Okaloosa County BOCC — December 18, 2012 — Request for Bids — reading text

16 inches in height, as measured from top of the root ball to the apical meristem, and have a minimum of three healthy stems. 2-inch units shall have a root ball volume of at least 5 cubic inches. For 4-inch planting units, Sea Oats and Panic Grasses shall be 12 – 24 inches in height, as measured from the top of the root ball to the apical meristem, and have a minimum of four health stems. All diversity species shall be 4-inch planting units. 4-inch planting units shall have a root ball volume of at least 26 cubic inches. For the purposes of this specification, the plant material in a single liner represents one planting unit, regardless of the soil volume or number of viable stems. The Engineer will reject any plants no meeting these size constraints. B. Plant Age – Planting units shall be 60 – to 90-days old for 2-inch planting units and 90 – to 120-days old for 4-inch planting units, as measured from the approximate time of germination. The Engineer may reject planting units younger or older than these specifications. The contractor shall coordinate delivery to ensure planting units are installed within five (5) days of the plant being “pulled” at the nursery. C. Plant Condition – All planting units provided by the contractor shall be of the highest quality and shall have moist, vigorous root systems free of rot, disease, or discoloration at the time of delivery and installation. The Engineer will reject planting units not meeting these specifications. The Engineer will not consider rejected planting units as delivered to the site and will not be eligible for payment for production, delivery, or other costs. The contractor will be responsible for property disposing of rejected planting units. The contractor shall maintain the high-quality condition of the plants from the time the plants are “pulled” at the nursery through planting and continuing throughout the 180-day warranty period (Section 3.6). The root ball shall be property moistened to prevent desiccation. Prior to shipping, roots should fill the entire volume of the container, but should not be root bound. When pulled from the liner/tray, the roots shall support the soil volume of the container with minimum soil loss. All planting units shall be handled, packed, transported, and stored at the installation site in such a manner as to ensure protection against desiccation, thermal stress, disease, or physical damage. The contractor shall make the planting units available at all times for inspection by the Engineer. The Engineer will reject planting units improperly handled, packed, transported, or stored. D. Number of Planting Units Delivered – The drawings specify the estimated number of planting units required for the work. Varying site conditions may require adjustments beyond or below the estimated quantities. The contractor is required to provide sufficient plant quantities in order to perform the work in accordance with the contract documents. The Engineer will determine the final number of planting units eligible for payment. Planting units delivered to the work site shall be contained in consistent, accessible, and uniform packing materials such as waxed boxes. Each Last Revised – 01/09/2013 Page 45  box delivered to a work site will be subject to planting unit inspection and counting. The contractor will specify a standard number of within- specification planting units for the packaging (e.g., 500 per box) before the Engineer will accept the delivery of planting units to the work site. The Engineer will reject boxes of planting units that contain fewer than the established standard number of within-specification planting units. If more than one box per delivery is found to contain fewer than the established standard planting unit count, the Engineer will reject all boxes of plants within that delivery. Boxes of planting units found to contain more than the standard number of planting units will be considered to contain only the standard number of planting units per box. The contractor shall coordinate delivery to ensure an excessive number of plant units and/or boxes are not staged at the construction site and all units are installed within five (5) days of the plants being “pulled” at the nursery. 3.4 PLANTING DEPTH & SPACING A. Planting Unity Depth - The contractor shall install all planting units at a minimum depth of 6 inches, as measured from the top of the root ball to the sand surface. The Engineer will reject plants not installed at or below this depth. Planting units out of compliance with this specification and unnoticed by the Engineer will be planted solely at the contractor’s risk and will be subject to all of the survival criteria and warranty provisions detailed below in Section 3.6 SUCCESS CRITERIA & REPLANTING. In addition, the Owner may increase the retainage of the contract should the survival and warranty provisions of these specifications not be met. B. Planting Unit Spacing – The planting areas shall be paid out in 500-foot wide (maximum) sections to ensure property coverage and spacing. Placing units shall be planted in rows, with the most seaward row located along the lower limit of the planting zone marked on the drawings. Successive rows located on the dune shall be 12 inches apart for Option 1 or 18 inches apart for Option 2 and planted parallel to the seaward row. Planting units in each row along the dune slope shall be planted on 12- inch centers for Option 1 and 18-inch centers for Option 2. Planting units in each row shall be staggered mid-way (in the shore-parallel direction) between planting units in the adjacent rows. The contractor may modify the spacing requirements (+/- 4 inches for Option 1 and +/- 6 inches for Option 2) for up to 25% of the plants to achieve a more natural look. Planting units out of compliance with this specification will be planted solely at the contractor’s risk and will be subject to all of the survival criteria and warranty provisions detailed below in Section 3.6 SUCCESS CRITERIA & REPLANTING. C. Installation – The contractor shall install planting units by hand labor and tools (e.g., spades, shovels, hand-held augers, etc.). The contractor shall install planting units to fully cover the planting areas shown in the drawings. Planting units shall be installed up to existing vegetation, existing structures (e.g., dune walkovers) or access paths. D. Final Dressing – The contractor shall smooth the planting area to remove any large depressions, mounds, or footprints from the finished grade surface. Filling around plants to provide sufficient burial will not be permitted. Last Revised – 01/09/2013 Page 46  3.5 SOIL AMENDMENTS A. Hydrating Gel & Fertilizer The contractor shall utilize a hydrating gel such as Stockabsorb, Terr-asorb, or similar product with all planting units. The contractor shall fully hydrate the gel according to the manufacturer’s specifications prior to use. Approximatelly one-half teaspoon of slow release (90-day) pelletized Osmocote fertilizer, or engineered-approved substitute, with an N:P:K ratio of 18-6-12, plus trace elements shall be added to the hydrating gel material for each 2-inch planting unit. The amount of fertilizer added to 4- inch planting units shall depend on the plant species and manufacturer’s recommendations. The contractor shall place a minimum of one-half cup of the hydrated gel/fertilizer mixture at the bottom of the hole beneath the root zone of each planting unit during installation. The plants shall be installed such that the root ball is in contact with the hydrated gel/fertilizer mixture. Dipping the rootball in the hydrating gel/fertilizer mixture prior to installation will not be permitted. The fertilizer shall conform to the applicable State of Florida fertilizer laws. Fertilizer requirements may vary for the different plant species. The contractor shall place fertilizer in accordance with standard industry practice for each varying species and size of plant, subject to the approval of the Owner & Engineer. The contractor’s work plan shall detail the brand name and manufacturer of the proposed hydrating gel and fertilizer and proposed ratios for both 2-inch and 4-inch planting units. The contractor shall include the cost of the hydrating gel and fertilizer within the installed planting unit bid price. B. Initial & Maintenance Irrigation The contractor will be allowed to “water in” (initially irrigate) and maintenance-irrigate all newly installed planting units such that the root zone of all newly installed planting units is thoroughly saturated. The irrigation must be performed in accordance with a contractor-prepared and engineer-approved irrigation schedule within the submitted water plan. The watering plan shall detail the proposed number of irrigation events, irrigation methodology, the equipment,