West_Glacier_SITE_VISIT_NOTES.pdf

SITE VISIT NOTES

WEST GLACIER AREA ENHANCEMENT

AG-0109-S-16-0017

A site visit was held on August 17, 2016. The site visit began at 09:00 at the parking lot of West Glacier Trail and ended at 10:25 at Skater’s Cabin. A summary of the site visit, as well as questions asked and answers during the visit are provided.

The following personnel attended:

US Forest Service:

Rueben Glaves, Mike Dilger, Mari Meiners, and Heather Davis

Vendors:

• proHNS, LLC- Garret Gladsjo

• Howell Excavation, LLC- Brent Howell

• ENCO Alaska Inc.- Jeremiah Engen

• Admiralty Construction Inc.- Andrew Campbell

The Contracting Officer gave a brief reminder of the following:

1. Proposal due date/time is September 2, 2016 at 1:00 p.m.

2. A bid guarantee is required and must be submitted as an original document. Bid guarantee can be delivered to any Forest Service Contracting Office in Juneau, Sitka, Petersburg, Ketchikan, or Juneau. Advance notice must be provided to the Contracting Officer if an offeror wants to deliver the bid guarantee to anyone other than the Contracting Officer.

3. Proposals may be delivered via fax or e-mail to the Contracting Officer.

4. It is important to submit all required information to allow the government to fully evaluate the offer (see section L).

09:00, West Glacier Trail Parking Lot

Site 1: West Glacier Trail Parking Lot

Group walked along the SST trail to the approximate location of the new SST Toilet buildings (Base Bid, item C).

Questions/Answers:

Q1a: Is there a requirement to clear the area all around the proposed Outhouse build site or just around the build site and trails?

A1a: Clear what is required to meet drawings/specifications and install outhouse, slab and the required working space. If alders and brush can be maintained with specified grades and facility location that would be acceptable.

Q1b. What is the elevation for slab for the toilet building compared to high water mark of last flood event?

A1b. Plans show slab elevation around 15 feet.

Note: The last Mendenhall Glacier dam break (or Jökulhlaup) on July 1, 2016 was at a crest of

11.99 ft. according to the National Weather Service1, this being the highest level in recorded history.

Q1c. Referring to sheet 14 of 24, will contractor need to bring in topsoil for seeding? Same question for ditches? A requirement of 8 inches are listed, though there are concerns about generating enough top soil from the project.

A1c. Reserve Topsoil during excavation of the site. Once the walkways, seating rocks, and vault toilet are constructed and the ground is graded, start spreading the topsoil around the seating rocks and work uphill until the reserved topsoil is used up. There is no need to import topsoil to cover the entire area. It is acceptable to use moss/soil from the trail construction on the cut slopes around the outhouse so long as the slopes are maintained.

Q1d. Will construction crews be allowed full use of the parking lot site during construction?

A1d.

Please refer to Section J, West Glacier Spur Road Area Enhancements Project- Supplemental Specifications, Section 009040-Maintenance for Traffic, page 2.

Site 2: SST Trail to View Trail

Group walked back to parking lot over to the view trail (Option Item # 6) and stopped at the rest area. View trail has been staked/flagged as could be seen during walk to rest area.

Questions/Answers:

Q2a. What trees are required to be removed for the view trail?

A2a. Trees need to be removed in front of rest area to provide scenic view of the glacier. Trees also need to be removed along trail to meet specifications for trail width. More information can be found on sheet 16 of project plans.

1 National Weather Service; Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service for Mendenhall Lake Level, Historic Crests http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=pajk&gage=mnda2&hydro_type=0

Site 3: View Trail to Tolch Rock Parking Lot and Tolch Rock Trail (Option Item 2) On the way, Mike (FS), pointed out piles of boulders off of the back corner of West Glacier Trail parking lot that are available for use during the project. The Tolch Rock Parking Lot will be expanded as part of the Option Item # 2 work. Mike (FS), also pointed out Option Item # 1, gravel pathway that circles arounds the parking lot, needs to be 6 feet wide, per drawings and specifications.

