11-9007 Final Amendment 02.pdf

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT 1. CONTRACT ID CODE PAGE OF PAGES

1 11

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NO. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE 4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO. 5. PROJECT NO. (If applicable)

Amendment No.02

6. ISSUED BY CODE 024B 7. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than Item 6) CODE

U.S. FOREST SERVICE - CONTRACTING

NATIONAL INTERAGENCY FIRE CENTER

3833 S. DEVELOPMENT AVE., OWYHEE BLDG. – MS 1100

BOISE, ID 83705-5354

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR (No., street, county, State and ZIP Code) 9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

AG-024B-S-11-9007

9B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

October 3, 2011

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

10B. DATED (SEE ITEM 13)

CODE FACILITY CODE

11. THIS ITEM APPLIES ONLY TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers is extended, is not extended.

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods:

(a) By completing Items 8 and 15, and returning copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted;

or (c) By separate letter or telegram which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by telegram or letter, provided each telegram or letter makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA (if required)

13. THIS ITEM APPLIES ONLY TO MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS. IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NUMBER

AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

CHECK ONE A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS PURSUANT TO: (specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT ORDER

NO. IN ITEM 10A.

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES (such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc.) SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER (specify type of modification and authority)

E. IMPORTANT: Contractor is not, is required to sign this document and return copies to the issuing office.

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

PURPOSE OF THIS AMENDMENT: This Amendment 02 recinds Amendment 01 and its documents, in its entirety. Amendment 02 reissues Amendment 01 with appropriate administrative corrections accomplished, and provides all information provided by the recinded Amendment 01, including changed pages and bid question and answers. Changes are noted in bold text, remove and replace amended and changed pages accordingly.

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (Type or print) 16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)

FREDRICK GEIJSBEEK,

Contracting Officer 15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR 15C. DATE SIGNED 16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 16C. DATE SIGNED

(Signature of person authorized to sign) (Signature of Contracting Officer)

NSN 7540-01-152-8070

Previous edition unusable STANDARD FORM 30 (REV. 10-83)

Prescribed By GSA FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

RFP AG‐024B‐S‐11‐9007

BIDDERS QUESTIONS and ANSWERS

AMENDMENT 02

Amendment No. 02

BQ-No. 1 RFP Area: General Question: This RFP (in particular the delivery schedule) is written such that only the incumbent can reasonably bid to meet the requirements of the Solicitation. Is the (United States Government) USG’s intent only to allow the incumbent to successfully bid the contract?

ANSWER-01

Refer to Amendment 02-Section F.2 and in full, complete context.

BQ-No. 2 RFP Area: Section M, Clause M.2 Question: As these Technical Capability evaluation criteria are not in compliance with a full and open competition, does the USG intend to remove the unfair criteria and replace them with evaluation criteria that provide for a level playing field?

ANSWER-02

The aviation firefighting mission requires specific technical equipment to safely and effectively operate in the complex airspace around wildland fire. This includes the aircraft flight capability, performance envelope. The aircraft performance and technical requirements essentially mirror the previously solicited and awarded contract for the same mission. These essential requirements have been fully vetted and approved.

Refer to Amendment 02-Entire amendment, in full and complete context.

BQ-No. 3 RFP Area: Section L, Clause L.4(d) Question: As these flight testing criteria are not in compliance with a full and open competition, does the USG intend to revamp the RFP delivery schedule and terms/conditions to provide for equal consideration for all aircraft offered therein so a level playing field is created for all offerors?

ANSWER-03

Refer to Amendment 02-Section F.2

BQ-No. 4 RFP Area: Section H, Clause H.2 Question: Does the USG intend to reconsider their position on this competition limiting requirement?

ANSWER-04

No.

Clause H.2 is in compliance with applicable U.S. Code, has been fully vetted and is, in essentially the same verbiage, currently and historically included in all U.S. Forest Service National aviation contracts, the major majority of which are small business entities, that were competed.

RFP AG‐024B‐S‐11‐9007

BIDDERS QUESTIONS and ANSWERS

AMENDMENT 02

BQ-No. 5 WAAS Certified GPS Reference: Section C, Para (3) Navigation Systems, (i) Global Positioning System (GPS) GPS systems shall be TSO approved, Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) certified and the installation approved for IFR enroute, terminal, and LPV approaches….

Question: Will the Forest Service accept aircraft with TSO approved non-WAAS GPS systems certified and installation approved for IFR enroute and terminal approaches?

ANSWER-05

Yes. Refer to Amendment 02-Section C change page.

