S05 Hampton Fence RFI Responses 3-1-2023.pdf

36C24623B0007 590-19-107 Replace Perimeter Fence Hampton VAMC

RFI Responses

March 1, 2023

1) The Demolition Plan (CD101) did not completely convert to PDF as shown in Attachment E added in Amendment A0003. The same incomplete PDF sheet was sent again in Amendment

A0004 and again in Amendment A0005. Can you please have the Architect produce a complete PDF and send that to us?

Response: Amendment shows this design requested.

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3) Will TB and Covid testing be required since all work is to be performed outside?

Response: TB and Covid testing are not required

4) What are the required curb stops? Concrete or rubber? Is there a detail and spec?

Response: Concrete. 6’ wide, centered in the parking spot.

5) What gate manufacturers are recommended or on the VA approved list? We have reached out to a few major manufacturers and are told that they do not fabricate any single gates larger than a 26’. Please provide some direction on this. (On a current project for the Durham VA, we provided a 20’ swing gate and a 40’ slider for their three-lane main entrance).

Response: As stated in Note 1 in on sheet C-503, for details 2 through 11, Tymetal Corp is used as the basis of design for the sliding gate. They manufacture gates for openings larger than 26’.

6) Is this a tax-exempt project?

a. If tax-exempt, will the government be providing a tax-exempt certificate to the Prime

Contractor for use by subcontractors and vendors?

Response: This is not a tax-exempt project per FARs’ 52.229-3 and 52.229-4

7) Can the Superintendent be shared across multiple projects, or should they be dedicated full-time to this project and this project only?

Response: The superintendent must be dedicated to this project only.

8) Can the Superintendent fulfil multiple roles?

a. If so, can they also fulfil the Quality Control role?

b. What about the SSHO role?

Response: The superintendent can also be the SSHO, but they can’t also be Quality Control.

The Quality Control person may be part time (visit worksite at least once per week).

9) Will the VA provide a spot for the Prime Contractor to set up a temp office?

a. Or should contractors include monies for a temp office, utilities, etc.? (We ask this because we know the VA has very little spare real estate).

b. Will temp power be available?

c. Will staging and/ or parking be an issue for this project?

Response: If available, a space (see drawing GI 102) will be provided in the designated

Contractor Laydown Area for office trailer and storage container. No utilities will be provided.

10) Does the VA anticipate this project will require off hours work?

a. If so, what trades or scopes will be required to perform off hours work?

Response: As stated on the phasing plan, GI103, some phases require “work for this phase…

[is] to be performed during weekends or after hours at the discretion and approval of the COR.”

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16) What is the required K rating for the anti-ram barrier drop arms? Is there a detail and spec for all of them?

Response: The anti-ram barrier is to achieve PU40 rating. The A/E will revise the detail to reflect this requirement.

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19) When will the sign-in sheet be posted/updated to SAM.gov?

Response: NLT than 3-3-2023

20) Is Fall Protection required by the areas near the waterfront?

Response: Yes when there is an unprotected edge 6 feet of more above a lower level. When working over water, must follow all OSHA guidelines for “working over or near water” to include buoyant work vests, ring buoys with line.

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23) Will any hand excavation be required?

Response: Means and methods of fence installation, whether by machine, hand, or otherwise, will need to be determined by the contractor.

24) There are several notes referring to trimming vegetation and pruning tree limbs “as needed”.

This is unquantifiable to any bidder. And anyone who was not at the site visit will be unaware of the extensive clearing and grubbing that will be required to access some of the fence locations. Is there any way for the HVAMC to provide specific limits of clearing on the drawings? Some tree locations are noted in the CS drawings sheets but the presence of the note “as needed” adds a lot of unknown costs to bidders’ proposals that cannot be interpreted without having fully walked the job site, and the site visit was not mandatory to bid.

Response:

a. It is not possible for the A/E to know the extents of clearing necessary for the contractor to install the fence as this relies upon the contractor’s means and methods of construction and the current state of the vegetation, which is impossible to predict during design.

b. It is also the responsibility of the contractor to make himself fully aware of the existing conditions of the project he is bidding on.

25) Drawing Sheet CS107, keynote 2 on section detail 3, states to demolish and replace a concrete pad but appears to be pointing to the concrete bulkhead. Can this scope and location be clarified? What are the dimensions of the pad? Thickness? What are the reinforcement requirements? Are expansion joints required? Should we follow the same requirements as the sidewalk notes on CS113?

Response: Keynote 2 in Viewport 3 on CS107 is pointing to one of many concrete pads that butt up against the concrete bulkhead along the seawall. The concrete pad has sunk into the ground making it uneven with the concrete bulkhead which is a potential tripping hazard. Remove and replace existing concrete pad. A detail sheet will be provided along with these responses for the concrete pads. Match existing dimensions. For concrete specifications, refer to specification 03 30 53 –

Cast-in-Place Concrete.

