Sole Source - Sawgrass Lake TryMarine Treatment

SUMMARY STANDARD LANGUAGE:

This is not a Request for Proposal, and no solicitation is available. The purpose of this notice is to inform the supplier community and the public that the City of Port St. Lucie intends to enter into a non-competitive contract (commonly referred to as a bid waiver or sole source) for the purchase of a product or service, under the authority of and in accordance with Florida Statute 287.057(3)(c).

By publishing this notice, the City seeks to:

Enhance transparency in its procurement practices.
Encourage full and open competition where applicable; and
Provide potential suppliers with the opportunity to identify themselves.

Suppliers who believe they are qualified are invited to submit a statement of capability to the contact listed in this document. Any responses received as a result of this Notice will be reviewed solely to determine whether a competitive procurement process is warranted. Responses will not be considered proposals, bids, or quotes.

Background

This intake is for the treatment of a city owned stormwater management tract named Sawgrass Lake. The tract is located adjacent to Darwin/Paar and is surrounded by developed residential properties (HOA owned) and the Westport Wastewater Treatment Plant. Over the past few years, Sawgrass Lake has shown degraded water quality conditions, including blue-green algae blooms and fish kill events. Due to these degraded conditions, the residents have demanded a treatment of the body of water. After extensive testing and environmental consulting, the city has agreed on a treatment for the tract. The treatment is specifically recommended by the city's environmental consultant, Terracon, to treat the tract. The product is called TryMarine and it is solely available through SOLitude Lake Managment. This treatment will include a 3 year treatment plan that will treat the entirety of the lake (and the adjacent privately owned pond, if the city so chooses to) with multiple treatments a year, to improve the tract's conditions. The treatment plan will also include water quality, sediment, and algal monitoring/analysis. The city will also have assistance with fish kill clean up if they so choose to, at a per day rate.

Sawgrass Lake is a city owned stormwater management tract that has shown degraded water quality conditions since approximately 2021. Since then the city has been involved with the surrounding HOA masterboard to study the tract to attempt to determine the cause of the degraded conditions. The city hired an environmental consultant, Terracon, to conduct an in depth study to recommend a treatment for the tract. Upon completion of the study, Terracon specifically recommended a treatment plan using a product called TryMarine to address the concerns with Sawgrass Lake. The city has worked out a 3 year treatment plan with the sole source provider of TryMarine (SOLitude Lake Management) and is now in the process of forming the contract to conduct the treatment of TryMarine.

Project Details

• Reference ID: 20260247
• Department: Public Works
• Department Head: Colt Schwerdt (Director)

Evaluation Criteria

• Important Instructions for Electronic Submittals —

  The City of Port St. Lucie is accepting electronic bid submissions. Bidders shall create a FREE account with OpenGov Procurement by signing up at https://procurement.opengov.com/signup. Once you have completed account registration, browse back to this page, click on "Draft Response", and follow the instructions to submit the electronic bid.

• Summary —

  SUMMARY STANDARD LANGUAGE:

  This is not a Request for Proposal, and no solicitation is available. The purpose of this notice is to inform the supplier community and the public that the City of Port St. Lucie intends to enter into a non-competitive contract (commonly referred to as a bid waiver or sole source) for the purchase of a product or service, under the authority of and in accordance with Florida Statute 287.057(3)(c).

  By publishing this notice, the City seeks to:

  Enhance transparency in its procurement practices.
  Encourage full and open competition where applicable; and
  Provide potential suppliers with the opportunity to identify themselves.

  Suppliers who believe they are qualified are invited to submit a statement of capability to the contact listed in this document. Any responses received as a result of this Notice will be reviewed solely to determine whether a competitive procurement process is warranted. Responses will not be considered proposals, bids, or quotes.

• Timeline —

  Release Project Date:	May 18, 2026
  Proposal Submission Deadline:	May 28, 2026, 2:00pm

• Scope of Work or Project Details —

  Please see the Attachments section for specifications and attachments.