Aerial Supervision Module (ASM)

AG-024B-S-11-9007

TABLE OF CHANGES

Section Paragraph Page Description C Paragraph (3) (i) C-9 Add note to paragraph F F-2 F-1 Add new verbiage under F.2 F F-3 F-1 Change the word each to the F F-7 F-3 Add the word fully configured M M-1, M-2, and M-3 All Header missing from pages M Technical

Capability M-2 Added additional bullet

M Safety M-2 Added new verbiage

Solicitation No. AG-024B-S-11-9007 US Forest Service Aerial Supervision Module (ASM) Platform National Office

SECTION C

DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATION/WORK STATEMENT

C-9

(3) Navigation Systems

(i) Global positioning system (GPS)

Note: Proposals that provide GPS units that are Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) certified will be considered more favorably.

(A) GPS systems shall be TSO approved, Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) certified and the installation approved for IFR enroute, terminal, and LPV approaches. The units shall be located where both the PIC and the ATS can clearly view the display; utilize WGS-84 datum;

reference latitude and longitude coordinates in the DM (degrees/minutes/decimal minutes) mode; utilize an approved, fixed, external aircraft antenna; and be powered by the aircraft electrical system.

(B) GPS systems shall have integrated color moving maps, the ability for manual entry of waypoints in flight and have a current IFR navigation database covering the continental United States and Alaska. Handheld and/or marine type equipment is not acceptable.

(ii) VHF Omni-directional Ranging (VOR) and localizer (LOC) systems

Two VOR/LOC navigation receivers with a minimum of 200 navigation receive channels with 50 KHz spacing. Both systems shall be displayed in the PIC’s primary field of view. At least one system shall be displayed in the SIC/ATS primary field of view.

(iii) Glide slope (G/S) receiver

One glide slope receiver with a minimum of 40 channels interfaced to the #1 localizer (LOC) system.

(iv) Marker Beacon (MB)

One marker beacon receiver system with three-light indicator and aural annunciation

(v) Distance Measuring Equipment (DME)

One DME interfaced to NAV 1 and NAV 2 for channeling shall be installed

(4) Surveillance Systems

(i) Emergency Locator Transmitters One automatic-fixed Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) utilizing an external antenna and meeting the requirements detailed in 14 CFR Part

91.207 (excluding 14 CFR Part 91.207f), shall be installed per the manufacturer’s installation manual, in a conspicuous or marked location. ELT’s shall meet TSO 126 requirements; those certified under TSO-C91 are not acceptable.

SECTION F

DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE

F-1

F.1 CONTRACT PERIOD

(a) One contract will be awarded with a Base Year and two (2), one-year options. The base year shall be effective as of the date of contract award through December 31, 2012. At the option of the Government, the contract may be extended under the same terms and conditions, as follows:

(1) OPTION 1 January 01, 2013 through December 31, 2013

(2) OPTION 2 January 01, 2014 through December 31, 2014

(b) The Government will notify the Contractor of its intent to extend the contracts not less than sixty (60) calendar days prior to the expiration of the current contracts period.

The Government will issue all contract modifications for the extensions of contracts thirty

(30) days prior to the expiration of the current contract/period of performance.

F.2 TIME OF DELIVERY (FAR 52.211-8) (JUN 1997) (TAILORED)

(a) Four (4) fully configured (to all technical specifications herein) aircraft must be delivered within sixty (60) days of the contract award date. The remaining six (6), fully configured aircraft for the total minimum requirement of ten (10) or any additional proposed and awarded up to the maximum of fifteen, must be delivered within sixty to ninety (60 to 90) days of contract award. The actual delivery schedule should be included in the proposal, with actual dates to be coordinated with the CO after award and prior to delivery. Availability payment will begin at acceptance of first item, for each item as, and when accepted. Offerors, who propose a delivery schedule that will not clearly fall within the applicable required delivery period as specified above, will be considered nonresponsive and rejected. The Government reserves the right to award under either the required delivery schedule or the proposed delivery schedule, when an offeror offers an earlier delivery schedule than required above. If the offeror proposes no other delivery schedule, the required delivery schedule depicted above will apply.

(b) Attention is directed to the Contract Award provision of the solicitation that provides that a written award or acceptance of offer mailed, or otherwise furnished to the successful offeror, results in a binding contract. The Government will mail or otherwise furnish to the offeror an award or notice of award not later than the day award is dated.

