36C77621R0035_1.docx

36C77621R0035

1. SOLICITATION NUMBER

2. TYPE OF SOLICITATION

3. DATE ISSUED

PAGE OF PAGES

4. CONTRACT NUMBER

5.

REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQUEST NUMBER

6. PROJECT NUMBER

7. ISSUED BY

CODE

8. ADDRESS OFFER TO

a. NAME

b. TELEPHONE NUMBER (Include area code) (NO COLLECT CALLS)

10. THE GOVERNMENT REQUIRES PERFORMANCE OF THE WORK DESCRIBED IN THESE

DOCUMENTS (Title, identifying number, date) 12a. THE CONTRACTOR MUST FURNISH ANY REQUIRED PERFORMANCE AND PAYMENT BONDS?

(If "YES," indicate within how many calendar days after award in Item 12B.)

12b. CALENDAR DAYS

13. ADDITIONAL

SOLICITATION REQUIREMENTS:

STANDARD FORM 1442 (REV. 8/2014)

STANDARD FORM 1442

Prescribed by GSA-FAR (48 CFR) 52.236-1(d)

SOLICITATION, OFFER,

AND AWARD

(Construction, Alteration, or Repair)

SOLICITATION

SOLICITATION

IMPORTANT - The "offer" section on the reverse must be fully completed by offeror.

9. FOR INFORMATION

CALL:

NOTE: In sealed bid solicitations "offer" and "offeror" mean "bid" and "bidder".

SEALED BID (IFB)

NEGOTIATED (RFP)

1. The Contractor shall begin performance within ____________ calendar days and complete it within calendar days after receiving award, notice to proceed. This performance period is mandatory negotiable. (See

YES

NO

a.

Sealed offers in original and ___________________copies to perform the work required are due at the place specified in Item 8 by _____________ (hour) local time _____________________ (date). If this is a sealed bid solicitation, offers must be publicly opened at that time. Sealed envelopes containing offers shall be marked to show the offeror's name and address, the solicitation number, the date and time offers are due.

b.

An offer guarantee is, is not required.

c.

All offers are subject to the (1) work requirements, and (2) other provisions and clauses incorporated in the solicitation in full text or by reference.

d.

Offers providing less than ____ ___________________ calendar days for Government acceptance after the date offers are due will not be considered and will be rejected.

36C77621R0035 X 03-17-2021 598-18-108 36C776 John Fancella Department of Veterans Affairs Program Contracting Activity Central 6150 Oak Tree Blvd, Suite 300 Independence OH 44131 John Fancella Department of Veterans Affairs Program Contract Activity Central 6150 Oak Tree Blvd, Suite 300 Independence OH 44131 John Fancella 216-447-8300 In accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 8127 (Public Law 109-461), this project is a competitive Service-Disabled Veteran- Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Set-Aside.

The contractor shall provide all tools, equipment, materials, labor, supervision, personnel, and shall do all things necessar y that will result in the construction of the Expand Primary Care, in accordance with the attached Specifications and Drawings.

The project is located at the:

John L. McClellan Memorial Veterans Hospital 4300 W. 7th Street Little Rock, AR 72205

VAAR Magnitude of Construction: $5,000,000 to $10,000,000

10 (TEN)

X X 52.211-10 X

0 (ZERO)

15:00

EDT

04-16-2021 X

90 (NINETY)

14. NAME AND ADDRESS OF OFFEROR

15. TELEPHONE NUMBER

16. REMITTANCE ADDRESS

CODE

FACILITY CODE

17. The offeror agrees to perform the work required at the prices specified below in strict accordance with the terms of the solicitation, if this offer is accepted by the Government in writing within __________ calendar days after the date offers are due.

AMOUNTS

18. The offeror agrees to furnish any required performance and payment bonds.

19. ACKNO

WLEDGMENT OF AMENDMENTS

AMENDMENT

NUMBER

DATE.

20a. NAME AND TITLE OF PERSON AUTHORIZED TO SIGN OFFER 20b. SIGNATURE 20c. OFFER DATE

21. ITEMS ACCEPTED:

22. AMOUNT

23. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA

24. SUBMIT

INVOICES TO ADDRESS SHOWN IN

ITEM

25. OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION PURSUANT TO

10 U.S.C. 2304(c)( 41 U.S.C. 3304(a) (

26. ADMINISTERED BY

27. PAYMENT WILL BE MADE BY

PHONE:

FAX:

28.

NEGOTIATED AGREEMENT

29. AWARD

Your Contractor agrees offer on this solicitation is hereby accepted as to the items listed. This to furnish and deliver all items or perform all work requirements identified award consummates the contract, which consists of (a) the Government on this form and any continuation sheets for the consideration stated in solicitation and your offer, and (b) this contract award. No further cont-this contract. The rights and obligations of the p arties to this contract ractual document is necessary.

shall be governed by (a) this contract award, (b) the solicitation, and (c) the clauses, representations, certifications, and specifications incorporated by reference in or attached to this contract.

