36C25525R0095 0003.docx

5. PROJECT NUMBER (if applicable)

CODE

7. ADMINISTERED BY

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NUMBER

CODE

6. ISSUED BY

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NUMBER

3. EFFECTIVE DATE

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NUMBER

9B. DATED

PAGE OF PAGES

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NUMBER

10B. DATED

BPA NO.

1. CONTRACT ID CODE

FACILITY CODE

CODE

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods:

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers

E. IMPORTANT:

is extended,

(a) By completing Items 8 and 15, and returning __________ copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted; or (c) By separate letter or electronic communication which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY is not extended.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA

(REV. 11/2016)

is required to sign this document and return ___________ copies to the issuing office.

is not, A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

15C. DATE SIGNED

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by letter or electronic communication, provided each letter or electronic communication makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER

Contractor

16C. DATE SIGNED

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION

16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER

16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

STANDARD FORM 30

PREVIOUS EDITION NOT USABLE

Prescribed by GSA - FAR (48 CFR) 53.243 (Type or print) (Type or print) (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

(Number, street, county, State and ZIP Code) (If other than Item 6) (Specify type of modification and authority) (such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc.)

(If required)

(SEE ITEM 11)

(SEE ITEM 13)

(X)

CHECK

ONE

13. THIS ITEM APPLIES ONLY TO MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS,

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

(Signature of person authorized to sign) (Signature of Contracting Officer) 06-26-2025 657A5-25-101 36C255 Department of Veterans Affairs Network Contracting Office (NCO) 15 3450 S 4th Street Trafficway Leavenworth

KS

66048 36C255 Department of Veterans Affairs Network Contracting Office (NCO) 15 3450 S 4th Street Trafficway Leavenworth

KS

66048 To all Offerors/Bidders

36C25525R0095 06-04-2025

X X X X The purpose of this amendment is to publish a revised set of specifications, post answers to RFI questions, and to provide as built drawings. Project Number 657A5-25-101, Replace Chiller #1 Location Marion Il VA Medical Center.

The specifications attached to this amendment supersedes prior versions.

Failure to acknowledge any and all Amendments issued pursuant to this solicitation may be cause for rejection of the offer. All other terms and conditions remain unchanged.

Maria Hoover Contracting Officer

CONTINUATION PAGE – 36C25525R0095

Amendment 0003 – Solicitation 36C25525R0095

LIST OF RFI QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS:

1. Please confirm that and all Basis of Design items and materials that the VA has satisfied all Buy American Waivers, if applicable, and sole source requirements as needed. Please provide us any Buy American Act Waivers that would be provided under this contract. This is not currently in the plans, documents, or specifications.

Answer: The VAMC has confirmation from the chiller equipment supplier that the basis of design selection complies with the BAA requirements. However, the VAMC was unable (up to the writing of this response) to get the same confirmation from the basis of design pump supplier. We believe this pump to comply with the BAA requirements, however if the contractor believes this to be inaccurate they should anticipate providing an equivalent, BAA-compliant model instead. If vendors are planning on using equipment that requires a Buy American waiver, they must provide complete information about the equipment and why they cannot procure it in the United States so the Buy American waiver can be processed and approved.

2. Will the VA pay for the engineering and design submittals, as well as all applicable deposits required by various manufacturers to put equipment into design and/or production?

Answer: If you are referring on Submittal exchange or equivalent media, it is invoiced to the VA for a certain period of time. No deposits are to be made to manufacture equipment.

3. Is the new VA memorandum on bolts for steam and hot water systems applicable to this project? To our understanding A307 bolts are no longer allowed.

Answer: Generally, as a standard, it would apply. However, this is a chilled water system that does not involve steam or hot water, therefore (practically) it does not.

4. Tax Exemption: Is this project sales tax-exempt? If so, can the government provide a tax exemption certificate for materials purchased?

Answer: This project is tax exempt and the tax-exempt certificate will be issued at the preconstruction conference.

5. Notice to Proceed (NTP): How soon after a contract award is the NTP expected to be issued?

Answer: After receipt of payment and payment bonds, and insurance certificate.

6. Submittal Platform: Will the VA accept the use of Procore software or equivalent as the primary submittal platform?

Answer: Yes.

7. Payment for Stored Materials: Will payment applications for materials stored on-site or in a bonded warehouse be approved?

