Overgrown Lot Clearance

I. OVERVIEW

The City of Lancaster is soliciting sealed bids from qualified contractors to provide the City with On-Call Lot Mowing, Debris Clean-Up, and Securing Condemned Properties as needed at various lot locations within the City of Lancaster.

The term of this agreement will begin on July 1, 2026 and end on June 30, 2029. Any anticipated cost increases must be clearly stated for the contract period.

II. PROPOSAL PARAMETERS & GUIDELINES

Preparation and Submission:

• The City assumes no responsibility for unmarked or improperly marked envelopes.

• The City will not be responsible for any costs incurred to respond to this proposal request.

• Mail or deliver to the address noted in this document. The City is not responsible for delays due to the Bidder’s choice of delivery service (USPS, UPS, FedEx, etc.).

• Electronic (email) or facsimile submissions will not be accepted.

• Responses not received by the time and date specified will not be opened or considered unless the delay is the result of the City or its agents.

One copy of the proposal must be provided in a sealed envelope clearly marked “Response: Overgrown Lot Clearance Bid #736-04-13-04-27-26” by 2:00 p.m. on April 27th, 2026. Electronic (email) or facsimile submissions will not be accepted, and late submittals will be rejected. All questions must be in writing and directed to Kelli Stevens at kstevens@lancastercitysc.com.

Proposals should be submitted to:

Kelli Stevens, City Clerk Physical address:

P.O. Box 1149 216 S. Catawba Street

Lancaster, SC 29721 Lancaster, SC 29720

Errors in Proposal

Bidders or their authorized representatives are expected to fully inform themselves as to the conditions, requirements, and specifications before submitting a proposal. Failure to do so will be at the Bidders own risk. The City reserves the right to waive any informalities, technical defects, and minor irregularities in proposals received.

Award Criteria:

The City shall award the contract to the Bidder who submits a responsible and responsive proposal taking into consideration compliance with stated terms, conditions, and specifications. The City reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, and to accept any proposal submitted that best meets the needs of the City in the sole judgement of the City.

Disclosure:

Trade secrets of proprietary information submitted by the Bidder in connection with a procurement shall not be subject to public disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA); however, the Bidder must invoke the protection of this section prior to or upon submission of the data or other materials, and must identify the specific area or scope of data or other material to be protected and state the reasons why the protection is necessary. An all-inclusive statement that the entire document is proprietary is unacceptable and will be disregarded. A statement that the costs are to be protected is unacceptable and will not be honored.

Suspension and Debarment:

The Bidder certifies, by submission of this proposal, that neither it nor its principal are presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from participation in the transaction by any federal, state or local agency. Where the Bidder is unable to certify to any of the statements in this certification, such Offeror shall attach an explanation to this proposal.

SubBidders:

The successful Bidder agrees that they shall not delegate, subcontract or assign all or any portion of the project to any third party without the express written consent of the City Administrator.

Certificate of Insurance

The successful Bidder shall provide evidence of the required minimum insurance by providing the City a copy of the Certificate of Insurance in forms acceptable to the Risk Manager for the City, prior to any work under the contract begins.

The City of Lancaster shall be named as an additional insured. The policy shall be issued by an insurer rated in the Best’s Insurance Guide with a financial rating of AAA or better.  The policy shall provide that the insurance coverage shall not be canceled or reduced by the insurance carrier without the City having been given ten (10) days prior written notice.

Insurance

The Bidder will maintain general automobile liability insurance in the amount of $1,000,000 per occurrence for each vehicle and $1,000,000 in aggregate for all vehicles which the Bidder brings onto City property or use in any manner in the provision of any service, including transportation to and from the site(s) where the services are rendered.

The Bidder will maintain general liability insurance in the amount of at least $1,000,000 per incident/occurrence and $1,000,000 in aggregate for all incidents/occurrences during the policy period.

The Bidder will maintain Workers Compensation insurance on all of the Company’s workers in the amount of at least $1,000,000 per incident/occurrence and $1,000,000 in aggregate for all incidents/occurrences during the policy period.

The Bidder will provide in a form acceptable to the City, certificates of Worker’s Compensation Insurance, Automobile Liability Insurance and General Liability Insurance. Certificate holder shall state the City of Lancaster.

The successful Bidder shall furnish the City, upon agreement, with a copy of a certificate of insurance evidencing policies required in the paragraphs above. Such certificate shall specifically indicate that the Insurance includes all extensions of coverage required above. If coverage on said certificate(s) is shown to expire prior to completion of all terms of the Contract, the successful Bidder(s) shall furnish a certificate of insurance evidencing renewal of such coverage to the City. The certificate of insurance shall be required in advance of the Contract execution.

Contact Safety Manager, Tim Harper at 803-320-3005 or tharper@lancastercitysc.com for questions regarding limit requirements or COI.

Certificate of Insurance

The successful bidder shall provide evidence of the required minimum insurance by providing the City a copy of the Certificate of Insurance in forms acceptable to the Risk Manager for the City before any work under the contract begins.

