Q A.doc

Q & A Pre-Proposal Conference

A pre-proposal conference was held at the 355th Contracting Squadron, 3180 S. Craycroft Rd, DMAFB AZ 85707 on 2 Apr 2008 at 10:00 a.m. by Mr. Gerald Grimes, Flight Chief for Construction teams.

We will attempt to answer questions today, however all questions asked will need to be followed up via email or in writing. Mr. Grimes highlighted the following points to those contractor’s in attendance.

Clarification, solicitation is an 8A/HubZone set aside, delete the portion where it states Small Disadvantaged. A change will be made to official documents.

Pg 12 of the solicitation Note 4; Phase in Period. Once the award is made, the contractor is not expected to be up and running 100% capacity right away, there is a 60 day phase in period noted in solicitation.

Pg 13 of the solicitation Note7; Current tax liability rate contractors should be aware of.

Pg 13 of solicitation Note 8; based on past history of SABER contracts, the contractor awarded this contract should have 10-15 million dollars in bonding coverage Pg 13 of solicitation Note 12; contractor may be required to relocate after initial office location and will do at their own expense

Pg 22 of solicitation Option to extend contract; this contract is to run one year with four option years. The Government does intend to exercise the option year except for the following reasons: no funds to be awarded, mission of the wing changes, no longer need the requirement or the KTR fails to perform.

This is a IDIQ contract but only guarantees $5,000.00

Sections L and M are important for everyone to review and understand (pgs 34-39 of solicitation)

Pg 35 of solicitation L II C. Teaming Agreement, who ever signs solicitation entering into the agreement, they are responsible party. L II D, Joint Ventures based on law and all member of the team has equal responsibility.

Pg 36 of solicitation Section M, past performance is critical criteria when awarding contract however, price will also be evaluated. Contract can be awarded to other than the lowest priced solicitor.

Questions asked at Site Visit 1—Don Reynolds, Marcon Engineering: Hours of Work in the SOW Pg 1 Section 2.2 state standard hours are 6:30 AM to 5 PM however the data on weather shows there is extreme heat, are there exceptions for early morning concrete pours in the summer?

ANSWER: Yes, CE is OK with early morning pours and standard notification periods being followed.

2—John Bromfield, Amerind Builders asked a clarification about the teaming agreement and the selection criteria?

ANSWER: Far Part 9.6 addresses teaming. Furthermore, there does not have to be past teaming experience. However, contractor’s are encouraged to read FAR Part 9.6 on teaming arrangements and Sections L & M of the solicitation.

3—Jim Hutton, CCI INC, asked if the current contractor is using E4 Clicks and is that what the Government wants to use going forward?

ANSWER: Yes we are using E4 Clicks and we are happy with it. However, other software types are acceptable if it’s deemed a government approved equal.

4—Tom LaGalle, Trend Construction Inc. Are you going to accept the quarterly updates provided by RS MEANS pricing data with this contract?

ANSWER: We have not accepted them under the current contract and will not accept them under the new contract. The only change will be annually. Reference the SOW (3.2.3) 5—With the NPP’s listed will there will any adjustments on a quarterly or yearly basis on these?

ANSWER: No they are for the duration of the entire contract (base year plus four option years)

6—Don Reynolds, Marcon Engineering In the SOW page 14, it states the contractor is responsible for all environment permits, how is that fee addressed.

ANSWER: The contractor is responsible for environmental permits in their co-efficient.

7—Tom LaGalle, Trend Construction Inc. Are we responsible for paying for environmental permits?

ANSWER: If there is a fee associated it will be part of your co-efficient.

8—In the SOW it states all carpets need to be shampooed and clean, does that include newly installed carpet?

ANSWER: That will be determined on a case by case basis

9-- John Bromfield, Amerind Builders, can you provide the current co-efficient provided by the existing contractor?

ANSWER: They are public information and can be found on the synopsis of 2004.

10—Kevin Morgan, ICON with the NPP’s are those prices for the entire contract?

ANSWER: Yes

11—Jim Hutton, CCI Inc. Can you please explain what is meant by the enhanced design as noted in the SOW page 10?

ANSWER: Most delivery orders will have 35% design, supported by the current contract where 85% of delivery orders were less than $750,000. Approximately 85% of past delivery orders have been under traditional SABER procedures. In certain situations the government may require additional design 12—Why is a staff architect required?

ANSWER: In AZ structural drawings require a stamp. The intent is to have the architect review all drawings prior to submitting to the Government. This person does not have to be on site but needs to be AZ certified.

13—Is this a new requirement?

