129JGP20Q0007.pdf

Placerville Nursery Container Growing Eldorado National Forest

129JGP20Q0007

129JGP20Q0007

Quotes Due: Friday December 20, 2019 by 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in

FAR Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation, proposal are being requested and written solicitation will not be issued.

Solicitation No. 129JGP20Q0007, issued as a request for quotation (RFQ).

The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through

Federal Acquisition Circular FAC 2019-01.

This is a total small business set-aside. The NAICS code is 111421 and small business size standard is $12 M.

1. DESCRIPTION OF WORK

The intent of this contract is to obtain services of growing containerized seedlings from government furnished seeds. Shipment of seedlings to the Placerville Nursery or other destination will be paid for with a separate government contract and are not a part of this contract requirement, although coordination with both contracted shipper and US Forest

Service program staff will be necessary.

Contractor Responsibility includes providing everything – including, but not limited to, all equipment, supplies, transportation, labor, and supervision – necessary to complete the project, except for that which the contract clearly states is to be furnished by the government.

Project Location & Description:

Government Location: Seedlings will be shipped to Placerville Nursery, 2375 Fruitridge Road, Camino, California.

Any prospective contractor desiring an explanation or interpretation of the solicitation, drawings, specifications, etc., must request it in writing from the Contracting Officer soon enough to allow a reply to reach all prospective contractors before the solicitation closing date.

Oral explanations or instructions given before the award of a contract will not be binding.

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2. DEFINITIONS

Items 1-5 – Container Packing

Block: Styrofoam cube of various sizes in which trees are grown.

Baggie: A quart size bag used for packaging trees for shipping in boxes.

Box: A cardboard container used to store or ship trees.

Plugs: Tree seedlings grown in Styrofoam blocks or plastic tubes.

Grading: Evaluating each plug for quality and contract specifications. Each plug will be evaluated for the following:

1. Height: length of seedling from cotyledon scar to tip of bud.

2. Caliper: the diameter of the stem of the tree just below the cotyledon scar.

3. Damage: any cut to the stem, broken top or stripped needles or roots.

4. Disease: any fungus, blistering or abnormal growth of the tree.

5. Color: brown or yellow foliage in the upper two thirds of the tree.

6. Adequate Roots: enough roots to support the tree after replanting – more roots that tree top.

Grit: Granular rock substance put on top of the medium in the plugs.

Medium: Planting mix in which the plugs grow in the blocks.

Terminal Bud: The bud located at the very tip or apex of the main growing stem.

Cotyledon Scar: The point on the main stem of the seedling where the first needles were attached. It is located just above the ground line and is discernible by a slight swelling or ridge around the stem where the first needles or "cotyledons" were or are attached to the seedling.

3. SPECIFIC WORK REQUIREMENTS:

The contractor shall:

a) Provide supervision, training, labor, and transportation except those specifically listed as Government-furnished.

b) Notify the COR or Inspector immediately of deficiencies or problems with seedlings.

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Item 1. White Fir Containers

Seedlings may be grown in a container that has a capacity of 10 cubic inches, such as styroblock

10D or equal. Container length (cavity depth) must be between 8 and 9 inches with a top diameter approximately 1.3 to 1.5 inches.

Item 2. Red Fir Containers

Seedlings may be grown in a container that has a capacity of 10 cubic inches, such as styroblock

10D or equal. Container length (cavity depth) must be between 8 and 9 inches with a top diameter approximately 1.3 to 1.5 inches.

Item 3. Sugar Pine Containers

Seedlings may be grown in a container that has a capacity of 10 cubic inches, such as styroblock

10D or equal. Container length (cavity depth) must be between 8 and 9 inches with a top diameter approximately 1.3 to 1.5 inches.

Item 4. Douglas Fir Containers

Seedlings may be grown in a container that has a capacity of 10 cubic inches, such as styroblock

10 or equal. Container length (cavity depth) must be between 6 and 7 inches with a top diameter approximately 1.7 to 1.9 inches.

Item 5. Ponderosa/Jeffery Pine Containers

Seedlings may be grown in a container that has a capacity of 6.6 cubic inches, such as styroblock 6 or equal. Container length (cavity depth) must be between 6 and 7 inches with a top diameter approximately 1.3 to 1.5 inches.