City Business License

The successful bidder must possess or obtain a City of Lancaster business license. Such business license is required to be maintained throughout the duration of the contract. Contact Karen Proctor, Business Licensing Specialist at 803-289-1462 or kscoffey@lancastercitysc.com to obtain a business license or for any business licensing related questions. All costs for required bonding, permits, licenses, etc. shall be done by the respondent. The City reserves the right to hold payment of goods/services until a City Business License is received.

Indemnification and Hold Harmless

To the fullest extent permitted by South Carolina law, the Bidder/Vendor shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the City, its elected officials, officers, employees, and agents from and against any and all claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorney’s fees) arising out of or resulting from damage to vehicles while in the care, custody, or control of the Bidder/Vendor, except to the extent caused by the sole negligence of the City.

Invoicing and Payment

The successful Bidder shall be paid upon submission of proper invoices to the City of Lancaster Accounts Payable Department by email at accountspayable@lancastercitysc.com or by mail at P.O. Box 1149, Lancaster, SC 29721 at the price stipulated on the contract, within thirty (30) days of submission of the proper invoice. Invoices shall contain the Purchase Order Number and are to be submitted by the company shown on the Purchase Order within fifteen (15) calendar days.

Compliance

The Bidder shall fully comply with all applicable federal, state, county, or municipal laws, rules, regulations, ordinances, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and the regulations promulgated thereunder, including ADA Title II, and shall hold the City harmless from any liability resulting from failure of such compliance.

The Bidder certifies that all federal, state, county, or municipal orders regarding affirmative action are followed to ensure equal employment opportunities and fair employment practices. The Bidder agrees not to discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, handicap, or national origin; however, some conditions may be a bona fide occupational qualification reasonably necessary for the normal operations of the Bidder.

The Bidder will comply with the requirements of Chapter 14, Title 8 of the South Carolina Code of Laws titled Unauthorized Aliens and Public Employment and agrees to provide the City of Lancaster any documentation required to establish either; (a) the applicability of such law to the Bidder and subBidders; or (b) the compliance with this law by the Bidder and any subBidders.

Conflict of Interest

All Bidders must disclose with their proposal the name of any officer, director, or agent who is also an employee of the City of Lancaster or becomes a City of Lancaster employee during the duration of the project. Further, all Bidders must disclose the name of any City employee who owns directly or indirectly, an interest in the Bidder’s firm or any of its branches. With the submission of this proposal, the Bidder certifies that the proposal submitted was made without fraud, that it has not offered or received any kickbacks or inducements in connection with the offer, and that it has not conferred on any public employee, or public official. The Bidder certifies with the submission of a proposal that no relationship exists between itself and the City, another person, or organization that interferes with fair competition or constitutes a conflict of interest with respect to a contract with the City. Bidders are specifically directed not to contact any other City personnel for meetings, conferences, or technical discussions related to this request unless otherwise stated in this document. Failure to adhere to this policy may be grounds for rejection of your proposal.

MWBE Statement

It is the policy of the City of Lancaster to provide minorities and women equal opportunity for participating in all aspects of the City’s contracting and procurement programs. It is also the policy of the City of Lancaster to prohibit discrimination against any person or business in pursuit of these opportunities based on race, color, sex, gender, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, or other legally protected classifications.

Pricing

Prices for all goods and/or services shall be firm for the duration of this contract. Prices shall be all inclusive: No price changes, additions, or subsequent qualifications will be honored during the course of the contract without prior approval from the City Administrator. All prices must be written in ink or typewritten. Pricing on all transportation, freight, and other charges are to be prepaid by the Bidder and included in the proposal prices. If there are any additional charges of any kind, other than those mentioned above, specified or unspecified, the Bidder MUST indicate the items required and attendant costs or forfeit the right to payment for such items.

Fair Labor Standards Act

No Bidder or subBidder holding a service contract with the City for any dollar amount shall pay any of its employees working on the contract less than the minimum wage specified in section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act 29 U.S.C. 206. Failure to meet this requirement may result in contract termination by the City.

Non-Appropriation of Funds

This agreement shall be subject to the availability and appropriation of funds by Administration and City Council.

Excluded Bidders

• Reason to believe collusion exists among companies

• The company is involved or has been in any litigation against the City

• The company is in arrears on any existing contract or has defaulted on a previous contract with the City

• Lack of financial stability

• Failure to perform under previous or present contracts with the City

• Is currently debarred by the State of South Carolina Procurement Services

Local Purchasing

Bidder submitting proposals should keep in mind the City’s goal of supporting local businesses and supply houses for materials and labor whenever practicable, so long as pricing and other contract conditions are not adversely affected.

It is the intent of the City of Lancaster to promote the use of local businesses within the local Lancaster City/County area when possible. For purposes of determining the lowest responsible Bidder on any qualifying contract valued at $10,000 or above, the City shall evaluate any proposal submitted by a local Bidder by discounting its proposal by up to 2% of its actual proposal amount.