ANSWER: No it is not, it has been in the past two solicitations and statement of work for the SABER contract here at Davis-Monthan.

14—Miles Gardner, Candalaria Page 9 of SOW, Paragraph 7.10.6 refers the reader to Section J, Contract Document 6, 12 pages, it is not there, where is it?

ANSWER: On page 32 of the Solicitation Document, it notes these are the sample drawings which were posted on Fed Biz Ops

15—On Fed Biz Ops there is a difference between the solicitation notice number (0007) and the original notices of (0006), which is right?

ANSWER: For this solicitation use FA4877-08-R-0007 for updates to this solicitation you will need to refer to the original synopsis number FA4877-08-R-0006.

16—John Ochoa CCI Inc, Note 7 page 13 of the solicitation has a % for business fees, are there impact fees we are responsible for too?

ANSWER: There are no impact fees that are assessed to contractor working on the federal installation.

17—Rick Mercadante, SKE Why isn’t schedule B information complete on pages 4-8 of the solicitation?

ANSWER: The rates are determined once the contract is negotiated and awarded.

18—When is the cut off for follow-up questions?”

ANSWER: The cut off for additional questions is 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday 9 April 2008.

19—Don Hurst, DJH Inc. On page 18 of the SOW 11.10 Standing-Seam Metal (SSM) Roofing conflicts with the DM Base Design guide where there are four standards to follow, which is correct?

ANSWER: All four are considered standard but the DM design guide ultimately takes precedence contingent on the type of facility we are roofing.

20—On the SOW page 19 11.11.3 Hauling does not account for a curfew within the city where a crane cannot be on the road between 4-6 pm, how is this handled?

ANSWER: That will have to be factored into the co-efficient.

21—Jim Hutton, CCI Inc, on page 14 of the solicitation item F, it states all waste generated under this contract shall be removed to a site off-base at no additional expense to the Government, are there going to be any jobs where no waste is going to be created?

ANSWER: Highly doubtful as SABER is a construction contract.

The following questions were received by contractors following the initial pre-proposal conference and their answers attached:

22—Richard Karl, Candelaria Corp Inc., page 4 of the solicitation “Define the acronym “IAW” found in the Enhanced Design (65% and 95%) and “Overhead and Profit” bid items?

ANSWER: The acronym stands for “In Accordance With”

23—Richard Karl, Candelaria Corp Inc., page 12 of the solicitation “Is it the intent that “all” work orders, regardless of complexity, will have a design pricing element in the cost presentation using a preset value established in the “Bid Schedule” under “Design Fee” as earnest money?”

ANSWER: Yes, this is the intent. Example Company A submits a design Fee for $1,000.00 and the total cost of the negotiated project is $100,000.00 the contractor gets the fee regardless if a delivery order is issued or not for the entire project. If the project is funded after the design fee has been paid the modification to the original order would be for $99,000.00.

24—Richard Karl, Candelaria Corp Inc., page 13 of the solicitation “If the contractor or his personnel, suppliers, subcontractors are barred from the base for a time period of a day or more, will the actions of the government be considered a “Suspension of Work” pursuant to the FAR clauses?

ANSWER: This would require a determination as to why by the Contracting Officer and a final decision rendered on a case by case basis.

25—Richard Karl, Candelaria Corp Inc., page 13 of the solicitation “If the contractor or his personnel, suppliers, subcontractors are delayed from entering the base or barred from the base for a time period, will the actions of the government result in a time extension on the ongoing work?

ANSWER: Again as stated up for the previous question this would require a determination as to why, by the Contracting Officer and a final decision rendered.

26—Richard Karl, Candelaria Corp Inc., page 20 of the solicitation “Clause 52.211-12 Liquidated Damages” This clause states that the basic minimum liquidated damages to the Government equals the combined average hourly rate of the Contracting Officer, Contract Administrator(s), Contract Manager(s), Contract Inspector(s) and the Staff Judge Advocate. Will the rate be established at the commencement of the SABER and remain fixed for the duration of the SABER, changed yearly or an open rate subject to wage escalation? Will the liquidated damages be charged, by each entity, for the actual hours charged to the project or will the daily rate be the average rate for 8 hours per day? Please provide the current rate for the first and second day.

ANSWER: The rate is established as required when Liquidated Damages are applicable to an individual delivery order and is also an open rate subject to wage reduction/escalation based on grades of government personnel. Typically rates for the 1st and 2nd day are approximately $147/$124. In rare instances the rate is determined on actual damage(s) incurred by the government i.e. housing troop’s downtown.