Therefore, the offeror should compute the time available for performance beginning with the actual date of award, rather than the date the written notice of award is received from the Contracting Officer through the ordinary mails. However, the Government will evaluate an offer that proposes delivery based on the Contractor’s date of receipt of the contract or notice of award by adding (1) five calendar days for delivery of the award through the ordinary mails, or (2) one working day if the solicitation states that the contract or notice of award will be transmitted electronically. (The term “working day” excludes weekends and U.S. Federal holidays.) If, as so computed, the offered delivery date is later than the required delivery date, the offer will be considered nonresponsive and rejected.

F-2

F.3 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE (AGAR 452.211-74) (FEB 1988)

The period of performance of the resultant contracts will be from the date of the contract award through December 31, 2012 (base year only).

F.4 MANDATORY AVAILABILITY PERIOD (MAP)

The aircraft are required to be available for the Government’s exclusive use 14 hours a day, beginning at 0800 ending at 2200, seven days per week, for the entire Base Year and all of the Option Year increments, when exercised.

F.5 UNAVAILABILITY

(a) The aircraft will be considered unavailable whenever the equipment is not in condition to perform or fails to perform within the requirements of this contract (scheduled maintenance not included). In order to maintain a minimum number of deficiencies and discrepancies, the COTR with the concurrence of the CO may determine it is advantageous to the government to allow unscheduled maintenance during periods of non use. Availability will continued to be paid during this period.

(b) The Government may exercise its right to terminate for default if the contract service is unavailable in excess of three full consecutive calendar days, OR, an accumulation of seven percent (7%) of the total days of the MAP. Scheduled maintenance does not count toward the three consecutive days OR the seven percent (7%) accumulation.

(c) When a scheduled inspection goes beyond the OEM published flat rate for the scheduled inspection being performed as specified in the aircraft service manual, or a maximum of 4 days if a published rate is not available, the aircraft will be considered “unavailable” until the aircraft is returned to contract availability by an FS Aircraft Maintenance Inspector.

(d) Unavailability status will continue until the deficiency is corrected. It is the Contractor's responsibility to inform the CO whenever the equipment or personnel become available. Inspection by the Government after a discrepancy or deficiency has occurred will be made as promptly as possible after the Contractor has given notice that the item has been corrected. When Inspection reveals that the item has been corrected, the Contractor will be considered in “Available” status from the time the Contractor gives notice to the Government that the item has been corrected. If consistent failure to respond to dispatches occurs, the CO retains the right to require functional check flights at Contractor’s expense. See Section E.3 Return to Availability

(e) Periods of Unavailability will be accumulated for the day and posted on the Flight Use Invoice as actual clock unavailability.

F-3

(f) Agency pilots may be used at the request of the contractor to perform functional flights or relocation flights associated with maintenance. The CO retains the right to require Government expenses incurred be reimbursed by the Contractor for additional functional flights, for positioning of the aircraft on maintenance flights, or for other non Government requested flights.

F.6 POINT OF DELIVERY

Delivery will occur at Contractor’s base of operations or other mutually agreed upon location. Upon acceptance by issuance of Government inspection approval card, the Government will subsequently disperse the aircraft to other locations.

F.7 DELIVERY OF AIRCRAFT

The Contractor shall deliver the aircraft, as awarded, fully configured, under this contract for the base period of the contract in accordance with the schedule identified in Paragraph F.2 “Time of Delivery.”

F.8 CONTRACTOR EVALUATIONS

The Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative (COTR), or designated representative, shall complete a Performance Evaluation Form at the end of each performance period. A copy of the completed form shall be sent to the Contractor and a copy shall also be provided to the CO. The form, in addition to other performance information which may become available, will be utilized to facilitate the compilation of the Contractor Performance Reports.

F.9 CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE (FAR 52.252-2) (FEB 1998)

This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer (CO) will make their full text available.

FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION (48 CFR CHAPTER 1) CLAUSES

CLAUSE

NUMBER DATE TITLE

FAR 52.242-15 AUG 1989 Stop-Work Order FAR 52.242-17 APR 1984 Government Delay of Work

SECTION M

EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD

M-1

M.1 CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE (FAR 52.252-2) (FEB 1998)

This contract incorporates one or more clauses 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 clause may be accessed electronically at this/these address (es):

www.arnet.gov/far/ www.usda.gov/procurement/policy/agar.html

FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION CLAUSES

NUMBER DATE TITLE

FAR 52.217-3 APR 1984 Evaluation Exclusive of Options FAR 52.217-5 JUL 1990 Evaluation of Options FAR 52.247-49 APR 1984 Destination Unknown FAR 52.247-50 APR 1984 No Evaluation of Transportation Costs

AGRICULTURE ACQUISITION REGULATION (48 CFR CHAPTER 4) CLAUSES

NUMBER DATE TITLE

AGAR 452.216-72 FEB 1988 Evaluation Quantities – Indefinite Delivery Contract

M.2 EVALUATION – COMMERCIAL ITEMS (FAR 52.212-2) (JAN 1999)

(a) The Government will award ONE contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose proposal conforms to the solicitation as the most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered.

