Contracting Officer, USCG Civil Engineering Unit Cleveland, 1240 East Ninth Street, Rm. 2179, Cleveland, Ohio 44199-2060

Z -- TREE REMOVAL AND PRUNING OF TREES AT USCG GROUP EASTERN SHORE, CHINCOTEAGUE, VA Sol DTCG83-96-Q-3WF152. Due 032296. POC Karen Lebo, Telephone (216) 522-3934, Ext. 532. Furnish all labor, materials, equipment to remove 40 trees, grind stumps and exposed roots of trees removed. Prun 28 trees of various sized branches. All trees to be removed or pruned shall be marked and verified by the contracting officer's representative. The contractor must have 5 years experience. Performance period is 45 DANTP. No telephone requests will be accepted; only written requests received directly from the requestor will be accepted (FAX #216-522-7107). Anticipated bid opening date is on or about 22 March 1996. Please do not call to verify the bid opening date. The small business size standard for this contract is 0783 and the average size standard is $3.5 million. This is an unrestricted procurement IAW Public Law 100-656. For a listing of all available procurements, a Procurement Information Line has been established for this office. Please call (216) 522-3954 ext. 745 and a description of the project, solicitation number and bid opening date will be provided. A non-refundable deposit of $15.00 is required in the form of a cashiers check, certified check or money order made payable to ``United States Coast Guard.'' Cash or personal checks will not be accepted. All written requests accompanied by the required fee will be accepted until supply is exhausted. All responsible sources may submit a bid, which will be considered by the agency. For Minority, Women-Owned and Disadvantaged Business Enterprises: The Department of Transportation (DOT) Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU), has program to assist minority, women-owned and disadvantaged business enterprises to acquire short-term working capital and bonding assistance for transportation-related contracts. This is applicable to any eligible prime or subcontract at any tier. The DOT Bonding Assistance Program enables firms to apply for bid, payment, and performance bonds up to $1.0 million per contract. The DOT provides an 80% guaranty on the bond amount to a surety against losses. Loans are also available under the DOT Short Term Lending Program (STLP) at prime interest rates to provide accounts receivable financing. The maximum line of credit is $500,000. For further information and applicable forms concerning Bonding Assistant Program and/or the STLP, please call the OSDBU at (800) 532-1169. (036)

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