Tree Maintenance and Removal Services.pdf

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Event # 12504

Tree Maintenance and Removal Services

For the

Planning Department

SECTION 1: OVERVIEW

1. Request for Proposals ("RFP" or "Event"): The City of Greensboro ("City") hereby solicits and invites proposals from qualified Companies and Businesses ("Contractor"), with proven experience and expertise, to submit a response to the requirements outlined in this RFP and to provide Tree Maintenance and Removal services for the City of

Greensboro's Planning Department. The intent of this proposal is to receive a firm price for the services that shall be performed in a manner consistent with established specifications outlined in this RFP.

2. Period and Terms of Contractual Agreement: The selected Contractor(s) will enter into a service agreement with the City to cover the proposed scope of work outlined in Section 2 of this RFP. Services shall begin approximately on

February 1, 2027, through March 28, 2028

3. Selection Process: After the close of this RFP, Contractor proposals will be reviewed and evaluated for responsible and responsive submissions, and that all proposals have the required documents as outlined in the RFP (if required).

Award will be made based on best value, using the Award Matrix on page 10 of this RFP.

A Contractor that wishes to be considered for selection shall submit a complete, concise and comprehensible proposal in the form and manner required by this RFP. All proposals, inquiries, or correspondence relating to this RFP, and all reports, displays, schedules, attachments, exhibits, and other documentation submitted by any Contractor will become the property of the City upon receipt. All proposals received are subject to North Carolina Public Records laws, as outlined in Chapter 132 of the North Carolina General Statutes, along with the Public Records Confidentiality Clause in this RFP, which governs access to such documents. Any statements or endorsements that contradict these laws and clauses will be disregarded. All proprietary information shared with the City will be subject to the provisions of

Chapter 132 of the North Carolina General Statutes and the Public Records Confidentiality Clause.

4. Minimum Requirements: Contractors must meet the minimum specifications and requirements contained in the

RFP. Contractors are required to acknowledge all exceptions to the minimum specifications, terms, and conditions in their proposals. Failure to do so may result in the response being deemed nonresponsive.

5. Awarded Contractor Responsibilities:

The Contractor must be able to provide the City with a certificate of insurance with the endorsements naming the City as additionally insured, per the insurance requirements provided in the solicitation Terms and

Conditions of this event. Insurance certificates must be provided seven (7) days after the notification of intent to award.

Acknowledge and agree to provide, at Contractor's own expense, a comprehensive and up-to-date background check for each employee assigned to work on City park land. Documentation is to be provided to the City within ten (10) days of contract award.

Actively registered and in good standing with the NC Secretary of State

Have and maintain an 'Active" registration with SAM.gov

6. RFP Questions: Questions regarding this event may be submitted through the Greensboro eProcurement System

("GePS"). Answers will be posted in GePS within 2 days of the close of the Question and Answer Period; see Item 11:

Submission and Response Schedule.

For the duration of this bid process, all correspondence regarding this RFP must be directed to Procurement Services. If it is determined that a Contractor fails to comply to this requirement and initiates correspondence with any other City staff, local elected officials, or representative about this bid process, they may be subject to disqualification.

7. Rights of the City -- Proposals and Additional Documentation: As a result of this RFP, the City reserves the right to accept or reject any and all proposals received in whole or in part, to waive minor technicalities, or to negotiate with all responsive and responsible Contractors. The City also reserves the right to request financial documentation such as independently audited financial statements, most recent tax returns, or profit loss statements before awarding this contract.

8. Rights of the City -- Multiple Awards: The City reserves the right to award contract(s) in whole or in part, whichever is in the City's best interest as it determines in its sole discretion. The City reserves the right to award multiple contracts.

9. Terms and Conditions: Contractor will abide by all the Terms and Conditions posted in the event. It is the

Contractor's responsibility to read the Terms and Conditions as they are incorporated into the final contract. Within the

Terms and Conditions, you will find insurance requirements and reference to the North Carolina State Statutes regarding confidentiality requirements.

10. Due Date: Submittals in response to this RFP must be submitted to the City's Procurement Services Division via

GePS no later than November 10, 2026, by 2:00 PM EST as determined by the City's computer server. Although the

City tries to maintain continuous access to the GePS website, service may be interrupted. Therefore, suppliers are encouraged to submit proposals 24 hours prior to the event closing

11. Submission and Response Schedule

Milestone Date

RFP Issuance October 21, 2026

Non-Mandatory Pre-bid meeting- Microsoft Teams Wednesday October 28, 2026 @ 9:00am

Questions and Answer Period Closes Tuesday November 3, 2026 @ 2:00pm

Bid Due By (Submission Period Ends) Tuesday November 10, 2026 @ 2:00pm

Anticipated Intent to Award Notification November 23, 2026

Anticipated Contract Executed Date January 25, 2027

Anticipated Start Date* February 1, 2027

*Some items may require Council Approval

Pre-Bid Meeting

A Non-Mandatory Virtual Pre-meeting for the purpose of reviewing the RFP and answering questions regarding the

Services will be held via Microsoft Teams @ 9:00am on Tuesday October 28, 2026. No onsite meeting will be held and Contractor(s) should not come to the City expecting to attend in person. While attendance at the Pre-Proposal

Conference is not mandatory, all interested Contractor(s) are highly encouraged to participate. The Microsoft Teams

Meeting link, ID, and passcode is provided under the Event attachment tab.