30a. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTOR OR PERSON AUTHORIZED 31a. NAME OF CONTRACTING OFFICER

TO SIGN

30b. SIGNATURE 30c. DATE 31b. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 31c. AWARD DATE

BY

OFFER

AWARD

STANDARD FORM 1442 (REV. 8/2014) BACK

(Include ZIP Code) (Include area code) (Include only if different than Item 14.)

(Insert any number equal to or greater than the minimum requirement stated in Item 13d. Failure to insert any number means the offeror accepts the minimum in Item 13d.)

(The offeror acknowledges receipt of amendments to the solicitation -- give number and date of each) (Type or print) (4 copies unless otherwise specified) (Type or print) (Type or pr int) (Contractor is required to sign this document and return _______ copies to issuing office.)

(Contractor is not required to sign this document.)

(Must be fully completed by offeror) (To be completed by Government)

CONTRACTING OFFICER WILL COMPLETE ITEM 28 OR 29 AS APPLICABLE

See Price Schedule 00076 Department of Veterans Affairs Department of Veterans Affairs 6150 Oak Tree Blvd, Suite 300 Independence OH 44131

VAFSC

Department of Veterans Affairs Financial Services Center Invoices to be Submitted Electronically www.ob10.com/us/en/veterans-affairs/ e-Invoice Setup Info Phone 877-489-6135 877-353-9791 512-460-5429 Andrea Fink

PCAC15L3-69262

Table of Contents

A.3 PRICE/COST SCHEDULE

ITEM INFORMATION

Contractor shall furnish all labor, materials, equipment, tools, supervision, and all other necessary resources required to Renovate the Sterile Processing Service (SPS). The Plan is to renovate approximately 14,903 – SF of interior space for the SPS on the ground floor and 860-GSF of interior space for the SPS on the 5th floor. Work includes, but not limited to, Architectural, Site, Structural, Fire Protection, HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical, Earthwork, Exterior Utilities, and other aspects of construction as required by the contract drawings and specifications. The work also involves, but not limited to, demolition of existing architectural, site, plumbing, fire protection, mechanical and electrical work. All work shall be completed in accordance with the attached Specifications and Drawings.

The contractor shall complete the entire project not later than 365 calendar days after the contractor receives the NOTICE TO PROCEED.

NOTICE

1. Line Item 0001 (Base Bid) contains all the work for this project.

1. Bidders must provide a lump sum price for Line Item 0001 (Base Bid). Failure to do so may render their bid as nonresponsive.

1. Award will be made on Grand Total (Line Item 0001- Base Bid).

1. Pricing shall be submitted in whole dollar values. Do NOT include pricing in cents.

1. Contractor is required to fill in DUNS NUMBER in Block No. 14 on Standard Form (SF) 1442.

1. PLEASE NOTE: The Contractor agrees to attend any Post Award conference convened by the contracting activity or contract administration in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation subpart 42.5.

Page 1 of Page 1 of

INFORMATION REGARDING BIDDING MATERIAL, BID GUARANTEE AND BONDS

1.1 BID MATERIAL:

Bid materials consisting of drawings, specifications, and contract forms are included and/or attached as part of this Request for Proposal (RFP). The VA will not provide printed copies of drawings or specifications. It is the responsibility of the offeror to obtain the bid materials in a time and manner sufficient to respond to this solicitation by the specified due date.

1.2 BID GUARANTEE:

A Bid Guarantee, SF 24, is required in an amount not less than 20 percent of the bid price but shall not exceed $3,000,000. Failure to furnish the required bid guarantee in the proper form and amount, by the time set for receipt of bids, may result in the rejection of the bid. Copies of the SF 24 may be obtained from http://www.gsa.gov/portal/forms/type/TOP.

1.3 PAYMENT & PERFORMANCE BONDS:

The offeror to whom award is made will be required to furnish two bonds, a Payment Bond, SF 25A, and a Performance Bond, SF 25, each in the penal sum as noted in the General Conditions of the Solicitation. Copies of SFs 25 and 25A may be obtained from http://www.gsa.gov/portal/forms/type/TOP.

INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS AND OTHER STATEMENTS TO BIDDERS/OFFERORS

2.1 AVAILABILITY OF SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS:

All solicitation related documents will be published to beta.sam.gov

2.2 SDVOSB SET-ASIDE:

This procurement is 100% set-aside for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business concerns. Offers received from other than Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business concerns will not be considered. All Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses must be listed as verified by the VA’s Center for Veterans Enterprises (CVE) (http://www.vetbiz.gov). Offerors must be verified by CVE and visible in the Vendor Information Portal (VIP) database at TIME OF SUBMISSION OF OFFERS. Failure to be BOTH visible and verified at time of Proposal Submission and award will result in the offeror's proposal being deemed unacceptable and ineligible for award.