Containers Seedling growing:

Soil Media

Any combination of bark, peat moss, vermiculite, or soil (sand or clay) may be used providing not more than 20 percent is soil. The plug formed by the roots and soil medium must remain intact when pulled out of the cavity and must be firm enough to remain intact during normal handling associated with shipping and tree planting. The plug formed by the roots and growing media shall be moist. Packed seedlings shall not have any free water on the foliage.

Seed lot identification

All seed lots must be positively identified throughout the sowing and all stages of seedling growth and on all shipping containers. The standard Forest Service seed lot codes must be included in the identification.

Seedling specifications:

Species top height Tolerance Diameter Tolerance

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All 11 cm +/- 3cm 3.5mm +/- 1mm

Top height is measured to the nearest centimeter from the root collar, defined as a point 2.5cm below the cotyledon scar, to the top of the terminal bud.

Stem diameter is the cross-sectional diameter measured to the nearest 0.1 millimeter at a point

1.0 cm below the cotyledon scar.

Only one live seedling per cavity is permitted. The seedlings must have evident, tight terminal buds at time of scheduled delivery.

Root elongation from bottom of containers will be restricted by growing seedlings in a manner which will provide air-pruning of roots.

In addition to meeting the minimum size standards listed above, all acceptable seedlings must be alive and free of any disease, chlorosis or mechanical damage. All seedlings shall meet phyto-sanitary certification regulations of any State (California or grower State or Province) and any U.S. Federal regulations pertaining to shipments of plants into the U.S. and the State of

California.

Conditioning for Field Planting

Beginning at least 45 days immediately prior to the delivery date, the seedlings shall be gradually hardened off. This may include reducing the amounts of water and /or fertilizer and also exposing the seedlings to ambient temperatures and /or shortened day-length. Full dormancy shall be attained by December 15 of each year.

Packing and Shipping of containers or Plugs

a. The containers or plug seedlings shall be prepared for transportation prior to delivery as follows or by mutually agreeable alternative methods.

b. Seedlings shall be removed from tubes and crates, and packed vertically approximately 10-15 seedlings to each individual plastic bag. Plastic bags containing seedlings shall then be packed in heavy-waxed treated corrugated paper boxes (used in the conifer tree seedling industry) containing a moisture barrier on the bottom.

c. Seedlings shall be cooled to 31 degrees F minimum to 33 F for three days prior to shipping.

d. Stored trees shall be maintained at 32-34 degrees F and with 90% + relative humidity inside the boxes. A recording hydro thermograph shall be used in the tree storage room. The recordings shall be available for inspection by the Contracting Officer’s Representative.

e. Each box shall be identified with two labels; labels shall be placed on one side and one end, with a minimum of one-inch numerals. The label shall contain species, elevation, number of seedlings, seed lot number, and bid item number. The seed lot number shall incorporate the

Placerville Nursery Seed Lot ID.

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f. The plug seedlings shall be delivered without being subjected to drying, freezing, or delays.

Once the trees are in shipment they must not be allowed to sit on docks or in any way be delayed during transit. Moisture stress will be equal to or less than one atmosphere of pressure.

Technical Specifications - GRADING/PACKING

The following are general grading criteria for acceptable seedlings:

Color -- Conifer seedlings should be a blue-green to yellow-green in color. Depending on age and species, variations in green may occur and reasonable tolerances will be made.

Form -- General form for acceptable seedlings will be free of kinked root systems and abnormal stem swelling, and the seedling meets height, caliper and root length specifications. Due to some genetic characteristics and traits, acceptable form characteristics for one seedling source may be unacceptable for another.

The following are defects that render seedlings unusable. Seedlings with any of these defects are to be discarded as culls:

(a) Any injury to the main stem or tap root.

(b) Diseased tops or roots.

(c) Roots pruned too short during lifting.

(d) Dead trees, or more than 50% dead foliage on 1-0 and more than 20% of second year foliage on 2-0, 3-0 and transplants.

(e) Roots with loops, knots, twists, crooks or discernible creases.

(f) "J" or "L" shaped roots if the angle of turn is greater than 45 degrees, and measured greater than 5cm horizontally from the terminal root.

(g) Torn roots if the tear occurs above where the pruning cut will occur.

(h) Stripped roots where the live cambium and bark is pulled off.

(i) Little or no fine roots or root hairs. (For 2-0 each lateral root should have 60% coverage of root hairs; for 1-0 each lateral root should have 40% coverage.)

4. GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY

The Government will provide the following item(s) of Government property to the Contractor for use in the performance of this contract. This property shall be used and maintained by the

Contractor in accordance with the provisions of the "Government Property" FAR clause contained elsewhere in the contract.

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The Contractor will be using a variety of equipment including grading belts, staplers, seedling poppers, root pruners, bagging devices, plastic tubs, trowels, and seedling sterilization equipment.

5. CONTRACTOR FURNISHED CRITICAL ITEMS

The Contractor shall provide all labor, housing, supervision, transportation, permits, testing, tools, and material and incidentals necessary to perform the requirements of the contract.

6. RESTRICTIONS ON WORK

Work may be performed at any time during the period of the contract, except as outlined here.

Nothing in this part shall be construed to take away any of the Government's rights under the

Suspension of Work Clause (52.242-14). Restrictions are as follows:

1. Seedling deliveries to the Placerville Nursery must be mutually agreed upon before delivery and can only be accepted between the hours of 8 am and 3:30 pm, Monday through Friday. Receipt of the seedlings at Camino, Ca. is expected between January 15, 2019 and March 1, 2019 unless otherwise agreed upon.

7. INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

Government inspections are for the purpose of satisfying the Government that the services are acceptable and do not relieve the Contractor of the responsibility for maintaining quality control.

The Contracting Officer's Representative or designated inspector will conduct all inspections.

The Contractor (or designated representative) is encouraged to be present to observe inspections. Summary results will be made available on request.

Compliance Inspections

Visual compliance inspections will be made on a periodic basis. Such inspections are not final and do not constitute acceptance by the Government.

Final Inspections

Final (formal) inspections for payment will be made on completed sub-items only. Contractor shall request final inspections in writing and give the Forest Service at least two working days advanced notice. Inspections will be completed within four working days after the notice is received if the work is not ready for inspection at the time specified by the Contractor, the cost associated with the inspection attempt may be charged to the Contractor.

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Disputed Inspection

The same sampling and inspection procedures will be used, but new samples will be taken. The inspection pattern will be shifted so that new samples will not overlap previously inspected samples. Results will be rounded to the nearest whole percent.

No reinspection will be available.

Sampling (Government’s inspection system)

Randomly selected lots will be inspected upon delivery. The government may also visit the facility throughout the growing season. All facility visits will be coordinated prior to arrival.

Specific Inspection Procedures

Selection of crop trees: Each selected tree shall meet the standard in section C. Damaged trees will not count as selected trees.

Acceptance

Acceptance Level

Work on this contract will be deemed acceptable when all specified trees are lifted, packed, or destroyed as per the technical specifications. The government will also have first option to purchase, at contract prices, any quantity produced in excess of contract requirements.

8. COMMENCEMENT, PROSECUTION, & COMPLETION OF WORK

(FAR 52.211-10) (APR 1984)

The Contractor shall be required to (a) commence work under this contract within 10 calendar days after the date the Contractor receives the notice to proceed, (b) prosecute the work diligently, and (c) complete the entire work.

9. PAYMENT

Payments and Deductions.

This is a performance based contract with disincentives for poor performance. Reductions in performance will result reductions in pay on a per Unit (bid item) basis. Payment will be based on the quality of work perfumed on a sliding scale See ACCEPTANCE section for details.

Deductions

In accordance with the inspection clause, payment may be made for less than fully acceptable work at a reduced price. Other exceptions are noted below:

[ X] Liquidated damages will be charged as follows:

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Additional Charges. The Contractor will be charged for the following damage, loss, waste or abuse of Government property and seedlings:

Seed – Improper handling of seed by exposure to excessive heat, inadequate stratification periods, or loss of seed:

o Ponderosa, Jeffery, and Sugar Pine seed = $220 per pound o Douglas Fir - $390 per pound o California and Shasta Red Fir, White Fir = $360 per pound

Contract Release.

Before final payment will be made the Contractor shall sign a release of all claims against the

Government arising by virtue of this contract, other than claims, in stated amounts, that the

Contractor has specifically excepted from the operation of the release. A release may also be required of the assignee if the Contractor's claim to amounts payable under this contract has been assigned under the Assignment of Claims Act of 1940 (31 U.S.C. 3727 and 41 U.S.C. 15).

10. CONTRACTING OFFICER’S REPRESENTATIVE

Name: Wade Bell

The Contracting Officer designates the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR). The COR is responsible for administering the performance of work under this contract. In no event, however, will any understanding, agreement, modification, change order, or other matter deviating from the terms of this contract be effective or binding upon the Government unless formalized by proper contractual documents executed by the Contracting Officer prior to completion of the contract.

