FWC 26.27.32 Questions & Answers Addendum.pdf

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Commissioners

Rodney Barreto

Chairman

Coral Gables

Steven Hudson

Vice Chairman

Fort Lauderdale

Preston Farrior

Tampa

Joshua Kellam

Palm Beach Gardens

Gary Lester

Oxford

Albert Maury

Coral Gables

Sonya Rood

St. Augustine

Office of the

Executive Director

Roger A. Young

Executive Director

Charles “Rett” Boyd

Assistant Executive Director

George Warthen

Chief Conservation Officer

Jessica Crawford

Chief of Staff

850-487-3796

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Managing fish and wildlife resources for their long-term well-being and the benefit of people.

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Tallahassee, Florida

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MyFWC.com

DATE: OCTOBER 1, 2026

ADDENDUM NO.: 1

BID NO.: FWC 26/27-32

BID TITLE: BIG BEND WMA PRESCRIBED BURNING SERVICES

UPDATE: QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

The enclosed addendum has been issued for consideration in the preparation of your response to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) Solicitation

No. FWC 26/27-32, “Big Bend WMA Prescribed Burning Services”.

All responses to the subject solicitation must be received no later than 3:00 PM (ET) on

Tuesday, October 6, 2026.

A response received after the exact time specified will not be considered. Failure to file a protest within the time prescribed in Section 120.57(3), Florida Statutes (F.S.), or failure to post the bond or other security required by law within the time allowed for filing a bond shall constitute a waiver of proceedings under Chapter 120, Florida Statutes.

Written notices, formal requests and proceedings must conform with the requirements set forth in Chapter 28-110, Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.). Protests must be filed with the Purchasing Office, Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, 1875 Orange

Avenue East, Tallahassee, Florida 32311-6160 within the time prescribed in Section

120.57(3), F.S. and Chapter 28-110, F.A.C.

Sincerely, Randy Golightly

FWC Procurement Manager

FWC SOLICITATION ADDENDUM 2

BEGIN ADDENDUM

QUESTION #1

At the pre-bid conference the Commission indicated that the budget available for prescribed burning on Big Bend

WMA in fiscal year 2026-27 is approximately $50,000. Is that figure correct, and is it the amount that will appear on the initial purchase order?

ANSWER #1

The initial purchase order will be for the maximum number of acres that can be covered with the $50,000 budget. This amount is available to be spent until June 15, 2027.

QUESTION #2

Section 2.11 provides that the Contractor burns units from the priority list until the total acres and/or budget specified in the purchase order is reached, and Section 5.1 provides that the contract is complete when the budget allocation for the fiscal year has been exhausted. Once the purchase order budget is exhausted, does the Contractor have any further obligation to burn in that fiscal year, and do the performance provisions of Section 2.16 continue to apply after that point?

ANSWER #2

Once the budget is exhausted, the po will be closed out, in which case the contractor would have no further obligations. When a burn uses the remainder of the amount indicated on the purchase order, and work is completed, monitored, declared out, and work is confirmed by an employee of the Commission, then the obligation of the Contractor will be considered complete, whether the fiscal year is over or not. Section 2.16 is only valid during the contract, not once completed.

QUESTION #3

If additional funds become available during the fiscal year, will the Commission increase the purchase order, or issue an additional purchase order, at the awarded per-acre price?

ANSWER #3

A change order may be executed if additional funds are available, after discussion with the Contractor. If the consensus is reached that the additional acreage is feasible within the limitations of the fiscal year and budget available, then funding will be added as able.

QUESTION #4

What funding level does the Commission anticipate for each of the three renewal years, and if a specific figure is not yet available, is renewal year funding expected to be comparable to the initial term?

ANSWER #4 YES

Funding requested for subsequent years is dependent on the acreage coming up in rotation and the feasibility of the Contractor burning that acreage within that fiscal year. Typically, each year is ~$50,000.

FWC SOLICITATION ADDENDUM 3

QUESTION #5

Because the funded acreage will be a fraction of the 11,825 acres described in the Scope of Work, the mix of units tasked affects the cost per acre more than any other factor, since a 100-acre coastal unit and a 600-acre interior unit can each take a full day. Can the Commission provide the acreage of each burn unit shown in Figures 2 through 12, and do those units together total the 11,825 fire-maintained acres?