26) Drawing sheet CS108 also refers to several concrete pads to be demo’ d and replaced but there are no new concrete details. And these pads appear to contain some benchers or tables.

Will these items also be removed? What about reinstalled? Please provide direction on these items that appear to be embedded in the contrate. Also provide concrete details: thickness, reinforcement, turndowns, expansion joints, etc. Should we follow the same requirements as the sidewalk notes on CS113?

Response: The concrete pad has sunk into the ground making it uneven with the concrete bulkhead which is a potential tripping hazard. Remove benches and tables while making effort to not damage them. Remove and replace existing concrete pad. A detail sheet will be provided along with these responses for the concrete pads.

Match existing dimensions. Replace benches and tables in same location as previous. If benches or tables are damaged during construction, the contractor shall replace the benches/tables with a new, approved equal, at no additional cost to the government. For concrete specifications, refer to specification 03 30 53 –

Cast-in-Place Concrete.

27) Please clarify if the awarded contractor will be required to staff the job on-site, 100% of the time during construction, two (2) full time employees to satisfy the requirement of an independent CQM and SSHO? Please clarify that one individual cannot dual hat the SSHO and CQM at the same time. Spec section 01 45 00 alludes to the need for 2 separate individuals but is not clear. The CQM can be the superintendent but appears that the SSHO cannot hold a separate role?

Response: The contractor’s personnel - at a minimum the superintendent - shall be onsite any time work is being performed.

28) Spec section 01 35 00 states that all competent persons must have OSHA 30 within the past 5 years. If the general contractor is capable of being a competent person, in terms of safety and experience, during subcontractor activities, does the subcontractor foreman/CP also need to have OSHA 30?

Response: Yes, as stated in the “Safety Specification 01 35 26 Training”

29) There’s no Division 06 – Wood specifications but the bait stations are wood construction.

Please provide, or is the assumption that “pressure treated” is the only requirement to be adhered to?

Response: The bait station is of metal construction. The topper on the bait station is a 2”x6” nominal pressure treated piece of lumber.

30) Will any water pollution control barriers be required in the water along the seawall? If so, please advise what sort of protection measures are required to be in place for the Hampton

River or James River.

Response: The contractor is expected to use his means and methods to protect the watershed from sediment-laden runoff, trash, or debris from construction activities. The contractor can use methods that include but are not limited to silt fencing, turbidity curtain, composite matting, etc. to ensure sediment-laden runoff, trash, or debris flows from construction do not enter the watershed. All methods proposed shall be submitted for review and approval. It is the contractor’s responsibility to always be in compliance with Specification 01 57 19 –

Temporary Environmental Controls.

31) Please advise if the NAICS Code and Standard Size can be updated to 236220 - Commercial and Institutional Building Construction - to be more consistent with the magnitude and complexity of this project? For minimal disruption to the VAMC, a detailed phased plan and multi-trade subcontractor coordination will be required for almost a year duration. We believe this would be best orchestrated by a Prime General Contractor rather than a Specialty

Trade Contractor; and updating the NAICS code would provide a more qualified and competitive pool of Contractors to be most advantageous to the Government. Can the NAICS be changed to 236220 for this solicitation?

Response: The NACIS code for this project 238990. The NACIS code will not be changed.

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34) The bid due time is 10am. Can this be adjusted to 2:00pm? Subcontractors are typically used to afternoon bids, and it may be difficult to get them to submit pricing in the morning. The

HVAMC would be better off pushing to an afternoon due time, in order to facilitate more competitive bids from multiple subcontractors.

Response: The bid due date is March 22, 2023 @ 3 pm and the bid opening call is March 23, 2023 @10 am.

35) Page 14 of the solicitation states that all subcontractor quotes must be submitted with the bid.

This is a very impractical requirement. Subcontractors do not send their pricing until last minute and we are often writing in final pricing on the 1442 minutes before bid time. It would be nearly impossible to submit a timely bid that includes subcontractor quotes. Can this requirement be removed as a pre-bid submission and be requested by the contracting officer after the bid due time?

Response: No change will be made as this is Federal government policy.

36) Page 17 of the RFP states General Contractor and subcontractor personnel shall have 10-hour

OSHA and the GC competent person shall have completed 30-hour OSHA. Specification section 01 35 26, item 4.F.4 states “OSHA 10-hour training is required for all workers on site and the OSHA 30-hour training is required for Trade Competent Persons (CPs)”. Please confirm if subcontractor competent persons shall also be required to obtain OSHA 30, or if

OSHA 10 is sufficient?

Response: OSHA 30 required for each designated CP.