Amendment1.pdf

1. CONTRACT ID CODE PAGE OF PAGES

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT 1 13

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NO. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE 4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO. 5. PROJECT NO. (If applicable) 1 1/26/09

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

USDA, Forest Service Western Montana Acquisition Zone Building 24, Fort Missoula Missoula, MT 59804

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

AG-03R6-S-08-0027A

9B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

12/31/08

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

10B. DATED (SEE ITEM 13)

CODE FACILITY CODE

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES 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 ACKNOWLEDGMENT 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 NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

(X) A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED 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.

This Solicitation is changed as follows:

Page 11, Section H- 2, Initiation of Process - Change the 5th sentence to read: “ Clauses and contract terms are in the IDIQ contract, so the task order price request shall only contain inforamtion specific to the work covered in the task order.”

Page 30, Section J- 2, Wage Rate Decisions - Change the sentence in italics to read “The Decisions below are to be used in preparation of the business proposal, the CO will provide a current Wage Rate Decision with the task order price request”.

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)

SUSAN BERON, 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

30-105 STANDARD FORM 30 (REV. 10-83)

Prescribed by GSA

FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

Amendment No. 1, dated 1/26/09

Three pre-proposal meetings were held the week of 1/20-22. The Contracting Officer provided an overview of Indifinite Delivery Indifinite Quantity Contracts; how the process for establishing individual contracts differ from ordering work on task orders; and external impacts that limit the number and amount of contracts that can be issued when funding is provided late in the fiscal year or pulled to pay for overruns of fire suppression costs.

Contact numbers for the Small Business Administration and Procurment Technical Assistance Centers were provided. These numbers are:

Small Business Administration – Federal Agency responsible for oversight of small business programs, development of small businesses, and provides assistance to other Agencies in matters regarding small business.

North Dakota: 701-239-5131 Montana: 406-441-1081 Idaho: 208-334-1696

Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC): http://www.aptac-us.org – A non-profit organization established to assist companies interested in competing for federal contracts.

Assistance varies but includes assistance with registration, training, understanding solicitation process, and researching opportunities.

North Dakota: None Available Boise, Idaho: 208-334-2470 Billings, Montana: 406-256-6871 Bozeman, Montana: 406-587-3113 Kalispell, Montana: 406-755-4221 Missoula, Montana: 406-532-3207

Links for the Contractor Performance System, Centralized Contractor Registration, and On-line Representation and Certification programs were provided. These links are:

Central Contractor Registration/On-line Registration and Certification: http://ccr.gov or http://www.bpn.gov/

Contractor Performance System: http://cpscontractor.nih.gov

A letter explaining the Contractor Performance System was also handed out. A copy of the letter is attached with this amendment.

Points of Contact for this solicitation are:

Technical Questions on the Solicitation: John Kattell at jkattell@fs.fed.us.

Contract Questions on the Solicitation: Sue Beron at sberon@fs.fed.us; Or mail to:

USDA Forest Service, Attn: Sue Beron Bldg 24, Fort Missoula Missoula, MT 59804

John Kattell presented pictures of project types that could be ordered under these contracts.

http://www.aptac-us.org/ http://ccr.gov/ http://www.bpn.gov/ http://cpscontractor.nih.gov/ mailto:jkattell@fs.fed.us mailto:sberon@fs.fed.us

CO and John Kattell reviewed the solicitation with the attendees. Items covered in this review are:

- Cover Page, No bid bond is required with the proposal. If bonds are required on the task order they will be noted on the request for price.

- Page 1, Block 8 is the address that all proposals are to be sent to.

- Page 1, Block 12 requires bonding (if required) to be furnished within 10 days of award of the task order.

- Page 1, Block 13 – proposals are due by 4:00 p.m. MST on 2/4/09.

o No faxed proposals will be accepted, we are requesting original documents.

o 3 sets of the technical proposal.

o 1 set of the business proposal.

- Page 3, The Matrix will be used in both the evaluation and in competing task orders. Interest and abilities must be supported by Technical Proposals and past performance evaluations.

- Page 5, Scope of Work is projects that utilize the FP-03 specifications and supporting or incidental work. The intent is to establish contracts that will provide the depth and breadth of services for the entire region. It is understood that not all Offerors will be able to perform all types of work in every area, but it is to their advantage for the technical proposal to demonstrate the ability to perform as much variety over as broad an area as possible.

- Page 5, Price range for each contract award is an estimate of work that may be ordered.