ANSWER #5

All burn units shown in the scope of work total 11,825 burnable acres. They vary in natural community composition, fire return interval, and accessibility. Providing the acreage of each unit will not provide the aforementioned characteristics. The maximum acreage asked of the Contractor for a single burn is roughly 250 acres. Each burn block on the priority list given to the Contractor is burnable, by hand, in one operational day whether it totals 100 acres or 250 acres. As for providing a document showing the acreage of each burn unit, Big Bend WMA contains hundreds of burn units. We will not be able to get the requested document together within the deadline for submitting answers.

QUESTION #6

Which units does the Commission expect to place on the first priority list for fiscal year 2026-27?

ANSWER #6

All units have the potential to be burned within any fiscal year. A priority list will be provided to the

Contractor upon award of the contract. Potential units span from Horseshoe Beach to the Aucilla River and are typically prioritized by return interval.

QUESTION #7

Will the Commission group units on a priority list so that the units on a given list fall within the same

BBWMA unit or are geographically adjacent, given that access points range from roughly 36 to 116 road miles from the Contractor's base and that Section 3.8 requires the Certified Prescribed Burn Manager to return for twice-daily monitoring until each fire is declared out?

ANSWER #7

the priority list could have jobs in multiple bbwma units, but we do try to group areas within one geographical area to minimize equipment mobilization. We are bound by policy to monitor burns twice daily.

QUESTION #8

Would the Commission consider establishing a minimum acreage per priority list, or per mobilization, so that mobilization, prescription preparation, and post-burn monitoring costs can be spread across a workable number of acres?

ANSWER #8

The priority list will contain multiple days’ worth of burn units and prescriptions, ranging from approximately 100-250 acres per burn unit.

FWC SOLICITATION ADDENDUM 4

QUESTION #9

Under Sections 4.4 and 5.1, for a unit that burns incompletely while remaining within the approved prescription, is payment based on the full unit acreage shown on the priority list, or on the percent of the unit actually burned as reported on the post-burn evaluation?

ANSWER #9

Payment will be issued for acres displayed on the prescription upon completion of the burn and all related tasks

QUESTION #10

What completion date will appear on the purchase order for purposes of the $100 per calendar day liquidated damages and the 3 percent withholding in Section 5.4, given that available burn days depend on weather?

ANSWER #10

End date of the purchase order is June 15 each year. Satisfactory completion of the contract includes burning on available burn days. If there were no burn days, thus no burns, there would be no penalty.

Section 2.16 outlines the non-monetary penalties for not meeting goals based on valid burn days. Should the Contractor be notified per Section 2.16, liquidated damages would then be assigned based on the number of days not burned, as specified. The 3% detailed in 5.4 would be implemented after the end of the Purchase Order should there have not been burn operations on viable burn days, as stipulated in section 2.16. Additionally, as outlined in section 5.1, the Contract will be considered complete, when all specified units during the fiscal year have been burned, weather permitting.

QUESTION #11

Attachment A, Section 3.E states the MyFloridaMarketPlace transaction fee as seven tenths of one percent. What rate will be deducted from payments under this contract?

ANSWER #11

0.7% of the total budget ($250k) will be $1,750.00. This is paid separately by the vendor, straight to MFMP, over the timeframe of the project. (Given that this price could increase or decrease.)

QUESTION #12

The Performance Bond clause requires a bond for 100 percent of the total contract price. Is the total contract price the amount of the purchase order for the fiscal year, or the awarded per-acre price multiplied by the 11,825 acres described in the Scope of Work?

ANSWER #12

Per our General Conditions in the Terms and Conditions: A Performance Bond shall be required from the

Contractor by the Commission for this project. Prior to commencing any work, and within ten (10) days

FWC SOLICITATION ADDENDUM 5

after issuance of a Purchase Order, the Contractor shall furnish a Performance Bond in the amount of one hundred percent (100%) of the total contract price to ensure full and complete performance of the contract to the attention of the Contract Manager

QUESTION #13

Section 2.11 provides that the Contractor is issued one priority list at a time. Is a single performance bond required for the fiscal year that covers every priority list issued under that purchase order, or is a separate bond required for each priority list?

ANSWER #13

One performance bond will be required for the initial year, then any renewals will have to have another bond.

QUESTION #14

If a separate bond is required for each priority list, is the bond released or returned once the units on that list have been completed, accepted, and invoiced, and must a new bond be furnished before the next priority list is issued?

ANSWER #14

When the project is completed, it is required to have a formal closeout process. This will release your liability and stop future premium billing.

QUESTION #15

Will a new performance bond be required for each renewal year the Commission exercises?