12. Submittal Requirements: Contractors submitting a proposal must meet the minimum requirements outlined in

Section 2: Scope of Work, Section 4: Submittal Materials, and submit the following information with their response:

Minimum qualifications per Section 2, Section 8.0 (Qualifications), including five (5) years of experience completing tree work.

Answer all questions on the Event.

Please note that this purchase will be funded through a Federal grant. Please review Federal funding requirements as they apply to this purchase under our Terms tab as well as Attachment 2 under the

Attachment tab.

Please review Affidavit Attachments A-F under the Attachment tab that are required with this solicitation to be compliant with Federal grant funding.

Attachment A; Acknowledgment of Addenda must be completed and signed.

Attachment B; Non-Collusion Affidavit must be completed, signed, and notarized.

Attachment C Lobby Certification must be completed, signed, and notarized.

Attachment D Debarment Certification must be completed, signed, and notarized.

Attachment E Buy America Compliance Certification must be completed, signed, and notarized

OR

Attachment F Buy America Non-Compliance Certification must be completed, signed, and notarized.

Complete, sign, and notarize all affidavits, these affidavits must be submitted with your bid. Failure to submit the required affidavit, your bid shall be considered non-responsive.

13. Contractor will bear all costs associated with the preparation of the bid response.

14. Any proposals may be withdrawn or modified prior to the RFP Submission Period End date and time stated in the

Submission and Response Schedule.

15. Small Business Enterprises: The City of Greensboro established a Small Business Enterprise Program

(SBE) to provide small businesses with the opportunity to participate as prime contractors by establishing a unique marketplace where small businesses compete against other small businesses instead of larger, more established companies.

The SBE program is a sheltered market for small businesses. This allows smaller companies to participate in contracting and procurement events in areas of construction and repair, commodities and services. The program is non-specific to race or gender. It benefits all eligible small businesses principally located within Guilford, Randolph, and

Rockingham counties. To qualify as small business, a company must certify with the City's Office of Business

Opportunity. For questions about the City's SBE Program, or to register to be a certified SBE, please contact the Office of Business Opportunity at (336) 373-2674 or visit https://www.greensboro-nc.gov/business/office-of-business-opportunity/small-business-enterprise-sbe.

SBE Policy Statement

It is the policy of the City of Greensboro to ensure that all businesses, including SBEs, are afforded the maximum practical opportunity to participate in the City's purchasing and contracting processes. Therefore, the City will not enter into a contract or be engaged in a business relationship with any business entity that has discriminated in the solicitation, selection, hiring, or commercial treatment of vendors, suppliers, subcontractors, or commercial customers on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age or on the basis of handicap or any otherwise unlawful use of characteristics regarding the vendor's, supplier's or commercial customer's employees or owners; provided that nothing in this policy shall be construed to prohibit or limit otherwise lawful efforts to remedy the effects of discrimination that have occurred or are occurring.

https://www.greensboro-nc.gov/business/office-of-business-https://www.greensboro-nc.gov/business/office-of-business-

SECTION 2: SCOPE OF SERVICES

Scope of Services: Tree Maintenance and Removal Services

Grant 26-1 TMP09, City of Greensboro High Need Area Tree Maintenance & Planting Project

1.0 Description

This project is funded in part through the NC Forest Service (NCFS) Urban and Community Forestry (U&CF)

Financial Assistance Program under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), grant reference 26-1 TMP09. This project has three phases: Tree Canopy Study (inventory), Tree Maintenance, and Tree Planting. This RFP addresses the Tree

Maintenance phase. All work shall comply with applicable City contract requirements and federal grant conditions under the Inflation Reduction Act. The City will be granted unrestricted use and sharing of all resulting data and reports, including geodatabase updates and Tree Maintenance Inspection Reports, for public use and for delivery to

NCFS.

NCFS review. This document serves as the Contract Tree Maintenance Specifications for the grant and as the specifications for the Tree Maintenance Plan development services described in Section 7.0, procured under this single solicitation. The specifications in this document follow the NCFS Urban & Community Forestry Best Management

Practices Specifications (Ver. 5/26). The Tree Maintenance Plan, Tree Maintenance Contract, and Tree Maintenance

Inspection Reports are submitted to NCFS for confirmation. Where this document and the grant contract conflict, the grant contract controls.

The work under this contract consists of tree pruning, tree and stump removal, and related site cleanup identified through the City's tree inventory and Tree Maintenance Plan (26-1 TMP09). This is a single solicitation and the City anticipates award to multiple contractors. Contractor pricing is fixed at the per-tree, per-DBH-range unit rates submitted in each awarded Contractor's Price Schedule (see Section 10.0); no separate price negotiation occurs at the work-order stage. The City reserves the right to assign a given work order to any awarded Contractor at its discretion, based on tree complexity, equipment requirements, contractor availability, and other factors the City determines relevant. Work under this contract is limited to trees located within the grant's NCFS U&CF IRA project area and identified through the tree inventory and Tree Maintenance Plan.

