Notice to Bidders
TREE REMOVAL SERVICES
Borough of Phoenixville
351 Bridge Street – Second Floor
Phoenixville, PA 19460
March 12, 2024
Bids must be received by 11:00 am prevailing time on
Wednesday, April 3, 2024
Introduction
Phoenixville Borough, Chester County, Pennsylvania, is located about 25 miles northwest of
Philadelphia. The Borough of Phoenixville (Borough) occupies about 3.8 sq. mi. and its current
population is approximately 19,000. Phoenixville manages approximately 2,400 Borough
regulated street trees. Further information about the Borough’s government can be found at
http://www.phoenixville.org.
The purpose of this bid is to obtain proposals from qualified and certified arborists for tree
removal services. The certified arborist must have substantial experience in the area of urban
forest maintenance in Pennsylvania. Arborists must be ISA certified in accordance with ANSI
A300 standards for arbiculture.
The Scope of Services of a Contractor that can demonstrate the ability to carry out all work
according to the specifications are detailed in Attachment A.
Specific Response Requirements
All bids should be submitted in accordance with the instructions detailed below. Responses
should address the following requests for information or questions.
1. Letter of Transmittal
Each bid should be accompanied by a letter of transmittal which summarizes the key points of
the bid and which is signed by an authorized officer.
2. Company Information
State the legal name under which Contractor carries out business, the year the company was
established and the approximate size of the company in terms of total employees and annual
revenues.
Identify the location of the office from which work described here will be managed and the year
that office was established if other than above.
Provide the contact information (name, title, telephone number and email) for Contractor
representative submitting proposal.
Indicate whether any disciplinary action has been taken or is pending against Contractor by the
state, state regulatory bodies, professional organizations, or through legal action in the past (5)
years. If no, so state. If yes, detail the circumstances and current status of such action.
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3. Company Experience:
List the contract work (at least 5 references) performed by your firm in the past three (3) years
that is most similar in scope to the work described in this Bid. Reference projects provided
should be for non-residential customers and involve the removal of at least 25 trees. Include the
following information:
o Name and address of the organization
o Primary contact name, phone number, e-mail address
o Short description of the services your firm provided
4. Conflicts of Interest
A. Describe any material financial relationships that you or your firm or any employee has
with any individual or organization that may create a conflict of interest in representing
the Borough.
B. Describe any family relationship that any employee of your firm has with any public
servant that may create a conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest in
representing the Borough.
C. Identify if the vendor or any principal therein has been engaged as a defendant in any
litigation involving a sum of $100,000 or more and/or has been subject to any
professional disciplinary action over the last three (3) years, the bidder must provide a
description of the litigation and/or disciplinary action.
D. A description of any ongoing investigations and/or litigation matters involving the
applicant, its directors, officers and principals and any individuals employed by the
applicant that relate to the performance of the vendor in the proposed field of expertise.
5. Evaluation Criteria and Selection Process
The Borough Council reserves the right to:
A. Select a Bid in its entirety or some portion(s) thereof;
B. To request additional information or clarifications from Contractor, or to allow
corrections of errors or omissions.
B. Reject any and all Bids, in whole or in part;
C. Waive any technical defects or irregularities;
D. Request oral presentations and/or individual interviews from those individuals or
firms determined to be in a competitive range;
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E. Make the final selection using criteria judged to be the maximum benefit to the
Borough as a whole.
The Borough Manager and/or the Borough Council reserve the right, but is not required, to
interview any or all of the respondents submitting a Proposal. Although interviews may take
place, the Proposal should be comprehensive and complete on its face. The Borough reserves the
right to request clarifying information subsequent to the submission of the Proposal. The
Borough of Phoenixville is not required to make selections from these submissions, if, in their
sole discretion, qualifications are not appropriate or for any other reason.
6. Bid Prices:
All Bid prices shall reflect the use of Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage. See the specifications
detailed in Attachment A under the headline Billing.
7. Proposal Submission
A. Proposals shall be scanned as a PDF file and submitted in electronic format via email.
Faxed Proposals will not be accepted.
B. Electronic copies of the Bid must be received by 11:00 am prevailing time on
Wednesday, April 3, 2024.
C. Electronic PDF Bids shall be submitted to the Borough Manager:
manager@phoenixville.org
Subject line shall be: Tree Removal Bid
D. Inquiries on the contents and requirements of the RFP will be accepted in written form
only. Inquiries can be emailed to the attention of Borough Manager at
manager@phoenixville.org. The deadlines for inquiries is Monday, March 28, 2024 at
3:00 PM prevailing time, after which time no further inquiries will be accepted or
addressed.
E. Substantive requests for information may be responded to in writing by the Borough in
the form of an addendum to this RFP at https://www.phoenixville.org/Bids.aspx.
Bids must be submitted by Wednesday, April 3, 2024 11:00 AM prevailing time. Late Bids will
not be accepted. It is the Consultant’s responsibility to see that the Bid is received at the proper
time. The Borough is not responsible for delayed deliveries due to connectivity or courier
problems. The time the electronic copy of the Bid is logged as received in the Borough’s email
system shall determine the official time received.
The Borough reserves the right to reject any or all Bids or accept what is, in its judgment, the Bid
which is in the Borough's best interest. The Borough further reserves the right, in the best
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interests of the Borough, to waive any technical defects or irregularities in any and all Bids
submitted.
8. Selection Timetable
Selection of the successful certified tree removal company will be based on proposals
submitted and as determined by Borough Council.
9. Insurance.
A. Workers’ Compensation Insurance
Each respondent shall submit with its bid a Certificate of Insurance issued by an
insurance company satisfactory to the Borough evidencing the existence of the
mandatory minimum coverages required by this section.
The successful respondent shall, during the term of the contract, maintain
Workers’ Compensation Insurance in order to fully protect both its employees and
the Borough, as may be required by any and all state and federal laws, and
provide the Borough with an appropriate certificate evidencing the existence of
said insurance policy; provided, however, that employer liability coverage shall
not be less than $1,000,000 for each occurrence.
B. Liability Insurance
The successful respondent shall maintain, during the term of the contract, at its
own expense, the following minimum liability insurance coverage:
1. General Public Liability Insurance (non-automotive) for personal
injury and property damage in the amount of $1,000,000.00 for
each occurrence and $3,000,000.00 in the aggregate;
2. Automotive Liability Insurance for personal injury and property
damage in the amount of $1,000,000.00 for each occurrence and
$3,000,000.00 in the aggregate; and
3. Umbrella Excess Liability coverage policy in the amount of
$5,000,000.00.
The aforesaid policies of insurance and others that may be necessary to comply
herewith shall be maintained in the amounts set forth above and shall, inter-alia,
name the Borough as an additional insured and be designed to protect the
Borough from all claims for damages of any kind or any nature whatsoever
including, but not limited to, wrongful death, which may arise from the obligation
of the successful respondent in the performance of its contract, whether such
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