Local Purchasing adjustment factors can not apply to (a) Federally Funded Projects, (b) State Funded Projects where the state restricts the use of local preferences under such circumstances; or (c) the projects funded by Bond proceeds where ethe Bond covenants restrict the manner of procurement.

Customer Service

Please remember, although you are a contracted City service, you represent the City of Lancaster during all work performed. The City of Lancaster expects it contractors to be courteous and helpful to staff as well as our citizens. Company Uniforms must be worn at all times and employees are to look and act professional at all times. Vehicles used by contractor personnel shall be marked with company identification.

The City of Lancaster reserves the right to cancel any contracts, agreements, purchasing or distribution, etc. if they feel the project or purchasing may be in jeopardy due to the contractor’s employee(s) history which may lead to ethical issues while working with the City.

SCOPE OF SERVICES / SPECIFICATIONS

The services under this contract will be ordered primarily by the City of Lancaster’s Building, Planning, Zoning & Licensing Department. The work will be a result of the City’s Code of Ordinance violation with regard to property conditions and lack of general maintenance.

Performance

Bids should be submitted for all supervision, labor, equipment, and transportation to provide services for the clearance of overgrown lots, and/or securing condemned structures as identified by the Building Department for a three-year term beginning July 1, 2026 and ending on June 30, 2029.

• Lot Clearance

o Lot clearance includes, but is not limited to mowing of turf, bush-hog, weed eating, and trash pickup.

o The Contractor shall be fully responsible for maintaining in good condition all items that are not being removed, such as but not limited to existing trees, turf, and shrubs.

o The Contractor shall guard against damage. Any damage caused by the Contractor shall be repaired at no cost to the City and to the satisfaction of the City Representative.

o Turf shall be cut at a consistent height that will encourage healthy growth. Litter, small limbs or branches from trees, debris, etc., shall be removed prior to mowing.

o Upon consultation with the City Representative, the Contractor may be permitted to utilize approved chemical treatment(s) on a limited basis to supplement manual trimming work. All applications of herbicides and pesticides shall adhere to the recommendations of the manufacturer and shall comply with applicable state, federal and local government regulations.

o Removal of trash, garbage, household appliances, furniture, discarded clothing, building materials, glass, wood, or miscellaneous refuse which has been permitted or caused to accumulate in a manner which has been determined to be a violation of City Ordinances. 

• Securing Properties

o Securing properties includes minor carpentry work to board-up condemned structures. 

o All vacant buildings and structures on the identified property including homes, commercial structures, accessory buildings, sheds, garages and second floor windows shall be secured so that openings cannot be accessed from the exterior.

o Other openings that permit entrance into or under the building(s) must be boarded. This may include but is not limited to crawl space access, large vents, and openings where wall air conditioners have been removed.

o The Contractor is required to apply 1/2-inch exterior grade CDX plywood or Oriented Strand board (OSB) to all openings including doors, windows and crawl space openings.

o On occasion, the Contractor will be requested to remove appliances, furniture, debris, and other material from various locations throughout the City.  The per-hour charge will apply.  Such debris to be removed from various premises will be taken to a site within the City as instructed, in most instances, to the Solid Waste Department off Lynwood Drive. 

o If debris disposal is required, the City will reimburse the Contractor the cost associated with an approved site disposal upon receipt of a detailed ticket. The ticket must include where the debris came from, the description of the debris, amount of debris brought to the collection site and the amount charged for disposal.

o Upon notice from the City, the Contractor is expected to clear and/or secure premises within seven (7) working days. If additional time is needed, appropriate City staff must be notified and must agree to the extension. If the Primary Contractor is unable to fulfill the request to the satisfaction of the City, the First Alternate Contractor will be contacted to complete the task.

THIS AND PREVIOUS PAGES DO NOT NEED TO BE RETURNED

IFB – Overgrown Lot Clearance & Securing Condemned Properties

By my signature on this solicitation, I certify that this firm/individual is properly licensed for providing the services specified.

Company: ____________________________________________________________________________________

DBA: ________________________________________________________________________________________

Contact: _____________________________________________________________________________________

Physical Address: _____________________________________________________________________________

Mailing Address (if different): __________________________________________________________________

Office/Cell Number: ___________________________________________________________________________

Email: _______________________________________________________________________________________

Printed Name: _______________________________________________ Title: ___________________________

Signature: ___________________________________________________ Date: __________________________

Pricing Schedule (Attach rate sheet if applicable)

Any resulting contract shall be based on the fees below. Any additional charges should be noted on page 10 under “Deviations”.

Service	1st Year 7/1/26 – 6/30/27	2nd Year 7/1/27 – 6/30/28	3rd Year 7/1/28 – 6/30/29
Charge per hour for the first hour	$ /hour	$ /hour	$ /hour
Charge per hour for each additional hour	$ /hour	$ /hour	$ /hour

Any Deviations or Additional Charges/Fees should be noted below. (Please Print or Type)

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