B08 Attachment 6 140P5121Q0006 RFQ QA KEMO Haz Tree Removal_0002.pdf

Amendment 0002; RFQ # 140P5121Q0006 Attachment 0006

Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park

Removal of hazardous trees and limbs on the Visitor Center grounds, Kennesaw Mountain Trail and Little Kennesaw

Mountain trail Solicitation # 140P5121Q0006

Questions and Answers

Question 1. Could you please tell me if the Combined Synopsis/Solicitation posted as solicitation number 140P5121Q0006 will be a follow-on requirement to any work performed currently or in the past, or will this be a new requirement?

Answer: This is a new requirement.

Question 2. If possible, can you please provide the most recent contract or task order number?

Answer: The previous contract number is 140P5119P0046 and expired June 2020.

Question 3. Can a contractor utilize an employee's arborist certification to meet eligibility?

Answer: Yes.

Question 4. What is the quantity of trees that must be hauled away off site?

Answer: All 237 hazardous trees can be felled and left off the trail as whole within park boundaries with no haul away required. Tree stumps are to be cut at ground level.

**NOTE** Felled trees shall not be left at or near healthy trees/saplings.

Question 5. Of the trees that can be felled and left in place, do they need to be cut up or can the tree be left whole?

Answer: See response to question #4 above.

Question 6. When “cutting stumps at ground level” if the tree has uprooted already, will ground level be considered the grade at which the stump would be if it were still in the ground? i.e. Cutting the stump as low as possible, not expecting to penetrate the soil, a root ball would be left for the park to manage. If root balls for these blow over stumps are expected to be managed by a contractor, can we outline a separate line item for this expense?

Answer: Root balls will be address by Park employees and KEMO trail club, trees will be cut at ground level as stated in the contract.

Question 7. Before bidding the project, can Kennesaw mark each tree which needs to come down to better understand the scope of work?

Answer: The bid will be based off 237 hazardous trees ranging from 16-24”. Park employee will have 25-40 hazardous per month for up to 12 months totaling 237 trees. This is stated in the contract.

Question 8. We were told the respective 237 trees were marked 2-3 years ago, is this true? If so, after much wind and storms, is it possible that these are already on the ground and could not be found?

Answer: Park employees has based FY21 contract off previously marked hazardous trees.

Trees are marked and updated frequently by park staff. KEMO has 22 miles of trails, there are hundreds of hazardous trees throughout the park. As part of the cyclic program only a certain amount of trees will be removed per fiscal year.

Question 9. Can a park member mark the trees before we bid the project, so we better understand the scope of work? While we were on-site, after driving around with the ranger for almost 2-hours they were only able to locate three trees. This can pose a major deficit in the ability to bid and deliver at margin.

Answer: The bid will be based off 237 hazardous trees to be fallen and not removed.

Trees will range from 16 inches to 24 inches in diameter and up to 100+ feet high. The park employee showed contractors the areas where the hazardous trees will be removed, not all 237 hazardous trees.

Question 10. We were told that there was an excel spreadsheet of GPS locations of the trees that were marked 2-3 years ago. Can we receive that before closing this bid? May we have the opportunity to visit the property and walk the trail on our own accord after receiving this list?

Answer: No, the excel spreadsheet is for KEMO hazardous tree management plan, to identify hazardous trees throughout the trails. The awarded contractor will be shown each specific tree to be removed at least once per month ranging from 25-40 trees per month.

Question 11. As you may or may not know, the park has large sections of fallen trees which are posing a major fire hazard. There are upwards of hundreds of thousands of dead pines on top of one another. The contract mentions chipping up or removing debris to another location. Is the expectation to move large sections of debris in order to manage a marked tree inside the hazard areas that we cannot access? How would this change the scope?

Answer: Any extra work that’s needed outside the scope of work in the contract would be an expense park management we have to agree upon.

Question 12. Is it possible to add another line item for contractors to be responsible for existing debris hauling at a per yd rate for the thousands of dead pines which would mitigate a fire hazard and allow access to existing marked trees? This would allow us the ability to separate the cost to cut newly marked trees and manage the debris.

Answer: No, funds has been allocated for this contract to remove 237 hazardous trees. The removal of any trees from the property would have to been done by park employees or another contract.

Question 13. Can there be a modification specifying that the contractor is not responsible for chipping dead material?

Answer: Contractor is not required to chip dead material.

Question 14. Since it is not possible to chip dead material, is there a dump site location that has been specified?

Answer: The contractor is responsible for any material that he takes as stated in the contract.

Question 15. Is there a map of the trail which the 237 trees will be on?

Answer: Yes, maps were offered at the site visit and are available if needed.

Question 16. How far off the trails will the trees be marked? i.e.: Only trees within 100 feet off trail will be marked.

Answer: Hazardous trees are marked within falling distance of the trail which can be up to a 100 ft, as stated in the contract.

Question 17. Will the parks department have the ability to change marked trees after the contract? Please explain discretionary rules. For example: Is park allowed to change location to another trail affecting ability for equipment access or marking more blown over trees that we were not shown beforehand that are hanging in other trees, that will take much longer to remove than a dead pine within the size requirements. Furthermore, is the park allow to change their markings the month before? What rules can be set into place, so contractors are not exposing themselves? Or should this bid move to a per man hour rate?

Answer: The bid will be based off 237 hazardous trees ranging from 16-24”. Park employee will have 25-40 hazardous per month for up to 12 months totaling 237 trees. This is stated in the contract.

Question 18. Does a contractor have the right to choose the 237 trees within a set guideline of certain trail and distance from trail based on its professional arboriculture risk assessment?

