NWWN99312300072 SOW for RFQ FINAL Jan 27 2023.pdf

MAINTENANCE SPECIFICATIONS FOR

LANDSCAPING SERVICES

National Weather Service Office 43858 Weather Service Road

Sterling, VA 20166

January 27, 2023

LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE SPECIFICATION

National Weather Service

Baltimore/Washington Weather Forecast Office 43858 Weather Service Rd., Sterling, VA 20166

NWWN99312300072

1. General Description

The project site consists of approximately 5 acres, parts of which are occupied by buildings, roads, walks, and other paved surfaces. The Contractor shall provide all labor, supervision, equipment, and materials for the general care and maintenance of the existing outdoor landscape items (trees, shrubs, turf grass, and planting beds) located at the National Weather Service Forecast Office (WFO), 43858 Weather Service Road, Sterling, VA 20166 depicted in Figure 1. Work includes mowing, edging, weeding, pruning, fertilizing, and repairing erosion damage. The Contractor shall furnish all required fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, perennials, shredded-bark mulch, grass seed, and any and all other materials necessary to perform the requirements of this specification. The contractor shall follow all EPA, State, and Local regulations pertaining to application of fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides.

The Contractor shall furnish all equipment to perform the work of this contract in a skillful, orderly, and professional manner. This includes, but is not limited to: mowers, edgers, weed trimmers, blowers, shears, wheelbarrows, trucks, hand tools, and other accessories as needed. Equipment shall be safe and well-maintained per OSHA.

Contractor shall submit all Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for any material used under this containing “dangerous or warning” label to WFO point-of-contact prior to application to the grounds upon sign-in to the facility.

The Contractor will be required to sign-into the facility for each service, before the start of services. At this time, the Contractor will coordinate with the on-site technical representative on what services they will provide that day. At this time, the Contractor will also supply the on-site technical representative with applicable MSDS documentation for any fertilizer, herbicide, pesticide, or fungicide that will be applied that day. The purpose of this coordination is to communicate what services will be done in order to facilitate payment to the Contractor, review and discuss any landscaping issues, and discuss upcoming landscape services to be executed under this specification.

All work will be accomplished during normal business hours between 7:00 AM and 5:00 PM local time, Monday through Friday. No work shall be accomplished on Federal Holidays.

The Contractor will leave the site in a neat and kept manner after every landscape service.

No debris from turf clippings, nor any residual fertilizer, insecticide, and pesticide will be left on any paved surface.

Figure 1. Area within red border are the landscaped grounds of 43858 Weather Service Road, Sterling, VA 20166. Border along the driveway to Weather Service Road is bounded 15 feet from the side of the driveway.

2. SCOPE OF WORK

A. MOWING, TRIMMING, and EDGING of TURF GRASS

1. General turf areas will be mowed with a rotary mower to a height of between

3.0 inches and 3.5 inches. A high quality cut shall be provided by mowers with sharp cutting edges.

2. Mulching of the cut grass is preferred; however, if mulching the grass would be detrimental to the turf area's appearance, removal of turf clippings is required.

3. Mowing shall be required on a 7-10 day cycle, weather permitting, from approximately late March through early November. During periods of extenuating weather conditions, mowing frequency will be scheduled as conditions permit.

4. Mowing area extends to the sodded turf perimeter surrounding the building, plus 15 feet from the driveway leading to Weather Service Road.

5. Trimming of the turf around trees, shrubs, and other obstacles shall be performed every mowing using trimmers as necessary.

6. Clippings, dirt, and debris from these mowing, edging, and trimming services will be removed from sidewalks, patios, parking lots, and other hard surfaces after each servicing.

7. Mechanically edge all accessible sidewalks and curbs every mowing during the growing season.

B. TURF GRASS MAINTENANCE PROGRAM

1. The turf grass maintenance program includes fertilization, weed control, pesticide control, disease and fungus control, aeration and over-seeding as indicated in the schedule depicted in Table 1.

