A11. 1-SiteVistiMtgMins-Q&A v1-12970224R0036, 08052024.pdf

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Forest Service (FS)

Procurement and Property Services (PPS)

Specialized Project Operations Center (SPOC) Southwest Zone

201 14th Street SW Washington, DC 20250

SITE VISIT MEETING MINUTES / QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Site Visit Meeting Minutes / Q&A | 12970224R0036 - San Francisquito Fire Station & Barracks Construction | Page 1 of 8

File Code: 6320 August 5, 2024

MEMORANDUM FOR RECORD

SUBJECT: Site Visit Meeting Minutes / Questions and Answers (Q&A) Round 1 – Solicitation No.

12970224R0036, San Francisquito Fire Station & Barracks Construction

1. Venue: Meeting location (prior to forward movement to project location) - Tesoro Village

Shopping Center on Copper Hill Drive, Valencia, CA 91354 (See solicitation section L.3 for more details)

2. Date, Day: 23 July 2024 (Tuesday) and 24 July 2024 (Wednesday)

3. Government Representatives: The following USDA Forest Service were present at the site visits for one or both dates under item 2 herein.

Title/Role Name FS Contracting Officer Representative (COR) / Engineer Ricardo Lopez Civil Engineer Kevin Hernandez Facilities Engineer Javier Diaz

4. Contractor Representatives: The following companies RSVP’d and/or were documented as attendees for the Site Visit(s). To provide all interested offerors the opportunity for partnerships on the anticipated contract, the Government is providing the company name and email address for the POCs of the companies that RSVP’d and/or attended the Site Visit(s). This information is provided as a courtesy. The Government is not required to share this information and will not maintain it post this document. Contractors interested in reaching out or receiving contacts from other contractors should share interest on SAM.gov.

Company Name Vendor Contact Email(s) Bilbro Construction Marcon Engineering aarmstrong@bilbroconstruction.com The Nazerian Group greg@nazerian.net Ford EC Inc farnaz@fordecinc.com; joe@fordecinc.com Far West Contractors cynthia@farwestcontractors.com SJ Amoroso Construction bthrockmorton@sjamoroso.com McGillivray Construction estimating@mcgillivrayconstruction.com;

russell@mcgillivrayconstruction.com Hubbell jestrada3@hubbell.com Prowest Constructors gustavob@prowestconstructors.com Agate Construction aleksandar.arnavtovic@agateconstructioninc.com Perera Construction & Design, Inc. vincec@pererainc.com Insight Environmental Engineering and Construction, Inc.

rmohammad@ieeci.com

5. The Q&A table below reflects the queries raised during the sites visits held on 23 and 24 July

2024 combined with any questions asked by potential offerors outside of the meeting from the date the solicitation opened on 16 July 2024 through 31 July 2024.

The site visit meeting ended with the opportunity for contractors to ask any additional questions.

Any questions that were collected are documented herein. If upon review, attendees identify any questions that were asked that have not been addressed, please send the questions in accordance with the solicitation Contract Opportunity Description item 20.ii.

mailto:aarmstrong@bilbroconstruction.com mailto:greg@nazerian.net mailto:farnaz@fordecinc.com mailto:joe@fordecinc.com mailto:cynthia@farwestcontractors.com mailto:bthrockmorton@sjamoroso.com mailto:estimating@mcgillivrayconstruction.com mailto:russell@mcgillivrayconstruction.com mailto:jestrada3@hubbell.com mailto:gustavob@prowestconstructors.com mailto:aleksandar.arnavtovic@agateconstructioninc.com mailto:vincec@pererainc.com mailto:rmohammad@ieeci.com

Agriculture (USDA)

Forest Service (FS)

Procurement and Property Services (PPS)

Specialized Project Operations Center (SPOC) Southwest Zone

Site Visit Meeting Minutes / Q&A | 12970224R0036 - San Francisquito Fire Station & Barracks Construction | Page 2 of 8

Questions with an asterisk (*) by the item number will be finalized by the Government in a future Q&A if the Government is able to provide the information. Should the Government be unable to provide a response, the Government will determine if the question is significant enough to warrant an additional solicitation due date extension.

Some Government responses may warrant an amendment to the solicitation. Amendment(s) may or may not accompany the Q&A document(s) posted to SAM.gov. Regardless of whether the responses led to an amendment, all Q&A documents are a point of reference and will become part of the subsequent contract. Offerors are responsible for verifying the terms identified in the solicitation for the anticipated contract.

