BACKGROUND:
The Calwood Fire began on October 17, 2020 and quickly grew to become the largest fire in Boulder County history, burning approximately 10,112 acres of private, County, State, and Federal land, and destroying 20 residences and damaging three.
The purpose of this post-fire mulch treatment is to provide adequate cover on treatment areas within the Calwood Fire to reduce erosion and sedimentation that may affect water quality, municipal water supplies, park and road infrastructure, as well as homes and lives of the citizenry located within, adjacent, or down slope of the fire perimeter.
There are three primary work site locations. The first is Boulder County’s Heil Valley Ranch and some associated private parcels, located on Geer Canyon Drive off Lefthand Canyon Drive.
A secondary project area is located on the Calwood Environmental Education Center, located northwest of Jamestown off James Canyon Drive at 2282 County Road 87.
The third area is a treatment unit located approximately one half (½) mile, north of Lefthand Canyon Drive at the entrance to the Mountain Ridge Subdivision on Mountain Ridge Road on North Foothills Highway (Colorado State Highway 36).
To address these concerns of post-fire flooding, debris flows, and erosion, the County has entered into an Agreement with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to provide emergency stabilization to the most at-risk areas of the fire.
The Boulder County Parks and Open Space Department (BCPOS) is seeking proposals from qualified Contractors to treat approximately 1,632 acres of moderate and high severity burned lands with aerial application of wood shred mulch. The project requires Contractors who are specifically experienced and fully qualified in the aerial application of wood shred mulch over steep and rugged terrain, as well as the ability to utilize aerial forwarding systems (helicopter yarding) and ground-based systems via tree-length method to harvest burned trees.
The Contractor must have experience with and ability to masticate burned trees on slopes up to 40% and on rocky ground. In addition, the selected contractor will be responsible for all aspects of the project, including access improvement, felling operations, processing operations at the landing(s) to provide wood shreds for aerial mulching, and procurement and transportation of either logs or wood shreds to the project site from off-site sources. This includes removal of accumulated debris/slash at the landing areas and rehabilitation of all adversely impacted operation sites.
Aerial mulching using wood shreds will be applied over approximately 1,350 acres, and mastication will be implemented on approximately 282 acres. Some of the treatments are contingent upon land owner permission, and additional acres could potentially be masticated rather than receive the aerial application of mulch or mulched rather than masticated if enough materials are available.
OPTIONAL PRE-BID ON-SITE MEETING:
Interested Parties should contact the Boulder County Purchasing Department at purchasing@bouldercounty.org to reserve a place, reserved spaces will be on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Reservations will only be taken beginning on FEBRUARY 18, 2021 through the end of business, 4:30 p.m., on FEBRUARY 23, 2021.
All interested Parties, that timely request to participate in the optional Pre-BID, on-site project tour, will be permitted access to the project sites. A limited number of reservations will be accepted. Contractors are advised to make a reservation early in order to participate. The date, time and location of the Pre-BID meeting will be disclosed only to registered participants. No additional access to the project sites will be offered and/or granted by the County and access is strictly prohibited. The Pre-BID will last approximately four (4) hours and consist of driving and hiking to impacted project areas. Only two (2) designated representatives from a company will be scheduled and permitted to attend. All participants are required to sign a Waiver and Release Agreement upon reserving a space. All participants will be provided a copy of the County’s Pre-BID safety plan.
The County will not provide transportation to project sites. Contractors are advised 4-wheel drive vehicles are required to be able to safely access all project sites. PPE requirements are addressed in the Safety Plan, participants are required to wear an OSHA approved hard hat and appropriate boots.
Due to the importance of the project and budgetary restraints, all interested Parties are strongly encouraged to attend the Pre-BID meeting to ensure the submittal of a complete proposal. Change order requests due to incomplete proposals or a miscalculation of required tasks by the selected contractor will not be entertained by the County and will be the sole financial responsibility of the selected contractor to complete the Project.
Boulder County reserves the right to decline a request for proposal withdrawal (claim of error) based on a proposer’s failure to view the project site as encouraged by the County.
Attending the optional Pre-BID on-site viewing is not mandatory nor is it required to submit a proposal for the project, but instead, is highly encouraged.
Questions regarding additional information not covered in this Request for Proposal or additional questions not answered at the Pre-BID, are to be directed to purchasing@bouldercounty.org, in writing.
The county will post the answers to the submitted written questions in a posted, bid addenda, as directed, in this Request for Proposal.
Boulder County adheres to the Colorado State Department of Public Health & Environment guidelines as well as the guidelines set forth by the Boulder County Health Department as related to the COVID-19 pandemic, therefore, a limit of only two (2) people from individual companies may attend the meeting. For the safety of all potential proposers attending and staff, if you have recently been in close contact with anyone who has contracted COVID-19 or are experiencing symptoms, please refrain from attending.
Additional requirements are as follows:
a. Information will not change hands. No documents, writing instruments, business cards, sign in sheets, etc.;
b. All participants are required to wear face coverings;
c. All participants are required to maintain at least 6 feet of physical distancing at all times;
d. Participants will be allowed to take photos or videos of the site in order to review with sub-contractors or reference for proposal submission.
Please note that the County may reschedule the optional Pre-BID, terminate or modify the process at any time due to changing circumstances related to the current COVID-19 pandemic.
The County representatives will remain onsite for the duration of the site visits and leave only after the interested Party representatives have left the site. Access without County supervision is strictly prohibited.
WRITTEN INQUIRIES:
All inquiries regarding this RFP will be submitted via email to the Boulder County Purchasing Office at purchasing@bouldercounty.org on or before 2:00 p.m. March 1, 2021. A response from the county to all inquiries will be posted and sent via email no later than March 3, 2021.
Please do not contact any other county department or personnel with questions or for information regarding this solicitation.
SUBMITTAL INSTRUCTIONS:
Submittals are due at the email box only, listed below, for time and date recording on or before 2:00 p.m. Mountain Time on March 8, 2021.
