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REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
TREE REMOVAL AND DISPOSAL
ISSUED BY:
Emmet County
200 Division Street
Petoskey, MI 49770
RFP # EC-10-2021-08
Release Date: October 26, 2021
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Emmet County Finance Department
Suite G74
200 Division Street
Petoskey, Michigan 49770
A. PROPOSAL REQUESTED
Emmet County is soliciting proposals from tree service contractors to assist the County in the removal and
disposal of designated trees.
B. PROJECT BACKGROUND
Park land has diseased and hazardous trees. Removal of the trees with improve safety for park visitors.
ESTIMATED TIMELINE –
RFP Released October 26, 2021
Deadline to Submit Written Questions November 9, 2021 @ 3:00 PM EST
Response to Questions November 12, 2021 @ 3:00 PM EST
Proposal Due Date and Public Bid Opening – BOC Room November 30, 2021 @ 3:00 PM EST
Project Review and Award Date Pending BOC Approval December 9, 2021 (tentative)
*BOC = Board of Commissioners
C. SCOPE OF WORK
The purpose of this request for proposal is to invite prospective vendors to submit a proposal to supply tree
services to Emmet County. The County is seeking to remove and dispose of designated trees.
The Vendor shall provide the following related to this particular RFP:
This contract will consist of all work necessary for the removal and disposal of Trees (alive or dead) within
Emmet County. It will include providing all necessary traffic control, labor, materials, and equipment required
to complete this task. The contractor will remove the designated trees and dispose of all debris including but
not limited to trees, limbs, and brush, and grind the stumps. All stumps shall be sawn off just above ground
level, unless instructed for them to be to the ground. The contractor without additional cost to the County
shall fill holes in the ground caused by the removal of trees and stumps. Trees are to be taken down within ten
(10) working days of notification. NO TREES SHALL BE REMOVED FROM PRIVATE PROPERTY UNLESS
SPECIFICALLY DIRECTED TO DO SO BY THE COUNTY.
1. It is the contractor’s responsibility to have all utilities located prior to beginning any work and
coordinate with utility companies to move them as necessary. The contractor shall take special care
during the course of this operation to avoid damage to the existing roadway surface, sidewalks and
curbs. The contractor shall avoid placing heavy equipment on sidewalks and curbs that will cause
damage to these structures. Any damage caused by the contractor’s operations shall be repaired at his
expense. The contractor shall also take special care to avoid damage to existing roadway shoulders,
side ditches, outfalls, other watercourses and drainage structures. Any damage caused by the
contractor’s operation shall be repaired at his expense. Damage in this case shall include the fillings of
previously open ditches, watercourses or drainage structures with soil or debris. Contractor must carry
out all work according to the following specifications.
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2. General Conditions
1. Contractor will remove all debris and trash generated in performing the work under this contract
from each site on a daily basis. Disposal of these materials, chipped or not, is the Contractor’s
responsibility and must done in a manner consistent with all applicable Local, State and Federal laws.
2. Following trimming or removal, all streets, driveways, sidewalks and paths must be swept clean.
3. Existing facilities, including grounds, structures, utilities, park amenities, trees, landscaping and so
forth shall be protected by the Contractor. Any damage to existing facilities shall be reported to the
County on the day such damage occurs. Contractor shall promptly repair damage with like materials
when ordered to do so by the County at Contractor’s expense. All repairs of damage to existing
facilities shall be made to the satisfaction of the County. Failure to repair damage shall be just cause
for withholding payment for work, which becomes due.
4. Any damage of public or private property caused by the Contractor's operations shall be resolved
with the property owner within ten (10) days after damage occurs to the satisfaction of the County.
The Contractor shall inform the County of any damage caused by the Contractor's operation on the
day such damage occurs. Should the damage not be rectified within the time frame agreed upon or to
the satisfaction of the County, the County reserves the right to repair or replace that which was
damaged or assess the Contractor such cost as may be reasonable and related to damage caused by
the contractor.
3. Safety Requirements
1. The contractor shall block off work areas from vehicular and pedestrian traffic while conducting
work and remove temporary signs and barriers as soon as work is completed.
2. Prior to cutting, the contractor shall identify all overhead wires and guy wires to avoid damage to
utilities.
3. Under no circumstances shall a work area be left in unsafe conditions. Before leaving a site
unattended for any period of time the following must be addressed:
4. The main access road(s) entering and/or exiting a tree removal area must be cleared to allow for
access by emergency vehicles.
5. All hangers, spring poles, and/or leaners, or any other falling hazard, must be completely felled
before the end of each workday.
6. All trees which have been cut, even partials or minor cuts, must be felled.
7. Under no circumstances shall logs from trees be left for the public and adjacent homeowners to
collect.