Acronyms can be found below the Q&A table (at the end of this document).

6. The cutoff for questions pertaining to the subject solicitation is Friday, 23 August 2024 no later than (NLT) 1300 PT. All inquiries must be submitted in writing and include the solicitation number in the subject of the email. Please note that the site visit meeting was not mandatory so all participating offerors may submit questions up to the date shown above.

The Government will send responses to all questions/requests for information (RFIs) via SAM.gov posting on a weekly basis until all questions asked up to the cutoff date for questions (see item 7 herein) through 30 August 2024.

All questions and answers will be shared with all offerors for consideration via SAM.gov.

7. Proposals are due by Friday, 6 September 2024 NLT 2359 PT.

8. Should there be any further information/clarification required, email(s) should be sent to klenise.wallace@usda.gov and ricardo.lopez2@usda.gov.

Sincerely, Klenise Wallace Contracting Officer

Specialized Project Operations Center – Southwest Branch cc:

FS Contracting Officer Representative, Ricardo Lopez

Agriculture (USDA)

Forest Service (FS)

Procurement and Property Services (PPS)

Specialized Project Operations Center (SPOC) Southwest Zone

Site Visit Meeting Minutes / Q&A | 12970224R0036 - San Francisquito Fire Station & Barracks Construction | Page 3 of 8

Item No. Query Raised Reply/Clarification

1 What’s the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) role regarding the drawings?

USACE provided the drawings but will not be involved moving forward. Any updates/comments/etc. regarding the drawings will come from the FS.

2 What option line item is a priority to the FS? While there's no strict priority among the options, the FS has identified the need for Option 1: Barracks and Option 3: New well and waterline.

3 What’s the time frame for this project? In accordance with Section C.5 of the solicitation terms, the anticipated performance period is approximately 540 calendar days. 360 calendar days pertains to the base items. Review section C.5 for more details.

4 Are there anymore plan changes? No more changes to the plans are anticipated in the solicitation stage.

5 When are bids due and the potential date to break ground?

In accordance with the solicitation terms, Section L, offers are due 23 August 2024. Amendment 1 of the solicitation corrects the dates to match this response. The anticipated start work date, as noted in Section C.5 of the solicitation terms is 16 September 2024.

6* What’s the flow rate of the water meter? The flow rate of the water meter is currently unknown. The FS is awaiting a response from LADWP.

7 Do we need to notify the Forest Service if we want to visit the project site after today?

No, Contractors do not need to notify FS personnel to visit the project site post the documented site visits. Reference important solicitation info provided on the continuation page of attachment J1 and/or SAM.gov description item 12.

8 Is value engineering going to be incorporated? The value analysis methodology was completed between the USACE and the FS a few years ago. No further action is anticipated.

9 Is housing needed for the fire station? No, all housing will be at the barracks building and there will be no housing in the fire station.

10 Do we need to list how much work % will be completed by the sub-contractor(s) and prime contractor?

Yes. The work % to be completed by each subcontractor and the prime contractor is required. Document this information using the SF 1413 (Attachment J11) for each subcontractor working on the project site. The amount of prime/subcontractor contractor work should also be articulated (and correspond to the SF 1413 info provided) in the plan of work as part of the technical response.

11 What type of communication is preferred before and after contract is awarded?

During the solicitation period through award, all communication shall be written via electronic correspondence (emails). Refer to the SAM.gov Description Item 20.ii. The POCs are listed in the solicitation under Important Solicitation Info on the SF 1442 continuation page and in Section L.1.

Post contract award, the primary method of communication shall remain electronic correspondence (emails) until otherwise stipulated at the pre-work meeting.

12 Is there a specific format for the technical submittal of a schedule?

The format for the schedule in response to the solicitation is identified in Section L of the solicitation terms. Use of the Progress Schedule (Attachment A10 is mandatory). Post award, the finalized schedule provided as a submittal should be in the Gantt Chart format, graphically demonstrating the steps to be performed chronologically.

