Amendment 2 - Questions and Answers (QA) Round 2.pdf

FDA Facility Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Support services at the National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR)

Questions and Answers (Q&A) – Round 2

7/10/2026

1. Labor Requirements, CBA: How many employees are currently in the probationary period under the CBA?

Answer: Currently none

2. PWS 1.2.7, Government Property and Materials: Can the Government provide the list of stockpiled Government-owned parts, supplies, and materials currently on hand?

Answer: Materials are not purchased to stockpile, any materials that are currently on hand are minimal.

3. PWS 1.2.7, Government Property and Materials: Can the Government provide the list of accountable property greater than $5,000?

Answer: Equipment lists are provided in Attachment J-3 Appendix VII, and any amendments thereto.

4. PWS 2.4, Routine Maintenance Requests: Can the Government provide the list of work requests currently in backlog? This will help offerors incorporate the backlog into the integrated work schedule and account for the PWS requirement that 50% of work requests be completed within one day of receipt.

Answer: Any work currently in backlog is due to supply chain issues or government funding issues.

5. PWS 2.6, Work Management System: Can the Government identify the online Work Management System (WMS) and state how many seats/licenses will be provided to the Contractor?

Answer: Archibus, currently there are six licenses.

6. PWS 2.6, Work Management System: Does the WMS also track stock store operations, or must the Contractor provide its own system?

Answer: Yes, WMS tracks stock store operations.

7. PWS 2.17, Equipment Tagging System: Does the equipment tagging system include QR codes that can be scanned for detailed equipment information?

Answer: No

8. PWS 9.3.12; Appendix XVI, Snow and Ice Removal: Can the Government provide the priority order for snow and ice clearing? We assume Routes Pink, Green, and Orange have different priorities. At what accumulation threshold is the Contractor required to begin service?

Answer: Service begins prior to the weather event with pre-treat on high traffic areas. Once the weather event occurs treatment/removal should take place during and after the weather event in such intervals as to keep high traffic areas safe and useable considering conditions. There should also be a plan to provide 24 hour operations if needed to accommodate power outages that may occur. Refer to PWS page 97 for route priorities.

9. PWS 14.1, Preventive Maintenance Program: The Contractor is required to provide fuel for heavy equipment. Can the Government provide historical fuel usage data?

Answer: See Amendment 1 QA, Question 7.

10. PWS 16.1, EMCS: Does the EMCS allow for remote monitoring? If so, can it be monitored off-site?

Answer: Third party vendor (Powers) provides off site support. Contract personnel are located on site.

11. PWS 16.1, EMCS: Can the Government provide the calibration frequency by location and the date of last calibration for the EMCS 90 control panels?

Answer: EMCS 90 control panels are calibrated annually during September.

The last annual calibration was completed in September 2025.

12. PWS 17.1, Janitorial Services: Is there a mandated hand sanitizer brand that the Contractor must use?

Answer: No

13. PWS 11.1; Attachment J-2 & J-3, Emergency Generators: Does the monthly generator test load exceed 30% of the generator load each month?

Answer: No

14. PWS 11.1; Attachment J-2 & J-3, Emergency Generators: For all facilities, when was the last three-year emergency generator test completed for each generator?

Answer: 2024

15. PWS 11.1; Attachment J-2 & J-3, Emergency Generators: Does the Government own emergency generator load banks for required testing?

Answer: No

16. Appendix XIV, Fire Extinguishers: When was the last three-year certification for all fire extinguishers? Does the facility typically certify all extinguishers in the same year or spread the requirement over three years?

Answer: Six-year hydro test due 2027, monthly and yearly inspections are completed all at once.

17. Appendix XIV, Fire Protection Systems: When was the last five-year internal inspection of the sprinkler valves completed?

Answer: Backflows are done annually every September

18. Appendix XIV; Attachment J-2, Fire Sprinkler Systems: For each building, can the Government provide the number of sprinkler systems, type of system, approximate sprinkler head count, sprinkler elevations above 15 feet, and accessibility for lift equipment?

Answer: Water filled and dry systems with water backfill. There are approx.

10-15 locations with a sprinkler elevation above 15 feet throughout the facilities.

19. PWS; Attachment J-2 & J-3, EMCS: Can the Government provide the current level of EMCS service in the existing buildings (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc.)?

Answer: 24/7/365

20. PWS; Attachment J-2 & J-3, Grease Traps: Is the Contractor required to empty grease traps? If so, can the Government provide grease trap sizes and historical service data?

Answer: Yes. There is one 150-gallon grease trap located at the cafeteria. It is typically cleaned semi-annually.

21. Section C / PWS, CMMS: Could the Government clarify whether the incoming Contractor is required to propose and implement its own CMMS, or assume management of the existing CMMS?

Answer: Assume management of existing system

22. Solicitation; Section L, Proposal Formatting: Can offerors reduce the font size of graphics, charts, tables, and organizational diagrams to 8-point font provided the information remains legible and readable?

