Eureka Housing ESS Upgrade Questions and Answers.pdf

Eureka Housing ESS Upgrade Questions and Answers

1. Current setup is standard wireless bridges. There is no microwave. Will you consider a point-to-point wireless bid design?

Answer: Yes

2. Is FIPS required for network video recorder and PTZ cameras, or just the wireless?

Answer: FIPS is required for both

3. Will the Coast Guard provide an electrician to provide the needed 120v power to the Nema boxes?

Answer: No

4. Who will be controlling and LIVE viewing or monitoring the PTZ cameras?

Answer: Coast Guard personnel

5. Will the Coast Guard trim trees where needed to improve site-to-site visibility to reduce the number of wireless hops?

Answer: The Coast Guard will coordinate tree trimming where feasible to optimize line-of-sight for wireless hops. Because local environmental restrictions, property boundaries, or base logistical constraints may prevent trimming to the exact extent requested, the contractor must be prepared to adjust wireless transceiver heights, modify antenna configurations, or pivot network routing plans if full clearing cannot be achieved.

6. This is a small business set aside. As a woman owned firm is this also a consideration for award?

Answer: The set aside is for all small businesses.

7. Please provide any available site plans, drawings, photographs, or other information identifying the anticipated locations of the fifteen (15) cameras, wireless nodes, central housing oƯice head-end, and existing legacy surveillance equipment. If final locations are intended to be determined by the Contractor during the required site survey, please confirm.

Answer: Current photos are not available. The final design, precise locations, and installation heights of all fifteen (15) cameras, wireless transceivers, nodes, and headend equipment shall be determined by the contractor based on a post award site survey to maximize coverage, eliminate blind spots, and optimize wireless propagation. These final locations must be detailed in the contractor's design package and approved by the Coast Guard prior to the commencement of physical installation.

8. Please provide any photographs, site-visit questions and answers, field notes, identified existing conditions, or other information made available during the site visit that may materially aƯect pricing or system design.

Answer: No additional information is available.

9. Please confirm whether usable 120VAC electrical power is currently available at each anticipated camera/wireless node location. If new electrical circuits, conduit, trenching, receptacles, or other electrical infrastructure are required to serve the NEMA 4X PoE+ enclosures, is that work the responsibility of the contractor under this solicitation? If so, please provide available panel, circuit, and power-source information.

Answer: Power availability varies by node location across the site. All electrical infrastructure—including new branch circuits, breakers, exterior conduit runs, penetrations, trenching, disconnects, and weather-rated connections required to power the NEMA 4X PoE+ enclosures—is the responsibility of the contractor.

For equipment mounted on Coast Guard-owned residential housing units, electrical power must be sourced from the respective residential distribution panels or dedicated exterior utility panels. Specific circuit assignments, panel capacities, and pathway routes must be verified by the contractor during the post award site survey and approved by Coast Guard Facilities/Public Works prior to installation, in full compliance with the National Electrical Code (NFPA 70).

10. SOW Section 2.4.2 requires fifteen (15) premium outdoor 4K PTZ cameras. Please confirm that all fifteen cameras are required to be PTZ cameras. Additionally, where a compliant outdoor PTZ camera requires power exceeding standard PoE+ capacity, will the government permit PoE++/802.3bt, manufacturer-approved high-power PoE injectors, or another manufacturer-approved power method?

Answer: The requirement for fifteen (15) cameras remains the baseline.

However, to maximize coverage, eliminate blind spots, and optimize system design, the government will consider alternative camera configurations (e.g., a strategic mix of multi-sensor/panoramic cameras, fixed cameras, and PTZs), provided the overall design achieves 100% situational awareness of the targeted areas and is approved during the design phase. For high-power camera requirements, the government permits the use of PoE++ (802.3bt) network switches, manufacturer-approved high-power PoE injectors, or external local power supplies, provided all power injection equipment is housed in secure, weather-rated NEMA 4X enclosures and is fully compatible with the proposed UPS backup battery solution.

11. Please clarify the documentation required to demonstrate compliance with the requirement for FIPS-validated AES-256 encryption. Is the proposed wireless microwave equipment required to utilize a cryptographic module appearing on the NIST CMVP FIPS 140-2 or FIPS 140-3 validated module list, and should validation documentation be included with the oƯer?

Answer: No validation documentation is required to be submitted with the initial proposal/oƯer. However, the proposed wireless microwave equipment must utilize a cryptographic module that is actively validated under the NIST Cryptographic Module Validation Program (CMVP) to FIPS 140-2 or FIPS 140-3 standards. Proof of FIPS validation (such as the NIST CMVP certificate number) must be provided in the post-award technical submittal package and verified prior to the approval of the Bill of Materials (BOM) and commencement of installation.

