ACAD_309000_Solicitation_QandA_(1)_0004.pdf

ACAD 309000

Solicitation # 140P2024R0118

# Offeror Question NPS Response

It appears that the specs are calling for wood structures, would the government accept steel as a substitute for wood?

Per the specifications, the contractor has the option of substituting materials if they demonstrate and receive approval that the "substitution" is an or equal or better material. There are a lot of options (Concrete, steel, SIP, etc). This could be an issue regarding the loadbearing exterior wall assembly, generally, typically, we do not see a light metals gauge construction for the exterior assembly as it is not adequate for load bearing conditions.

Do the Superintendent, SSHO and QC Manager need to be 3 separate individuals?

The Superintendent role must be performed by one individual who solely has that responsibility. The Site Safety and Health Officer and Quality

Control Manager roles may be performed by one individual with those combined responsibilities.

Can the period of performance be extended after award once the material/equipment lead times are confirmed due to current market conditions for the equipment for this project?

It is a possibility, if the conditions under FAR 52.249-14 Excusable

Delays are met. Please review this FAR clause for further information.

4 Are any soil boring reports or geotechnical reports available? Boring logs are found at the end of the specifications

Drawing C5A shows (2) 4” conduits for electrical secondary conduits, but Drawing E4 Sheet 66 shows (2) sets of (4) 350 KCM with (1) 4” conduit and (1) 4” spare. Drawing E4 Sheet 123 similarly shows (2) sets of (4) 400 KCM with (1) 4” conduit and (1) 4” spare. Does this total (4) 4” conduits from each transformer pad to each building or can it be assumed that (2) conduits would be sufficient?

Secondary conduits from the transformer to the buildings shall consist of a total of (4) 4” conduits for electrical service. Please note that Drawing C5A and C5B has an incorrect callout on the secondary service connection from the transformers to the buildings. The callout on these plans should read “

(4) 4” ELECTRICAL SECONDARY CONDUITS (TYP) “, which shall apply to each building service.

Drawing E4 Sheet 66 shows (2) sets of (4) 350 KCM with (1) 4” conduit and (1) 4” spare. This building appears to be single phase. Please confirm that (3) 350 KCM and (3) 400 KCM will be sufficient or confirm that the service entrance equipment will need to be three phase.

The 6 plex building shall be single phase, 3 wire system.

The 8br dormitory building shall be three phase, 4 wire system.

Drawing FP2 Sheet 77 and Drawing FP2 Sheet 136 reference speaker strobes for the fire alarm system. Div. 28 specifications reference horn/strobe devices as the basis of design and there is no reference to a voice evacuation panel. Is it accurate to assume that only horn strobes will be required?

The speaker strobes referenced in the drawings reference horn/ strobes.

No requirement for voice evac, or speaker systems in either building type.

Division 27 specification 1.1D appears to be expecting all data cabling to be in conduit. This would be atypical in this installation and add a large amount of cost to the project. Would it be acceptable to install open data cabling? Per NPS standards, conduit shall be utilized.

Specification 26 05 19 2.1a specifies copper conductors only. Would it be acceptable to install aluminum conductors? Per NPS standards, copper conductors shall be utilized.

Spec section 26 09 13 Electrical Power Monitoring is included in the specifications, but seems to contradict the utility metering enclosures in the drawings. Will power monitoring or sub-metering be required for this project or is Versant responsible for providing metering equipment?

Per electrical note 21 on sheet 63 and 120, the contractor shall provide and install (1) digital meter per building in addition to Versant’s utility meter. In essence, there will be (2) meters per building, one of which is utility provided.

Would NM cable be an acceptable branch circuit wiring method for this project? Would SE cable be an acceptable wiring method for feeders? Contractor shall not utilize NM or SE cable for this project.

Is the electrical contractor responsible for the medium voltage cabling and terminations or is that included in the $25,000 Versant costs?

$25,000 is to be allotted for connection costs associated with primary power/transformer connections.

