Canal and drainage maintenance

Sarasota County, Florida is conducting an Invitation for Bids (IFB #262842AMS) to select a contractor for canal and drainage maintenance services covering assets within Sarasota County and the Siesta Key CDP. The procurement encompasses comprehensive maintenance and clearing of the County's canal and drainage system infrastructure using handheld equipment and machinery, including vegetation cutting and removal, herbicide treatment, litter collection, and legal disposal of debris. The scope includes monthly maintenance of approximately 1,073,045 linear feet of canal and drainage assets distributed across designated zones (Canal, City of Sarasota, North, and South), specialized services such as tree removal, vertical vegetation trimming, woody vegetation removal, and herbicide treatment, with work performed Monday through Saturday between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., with monthly completion deadlines. Qualified bidders must demonstrate verifiable commercial, industrial, or governmental experience within the past seven years providing hand clearing of ditches using handheld cutting equipment and canal clearing using mobile mowing equipment, with a minimum of one reference required for each service type. Pricing is structured on a fee schedule basis with unit prices per linear foot, lump sum amounts, per-ton charges with disposal documentation, and other specified line items, with all trip charges, mileage, labor, overhead, equipment, and disposal costs included in quoted unit prices. The County anticipates an initial contract term of three years, with bids submitted electronically through the OpenGov Procurement platform at https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/scgov. The solicitation was posted on April 15, 2026, with a bid due date of May 18, 2026, and vendors were notified of the upcoming solicitation on April 6, 2026.

No local or American business preferences apply to this procurement due to grant funding requirements, and no set-aside designations for disadvantaged enterprises are indicated in the available solicitation documents. The solicitation documents do not identify any incumbent vendors or current contractors, nor do they reference existing technology or infrastructure requiring integration beyond the County-provided asset maintenance schedule and performance expectations outlined in the supporting attachments. Contractors must maintain comprehensive insurance coverage including Workers' Compensation per Florida Statutes Chapter 440 with Employers Liability minimum of $500,000; Commercial General Liability of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate; Business Automobile Liability of $1,000,000 combined single limit; and Pollution Liability coverage of $1,000,000 per claim or occurrence for pesticide and herbicide applications. The solicitation documents provided do not specify an estimated award value or total contract budget range, noting only that estimated quantities are provided for budgeting purposes and are not guaranteed, with the County retaining the right to increase or decrease actual quantities at the unit prices bid and to add or delete assets from the maintained list at prevailing contract prices. Participation in Sarasota County solicitations is offered at no fee to vendors, and prospective bidders are directed to review complete solicitation documents and submit questions through the OpenGov Procurement Q&A system once the solicitation is active.