Landscaping Services, Grand Haven, Michigan

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District is seeking firms that can provide Landscaping Services at our area office in Grand Haven, Michigan. This is NOT a solicitation. This Sources Sought announcement is for planning and market research purposes only and is NOT a Request for Quote or Proposal. No basis for claim against the Government shall arise as a result of a response to this Sources Sought Notice. The Government will not pay for information or comments provided and will not recognize any cost associated with the submission of responses or comments. Interested and qualified companies are encouraged to respond. Description of Required work: The site is located on the Government owned property at 307 South Harbor Drive along the Grand River channel in Grand Haven MI. The contractor shall mow the lawn area, trim and blow off walkways and parking lot on a weekly basis between the months of April and November. In addition, edge walkways, apply fertilizer and broadleaf weed and grub control to the lawn area, perform spring and fall cleanup of property, prune shrubs, maintain flower beds and place shredded bark in the flower beds. The contractor shall restore all landscape features damaged during mowing and/or trimming operations. Such restoration will be in accordance with the plan submitted for approval by the Contracting Officer's Representative. This work will be accomplished at the contractor's expense. The following is the scope of work and estimated quantities for the contractor to perform the required tasks from 15 April to 15 November. The Government representative may request additional work depending on certain events throughout the season. The Government will have the responsibility to allocate additional funding to the contract for any increases over the estimated quantities provided. The contractor shall use mowing equipment, such as lawn and garden tractors; push mowers, weed eaters, edgers, and other power-mowing equipment, and/or manually operated tools. Riding type mowers may be used where practical, however, turf type flotation tires or other approved type tires will be required to prevent tearing up of the turf. Contractor may be held accountable for re-turfing if equipment causes gouging or plowing. Hand mowing equipment shall be required to mow all areas inaccessible to a riding mower. Equipment used for trimming and edging shall be either powered or manually operated, and adequate to provide close trimming. All equipment must be operated in such a manner as to not cause damage to Government property. The lawn shall be cut and trimmed once a week between 01 May through 31 October and the clippings shall be mulched or bagged. Before each mowing, the contractor shall pick up all litter, trash, limbs and other debris and remove it from the area. Mowing shall be accomplished in a manner that will prevent tearing up or scalping the turf shall be cut to a height of no more than (3) nor less than one and one-half (1-1/2) inches above the ground as directed in the mowing request. The turf shall be cut to a uniform height and each pass of the mower shall overlap the previous pass so that no strips or uncut vegetation will result. If for any reason strips or uncut grass remain in the mowed area, the strips will be remowed, even though it may be several days before the strips are visible. Mowing with farm-type tractors shall not be performed because if the ground is so wet that the mowing operations will cause rutting. Mowing under these conditions shall be accomplished by use of smaller mowing equipment. All areas that cannot be cut with mowers shall be hand cut, pulled or trimmed. Mowing and trimming shall be done at approximately the same time, but in no case shall they be further apart than two (2) days. Clippings and trimmings shall be cleaned off roadways, parking lots, sidewalks and concrete abutments, etc. after each mowing. Any damage to trees or shrubbery caused by mowing or trimming shall be restored at the contractor's expense as specified above. The walkways shall be edged monthly between 01 May through 31 October. The contractor shall apply five applications of fertilizer and 2 applications of broadleaf weed and grub control to the lawn area from April through November. The spring (April) fertilizer shall consist of crabacide. The contractor shall perform one spring cleanup in April and two fall cleanups of the property in November. This would include at a minimum cleaning out flower beds, cleaning the parking lot of debris, leaves, and acorns. The debris shall be taken offsite for proper disposal. The contractor shall prune the shrubs to a shapely fashion and away from the building and utility lines twice a year in May and September. The contractor shall maintain the flower and shrub beds by weeding and fertilizing four times a year from May through August. Approximately 15 CY of shredded hardwood bark shall be placed in the flower and shrub beds in May. The contractor shall maintain the parking lot two times per month by keeping storm drain grates clear of debris to maintain proper drainage, remove dirt/debris/acorns as it accumulates in piles. Provide weed/brush control over the whole parking lot area, along the revetment, building, and in the fenced in area behind the office building from May through October. The contractor shall start-up the underground sprinkling system in the spring and winterize the system in the fall. The contractor will provide services for a full year from 15 April 2021 and the contract will include four (4) option years. This requirement is expected to be solicited in mid-October 2020. The North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code is 561730, which has a small business size standard of $8 million. The responses received to this notice shall be in summary format and shall not exceed five (5) pages, including the Sources Sought Information Form. Please PDF all information as one PDF file for submission. In order for the Government to determine the extent of industry interest and experience in the project, interested contractors shall complete the information attached to this advertisement as a Word Document, Sources Sought Information Form. Please reference in the subject line "SOURCES SOUGHT Landscaping Services, Grand Haven, MI". Respondents will not be contacted regarding their submission or information gathered as a result of the Sources Sought.