24_012 Grounds Maintenance Services Addendum .pdf

Muscogee County School District

Columbus, Georgia

Aileen Arrighi Purchasing Manager

ADDENDUM 1

ITB #24-012 Grounds Maintenance Services

December 12, 2023

Dear Vendors, The following questions were received by the Purchasing Department for ITB #24-012 Grounds Maintenance Services:

1. The ITB states that there are no bond requirements for this bid but the EXCEL sheet has a line item for the cost of the Performance Bond. Can you clarify the expectations for bid bonds and performance bonds?

Answer: Vendors are not required to provide a bid bond with their submittals; however, the District reserves the right to request a performance bond upon contract award. Vendors are asked to provide pricing information for a performance bond for each area on the District’s Excel Quote Form. All performance bonds are to be for 100% of the proposed total price. These bonds shall be furnished to cover the faithful performance of the contract.

2. Specifications state “perform aerations as required on athletic fields with a minimum of two times per year, “but in appendices A and B it states aeration and topdressing to occur in May or June.

Does that mean that the second aeration is at the contractor’s discretion for scheduling? Or do additional aerations need to be approved by the District Athletic Director?

Answer: Aerations vary by field and field condition, but the timing for the second aeration will be provided by the MCSD Director of Athletics.

3. Is the athletic field contractor expected to maintain the artificial turf playing surfaces at Kinnett and Odis Spencer Stadiums as well as at Spencer High (new)?

Answer: No. Athletic field contracts are not required to maintain the artificial turf.

4. Where can we find the specifications of the Rainwater Management Group for the maintenance of retention ponds?

Answer: Vendors may contact the Columbus, GA Public Works Department for additional information regarding retention pond maintenance.

5. For properties that have playgrounds:

Is mulch for the playgrounds to be included in the quote or would that be a separate quote if needed?

Answer: Mulch installation is not part of this contract. However, the awarded vendor(s) will be responsible for controlling the grass growing in the playground.

https://www.muscogee.k12.ga.us/Pages/MCSDHome.aspx

Is chemical control permitted for any weeds in the mulched areas around the playground equipment?

Answer: Yes.

6. Is the athletic field at Marshall Success Center to be maintained under the middle school or high school specifications?

Answer: Neither. These locations are maintained under APPA 2 as regular grass.

7. Will we be given something (map, aerial photo, or satellite image) that defines which areas are APPA 2 and which are APPA 4 2wk v. APPA4 monthly for properties that have both?

Answer: Yes. Directions on how to obtain this information will be provided at the mandatory pre-bid meeting on December 13, 2023.

8. Are athletic field mowing heights to be determined by the contractor, the school coaches, the District Athletic Director, or some combination of the three?

Answer: The specifications for the athletic fields are provided on Pages 27 and 28, Appendices A and B of the bid document. If there are any changes, then those changes will come from the MCSD Director of Athletics.

9. What is the intended contract term?

Answer: The contract period is from March 1, 2024 through February 28, 2025 with two optional one-year renewals as stated on the MCSD Policy DJED, Exception D.

10. Who is the incumbent?

Answer: The current vendor is Outdoor Solutions.

11. Why is MCSD choosing to entertain new proposals less than 12 months since the last proposal?

a. Expired contract

b. Service Issues

c. Budget Costing

Answer: The current agreement expires on February 29, 2024. See Answer #9 for additional information.

12. How long has the incumbent been serving the properties?

Answer: The incumbent vendor has been servicing the MCSD properties for three years.

13. Is it MCSD's intent to award to a single vendor or multiple?

a. Is it currently maintained by 1 vendor or multiple vendors – if multiple please identify vendors.

Answer: Currently all locations are being maintained by one vendor. The MCSD reserves the right to award the contract to one vendor or multiple vendors based on regions, sports fields, and/or stadiums as it best fits the needs of the District.

14. If price alone will not determine the award per the specifications, what are the criteria for the award?

a. Is there a rating scale? If so, can you provide the scale and what data you would like to see in the proposal to align with the criteria for rating?

Answer: The contract will be awarded to the lowest most responsive and responsible bidder which includes reference verifications.

15. In January 2023, there was an intent to award issued, then abruptly canceled a few weeks later -can you specify why?

Answer: It was determined that it was in the best interest of the District to renew the contract with the incumbent vendor for the second and final renewal option.

16. Do we need to submit the federal work authorization subcontractor affidavit with our proposal if we do not intend to subcontract any services?

Answer: Vendors are not required to submit a federal work authorization subcontractor affidavit with their proposal if they do not intend to engage subcontractors for these services.