Primary power cables: Furnished and installed by Versant, Contractor to coordinate

Transformer: Utility furnished, owned, and installed, Contractor to coordinate

Transformer vault: Contractor to furnish and install

Secondary power, conduits, etc.: Contractor to furnish and install, including terminations

Will fiberoptic cabling be the provided by the utility or the electrical contractor?

The contractor shall provide and install all fiberoptic cabling required from the riser pole to each building’s network switch.

The contractor shall coordinate with the utility as required.

The light fixture schedule shows a “Type K” fixture with photocell control and 90-minute battery backup. It appears that the specified fixture does not have these options. Will the photocell control and 90-minute backup be required for this fixture type?

The type “k” fixture is an exterior wall mounted light fixture and is part of the life safety egress. Photocell control and 90min backup is required as part of life safety for egress pathways.

The panel schedule specify dual-function circuit breakers for the kitchen, refrigerator, and washing machine receptacles and GFCI breaker for the bathrooms, but the legend and drawings appear to call these out to be GFCI receptacles. Would it be acceptable to provide standard duplex receptacles and use the circuit breakers for

GFCI protection?

The Contractor may elect to utilize dual function breakers as long as the installation meets all required NEC guidelines.

The electrical drawings show thermostats and low voltage wiring. Will control wiring be the responsibility of Div. 26 or Div. 23?

The general contractor shall be responsible for all components of the project. The responsibility will be determined by the general contractor and sub-contractors.

Should the smoke/co combination detectors be system connected or

120v units? If system connected, would it be acceptable to provide separate smoke and carbon monoxide sensors for lower future maintenance cost, as the life expectancy of a carbon monoxide unit is considerably less than that of a smoke detector?

All fire alarm devices shall be addressable devices connected to a standard

FACP per plans and specifications. The Contractor shall ensure the system is installed with all appropriate devices, relays, sensors, etc. The 6 plex buildings shall be provided and installed with necessary components to ensure each individual fire device does not set off entire building in case of simple event. Separate smoke and CO devices may be utilized instead of combination units if so desired. All devices and systems shall meet all requirements set forth by building codes and NFPA 72.

The drawings show speaker strobes in all of the sleeping areas. Per code, these should be low frequency sounders. Should it be assumed that low frequency sounders will need to be provided for the bedrooms in place of the speaker strobes?

The speaker strobes shall be low frequency type. All devices, systems, and components shall be in accordance with NFPA 72 requirements. The

Contractor shall work with a NICET certified designer and installer to ensure compliance with all code requirements.

Would it be acceptable to provide NEMA3R Meter and Disconnect enclosures in place of the NEMA 4x? NEMA4X is considerably more expensive with extremely long lead times of 1-3 years.

NEMA 4X enclosures are required per NPS standards. In addition, given the environment where the project will be located NEMA 4X would be the most appropriate enclosure to utilize.

The AIC ratings in the drawings are not able to be achieved as designed. Would it be acceptable to provide 25KA protection on the main breakers for the 6-Plex Flats and series rate the panels to 10KA?

The panels need to be series rated to 10 KAIC to accept arc fault and dual function breakers. MDP-A and MDP-B also would need to be series rated after the main disconnect to be able to install arc fault and dual function breakers. Please confirm this is acceptable.

The AIC ratings of the gear and panels are required as indicated. Series rated equipment is not acceptable at this time. Dual function breakers may be swapped for the use of GFCI/AFCI receptacles or a combination of breakers/receptacles as required to meet NEC requirements.

072500 / 061600 The division 7 spec calls for Tyvek weather barrier, but the sheathing spec calls for the zip system which has a weather barrier, please advise which is desired.

Both are required. The Zip system WRB can deteriorate if not covered right away. Without the ability to control how long this system will be exposed to the elements, the design professional has specified a Tyvek type wrap to go over it. This approach has been reviewed with both Tyvek and Huber

(Standard Zip MFG) and this detail does not compromise the permeability of the wall.

073129-1.5A Calls for the installer of the cedar shingles and shakes to be a CSSB member. According to the CSSB website there is only one installer in the state of Maine that is a member. Can the qualification to be waived and substituted with adequate experience with installations of a similar size and complexity? This will help keep the cost lower, and help keep the schedule intact.