2. Before the start of the growing season, obtain representative soil samples from the turf grass and submit to laboratory for analysis. Make recommendations to customer based upon test results.

3. Application of pelletized lime as indicated by soil tests to a maximum rate of 25 pounds per 1000 square feet.

4. Fertilizer will use nitrogen (N) sources that are ≥50% slowly available and/or water-insoluble N, according to the guaranteed analysis of the fertilizer label.

5. Herbicides shall be applied to weeds growing in cracks in paved areas as necessary.

C. MULCHING

1. Beds and tree saucers shall be re-mulched in early April with double-shredded black hardwood mulch to a total depth of 2-3 inches.

2. In October, mulched beds and tree saucers shall be top dressed with double-shredded black hardwood mulch for uniform color and appearance to overwinter.

D. PRUNING

1. Prune all ornamental shrubs to existing forms during the growing season up to a maximum height of 8 feet. All ornamental trees shall be pruned from ground level to improve form and remove deadwood. Tree suckers, excess shoot growth, and limbs impeding walkways or roadways shall be removed as needed.

2. Ground cover plantings, perennials and bulbs will be cut back as appropriate for species.

3. Flowering shrubs will be pruned as appropriate for species and flowering season.

The shrubbery pruning presented is a maintenance pruning to retain existing size and form removing only first and second year growth. Regenerative shrubbery pruning to include major thinning, removal of mature canes, and reduction in overall breadth of span.

E. ORNAMENTAL PROGRAM

Provide an ornamental tree, shrub and ground cover Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program consisting of monthly site inspections from April to November to detect and treat insect problems such as scale, mites, bagworms, lace bugs, and tent caterpillars. When necessary, prior to spring mulch, ornamental plants will receive surface applications of N-P-K (nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium) at recommended rates. Should other micronutrient deficiencies exist a proposal will be supplied to correct those deficiencies. Control of pests through natural and mechanical means will be stressed. This program covers only installed landscape materials with a maximum height limit of 15 feet unless otherwise specified.

TABLE 1. TURF GRASS MAINTENANCE PROGRAM SCHEDULE

TIMELINE FERTILIZATION WEED

CONTROL

PESTICIDE

CONTROL

DISEASE/

FUNGUS

CONTROL

AERATION & OVER-

SEEDING

April 1 Applied at a rate of

1.0 pound N/1000 square feet, greater than 50% slowly available.

Pre-emergent crab grass control.

As needed. As needed. None.

May 30 None. Broadleaf weed control to limit dandelions and other broadleaf weeds.

As needed. As needed. None.

July 30 None. As needed. Surface insect control, including but not limited to Japanese beetle and grub control.

Disease and fungus control, as needed.

None.

September 1 Applied at a rate of

1.0 pound N/1000 square feet, greater than 50% slowly available.

As needed. As needed. As needed. Core aerate all turf areas in September using mechanical landscape equipment designed for that purpose.

For those areas with bare and thin turf, slice aeration is also required.

Immediately after core and slice aerations, over-seed an improved turf type tall fescue blend seed, which is resistant to drought conditions.

October 1 Applied at a rate of

1.0 pound N/1000 square feet, greater than 50% slowly available.

As needed. As needed. As needed. None.

F. LEAF MANAGMENT

Leaves shall be removed from turf, mulched beds, and hard surface areas as needed. Where possible, leaves will be mulched and blown into existing natural areas for decomposition on site. Remaining leaves will be removed from the site.

Approximate time of removal will be between November 15 and December 15.

G. TICK CONTROL

Apply two times per year to the turf surrounding the office to control ticks, applications should be in May and October. Consideration should be given to synthetic pyrethroid insecticides.

H. SEASONAL ANNUAL FLOWERS PROGRAM

1. The overall objective of having seasonal annual flowers is to have year-long, healthy, and colorful flowers/bulbs/plants in the two (2) 15 feet x 5 feet flowerbeds at the front entrance to the building with four (4) seasonal plantings.