ANSWER #15

See Answer #13

QUESTION #16

Attachment A, Section 4.E requires reasonable and adequate general liability coverage. What minimum limits does the Commission expect, and must the policy specifically cover prescribed burning operations?

ANSWER #16

Minimum liability insurance of one-million dollars.

QUESTION #17

Section 2.9.1 sets the Type III bulldozer minimum at 99 to 165 net horsepower and 20,000 pounds base weight. Will a John Deere 650J with fire plow, rated at 99 net horsepower and approximately 19,750 pounds operating weight, be accepted under this specification, and if it will not, what rate should bidders include in the per-acre price for the Florida Forest Service Type III unit with operator requested under Section 2.9?

FWC SOLICITATION ADDENDUM 6

ANSWER #17

The Type III bulldozer specs listed in the contract are directly from NWCG standards and the IRPG minimum requirements. The 650J with a fire package and fire plow, is the State accepted minimum for fire operations. If this dozer has a full fire package, it meets the minimum acceptable standards.

QUESTION #18

Section 3.1 provides that FWC staff perform all non-natural fireline construction and mechanical fireline preparation. Will that work be complete before a unit appears on a priority list, and what lead time should the Contractor expect between issuance of a list and the units on it being ready to burn?

ANSWER #18

Yes, fire lines will be completed and maintained in line with the priority list.

QUESTION #19

Section 2.16 measures performance against days when weather conditions are consistent with approved prescriptions and the current priority list. How will the Commission document those days, and will days lost to hunting season restrictions under Section 2.14, to limits imposed by the Project Manager under

Section 2.12, or to units not yet prepared be excluded from that count?

ANSWER #19

We keep a running list of burnable days to maintain our own expected progress for habitat management, so those will be the documented days. We will only limit burns if the weather is outside desired parameters, and thus out of prescription. If the unit is out of prescription, that day will not count against the Contractor. Additionally, the hunting season restriction is mainly unit restriction or limitation. If there is a quota hunt on one of the units, it will be unavailable for burn operations during that time, but other units are available for burn operations. All units on the priority list will be prepared and ready for burn operations. Should there be an issue where a viable burn day is called off due to Commission actions (i.e.

lack of unit prep or hunt activities), that burn day will not count against the Contractor.

QUESTION #20

Which units and which dates will be restricted for the 2026-27 hunting seasons under Section 2.14?

ANSWER #20

Depending on theWMA unit, burning is typically done between December through March (dormant) and May through August (Growing).

Staff burn operations typically do not happen during the following seasons/months:

- End of September: opening of Archery season is typically the last or second-to-last weekend in

September

FWC SOLICITATION ADDENDUM 7

- October - November: this is when pines are building carbohydrate stores for the winter, younger pines and restoration areas are not burned during this time due to vulnerability and needle loss. This time frame overlaps with muzzleloader and general gun quotas. Some more mature stands may be able to be burned at this time on units with no quota hunts occuring.

- End of May – End of April: Spring Turkey season – areas can be burned that are not under quota permits, as deemed possible by the Project Manager.

Exact dates will be provided with the priority list for each hunting season that may conflict with burning operations.

QUESTION #21

Will FWC in-house crews also be burning on Big Bend WMA during the contract period, and how will units be allocated between FWC crews and the Contractor so that the two programs do not compete for the same prescription days?

ANSWER #21

The awarded contractor will have their own priority burn list that big bend staff will not plan to burn.

QUESTION #22

May the Contractor add a Certified Prescribed Burn Manager to Attachment H after award, provided that person meets the requirements of Section 2.2, and may two Certified Prescribed Burn Managers employed by the Contractor lead burns concurrently on separate units?

ANSWER #22 YES

The Contractor may conduct two certified prescribed burns on one day, provided all other requirements are met, including equipment on site. Attachment H may be updated each contract year.

QUESTION #23

Under Attachment A, Section 11.N, is aerial ignition permitted under this contract, whether by helicopter or by unmanned aircraft plastic sphere dispenser, and if so what approval lead time should be planned?

ANSWER #23

Aerial ignition will not be permitted under this contract. Units must be lit using ground operations.

QUESTION #24

Is it reasonable for bidders to plan on burning 150 acres or more in a day, including multiple units when conditions allow? We are trying to estimate our per-acre costs for travel, fuel, lodging, mop-up, and monitoring.

FWC SOLICITATION ADDENDUM 8

ANSWER #24

Answered above, but a single Contractor burn will be approximately 100-250 acres for one day’s operation.

END ADDENDUM