Attachment 1 - Instruction to Offerors and Evaluation Criteria.docx

W9124G-23-R-0006

Section L - Instructions, Conditions and Notices to Bidders

INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS

Section L – Instructions, Conditions and Notices to Bidders

L1. General: This firm fixed-priced (FFP) contract is set-aside 100% for Economically Disadvantaged Woman-Owned Small Business concerns under NAICS Code 561730 with a size standard of $9.5 million. Only offers from small business concerns will be accepted. Proposals must be complete, self-sufficient, and respond directly to the requirements of the Request for Proposal (RFP). Failure to meet a requirement may result in an offer being ineligible for award. The Government intends to evaluate offers and award this firm fixed-price contract without discussions. However, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if deemed in its best interest. Therefore, the offeror’s initial proposal should contain the offeror’s best terms from a price and technical standpoint.

It is the Government’s intention to award without discussions. Offerors are encouraged to present their best technical proposal in their initial proposal submission. However, in accordance with (IAW) FAR Part 15.306, should discussions become necessary, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if the Government determines it is in its best interest. If this occurs, a competitive range will be determined, and offerors notified. The competitive range may be limited for purposes of efficiency IAW FAR Part 15.306 (c) (2).

Offerors shall submit only one proposal for Grounds Maintenance Services as the Government will review only one proposal per offeror. Proposals must be received no later than 11:00 AM, Central Standard Time (CST), 9 February 2026.

L2. Acceptance Period: The Government requires a minimum acceptance period of 90 calendar days from the date specified for receipt of offers; however, offerors may specify an acceptance period exceeding the Government’s minimum requirement.

L3. Communications: All discourse concerning this solicitation and its requirements shall be directed to the Fort Rucker Contracting Office. Any remarks, explanations or answers provided by any other Government representative shall not change or qualify any of the terms or conditions of the solicitation. The solicitation shall only be changed by a written amendment issued by the Fort Rucker Contracting Office. Solicitation information and amendments will be posted to the Beta SAM website at https://beta.sam.gov/. It must be emphasized that telephone inquiries will not be accepted. Offerors may email written questions pertaining to this RFP to the addresses below. The Government will answer questions received no later than January 28, 2026, 1:00 p.m. Central Standard Time. All questions regarding this solicitation shall be submitted in writing via email to erin.s.duncan2.civ@army.mil . Questions received after this date may not be answered. Please provide your company name, telephone, point of contact, e-mail address, and solicitation number on all questions. The Government will respond to questions via the issuance of an amendment which incorporates the question and the Government’s response. Questions should be sent to the following:

Erin S. Duncan at erin.s.duncan2.civ@army.mil cc: Christopher W. Martin, Contracting Officer, at christopher.w.martin24.civ@army.mil.

L4. Site Visit: A one-day site visit will be held Friday, January 23, 2026 at 09:00 Central Standard Time (CST). The site visit will be conducted via a planned route with predetermined stops, a bus will be provided for transportation. The de-briefing and meeting place will be at conference room 371A at bldg. 5700 on Ft. Rucker AL. Please see the attachments labeled with the word “site visit” in them, for all information pertaining therein.

Individuals attending the site visit must submit the following information vial email to Erin S. Duncan at erin.s.duncan2.civ@army.mil cc: Christopher W. Martin, Contracting Officer, at christopher.w.martin24.civ@army.mil no later than January 20th 2026, 2pm central.

· See attached form and maps.

In accordance with FAR 52.237-1 -- Site Visit, Offerors or quoters are urged and expected to inspect the site where services are to be performed and to satisfy themselves regarding all general and local conditions that may affect the cost of contract performance, to the extent that the information is reasonably obtainable. In no event shall failure to inspect the site constitute grounds for a claim after contract award.

L5. Specific Instructions: Proposals shall be submitted to the Government in four (4) separate volumes as set forth below:

(a) Offerors shall submit proposals by the date and time specified in the solicitation to the following address:

Mission & Installation Contracting Command MICC – Fort Rucker ATTN: Erin S. Duncan Fort Rucker, Al 36362

Emailed, Please submit to Erin S. Duncan at erin.s.duncan2.civ@army.mil cc: Christopher W. Martin, Contracting Officer, at christopher.w.martin24.civ@army.mil Submission of proposal packages via facsimile (fax) will not be accepted.

