24_031_LH_Cemetery Maintenance Services_IFB.pdf

INVITATION FOR BID

FOR

Rosehill Cemetery Maintenance Services For

Macon-Bibb County

25-031-LH

93620 95820

MACON BIBB COUNTY, GEORGIA

ISSUED: FEBRUARY 4, 2025

BIDS DUE NO LATER THAN

12:00 NOON ON THURSDAY, MARCH 6, 2025

Macon-Bibb County Procurement Department

(Attn: Laura Hardwick) 700 Poplar Street Suite 308

Macon, Georgia 31201

GENERAL

A. Invitation

1. Notice is hereby given that Macon-Bibb County will receive sealed bids (Original Bid and Flash

Drive) in the Macon Bibb County Procurement Department, 700 Poplar Street – Suite 308, Macon, Georgia 31201, until 12:00 noon on Thursday, March 6, 2025, for Rosehill Cemetery Maintenance Services for the Macon-Bibb County Government.

NO BIDS WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER THE ABOVE TIME.

2. Pre-bid conference is scheduled for 2:00 o’clock p.m., Wednesday, February 12, 2025, at the Macon-Bibb County Procurement Conference Room, Suite 308 located on the 3rd floor, City Hall, 700 Poplar Street, Macon, Georgia 31201. This pre-bid is mandatory; the contractor must be present in order to submit a response. Social distancing and mandatory mask wearing measures will be enforced.

3. The primary intent of this Invitation to Bid is to identify a single source to provide all the needed goods and/or services; however, Macon Bibb County reserves the right to make split awards.

4. Questions regarding the bid are due February 14, 2025, by 3:00 p.m. by email only to lhardwick@maconbibb.us.

5. Bids will be publicly opened and read in the Macon Bibb Procurement Conference Room, Suite

308, located on the 3rd floor of City Hall, 700 Poplar Street, Macon, Georgia, on March 6, 2025, starting at 2:00 pm.

6. Minority, Women Owned, and other Disadvantaged Business Enterprises are encouraged to participate in the solicitation process. Additionally, respondents are encouraged to use M/W/DBE subcontractors where possible. Small and other disadvantaged businesses requiring assistance with the competitive process can contact Small Business Affairs at (478) 300-2297 or via email cstephens2@maconbibb.us ; contact person name is Charise Stephens.

B. Bid Documents

7. Bid documents will be made available at the Macon-Bibb County Procurement Department, City

Hall, 700 Poplar Street. Suite 308, Macon, GA 31201, (478) 803-0554 or www.maconbibb.us/procurement under active solicitations.

C. Sealed Bids

SEALED Bids shall be delivered or mailed to:

Macon-Bibb County Procurement Department

Attn: Laura Hardwick 700 Poplar Street, Suite 308

Macon, GA 31201 Lhardwick@maconbibb.us

Mark the outside of the envelope “Bid # 25-031-LH – “Rosehill Cemetery Maintenance

Services” mailto:cstephens2@maconbibb.us http://www.maconbibb.us/purchasing/

D. Forms

1. The enclosed Macon-Bibb County bid form shall be used. Use of other bid documents may deem the bid to be non-responsive.

2. “Attachment A” must be completed and included with the bid; failure to include.

completed, signed, and notarized forms (as applicable) may deem the bid non-responsive. Any “Attachment A” documents which are not applicable to a vendor shall be marked “Not applicable” and submitted with all other “Attachment A”. For example, an automobile dealership which does not intend to use subcontractors shall mark the “List of Subcontractors” form in the “Attachment A” documents “Not applicable” and submit that document with the other “Attachment A” documents.

E. Validity

1. No bid may be withdrawn for a period of sixty (60) days after time has been called on date of bid opening.

2. All prices shall be Delivered prices, FOB Destination, after deducting all non–applicable taxes, delivered to each requesting department or office. Vehicles shall be ready to use.

F. Local Preference

1. Macon-Bibb County reserves the right to award bids to County businesses and merchants whose bid is within 5% (five percent) of the lowest responsive and responsible bid which conforms to the Invitation to Bid.

G. Reservations

1. Macon-Bibb County reserves full freedom (in addition to the right to reject any and all bids) in awarding bids to consider all available factors including, but not limited to, price, the provision of needed and unneeded features, usefulness to the using department and prior Macon-Bibb County experience. Hence, Macon-Bibb County may award bids to other than the lowest bidder if in the judgment of the Board of Commissioners the interest of the County will be best served by award to another. Any required information not submitted with bids shall deem bid non– responsive.

H. Insurance Insurance Requirements

All deductibles shall be paid for by the Bidder.

