2011_0131_prequote_conf_notes.pdf

Solicitation No. AG-03R6-S-11-0008

Bitterroot National Forest

Backcountry Invasive Weed Control

JANUARY 31, 2011 PRE-PROPOSAL CONFERENCE NOTES

Attendees of the meeting were as follows:

Name Organization Address

Loren Ebner, Contracting Officer

(406) 329-3858

USFS, Region 1, Western

Montana Acquisition Zone

Building 24, Fort Missoula

Missoula, MT 59804

Gil Gale, Range Program Manager

(406) 821-2318

USFS, Region 1, Bitterroot

National Forest

Sula Ranger District Office

7338 Hwy 93 South

Missoula MT, 59871

Diane Bessler-Hackett, Range

Management Specialist

(406) 821-2337

USFS, Region 1, Bitterroot

National Forest, Sula Ranger

District

Sula Ranger District Office

7338 Hwy 93 South

Missoula MT, 59871

James M. Evans

(406) 244-3811

3330 Bear Creek Road

Bonner, MT

Rick Cleotyle

(406) 240-3445

965 Mount Avenue

Missoula, MT 59802

Roberto Oseguera

(208) 773-2116

(208) 211-6977

Alvarez Environmental 780 Cecil Road, St. 203

Post Falls, ID 83854

Dylan Brown

(406) 531-0805

Monture Crek Land

Management, Inc.

PO Box 1516

Seeley Lake, MT 59868

Tom Henderson

(406) 363-0403

Bitterroot Outfitters 907 W. Cow Creek

Hamilton, MT 59840

Tim Ingram

(208) 838-4721

Weedkillers HC 68 Box 351

Clayton, ID 83227

Gabriel Rey

(530) 559-9864

PO Box 3093

Grass Valley, CA 95945

Scott Koppes

(406) 240-2891

589 Fish Hatchery Road

Hamilton, MT 59840

Jon Bouma

(406) 396-0313

(406) 799-2973

Under Pressure Inc. 279 #A Wilderness View Drive

Stevensville, MT 59870

Andy Sharipopf

(503) 989-0706

Sun West

THE MEETING RECORD:

The meeting commenced at 1000 hrs at the Bitterroot National Forest, Forest Supervisor’s Office in

Hamilton, Montana. The above individuals were present at the meeting.

Contracting Officer Loren Ebner reviewed the following items:

• Structure of the solicitation package

• Offer response to solicitation must include the following: Completed SF 1449, Response to Section

II, Response to Section V, Response to Section VI.

• Proposals due Friday, February 11, 2011 at 4:00 P.M.

• CCR and ORCA. Offerors are advised to ensure that they are registered and that these databases are current. The Procurement Technical Assistance Center is available for contractor assistance.

• FedBizOpps. There also was some discussion regarding utilization of the FBO website. Contact

PTAC for assistance with searching FBO for relevant projects.

• Sections V-1 and V-2. Reviewed portions of Section V-1. FAX quotations are allowed (see page 48 for instructions). See V-2.3 for Instructions for the Preparation of Offers. The Government will evaluate based on the criteria identified here.

• Section V-3.

o The Government will award only one contract as a result of this solicitation. The CO explained the rationale for that decision and there was discussion about the uncertain nature of federal budgets for this type of work in the current year and in the near future. One reason the Government intends to only award this contract to one contractor is to ensure that the contract award made will result in a reasonable number of orders of reasonable size to the awarded Contractor.

o There was some discussion of past performance. The Government will consider Offeror submittals, and will contact some references. The Government may call other references known to have experience with Offeror. The Government may use other internal Agency knowledge, including knowledge possessed by evaluation panel members. Offerors with NO relevant past performance are given a neutral rating on this element per Federal Acquisition

Regulation.

o There was a question regarding the requirement for licenses in both Idaho and Montana. This contract will require work in both states and the contractor must comply with both state’s regulations and requirements for a license. The Offeror does not necessarily need to have the required license when submitting a response to this RFQ, but the contractor will be required to have the license and if they are unable to acquire the license they will be in violation of the contract, and the Government will exercise remedies provided to the Government under the contract.

