67T0S164004-Question-Answers-v1.docx

AG-67T0-S-16-4002 – Red Feather 4 Stewardship Pre-Proposal Meeting – August 24, 2016 0930 MDT at Canyon Lakes District Office Attendees: Brenda Anderson, Jana Osofsky, & Mike Montgomery – FS; Karen Morgan – Morgan Timber Products; Patrick Gayner – Market ! Forestry; Ron Schmetzor – Summitt Forests; Jacob Oettel – Oettel Enterprises LLC; Ryan Elwyn – Elwyn Wildfire LLC.

General Notes:

· Stewardship contracts are an exchange of goods for services. The value of the timber will be used to offset the cost of the service work. Specific service items will be identified to be performed for Stewardship credits to cover the cost of the timber sale.

· Proposals are due September 12, 2016 by 4:00 pm MDT. With a proposal, the proposal are evaluated against the evaluation criteria listed in Section M. Please review Sections K, L, and M for how to submit your proposal. Ensure you provide the requested information. Missing information may cause your proposal to be non-responsive. Non-responsive proposals will not be considered.

· All Questions must be submitted to the Contracting Officer –answers to any questions received will be posted on Federal Business Opportunities website. No questions will be accepted after August 25 at noon.

· Contractors are encouraged to visit the job site on their own – the scheduled Site Visit today is the only authorized visit with Government attendance.

· Scope of work: Stand clearing/thinning, mechanical fuels reduction, snag and down wood management, piling of fuels, and removal of timber or other products.

· There are five documents that make up the entire solicitation package. The base solicitation has the majority of the terms and conditions, Appendix A lists the service work (which is performance based), Appendix B lists the timber sale requirements, Appendix C is the road maintenance requirements for the timber sale, and final document is the project map. All of these components make up the project. You must bid on all requirements.

· Wage Rates that cover this program of work is covered under 1976-1351 Rev 47 dated 12/29/2015.

· Safety is of highest concern on all Government projects. Contractors are responsible for their own safety program – see the OSHA site for logging safety requirements.

· Amendment One –

· Replace Camping wording in Appendix A page 6, 3.4 Camping to read: “A Camping permit is required, locations will be agreed upon. See example of camping permit.”

· Add to Section J – Attachment 5 – Sample Camping Permit (3 Pages) – example provided with amendment.

· Add to Section J – Attachment 6 – Temporary Road Gate Installation Diagram (1 Page). Example provided with amendment. (Coordinates with Appendix B, B RO-K-F.4.1# Closure to Use by Others. -provides temporary gate installation instructions.)

· Add Appendix B, WO-K-C.3# - Reserve Trees.(9/04) Questions/Answers:

1. Can you post the cruise information for this project?

a. Yes, it will be posted on Federal Business Opportunities website when the question and answers are posted.

2. Are the site visits mandatory? If you attend the site visit will you be rated higher? Since there are several site visits schedule for similar type of work this week, can we attend one site visit for all the projects?

a. The site visits are not mandatory, it is the contractor’s responsibility to visit the site to ensure they are familiar with the work and location to protect themselves when submitting a proposal.

b. There is nothing in the evaluation criteria requiring the contractor to attend the site visit, so contractors will not be rated either positively or negatively for attendance.

c. This is a contractor’s decision. Each Meeting/Site Visit will target the specific project. The meeting portion will cover general information and project specific information. The Site Visit will only visit the specific site location. The meeting notes will be posted on the FBO website within a couple business days after the meeting.

Q. Are alternate proposal allowed?

a. Yes see FAR clause 52.212-1 (e) Multiple offers. Offerors are encouraged to submit multiple offers presenting alternative terms and conditions or commercial items for satisfying the requirements of this solicitation. Each offer submitted will be evaluated separately.

Q. Can we submit just an alternate proposal?

a. You take a chance when submitting just an alternate proposal that the Government may not accept the alternate if it does not meet the intent of the contract. The intent contract and the intent of the Environmental Impact Analysis must be met. Clearly identify in your proposal that it is an alternate proposal from the specifications as identified in the solicitation.

