Invitation to Bid: Ground Water Well Investigation

Agency:	City of Florence
State:	South Carolina
Type of Government:	State & Local
NAICS Category:	221310 - Water Supply and Irrigation Systems 237110 - Water and Sewer Line and Related Structures Construction 541330 - Engineering Services 541620 - Environmental Consulting Services
Posted Date:	Apr 8, 2026
Due Date:	Apr 22, 2026
Solicitation No:	2026-25
Original Source:	Please Login to View Page
Contact information:	Please Login to View Page
Bid Documents:	Please Login to View Page

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CITY OF FLORENCE BID DOCUMENT

Sealed bids will be received by the City of Florence in the Purchasing/Contracting Office at the

City Center, 324 West Evans Street, Florence, SC 29501-3430 until 2:00 PM on April, 22nd, 2026,

from qualified and professional contractors to conduct the Groundwater Well Investigation.

Bids shall be opened promptly at the above stated time and date and their contents will be made

public for the information of the bidder and others properly interested. The bid will not be awarded

until the City of Florence has had ample time to review each bid.

Bids must be submitted in sealed envelopes with the bid name clearly marked “Bid No. 2026-25:

Groundwater Well Investigation” on the outside of the envelope for easy identification by the

City of Florence. Bids may be hand delivered to the address noted above. Any bids received

later than the specified time will not be accepted / considered. The City of Florence will not be

responsible for late submission caused by the postal service, other carriers, or any other delivery

problems regardless of the reason. Bids may be hand delivered. Bids submitted by mail, Federal

Express, United Parcel Service, etc., must meet these same requirements and shall be addressed

to:

City of Florence

City Center

324 West Evans Street

Florence, SC 29501-3430

Attention: Mr. Lynwood F. Givens

The City of Florence reserves the right to engage in discussions with any or all responsible Bidders

who submit bids which appear to be eligible for award, for the purpose of clarification to assure

full understanding of and responsiveness to the Invitation to Bid requirements herein.

This solicitation does not commit the City of Florence to award a contract/purchase order, to pay

any costs incurred in the preparation of a proposal, or to procure or contract for services. The

City of Florence reserves the right to reject any and all responses, to cancel this solicitation, and

to make an award deemed in its own best interest.

1. MINORITY AND WOMAN OWNED BUSINESS

Minority Business Owners (minority or woman owned businesses) will be afforded full

opportunity to submit bids in response to this invitation and will not be discriminated against

on the grounds of race, color, creed, sex or national origin in consideration for an award. It

is the policy of the City that minority business and women owned business enterprises

(MBE / WBE) have an opportunity to participate at all levels of contracting in the

performance of City contracts to the extent practical and consistent with the efficient

performance of the contract.

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The successful contractor must ensure that all subcontractors, agents, personnel assigned

by or employees of prime contractor and subcontractors are not discriminated against

because of their race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Bidders must make positive

efforts to provide equal employment opportunity for minority and women owned

businesses.

2. BIDDER'S QUALIFICATION

The successful bidder must have no less than five (5) years of experience in this type of

work and be licensed in the state of South Carolina. No bid will be considered unless the

bidder is legally qualified under the provisions of the South Carolina Contractor's Licensing

Law (South Carolina Code of Laws as amended on April 1, 1999, Chapter 11, Sections 40-

11-10 through 40-11-428).

Before the award of contract/purchase order, any bidder may be required to show that they

have the necessary license, facilities, experience, ability, and financial resources to

perform the work in a satisfactory manner. Bidders may be required to furnish the City with

sworn statements as to their experience. No contract/purchase order will be awarded

except to responsible bidders capable of performing the class and type of work required.

3. INSTRUCTION TO BIDDERS

The Contractor should realize that delays due to bad weather, materials, and such, not

under the control of the Contractor will be considered by the Engineer for time extension.

No bid may be withdrawn for a period of 90 days after the bid opening date.

Bids must be signed by an individual legally authorized to offer the pricing and response to

this invitation to bid. Any bid that is not signed will not be accepted.

