RFP FAQs
To ensure a fair, transparent, and competitive procurement process, all submitted questions and corresponding responses will be reviewed and posted publicly on this page.
Only written responses posted on this webpage shall be considered official clarifications to the RFP. Verbal discussions, phone conversations, or informal email exchanges are not binding and shall not modify the terms of the RFP.
CLERC reserves the right to update this page periodically. Contractors are responsible for reviewing this page prior to submitting a proposal.
Contractor RFPs
General RFP FAQ
These answers apply to all CLERC vegetation management RFPs. For details specific to a project (prescription, safety briefing, site access, and more), see that project's own Q&A section.
Contacts: Laura McAndrews Sammel, Operations Director, is your direct contact during the RFP process. Once the contract is awarded, Cindy Jassar, Fire Resilience Program Manager, will be your direct contact. Cindy will be on site often during your project's implementation and will approve the invoices.
Questions? documents@theclerc.org · (707) 261-0008 ext. 3
Questions? documents@theclerc.org · (707) 261-0008 ext. 3
Laura McAndrews Sammel, Operations Director, is your direct contact during the RFP process. Once the contract is awarded, Cindy Jassar, Fire Resilience Program Manager, will be your direct contact. Cindy will be on site often during your project's implementation and will approve the invoices.
The Site Visit is not required. Though highly encouraged, All CLERC pre-qualified contractors are welcome to bid on any project regardless of their attendance to the Site Visit. You're always welcome to reach out to us at documents@theclerc.org or (707) 261-0008 ext. 3.
All information to be used to consider a contractor's bid must be included on the Contractor Proposal form. You may include as much information as needed, even if the writing becomes very small. Additional information will not be accepted as part of the application. To be considered, contractors are expected to bid on the entire project.
Due to the structure of the grant that we are using for this project, we are unable to provide advances. To receive payment, contractors may submit a monthly invoice dated on the last working day of each month and should be submitted no later than 5-10 days after the end of the month. Contractors will be paid when CLERC is reimbursed by the USDA. Our standard payment terms are Net 30.
Cost/value is one criterion that the proposals are evaluated on. We have a rotating committee of three people that also score the proposals on project understanding/implementation approach, equipment/staffing/operational capacity, past performance/references, and responsiveness/completeness of proposals. The contractor with the highest score is awarded the contract.
The City of Clearlake requires a permit to remove oaks trees. They will need the location and number of trees to be removed. There is a cost for this permit, usually in the $300 range.
Project specific FAQS
To view FAQs from previously awarded RFPs, CLICK HERE
RFP-0012 — Contractor Q&A
Konocti Road Below the Gate Phase 2 (CWDG-1)
Project-specific questions and answers. For contacts, site visit, invoicing, proposal scoring, and tree permits, see the General RFP FAQ.
Proposal deadline: Thursday, August 21, 2026 by 5:00 PM
Questions? documents@theclerc.org · (707) 261-0008 ext. 3
Questions? documents@theclerc.org · (707) 261-0008 ext. 3
This is a 100’ shaded fuel break project, though we will want Right of Way clearing for the areas where we do not have a right of entry (we will confirm that clearance before the project begins). There is flagging along the road, in pink and yellow, from the bottom to the top of the project. Instructions such as “start,” “end”, and parcel numbers are printed on the flagging.
Oaks, buckeye and redbud are to be preferred for retention but will require thinning where overcrowding occurs. To date, no Mediterranean Oak Borer has been detected in this area. Fuel ladders should be removed, and remove vegetation in the driplines of the larger trees. Remove gray pines and other small-diameter trees below 8” DBH. On the lower end of the project, thin chaparral and retain native trees and shrubs within spacing guidelines. A track chipper is preferred for this project. Chips may be spread over the leaf litter.