Proposers may bid on Pruning, Removal, Stump Grinding, or any combination of these service lines, and shall identify in their proposal which service(s) they intend to provide. Qualification requirements below apply uniformly to all service lines; the City does not operate a reduced-qualification tier for removals or stump grinding.

A work list will be issued to each awarded Contractor, drawn from the City's Tree Maintenance Plan and inventory findings. The City determines the trees, location, and scope assigned to each work order. Routine work order assignment may be zone-based.

1.1 Emergency and Priority Response Track

Standard. Genuine Priority 1 hazards, trees presenting an immediate, unpredictable risk to the public, whether identified through TRAQ assessment, routine inventory findings, or a City-received report of concern, are dispatched through this track rather than the routine work order process described above, regardless of geographic zone or scheduled work order sequencing. This track supplements the City's existing response crews.

Response window: Proposers shall state the maximum time, in hours, within which a crew will be on site following notification by the City. The City's target response time is two (2) hours; proposed response times shall not exceed six (6) hours. The response time proposed will be evaluated as part of the proposal and, upon award, becomes a contractual performance requirement.

Billing: Emergency/priority response work is billed at an hourly crew rate (inclusive of personnel and equipment as a single dispatched unit, not billed per individual employee) specified in the Price Schedule for

Storm/Emergency Response, distinct from the per-tree unit pricing applied to routine work orders. A minimum billing guarantee of four (4) hours applies per emergency call-out.

Scope: This track applies to confirmed or suspected Priority 1 conditions only. Reports that do not meet this threshold upon City review are routed to the routine work order process at the applicable priority tier.

Multi-award coordination: Where multiple Contractors are awarded, the City may dispatch an emergency/priority response request to any awarded Contractor with current availability, independent of that

Contractor's assigned routine work zone.

Geographic limit: This track applies only to trees within the grant's NCFS U&CF IRA project area. Priority 1 conditions outside the project area are not eligible for dispatch under this contract.

1.2 Reporting and Database Updates

The Contractor shall maintain the City's tree inventory geodatabase as work is completed, in addition to the reporting schedule below.

Weekly status reports: A brief written summary of work orders completed during the week, work in progress, and any issues affecting schedule.

Direct geodatabase updates: The Contractor shall update the applicable record for each tree directly in the

City's tree inventory geodatabase as work is completed, including work type performed, completion date, method used, and any newly observed condition. Updates may be submitted to the City in batches, no less frequently than monthly. The Contractor is expected to be working from the dataset produced under the tree inventory phase of this project.

Monthly reports and billing: The Contractor shall submit invoices no less than monthly. Each invoice shall be accompanied by a brief progress report describing work completed during the billing period, including the list of trees maintained, their locations, and the maintenance performed, cumulative trees serviced to date, the number of trees pruned and removed, geodatabase update status, and any issues affecting the project schedule.

2.0 Definitions

City: The City of Greensboro, acting through the City Arborist or designated representative.

Contractor: An individual, firm, or corporation awarded a contract under this RFP, acting directly or through its agents or employees. "Contractor(s)" reflects that multiple firms may be awarded.

DBH: Diameter at breast height, measured 4.5 feet above grade.

Pruning: The removal of dead, dying, diseased, or live interfering, objectionable, or weak branches in accordance with ANSI A300 standards.

Removal: The process of felling, dismantling, or otherwise taking down a tree and removing it and its debris from the site.

TRAQ: Tree Risk Assessment Qualification, an ISA credential for evaluating tree risk.

Work Order: An assignment issued by the City to a specific awarded Contractor identifying trees, location, and scope of work.

3.0 General Conditions

A. Damages. The Contractor is responsible for all damages resulting directly or indirectly from pruning, removal, stump grinding, or related activities under this contract.

B. Maintenance and protection of traffic. The Contractor shall protect the public from damage to person or property resulting from work activities. Street or sidewalk closures must be preapproved by the City. Work zones shall be delineated with cones, barricades, or signage as appropriate. Two-way vehicular and pedestrian traffic shall be maintained at all times unless a closure has been approved. No work is permitted within posted school zones during arrival and departure times.

C. Disposal of debris. The Contractor is responsible for removal and disposal of all wood, limbs, brush, and stump grindings generated by work activities. Debris shall not be allowed to accumulate on site in a manner that creates a hazard, and shall not remain on site overnight or over a weekend without City authorization. The Contractor shall remove and dispose of all logs, brush, and debris at no extra cost to the City unless directed otherwise by the City.

D. Site restoration. Lawn or ground surface damage caused by work activities shall be restored with topsoil and grass seed, or as otherwise specified, to the satisfaction of the City.

E. Supervision. Work performed under this contract is under the direct supervision of the City. The Contractor shall provide qualified supervision of each crew at all times, authorized to accept and act upon City directives. Each pruning crew shall be supervised on site by an ISA Certified Arborist or ISA Board Certified Master Arborist.

