25-028 District Wide Propane Bid

Bibb County Public Schools (BCSD) in Macon, Georgia, has issued Request for Proposals (RFP) 25-028 for district-wide propane services under the jurisdiction of Bartow County. The procurement seeks a single contractor to provide comprehensive propane services including design, installation, fuel supply, maintenance, training, compliance support, and emergency services for approximately 157 propane-fueled school buses and facility operations. The contractor must design and install a minimum 30,000-gallon above-ground propane refueling facility at 4580 Cavalier Drive equipped with four pumps and four dispensers capable of high-volume school bus refueling, while maintaining two existing fueling sites (30,000-gallon capacity at 4580 Cavalier Drive and 18,000-gallon capacity at 2448 Roff Avenue, scheduled for discontinuation) and three 1,000-gallon tanks for generators and heaters. Based on 2025 consumption data, BCSD purchased approximately 644,243 gallons of propane for bus operations and 10,000 gallons for generators and heaters. The solicitation requires pricing to remain firm for a minimum of 60 months, structured to reflect bulk purchasing benefits, with contractors providing an estimated cost per gallon of propane plus detailed lists of all additional fees including pumping, equipment, delivery, and service charges. Evaluation criteria total 1,000 points: Technical Approach and Compliance (300 points), Price (250 points), Experience, Qualification and Past Performance (200 points), Maintenance and Emergency Response (150 points), and Safety and Training Support (100 points). Critical dates include a bidders' conference on February 10, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. EST via Microsoft Teams, question submission deadline of February 13, 2026, at 8:00 a.m. EST, and proposal submission deadline of February 23, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. EST via the Bonfire platform. The initial contract term is one year with options to renew for up to three additional years.

The solicitation does not specify set-aside designations or restrictions limiting participation to particular enterprise types, indicating that qualified propane service providers, including disadvantaged enterprises, may respond. Qualified contractors must demonstrate the capability to provide emergency service response within 24 hours, maintain membership in a propane supplier network with documented Georgia suppliers, possess all necessary permits, and ensure all equipment complies with NFPA 58 and Georgia safety standards. Contractors must maintain comprehensive general liability insurance of at least $1,000,000, workers' compensation insurance, automobile liability insurance of at least $1,000,000, and umbrella liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence, with proof of insurance required within five days of award. All personnel working on BCSD sites must pass fingerprinting clearance through the Georgia Criminal Information Center System at a cost of $50 per person, and contractors must comply with the Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act and participate in the federal work authorization verification program (E-Verify). The contract will be governed by Georgia state law and funded entirely from General Funds. While no specific award value is disclosed in the solicitation documents, the contract value is structured as a non-binding estimate based on actual consumption and proposed pricing, with BCSD making no obligation to procure the estimated annual propane volumes and paying only for goods and services actually rendered and accepted.