This is a service / maintenance or supply contract in Joliet, Illinois. Contact the soliciting agency for additional information.

Address all inquiries concerning this Request for Proposals and Qualifications to: Project Manager Name: Judith Wallace Project Manager Contact Information: (815) 722-5919, jwallace@fpdwc.org B. Project Purpose The intent of this project is to maintain native landscape plantings in building foundation beds, tree rings, shrub and ornamental beds, limestone walkways, and naturalized planting areas. Note: the ability to discern native versus non-native plant species as well as invasive species is critical for successful completion of this project. Project components include: 1. General Requirements 2. Scope of Services 3. Maintenance Specifications C. Schedule 1. Proposals shall be returned to the above address by 4 p.m. on September 19, 2023. 2. All Native Landscape Maintenance work shall be completed by December 15, 2024. D. Forest Preserve Contact Person Address all inquiries concerning this Request for Proposals and Qualifications to: Project Manager Name: Judith Wallace Project Manager Contact Information: (815) 722-5919, jwallace@fpdwc.org II. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS 1. SUMMARY a. Work covered by Contract Documents is as stipulated within this project manual and as accompanied by drawings. b. Definitions: The following terms are used throughout the Contract Documents. The work will be governed in accordance with the definitions. i. Owner or Client: Shall mean Forest Preserve District of Will County. ii. Owner's Representative: Shall mean persons or firms designated by the Owner. 2. INITIAL SITE INSPECTION a. Contractor to schedule an initial site inspection with the Owner's Representative prior to initiation of activities to identify and document any pre-existing damages occurring over the winter months. b. Resolution of such damages to be discussed at said site inspection and action plans to be initiated. c. Said action plan may be accomplished through Owner's Representative or by special arrangement with the Contractor. Native Landscaping Maintenance, Page 2 of 12 3. GUARANTEE AND REPLACEMENT a. Contractor shall replace, at no additional cost to Owner, any turf or plant materials damaged as a result of improper maintenance attention or procedures. Replacement material shall be of the same size and variety as the dead or damaged material. Replace plant material within two weeks of identification of damage. Alternatives to size, variety and scheduling of replacement only by written permission of Owner. b. Contractor is not responsible for losses, repair or replacement of damaged work or plant material resulting from theft, extreme weather conditions, vandalism, vehicular incidents (other than Contractor's vehicles) or the acts of others over whom they have no reasonable control. c. Contractor and field staff shall not cause any vehicle rutting damage while on-site. If rutting occurs between 2" and 6" deep, Contractor shall be responsible for repairing the ruts, and plant appropriate seed (approved by the Owner) where damage occurred. Any ruts over 6" deep may be considered cause for termination of contract. 4. CONTRACTOR STAFF TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE a. Contractor will provide staff able to perform work at the highest standards of horticultural excellence. Key staff shall have current knowledge of best management practices (BMP's) regarding safety, native plants, hazardous materials spill response, plant health, pruning, and herbicide application. Owner reserves the right to demand the replacement of Contractor's staff who do not meet the owner's standards for safety, professionalism, or horticultural knowledge. b. The Contractor's project manager shall have and must demonstrate a minimum of three (3) years' experience working in high quality natural areas that have an overall coefficient of conservatism value greater than 3.5 (preferably dedicated Illinois Nature Preserves), and performed acceptable work. The project manager shall be on site during all work. The Contractor must supply at least three (3) references that can confirm these requirements are satisfied. All project staff shall have a minimum of one (1) year experience working in high quality natural areas that have a co-efficient of conservatism value greater than 3.5 (preferably dedicated Illinois Nature Preserves). Only Bidders that have these qualifications and at least three (3) positive referrals will be considered. See Section V.B.2. c. All herbicide applications shall be performed by a Contractor (or sub-contractor) licensed and insured as an Illinois State Commercial Applicator. In addition, the staff doing the herbicide application shall be licensed as Commercial Operators. License numbers will be provided to the Owner prior to award of contract. d. All pruning will be performed by, or under the direct on-site supervision of, staff with documented education and training in proper and naturalistic pruning techniques. Other than suckers and water sprouts, pruning of trees greater than six (6) inches DBH will be performed by the Owner. 5. WORK SITE SAFETY a. Contractor shall be solely responsible for providing and maintain safe conditions at the work site, including the safety of persons and property and shall comply with applicable laws and safety regulations to prevent injury to persons or damage to property, including all Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) laws and regulations. Whenever public or private property is damaged, Contractor shall at his/her own expense, restore such property to a condition equal to that existing before the damage was done. b. When Project Manager deems any operation, condition, or practice to be unsafe, Contractor shall take corrective action before affected work is resumed. More specifically, Native Landscaping Maintenance, Page 3 of 12 the Contractor shall protect public and adjacent property including roadways, present structures including above and below ground structures, and Forest Preserve employees and members of the public. 6. CONTRACTOR/OWNER COMMUNICATION a. Contractor to provide a supervisor or foreman to act on all matters pertaining to the performance of the Contract. b. Contractor or Contractor's appointed supervisor shall attend meetings and site inspections of the grounds as requested by Owner. 