Answer: Offerors shall comply with the proposal formatting requirements set forth in Section L-4.

23. Contract Administration, Incumbent Information: Can the Government provide the incumbent contract number and current contract value, including base and option periods?

Answer: Contract 75F40121D00024; Total contract value of $41,569,452.81 including base and option periods. Total obligated value excluding task orders $36,569,452.81.

24. Labor Relations, CBA: Can the Government provide any amendments, side letters, or memorandums for the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)?

Answer: Currently there are none

25. Solicitation; Section L-9: Will the Government provide the pre-proposal conference sign-in sheet, presentation materials, facility maps, photographs, and written responses to all questions asked during the site visit?

Answer: A sign in sheet was provided. All other material was provided under the solicitation as an Amendment 1 at SAM.gov.

26. PWS 2.2, Attachment J-1: Please confirm all work below 600 labor hours/$25,000 labor cost is included in the Firm-Fixed-Price scope.

Answer: Yes

27. PWS 2.14, Attachment J-1: Please clarify whether filters, belts, lubricants, chemicals, cleaning supplies, fasteners, repair parts, refrigerants, and consumables are Government-furnished or Contractor-furnished.

Answer: Government furnished

28. PWS 1.9, Attachment J-1: Please identify all required licenses and certifications by labor category.

Answer: Refer to the PWS

29. PWS 4.1, Attachment J-1: Please identify proprietary software, OEM access, passwords, service tools, licenses, and training required.

Answer: The Government will provide the successful Contractor with access to required proprietary software, OEM access, passwords, licenses, and service tools to perform the contract, to the extent available. Additional information will be provided during transition.

30. PWS 14.1, Attachment J-1: Please provide a consolidated list of all mission-critical systems and equipment maintained under this contract.

Answer: There are numerous laboratories and research areas on the campus.

All laboratories and research areas, along with the utility and service systems that support them, are considered mission critical for purposes of contract performance.

31. Appendix II Overview, Attachment J-2: Please provide a consolidated list of all poor condition, obsolete, unsupported, abandoned, or inoperative systems remaining in scope.

Answer: The Government does not maintain a consolidated list of poor condition, obsolete, unsupported, abandoned, or inoperative systems remaining in scope. Offerors should base their proposals on the information provided in the solicitation and observations made during the site visit.

32. Building 85, Attachment J-2: Please confirm whether Building 85 stockroom operations are fully within contract scope.

Answer: Yes

33. Solicitation; Section F-2.1: Please provide templates/examples for required contractor reports and plans.

Answer: The Government does not have templates or sample formats for the reports and plans required under Section F-2.1 of the solicitation. The Contractor shall develop and submit all required reports and plans in accordance with the requirements of the solicitation and the Performance

Work Statement (PWS). All submissions shall include the information necessary to demonstrate compliance with the applicable requirements and shall be subject to Government review and approval, as specified in the contract.

34. Solicitation; Section L / Past Performance: The solicitation requires submission of CPARS/Past Performance evaluations. Please clarify whether offerors should submit the most recent completed CPARS evaluation for each referenced contract (including annual or interim evaluations for ongoing contracts), or whether the Government requires only the final CPARS evaluation issued upon contract completion.

Answer: Offerors may submit finalized CPARS evaluations in lieu of the Past Performance Evaluation Questionnaire (PPEQ). For ongoing contracts, the most recent completed annual CPARS evaluation(s) within the last three (3) years of the solicitation closing date may be submitted. For completed contracts, the final CPARS evaluation may be submitted. If multiple annual CPARS evaluations fall within the three-year recency window, all may be submitted. Note that regardless of whether CPARS or PPEQs are provided, offerors must still complete the Contract Identification information in Paragraph 1 of Attachment J-8 for each referenced contract.

35. Sol Doc.pdf, L-4, (c) - May offerors provide charts, tables, or diagrams using a smaller font and single spacing?

Answer: Offerors shall comply with the proposal formatting requirements set forth in Section L-4.

36. Sol Doc.pdf, L-4, (c): Would the government consider allowing offerors to use single spacing in order to provide a more full and compliant response to the Technical Approach?

Answer: Offerors shall comply with the proposal formatting requirements set forth in Section L-4.

37. Attachment J-1 - Performance Work Statement, 1.2.7 Government Property and Materials: Can the Government provide the current inventory value and condition assessment of the Government-owned stock store?

Answer: Current stock is in new condition

38. Attachment J-1 - Performance Work Statement, 1.2.7 Government Property and

Materials, Accountable Property: Can the Government provide a list of accountable property and what the maintenance requirement expectations are? Example: Oil changes, tire replacements, safety inspections, etc.?

Answer: OEM recommended maintenance intervals apply to all equipment

39. Attachment J-1 – Performance Work Statement, Sections 1.3–1.5, Defective Performance – Can the Government provide examples of deficient performance that have previously been assessed at the facility?

