12FPC325R0052 Instructions to Offerors - Mississippi.pdf

Solicitation Number: 12FPC325R0052

Title: Professional Surveying Services – USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service – Mississippi

INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS

A. GENERAL

ALL INFORMATION NEEDED FOR INTERESTED PARTIES TO SUBMIT A STANDARD FORM

330 (SF330), ARCHITECT-ENGINEER (A-E) QUALIFICATIONS IS CONTAINED HEREIN. THERE IS NO

SEPARATE REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) PACKAGE TO DOWNLOAD.

Professional Surveying firms that have the capability to perform this work are invited to submit one electronic copy of Standard Form 330 for their proposed team, including the prime firm and all joint venture partners, subcontractors, consultants and free-lance associates, to the email address below not later than the closing date of this announcement. The SF330 Part I shall not exceed 75 pages (8.5-in x 11-in) in total, including no more than 20 pages for Section H. Offerors are advised that the Government will not consider pages submitted beyond the page limits. The Government will stop evaluating proposals on page 75 for the SF330 Part I and page 20 for Section H. Use font type no smaller than size 11. Firms responding to this announcement after the closing date and time will NOT be considered. Required forms may be obtained at: Forms | GSA | SF330

The Government will not make assumptions concerning intent, capabilities, or experiences. Clear identification of proposal details shall be the sole responsibility of the Offeror. The proposal shall meet the following basic requirements. Additionally, the Government will not consider information submitted outside of the section required for a particular criterion. For example, the Government will consider only the information in the SF330, Part I, Section F for information on Criterion 3, Specialized Experience, and will not cross-reference or consider information in other sections that may be intended to apply or supplement Criterion 3.

B. CONTRACT INFORMATION

This acquisition is for A-E services and is procured in accordance with the Selection of Architects and Engineers statute as implemented in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 36.6.

A-E firms meeting the requirements described in this announcement are invited to submit the documentation required in this notice. Firms responding to this announcement before the closing date will be considered for selection, subject to any limitation indicated with respect to business size or any other limitations listed in this notice.

The Government anticipates establishing up to three (3) Firm Fixed-Price (FFP) Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ), Multiple Award Task Order Contracts (MATOC) for Easement Boundary Surveying and Re-Establishment Services as a result of this request for qualifications.

Contract awards will be for a base period of one year with four (4) one year option periods for a total of five years. It is anticipated that each individual MATOC holder will have an initial total ordering limitation of $5 million. The total shared capacity amongst all MATOC holders will not exceed $15 million over the five (5) year ordering period.

Task orders will be awarded as firm-fixed price procurements subject to satisfactory negotiation after a fair opportunity evaluation of the firms holding IDIQ contracts.

Fair opportunity consideration will be performed and documented for each order and will include additional evaluation of each firms:

(1) Geographic location – as compared to the specific survey requirement;

(2) Current capacity to accomplish the work – given the number and progress of existing survey requirements; and

(3) Past performance – on current and past survey requirements under this contract.

The individual task order minimum ordering amount is $2,500 and the maximum ordering amount is $500,000.00.

Anticipated Award: The contract is anticipated to be awarded in the 2nd Quarter FY25.

Place of Performance: State of Mississippi – as follows:

North American Industrial Classification System code is 541370, Surveying and Mapping (except Geophysical) Services.

Set-aside: This announcement is 100% small business set-aside.

Size Standard: $19 million

C. PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) requires the services a professional land surveyor, licensed or registered in the State of Mississippi to complete legal easement boundary surveys and reestablishment of existing easement boundaries in accordance with the attached specification (dated June 2018 and to be updated prior to award).

The work will consist of performing all surveys, measurements, computations, drawings, descriptions, monumentation, and markings required.

For original easement boundary survey services, the surveyor will be provided minimally with a deed, preliminary title search, location map of the proposed easement area. The map will include the area to be surveyed, the ingress and egress routes or points of access, and any other applicable descriptive information.

For Re-establishment of easement boundaries, the surveyor will be provided with a location map, map with aerial photograph of the easement area, copy of the recorded Warranty Easement Deed including exhibits, and any final survey maps or plats from the acquisition of the conservation easement. In addition, the surveyor will be provided a map that identifies the easement boundary, or portion thereof, that needs to be reestablished, or the ingress and egress route or point of access to the easement area that needs to be reestablished, and any other applicable descriptive information.