2.3 TECHNICAL QUESTIONS:

Questions of a technical nature must be provided in writing and shall be submitted by the prospective offerors to John Fancella. Questions shall be submitted only via e-mail to: John.fancella@va.gov The subject line must read: Renovate Sterile Processing Service – Technical Questions. Oral questions of a technical nature are not acceptable. THE CUT-OFF DATE AND TIME FOR RECEIPT OF TECHNICAL QUESTIONS IS Friday April 2, 2021 at 3:00PM Eastern Standard Time.

2.4 AMENDMENTS:

Amendments to this solicitation will be posted at beta.sam.gov. Paper copies of the amendments will NOT be individually mailed. No other notification of amendments will be provided. Potential Offerors are advised that they are responsible for obtaining and acknowledging any amendments to the solicitation. Failure to acknowledge an amendment may result in your proposal being considered unacceptable.

2.5 PREPARATION OF PROPOSALS:

The Government will not pay for any costs incurred in preparation and submission of proposals.

2.6 SELECTION PROCEDURES:

This solicitation is issued as a Request for Proposal (RFP) utilizing FAR Part 15 source selection procedures, with evaluation criteria developed in accordance with FAR 15.304. The Government intends to award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible Offeror whose proposal represents the best value to the Government. It is the intent of the Government to award without discussions; however, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if necessary.

A. All proposals shall be subject to evaluation by a team of Government personnel. The proposals will be evaluated in accordance with the content provided in the solicitation. Offerors will submit a proposal in accordance with the evaluation factors listed below. Upon receipt of proposals, the VA team will evaluate and determine the proposals based on their submissions. In accordance with FAR Part 15, considering price and non-price factors, this solicitation will use the tradeoff source selection process to obtain the best value. Award will be made on the basis of the best combined price and technical qualifications of proposals. During evaluations all factors other than cost or price, when combined, are significantly more important than price. A responsibility determination will be made in accordance with FAR 9.1, Responsible Prospective Contractors.

Evaluations will be based on the following evaluation factors. All evaluation factors other than cost or price, when combined, are significantly more important than price. The non-price factors are in descending order of importance.

Evaluation Factors

1. Understanding of Project Requirements

2. Past Performance

3. Price

2.7 PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS:

A. General

1. Proposals shall be based on solicitation document issued for RFP number 36C77621R0035. Proposals will be in the format stipulated in this document.

2. Proposals shall be received on or before the date and time specified in Block 13 of the SF 1442. There will be no public opening of the proposals.

3. Proposal Submission:

i. Submit proposals via e-mail to: john.fancella@va.gov.

ii. Emails are limited to five (5) MB.

iii. Only e-mail proposals will be accepted. Hard-copy proposals will not be accepted.

4. Submit the original copy of the Bid Bond to:

i. John Fancella Veterans Health Administration Program Contracting Activity Central (VHA-PCAC) 6150 Oaktree Blvd., Suite 300 Independence, OH 44131

ii. Bid guarantees can be delivered by mail, commercial delivery services, or hand carried. Delivery hours are 7:00AM – 3:30PM (EST).

iii. Failure to furnish the required bid guarantee on the proper form and for the proper amount, by the time specified in Block 13 of SF 1442, shall result in rejection of the proposal. See FAR Provision 52.228-1, Bid Guarantee, contained in the solicitation.

5. Page size for all proposal documents will be 8.5 x 11 inches, with 1-inch margins around the page perimeter. Pages will be single spaced. Each page shall count as one (1) page. Proposals shall be submitted using Times New Roman, with font no smaller than 11 point with normal proportional spacing.

6. Page formatting restrictions do not apply to drawings, but each page does apply to the page count. Submission of the draft project schedule can be submitted utilizing larger paper of 11 x17 inches. Pages submitted in excess of the page count will not be evaluated.

B. Proposal Format and Evaluation:

1. Format: Proposals shall be based on solicitation documents and the instructions provided by the Contracting Officer. Technical, Price, and Administrative sections of the Offerors proposals will be evaluated independently; therefore, the Offeror shall submit the proposal in three (3) Volumes (Volume I: Technical, Volume II: Price and Volume III: Administrative). The contractor shall include NO price information in Volume I, Technical. All three volumes must be labeled with the Offeror's organization, business address, and VA Solicitation Number. The Offeror shall submit Volumes I, II, and III in electronic format as searchable PDF documents. The proposal, in its entirety, shall not exceed three emails (one for each volume) of 5MB each. Include page numbers and the company name in the header or footer of each page

i. Volume I including all non-price factors (Understanding of Project requirements and Past Performance) shall not exceed a total of TWENTY-FIVE (25) pages.

