25-04405L

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
BABCOCK RANCH COMMUNITY INDEPENDENT SPECIAL DISTRICT
CONSTRUCTION SERVICES FOR FLORIDA WILDLIFE INTERACTIVE EDUCATION CENTER (“FWIEC”)
CHARLOTTE & LEE COUNTIES FLORIDA
Notice is hereby given that the Babcock Ranch Community Independent Special District (the “District”), will accept proposals from firms interested in providing labor, materials, and equipment for the construction of Florida Wildlife Interactive Education Center (“FWIEC” or “Project”) at the community known as Babcock Ranch located in Charlotte and Lee Counties, Florida. The contract will require contractors to provide services for the construction of the District’s new +/- 20,000-square-foot FWIEC located in Charlotte County, which will occur in phases, as more particularly described in the “Project Manual” and in accordance with the plans and specifications.

The Project Manual, comprised of proposal and contract documents, will be available for public inspection and may be obtained beginning November 3, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. Contact the Consulting Engineer, at [email protected] regarding access to the Project Manual. The Project Manual will consist of a completed PDF document of the Proposal Package with specifications containing supplemental information for the Project. The Project Manual may be amended and supplemented from time to time via a written addendum(s) to be issued to those proposers that the District has a record of having requested the original Project Manual; interested proposers are responsible for ensuring they obtain all available Project Manual, including an addendum, if any. The District reserves the right in its sole discretion to make changes to the Project Manual up until the time of the proposal opening, and to provide notice of such changes only to those proposers who have requested a Project Manual.

Firms desiring to submit proposals (also referred to as “bid”) for this Project may attend an optional Pre-Bid Conference which will take place on November 12, 2025, at 2:00 p.m., via Google Meets: for video conferencing: meet.google.com/jsi-jovc-epz or by phone: (US) +1 401-903-3731, PIN: 408332753. All proposers should acquire a copy of the Project Manual prior to the pre-bid conference. Copies of the Project Manual will not be available during the meeting. Any person requiring or that otherwise may need assistance accessing or participating in this optional pre-proposal conference meeting because of a disability or physical impairment is strongly encouraged to contact the District Manager and District Engineer at least forty-eight (48) hours in advance so that arrangements may be made. If you are hearing or speech impaired, please contact the Florida Relay Service at 1-800-955-8770, for aid in contacting the District Office.

The District reserves the right to reject any and all proposals, make modifications to the work, award the contract in whole or in part with or without cause to one or more proposers, provide for the contracting and/or delivery of the project in phases and waive minor or technical irregularities in any Proposal, as it deems appropriate, if it determines in its discretion that it is in the District’s best interests to do so. The successful proposer will be required to execute a contract with the District and file the requisite Performance and Payment Bonds and insurance within ten (10) calendar days after execution of the construction Contract.

Any protest regarding the Project Manual, including but not limited to protests relating to the proposal notice, the proposal instructions, the proposal forms, the contract form, the scope of work, the map, the specifications, the evaluation criteria, the evaluation process established in the Project Manual, or any other issues or items relating to the Project Manual, must be filed in writing, within seventy-two (72) hours (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and state holidays) after the Project Manual is made available. The formal protest setting forth with particularity the facts and law upon which the protest is based shall be filed within seven (7) calendar days after the
initial notice of protest was filed. Failure to timely file a notice of protest or failure to timely file a formal written protest shall constitute a waiver of any right to object or protest with respect to aforesaid plans, specifications or contract documents. Additional information and requirements regarding protests are set forth in the Project Manual and the District’s Rules of Procedure, which are available from the District Manager. Any proposer who files a notice of protest protesting the Project Manual, a proposal rejection, or a proposal award shall post with the District at the time of filing, a protest bond payable to the District. The protest bond for protesting the Project Manual shall be in the amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00). Notwithstanding the District’s operating rules, the protest bond for protesting a proposal rejection or proposal award shall be in an amount equal to ten percent (10%) of the value of the solicitation, but in no case less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00). Bonds shall be by a U.S. postal service money order, certified, cashier’s check or such other form of surety as the District’s Staff may approve. All bonds shall be made payable to the District. Filing will be perfected and deemed to have occurred upon receipt by the District Manager. In the event the protest is successful, the protest bond shall be refunded to the protestor. In the event the protest is unsuccessful, the protest bond shall be applied towards the District’s costs, expenses and attorney’s fees associated with hearing and defending the protest. Failure to timely file a protest with requisite posting of such bond within the allowable time period shall will result in a waiver of any right to object to or protest under Rule 3.11 of the District’s latest Rules of Procedure, Chapter 2007-306, Laws of Florida, as amended, and other law.