27—Vicki Jacklich, Nasco Construction, Please clarify if the Offeror is to send out questionnaires to the list of 5 reference projects or if your office will be doing this? If the Offeror is to send out questionnaires, what instructions would you like us to provide to our government contacts? What is the due date for the reference to send the completed form back to you?

ANSWER: Your company is responsible for sending the questionnaires out. The responses should be sent directly to 355th Contracting (full address in on the questionnaire, along with e-mail address) and should be submitted by the closing date of the solicitation as evaluations will start immediately upon close. There are no other specific instructions.

28—Richard Karl, Candelaria Corp Inc., page 2 of the statement of work “Clause states that CPG Labor shall be adjusted by the RS Means city index for Tucson. Does the Davis Bacon or the adjusted CPG rate determine the contractor’s liability for wages? In the event of differences between the Davis Bacon and the adjusted RS Means wage should the differences be incorporated in the development of the Co-efficient?

ANSWER: The Davis Bacon Rate 29--Richard Karl, Candelaria Corp Inc., page 13 of 39 Note 7 “The transaction tax rate is established in the solicitation at 3.64%. The tax rate for Pima County is 6.1% resulting in a 3.814% transaction tax rate. Is the tax rate in the solicitation (3.64%) a negotiated with the State or a fixed value for the period of the SABER which would require difference or potential increases placed in the “co-efficient rate” or is it the intent of the solicitation to use the actual rate imposed by the State. If work is performed off site, reference page 1 of 35 (SOW 2.1), is the contractor liable for the transaction tax rate established in the solicitation, i.e. point of billing, or that at the point of work?”

ANSWER: The current tax rate applicable to contracting jobs done on DMAFB is 6.1% (effective rate 3.965%). City tax is not due on jobs done on the base. The effective rate is 65% of the actual rate (65% * 6.1%). It is used to take into consideration the 35% standard deduction that all contractors receive.

30--Richard Karl, Candelaria Corp Inc., page 15 of the solicitation “The repair of communication lines, by the Davis-Monthan Communications Squadron or their service provided is a potential contingency in the contract. Please provide the schedule of pricing during the bidding stage for inclusion of allowances in the co-efficient.

ANSWER: The schedule of pricing is attached to this Amendment and is hereby added as Contract Document #8.

31—Richard Karl, Candelaria Corp Inc., page 1 of the statement of work “The solicitation states that a portion of the work may be accomplished off base. Please provide a summary of the historical portion of the work performed off base and the actual locations of work under the previous SABER Contracts off base. Note 7, page 13 of 39 (solicitation), provides an established transaction rate of 3.64%, for work performed off base will the transaction tax rate be adjusted to reflect the actual rate incurred?

ANSWER: No work has been performed off DMAFB in the last 2 SABER contracts.

32—Richard Karl, Candelaria Corp Inc., page 4 of the statement of work “Pre-negotiated line items: The clause states that the pre-negotiated line items will not be adjusted annually which requires addressing the escalation of the items in the co-efficient. Please provide, for the past 4 years the percentage of usage, based on dollar value, of pre-negotiated line items in the total value of work performed.

ANSWER: NPP’s and NPI’s represent a very small percentage to each individual delivery order. In accordance with Informational Guidance from Air Combat Command the percentage should not exceed 10%.

33—Richard Karl, Candelaria Corp Inc., page 5 of the statement of work “The cited clause is silent with respect to specific requirements or distribution of Superintendents. Please confirm that the Contractor, not the Government, defines (1) the experience level of the superintendents and (2) defines the ratio of Superintendents per number of orders, i.e. the Superintendent may supervise multiple orders.

ANSWER: The contractor is allowed to define the experience level of his superintendents. The contractor is allowed to determine the number of superintendents per number delivery orders. However, the government reserves the right to request that the contractor add additional staff if the government determines that the contractor does not have suitable on-site staff.

34—Richard Karl, Candelaria Corp Inc., page 5 of the statement of work “Please confirm that the Contractor, not the Government, defines the ratio of Project Managers per number of orders, i.e. the Project Manager may manage multiple orders.”

ANSWER: Project managers are allowed to work multiple delivery orders.

35—Richard Karl, Candelaria Corp Inc., page 6 of the statement of work “The clause states that the Government holds the option to utilize the “Enhanced Design” method if more in-depth analysis required. If the contractor believes that more in-depth design analysis is required, provide the method of government notification and dispute resolution.

ANSWER: The government determines if it wants a more in-depth design done via the “Enhanced Design” section of the contract. The contractor is not given the leeway to determine this. Note that the drawings submitted with this solicitation represent the level of effort expected from a normal SABER delivery order. In addition SOW section 7.10.1 – 7.10.7 also represents the minimum design effort for normal SABER delivery orders.

