Meeting_Minutes_-_Site_Visit.doc

United States

Department of

Agriculture Forest

Service

3815 Schreiber Way Coeur d’Alene, ID 83815

US Forest Service Attendees: Estyn Kevitt: Administrative Contracting Officer, Rita Loper: Contracting Officer (CO), Mike Shoup: Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), Jim Gebhardt: Forest Engineer, Bruce Crockett: Region 1 Facilities Program Manager, Aram Eramian: Nursery Manager.

Design A&E Attendees (by telephone): Chris Martison: Principal Architect, Brandon Prinzing: Lead Architect, Tom Beaudette: Structural Engineer, Arian Bloomfield: Electrical Engineer, Jody Waverek: Mechanical Engineer.

All others in attendance signed in and list will be available as attachment to Amendment 3 on fbo.gov.

1. Introduction to Site Visit and Project: Administrative CO Estyn Kevitt called the meeting to order with a brief introduction to the project and a welcome to attending vendors. In addition, an overview of the site visit’s itinerary was given. All vendors were given a copy of the itinerary, the cover sheets for Phase 1 & 2 drawings, and a 8x11 sheet of paper to record questions.

2. Technical Specifications: COR Mike Shoup led an overview of the technical specifications of the project to include the following:

a. Project Overview: This solicitation includes Phase 1 and Phase 2 for the Interagency Natural Resource Center. The Interagency Natural Resource Center (IRNC) is a 4 phase project scheduled for award 2017 through 2020. The INRC will support 173 employees from three agencies; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Forest Service. Phase 1 for the INRC includes site work and paving; and 11,000 sf of warehouse space to support the Interagency Hotshot Fire Crews and the Interagency Fire Dispatch center. Phase 2 includes 17,000 sf of shared warehouse space for the three agencies. Phase 3 includes a 29,000 sf two story office building. The phasing plan is shown on the cover sheet for the Phase 1 plans.

b. Option Items: This solicitation includes an Option Item 1 and an Option Item 2. Option Item 1 includes the concrete slab and under slab utilities for Phase 2 (the southern portion of the warehouse). Option Item 2 includes all of the Phase 2 warehouse minus the concrete slab portion.

c. Response date and Questions: The bid closing date is May 10th. All questions during the solicitation must be submitted in writing to Estyn Kevitt with a cc copy to Mike Shoup; and the last day to receive written questions is 5/1/2017. Instructions are on page 1 of the solicitation for submitting questions.

i. Bruce Crockett reiterated that there is a chain for questions outlined in the solicitation and that any questions that do not follow the specified process will not be entertained.

d. Period of Performance: Section F-2 of the solicitation requires project completion within 365 calendar days of the building permit approval date. Completion includes a certificate of occupancy, final clean up, and paving completion.

i. A vendor asked if the 365 calendar day period of performance will include the option items. Vendors were directed to review section F-2 of the solicitation which breaks down the separate period of performances for the base item, option item 1, and option item 2.

e. Contractor Quality Management (CQM): This contract includes a Contractor Quality Control Specification (014130) and "Construction Quality Management (CQM) for Contractors" requirements. The contractor shall designate a Quality Control Supervisor whose primary responsibility shall be limited to quality control. This person may not perform other duties on the project except those duties listed and related to specification 014130. The QC Manager shall not be the Project Superintendent or Project Foreman. The QC Manager shall visit the site daily whenever work is in progress to complete required CQM duties. The QC Manager must submit their training certificate for "U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Construction Quality Management for Contractors". Multiple local sources are available for training certificates including the Spokane chapter of the AGC Associated General Contractors. Specification section 014130 is expected to be the cornerstone of Contractor Quality Management; including the requirement for the QC Manager to read all applicable specification sections related to the pertinent feature of work, in the presence of the activity foreman, the general contractor’s superintendent and the Contracting Officer’s Representative.

f. Benefits of CQM: Effective CQM will greatly reduce the largest unnecessary costs to contractors-the tear out and replacement cost stemming from nonconforming workmanship and materials. Contractor Quality Control experience and Contractor Quality Control commitment are included as evaluation factors under the Technical Evaluation Criteria for this solicitation.