Proposals submitted by email may be sent as separate attachments in order to meet email size requirements. The proposal shall be submitted in a format readable by Microsoft Office which includes software programs such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. For those pages of the proposal that cannot be submitted using Microsoft Office, such as the Standard Form 1449, offerors shall include those pages electronically using Adobe Acrobat portable document files (.pdf) format.

Each proposal submitted shall be labeled with the following:

Copy number Title Request for proposal/solicitation number Offeror’s name Proposals shall be marked “SOURCE SELECTION SENSITIVE”

L6. FORMAT AND SPECIFIC CONTENT:

L6-1. VOLUME I – SUMMARY AND MISCELLANEOUS DATA.

Volume I shall be organized according to the following general outline:

1. Table of Contents

2. SF 1449 Solicitation. SF 1449 shall be submitted fully completed. Ensure the following are completed:

(a) Block 17a – Name and Address of Offeror (include DUNS number, CAGE Code, Tax-ID number, and

(b) Address); Telephone No. (Include area code).

(c) Block 30a – Signature of Offeror/Contractor (must contain an original signature)

(d) Block 30b – Printed name and title of signer

(e) Block 30c – Offer Date

(f) Clause fill-ins in Sections I through K

3. Standard Form 30 (SF 30). The contractor shall acknowledge any amendments to the RFP. Ensure Blocks 15a-15c are completed for any/all amendments.

4. Authorization Letter. The Offeror shall provide a letter signed by an officer of the company, on company

(g) Letterhead, which identifies the name, title and telephone number of the company/division point of contact regarding decisions made with respect to your proposal and who can obligate your company contractually. Also, identify those individuals authorized to negotiate with the Government.

5. Representation, Certifications, and Other Statements of Offerors. The Offeror shall ensure that Reps and

(h) Certs is submitted thoroughly completed with all blocks in each certification/representation completed truthfully and completely.

6. Joint Venture Agreement, if applicable. When proposing as a joint venture, all members of the joint venture shall sign the SF 1449 and Corporate Certificate unless a written agreement by the joint venture is furnished with the proposal designating one firm with the authority to bind the other member(s) of the joint venture. In addition, the Offeror shall submit a copy of the joint venture agreement with the proposal. Failure to comply with the foregoing requirements may eliminate the proposal from further consideration. Note: JOINT VENTURE AGREEMENTS - Joint Ventures are allowable, however, the SBA must receive the joint venture agreement prior to proposal due date and approved before award of any resulting contract.

L6.2. VOLUME II – FACTOR 1 - TECHNICAL APPROACH

(a) General. The written Technical Volume shall be clear, concise, and include all the information required by this provision in sufficient detail for effective evaluation. The proposal should not simply rephrase or restate the Government’s requirements, but rather shall provide convincing rationale to address how the offeror intends to meet these requirements. Offerors shall assume the Government has no prior knowledge of their capabilities, work processes, facilities, and experience and will base its evaluation on the information presented in the offeror’s technical proposal.

(b) The technical volume shall not exceed 40 pages (All documents). A page is defined as one face of a sheet of paper containing information. Pages shall be numbered consecutively. Offerors are cautioned that any pages that exceed the page limitations shall not be read but shall be removed and either retained in the contract file without being considered in the evaluation, or, sent back to the offeror. Font shall not be less than 12 pitch, with the exception for charts, tables, and diagrams, which shall be no smaller than 10 pitch.

(c) Volume Organization.

1. Table of Contents

2. Glossary

3. Summary Page(s). To aid the Government’s understanding, provide a summary of the offeror’s proposed technical approach and how the approach will efficiently and effectively meet the requirement. The summary page(s) shall not exceed two (2) pages.

4. Address each of the following :

a. Subfactor 1: Program Management

1) The Offeror’s management approach will be evaluated to determine the extent to which the Offeror has developed a strategy for the effective and efficient management of contract activities to successfully fulfill the requirements of the PWS. The contractor shall identify in detail one individual associated with the company who will serve as the project manager of the operation. Include a resume or detailed description of this person’s qualifications. Please identify if this person will be working with the operation on a full-time basis, or making periodic visits to the operation from an out of town location. If the project manager will reside out of town, indicate how he will communicate with the site manager and employees to oversee operational issues, problems, challenges, additional resources needed, training, safety, etc. Explain in detail your firm’s approach to providing oversight for on-site personnel working with this contract and quality assurance in the performance of duties and deliverables.

