Cadastral Survey Work at Various Region 9 National Forests
Title: Cadastral Survey Work at Various Region 9 National Forests
Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) type Contract for up to Eight (8) IDIQ Contracts for Cadastral Surveying Services within 7 National Forests and states as follows:
Shawnee National Forest, Illinois (1 contract)
Hoosier National Forest, Indiana (1 contract)
Wayne National Forest, Ohio (2 contracts)
Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia (1 contract)
White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire (1 contract)
Green Mountain National Forest, Vermont (1 contract)
Finger Lakes National Forest, New York (1 contract)
(All Contracts Are Restricted to Small Business Firms)
This Sources Sought Notice is for interested firms to submit their SF 330 by April 8, 2021, 1400 hours, Central Time. Firms will be selected for negotiations based on demonstrated competence and qualifications for the required work in accordance with the Brooks A-E Act. This is not a Request for Proposal. A Request for with a bid schedule for priced items will be requested only from the firms evaluated as most qualified.
1. CONTRACT INFORMATION: This contract (s) is being procured in accordance with the Brooks A-E Act as implemented in FAR Subpart 36.6. Firms will be selected for negotiation based on demonstrated competence and qualifications for the required work. SF 330s are due by Close of Business on April 8, 2021, 1400 hours, Central Time. Up to Eight (8) indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contracts may be negotiated and awarded as a result of this solicitation. Each contract will have a performance period of five (5) years.
The work will be accomplished within the National Forests named above. Each contract will be 1,825 days from the date of contract award or exhaustion of the contract value of $1.5 million, whichever comes first. Work will be accomplished by negotiated firm-fixed price task orders. It is anticipated that the estimated workload for each year will be no more than $500,000.00 for each contract, this will likely vary with each budget year. The cumulative total of Task Orders issued over the life of the contract shall not exceed $1.5 million. Allocation of Task Orders will be based on location of work, specialized experience, past performance, project schedules, and/or current workload.
Contract award is anticipated in April 2021.
This announcement is a total Small Business set-aside, which includes Small Disadvantaged Businesses, Section 8(a) Firms, HUBZone Small Businesses, Women-owned Small Businesses, Veteran-owned Small Businesses, Service-disabled Veteran-owned Small Businesses, and Historically Black Colleges or Universities/Minority Institutions. The small business size standard for surveying and mapping services is $16.5 million, NAICS code 541370.
2. PROJECT INFORMATION: All work performed under this contract shall be under the direct supervision of a Professional Surveyor licensed in the state in which the work is performed. All surveys shall comply with applicable state laws and regulations, as well as applicable portions of the appropriate GLO/BLM Manual of Surveying Instructions. Each individual National Forest publishes technical specifications.
The primary purpose of this acquisition is to provide professional land surveying services as required for administration of National Forest System (NFS) Lands in seven different National Forests in the Eastern Region of the USDA, Forest Service. Forests are located in Illinois, Indiana, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Vermont, and West Virginia. Work will include surveying and posting the legal property boundaries of land within the NFS, or Congressionally Designated Area boundaries (eg. wilderness). Performance requirements include, but are not limited to, identification, monumentation and perpetuation of property corners and controlling corners for land surveys performed to locate property boundaries, boundary conflict investigation, boundary line posting and maintenance of previously posted lines and corners, right-of-way surveys, geodetic control, mapping and other incidental work normally associated with the survey profession.
Individual tasks may include, but are not limited to, project records research, notification of adjoining landowners, corner search, monumentation and perpetuation of property corners and controlling corners, boundary posting or maintenance of previously posted boundary lines, preparation of surveyor’s reports, control diagrams, and tract descriptions, final records, certificates and plats. Specific reports may be required related to boundary conflicts or disputes encountered during surveys.
In Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, boundary surveys generally include the retracement of rectangular surveys of the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) and section breakdowns, often requiring an entire PLSS section or multi-section basis. In New Hampshire, New York, Vermont and West Virginia, most boundary lines were surveyed by the Forest Service prior to acquisition of the described parcels by the United States of America. Typical project size ranges from 1/2 to 10 miles of boundary that span multiple Forest Service tracts. The majority of acquisitions in all States except New York occurred between 50 and 100 years ago. Recent acquisition parcels will also be surveyed.