The Government will waive the requirement of CSSB membership for the cedar shingles and shakes installer provided Offeror demonstrates a minimum of 5 years of experience with installations of a similar size and complexity.

096519-3.2-E Spec calls for RH to be 75% on slabs before proceeding.

Given the location and proximity to the ocean in our experience it is unlikely to reach that level of RH. Is moisture mitigation going to be required? If so which products should be used?

75% is recommended by the flooring MFG and therefore a requirement of the specification. Means and methods are not dictated in the contract documents to achieve this RH value. Industry methods exist that can be implemented to achieve this criterion.

Is Builder’s Risk or Owner’s Protective insurance required of the contractor or will the government purchase their own policy?

NPS will not be purchasing their own Builder’s Risk policy. The contractor may choose to purchase own policy, but it is not required under the contract. Only performance/payment bonds and liability insurance are required under the contract.

Section 033000 3.18. This section says to engage a special inspector.

Who is to pay for the concrete testing? The contractor or the

Government? The Contractor.

The slide show from the pre-proposal conference has a slide about the Northern Long-Eared Bat. It states that tree removal is limited to prior to March 31 and after November 1. Is this project to start construction on November 2, 2024? Will the 540 calendar day duration clock start on November 2, 2024? The clock will start on November 2, 2024.

Section 321216 – 3.03 calls for a control test section to be 500 LF long and two lanes wide. That square footage is roughly ½ of the entire project scope for pavement, please confirm if this CTS is required at all, or if a smaller SF would suffice. Typically on a driveway pavement project we do not have any samples or mockups of pavement, please advise.

Specification Section 32 12 16 - 3.03 “Control Test Section” shall be considered Not-Applicable to this project and shall be struck from the contract documents in its entirety.

The reference to “Control Test Section” in 3.06, D., paragraph #2 shall be struck.

If the government awards CLIN 1 -4 (based bid) and then awards the option (CLIN 5-8) after 180 days as stated in the RFP, we would not be able to do any removal of trees until 1 November so we would loose the time for sitework (CLIN 7) between April 30, 2025 and 1 Nov 2025.

The optional CLINs would be exercised in less than 180 days, not more. If funding permits, NPS's intention is to exercise all of the optional CLINs at the time of contract award. If NPS were to exercise the options after contract award, we would do so with enough time for the contractor to remove trees during the winter of 2024/2025, and therefore begin sitework for the entire project during the spring of 2025.

The panelboard are for the 6-unit Bldgs are rated 42kAIC, the 8-unit

Bldgs. are rated at 65kAIC, and these both require Arc-Fault and

GFCI/Combination style breakers the combo breakers are not available in 42kAIC or 65kAIC ratings. One option might be to do a series rated system and install load centers in the units verses panelboards.

a. Is the series rated option acceptable?

b. Please confirm that 42kAIC and 65kAIC ratings are necessary

The panelboards for the 6 unit buildings shall be 120/208, 3 phase, 4 wire panels. This will allow the panels and breakers to be rated at 22k.

Alternatively, the panelboards can remain 42k, 120/240V, 1 phase and utilize AFCI/GFCI/DFCI receptacles or devices for all required branch circuits as required. If the 3 phase panelboards are utilized, the feeder wiring shall be increased by (1) conductor as required.

The 8br MDP-A shall remain as a 65k rated panelboard. The (4) dryer branch circuits, associated breakers, along with (1) HT-1 branch circuit and associated breaker shall be removed from MDP-A and relocated to MDP-B panelboard. MDP-A shall feed MDP-B via 3P225A breaker.

MDP-B shall be rated as 22k along with all required AFCI/GFCI/DFCI breakers. MDP-B shall be feed with (4) 4/0 Copper wires, along with a #4

Copper EGC. MDP-B shall utilize a main 3P225A breaker or fully rated service disconnect.

This is a residential application, the drawings indicate ¾” conduit for branch circuits.

a. Please confirm branch circuits need to be installed in conduit? Please include conduit for all feeders and branch circuits as indicated.

Will a substitute lighting package be accepted if it meets the minimum standards of the design package? NPS prefers the lighting package described in the specifications.