Site_Visit_7-22-2024_Notes___Questions_Answers_0001.docx

Elephant Butte Historic District Utility Rehab Site Visit Agenda & Notes July 22, 2024, 10:00 a.m.

INTRODUCTIONS:

Attendees introduced themselves and stated their name and company.

Lee Russell

D&R Tank

REQUIREMENT INFO:

Tina Villegas reviews the requirement information:

The Bureau of Reclamation, Upper Colorado Basin Region, Albuquerque Area Office, has a need to replace sewer and water lines, demo and installation of electrical services, installation of optical fiber, copper network cable, and infrastructure for the future connection to an ISP, network switches, wireless access points, and replacement of water tanks at the Elephant Butte Historic District (EBHD). Work is located near Elephant Butte Dam approximately 4 miles east of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, in Sierra County, in the EBHD.

The estimated magnitude of construction is between $5,000,000 and $10,000,000.

This requirement is a Total Small Business Set-Aside. The applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code is 237110-Water and Sewer Line and Related Structures Construction and the related small business size standard is $45.0 million.

There are two Contract Line Item Numbers (CLINs):

CLIN 00010 – Elephant Butte Historic District (EBHD) Utility Rehab - Price Schedule A Items A-1 through A-43.

CLIN 00020 – Elephant Butte Historic District (EBHD) Utility Rehab - Option Price Schedule B Items B-1 through B-3. Relates to the water tanks.

Period of Performance is 13 months.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Tina Villegas notes that proposal submission information is in Section L of the Solicitation and reviews the volumes required with the page limitations. She also points out for contractors to make sure they are submitting everything required by the instructions to prevent proposals from being excluded from competition.

General Info:

DEADLINES:

Last day for questions regarding this solicitation is Friday, July 26, 2024, 5:00 PM MDT. Send questions via email to tvillegas@usbr.gov.

Only email questions/correspondence regarding this solicitation will be accepted. No telephone calls. Please reference the solicitation number in the subject line of the email.

Proposals are due on Friday, August 2, 2024, 5:00 PM MDT via email to tvillegas@usbr.gov.

EVALUATION FACTORS INFORMATION :

Tina Villegas reviews the Evaluation Factors for Award which is in Section M of the Solicitation.

Evaluation Methodology:

All proposed prices will be reviewed for price reasonableness and any instances of unbalanced pricing. The price component to be used in any tradeoffs with technical factors will be comprised of the Total Evaluated Price of Price Schedule A and B.

Next, a technical and past performance evaluation will be performed on proposals received from all Offerors as required in Section L. Evaluations will cease when all proposals are fully evaluated as to provide each offeror with substantive feedback if debriefs are requested. Only those Offerors determined to meet the proposal requirements in accordance with Sections L&M with an acceptable past performance rating, either initially or as a result of discussions, will be considered for award.

Award will be made to the proposal determined to be the “Best Value” to the government. All non-price evaluation factors, when combined, are approximately equal in importance to price.

VOLUME I – BUSINESS PROPOSAL, REPRESENTATIONS, CERTIFICATIONS, AND OTHER

STATEMENT OF OFFERORS EVALUATION

Incompleteness of Volume I is a valid reason for the proposal to be excluded from the competition. If Volume I is incomplete the government reserves the right to exclude the proposal from the competition.

VOLUME II – TECHNICAL PROPOSAL EVALUATION FACTORS

(1) Evaluation Factor 1 – Technical Plan and Schedule

(2) Evaluation Factor 2 – Past Performance

The relative importance of the evaluation factors listed above are as follows: Evaluation Factors 1-2 are listed in descending order of importance. Evaluation factors 1-2, when combined, are considered to be approximately equal to cost or price.

Evaluation Factor 1 –Technical Plan and Schedule:

The Offerors will be evaluated on the understanding and knowledge of the project through the required information provided.

The Government will evaluate the Offeror’s submitted Technical Plan to determine the completeness of the required information, the Offeror’s comprehension and depth of knowledge, and the Offeror’s plan to accomplish the work in accordance with the specifications in the allotted performance period.

The Government will evaluate the Offeror’s submitted Project Schedule based on the team’s ability to effectively schedule the project and ensure on-time delivery. The evaluation will be based on the Offeror’s detailed construction schedule, calendars used, and information provided on total float, key submittals, and critical path.

Evaluation Factor 2 – Past Performance:

Past performance information will be gathered from offeror submissions, Government databases such as the Contractor Performance Assessment Reports System (CPARS). Only recent and relevant past performance information will be considered. Offerors without any past performance will be rated as neutral.

“Recent” is defined as performance and/or contracts awarded less than 10 years ago.

“Relevant” is defined as work that involves substantially the same types of work in terms of complexity, magnitude, and scope (i.e. water transmission projects).