Answer: The Government declines to provide examples of prior deficient performance at this facility, as this information relates to current contract administration matters. Offerors should refer to the Performance Work Statement (Attachment J-1) and Section H-10 of the solicitation, which define performance standards, deficiency assessment procedures, and applicable remedies. Offerors are expected to propose an approach that meets the stated requirements regardless of historical performance.

40. Attachment J-1 – Performance Work Statement, 1.6 Reports and Plans, h. Annual Inventory – Who is responsible for updating the inventory in Archibus? Will contractor personnel have permission rights to change assets?

Answer: Contractor has the ability to add items but no rights to change items, these changes go through a help desk.

41. Attachment J-1 – Performance Work Statement, 1.8 Equipment Additions, Deletions, Change Procedures – Please confirm that the Contractor will have write permissions to Archibus in order to add/delete PM guide cards and schedules.

Answer: No, it goes through the Help Desk

42. Attachment J-1 – Performance Work Statement, 1.9 Contractor Personnel Requirements, h. Staffing Vacancy Price Adjustment Clause – Can the Government provide an estimate on the average background processing time required to have an individual badged to work at the Facility?

Answer: Once packet is received by the gov the average process time is approx. 30 days.

43. Attachment J-1 – Performance Work Statement, 1.9 Contractor Personnel Requirements, h. Staffing Vacancy Price Adjustment Clause – Recruiting can be a challenge if individuals have to wait for months to receive an "Enter into Duty" letter.

Can individuals start work without a badge, but work alongside badged individuals, who would serve as their escorts, until the background has been processed and badge issued?

Answer: Yes

44. Attachment J-1 – Performance Work Statement, 2.2 Classification of Work – Please confirm that the Contractor is responsible for any routine work request or repair that falls under $25,000 and/or 600 labor hours.

Answer: Work with larger scopes of work whose labor estimate is greater than 600 hours, or whose labor cost estimate exceeds $25,000 dollars will be considered outside the scope of routine work and may be accomplished under the IDIQ/Task Order portion of the contract.

45. Attachment J-1 – Performance Work Statement, 2.5 Work Orders / IDIQ – Can the Government provide historical IDIQ task order volume and annual dollar value for the past five years?

Answer: Total task order dollar value of $2,292,867.08, POP 2021-2026

46. Attachment J-1 – Performance Work Statement, 2.5 Work Orders / IDIQ – At what dollar value do work orders become an IDIQ, requiring quotes and approval, which will then be the basis for Contractor reimbursement?

Answer: Please refer to PWS Section 2.2

47. Attachment J-1 – Performance Work Statement, 2.14 Stock Store Operation – Please confirm that the Government will pay for the stock inventory that the Contractor will be responsible for replenishing.

48. Attachment J-1 – Performance Work Statement, 2.17 Equipment Tagging System – Is the equipment on site currently tagged?

49. Attachment J-1 – Performance Work Statement, Section 3, Craft Shop Services – Given the variety of shop services, will the government provide the material supplies or reimburse the contractor for the supplies used to meeting Craft Shop Services Requirements?

50. Attachment J-1 – Performance Work Statement, 3.3 HVAC Shop Services – Please clarify whether the HVAC Shop Services requirements are limited to the operation, preventive maintenance, repair, and component replacement of HVAC systems, or whether the Government anticipates the contractor self-performing major equipment replacements, plant modifications, or construction activities (e.g., chiller replacements, cooling tower replacements, boiler replacements, or major piping system modifications).

Answer: Nature of work performed is dependent on dollar amount thresholds, typically major component replacement is done by IDIQ or a separate contract.

51. Attachment J-1 – Performance Work Statement, Section 7 – Water Pumping, Treatment, Storage and Distribution – Please identify the specific operator licenses and certification levels required for personnel supporting the water treatment, storage, distribution, and wastewater systems, including any minimum state certification grades required by regulatory authorities.

Answer: Refer to PWS Section 1.9c

52. Attachment J-1 – Performance Work Statement, 1.2.7 Available Government Property and Materials – Are the golf carts referenced in Appendix VII for Government use only with contractor maintenance responsibilities, or will they also be available for contractor use?

Answer: All golf carts that are used by the contractor, are Contractor provided.

53. Attachment J-1 – Performance Work Statement, 1.2.7 Available Government Property and Materials, Accountable Property – Using a tractor as reference, are GFE tractors, mowers or other grounds equipment available for the contractor's use?

Answer: No, grounds equipment are contractor provided

54. Attachment J-1 – Performance Work Statement, Section 18, Cafeteria Food Service Operation – Will the government provide quantities and size of grease traps that will require cleaning and pumping, and will the government provide frequencies for the cleaning/pumping?

Answer: One grease trap located at the cafeteria. This is typically cleaned out semi annually.