Agriculture (USDA)

Forest Service (FS)

Procurement and Property Services (PPS)

Specialized Project Operations Center (SPOC) Southwest Zone

Site Visit Meeting Minutes / Q&A | 12970224R0036 - San Francisquito Fire Station & Barracks Construction | Page 4 of 8

13 How will utility permits be handled during construction?

Contractor will be paying for permitting unless otherwise stated. FS expects the contractor(s) to pay for the temporary and permanent electrical fees.

Temporary water and temporary power will be provided by Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP). For temporary water there is no permit concern. For power, LADWP will temporarily provide power. A further detailed explanation can be found in the specifications (Division 1, Section 01 00 00).

Permanent power will be provided by Southern California Edison (SCE). Once the permanent power is initiated, the Forest Service will establish payment to SCE.

14 Is there a specific waste management company that has this territory?

FS has confirmed that Waste Management (wm.com) is the trash collection service in this territory and temporary trash service can be established during construction.

15 Will a copy of the sign in sheet be available online? No, the Government does not provide copies of sign-in sheets.

However, the company names and email addresses for those that attended the site visits are provided with the meeting minutes. Vendors interested in partnering are encouraged to add their solicitation interest and contact info to the solicitation in SAM.gov. The Government has no dealings in the collaborative interests of offerors.

16 Is this funded as military construction? Does the FAR apply?

No, the contract is not funded as military construction. Yes, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) does apply.

17 What US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) office worked on the design?

The USACE Sacramento branch worked on the design with some administrative and project management support from the USACE Los Angeles branch.

18 Is this being awarded as best value or least priced technically acceptable?

In accordance with Section M.2 of the solicitation terms, this project is being awarded using the Best Value Continuum under the Tradeoff Process.

19 Will payroll be submitted to the Forest Service or State?

Payrolls will be directly submitted to the Forest Service as an attachment with Invoices. The awarded contractor shall submit draft invoices with payrolls and any other supporting documents to the Contracting Officer Representative (COR) for review and pre-approval prior to the mandatory upload to the Invoice Processing Platform (IPP.gov) for payment.

Amendment 1 stipulates this requirement in Section G of the solicitation terms.

20 The bid bond is listed as 20%. 10% is typically seen.

Was the 20% project specific?

The Forest Service uses the minimum required for solicitations in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

Anything below 20% of the bid price at amount no more than $3M is considered non-standard and requires an exception by the agency approved by congress. The Forest Service is not an agency with that exception. Therefore, the bid bond shall be 20% (or an amount not to exceed $3M) if 20% exceeds $3M.

21 Who is providing inspections? The Contractor is responsible for quality control. The Forest Service will only be performing quality assurance. The Government COR (or other written designated inspectors) may be on site to provide oversight, but the contractor will be responsible for providing sufficient oversight and inspection to ensure that the project outcomes meet the Governments requirements. Reference Specification Division 1, Section 01 45 00 for special inspection requirements.

Agriculture (USDA)

Forest Service (FS)

Procurement and Property Services (PPS)

Specialized Project Operations Center (SPOC) Southwest Zone

Site Visit Meeting Minutes / Q&A | 12970224R0036 - San Francisquito Fire Station & Barracks Construction | Page 5 of 8

22 Can a superintendent or others wear multiple hats to fill QC roles?

Specification 01 45 00 states, “The CQC System Manager must be assigned no other duties.” However, RFP Submission Requirements in Section L states, “The personnel listed in Section 8 may or may not hold multiple roles and may be listed on the designation of key personnel form.”

May key personnel hold multiple roles. If so, which key personnel?

Please confirm the CQC System Manager must be a full-time, on-site person with no other duties.

Yes. The Forest Service allows individuals performing on the contract to hold multiple roles (must have the appropriate credentials when applicable). Individuals holding key multiple roles must be identified in each key role and may be required to show experience for the key roles specified.

23 Who will pay the permit fees? The contractor is responsible for all permit fees and should build them into the overall costs of performing this work. (E.g.

operations, hauling of heavy equipment, environmental/dust control, any other incidental work that requires permits, etc.).

While the Forest Service has identified anticipated permits and associated costs related to temporary and permanent power (See item 13 herein) and basic permits in the specification’s attachments, the Prime and Sub-Contractors are responsible for knowing permit requirements and having an organized location to pull up requirement permits in the event permit inspections take place. The Forest Service does not coordinate or have insights on Department of Labor visits/inspections.