Firms desiring to provide services for this Project must submit one (1) original, five (5) copies, and one electronic copy in a PDF format of the required proposal documents no later than December 3, 2025, at 12:30 p.m. (“Response Deadline”), Attn: Sheena Tamburino, 42850 Crescent Loop, Babcock Ranch, Florida 33982 (Woodlea Hall). Proposals shall be submitted in a sealed opaque envelope pursuant to the Project Manual. Proposals will be opened at the time and date stipulated below; those received after the time and date stipulated above will be returned unopened to the proposer. Any proposal not completed as specified or missing the required proposal documents as provided in the Project Manual may be disqualified. Each proposal must remain binding for a minimum of 120 days after the Response Deadline.

Ranking of proposals will be made on the basis of qualifications and price according to the criteria set forth in the Project Manual; however, please note that proposals received from firms failing to meet the following minimum qualifications/ requirements will not be considered or evaluated: (i) Proposer will have constructed three (3) improvements similar in quality and scope within the last three (3) years; (ii) Proposer will have minimum bonding capacity of $12,000,000 from a Surety Company acceptable to the District; and (iii) Proposer is authorized to do business in Florida with all required licensing up to date. The District explicitly reserves the right to make such an award other than the lowest price proposal. The District has the right to reject any and all proposals, make modifications to the work, provide for the contracting and/or delivery of the Project in phases, waive any technical errors, informalities or irregularities, and to award the contract in whole or in part with or without cause if it determines in its discretion it is in the best interest of the District to do so. Proposers are hereby notified that Section 287.05701, Florida Statutes, requires that the District may not request documentation of or consider a vendor's social, political, or ideological interests when determining if the vendor is a responsible vendor.

Any and all questions relative to this project shall be directed in writing only to the Consulting Engineer, via email only at [email protected]. All questions must be submitted to the District’s Consulting Engineer by November 19, 2025, at 5:00 p.m.

Notice of Public Meeting for Bid Opening

A public meeting to open bids will be held on December 3, 2025, at 12:45 p.m., at 42881 Lake Babcock Drive, 2nd Floor, Babcock Ranch, Florida 33982 (Hatchery East Conference Room). No official action of the District’s Board will be taken at this meeting, it is held for the limited purpose of opening the bids. The meeting is open to the public and will be conducted in accordance with the provisions of Florida law. A copy of the agenda for this meeting may be obtained from the District Manager, Cindy Cerbone, at Wrathell, Hunt & Associates, LLC, 2300 Glades Road, Suite 410W, Boca Raton, Florida 33431. This meeting may be continued to a date, time, and place to be specified on the record at the meeting.

Any person requiring special accommodations at this meeting because of a disability or physical impairment should contact the District Office at (561) 571-0010 at least five calendar days prior to the meeting. If you are hearing or speech impaired, please contact the Florida Relay Service at 1-800-955-8770, for aid in contacting the District Office.

Notice of Public Meeting for Evaluation Committee

A public meeting of the District’s evaluation committee will be held on December 18, 2025, at 2:30 p.m. at 42881 Lake Babcock Drive, 2nd Floor, Babcock Ranch, Florida 33982 (Hatchery East Conference Room). No official action of the District’s Board will be taken at this meeting, it is held for the limited purpose of evaluating the proposals by the evaluation committee. The meeting is open to the public and will be conducted in accordance with the provisions of Florida law. A copy of the agenda for this meeting may be obtained from the District Manager, Craig Wrathell, at Wrathell, Hunt & Associates, LLC, 2300 Glades Road, Suite 410W, Boca Raton, Florida 33431. This meeting may be continued to a date, time, and place to be specified on the record at the meeting.

Any person requiring special accommodations at this meeting because of a disability or physical impairment should contact the District Office at (561) 571-0010 at least five calendar days prior to the meeting. If you are hearing or speech impaired, please contact the Florida Relay Service at 1-800-955-8770, for aid in contacting the District Office.
October 31, 2025 25-04405L

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