55. Site Visit – We request a scanned copy of the attendee list Answer: See Amendment 1

56. Site Visit – We request an electronic copy of the conference presentation Answer: See Amendment 1

57. Site Visit – To better dial in our offer, we request a Jefferson Labs site map/layout with building numbers and names

Answer: PWS pg 97

58. Site Visit – We would like to see a representative sample of daily work orders and the logging of the completion of these work orders Answer: Work orders vary greatly, examples include;

Alternate Location: true

Location Name: NCTR-26 Full Building Name: ORA Regional Laboratory- Arkansas - NCTR - Building 26 Street Address: 3900 NCTR Road City, State, and Zip: JEFFERSON, AR 72079 Room Number: B140 Phone Number: 3017964833 ZIP Code: 72079

The customer has reported the following issue:

Short Description: Multiple labs need light bulbs replaced

Location: NCTR-53D

Room Number: 116E

Alternate Location: true Location Name: NCTR-53D Full Building Name: NCTR - Building 53D - Labs and Animals Street Address: 3900 NCTR Road City, State, and Zip: JEFFERSON, AR 72079 Room Number: 116E Phone Number: 301-796-2993 ZIP Code: 72150

The customer has reported the following issue:

Short Description: Need 3 fluorescent light bulbs replaced

Description: 3 fluorescent light bulbs are out in my office

59. Section L-3 Part I – Business Proposal Instructions, p. 63 – Could the Government please provide a sample cost spreadsheet template?

Answer: The Government will not provide a sample cost spreadsheet template. Offerors shall prepare and submit their cost spreadsheet in accordance with the instructions contained in the solicitation.

60. Section L-4 Part II – Technical Proposal Instructions, p. 64 – Could the Government please confirm that font smaller than 11-pt. font is acceptable for charts, tables, or diagrams?

Answer: Offerors shall comply with the proposal formatting requirements set forth in Section L-4.

61. Section L-4 Part II – Technical Proposal Instructions, p. 64 – Could the Government please confirm that an acronyms list and cover letter would be considered indexes that are not included towards the page count?

Answer: Title pages and indexes will not be included for page counts limitation purposes unless information regarding the proposal is included on the title or index page.

62. Section L-4 Part II – Factor 1: Technical Approach, p. 65 – With the page count for the Technical Proposal limited to a total of thirty (30) pages, could the Government please confirm if either the Quality Control Plan and/or the Phase-In / Transition Plan may be included as an appendix that does not count toward the page limits?

Answer: Offerors shall comply with the proposal formatting requirements set forth in Section L-4.

63. Section L-4 Part II – Factor 1: Technical Approach – c. Phase-In / Transition Plan, p. 65 – With the complexities of this contract and need for a successful transition period between the incumbent and incoming contractors, could the Government please consider allocating at least 30 days for the transition period?

Answer: No, 20 day phase-in/transition period shall remain.

64. Section L-4 Part II – Factor 2: Select Key Personnel Qualifications, p. 65 – Could the

Government please confirm whether it is seeking names of proposed key personnel as well as resumes due at the time of submission?

Answer: Names and Resumes are not required.

65. Section L-5 Part III – Recent and Relevant Past Performance Instructions, p. 66 – Could the Government please confirm if it is acceptable to submit past performance from the Offerors’ Subcontractors?

Answer: See Amendment 1 Question and Answer (QA), question 17

66. PWS – General – Could the government provide more specific clarification of the facilities maintenance scope between the animal sciences contract and the Facility O&M contract? For instance, is it in the Facilities O&M scope to change out water filters and lightbulbs for animal housing? Who will be going in/out of contracting areas?

Answer: The O&M contractor does change out lightbulbs along with other standard maintenance issues in the animal areas. They do not change water filters, this is done by a sperate contract.

67. PWS – General – Could the Government clarify if there any specifications related to the loading dock? Please be specific with regard to the Pest Control Scope as it pertains to the animal testing facilities and the loading dock.

Answer: Pest control in all areas must be approved prior to application through the government.

68. PWS – General – Are there multiple reverse osmosis systems, and is the Facilities M&O Contractor responsible for them?

Answer: Yes

69. PWS – General – There is a large quantity of items in the equipment inventory described as “filter housing”. A filter housing generally requires no maintenance. It is the filters IN the filter housing that require maintenance effort (i.e., replacement).

Changing filters in a research laboratory such as NCTR is a significant task, both in terms of labor and materials. Consequently, please provide the quantities and types of filters for each “filter housing”, as well as the frequency required to change, or indicate the presence of a sensing system (magnahelics, etc) that determine when filters need to be changed, so that we can accurately price this requirement.

Answer: A two year supply of filters are kept on hand and all filters require different intervals. In the provided equipment listing there is a filter housing list that provides the prospective contractor the ability to determine filter needs. The PWS should also provide this information.

70. Amendment 1 Q&A: The response to Question 6 states that the historical annual diesel fuel usage for generator load testing is approximately 100 gallons. Since generator load testing typically requires approximately two hours of operation per unit, would the Government consider re-evaluating this estimate to account for the total number of generators and the anticipated duration of annual load testing?

Answer: Plan for 1,000 gallons for this testing

71. PWS Appendix IX Historical Workload, p. 81 – Could the Government please provide current workload data for the most recently complete period of performance so that all offerors can fairly compete to provide a true best value to the Government?

