Underground Utility Locating Services

The City of Plant City, Florida is requesting bids on underground utility locating services for its water, wastewater, and reclaimed water systems under IFB 26-052UM, with bids due August 13, 2026 at 2:00 PM and questions due August 10, 2026 at 5:00 PM. A local preference allowing up to one percent of the lowest bid (not to exceed $2,500) applies to bidders with current Plant City business tax payment, appropriate Florida licensing, and a physical office within Plant City established at least six months prior to bid submission.

Scope includes receiving, managing, responding to, documenting, and closing Sunshine 811 utility locate requests under Chapter 556 of Florida Statutes, plus emergency and after-hours locating, no-conflict verifications, utility marker maintenance, site surveillance, utility verification, vacuum excavation coordination, GIS field verification, utility mapping support, and as-built verification on an as-needed basis. Contractors must maintain qualified personnel, supervision, vehicles, locating equipment meeting current industry standards, communication devices, software, office support, and all materials; designate a Contract Manager; and provide backup personnel for absences and emergencies. All work is subject to written authorization from the City's Utility Project Manager and compliance with OSHA regulations, MUTCD, and generally accepted underground utility locating practices. Field personnel must utilize portable electronic devices interfacing with the Sunshine 811 One Call Ticket Management System and capable of receiving tickets electronically, accessing emergency dispatch notifications, viewing GIS mapping and CAD drawings, recording digital field notes, capturing GPS coordinates, and uploading photographs.

Estimated annual quantities are 5,000 standard Sunshine 811 locate tickets, 100 emergency locates, 10 after-hours emergency locates, and 100 no-conflict verifications. The City does not guarantee minimum work quantities. Contract term is three years with two optional one-year renewal periods. Bidders must demonstrate a minimum of seven years' experience in underground utility locating and provide references for at least three similar projects. Pricing must include all labor, equipment, supervision, vehicles, materials, software, and communication devices and remain firm for twelve months, with annual adjustments limited to five percent supported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Cost Index. Required insurance includes Workers' Compensation, Commercial General Liability with minimum $500,000 per occurrence and $1 million general aggregate, and Commercial Automobile Liability with Combined Single Limit of $500,000, all naming the City as additional insured. Bids under $50,000 may be awarded by the City Manager; bids exceeding $50,000 require City Commission approval.