It is the recommendation of Plano Parks and Recreation to award the 2023-0392 - AC – Re-Bid Athletic Field Fertilizer to BWI Companies, Inc. in the estimated annual amount of $176,280. The award includes procurement, delivery and application of a bulk custom fertilizer blend that meets athletic turf specifications. The Department utilizes contractors to apply fertilizer as a cost savings measure due to the volume of product (104 tons), acreages of coverage (370 acres), and short application window around scheduled use. This contract includes five fertilization cycles and meets State of Texas requirements.
The fertilizer is a bulk product purchase for quantity savings. Included with the product purchase, Parks opts for vendor contracted bulk fertilizer application at the cost of $33,352 annually for application services. Contract application is a 51% annual savings ($36,023) versus adding in-house personnel cost. Contracted approach also eliminates the need for specialized equipment.
This evaluation utilized IonWave and notified 587 vendors of this bid, the bid was viewed by 14 vendors, and 1 (one) bid was received. The initial contract term is one-year with four one-year automatic renewals for a possible five (5) year contract. If all renewals are exercised, the total expenditure will be an estimated amount of $881,400. The expenditure for the remaining FY22-23 is $105,768 and is funded.
Failure to award this contract will result in a decline in field turf quality for sport activity for both league and event play at all 15 Athletic Sites. Poor turf quality impacts local league play, camps, clinics tournaments, and community reservations.