Request for Bids - Practice Football Field Improvements

This is a sealed-bid procurement issued by Advanced Technology Academy in Dearborn, Michigan for practice football field improvements on a 44,040 square-foot grass field to be converted into a practice football field approximately one-third the size of a full regulation field. The scope of work includes field engineering and surveying, soil erosion and sedimentation control, sod stripping and topsoil removal, earthwork and excavation, stone drainage trenches, imported topsoil and athletic field mix installation, an automatic irrigation system with all plumbing connections and permitting, fine grading, and sodded lawn installation with a one-year warranty period. Key deliverables include a practice football field sodded with athletic field topsoil to specified depths, a comprehensive irrigation system with Hunter brand controllers and components designed to deliver one inch of precipitation per week at 32 gallons per minute and 60 PSI, and seeded surrounding lawn areas outside the practice field. Required bidder qualifications include a minimum five years of experience installing comparable irrigation systems, a minimum Experience Modification Rate of 0.07, evidence of necessary licenses, detailed references demonstrating prior experience with excavation and landscaping services for educational institutions, and proof of adequate insurance coverage. A mandatory pre-bid conference was held on May 29, 2019, at 9:00 a.m., prospective bidders could request site visits and written clarifications until 5:00 p.m. on June 5, 2019, and bids were due on June 11, 2019, at 11:00 a.m., submitted in sealed envelopes to Steve Quinlan at the Academy's address. Work was required to commence and be completed by August 11, 2019, with alternative completion dates of August 26, 2019, or late October 2019 available if the primary deadline was infeasible, and liquidated damages of $500 per calendar day apply for failure to meet the completion deadline.

The procurement documents do not identify specific set-aside designations or restrictions limiting participation to disadvantaged enterprises or particular organization types, nor do they reference incumbent vendors or current contractors. All pricing must be submitted as a not-to-exceed lump sum amount inclusive of all labor, materials, equipment, insurance, bonds, taxes, overhead, and profit, with contractors required to submit a bid bond equal to five percent of the total bid amount and, for contracts of $50,000 or more, performance and payment bonds in the amount of 100 percent of the final contract price. The Academy is tax-exempt; however, contractors must include state and local taxes on installed materials in their bid prices. Monthly invoices are to be paid on a progress payment basis with appropriate retention and final payment upon successful completion of all punch list items. The Academy reserved the right to conduct post-bid interviews with selected contractors and to award the contract to one or more qualified contractors at its sole discretion. While no specific budget range is disclosed in the procurement documents, the requirement for performance bonds suggests the anticipated contract value exceeds $50,000.