REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS – CITY FARM PROPERTIES – City of Prairie du Chien, WI

The City of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin (“the City”) is seeking seeks Requests for Proposal (RFP) from qualified individuals to lease land for agricultural use on approximately 149.03 acres of City-owned property located in various locations in and near the City for 2024-2026.

MAILING INSTRUCTIONS:

Chad Abram, City Administrator, City of Prairie du Chien, WI

U.S. Mail: P.O. Box 324 Prairie du Chien, WI 53821

Physical Location: 214 East Blackhawk Avenue Prairie du Chien, WI 53821

Those individuals wishing to conduct a walk-through of the properties should contact City Administrator Chad Abram prior to the submittal of any RFP.

INQUIRIES: Questions pertaining to the RFP and the selection process should be directed to City Administrator Chad Abram, at his email address, which is cabram@prairieduchien-wi.gov

SUBMITTAL DATE: Proposals are due no later than 4:00p.m., Monday, December 18, 2023 and must be received by that time and date. Proposal postmark dates and times will not be considered as meeting that deadline. Proposers must submit in a sealed envelope an original of their proposal to the address shown under “Mailing Instructions” above. The City is not responsible for proposals that are delinquent, lost, mismarked, and sent to an address other than that given above, or sent by mail or courier service. The City reserves the right, after opening the proposals, to reject any or all proposals, or to accept the proposal(s) that in its sole judgment is (are) in the best interest of the City.

PROPOSAL SELECTION: The City reserves the right, without qualification, to:

1. Select any proposal as a basis for written or oral communication with any or all of the companies or individuals when such action is considered to be in the best interest of the City.

2. Select proposals, based on initial proposals received, without discussion or after detailed discussions or contract negotiations.

3. Reject all proposals.

MINIMUM BIDS:

$165.00 per acre

SELECTION PROCESS: Proposals shall be evaluated by City staff and a recommendation made to the Public Works Committee. The Committee shall then make a final recommendation to the Common Council, which shall award the lease or leases at its December 19thmeetings. The City intends to select the proposer that best meets the City’s needs and demonstrates the ability to deliver the desired results. Such factors as reliability and continuity of operations shall be considered in addition to cost proposal in determining a recommended tenant. The proposal must provide the City’s staff with clearly expressed information concerning the proposer’s understanding of the City’s specific requirements.

PROPOSAL CONTENT: The proposer is encouraged to expand on the scope to fully address the any issues. The proposal must include, at a minimum, the following sections in the order indicated.

1. Appendix A – Farm Lease Bid Submittal Form

2. Appendix B – Agriculture Lease Proposal Form– Each proposal shall contain the signed Proposal Form in its entirety as provided.

3. Comments Regarding Lease– Submit comments, if any, to any clause(s) in the Lease that proposer desires to clarify or object to. Please do not submit a signed/executed lease since the terms of the final lease may be subject to further revisions and/or negotiated terms.

PROPOSED CONTRACT: The City’s intent is to utilize the Lease form at as shown in the attachment to formalize the lease award. Comments, if any, objecting to any clause(s) in the Lease shall be included in writing with the proposal. Objections shall clearly state the objection and the section or provision being objected to.

GENERAL CONDITIONS

1. General Information – The City will receive at its office located at City Hall bid responses. Bids shall be submitted as previously outlined in “proposal content”. Bids shall be written in ink, computer generated, or by typewriter. Mistakes may be crossed out and corrections inserted adjacent thereto and must be initialed in ink by the person signing the bid. Bids are to be verified before submission as they cannot be corrected or altered or signed after bids are opened.

2. Interpretation of Bids: Should a bidder find discrepancies in, or omissions from the specifications, or should bidder be in doubt as to their true meaning, bidder may submit to the City Administrator a written request for an interpretation thereof prior to the bid opening. The person submitting the request shall be responsible for its prompt delivery. Any interpretation of, or change in the proposed documents will be made only by an addendum issued to each person to whom specifications have been issued, and shall become part of any contract awarded. The City will not be responsible for any other explanation or interpretations.

3. Amendments: The City reserves the right to amend this RFP prior to the proposal due date. All amendments and additional information will be posted on the City’s Official City Web Site at

www.cityofpdc.com Proposers should check this web page for new information.

4. Addenda: Any addenda issued by the City during the time of bidding shall be covered in the bid and shall be made a part of the contract.

5. Cost for Preparing Proposal: The cost for developing the proposal is the sole responsibility of the proposer. All proposals submitted become the property of the City.

6. Bid Openings: Bids shall be delivered to the City on or before the day and hour set for the opening of bids in the published Notice to Bidders. A bidder may withdraw his bid, either personally or by written request, at any time prior to the scheduled time for opening of bids.

7. Late Bids: Any bids received after the scheduled time of opening will be noted as received, but they will not be opened or considered.

8. Contract Discussions: Prior to award, the apparent successful firm may be required to enter into discussions with the City to resolve any contractual differences. These discussions are to be finalized and all exceptions resolved within one (1) week from notification. If no resolution is reached, the proposal may be rejected and discussions will be initiated with the second highest recommended bidder.

9. Assignment: No assignment by the contractor or any contract to be entered into hereunder or of any part thereof, except of funds to be received there under by the contractor, will be recognized by the City unless such assignment has had the prior written approval of the City.

