INVITATION TO BID
SCHOOL BOARD OF LAKE COUNTY
PURCHASING DEPARTMENT
29529 COUNTY ROAD 561
TAVARES, FLORIDA 32778-2496
The School Board of Lake County, located in Tavares, Florida, solicits your company to submit a bid on our Bid #4191DG - Sod.
All terms and conditions below are a part of this Invitation to Bid (ITB) and no bids will be accepted unless the vendor complies with all conditions required herein. Rights are reserved by the School Board of Lake County to accept or reject any and all bids and to waive all technicalities and award in the best interest of the Board. The Board does not sign contract forms provided by vendors. The bid, request for proposal, or invitation to negotiate with the vendor’s signature will constitute an offer to sell to the Board under the stated terms and conditions.
All prospective vendors are hereby cautioned not to contact any Board member of the School Board of Lake County or any other employee, officer, staff or agent, nor to attempt to persuade or promote through other channels. All contacts must be channeled through the Procurement Department. Failure to comply with these procedures shall be cause for disqualification of firm’s Submittal.
From the notice of publication until 72 hours after the posting of the recommendation of award only the Purchasing Department should be contacted concerning any questions concerning this bid. No other employee, officer, staff or agent of the School Board should be contacted during this period. All questions/concerns pertaining to any technical aspects of this bid should be posed through Public Purchase.
Purchasing Contact: Deborah Gardner, CPPB, Certified Purchasing Agent
E-mail:
Fax: 352-253-6761
Address: 29529 CR 561
Tavares, Florida 32778
Formal bid openings will no longer be held for bids other than construction. Only the names of the bidders will be read.
1. BIDDERS RESPONSIBILITY: Before submitting their bid proposal, each bidder is required to carefully examine the invitation to bid specifications and to completely familiarize themselves with all of the terms and conditions that are contained within this bid. Ignorance on the part of the bidder will in no way relieve them of any of the obligations and responsibilities, which are a part of this bid.
IMPORTANT NOTICE TO BIDDERS: The Procurement Services Department of Lake County Schools has partnered with Public Purchase for the posting, notification, and processing of their bid opportunities. There is NO COST to Vendors to use this service for Lake County Schools bid opportunities.
Please follow the link www.publicpurchase.com to register with Public Purchase for Lake County Schools. This will place the Bidder on the notification list for any forthcoming addendum or other official communications. Failure to register as a prospective Bidder and/or accept receipt of each document may cause your Submittal Package to be rejected as non-responsive. If you have submitted a package without Lake County School Board issued forms and/or acknowledgment of issued addenda as provided by the Lake County School Board your submittal may be considered non-responsive.
2. ONLY ON LINE RESPONSES shall be accepted on line at www.publicpurchase.com prior to 4:00 pm on November 30, 2015.
It is strongly recommended THAT respondents submit bids as early as possible. time should be allowed to receive any requested assistance FROM PUBLIC PURCHASE. waiting until the last hours of the solicitation could impact the bid submittal.
3. SCOPE OF WORK AND SPECIFICATIONS:
The successful bidder shall provide all materials, labor and resources necessary to supply and deliver or supply deliver and install Sod including field preparation and laser leveling on an “as needed” basis.
A. Sod Specifications:
Sod Types:
1. Argentine Bahia
2. Pensacola Bahia
3. St. Augustine
4. Certified Bermuda 419 Turf
All requested sod shall be:
a) Cutting Size: 16” X 24”
b) All pallets shall contain a minimum of 400 square feet of sod. Items shall be ordered as needed. The minimum amount to be delivered at one time shall be four hundred (400) square feet which is one (1) pallet.
c) The sod shall have a habit of growth that is normal to the species, and shall be fresh cut within 24 hours. The material shall be well formed, vigorous and free from insects, pests, plant diseases, noxious weeds and damage. The sod shall be heavily foliated and sturdily established with the proper growing medium. Sod shall be available for quality inspection prior to installation.