All bidders must follow the specifications outlined in this bid document. Any bidder who

finds a discrepancy in or omission from the specifications, or is in doubt as to their meaning,

or feels that the specifications are discriminatory, shall notify the City’s Procurement Agent

in writing not later than 5 days prior to the scheduled opening of bids.

The City will assume no responsibility for oral instructions or suggestions. All official

correspondence in regard to the specifications should be directed to and will be issued by

the City’s Engineer.

4. DEFINITIONS: Responsible Bidder means a bidder who has the capability in all respects

to fully perform contract requirements, and the integrity and reliability which will assure

good faith performance.

Responsive Bidder means a bidder who has submitted a bid which conforms in all material

respects to the Invitation to Bid.

5. PROTEST: Any actual or prospective vendor, bidder, or contractor who is aggrieved in

connection with the solicitation or award of a contract may formally protest to the Finance

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Director. The protest shall be submitted in writing within seven (7) days after such

aggrieved person or party has received the bid tabulation or the intent to award letter,

whichever occurs first.

6. DISPUTES: In cases of disputes as to whether or not an item or service quoted or

delivered meets the specifications, the decision of the City of Florence shall be final and

binding on all parties. The City’s Engineer may request in writing, the recommendation of

the head of the City agency using the item or other objective sources.

7. EXCEPTIONS: Exceptions taken do not obligate the City to change the specifications.

The City’s Engineer will notify all bidders in writing, by addendum duly issued, of any

interpretations made of specifications or instructions.

8. DEVIATIONS: Any deviations from the specifications contained herein must be noted in

detail on the bidder's bid response for the City of Florence's consideration. Failure to

submit documentation of deviations shall be grounds for rejection of the item offered to the

City of Florence.

9. CHANGES: Any changes in this Invitation to Bid after the purchase order/contract

agreement has been awarded must be with the written consent of the City of Florence;

otherwise, the responsibility for such changes lies with the vendor.

10. INQUIRIES: All questions concerning this invitation to bid shall be made in writing and

directed to Mr. Lynwood Givens at (843) 665-3165. Mr. Givens’ e-mail address is

lgivens@cityofflorence.com. If necessary, Mr. Givens may refer questions to the Engineer,

Michael Henry, P.E., of AECOM.

All bids shall be submitted using the bid sheet in Section 00311 - Bid Form.

A complete copy of the City of Florence Purchasing Policies and Procedures Manual can

be downloaded from the City of Florence website at www.cityofflorence.com.

11. CRITERIA FOR AWARD:

The bid will be awarded to the lowest responsible/responsive bidder that best meets the

City of Florence's specifications/scope of work, taking into consideration the following but

not limited to:

A. Price.

B. Experience of company.

C. Past performance based on references.

D. Timeliness of completion.

E. Geographical location of bidder's place of business (including service facility) in relation

to Florence, SC.

F. Warranty.

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12. TAXES

The City of Florence pays South Carolina Sales Taxes in the amount of 6%. However, the

City of Florence is exempt from Federal Excise Taxes and will issue exemption certificates,

if requested.

13. BUSINESS LICENSE REQUIREMENT

It is required that each contractor and all subcontractors awarded a contract agreement

with the City of Florence, either secure a business license or update their current business

license for the contract amount for any work that is to be done inside the city limits. The

successful contractor and all subcontractors shall be required to contact the Business

License Coordinator, 324 West Evans Street, Florence, SC 29501-3430 prior to

commencement of work. The business license coordinator's phone number is

(843)

665-3173, FAX (843) 665-3111.

14. REQUIRED INSURANCE INFORMATION

The vendor shall agree to hold harmless, indemnify and defend the City of Florence, South

Carolina, its agents and employees from any claims for property damage or personal injury

(including death resulting there from). Such claims include, but are not limited to, actual,

consequential, incidental or punitive damages. The vendor shall agree to maintain

sufficient comprehensive general liability insurance, naming the City of Florence, South

Carolina, as additional insured, in the amounts of $1,000,000.00 per occurrence and

$1,000,000.00 per person. Proof of such insurance shall be given to the Procurement

Officer by an appropriate certificate-of-insurance issued by the vendor's insurance agent.

