Attachment A-PWS-Fisher House Lawn Service.pdf

STATEMENT OF WORK

Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center (CNVAMC)

Augusta, GA

Lawn Care Service for Fisher House

1.General

1.1 Services:

Contractor shall provide all material, labor and supplies required to provide lawn service to 5 acres at the Fisher House weekly, which includes:

• Cut grass weekly

• Edge walkways, driveways, and bed lines with a steel blade edger

• Weed eat areas as needed

• Blow curb areas and parking lot areas as needed

• Keep weeds out of beds, curb, and parking lot areas with round-up

• Prune shrubbery as needed to maintain a uniform shape

• Pick up trash in common areas

• Provide pine straw or mulch once a year

• Leaf removal from property in fall/winter seasons

• Haul off all debris from property

2.1 Turf Maintenance:

A. Mowing and Trimming Lawn Areas

1. Remove all trash and debris from lawns prior to each mowing.

2. Maintain lawns to give a neat, uniform appearance and frequently enough to prevent visible accumulation of grass clippings. Remove any visible accumulation of clippings by sweeping or blowing.

3. Adjust mowing frequency to the growth rate of the turf. Do not remove more than one-quarter to one-third of the total leaf area at anyone mowing. Vary the direction of mowing each time lawns are mowed.

4. Mow lawns when grass reaches a height of 2 ½ inches and cut to a minimum height of 1 ½ inches. Mowing height may be increased 2 inches during the summer.

5. Keep mowers sharp and properly adjusted during cutting operations.

6. After each mowing, trim lawn edges to the same height as adjacent turf. Where adjacent to sidewalks, curbs, etc., neatly edge lawns weekly as needed. Do not line trim within 2 inches of tree trunks, plant foliage or other non-durable surfaces; hand trim areas where power trimmers are not to be operated. After completion blow off all sidewalks, roadways and parking lot and patios.

B. Weed Control

1. Keep all flower and shrub areas free of weeds through timely use of both cultural and manual labor control procedures.

C. Spring Reconditioning

1. Rake all lawns prior to initiation of active spring growth to remove dead grass, twigs, leaves, and other debris.

2. Roll lawns, if required, to smooth uneven areas caused by heaving action of winter freezing and thawing. Roll only during very early spring after soil has thawed.

3. If thatch exceeds one-half inch depth or soil compaction is evident, aerate lawns after soil thaws and turf enters the active growing period. Aerate using a spoon or core method. If core type operation is employed, use a drag or other approved method to break up cores.

3.1 Trees, Shrubs, and Ground Cover:

A. General

1. Keep all beds and planters in a clean, well-groomed, weed- and pest-free condition. Remove trash and debris from beds and maintenance edges weekly.

2. During fall and winter season, all fallen leaves are to be collected and remove from property on a weekly basis.

B. Cultivating

1. Cultivate all bed areas as often as necessary to keep them in a loose, uniform condition and free of weeds.

2. Maintain a symmetrical ring of cultivation around tree trunks.

3. Cultivate to a depth of 2 to 3 inches, leaving the soil at a uniform grade.

4. Do not cultivate around surface-rooted broadleaf evergreens which should not be disturbed other than by hand-weeding.

5. Cultivate at least once a month during the growing season, prior to irrigating during the winter, and after fertilizing.

6. Cultivate mulched beds prior to the seasonal addition of new mulch materials.

C. Mulching

1. Top-dress all shrub beds and tree rings with shredded composted bark at least once a year during April to maintain a uniform depth of approximately 2 inches.

Where mulch exceeds 3 inches, remove excess before topdressing.

2. Apply 1 inch of double screened, finely shredded bark to all bulb plantings in the late autumn when seasonal flowers are removed.

D. Edging

1. Maintain all steel edging at 1 inch above finish grade.

2. Keep all hand-cut bed lines and tree rings cleanly edged, with smooth continuous curves or straight lines as shown on the Key Plan. Edges shall be cut at least bi-weekly during the growing season, and any encroachment of Centipede lawn removed from the beds.

E. Weed Control

1. Keep planting beds, stabilized aggregate surfaces, and tree rings within the improved grounds areas free of weeds by cultivation and manual removal.