F. Inspection and acceptance. The City Arborist or designee shall inspect completed work orders. Inspection findings, including the list of trees maintained or removed, location, and work performed, satisfy the grant's Tree Maintenance

Inspection Report deliverable and are the basis for invoice acceptance.

G. Nonperformance and payment. Work not meeting City standards as specified in this contract is subject to non-payment and/or contract dismissal at the City's discretion. Payment for each work order is contingent on City inspection and approval of the associated work. This contract does not provide for retainage.

H. Labor standards. This contract is subject to the federal funding requirements set forth in Attachment 2 (Federal

Funding Requirements), incorporated herein by reference. Applicability of the Contract Work Hours and Safety

Standards Act (CWHSSA) overtime provisions to specific field personnel is determined by the Contractor based on the classification of the work performed by each crew member. The Contractor is responsible for correctly classifying its personnel and complying with CWHSSA where applicable.

I. Underground utility location. Prior to any stump grinding or other subsurface work, the Contractor shall contact

North Carolina 811 and obtain utility locates in accordance with N.C.G.S. Chapter 87, Article 8 (the Underground

Utility Safety and Damage Prevention Act). The Contractor shall observe all marked facilities, maintain the required tolerance zone, and hand-dig or use non-mechanical means where work is required within the tolerance zone of a marked facility. The Contractor is responsible for damage to underground facilities resulting from failure to obtain or observe locates.

J. Insurance. The Contractor shall maintain insurance coverage as specified in the insurance requirements provided in the solicitation Terms and Conditions for this event, consistent with the requirements applied under the City's tree inventory contract for this grant.

Additional insured: The Contractor shall endorse the City of Greensboro as an Additional Insured, per the insurance requirements in the solicitation Terms and Conditions.

Certificate of insurance: The Contractor shall provide the City a certificate of insurance with the required endorsements. Certificates shall be provided within seven (7) days of the Notice of Intent to Award. Failure to provide complete and compliant certificates and endorsements within this period may result in the City rescinding the Notice of Intent to Award to that Contractor and proceeding to the next qualified Contractor, at the City's discretion.

Ongoing compliance: Failure to obtain or maintain the required insurance policies and endorsements, or failure to provide proof of insurance as required, constitutes grounds for termination of the contract for default, consistent with Attachment 2 (Federal Funding Requirements).

Background checks: The Contractor shall provide, at its own expense, a comprehensive and up-to-date background check for each employee assigned to work on City park land. Documentation shall be provided to the City within ten (10) days of contract award.

The City will reiterate these requirements at the pre-bid meeting for this solicitation. (Active NC Secretary of

State registration is required per Section 1, Awarded Contractor Responsibilities.)

K. Protection of neighboring trees. The Contractor shall protect trees and other plants not designated for work, including their roots, trunks, and crowns, from damage by equipment, materials, and work operations, in accordance with ANSI A300 Part 5, Management of Trees and Shrubs During Site Planning, Site Development, and Construction.

Damage to such trees is subject to Section 3.A.

L. Advance resident notification. The City will notify residents in advance of scheduled work through its grant

Outreach Program. The Contractor shall provide the City its planned work dates for each work order as requested by the City, and is not required to distribute notices to residents unless directed in writing by the City.

4.0 Tree Pruning Specifications

Standard. All pruning shall be completed by qualified tree workers and, at a minimum, supervised by an ISA Certified

Arborist or ISA Board Certified Master Arborist, and qualified in accordance with current federal, state and local laws.

The work shall be completed in accordance with the most current editions of:

ANSI A300, Tree, Shrub and Other Woody Plant Maintenance -- Standard Practices

ANSI Z133.1, Pruning, Trimming, Repairing, Maintaining, and Removing Trees and Cutting Brush -- Safety

Requirements

ISA's Pruning Best Management Practices

NCFS Urban & Community Forestry Best Management Practices Specifications, Tree Maintenance (Ver.

5/26)

NCFS ABCs of Young and Small Tree Pruning

Specifications

No more than 25% or one-fourth (1/4) of the live crown shall be removed unless limbs present a hazard.

All cuts shall be made with sharp pruning tools as close as possible to the trunk or parent limb, without cutting into the branch collar or leaving a protruding stub.

All branches too large to support by one hand shall be precut to avoid splitting or ripping of the bark. When necessary, ropes or other equipment shall be used to lower large branches or stubs to the ground.

The use of climbing spurs or hooks is prohibited.

Reduction cut pruning should be avoided. Removing the entire limb is preferable. Where reduction cut pruning may be considered, the whole limb or leader shall be removed to the parent leader or limb unless the ratio of live wood to leaf area of the limb or leader is sufficient to support that limb or leader. If more than one-fourth of the leaf surface area of the limb or leader needs to be removed, remove the whole limb.

When removing a parent leader or limb to a lateral (reduction cut), the lateral shall be at least one-third (1/3) the diameter of the parent leader or limb being removed.

Priorities for pruning. The following priorities shall be followed to assist in the decision-making process for limb removal: risk mitigation, clearance, restoration, structural.

