Opening Maintenance Wexford and Missaukee Counties

The State of Michigan Department of Natural Resources issued Request for Proposal (RFP) 180000003062 on July 18, 2018, to procure field preparation, fertilizing, and planting services for forest openings in Wexford and Missaukee Counties. The project encompasses three units totaling 134 acres: Unit 1 in North Central Wexford County (55 acres), Unit 2 in North East Wexford County (56 acres), and Unit 3 in Missaukee County (23 acres). Bidders may submit proposals for any combination of units and must perform disking operations at least twice to achieve 90% bare soil coverage, apply specified seed (annual bin run rye and oat seeds at 50 pounds per acre each, and medium red clover at 6 pounds per acre), and fertilizer (19-19-19 formula at 100 pounds per acre), and complete finishing with culti-packing or grain drill application. Contractors must provide all required equipment including a tractor, disk, seed and fertilizer spreader, and cultipacker or grain drill, along with all labor, materials, and mileage, with pricing submitted on a per-acre basis for each unit. The proposal submission deadline was July 31, 2018, at 9:30 a.m. Eastern, with a question deadline of July 24, 2018, at 9:30 a.m. Eastern, and work must be completed between August 13, 2018, and September 5, 2018. Evaluation criteria include equipment adequacy, crew supervisor experience, minimum of three prior project references, ability to complete work within the specified timeframe, and price, with the contract awarded to the responsive and responsible bidder offering best value to the State.

A qualified disabled veteran preference of up to 10% applies under 1984 PA 431 for businesses at least 51% owned by service-connected disabled veterans. Contractors must carry commercial general liability insurance with minimum limits of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 general aggregate, motor vehicle insurance of $1,000,000 per occurrence, and workers' compensation insurance. Payment is made upon completion and acceptance of work by the DNR Project Manager on a Net 45-day term unless a quicker discount is offered, with invoices due no later than September 15, 2018, and payment disbursed through Electronic Funds Transfer. Contractors must contact the DNR Project Manager 72 hours prior to beginning work and report progress weekly. No budget range or award value is specified in the solicitation documents; however, the anticipated contract issuance date is August 3, 2018, and bidders were encouraged to visit the openings and contact DNR Project Manager Vern Richardson at (231) 775-9727 for questions limited to site conditions and locations.