You will need to obtain an encroachment permit from the county for this project. If you list CLERC as the agency that you’re working with, the county will waive the fee. You’ll want to select areas to work that will not block the road as there are residents that live on the mountain as well as recreationists that want to use the public park at the top. It will be very dusty, so bring lots of water.
Note: while CLERC would prefer to maintain the 6-week timeframe from contract execution to project completion, we understand that there are extenuating circumstances that prevent this. Contractors are not expected to include overtime in this proposal. The expectation is to have the project completed by mid-November.
Oaks, buckeye and redbud are to be preferred for retention but will require thinning where overcrowding occurs. To date, no Mediterranean Oak Borer has been detected in this area. Fuel ladders should be removed, and remove vegetation in the driplines of the larger trees. Remove gray pines and other small-diameter trees below 8” DBH. On the lower end of the project, thin chaparral and retain native trees and shrubs within spacing guidelines. A track chipper is preferred for this project. Chips may be spread over the leaf litter.
You will need to obtain an encroachment permit from the county for this project. If you list CLERC as the agency that you’re working with, the county will waive the fee. You’ll want to select areas to work that will not block the road as there are residents that live on the mountain as well as recreationists that want to use the public park at the top. It will be very dusty, so bring lots of water.
Note: while CLERC would prefer to maintain the 6-week timeframe from contract execution to project completion, we understand that there are extenuating circumstances that prevent this. Contractors are not expected to include overtime in this proposal. The expectation is to have the project completed by mid-November.
Mountain lions and bears have been observed in this area. Snakes and ticks are also present. Additionally, there are mosquitos in the higher elevation areas of the project, keeping in mind that West Nile Virus has been detected in Lake County this season.
Not at this time, unless we are able to obtain rights of entry from those property owners.
Everything up to 8”. You may be able to leave small burn piles for us to address later, but this will need to be approved by Cindy (landowner agreement will be necessary).
We would ideally have a 14’ clearance over the road for emergency vehicles. So yes, limb those to the best of your ability.
It’s going to hard to get a boom truck into some of these areas, so do your best working around those areas.
Yes, thin the areas where we have rights of entry.
This species may be retained if there is good spacing around it.
At the bottom of the road near the middle school.
Not necessarily. Remove all chamise and coyote brush, toyon and manzanita may be retained with proper spacing. The preference is to retain native flowering vegetation for habitat and pollinators.
A CSLB C-49 (Tree and Palm) classification is not a specific requirement for this project. A valid, active CSLB contractor’s license appropriate to the Exhibit A scope of work is sufficient.
This work takes place in a wildland environment and is not in close proximity to residences. The primary objective is to reduce ground and ladder fuels, so there is no expectation that trees will need to be climbed.
Contractors are responsible for confirming that their license classification allows them to self-perform the work they intend to complete under this contract.
This work takes place in a wildland environment and is not in close proximity to residences. The primary objective is to reduce ground and ladder fuels, so there is no expectation that trees will need to be climbed.
Contractors are responsible for confirming that their license classification allows them to self-perform the work they intend to complete under this contract.
RFP-0028 — Contractor Q&A
18th/Phillips Avenues Defensible Space (CWDG-1)
Project-specific questions and answers. For contacts, site visit, invoicing, proposal scoring, and tree permits, see the General RFP FAQ.
Proposal deadline: Friday, August 28, 2026 by 5:00 PM
Questions? documents@theclerc.org · (707) 261-0008 ext. 3
Questions? documents@theclerc.org · (707) 261-0008 ext. 3
This defensible space project covers three parcels, one of which is publicly owned. This is a straight-forward fire mitigation project implemented so that fire fighters can gain access when needed.
There is a large oak woodland on one of the parcels. The oaks need to be thinned, removing smaller diameter trees, limbing trees and removing fuel ladders. In the chaparral areas of the project, remove shrubs with the spacing indicated in the Scope of Work for this project. On the hill behind the Behavioral Health building, thin and remove vegetation.