Clearance. Clearance is specified in two diameter ranges, and these are guidelines. Crown raising shall be completed to provide adequate clearance based on the site conditions and location of the tree. Limb removal decisions should be based on the goal of reaching clearance standards through whole limb removal and the health of the tree. Generally, lateral branches should not be removed below one-third of the total height of the tree. Trees 6 to 12 inches DBH: limbs shall be removed to provide 5 feet of clearance over and from the side of permanent structures, and from the lower one-third of the tree to provide under-canopy clearance. Trees 13 inches DBH or greater: limbs shall be removed to provide 10 feet of clearance over and from the side of permanent structures, an overhead clearance of 15 feet over the street, and an overhead clearance of 10 feet over the sidewalk and under the canopy.

Trees on private property with limbs overhanging the right-of-way, obstructing traffic control devices, or failing to meet clearance standards shall be pruned to the minimum extent necessary to correct the condition.

Contractor shall notify the City Arborist or designee in writing of any tree with a major defect discovered during pruning that may present a public hazard.

The work order will identify the pruning type for each tree: safety prune, crown reduction prune, or structural prune, as defined below.

Safety prune

Objective: remove hazardous branches, prune storm damage, provide adequate clearance from permanent structures, and elevate for under-canopy clearance.

Risk mitigation, hazardous limbs to be removed: broken limbs lodged in the tree; broken hanging limbs in the tree; dead or split branches 1 inch or greater in diameter; and decaying branches with less than 33% sound wood, 1 inch or greater in diameter.

Restoration, storm damaged branches to be removed: broken lateral branches and leaders, living or dead, 1 inch or greater in diameter. Waterspouts: where removing an entire lateral or leader with sprouts may not be desirable, leave one to three sprouts; more vigorous sprouts should be thinned or headed to control length growth or ensure adequate attachment for the size of the sprout.

Clearance: clearances over the right-of-way and from buildings, traffic control devices, signs, and streetlights, per the clearance guidelines above.

Crown reduction prune

Objective: reduce the structural stresses on limbs or leaders with decay present, or codominant stems with included bark, by reducing the length or height of limbs or leaders.

Where specified, or if defects are revealed while pruning the tree, reduce the height or length of limbs or leaders by one-third using proper reduction pruning techniques as specified above.

Perform a safety prune as specified.

Structural prune

Objective: promote a single central leader, strong scaffold branch structure, and suitable permanent branch selection for clearance requirements at maturity on young and semi-mature trees.

Remove broken, dead, diseased, or dying branches.

Trunk development, one central leader: for species that do not form a single central leader, skip this step.

Branches forming multiple leaders in a single-leader type tree shall be removed. Leave the most dominant leader or select one. If a competing leader cannot be removed, subordinate it with a reduction or heading cut to reduce the height of the less dominant leader.

Clearance: at least one-half of the foliage should originate on branches in the lower two-thirds of the tree.

Remove branches that are below the height of the tree that will maintain this proportion.

Permanent branches (branches attached to the trunk that will remain on the tree throughout its lifetime): the lowest branches should be selected on each side of the tree to meet clearance standards. Permanent scaffold branches should be spaced 6 to 12 inches apart by thinning for the first five years, then 18 inches apart thereafter; branches directly above should be spaced 15 to 36 inches apart for small-to-medium-sized trees and

60 inches for large trees. A permanent branch should be less than one-half the diameter of the parent limb.

Remove branches to meet this desired spacing, or if this would require removing too much leaf area, prune them as temporary branches.

Temporary branches (branches that will be left at this pruning but will eventually be pruned in later pruning):

head or reduce these branches to suppress their growth and allow the permanent branches to develop.

5.0 Tree Removal Specifications

Standard. Removal work shall be completed by qualified personnel in accordance with all federal, state and local regulations and the most current edition of ANSI Z133.1.

Specifications

Trees or limbs being removed that are large enough to cause hardscape, structural, or property damage on impact shall be lowered using roping and rigging techniques, including crane-assisted rigging where the

Contractor's qualified personnel determine it is necessary based on field conditions, in accordance with the equipment-determination approach submitted under Section 8.0. Tree stumps shall be flush cut as close as possible to the existing tree lawn grade.

The area shall be raked clean of debris and restored per Section 3.D.

Contractor shall notify the City Arborist or designee in writing of any tree with a major defect discovered during removal that may present a public hazard.

Management priority classifications (removal and safety pruning)

Each tree recommended for removal or safety pruning is assigned a management priority based on the targets present, occupancy rates, and consequences of failure, and a numeric work priority (highest to lowest) used to sequence work;

the City will provide the work priority definitions in each work order. Management priorities are assigned consistent with the terminology used in the City's tree inventory:

Highest: Dead or structurally compromised trees presenting an immediate, unpredictable hazard to the public.

Remove as soon as possible.

Medium: Dead or defective trees posing a diminished hazard due to size or location relative to Highest priority trees. Remove after Highest priority work is complete.

Lowest: Small, dead, or poorly formed trees, or healthy invasive species, posing no immediate hazard.