d) The sod shall be rolled or pallet cut at the discretion of the Lake County School Board.
e) The Lake County School Board shall have the right at any stage in the installation to reject all work and materials which do not meet the requirements of this specification. Any rejected material shall be removed from the site and acceptable material substituted in its place at no additional expense to the School Board.
f) Clean fill material shall consist of a mix of top soil, clean top dress sand and compost. The minimum average ratio shall be 80% of sand to 20% top soil/compost. No more than 80% of the mix shall be minimum and fine (.25 mm and .15 mm).
g) All sod shall have a minimum 2” thickness soil base. Any meshing used with rolled sod must be removed at the time of installation.
h) Extremely dry, wet or diseased sod will not be accepted.
i) All sod shall be free of ants.
B. Pick Up
District staff may choose to pick up palletized sod. The Contractor shall provide the equipment and operator to load product on District owned trucks/trailers.
C. Pallets Charges
All sod shall be on wooden pallets, free from broken boards or protruding nails. The pallets remain the property of the Contractor. The Contractor shall NOT invoice the School Board for any pallet deposit charges. Pallets shall be picked up at the delivery location by the awarded vendor upon notification by District staff. Pallets shall be picked up within five (5) working days of the request to remove the pallets. On the Cost Proposal bidder(s) shall submit a unit price for each unreturned pallet(s).
D. Installation
Installation shall be on an as-needed basis and as requested by the School Board. Labor crews shall be directed by a landscape foreman experienced in planting sod, adhering to the contract specifications and coordinating work. This foreman shall be present at any project conference and job sites.
Installation requiring field scraping, disposal of waste material, tilling remaining bare soil, bringing in supplemental clean fill material, level and laser grade, and laying of sod, must be mobilized by contractor within 2 weeks of receipt of Purchase Order.
Field Preparation: Existing sod shall be removed and properly disposed of by the contractor.
Laser Leveling: The installation site shall be laser-leveled by contractor immediately prior to installation and subject to inspection and acceptance by the School Board.
All installed 419 Turf shall come with a starter feeding fertilizer applied within two weeks of installation.
Any rolling of sod on existing turf should be done with a minimum two (2) ton double drum drivable roller. When rolling new sod the size of the roller will be mutually agreed upon by the School Board designee and the Contractor.
If the School Board requests the Contractor to install sod, installation shall be complete within two (2) working days after delivery. The Contractor shall be held responsible for damage to sod after delivery and during installation. Installation shall be on an as needed basis and there is no guarantee of frequency of installation.
E. Damaged Items
In the event a portion or all the order is found to be defective when the sod is delivered and or installed, the Contractor shall immediately replace the items at no cost to the District.
F. Inspection
When the contractor is satisfied that the landscape has been fully and properly completed and that all work and cleanup is completed, the contractor shall include a written notice of completion to the School Board. The notice of completion shall include the request for final inspection with date and time given. The School Board and the Contractor shall inspect materials and workmanship. Any unsatisfactory materials and or workmanship noted shall be corrected by the contractor within forty-eight (48) hours.
G. Completion
Completion of the work shall be defined as the full and complete compliance with all the provisions of this Specification.
H. Guarantee
All sod shall be guaranteed for one (1) month from time of planting. During the guarantee period, any sod that is not in satisfactory condition as determined by the School Board shall be replaced by the Contractor at the Contractors expense within two (2) weeks after written notification by the School Board. All replacements shall be sod of the same kind and size as originally provided, and shall be furnished and planted as specified. All replacement sod shall be guaranteed for an additional one (1) month period from the date of planting.
