Mowing at Boone National Guard Facility

The Commonwealth of Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet, Division of Facilities Management, on behalf of the Department of Military Affairs, is procuring grounds maintenance services through Request for Bid (RFB) 758 2400000385 for the Boone National Guard Center in Frankfort, Kentucky. The solicitation encompasses comprehensive mowing and landscape maintenance services across approximately 87.78 acres of finish mowing on the 355-acre facility property, including weekly mowing to maintain turf height between 2 and 4 inches, bi-weekly vertical blade edging, trimming, debris removal, sidewalk and roadway blowing, herbicide application along 28,707 linear feet of perimeter fence lines, and maintenance of a 2.0-mile running track. Additional services include weekly to bi-monthly herbicide spraying of fence rows and obstacles (28 occurrences), perimeter fence spraying (1 occurrence), gravel compound spraying (2 occurrences), running trail spraying (2 occurrences), and goose control applications using Birdstop on roadways and sidewalk areas (4 occurrences), with mowing services anticipated from May through October with a three-day completion window once the vendor arrives on-site. Bidders must possess a minimum of five years' experience as a licensed lawn care business (pass/fail requirement), maintain general liability insurance of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate, Kentucky workers' compensation insurance, and automobile liability coverage of $1,000,000 combined single limit, with all certificates naming the Commonwealth as additional insured. All herbicide and insecticide applications must comply with Kentucky Department of Agriculture regulations and be performed by certified applicators. The contract award will be made on a best value basis with pricing weighted at 100 points, with the lowest-priced bid receiving maximum points and other bids scored proportionally. Mandatory site visits must be scheduled in advance between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, with completion of a signed Site Visit Validation Form required for bid responsiveness; written questions were due February 16, 2024 at 4:30 p.m. EST, and bids were due February 27, 2024 at 1:30 p.m. EST through electronic submission via the Kentucky eProcurement system, with paper bids deemed non-responsive. The contract will commence April 17, 2024 for an initial one-year period with four optional one-year renewal periods subject to written approval by all parties.

Kentucky residency status may provide bidding advantages under the state's resident bidder preference provisions outlined in the required affidavits; bidders may claim resident status if authorized to transact business in Kentucky with one year of continuous corporate income tax filing, unemployment insurance contributions, and active workers' compensation insurance, or may claim qualified bidder status if operating as a nonprofit corporation employing individuals with severe disabilities for at least seventy-five percent of direct labor hours. All bidders must be registered in the Commonwealth eProcurement System and submit required affidavits attesting to campaign finance law compliance; failure to provide executed notarized affidavits will result in bid disqualification. Pricing must remain firm for the initial twelve months of the contract, after which price increase requests may be submitted with documented justification reflecting industry-wide cost changes and 30 days' notice; all pricing must be quoted as F.O.B. Destination Freight Prepaid and Allowed, exclusive of federal excise taxes and Kentucky sales or use taxes, and remain valid for a minimum of 60 calendar days after the bid due date. The solicitation does not identify an incumbent contractor or specify a total contract value or budget range; bidders are expected to provide unit costs and total pricing based on the scope of work defined in the solicitation documents, including the detailed mowing map identifying specific service zones. Services must be performed Monday through Friday during dusk-to-dark hours, with weekend services available by 24-hour advance scheduling, and vendors must supply all equipment, fuel, and related supplies while complying with all OSHA requirements and security protocols at the facility's guard gate.