Mulch, Sand, Other Ground Surfacing

The State of Delaware, Office of Management and Budget, Government Support Services (GSS) is soliciting vendors to supply mulch, sand, and other ground surfacing materials through solicitation GSS26583-MULCH. This procurement serves all state agencies and authorized entities including school districts, municipalities, political subdivisions, volunteer fire companies, and higher education institutions receiving state funds. The goods and services sought include eight primary product categories: Engineered Wood Fiber, Landscaping Mulch (#1 and #3 Grade), Color Enhanced Mulch, Natural Washed Sand, Crushed Gravel, Crushed Stone, and Crushed Concrete, along with accessory items such as Drainage Fabric and Wear Mats. All materials must be delivered and installed by the vendor with pricing options available for multiple delivery and installation methods including bag pick-up, bag delivery, scoop delivery, and truck delivery with corresponding installation services across three Delaware counties (New Castle, Kent, and Sussex). Vendors must provide detailed material specifications, composition information, warranty details, and for playground mulch products, International Play Equipment Manufacturers Association (IPEMA) Certificates of Compliance. The evaluation criteria consist of vendor qualification and experience (20 points), capacity to meet requirements (25 points), product offering (25 points), price competitiveness (20 points), and business references (10 points), totaling 100 points. Critical deadlines include a mandatory written questions deadline of April 6, 2026, at 4:00 PM local time, with answers posted by April 13, 2026, at 4:00 PM, and proposal submissions due by April 28, 2026, at 3:00 PM through the online bid submission portal at https://gss.bonfirehub.com/, with public bid opening scheduled for the same date and time and contract award expected within 90 days.

There are no explicitly identified set-aside designations for disadvantaged enterprises; however, vendors are required to submit quarterly 2nd Tier subcontracting reports documenting diversity supplier participation and must identify whether they are certified diverse vendors as part of their proposal submission. Vendors must maintain a State of Delaware Business License, comply with background check requirements for employees accessing state property, maintain minimum insurance coverage of $1,000,000 commercial general liability with appropriate automotive liability coverage, and certify that they have not been suspended or debarred by any federal, state, or local government entity within the past five years. The resulting contract will be valid for a two-year period from October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2028, with three optional one-year renewal periods available through negotiation initiated no later than 90 days prior to contract termination, and the State reserves the right to extend the contract on a month-to-month basis for up to three months after the full contract term expires. The State reserves the right to make multiple awards, partial awards, award by item type, zone-by-zone, or on a lump-sum basis as deemed most advantageous, and no specific budget range or award value is provided in the solicitation documents. The contract is available for cooperative use by other states and governmental entities through a participating addendum, subject to approval by the Director of Government Support Services.