Attachment 1 - Description Specs SOW.pdf

Multi-Use Trail, Trail Assessment 12444222R0011 Sam Houston Ranger District Page 1 of 6

SAM HOUSTON RANGER DISTRICT, NFGT

DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/WORK STATEMENT

GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS

C.1 - Scope of Contract:

These specifications cover the furnishing of all necessary management, labor, materials, equipment, supervision and other items necessary (except as specified as Government-furnished property) to satisfactorily perform Trail Assessments including trail design/ layout and trail planning for approximately 41 miles of Multi-Use Trail on the Sam Houston Ranger District Office, National Forests and Grasslands in Texas.

1.1.1- Location and Description:

The work is located at the Sam Houston Ranger Station, National Forests and Grasslands in Texas.

The office is located at 394 FM 1375 West, New Waverly, Texas 77358.

1.1.2 – Selection Criteria:

Contractor selection will be based on best value to the government.

C1.2 – Personnel

1.2.1 - Contractor Representative:

The contractor shall designate a representative in accordance with FAR 52.236-6 included in Section I of this contract. The name of this person shall be designated in writing and provided to the Contracting Officer. This person must possess 5 or more years performing trail and trail bridge assessment, maintenance, construction, and design and be a member of the Professional Trail Builders Association or demonstrate equivalent experience.

1.2.2 - Authority:

The contractor representative shall have authority to act for the contractor on all contract matters relating to daily operation of this contract.

1.2.3 - Response Time:

The contractor representative shall be available during normal duty hours (i.e. Monday thru Friday 8am – 5pm) within 48 hours to meet, at the site, with Government personnel designated by the Contracting Officer to discuss and resolve performance issues.

1.2.4 - Access:

Roads to trailheads are open continuously. The Government will supply a key to the Contractor for access roads closed by Forest Service gates, in the event a gate is blocking access. It is the contractor’s responsibility to obtain all keys for closed access roads from the District Ranger Office prior to start of work; keys must be returned when the work included in the Contract is completed.

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C1.3 – Quality Control:

1.3.1. Quality Control Plan:

The contractor shall establish and maintain a Quality Control Program to ensure the requirements of the contract are achieved.

1.3.2. Plan Content:

1.3.3. Inspection System:

An inspection system must cover all the services listed in the contract. It must specify the work items to be inspected, frequency of inspections, and the title of the individual(s) who will perform the inspection. The inspection system must provide for a written record of inspections and results.

1.3.4 Methods:

Identify the proposed methods for identifying and preventing defects before the level of performance becomes unacceptable.

1.3.5. Records:

The contractor shall maintain on-site records of all inspections and necessary corrective action(s) taken.

This documentation shall be furnished at the time payment is requested, or when requested by the Contracting Officer’s Representative during the term of the contract. Project inspectors reserve the right to check contractor’s Quality Control Inspections at any time during the life of a task order.

1.3.6. Government Review:

The Government will review the Contractor Quality Control Plan to determine if it is adequate within 10 calendar days of submission. If the plan is found to be adequate, the Government will accept the plan. If the plan is not adequate as submitted, the deficiencies will be identified to the contractor in writing. The contractor shall correct all identified deficiencies and submit a corrected Contractor Quality Control Plan prior to start of work.

C1.4. Quality Assurance:

1.4.1. Performance Evaluation Meetings:

The contractor’s representative and/or project manager may be required to meet at pre-work conference and monthly thereafter with the COR. Meetings shall be as often as necessary thereafter as determined by the Contracting Officer. If requested by the Contractor, a meeting will be held whenever a Notice of Noncompliance is issued. The meetings shall focus on contractor performance and actual or potential problems. A mutual good faith effort shall be made by all parties to resolve all issues. The written minutes of these meetings shall be signed by the parties to the discussion. Should the contractor not concur with the minutes, the contractor shall so state any areas of non-concurrence in writing to the Contracting Officer within seven working days of receipt of the minutes.

1.4.2. Contractor Notification Responsibilities:

To facilitate timely inspections, the contractor shall inform the COR of the proposed operation schedule on a weekly basis. It is the Contractor’s responsibility to notify the COR if the schedule changes.

C1.5. Physical Security:

1.5.1. Key Control:

The contractor shall establish and implement methods of ensuring that all keys issued to the contractor by the Government are not lost or misplaced and are not used by unauthorized persons. No keys issued to the contractor by the Government shall be duplicated. The contractor shall develop procedures covering key control that shall be included in the quality control plan. ALL keys issues by the Government are to be

Sam Houston Ranger District Page 3 of 6 returned prior to final payment request.

C1.6 Periods of Operation:

1.6.1. Contractor staff may work Monday – Friday sun rise to sun set.

1.6.2. This agreement will begin on or about August 1, 2022, ending on July 31, 2023.

1.6.3. It is the Contractor’s responsibility to notify the COR of inability to perform duties on any particular day. The COR is to be notified prior to 3:00 p.m. on that day. This situation should not occur over two times per month. Anything more than this is grounds for default of contract.

C1.7. Documentation and Records:

1.7.1. The contractor shall maintain records of accomplishment using a Weekly Accomplishment Report.

Reports are to be updated daily. COR reserves the right to view these documents at any time. These reports shall be verified and signed by the Contractor Representative and submitted to the Contracting Officer’s Representative along with the contractor’s invoice for payment and shall be become the property of the Government. No payment or acceptance shall be made prior to receipt of these records.

1.7.2. All documentation, records and schedules as described in the Contract that are the responsibility of the contractor, are the property of the Government and shall be turned over to the Government upon completion or termination of the contract. All records are subject to the Freedom of Information and/or Privacy Acts and any requests for release of any records shall be handled accordingly.