Remove after Highest and Medium priority work is complete.

The same priority terms apply to trees recommended for safety pruning, with work completed in the corresponding order.

6.0 Stump Grinding (Site Cleanup)

Standard. Stump grinding shall be completed by qualified personnel in accordance with all federal, state and local regulations and the most current edition of ANSI Z133.1.

Stump grinding under this contract is scoped to post-removal site cleanup, not site preparation for planting. Where a tree removed under this contract leaves a stump, the Contractor shall:

Grind the stump to a minimum depth of 12 inches below normal grade level, or to a 6-inch depth within two

(2) feet of an identified underground utility. All adjoining surface roots shall be ground to a depth of 12 inches or chopped out with an axe. Adjacent to a sidewalk, roots shall be removed to the edge of the sidewalk without damaging the sidewalk.

Place all grindings back in the stump hole if site restoration is not completed at the same time as the grinding.

Obtain utility locates per Section 3.I before grinding.

Restore the site per Section 3.D, with backfill graded level with the surrounding grade.

Complete stump grinding and restoration within twelve (12) calendar days after the tree removal, and maintain a tracking log of removal, stump grinding, and restoration dates, submitted weekly with the status report required under Section 1.2.

Where a planting site is later identified at a stump location, the planting-phase contract may separately specify site preparation requirements. This section governs cleanup at time of removal only.

7.0 Tree Maintenance Plan and Final Report

Tree Maintenance Plan. Each awarded Contractor shall develop a Tree Maintenance Plan for the service lines and work assigned to it. The City will combine the Contractors' plans into a single Tree Maintenance Plan, the grant's practice plan for tree maintenance. The City will provide each Contractor the Tree Inventory Report and the current tree inventory geodatabase prior to Tree Maintenance Plan development. Using the findings of the tree inventory, the

Contractor's Plan shall detail the strategies that guide and direct the completion of work, including the numbers of trees to be maintained and removed given the budget allocated for these activities, and shall describe how the Contractor will work within, and respond to, the priority list and site data provided by the City. The Plan may be submitted in phases corresponding to the City's delivery of inventory data batches. A digital draft Plan is due twenty-one (21) calendar days after Notice to Proceed. The City will provide comments within fourteen (14) calendar days of receipt, and the

Contractor shall submit the final Plan within fourteen (14) calendar days of receiving comments. The City Arborist or designee approves each Plan in writing, and work orders will be issued consistent with the approved Plan. The City will provide the combined Plan to NCFS.

Final Report. Within thirty (30) calendar days after completion of field work, the Contractor shall submit a Final

Report summarizing trees pruned and removed by DBH range, stumps ground, variance from the approved Tree

Maintenance Plan, emergency response performance against the response time proposed under Section 1.1, geodatabase reconciliation, and any unresolved field conditions.

8.0 Qualifications

Minimum qualifications (gate). In accordance with the NCFS Urban & Community Forestry Best Management

Practices, the Contractor must meet all legal and insurance requirements to work in North Carolina and complete tree work, and must meet all of the following. Each firm and subcontractor must meet these requirements for the work it performs:

Five (5) years of experience completing tree work.

Either a Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA) accredited company, or ownership and supervisors who are

ISA Certified Arborists or ISA Board Certified Master Arborists.

Tree workers performing the tree work are ISA Certified Arborists, tree climbers or aerial lift specialists, or

TCIA certified workers.

Each pruning crew supervised on site by an ISA Certified Arborist or ISA Board Certified Master Arborist

(Sections 3.E and 4.0).

Scored qualifications. In addition to the minimum gate above, proposals will be evaluated in part on qualifications and experience of firm and key staff, including but not limited to:

ISA Certified Arborist(s) beyond the minimum required, ISA Board Certified Master Arborist status

Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA) accreditation, or TCIA certified workers, in addition to the minimum requirements

TRAQ-qualified staff availability

Years of experience beyond the five-year minimum completing municipal or comparable tree maintenance and removal work

Equipment resources, including rigging and crane capability

Proposed approach to determining when crane or mechanical assistance is required for removal operations, including the criteria used (e.g., section weight, decay presence, target proximity, site access) and available equipment and capacity to meet that determination. This approach will be evaluated as part of the proposal and, upon award, becomes the standard by which the Contractor's equipment decisions are assessed.

Proposed emergency response time and demonstrated capacity to meet it, including crew availability and dispatch location relative to the project area

Proposers shall submit a list of personnel with applicable certifications and certification numbers, and three references for comparable work.

9.0 Quality Control

9.1 Workmanship

The City Arborist or designee shall inspect completed work orders, checking cut placement, adherence to the

25% live-crown removal limit, conformance with the pruning type and clearance specifications, stump grinding depth compliance, site cleanup completion, and ANSI Z133 safety compliance during observed work.

Payment and nonperformance are governed by Section 3.G. Nonperformance and payment on page 7

9.2 Data and Geodatabase Accuracy

Office review of 100% of geodatabase updates for mismatch errors (work type performed versus work order issued, completion date logic, condition-code consistency with the original inventory record).

