8-0.1 Instructions.pdf

Phone: 386-364-3400 suwanneecountyfl.gov Fax: 386-362-1032

Board of County Commissioners 224 Pine Ave SW, 2nd Floor, Live Oak, FL 32064

Franklin White, Chairman

BID SOLICITATION

Suwannee County, Florida will receive sealed digital bids on the County’s procurement portal, suwanneecountyfl.bonfirehub.com, or sealed paper bids at the Clerk of Court Cashier Window located within the Courthouse to the attention of Clerk to the Board, 200 South Ohio Avenue, Live Oak, FL 32064. All responses are due before Monday February 23rd, 2026, by 10:00 am. Responses will be publicly unsealed and read aloud at Suwannee County Administration, Conference Room, 224 Pine Ave SW, 2nd Floor, Live Oak, FL 32064, on Monday, February 23rd, 2026, at 10:05 am, for the following:

CONSTRUCTION OF LIVESTOCK BUILDING

The project will consist of construction of a new show arena and livestock barn for a total area of 35,000

sq. ft. and site improvements to include a stormwater pond.

CONTRACT TIME: Contract time is two hundred seventy (270) days, starting with the Notice to Proceed date.

The following schedule will apply to the project:

• Award of contract by the Board of County Commissioners.

• Contractor shall return an executed copy of the contract to the County Administrator within 14 calendar days following receipt of the draft contract.

• No more than 21 calendar days following the execution of the contract, Contractor shall provide the County Administrator with evidence of Construction Bonds (if applicable). Notice to Proceed will then be issued.

• No more than 30 calendar days following the issuing of the Notice to Proceed, the Contractor shall have Substantial Construction started. Construction shall thereafter be continuous with full staffing and equipment until project is completed. Definition of Substantial Construction: All necessary equipment and personnel are on site and fully engaged in construction activities associated with the project specifications. Posting of signs DOES NOT satisfy the requirements of substantial construction.

• Failure to comply with the aforementioned timeline may result in the County voiding the contract and the County beginning negotiations with the next lowest qualified bidder.

• Time extension requests shall be forwarded to the County Administrator for the consideration.

The County Administrator will convene a meeting with the CEI (as applicable) and the County Attorney to consider the request. The decision of the committee will be final.

• Liquidated Damages: $1000.00 per day.

• No work is allowed on Sundays or County designated holidays.

The Board of County Commissioners may accept all or part of any bid. Any paper response received after Monday, February 23rd, 2026, at 10:00 am, will be retained at the Clerk of Court Office, unopened, and will not be considered. Digital responding window will be locked at 10:00 am. online.

Responses submitted in any other manner, besides through the online portal or sealed paper responses to the Clerk to the Board, will not be accepted or considered. By tendering a bid, respondent agrees that should the County fail to reach an agreement with the lowest responsible bidder, the County may negotiate with the next lowest responsible bidder and so on until an agreement is reached with a responsible bidder. The Board of County Commissioners reserves the right to reject any and all bids, waive formalities and re-advertise and award the bid in the best interest of the County.

NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY STATEMENT: The Board of County Commissioners does not discriminate because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, genetics, handicap status, income status, or family status.

CONE OF SILENCE NOTICE: A cone of silence shall be established on all County competitive selection processes. The cone of silence pertains to all solicitations (ITB, RFP, RFQ or other competitive solicitations), and prohibits any communication regarding such solicitation between the bidder (or its agents or representatives) or anyone on behalf of the bidder regarding such solicitation, and any County Commissioner or County employee, selection committee member or other persons authorized to act on behalf of the Board including the County’s Architect, Engineer or their subconsultants, or anyone designated to provide a recommendation to award a particular contract, other than Procurement Department staff. The cone of silence shall be in effect from the time of advertisement until contract award. Violation of the cone of silence by, or on behalf of, a bidder shall be grounds for disqualification from competing in the competitive solicitation.

SWORN ENTITY STATEMENT: The Board of County Commissioners requires a Sworn Statement under section 287.133(3)(a), F.S., on Public Entity Crimes.

BID GUARANTEE: A Bid Guarantee in the form of a Bid Bond properly executed by the Bidder and by a qualified surety or a certified cashier’s check on any national or state bank, in a sum not less than five percent (5%) of the amount bid, made payable to Suwannee County Board of Commissioners, c/o Clerk of the Circuit Court, must accompany each bid as a guarantee that the bidder will not withdraw from the competition after opening of the bids, and in the event the contract is awarded to the bidder by the Board, he will enter into a contract with the Owner within fourteen (14) calendar days after the notice of Award. If the bidder fails to enter into a contract with the Owner, he shall forfeit the Bid Guarantee or Bid Bond as liquidated damages. The Bid Bond must be secured from an agency of the Surety on Insurance Company, which agency shall have an established place of business in the State of Florida and be duly licensed to conduct business therein.

INSURANCE: The Board of County Commissioners requires proof of insurance in the amount of one million dollars at a minimum.

E-VERIFY: The following condition will be a part of the contract as required by Suwannee County:

Contractor shall utilize the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s E-Verify system, in accordance with the terms governing use of the system, to confirm the employment eligibility of;

1. all persons employed by the Vendor/Contractor during the term of the Contract to perform employment duties within Florida; and

2. all persons, including subcontractors, assigned by the Vendor/Contractor to perform work pursuant to the contract with Suwannee County.

CONSTRUCTION BOND: Successful Bidders will be required to furnish a Public Construction Bond in the amount of 100% of the Contract Price.

CONTRACT LANGUAGE: By tendering a bid, respondent agrees to enter into a contract with the County which shall contain substantively identical terms to the terms identified in the Suwannee County Standard Terms which are included in this solicitation.

DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE ON: Electronic copies (in pdf format) of the bid documents, plans, specifications and addenda are available on the County’s procurement portal, suwanneecountyfl.bonfirehub.com. All addenda issued in regard to this solicitation will only be available on the County’s procurement portal. Bidders using partial sets of Documents are fully responsible for any errors or omissions made due to not reviewing the entire set of Construction Documents. Due to the possibility of technical glitches, it will be the sole responsibility of the Contractor to check for all bid documents and addenda prior to submitting their subsequent bid response package.

MANDATORY PRE-BID MEETING NOTICE: There is a mandatory pre-bid meeting Wednesday, February 11th, 2026, 10:00 am at the following: Suwannee County Coliseum, Exhibition 2, 1302 SW 11th St, Live Oak, FL 32064.

QUESTIONS: Any questions concerning specifications and/or bid documents should be asked in the public questions and answers section for the specific solicitation. Deadline for questions is Friday, February 13th, 2026, before 5:00 P.M. Any, and all, such interpretations and any supplemental instructions will be in the form of a written addendum which, if issued, will be posted on the County’s procurement portal, suwanneecountyfl.bonfirehub.com. All addenda so issued shall become part of the bid documents.

PAPER SUBMISSIONS: All sealed paper bids must be submitted with one original and one copy (2 total) and labeled on the outside of the envelope as:

CLERK TO THE BOARD

200 SOUTH OHIO AVENUE

LIVE OAK, FL 32064

SEALED BID NO. 2026-05

CONSTRUCTION OF LIVESTOCK BUILDING