Answer: See Amendment 2 – Attachment J-1 – Performance Work Statement, Pg. 81 for updated data.

72. PWS Section 17: Janitorial Services – Could the Government please provide a more detailed Scope of Work and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the lab and cleanroom spaces, including frequencies?

Answer: Please refer to Section 17 of the PWS

73. PWS Section 17: Janitorial Services – Could the Government please provide a breakdown for the cleanable square footage vs. overall building square footage that the Contractor is responsible for?

Answer: Please refer to Section 17.3

74. PWS Section 17: Janitorial Services, p. 55 – Could the Government please confirm this should be Appendix II and III Descriptions of Existing Facilities and Utilities?

Answer: Appendix VI is Areas to be serviced by janitorial services

75. Attachment J-3 Appendix VII Equipment List – Could the Government please confirm if the Contractor will be responsible for all assets listed throughout the 156 pages of the Appendix VII Equipment List?

Answer: Please refer to Appendix VII in the PWS

76. PWS Section 1.9 – b. Craftsmen, p. 20 – Could the Government please confirm if journeymen required, and if so, what is the certification for proof of journeymen qualifications, including experience, certifications, licenses, etc.?

Answer: All trades personnel requiring journeymen program should be enrolled in these programs.

77. PWS Section 1.10 – d. Heating and Air Conditioning Control Settings, p. 23 – Could the Government please confirm which Federal policy applies for Energy Savings, including HVAC controls?

Answer: All laboratories follow NIH standards

78. PWS Section 2.13 – Work Management System, p. 33 – Could the Government please confirm: (a) What CMMS system is currently in use at NCTR; (b) Does the CMMS belong to the Incumbent Contractor or the Government; (c) What CMMS will be used—or is being considered to change to; and (d) What timeline is expected for finalization of the system?

Answer: The current CMMS is Archibus. The system is Government-furnished. No additional information regarding future system changes is available at this time. Refer to PWS 16.1

79. Appendix VII – Will the Government provide the expected inspection schedule for all Government-furnished property that the Contractor will be required to maintain and inspect?

Answer: As needed

80. Attachment J-3 Appendix VII Equipment List - What equipment does building 2 contain?

Answer: See Amendment 2, Attachment J-3, Appendix VII – Equipment List for the complete equipment list for Building 2. The incomplete Building 2 equipment list previously included in Amendment 1, Attachment J-2, Appendix II and III – Descriptions of Existing Facilities and Utilities has been removed. Attachment J-2 has been revised accordingly under Amendment 2.

81. Solicitation Document, Offer Due Date – We request the due date for our solicitation response to be extended to 20 JUL 2026

Answer: The Government will provide an extension to the proposal due date.

Proposals are now due by 2:00 PM CT on July 27, 2026.

82. Site Visit Slide Deck – Proposal Due Date, Slide 12 – Could the Government please confirm the proposal due date for this RFP?

Answer: There was an error in the site visit slides which has been corrected and can be seen in Amendment 1. However, the Government will provide an extension to the proposal due date. Proposals are now due by 2:00 PM CT on July 27, 2026. All proposal due dates are established by amendment to the solicitation.

83. Site Visit – Could the Government please confirm if it is possible to return on site and view the laboratory spaces? Access to the main laboratories was not provided on the site tour.

Answer: A final site visit has been scheduled for July 15, 2026, at 9:00 a.m.

Central Time (CT). Offerors shall submit the list of attendees as required by the solicitation no later than 8:00 a.m. CT on July 14, 2026.

The Government notes that a facility map is included in the Performance Work Statement, which was available to all offerors prior to the initial site visit. During the initial site visit, attendees were asked on multiple occasions whether there were additional buildings or areas they wished to view. Offerors are encouraged to use the facility map to identify any specific areas they wish to view during the July 15 site visit.

During the site visit, attendees may request to view building spaces and other facilities. Access will be provided to the extent practicable and only to areas that are not designated as restricted or otherwise limited due to safety, security, or operational requirements.

84. Solicitation Document, Offer Due Date – During the site visit, it was stated that proposals would be due on July 30; however, the Solicitation identifies July 15. Will the Government confirm whether the proposal due date has been extended to July 30?

Answer: There was an error in the site visit slides which has been corrected and can be seen in Amendment 1. However, the Government will provide an extension to the proposal due date. Proposals are now due by 2:00 PM CT on July 27, 2026. All proposal due dates are established by amendment to the solicitation.

85. Equipment Inventory – Please provide additional information on what this line item consists of so Offerors can accurately price the maintenance of this equipment.

Answer: The Government has provided the available equipment information in Appendix VII – Equipment List, including any applicable amendments.

86. Attachment J-1 – Performance Work Statement, 2.9 Labor Estimates – Please confirm that the Contractor will be able to apply G&A and Profit mark-ups to estimates as long as it is not associated with delays or other issues.