Areas to be surveyed are generally located in heavily timbered, northern hardwood forests in rural mountainous terrain.
The first contract is anticipated to be awarded on/about April 26, 2021, with the contract period not to exceed five years from the contract award date, or expenditure of the contract amount, whichever occurs first. Work to be performed is subject to satisfactory negotiation of individual task orders with no one task order to exceed neither $500,000.00 nor the accumulated total of task orders to exceed $1.5 million for each contract during the five year term of the contract.
3. SELECTION CRITERIA: Firms will demonstrate their qualifications with respect to the evaluation criteria described below. Separate submissions are required for each of the eight contracts for which the firm is competing. Please indicate on the submission which contract location your firm is seeking to compete for. Submissions shall include the following:
SF-330: Architect – Engineer Qualifications
Part I, Contract Specific Qualifications
Part II, General Qualifications
Supplemental Narrative
Address the evaluation criteria and data requested in items 1-5, below
Selection of one or more firms for unit price negotiation shall be made through an order of preference using Brooks Act procedures. All evaluation factors are equal. Specific evaluation factors include:
Location in the general geographic area of the projects and knowledge of the locality of the project; provided that application of this criterion leaves an appropriate number of qualified firms, given the nature and size of the project.
Provide location of headquarters office and/or branch office(s).
Greater consideration will be given to firms located within 50 miles of the [Green Mountain][Finger Lakes] [Hoosier] [Monongahela] [Shawnee] [Wayne] [White Mountain] National Forest
If your firm’s office is not located within a 50 mile radius of the relevant National Forest, indicate how you plan to provide services in a cost-effective manner.
Provide history of prior survey experience indicating a specific knowledge of prior surveys in or around the [Green Mountain] [Finger Lakes] [Hoosier] [Monongahela] [Shawnee] [Wayne] [White Mountain] National Forest.
Firms should demonstrate professional knowledge of the geographical area of concern, the ability to successfully perform survey projects in the geographic area being proposed, and the ability to logistically handle projects within the geographic area. This includes demonstrated knowledge of the survey history (local and government), knowledge of local survey records access and where they are maintained (recorded and non-recorded) in the geographic area.
Professional qualifications necessary for satisfactory performance of required services.
Demonstrate a thorough and professional understanding of proper survey methods, laws and procedures to meet State and/or Federal survey requirements.
The contract will require that a firm have a Professional Land Surveyor licensed in the subject state to be in charge and responsible for each project.
The Professional Land Surveyor designated as being in charge and responsible must demonstrate cadastral survey experience with a professional, complete and thorough understanding of the technical and legal approaches to the proposed work, as defined by the applicable State standards.
Specialized experience and technical competence in the type of work required.
Demonstrate specialized experience and technical competence, as evidenced by the successful completion of several projects in the subject state. Your narrative should emphasize proficiency in historical retracement for PLSS or non-PLSS, as applicable.
Submit 2 rural land cadastral plats or certificates of survey, suitable for filing in the public record, that are signed by the professional surveyor proposed as the responsible project leader for this project.
Submit a plat and/or surveyor’s report that identifies a boundary conflict and recommends an appropriate resolution.
Submit at least two monumentation records for each state in which your firm is interested in qualifying. Examples should identify and perpetuate a property corner that highlights the requisite unique knowledge related to historical evidence and recording requirements in the subject state. If a PLSS state, include records for a PLSS corner as well as documentation for a section subdivisional corner.
Demonstrate an understanding of proper technical procedures, standards, and quality control procedures as shown by knowledge of the following:
Knowledge and familiarity with Forest Service boundary posting standards.
Fully describe quality control processes or plans used by the firm and the project management approach to be used to perform survey services, including corner search, and to ensure compliance with contract specifications.
Describe how a control survey will be accomplished, including field procedures when using GNSS as a measuring tool. If possible, sample submissions should highlight projects utilizing GNSS systems on large boundary projects in rural, forested terrain.
Demonstrate the ability to provide qualified personnel.