The offeror can receive better scores on this evaluation factor when the Offeror’s submission clearly demonstrates the requirements listed under Evaluation Factor 2 – Past Performance, Section L.

Failure to demonstrate recent and relevant past performance information as indicated in Section L, Volume II, Evaluation Factor 2 – Past Performance, shall affect the overall rating of the Offeror’s proposal. Reclamation reserves the right to use all publicly available information for evaluation supplementation (e.g. CPARS, OSHA, public databases, etc.).

Relevancy of the past performance examples will be rated more favorably.

In accordance with FAR 15.305(a)(2)(iv), the lack of relevant past performance will result in a neutral rating (i.e., not rated favorably or unfavorably).

VOLUME III – PRICING PROPOSAL EVALUATION

Evaluation Factor 3 – Price Proposal:

The pricing criteria used for evaluation are (1) Completeness, (2) Price Reasonableness, and (3) Total Evaluated Price (TEP).

Completeness: The Government will review the pricing submission for completeness and compliance with Section L of the Request for Proposal. Incomplete price submissions may NOT be evaluated, and the proposal may be eliminated from the competition.

Price Reasonableness: The Offeror’s price proposal will be evaluated using one or more of the techniques defined in FAR 15.404-1 (Proposal Analysis Techniques). Price reasonableness is most easily defined as, “what another reasonable businessperson would pay for the good or service under the same circumstances.”

Total Evaluated Price (TEP): Price Analysis will be performed to determine the reasonableness of the Offeror’s pricing proposal. The TEP will be calculated as the sum of all proposed prices contained in the Schedule A and B pricing and all applicable prices must be completed. An omitted item may result in proposal elimination.

Restated, price is approximately equal in importance to Technical Evaluation Factors 1 and 2. The relative importance of the Technical Evaluation Factors 1 and 2 are in descending level of importance. All technical factors, when considered together, are approximately equal to price.

WORK RESTRICTIONS & LIMITATIONS:

Tina Villegas tells contractors that certain parts of the project need to be completed by May 23, 2025. Hannah Schechter reviews the allowable construction periods and work areas requiring completion by May 23, 2025, which are found in Spec Section 01 14 12 – Work Restrictions and Limitations.

SAFETY DURING SITE VISIT:

Hannah Schechter provides a safety briefing regarding the Elephant Butte Historic District area:

· Heat can be a factor so make sure to wear a hat, sunscreen, and drink plenty of water.

· Slip, trip, and fall hazards exist so watch your footing.

· Make sure you watch for traffic when crossing roads and walking in certain areas during the site visit tour.

· Watch for wasp nests and rattle snakes near the houses and casitas during the site visit tour.

PHOTOS:

Photos are allowed and encouraged during the site visit. Please be mindful of taking photos of personal vehicles/campers during the site visit tour.

LODGING INFO DURING CONSTRUCTION:

Tina Villegas provides a list of potential sources of lodging to the contractors noting that Reclamation is not recommending or endorsing any of the listed providers, but indicates it is a tool for contractors to use if awarded the project (See Attachment 1 – EBHD Lodging Information).

QUESTIONS PRIOR TO TOUR:

· Does the material that is used during construction need to be domestic or what is the allowed percentage?

Answer: Reclamation will be utilizing the Buy American Act clause for construction which indicates 65% for the years 2024-2028.

EBHD SITE VISIT TOUR INFORMATION AND QUESTIONS/ANSWERS:

· First site was the cement water tank.

· Brent Tanzy gave an overview of the water tank which was one of the original features of the Elephant Butte Historic District (EBHD) which was constructed in 1908. He also stated how the water lines go from the water tank to the pumphouse. He also opened the vault to show the prime line to the Dam Site area. It was pointed out that the stack rock located in the area would need to be preserved as per the New Mexico State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) since it adds to the cultural value of the EBHD. Brent notes the lines were installed in 1949 or 1950 and shows a photo from his phone. He says the water lines go down the canyon and follows the road up to the pumphouse.

· Question was asked regarding the distance from the tanks to the pumphouse.

Answer: Eric Lujan indicates the distance from the concrete tank to the pumphouse is approximately 1700 linear feet.

· Question was asked whether the Historical Architect would be required on-site 100% of the whole project, or just during the removal of the three water tanks.

Answer: Hannah Schechter responds it is required during the removal of the three water tanks. Spec Section 33 16 20, Steel Tanks, states prior to the removal of three steel water tanks, a digital photography package will be prepared by the on staff Architectural Historian, see 01 57 90 – Preservation of Historical and Archeological Data.