The surveyor must furnish plat maps, written descriptions of the easement area, suitable electronic media of the survey information, and other items as required by the Land Survey/Re-Establishment Survey Specification.

Firms must provide services meeting all local laws and requirements. Firms shall be licensed and registered in the State of Mississippi. Survey work shall consist of performing all surveys, measurements, computations, drawings, and descriptions according to the attached Land Survey/Re- Establishment Survey Specification.

D. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

1. General Submission Requirements. All submissions to this announcement shall be submitted electronically via email to Contract Specialist, Tasha Kennedy at natasha.kennedy@usda.gov and Contracting Officer, Brian Dwyer at brian.dwyer@usda.gov.

a. No paper copies, CD-ROMs, or facsimile submissions will be accepted.

b. It is the responsibility of the Offeror to ensure receipt.

c. All amendments will be made available for viewing in www.sam.gov . It shall be the

Offeror’s responsibility to check the website for any amendments.

2. File Size Limitations. Offerors are advised that the file size limitation is 20MB due to email server restrictions. If needed, Offerors are advised to break the files down into smaller sections and deliver in separate emails. In such cases, please divide the sections as logically as possible and be sure to clearly name the files as specified below.

3. File Names. To ensure your submission is received and processed appropriately, it is important that interested parties CAREFULLY ensure their electronic files adhere to the following naming convention: Each filename shall begin with the Solicitation number, followed by the word “RESPONSE,” followed by your firm’s name, and finally a brief file description. EXAMPLES:

a. “12FPC325R0052 RESPONSE SF330-Part I-Firm Name.pdf”

b. “12FPC325R0052 RESONSE SF330-Part I-Section E- Firm Name.pdf”

c. “12FPC325R0052 RESPONSE SF330-Part II-Firm Name.pdf”

d. “12FPC322R0052 RESPONSE PPQ-Firm Name.pdf”

4. File Organization, Formatting, and other instructions. Although hard copies are not accepted, each file shall be clearly indexed, and logically assembled. Font size shall be 11 or larger. Pages shall be letter sized. Offerors shall prepare responses in the English language.

Responses shall be in a narrative format, organized and titled so that each section of the proposal follows the order and format of the factors. Information presented should be organized so as to pertain to only the criteria factor in the section that the information is presented. Responses shall completely and adequately address the requirements of this qualification submission request.

Offerors are reminded that elaborate corporate marketing information, formatting, special reproduction techniques, etc., are not necessary. Failing to submit attachments or failing to complete the responses properly may result in rejection without further evaluation.

Information pertaining to more than one criteria factor should be repeated in the each section for each factor. Electronic files shall be Microsoft Windows compatible. Files shall be submitted in their native format (i.e., doc, xls, ppt, etc.), or if in pdf format, and shall be in searchable text. If the electronic files are of a size at which they must be compressed (zipped), they shall be compressed into one zipped folder.

5. Submission & Deadline.

a. Interested parties shall submit responses no later than 1:00 pm eastern time on

October 04, 2025.

b. The time & date of proposal receipt will be the delivery time & date recorded on the

Government’s server. Do not assume that electronic submission will occur instantaneously. Offerors should time their submission with prudence by not waiting until the last day—this will allow for unexpected delays in the transmittal process and troubleshooting. Offerors are encouraged to keep a copy of the delivery and/or read confirmation for their record but shall also request confirmation.

c. Submission of proposals after the deadline will be considered late and as such will be processed in accordance with FAR 15.208.

E. MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS

The following are mandatory requirements:

Must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM).

In accordance with the FAR 36.601-4(b), the firm must be a registered/licensed Surveyor to be eligible for award. The firm must provide proof that it is permitted by law to practice the professions of land surveying in Mississippi (e.g., copy of registration or certification certificate). Failure to submit the required proof could result in a firm’s elimination from consideration.

Firms must have the ability to field multiple survey crews capable of performing real property boundary surveys simultaneously.

Firms have performed property boundary surveys in accordance with State Specific Land Surveying Practices Laws and Regulations within the last five years.

Firms must have the ability to perform GPS surveys.

F. SYSTEM FOR AWARD MANAGEMENT

To be eligible for award, a firm must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) database, via the SAM website at https://www.sam.gov.