Answer: Refer to the solicitation section L-3 section III, for the applicable pricing provisions governing labor estimates, including the application of G&A and profit.

87. SF 1449, p. 1 – The SF1449 submission deadline of July 15, 2026, however, during the site walk, the Government’s presentation slides indicated a proposal due date of July 30, 2026.

Given the scope and complexity of the requirement, the number of proposal elements to be addressed, and the need for offerors to fully evaluate and respond to the Government’s answers to questions before finalizing technical, staffing, pricing, subcontractor/vendor, and compliance inputs, will the Government please confirm that the proposal due date is July 30, 2026, or otherwise extend the proposal due date to July 30, 2026?

Answer: There was an error in the site visit slides which has been corrected and can be seen in Amendment 1. However, the Government will provide an extension to the proposal due date. Proposals are now due by 2:00 PM CT on July 27, 2026. All proposal due dates are established by amendment to the solicitation.

88. Section B-3 / PWS – Incidental Expenses vs. Contractor-Supplied Parts and Materials,

pp. 4-6 – Section B-3 includes annual Incidental Expenses CLINs, each NTE $5,000, for minor equipment replacement and minor emergency purchases. The PWS and solicitation also require the Contractor to provide certain supplies, parts, chemicals, and materials necessary for performance. Will the Government clarify which types of parts, materials, minor equipment, emergency purchases, and consumables are intended to be reimbursable under the Incidental Expenses CLINs versus included in the fixed-price O&M CLIN?

Answer: The Incidental Expenses CLINs are intended for Government-authorized incidental purchases as identified in the contract. Materials, supplies, and consumables required to perform the Firm-Fixed-Price requirements of the PWS shall be provided by the Contractor and shall be priced into the fixed-price O&M CLIN, unless otherwise specified in the contract.

89. Section H-1, Electronic File Format / Macro-Enabled Documents, p. 28 – Section H-1 states that FDA does not accept documents with macros and that submissions of documents throughout the award period cannot have macro-enabled functionality.

Will the Government confirm that this prohibition applies to proposal and post-award document files only, and that offerors may submit standard PDF, Word, and Excel files provided they do not contain macros or macro-enabled functionality? Additionally, will the Government confirm whether fillable forms, formulas in Excel pricing files, bookmarks, hyperlinks, or other non-macro document features are acceptable?

Answer: The prohibition applies to proposal submissions and contract deliverables. Standard PDF, Microsoft Word, and Microsoft Excel files without macro-enabled functionality are acceptable.

90. Section J / Attachment J-4 – Collective Bargaining Agreement Date, p. 59 – Section J identifies Attachment J-4 as the Collective Bargaining Agreement dated 11/21/2024.

However, the CBA attachment provided appears to be dated June 10, 2026, with an effective date of September 21, 2026. Will the Government confirm the correct CBA version and effective date that offerors must use for pricing and transition planning?

Answer: The current CBA dated 6/10/2026 is Attachment J-4: Collective Bargaining Agreement. The date of 11/21/2024 in the solicitation was left in error.

91. Section J / Attachments J-4, J-5, and J-6 – Applicability of CBA and Wage Determinations, p. 59 – Section J states that Attachment J-5 applies to subcontractors not covered by the CBA and Attachment J-6 applies to subcontractors for elevator repair services. Will the Government clarify which labor categories and work areas are covered by the CBA versus the Service Contract Act wage determinations, including any subcontracted grounds, cafeteria, janitorial, elevator, or specialized maintenance services?

Answer: The applicability of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and Service Contract Labor Standards wage determinations is identified in the solicitation and applicable attachments. Offerors shall prepare proposals accordingly.

92. Section L-4 Part II – Technical Proposal Instructions, p. 64 – Section L-4 limits the Technical Proposal to 30 pages and requires the proposal to be prepared double-spaced in 11-point font or greater. Section L-4 also requires offerors to address a detailed Operating Plan, Quality Control Plan, 20-day Phase-In Plan, Key Personnel position descriptions and minimum qualifications, staffing approach, resource allocation, subcontractor management, workforce continuity, training, certifications, and scalability. To promote complete and meaningful proposal responses within the established page limitation, reduce the risk of overly compressed or omitted technical detail, and allow the Government to better evaluate each offeror’s understanding, approach, feasibility, and performance risk, will the Government amend Section L-4 to permit single-spaced text using 11-point font or greater, while retaining all other formatting and page-count limitations?

Answer: No change is made to the solicitation. Offerors shall comply with the proposal formatting requirements stated in Section L-4.

93. Section L-4 Part II – Technical Proposal Instructions, p. 64 – The solicitation includes a double-spacing requirement for proposal submissions. Please clarify the scope of this requirement and identify which proposal volumes, sections, or narrative responses must be double-spaced.

Specifically, will the Government please confirm whether the double-spacing requirement applies only to offeror-prepared narrative text, and does not apply to Government-provided forms, completed solicitation forms, tables, charts, graphics, resumes, pricing schedules, representations and certifications, or required attachments that are not formatted as double-spaced documents, such as Attachment J-8, Past Performance Evaluation Questionnaire.