ii. Volume II including price only shall not exceed a total of TEN (10) pages following the formatting requirements stated in general proposal requirements.

iii. Volume III Administrative: Offerors shall include the following in Volume III. All of the below information must be provided. An Offeror may be considered unacceptable if these items are not provided in the proposal.

a. Offeror shall return a signed copy of all amendment(s) that are acknowledged in section 19 of the SF 1442 or on each SF 30.

b. Offeror shall provide their Representations and Certifications or their response to FAR 52.204-8 (2) (i) or (ii) Annual Representations and Certifications.

c. Offeror shall provide their response to FAR 52.209-7 (b) Information Regarding Responsibility Matters.

d. Offeror shall provide their response to FAR 52.209-13 (b) (1) or (2) Violation of Arms Controls Treaties or Agreements.

e. Offeror shall provide their response to FAR 52.219-28 (g) Post-Award Small Business Program Representations.

f. Offeror shall include the Safety or Environmental Violations and Experience Modification Rating Information, including filling out Attachment 8.

All Offerors shall submit information pertaining to their past Safety and Environmental record. This requirement is for all violations in any state. The information must contain a certification that the Offeror has no more than three (3) serious, or one (1) repeat or one (1) willful OSHA or any EPA violation(s) in the past three years measured from the due date of proposal. If such certification cannot be made, an Offeror shall explain why and submit as much information as possible regarding the circumstances of its past safety and environmental record, including the number of EPA violations and/or the number of serious, repeat, and/or willful OSHA violations, along with a detailed description of those violations.

All Offerors shall submit information regarding their current Experience Modification Rate (EMR). This information shall be obtained from the Offeror’s insurance carrier and be furnished on the insurance carrier’s letterhead. If an Offeror’s EMR is above 1.0, Offeror must submit a written explanation of the EMR from its insurance carrier furnished on the insurance carrier’s letterhead, describing the reasons for the elevated EMR and the anticipated date the EMR may be reduced to 1.0 or below.

Self-insured contractors or other contractors that cannot provide their EMR rating on insurance letterhead must obtain a rating from the National Council on Compensation Insurance, Inc. (NCCI) by completing/submitting form ERM-6 and providing the rating on letterhead from NCCI. Note: Self-insured contractors or other contractors that cannot provide EMR rating on insurance letterhead from the states or territories of CA, DE, MI, NJ, ND, OH, PA, WA, WY, and PR shall obtain their EMR rating from their state run worker’s compensation insurance rating bureau.

If the NCCI cannot issue an EMR because the Offeror lacks insurance history, Offeror shall submit a letter indicating so from its insurance carrier furnished on the insurance carrier’s letterhead and include a letter from the NCCI indicating that is has assigned Offeror a Unity Rating of 1.0.

The above information, along with other information obtained from Government systems, such as the OSHA and EPA online inspection history databases, will be used to make an initial Determination of Responsibility.

This requirement is applicable to all subcontracting tiers, and prospective prime contractors are responsible for determining the responsibility of their prospective subcontractors.

*If the EMR rating for the subcontracting tiers cannot be provided at time of proposal submission, the prime contractor shall acknowledge this and provide as a submittal with the insurance and bonding requirements prior to award.

Failure to provide the Attachment 8 containing the above information, may result in a determination that an Offeror is not responsible and therefore ineligible for award.

2. Evaluation Factors:

i. Factor 1, Understanding of Project Requirements: Based on the solicitation documents, site visit, and the technical questions provide a detailed narrative (page limitation: sixteen (16) pages for detailed narrative) describing the Offeror’s understanding of the project to achieve the construction design objectives as described in the solicitation. If the page limits are exceeded, the pages in excess of the limit will not be read or considered.

The Offeror’s narratives shall include, at minimum, the following areas:

a. Phasing

b. Infection Control

c. Asbestos removal

d. Safety management

e. Employment of Steris Trailers The Offeror shall address the governments areas of concern and describe how they will minimize risk in conjunction with the identified areas of concern. The narrative shall indicate that the Construction team understands the complexities of the project and address how their approach offers constructability in an operational hospital setting.

ii. Factor 2, Past Performance: Each proposal shall provide current and relevant information regarding an Offeror’s actions under previously awarded contracts. This shall include a minimum of one (1) and a maximum of three (3) construction projects for the Offeror that best demonstrate their past performance on relevant projects in size, scope and complexity to the RFP. For the purpose of this evaluation, a relevant project is further defined as “the construction and/or renovation of multiple rooms or buildings in an active campus or related environment, similar in size and scope to this project.” Projects shall have a minimum value of $3,000,000.00 and be 100% completed. Projects submitted for the Offeror shall be completed within the past five years of the date of issuance of this RFP.

