Solicitation Questions and Anwers 8-6-2024.pdf

Solicitation Questions & Answers for South Florida National Cemetery

Ground Maintenance Services RFP 36C78624R50137

1. Question: What varieties of grass are present in the cemetery?

Answer: Celebration Bermuda, Zoysia Empire, St Augustine, and Argentine Bahia.

2. Question: What are the dimensions of the headstones?

Answer: 42 inches long, 13 inches wide and 4 inches thick.

3. Question: How many sections are there in the cemetery?

Answer: 34 Sections (Including subsections).

4. Question: How often is the grass cut during the week?

Answer: All Mowing will be done a minimum of once a week during growing season, which is YEAR-ROUND. The growing season may require mowing twice weekly due to favorable weather conditions to keep the turf from growing no more than one half (1/2”) inch above the maximum recommended height of 2 inches for

Celebration Bermuda and Empire Zoysia turfgrass. No more than one half (1/2”) inch above the maximum recommended height of 4 inches for Argentine Bahia and

St. Augustine turfgrass -Ref-SOW.

5. Question: How many headstones are there in the cemetery?

Answer: 31,507 +/-(Est).

6. Question: How many headstones and niche covers are placed annually?

Answer: 2,578 +/- (Est).

7. Question: How many acres are in each section?

Answer: 6 +/- Acres per section and subsection (On average).

8. Question: Who is responsible for the irrigation?

Answer: Contractor-Ref SOW for bid. Cemetery shall furnish irrigation parts needed for repair.

9. Question: Is the cleaning of committal shelters part of the service?

Answer: Yes- Ref SOW.

10. Question: Who is responsible for installing the headstones?

Answer: The contractor-Ref SOW for bid.

11. Question: Who is responsible for the pesticide and weed control?

12. Question: Where is the irrigation control panel for the cemetery sections located?

Answer: Central computer is in the Maintenance Field. Irrigation control satellites are located in various locations of cemetery. Pumps is a separate contract and will be included in the scope of work.

13. Question: Will the contractor be provided with a site plan?

Answer: Yes.

14. Question: Who is responsible for trimming the shrubs?

15. Question: What are the measurements on the edges and the calculation for trimming and mowing?

Answer: ½” wide clear gap between the turf/grass, and the horizontal surface.

Street edges with no discernable curbing, shall be edged in such a manner as to eliminate turf/grass from overlapping the roadway. Turf shall not be higher near the edged area than the turf in the mow-able area. Optimally, the height should be no more than half an inch (1/2”) above specified range of turfgrass - Ref SOW.

16. Question: When does the bid close? Some sources mention 8/12. When will the selection be made?

Answer: August 12, 2024 at 10:00 AM.

17. Question: When does the contract begins? What is the date?

Answer: September 23, 2024.

18. Question: Who is responsible for mowing non-developed land by the back dirt road, such as the connection road from Section 34 circle to Section 20?

19. Question: How frequently are mulching and rocks required?

Answer: Quartey - Harwood Blend match existing mulch and not contain any grey or discolored content. Beds will be kept edges and esthetically pleasing to the eye of the public and maintained free of weeds, sticks, stones, clippings, and other foreign material -Ref SOW.

20. Question: What is the name of the current contractor?

Answer: NATIVE CONTRACTORS, INC.

21. Question: What is the value of the current contract?

Answer: $2,571,732.54

22. Question: Is there an aerial map of the place of performance that I can obtain that shows sq ft and where everything is located plus vegetation?

Answer: No.

23. Question: When it comes to headstone maintenance, is the contractor supposed to purchase new headstones or will that purchase be on the government if needed?

Answer: Provided by NCA/Cemetery - Ref SOW for bid.

24. Question: When it comes to casket/cremation transportation, is the truck in the photo on page 82 provided?

Answer: Yes, the contractor is responsible for all training, supplies, personal protective equipment (PPE), equipment, and/or tractor attachments required to complete job - Ref SOW for bid.

25. Question: What is the current contract value?

Answer: $2,571,732.54

26. Question: What has been the PWS modifications to the current contract in terms of Turf

Management.

Answer: None. This is a Statement of Work, not a Performance Work Statement.

27. Question: Will the awardee be given the same lay down area that the incumbent is using for storage.

Answer: Yes.

28. Question: As Phase 2 is completed what is the acreage of turf that will be added.

Answer: Approximately +/- 20 Acres.

29. Question: PWS B.4.4.2 - What is the approximate cubic yards of mulch used annually?

What is the preferred type of mulch to be used?