Answer: No

Question 19. Can we be provided with a clear map of the trail the trees are located on, map highlighting dump sites and chip sites (for alive trees)?

Answer: Yes

Question 20. Is it possible to do all the trees at once instead of monthly?

Answer: No, as stated in the statement of work (General Statement of Work Paaragraph) trees will be removed 25-40 trees per month.

Question 21. Is the contractor responsible for hauling debris off-site for a final resting place or will there be a dumpsite on the property where you will process or haul?

Answer: Contractor is responsible

Question 22. Do you need a separate quote for tub grinder to process debris on-site at a per yard rate? Do we provide these services during natural disasters at scale?

Answer: Not a part of this requirement.

Question 23. Will we have appointed staff members that will be readily available to work with us logistically during the duration of the project?

Answer: Yes

Question 24. To save cost, can equipment be stored on the trails or is it expected to drive on and off every day? If yes, what are the rules?

Answer: Yes, if it’s not long term.

Question 25. If equipment cannot be stored on the trails, can equipment be stored somewhere else on the property? If so, where? What are the rules?

Answer: See response to question #24 above.

Question 26. What are the working hours? May we set our own days and hours?

Answer: Please refer to paragraph 6.0: INSPECTION – CONTROL OF WORK of the statement of work.

Question 27. Will contractors be given time to respond to P.O. i.e. 30-days?

Answer: Respondents shall have ten (10) days from notice of award to respond to the award notification.

Question 28. Will there be multiple P.O.’s?

Answer: The Government contemplates the award of a single Firm-Fixed Price Contract.

Question 29. Since we’re working with larger trees, if there are access issues getting equipment into areas where additional tree’s may be taken down how are we going to be credited for said removals? This piggy backs off the overarching theme that understanding the full scope of work prior to bidding in order minimizing ambiguities allows the ability to minimize economic risk to contractors.

Answer: This would be a discussion with park management as the park does not allow disturbance of historical grounds, i.e. earthwork. Please refer to the contract.

Question 30. Falling dead trees may hurt other trees unless a specialized low impact off-road, trail boom lift is brought in. What are the expectations and rules around hurting surrounding other trees? Damaging a tree canopy above 25% could shock a live tree and kill it. It’s very possible to damage multiple trees when there isn’t a drop zone. Additionally, the International Society of Arboriculture states that broken branches are to be cut back to their branch collar in order to promote the tree closing the wound up. Will contractors be responsible for cutting damaged trees? Will there be any liability if the contractor damages multiple trees in the process of taking down the dead ones?

Answer: Damaged trees will be removed if necessary, to reach the hazardous tree, this will be a case by case bases. All trees remove will be documented and apart of the number of trees in the contract.

Question 31. Is it possible to rework the bid sheet in a way where trees are taken down to not hurt other trees so the NPS isn’t economically exposed down the road? There are equipment options and solutions that are extremely specialized for this project that would allow such?

This question follows the theme of rolling in a debris hauling section on the bid to manage the exorbitant fields of existing downed dead pines stacked on top of one another, immediately on the trail.

Answer: The contract stands as written. Contractors have the option to bid on the contract as is, or not to bid.

Question 32. Will contractors be responsible to manage foot traffic on trails from pedestrians during it’s working hours or will trails be shut down to visitors?

Answer: Contractors are expected to have their own traffic control when needed. Park trail areas are closed as needed.

Question 33. 3.1 Work Description P 2&3 specifies “trail and limb trimming” but there is not line item to bid this. Can trimming be added as an additional line time to bid? Typically, we see this bid based at a per limb or per tree rate above a certain inch in diameter. How are we to bid this separately from removals?

Answer: Pricing shall be provided as Lump Sum for this project.

Question 34. 3.3 P3 notates materials are to be moved “into park 60ft” does this mean only 60 ft from the site of the tree removed? To be clear, are we moving debris off the trail to another location off-site, on-site, either to a designated dump-site, contractor is responsible for hauling to its own final resting place or material is cut and left next to the location of removal within 60ft away from roads, trails, barriers?

Answer: Contractor is responsible for 60 ft. off trail.

Question 35. Asking details from this question because 4.0 specified hauling trucks types allowed on trial which could allude that there are stricter hauling instructions. One hand I may perceive a cut and leave project, while another there are major hauling responsibilities in the scope. Please help us understand further. Thank you.

Answer: The awardee of this contract must read and adhere to these instructions/restrictions.

Question 36. Will we be allowed to use the park equipment? i.e. Gators or are we to bring our own?

Answer: Yes, park gators can be used.

Question 37. Item 7. Goes into the responsibilities of the contractor to create a safe work environment. If we are felling dead trees and breaking branches in other trees, then this paragraph states we’re responsible to correct or will be held responsible. When we were on-site, it was my understanding that hurting other trees is acceptable. If NPS choose to allow felled trees to hurt other trees can we be provided a release of liability on the health and hazards associated herein?

Answer: The contractor shall be responsible for the preservation from injury or damage, resulting directly or indirectly from the execution of the work, of all public and private property along and adjacent to the park. Contractor shall use every precaution necessary to prevent damage to historic earthworks, pipes, conduits, and other underground structures;

also, all overhead structures such as wires, cables, etc.; and poles, trees, shrubbery and crops, within or outside of the project area. Any damage by the contractor or his employee shall be repaired at once at the contractor expense. The contractor will stop work immediately as directed by the COR if there is a suspicion of potentially undocumented cultural and natural resources. In such cased the NPS would require review and documentation of such resources.

Question 38. Do you need a separate quote for a walking floor trailer to haul processed debris off site at a per yard rate to a final resting location?

Answer: Not a part of this requirement.