Required Insurance Coverages. The Bidder also agrees to purchase and have the authorized agent state on the insurance certificate that the Bidder has purchased the following types of insurance coverages, consistent with the policies and requirements of O.C.G.A. 50-21-37.

The minimum required coverages and liability limits are as follows:

Workers’ Compensation Insurance. The Bidder agrees to provide, at a minimum, Workers’ Compensation coverage in accordance with the statutory limits as established by the General Assembly of the State of Georgia. A group insurer must submit a certificate of authority from the Insurance Commissioner approving the group insurance plan. A self-insurer must submit a certificate from the Georgia Board of Workers’ compensation stating the contractor qualifies to pay its own workers’ compensation claims.

Employers’ Liability Insurance. The Bidder shall also maintain Employer’s Liability Insurance Coverage with limits of at least:

(i) Bodily Injury by Accident $1,000,000 each accident

(ii) Bodily Injury by Disease $1,000,000 each employee; and

(iii) Bodily Injury/Disease Aggregate $1,000,000 each accident

Commercial General Liability Insurance. The Bidder shall provide Commercial General Liability Insurance (2001 ISO Occurrence Form or equivalent) that shall include, but need not be limited to, coverage for bodily injury and property damage arising from premises and operations liability, products and completed operations liability, personal injury liability and contractual liability. The CGL policy must include separate aggregate limits per Project and shall provide at a minimum the following limits:

Coverage Limits

1. Premises and Operations $1,000,000 per Occurrence

2. Products and completed $1,000,000 per Occurrence Operations

3. Personal Injury $1,000,000 per Occurrence

4. Contractual $1,000,000 per Occurrence

5. General Aggregate $2,000,000 per Project

Additional Requirements for Commercial General Liability Insurance are as follows:

Commercial business Automobile Liability Insurance. The Bidder shall provide commercial business Automobile Liability Insurance that shall include coverage for bodily injury and property damage arising from the operation of any owned, non-owned, or hired automobile.

The commercial business Automobile Liability Insurance Policy shall provide not less than $1,000,000 combined Single Limits for each accident.

Disposition of Insurance Documents. One original certificate of insurance with all endorsements attached must be deposited with Owner for each insurance policy required.

Failure of Insurers. The Bidder is responsible for any delay resulting from the failure of his insurance carriers to furnish proof of proper coverage in the prescribed form.

Additional Insured: Bidder shall add Owner as an additional insured and list bid name and number under the commercial general and automobile policies.

I. Confidentiality and Open Records

In order to ensure compliance with Georgia’s Open Records Act, the following language must be included in all Macon-Bibb County contracts and will be a required term for any contract entered into as a result of this solicitation.

The Parties acknowledge that both Vendor and County are required to comply with the Georgia Open Records Act, O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70, et seq. See, Milliron v. Antonakakis, 905 S.E.2d 657 (Ga. 2024). As a result, Vendor acknowledges and agrees that County may make such disclosures as are authorized or required under the Georgia Open Records Act, notwithstanding any claims of confidentiality asserted by Vendor as to any records or data in the County’s possession.

Upon execution of this Agreement, Vendor shall designate in writing that one or more of its officers shall be the open records officer for Vendor in accordance with the Open Records Act. In the event that Vendor receives a request for records under the Open Records Act, Vendor shall notify County within two business days by sending an email, return receipt requested, to OpenRecordsNotices@maconbibb.onmicrosoft.com. Vendor shall provide County with copies of all records proposed for production prior to responding to such request. The vendor shall assert all exemptions and exceptions available to the fullest extent of the law and shall not produce any records which are subject to withholding under the Open Records Act or any other state or federal law. Vendor shall have a duty to consult with independent legal counsel concerning which records are or are not subject to production prior to making any production, and shall certify to County at the time the proposed production is provided to County that the records contained therein have been reviewed by counsel for responsiveness and that all information that is protected or protectable from release under the law has been redacted therefrom. Vendor shall be responsible for calculating response costs and billing requestors for all requests sent in accordance with the Open Records Act, and Vendor’s complete compliance with the provisions of this section shall be performed at no cost to County.

Vendor assumes all civil and criminal liability for its own compliance with the Open Records Act. In the event that Vendor produces material records that are subject to withholding under the Open Records Act, and it would be impossible or very difficult to accurately estimate the damage and harm caused to County by such production, then Vendor shall pay County the sum of $10,000.00 per request as liquidated damages. The Parties intend that these liquidated damages shall constitute compensation, and not a penalty, and that the liquidated damages are a reasonable estimate of the anticipated or actual harm that might arise from a breach by Vendor. Where actual damages are calculable, then the County shall reserve the right to seek actual damages for the harm caused by such production instead of liquidated damages. Nothing herein shall be construed as limiting in any way the County’s right to seek injunctive, declaratory, or other relief to prevent the release of protected information prior to any such production being made.

