Wholesale Tree Supplier

The City of Cleveland’s Division of Urban Forestry is soliciting proposals for a qualified wholesale nursery or broker to provide ongoing wholesale tree supply consulting services under a multi-year term agreement. The City seeks a consultant with a network of growers that can provide full access to all native tree species indigenous to Northeast Ohio, a diverse range of cultivars designed for harsh urban climates, and flexible stock options in containers, bare root, and B&B of variable sizes.

Background

Through this Request for Proposals, the Division intends to establish a multi-year term agreement with a vendor capable of providing consulting and coordination services to ensure the supply of high-quality trees on an as-needed basis.

Cleveland’s urban forest faces significant challenges from compacted soils, air pollution, road salt, drought, limited rooting space, and climate variability. As such, the City requires a partner who can navigate nursery availability, coordinate supply across multiple growers, and ensure consistent access to both native Northeast Ohio species and urban-hardy cultivars.

Proposers will be evaluated based on qualifications, sourcing capacity, industry relationships, municipal experience, and ability to reliably coordinate supply and delivery. Fee proposals will be evaluated for reasonableness following technical ranking.

Project Details

• Department: Parks and Recreation
• Department Head: Alexandria Nichols (Director)

Important Dates

• Questions Due: 2026-08-20T04:00:00.000Z
• Pre-Proposal Meeting: 2026-08-17T04:00:00.000Z — Meeting link https://cityclevelandoh.webex.com/cityclevelandoh/j.php?MTID=m8fdf9264b6bf649d0302a0c8551bd70f Meeting number 2301 976 2952 Meeting password pbGpw5hWD32 Join by video system 23019762952@cityclevelandoh.webex.com Join by phone US Toll +1-415-655-0003 Access code 23019762952

Evaluation Criteria

• Quality of Proposed Services (30 pts)
• Experience & Staff Qualifications (30 pts)
• Delivery Reliability, Warranties & Sustainability (15 pts)
• Overall Responsiveness & Clarity (5 pts) —

  Proposed Schedule to complete the work.

• OEO Compliance (20 pts) —

  In Accordance with the City’s goal of increasing the level of certified Cleveland Small Business, Minority Business Enterprise, and Female Business Enterprise participation in City contracts, the Consultant shall strive to meet the following subconsultant/ subcontractor participation goals:

  For the Design (professional architecture, engineering, and preconstruction services) portion of the contract:

  • 10% certified CSB
  • Note that firms which are CSB/MBE or CSB/FBE are eligible for CSB participation and are strongly encouraged.

  IMPORTANT NOTE: Submissions evaluated as “non-responsive” and/or “not making a good faith effort” will be eliminated from further consideration.

  See “OEO Compliance” for additional information.

Submission Requirements

• Technical Proposal
• Cover Letter (required)
• Executive Summary (required)
• Statement of Qualifications (required)
• Statment on Proposed Services (required)
• Proposed Project Team (required)
• Environmental Sustainability Practices Approach (required)
• Supplemental Information
• Fee Proposal
• Fee Proposal (required) —
  1. Itemized average unit prices by species, cultivar, size, and form 
  2. Delivery fee schedule and any administrative markups 
  3. Escalation terms (if any) 
• Vendor Background Information
• Provide the year the company was established and any former firm names (required)
• Type of Company (required)
• Provide the state and type of incorporation (required)
• Vendor Client References
• VENDOR CLIENT REFERENCE #1 (required) —

  Please include the following information: 

  • Proposing Vendor Name
  • Reference Company/Organization Name
  • Reference Address
  • Reference Contact Name
  • Contact’s Position
  • Contact’s Telephone Number
  • Type of Company/Organization (Industry)
  • Number of Employees
  • Services Performed
  • Sub-contractors used
  • Original Cost Estimates
  • Actual Final Costs
  • Comments
• VENDOR CLIENT REFERENCE #2 (required) —

  Please include the following information: 

  • Proposing Vendor Name
  • Reference Company/Organization Name
  • Reference Address
  • Reference Contact Name
  • Contact’s Position
  • Contact’s Telephone Number
  • Type of Company/Organization (Industry)
  • Number of Employees
  • Services Performed
  • Sub-contractors used
  • Original Cost Estimates
  • Actual Final Costs
  • Comments
• VENDOR CLIENT REFERENCE #3 (required) —

  Please include the following information: 

  • Proposing Vendor Name
  • Reference Company/Organization Name
  • Reference Address
  • Reference Contact Name
  • Contact’s Position
  • Contact’s Telephone Number
  • Type of Company/Organization (Industry)
  • Number of Employees
  • Services Performed
  • Sub-contractors used
  • Original Cost Estimates
  • Actual Final Costs
  • Comments
• City Required Forms
• NOTICE TO BIDDERS AND OEO SCHEDULES (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• NON-COMPETITIVE BID CONTRACT STATEMENT FOR CALENDAR YEAR 2026 (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• Northern Ireland Fair Employment Practices Disclosure —

  INSTRUCTIONS: Pursuant to Codified Ordinance Sec. 181.36, the information requested on this page must be supplied by all contractors and any subcontractors having more than a fifty percent (50%) interest in the proposed contract prior to any contract being awarded by the City of Cleveland.  Any contractor or subcontractor who is deemed to have made a false statement shall be declared to have acted in default of its contract and shall be subject to the remedies for default contained in its contract.  For failure to cure such a default, the contractor or subcontractor shall be automatically excluded from bidding for the supply of any goods or services for use by the City for a period of two (2) years.

• CHECK WHICHEVER IS APPLICABLE: (required)
• By confirming, the proposer affirms that they are in compliant Northern Ireland Fair Employment Practices. (required)
• Pricing (required)
• Applicable Language for Goals for Subcontractors (required)
• Is this RFP for Airport? (required)
• Insurance Requirements (for Airport RFP only) (required)
• Do you require insurance from the awarded vendor for this RFP? (required)