Questions and Answers Amendment 0001.pdf

Q1. The SF 1442 indicates “magnitude of this construction project is over $10,000,000.00.” Is there a not-to-exceed amount over the life of the contract?

A1. The annual estimate for this contract is about $4,900,000, the total estimate for the Base plus 4 options is around $20-24M. FAR 36.204 magnitude of construction disclosure tops out at $10M.

Q2. In Section L.9, it indicates proposals may be emailed to USDA. Notwithstanding, there are numerous references, including the SF 1442, to a sealed bid opening, which requires the contractor to furnish an original and 1 hard copy of the proposal by 0700 Mountain Time on Monday 9/21. Due to the shipping implications of a Monday morning due date, we need to know whether or not an original / hard copy is required by the due date. Is the contractor required to do anything more than email an electronic version of the proposal by the specified date and time?

A2. The proposal shall be emailed as indicated in Section L.9, no hard copies by mail will be accepted.

The reference to sealed bidding in the SF1442 Block 13 is boilerplate form language that cannot be edited. The dates are provided in this block for reference only, this procurement will be executed under FAR 15 Contract by Negotiation, FAR 14 Sealed bidding is not applicable. The only references to sealed bidding in the solicitation are those that embedded into the some of the certification provisions in Section K and L and only constitute a reference to them in the plain provision language from the FAR.

Those provisions are form language and sealed bidding procedures are not applicable to this FAR 15 LPTA procurement.

Q3. In Section L.9 / Management Approach Plan, it states “The offeror shall provide the qualifications of the members of the staff and their responsibilities should the offeror receive the contract award (including resumes, excluding names).” Resumes for “members of the staff” is somewhat open ended. To ensure all contractors are on the same playing field, will USDA specify the positions (PM, Superintendent, etc.) and number of resumes required by position?

A3. Section L.9 has been edited to reflect the required positions and number of resumes.

Q4. Section C.2.10 Bonding Requirements, it states “Bonds will not be issued for individual task orders.” Rather, it sounds as if USDA is requesting a “blanket” P&P bond that fluctuates in value over time commensurate with total value of all open task orders. Is that a correct interpretation?

A4. Section C.2.10 states in the last sentence “Bonds will not be issued for individual task orders.” The interpretation is correct, the P&P will fluctuate over the time commensurate with the total value of all open task orders. No bonds will be required for individual task orders. Additional language has been added to ensure clarity.

Q5. We noted the definition of Fully Burdened Labor Rates (Section C.1.2.1) does not list bonds as a cost to be included in the burden rate. Are P&P bonds a direct cost to be included in the contractor’s estimate for individual task orders?

A5. Bonding cost shall be included in the Fully Burdened Labor Rates in Section C.1.2.1. The reference has been updated to include the required cost.

Q6. Please confirm that task order pricing will be established using the Fully Burdened Hourly Labor Rates and OH & Profit applied to materials and equipment, but once a final price is successfully negotiated between the contractor and USDA, the task order award will be FFP (lump sum).

A6. Yes, once the final price is negotiated the award will be made as a FFP lump sum amount.

Reference C.2.8 has been revised to clearly state the intent.

Q7. Will USDA furnish a sales tax exemption certificate for task orders issued under the prime contract?

A7. The USDA will attempt to complete any required State Tax exempt documents presented. It may be incumbent upon the Contractor to notify the USDA specifically what is required by the USDA only to obtain that tax exempt certificate for the specific state. The USDA will not do the research or the leg work on what is required to obtain the certificates.

Q8. Regarding the Proposed Fully Burdened Hourly Labor Rates in the Bid Schedule (Attachment 1), are these “standard” labor rates only, i.e. work during normal business hours, M-F, no overtime? How is emergency/overtime and weekend work (if necessary) handled? Will USDA allow the contractor to apply a 1.5 multiplier to the standard rates for overtime and weekend work?

A8. All work under this contract will adhere to normal working schedules. Contractors may request approval by the Contracting Officer to work weekends or after normal working hours at their own expense. The Contracting Officer may or may not approve that request, depending on many factors.

There will be no multiplier or factor required.

Q9. Will emergency task orders be required under the contract? If so, will the contractor be expected to perform emergency repair/maintenance work at the same fully burdened labor rates proposed in the Bid Schedule? Or will USDA allow the contractor to apply a multiplier to the standard rates for emergency work?

A9. There will be no emergency requirement under this contract vehicle. The Government may ask if the contractor can expedite proposal requests or accommodate an immediate need faster than the response times identified in C.2.8, but will not be mandatory. If “emergency” work cannot be accommodated under the terms of C.2.8, and cannot be mutually agreed upon by the USDA and the Contractor then the work will be executed under different contracting vehicle that has emergency or accelerated approvals and will not be related to this contracting effort.

Q10. For construction trades or services not otherwise listed in the Bid Schedule, will the contractor be allowed to engage subcontractors and charge them at a direct cost plus OH & profit (in the same manner as equipment and material)?