The Contracting Officer should be informed as soon as possible of any actions or inactions by the Contractor or the Government which will change the required delivery or completion times stated in the contract, and the contract will be modified accordingly. (This does not apply to individual task assignments which were issued by the COR provided they do not affect the delivery schedule or performance period stated in the contract.)

On all matters that pertain to the contract terms, the Contractor must communicate with the

Contracting Officer. Whenever, in the opinion of the Contractor, the COR requests effort outside the scope of the contract, the Contractor should so advise the COR. If the COR persists and there still exists a disagreement as to proper contractual coverage, the Contracting Officer should be notified immediately, preferably in writing if time permits. Proceeding with work without proper contractual coverage could result in nonpayment or necessitate submittal of a contract claim.

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11. EVALUATION CRITERIA

Award Determination

Award will be made to the offeror whose acceptable offer provides the best value to the government, considering price and the non-price factors listed below. Non-price evaluation factors, when combined, are less important than cost or price.

The selection official will base the award decision on a tradeoff between price and non-price factors, comparing the relative risk to the government of poor or non-performance posed by each of the offerors, and making a judgment as to whether or not reduced risk of performance is worth the additional cost. Although price is more important than the other factors, award will not be based solely on price, and in some cases award may be made to a higher-priced but higher-ranked offer.

Evaluation Factors

Acceptability of the Offer

The Government will determine the acceptability of each offer on a pass or fail basis. An offer is acceptable when it manifests the offeror's assent, without exception, to the terms and conditions of the RFP, including attachments. If an offeror takes an exception to any of the terms and conditions of the RFP, then the Government will consider its offer to be unacceptable.

Capability of the Offeror

The Government will assess the capability of each offeror on the basis of the following criteria which are of approximately equal value: (1) Organizational Experience, (2) Organizational Past

Performance, and (3) Understanding of the Government's requirements. The Government will not assess capability on a pass/fail basis, but will use its assessments of capability as a basis for comparing offerors to determine best value.

(1) Organizational Experience. Experience is the opportunity to learn by doing. The

Government will evaluate each offeror's organizational experience on the basis of its breadth, its depth, and its relevance to the work that will be required under the prospective contract.

The Government will not evaluate an offeror's organizational experience on the basis of the personal experience of the offeror's key personnel. However, the Government will consider the extent to which the offeror's key personnel have worked together in the past. The Government will evaluate the organizational experience of the offeror's proposed key subcontractors.

(2) Organizational Past Performance. Past performance is a measure of the degree to which an offeror satisfied its customers in the past and complied with Federal, state, and local laws and regulations. The Government will contact some of each offeror's customers to ask whether or not that: (1) that the offeror was capable, efficient, and effective; (2) the offeror's performance

129JGP20Q0007

conformed to the terms and conditions of its contract (specifications); (3) finished within the contract time; (4) the offeror was reasonable and cooperative during performance; and (5) the offeror was committed to customer satisfaction. In evaluating past performance, the

Government will contact some of the references provided by the offeror and other sources of information, including, but not limited to: Federal, state, and local government agencies, better business bureaus, published media, and electronic data bases. The Government may evaluate the organizational past performance of the offeror's proposed key subcontractors.

(3) Understanding of the Government's Requirements. The Government will evaluate each offeror's relative understanding of the Government's requirements on the basis of its written submittals addressing the following sub factors:

a) Any information that indicates the extent to which the site for this project was visited.

b) The results concluded from the site visit.

c) The resources (personnel and equipment) which are planned for use on the project, and how realistic that plan is given concurrent obligations.

d) Site-specific safety plan.

e) Plan of work.

f) Where applicable, estimated production rates.

g) The offeror will submit a safety plan for this specific project that will address, among other things, a communications plan, egress of injured workers and protection of the public and Government personnel.

(4) Cost of shipping required to transport the seedlings to the Placerville Nursery, 2375

Fruitridge Road, Camino, CA 95709

The seedlings will be shipped in a refrigerated truck kept at 33 to 35 degrees F with a thermograph used to monitor temperature. The Government has an existing contract for shipping that will be used and the cost of shipping will be obtained by using the mileage rate the Government Contractor shows in their existing awarded contract. This will also take into account shipping delays experienced by shipping across state lines which require agricultural inspections and the purchase of agricultural permits by those states.

