On-call soil borings and subsurface investigation

The Town of Manchester, Connecticut is seeking bids for Invitation to Bid (ITB) #23/24-12, an on-call contract for soil borings and subsurface investigation services throughout the municipality. The procurement is specifically for comprehensive geotechnical services, including up to 20 mobilization/demobilization events, 1,000 vertical feet of soil boring and sampling, 100 vertical feet of rock coring, and 500 pavement cores. The primary objectives include subsurface sampling, testing of soil, and coring existing pavement to determine pavement depths at various locations. Bid responses are due by September 7, 2023, at 2:00 pm, with a virtual bid opening via Zoom. The contract will be valid from the award date through September 30, 2025, with potential options to extend for two additional one-year periods. Bidders will be evaluated based on their ability to provide unit-based pricing for mobilization, soil boring, rock coring, and pavement cores, with provisions for annual price adjustments using the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index.

The procurement includes specific requirements for living wage compliance under the Manchester Living Wage Ordinance, mandating that covered employers with contracts exceeding $25,000 pay eligible employees either $15.34 per hour with comprehensive health benefits or $23.35 per hour without benefits. Contractors must provide comprehensive insurance coverage, including workers' compensation, commercial general liability, automobile liability, and excess coverage with specified minimum amounts. Potential bidders must complete and submit a Living Wage Certification Form, indicating whether they are a "Covered Employer" and affirming compliance with local wage standards. The town reserves the right to reject any bid and make awards in the best interest of the municipality. While no specific set-aside designations or disadvantaged enterprise requirements are explicitly mentioned, the contract appears open to qualified geotechnical and environmental testing firms capable of meeting the technical and wage compliance specifications. The estimated budget and potential contract value are not precisely defined, but the scope suggests a project with potential unit-based expenditures potentially reaching several hundred thousand dollars over the contract period.