4. Tree Trimming Specifications
Where a tree is marked for trimming, Contractor shall:
1. Cut all dead, diseased or broken limbs greater than 1-1/2 inches in diameter from the marked tree.
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2. Pruning cuts shall be clean and smooth; leaving the bark at the edge of the cut firmly attached to
the wood. A three-cut process, sometimes known as “jump-cutting”, shall be used to remove larger
limbs in order to avoid stripping or tearing of the bark, and to minimize unnecessary wounding.
3. All cuts should be made sufficiently close to the parent limb or trunk without cutting into the
branch collar or leaving a protruding stub, so that closure can readily start under normal conditions.
4. Remove all trimmed branches and limbs from the site.
5. Climbing harness or aerial lift bucket may be used for tree trimming work.
5. Tree Removal Specifications
Where a tree is marked for removal Contractor shall:
1. Remove the tree without damaging any surrounding trees, utilities or structures.
2. Remove all trunks, treetops, branches and limbs from the site.
6. Stump Grinding Specifications
Where a tree is marked for stump grinding, in addition to removing the tree per the tree removal
specifications in Section 8.6, Contractor shall:
1. Grind the remaining stump to a minimum depth of eight (8) inches from surrounding grade or
deeper if necessary, to completely sever the roots from the main root mass.
2. All surface roots and / or raised areas from the root flare shall be ground out or leveled and filled to
match the surrounding grade.
3. Holes where stumps have been ground out and any other areas disturbed by Contractor’s activities
or equipment shall be backfilled and smoothed to the level of the adjoining grade with pulverized
black dirt (topsoil).
4. The Contractor shall supply its own topsoil for backfilling which shall be of sufficient quality to
support grass cover and contain no debris (glass, sawdust, large rock etc.)
5. Backfilling of holes shall occur on the same day grindings are removed; otherwise the site shall be
properly barricaded overnight to ensure public safety.
6. The topsoil shall be properly leveled and compacted to ensure minimum settlement of the backfill
material.
7. ADDITIONAL QUOTED AND EMERGENCY TREE SERVICES
1. During the term of this Agreement, the County may request Contractor to quote and carry out
additional tree work and/or provide emergency tree services according to the specifications provided
above. Emergency service would require immediate resources.
2. All additional quoted and emergency work carried out by the Contractor for the County shall be
provided under the terms and conditions in this Agreement.
3. Additional quoted and emergency tree services shall be billed by the Contractor according to the
hourly rates in the Form B. Pricing Worksheet.
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8. Notification/Start of Work
1. Once work begins, the project will be worked continuously until completion to the best of the
contractor’s ability. The contractor shall notify the County of any cancellations or delays in the project
schedule.
2. Project activity shall only occur during Emmet County business hours (Monday – Friday
7:00am5:00pm).
9. Project Equipment/Bridge Capacity
1. During initial project review, entry/egress routes will be established.
2. NO vehicles are permitted to drive on/over any elevated wood boardwalk. (Use of utility carts may
be authorized by the Park and Recreation representative with prior approval.)
10. Safety/Signage
1. Signage (typical industry signage such as: Caution, Work Ahead) shall be posted during working
hours to alert users of the Project.
2. When driving vehicles or equipment on any trails or bike paths, contractor shall drive cautiously and
at speeds no more than 10mph with 4-way flashers activated.
3. Contractor shall take all precautions to ensure safety of park users/trail users including but not
limited to, cones, caution tape, advance warning measures, etc.
5. At least 50% of the width of the trail/bike path shall remain open for public use and all efforts
should be made to limit closure. (Short term closures are permitted when necessary for public safety,
eg. felling operations, removing limbs over trails or bike paths etc.)
11. Completion of Work
1. Contractor shall be responsible for cleaning the area and ensuring it is restored back to original
condition (prior to project commencement).
2. All dirt, debris, and other project materials shall be cleaned up and removed from the Property.
3. Contractor shall notify the County when work is complete.
4. Any damage to County-owned improvements, resulting from the project, shall be the contractor’s
sole responsibility to repair.
12. List of Equipment
1. With your submission, include a list of all available equipment.
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Form B. Pricing Worksheet
Instructions: Provide detailed list of any and all expected costs or expenses related to the proposed
Statement of Work.
Tree Removal
Bid for tree removal: Daily Rate $ __________________________
• Includes crew, bucket truck and chipper.
Bid for tree trimming with equipment: Hourly Rate $ _________________________
Bid for tree trimming with ________ crew members Rate per Crew Member $_____________
Stump Removal
Stump removal is per stump unless otherwise defined.