2) The Program Management portion shall not exceed 10 pages. A page is defined as one face of a sheet of paper containing information. Pages shall be numbered consecutively. Offerors are cautioned that any pages that exceed the page limitations shall not be read but shall be removed and either retained in the contract file without being considered in the evaluation, or sent back to the offeror. Font shall not be less than 12 pitch with the exception for charts, tables, and diagrams, which shall be no smaller than 10 pitch.

a) Project Manager

i) Describe the technical experience of the Project Manager in performing this type of work, managing a workforce of this size.

ii) Provide a copy of the Project Mangers resume containing his/her name, educational background, employment history, periods of employment, title, experience history (where, when, duties, level of responsibility, title), and employment status with this company.

b) Quality Control Chief

i) Describe the technical experience of the Quality Control Chief in performing this type of work, managing a quality control staff and inspecting a workforce of this size.

ii) Provide a copy of the Quality Control Chief's resume containing his/her name, educational background, employment history, periods of employment, title, experience history (where, when, duties, level of responsibility, title), and employment status with this company.

3) Autonomy

1. Describe in detail the exact relationship between the Project Manager, Quality Control Chief, and top management.

2. Describe procedures for the Quality Control Chief’s and Project Manager's communication with top management, to include how they will be kept totally independent of each other.

3. Describe the authority of the Project Manager to act on behalf of the company.

4. Specifically address the Quality Control Chief’s authority to effect changes in procedures to assure quality and future Contract compliance, to include stopping work, if deemed necessary

b. Subfactor 2: EQUIPMENT. Provide a list of all grounds maintenance equipment to be used on the installation for the Contract, regardless of how small or insignificant. Provide the:

1. Model

2. Age

3. condition of each piece of equipment

4. list of vehicles, including their age and condition.

5. Certify that each piece of equipment meets or exceeds the contract specifications as listed in PWS SECTION 5.5.1.4.

c. Subfactor 3. LABOR. Provide the numbers and classification of personnel to be employed on a permanent basis and available during peak workload periods on a temporary basis.

LABOR

1. Man-hour matrix following the format provided in RFP Attachment 6, which shows the total number of direct labor hours by category of employee, including indirect and direct labor, per month and for a 12-month period. The labor Matric Form to be filled out and submitted with the proposal.

2. Details of the numbers and types of personnel to be employed on a permanent basis and available during peak load periods on a temporary basis.

3. Details of the mechanisms that will be employed to recruit, retain, and replenish (when necessary) sufficient number of qualified personnel to ensure successful accomplishment of contract performance.

4. Rationale used to estimate all labor such as engineering time standards; Industry estimating standards; equipment production rates and any other standards used to calculate labor requirements.

d. Sub Factor 4: ACQUISITION OF EQUIPMENT/PARTS.

1. Describe the methods for acquiring equipment and repair parts, including sources of supply and the controls exercised to assure quality and timeliness.

2. Describe manufacturer support such as warranties, maintenance programs, or technical representative assistance.

3. Describe contingency procedures for emergency replacement or repair of equipment in the event of catastrophic equipment failure (multiple pieces down).

e. Sub Factor 5: METHODOLOGY.

1. Describe specific procedures for performing the work to assure a complete understanding of the work required

2. Describe how the personnel, equipment, and supplies proposed will be used to perform work on all open delivery orders simultaneously, in accordance with the Contract.

f. Sub Factor 6: WORK SCHEDULING.

1. Describe procedures for scheduling work to assure logical and expeditious performance, include numbers and types of crews, their mowing or work route, acres to be mowed per day.

2. Describe the Offeror’s flexibility in changing their mowing schedule and recovery from rain days while still meeting timeliness requirements.