There is a large oak woodland on one of the parcels. The oaks need to be thinned, removing smaller diameter trees, limbing trees and removing fuel ladders. In the chaparral areas of the project, remove shrubs with the spacing indicated in the Scope of Work for this project. On the hill behind the Behavioral Health building, thin and remove vegetation.
Encampment (which should be removed by the time the project begins), trash and debris, rocky terrain, roaming dogs, and people often walking through these properties.
There were no additional questions.
RFP-0017 — Contractor Q&A
Harrington Flat Road North Roadside Clearing (CWDG-2)
Project-specific questions and answers. For contacts, site visit, invoicing, proposal scoring, and tree permits, see the General RFP FAQ.
Proposal deadline: [ADD DATE] by 5:00 PM
Questions? documents@theclerc.org · (707) 261-0008 ext. 3
Questions? documents@theclerc.org · (707) 261-0008 ext. 3
Boggs Lake borders the western section of this project. Boggs Lake Ecological Reserve is a 46-acre protected area in Lake County, California, encompassing a rare upland vernal pool formed on volcanic ash substrate that creates seasonal wetland conditions supporting endemic and endangered flora. It is a special place for Lake County. There isn’t any work on the Boggs Lake grounds scheduled for this project. However, while the community is very wildfire aware, they are also very environmentally concerned, so they will likely have questions for the contractor selected for this project.
This is a key evacuation route with many homes along the road. This is a roadside shaded fuel break treatment, thinning/spacing will be more significant 30’ from the roadside with outlined spacing up to 100’ from the roadside on the parcels that we have rights of entry for. We expect landowners to want to be heavily involved with work done on their properties. We want to balance what the landowner wants with the most appropriate fire mitigation treatment, so CLERC team members will be available to help the selected contractor negotiate that.
Remove trees less than 6” DBH and all ladder fuels (including poison oak). Be aware of herptiles potentially migrating during the autumn months (particularly turtles and newts).
If additional rights of entry are secured, CLERC will add those parcels via an amendment upon mutual agreement with the contractor.
This is a key evacuation route with many homes along the road. This is a roadside shaded fuel break treatment, thinning/spacing will be more significant 30’ from the roadside with outlined spacing up to 100’ from the roadside on the parcels that we have rights of entry for. We expect landowners to want to be heavily involved with work done on their properties. We want to balance what the landowner wants with the most appropriate fire mitigation treatment, so CLERC team members will be available to help the selected contractor negotiate that.
Remove trees less than 6” DBH and all ladder fuels (including poison oak). Be aware of herptiles potentially migrating during the autumn months (particularly turtles and newts).
If additional rights of entry are secured, CLERC will add those parcels via an amendment upon mutual agreement with the contractor.
Dead and dying tree hazards, snakes, local traffic that tends to move very fast, steep rocky terrain, poison oak, ticks, and mosquitos (there has been one case of West Nile Virus in Lake County this season).
Roadside mitigation (for the parcels that we have rights of entry) is 100’ from the edge of the road. Right of way clearing (for all other parcels) is 10-15’ from the middle of the road.
Yes. If you tell the county that you are partnering with CLERC, they will waive the fee. Traffic control will usually not be necessary if you’re conducting work further in from the roadside, unless needed for safety (such as when there is not a safe place to park equipment).
Generally, yes. We want to be cautious as soil can be soft in this area and we don’t want to create berms. Some landowners will not allow heavy equipment on their property.
Cut vegetation can be mulched, as long as we are not creating ground disturbance. Chipping is preferred.
The selected contractor may fly a drone over the project site if they are properly licensed.
Yes
Yes, removing dead and dying trees is part of the prescription. PG&E will assist in removing trees that are impeding power lines.
The stated acreage includes parcels in the project area that we have received rights of entry for. If additional rights of entry are received, CLERC will amend the contract with the additional acres, upon the contractor’s approval.
It’s not required. If we need a cleared line, we can reach out to PG&E.