Riley Pass Solicitation Q and A 12.3.2021.pdf

Solicitation No: 1240LU22R0002 FY22 Riley Pass Bluff B Northeast Reclamation Project

Q & A

Responses to questions are provided in blue ink below the question.

Questions through 12/3/2021

1. Can you tell me if this project is set aside for small businesses and whether or not you must be registered with SAM. Lastly, if I have questions regarding the check list of items that must be included in the bid, do I ask you for help with that?

FY22 Riley Pass Bluff B Northeast Reclamation Project, Solicitation No. 1240LU22R0002 is set aside for Small Business. All questions must be submitted in writing by email to the Contracting Officer, Tina Cook at tina.cook@usda.gov.

2. I am preparing the Section J; J.1.4 Experience Questionnaire to send to our previous customers for a past performance evaluation. However, the content of the experience questionnaire form seems out of the norm for a past performance questionnaire. This questionnaire seems like the questions and information asked for would be for the bidder (us) to fill out, not a former customer. Can you please confirm that the content of the attached document is to be sent to previous clients? If so, can you provide further direction on what sections they should answer?

Please see amendment 002, posted to sam.gov December 3, 2022. The Experience Questionnaire has been replaced with an updated Past Performance Questionnaire.

3. I would like to take a site visit on Tuesday 12/7. Would you be able to join us or have someone on site?

Unfortunately, the site visit for this project was already held on Nov. 17th.

4. Can the Superintendent be a working Superintendent and operate machinery onsite, etc.? Yes

5. Must the contractor supply an office trailer?

The Contractor does not have to supply an office trailer. If the Contractor chooses to supply a trailer, they may be allowed to use the Forest Service Administrative site for an electrical hookup. The government will not supply an office trailer.

6. Are we expected to encounter any rock during excavation? If so, how will rock excavation be paid for?

Excavation on site is visible and should be reviewed by the contractor. What you can see on the surface is what you should expect to encounter for the excavation. There are visible rocks ,large boulders, and shelf rock on the surface and this can be expected in the excavation. In addition there is a salvage specification for boulders. Bed rock may be encountered, however it would not require excavation because it is in an undisturbed state. There is no separate payment for rocks/boulders. See the Schedule of Items for all items to be paid.

mailto:tina.cook@usda.gov

7. Does the government have a water source nearby that the contactor could pull water from?

There are no government furnished sources for water. The contractor is responsible to locate a private or public water source and is responsible for all costs associated with obtaining water.

8. Do you have a deadline for questions for this project? I do not see one listed in the solicitation.

We do not have a deadline for questions, however, they must be received in writing. Updated 121/3/2-21 There is now a deadline of December 9th, 2021 for receipt of questions.

9. May we submit CPARS with our experience questionnaires for reputable past performance?

Yes, you may submit CPARs with the experience questionnaires.

10. Do you have previous contractor’s Health and Safety Plans that have been put in place while working in this area?

This information is not available

11. In the Experience Questionnaire for the project it refers to stock boarding projects. Can you define this for me? I’m assuming it’s a way of saying relevant work, but not sure.

Yes, “stock boarding projects” are projects of a similar nature to the work required for the Riley Pass Bluff B project. However, I am posting an amendment no. 0002 to sam.gov today that will change the form to a more appropriate Past Performance Questionnaire form that you should email to your previous customers to submit to me by the new solicitation response date of Wednesday, January 12th, 2022, 12:00 pm noon.

12. Given supply and pricing volatility in today’s environment, is there any avenue or accommodation for fuel escalation should fuel prices change dramatically during the course of the season?

Unfortunately, the Forest Service does not include economic price adjustment clauses in their contracts. Without the Economic Price Adjustment clause, there is no contractual authority to reimburse fuel costs due to economic instability. You may provide your pricing assumptions in your proposal and it is your choice to allow for an expected increase. All contractors submitting proposals are on an equal playing field with respect to fuel costs. In the event that prices do increase at unprecedented rates, you may submit a claim, however, there is no guarantee the claim will be approved. If you can prove an unprecedented increase with regard to the pricing on your proposal it may be considered.

13. Tech Spec 204.04.a requires the contractor to “… excavate mine waste to the elevations shown on the Drawings using GPS Machine-Mounted Grade Control Equipment…” and states that “… the GPS equipment shall use RTK technology to achieve survey grade accuracy.” At odds with that, the same Tech Spec notes that the “… excavation depths shown on the drawings are approximate…” and information presented during the pre-bid walk-thru indicates that the finished excavation surface shall be determined at the time of excavation under the direction of the USFS field rep. Please clarify:

You are required to use GPS controlled equipment with the calculated surfaces loaded in order to meet the design depths. That is the only way to locate horizontally and vertically where you are on the project. It is expected much of the surface is accurate, however there are likely deviations. In the event that the subsurface elevation isn’t correct in specific locations, the FS inspector and the Contractor rep will work together to determine the actual finish elevation. For instance if bedrock is encountered as a shallower depth, that will be a limiting surface. In addition, the Contractor is required to presurvey and post survey for accurate pay quantities.

a. how the final excavation surface is to be determined

Final excavations are determined using the design surfaces. In areas where the design had to be altered the surface will be through visual inspection.

b. the intended use/purpose for the GPS-Mounted Grade Control Equipment in both the waste excavation process and the waste placement process.

The use is to properly excavate the material and place the material according to the design surfaces.

14. Are there page limits on the Technical Proposal part of the Solicitation?

Yes, see amendment no. 0002. Page limits for proposal submissions are: Company Experience to 3 projects and 6 pages, Technical Approach 5 pages, Company Resources 3 Pages. Solicitation questions deadline is December 9th, 2021. Solicitation questions after that date will not be accepted.

15. In Section M.2 Technical Evaluation Factors, Factor 4 - Past Performance (p. 53 and 54), it mentions that the government might contact previous clients: “The Government will contact references to assess the quality of the contractor’s work, timely completion, project management, and compliance with regulatory requirements.” Providing client references and contact information is not listed as a requirement in Section L. Please clarify if we are to provide a list of client references with our proposal.

Please see Factor 1--Company Experience in section L, Pg. 47 and Factor 4—Past Performance, Pg. 48. The government may contact any of the personnel involved with the 3 representative contracts, any personnel associated with the previous customer past performance questionnaires, and any other known resources, see section M Factor 4. Past Performance, pg. 53, “…the Government may use information from sources other than the offeror’s proposal. Other sources of information, may include, but are not limited to: Federal, State and Local government agencies, better business bureaus, published media and electronic databases such as the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS).” You may provide a list of client references with you proposal. Nothing in the solicitation prohibits submitting a list of client references. This is your company’s choice. There will be an amendment posted to Sam.gov later today addressing the Past Performance Questionnaires and the Experience Questionnaire. Please wait until you see the new direction. I will be attaching a new Past Performance Questionnaire replacing the previous Experience Questionnaire. Hopefully this will clear up the confusion. Also the amendment will limit the number of pages per submittal.

16. We don't find anything in the solicitation that specifies that we can't use previously submitted PPQs. Is it permissible to use projects that were submitted in previous bids (such as the 2020 Riley Pass Bluff A bid)? Also, is it permissible to use CPARS instead of PPQs (if we have them for any of the three sample projects)?

Please read section L, Pg. 48, Factor4—Past Performance. PPQs should be emailed from your previous customers directly to the Contracting Officer at tina.cook@usda.gov. You may submit previous PPQs and CPARS as part of your proposal, however, current confidentially submitted PPQs from previous customers, submitted independently to the CO, meet the standard of the requirement. Also, the amendment will limit your submittals.

mailto:tina.cook@usda.gov