• Project Contact —

  Bret Kaiser

  NPDES Project Manager

  121 SW Port St Lucie Blvd Building B

  Port St. Lucie, FL 34983

  Email: bkaiser@cityofpsl.com

  Phone: (772) 344-4128

• Scope of Work —

  SCHEDULE A – SCOPE OF SERVICES 
  Year 1 (2026)  
  - Apply 16ppm of TryMarine  
  - Conduct in-situ monitoring at the time of each visit 
  - Conduct five rounds of sediment and water quality sampling  
   
  Year 2 (2027)  
  - Apply 14ppm of TryMarine  
  - Conduct in-situ monitoring at the time of each visit 
  - Conduct five rounds of sediment and water quality sampling  
   
  Year 3 (2028)   
  - Apply 10ppm of TryMarine  
  - Conduct in-situ monitoring at the time of each visit 
  - Conduct five rounds of sediment and water quality sampling  
   
  SCHEDULE A - TRYMARINE ANNUAL POND MANAGEMENT SERVICES 
  Sediment and Water Quality Improvements (TryMarine): 
  1. Solitude will apply a liquid formulation of TryMarine to the surface of the waterbody at a rate of 
  0.5 - 2ppm  per application. Subject to change, please refer to Application Schedule and Area. 
  2. The product will slowly mix throughout the water column improving oxygen in the water and 
  sediment, resulting in the processing of organic matter, ultimately leading to a reduction in 
  chemical oxygen demand once the organic matter is reduced.  
  3. TryMarine is NSF 60 certified, meaning it is approved for use in drinking water and cleared at rates 
  of up to at least 522 times the typical dosage. 
  4. TryMarine is not a pesticide, herbicide, algaecide, nutrient binder, coagulant or live biologic. It 
  has no direct effect on algae or weeds. TryMarine addresses muck in the waterbody.  
   
  Project Goals:  
  1.  Significantly improve the health of the sediment/muck at the bottom of the lake by decomposing 
  the organics and reducing internal nutrient levels.  
   
  Application Schedule and Area: 
  1. Applications of TryMarine will be made by the Company throughout the growing season each 
  year on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly schedule as required. 
  2. Company will ensure the product is applied properly and that the amount of product applied 
  matches the needs of the waterbody. 
  3. TryMarine product will be applied to the surface of the water body through a combination of 
  topical spray, and or injection as needed. 
   
  Monitoring: 
  1. SOLitude personnel will conduct monitoring of the pond for visual inspections, in-situ meter, 
  Dissolved oxygen, Secchi disk readings. 

  2. Sediment testing for Standard+ Nitrate N, Ammonia N, Organic N, Moisture, % Ash, Moisture and 
  Organic Matter (5) times per year from four (4) sites. Sediment testing method completed using 2 
  composite scoops in 16oz bottles. 
  3. Water quality testing for Standard+ Nitrate N, Ammonia N, Organic N, Aerobic Plate Count, 
  Conductivity and Chemical Oxygen Demand five (5) times per year at four (4) locations. Water 
  quality testing conducted at the surface and bottom of the water column in 16 oz bottles. 
  4. Biological testing for Algal diversity <20 microns (5) times per year at four (4) locations. Biological 
  testing conducted at the surface and bottom of the water column in 16 oz bottles. 
  5. All and any changes made to the pond will be observed and noted. 
  6. If any symptoms require a halt in service, customers will be notified. 
   
  Reporting: 
  1. SOLitude Lake Management shall provide a mid-year update report and a final year end report 
  with findings before, during and after applications throughout the three year period. 
   
  Service Reporting: 
  1.  Customer will be provided with a service report detailing all of the work performed as part of this 
  Agreement after each visit. 

• Procurement Contact —

  Kevin Eggleston

  Procurement Officer I

  121 SW Port St. Lucie Blvd

  Port St. Lucie, FL 34984

  Email: keggleston@cityofpsl.com

  Phone: (772) 344-4068

Submission Requirements

• Respondent Submittals (without Cost) (required) —

  Please Upload your COMPLETE response, including any and all required forms listed in the solicitation and the corresponding attachments.

  (Do not upload cost information in here)

• Separate Cost Proposal (required) —

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

• I certify that I have read, understood and agree to the terms in this solicitation, and that I am authorized to submit this response on behalf of my company. (required)
• Pricing (required) —
  • Choose Option 1 when you have set line items, for example:
    • This is a quote for goods or commodities.
    • This is a public works bid, with a pricing table that can be uploaded into OpenGov Procurement from an Excel spreadsheet.
    • Seeking services for hourly rate schedules.
  • Choose Option 2 when you need vendors to provide you with the line items. 
• Evaluation Committee? (required) —

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

• Procurement and/or Project Contact —

  Select the information you would like display.