Personnel will be evaluated based upon type of experience, professional licensing, knowledge of the subject state’s cadastrel and survey systems, level of formal education, and amount of continuing education. Greater consideration will be given to those firms who have a minimum of five years experience with service survey contracting, boundary surveys similar to those common in the National Forest in the subject state, and firms with highly qualified field survey staff within the geographic area.
Provide resumes of licensed Land Surveyors and key personnel to include all [PLSS or non-PLSS, as applicable] surveying experience, and any prior Forest Service cadastral survey experience within the last 10 years.
Capacity to accomplish the work in the required time.
Indicate the capacity to accomplish work in a specific geographical area with the identified personnel and equipment. Firms should demonstrate the ability to provide sufficient capital, personnel and survey equipment, including survey grade GPS equipment, to successfully complete various sized projects in the required time.
Provide a personnel list and equipment list as necessary.
Describe how to meet capacity if the maximum amount of work is awarded in one or more calendar year.
If greater capacity would be required, describe your process for securing additional personnel and equipment. If using subcontractors, partners or other associates for part of the project work, specify how they would be secured and what duties they would perform.
Past performance on contracts with Government agencies and private industry in terms of cost control, quality of work, and timely compliance with performance schedules.
Demonstrate a successful record of performing similar projects within allotted contract time. The knowledge of the firm, aided by supporting documentation, will be used to determine past similar projects.
The Offeror is welcome to provide one or more Past Performance Questionnaire (PPQ), which is included in the solicitation, to a representative of an owner/agency who has authority to provide an opinion of the offeror’s past performance on a similar project. If the client requests, questionnaires may be submitted directly to the Government’s point of contact, Clark Bartelt, via email at Clark.a.Bartelt@USDA.gov prior to proposal closing date. The offeror is responsible for ensuring that the completed questionnaires are submitted by the closing date. If you have questions regarding the attached questionnaire, or require assistance, please contact the Contract Specialist at (218) 626-4353 or 218-343-4709.
Data from the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) or reference check results for those not in CPARS will be utilized for this factor.
The selection criteria listed above needs to be addressed in the Supplemental Narrative and the appropriate sections of the SF-330 for the prime contractor as well as the proposed team, including all joint venture partners, subcontractors, consultants and free-lance associates.
Professional Qualifications necessary for satisfactory performance of required services;
Provide professional licenses showing qualification.
Technical Factors
Factor 1 – Professional Experience
Subfactor 1 – Survey Experience
Subfactor 2 – Survey Experience Specific to the work locations
Factor 2 – Past Performance
Factor 3 – Management Plan
General Submission Requirements for this factor
The maximum number of pages of all proposals is 75 single sided pages of 8-1/2 x 11 size page (using 12-pitch minimum if typed). No information beyond page 75 will be considered. This includes all typed pages, catalogue cuts, and brochure or other pre-printed material that may be submitted.
Factor 1: Professional Experience and Qualifications
1.1.1 Subfactor 1: Survey Experience and Qualifications
Submission Requirements: Submit copies of professional licenses issued by a State, also Ssubmit two (2) project narratives (as described below) on projects that your firm has completed within the last five (5) years that best demonstrate a thorough and professional understanding of proper survey methods, laws and procedures to meet applicable State and/or Federal survey requirements, in addition to proficiency in historical retracement. These projects MUST be completed.
Minimum Requirement: Submit Cadastral Survey projects of similar scope, size and complexity and completed within the last 5 years.
Evaluation Criteria;
The Government will evaluate how the projects identified by the Offeror demonstrate the extent of the offeror’s Professional Experience that is similar to the cadastral survey effort described in this solicitation’s Statement of Work. The Government will evaluate the extent of experience of the prime contractor and proposed subcontractors in cadastral survey work, as similar to their role on this project. The Government may place greater importance on projects performed as a prime contractor than as a subcontractor, depending upon overall role and relevancy considerations.
Strengths and Weaknesses: The government will evaluate the extent of the experience in the following areas:
Projects in which the offeror was the Professional Land Surveyor in charge.
Projects involving cadastral survey work with similar scope and magnitude as the projects expected during the performance period of the resultant contracts.