g. Permitting: Section C-5 of the solicitation addresses the Impact Fees and Permits required for the INRC project. A full permitting effort for the INRC was selected as a value added measure for the project. Plan Check fees were waived by the Director of Building Services (Ed Wagner). Benefits of the permitting effort are expected to include: partnering opportunities with the City of CDA, issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy, and full time city inspectors will augment the project's QA efforts in the areas of mechanical, electrical, structural, etc. The contractor is required to make their permit application to the City of CDA within seven days of the Notice to Proceed. The contractor shall pay impact fees, permit fees, and obtain all permits. Section C-5 includes an estimate of fees from Cori Wood, the City of CDA Permit Administrator.

i. Vendors were notified that some sections of work could possibly proceed before permit approval is complete to include: timber clearing, chain link fence installation (along west project boundary), tree preservation measures, foundation excavation, etc. Mike Shoup reiterated that the chain link fence installation is required prior to any site work.

h. 80' Buffer Zone between South Residential Area: The 80' buffer zone that is parallel to the southern boundary fence (and immediately north of the residential neighborhood) is off limits to the contractor. (See section 011000).

i. Kootenai Electric Line: The Kootenai Electric (KEC) Line shown on sheet CD1.1 is currently being relocated by KEC to 10' west of the project fence boundary shown on sheet C1.3.

j. Substitutions: During proposal review, substitutions will not be received or reviewed. Section 012500 provides substitution procedures after award for "approved equal" items.

k. Temporary Construction Power: Construction power shall be coordinated by the contractor directly with Kootenai Electric. The contractor will receive utility bills for the meter directly from Kootenai Electric (see section 015000).

3. Request for Proposal (RFP): Estyn Kevitt provided an overview of RFP AG-0343-S-17-0016 as follows:

a. Federal Business Opportunities (FBO): All documents, updates, and amendments to this solicitation will be made on fbo.gov. It is the responsibility of the vendor to review all documents posted with the solicitation and to acknowledge all amendments that are posted.

b. Section A: Proposals are due on 5/10/2017 to Estyn Kevitt on the address listed in block 8 and Offerors shall provide 90 calendar days for Government acceptance.

c. Section B: To be considered, proposals must include pricing for all base and option items. Vendors are instructed to pay careful attention to the language for the exercise and evaluation of option items. In addition vendors were instructed that any costs incurred for bonds need to be included in their pricing and that pricing will not be adjusted later for bond premiums (see section I-13 AGAR 452.232-70)

d. Section C: It was reiterated that the fees listed for permits in section C-5 were only estimates. Vendors were told to review section C-7 for guidance on usage of biobased products and, also, ensure they review Section I-7 FAR 52.223-2.

e. Section E: Vendors were encouraged to review FAR 52.246-12 for guidelines for Government inspection and acceptance of construction.

f. Section F: Liquidated Damages are included in this contract and the Awardee may be liable for payment of the rate included in section F-3 for each calendar day of delay.

g. Section H: Vendors were instructed to review section H-2 Key Personnel and that they ensure they understand that key personnel are not to be substituted on this project without approval from the CO.

h. Section I: All clauses included by reference can be accessed at the link in section I-1. It is the responsibility of the vendor to know the terms and conditions outlined by the contract clauses. Vendors were reminded to ensure that their SAM registrations are active at the time that they submit proposals or that they will not be considered for award. FAR 52.228-1 was reviewed and vendors were given information on submitting bid guarantees.

i. Section J: All attachments will be available on FBO and are part of the solicitation and any resulting contract.

j. Section K: Representations and Certifications must be submitted with any complete proposal.

k. Section L: Special attention must be paid to section L-4. It is the responsibility of the vendor to ensure that all instructions for the preparation of proposals are followed. A proposal may be rejected for failure to confirm to the RFPs instructions.

l. Section M: The evaluation factors are defined and the CO will determine award in accordance with this section. Vendors are encouraged to review the adjectival ratings listed in section M-2 to see what the expectations are for proposal ratings. It was reiterated that vendors with no past performance records will receive a neutral rating.

4. Design A&E Teleconference: Members of the firm that completed the design for the INRC called in to address attending vendor questions. The questions that were fielded needed additional time to be answered and will be included as an attachment to Amendment 3 of the solicitation.

5. Tour of the Site: Attendees were invited to a tour of the physical building site that was conducted by Mike Shoup. Following the tour the meeting was adjourned.

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