12. The SOW permits wireless nodes to be mounted to existing utility poles or building exteriors. Please confirm whether the identified utility poles are government-owned and available for contractor use. If third-party utility approval is required, will the government obtain the necessary authorization, or is coordination and permitting the contractor’s responsibility?

Answer: Small lamp posts are CG owned, but the big utility poles are owned by PG&E. The contractor is responsible for coordinating with PG&E. The government preference is to avoid using utility poles due to future complications when equipment needs to be replaced.

13. Please provide the minimum recording parameters to be used when sizing storage for the required thirty (30) days of continuous recording, including desired resolution, frame rate, codec, and minimum video quality/bitrate. Please also clarify whether the 30-day storage requirement is based on usable storage capacity after RAID protection and system overhead.

Answer: The 30-day storage calculation shall be based on net usable storage capacity after accounting for RAID configuration (RAID 6 with at least one dedicated hot spare is required), drive formatting overhead, and a 10% minimum growth margin. OƯerors shall size storage using the following baseline parameters: H.265 compression, minimum 1080p (2 MP) resolution, 15 frames per second (fps), continuous recording (24/7/30), and an average bitrate of 2.5 Mbps per stream. These requirements can be confirmed prior to approval of BOM.

14. Section 5.1 requires favorable Tier 2 adjudication for personnel requiring government facility or information access and Tier 4 for personnel granted system administrator privileges. Please confirm whether the required investigation must be fully adjudicated prior to beginning work, or whether completion and submission of the applicable security questionnaire/investigation package is suƯicient while adjudication is pending. Please also clarify whether this requirement applies to personnel performing physical installation who do not require access to government information systems.

Answer: Per SOW Section 5.1, all contractor personnel requiring access to government facilities must receive a favorable adjudication. An Interim Security Determination is not mentioned as suƯicient. A Tier 4 investigation is required for system administrators, and a Tier 2 investigation is required for all other employees, including those performing only physical installation. The requirement applies to any contractor employee requiring access to the government facility.

15. The SOW identifies the ESS Security Plan, As-Built drawings, and related documentation as Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) and restricts removal of CUI from the designated work site. Please identify the government-approved method for contractor preparation, storage, transmission, revision, and submission of electronic CUI deliverables, including drawings and system configuration documentation.

Answer: During the design phase and prior to Coast Guard (CG) approval of the ESS Security Plan, preliminary design concepts and working schematics are not designated as CUI. Upon CG approval of the plan and final installation of the ESS equipment, the final "As-Built" drawings, system configuration data, and completed ESS Security Plan become CUI (specifically Physical Security / Critical Infrastructure Information). At that point, all storage, transmission, and handling must strictly comply with DHS Instruction 121-01-007-01 (The DHS Controlled Unclassified Information Program), 32 CFR Part 2002, and NIST SP 800-171. Final submission of electronic CUI files must be delivered directly to the Contracting OƯicer's Representative (COR) via DoD SAFE or FIPS 140-validated encrypted media.

16. Please clarify which proposed products require a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) and which products require an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR)/VPAT.

Section 16.0 states that ACRs/VPATs are due “with proposal or prior to procurement.” Please confirm whether ACRs/VPATs are required as part of the oƯer for proposal evaluation or may be submitted after award but prior to procurement.

Answer: ACRs/VPATs are required to be provided after contract award but prior to contractor procurement.

17. Section 2.1.2 identifies the Draft ESS Security Plan as due thirty (30) days after award, while the Master Deliverable List identifies the due date as “Per approved Project Schedule.” Please confirm which requirement governs.

Answer: Per approved project schedule which should be 30 days after award.

18. Please provide, if available, the approximate quantity and locations of existing analog cameras, coaxial cabling, recording equipment, mounting assemblies, and other legacy VSS components that must be removed under Task Three.

Answer: The legacy VSS components slated for removal under Task Three consist of approximately twenty-four (24) analog cameras distributed throughout the area, along with their associated housing assemblies and cabling. The central recording equipment, power supplies, and headend components are co-located inside the housing oƯice (the "Barn"). The Contractor shall be responsible for the safe decommissioning, removal, and disposal of these components, unless otherwise directed by the Coast Guard to hand back specific hardware for salvage/turn-in.

19. Section 3.2 requires the Lead Certified Technician to possess active OEM certifications for both the proposed camera system and wireless microwave bridging platform. Please confirm whether copies of these certifications must be submitted with the oƯer or whether identification of the certifications and proposed individual is suƯicient at the proposal stage.

Answer: Identification of the certifications and proposed individual is suƯicient at the proposal stage.

20. The solicitation package includes Service Contract Act Wage Determination 2015- 5673. Please confirm whether this is the only wage determination applicable to the work or whether electrical installation, mounting, conduit, or other construction-related work will be subject to an additional construction wage determination.

Answer: For this requirement, the SCA Wage Determination listed is correct for the tasks in the SOW.