Projects demonstrating sound application of principles and practices of land surveying, including conflict resolution.
1.1.2 Subfactor 2: Survey Experience Specific to the work locations
Submission Requirements: Submit three (3) project narratives (as described below) on projects that your firm has completed within the last five (5) years that best demonstrate cadastral survey work in the specific geographic areas required for this contract. These projects MUST be completed. In addition to the narratives, include the following exhibits. Relevant exhibits will relate to the specific geographic area for which the Offeror is submitting a proposal:
At least two (2) rural land cadastral plats or certificates of survey, suitable for filing in the public record, that are signed by the professional surveyor proposed as the responsible project leader for this project;
At least one plat and/or surveyor’s report that identifies a boundary conflict and recommends an appropriate resolution; and
At least two (2) monumentation records for each state in which your firm is interested in qualifying. Examples should identify and perpetuate a property corner that highlights the requisite knowledge related to historical evidence and recording requirements in the subject state. If a PLSS state, include records for a PLSS corner as well as documentation for a section subdivisional corner.
Minimum Requirement: Submit cadastral survey projects of similar scope, size and complexity within the last 5 years that are located in a geographic area similar to the subject proposal.
Evaluation Criteria.; Evaluation Criteria;
The Government will evaluate how the projects identified by the Offeror demonstrate the extent of the Offeror’s Professional Experience related to cadastral survey efforts in the specific geographical area required for this contract. Firms should demonstrate professional knowledge of the geographical area of concern, the ability to successfully perform survey projects in the applicable geographic area, and the ability to logistically handle projects within the geographic area in an efficient manner. This includes demonstrated knowledge of the survey history (local and government), and knowledge of local survey records access and where they are maintained (recorded and non-recorded) in the geographic area.
Strengths and Weaknesses: The government will evaluate the extent of the experience in the following areas:
Projects in which the offeror was the Professional Land Surveyor in charge.
Projects involving cadastral survey work with similar scope and magnitude as the projects expected during the performance period of the resultant contracts.
Projects in similar terrain, particularly heavily forested and steep terrain.
Projects located within 50 miles of the applicable geographic area.
Projects demonstrating sound knowledge of local practices, records and history in the applicable geographic area.
Projects demonstrating identification and recovery of physical evidence including corner monumentation and line marking.
Projects that include recordable and thorough certificates, records, reports and other documentation
Projects that explain the integration of GNSS systems to obtain geographic coordinates for geospatial referencing.
Project Narratives: Cadastral survey project narratives shall include the following information:
Project Number (if applicable), title and location
Brief description of the project, including brief history of the property surveyed/boundary retraced and terrain
Equipment used
Records researched and resources investigated
Challenges encountered and resolved
Relevance of performance to this project
Nature of firm’s responsibility (prime or sub)
Project owner’s name and address and project manager’s (point of contact) name, telephone number, and email address (if known)
Original and Actual contract start and completion dates
Reason for change in contract start and completion dates (if different)
Award and Final Price
Reason for change in contract award and final cost (if different)
Overall size of project in miles and acres
Factor 2: Past Performance
Submission Requirements.
For each of the projects submitted under Factor 1, the offeror shall provide a Past Performance
Questionnaire (PPQ), which is included in the solicitation to a representative of the owner who can provide the owner’s opinion of the offeror’s past performance for the project. Completed PPQ forms should be submitted with your proposal. A copy of a previously completed PPQ can be submitted if it reflects a substantially complete evaluation of the project. The PPQ does not have to be sent directly from the client. If the offeror is unable to obtain a completed PPQ from a client for a project(s) before proposal closing date, the offeror should complete and submit with the proposal the first page of the PPQ, which will provide contract and client information for the respective project(s). Ensure correct phone numbers and email addresses are provided for the client point of contact. Offerors should follow- up with clients/references to ensure timely submittal of questionnaires. If the client requests, questionnaires may be submitted directly to the Government’s point of contact, Clark Bartelt, via email at Clark.a.Bartelt@USDA.gov prior to proposal closing date. The offeror is responsible for ensuring that the completed questionnaires are submitted by the closing date. If you have questions regarding the attached questionnaire, or require assistance, please contact the Contract Specialist at (218) 626-4353 or 218-343-4709.
