Equip Rental Tree Grinder with Operator District 2

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Division of Purchases, is issuing a Request for Bid (RFB) on behalf of Highway District 2 for equipment rental services with operators. The procurement encompasses six line items: Tree Grinder Mounted on Large Excavator with Operator (1,000 hours), Track Mulcher with Operator (75 hours), Whole Tree Chipper with Operator (10 hours), Rotating Tree Shear with Operator (10 hours), Telescoping Tree Trimmer with Operator (20 hours), and Forestry Mulcher with Operator 200+ HP (115 hours). All equipment and services are exclusively for use in District 2 counties, which include Caldwell, Christian, Daviess, Hancock, Henderson, Hopkins, McLean, Muhlenberg, Ohio, Union, and Webster. Vendors must submit detailed specifications for each piece of equipment meeting minimum operational capabilities and cutting width requirements, and pricing must include equipment, operator, fuel, lubrication, and maintenance on an hourly basis with a minimum guarantee of eight hours per work order. Evaluation will utilize a best value approach allocating 95 points to price and 5 points to response time, with vendors required to specify their guaranteed response time in calendar days and subject to one percent daily deductions from invoices for failure to meet contracted deadlines. The deadline for written questions was February 19, 2025 at 4:00 PM EST with Commonwealth responses posted by February 21, 2025; bids must be submitted electronically through the Kentucky Vendor Self Service portal by March 4, 2025 at 1:30 PM EST, with a tentative award date of March 7, 2025.

Kentucky resident bidders are eligible for reciprocal preferences, and qualified bidders including Kentucky Correctional Industries, Kentucky Industries for the Blind, nonprofit corporations furthering KRS Chapter 163, and qualified nonprofit agencies for individuals with severe disabilities are eligible for statutory preferences. All vendors must be registered in the Commonwealth eProcurement System prior to submission and must maintain Contractor's General Liability Insurance with minimum limits of $1,000,000 per occurrence and Kentucky workers' compensation insurance within ten days of notice of intent to award, with the Commonwealth listed as an additional insured. The master agreement will be effective from the award date through February 28, 2026, with an option to renew for four additional one-year periods subject to written approval from both parties and the Division of Purchases. Mobilization and demobilization costs are the vendor's responsibility, with equipment to be delivered to and removed from job sites at no expense to the Transportation Cabinet. Vendors must submit required affidavits regarding campaign finance compliance, resident bidder status if claimed, qualified bidder status if claimed, non-utilization of illegal immigrants, and subcontractor compliance, with bids remaining valid for a minimum of 90 calendar days after the closing date. The specific award value is not disclosed in the solicitation documents; however, pricing will be evaluated based on hourly rental rates for the cumulative equipment hours requested across all six line items.