J. Subcontractor Reporting Requirements

A. Contractor shall submit a “Subcontractor/Supplier Participation Report” on this contract quarterly to the Macon-Bibb County Office of Small Business Affairs which shall include the following:

1. The name of each subcontractor or supplier participating in the contract.

2. A description of the work to be performed, materials, supplies, and services provided by each subcontractor or supplier.

3. Whether each subcontractor or supplier is a minority owned, woman owned, LGBTQIA+ owned, veteran owned, disabled person owned, Certified Disadvantaged Business Entity, non-profit, or local business.

4. Whether each subcontractor is a supplier, subcontractor, or other.

5. The dollar value of each subcontract or supply agreement.

6. The actual payment to date of each subcontractor or supplier participating in the contract.

mailto:OpenRecordsNotices@maconbibb.onmicrosoft.com

B. The report shall be updated during the applicable quarter by the Contractor whenever any of the approved subcontractors or suppliers have completed the portion of the work they were contracted to perform. Copies of this report should be transmitted promptly to the Macon-Bibb County Office of Small Business Affairs.

C. The County may withhold any payment due to the Contractor on any project for failure to submit the

Subcontractor/Supplier Report within thirty (30) days following the end of the calendar quarter or for the failure to submit updates to the quarterly report within thirty (30) days of any subcontractor or supplier having completed the portion of work they were contracted to perform.

Scope of Services

Macon Bibb is seeking qualified and experienced contractors interested in providing ground maintenance services for Rosehill Cemetery. The services to be provided will consist of furnishing all materials, equipment, and labor necessary to perform ground maintenance services. All work performed shall be in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, standards, and commercial practices.

Minimum Requirements: The Contractor shall have at least five (5) years of verifiable experience on similar work as specified in this scope of work.

Basic Ground Maintenance. The contractor shall provide ground maintenance services to include but not limited to mowing cemetery sites to their property lines, edging of sidewalks, driveways, curbs, slabs, and other concrete or asphalt edges that improve the cemetery grounds. All trash and debris shall be picked up and disposed of at an approved site prior to each mowing. Edging should be no more than ½-inch from the hard surface edge to maintain an even contour with the edge surface. Contractor’s personnel shall not use mowers across grass level markers where damage may occur. The contractor is responsible for blowing grass clippings off all roads, sidewalks, and gravesites.

All mowing missed due to inclement weather or ground conditions from such weather shall be rescheduled and completed within the same week if possible.

Service Frequency: Mowing shall be performed four days per week during all 52 weeks of the year. There shall be a minimum 4-man crew with at least two mowers during spring and summer (April – September). During the fall and winter months (October-March) there shall be a minimum of 2 man-crew.

Schedules for the mowing shall be coordinated with Macon Bibb County Parks and Beautification Director.

The Contractor shall trim around trees, limbs, shrubs, buildings, fences, headstones, monuments, and other fixed obstacles. In addition, grass, weeds, and other vegetation shall also be trimmed. All areas on the cemetery grounds must be trimmed concurrent with mowing. The contractor will be responsible for repairing or replace any property that is damaged during work.

Supplemental Services: Maintenance products shall be approved by the Macon Bibb County Parks and Beautification Director. The Contractor shall procure, handle, apply, and dispose of products and chemicals according to applicable laws and regulations. The contractor shall be responsible for securing applicable licenses and permits that meet local, federal, and state guidelines.

Contractors shall refrain from performing any work on cemetery grounds while funerals or memorial services are ongoing in order not to interfere or detract from the event.

Prior to any commencement of work that impacts public right-of-way access, Contractor must install warning signs and any other warning and safety devices advising the public work is being performed. All signs shall be temporary and removed at the completion of work.

Contractor’s employees must be professionally dressed and were identification badges when performing cemetery maintenance services.

BID FORM

The contractor agrees to perform the work described in the Scope of Work for the following prices:

Basic Ground Lawn Maintenance

Description Unit of Measure Quantity Total Cost Rosehill Cemetery Per Service 1 $ Total Base Price $

AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE: ____________________________DATE: ______________________

NAME (TYPED OR PRINTED): _____________________________________

TITLE: ______________________

COMPANY_________________________________________________________________________

ADDRESS__________________________________________________________________________

CITY: ___________________________________STATE: ___________________ZIP: __________

TELEPHONE: ________________________________

FAX: _____________________________

Email: ____________________________

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF ADDENDUM

The undersigned Contractor acknowledged receipt of the following addendum, if issued, to the Invitation for Bid. If none received, write “None Received.”

Addendum No. Dated:

Addendum No. Dated:

Firm Signature

Print Name Title Date