Answer: Yes, after COR inspects and certifies the material stored complies with spec, plans, and drawings. Also stored on a secured location.

8. Bid Hold Period: Will the government consider reducing the bid hold period to 30 days due to current inflation risks?

Answer: Our process recommends a 120 calendar days acceptance period. We anticipate this to be awarded on or before September 30, 2025.

9. Economic Price Adjustment Clause: Will the government include an Economic Price Adjustment Clause in the contract to address price fluctuations in materials?

Answer: The Government is not going to include an economic price adjustment clause. The Economic Price Adjustment Clause (EPA) is not mandatory inclusion to the contract.

10. SSHO and Superintendent Roles: Can the SSHO, QCM and superintendent positions be fulfilled by the same individual, provided qualifications are met? If not, can the superintendent double as the SSHO?

Answer: Key personnel can only fulfill dual roles, but will only be compensated on the role he is performing at the time of service.

11. Schedule: There are no requirements for a project schedule. Will the VA require a project schedule for this project?

Answer: Yes, a project schedule will be required. Please refer to specification section 013216.15 in the revised specification document for more information on schedule requirements.

12. Temporary Facilities: Are contractors required to provide a temporary site office or trailer, or will space be allocated within the existing facility?

Answer: There is not a requirement within the project specifications to provide a site trailer, however one can be provided by the contractor if they believe they will need it. The VAMC does have a designated space for them to be set up. Given the limited scope of this project the need for a trailer may not be there. Under no circumstances though, should the contractor be under the impression that space within the existing facility be provided for them.

13. Parking and Staging: Will there be designated parking and staging area for contractor personnel?

Answer: A parking and staging area will be provided for the contractor as close to the plant as possible.

14. How many parking spaces will be provided if there is on-site parking?

Answer: Parking and staging area will likely be limited to about 8-9 contiguous stalls. Approximately 95 ft x 20ft.

15. Site Access and Badging: Will the government provide a detailed badging and access protocol for contractor personnel?

Answer: The chiller plant is not under badge access control (only key) so badging of contractor personnel will not be necessary for this project.

16. Fire Watch: If impairments to fire alarm systems exceed four hours, will the VA provide support for fire watch personnel, or is the contractor solely responsible?

Answer: Fire watch personnel is the responsibility of the contractor.

17. Environmental Protection Plan: Are there specific templates or guidelines required for the Environmental Protection Plan, or is a contractor-developed plan sufficient?

Answer: A contractor-developed plan is sufficient.

18. Testing and Commissioning: Please confirm the VA will be hiring the commissioning agent.

Answer: Per specification section 230800, section 1.1)C, the commissioning agent “shall be under direct contract with the general contractor”.

19. As-Built Drawings: Are as-built drawings available for existing conditions, or will the contractor need to verify all dimensions on-site?

Answer: Some record drawings are available (in AutoCAD) for the last couple of projects which were completed on the chiller plant. These could be provided for use, if needed. However, all existing conditions shall be field verified by the contractor and provision of these drawings does not constitute exception to this.

20. Is Procore acceptable for this project?

Answer: Yes.

21. For the professional liability insurance requirement please provide the dollar limit that you require for this as it is not listed anywhere in the documents.

Answer: The supplement insurance is listed in the solicitation.

4.6 SUPPLEMENTAL INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS

In accordance with FAR 28.307-2 and FAR 52.228-5, the following minimum coverage shall apply to this contract:

(a) Workers' compensation and employers liability: Contractors are required to comply with applicable Federal and State workers' compensation and occupational disease statutes. If occupational diseases are not compensable under those statutes, they shall be covered under the employer's liability section of the insurance policy, except when contract operations are so commingled with a Contractor's commercial operations that it would not be practical to require this coverage. Employer's liability coverage of at least $100,000 is required, except in States with exclusive or monopolistic funds that do not permit workers' compensation to be written by private carriers.

(b) General Liability: $500,000.00 per occurrences.

(c) Automobile liability: $200,000.00 per person; $500,000.00 per occurrence and $20,000.00 property damage.

(d) The successful bidder must present to the Contracting Officer, prior to award, evidence of general liability insurance without any exclusionary clauses for asbestos that would void the general liability coverage.

22. For the builders’ risk insurance requirement please provide the dollar limit that you require for this as it is not listed anywhere in the documents.

Answer: See answer number 21.

