Grave Relocation Wolfe County

The Commonwealth of Kentucky, through the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) Division of Purchases on behalf of the Division of Right of Way and Utilities, issued a Request for Bid (RFB) solicitation for grave relocation services necessitated by highway improvement construction on Mountain Parkway (KY 9009) in Wolfe County. The procurement seeks a one-time contract for the disinterment of approximately 10 graves from the Kash Family Cemetery (with the possibility of additional graves discovered during work) and their relocation to Hazel Green Cemetery, with grave dates ranging from 1894 to 1954. The scope of work includes constructing access from Mountain Parkway to the cemetery location, trenching and site searching for disinterment, disinterring and relocating 10 remains, providing rustproof reinterment containers with identification tags, transporting remains approximately 18 miles to Hazel Green Cemetery, providing replacement monuments (three 14" x 18" granite markers for known graves, five 12" x 8" x 6" gray granite markers for unknown graves, and one 3' x 4" x 8" upright family cemetery monument), resetting existing monuments, and installing temporary grave markers. All monuments must be gray granite with polished surfaces, lettering, setting, and foundation labor included as deliverables. The solicitation requires that a licensed funeral director perform all work in compliance with applicable Kentucky statutes and regulations. The original bid closing date was October 8, 2021, but was modified to October 14, 2021, at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time, with a tentative award date of October 18, 2021. All work must be completed within 30 days of receiving notification to commence, with one percent per day deducted from invoices for each day work is not completed by the contracted due date unless delays result from factors outside the vendor's control. Bids must be submitted electronically through the Kentucky eProcurement system only, and evaluation will be based on best value using price as the sole criterion, with the lowest responsive bidder receiving the contract.

Reciprocal preferences are available for Kentucky resident bidders, and qualified bidders may receive up to 15 percent preference points, while Kentucky Correctional Industries may receive up to 20 percent preference points. No incumbent vendors are identified in the solicitation documents. A performance and payment bond equal to 100 percent of the contract price is required prior to award, and contractors must maintain general liability insurance of $1,000,000 per occurrence and Kentucky workers' compensation insurance, with an ACORD Certificate to be submitted within 10 days of notice of intent to award listing the KYTC as additional insured. Payment will be made at 90 percent upon completion of work and 10 percent upon final approval by the Grave Relocation Agent, with the final payment determination required within 180 days. The project is federally funded through the Federal Highway Administration, requiring compliance with Davis-Bacon prevailing wage rates, Buy America provisions for steel and iron materials, and federal requirements including nondiscrimination and equal employment opportunity standards established by FHWA-1273 contract provisions. Hazel Green Cemetery will handle opening, closing, and restoring reinterment plots and will provide seeding and straw at no cost to the contractor. No specific award value or budget range is disclosed in the solicitation documents; however, the presence of the 100 percent bond requirement suggests the contract value may exceed $20,000.