Active SLED Opportunity · CALIFORNIA · WATSONVILLE
AI Summary
The City of Watsonville seeks proposals for chipping and grinding brush, non-treated C&D, green waste, and wood waste at its landfill. Services include processing and optional hauling of wood chips and mulch. The RFP requires adherence to insurance and indemnity standards with proposals due September 1, 2026. Contact via City's procurement portal for questions and submissions.
The City is requesting Proposals (RFP) for qualified companies that can provide chipping and grinding bush non-treated C&D, green waste and wood waste to be performed at the city owned landfill.
Proposal statements will be evaluated using criteria stated in this RFP. Proposal statements from firms meeting the mandatory criteria described below will be evaluated for the other selection criteria.
The City, at its sole discretion, reserves the following rights:
Compensation shall be determined as part of the formal contracting process.
The respondent understands that issuance of this solicitation does not commit the City of Watsonville to award a contract, to pay any costs incurred in the preparation of a response to this solicitation, or to procure a contract for services. The respondent should note that the execution of any contract pursuant to this solicitation is dependent upon the approval of the Watsonville City Council, as required.
1 General
Submissions will be evaluated based on the general completeness of the response and the City's evaluation of the firm's approach, experience, knowledge, and references related to the specific scope of work requested. Some key areas considered in the selection process are highlighted below, but not an exhaustive list of what may be considered in the selection process.
2 Mandatory Elements
The firm has no conflict of interest with regard to any other work performed by the firm for the City.
The firm adheres to the instructions in this document and has provided a clear, well-formatted, professional and concise Proposal (RFP).
3 Qualifications
The firm’s reputation and past experience in the performance of other similar services for similar agencies.
The quality of the firm’s professional personnel to be assigned to the scope of work and the quality of the firm’s management support personnel to be available for technical consultation.
The quality of the planned approach and demonstration of the experience and qualifications needed to complete the requested scope of services.
Demonstrated results performing the requested services for agencies with similar goals and challenges, including client references which the City may contact.
4 Team Readiness and Availability
Demonstration that the current workload of the firm's listed team members will not impact their ability to fulfill the services required for this contract.
5 Submittal Selection Process
A Selection Committee will review and evaluate the submittals, with a focus on the Selection Criteria highlighted above. Based on the evaluations of the Selection Committee, the qualified respondents will be ranked. The City may request an informal interview with one or several of the top ranked firms which will be taken into consideration in final selection. If a contract is awarded, the City will contract with the selected consultant utilizing the City’s standard consultant services agreement. The agreement requires the consultant to secure auto and general commercial liability insurance naming the City and its employees additional insured, professional errors and omissions insurance and workers compensation insurance. A copy of the City’s standard consultant services agreement is available for inspection by request. The negotiated contract will require approval by the City of Watsonville City Council for services exceeding $100,000.
Questions regarding this solicitation shall be directed through the City's OpenGov Procurement portal located at: https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/watsonville-ca.
All questions are due before 5:00 pm on Wednesday, August 26, 2026.
The respondent agrees, if selected, that they shall perform the services as independent contractor(s) and not employee(s) of the City.
The respondent understands that as a general rule all documents received by the City are considered public records. Therefore all submittals shall be made available for public inspection according to applicable disclosure rules and regulations.
The City will make every effort to adhere to the schedule provided below:
| Issue RFP: | August 4, 2026 |
| Deadline for Submitting Questions: | August 26, 2026, 5:00pm |
| Proposals Due: | September 1, 2026, 11:00am |
The City will not share the details of individual responses to this solicitation with competing respondents during the selection process. After the selection process ends and a contract is awarded, all solicitations become public information.
The respondent agrees, if selected, that the City will review and approve all news releases pertaining to this solicitation and/or subsequent agreement(s). All news releases will be submitted in writing to the City’s project manager. The project manager will review and submit the news release to the appropriate City personnel for final review and approval in a timely manner.
The respondent agrees, if selected, to comply with the City’s duly adopted Conflict of Interest Code. Key personnel who will be performing services under this Agreement are required to make disclosures with respect to the City of Watsonville.
The respondent agrees, if selected, to accept the City of Watsonville standard consultant agreement, including specifically listing City’s Hold Harmless Indemnity requirements and insurance coverage requirements, without modification.
The respondent understands that the information provided herein is intended solely to assist the respondent in submittal preparation. To the best of the City’s knowledge, the information provided is accurate. However, the City does not warrant such accuracy, and any errors or omissions subsequently determined will not be construed as a basis for invalidating this solicitation. Further, by submitting a response to this solicitation, the respondent represents that it has thoroughly examined and become familiar with work required in the solicitation and is capable of performing quality work and to achieve the objectives of the City.
The City of Watsonville is strongly committed to equal opportunity in solicitation of services. All eligible service providers including individuals, contractors, vendors, consultants, grantees, lessees, and banks, must comply with applicable Equal Opportunity Guidelines.
The respondent shall not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, religion, national origin, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, or disability in the solicitation, selection, hiring or treatment of its employees, the City staff, other City consultants or other members of the public.
Provide evidence of insurance coverage in the following amounts:
A. Commercial General Liability Insurance, Form CG 00 01 covering CGL on an “occurrence” basis, including products and completed operations, property damage, bodily injury and personal & advertising injury with limits no less than $1,000,000 per occurrence. If a general aggregate limit applies, either the general aggregate limit shall apply separately to this project/location (ISO CG 25 03 or 25 04) or the general aggregate limit shall be twice the required occurrence limit.
B. Business Automobile Liability: Insurance Services Office Form CA 0001 covering Code 1 (any auto), with limits no less than $1,000,000 per accident for bodily injury and property damage.
