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

from areas other than the South Alabama and the Florida Panhandle coasts (e.g., Florida east coast or Caribbean) will be rejected. The Contractor shall provide written documentation as to the source of the planting units in the bid package. Documentation shall include collection permits or contracts from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or other comparable documents. Bids submitted without this documentation will not be considered. B. Plant Species The Contractor shall plant the native dune species listed below in accordance with the specified percentages of total plants and within the areas shown in the Drawings. The Contractor shall meet the specified planting percentages over the approximately 1,500 to 2,000-feet long acceptance sections documented in the Drawings. Section 3.1.C below includes specifications for the diversity species. The Contractor’s Work Plan shall include a detailed description of the proposed planting scheme. 1. Planting Zone I (Seaward Dune Face and Dune Crest): a. Sea Oats (Uniola paniculata) – 80% b. Panic Grass (Panicum amarum) – 10% c. Diversity Species – 10% 2. Planting Zone II (Landward Dune Face): Last Revised – 01/09/2013 Page 58  a. Sea Oats (Uniola paniculata) – 70% b. Panic Grass (Panicum amarum) – 10% c. Diversity Species – 20% C. Diversity Species The Contractor shall provide and install a minimum of three additional native species according to the percentages specified above. The Contractor shall plant the diversity species intermittently among the sea oats, in even distributions, and within the areas of greatest survival and function according to standard industry practice. The diverse species provided shall be in even proportions. Diversity species may include (but not be limited to): Beach Elder (Iva imbricata) Beach Morning Glory (Ipomaea imperati) Railroad Vine (Ipomoea pes-caprae) Sea Purslane (Sesuvium portulacastrum) Coastal Blue Stem (Schizachyrium scoparium) Dune Sunflower (Helianthus debilis) Blanket Flower (Gaillardia pulchella) Coastal Sea Rocket (Cakile lanceolata) The Contractor may recommend additional diversity species for approval by the Engineer. The Contractor shall submit appropriate documentation identifying the advantages of the proposed species and certifying the proposed species are suitable for the site. 3.2 PROPAGATION METHODS A. Liners For 2-inch species, all plant materials shall be grown in multi-well trays (liners) not to exceed a size of approximately 1.5 inches wide by 1.5 inches long and not less than 2.5 inches in depth. Root ball (container) volumes shall not be less than 5 cubic inches. For 4-inch species, all plant materials shall be grown in multi-well liners not to exceed a size of approximately 3.1 inches wide by 3.1 inches long and not less than 3 inches in depth. Root ball (container) volumes shall not be less than 26 cubic inches. B. Number of Seeds per Liner The nursery shall determine, through germination experiments, the number of seeds placed in each liner such that viable planting units with at least three emergent stems for 2-inch planting units and at least four emergent stems for 4-inch planting units are Last Revised – 01/09/2013 Page 59  produced. Planting units with fewer than the specified number of stems will not be accepted. Prior to shipping, roots should fill the entire volume of the container, but the containers shall not be root bound. When the plants are pulled from the liner, the roots shall support the soil volume of the container with minimal soil loss. The Engineer may require the Contractor to perform such demonstrations prior to planting. C. Micropropagation Planting units grown from approved sources via micropropagation techniques may be accepted. Plants produced from cuttings or the division of larger plants may be used if the material is derived from South Alabama or Florida Panhandle sources and meets all of the specifications for seed-producing planting units. However, planting units derived from micropropagation techniques shall not exceed 25% of the total number of planting units delivered. D. Inspections The Contractor shall provide the Engineer and Owner with access to all nursery operations in the manner and time frame requested by the Owner or Engineer for the purpose of performing compliance inspections of the propagation and production methods being employed by the Contractor. 3.3 PLANT SIZE, AGE, AND CONDITION A. Plant Size For 2-inch planting units, Sea Oats and Panic Grasses shall be 8 – 16 inches in height, as measured from the 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 healthy 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 not 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 Last Revised – 01/09/2013 Page 60  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 properly 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 properly 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 minimal 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 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 AND SPACING A. Planting Unit 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 AND REPLANTING. In addition, the Owner may Last Revised – 01/09/2013 Page 61  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 laid out in 500-foot wide (maximum) sections to ensure proper coverage and spacing. Planting 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