36— Richard Karl, Candelaria Corp Inc., page 20 of the statement of work “The clause requires the contractor to purchase Architect/Engineer-edited 2004 “Masterformat” specifications. Please provide the point of purchase of these documents.

ANSWER: Contractor can choose from SPECTEXT's "Comprehensive All Sections Library" ($5,088 initial price and $3,052.80 annual renewal fee - http://www.spectext.com), Arcom's MASTERSPEC "Expanded Complete Package" ($5,070 initial price and $3,370 annual fee http://arcomweb.arcomnet.com), or Government approved equal.

37— Richard Karl, Candelaria Corp Inc., page 17 of the statement of work “The clause requires a Termite Treatment under any foundations slabs with costs allocated to the co-efficient. Please provide the square footage of slabs placed in the last 4 years

ANSWER: Termite Treatments will be an NPP line item. Please reread page 17 SOW it does not say to allocate termite cost in the co-efficient.

38— Richard Karl, Candelaria Corp Inc., page 6 of the statement of work “The SABER is structured, but is not intended, such that the Government could utilize the SABER contractor to develop designs/documents for projects that the government has no intentions of awarding to the SABER contractor, resulting in potential government savings in design/document presentation. Please provide information regarding SABER compensation if the government chooses to solicit quotations from SABER developed design/documents from others within the 365 days stipulated. Please provide information regarding SABER compensation if the government chooses to solicit quotations from SABER developed design/documents from others beyond the 365 days stipulated.

ANSWER: The SABER contract is neither structured nor intended to utilize the SABER contractor to develop designs/documents for projects that the Government has no intention of awarding to the SABER contractor. No SABER designs have been used to solicit quotes from other contractor’s

39— Deni LaGalle, Trend Construction., What is the historic percentage of Non Pre-priced items on previous contracts?

ANSWER: Information guidance from Air Combat Command sets the percentage “not to exceed 10%”

40— Deni LaGalle, Trend Construction., What percentage of work is anticipated to require enhanced design levels?

ANSWER: Based on the guidance in the Statement of Work for normal SABER designs (7.10.1 – 7.10.7) the percentage should be extremely low (less than 10%-15%).

41— Deni LaGalle, Trend Construction., Are the line items for 35% design added to the line items for enhanced design? Or is the 65% for 0 to 65% and the 95% from 0 to 95%?

ANSWER: No the line items are separate and should be priced as such

42— Deni LaGalle, Trend Construction., Would the Government benefit from all design fees being based on percent of construction costs as opposed to fixed dollar amounts?

ANSWER: Based on normal SABER design expectations the government feels a fixed dollar amount is more advantageous 43—Rick Mercadante, SKE International “Note 7 of the Solicitation advises that contractors may be responsible to pay the Arizona/City Business Use Fee. How do we know whether or not we are responsible for this fee? Will the Government provide exemption for the prime contractor? Will the certificate of exemption flow down to the Prime's subcontractors and material vendors?”

ANSWER: The State of Arizona and the City of Tucson hold prime contractors liable for all transaction privilege tax (sales tax) due on a project. The State of Arizona and the City of Tucson hold prime contractors liable for all transaction privilege tax (sales tax) due on a project. A prime contractor is the person (company) working for the owner or tenant-in-possession of the property. In other words, if the contractor signs the agreement with the Air Force they are liable for all of the sales tax due. Subcontractors are companies working for the prime contractors and are not liable for the tax. To be an allowable subcontractor, the state requires their form 5005 be completed by the prime contractor. (http://www.azdor.gov/Forms/transaction.asp is the web address to down load the form.)

The terminology Arizona/City Business Use Fee we are referring too is also called the transaction privilege tax. The current tax rate applicable to contracting jobs done on DMAFB is 6.1% (effective rate 3.965%). City tax is not due on jobs done on the base. The effective rate is 65% of the actual rate (65% * 6.1%). It is used to take into consideration the 35% standard deduction that all contractors receive.

44—Rick Mercadante, SKE International “The Liquidated Damages Clause (FAR 52.211-12) does not specify a monetary amount for damages, as required by the FAR. In order to calculate the risk associated with these damages, and to price this risk if considered appropriate to do so, could the Government state the specific amount of damages?”

ANSWER: Previously answered on question 26.

45—Vicki Jacklich, Nasco Construction page 16 of the statement of work “Of the delivery orders completed from FY-04 to FY 07 how many of these and at what dollar amount included enhanced design?”

ANSWER: None, this is the first use of the Enhanced Design line items.