F. Insect/Disease Control

1. Inspect all plantings on a weekly basis for possible infestations report all findings to COR.

G. Pruning

1. Prune all trees and shrubs as specified herein. Work shall be accomplished by arborists and horticulturists experienced in all aspects of pruning.

2. All pruning shall conform to standards established by the National Arborist

Association.

3. In general, do not shear plants; remove individual limbs back to main trunk or leader. Do not leave stubs. Use proper tool for cut being made. Keep cutting tools sharp and clean. Disinfect tools between cuts when pruning diseased or easily infected plants. Be familiar with and maintain natural habit of plants when pruning.

4. Utilize the following procedures when pruning the plant categories listed below:

a. Shade and Ornamental Trees:

1. Maintain natural habit and proportions. Remove dead, damaged, or dangerous branches, water sprouts, suckers, and crossing branches.

2. Major Storm Damage repair is not a part of this contract.

b. Upright Conifers:

1. Remove dead or damaged limbs and multiple leaders. Maintain compact, uniform growth by selectively removing portion of young ‘candles’ during extension in the spring.

c. Spreading Conifers:

1. Remove dead or damaged branches. Do not shear; prune groups or masses as a single unit, not individual plants.

d. Deciduous Shrubs:

1. Prune to maintain natural habit and proportions; do not shear.

Periodically, thin canes to maintain vigor and new growth.

2. Time pruning to prevent removal of flower buds.

e. Hedges:

1. Shear hedges at least twice annually, once after spring flush, and once in late summer.

2. Maintain size and proportion approved by Owner. Bevel face of hedges to optimize exposure to light.

3. Conduct rejuvenates pruning as directed by the Owner.

f. Ground Cover:

1. To encourage dense, compact growth, shear Asian Jasmine during early spring when plants are still dormant.

g. Annual Flowers:

1. Pinch back plants as required to maintain uniform, compact plants.

Pinch off (dead head) spent blooms weekly.

H. Plant Material Replacement

1. Replace all dead or damaged plant materials that cannot be restored to original quality and character.

2. Make plant replacements only during normal planting seasons.

3. Replace all plant material in kind and, where possible, size; and in no case smaller than specified on original landscape documents. Plants shall conform to

American Standard for Nursery Stock ANSI Z60.1.

4.1 Place of Performance

Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center

1 Freedom Way

UD Division

Fisher House

Augusta, GA 30904

5.1 Background:

The intent of this acquisition is to attain Grounds services for the Fisher House located at the

Uptown Division of the Veterans Administration. Contractor shall provide all material, labor and supplies required to provide lawn service to 5 acres at the Fisher House weekly

Reporting: For services performed during normal working hours, the contractor’s technician is to report to the Grounds Supervisor (Chuck Jones ext. 6051), to report/sign-in and obtain an identification badge, which shall be always worn while the technician is on station.

After work is completed, the contractor’s technician(s) are to submit in writing, a complete report of services performed for each item of equipment. The Grounds Supervisor, or his designee, must sign the service report before the technician(s) leave the facility.

Performance:

Contractor shall follow safety precautions, including the use of personal protective equipment

(i.e., proper attire, masks, gloves, and eye protection). All tools shall be fully supervised by contractor technicians and fully secured when not in use. Period of Performance:

Base Year: 1/1/2023 – 12/31/2023

Option Year 1: 1/1/2024 – 12/31/2024

Option Year 2: 1/1/2025 – 12/31/2025

Option Year 3: 1/1/2026 – 12/31/2026

Option Year 4: 1/1/2027 – 12/31/2027

Once work is completed, contractor is to clean up and haul off all debris from property and leave the area of work ready for hospital business.

Hours of Operation:

Business Hours

7:30am – 4:00pm Monday thru Friday excluding Holidays

Federal Holidays

New Year’s Day January 1st

Martin Luther King’s Birthday 3rd Monday in January

President’s Day 3rd Monday in February

Memorial Day Last Monday in May

Juneteenth June 19th

Independence Day July 4th

Labor Day 1st Monday in September

Columbus Day 2nd Monday in October

Veteran’s Day November 11th

Thanksgiving Day Last Thursday in November

Christmas Day December 25th

PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

Performance standards define desired services. The Government performs surveillance to determine if the contractor exceeds, meets, or does not meet these standards.

