SOW - Nansemond River Mulching Updated_Addendum3.pdf

Quick Quote: Forestry Mulching Project

Scope of Work

Summary:

The Virginia Department of Forestry is looking for a contractor who has work experience and knowledge in tree removal and mechanical forestry mulching to clear brush, invasives and 110 marked dead/hazardous trees on an 11.96-acre tract for the purpose of opening an existing trail on property in northern Suffolk along the Nansemond River.

Work Description and Requirements:

The work consists of removing 110 marked dead trees and mechanically forestry mulching and/or grinding/chipping all brush associated with removals along with any stumps, previously cut and downed trees, and any non-tree understory vegetation of an 11.96-acre hardwood forest. There are approximately 220 unmarked dead trees that were previously cut and downed within the work area that must be removed and disposed of or processed onsite. DOF staff will be onsite while the work is being performed, to ensure that there is no unauthorized access to the Resource Protection Area. (RPA) The work may be performed Monday – Friday, 8:00am –

5:00pm, unless the Department approves different days and hours of operation. The perimeter of the work area is designated by the map, but the contractor shall not, under any circumstance, enter the resource protection area flagged with green tape. Bidders must have at least three (3) years’ experience successfully fulfilling tree mulching contracts, as evidenced by the references indicated on the Vendor Data Sheet. (Attachment A)

*Visitation of the site is mandatory prior to submitting a bid.

Contact Thomas Baumann: thomas.baumann@dof.virginia.gov or (434) 962-9631 to schedule.

1. All marked trees with pink flagging tape should be safety downed and mulched within the work area.

2. ALL mature unmarked trees are to remain undamaged and intact.

3. For this contract, a mature tree will be considered any tree equal to or greater than 8 inches in diameter at breast height and not marked by flagging tape.

4. The contractor will provide all equipment, labor, and supplies necessary to carry out the terms of the contract.

5. The contractor must be properly licensed and insured and must maintain the insurance amounts specified in the General Terms and Conditions for the duration of the contract. (Paragraph “T”)

6. Personnel performing the work must be knowledgeable in tree identification.

7. All mature trees are to remain untouched and must be protected from any damage from machinery or otherwise.

8. Machinery used shall be of appropriate size to work around remaining trees without contacting them and causing damage.

9. Bidders must specify the make and model of each piece of equipment that they intend to use if awarded this Contract.

10. Designated trees over 6-8 inches that cannot be mulched along the trail and forest edge shall be chipped onsite or removed offsite and disposed of in a legal manner prior to mulching operations starting. Bidders wishing to process the designated trees over 6-8 inches onsite shall specify the intended method of processing within their bid. DOF reserves the right to reject any method that, in its sole opinion, will result in unsatisfactory completion of the mulching portion of the Contract.

11. All chipped material shall be evenly spread across the site to account for future pedestrian traffic along the trail. All material shall be ground to a 6” diameter or less in order to achieve an aesthetically pleasing end result.

12. Tree felling and mulching within the parcel will only occur along the designated trail and forest edge area adjacent to the turf parcel. Mulching along the forest edge will be completed within site line of the adjacent turf parcel and 10ft along each side of the trail while staying out of the RPA marked with green flagging.

13. DOF staff must be on site for the duration of the project and may stop work at any point of time if unsatisfactory.

14. Equipment may be staged adjacent to the parcel, but any rutting or damage shall be repaired and seeded prior to signing off on payment. A staging area for equipment is clearly identified during mandatory site visit. The contractor is responsible for mitigating any damage to the staging area including but not limited to reseeding grass and smoothing ruts. Contractor inability to repair damage to DOF satisfaction, will result in a fine in the amount of the total cost to contract the repairs through a third party.

15. Equipment must not be parked underneath existing mature trees.

16. Access to the parcel may only be done via the trail entrances.

17. Radios should be available for the machine operators and VDOF staff on site. If the contractor does not have radios, DOF will provide radios for all parties to utilize.

Please specify in your narrative whether you request radios or not. Due to the complexity of the site, the contractor will be expected to be in clear communication with the DOF forester on site when working near the RPA to ensure that machinery does not enter the RPA. The Contractor will be billed the replacement cost for each piece of DOF supplied equipment that is not returned in good working condition. Good working condition shall be defined as free of any damage that reduces functionality.