The annuals should be supportive of species for northern Virginia, supportive with no irrigation, and with the flowerbed exposure generally to full sun.

a. Early-Spring: Upon initial emergence of daffodils and tulips in early April, clean out flowerbeds of winter planting and lay fresh mulch around emerging/emergent daffodils and tulips.

b. Spring: After daffodils and tulips perish in late-April, plant in existing flowerbed locations spring flowers that have peak color from mid-April through mid-June.

c. Summer: Prior to spring plantings perish, plant in existing flowerbed locations summer flowers that have peak color from mid-June through early-September. The summer annuals should be resistant to drought and heat.

d. Autumn: Prior to summer plantings perish, plant in existing flowerbed locations autumn flowers that have peak color from early-September through early-November.

e. Winter: Prior to autumn plantings perish, plant in existing flowerbed locations winter flowers/plants with peak color from early-November through mid-March. Additionally, plant and fertilize 300 daffodil and tulip bulbs (150 daffodil/tulip bulbs/flowerbed) underneath the winter plantings for subsequent emergence in mid-March.

2. Included in all seasonal plantings: Flowerbed preparation, initial fertilization, planting, fresh mulch, and initial watering, with a minimum of 300 4-inch pot size plants planted (150 plants/flowerbed = 2 plants/square foot). Contractor will coordinate with the customer on specific flowers/bulbs/plant recommendation before each planting. The contractor will be proactive in scheduling the seasonal plantings and monitoring the flowerbeds for vitality.

3. The contractor will monitor and maintain all flower/plant beds and for required weeding and health of the annuals on a bi-weekly basis

I. FLOWER BED PREPARATION AND MAINTENANCE

1. Perform general spring clean up to turf and bed areas. Cut back appropriate perennials.

2. Beds will be edged and cleaned of all debris and weeds before mulching. Beds will be maintained to present a neat appearance throughout the season with the use of nonselective herbicides and regular hand weeding.

INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE OF WORK

Inspection of work performed under the contract will be accomplished jointly with the Contractor’s supervisor and the on-site technical representative once a month. The on-site technical representative and Contractor shall determine the specific date for inspection. Any corrective action required as a result of an inspection shall be accomplished prior to the monthly billing for that period. The on-site technical representative, may, at any time, request correction or improvement of maintenance practices if they are found to fall below the standards of the contract specifications. The Contractor will be notified of deficiencies in performance, in writing. Prompt corrective action shall be taken by the Contractor upon written notice of any deficiency.

QUALITY CONTROL

The contractor shall develop and maintain a Quality Control Plan (QCP) to ensure landscaping services are performed in accordance with commonly accepted commercial practices. The contractor shall develop and implement procedures to identify, prevent, and ensure non-recurrence of defective services. As a minimum the contractor shall develop quality control procedures addressing the areas identified in the Scope of Work.

The QCP must be kept current, reflecting the pertinent contract modifications. The Contractor shall review the plan with the Onsite Technical Points-of-Contacts to ensure complete understanding. A copy of the most current QCP must be kept on file at the worksite where the tasks are being accomplished.

All supplies and materials shall be of a type and quality that conforms to applicable Federal specifications and standards.

The preferred method of resolving deficiencies is to allow re-performance to correct the deficiencies. The Contractor shall be provided with the opportunity to correct substandard performance within one business day. When substandard performance is not corrected within the specified timeframe or the Contractor refuses to re-perform the service, the unsatisfactory service is logged as a deficiency. Deductions for deficiencies shall be calculated as 1/30th of unit price for each day that the Contractor fails to correct.

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

Base Year: April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024 Option Year 1: April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025 Option Year 2: April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026 Option Year 3: April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027 Option Year 4: April 1, 2027 to March 31, 2028

ONSITE TECHNICAL POINTS-OF-CONTACT

NOAA/National Weather Service Baltimore/Washington Weather Forecast Office 43858 Weather Service Road Sterling, VA 20166

Primary:

PROVIDED UPON AWARD

Backup:

PROVIDED UPON AWARD