Amendment 001_ThomasBayYG_Attachment 2_ July23 Site Visit Notes.pdf

Thomas Bay Pre-solicitation Site Visit July 23, 2025

In Attendance:

Jodi Trimmer and McKenna Wickware – AD Timber Cutting Brett Martin and Mike Duman – Alaska Timber and Truss, LLC Bosjun Reid – Reid Brother’s Construction Ben Case – Forester, USFS Fernando Becerra Ochoa – Engineer and COR, USFS Robert Dickamore –Forester, USFS

Schedule:

8:00: Meet at FS Float

8:15: Depart for Thomas Bay

9:30 – 10:30: Point Agassiz parking area and road improvements

10:30 – 11:00: Timber harvest Unit 14 and temp road construction

11:00 – 12:00: Timber harvest Unit 18, temp road construction log culvert, source area and road prism removal

12:00 – 13:00: Culvert clean-out and beaver analog

13:00 – 14:00: Hand Thinning Units 1-5

14:00 – 15:00: Log transfer facility

General Questions from Prospective Bidders

• Is a performance bond and payment required? If so, how much and when does it need to be submitted for approval? See solicitation page 16, section 19 for Timber Payment Guarantee and pages 65-67, sections 60, 61, and 62 for construction performance and payment bond requirements.

Contracts exceeding $35,000 but not exceeding $150,000 for items 5, 8, and 11 require a Payment bond. Contracts exceeding $150,000 for items 5, 8, and 11 require a Performance Bond and a Payment bond. Executed bonds will be submitted within 10 days of the award of the contract 62(c) and 60(c). The amount is for 100 percent of the original contract price for Items 5, 8, and option Item 11.

• Are hard copy proposals allowed? All documents will be submitted electronically to mark.phillipp@usda.gov.

• Is there a proposal template available? We do not provide a template. APEX Accelerators are an official government contracting resource for small businesses. You may visit https://apexalaska.org/ for free government expertise related to contract opportunities. APEX Accelerators are funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the Department of Defense. The APEX Accelerators program was formerly known as the Procurement Technical Assistance Program (PTAP).

Submissions will be of the technical proposal and the price proposal separately, as stated on page 4, section 1. Instructions to offerors start on page 51, section 58 through section 64. The SF-1449 is the first 3 pages of the solicitation. You can submit your pricing by filling in and submitting the Schedule of Items starting on page 4 through 6. Section 64 outlines the number of pages for aspects

12363N25Q4151-Amendment 001

Thomas Bay YG IRSC Pre-Solicitation Site Visit Notes of your technical proposal. Section 66 on page 75 is the Evaluation criteria that will be used to evaluate submitted quotes for Best-Value.

At the bottom of page 83, it directs submissions to include necessary certifications and how these may be completed in a www.SAM.gov registration.

Is there a limit to the number of proposals each prospective bidder can submit? See solicitation page 72, section 64.3. Offerors may, at their discretion, submit alternate proposals or proposals which deviate from the requirement, provided that an offeror also submits a proposal for performance of the work as specified in this solicitation. Any "alternate" proposal may be considered if overall performance would be improved or not compromised, and if it is in the best interest of the Government. Alternate proposals, or deviations from any requirement of this RFQ, must be clearly identified.

Point Agassiz Parking Area & Road Improvements (Mandatory Item 8 and Option Items 10 & 11)

• Questions related to the trees along the shoulder of the road and edge of the parking area that need to be removed:

o Can trees that are in the way of operations be removed to meet ditching requirements? Yes, as long as the trees need to be removed in order to meet ditching spec requirements. ALL trees need to be designated by the Forest Service per Appendix B prior to felling.

o Who designates the trees to be removed? The contractor can identify trees to be removed, but they need to be approved by the COR.

o What is to be done with the trees that are being removed? Per contract requirements, the trees are to be end-hauled to a site <=2 miles, designated by the COR. Trees are to be felled, delimbed, & bucked; delimbing & bucking can occur on the road or at the waste site

• The government estimate for material needed at the parking area is 100 cubic yards. The feedback from one prospective bidder is that it will require 200-300 cubic yards of material.

All overages in quantities are to be handled with Contract Modifications. Contractor is to only place quantities included in the Schedule until a signed Mod is executed. USFS will check quantities for potential errors. If there’s an error, the solicitation could be amended to correct the rock quantity.

