CITY OF MIDDLETOWN
PURCHASING OFFICE ROOM 112
MUNICIPAL BUILDING
245 DEKOVEN DRIVE
MIDDLETOWN, CT 06457
(860) 638-4895
CONTRACT DOCUMENTS
BID #2026-010
TREE TRIMMING AND STUMP REMOVAL SERVICES
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT
Middletown, Connecticut
BID OPENING: THURSDAY, JUNE 11, 2026 at 11:00 AM
DONNA L. FORMATO, CPPB, NIGP-CPP
SUPERVISOR OF PURCHASES
CARL R. ERLACHER
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE AND REVENUE SERVICES
1
The contract documents for the contract entitled:
Bid #2026-010 TREE TRIMMING AND STUMP REMOVAL SERVICES
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT
Invitation to Bidders
Information for Bidders
Bid Attachment:
Section 78-9 (K) Bid Preference for Local Vendors
Affidavit of Local Vendors
General Specifications
General Conditions
Technical Specifications
Special Conditions
Bid Proposal Pages
Non-Collusive Bid Statement
CT General Statutes, Section 31-286a, Conformance Form
Sample Work Order
Insurance Requirements
Bid Return Label
Hereinafter referred to as the Contract Documents
Page
3
4-7
8 - 10
11
12
13 - 14
15 - 16
16
17 - 23
24
25
26
27 - 28
`
29
2
INVITATION TO BID
CITY OF MIDDLETOWN
Sealed proposals, addressed to the Supervisor of Purchases, City of Middletown, Room 112, Municipal Building,
Middletown, Connecticut, will be received until Thursday, June 11, 2026 at 11:00 AM for the following:
BID #2026-010
TREE TRIMMING AND STUMP REMOVAL SERVICES
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT
Bid documents may be obtained at the Purchasing Office, Room 112, Municipal Building, 245 DeKoven Drive, Middletown,
CT., Monday - Friday, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. for a fee of $.50 per page. It is preferred that they
are downloaded free of charge on the City of Middletown web site: www.MiddletownCT.gov. All questions concerning
this bid should be directed in writing to the Purchasing Department via fax at 860-638-4895 or email at
purchase@MiddletownCT.gov.
Bids will not be publicly opened in the Municipal Building, however, bids will be opened and read aloud via Webex.
Additional information and a link will be provided on our website www.middletownct.gov for those interested in
viewing the bid opening via Webex.
The City of Middletown reserves the right to waive any defect or any irregularity in any bid and reserves the right to reject
any or all bids or any part thereof. Bids, and amendments to bids received after the time set for the bid opening will not
be considered. All bids must be completely filled out when submitted. No bid may be withdrawn for a period of ninety
(90) days subsequent to the opening of bids without the City of Middletown's written consent. Withdrawal of any bid
must be submitted in writing to the City of Middletown.
All bids and proposals are subject to, and must comply with the equal opportunity and non-discriminatory provisions set
forth in the Affirmative Action Plan of the City of Middletown.
Dated: 05/18/2026
Middletown, Connecticut
Donna L. Formato, CPPB, NIGP-CPP
Supervisor of Purchases
3
INFORMATION FOR BIDDERS
1. Date and Place for Opening Proposals - Pursuant to the
"Invitation to Bidders", sealed proposals for performing
the work will be received by the Purchasing Department
at the time and place set forth therein with the award to
be made as soon as practicable.
Bids received prior to the date set for receipt will be
securely kept sealed. All bids received by the time set for
receipt will be opened by the Supervisor of Purchases
and read publicly at the exact time set for receipt
irrespective of any irregularities therein. Bidders and or
their representative and any interested public may be
present.
making him responsible and liable for failure to execute
as prescribed.
6. Time for Executing Contract and Damages for Failure
to Execute - Any bidder whose proposal shall be accepted
will be required to execute the contract within ten (10)
days, including Saturdays and Sundays, of the date of
mailing of a notice, stating that the award has been made
to him or his firm. Failure or neglect to do so shall
constitute a breach of contract for which the City may
cancel the notice of award, award the bid to someone
else, or rebid the entire project as well as sue for
damages.
2. Printed Form for Proposals - All proposals must be
made upon the blank proposal form as attached hereto;
should give unit prices both in words and figures; must
be signed and acknowledged by the bidder where
indicated on the proposal form; sealed in an envelope
using the bid return label provided.
Damages for such a breach of contract will include but
not be limited to the loss of any awarding of work to him
and other items whose accurate amount will be difficult
or impossible to compute, and all other damages
recoverable at law and in equity.
3. Omissions and Discrepancies - Should a bidder find
discrepancies or omissions from the Contract Documents
or should he doubt their meaning, he should
immediately notify the Supervisor of Purchases who may
send written instructions to all bidders. Bidder must
type or use black pen at all times.
4. Acceptance or Rejection of Proposals - The City
reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals.
Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, any
proposal which omits a bid on any one or more items on
the price sheet may be rejected; any proposal containing
modifications or changes to the price sheet may be
rejected; any proposal in which unit prices are omitted
or in which unit prices are obviously unbalanced may be
rejected.