Spec Section 01 57 90 Preservation of Historical and Archaeological Data also indicates the need for an on staff Architectural Historian prior to project implementation for the removal of three 1950’s steel water tanks, a digital photography package will be prepared by the on staff Architectural Historian, see RSN 33 16 20-1.

Spec Section 01 57 90 Preservation of Historical and Archaeological Data also states the selected contractor shall develop a Discovery and Monitoring Plan to account for all ground disturbing activities of the proposed action in coordination with Bureau of Reclamation – Albuquerque Area Office archaeologist and in consultation with New Mexico State Historic Preservation Office. The section also indicates that all monitoring activities on state land shall be performed by an archeologist listed in the SHPO directory. This individual shall be on site and physically present on the ground immediately prior to and during all surface-disturbing actions to ensure site protection, avoidance of site deposits, identification of new cultural deposits and features or recovery of information from newly discovered cultural properties. [4.10.17.9 NMAC - N, 1/01/06].

There are also submittal requirements associated with the archeologist: RSN 01 57 90-1 Alternate use area or borrow area, RSN 01 57 90-2 Monitoring Plan, RSN 01 57 90-3 Weekly Reports, and RSN 01 57 90-4 Final Monitoring Report.

Hannah Schechter indicates the SHPO website has information regarding qualified personnel. The link to the SHPO website information is: https://www.nmhistoricpreservation.org/documents/shpo-directory.html.

· Question was asked whether the road would need to be repaved from the installation of the water lines from the cement water tank to the pumphouse.

Answer: Hannah Schechter indicates the contractor will need to repave the roads crossing Highways 51 and 177 where there is a disturbance in the road. She mentions that there is a separate contract with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) that covers paving in other areas. FHWA will pave from Highway 171 to the Winding Road/Hill Top houses after utilities are completed. EBHD Utility contractor will not repave that portion of road, only bring up to grade level.

· Question was asked whether the contractor will need to haul gravel in, or if the existing gravel that is removed can be used or hauled out?

Answer: Spec Section 32 15 10, Gravel Surfacing indicates gravel requirements. Spec Section 31 23 39, Disposal of Excavated Materials discusses removal.

Cement Water Tank Photo taken from site near Pumphouse.

· Second site was the Pumphouse.

· Eric Lujan states the water line travels from the Pumphouse up to the 3 Water Tanks that will be replaced with only 2 tanks. He states there is one delivery line going up to the 2 new Water Tanks with 3 lines coming down, one that will go toward the houses on Winding Road, one that goes to the Maintenance Yard, and one that parallels the delivery line that goes down towards the Lodge.

Pumphouse photo looking up to the 3 Water Tanks.

· Third site was the 3 Water Tanks.

View of 3 Water Tanks near Highway 51 Jct.

· Eric Lujan indicates the 3 water tanks will be replaced with 2 water tanks. The new tanks will go in the same location as the old tanks. He states the crossing on Highway 51 down from the 3 tanks the trench with the water line and fiber line crosses the road. The road will need to be repaired after any tear up which would require the appropriate permits, etc.

· Question was asked whether the road would need to be repaired within 24 hours.

Answer: Eric Lujan states that the New Mexico Department of Transportation (DOT) will need to specify the time frame required for repair. He indicates DOT might re-route the traffic until the road is repaired, but he is not sure.

· Question was asked if the D&R Tank Inspection Report could be provided.

Answer: Kristen Ruiz Jimenez indicates the inspection report will be added with the Solicitation Amendment. (See Attachments 2 & 3 for report information)

· Question was asked who would be responsible for the improvements to the access road to the three tanks to allow access for the necessary equipment.

Answer: The contractor would be responsible for the improvements to the access road.

View of 3 water tanks from the Maintenance Yard.

· Fourth Site was the Maintenance Yard.

View of Maintenance Yard from Highway 51.

· Eric Lujan states there is one water line from the water tanks to the Maintenance Yard. The water line tees at the east side of Highway 51 and goes into Hospital Canyon. Water and fiber optic lines will be in the trench that crosses Highway 51.

· Fifth site was the Winding Road houses.

View of Houses from the corner of Highway 177 and Winding Road.

View of Houses area looking toward cement water tank in the distance.

· Eric Lujan stated that the water lines come down from the Water Tanks down the road to the houses and the sewer lines go behind the houses and down the road to the Winding Road Recreation Area.

· Question was asked regarding the total length of water and sewer lines.

Answer: The total length of installed water line is approximately 13750 linear feet. The total length of installed sewer line is approximately 5800 feet.

· Hannah Schechter indicated the houses are referred to as the Winding Road Houses, or sometimes as the Hilltop Houses.

· Eric Lujan indicated that some of the fire hydrants will be replaced and some get removed altogether when the line is replaced.