24 Was an environmental impact study done? A decision memo with design measures were completed and signed by the District Ranger for this project. The environmental documents are listed as attachments 6 and 7 in the solicitation.

25 Is this project funded and for how much? Yes, the project is funded for the estimated value of the base and options. The Government does not provide Independent Government Estimated information. The project Magnitudes can be found in Section C of the solicitation terms.

26 Does the Forest Service provide patrol and will there be security or patrol at the site?

No, the Forest Service will not/does not provide security or patrols of any kind, with the exception of Fire patrols, in the area. Reference Section H of the solicitation terms pertaining to Security for this project.

27 Who owns the buildings across the street on Runner Road?

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) owns four residences north of Runner Road. As these residences are on federal land, coordination with LADWP will be done by the Government.

28 Do start times for work need to be considered for the LADWP residents?

Yes. Refer to Section C.5 of the solicitation terms for info on work hours.

29 Is the bid date set or still pending and subject to get pushed out?

The current solicitation close date (offer due date) is considered final. The Government retains the right to re-evaluate solicitation dates at its discretion.

30* Is there a maximum weight capacity on the roads in the area and what happens if there is damage to the pavement?

There is no known weight limits on Forest Service owned roads. Los Angeles County Public Works maintains San Francisquito Canyon Road. The FS is awaiting a response to the inquiries of whether or not there are weight restrictions on the highway as well as San Francisquito Canyon Road.

Any damage to any of the pavement will be the responsibility of the contractor to repair.

31* Will water be paid by the Contractor or Forest Service for the LADWP temporary connection?

The Forest Service has not received a definitive answer from LADWP on payment of the water, but it will be available. The Government will follow-up on this question and provide a response as soon as it is available.

Agriculture (USDA)

Forest Service (FS)

Procurement and Property Services (PPS)

Specialized Project Operations Center (SPOC) Southwest Zone

Site Visit Meeting Minutes / Q&A | 12970224R0036 - San Francisquito Fire Station & Barracks Construction | Page 6 of 8

32 Will earthwork be balanced? Please confirm if the site is balanced, an import site, or export site.

The net excavation (cut) and embankment (fill) is calculated to be balanced (zero net) so there is no need to import or haul native material. Note there is an over-excavation requirement for the building and tank footprints. Refer to the contract drawings including, but not limited to, Sheets C-102, C-103, C-301. Refer to the contract specifications including, but not limited to, Division 31, Section 31 00 00 Earthwork. Refer to the geotechnical report for locations of borings and subsurface data.

33 Will site be cleared of equipment and materials currently stored there?

Yes, the project site is anticipated to be cleared of equipment and materials currently stored prior to the start of work.

34 Will all questions submitted as RFIs be available to all parties?

Yes. All requests for information (RFIs) will be posted to SAM.gov so all interested parties can review the Government's response during the solicitation open period.

35 What is the nearest city or town to the project site? Green Valley is a small town 10 minutes to the north (approximately 3.5 miles traveling north on San Francisquito Canyon Road); Santa Clarita is a larger city 20 minutes to the south (approximately 13.5 miles, traveling north on San Francisquito Canyon Road).

36 What is the closest location for mobile network reception?

There is no mobile network coverage at the project site. There could be reception in Lake Elizabeth area to the north (approximately 7.5 miles traveling north on San Francisquito Canyon Road) and City of Santa Clarita to the south (approximately 13.5 miles, traveling north on San Francisquito Canyon Road).

37 Is shoring required? If so will you please provide the docs or where I can locate them?

The Government does not envision that shoring will be required at this site, but it remains the responsibility of the contractor to comply with OSHA requirements to protect workers in trenches. If adverse subsurface conditions are encountered, benching or trench boxes would be allowable methods of protecting workers in trenches in lieu of shoring.

An important consideration is that the project will involve excavations and over-excavations (below the building footprints) that are deeper than 5 feet and therefore will require a shoring system or other suitable alternative such as benching/sloping for slopes of 5H:1V, per the specification and drawings. Refer to Division 1, Sections 01 35 26 and 31 00 00 of the specifications and Sheets C-301 and C-507 for additional information. It will be the responsibility of the contractor to ensure all trenching and excavations meet safety requirements of OSHA and International Building Code (IBC).

38 We have done extensive government work however in the past 3 years, it has been just a few government/private partnership projects. Will there be enough time to register with SAM.gov and become active between now and bid time of August 23rd?

