Lawn care & snow removal - docjt

The Commonwealth of Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet, on behalf of the Department of Criminal Justice Training (DOCJT) in Lewis County, issued Request for Bid 758 2000000481 for comprehensive lawn care and snow removal services at multiple DOCJT facilities located at 4449 Kit Carson Drive, Richmond, Kentucky. The procurement seeks a single contractor to provide four primary service line items: lawn care on an as-needed basis, biweekly lawn maintenance, planting bed maintenance on an as-needed basis, and snow and ice removal services. Lawn care services encompass mowing at heights of 2.5 to 3 inches every two weeks (mid-March through early November), string trimming, edging, debris removal, grass clipping cleanup, weed control and fertilizer applications twice annually, and seasonal flower planting at select buildings including the Sayre Building, Stone Building, Funderburk Building, Thompson Residence Hall, Weber Building, Boonesboro Firing Range (approximately 9 acres), and McKinney Skills Driving Track (approximately 21 acres). Snow and ice removal services must be performed when snowfall reaches one inch or greater, with completion required by 7:00 AM EST using calcium chloride ice melt, and services extend from early October through the end of April. Bidders were required to complete mandatory site visits on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 1:00 and 3:00 PM ET with facility representative Garl Lovings at (859) 200-6456 and submit a signed Site Visit Validation Form with their bids. Written vendor questions were due March 9, 2020, at 4:30 PM ET, and the bid closing date, extended through multiple addenda, was March 26, 2020, at 1:30 PM ET. Award was to be determined using a best value methodology allocating 90 points to price (with the lowest bidder receiving maximum points and subsequent bidders scored proportionally) and 10 points to years of experience in lawn care and snow removal within the United States. Vendors were required to maintain general liability insurance of $1,000,000 and Kentucky Workers' Compensation Insurance, submitting an ACCORD Certificate within 10 days of award, and monthly invoices were to be submitted on a net 30-day payment basis.

Kentucky resident bidders receive reciprocal preference equal to any preference granted by nonresident bidders' home states, while qualified bidders including Kentucky Correctional Industries receive additional preference equal to 20 percent of maximum points, and other qualified nonprofit agencies receive 15 percent preference. The incumbent contractor identified in prior solicitation addenda was The Land Design Group DBA Bluestone Landscape Management, which had submitted a bid of $2,927.45, though no current contract award value or budget ceiling was explicitly stated in the procurement documents. The initial contract period is one year beginning April 27, 2020, with four optional one-year renewal periods subject to written approval from all parties and potential renegotiation of terms. All pricing must be submitted on an F.O.B. Destination Freight Prepaid and Allowed basis, exclusive of federal excise tax and Kentucky sales tax, with prices remaining firm for the first 12 months; thereafter, price increases require 30-day advance written notice with justification based on industry-wide changes, while price decreases must be reported immediately. Vendors must submit the Revenue Form 10A100 Kentucky Tax Registration Application, a Certificate of Authority from the Secretary of State for foreign entities if applicable, required affidavits as outlined in Attachment A, and EEO forms if applicable prior to award. The Commonwealth reserved the right to cancel the RFB if all responses exceeded available funding, and bidders with poor performance records in the preceding 12 months could be deemed non-responsible and ineligible for award.