7. CONTRACT PERIOD The term of this Contract is from March 15, 2024 to December 15, 2024. The terms of the Contract may be extended for two (2) additional one-year periods, upon mutual agreement and acceptance, in writing, by both the Contractor and the Forest Preserve District of Will County, at the as-bid unit prices in this proposal. CLEANUP PROCEDURES Entire worksite shall be kept free of litter, trash and other debris throughout the length and duration of the Contract. Contractor shall be responsible for pickup of litter, trash and other debris in all beds indicated on Exhibit maps attached to this document. All landscape waste, including leaves, branches and edging debris shall be removed from worksite at the end of every visit. This work is considered incidental to the Contract. STAGING AND SPECIAL EVENTS Public parking lots, trails and walkways are located within the maintenance area. The parking lots and trails may be used as staging areas, however the Contractor must minimize their use in order to allow continued public access. It is also the responsibility of the Contractor to ensure the facilities have no conflicting public activities which may interfere with management tasks. Owner will supply Contractor with a 2024 Schedule of Events. III. SCOPE OF SERVICES This scope of services is provided as a guide and will be used as a basis to evaluate proposals that are submitted to the Forest Preserve. Consultants may wish to clarify, separate, or subcontract work items to meet their firm's particular qualifications or expertise. Different levels of care will be applied to a given landscape bed depending on the condition and needs of each as identified by the Forest Preserve below. These levels of care are as follows. Level 1 care requires a greater level of detail. Level 1 care will generally include, but not be limited to: weed control, edging, pruning, line trimming, mulch installation and maintenance, spring clean-up of beds, and other maintenance tasks listed in this contract. The expectation is to maintain these areas as aesthetically pleasing, groomed plantings: kept weed free, not allowed to become unruly or overgrown, spacing maintained between groupings of plants/grasses. Level 2 care will generally include control and/or removal of undesirable non-native species, both herbaceous and woody. These areas require less detailed work as they are meant to be informal, native plantings. The expectation is to keep these plantings free from invasive trees shrubs and invasive forbs. In addition, any vegetation overhanging walkways and public use areas should be cut back and/or removed. Native Landscaping Maintenance, Page 4 of 12 Below is a summary of the acreage and level of maintenance for each FPDWC facility requiring native landscaping maintenance. A. FOUR RIVERS ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CENTER 25055 W. Walnut Lane, off Blackberry Lane south of Bridge Street, in Channahon. Facility Hours of Operation: Tues. - Sat. 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. / Sun. noon to 4:00 p.m. / Mon. closed. Refer to Exhibit A - Four Rivers map and Table 1 for notes on each landscape bed 1. Level 1 - 0.25 acres non-irrigated perennial and shrub beds 2. Level 1 - 0.13 acres little bluestem monoculture beds 3. Level 2 - 0.98 acres naturalized plantings B. HIDDEN OAKS NATURE CENTER 419 Trout Farm Road, north of Boughton Road in Bolingbrook. Facility Hours of Operation: Wed.- Sat. 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. / Sun. noon to 4:00 p.m. / Mon. and Tues. closed. Refer to Exhibits B and C - Hidden Oak Nature Center maps and Table 2 for notes on each landscape bed. 1. Level 1 - 398 square feet non-irrigated mulched beds 2. Level 1 - 1,959 square feet green roof 3. Level 2 - 3.72 acres naturalized plantings C. ISLE A LA CACHE 501 Romeo Road, Romeoville Facility Hours of Operation: Tues. - Sat. 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. / Sun. noon to 4:00 p.m. / Mon. closed. Refer to Exhibit D - Isle a la Cache map and Table 3 for notes on each landscape bed. 1. Level 1 - 0.81 acres non-irrigated perennial and shrub beds 2. Level 1 - ~50 non-irrigated trees with mulched tree rings 3. Level 1 - 0.14 acres limestone walkway, shoreline areas D. PLUM CREEK NATURE CENTER 27064 Dutton Road, Beecher within Goodenow Grove Nature Preserve. Facility Hours of Operation: Tues. - Sat. 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. / Sun. noon to 4 p.m. / Mon. closed. Refer to Exhibit E - Plum Creek map and Table 4 for notes on each landscape bed. 1. Level 1 - 0.51 acres non-irrigated perennial and shrub beds 2. Level 1 - ~8 non-irrigated trees in tree rings and parking lot medians 3. Level 1 - 80 square yards limestone screenings council circle 4. Level 1 - 200 square feet river rock swales (2) 5. Level 2 - 0.47 acres naturalized plantings E. MONEE RESERVOIR 27341 S. Ridgeland Ave., Monee, east of I-57 and south of Pauling Road. Facility Hours of Operation: Open Tues-Sun, closed Monday with the following schedule: MARCH: 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. / APRIL: 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. / MAY - AUG 14: 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. / AUG 15 - OCT. 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Refer to Exhibit F - Monee Reservoir map and Table 5 for notes on each landscape bed. 1. Level 1 - 0.08 acres non-irrigated perennial and shrub beds 2. Level 1 - ~60 non-irrigated trees in tree rings 3. Level 1 - 0.22 acres shoreline rip-rap Native Landscaping Maintenance, Page 5 of 12 F. SUGAR CREEK ADMINISTRATION CENTER 17540 W. Laraway Road, Joliet Facility Hours of Operation: Mon. - Fri. 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. / Sat. and Sun. closed. Refer to Exhibit G - Sugar Creek map and Table 6 for notes on each landscape bed/ island 1. Level 1 - 17,144 Sq. Ft. (0.39 acres) non-irrigated native forbs, trees & shrubs in landscape beds 2. Level 2 - 8,435 Sq, Ft. (0.19 acres) non-irrigated, naturalized plantings in parking lot islands G. Services Provided by the Forest Preserve 1. 2024 Schedule of Events for each site 2. Table 7 - Invasive Species Control methods and timing 3. On-site meetings to discuss status