17. Page 25 of 30 – #4 All services shall be completed in a manner and time to not disturb instructional and administration functions – can you define those times or perimeters?

Answer: Each vendor would have to determine their work schedule to complete the required tasks. The District only restricts the vendor from performing duties that interfere with student safety or testing windows, but outside of these restrictions, operation hours for the vendor can be between the hours of 7:00 am and 10:00 pm, which follows the noise ordinance of Muscogee County. While the grounds vendor is on the property, they cannot cut in the immediate area around the pickup and drop-off times and cannot cut around the building during the school days during the District’s approximately two-week testing window in late March or early April. The contract does not call for overtime.

18. Can you provide a depth of pine straw required per application?

Answer: Pine straw is to be installed at a professional level to cover any exposed ground.

19. Do you have a bale count of Pine Straw needed? Is it long-leaf pine or crushed pine straw?

Answer: The District does not have the count or specifications of the pine straw.

20. Is spraying of fence lines and buildings within 10” acceptable in lieu of weed eating so long as growth does not exceed mow height?

Answer: Vendors are to maintain the fence lines as stated on Page 26, Item 10 k) of the specifications.

21. Are areas around generators, AC units, and building equipment that are behind locked gates included? If so will the district provide keys?

Answer: These areas are included in the contract. The District will provide the keys for these locations.

22. Can you provide the Rainwater Management Group specifications for retention ponds?

Answer: See Answer #4.

23. Will the current contractor be responsible for bringing the site into compliance with specifications before the new contract begins?

a. If No, will MCSD pay for remediation of areas deemed to be out of compliance with specifications?

b. If yes, how many days or weeks will the new contractor have to prepare remediation costs and complete remediation?

Answer: Currently all areas are at compliance levels.

24. Is parking lot sweeping required or only blowing of service-generated debris?

Answer: The awarded vendor(s) will be required to blow any service-generated debris.

25. Please provide site maps with boundary lines for all loca�ons included in this bid.

a. Please also specifically delineate any and all athle�c fields if they are captured on the same site maps as the schools themselves so Athle�cs areas can be separated from ground maintenance areas.

Answer: See Answer #7.

26. Please confirm that all reten�on/deten�on ponds and wooded areas are to only be serviced once per month and not once every 10 working days per APPA Level 4 standard.

Answer: These areas are to be serviced once per month.

27. What does the District feel the current weed popula�on (percentage) is in the turf areas?

Answer: The weed popula�on is es�mated at 40%.

28. Is the mulch in the playground part of the scope of services? Who is responsible for providing playground mulch?

Answer: See Answer #5.

29. Will the awarded vendor be responsible for removing trees that fall within the wooded areas?

Answer: Yes.

30. Can the vendor use school dumpsters for trash?

Answer: The awarded vendor(s) will be allowed to use school dumpsters for paper trash but not deadfall or clippings.

31. On the PROPOSAL CHECKLIST, the Federal Work Authoriza�on Contractor Affidavit and

Subcontractor Affidavit are listed as items to be provided but (if awarded) are also listed. Do these forms need to be provided with the bid submital or only a�er award of contract has been issued?

Answer: Although these forms are part of the ITB packet, the awarded vendor(s) will be allowed to submit them upon contract award. Required forms are the bid signature and cer�fica�on form, debarred and suspended form, excep�ons and devia�ons form, disclosure of subcontractors form, reference and similar projects form, no-bid response, and the Excel quote sheets. All forms have to be signed.

32. Is crack and crevice spraying required on track?

Answer: Yes

33. Aera�on is listed as being required but the specifica�ons do not state whether this should be a solid �ne or core aera�on method. Please clarify which method is preferred/required.

Answer: The awarded vendor(s), working with the MCSD Director of Athletics, will determine which aeration method they wish to utilize.

34. “Proposer is licensed to do business with the State of Georgia…”. Please provide the specific licenses that will be required to bid on this project. Please also clarify if these licenses are required at the �me of bidding or if they can be procured prior to the commencement of services.

Answer: Outside of the regular licenses required for a vendor to work for the District, the awarded vendor(s) will be required to have the licenses necessary to apply chemicals required to be used according to the ITB.

35. Is aera�on and top dress only on football fields – specifica�ons call out 64 cy of sand on football fields, but do not iden�fy top dress cy on other fields.

Answer: Aera�on and top dress specifica�ons for the middle schools and high schools are addressed on Pages 27 and 28, Appendices A and B of the bid document.