- Page 6, Minimum and Maximum Contract Amounts. The minimum is a guarantee that will be paid to all awarded Contractors once the post-award meeting has been held and attended. The maximum reflects a not-to-exceed amount over the life of the contract, including extentions.

- Page 11, Task Order Competition was reviewed.

- Page 12, Key Personnel listed are those that need to be identified in the technical proposal.

- Page 24, Order Limitations were reviewed and explained. Orders placed within the ordering limits are binding once the CO signs them. Since there are no pre-priced items in the contract, each order will be competed and priced before award is made. Limits when multiple orders are placed that exceed $1 Million in a year, or they are placed close together (within 30 days) and the limitations are exceeded, the Contractor has 5 days to notify the CO if the last order placed cannot be accepted.

- Page 35, Instructions. The evaluation criteria was reviewed as well as the instructions on what type of information is expected to be included in the proposal. See Questions/Answers for clarification.

- Sample Project – the Business Proposal includes technical approach (see notes on drawing) and pricing (Attachment B) for this project. Follow the assumptions outlined on the drawing and the clarifications made in this amendment. Do not build in any other assumptions: the weather is fair, material is ample and suitable, and there are no fires or fire restrictions, etc.

The following is a summary of the questions raised during the meetings, the review of the solicitation, and submitted by email.

Technical Proposal Example Questions:

1. Is the Rip-Rap Shot?

a. Yes, the Rip-Rap is ready to be placed.

2. What is the estimated flow on the project?

a. 25 cfs

3. On the Staking, does an engineering firm have to perform the work?

a. FP-03 Standard Specs addresses this question.

4. What is the road type between the worksite and the source for the surfacing material?

a. The haul is on 15 miles of Forest Service/County roads. The remaining miles are on State maintained roads.

5. On the Schedule of Items, are the quantities design or actual?

a. Actual

6. Should an erosion control drawing be submitted?

a. A Soil Erosion Pollution Control Plan is required to be included in the Business Proposal.

The Plan can be presented in any format the Offeror chooses.

7. What do we do with the existing pipe?

a. The pipe becomes property of the Contractor.

8. On the Drawings, page 5, Section A-A there appears to be a penetration in the Concrete Stem Wall but it does not note what this is indicating.

a. This is a weep hole and not an important detail to be considered in the proposal.

9. If pre-cast footing and stem-walls were to be used, will there be a requirement to tie the different sections together with steel plates embedded in the concrete and welded in the field?

a. Yes. Forest Service has a standard detail that includes angel with headed studs and either some field bolting or welding to make the connection.

IDIQ Questions:

10. Will you accept faxes of past performance evaluations?

a. No, we will accept email or mailed evaluations.

11. If you did not mark Bridge Construction on the Matrix, but want to venture into that area in 2 years, what should you do?

a. Offerors may write something into the technical proposal stating they wish to do this. The proposal should describe why and how the Offeror will prepare and implement this plan.

12. Will each Task Order take a long time to get a technical proposal out?

a. See Section H- 3 Task Order Evaluation. Task order evaluations are to be limited to the factors outlined in this paragraph. Technical Proposals should only be requested if the work under a task order is unique or requires some special equipment or skill.

13. Will you push all road decommissioning projects thru this contract?

a. No. These contracts will be only one of several procurement processes that a Contracting Officer may use.

14. Is there a guideline to the price structure?

a. Each task order will be priced individually.

15. If an award is made in the spring, can the money be taken by fire?

a. Once an award has been made the funds are obligated. To this point we have not had to cancel an awarded contract or task order to support fire.

16. Are you able to give out a percentage of the amount of work per geographical area?

a. Majority of the acres managed by the Northern Region are in Idaho, Northwest and

Southwest Montana. However, work may be ordered by any of the Forests or Grasslands in the Region. There is no set percentage for each area.

17. Will Task Orders be 100% designed?

a. Yes, with exceptions. Emergency work, urgent repairs and simple decommissioning projects might have generic designs or narrative description of the work.

18. Is there something that gives a Contractor an “opt out” if they have multiple contracts due on the same day?

a. See Section I- 3 Ordering and I- 4 Order Limitations.

19. Will you accept a bid that has been awarded as an example of work?

a. No. The Business Proposal must be based on the project included in the solicitation.

20. How long will it take to make awards?

a. Soon after the proposals are in an evaluation panel will convene to evaluate the proposals.

Once completed, the Contracting Officer will prepare an award recommendation that will be submitted to the Washington Office for approval. Once approved, there is a notification process to Congress required before awards can be made. We anticipate awards will be made by late March.