If a completed past performance evaluation is available in CPARS, it shall be submitted with the proposal for each project identified. If there is not a completed past performance evaluation available in CPARS, then the Offeror shall submit Past Performance Questionnaires (PPQ)(reference ATTACHMENT 9) for each project. The Offeror shall notify their client that the PPQ shall be submitted via email to the Government’s point of contact john.fancella@va.gov. If the Offeror is unable to obtain a completed PPQ from a client for a project(s) before proposal closing date, the Offeror shall complete and submit with the proposal the first page of the PPQ, which will provide contract and client information for the respective project(s). The Government may make reasonable attempts to contact the client noted for that project(s) to obtain the PPQ information. However, Offerors should follow-up with clients/references to help ensure timely submittal of questionnaires. The Government reserves the right to contact references for verification or additional information

iii. Factor 3, Price: Carefully follow “Instructions, Conditions, and Notices to Offerors”, Standard form (SF) 1442 Solicitation, Offer and Award (Construction, Alteration, or Repair) and the price schedule when submitting price offers. The prices shall be Firm Fixed Price. The Offeror shall take care not to include remarks that take exception to the Government’s SOW/Specifications, pricing requirements, or otherwise preclude the Government from evaluating the offer or render the offer as non-responsive or unacceptable. If the Offeror communicates in its proposal any exceptions, exclusions, qualifications, or conditions to the proposed prices not provided for in the Offerors proposal documents, the Contracting Officer shall reject the proposal and exclude the Offeror from further consideration. In addition to the pricing schedule, Offerors shall submit a complete Breakdown of the Division Pricing for all CLIN’s

3. Evaluation of Offers:

i. Factor 1, Understanding of Project Requirements: The VA will evaluate to determine that the Offeror understands the project and can perform all of the required elements. Understanding of project requirements will be evaluated based on the Offeror’s understanding of the Quality control measures that will be a high priority in the renovation of these spaces. Infection control measures will be an essential means of controlling any construction contaminates from being released in the hospital environment, and the project as a whole. Employment of the Mobile Steris Trailers is another vital piece for this project. The utilization of these trailers while the Sterile Processing Service space is being renovated is essential for continuous operation of the medical center and in support of our Veterans. The Offeror’s narrative should provide enough detail to demonstrate that the scope and complexity of the project requirements are understood and will be successfully completed.

ii. Factor 2, Past Performance: Will be evaluated on the relevant and recent experience of the projects submitted and on the quality of the Offeror’s past performance within the last five (5) years with respect to the construction projects submitted. This includes, the timeliness of contract completion, adherence to contract schedules and timely submission of data deliverables; the contractor’s ability to comply with the terms and conditions of the contract; the overall quality of the work performed on the contract; the Offeror’s managerial performance’ and whether or not the reference would enter into a contract with the contractor again. Contractors without relevant past performance or for whom past performance information is not available, will be rated neither favorably nor unfavorably on past performance. In the event that the prime contractor does not have relevant past performance, surveys submitted for key personnel will be evaluated. Past performance evaluations may also be conducted using information obtained from CPRS and any other sources deemed appropriate by the CO. Other sources may include, but are not limited to, inquiries of owner representative(s), Electronic Subcontract Reporting System (eSRS), and any other known sources not provided by the Offeror.

iii. Factor 3, Price: Will be evaluated in accordance with the process identified in the Price Schedule. The total evaluated price will be determined by the Offeror’s price for all the CLINs listed. Note: The VA will look at the total evaluated price and non-price factors to determine the best value. “Best Value” means the expected outcome of an acquisition that, in the Government’s estimation, provides the greatest overall benefit in response to the requirements.

D. Final Proposal Revisions (*Note this section only applies if discussions are conducted)

1. If determined to be necessary, proposal revisions will be requested from the Offerors determined by the CO to be in the competitive range based on the selection criteria. Discussions may be conducted with those Offerors falling within the competitive range, after which proposal revisions will be requested. Proposal revisions will be submitted as per Section 2.7(A), above, except as noted below and will be due at a time and place to be determined.

2. Offerors submitting proposal revisions will not be requested to re-submit any documents which are unchanged from their initial proposals. Offerors will provide necessary changes to individual paragraphs, as briefly as possible, and include a table of contents, which indicates where within the initial proposal the additional information or changed documents would be placed. Proposal revisions shall include a completed SF 1442 that acknowledges receiving all amendments, by number. A new bid bond shall be submitted only if the final proposal revisions Offeror’s price proposal is greater than its initial price proposal.

2.8 DETERMINATION OF RESPONSIBILITY:

A Determination of Responsibility will be conducted for the apparent “awardee” prior to award of the project. The required information from the proposal, along with other information obtained from Government systems, such as, but not limited to the OSHA and EPA online inspection history databases, as well as any other information the Contracting Officer has determined to be valid, will be used to make the Determination of Responsibility. Failure to affirm being within the guidelines in the proposal may result in a determination of “Non-Responsible” for the Offeror. NOTE: Any information received by the Government that would cause for a negative Determination of Responsibility may make the Offeror ineligible for award.