G. INQUIRIES

Offerors with technical inquiries and any other questions shall submit their inquiries via email to Contract Specialist, Tasha Kennedy at natasha.kennedy@usda.gov and Contracting Officer, Brian Dwyer at brian.dwyer@usda.gov.

Offerors are requested to review the requirements in its entirety prior to submission of a new inquiry.

The Government reserves the right to decline addressing certain questions. Further, no questions, unless in the Government’s interest, will be answered any later than 10 business days prior to the stated deadline. It is the Offeror’s responsibility to monitor www.sam.gov for posting of inquiries and responses.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Standard Form 330s will be evaluated to determine the most highly qualified firm based on responses to selection criteria. Failure to provide requested data or to comply with the instructions in this Request for Qualifications could result in a firm being considered less qualified or eliminated from consideration. The Selection of Architects and Engineers Statute and FAR Part 36.6 selection procedures apply. The firm must demonstrate the team’s qualifications with respect to the published evaluation criteria. Failure to provide complete submission information defined in the evaluation criteria below may affect a firm’s qualification ratings. Evaluation Criteria (1) through (5) are considered important and are equal among themselves.

The following selection criteria, in descending order of importance, will be used to evaluate the qualifications of the firms:

(1) Criterion 1 - Professional Qualifications (SF330, Part I, Sections D, E & G and Part II): The firm must identify the qualifications of personnel in the following key disciplines: Professional Land Surveyor (PLS); Survey Party Chief, and Surveying Technician. The PLS must be a licensed registered land surveyor in the State of Mississippi. Firms shall possess professional qualifications necessary for satisfactory performance of required services similar in nature to those required as part of this requirement. Submittals should demonstrate that the firm’s staff is capable of certifying that all work is in compliance with the state laws and regulations. Examples of previous legal boundary and easement survey work shall be provided for review, as well as a description of the type of surveys performed and references with phone numbers.

The Government will evaluate and consider the education, training, certification, overall and relevant experience and longevity with the proposed team. Evaluation will include the level of formal education, continuing education, the number of years licensed, the number of years of experience, and involvement in professional activities/organizations. Evaluation will be based upon the professional land surveying registration and qualified personnel work experience associated with legal boundary surveys, and their availability to work on this contract. Previous legal boundary work examples will be evaluated based on the complexity of work.

Firms with three or more licensed PLS in the state of Mississippi, will be rating higher than those with less;

Firms with Survey Party Chiefs and Surveying Technicians with 5 or more years of experience will receive higher rating than those with less; and, The higher degree of complexity of legal boundary survey work, the higher the rating.

(2) Criterion 2 - Knowledge of Locality (SF330, Part I, Section C, F, H): Firms shall provide evidence of their knowledge of the locality and general geographical area for the State of Mississippi.

Evaluation will be based on the firm's proximity to the contract area and ability to provide service in a cost-effective manner as well as past rural boundary and easement survey work experience in the contract area of similar size and scope. For firms outside the State of Mississippi (but licensed and registered in the State of Mississippi) submit a plan to provide service in a cost-effective manner. Firms must clearly indicate the office location from which work will be performed.

Firms with field and office staff located within the general geographic area will be rated higher than firms outside of the general geographic area; and, Firms that have performed rural boundary surveys of similar size and scope within the geographic area will be rated higher than those with similar experience outside of the geographic area.

(3) Criterion 3 - Specialized Experience and Technical Competence (SF330, Part I, Section F and Part II): Submittals must demonstrate the specialized experience and technical competence of the prime firm, joint venture partners, consultants, key subcontractors and/or free-lance associates. The Offeror shall submit a maximum of six (6) projects total, all six projects must be completed within the last five (5) years, from the date of this solicitation and must be in the types of projects specifically indicated above in Instructions to Offerors under Paragraph B, PROJECT DESCRIPTION. Projects must be 100% complete. If more than six projects are submitted, only the first six projects listed in the proposal will be evaluated. Each project example should include the following information: which prime firm, partner, consultant or key subcontractors executed the project, a description/ narrative/ photos of the project, scope, location, contract dollar award amount and final dollar cost, the start date, original contract finish date, the actual finish date, customer POC with current phone number and email information. Projects should also list any key personnel that worked on the submitted projects.

