REQUEST FOR BIDS
Grounds Maintenance & Mowing
Sharon, VT
Bids due Thursday, March 31st, 2022 12:00PM
Proposed Contract Period:
BIDDERS must be available to provide services beginning April 15, 2022 and through November 30, 2024. This is a 2-year period.
Who is Eligible to Bid?
Bidders must be a minimum of 18 years of age, have some experience in grounds maintenance, mowing, or landscaping, and be able to provide, operate, and maintain the equipment necessary to perform the required services. Bidders must have and maintain a valid driver’s license during the contract period. Bidders must acquire and maintain the insurance coverage as outlined in these bid specifications.
Services Requested
- Spring and fall cleanup of Town grounds.
- Weekly or as-needed mowing, weed whacking, and lawn maintenance. Please note “maintenance” of grounds may need to include periodic ‘turf building’ or non-chemical fertilization and/or re-seeding to encourage healthy lawns.
- Mowing may require push mower in certain locations in addition to stand-on mower.
- Bi-weekly cemetery mowing: Wallace Doubleday Cemetery on Kenyon Hill Road, which is accessed via North Pomfret Road. Cemetery is at end of road at turnaround on the farmstead. (bid alternate)
Schedule of Mowing
Mowing is limited to times when the Baxter Memorial library is closed. The library is open Mondays through Thursdays, 2PM – 6PM. Mowing at all sites is estimated to take less than 2 hours, depending on conditions and available equipment.
Description of Grounds and Work Needed
SITE 1: Old School House – 79 VT Rte 132: Mowing and trimming to occur along strips of grass between the building and I89 and out front of the building along Rte. 132.
SITE 2: Town Offices – 69 VT Rte 132: Mowing and trimming to occur on the grassy lot to the rear and around the Town Office building. Garden beds by rear entry are already planted with lilies and hostas. They need to be cleared of debris and old growth each spring. Vines and brush to be cleared from the fence and west side of building each spring and cut back periodically over the summer and fall.
SITE 3: Baxter Memorial Library – 5114 VT Rte. 14 North: Mow and trim grassy areas in front, alongside, and to rear of the building and around gazebo. (Caution: well head located here). Mow and trim grassy roadside parcel across Rte. 14 from Baxter Library.
SITE 4: Wallace Doubleday Cemetery off Kenyon Hill Road via N. Pomfret: Bi-Weekly mowing and weed whacking around headstones and along fence lines. Push mower required. Specialty whips needed for weed whacker to prevent injury to stones.
BID DEADLINE: THURSDAY, March 31st, 2022 12:00PM
How to Submit a Bid Successfully
Submit a completed Bid Form with certificate of insurance. The Town of Sharon shall be a named insured on the certificate. The bid form must also be accompanied by evidence of valid driver’s license.
- Bids may be submitted electronically to selectboard@sharonvt.net.
- Bids may be submitted in a sealed envelope that is clearly marked “2022 Grounds Maintenance” and mailed to: Town of Sharon, P.O. Box 250, Sharon, VT 05065 or Hand Delivered to: 15 School Street, Sharon, VT
- Please do NOT FAX your bids. FAXED bids will not be accepted.
Questions about the bid process may be addressed to:
Nicola Shipman, Selectboard Assistant
Phone: (802) 763-8268
Email: selectboard@sharonvt.net.
Bid Opening, Review, and Award
Bids will be opened and read aloud to the public at 12:00pm Thursday, March 31, 2022.
After bids will be reviewed for completeness. An award of contract, if one is made, is expected to be made during a Selectboard meeting on April 4th, 2022 or soon thereafter. Bids must be valid for thirty (30) days from the date of opening.
The Sharon Selectboard reserves the right to reject any and all bids or to waive any informality when it deems to be in the best interest of the Town. The Sharon Selectboard further reserves the right to award the bid based on a number of factors, inclusive of price, experience, reputation, and availability.
Insurance Requirements: The BIDDER shall provide the Town of Sharon with evidence of insurance as follows:
Commercial General Liability Coverage:
Commercial General Liability Insurance including but not limited to Bodily Injury, Personal/Advertising Injury, Broad Form Property Damage, Products and Completed Operations Liability and Contractual Liability with limits of, at minimum, $1,000,000 Combined Single Limit for each occurrence. The Contractor must list the Town of Sharon, its officers and employees, as Additional Insureds on their Commercial General Liability Policy.
Commercial Auto Coverage:
Commercial Auto Liability Insurance covering all Owned & Hired and Non-Owned vehicles, with limits of, at minimum, $1,000,000 Combined Single Limit for each occurrence.
Workers’ Compensation & Employers Liability Insurance:
Statutory Worker’s Compensation Insurance and Employers Liability with limits of, at minimum, $1,000,000 any one occurrence.
If Contractor is not required by law to carry workers’ compensation insurance, in place of proof of workers’ compensation insurance Contractor may provide a fully executed Non-Employee Work Agreement specifying the particular provision of 21 V.S.A §601(14)(F) that exempts Contractor from having to carry such coverage.
The Contractors policies shall name the Municipality as an additional insured.
Property Insurance
All risk property insurance on a full replacement cost basis for all the Contractor’s real and personal property and personal property of others in the Contractor’s care custody or control located on or in any of the Named Members premises.
The Sharon Selectboard reserves the right to select the most responsive bid, which may not be the lowest bid. The Sharon Selectboard reserves the right to reject any and all proposals if it deems it is in the public’s interest to do so.