C. Workers’ Compensation Insurance: Insurance as required by the State of California, with Statutory Limits, and Employers’ Liability insurance with a limit of no less than $1,000,000 per accident for bodily injury or disease.
D. Any available insurance proceeds broader than or in excess of the specified minimum insurance coverage requirements and/or limits shall be available to the Owner Indemnities as Additional Insureds. The requirements for coverage and limits shall be the greater of either the minimum coverage and limits specified in this Agreement or the broader coverage and maximum limits of coverage of any insurance policy or proceeds available to the named insured.
E. All self-insured retentions (SIR) must be disclosed to Owner for approval and shall not reduce the limits of liability coverage. Policies containing and SIR provision shall provide or be endorsed to provide that the SIR may be satisfied by either the named Contractor/named insured or Owner.
F. Insurance policies shall contain an endorsement containing the following terms:
i) Additional Insured: The Owner, its officers, officials, employees, and volunteers are to be covered as additional insureds on the CGL policy with respect to liability arising out of work or operations performed by or on behalf of the Contractor including materials, parts, or equipment furnished in connection with such work or operations and automobiles owned, leased, hired, or borrowed by or on behalf of the Contractor. General liability coverage can be provided in the form of an endorsement to the Contractor’s insurance at least as broad as one of the following ISO ongoing operations Forms: CG 20 10 or CG 20 26 or CG 20 33 (not allowed from subcontractors), or CG 20 38; and one of the following ISO completed operations Forms: CG 20 37, 2039 (not allowed from subcontractors), or CG 20 40.
ii) The policies shall apply separately to each insured against whom claim is made or suit is brought except with respect to the limits of the company’s liability.
iii) Notice of Cancellation: Written notice of cancellation, non-renewal or of any material change in the policies shall be mailed to City of Watsonville thirty (30) days in advance of the effective date thereof.
iv) Primary Insurance: For any claims related to this project, the Contractor’s insurance coverage shall be primary insurance coverage at least as broad as ISO CG 20 01 04 13 as respects the Owner, its officers, officials, employees, and volunteers. Any insurance or self-insurance maintained by the Owner, its officers, officials, employees, or volunteers shall be excess of the Contractor’s insurance and shall not contribute with it.
v) Waiver of Subrogation: Contractor hereby agrees to waive rights of subrogation which any insurer of Contractor may acquire from Contractor by virtue of the payment of any loss. Contractor agrees to obtain any endorsement that may be necessary to affect this waiver of subrogation, but this provision applies regardless of whether or not the Entity has received a waiver of subrogation endorsement from the insurer. However, the Workers’ Compensation policy shall be endorsed with a waiver of subrogation in favor of the Entity for all work performed by the Contractor, its employees, agents and subcontractors.
vi) Verification of Coverage: Contractor shall furnish the Owner with original certificates and amendatory endorsements or copies of the applicable policy language effecting coverage required by this clause. All certificates and endorsements are to be received and approved by the Owner before work commences. However, failure to obtain the required documents prior to the work beginning shall not waive the Contractor’s obligation to provide them. The Owner reserves the right to require complete, certified copies of all required insurance policies, including endorsements required by these specifications, at any time.
vii) Acceptability of Insurers: All policies of insurance shall be placed with insurers acceptable to Owner. The insurance underwriter(s) must be duly licensed to do business in the State of California and (other than for workers’ compensation) must have an A. M. Best Company rating of A-VII or better.
viii) The Umbrella or Excess Policy: The Contractor may use Umbrella or Excess Policies to provide the liability limits as required in this agreement. The Umbrella or Excess policies shall be provided on a true “following form” or broader coverage basis, with coverage at least as broad as provided on the underlying Commercial General Liability insurance.
G. Subcontractors: Contractor shall require and verify that all subcontractors maintain insurance meeting all the requirements stated herein, and Contractor shall ensure that City is an additional insured on insurance required from subcontractors. For CGL coverage subcontractors shall provide coverage with a form at least as broad as CG 20 38 04 13.
H. Special Risks or Circumstances: City reserves the right to modify these requirements, including limits, based on the nature of the risk, prior experience, insurer, coverage, or other special circumstances.
Statement Cover Page
The cover page shall include:
Statement of Understanding and Methodology
The statement of understanding shall contain a written narrative that demonstrates the respondent’s understanding of the services required by the City.
Experience with Providing the Requested Services
This section shall include examples of the respondents' experience related to the project details. Provide a list of at least three references other similar cities or agencies for which you have successfully provided a similar scope of work.
Respondent shall provide the following references for each example:
The City may contact the references listed.
Organizational Chart
This section shall include an organization chart containing the names of all key personnel with titles and their specific task assignment.
The City will consider an increase to the bid item rates to capture CPI if the City exercises one or both optional annual contract extensions. Please provide the proposed CPI percentage increase in the text folder below. The final percentage will be negotiated in an annual extension is mutually agreed by the City and contract.
For any additional information requested or required by any of your provided answers please upload that additional documentation here.
Does your firm accept the City of Watsonville standard consultant agreement, including specifically the City's Hold Harmless Indemnity requirements and insurance coverage requirements, without modification? A copy of the current Consultant Agreement is included as Attachment A.
By confirming here and submitting, Respondent confirms their authority (and has uploaded necessary documentation proving such) to submit this Response in its entirety as submitted and enter into a contract on behalf of the Company Name stated in said Response. Such confirmation will be understood as the Respondent stating that they have completely read and understand this Request For Proposals in its entirety including any and all Addenda released prior to the time of submittal.
Will there be a need for the electronic pricing table in this RFQ?
SLED stands for State, Local, and Education. These are solicitations issued by state governments, counties, cities, school districts, utilities, and higher education institutions — as opposed to federal agencies.
SamSearch Platform
AI-powered intelligence for the right opportunities, the right leads, and the right time.