Only the Federal Service Desk (https://www.fsd.gov/gsafsd_sp) can provide statuses and timelines for the process to register and become active on SAM.gov. You must have a Unique Entity ID, which could take up to 10 days. Here is a link to help you get started.

SAM.gov | Entity Registrations (https://sam.gov/content/entity-registration)

Agriculture (USDA)

Forest Service (FS)

Procurement and Property Services (PPS)

Specialized Project Operations Center (SPOC) Southwest Zone

Site Visit Meeting Minutes / Q&A | 12970224R0036 - San Francisquito Fire Station & Barracks Construction | Page 7 of 8

39 Do you anticipate a bid extension beyond August 23rd?

The project will involve excavations and over-excavations (below the building footprints) that are deeper than 5 feet and therefore will require a shoring system or other suitable alternative such as benching/sloping for slopes of 5H:1V, per the specification and drawings. Refer to Division 1, Sections 01 35 26 and 31 00 00 of the specifications and Sheets C-301 and C-507 for additional information. It will be the responsibility of the contractor to ensure all trenching and excavations meet safety requirements of OSHA and International Building Code (IBC).

40 How many bidders do you anticipate at bid time? The number of anticipated bidders is subjective and therefore cannot be provided. However, the Government typically expects to receive as least 3 responsive offers in response to a competitive solicitation.

41 Can we get a list of “interested bidders” or can you direct to the website location for said list?

The Government does not provide an interested bidders list.

However, SAM.gov has a section where interested offerors can provide company information. Please log into SAM.gov and access the contract opportunity (https://sam.gov/opp/6ea767f7bcf64162ab2e0a9ac92ea128/vie

w) to see the list. You must be logged in.

42 Can we get a list of the “Pre-Proposal Conference” attendees. The SAM.gov site says a onsite meeting was held on July 23rd and 24th.

The Government may provide limited company info for vendors that attended the site walks that occurred on the 23rd and 24th of July. Please follow the opportunity to see when that information is posted.

43 Would you consider modular construction for this project?

The only considerations for work anticipated for this project are specified in the solicitation statement of work and supporting attachments. The Government doesn’t anticipate accepting any offers that do not correspond to the SOW or specification requirements for this project.

44 The SF1442, item 13, notes the bid is due 823/24. In the Solicitation, under L.1, on page 40 of 53, the instructions note that the bid is due 8/16/24. Please clarify when this bid is due.

Currently, proposals are due 08/23/2024. However, the due date for this solicitation will be getting extended via amendment this week (week of 08/05/2024), along with the cutoff for Q&A so hopefully that will give interested offerors the chance to respond. See Amendment 1 to the solicitation for updates.

45* On sheet C003, keynote 6 has a match line that represents the separation of Base Bid Utilities and Option 1 Utilities. Is this also the separation line for all the site work i.e. sidewalks, curbs, gutters, asphalt, etc.?

The existing separations have already been identified. The Government does not anticipate making more separations.

Any changes to this current position will be identified via solicitation amendment. To provide a better response, the FS would need a submittal from the awarded contractor to better understand what is being requested for temp power, which would be setup once that information is known. Additional questions that will help facilitate the improved response and FS position on this that offerors may want to consider addressing in the plan of work:

- Will it be single phase or three phase?

- What secondary voltage is the contractor requesting?

- What loads is the contractor anticipating for the temp power?

- Where is the contractors proposed temp power pole location?

The contractor’s responses to these questions to include any additional useful info will determine temp power setup/application cost.

In regard to the payments, the contractor will need to contact SCE as SCE wants to utilize their meter setup similar to the permanent power setup. Therefore, SCE will be charging the temporary power costs.

Agriculture (USDA)

Forest Service (FS)

Procurement and Property Services (PPS)

Specialized Project Operations Center (SPOC) Southwest Zone

Site Visit Meeting Minutes / Q&A | 12970224R0036 - San Francisquito Fire Station & Barracks Construction | Page 8 of 8

Acronyms

Acronym Description CO Contracting Officer COR Contracting Officer Representative FAR Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) FS Forest Service GTM Government Technical Monitor LADWP Los Angeles Department of Water and Power RFIs Requests for Information SCE Southern California Edison USACE United States Army Corps of Engineers USDA United States Department of Agriculture USFS United States Forest Service