A10. If there are trades or services that are not listed in the bid schedule that may be perceived to fall within the scope of this Contract, the Contracting Officer may allow those additional disciplines. The Contracting Officer has the sole authority to make that determination, if a discipline would be required outside of the bid schedule the Contracting Officer must make a written determination that the discipline is within the scope of the contract. The USDA has attempted to capture all relevant labor categories related to MEP work, and would not be normal and raise flags if labor categories other than those listed are being pursed. As a matter of practice, all work should adhere to the labor categories in the bid schedule as intended by this SOW.

Contractors shall not attempt to classify work under a labor category that is not listed on the bid schedule in an effort to bypass the competitive firm fixed price labor rates. If work can be performed utilizing the bid schedule, the rates shall be utilized, regardless of the Contractors desire to utilize what they deem would be “more appropriate”. The Contracting Officer will make the final determination of any allowable work not identified on the bid schedule.

Q11. Based on our review of the solicitation, it appears there are two different pricing models – one for new task orders (using Fully Burdened Hourly Labor Rates and OH/profit% from the Bid Schedule, Attachment 1), and one for change orders (using Summary Sheet G.6). We are not clear on how Summary Sheet G.6 is used in the context of this contract. Does Summary Sheet G.6 apply only to change orders? And do the Fully Burdened Hourly Labor Rates have any bearing on the pricing for change orders?

A11. There is only one pricing model. “G.5 Supplement to the Changes Clause” and “G.6 Summary Sheet Format” have been removed from the RFP. The pricing model identified in C.1.2 is the only pricing model allowable under this contract.

Q12. Will USDA provide information on the number and size (square footage) of buildings associated with each facility in the North and South regions?

A12.

NORTH

Location State Buildings Total Location SF

AKRON COLORADO 17 58,980

BROOKINGS SOUTH DAKOTA 16 78,111

CLAY CENTER NEBRASKA 102 850,088

FARGO NORTH DAKOTA 19 261,205

FORT COLLINS COLORADO 56 279,009

GRAND FORKS NORTH DAKOTA 5 83,279

LINCOLN NEBRASKA 21 67,889

MANDAN NORTH DAKOTA 39 107,070

MILES CITY MONTANA 51 140,369

SIDNEY MONTANA 22 87,105

Q13. Will USDA provide a list of MEP equipment and systems currently being maintained at each research/lab facility in the North and South regions?

A13. This information is not available

Q14. Will USDA provide an approximate percentage allocation of work across the various research labs in the North and South regions?

A14. Contractor can assume percentage of work will increase or decrease at location based on linear relationship of Sq. Ft. percentage each location has to total North or South Sq. Ft.

Q15. Will USDA provide a few representative examples of MEP repairs, maintenance, alterations, and/or new construction projects completed in the North and South regions over the past two years?

A15. This an example list is for this fiscal year only. This sample type of work has maintained for several years and is expected to at least stay the same or increase due to age of building portfolio. This list shouldn’t be perceived as the type of work issued under the IDIQ, only work that falls under the SOW shall be executed against this IDIQ. This list is only provided as snapshot examples (not fully representative) for context of work that has been issued by the Plains Area.

LOCATION ST PROJECT COST, in thousands

LAS CRUCES (Mesilla Park) NM UPGRADE ELECTRICAL PER BUILDER ITEMS (D) $188.648

MANDAN ND REPLACE BOILERS BLDGS. 13, 7, 3, 2, 4, 18 & 28 $125.000

KERRVILLE (EDINBURG) TX FIRE ALARM SYSTEM UPGRADE BUILDING 1 AND 2 $30.249

FARGO ND REMODEL BUILDING 5 - (MAINLY MEP) $489.676

MANHATTAN KS GRAIN ELEVATOR SYSTEMS UGRADES AND SAFETY UPGRADES -

BUILDING 3

$570.038

BROOKINGS SD REPLACE BOILER IN BLDG 10 004 (PHASE 1) $138.225

EL RENO OK REPLACE CHILLER BUILDING 1 $325.000

LUBBOCK TX Renovations to overcome plumbing, electrical and roofing deficiencies at the New Deal work site

$143.418

HOUSTON TX Upgrade Fire Alarm, CNRC $2,500

EL RENO OK UPGRADE/REPLACE FIRE ALARM PANEL AND DEVICES, BUILDING

$60.311

FARGO ND RED RIVER VALLEY

SOUTH WING, 2nd FLOOR LABORATORY AND WORK AREA

REMODEL

$540.000

LAS CRUCES (Mesilla Park) NM UPGRADE ELECTRICAL FOR BUILDER ITEMS (C) $300

COLLEGE STATION TX UPGRADE ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTION AND LIGHTING PANELS IN

BLDG 1

$101

COLLEGE STATION TX UPGRADE ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTION AND SUBPANELS IN BLDG

$62

Brookings SD Replace Boiler in Building 006 $57.500

Q16. Can Contractors decline work they don’t want to perform under this IDIQ?

A14. No. Contractors shall execute all work requested under this IDIQ. The awardee shall expect and understand they are the single award IDIQ holder, and as such, shall be required to execute all work requested under the terms of this IDIQ. Reference the last sentence of C.1. Contractors that wish to pick and choose what type of work they execute should not propose under this effort.