Field verification of a sample of completed work orders each month, at a minimum rate of 5%, confirming the geodatabase update matches actual field conditions.

Visual review and correction of any location discrepancies introduced during update.

Brief written QC report submitted to the City with each geodatabase update submittal (no less than monthly), verifying findings and corrections.

The City reserves the right to conduct independent field verification of completed work and associated data at any point during the contract period.

10.0 Basis of Payment

Unit pricing shall be established on a per-tree basis by DBH range, submitted as three separate Price Schedule line items: Pruning, Removal, and Stump Grinding, plus a separate hourly crew rate for storm and emergency response per

Section 1.1, and a lump-sum price for the Tree Maintenance Plan and Final Report (Section 7.0). This is a unit-price contract without guaranteed quantities; proposers are not required to know the exact number of trees by DBH range in advance, and the City does not guarantee a minimum volume of work in any DBH range or service line. For bid comparison only, the City's planning assumption for the project is approximately 4,000 trees maintained, including approximately 500 removals; actual quantities will vary based on the needs revealed by the tree inventory and as the budget allows.

11.0 Contract Term

Contract term is governed by the grant contract's project schedule (Contract Number 23-054-4016).

Early commencement: the City may issue a Notice to Proceed ahead of the dates in the grant schedule, and the

Contractor shall begin the Tree Maintenance Plan and field work as directed in the Notice to Proceed.

Field maintenance work under this contract shall be complete by March 28, 2028.

12.0 Standards References

ANSI A300, Tree, Shrub and Other Woody Plant Maintenance -- Standard Practices

ANSI Z133.1, Pruning, Trimming, Repairing, Maintaining, and Removing Trees and Cutting Brush -- Safety

Requirements

International Society of Arboriculture, Pruning Best Management Practices

NCFS Urban & Community Forestry Best Management Practices Specifications (Ver. 5/26)

NCFS UCF Financial Assistance Program Glossary of Practices, Activities, Deliverables and Requirements

NCFS ABCs of Young and Small Tree Pruning

ANSI A300 Part 5, Management of Trees and Shrubs During Site Planning, Site Development, and

Construction

N.C.G.S. Chapter 87, Article 8, Underground Utility Safety and Damage Prevention Act

SECTION 3

SUBMITTAL OF PRICING AND AWARD PROCESS The City's contract for tree maintenance and removal services for the Planning Department will be competitively negotiated. It is the City's intent to select Contractor(s) qualified to provide such services based on demonstrated competence and qualification for the type of services proposed and thereafter to negotiate a contract for those services with the best-qualified Contractor(s). If a contract cannot be negotiated with the best-qualified Contractor(s), negotiations with that contractor shall be terminated and initiated with the next best-qualified Contractor. The City reserves the right to accept any proposal deemed to be in the best interest of City, to waive any irregularities in any response, to reject any or all responses, and to re-advertise for new responses. The City intends to proceed with the proposal review and selection process then enter into a contract without negotiation, while reserving the right to negotiate at any time. Any and all RFP dates are subject to change.

Evaluation Criteria

The City's Selection Committee will evaluate all submissions. All responses properly submitted and received will be evaluated against the criteria outlined below. The absence of required information may result the response being excluded from further analysis or evaluation. The responses must meet the following minimum qualifications in order to be considered for selection:

Complete and accurate submittal of the specific proposal components.

Contractor must demonstrate the ability to staff and supply the services proposed

Award Process

Selection of Award: Contractor must meet all requirements and the minimums listed in the RFP and attached appendices (if applicable). The City may engage in discussions with any potential Contractor prior to final determination and award. The City will award this contract to the best value Contractor(s). Award Matrix

Available

Points Selection Criteria Description

Level of Qualification and

Experience

Qualifications and experience of firm and key proposed staff, examples of similar work and projects, and the scored qualifications in Section 2, Section 8.0, including proposed emergency response time (Section 1.1) and the approach to determining when crane or mechanical assistance is required

Project Schedule

Provide a calendar-based timeline for all tasks and deliverables consistent with the project milestones specified in this RFP, including proposed field work start date, Tree Maintenance Plan submission, and monthly reporting schedule

20 Quality Control and Accuracy Provide quality control plan for workmanship and geodatabase update accuracy (Section 2, Section 9.0)

Plan and Strategy of Deliverable of

Service

Statement of the Contractor’s understanding of the scope of work, technical approach, and methodology to providing the requested service

Proposed Overall Total Cost to

Provide Service

The maximum allowable points will be assigned to the proposal with the lowest cost. Points awarded to remaining Contractors decrease incrementally based on total cost proposed

100 Total Score

SECTION 4 SUBMITTAL MATERIALS

Contractors submitting a proposal must meet the minimum requirements and submit the following information with their response:

Contractor should respond to each of the following requirements in a clear, concise and comprehensive manner. The

Contractor should carefully review the Public Records Confidentiality Clause when submitting information for this

RFP. Each proposal submitted for consideration must comply with the stipulations set forth in this RFP as well as any addenda and any written responses from the City to Contractor inquiries. Contractor's submission shall identify a single contact person for receipt of responses and information from the City. The method of receipt and distribution of information will be by e-mail. Therefore, include a contact name, phone number, mailing address and e-mail address with the proposal. The submittal shall not exceed 15 single-sided pages, excluding resumes, references, and appendices

(if provided). All relevant information must accompany the proposal. The Contractor shall include the information below in its submission in the following order:

1. Letter of Interest (1 page maximum). At minimum, the letter shall include:

Legal name and address of the firm and the state(s) in which it is incorporated and chiefly located.

