Conservation and Land Management Services

The Clay County Board of County Commissioners is requesting proposals from qualified land management consultants to provide conservation and land management services throughout Clay County. This project encompasses a range of services, including timbering, land conservation, and mitigation efforts aimed at preserving natural resources, promoting ecological sustainability, and enhancing the environmental health of county-owned properties. The selected Consultant will work collaboratively with County staff to develop and implement a comprehensive, long-term land management plan for the County’s diverse property portfolio.

Bidders shall submit all inquiries regarding this RFB in the "Question and Answer" tab of the RFB. See "Inquiries/Questions" in the "Instructions to Bidders" below for more information.

Bidders are prohibited from contacting, by any means, whether orally, telephonically, electronically or in writing, any member of the Board, any County employee, including the County Manager, the County Attorney or the Commission Auditor, any member of the designated Evaluation Committee or any agent of the County regarding the Request for Bids in any respect during the Request for Bid Period. The Request for Bid Period during which no contact may occur commences from the date of publication of the notice of a Request for Bids and ends upon a Bid Decision becoming final, i.e. after the notice of bid protest period of 72 hours has expired. However, in the event of a notice of protest, the no contact rule continues in place during the Protest Period and does not end until a resolution of the protest has occurred and become final. The following exceptions exist to the no-contact rule:

1. Inquiries may be submitted to the Purchasing Department if specifically provided in the Request for Bids.
2. Pre-bid conferences provided for in the Request for Bids; and
3. Formal presentations by Bidders to the designated Evaluation Committee or to the Board or any committee thereof specifically contemplated in the Request for Bids.

The Board reserves the right and power to reject any and all Bids without cause and to waive technical and non-technical or non-material defects in the Request for Bids or submittal of any Bid, and in its discretion to re-advertise the Request for Bids. The Board reserves the right to award Request for Bids which would be in the Best Interest of the County. Interested vendors are advised that the Clay County Board of County Commissioners has a local preference policy and Buy American policy. The complete policy for both can be viewed at: https://www.claycountygov.com/government/purchasing/vendor-information.

FOLLOWING THE BID OPENING AND TABULATION, A “NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD BID” OR A “NOTICE OF REJECTION OF ALL BIDS” WILL BE POSTED ON THE INTERNET AT: https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/claycounty?status=all.

THIS WEBPAGE CAN ALSO BE ACCESSED FROM THE HOMEPAGE OF THE COUNTY’S WEBSITE AT: https://www.claycountygov.com/government/purchasing/formal-bid-solicitations

PROSPECTIVE BIDDERS ARE NOTIFIED THAT THE FAILURE TO INCLUDE A PROPER BID BOND OR OTHER SECURITY APPROVED UNDER THE COUNTY’S PURCHASING POLICY, IF REQUIRED FOR THIS REQUEST, WILL RESULT IN REJECTION OF THE BID AND SHALL, AS WELL AS THE FAILURE TO FILE A WRITTEN NOTICE OF PROTEST AND TO FILE A WRITTEN PETITION INITIATING A FORMAL PROTEST PROCEEDING WITHIN THE TIMES AND IN THE MANNER PRESCRIBED IN CHAPTER 8, SECTION I OF THE COUNTY’S PURCHASING POLICY SHALL, CONSTITUTE A WAIVER OF THE RIGHT TO PROTEST THE BID REQUEST, ANY ADDENDUM THERETO, OR THE BID DECISION, AS APPLICABLE, AND TO INITIATE A FORMAL PROTEST PROCEEDING UNDER THE PURCHASING POLICY. THE COUNTY’S PURCHASING POLICY CAN BE VIEWED AT THE COUNTY’S WEBSITE BY FOLLOWING THE APPROPRIATE LINKS FROM THE HOMEPAGE ADDRESS SET FORTH ABOVE.

IF A PROSPECTIVE BIDDER IS IN DOUBT WHETHER THIS REQUEST REQUIRES A BID BOND, SUCH PROSPECTIVE BIDDER IS SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING APPROPRIATE INQUIRY.

THE BOARD RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REJECT ANY AND ALL BIDS WITHOUT CAUSE AND TO WAIVE TECHNICAL AND NON- TECHNICAL OR NON-MATERIAL DEFECTS IN THE REQUEST OR SUBMITTAL OF ANY BIDS.

A PERSON OR AFFILIATE WHO HAS BEEN PLACED ON THE CONVICTED VENDOR LIST FOLLOWING A CONVICTION FOR A PUBLIC ENTITY CRIME MAY NOT SUBMIT A BID ON A CONTRACT TO PROVIDE ANY GOODS OR SERVICES TO A PUBLIC ENTITY, MAY NOT SUBMIT A BID ON A CONTRACT WITH A PUBLIC ENTITY FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OR REPAIR OF A PUBLIC BUILDING OR PUBLIC WORK, MAY NOT SUBMIT BIDS ON LEASES OF REAL PROPERTY TO A PUBLIC ENTITY, MAY NOT BE AWARDED OR PERFORM WORK AS A CONTRACTOR, SUPPLIER, SUBCONTRACTOR, OR CONSULTANT UNDER A CONTRACT WITH ANY PUBLIC ENTITY, AND MAY NOT TRANSACT BUSINESS WITH ANY PUBLIC ENTITY IN EXCESS OF THE THRESHOLD AMOUNT PROVIDED IN SECTION 287.017, FLORIDA STATUTES, FOR CATEGORY TWO FOR A PERIOD OF 36 MONTHS FROM THE DATE OF BEING PLACED ON THE CONVICTED VENDOR LIST.

Clay County is a large and growing county in Northeast Florida and the Clay County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) is responsible for managing a substantial real estate portfolio (over 400 parcels constituting in excess of 3,500 acres) on behalf of the public. This portfolio is comprised of a diversity of different property types to include multiple parks, civic institutions, museums, libraries, and suburban lots, as well as larger rural properties (parks and recreation properties constitute approximately 69% of the portfolio and over 2,500 acres). Additionally, the County has recently initiated the Clay County Forests and Farms Conservation Lands Program (FFCLP) in order to protect lands that support conservation goals, safeguard water resources, constitute key wildlife habitats, and working forests and farms. Clay County is behind many other Florida counties in terms of the percentage of land in conservation (.3% against the average of 1.5%) and looks to the FFCLP to markedly increase conservation acreage. Further, the County is seeking to initiate and establish a Mitigation Bank to restore and further protect important habitat within the County and offset the negative impacts of expanding regional real estate development.

To ensure effective and sustainable management of this expanding portfolio—particularly its rural and conservation lands—the County seeks to develop a comprehensive land management plan. This plan will establish clear goals and objectives for each property, balance diverse land uses, and implement best management practices through a phased and well-funded approach.