PERFORMANCE STANDARDS SUMMARY

REQUIRED

SERVICE

PERFORMANCE

STANDARD

MONITORING

METHOD

INCENTIVE/DISINCENTIVES

FOR MEETING OR NOT

MEETING THE

PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

Provide qualified technicians to perform lawn care service for the fisher house UD

No more than one

(1) failure to properly trouble shoot and repair outside irrigation system UD and DD

Random and daily inspections by VA designated staff person

May affect performance ratings

Ensure work site is secure before leaving

No more than one

(1) failure to properly secure work area

Inspections by VA designated staff.

May affect performance ratings

Provide all labor, tools, equipment, and supervision necessary to provide lawn maintenance

No more than one

(1) failure to properly secure work area

Inspections by VA designated staff.

May affect performance ratings

Clean up at the end of the workday

No more than one

(1) time of not cleaning the work area

Inspections by VA designated staff

May affect performance ratings

5.1. Contractors Responsibilities

5.1. The contractor shall provide qualified technicians to perform lawn care service for the

Fisher house Uptown.

5.2. Ensure work site is secure before leaving

5.3. Provide all labor, tools, equipment, and supervision necessary to provide lawn maintenance

5.4 Clean up at the end of the workday

6.1. Government Responsibilities

7.1. The Government will provide a list of points of contact and authorized personnel to place requests for delivery and pick up.

7.2. The Government will designate a Contracting Officers Representative (COR) who will furnish technical guidance and advice or generally monitor the work to be performed under this contract.

7.1. Invoicing

8.1 Payment will be made monthly in arrears upon receipt of a properly prepared detailed invoice and validated by the COR. Invoices must be sent electronically through OB10 Payment System in Austin, Texas.

8.1.1. A properly prepared invoice shall contain:

• Invoice Number and Date services were provided

• Contractor’s Name and Address

• Accurate Purchase Order Number

• Description of Supply or Service provided

• Total amount due

8.1 Special Contract Requirements

GENERAL

Contractors, contractor personnel, subcontractors, and subcontractor personnel shall be subject to the same Federal laws, regulations, standards, and VA Directives and Handbooks as VA and VA personnel regarding information and information system security.

ACCESS TO VA INFORMATION AND VA INFORMATION SYSTEMS

A contractor/subcontractor shall request logical (technical) or physical access to VA information and VA information systems for their employees, subcontractors, and affiliates only to the extent necessary to perform the services specified in the contract, agreement, or task order.

Information made available to the contractor or subcontractor by VA for the performance or administration of this contract or information developed by the contractor/subcontractor in performance or administration of the contract shall be used only for those purposes and shall not be used in any other way without the prior written agreement of the VA. This clause expressly limits the contractor/subcontractor's rights to use data as described in Rights in Data- General, FAR 52.227-14(d) (1).

VA information should not be co-mingled, if possible, with any other data on the contractors/subcontractor’s information systems or media storage systems in order to ensure VA requirements related to data protection and media sanitization can be met. If co-mingling must be allowed to meet the requirements of the business need, the contractor must ensure that VA’s information is returned to the VA or destroyed in accordance with VA’s sanitization requirements. VA reserves the right to conduct on-site inspections of contractor and subcontractor IT resources to ensure data security controls, separation of data and job duties, and destruction/media sanitization procedures comply with VA directive requirements.

Prior to termination or completion of this contract, contractor/subcontractor must not destroy information received from VA, or gathered/created by the contractor in the course of performing this contract without prior written approval by the VA. Any data destruction done on behalf of

VA by a contractor/subcontractor must be done in accordance with National Archives and

Records Administration (NARA) requirements as outlined in VA Directive 6300, Records and

Information Management and its Handbook 6300.1 Records Management Procedures, applicable VA Records Control Schedules, and VA Handbook 6500.1, Electronic Media

Sanitization. Self-certification by the contractor that the data destruction requirements above have been met must be sent to the VA Contracting Officer within 30 days of termination of the contract.

The contractor/subcontractor must receive, gather, store, back up, maintain, use, disclose and dispose of VA information only in compliance with the terms of the contract and applicable

Federal and VA information confidentiality and security laws, regulations, and policies. If

Federal or VA information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies become applicable to the VA information or information systems after execution of the contract, or if

NIST issues or updates applicable FIPS or Special Publications (SP) after execution of this contract, the parties agree to negotiate in good faith to implement the information confidentiality and security laws, regulations, and policies in this contract.