Answer: The double-spacing requirement applies to offeror-prepared narrative text. Tables, charts, graphics, forms, resumes, pricing schedules. It does not apply to Government-furnished forms.

94. Section L-4 Part II – Technical Proposal Instructions, p. 64 – The solicitation establishes proposal formatting requirements, including font size and spacing. Given the scope of information offerors must present and the number of required proposal elements, will the Government please confirm that offerors may use a reduced font size, no smaller than 10-point font, for tables, charts, graphics, figures, headers, footers, captions, legends, footnotes, and callout boxes, provided the content remains legible?

Answer: Offerors shall comply with the proposal formatting requirements set forth in Section L-4.

95. Section L-4 – Part II – Technical Proposal Instructions, p. 65 – Section L-4 identifies the following Key Personnel positions: On-site Contract Manager, Operations Manager, Quality Control Manager, and EMCS Manager, followed by an additional blank bullet.

Will the Government confirm that only these four positions are designated Key Personnel, unless an offeror elects to propose additional Key Personnel?

Answer: The Key Personnel positions are those identified in Section L-4. No additional Key Personnel are required for the proposal submission.

96. Section L-5 Part III – Recent and Relevant Past Performance Instructions, pp. 66-67 –

Section L-5 refers to the relevancy of “completed contracts,” while Section M-3 states that, for purposes of evaluation, recent means a contract “completed or substantially completed” within three years prior to the solicitation closing date. To ensure consistent proposal preparation and evaluation, will the Government confirm that ongoing contracts that are substantially complete, or that have sufficient performance history for the Government to assess scope, complexity, and quality of performance through a PPEQ or CPARS, may be submitted for past performance consideration?

Answer: See Amendment 1 – Questions and Answers (QA) Round 1, Question and Answer No. 17

97. L-5 Part III – Recent and Relevant Past Performance Instructions / Attachment J-8 –

Prime, Subcontractor, Affiliate, or Team Member Past Performance, pp. 66-67 – Attachment J-8 requests identification of the company’s capacity on the project, including “prime, subcontractor, key personnel,” and the past performance evaluation focuses on the relevance and quality of performance. To support robust competition under this small business set-aside and provide the Government with the most complete basis to assess performance risk, will the Government confirm that offerors may submit recent and relevant past performance performed by the offeror, major subcontractors, affiliates, or team members when the proposal clearly explains the performing entity’s role, relationship to the offeror, and how the resources, experience, and capabilities will be meaningfully available for performance of the resulting contract?

Answer: See Amendment 1 – Questions and Answers (QA) Round 1, Question and Answer No. 17

98. Attachment J-8 / L-5 Part III – Recent and Relevant Past Performance Instructions, pp.

66-67 – Section L-5 states that offerors shall submit a copy of each Client Letter and Past Performance Evaluation Questionnaire with the Contract Identification information completed, while Attachment J-9 instructs clients to submit the completed questionnaire directly to the Contract Specialist by the proposal due date.

Will the Government confirm that offerors will not be penalized for a client’s failure to submit a completed PPEQ directly to the Government, provided the offeror includes evidence in its proposal that the Client Letter and pre-filled Attachment J-8 were timely sent to the reference?

Answer: Offerors should be aware that if a PPEQ is not received by the Government and no finalized CPARS evaluation exists for that contract reference, that reference will not be considered in the past performance evaluation per Section L-5. To mitigate this risk, offerors are encouraged to submit finalized CPARS evaluations in lieu of PPEQs where available, and to send client letters as early as possible to allow sufficient time for references to respond by the proposal due date. Offerors may follow up with their references as needed to confirm submission.

99. PWS 2.2, p. 25 – Will the Government please clarify the distinction between routine FFP work and IDIQ work, including examples of work that will be treated as base FFP versus IDIQ Task Order work?

Answer: Routine operation, maintenance, repair, and recurring services required by the PWS are included in the Firm-Fixed-Price portion of the contract. Work outside the recurring PWS requirements may be issued through IDIQ Task Orders in accordance with the contract.

100. PWS 5.2, p. 41 – Will the Government please confirm that 3-year Variable Frequency

Drives (VFD) maintenance is required as part of the FFP portion?

Answer: Please refer to PWS 5.2

101. PWS 18, pp. 56-61 – Will the Government please confirm if there are grease traps on site related to the cafeteria? If so, is the contractor responsible for maintenance of these?

Answer: Yes, there is one grease trap located at the cafeteria

102. PWS Appendix I, p. 68 – Will the Government please clarify the circumstances or criteria under which IDIQ Task Orders will be issued as FFP, T&M, or Labor-Hour?

Answer: Task Orders may be issued as Firm-Fixed-Price, Time-and-Materials, or Labor-Hour, as appropriate for the individual requirement and consistent with the terms of the contract. Historically, FFP has been the predominant task order type. The appropriate contract type will be determined by the Government on a task order by task order basis. A request for task order proposal will be issued to the contractor to provide pricing.

