Mitigation Land Management Projects at Airport Mitigation Park for Lee County Port Authority

Lee County Port Authority is requesting competitive bids for four separate mitigation land management projects at Airport Mitigation Park, with bids due September 16, 2026 before 2:00 p.m. through OpenGov and a mandatory pre-bid meeting with mandatory project site tour on August 26, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. at Southwest Florida International Airport. Bidders may submit proposals for one or more of the four projects; each project will be awarded separately to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder.

Minimum qualifications are restrictive: bidders must be registered Florida corporations or legal entities authorized to do business in Florida, maintain a physical office in Lee, Collier, Hendry, or Charlotte counties, have at least one key personnel member licensed as a Commercial Pesticide Applicator in Natural Areas Weed Management by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for a minimum of five years, and demonstrate prior successful experience performing at least five similar projects involving exotic vegetation treatment of 500 acres or greater within Southwest Florida over the past ten years.

The four projects span approximately 7,000 acres across Flint Pen Strand (630.55 acres), Imperial Marsh South (2,556.16 acres), Imperial Marsh North (939.57 acres), and Fence & Trails Maintenance (5,464 linear feet of fence, 173,561 linear feet of trails, and 43.07 acres of fuel reduction). Work involves treatment of Florida Invasive Species Council Category I and II exotic species using manual removal and herbicide application compliant with EPA and Florida Department of Environmental Protection regulations; all soil-active herbicides containing imazapyr or imazapic and pre-emergent herbicides are prohibited. Contractors must employ FDACS-licensed pesticide applicators, achieve zero percent areal coverage of exotic species post-treatment at no additional cost for re-treatment, provide daily work logs and weekly digital progress maps, and decontaminate equipment prior to site use.

Contract time ranges from 154 to 184 calendar days from Notice to Proceed, anticipated for late January 2027, with substantial completion by July 1, 2027 and final completion by July 31, 2027. Liquidated damages are $250 per calendar day for missed milestone and substantial completion deadlines. Bids must be fixed, firm net pricing as lump-sum bids per project. Payment is approved upon verification of work completion by the Authority's environmental consultant, with five percent retainage until final project completion. Questions are due September 2, 2026 by 5:00 p.m. Bidders must maintain Commercial General Liability of $2 million, Automobile Liability of $1 million, and Umbrella/Excess Liability of $2 million (airside operations at Fort Myers) or $5 million (airside operations at Southwest Florida International Airport), with the Authority named as additional insured on a primary and noncontributory basis.