The contractor/subcontractor shall not make copies of VA information except as authorized and necessary to perform the terms of the agreement or to preserve electronic information stored on contractor/subcontractor electronic storage media for restoration in case any electronic equipment or data used by the contractor/subcontractor needs to be restored to an operating state.

If copies are made for restoration purposes, after the restoration is complete, the copies must be appropriately destroyed.

If VA determines that the contractor has violated any of the information confidentiality, privacy, and security provisions of the contract, it shall be sufficient grounds for VA to withhold payment to the contractor or third party or terminate the contract for default or terminate for cause under

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part 12.

If a VHA contract is terminated for cause, the associated BAA must also be terminated and appropriate actions taken in accordance with VHA Handbook 1600.01, Business Associate

Agreements. Absent an agreement to use or disclose protected health information, there is no business associate relationship.

The contractor/subcontractor must store, transport, or transmit VA sensitive information in an encrypted form, using VA-approved encryption tools that are, at a minimum, FIPS 140-2 validated.

The contractor/subcontractor’s firewall and Web services security controls, if applicable, shall meet or exceed VA’s minimum requirements. VA Configuration Guidelines are available upon request.

Except for uses and disclosures of VA information authorized by this contract for performance of the contract, the contractor/subcontractor may use and disclose VA information only in two other situations: (i) in response to a qualifying order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or (ii) with

VA’s prior written approval. The contractor/subcontractor must refer all requests for, demands for production of, or inquiries about, VA information and information systems to the VA contracting officer for response.

Notwithstanding the provision above, the contractor/subcontractor shall not release VA records protected by Title 38 U.S.C. 5705, confidentiality of medical quality assurance records and/or

Title 38 U.S.C. 7332, confidentiality of certain health records pertaining to drug addiction, sickle cell anemia, alcoholism or alcohol abuse, or infection with human immunodeficiency virus. If the contractor/subcontractor is in receipt of a court order or other requests for the above-mentioned information, that contractor/subcontractor shall immediately refer such court orders or other requests to the VA contracting officer for response.

For service that involves the storage, generating, transmitting, or exchanging of VA sensitive information but does not require C&A or an MOU-ISA for system interconnection, the contractor/subcontractor must complete a Contractor Security Control Assessment (CSCA) on a yearly basis and provide it to the COR.

Security Incident Investigation:

The term “security incident” means an event that has, or could have, resulted in unauthorized access to, loss or damage to VA assets, or sensitive information, or an action that breaches VA security procedures. The contractor/subcontractor shall immediately notify the COR and simultaneously, the designated ISO and Privacy Officer for the contract of any known or suspected security/privacy incidents, or any unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information, including that contained in system(s) to which the contractor/subcontractor has access.

To the extent known by the contractor/subcontractor, the contractor/subcontractor’s notice to VA shall identify the information involved, the circumstances surrounding the incident (including to whom, how, when, and where the VA information or assets were placed at risk or compromised), and any other information that the contractor/subcontractor considers relevant.

With respect to unsecured protected health information, the business associate is deemed to have discovered a data breach when the business associate knew or should have known of a breach of such information. Upon discovery, the business associate must notify the covered entity of the breach. Notifications need to be made in accordance with the executed business associate agreement.

In instances of theft or break-in or other criminal activity, the contractor/subcontractor must concurrently report the incident to the appropriate law enforcement entity (or entities) of jurisdiction, including the VA OIG and Security and Law Enforcement. The contractor, its employees, and its subcontractors and their employees shall cooperate with VA and any law enforcement authority responsible for the investigation and prosecution of any possible criminal law violation(s) associated with any incident. The contractor/subcontractor shall cooperate with

VA in any civil litigation to recover VA information, obtain monetary or other compensation from a third party for damages arising from any incident, or obtain injunctive relief against any third party arising from, or related to, the incident.

Liquidated Damages for Data Breach:

Consistent with the requirements of 38 U.S.C. §5725, a contract may require access to sensitive personal information. If so, the contractor is liable to VA for liquidated damages in the event of a data breach or privacy incident involving any SPI the contractor/subcontractor processes or maintains under this contract.

