Landscape Maintenance Carter County I-64 Rest Areas Rebid

The Commonwealth of Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Division of Purchases, is issuing a Request for Bid (RFB) for landscape maintenance services at two Carter County Rest Areas located on Interstate 64 in District Nine. The procurement seeks a master agreement contractor to provide comprehensive grounds maintenance, landscape management, and pest control services at the Carter County Welcome Center (I-64 Westbound, Mile Point 173.587) and the Carter County Rest Area (I-64 Eastbound, Mile Point 174.001). Deliverables include mowing of approximately 182.5 acres across an estimated 25 cycles per season, mulching of 1,700 square feet of landscape beds and trees, pre- and post-emergent weed control for both landscape plantings and turf areas, insect control, trimming of herbaceous plantings (75 square feet), pruning of individual shrubs (133 units) and mass plantings (1,197 square feet), pruning of trees (10 units), removal of trees and shrubs (5 units), fertilization of 7.3 acres, leaf removal, weeding of landscape beds, and general grounds work including seeding and planting (24 man-hours). Required qualifications include possession of pesticide applicator certifications in Category 3 (Turf and Ornamental) from the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, proof of contractor's general liability insurance ($1,000,000 per occurrence), Kentucky workers' compensation insurance, and demonstrated ability to begin work within six calendar days of receiving a delivery order with a minimum crew of two laborers/equipment operators and a vehicle. The initial contract term runs from no earlier than March 29, 2025, through March 31, 2026, with options for four additional one-year renewal periods. Award determination will be made on a best value basis using a ranking approach with price weighted at 97 points and response time at 3 points, for a total of 100 points, where the bidder submitting the lowest price receives maximum points and subsequent bidders are scored proportionally. All bids must be submitted electronically through the Kentucky Vendor Self Service system by May 1, 2025, at 1:30 PM Eastern Time, with a tentative award date of May 9, 2025; site visits are encouraged and may be scheduled by contacting the Roadside Environment District Administrator at District Nine in Flemingsburg at (606) 845-2551.

Reciprocal preferences apply to Kentucky resident bidders, and qualified bidder preferences of 15 or 20 percent may apply if applicable, though no specific set-asides for disadvantaged enterprises are identified in the solicitation materials. This is a rebid of RFB 2500000563; no incumbent vendor information is provided in the available documentation. Contractors performing pesticide activities must certify compliance with the KPDES Pesticide General Permit (KYG99) and the Pesticide Discharge Management Plan (PDMP) as established by the Kentucky Department of Transportation, ensuring adherence to federal water quality regulations and state pesticide management requirements. Pesticide products must comply with specified standards including Gallery 75DF and Pendulum AquaCap for landscape pre-emergent applications, Roundup Pro for landscape post-emergent applications, Dimension for turfgrass pre-emergent applications, Spoiler for turfgrass post-emergent applications, and Mavrik Aquaflow for insect control; equal products meeting the same active ingredient requirements may be substituted. Price adjustments are prohibited during the first twelve months of the contract; thereafter, increases require written justification of industry-wide price changes and written approval. No specific award value or budget range is disclosed in the solicitation documents; only online submissions through the Kentucky Vendor Self Service system at https://vss.ky.gov will be accepted, with emailed and hard copy submissions rejected.