• Whose responsibility is traffic control of the parking area? Per contract specifications, the contractor is responsible for submitting a traffic control plan at least 30 days prior to beginning operations.

• Who is responsible for notifying the owners of vehicles parked in the area and the users of the access point that the work will be occurring and that they need to move their vehicles while work is underway? During construction activities, the parking area on FS land should be clear of all vehicles (abandoned or otherwise). The Forest Service will perform closure orders for FS lands to enable construction activities.

• Is the contractor responsible for cleaning up hazardous waste or contaminants from abandoned vehicles if found on site and existed prior to the contract?

No, the clean-up of hazardous materials associated with Optional Work Activity 10 is related to any hazardous materials found within or associated with the abandoned vehicles during the removal of said vehicles.

• Where is the material generated by ditching to be discharged? Per contract requirements, all material is to be side cast on the downhill side of the road, away from culvert outlets. The COR will specify suitable locations for placement as there is running water parallel to the road on the downhill side.

12363N25Q4151-Amendment 001

Thomas Bay YG IRSC

• What rock sources are available for material needed, including riprap, and what erosion control measures are required for the development of a rock source? Per contract requirements, all rock material is to be furnished by the contractor. The contractor is responsible for supplying the rock by developing USFS pits, barging it in, or procuring it privately from Rock-N-Road Construction.

There is only 1 USFS-cleared pit on Forest System Road (FSR) 6256; upon inspection, it was found that there is minimal to no material in it, and even if this pit were developed, it is unlikely that the material would meet spec requirements. The other USFS pit on FSR 6252 is not NEPA-cleared, floods year-round, and is not likely to provide the material needed to meet contract specs if developed.

There is a commercial gravel pit operated by Rock-N-Road Construction on FSR 6256, close to the LTF, that has an ongoing crushing operation.

Cut and Removal of Timber (Mandatory Item 1)

• One prospective bidder asked if they could get georeferenced maps of the cutting units.

Georeferenced maps of the cutting units are included in the solicitation under Attachments/Links.

• Is log scaling required by the purchaser?

See Appendix B, page 23, CT6.8 – MEASURING and page 26, CT8.682# – LIMITED EXPORT OF UNPROCESSED HEMLOCK AND SPRUCE SAWLOGS. This is a tree measurement sale.

Volume approved for export/removal shall be scaled according to the scaling rules in the National Forest Scaling Handbook, by an organization or individual approved by the Regional Forester, at a location approved by the Contracting Officer. Domestically processed volume (within the state of Alaska) will not be scaled.

• How flexible is the timing of the cutting and removal of timber over the performance period?

See Section 66, page 75-76, Technical Approach. The Work Activity Plan will be evaluated on how well proposed operations will be able to accomplish the project objectives (harvest of young-growth timber and resource protection) and the stewardship goal (ecosystem restoration) of the project area.

Temporary Road Development and Decommissioning (Mandatory Item 7)

• What are the clearing limits of the temp road right of ways? All road work will be performed only on the existing road prism.

• Is temporary road decommissioning required post-harvest? No, the contractor is only required to seed all areas with disturbed ground post-harvest.

Hand Thinning (Option Item 9)

• Is it allowed to use mechanized equipment to thin and remove the felled material for commercial purposes? Trees are to be felled or girdled using hand equipment and are not approved for removal for commercial purposes.

Pre- and Post-haul Maintenance (Mandatory Item 6 - Table C(T) 5.31 of Appendix C)

• There were major concerns by prospective bidders associated with the log transfer facility (LTF) and not having enough space to safely operate logging equipment during logging operations. In part, this is because there are 2 existing road use permit users that utilize the LTF regularly with heavy equipment. However, even if both permit users removed their

12363N25Q4151-Amendment 001

Thomas Bay YG IRSC equipment the LTF footprint is still small, so logging operations will require strategic planning. The Thomas Bay LTF has not been approved for expansion, and other parties also use this LTF under current permits. Proposals must describe the method or combination of methods by which the contractor will transport logs from the contract area to mill or export point in their operations (Solicitation page 73, Section 64.b.1. Technical Approach).

12363N25Q4151-Amendment 001

Thomas Bay YG IRSC