While performing planning surveys around this area, 7 test pits were dug and glacial till was found throughout the site. During trail construction contact CO if large boulders are encountered and coordinate trail routing with FS approval.

Group walked down the trail to the location of one of the bridge crossings for the multi-use trail (Base Item, Item B) that will run perpendicular to the Tolch Rock Trail. The centerline stakes for the multi-use trail, located at one of the bridge sites on Tolch Rock Trail are off to both sides of the trail.

The solicitation states that the first 350 ft. of Tolch Rock Trail will need to be surfaced. Due to recent volunteering efforts, some of the trail has already been surfaced. About 310 ft. of the trail remains to be surfaced. Surfacing near the centerline of the bike path may overlap existing aggregate in order for the section to meet the specifications in the contract. See Solicitation Amendment 1 for a revision to this specification.

Trail cuts and fills should be rounded along the top and bottom edges to emulate the natural topography along the trail route.

Questions/Answers:

Q3a. Specification state that brush will need to be hauled out. Can the brush be side-cast instead of hauled out?

A3a. No, brush will need to be hauled out and maintain the current moss mat. Re-use moss mats to cover cut and fill slopes and trail edges.

Q3b. The replacement of Gate 4, last gate on Skater Cabin Road, located across from parking lot. What is to be done with this gate? Is the gate to be hauled away?

A3b. The gate to the south of Skaters Cabin as identified by the COR, will replace the beach access gate as shown on the plans Sheet 7 with details on Sheet 13. The gate will need to be hauled away.

Q3c. Are there any time restrictions for when the creeks can be worked on?

A3c. General in-stream work windows for anadromous class 1 streams with Coho salmon are typically June 1st through July 15th. Contractor shall follow all Regional Best Management Practices for in-stream work. Coordinate all stream crossings with CO or COR. Work outside of established work window may be permissible with the prior approval of the CO. The Forest Service is working in coordination with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game for specific dates and time for creek crossing restrictions. Specific dates will be provided when finalized.

See Solicitation Amendment 1 for more information on Best Management Practices.

Q3d. How much fill should be used for under the sills on Tolch Rock Trail?

A3d. Sheet 20 shows required elevations of finished bridge deck. Construct to meet drawings and specifications. Compaction specifications are in accordance with FP-03 section 301.

Site 4: Tolch Rock Trail to Skaters Cabin Bike Trail

Bike path, no cuts and fills calculated for the length of the flagged path. The bike path will generally start near the end of the existing paved bike path near Skaters Cabin and ends near West Glacier parking lot. Reference station 0+0 is located between two boulders on the lake side of the existing paved bike path termination.

Q4a. Will this be awarded on low price?

A4a. No. Contract will be award based on Best Value. Evaluation factors are Past Performance, Experience and Qualifications, and Total Price (price of the base and all option items added together). See Section L and M of the solicitation for descriptions of the evaluation factors.

Q4b. Does the Forest Service have any preference regarding the Options? What is the order of importance for these options?

A4b. The Options in relative order of importance:

1. Option Item # 1: Skater’s Cabin area improvements including asphalt parking lots, aggregate trails connecting to Multi-use Trail, and culverts work.

2. Option Item # 2: Tolch Rock Parking Lot and Tolch Rock Trail Improvements.

3. Option Item # 6: 250’ of 6’ wide aggregate path, along the West side of West Glacier

Trailhead parking, as shown on Sheet 7; and construction of “View Trail” at West Glacier Trailhead.

4. Option Item # 4: All signs as shown on Sign Plan

5. Option Item # 5: Bollard installation at Artic Drive.

While this list provides a general order of importance for the option items, award of option items will also depend on the availability of funds.

Option Item # 3: Skater’s Cabin area Water Valve and meter relocation, is being deleted. See solicitation amendment 1.

10:25, Tour Concluded at Skaters Cabin

Mari Meiners Contracting Officer USDA Forest Service, Region 10- AQM mmeiners@fs.fed.us 907-586-8746

Heather Davis Contract Specialist USDA Forest Service, Region 10- AQM hldavis@fs.fed.us 907-586-7906 mailto:hldavis@fs.fed.us mailto:hldavis@fs.fed.us