5. Acceptance of Proposals and the Effect - Within sixty
(60) calendar days after the opening of the bids, the City
will act upon them. The acceptance of a proposal will be
either a notice of award, in writing, or an acceptance
letter from the Supervisor of Purchases, and no other act
shall constitute the acceptance of a proposal. All bid
pricing shall be held firm for the minimum of sixty (60)
calendar days from the date of opening of bids, unless
specified otherwise.
The acceptance of a proposal shall bind the successful
bidder to execute the contract within the time and
manner as set forth within these contract documents
7. Determination of Lowest Responsible Bidder/Award -
Except where the Owner exercises the right herein to
reject any or all proposals, the contract will be awarded
by the owner to the "Lowest Responsible Bidder", as
determined under the factors to be considered under
section 78-9(f)(2), as amended, of the Middletown Code
of Ordinances.
It is the intent of the city to award one (1) contract in the
aggregate to the lowest responsible bidder, complying
with these specifications, submitting the lowest total
cost to provide the services as specified, providing
sufficient funding is available to award this contract. The
bid will be awarded to lowest responsible bidder
that can complete the job in the specified time
required in the bid regardless of any specialized
equipment the vendor chooses to use.
Additionally, in determining whether a bidder qualifies as
the lowest responsible bidder, the City shall also review
other subjective factors, such as the bidder’s skill, ability
and integrity to perform the work as specified, the
bidders professional references (if required), the bidders
reputation, information discovered during the interview
process (if applicable) and whether the City in its sole
discretion determines that awarding the bid to the
bidder will be in the best interests of the City. The City
shall award the contract to the lowest responsible bidder
4
using the guidelines set forth herein, or shall reject all
bids.
8. Term of Contract and Work Order Time frame - The
contractor, if required, shall commence or be available
to work at the City's request upon receipt of a pre-
approved purchase order which shall serve as
authorization to proceed from the City. The successful
bidder shall be available to provide the minimum of
eight (8) hours of service to the City per week on an on-
call basis. The contractor shall further be available to
provide service based on a two-week response
notification, forty eight (48) hours response notification
and four-hour emergency response notification. A four
(4) hour response time is required for all emergency
assignments.
The term of this contract shall be for a period of twelve
(12) months commencing on or after July 1, 2026 and
terminating on June 30, 2027.
specifications or other data in sufficient detail to enable
the Supervisor of Purchases to determine the equality or
suitability of the product or method. In general, the
Supervisor of Purchases will neither approve nor
disapprove particular products prior to the opening of
the bids; such products will be considered when offered
by the bidder for incorporation into the work.
The Purchasing Supervisor will arrange as Addenda,
which shall become a part of the contract, all questions
received as above provided and the decision regarding
each. The Purchasing Supervisor will post said addenda
to the City website at www.middletownct.gov. Non-
receipt of said Addenda shall not excuse compliance with
said addenda. It is the bidder’s responsibility to
determine whether any addenda have been issued and if
so whether he/she has received a copy of each. Nothing
in this section shall prohibit the Purchasing Supervisor
from posting Addenda to extend the deadline for the
receipt of bids at any time and for any reason.
9. Prices - In the event of discrepancy between the unit
prices quoted in the proposal in words and those in
figures, the words shall control. The prices are to include
furnishing all equipment, labor, materials and incidentals
necessary to comply with the City's requirements. For
the purpose of this contract the bidder shall provide a
cost per tree location to provide tree removal/pruning
and stump grinding services. Also requested is an hourly
rate at various locations which shall include all materials,
labor, equipment, mileage to and from the work site and
incidentals required.
10. Interpretations and Addenda - No oral
interpretations shall be made to any bidder as to the
meaning of any of the Contract Documents or to be
effective to modify any of the provisions of the Contract
Documents.
Every request for an interpretation shall be made in
writing, addressed and forwarded to the Supervisor of
Purchases, Municipal Building, 245 DeKoven Drive,
Middletown, Connecticut, 06457. Questions may be
sent via facsimile to (860) 638-1995 or emailed at
purchase@middletownct.gov
To receive consideration, such questions shall be
submitted in writing. Deadline for submission of
questions is 12:00 PM, Wednesday, June 3, 2026 (EST).
If the question involves the equality or use of products or
methods, it must be accompanied by drawings,
It is the responsibility of each bidder to visit our website
at www.middletownct.gov to view additional
information and/or acknowledge any addenda’s issued
prior to submitting a bid.
No alleged "verbal interpretation" shall be held valid.
Any addenda issued during the bidding period shall
supersede previous information.
11. Insurance - The selected vendor shall be required to
provide a Certificate of Insurance as specified in the
attachment "Insurance Requirements". The vendor shall
be required to provide evidence of such insurance
coverage to the Supervisor of Purchases within ten (10)
days from receipt of the Notice of Award. Evidence of
such insurance coverage and City approval shall be
required prior to the execution of the contract
document.
12. Indemnification - The successful bidder agrees to
defend, indemnify and hold harmless the Owner, its
officers, agents, servants and employees against any and
all liability, judgments, cost, expenses and other loss, and
against all claims or actions including but not limited to
those based upon or arising out of damage or injury
(including death) to persons or property caused by or
sustained in connection with the negligence of the
Successful Bidder, its officers, agents, servants and
employees in the performance or lack of performance of
5
This is the opportunity summary page. It provides an overview of this opportunity and a preview of the attached documentation.