4.6 SUPPLEMENTAL INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS

In accordance with FAR 28.307-2 and FAR 52.228-5, the following minimum coverage shall apply to this contract:

(a) Workers' compensation and employers liability: Contractors are required to comply with applicable Federal and State workers' compensation and occupational disease statutes. If occupational diseases are not compensable under those statutes, they shall be covered under the employer's liability section of the insurance policy, except when contract operations are so commingled with a Contractor's commercial operations that it would not be practical to require this coverage. Employer's liability coverage of at least $100,000 is required, except in States with exclusive or monopolistic funds that do not permit workers' compensation to be written by private carriers.

(b) General Liability: $500,000.00 per occurrences.

(c) Automobile liability: $200,000.00 per person; $500,000.00 per occurrence and $20,000.00 property damage.

(d) The successful bidder must present to the Contracting Officer, prior to award, evidence of general liability insurance without any exclusionary clauses for asbestos that would void the general liability coverage.

23. Are grooved piping and fittings allowed to be utilized on the chilled water and condenser water piping? They were used on the last chiller project from our review of the site.

Answer: Groove lock piping and fittings are required on the project. Please refer to the revised drawings for more information.

24. Hot tapping of the piping is mentioned on the drawings. Due to space constraints this will not be possible. Please remove this requirement from the project.

Answer: If space constraints preclude the ability to hot tap as the plans indicate, other arrangements will have to be made to allow for the desired connections. It is understood by the VAMC that these arrangements may include the need for additional utility shutdowns, etc.

25. Will chilled water and condenser water outages be able to be performed during normal working hours?

Answer: Per the specifications, 010000, section 1.6)N)1, all utility outages require the approval of the COR. However, given the fact that the project requirements are setup to conduct this work over the colder (winter and early spring) months, the anticipation of chilled water outages during working hours has been accounted for.

26. Please provide the as-built structural plans for the building to include all of the architectural and structural sheets so that the delegated design and shoring of the wall can be priced.

Answer: As-built drawings for the chiller plant structure are available and will be provided with these responses.

27. Where is the existing unit heater electrical supply box located?

Answer: The disconnect for the unit heater is located directly below it on the northern wall by the entry door.

28. Reference: Specification 01 00 00 – General Requirements (Pages 01 00 00-1 through 01 00 00-3) The project specification delegates structural engineering responsibilities to the contractor for:

· Temporary shoring of existing masonry walls to accommodate equipment replacement and man-door relocation and extension of housekeeping pads to support new mechanical equipment.

This requirement is expressed in broad terms and is not accompanied by detailed structural design drawings or a defined design basis. The absence of structural details, performance criteria, or VA-issued design intent raises concerns regarding compliance with federal regulations, including:

· FAR 36.601-3, which specifies that architectural and engineering services (including structural engineering) must be procured using qualifications-based procedures

· VAAR 836.6, which outlines the VA’s responsibility in design oversight and use of licensed professionals

· Applicable state licensing laws that restrict structural design services to properly contracted, licensed professionals

We respectfully request clarification on the following:

1. Does the VA intend for the contractor to engage a licensed structural engineer to design and seal structural elements such as shoring and pad extensions?

2. Will such designs be formally reviewed and approved by the VA’s Engineering Service prior to implementation?

3. Has the VA confirmed that the delegation of this design work to a contractor under a construction-only contract complies with FAR 36.601-3 and does not require separate procurement under Brooks Act procedures?

4. In the absence of detailed drawings, is the VA willing to issue a prescriptive detail or standard for the affected work to avoid inappropriate liability transfer and regulatory risk?

Given that this project was solicited under construction-only procedures, we request the VA confirm that the delegated design scope does not create a de facto design-build arrangement in violation of applicable procurement laws.

Answer: It should be noted that there are two different questions being asked here, not one.

The first question pertains to compliance with specification section 130541. A standard section which applies to nearly all VA projects. This section requires the contractor retain the services of a licensed structural engineer to produce a signed and sealed anchorage plan for all non-structural components present on the project (i.e. mechanical devices such as the chiller) to ensure they are adequate to resist the prescribed seismic loads. Since the exact footprint of the new equipment is not known at this point, this requirement naturally extends to the additions that one would have to make upon the equipment pads. The geometry of these pad extensions and their composition affect the function and strength capacity of the anchors placed in them for seismic load resistance therefore they would also fall under the umbrella of the requirements of section 130541.

