Herbicide Woody Vegetation & Invasive Plant Management

Portage County Highway Department in Wisconsin is seeking a qualified contractor to provide herbicide woody vegetation and invasive plant management services for roadside rights-of-way. The procurement involves treating approximately 110 acres across 62 linear miles of county roadways, with a treatment width of 15 feet, targeting woody vegetation species like black locust, buckthorn, wild sumac, and box elder, with a primary focus on reducing wild parsnip. Proposers must demonstrate three years of herbicide application experience, have equipment operators certified in Category 6.0 for right-of-way and natural areas, and provide three client references from the past five years. The evaluation criteria include organizational capabilities and project experience (200 points), proposed solutions (200 points), and cost (100 points), with proposals scored using a lowest-cost weighting formula. The request for proposals was issued on February 17, 2021, with proposals due by 2:00 PM on March 9, 2021. The county anticipated notifying the intended awardee on March 30, 2021, with a contract award targeted for April 7, 2021, and a contract start date of April 15, 2021, with services to be substantially completed by October 31, 2021.

No specific set-aside designations or restrictions for disadvantaged enterprises were mentioned in the procurement documents. The contract is renewable at mutual agreement for up to three additional one-year periods beyond the initial term. Contractors must provide a Certificate of Insurance naming Portage County as additionally insured, with a minimum liability coverage of $1,000,000. The county has budgeted $32,000 for these services in 2021, with the amount subject to adjustment based on actual need and conditions. Proposers are required to specify their warranted effectiveness rate and approach to addressing anticipated re-growth, with success to be verified through visual inspection by both the county and contractor. The county does not guarantee any specific quantity or dollar amount and reserves the right to reject any or all proposals. Contractors will be responsible for identifying and avoiding organic farms along the service locations and managing any potential damage claims arising from herbicide application.