18. Contingency – To account for the lack of sightlines throughout the site, the Contract amount may be increased up to 10% to account for the removal of unforeseen debris along the trail if uncovered while work is in process. This price increase must be approved by DOF after viewing the additional debris prior to any additional work taking place. The additional contract amount shall be contingent on the actual debris uncovered and must be agreed upon by both parties.

19. If damage occurs, Contractors must stop and communicate that damage to the DOF staff onsite immediately.

20. Fines will be imposed for unauthorized access to the Resource Protection Area (RPA) that results in any damage.

21. All material and understory vegetation shall be mulched to ground level as close to the mature trees as practical without damaging the residual trees.

22. The mulching machine must mulch as close to ground level as possible without disturbing the soil to prevent root damage to the remaining mature trees.

23. All mulched material shall be left scattered evenly across the ground and not piled.

24. All material shall be mulched completely and ground to a 6” diameter or less.

25. Work shall be suspended during wet soil conditions to prevent any rutting to the work area.

26. Access of equipment shall be done using existing trail network in the parcel.

27. If, upon inspection by the Forest Manager or other DOF representative, damage to residual mature trees is found or mulching results are unsatisfactory; work will be stopped and will not restart until corrective measures are taken to satisfactorily perform the work.

28. At the conclusion of the work, the Contractor shall demonstrate to the Urban Forest Manager and / or other delegated DOF representatives that the work is in compliance with the requirements outlined herein. Any deficiencies shall be promptly and permanently corrected by the contractor at the contractor’s sole expense prior to final acceptance of the work.

29. Prior to starting work, the Contractor must check in with the Site Contact and Urban Forest Manager. Lara Johnson is the Urban Forest Manager at 804-239-0813 and she will arrange an initial meeting at the site with the Site Contact to go over expectations of work to be performed for this contract.

30. Contractor must give Site Contact and Urban Forest Manager two full weeks’ notice prior to beginning work. The work may be performed from 8:00am until 5:00pm Monday – Friday and must be completed prior to April 10, 2025.

31. The contractor shall comply with the Virginia Water Quality & BMP standards listed in “Virginia’s Forestry Best Management Practices for Water Quality, Fifth Edition” and take sufficient precautions to prevent pollution of lakes and streams by fuels, oils, and other harmful materials. All streams and SMZ’s must be kept free of all contractor generated debris. Contractor must not enter the RPA marked by green flagging for any reason.

32. Due to high water retention in the soil, no use of machinery will occur during inclement weather or immediately following rainfall totals greater than 1-inch in a 24-hour period.

Resuming work involving machinery will only occur after inspection of the site by the contractor, the Site Contact, and a member of DOF staff.

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Inspection:

Inspection of work performed under this contract will be made by the Department to ensure compliance with the contract specifications. At a minimum, the contractor will be required to contact the Department prior to starting work and when the work is complete to facilitate prompt and timely inspections and the efficient operation of the contractor and their crew. If work is suspended longer than two days, the contractor must contact the Department prior to resuming mulching operations.

Before final acceptance, all trash or rubbish generated by the contractor's operation will be removed from work area.

Contractor or Contractor’s Operations shall not allow:

a).The unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensing, possession or use of alcohol or other drugs; and b). Any impairment or incapacitation from the use of alcohol or other drugs

(except the use of drugs for legitimate medical purposes).

Bid Submission Instructions:

1. Visit the site and submit a per acre bid price on the pricing grid included within the solicitation along with a completed Vendor Data Sheet (Attachment A).

2. Specify the make and model of all equipment to be used in this project.

3. Specify the intended method of processing trees greater than 6-8 inches (onsite).

4. Specify whether you are requesting DOF provided radios.

5. *Bids must be submitted through eVA. Emailed, mailed and hand delivered bids will not be considered.

*Instructions for electronic bid submission are linked here.

Any questions pertaining to this solicitation should be sent to thomas.baumann@dof.virginia.gov.

Quotes accepted until no later than December 6, 2024, at 2:00 PM.

If contract is awarded the work shall be completed before April 10, 2025 https://dgs.virginia.gov/globalassets/business-units/dps/documents/vbo/how-to-respond-to-qq.pdf mailto:thomas.baumann@dof.virginia.gov