Indefinite-Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Contracts, where numerous Task Orders are listed together, are not acceptable as projects. Rather each Task Order is considered a project.

The Government will evaluate the specialized experience of a firm on similar projects and technical capabilities of the prime firm and any subcontractors. Evaluation will be based on the extent of directly related experience in performing legal boundary and easement surveys; specialized education at the university level, and all other applicable education and training in the engineering and land surveying disciplines. Examples of previous rural and remote boundary survey work in Mississippi shall be provided for review. Previous work examples of rural and remote boundary and easement survey work in Mississippi will be evaluated based on difficulty of terrain.

Firms with PLS with more than 10 years of experience in legal boundary surveying will be rated higher than those with less;

Firms with PLS with master’s degree and above will be rated higher than those with less; and, Example projects demonstrating rural and remote boundary survey work in swampland, bog, and upland marsh terrain will be rated higher than those in upland terrain.

(4) Criterion 4 - Capacity to Perform the Work (SF330, Part I, Section H): Firms shall have the capacity to accomplish the work in the required time with sufficient resources. The firm shall demonstrate their ability and any subcontractors or partners, to provide survey services within the geographic region. Considerations will include the overall capacity of the prime and any subcontractors or partners' capacity to perform the work in the required time. Firms must address and demonstrate capacity to execute multiple task orders simultaneously. Availability of an adequate field equipment as follows: quantity and size of survey crew trucks, all-terrain vehicles, airboats, boats, survey equipment, and AutoCAD software applications.

The Government will evaluate and consider the availability of an adequate number of personnel in key disciplines. Evaluation will be based on the number of qualified personnel available to work on this contract and ability to successfully execute multiple task orders simultaneously. The array of field equipment and software/hardware available to work on this contract, and the quantity of work currently under contract and the completion dates of existing contract work.

Firms with the ability to field more than two survey crews will be rated higher than those with the ability to field two or less;

Firms with more than two CAD technicians will be rated higher than those with two or less; and Those firms with more than two fully equipped survey crew vehicles, RTK GPS survey units, all terrain vehicles and survey boats/shallow draft vessels will rate higher than those with two or less.

5) Criterion 5 - Past Performance: SUBMIT A COMPLETED CPARS EVALUATION FOR EACH

PROJECT UNDER CRITERION 1. IF A COMPLETED CPARS EVALUATION IS NOT

AVAILABLE, the Past Performance Questionnaire (PPQ) (Attachment 2) included in this notice is provided for the firm or its team members to submit to the client for each project included under Criterion 3, Specialized Experience and Technical Competence. DO NOT SUBMIT A PPQ WHEN A

COMPLETED CPARS IS AVAILABLE.

IF A CPARS EVALUATION IS NOT AVAILABLE, ensure correct phone numbers and email addresses are provided for the client point of contact. Completed PPQs should be submitted with the SF330. If the firm is unable to obtain a completed PPQ from a client for a project(s) before the response date set forth in this notice, firms should complete and submit with their responses the first page of the PPQ (Attachment 3), which will provide contract and client information for the respective project(s).

Firms should follow-up with clients/references to ensure timely submittal of questionnaires. If requested by the client, questionnaires may be submitted directly to the Government's point of contacts via email at natasha.kennedy@usda.gov and brian.dwyer@usda.gov, prior to the response date. Firms shall not incorporate by reference into their response PPQs or CPARS previously submitted in response to other A-E services procurements.

The prime contractor and/or team members shall provide information to demonstrate how well the firm has performed on recent (within 5 years) relevant projects performed for any of the following entities:

Governmental agencies (i.e. Federal or State), and/or private industry in terms of cost control, quality of product/work and compliance with performance schedules similar in nature to the work required as part of this announcement.

Evaluating past performance and experience will include information provided in Past Performance Questionnaires (PPQs) or Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) for Criterion 3 projects that demonstrate recent relevant specialized experience in areas as detailed in

Criterion 3 and may include customer inquiries, Government databases, and other information available to the Government including contacts with points of contact in other criteria.

Attachments:

Attachment 1A – Land Survey Specification rev June 2018 with addendum Attachment 1B – Land Survey Re-establishment Specification rev June 2018 Attachment 2 – Past Performance Questionnaire