The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers and are equal in importance.

Technical Capability

Continued Airworthiness Program Operational History Inspection Programs Aircraft System Redundancy Aircraft Support Capability Aircraft Known To Forest Service Pilots

M-2

An offered aircraft that is familiar to USFS Air Tactical Pilots will be more favorably considered

Aircraft with identical avionics, autopilots, and flight directors will be more favorably considered.

Proposals that provide a receiver mount, power supply, and antenna for use of a government provided FM Transceiver will be considered more favorably than a portable radio interface.

Proposals that provide GPS units that are Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) certified will be considered more favorably.

The requirements for Communications and Avionics for this contract are substantial as they provide key systems to accomplish the mission. Offers should clearly explain in their proposal the capability of their equipment to meet the solicitation requirements.

Maintenance

Timeliness of Performance Quality of Services Maintenance Employee Qualifications & Training Quality Control

Past Performance

Customer Satisfaction Business Relations Organizational Experience

Safety

An evaluation flight to evaluate only mission flight profile capability of the aircraft in normal/utility configuration will be performed on any aircraft not previously evaluated by the Government in the ASM role, prior to contract award. This “evaluation” configuration is to determine suitability for the mission profile for low level fire fighting environment and the ASM role and does not require the specified avionics for evaluation nor any additional special mission requirements (Ref. C.5). The criteria to be used for this flight evaluation by the Government will be those criteria included in the Tactical Aerial Resource Management Study (TARMS) dated October 1998. See Section J-Attachment H-Tactical Aerial Resource Management (TARMS), “Aircraft Evaluation Criteria”

Cost/Price

The technical capability, maintenance, past performance and safety, when combined, are significantly more important than cost/price. The sub-factors identified above for technical capability, maintenance, past performance and safety are all equal in relation to each other.

M-3

(b) Options. The Government will evaluate offers for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement, both the annual lease and cost per flight hour. The Government may determine that an offer is unacceptable if the option prices are significantly unbalanced. Evaluation of options shall not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s).

(c) A written notice of award or acceptance of an offer mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful offeror within the time for acceptance specified in the offer, shall result in a binding contract without further action by either party. Before the offer’s specified expiration time, the Government may accept an offer (or part of an offer), whether or not there are negotiations after its receipt, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received before award.

M.3 EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS

(a) GENERAL Proposals shall be evaluated and rated based upon non-price factors and price and award will be made based upon the best overall value to the Government.

While price is secondary to other evaluation factors, it will be a factor in the award decision. The critical consideration in making the non-price/price factor trade-off decision is the significance of the difference in technical ratings, what a higher rating might mean in terms of performance, and what it would cost the Government to take advantage of the higher rated proposal. An award will not be made to an Offeror with unreasonably high prices, regardless of their technical rating. An award may not necessarily be made to the lowest priced offer or for technical capabilities that would appear to exceed the solicitation requirements but are not needed or beneficial to the Government. All offers may be rejected if they are not found to be in the Government’s best interest or if the prices offered violate provisions of the Office of Management and Budget’s Circular A-11. The Government reserves the right to make technical/price trade-off decisions that are in the best interest and to the advantage of the Government.

(b) TECHNICAL PROPOSALS A Technical Evaluation Board (TEB) appointed by the Contracting Officer will evaluate technical proposals. To be considered for an award, a proposal must conform to all of the requirements in the solicitation. An award shall be made to the Offeror whose (1) proposal is determined to be the most technically acceptable, and (2) whose technical/price relationship is the most advantageous to the Government. The Government anticipates award of one contract for a minimum of ten

(10) aircraft (during the base year) and a maximum of fifteen (15) aircraft throughout the duration of this contract (see Section B).

An Offeror’s technical proposal may become a part of any resultant contract(s). Offerors are hereby advised that the Government will have the right to use, duplicate, or disclose in any manner and for any purpose whatsoever, and have the right to permit others to do so, all subject data required to be delivered under any contract resulting from this solicitation. Any reservations regarding these Government rights to data should be stated in the proposal and will be resolved during any subsequent negotiation