C1.8. Payment Procedures

1.8.1. The Government may make progress payments as the work proceeds per the Contractor’s request.

The Contractor shall make this request by submitting the following to the COR:

1. Weekly Accomplishment Reports for the days covered in the Invoice. Daily Accomplishment Reports are to be signed by the Contractor and Inspector prior to submission.

2. Quality Control Plan inspection records for all trails for which payment is being requested.

3. A written receipt from the District Office stating that all keys issued to the Contractor have been returned to process the Final Invoice.

4. A Contract Release form with the final invoice.

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SECTION C-2

ABBREVIATIONS

AQL – Acceptable Quality Level

ASTM – American Society for Testing and Materials.

ATV – All Terrain Vehicle COR – Contracting Officer’s Representative

EPA - Environmental Protection Agency.

FAR - Federal Acquisition Regulation System.

NFSR – National Forest System Road

NFST – National Forest System Trail

MSHA - Mine Safety Health Administration.

MUTCD - Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.

NBS - National Bureau of Standards.

OSHA - Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

PBSC – Performance Based Service Contract

PRS – Performance Requirements Summary

PWS – Performance Work Statement

QA – Quality Assurance (Government Responsibility)

QC – Quality Control (Contractor Responsibility)

QASP – Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan

TMO – Trail Management Objective

TRACS – Trail Assessment and Condition Survey

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SECTION C-3

Government Furnished

Property / Material

3.1. Government Keys:

The Government will provide (if necessary) a gate key to the contractor, if any of the access gates are locked. Refer to Section

SECTION C-4

Contractor Furnished

Property, Supplies, Materials, and Equipment

4.1 General:

Except for those items or services specifically stated to be Government furnished in Section C-3 or other sections of this specification, the contractor shall provide all facilities, supplies, equipment, software, and services necessary to produce trail logs and reports for trail assessments, inventories and identification of new trail locations (if applicable). GPS data of the trail and associated constructed features, narrative, maps, photographs, and quantities may also be required. Reports should be provided electronically and hard copy. All reports, data collected to include GPS centerline data, assessments and inventories will be provided to the agency at the end of the contract.

SECTION C-5

Specific Tasks

5.1 Current Trails Conditions and Objectives:

The Multi-Use Trail is a trail class 3 (standards are included in Appendix 2) ATV/ OHV trail on the Sam Houston National Forest in New Waverly, Texas. It’s mainly used by ATV and Motorcycle riders.

However, bicyclist, horseback riders and hikers also frequent the trail. The Sam Houston is a Pine Forest with a focus on the management of the Red Cockaded Woodpecker. The soil type of the area, where the trail is located, is either sand, clay or a mixture of both sand and clay. Issues we have faced on the trail have consisted of erosion control, standing water, and trail braiding (see Picture Attachments for photographs of trail and resource damage). We have received several years in a row of heavy rainfall.

We have worked hard to repair the trail and get it open again but need a more sustainable trail to help alleviate any future issues that could occur either due to use or heavy rain events. Our objective is to assess the trail in order to find out what we need to do to get it back up to standard and make it more sustainable.

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SECTION C-6

Technical Specifications

6.1 General:

This contract is for the assessment of approximately 41 miles of the motorized vehicle (ATV/OHV) trail system within the Sam Houston National Forest (start and end milepost for this project- see Attachments

MAPS)

Trail assessments/condition inventories will result in a complete record of the trail segment to be assessed for sustainability. The assessments will include all of the elements of completing a condition inventory, centerline GPS data, detailed classification of the trail, and identification of problems with the trail, trail tread and features, and recommended solutions and priorities for operating a sustainable trail, and cost estimates to implement the suggested changes. A summary of findings and prioritized recommendations as low, medium, and high as well as cost estimates to bring the trail to standard and manage it sustainably are required. Assessments and condition inventories would follow the Forest Service TRACS protocol for collecting the data and use agency design parameters and trail fundamentals.

TRACS protocols (https://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/programs/trail-management/documents/TRACS/TRACS_User_Guide_05_01_2011.pdf) require recording such information as: trail name, trail number, trail beginning and end mile-post (overall length), trail- specific maintenance needs, trail head, tread material, average grade, excessive grade, average trail width, average cross-slope, erosion, land-slide, water crossings, drainage features, culverts, bridges, bridge inspections, sediments reaching streams, mud-holes, unstable soils, trail intersections, unauthorized trail intersections, braiding, relocation recommendations, recommendations for new construction, constructed features, bridges, signs, incised trail, unsafe conditions, blow-downs, hazard trees. This list is not all inclusive. Lengths may be required to be measured with a surveyor’s wheel.

Design and layout of new trail or rerouting of existing trails within the assessment area may be required.

Design and layout will use agency design parameters, agency standard designs as appropriate, and industry best management practices with regard to grade, slope and cross slope, and surface water management. Emphasis should be on design elements and layout of a sustainable trail which provides for user satisfaction, minimizes conflicts, minimizes environmental impacts, and provides for long term sustainability of the trail. The design and location of structures needed for control of overland water flow across the trail to minimize erosion and sediment shall be included. A complete description of the recommended layout (including maps and GPS points), required materials, recommendations and cost estimates will be required. Projects may require the contractor to survey and lay out the final location flagging, subject to agency approval. In some cases the center line may be flagged by the agency, in others the contractor will be required to flag the center line. Areas of major re-routes will require GPS start and stop locations. The agency will identify the designed and managed uses for the trail.

http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/programs/trail-