10. Governing Law: This contract shall be construed and interpreted according to the laws of the State of Wisconsin.

11. Insurance Requirements: The successful bidder (“Tenant”) shall, at all times during the term of this Lease, maintain and keep in force insurance coverage with insurers approved by the City which will adequately protect both Tenant and Landlord against public and private liability and property damage on the leased premises. Tenant shall acquire coverage which names Landlord as additional insured. The minimum coverage required by this Paragraph shall be ONE MILLION DOLLARS ($1,000,000) bodily injury per individual, ONE MILLION DOLLARS ($1,000,000) per occurrence, and ONE MILLION DOLLARS ($1,000,000) property damage. Proof of the insurance coverage obtained by Tenant shall be given to the City within ten (10) days after execution of this Lease. Any contract entered into by Tenant for insurance coverage on the leased premises shall include a provision requiring timely notice to the City in the event of cancellation of coverage by the insurer. Tenant is also responsible for any workers’ compensation insurance required under state law. Your response to the Request for Proposal must indicate if you are unwilling or unable to execute the agreement as drafted as well as providing the insurance requirements. The City will consider this in determining responsiveness to the Request for Proposal.

12. Land Stewardship/Environmental Issues and Sludge and Biosolid Application: It is specifically agreed by the successful bidder(s) that the City shall have the right to deposit sludge and biosolids from the City’s waste water treatment plant on the premises covered in this RFP at agronomic appropriate rates and that the crops need to be harvested in a timely manner to allow that application to occur. Said right shall be contained within the lease agreement(s). The land to be farmed shall have the proper crop rotation based on the latest USDA and DNR requirements. Bio-solids will be applied based on soil testing performed by the wastewater department and will be consistent with requirements outlined in the WPDES permit in effect at the time of the lease agreement.

LAND TO BE RENTED (153.03 acres):

LaRiviere Park (See Map A)	Acreage
Lot 5	0.99
Lot 6	1.46
Lot 7	4.62
Lot 8	2.88
Lot 10	11.04
TOTAL	20.99

North Gateway/Business Park (See Exhibit A)	Acreage
North Lot	17.6
TOTAL	17.6

Airport (See Map B and C)	Acreage
* Farm 5467 – Tract 5499 (Lot 1) formerly Farm 3701 – Tract 3939 (Lot 1) and ** Farm 3568 – Tract 3464 (Lot 1)	17.81
* Farm 5467 – Tract 5499 (Lot 2) formerly Farm 3568 – Tract 3464 (Lot 2)	2.92
* Farm 5467 – Tract 5499 (Lot 3) formerly Farm 3568 – Tract 3464 (Lot 3)	5.29
* Farm 5467 – Tract 5499 (Lot 4) formerly Farm 3568 – Tract 3464 (Lot 4)	3.21
* Farm 5467 – Tract 5499 (Lot 5) formerly Farm 3568 – Tract 3464 (Lot 5)	3.82
* Farm 5467 – Tract 5499 (Lot 6) formerly Farm 3568 – Tract 3464 (Lot 6)	7.38
* Farm 5467 – Tract 5499 (Lot 7) formerly Farm 3568 – Tract 3464 (Lot 7)	2.79
** Farm 5468 – Tract 5498 (Lot 1) formerly Farm 3701 – Tract 3939 (Lot 4)	8.61
** Farm 5468 – Tract 5498 (Lot 2) formerly Farm 3701 – Tract 3939 (Lot 2)	8.25
** Farm 5468 – Tract 5498 (Lot 3) formerly Farm 3701 – Tract 3939 (Lot 3)	9.28
** Farm 5468 – Tract 5498 (Lot 4) formerly Farm 3701 – Tract 3939 (Lot 5)	10.17
** Farm 5468 – Tract 5498 (Lot 5) formerly Farm 3701 – Tract 3939 (Lot 6)	3.09
** Farm 5468 – Tract 5498 (Lot 6) formerly Farm 3701 – Tract 3939 (Lot 7)	2.63
** Farm 5468 – Tract 5498 (Lot 7) formerly Farm 3568 – Tract 3464 (Lot 8)	20.63
TOTAL	105.88

Stuckey Road (See Map C)	Acreage
Farm 5467 – Tract 55-00 formerly Farm 3568 – Tract 938	5.36

APPENDIX A – FARM LEASE BID SUBMITTAL FORM

BIDDER’S INFORMATION

The undersigned, being familiar with local conditions, having made field inspections and investigations deemed necessary, having studied the Request for Proposal for the work and being familiar with all factors and other conditions affecting the work and costs thereof, hereby propose to furnish all labor, tools, materials, skills, equipment and all else necessary to completely farm the City of Prairie du Chien’s property in accordance with the Request for Proposals.

Name of Company/Person Submitting Bid: ____________________________________

Contact Person: __________________________________________________________

Address: ________________________________________________________________

Phone Number: _____________________________________________________

FARM LEASE BID AMOUNT

Farm Lease: January 1, 2024 – December 31, 2026

________ acres x $ _________ per acre = $ ____________________

Anticipated crops: _______________________________________________________

SUBMITTED on ___________________________, 2014

Signature: _______________________________________________________________

Printed Name: ___________________________________________________________

Title: ___________________________________________________________________

APPENDIX B – AGRICULTURE LEASE

PROPOSAL FORM

PROPOSER

Name / Firm: ____________________________________________________________

INFORMATION

1. Please provide a brief summary of your experience in farming, years of experience, and your ability to perform the required agricultural activities, or attach it hereto.

__________________________________________________________________

2. Please provide one professional reference from a land owner where you have held or hold an agriculture lease.

Name: _________________________________________________________

Phone Number: _________________________________________________

3. Please provide one personal reference.

Name: _________________________________________________________

Phone Number: _________________________________________________

2023-11-29 REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS Farmland Lease Download