The second question pertains to the delegated design required by the project to facilitate opening the exterior (load-bearing) wall to remove the existing chiller and install the new one. The intent of this delegated design is simply to ensure that the structural modifications which are done in service of replacing this chiller will not compromise the integrity of the building in either the short or long term.

29. Fire Alarm Interface Without Clarified Scope The spec states:

“Modifications to the existing fire alarm system must be coordinated…” No detail is provided on whether new modules, points, or a fire alarm contractor are required.

Answer: No alterations to the existing fire alarm system should be required.

DDC Control Questions

Subject: Clarification Required – Chiller #1 Control and Sequence of Operation The contract documents (including the SOW, specifications, and project drawings) do not include a defined Sequence of Operation (SOO) for the replacement of Chiller #1. In order to integrate the new chiller unit into the existing Building Automation System (BAS) and ensure system performance aligns with VA expectations, please provide clarification on the following points:

Answer: The sequence of operations for the existing plant as well as the proposed modifications are shown in their entirety on Sheet GI-100.

A. System Integration and Control Is there an existing lead-lag or rotation logic in the BAS for chillers? If so, will Chiller #1 be designated as lead or lag?

Answer: Lead/lag on the chillers is explained within the sequence of operations on Sheet GI-100.

B. Enabling and Operation Conditions What is the enabling condition for chiller operation?

Answer: This is covered in the sequence of operations on Sheet GI-100.

What are the design parameters for chiller start/stop logic?

Answer: This is covered in the sequence of operations on Sheet GI-100.

What is the expected chilled water setpoint (°F)? Will this be controlled by the chiller locally or via BAS signal?

Answer: This is covered in the sequence of operations on Sheet GI-100.

Is there a remote start/stop signal from BAS to the chiller?

Answer: This is covered in the sequence of operations on Sheet GI-100.

C. Alarms and Safeties What alarm conditions need to be integrated with the BAS?

Answer: This is covered in the sequence of operations on Sheet GI-100.

Are there any critical alarms that require shutdown interlocks via BAS or local panel?

Answer: This is covered in the sequence of operations on Sheet GI-100.

Should the chiller report operational status (on/off), fault status, and mode (cooling/standby) back to the BAS?

Answer: This is covered in the sequence of operations on Sheet GI-100..

D. Cooling Tower and Condenser Water Control Is the cooling tower operation controlled by the BAS or locally?

Answer: This is covered in the sequence of operations on Sheet GI-100.

Is there a variable speed drive on the cooling tower fan or condenser water pump?

Answer: This is covered in the sequence of operations on Sheet GI-100.

Is there an expected condenser water temperature reset logic or staging control?

Answer: This is covered in the sequence of operations on Sheet GI-100.

Are there valve actuators on the condenser loop that need to be sequenced with chiller enable?

Answer: This is covered in the sequence of operations on Sheet GI-100.

E. Control Points and I/O Please provide a list of required I/O points for the new chiller to be monitored/controlled by the BAS. What are the required communication points (e.g., CHWS temp, CHWR temp, CW supply temp, compressor status, etc.)?

Will trend logs or historical data logging be required for energy reporting or fault diagnostics?

Answer: Yes, trend logging will be required. The current system can trend data as far back as desired.

F. Redundancy and Sequence Priority If Chiller #1 fails, what is the expected automatic response?

Answer: This is covered in the sequence of operations on Sheet GI-100.

Is there a time delay, warm-up, or lockout/reset sequence required after fault or restart?

Answer: This is covered in the sequence of operations on Sheet GI-100.

G. Special Sequences or Site-Specific Requirements Are there energy efficiency sequences to comply with (e.g., chilled water temperature reset, demand limiting)?

Answer: Per the projects specifications and drawings, the campus energy manager has approval over the final sequence of operations.

Is there a requirement to modulate chiller output via BAS (e.g., via chilled water temperature reset or compressor staging)?

Answer: This is covered in the sequence of operations on Sheet GI-100.

Are there additional systems affected (e.g., refrigerant evacuation, ventilation alarms, emergency shutdown procedures) that must tie into chiller operation?

Answer: Yes, there is a refrigerant evacuation system but it does not currently trigger a shutdown of the chiller units if activated. There are no automated emergency shutdown processes which affect the current chiller to my knowledge.

A.1 List of Attachments

See attached document: 657A5-25-101 Compiled Specifications 06-24-25 002.

See attached document: 49-500R.

See attached document: 49-100R.

See attached document: 49-S100R1.

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