4. BID SCHEDULE:
Deadline for Questions: November 13, 2015 @ 4:00 PM
Last Date for Addendums: November 17, 2015
Bid Opens: November 30, 2015 @ 4:00 PM
Posting of Award Recommendation: December 21, 2015
Board Action on Recommendation: January 11, 2016
5. AWARD: It is anticipated that Award shall be made on a lot by lot basis to the “lowest” and “best” bid submitted based on conformity to specifications and price. As the best interests of the School Board may require, the School Board reserves the right to make award(s) on a lowest price basis by item, group of items, all or none, or a combination thereof; with one or more Vendors; to reject any and all bids, that in its judgment will be for the best interest of the Lake County Schools, or waive any minor irregularity or technicality in bids received. Award shall be made on conformity to specifications and price. Multiplying unit cost per item by quantity estimated and summing the totals shall determine lowest bid price.
It is important that vendors understand the District’s budgetary restrictions when offers are submitted. To fulfill our fiduciary responsibilities we are requesting that all pricing submitted be as competitive as possible so that we may return maximum value to the District. By providing a bid the vendor is acknowledging that the District’s current or future budgetary shortfalls may materially impact long-term completion of the District’s projections under this bid and/or may materially impact the District’s ability to consider renewal of any subsequent terms. Please also see Item 9.
B. The Board reserves the right to use the next lowest and best responsive and responsible bidder in the event the original awardee(s) of the bid cannot fulfill their contract, subject to the terms and conditions provided herein. The next lowest and best responsive and responsible bidder’s prices must remain the same as originally bid and must remain firm for the duration of the contract.
6. Bid tabulations with recommended awards will be posted for review by interested parties on or about December 21, 2015 and will remain posted for a period of 72 hours. The award recommendation will be posted in the Purchasing Department located at 29529 County Road 561, Tavares, Florida, and on www.publicpurchase.com. Since this information is available as outlined above, the purchasing department will not mail or fax recommendation of award notices to all bidders. Failure to file a protest within the time prescribed in Section 120.57 (3), Florida Statutes, shall constitute a waiver of proceedings under Chapter 120, Florida Statutes. Any person who is affected adversely by the decision or intended decision shall file with the Board, through it’s Purchasing Department, a written notice of protest within 72 hours after the posting or notification. A formal written protest shall be filed within 10 calendar days after filing the notice of protest. With respect to a protest of the specifications contained in an invitation to bid or in a request for proposals, the notice of protest shall be filed in writing within 72 hours after the receipt of the project plans and specifications or intended project plans and specifications in an invitation to bid or request for proposals (but no later than the time when the bids or responses must be received in order to be considered), and the formal written protest shall be filed within 10 calendar days after the date the notice of protest is filed. The 72 hours period referred to herein shall not include Saturdays, Sundays, or holidays. The word "holiday" shall mean any weekday on which the School Board's Administrative offices are closed. Failure to file a timely formal written protest shall constitute a waiver of proceedings under Chapter 120, Florida Statutes. The formal written protest shall state with particularity the facts and law upon which protest is based. Any person who files an action protesting a decision or intended decision pertaining to a bid pursuant to FS 120.57(3)(b), shall post at the time of filing the formal written protest, a bond payable to the School Board of Lake County in an amount equal to one percent (1%) of the total estimated contract value, but not less than $500 nor more than $5,000, which bond shall be conditioned upon the payment of all costs which may be adjudged against the protester in the administrative hearing in which the action is brought and in any subsequent appellate court proceeding. In lieu of a bond, a cashier’s check, certified bank check, bank certified company check, or money order will be an acceptable form of security. If, after completion of the administrative hearing process and any appellate court proceedings, the district prevails, it shall recover all costs and charges which shall be included in the final order or judgment, including charges made by the Division of Administrative Hearings, but excluding attorney’s fees. Upon payment of such costs and charges by the protester, the protest security shall be returned. If the protester prevails, he or she shall recover from the district all costs and charges which shall be included in the final order of judgment, excluding attorney’s fees. Upon receipt of the formal written protest and protest bond which has been timely filed, the district shall stop the bid solicitation process or the contract award process until the subject of the protest is resolved by final district action, unless the Superintendent sets forth in writing particular facts and circumstances which require the continuance of the bid solicitation process or the contract award process without delay in order to avoid an immediate and serious danger to the public health, safety, or welfare.