· Hannah Schechter states that the wastewater lines start from the three houses and goes down and connects by the parking lot and then around to the RV park and the Wastewater plant.

· Question was asked if each house will be individual or just one catch line?

Answer: Hannah Schechter indicates it will have one catch line at the lowest house and comes around the houses and meets at the road.

· Eric Lujan states that the water line continues down the road from the houses and down the hill to the water line in front of the Casitas. He confirms that one water line forks off to the Recreation Area and the other line goes down to the Casitas

· Sixth Site was the Winding Road Recreation Area.

Photo of Winding Rd. Recreation Area.

· Question was asked if all the curbs in the area are considered historical.

Answer: Hannah Schechter indicated that all curbs are considered historical.

Photo of curbs located in the Recreation Area.

· Hannah Schechter points out the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) rock structures located in the Winding Road Recreation Area which contractors will need to be careful with.

Photo of historic rock from the Recreation Area.

· Hannah Schechter notes there are a lot of irrigation lines all over the Dam Site/Winding Road Recreation Area where the contractor will need to coordinate with the Dam Site (Marina Vista) regarding these because they are not managed by Reclamation.

· Hannah Schechter states that the vault toilet in the Recreation Area currently has tanks, but that in a future contract, valves will be installed and it will be made into a full comfort station.

Photo of vault toilet.

· Question was asked if the fire hydrant near the vault toilet was active.

Answer: Brent Tanzy contacted Marina Vista and found out it is active. Eric Lujan stated this hydrant will not be on the new lines. Another Contractor asked if they would abandon in place or remove. Eric Lujan stated they would need to confirm with the Archeologist what SHPO will require.

Photo of one of the fire hydrants in the area.

· Hannah Schechter points out the culvert going under the road cannot be torn up.

Photo of culvert Hannah Schechter mentioned.

· Seventh Site was the Office, Restaurant, and Casitas Areas

Photo of the Office building located near the Restaurant and Casitas.

Photo of the Restaurant looking from the Office building located near the Casitas.

· Eric Lujan states that the water lines come down and tie-in near the office area.

· Hannah Schechter states that the whole area will be closed to the public, but contractors will need to work with the Office personnel during construction.

· Hannah Schechter indicates that some of the equipment in the area belongs to Sierra Electric and Windstream. Sierra Electric is already aware; however, Reclamation is still trying to understand which belong to Windstream. A modification may need to be done after contract award to update the Windstream poles if they are removed by them instead of the contractor.

· Question was asked if the transformers were pad mounted.

Answer: Hannah Schechter responds yes they are pad mounted.

· Hannah Schechter indicates the transformer that feeds the lodge will remain.

· Hannah Schechter states that all manholes are being replaced which will be near the current manholes. She says there is a manhole located at the end of the pergola where the wastewater line ends. The wastewater line is from Hospital Canyon.

Photo of the pergola looking toward where the manhole is located.

· There will be a new water line and fiber optics cable by the Casitas but the main electric stays.

· Hannah Schechter notes the Casitas will be closed during construction, but will be an option for lodging to contractors.

· Question was asked how the Casita panels would be refed without disturbing the historical rock to comply with SHPO or in keeping with the historical nature of the area.

Answer: Reclamation is working with Hannah Schechter to obtain the answer and will post the answer via another amendment.

· Question was asked whether the schedule needed to be a full schedule or whether they could provide the main milestone information for the proposal because a full schedule listing all items would be provided after award.

Answer: Kristen Ruiz Jimenez indicated only the main milestones as noted in the solicitation instructions, but after award a full construction schedule would need to be provided.

· Question was asked how to handle long lead times for the areas that need to be completed by May 2025.

Answer: Kristen Ruiz Jimenez and Hannah Schechter indicated that good communication would be required. For example, in the event an EV charging station requires a longer lead time, as long as all other work was completed in that location by May 2025, the charger could be installed once received and prior to the contract period of performance end date.

· Eighth and Final Site was the RV Park.

Photo showing entrance to RV Park.

Photo showing RV Park camping sites.

Photo showing trees in RV Park.

Photo showing RV park additional camping sites with trees.

· Hannah Schechter indicates the RV park has sites with more clearance which may have water and sewer line spacing that is different from the other sites.

· Hannah Schechter noted that the wastewater treatment plant was around the corner from the RV Park.

· Hannah Schechter stated there would be new electrical site hookups, including water and wastewater. She says that there will be no disturbance to the trees within the RV park as per the specs.

Other Items Discussed:

· There is a construction staging area located by the weather station, which is a fairly flat, cleaned area, with overhead power lines. There is also another staging area located by the Warehouse. Reclamation could provide access to the two staging areas if required by a Contractor.

· Marina Vista is the new steward of the marinas and Dam Site Lodging.

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