Manchester fire department apparatus and vehicle RE-lettering

The Town of Manchester, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, is seeking bids for Invitation to Bid (ITB) #23/24-38, which involves a comprehensive re-lettering project for the Manchester Fire Department's entire apparatus and vehicle fleet. The procurement requires a contractor to furnish labor and materials to remove existing Manchester Fire Rescue EMS (MFRE) and 8th District branding and replace it with new "Manchester Fire Department" (MFD) signage across 29 different vehicles, including 8 front line apparatus, 5 reserve apparatus, and 12 staff vehicles. The project demands precise re-lettering using engineer grade, laminated reflective vinyl, with specific requirements such as updating patch artwork to read "ex Duobus Unum" and obtaining departmental artwork approval prior to manufacture. Bidders must provide unit costs for creating, printing, and applying new numbers, letters, and logos on vehicles from various manufacturers including Pierce, Marion, Sutphen, and E-One, spanning model years from 2003 to 2023. The bid was released on November 6, 2023, with questions accepted until November 13, 2023, and bid responses due electronically through the Town of Manchester's OpenGov procurement portal by November 16, 2023, at 11:00 am.

The contract opportunity includes a Living Wage Ordinance requirement, mandating that covered employers with contracts exceeding $25,000 pay eligible employees a living wage of $16.59 per hour with comprehensive health care benefits or $24.59 per hour without such benefits. Bidders must complete a Living Wage Certification form and submit a sworn affidavit affirming compliance with wage standards. Certain organizations are exempt from these requirements, including charitable foundations, nonprofit agencies exempt from federal income taxation under Section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code, businesses employing fewer than 25 eligible employees, or contracts with an annual value less than $25,000. While no specific contract value is explicitly stated, the comprehensive nature of re-lettering 29 vehicles suggests a potentially significant project scope. The procurement appears to be open to any qualified vendor capable of meeting the technical specifications and living wage requirements, with no specific set-aside designations for disadvantaged enterprises mentioned in the available documentation. The project represents a consolidation effort to standardize the visual identity of Manchester's fire services across multiple stations and vehicle types.