3. Describe how the Offeror will integrate emergency requirements, where response time is short, such as VIP visits and ceremonies, and other schedule disruptions, into the schedule.

g. Sub Factor 7: HERBICIDE APPLICATION TO RAILROAD RIGHTS-OF-WAY

1. Describe in detail how the PWS requirements in SECTION 5.3.3., and sub sections, will be met.

2. Provide a list of all equipment to be used to apply herbicides, regardless of how small or insignificant. Provide the:

a. Model.

b. Age.

c. Condition of each piece of equipment.

d. List of vehicles, including their age and condition.

e. Herbicide Project Manager and Herbicide Applicator Experience.

3. Describe the technical experience of the herbicide project manager and herbicide applicator(s) in performing this type of work.

4. Provide a copy of the herbicide project manager's resume and herbicide applicators resume containing his/her name, educational background, employment history, periods of employment, title, experience history (where, when, duties, level of responsibility, title), and employment status with this company.

L6.3. VOLUME III – FACTOR 2 – PAST PERFORMANCE PROPOSAL.

(a) Volume Organization. The Past Performance Volume shall be organized according to the following general outline:

1. Table of Contents

2. Summary Page

3. Past Performance Information (PPI)

4. Teaming Agreement, if applicable

5. Subcontractor Letters of Consent

Summary Page. , Past Performance - Provide evidence or description of how your company performed in the past five(5) years on contracts of similar nature and complexity, and any positive results directly attributed to the contractor’s initiative or efforts. Specify any positive occurrences that may have occurred at the installation. If any problems were encountered, explain how your company faced and resolved them. Provide a name and phone number of a government representative at each location where you provided contract support. Offeror shall submit a list of all or at least three (3) contracts and/or subcontracts currently in process, which are similar in nature to this requirement. Include the following information for each contractor and subcontractor listed:

1. Name of Contracting Activity

2. Contract Number

3. Contract Title

4. Contract Type

5. Brief Description of Contract or Subcontract and relevance to this requirement.

6. Total contract value

7. Period of Performance

8. Contracting Officer, telephone number, and e-mail address (if available)

(b) Quality and Satisfaction Rating of Contracts completed in the Past Five (5) Years: Offeror may provide any information currently available (letters, metrics, customer surveys, independent surveys, etc.) that demonstrates customer satisfaction with overall job performance and/or quality of completed and/or ongoing contracts. In addition, explain corrective actions taken in the past, if any, for substandard performance and any current performance problems, such as cost overruns, extended performance periods, numerous warranty calls, etc.

(c) The minimum standard shall clearly reflect that the offeror has at least five (5) years’ experience in the type of service with the same or similar scope, size and complexity as required by the PWS, attachments and technical exhibits.

(d) Past Performance Questionnaire: Past Performance Questionnaires (PPQs) shall be used by the offeror in obtaining and providing past performance information, see RFP Attachment 8, Past Performance Questionnaire. For the contracts identified on each Specific Relevant Contract Reference, the Offeror shall forward a copy of the Past Performance Questionnaire to the points of contact responsible for monitoring performance under such contracts. The points of contact shall return the questionnaires directly to Erin S. Duncan, Contract Specialist, via email at erin.s.duncan2.civ@army.mil no later than the solicitation closing date/time. Any questionnaires not returned directly to the Contract Specialist will not be reviewed and evaluated. The information contained in the questionnaires will be used to evaluate the Offeror’s past performance. New entities that have no past customers shall annotate on the Summary Page that they have had no previous clients and that the minimum number of questionnaires cannot be provided.

THE RESPONSIBILITY TO SEND OUT THE PAST PERFORMANCE QUESTIONNAIRE RESTS SOLELY WITH THE OFFEROR.

(e) Past Performance Information (PPI): Utilizing the PPI Sheet, see RFP Attachment 7, submit information of at least three (3) recent contracts the offeror considers most relevant in demonstrating the ability to perform the proposed effort. One (1) of the past performance references may be for a subcontractor, teaming partner, and/or joint venture partner that will perform major or critical aspects of the requirement (i.e., 25% or more of the work). Recent past performance information includes contracts performed and/or being performed for any customer within the last five (5) years from the issuance date of the solicitation, to include at least twelve (12) months of documented performance during the five (5) year period. Include rationale supporting your assertion of relevance and identify aspects of the contracts deemed relevant and how they relate to the proposed effort.

(f) If an offeror has no past performance history of relevance, the offeror must affirmatively state it possesses no past performance history of relevance. Offerors with no past performance history will receive a neutral confidence rating. The offeror may not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on the factor of past performance.