The contractor/subcontractor shall provide notice to VA of a “security incident” as set forth in the Security Incident Investigation section above. Upon such notification, VA must secure from a non-Department entity or the VA Office of Inspector General an independent risk analysis of the data breach to determine the level of risk associated with the data breach for the potential misuse of any sensitive personal information involved in the data breach. The term 'data breach' means the loss, theft, or other unauthorized access, or any access other than that incidental to the scope of employment, to data containing sensitive personal information, in electronic or printed form, that results in the potential compromise of the confidentiality or integrity of the data.

Contractor shall fully cooperate with the entity performing the risk analysis. Failure to cooperate may be deemed a material breach and grounds for contract termination.

Each risk analysis shall address all relevant information concerning the data breach, including the following:

Nature of the event (loss, theft, unauthorized access);

Description of the event, including:

date of occurrence;

data elements involved, including any PII, such as full name, social security number, date of birth, home address, account number, disability code;

Number of individuals affected or potentially affected;

Names of individuals or groups affected or potentially affected;

Ease of logical data access to the lost, stolen or improperly accessed data in light of the degree of protection for the data, e.g., unencrypted, plain text;

Amount of time the data has been out of VA control;

The likelihood that the sensitive personal information will or has been compromised (made accessible to and usable by unauthorized persons);

Known misuses of data containing sensitive personal information, if any;

Assessment of the potential harm to the affected individuals;

Data breach analysis as outlined in 6500.2 Handbook, Management of Security and Privacy

Incidents, as appropriate; and

Whether credit protection services may assist record subjects in avoiding or mitigating the results of identity theft based on the sensitive personal information that may have been compromised.

Based on the determinations of the independent risk analysis, the contractor shall be responsible for paying to the VA liquidated damages in the amount of $37.50 per affected individual to cover the cost of providing credit protection services to affected individuals consisting of the following:

Notification;

One year of credit monitoring services consisting of automatic daily monitoring of at least 3 relevant credit bureau reports;

Data breach analysis;

Fraud resolution services, including writing dispute letters, initiating fraud alerts and credit freezes, to assist affected individuals to bring matters to resolution;

One year of identity theft insurance with $20,000.00 coverage at $0 deductible; and

Necessary legal expenses the subjects may incur to repair falsified or damaged credit records, histories, or financial affairs.

SECURITY CONTROLS COMPLIANCE TESTING

On a periodic basis, VA, including the Office of Inspector General, reserves the right to evaluate any or all of the security controls and privacy practices implemented by the contractor under the clauses contained within the contract. With 10 working-days’ notice, at the request of the government, the contractor must fully cooperate and assist in a government-sponsored security controls assessment at each location wherein VA information is processed or stored, or information systems are developed, operated, maintained, or used on behalf of VA, including those initiated by the Office of Inspector General. The government may conduct a security control assessment on shorter notice (to include unannounced assessments) as determined by VA in the event of a security incident or at any other time.

Training:

All contractor employees and subcontractor employees requiring access to VA information and

VA information systems shall complete the following before being granted access to VA information and its systems:

Sign and acknowledge (either manually or electronically) understanding of and responsibilities for compliance with the Contractor Rules of Behavior, Appendix E relating to access to VA information and information systems;

Successfully complete the VA Privacy and Information Security and Rules of Behavior training and annually complete required security training;

Successfully complete the appropriate VA privacy training and annually complete required privacy training; and

Successfully complete any additional information security or privacy training, as required for

VA personnel with equivalent information system access [to be defined by the VA program official and provided to the contracting officer for inclusion in the solicitation document – e.g., any role-based information security training required in accordance with NIST Special

Publication 800-16, Information Technology Security Training Requirements.]

The contractor shall provide to the contracting officer and/or the COR a copy of the training certificates and certification of signing the Contractor Rules of Behavior for each applicable employee within 1 week of the initiation of the contract and annually thereafter, as required.

Failure to complete the mandatory annual training and sign the Rules of Behavior annually, within the timeframe required, is grounds for suspension or termination of all physical or electronic access privileges and removal from work on the contract until such time as the training and documents are complete.