Name, address, phone number, and email of the designated contact and principals authorized to conduct negotiations.

A brief description of the services the Contractor proposes to perform.

Acknowledgement of any addenda issued during the solicitation process.

Acknowledge and agree to provide, at Contractor's own expense, a comprehensive and up-to-date background check for each employee assigned to work on City park land. Documentation is to be provided to the City within ten (10) days of contract award.

A statement that the Proposal will remain valid for acceptance for a period of three (3) months from its submission, and thereafter until the Consultant withdraws or a contract is executed, whichever occurs first.

2. Statement of Qualifications and Experience (3 pages maximum). This section shall include:

Overview of the firm and any proposed subcontractor firm(s), including size, services provided, office location(s) from which work will be performed, and number and qualifications of personnel available for this project.

Applicable NC licensing and certification information, maintained and available upon request for the contract duration

Demonstration of a minimum of five (5) years of experience completing tree work.

Three (3) references from comparable municipal tree maintenance and removal projects completed within the past five years, including client name, contact name, email address and phone, project description, dates, and budget

3. Proposed Project Team. Provide the names, credentials, and proposed roles of all key staff and field personnel.

Field personnel must meet the minimum qualifications in Section 2, Section 8.0 (Qualifications).

4. Technical Approach. Describe the proposed methodology for pruning, removal, and stump grinding operations, including the equipment resources available (aerial lift trucks, chippers, cranes, and other specialized equipment) and the criteria used to determine when crane or mechanical assistance is required, per Section 2, Section 8.0. Describe the proposed approach to updating the City's tree inventory geodatabase as work orders are completed. Include proposed crew size and daily production rate to support the project schedule. Include your firm's quality control procedures.

5. Project Schedule. Provide a calendar-based timeline for all tasks and deliverables consistent with the project milestones specified in this RFP, including proposed field work start date, Tree Maintenance Plan submission, and monthly reporting schedule.

6. Fee Schedule. Complete and submit the Contractors Fee Schedule.

7. Attach all the completed affidavits:, A-D and either E or F. Make sure they are completed, signed, and notarized. If you fail to do so, your bid will be considered non-responsive.

Contractor should respond to each of the following requirements in a clear, concise and comprehensive manner. The

Contractor should carefully review the Public Records Confidentiality Clause when submitting information for this

RFP. Each proposal submitted for consideration must comply with the stipulations set forth in this RFP as well as any addenda and any written responses from the City to Contractor inquiries. Contractor's submission shall identify a single contact person for receipt of responses and information from the City. The method of receipt and distribution of information will be by e-mail. Therefore, include a contact name, phone number, mailing address and e-mail address with the proposal. The submittal shall not exceed 15 single-sided pages, excluding resumes, references, and appendices

(if provided). All relevant information must accompany the proposal. The Contractor shall include the information below in its submission in the following order:

8. Letter of Interest (1 page maximum). At minimum, the letter shall include:

Legal name and address of the firm and the state(s) in which it is incorporated and chiefly located.

Name, address, phone number, and email of the designated contact and principals authorized to conduct negotiations.

A brief description of the services the Contractor proposes to perform.

Acknowledgement of any addenda issued during the solicitation process.

Acknowledge and agree to provide, at Contractor's own expense, a comprehensive and up-to-date background check for each employee assigned to work on City park land. Documentation is to be provided to the City within ten (10) days of contract award.

A statement that the Proposal will remain valid for acceptance for a period of three (3) months from its submission, and thereafter until the Consultant withdraws or a contract is executed, whichever occurs first.

9. Statement of Qualifications and Experience (3 pages maximum). This section shall include:

Overview of the firm and any proposed subcontractor firm(s), including size, services provided, office location(s) from which work will be performed, and number and qualifications of personnel available for this project.

Applicable NC licensing and certification information, maintained and available upon request for the contract duration

Demonstration of a minimum of five (5) years of experience completing tree work.

Three (3) references from comparable municipal tree maintenance and removal projects completed within the past five years, including client name, contact name, email address and phone, project description, dates, and budget

10. Proposed Project Team. Provide the names, credentials, and proposed roles of all key staff and field personnel. Field personnel must meet the minimum qualifications in Section 2, Section 8.0 (Qualifications).

11. Technical Approach. Describe the proposed methodology for pruning, removal, and stump grinding operations, including the equipment resources available (aerial lift trucks, chippers, cranes, and other specialized equipment) and the criteria used to determine when crane or mechanical assistance is required, per Section 2, Section

8.0. Describe the proposed approach to updating the City's tree inventory geodatabase as…