2.9 VETS 4212:

Title 38, USC Section 4212(d), codified at 41 CFR Section 61-300, requires that federal contractors report, at least annually, the number and category of veterans who are within their workforce. Submission of the VETS-4212 reporting information can be done electronically at: http://www.dol.gov/vets/vets4212.htm. Award cannot be made unless the awardee has filed their VETS-4212 report. Therefore, all offerors are encouraged to file every year. The Contracting Officer may request a copy of the email confirmation of receipt notification, prior to awarding the project.

2.10 SYSTEM FOR AWARD MANAGEMENT (SAM):

Federal Acquisition Regulations require that federal contractors register in the System for Award Management (SAM) database at http://www.sam.gov and enter all mandatory information into the system. Offerors are required to be registered in SAM at the time an offer is submitted in order to comply with the annual representations and certifications requirements. The Offeror shall be registered at time of submission and award.

2.11 REVIEW REQUIRED REGISTRATION WITH CONTRACTOR

PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT SYSTEM (CPARS):

As prescribed in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 42.1502(e), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) evaluates contractor past performance on all construction contracts that exceed $750,000 and shares those evaluations with other Federal Government contract specialists and procurement officials. The FAR requires that the contractor be provided an opportunity to comment on past performance evaluations prior to each report closing. To fulfill this requirement VA uses an online database, CPARS, which is maintained by the Naval Seal Logistics Center in Portsmouth, Virginia.

Each contractor whose contract award is estimated to exceed $750,000 is required to register with CPARS database at the following web address: http://www.cpars.gov/. Help in registering can be obtained by contacting Customer Support Desk @ DSN: 684-1690 or COMM: 207- 438-1690. Registration should occur no later than thirty days after contract award and must be kept current should there be any change to the contractor’s registered representative.

For contracts with a period of one year or less, the contracting officer will perform a single evaluation when the contract is complete. For contracts exceeding one year, the contracting officer will evaluate the contractor’s performance annually. Interim reports will be filed each year until the last year of the contract, when the final report will be completed. The report shall be assigned in CPARS to the contractor’s designated representative for comment. The contractor representative will have thirty days to submit any comments and re-assign the report to the VA contracting officer.

Failure to have a current registration in the CPARS database, or to re-assign the report to the VA contracting officer within those thirty days, will result in the Government’s evaluation being placed on file in the database with a statement that the contractor failed to respond.

2.12 BACKGROUND INVESTIGATIONS AND SPECIAL AGREEMENT CHECKS:

All contractor employees are subject to the same level of investigation as VA employees who have access to VA Sensitive Information. The level of background investigation commensurate with the level of access needed to perform the statement of work is: Low Risk. This requirement is applicable to all subcontractor personnel requiring the same access. As per VA Directive 0710, costs of background investigations will be borne by the contractor.

2.13 REFERENCES TO VA ENGINEER, RESIDENT ENGINEER OR PROJECT MANAGER:

Any reference contained within the solicitation/contract specifications and/or drawings to the “VA Engineer,” “Resident Engineer,” or “Project Manager” or their abbreviations shall be replaced with “Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR).”

2.14 52.216-1 TYPE OF CONTRACT (APR 1984)

The Government contemplates award of a Firm-Fixed-Price contract resulting from this solicitation.

(End of Provision)

2.15 52.222-5 CONSTRUCTION WAGE RATE REQUIREMENTS—SECONDARY SITE OF THE WORK (MAY 2014) (a)(1) The offeror shall notify the Government if the offeror intends to perform work at any secondary site of the work, as defined in paragraph (a)(1)(ii) of the FAR clause at 52.222-6, Construction Wage Rate Requirements, of this solicitation.

(2) If the offeror is unsure if a planned work site satisfies the criteria for a secondary site of the work, the offeror shall request a determination from the Contracting Officer.

(b)(1) If the wage determination provided by the Government for work at the primary site of the work is not applicable to the secondary site of the work, the offeror shall request a wage determination from the Contracting Officer.

(2) The due date for receipt of offers will not be extended as a result of an offeror's request for a wage determination for a secondary site of the work.

(End of Provision)

2.16 52.222-23 NOTICE OF REQUIREMENT FOR AFFIRMATIVE ACTION TO ENSURE EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY FOR CONSTRUCTION (FEB 1999)

(a) The offeror's attention is called to the Equal Opportunity clause and the Affirmative Action Compliance Requirements for Construction clause of this solicitation.