For each of the projects submitted under Factor 1, to ensure the agency has all relevant past
performance information, the offeror also should submit copies of Federal/DoD/Navy/Army performance reviews that are likely already in the agency’s databases or likely within the agency’s arm’s reach, i.e., Contractor’s copy of CPARS evaluations. To improve accuracy of database searches, the offeror will also provide the CAGE Codes for the prime contractor and all teaming partners, i.e. design firms, key subcontractors, Joint Venture Partners, whose experience is being relied on Factor 1.
Offerors should organize all Past Performance Information based on the Factor 1 Projects, which normally have project titles and are numbered 1-5, so that reviewers can match the owner’s opinion with the corresponding Factor 1 Project. All Past Performance Information presented will be identified in the top left hand corner of each page with the Corresponding Project Number and Title from Factor 1. There is no page limit for this factor.
The Government will evaluate the responses from the customers from which Past Performance Questionnaires have been received. The Government may contact and interview the owner’s representative on the PPQ and reserves the right to interview other individuals acting for the owner’s representative, if the owner’s representative is not available. While the Government may elect to consider data from other sources, the burden of providing detailed, current, accurate and complete past performance information rests with the offeror.
In addition to the above, the Government may review any other sources of information for evaluating past performance. Past performance information may be obtained from any other sources available to the Government, to include, but not limited to, the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS), Construction Contractor Appraisal Support System (CCASS), Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS), Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS), Electronic Subcontract Reporting System (eSRS), or other databases; interviews with Program Managers, Contracting Officers, and Fee Determining Officials; and the Defense Contract Management Agency.
At no time during this process, nor during the debriefing, nor after award, will the names of the individuals providing reference information about an offeror’s past performance be revealed to the offerors or to any other party. If discussions are held, offerors may be afforded the opportunity to respond to adverse comments made by references in accordance with guidelines identified in FAR Part 15.3. In this case, comments will be extracted and provided to the offeror. Copies of the questionnaires will not be furnished to the offeror and will remain confidential.
BASis for award
The agency will use Source Selection Procedures authorized by FAR 15.3. The Government intends to select for award a single offeror for each of the seven eight anticipated contracts, whose proposal conforms to the solicitation and is determined to be the most qualified firm.
The relative weight given to the evaluation factors is described in the table below.
Location
Factor
Number
Description
Relative Importance
Vol 1 Tab B
Factor 1
Professional Survey Experience to Include Experience Specific to Work Locations
Factors 1-3 are all equal to each other.
Vol 1 Tab C
Factor 2
Past Performance
Factors 1-3 are all equal to each other.
Vol 1 Tab D
Factor 3
Management Plan
Factors 1-3 are all equal to each other.
4. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS: Interested firms having the capabilities for this work must submit one electronic copy (in PDF format) of SF 330 along with a copy of part II of each sub-consultant's SF 330 to: Clark Bartelt, Contracting Officer at clark.a.bartelt@usda.gov, no later than 1400 hours, Central Time, on April 8, 2021. Include both the solicitation number, 12445521R0003 and the company's DUNS number on all submittals. All telephone calls should be directed to Mr. Clark Bartelt, (218) 626-4353.
APPOINTMENTS WILL NOT BE SCHEDULED TO DISCUSS THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.
This is not a Request for Proposal. A proposal will be requested at a later date, only from the firms evaluated as most qualified for each of the eight contracts.
****NOTE: Contractors must be registered in the System for Award Management (Sam) site, for information see www.sam.gov.
****TECHNICAL INQUIRIES AND QUESTIONS
ALL Technical inquiries and questions relating to this solicitation are to be submitted via email to clark.a.bartelt@usda.gov no later than 5 days prior submittal due date in order to ensure adequate time is allotted to form an appropriate response and amend the solicitation if necessary. A prospective vendor who submits a comment /question will receive an acknowledgement of their comment/question via email, followed by an answer to the comment/question after it has been processed by our technical team.
THE SOLICITATION NUMBER IS: 12445521R0003
12445521R0003 Department of Agriculture Forest Service
3/8/21, 2:18 PM