• Stump removal up to 24 inches: Cost $_________________________
• Stump removal 25 to 36 inches: Cost $_________________________
• Stump removal 37 inches and over: Cost $_________________________
Emergency Call:
Emergency call is defined as immediate service or after hours of 5PM, call backs, and weekends.
• Per man hour _____ Crew Members: Minimum Call back cost $____________
• Debris Removal: Man hour cost $____________________
Crew member minimum # ___________
Special Equipment:
Most equipment used in included in tree or stump removal price.
• Crane: Cost $ ________________________
• Clam Truck: Cost $ ________________________
• Bolting / rigging: Cost $ ________________________
• Bucket/ Chipper truck: Cost $ ________________________
Traffic Control
• Traffic control Cones / Signs / Crew Hourly Rate $__________________
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The Vendor shall also provide the following as requested for all County RFPs:
A. If applicable, provide continual or annual costs such as warranties or service contracts.
B. Description of its invoicing process. Invoices should itemize line items by building location.
C. An opportunity for Emmet County to complete a final inspection before acceptance of the work/
product. The Vendor will arrange for the return of all damaged or miss-shipped items. There will be no
restocking fee for the return of items damaged or shipped by the vendor in error. All items returned
will be credited to invoice within 14 days of receipt.
D. Available financing options and terms.
E. If applicable, no less than three (3) days of training to ensure adequate education of all personnel at
the expense of the company providing the equipment to Emmet County.
D. SUBMITTALS
In responding to this RFP, the vendor accepts full responsibility to understand the RFP in its entirety, and in
detail, including making any inquiries to Emmet County as necessary to gain such understanding. The County
reserves the right to disqualify any vendor who demonstrates less than such understanding. Further, Emmet
County reserves the right to determine, at its sole discretion, whether the vendor has demonstrated such
understanding. That right extends to cancellation of award, if award has been made. Such disqualification
and/or cancellation shall be at no fault, cost, or liability whatsoever to Emmet County.
All information provided by Emmet County in this RFP is offered in good faith. Individual items are subject to
change at any time. Emmet County makes no certification that any item is without error. Emmet County is not
responsible or liable for any use of the information or for any claims asserted there from.
The County intends to select a vendor in December 2021 .
Submittals will be evaluated and ranked based on the following criteria:
A. Team Experience (they must be available and participating in the project). 20% of the evaluation;
B. Costs for the tree removal and disposal . 40% of the evaluation;
C. Approach to project to accomplish the County’s goals. 30% of the evaluation;
D. Warranty, service contracts, industry standards and references and history of similar projects carried
out and completed on-time with no cost over runs or increases incurred. 10% of the evaluation.
Bidders are required to submit their statements in the format and order of the above listed evaluation criteria.
Please limit the size of submittals to no more than 20 pages or up to 10 double-sided sheets with text no
smaller than size 11 font on 8-½” x 11” paper. A cover letter may be included that does not count towards the
page limit. Resumes or bios of team members, if warranted, should be included within the number of pages
identified above.
Proposals will be reviewed by an internal committee where quotes will be evaluated and ranked. Proposing
bidders may be asked to participate in an interview to further discuss qualifications and to answer questions
from the committee. The contract will be awarded to the responsible, responsive firm whose proposal,
conforming to this solicitation, will be most advantageous to Emmet County, price and any other factors
considered.
Emmet County reserves the right in its sole discretion to accept or reject any or all proposals, in whole or in
part, without incurring any cost of liability whatsoever, and to waive informalities and minor irregularities in
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bids received. The County shall retain the RFP, and all related terms and conditions, exhibits and other
attachments, in original form in any archival copy. Any modification of these, in the vendor’s submission, is
grounds for immediate disqualification.
E. REPRESENTATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS
Full name and address of the firm with a short description of the firm.
Include a description of the following:
A. Business organization
B. Year established
C. Federal ID number
D. Michigan tax ID number
E. The firm’s legal formation (e.g. corporation, sole proprietor, etc.)
F. State of incorporation, if applicable.
G. List the firm’s officers (up to three).
H. List the location and address of the firm’s office in Michigan that will provide the services requested.
I. Provide a list of firm’s primary services. Provide a list of similar projects completed by the firm.
F. REFERENCES
RFP reviewers may solicit references from some or all client contacts provided with previous experience
examples above. Please include three (3) references.
G. COMPENSATION / FEES
Identify all costs including expenses to be charged for performing the services necessary to accomplish the
objectives of the contract. The respondent is to submit a fully detailed budget including staff costs and any
expenses necessary to accomplish the tasks and to produce the deliverables under the contract.
Costs for subcontractors are to be broken out separately.
H. CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Disclose any conflicts or perceived conflicts of interest.
Identify what procedures your firm utilizes to identify and resolve conflicts of interest.
I. COPIES OF THE FOLLOWING ITEMS:
A. Comprehensive General Liability and Property Damage coverage. (see below requirements)
B. Professional Liability (Errors and Omissions) coverage.
C. Worker’s Compensation coverage. (see below requirements)
D. Automobile Liability (see below requirements)
E. Any and all relevant license/registration numbers.
J. INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS (as applicable)
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The successful firm/consultant must meet the following minimum insurance requirements and provide proof
of coverage on a Certificate of Liability Insurance form submitted with proposal:
A. If Quote is awarded, Certificate of insurance must name Emmet County as a certificate holder.
B. Certificate of insurance must name as an additional insured Emmet County, its agents, officers,
officials, employees are hereby named as additional insureds, as their interest may appear.
C. General Liability Coverage:
a. $500,000 Each Occurrence
b. $500,000 Property Damage
c. $5,000 Medical Expense
d. $500,000 Personal & Advertising Injury
e. $1,000,000 General Aggregate
f. $1,000,000 Products & Completed Operations
D. Automobile Liability
a. $1,000,000 Combined Single Limit; or
b. $1,000,000 Bodily Injury
c. $500,000 Property Damage
E. Workman’s Compensation insurance as required State statutory limits. If any proprietor,
partner, executive, officer, member, or employee is excluded from worker’s compensation or if the
Workers Compensation policy is for certificate purpose only, it must be stated on the certificate.
K. INSTRUCTIONS FOR FIRMS:
Please submit three (3) hard copies and one PDF electronic copy on a flash drive in your SEALED BID
no later than 3:00 p.m. on November 30, 2021 to:
EMMET COUNTY FINANCE DEPARTMENT
ATTN: Priscilla Meyer, Civil Counsel Office
200 DIVISION STREET, SUITE G70
PETOSKEY, MI 49770
1. Response to this RFP MUST be clearly marked RFP# EC-10-2021-08 – TREE REMOVAL AND DISPOSAL.
2. Questions shall be submitted in writing to Ryan Bauman at ryan.bauman@emmetcounty.org no later
than 3:00 p.m. on November 9, 2021:
3. This RFP, any addendums, and any potential questions and answers will be posted on the Emmet
County website at https://www.emmetcounty.org/open-bids-rfps/
.
4. The County reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to reject any and all proposals, or parts of any
proposal, for any reason whatsoever and waive technicalities.
5. The County will only accept proposals that are responsive to the RFP and are prepared and submitted
in compliance with the requirements set forth in this RFP.
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6. Emmet County will not award any proposal to an individual or business having any outstanding
amounts due from a prior Contract or business relationship with the County or who owes any
amount(s) for delinquent Federal, State or Local taxes, fees and licenses.
No late submissions will be accepted.
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IRAN LINKED BUSINESS CLAUSE
The Respondent who is selected as Consultant shall certify to the County that neither it nor any of its
successors, parent companies, subsidiaries, or companies under common ownership or control of the
Consultant, are an “Iran Linked Business” engaged in investment activities of $20,000,000.00 or more with the
energy sector of Iran, within the meaning of Michigan Public Act 517 of 2012. It is expressly understood and
agreed that the Consultant shall not become an “Iran linked business” during the term of this Agreement.
NOTE: IF A PERSON OR ENTITY FALSELY CERTIFIES THAT IT IS NOT AN IRAN LINKED BUSINESS AS DEFINED BY
PUBLIC ACT 517 OF 2012, IT WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR CIVIL PENALTIES OF NOT MORE THAN $250,000.00
OR TWO TIMES THE AMOUNT OF THE CONTRACT FOR WHICH THE FALSE CERTIFICATION WAS MADE,
WHICHEVER IS GREATER, PLUS COSTS OF INVESTIGATION AND REASONABLE ATTORNEY FEES INCURRED, AS
MORE FULLY SET FORTH IN SECTION 5 OF ACT NO. 517, PUBLIC ACTS OF 2012.
CERTIFICATION
I hereby state that I have read, understand, and become thoroughly familiar with and understand the terms
and scope of work contained in the RFP.
I hereby state that all of the information I have provided is true, accurate and complete. I hereby state that I
have authority to submit this RFP which will become the basis for a binding contract if accepted by the Emmet
County.
I hereby state that this quote will remain valid for six (6) months from this certification date.
Signature: _____________________________________________________________________________
Print Name: ___________________________________________________________________________
Title: _______________________________________________ Date: _____________________________
Company Name: _______________________________________________________________________
Address: ______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Contact Name: _________________________________________________________________________
Office: ________________________________________ Cell: _____________________________