12. PROVISIONS

The following provisions apply to this acquisition:

FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors – Commercial Items (OCT 2018)

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FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation – Commercial Items (OCT 2014)

FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications – Commercial Items (OCT 2018)

13. CLAUSES

The following clauses apply to this acquisition:

FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions – Commercial Items (OCT 2018)

FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required To Implement Statutes or Executive

Orders – Commercial Items (JAN 2019) applies to this acquisition and is hereby incorporated by reference.

The following additional FAR clauses cited within the clause at 52.212-5 are applicable to this acquisition:

52.219-6, Notice of Total Small Business Set-Aside (Nov 2011) (15 U.S.C. 644)

52.219-28, Post Award Small Business Program Rerepresentation (Jul 2013) (15 U.S.C. 632(a)(2))

52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities (Apr 2015)

52.222-26, Equal Opportunity (Sep 2016) (E.O. 11246)

52.222-36, Equal Opportunity for Workers with Disabilities (Jul 2014) (29 U.S.C. 793)

52.222-50, Combating Trafficking in Persons (JAN 2019) (22 U.S.C. chapter 78 and E.O. 13627)

52.223-18, Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging while Driving (Aug 2011)

(E.O. 13513).

52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer--System for Award Management (Oct 2018)

(31 U.S.C. 3332)

52.222-41, Service Contract Labor Standards (Aug 2018) (41 U.S.C. chapter 67.)

52.222-42, Statement of Equivalent Rates for Federal Hires (May 2014) (29 U.S.C. 206 and 41

U.S.C. chapter 67)

52.222-62, Paid Sick Leave Under Executive Order 13706 (JAN 2017) (E.O. 13706)

52.223-2, Affirmative Procurement of Biobased Product under the Service and Construction

Contracts (Sep 2013)

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14. SUBMISSION OF QUOTES

Offers are due on Friday December 20, 2019 by 2:00 p.m. PT

Offers can be emailed to: Annie Prout-Garcia annie.prout-garcia@usda.gov

General Instructions. Quotes submitted in response to this solicitation shall be furnished in the following format with the numbers of copies as specified below:

The quotation must be prepared in two parts: a "Technical (Volume 1)" and “Cost (Volume 2)".

Each of the parts shall be separate and complete in itself so that evaluation of one may be accomplished independently of, and concurrently with, evaluation of the other. The technical

Quote must not contain reference to cost; however adequate information must be contained in the technical Quote so that the contractor's understanding of the scope of work may be evaluated.

Offerors are cautioned that sufficient and detailed information must be presented in their technical Quotes to enable the Government to evaluate their Quotes fully in accordance with the evaluation and award criteria contained herein. The Government is not obligated to ask for additional information and in the absence of appropriate information; the Quote will be rated deficient.

Offerors shall submit their Quote(s) in the following format and the quantities specified:

COST - Pricing should reflect firm fixed price effort utilizing the Government provided pricing sheet. Contractor shall reflect full costs.

Offerors shall submit quotes to: As a minimum, quotes shall include:

Cost – Complete Attached Schedule of items

Acknowledgement of and Solicitation Amendments Please be sure to include the following information in your package:

Solicitation No. 129JGP19Q0007

Name, address, phone number, and email address of offeror

DUNS Number – with ACTIVE System for Award Management (SAM) registration mailto:annie.prout-garcia@usda.gov

PROJECT

UNIT

SOL #

ITEM NO. DESCRIPTION UNIT QTY UNIT PRICE TOTAL PRICE

CONTAINER SEEDLINGS (10 Cubic Inch or Equivalent) by Species:

1 White Fir 20 $ $ 2 Red Fir 50 $ $ 3 Sugar Pine 25 $ $ 4 Douglas Fir 1 $ $ 5 Ponderosa/Jeffery Pine 1 $ $

NOTES

Signature

Vendor

Address

129JGP20Q0007

Phone:

Fax:

Email:

POC:

DUNS:

PRICE SUBMITTED BY

1. Responses for quantities less than those listed in the numbered items may be rejected

2. Responses without prices for each item and sub-item may be rejected.

Total

SCHEDULE OF ITEMS

SECTION B - REVISED

SUPPLIES OR SERVICES & PRICE/COST

129JGP20Q0007

Container Growing for Reforestation Eldorado National Forest - Placerville Nursery