Q. Can we submit all the proposals in the same email?

a. Please send each proposal in a separate email. Due to size restrictions on emails and to ensure which volumes are together in your proposal.

Q. So what is the intent of this contract?

a. Intent is to remove saw timber and non-saw timber meeting the end result as defined in the solicitation.

Q. – Bonds – None are required on page 3, the product payment guarantee, blanket payment bond on page 16 of the base package?

a. Product payment guarantee is required for no less than 30 days and not more than 60 calendar days anticipated to be cut to pay for the timber. There is no opportunity to earn Stewardship Credits prior to cutting any included product on this contract as the service work will be done after or in conjunction with the timber sale. Once stewardship credits are earned they may be used to cover stumpage, see G.7 on page 17 of the base package of the solicitation. Acceptable payments are listed in section G.5 in the base package.

Reviewed following Specifications:

Base Package:

· Schedule of Items – Page 3, Section B.

· Rates of Payment, page 4.

· Period of Performance – Page 12, F.3 and F.4 – Ground conditions may allow you to work during special windows of concern.

· Page 12-13 Schedule and Reports required

· Page 19-24, Employment of Eligible Workers

· Safety and what is required H.5 page 24.

· Fire Plan, page 41-45 Section J – fire plan requirements Appendix A –

· Task 3 on page 4 – Clarification – Page 3 line items, Scatter of biomass for incidental amounts that come out of the grapple – take as much as possible to landing or other designated site – allows minimal amount so don’t have to “sweep like a park”.

· Dead Wildlife trees on page 3 are not marked. Live leave trees - Spacing trees are not marked –other live trees to be left are marked tree in pink “reserve trees”. Perimeter of aspen clones will not be marked – remove all conifers.

Appendix B

· Reviewed utilization standards on page 2 Q. Contractor Profile Page 76 – Does that include Subcontractor’s information?

a. Yes – states under item 8.

Q. What happens if reserve trees must be cut?

a. The Government will need to designate trees with paint for cutting and removal prior to cutting.

Q – Are the reserve trees banded?

a. Reserve trees are marked with pink “X” at 4.5 feet on two sides of tree, and a pink spot at base of tree. See Photo #1 Q – Page 7 Appendix A – will camping be allowed within the contract area?

a. Camping will be allowed with permit in agreed to locations. Page 22 of base package has camping requirements for migrant seasonal workers – See Amendment One for example of permit.

Appendix C

· Road Maintenance required during and post maintenance requirements, pre maintenance is not required on this project. Miles are identified.

Field Portion of Site Visit at 11:30 am

· Treatment Unit 10E

· Reviewed existing gate width and potential temporary road location. Protected improvement of fence can be cut for temporary road but must be repaired by contractor to original condition. Appendix B RO-K-F.4.1# Closure to Use by Others. See Photo#2, see Amendment One attachment 6 for gate installation diagram.

· Reviewed Prescription Appendix A page 2-5, Section 2.1 Task Descriptions and 2.2 Tree Characteristics, and Appendix B page 16-17, WO K-C.3.5.5# Description by Prescription.

· Reviewed pile size specifications Appendix B page 21-22, RO-K-G.7# Slash Treatment, and Appendix A page 4 Treatment of biomass material

· Reviewed Protected Improvements of Powerline Appendix A page 6, Section 3.1 Protected Improvements.

· Treatment Unit 13

· Identified Road Access to this unit via NFSR 267

· Treatment Unit 11-I

· Reviewed Prescription Appendix A, page 3, DBH and Spacing Criteria Table, and Appendix B page 15, K-C.3.5.2# Designation by Species and Diameter.

· Treatment Units 11C, and 11H

· Walked through units and identified potential temporary road locations with contractors.

· Ended Site Visit at 3:00 pm Q: Will a list of people who attended the field meetings for the red feather 4, deadhorse, and swampou stewardship be posted online, along with their questions?

a. Yes, each individual project will respond with the questions and answers specific to the project.

Photo #1 - Image of Reserve Tree(s) -Painted Pink “X” on two sides of tree and pink spot marked at base of the stump.

Photo #2 – Image of Existing Gate and Protected Improvement Fence image1.jpeg image2.jpeg