21. When a task order is issued for work to be done in the following year, do you have to have a bond at time task order is issued? See Q 22

22. If awarded a project, then work is not performed due to some reason, is the bonding tied up?

a. Bonds are required within 10 days of award of the task order. The bond is then held for the full performance of the project plus one year (Page 1, Blocks 12a & b; and Section I- 8 and I- 9).

23. Will wage determinations come with each Task Order?

a. Yes, CO will attach the most current wage determination to each task order.

24. If 10 people compete for an award, what is the award based on?

a. The award will be based on price and availability unless the project requires other factors be considered. See Section H- 1 – H- 3.

25. Do you have past performance evaluations on previous contracts?

a. Few to none. The only central location for past performance evaluations is the Contractor

Performance System. Since many Contractors have not registered in this system, the ratings done in the past are filed in the individual contract files. To obtain these records will require physically contacting each customer to retrieve and forward them to us. The records may or may not be available to be forwarded.

b. When the proposals are received, any evaluations that have been posted to the Contractor Performance System will be retrieved and placed with the proposal.

26. Once registered into the Contractor Performance System, are there updates needed each year?

a. The Contractor will need to keep their information current. Evaluations will be updated as they come in and do not go away once in the system.

27. What if the Contractor breaks up the geographical locations differently than in the Matrix (i.e. will work in Helena, but not in Bozeman)?

a. Address this in the Technical Proposal. This can also be addressed if contacted for availability as outlined in Section H.

28. Are you doing away with call when needed?

a. No. These contracts are not intended to become the only process for Contracting Officers to obtain services. There should still be other procurement methods used when appropriate.

29. Which will take precedence, call when needed or this contract?

a. This will be up to each Contracting Officer to decide.

30. Will we need CPA information and documentation for Bonding?

a. No. The Business Proposal is only asking what bonding capacity the Offeror has, no certification or audit is expected or required.

31. Will you post awards on Fed Biz Ops (FBO) website?

a. The IDIQ Contract awards will be posted; we are not required to post task order awards.

32. How far back do we need to go for performance evaluations?

a. 5 years.

33. How do we show the Social Economic Status for our business?

a. We will pull this information from ORCA.

34. Will actual prices be required for the project?

a. The Business Proposal as a whole should demonstrate the Offeror can plan out and price a project realistically. The pricing will be used as part of the Business Proposal to determine price reasonableness and should reflect realistic prices.

35. Can cost share money be used on these contracts?

a. Yes. The type of money does not matter as long as the work ordered is within the scope of the contract.

36. What forms are to be used for the proposal? Are there any templates or examples of how the proposal is to be filled out?

a. There are no templates or formats available. Offerors should follow the outline used in the instructions (See Section L- 2 AGAR 452.215-71) and the evaluation criteria. The Business Proposal must be a separate document as this portion will be evaluated separately from the technical and past performance criteria.

Additional Information handed out at the meetings:

Many contracts are awarded based on best value to the Government, reasonable price, and satisfactory past performance. To gather consistent information on contractor performance a multi-agency shared file system was developed by the National Institute of Health in 1996. This system is on-line and currently used by:

Department of Health and Human Services Department of Agriculture Department of Treasury Department of Commerce Department of Justice Department of Energy Department of Interior Department of Labor Department of Veteran’s Affairs Social Security Administration

In the next month or so the Forest Service will be soliciting for road construction services. The intent of this solicitation is to establish multiple indefinite deliveries indefinite quantity contracts for road and bridge construction, culverts and aquatic passages, and road decommissioning for the Northern Region (Northern Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, and a small portion of South Dakota). Once these contracts are established, Forests in the Northern Region may place task orders against these contracts.

One of the tools that will be used in determining contract award, task order award, and contract renewal will be satisfactory past performance. This system uses a standard format to evaluate performance, allows the Contractor to respond to the performance evaluation, and once finalized is available for any of the using Agencies to access the evaluation data. For this reason I am encouraging contractors that perform this type of work, take the time to register in this program so that past performance can be captured in a consistent manner.

To register in this system go to: https://cpscontractor.nih.gov/ and follow the instructions. After registration is completed, the contractor will receive email notifications when performance information has been entered into the system. There will be a 30 day opportunity for the contractor to enter their own comments. Once that period has passed, the Contracting Officer will finalize the evaluation and post it to the system.

If there are any questions regarding this system or the pending contract solicitation please contact me at sberon@fs.fed.us or by calling 406-329-3769.

https://cpscontractor.nih.gov/ mailto:sberon@fs.fed.us