(b) The goals for minority and female participation, expressed in percentage terms for the Contractor's aggregate workforce in each trade on all construction work in the covered area, are as follows:

These goals are applicable to all the Contractor's construction work performed in the covered area. If the Contractor performs construction work in a geographical area located outside of the covered area, the Contractor shall apply the goals established for the geographical area where the work is actually performed. Goals are published periodically in the Federal Register in notice form, and these notices may be obtained from any Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs office.

(c) The Contractor's compliance with Executive Order 11246, as amended, and the regulations in 41 CFR 60-4 shall be based on (1) its implementation of the Equal Opportunity clause, (2) specific affirmative action obligations required by the clause entitled "Affirmative Action Compliance Requirements for Construction," and (3) its efforts to meet the goals. The hours of minority and female employment and training must be substantially uniform throughout the length of the contract, and in each trade. The Contractor shall make a good faith effort to employ minorities and women evenly on each of its projects. The transfer of minority or female employees or trainees from Contractor to Contractor, or from project to project, for the sole purpose of meeting the Contractor's goals shall be a violation of the contract, Executive Order 11246, as amended, and the regulations in 41 CFR 60-4. Compliance with the goals will be measured against the total work hours performed.

(d) The Contractor shall provide written notification to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Federal Contract Compliance, U.S. Department of Labor, within 10 working days following award of any construction subcontract in excess of $10,000 at any tier for construction work under the contract resulting from this solicitation. The notification shall list the—

(1) Name, address, and telephone number of the subcontractor;

(2) Employer's identification number of the subcontractor;

(3) Estimated dollar amount of the subcontract;

(4) Estimated starting and completion dates of the subcontract; and

(5) Geographical area in which the subcontract is to be performed.

(e) As used in this Notice, and in any contract resulting from this solicitation, the "covered area" is Pulaski County, Little Rock, AR

(End of Provision)

2.17 52.225-10 NOTICE OF BUY AMERICAN REQUIREMENT—CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS (MAY 2014)

(a) Definitions. "Commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) item," "construction material," "domestic construction material," and "foreign construction material," as used in this provision, are defined in the clause of this solicitation entitled "Buy American—Construction Materials" (Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clause 52.225-9).

(b) Requests for determinations of inapplicability. An offeror requesting a determination regarding the inapplicability of the Buy American statute should submit the request to the Contracting Officer in time to allow a determination before submission of offers. The offeror shall include the information and applicable supporting data required by paragraphs (c) and (d) of the clause at FAR 52.225-9 in the request. If an offeror has not requested a determination regarding the inapplicability of the Buy American statute before submitting its offer, or has not received a response to a previous request, the offeror shall include the information and supporting data in the offer.

(c) Evaluation of offers.

(1) The Government will evaluate an offer requesting exception to the requirements of the Buy American statute, based on claimed unreasonable cost of domestic construction material, by adding to the offered price the appropriate percentage of the cost of such foreign construction material, as specified in paragraph (b)(3)(i) of the clause at FAR 52.225-9.

(2) If evaluation results in a tie between an offeror that requested the substitution of foreign construction material based on unreasonable cost and an offeror that did not request an exception, the Contracting Officer will award to the offeror that did not request an exception based on unreasonable cost.

(d) Alternate offers.

(1) When an offer includes foreign solicitation in paragraph (b)(2) of the clause at FAR 52.225-9, the offeror also may submit an alternate offer based on use of equivalent domestic construction material.

(2) If an alternate offer is submitted, the offeror shall submit a separate Standard Form 1442 for the alternate offer, and a separate price comparison table prepared in accordance with paragraphs (c) and (d) of the clause at FAR 52.225-9 for the offer that is based on the use of any foreign construction material for which the Government has not yet determined an exception applies.

(3) If the Government determines that a particular exception requested in accordance with paragraph (c) of the clause at FAR 52.225-9 does not apply, the Government will evaluate only those offers based on use of the equivalent domestic construction material, and the offeror shall be required to furnish such domestic construction material. An offer based on use of the foreign construction material for which an exception was requested—

(i) Will be rejected as nonresponsive if this acquisition is conducted by sealed bidding; or

(ii) May be accepted if revised during negotiations.

(End of Provision)

2.18 52.228-1 BID GUARANTEE (SEP 1996)

(a) Failure to furnish a bid guarantee in the proper form and amount, by the time set for opening of bids, may be cause for rejection of the bid.

(b) The bidder shall furnish a bid guarantee in the form of a firm commitment, e.g., bid bond supported by good and sufficient surety or sureties acceptable to the Government, postal money order, certified check, cashier's check, irrevocable letter of credit, or, under Treasury Department regulations, certain bonds or notes of the United States. The Contracting Officer will return bid guarantees, other than bid bonds—

(1) To unsuccessful bidders as soon as practicable after the opening of bids; and

(2) To the successful bidder upon execution of contractual documents and bonds (including any necessary coinsurance or reinsurance agreements), as required by the bid as accepted.