(g) Teaming Arrangement. If a teaming arrangement is contemplated, provide complete information as to the arrangement, including any relevant and recent past performance information on previous teaming arrangements with same partner. If this is a first time joint effort, each party to the arrangement must provide a list of past contracts of relevance.

(h) Consent Letters. Offeror shall provide a consent letter executed by each subcontractor, teaming partner, and/or joint venture partner, authorizing the release of past performance information so the Offeror can respond to such information.

L6.4. VOLUME IV – FACTOR 3 - PRICE PROPOSAL.

(a) The Price Volume shall include proposed unit and extended prices for each Contract Line Item Number (CLIN) and SUBCLIN in the SF 1449 Continuation Sheet.

· Please refer to Attachment 2 (bid schedule) and fill it out in its’ entirety.

(a)

(b) Price Reasonableness. The source selection will be conducted with the expectation of adequate price competition for this acquisition per FAR 15.403-1(c)(1); therefore, certified cost or pricing data are not required per FAR 15.403-1(b)(1). If at any time during this competition the Contracting Officer determines that adequate price competition no longer exists or that price reasonableness cannot be determined, offerors may be required to submit additional data other than certified cost or pricing data for the Contracting Officer to determine price reasonableness. A contract will not be awarded to a contractor whose price is not determined to be fair and reasonable.

L.7. Contract Award: The Government intends to evaluate offers and award a contract without discussions with offerors. Therefore, the offeror’s initial offer should contain the offeror’s best terms from a price and technical standpoint. However, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if later determined by the Contracting Officer to be necessary.

L.8. Discrepancies: If an offeror believes these instructions contain errors, omissions or are unsound, the offeror shall immediately notify the Contracting Officer in writing with supporting rationale as well as remedies the offeror is asking the Contracting Officer to consider as related to the omission or error.

(End of Section)

Basis of Award

Source Selection Methodology: This is a competitive Performance Price Tradeoff (PPT) best value source selection conducted in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 15.3, and DFARS 215.3 in which competing Offeror’s combined Technical Approach, and past performance information will be approximately equal to price. The Government reserves the right to award a contract to other than the lowest Total Evaluated Price (TEP), if the difference in the Combined Factors 1,2,3, Rating of another Offeror justifies the higher price premium. In that event, the Source Selection Authority will make an integrated assessment best value award decision using the TEP and Combined rating of the other factors. Any proposal with an unacceptable Technical rating will not receive further evaluation. Failure to meet a requirement may result in an offer being determined unacceptable. By submission of its offer, the Offeror accedes to all RFP requirements, including terms and conditions, representations and certifications, and technical requirements, in addition to those identified as evaluation factors or subfactors. The Source Selection Authority (SSA) will then make an integrated assessment, best value award decision. The Government intends to award a contract without discussions with respective Offerors; however, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if deemed in its best interest.

Evaluation Factors and Criteria.

All Evaluation Factors, except for Price must be rated “Acceptable” or higher by the Government in order for a proposal to be considered for award.

1. Factor 1: Technical Approach.

The purpose of the Technical Approach Evaluation Factor is to assess the offeror’s proposed approach, as detailed in its proposal, to satisfy the Government’s minimum requirements as stated in the Performance Work Statement (PWS). (Presented as Volume I)

Subfactor 1 will receive a rating based on the proposal’s ability to address the requirement as described in L6.2.c.4.a. and as described in the PWS. An Unacceptable rating for Subfactor 1 will automatically disqualify the Technical Approach, and the overall Factor 1 Technical Approach will receive an unacceptable rating. If subfactor 1 is rated UNACCEPTABLE then remaining factors shall not be evaluated.

EACH following Subfactor will be rated based on the proposal’s ability to address each subfactor element as described in L6.2.c.4.b to g, and as described in the PWS An unacceptable rating in a minority of the subfactors does not automatically disqualify the Technical Approach, but it can be based upon the source selection boards discretion.

An Overall Rating will be assigned to the Technical Approach based on a combination of individual ratings of each subfactor. This overall rating will be used and measured against the other factors.

The ratings used for each subfactor and the overall rating are based upon the combined subfactors and can be seen in the chart below.

