Cemetery Lawn Mowing and Grounds Maintenance

General work description:

The City of Ellsworth is seeking qualified contractors to provide comprehensive lawn mowing and grounds maintenance services at Juniper Cemetery and Beechland Cemetery. The selected contractor shall furnish all labor, equipment, and materials necessary to maintain these properties in a clean, safe, and respectful condition appropriate to active municipal cemeteries.

General Requirements

• All work shall be performed in a manner that demonstrates respect for cemetery grounds, monuments, and visitors.
• The contractor shall take all necessary precautions to prevent damage to headstones, markers, fencing, trees, and other site features.
• Any damage caused by the contractor shall be reported immediately and repaired at the contractor’s expense to the satisfaction of the City.
• Work shall be scheduled to minimize disruption to cemetery visitors, services, and municipal operations.

Project Details

• Reference ID: 2026-GEN-006
• Department: Procurement
• Department Head: - (-)

Important Dates

• Questions Due: 2026-05-07T22:00:00.000Z
• Answers Posted By: 2026-05-11T22:00:00.000Z
• Pre-Proposal Meeting: 2026-04-29T21:00:00.000Z — Council Chambers, City hall

Evaluation Criteria

• Cost Proposal (40 pts) —
  • Completeness and clarity of the seasonal lump sum price
  • Competitiveness and overall value to the City
• Experience and Qualifications (25 pts) —
  • Demonstrated experience providing cemetery or similar grounds maintenance services
  • Qualifications and reliability of personnel
  • References from comparable municipal or commercial clients
• Approach to Services (20 pts) —
  • Understanding of the scope and site conditions
  • Proposed service schedule and methodology
  • Ability to maintain respectful, high-quality cemetery conditions
• Equipment & Capacity (10 pts) —
  • Adequacy and condition of equipment
  • Ability to meet service demands throughout the season
• Responsiveness & Completeness (5 pts) —
  • Organization, completeness, and professionalism of the proposal
  • Timeliness and adherence to RFP requirements

Submission Requirements

• Proposal Requirements (required) —

  Did you read through and confirm that you met all of the proposal requirements including the sections:

  1. General Conditions
  2. Insurance Requirements
• Proposal Documents (required) —

  Please Upload your COMPLETE Proposal here, which includes the following:

  1. Bid Summary
  2. Statement of Experience and Qualifications
  3. Certificate of Insurance
• Proposal (without Cost Proposal) (required) —

  Please Upload your COMPLETE Proposal here. Upload fee proposal separately in the next step.

• Separate Cost Proposal (required) —

  Confirm that your fee proposal is not attached in your Proposal and is attached separately here.

• Bid Bond (required) —

  Each bid shall be accompanied by a certified cashier’s check, or bid bond, in the amount of XXXXXof the total bid price, payable toCity of Ellsworth, ME, as a guarantee that the bidder, if its bid is accepted, will promptly execute the Agreement. The bidder shall guarantee the total bid price for a period of 60 days from the date of the bid opening.

  Please scan and upload a copy of your bid bond/cashier's check. Bidder must also MAIL bid guarantee with a postmarked date no later thanThursday, May 14, 2026 addressed to:

  City of Ellsworth, ME
  Roddy Ehrlenbach
  1 City Hall Plaza
  Ellsworth,ME04605

  Please have the Bidder Name, Contract Title ("Cemetery Lawn Mowing and Grounds Maintenance"), and Contract Number ("2026-GEN-006") listed clearly on the outside of the envelope.

• Contract Execution, Payment Bond, Performance Bond, and Certificate(s) of Insurance (required) —

  The contract shall be executed by the successful bidder and shall be returned, together with the Payment Bond, Performance Bond and Certificate(s) of Insurance to City of Ellsworth, ME so that it is received within 14 working daysafter the bidder has received the contract for execution. Failure to do so shall be just cause for forfeiture of the proposal guaranty.

• Bid Bond (required) —

  Will this solicitation require a bid bond?

• Electronic Pricing Table (required) —

  Would you like to have bidders respond to an electronic pricing table through OpenGov?

  Some examples of of when to say "yes":

  1. This is a quote for goods or commodities
  2. This is a public works bid, with a pricing table that can be uploaded into ProcureNow from an excel spreadsheet
  3. Seeking services for hourly rate schedules
• Separate Fee Proposal Upload (required) —

  If you are NOT using the Electronic Pricing Table option, will you want your bidder to separate a Price Proposal from the rest of their Response? You'll want to do this if you open your bids initially WITHOUT showing price, and then come back in after a technical evaluation to unseal pricing later.

• Evaluation Committee? (required) —

  Will there be an evaluation committee to review the proposals and score them based on weights and multiple criteria?