WMS20-002 West Middle School Athletic Field Irrigation

Traverse City Area Public Schools (TCAPS) is procuring design, engineering, and installation services for an Athletic Fields Irrigation Upgrade Project at West Middle School located at 3950 Silver Lake Road in Traverse City, Michigan, under a single prime, stipulated sum blanket purchase order contract. The scope of work includes converting the existing hydraulic control system to electronically controlled valves, providing all necessary components for a complete operational system, reusing existing underground piping where feasible, and restoring the site. Bidders must submit a lump sum price for the base bid along with unit costs for three designated alternates and provide bid security equal to five percent of the total base bid in the form of a cashier's check or bid bond. Required qualifications include contractor personnel badged through TCAPS Human Resources with background checks at approximately $66 per employee, workers' compensation insurance, general liability insurance of $1,000,000 per occurrence, umbrella excess liability of $3,000,000, and performance bonds equal to 100 percent of the contract sum. The contractor must provide a five-year warranty on materials and one-year warranty on labor, along with operation and maintenance data and spare parts. Sealed bids were due by 1:00 p.m. on March 31, 2020, with public bid opening at the TCAPS Facilities Building at 1212 Cass Road. Site visits were available by request through the Capital Projects and Planning Office with Kathy Booker-Graham at 231-933-1939 or Paul Thwing at 231-933-1935. Bidding documents became available March 16, 2020, through the State of Michigan SIGMA website, Bid4Michigan website, Builders Exchange of Northwest Michigan, or via email request to Paul Thwing at thwingpa@tcaps.net.

The procurement documents do not identify any set-aside designations or restrictions limiting responses to specific organization types, disadvantaged enterprises, or minority-owned businesses. No incumbent vendors or current contractors were referenced in the available documentation. The project timeline indicated TCAPS Board approval targeted for April 13, 2020, with substantial completion required by August 21, 2020, and an intended June 15, 2020 start date. Contract award was to be made within thirty days of bid opening. All bids were required to remain irrevocable for 60 days following submission, and TCAPS reserved the right to accept or reject any or all bids and to select the bid deemed in the best interest of the school district. No project funding sources or budget ranges were specified in the bidding documents.