance certificates and endorsements. Agreement signatures are processed electronically through Hello Sign/Dropbox. An official “Notice of Award of Contract” will be provided to the successful bidder after award by District Board.

13.2 Within 10 days after the Notice of Award of Contract, the successful bidder must provide proof of a valid City of Camarillo business tax certificate and any other documents required by the Contract Documents. Within 10 days of receipt of the documents, District will deliver one fully signed counterpart of the Contract to the successful bidder.

13.3 The Contract and each attachment must be executed in the manner required by Section 14 below.

13.4 If the successful bidder fails to execute and deliver the Contract, and to furnish the required certificates and other documents within 10 days of the Notice of Award, the District may annul the award, except as provided under Public Contract Code section 20174.

14. Signatures

14.1 The Contract Documents and all attachments must be executed in the following manner: If the bidder is:

(a) An individual, in the name of the individual and if doing business by a fictitious name, the fictitious name and, if the document is the Bid Proposal or Contract, the business address, telephone number and email address of the individual must be shown below the signature.

(b) A partnership, in the partnership name and signed by a general partner, whose title must appear under the signature and, if the document is the Bid Proposal or Contract, the business address, telephone number and email address of the partnership must be shown below the signature.

(c) A corporation, in the corporate name by a duly authorized officer or agent accompanied by evidence of authority to sign and the corporate seal must be affixed and attested by the secretary or an assistant secretary. If the document is the Bid Proposal or Contract, the state of incorporation must be shown below the corporation name, and the corporate address, telephone number and email address must be shown below the signatures.

14.2 Attorneys-in-fact who sign any Contract Document or any attachment thereto must file with the document a certified copy of their power of attorney to sign such document.

14.3 Electronic Signatures: Documents will be considered executed when the signature page of a party is delivered by electronic transmission. Such electronic signatures will have the same effect as an original signature.

15. Time for Commencement and Completion

15.1 The Contractor must be available to commence work on January 1, 2027, or on such other date as authorized in writing by the District, and may not begin work until fully complying with Sections 13 and 14 above and all other applicable Contract requirements.

15.2 Upon written request of the Contractor and if approved in writing by the Water

Reclamation Superintendent, the time for commencement, completion or both may be extended.

16. Bid Protest

16.1 Any protest of any bid must be submitted in writing to the Office of the City Clerk by email to cityclerk@cityofcamarillo.org no later than 5:00 PM on the seventh calendar day following the date of the bid opening.

16.2 The protest must contain a complete statement of the factual basis for the protest and copies of pertinent documents.

16.3 The protest must identify the specific portion of the document and the specific statute, if any, that forms the basis for the protest. The protest must include the name, mailing address, email address and telephone number of the person representing the protesting party.

16.4 The party filing the protest must have actually submitted a bid for the Project. A subcontractor of a party filing a bid for the Project may not submit a bid protest. A party may not rely on the bid protest submitted by another bidder, but must timely pursue its own protest.

16.5 The procedure and time limits set forth in these Instructions to Bidders are mandatory and are the bidders’ sole and exclusive remedy in the event of a bid protest. Any bidder’s failure to fully comply with these procedures will constitute a waiver of any right to further pursue a bid protest, including filing of a challenge of the award pursuant to the Public Contract Code, filing of a claim pursuant to the Government Code, or filing of any other legal proceedings.

16.6 The Assistant District Manager, or designee, will review all timely protests prior to award of the Project and will recommend that the District Board either reject the protest and award to the lowest responsible and responsive bidder or accept the protest and award the bid to the next lowest responsible and responsive bidder.

mailto:cityclerk@cityofcamarillo.org

17. Personnel Requirements

17.1 Contractor shall assign only personnel who are trained, experienced, and qualified to perform biosolids/sludge hauling, transportation, handling, spill prevention and response, and delivery to approved receiving facilities.

17.2 Contractor shall designate a primary Contract Manager or Supervisor who will serve as the District’s primary point of contact and who shall have experience managing biosolids/sludge hauling services for public agencies or comparable wastewater facilities.

17.3 Contractor shall employ and assign a sufficient number of trained and qualified drivers, operators, and support personnel to perform the work in accordance with the Contract Documents and all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations.

17.4 All personnel performing work under this Contract shall have current training appropriate to their assigned duties, including, as applicable, biosolids/sludge handling, safe loading and transport, spill prevention and response, traffic and facility safety procedures, and the Contractor’s Injury and Illness Prevention Program.

17.5 All Contractor personnel entering District facilities shall carry valid photo identification and shall check in with District staff or the Water Reclamation Superintendent or designee upon arrival at each site. Contractor shall provide the District with a current roster of authorized personnel upon request.

17.6 Contractor shall notify the District in writing prior to any change in the designated Contract Manager, key personnel, hauling operations, or proposed receiving facility.

Replacement personnel and facilities shall meet the requirements of the Contract Documents and shall be subject to District review and approval prior to implementation.

18. Bidders Skill and Experience

18.1 Each Bidder shall be skilled and regularly engaged in the class of work required for biosolids/sludge hauling, transportation, and beneficial reuse, composting, treatment, or disposal services. Bidders must have a minimum of ten (10) years of experience performing similar services for public agencies or comparable wastewater facilities with contracts of comparable size and scope. The Bidder’s qualifications and experience shall be documented and submitted in the Bid as follows:

(a) Company ownership, address, and location of company office (Page 1 of the Bid).

(b) Statements of the Bidder’s financial qualifications, as provided in the Bidder Information Certification (Attachment 4 of the Bid).

(c) Three (3) recent public agency or comparable wastewater facility contract references. (Attachment 7 of the Bid).

18.2 Failure to completely execute and submit the required documents before the

Submittal Deadline may render a Bid non-responsive.

19. Client References

19.1 A minimum of three (3) references from similar municipal contracts/projects performed within the last ten (10) years must be provided. (Attachment 7 of the bid).

19.2 Client references must include:

(a) Client name, client Project Manager, address, telephone number, and email address. If client is not a local government, please indicate the type of business.

(b) Type of service provided to the client.

(c) Project description.

(d) Project dates (starting and ending)

(e) Staff assigned to that project.

(f) Discuss final outcome.

20. Bid Review and Award Schedule

20.1 The following is an outline of the anticipated schedule for Bid review and contract award:

(a) Notice Inviting Bids – October 10, 2026

(b) Bid Publish Date – October 10, 2026

(c) Last Day to Submit Questions – November 1, 2026 (Eight days before bids are due per Section 5.2)

(d) Bids Due – November 9, 2026

(e) Estimated Award of Contract – December 9, 2026

(f) Work is estimated to commence - January 1, 2027

21. Bid Opening

21.1 All bids, irrespective of irregularities of informalities, will be opened.

21.2 District reserves the right to postpone the Submittal Deadline and opening of bids any time before the date and time announced in the Notice Inviting Bids or subsequent addenda.

21.3 District reserves the right to waive non-substantial irregularities in any bid, to reject any or all bids, to reject or delete one part of a bid and accept the other, except to the extent that bids are qualified by specific limitations.

21.4 District Reserves the right to reject the bid of any bidder who previously failed to perform adequately for the District or any other governmental agency. District expressly reserves the right to reject the bid of any bidder who is in default on the payment of taxes, licenses or other monies due to the City of Camarillo.

21.5 Lowest responsible bid will be determined by the unit price for Biosolids Hauling, Composting, and Disposal Services.