103. PWS Appendix IX, p. 81 – Will the Government please provide more recent historical work order volume, preferably by fiscal year or month, priority, trade/shop, and work type?

Answer: See Amendment 2 – Attachment J-1 – Performance Work Statement, Pg. 81 for updated data.

104. PWS Appendix IX, p. 81 – Will the Government please provide the historical percentage or dollar value of work performed through IDIQ Task Orders versus the base FFP contract?

Answer: Total task order dollar value of $2,292,867.08, POP 2021-2026

105. Request for an additional site visit date - We are also mindful of the importance of robust competition and small business participation. With only a single site visit date and approximately two weeks’ notice, many small businesses that must arrange travel, coordinate key personnel, and manage existing commitments may find it difficult to attend. Providing a second site visit date, or an alternative date with additional lead time, would help ensure that more potential offerors can gain an adequate understanding of the facilities, systems, and operational environment necessary to propose realistic and responsible solutions.

Answer: A final site visit has been scheduled for July 15, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. Central Time (CT). Offerors shall submit the list of attendees as required by the solicitation no later than 8:00 a.m. CT on July 14, 2026.

106. Request for proposal due date extension - Given the size, complexity, and criticality of this requirement to NCTR’s mission, the scope of due diligence needed to prepare a high quality, compliant proposal is substantial. A 30 day response window, while appreciated, compresses the time available for thorough technical evaluation, teaming and staffing decisions, and careful pricing of the extensive performance requirements and deliverables. Accordingly, we respectfully request at least a two week extension to the current due date and would strongly support a full 30 day extension, if feasible.

Answer: The Government will provide an extension to the proposal due date.

Proposals are now due by 2:00 PM CT on July 27, 2026. All proposal due dates are established by amendment to the solicitation.

107. PWS 9.3.9, p. 46 – Will the Government please confirm whether or not the contractor is responsible for trash removal?

Answer: All mowed areas inside and outside the fences of the JLC, the parking lot and roads, are to be thoroughly policed in accordance with approved schedule. The Contractor shall keep all lawns, shrub beds and paved areas free of fallen leaves and trash. All areas shall be cleaned of leaves at least twice each fall season, once at approximately mid-point of leaf fall and again at end of leaf fall period. Mulching leaves back onto fine lawn areas is not acceptable; leaves must be removed and disposed of. The Contractor shall keep streets, drives, parking lots, walkways, patios, and other hard surfaces, clean and free of trash, gravel, soil accumulation and weed growth, to provide a neat appearance. To include, clean and discarding of goose droppings as needed around building entryways and walkways. Removal of wild geese as needed.

108. PWS 1.9, p. 21 – Will the Government please confirm whether temporary personnel may be used to fill staffing vacancies while CO/COR review or acceptance of replacement personnel is pending, provided the temporary personnel meet applicable qualifications, licensing, certification, and security requirements?

Answer: Yes. Temporary personnel may be used to fill staffing vacancies, provided they meet all qualifications, licensing, certification, security, and other requirements specified in the solicitation and the Performance Work Statement (PWS). Temporary personnel are subject to Government review and acceptance where required.

109. Section K Representations and Certifications Submission Requirements, pp. 59-60

– Will the Government please confirm whether offerors are required to complete and submit the full text of each applicable representation and certification provision included in the solicitation, or whether offerors may submit a concise Section K response that identifies only the applicable representation/certification provisions and the offeror’s response to the specific required paragraph or subparagraph.

For example, for FAR 52.209-2, may an offeror respond only to the required representation paragraphs, such as “52.209-2(c)(1): is not” and “52.209-2(c)(2): is not,” instead of reproducing the full clause text? Additionally, will the Government please confirm whether current SAM.gov representations and certifications satisfy all provisions that are completed in SAM.gov, with separate proposal responses required only where the solicitation requires a solicitation-specific representation?

Answer: Indicate in the Business proposal that the electronic Representations and Certifications information is current, accurate, complete, and applicable to this solicitation (including the business size standard applicable to the NAICS code referenced for this solicitation), as of the date of this offer and are incorporated.

110. PWS Appendix XV, p. 92 – Will the Government please confirm whether Government-directed closures beyond the assumptions stated in the solicitation, or prolonged closures beyond temporary weather/safety closures, may result in an equitable adjustment or other contract relief?

Answer: Per PWS Section 1.2.10, no additional compensation will be provided for Executive Order holidays or early dismissals. All costs associated with maintaining required 24/7 operations during inclement weather, Executive Order holidays, and early dismissal or closure events are included in the firm-fixed-price portion of the contract. Short-term weather closures are expected to be absorbed within the firm-fixed-price. However, in the event of weather events resulting in Government-directed closures of one week or more, requests for equitable adjustment or other contract relief may be considered in accordance with the terms and conditions of the resulting contract and applicable Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) provisions.