SE Stormwater Drainage Retention Maintenance

The City of Ocala, Florida, located in Marion County, is issuing Invitation to Bid (ITB) PWD/260499 for Southeast Stormwater Drainage Retention Maintenance services. This procurement seeks a qualified contractor to provide comprehensive ground maintenance services for stormwater drainage retention areas (DRAs) and ditchlines in the southeast sections of the city, encompassing approximately 94.5 acres across 65 individual DRA locations and 4 ditchline segments. The contractor must deliver professional maintenance services including mowing tops and slopes, weedeating fencelines and around structures, brushback of vegetation, edging of sidewalks and curbing, and debris removal across all identified sites. The scope specifies 14 annual maintenance cuts per location, with mowing frequency varying seasonally from one cut per month during winter months to two cuts per month from May through September, with specific mowing heights of two inches for Bahia grass and three inches for St. Augustine grass. Required qualifications include proof of Florida Department of Transportation Traffic Control Certification and Florida Right of Way Pesticide License at the time of bid submission, and the contractor must maintain minimum equipment including three zero-turn mowers, two string trimmers, one edger, and one blower. The contractor bears full responsibility for all labor, equipment, tools, and materials, as well as liability for damage to water sprinkler systems, shrubs, trees, and backflow assemblies, and must supervise all subcontractors with at least one English-fluent crew member present. Work hours are restricted to 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday, with all employees required to wear company-identifying attire and vehicles displaying the company name. Documentation requirements include daily cellphone photos with timestamps and line-item numbers, daily location completion lists, and invoices noting bagged litter amounts. The bid was posted on March 6, 2026, with a mandatory pre-bid meeting scheduled for March 9, 2026, at 10:00 AM EST at Public Works Administration (1805 NE 30th Ave., Building 300, Ocala, FL 34470), and bids are due by March 23, 2026. Coordination contacts are identified as City Project Manager Brian Herrick at (352) 351-6927 or Dan Slivka at (352) 351-6729.

The procurement documents do not indicate any specific set-aside designations for disadvantaged enterprises, small businesses, or other restricted categories of organizations, suggesting this opportunity is open to all qualified contractors meeting the stated requirements. No incumbent contractor information has been identified or disclosed in the available documentation. The price proposal template (Exhibit B) provided for bidding purposes contains 69 line items but shows zero dollar amounts across all entries, indicating this is a blank template awaiting contractor pricing submissions. No specific award value, contract amount, or budget range has been disclosed in the procurement announcement, with bidders expected to submit their own pricing proposals based on the defined scope of work and line-item structure. The contract structure appears to be based on unit pricing per maintenance occurrence across the 69 identified locations over a three-year term, though final contract value will depend on accepted bid pricing. Interested contractors should note that non-compliant bids lacking required certifications will be rejected as non-responsive, and all proposals must include detailed pricing for each of the 69 line items representing the complete scope of southeast stormwater drainage maintenance services.