TABLE 1. TECHNICAL CAPABILITY RATINGS:

Rating

2. Factor 2: Past Performance:

The Past Performance evaluation assesses the degree of confidence the Government has in an offeror’s ability to supply products and services that meet the users’ needs based on a demonstrated records of performance. Failure to provide the information may result in the offeror being removed from consideration for award. Projects must be similar to this project in scope. (Note: An offeror with no past performance experience should submit the Volume with an explanation that they have no recent or relevant experience). The SSA will evaluate past performance of the offeror’s recent and relevant contracts and give the Offeror a rating based on the scheme below. In evaluating the offeror’s past performance record, the SSA will use past and present performance information gathered from various sources.

The sources may include, but are not limited to, the Past Performance Information Documents submitted, Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRs), questionnaires, and interviews. The SSA may also place more weight and consideration on more relevant past performance information. For the purpose of this evaluation, the term “offeror” includes the prime offeror and/or team members and major subcontractors performing 10% or more of the proposed effort based on the total proposed price or perform aspects of the effort the offeror considers critical to overall successful performance.

Offerors are cautioned that the SSA will use data provided by each offeror in this volume and data obtained from other sources in the evaluation of past performance.

Recency:

Contracts submitted for review should also be recent. In determining recency, the SSA will only consider work performance under an effort existing within the past five (5) years from formal release date of the RFP.

Relevancy:

Projects must be similar to this project in scope. Offerors shall include the rationale supporting the assertion of relevance on the contracts submitted for consideration in demonstrating their ability to perform the proposed effort. The SSA is not bound by the offeror’s interpretation of relevancy. The SSEB may contact references other than those identified by the offeror and use the information received to evaluate the offeror’s past performance.

Rating:

The Past Performance factor will receive one of the past performance assessments included in the below table based upon the offeror’s past performance during prior contracts. Performance is measured based upon the quality, timeliness, and cost controls exhibited by the offeror’s performance on previous contracts.

Table 2. Past Performance Acceptable/Unacceptable Rating Method

3. Factor 3: Price.

The purpose of the price factor is to determine if the proposed price is fair and reasonable. In no event will the Government make an award against an offer that the Government does not find to be fair and reasonably priced. The price submission will be evaluated but not rated.

The price submission will be evaluated considering the proposal crosswalk of labor categories contained in its staffing matrix to labor categories in its pricing matrix. The techniques and procedures described under FAR Part 15.404 will be the primary means of assessing price reasonableness. To be viable for award, an offeror’s price must be determined fair and reasonable, and not in excess of master contract cap rates. The Government will evaluate offeror’s price proposal for reasonableness based on the following:

a. Reasonableness will be determined by comparing the offeror’s total cost proposed to the total costs proposed by the other offerors. Additionally, the government may utilize other techniques identified in FAR 15.404-1(b) (2) to determine the reasonableness of price.

b. The offeror’s price submission shall represent the offeror's best efforts to respond to the RFP. Any inconsistency between proposed performance and price shall be explained in the submission. For example, if unique, innovative approaches are the basis for an unusually low price, the nature of these approaches and their impact on price shall be explained. If an offeror proposes to absorb a portion of the price, the offeror shall also explain the impact on the estimated price. Any significant inconsistency left unexplained, may raise a fundamental question of the offeror's understanding of the nature and scope of the work required in the task order, and of the offeror's ability to perform the tasks within the fiscal constraints thereof. This may be just cause for rejection of the proposal. The burden of proof for price credibility rests with the offeror.

D. Evaluation of FAR 52.217-8, Option to Extend Services.

For the purposes of the award, the Government intends to evaluate the option to extend services, provided under FAR 52.217-8, as follows:

1. The evaluation will consider the possibility that the option may be exercised at the end of the base period, and can be exercised in increments of one (1) to six (6) months, but for no more than a total of six months during the life of the contract.

2. The evaluation will assume that the prices for any option exercised under FAR 52.217-8 will be at the same rates as those in effect under the task order when the option is exercised.

3. The evaluation will, therefore, assume exercising the option under FAR 52.217-8 will be at the same price for the basic requirement, and the option price will have the same effect on the total price of all proposals.

4. This evaluation will not obligate the Government to exercise any option under FAR 52.217-8.