AG-6740-S-11-0006-Amendment 1.pdf

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AG-6740-S-11-0006

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3 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.

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NRCS-SD-126740

USDA-NRCS-SD- STATE OFFICE

09/02/2011000001

13. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO MODIFICATION OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS. IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA (If required) is not extended.is extended, Items 8 and 15, and returning

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

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

FACILITY CODE CODE

10B. DATED (SEE ITEM 13)

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

9B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

CODE

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR (No., street, county, State and ZIP Code)

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

PAGE OF PAGES

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO.3. EFFECTIVE DATE2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NO. 5. PROJECT NO. (If applicable)

1. CONTRACT ID CODE

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

09/02/2011

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

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES (such as changes in paying office, C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER (Specify type of modification and authority) appropriation date, etc.) SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

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

ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

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

Below is additional Clarification to the Solicitation

1. Please define the Occupation Code for the SCA Wage Determination position. The

Occupation Code is defined by the Department of Labor and can be found at the following url: http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/wage/p01000.htm. Please see the Statement of

Work attached to Amendment 1 for a change relative to the Government¿s recommended minimum occupation code from the SCA determine as a General Clerk II.

2. Under the Statement of Work, it states ¿Prices offered for option years should take into consideration the potential need for services at additional locations,¿ what are the additional locations. No identification of additional locations are known at this time.

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

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

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

STANDARD FORM 30 (REV. 10-83)

Prescribed by GSA

FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

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Previous edition unusable

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.

ITEM NO. SUPPLIES/SERVICES QUANTITY UNIT UNIT PRICE AMOUNT

NAME OF OFFEROR OR CONTRACTOR

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3. What is the average length of assignment at each location? It is anticipated that the length of each assignment at each of these locations will be at least one year in duration; however, all locations are dependent upon the availability of funding from Congress.

4. Is there a page limit for the Technical response? No

5. Is there a page limit for the Past Performance? No

6. Will you be accepting electronic submissions?

No

7. What is the question and answer deadline?

All proposals must be received by the deadline date of September 16, 2011 at 3:00 p.m. Central Time.

8. Are these positions currently staffed?- Yes, there is staff at all but four locations. Those locations being Rapid City, Sioux Falls, Sturgis, and Timberlake.

9. Will this be a fixed firm rate or hourly labor rates? Firm fixed rate

10. Are either NRCS or personal vehicles going to be used under this contract? NRCS vehicles may be used on an intermittent basis to perform work offsite, attending training sessions; however, the contractor¿s employees will be required to complete an ¿Authorization to Drive a Government Owned or Leased Vehicle¿ form and seek approval.

The SOW has been updated to include this information.

11. If POVs are used, will mileage be reimbursed? No

12. If we do bill by the hour, it appears in the rate sheet that we are billing based on gross hours, not delivered hours. Is this correct? For instance, will we invoice for all holiday and vacation hours, or do you just want an hourly rate for worked hours? The SCA Wage Determination provides for the requirements Continued ...

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Sponsored by GSA

FAR (48 CFR) 53.110

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relative to the payment of vacation and holiday hours.

13. Will the contractor be expected to cover fingerprinting expenses or any travel related to retrieving lincpass badges? The costs relative to obtaining background and security clearances and resultant finger prints are the responsibility of the contractor. The expenses relative to the Linc Pass badges (travel to the site) will be borne by the NRCS and will require the use of a NRCS government owned vehicle and would follow the procedures as outlined in #10 above.

14. Brookings and Hayti total hours have been 28 per week (Brookings at 20 and Hayti at 8) for a total of 1456 for the year. The contract states 1056. Is 1456 correct? 1456 is correct ¿

15. How many past performance descriptions do you want ? No more than 10

16. Is there a current incumbent? If so, who and what is the current contract value? Yes, Ultima Services is the current contract holder and the current contract value is $1.7 million.

17. Can the Contractor propose a schedule to be coordinated with the Supervisory District Conservationist to utilize the same employee in two geographically close locations such as Rapid City and Sturgis since both are only listed at part time hours? Basically this would allow for one full time employ to be hired and split their time between the two locations. Yes, please see the requirement as set out in the Statement of Work with final approval to be made by the Contracting Officer.

18. Can an ODC CLIN be bid for a set amount for travel costs between sites for each year? No there should be no travel costs associated for travel between two duty stations. The only time travel costs would be authorized is in the event of a requirement by the NRCS for program related training that would require an overnight stay.

