Pre-Bid Visit Agenda 657-18-115.pdf

PRE-PROPOSAL CONFERENCE OUTLINE

657-18-115JCA - Replace Various Air Handling Units and Variable Air Volume

Units Wednesday, April 1, 2026 @ 10:00 am CT

Introduction

(a) Good Morning, thank you for taking the time to attend this pre-bid conference. Please sign in on the attendance roster.

(b) Today we will first discuss contractual issues, then we will discuss technical issues, entertain questions, and finally conduct a walkthrough of the areas.

(c) Before we cover the issues, let me first introduce myself and the Government staff.

CO –Dave Sterrett

COR – Nicholas Copeland

Alternate COR: TBA

Other VA staff –

The COR is responsible for day-to-day technical oversight of the project. Quality Control is the responsibility of the prime contractor.

I. Contractual Issues

1. General:

(a) Project Title: 657-18-115JCA, Replace Various Air Handling Units and Variable Air Volume Units

(b) Cost Range: $1,000,000 and $5,000,000 (FAR 36.204)

(c) Completion Time: 275 calendar days after receipt of notice to proceed for the base bid.

(d) Site Visit Questions are due in writing to the Contracting Officer david.sterrett@va,gov and COR Nicholas.Copeland@va.gov by 2:00 pm central time on Monday, April 13, 2026.

(e) Proposals are due, Monday, May 11, 2026, at 2:00 PM via email ONLY to david.sterrett@va,gov . If the proposal is not received on time, it cannot be accepted.

(f) Fax or hard copies of bids are not acceptable.

(g) The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) for this acquisition is 238220, Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors. The small business size standard is $19.0 million.

(h) The project is 100% set aside for Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business.

IAW VAAR 852.219-75, the contractor will not pay more than 75% of the amount paid by the government to it to firms that are not certified SDVOSBs listed in the SBA certification database as set forth in 852.219-73. Any work that a similarly situated certified SDBOSB subcontractor further subcontracts will count towards the 75% subcontract amount that cannot be exceeded. Cost of materials are excluded and not considered to be subcontracted.

mailto:david.sterrett@va,gov mailto:david.sterrett@va,gov

(i) Award will be made using the LOWEST PRICE TECHNICALLY ACCEPTABLE (LPTA) Source selection process outlined in FAR Part 15. Please pay attention to the proposal submittal instructions in the solicitation package. The Government plans to award without discussions but reserves the right to open discussions if necessary. Note that offers that are not technically acceptable cannot be selected, regardless of price.

(j) Offerors must provide a breakdown of labor and material costs by applicable division for each bid item in the solicitation. Failure to provide a breakdown of labor and materials with the proposal will render the proposal technically unacceptable.

(k) Failure to acknowledge any, and all amendments issued to this solicitation shall be cause for rejection of the offer.

(l) Failure to provide information is the most common reason for a proposal to fail technically. Offerors are encouraged to read the Factors for technical acceptability carefully. Offerors are responsible for providing the information requested in the solicitation for both price and technical factors.

(m) Failure to provide an adequate Contractor Safety Plan which addresses the minimum standards for compliance under Factor 5 will be a technical failure.

(n) The calculation of Self-Performed and/or Subcontracted Work must be provided with the Contractor proposal (bid). Failure to provide this will be a technical failure.

(o) The pre-award Contractor Safety and Environmental Record Evaluation Form must be provided with the proposal (bid). Failure to provide this information will be a technical failure.

2. Disclaimer Statements:

(a) Remarks and explanations at the conference shall not qualify the terms of the solicitation. Specific questions must be submitted in writing to the CO & COR via email.

Please number the questions so we can keep them organized.

(b) Terms of the solicitation and specifications remain unchanged unless the solicitation is amended in writing. The amendments that provide answers to questions and clarifications will be published to SAM.gov.

3. Bonds:

(a) A bid Bond in the amount of 20% must accompany your BID.

(b) After award of the contract a Payment Bond and a Performance Bond in the amount of 100% of the contract value are due prior to a Notice to Proceed Letter being issued.

4. Buy American Act: The solicitation is subject to the Buy American Act, and it generally requires the use of American made products. Please keep this in mind when you are providing product submittal data.

5. Davis-Bacon Act/ Service Contract Act: All labor performed under this contract is subject to the Davis-Bacon Act and related labor laws, to include the payment of at least the amounts shown in the wage determinations in the solicitation. Please note that the First Amendment will contain an updated wage determination as the one included with the solicitation is incorrect.

6. Other Contracting Topics:

(a) The contractor is expected to maintain insurance coverage during the contract period as directed in the specifications.

(b) Progress payments will be made no later than 14 days after receipt of an acceptable invoice.

(c) There are 2 important submittals that we need at contract start-up. They are the Schedule of Values, and a Construction Schedule.

(d) A site superintendent must be on site at all times while work is being performed.

Special Note regarding FAR 52.229-3: Federal, State and Local Taxes: Offerors are hereby notified that all state and local sales or use taxes for construction materials must be included in their bid or proposal price. It is solely the responsibility of the offeror to include all other applicable taxes in their bid or proposal price as well. The Government has determined that for this acquisition it cannot take advantage of any sales or use tax exemptions that may be available to it under applicable state law. Under no circumstances will any Contractor be designated as an agent of the Government for purposes of any tax exemption, nor will the Government authorize any Contractor’s use of any tax exemption directly applicable to the Government under this procurement.

A price change request upon award relating to the inclusion of state and local sales or use taxes will not be accepted.

II. Technical Issues – The Project Engineer (COR) will now provide an overview of the project.

After this, a walkthrough of the areas will be held. Please keep side-bar conversations to a minimum and try to stay together as a group. Pictures may only be taken while being escorted, cannot be taken with people in them and no photos of anything that could be considered VA “sensitive information”.

David Sterrett

Contracting Officer