Answer: This is not a PWS. Contractor will need to make this determination. As means and methods of calculation are responsibility of contractor.

30. Question: Attachment B CLIN 0001 and CLIN 0002 – The description of the turf areas states 169 +/- Ac and the non turf areas 130 +/- AC. Upon making a site visit and measuring the turf areas the 169 AC and 130 AC cannot be determined. Can the government please provide maps of these designated areas?

Answer: No, maps are available currently. Site Visit was provided for this purpose.

31. Question: PWS B4.1.3 and B.4.11.2 - What are the total number of headstones that need to be trimmed and cleaned?

Answer: This is not a PWS. 31,507 +/-(Est).

32. Question: PWS B.4.4.3 – What is the type of rock that is currently used in the areas that need to be replenished?

Answer: This is not a PWS. A smooth, pea gravel rock is what is currently used in these areas.

33. Question: PWS B.4.5.2 - The PWs states that aerification may be needed 2 times per year and Attachment B states that aeration will be done in Sept (10 AC). Also, the QTY is 1 and unit is JB. Is the annual acreage of aeration 10 AC per year or is this to done 2 time per year.

Answer: This is not a PWS. September is historically when the aeration has been done. These areas are compact areas only, such walkways, isles, and other high traffic areas in the turf. This shall be an IDIQ contract, CLIN shall tasked as needed or required as funded.

34. Question: PWS B.4.5.3 / Attachment B The PWS and Operational Flow Chart require 2 fertilization for the Argentine Bahia however there is not a line item to price this requirement.

Answer: This is not a PWS. This is an oversight, CLIN will be added for pricing.

CLINS 0049, 1049, 2049, 3049, and 4049 was added to the cost schedule.

35. Question: Operational Flow Chart / Attachment B – List fertilization weed control and

Disease control for 4 different turf types which vary in their treatment especially when comes to disease control (fungus). What is the acreage of each turf type covered under section B.4.5?

Answer: Ref SOW- Approximate acreage is provided for each turf type.

Fertilization application requirements are show for all turf types, approximate acreage, and approximate fertilizer timing. Contractor will need to make the determination of their own for an exact acreage determination for fertilizer application calculations. As means and methods of calculation are responsibility of contractor.

36. Question: PWS - On page 45 under General Requirements it states: “NO Pre-Emerge herbicide will be allowed for consecutive use for that 12 month period as best management practices shall be observed to manage resistance management of weeds.

On page 51 under the Operational Flow Chart in the first section for Pre-emergent application 3x yearly for the Empire Zoysia and Celebration Bermuda grass. Provides

Three different pre-emergent herbicides with them for Year 1, Year 2, Year 3 and Year 4.

For Clarification does the government want us to use three different pre-emergent formulations that are different for a 12 month period or do they want you to use for example Ronstar in the base year, for all three applications, then Spectacle in the following year, then Dimension the next year, then Ronstar the following year the spectacle again in the final year?

Answer: This is not a PWS. Ref SOW- Pre-emerge applications are show for all turf types, what chemical shall be used and amount of chemical that shall be used per application in each year of contract.

37. Question: We do not see any preventative fungicide treatments for the new phase of

Zoysia that was planted (Approx. 20 AC). There is 1 blanket application and a 1-time spot application. This turf is very susceptible to brown patch or large patch fungus between Oct and April. Once this pathogen blooms you can suppress but the circular discoloration will last 2-4 months. Also, what is the remedy if the new zoysia grass gets

Tuttle bug, this insect requires more than one application to control. Please clarify how this is to be invoiced?

Answer: This shall be an IDIQ contract, CLIN shall tasked as needed or required as funded.

38. I would like to set up a site visit where the work will be performed. May I schedule an appointment. Thank you very much.

Answer: Site visit was conducted July 29th, 2024, as stated in the solicitation. No other site visits can be scheduled.

39. Is there a certain format we need follow to submit a proposal/contract for the South

Florida National Cemetery?

Answer: See solicitation page number 6 Section 11. Proposal Preparation

Instructions.

“Offerors shall submit offer in four (4) separate Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) documents identifying each .pdf document as Volumes A, Volume B, Volume C, and Volume

D. Interested Offerors who fail to submit the four (4) separate pdf. documents will be considered non-responsive. If one document is submitted the offeror will be considered non-responsive. Volumes A through C must be a separate pdf files.

Volume D must be submitted in an excel file.”