(c) The amount of the bid guarantee shall be 20 percent of the bid price or $3,000,000.00, whichever is less.

(d) If the successful bidder, upon acceptance of its bid by the Government within the period specified for acceptance, fails to execute all contractual documents or furnish executed bond(s) within 10 days after receipt of the forms by the bidder, the Contracting Officer may terminate the contract for default.

(e) In the event the contract is terminated for default, the bidder is liable for any cost of acquiring the work that exceeds the amount of its bid, and the bid guarantee is available to offset the difference.

(End of Provision)

2.19 52.228-17 INDIVIDUAL SURETY—PLEDGE OF ASSETS (BID GUARANTEE) (FEB 2021)

(a) Offerors shall obtain from each person acting as an individual surety on a bid guarantee—

(1) A pledge of assets that meets the eligibility, valuation, and security requirements described in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 28.203–1; and

(2) Standard Form 28, Affidavit of Individual Surety.

(b) The Offeror shall include with its offer the information required at paragraph (a) of this provision within the timeframe specified in the provision at FAR 52.228–1, Bid Guarantee, or as otherwise established by the Contracting Officer.

(c) The Contracting Officer may release the security interest on the individual surety’s assets in support of a bid guarantee based upon evidence that the offer supported by the individual surety will not result in contract award.

(End of Provision)

2.20 52.233-2 SERVICE OF PROTEST (SEP 2006)

Protests, as defined in section 33.101 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, that are filed directly with an agency, and copies of any protests that are filed with the Government Accountability Office (GAO), shall be served on the Contracting Officer (addressed as follows) by obtaining written and dated acknowledgment of receipt from:

Andrea Fink Hand-Carried Address:

Andrea Fink Department of Veterans Affairs Program Contracting Activity Central 6150 Oak Tree Blvd, Suite 300 OH 44131 Mailing Address:

Andrea Fink Department of Veterans Affairs Program Contracting Activity Central 6150 Oak Tree Blvd, Suite 300 OH 44131

(b) The copy of any protest shall be received in the office designated above within one day of filing a protest with the GAO.

(End of Provision)

2.21 52.252-1 SOLICITATION PROVISIONS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE (FEB 1998)

This solicitation incorporates one or more solicitation provisions by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. The offeror is cautioned that the listed provisions may include blocks that must be completed by the offeror and submitted with its quotation or offer. In lieu of submitting the full text of those provisions, the offeror may identify the provision by paragraph identifier and provide the appropriate information with its quotation or offer. Also, the full text of a solicitation provision may be accessed electronically at this/these address(es):

http://www.acquisition.gov/far/index.html http://www.va.gov/oal/library/vaar/

(End of Provision)

2.22 52.236-27 SITE VISIT (CONSTRUCTION) (FEB 1995) ALTERNATE I (FEB 1995)

(a) The clauses at 52.236-2, Differing Site Conditions, and 52.236-3, Site Investigations and Conditions Affecting the Work, will be included in any contract awarded as a result of this solicitation. Accordingly, offerors or quoters are urged and expected to inspect the site where the work will be performed.

(b) An organized site visit has been scheduled for— March 25, 2021 at 1:00pm Central Time Zone (CST)

(c) Participants will meet at— Participants will meet at— South Entrance off of 7th Street. At the John L. McClellan Memorial Veterans Hospital 4300 West 7th Street, Little Rock, AR 72205 Due to Covid-19, to help with the screening process Email john.fancella@va.gov with a list of attendees prior to the site visit.

(End of Provision)

2.23 VAAR 852.228-72 ASSISTING SERVICE-DISABLED VETERAN-OWNED AND VETERAN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESSES IN OBTAINING BONDS (DEC 2009) Prime contractors are encouraged to assist service-disabled veteran-owned and veteran-owned small business potential subcontractors in obtaining bonding, when required. Mentor firms are encouraged to assist protégé firms under VA's Mentor-Protégé Program in obtaining acceptable bid, payment, and performance bonds, when required, as a prime contractor under a solicitation or contract and in obtaining any required bonds under subcontracts.

(End of Clause)

2.24 VAAR 852.233-71 ALTERNATE PROTEST PROCEDURE (OCT 2018)

(a) As an alternative to filing a protest with the Contracting Officer, an interested party may file a protest by mail or electronically with: Executive Director, Office of Acquisition and Logistics, Risk Management and Compliance Service (003A2C), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20420 or Email: EDProtests@va.gov.

(b) The protest will not be considered if the interested party has a protest on the same or similar issue(s) pending with the Contracting Officer.

(End of Provision) PLEASE NOTE: The correct mailing information for filing alternate protests is as follows:

Or for solicitations issued by the Office of Construction and Facilities Management:

2.25 VAAR 852.233-70 PROTEST CONTENT/ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION (OCT 2018)

(a) Any protest filed by an interested party shall—

(1)…