o There was a question regarding Key Personnel. Key Personnel identified by the Offeror (See

Paragraph IV-17) will be evaluated as part of the process. Since the Offeror is committing those personnel to the Government under the contract, their past performance, knowledge, experience, technical approach and capacity are more relevant than the individual past performance, knowledge, experience, technical approach and capacity of employees or subcontractors not included as key personnel in the offeror’s proposal. None of this reduces the importance of the prime contractor’s past performance, knowledge, experience, technical approach and capacity.

o Prices. As indicated in the solicitation, the Government will consider the total price for all options when comparing prices among the responses to the RFQ.

• Section VI. Offerors remember to ensure that you have completed the online certifications in the

ORCA database. The website is http://orca.bpn.gov. Note: Contracting Officer encourages Offerors to ensure that they have completed this item prior to submitting proposal. The Government will be making a concerted effort to award the contract in an expeditious manner. If you aren’t registered in

ORCA, this will delay the award process.

• Section III.

o III-2.4 The minimum guarantee is made for each option year exercised by the Government.

The CO explained that when choosing the minimum and maximum dollars under the contract, the Government considered (a) the predominant size and capacity of likely respondents to this RFQ; and (b) the Government’s projected needs, with generous room for growth in the event of unanticipated future funding.

o III-2.5 The CO explained how the Order Limitations clause worked in a frank manner.

o III-2.7 The CO explained the requirement for the Government to notify the contractor in advance of exercising an option.

• Section IV o IV-1 The CO reviewed the Scope of Contract o IV-2 Be advised the Contractor is required to perform work on some geographic areas under the contract (See IV-2(b)(1)). The contract is also written to allow for additional work on additional geographic areas under certain conditions, including the mutual agreement of the

Contractor and Government (See IV-2(b)(2) and IV-2(c)). Amendment No. 01 corrects a typo in this paragraph, replacing reference to Nez Perce NF with Salmon-Challis NF.

o IV-12, IV-13, IV-14: The Contracting Officer explained in detail how the Government would manage contract start work dates and time/required completion dates. Government will determine estimated start work dates and contract time as explained in the solicitation.

The Government may, at its option, allow for more than the minimum contract time stated, but offerors may not rely on that since the Government may just give the minimum time specified on any given task order. The group went through a couple examples.

Range Program Manager Gil Gale, and Range Management Specialist Diane Bessler-Hackett reviewed the following items:

• Backcountry: This contract is primarily for backcountry services and there are significant restrictions and challenges associated with work in backcountry areas. Some topics discussed:

o Page 25: Be advised that there are some non-motorized trails outside of wilderness areas.

o Internal Combustion engines are not allowed in wilderness areas. Battery/Electric sprayers or

CO2 canisters are allowed in wilderness but no mechanical transport is allowed.

o Terrain is extremely steep in many areas and access to water (springs and river), camping sites, etc is not as easy as it may appear on maps. Be advised of buffer requirements around water.

o No helicopter drops or “drop ships” of materials are allowed in wilderness areas covered by this contract.

o Weather conditions. Offerors will not be granted additional time for aberrations in weather conditions unless those aberrations can be demonstrated by the Contractor to constitute an excusable delay. Offerors are advised to plan for changing weather conditions and in general, there will be no adjustments to contract price for weather conditions.

o Regarding herbicide application: The contractor must comply with both the restrictions explicitly outlined in the contract AND the label requirements. The more restrictive requirement will be enforced.

o Government is supplying herbicides and Offerors should assume that they will pick up the supplies at the Sula Ranger District Office, although the Government may choose to deliver supplies at Government convenience.

o Contractor is advised that stock trailers must be clean.

o Surfactants – there was discussion of surfactants. Government may clarify in amendment.

Government has been using R11.

o GPS – No specific requirement concerning which GPS system to use (i.e. Trimble vs. Garmin)

Additional notes to contractors generated by this meeting:

• Be advised that the State of Idaho requires a certified applicator on site at all times. This may differ from

Montana’s requirement. Offerors are responsible for knowing state regulations.

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