Further, the vendor shall agree to insure prior to commencement of work on the project

(job), all subcontractors, agents, assigns or employees of prime vendor and subcontractor

shall agree to hold harmless, indemnify and defend the City of Florence, South Carolina,

its agents and employees from any claims for property damage or personal injury (including

death resulting there from). Such claims include but are not limited to, actual,

consequential, incidental or punitive damages. Further, prior to commencement of work

on the project (job), the vendor shall insure that all subcontractors, agents or assigns of

the vendor, maintain sufficient comprehensive general liability insurance, naming the City

of Florence, South Carolina, as additional insured, in the amounts of $1,000,000.00 per

occurrence and $1,000,000.00 per person. Proof of such insurance shall be given to the

Procurement Officer by an appropriate certificate-of-insurance issued by applicable entity's

insurance agent.

With regards to comprehensive general liability insurance, claims may be made during or

after the term or terms of the contract/purchase order agreement.

Vehicle liability insurance with minimum combined single limits of $1,000,000.00 per

occurrence shall be maintained by the vendor.

The successful firm shall take out and maintain, during the life of the contract agreement,

workers' compensation and employer's liability insurance for all employees to be engaged

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in services on this project under this agreement in an amount not less than $1,000,000.00,

and in case any such services are sublet, the firm shall require all subcontractor(s) also to

provide workers' compensation and employer's liability insurance in an amount not less

than $1,000,000.00 for all of the subcontractor's employees to be engaged in such.

15. INSPECTION/ACCEPTANCE

The City of Florence shall conduct an inspection of the assigned work. The inspection shall

be conducted by Mr. Martin Fox, Mr. Steven Allen, or their designee. No payment is to be

made until an approved inspection is made.

16. LOCAL AND MINORITY BUSINESS ENTERPRISE PURCHASING PROGRAM

When lowest bid is the principal determining factor in a bid selection process it is the intent

of the City of Florence to provide preference first to local businesses within the City or

County of Florence; however, if no local business is eligible or able to participate,

preference shall then be provided by the City to minority business enterprises based on

the following guidelines:

A. For purposes of this policy, a “local business” is defined as a person, firm, contractor,

corporation, or other business entity offering the services and/or products being bid by

the City that maintain a place of business and have a physical business address located

and operating within the City or County of Florence. The business must have been

established for not less than one year within the City or County of Florence and have a

valid City of Florence Business License for a minimum of 12 months prior to the bid

date.

B. For purposes of this policy, a minority business enterprise (MBE) is defined as an MBE

that is certified in accordance with South Carolina Regulations § 19-445.2160, as

authorized by §11-35-5270 the South Carolina Code of Laws, as amended.

C. When lowest bid is the principal determining factor in the selection process any “local

business” as defined in Subsection A above that submits a responsible and responsive

bid within 5% (if the business is located within the City of Florence) or 3% (if the

business is located within Florence County) of the non-local bidder who submitted the

lowest bid may match the bid submitted by the non-local bidder. A “local business” that

is within the percentage guidelines of the lowest bid received shall then be eligible for

award of the contract.

D. If the lowest bid is not a “local business” and a “local business” is within the percentage

guidelines of the lowest bid received, the “local business”, subject to the provision of

Subsection H below, shall be awarded the contract if it is willing to provide goods or

services at the same price of the lowest bid received.

E. If conditions of Subsections C above are met and the qualified “local business” declines

or is unable to match the lowest bid, then the option to do so moves to the next qualified

“local business”, if such business' bid is within the percentage guideline of the lowest

bid, and is similarly responsible and responsive.

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This page summarizes the opportunity, including an overview and a preview of the attached documents.

bid number	bid description	cloising date	bid file
2026-25 Invitation to Bid: Ground Water Well Investigation	The City of Florence is accepting sealed bids from qualified contractors to conduct the Ground Water Well Investigation.	Wed, 04/22/2026	2026-25-invitation-to-bid.pdf

Invitation to Bid: Ground Water Well Investigation

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