36C25224Q0245_1.docx

Sources Sought Notice

GENERAL INFORMATION

SET-ASIDE

GLAC (69D)

115 South 84th Street, Suite 101

Milwaukee WI 53214-1476

POINT OF CONTACT*

Contract Specialist Sylvia Iloh Sylvia.Iloh@va.gov

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

3001 Green Bay Rd

North Chicago IL

COUNTRY

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

AGENCY’S URL

URL DESCRIPTION

AGENCY CONTACT’S EMAIL ADDRESS

EMAIL DESCRIPTION

DESCRIPTION

Kitchen Grease Hood Cleaning Service at James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center North Chicago, IL This Sources Sought Notice is issued solely for information and planning purposes to determine availability of qualified vendors and does not constitute a solicitation. All information received in response to this Notice that is marked as proprietary will be handled accordingly. Please note that this is not a request for quotes; the Government is seeking information for market research purposes only. Information received because of this Notice will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement and whether a small business set-aside will be used. No solicitation document is available currently. All responses to this Notice are subject to 18 U.S.C. § 1001.

The James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center requires a local business to clean the kitchen exhaust systems and grease trap systems to bare metal at various kitchen locations and frequencies at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center (FHCC) located in North Chicago, IL to ensure reliability and proper functionality of these utilities.

The service agreement shall be for one (1) base year with the option to renew for four (4) option years.

Contract requirements will include the following:

1. DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES:

The contractor shall provide all labor, travel, qualified supervision, apparatus, materials, equipment and supplies necessary to clean the kitchen exhaust systems and grease trap systems to bare metal at various kitchen locations and frequencies at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center (FHCC) located in North Chicago, IL to ensure reliability and proper functionality of these utilities.

The service agreement shall be for one (1) base year with the option to renew for four (4) option years.

2. SCOPE OF WORK:

The contractor must be a certified Exhaust Cleaning Company or a company that employs Certified Exhaust Cleaners that possess Plumbing Licenses. Acceptable certifications include Phil Ackland Certification, International Kitchen Exhaust Cleaning Association (IKECA), or a Kitchen Exhaust Cleaners Training and Certification Program created in compliance with ISO 9001. The Contractor shall have a crew Leader/Supervisor onsite for the duration of the cleaning operation that has either certifications in IKECA, CECS or CKEC in compliance with ISO9001. The Contractor shall be knowledgeable of National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 96-Standard for Ventilation Control and Fire Protection of Commercial Cooking Operations and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Standards. At least one individual per team shall be able to read & write, understand and speak English.

3. HOURS OF OPERATION:

Normal hours of coverage for FHCC are Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm CST, excluding holidays. All services will be performed after normal hours of coverage.

Federal and National Holidays observed by the VAMC Include:

Also included would be any other day specifically declared by the President of the United States to be a National Holiday.

When a holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday shall be observed as a legal holiday by U.S. Government agencies. When a holiday falls on a Saturday, the preceding Friday shall be observed as a legal holiday.

4. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE:

Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center (FHCC) 3001 Green Bay Road North Chicago, IL 60064-3048

(Various kitchen locations throughout the campus)

5. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE:

Base Year: March l 2024 through February 28, 2025 Option Year One: March l 2024 through February 28, 2025 Option Year Two: March l 2025 through February 28, 2026 Option Year Three: March l 2026 through February 28, 2027 Option Year Four: March l 2027 through February 28, 2028

Note: A detailed Performance Work Statement will be part of each solicitation; these requirements are an overview.

Interested companies may e-mail a brief statement of interest and experience, to Sylvia.Iloh@va.gov. Each company shall also identify whether it is a large or small business; if a small business, whether it is an SDVOSB or a VOSB. Small businesses shall take notice and strictly comply with the Small Business Subcontracting Limitations set forth below:

Small Business Subcontracting Limitations 13 C.F.R. § 125.6 What are the prime contractor’s limitations on subcontracting?

(a) General. In order to be awarded a full or partial small business set-aside contract . . . a small business concern must agree that:

(1) In the case of a contract for services (except construction), it will not pay more than 50% of the amount paid by the government to it to firms not similarly situated. Any work that a similarly situated subcontractor further subcontracts will count towards the 50% subcontract amount that cannot be exceeded. (Emphasis added.)

(h) Penalties. Whoever violates the requirements set forth in paragraph (a) of this section shall be subject to the penalties prescribed in 15 U.S.C. § 645(d), except that a fine shall be treated as the greater of $500,000 or the dollar amount spent, in excess of permitted levels, by the entity on subcontractors. A party’s failure to comply with the spirit and intent of a subcontract with a similarly situated entity may be considered a basis for debarment on the grounds, including but not limited to, that the parties have violated the terms of a Government contract or subcontract pursuant to FAR 9.406-2(b)(1)(i) (48 C.F.R. § 9.406-2(b)(1)(i)). (Emphasis added.)

15 U.S.C. § 645 Offenses and Penalties.

(d)(2) Any person who violates paragraph (1) shall –

(A) be punished by a fine . . . or by imprisonment for not more than 10 years, or both;

(B) be subject to the administrative remedies prescribed by the Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act of 1986 (31 U.S.C. §§ 3801-3812);

(C) be subject to suspension and debarment as specified in subpart 9.4 of Title 48, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation); and

(D) be ineligible for participation in any program or activity conducted under this authority of this chapter or the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. § 661 et seq.) for a period not to exceed 3 years. (Emphasis added.)

Any business that represents itself as a small business and fails to completely follow the requirements set forth under this paragraph is subject to investigation and possible prosecution:

Wisconsin Man Sentenced to 78 Months for Fraud Scheme Involving Over $260 Million in Small Business Contracts | USAO-EDWI | Department of Justice Business Owner Sentenced for Fraud Scheme | USAO-WDMO | Department of Justice Four Sentenced for Bribery and Scheme to Defraud VA and SBA | USAO-AK | Department of Justice Federal jury convicts two Texas men on federal fraud and false statements charges | USAO-NM | Department of Justice Kitchen Grease Hood Cleaning Service

Sources Sought Notice