In those events, the contractor reimbursed the prevailing Per Diem and Lodging rates as identified by GSA.

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19. Would the government like technical capability and past performance in one volume and pricing in a separate volume? Yes

20. How many copies of the proposal should be submitted? Three

21. Who is considered ¿key personnel¿ for this contract in item 4 of the submission requirements? The definition or consideration of who is deemed as ¿key personnel¿ is the Offeror¿s determination to make. The Offeror should provide the information required to meet the requirements of the Statement of Work and adequate personnel do complete the requirement effectively.

22. Would you please advise if this is a follow-on or new requirement. If follow-on, please advise of incumbent and incumbent¿s eligibility to bid on project. This is a follow-on contract. The maximum contract periods have been utilized under the existing contract.

Ultima Services is the incumbent contractor.

23. Would you please provide the hours of operation for each position (not the office hours, but the specific hours of operation that staff is to work). The core hours that all NRCS offices is to be manned is between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.; however, the hours/shifts to be worked at each location will be coordinated between the Supervisory District Conservationist, the contractor and the Contracting Officer based on the need in each location.

24. The evaluation criteria (i) technical capability could result in a 1 page response or a 110 page response. To help ensure an apples to apples comparison among bidders, please define a page count so we can better understand your intent. The Offeror should provide enough information in their proposals to address the requirements of the Statement of Work and to ensure the NRCS¿ understanding of their capabilities and technical qualifications.

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25. Is this a small business opportunity or unrestricted? Total Small Business

26. Is resumes required to be submitted ¿ The Offeror should provide enough information in their proposals to address the requirements of the Statement of Work and to ensure the NRCS¿ understanding of their capabilities and technical qualifications.

27. Although the document provided suggests the DOL labor category of Administrative Assistant, it appears that a more cost effective selection may be the DOL General Clerk Categories. See Revised Statement of Work which provides for the minimum occupation code of General Clerk II.

28. How big of a proposal do you want ? There appears to be no formatting requirements (page counts font sizes, etc). The Offeror should provide enough information in their proposals to address the requirements of the Statement of Work and to ensure the NRCS¿ understanding of their capabilities and technical qualifications.

29. Please define "key personnel". Is this the bidder's PM ? The definition or consideration of who is deemed as ¿key personnel¿ is the Offeror¿s determination to make. The Offeror should provide the information required to meet the requirements of the Statement of Work and adequate personnel do complete the requirement effectively.

30. What is the tenure of the average incumbent so we know how much vacation they will be owed in the first year ? The requirements for vacation and holiday pay, etc. are as outlined in the Wage Determination provided as part of the solicitation package.

31. Was the incumbent¿s contract an SCA contract? Yes

32. What percentage of the positions (roughly) are currently filled ? 95%

33. a) ¿Describe staffing level that will enable you to perform simultaneously at each of the Continued ...

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locations identified.¿ Are you referring to bidder corporate staffing levels ? If not, what are you referring to ? The Offeror needs to provide their means and methods for staffing at each location, retaining the staff, recruiting staff in the event of turnover or loss, etc.

b) Key Personnel qualification information. See Item #29 above.

34. How many (maximum) key personnel would you like described ? See Item #29 above.

35. Is the incumbent eligible to re-compete on this solicitation?-Yes

36. Are there existing contract staff in each of state offices listed?- At all locations except Rapid City, Sioux Falls, Timberlake and Sturgis.

37. Does the current contact support the same number of hours and locations as the RFP?-Yes

38. What is the designated wage determination labor category? Minimum of General Clerk II What is the designated wage determined labor rate? Minimum of General Clerk II

39. Do we have to provide resumes of applicants with the bid? The Offeror should provide enough information in their proposals to address the requirements of the Statement of Work and to ensure the NRCS¿ understanding of their capabilities and technical qualifications.

40. Does this contract require one employee per location? Meaning a total of 39 applicants? The Offeror shall make the determination of how to staff at each location and the means and methods for doing so.

41. Security clearance requirements refer to the employee who will be working in the South Dakota offices?- This is correct.

42. Are new companies allowed to submit a bid on the above referenced solicitation? I ask because of the past performance request. Yes

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reference.

The Bid Schedule has been corrected in reference to the hours for the Brookings/Hayti hours.

Period of Performance: 10/01/2011 to 09/30/2012

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