Additional_questions_and_clarification_January_5.docx

Additional Questions and Clarification - January 5, 2018

Item that needs clarification/correction

1. The prospectus states that a new shuttle stop is required at the overflow parking area, yet there can be no more than nine shuttle stops on the Sabino Canyon route, and no more than three on the Bear Canyon route. Will one shuttle stop have to be removed from either route with the addition of the new stop at the overflow parking area?

a. No. The required shuttle stop at the overflow parking is not considered within the routes; rather, it is in addition to the main shuttle loading area at the Visitor Information Center.

Additional questions

1. Is fee booth optional? (from December 12, 2017 question/answer)

a. Prospectus does not require use of VC or fee booth. Just “multiple ticketing locations and options are required”, see section I.E. ‘Ticket Sales’ on pages 12-12.

Question: The reference to section I.E. Ticket Sales on pages 12-13, states that multiple ticketing locations and options are required, including: The Sabino Canyon Visitor Information Center; whereas, it is stated in the prospectus that the visitor’s center is optional, Section H.1, p. 23. Is use of the visitor’s center optional or required?

Clarification: The visitor’s center is an optional offering. On the referenced section regarding ticket sales, multiple ticketing locations and options are required. The locations listed are suggestions and not requirements.

2. Does the operator have to do (road) maintenance?

A. No. See section C.5.k. Commensurate Share for Road Use of the prospectus, p. 36.

3. Will there be a limit on other users of Sabino Canyon, such as walkers, joggers, and bikers?

A. Bicycling is permitted before 9:00 a.m. and after 5:00 p.m. Bicycling is not permitted on Wednesdays or Saturdays. No pedestrian restrictions.

4. What are the current utility costs at the visitor’s center?

a. Go to the Tucson Electric Power website, tep.com, and choose “My Account”, “Pricing Plans”, and scroll down to the small general service pricing plans, as there are four. The successful applicant will be responsible for the proportionate share of the cost of the visitor center utilities.

5. My company is an ‘S’ type corporation; would tax returns be sufficient for the requested information (financial resources)? Are QuickBooks financial statements sufficient when added to tax returns? Is three years of returns sufficient?

a. See Section C.4. Financial Resources of the prospectus, pages 34 and 35.

6. Please provide clarification on the fees.

a. There are two fees associated with the shuttle system, and they are as follows:

i. Shuttle System, which is authorized under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, will be charged three percent (3%) of adjusted gross revenue. The minimum fee for the shuttle system permit is $26,810. See Section C.5. Fee to the Government of the prospectus, pages 35 and 36.

ii. Road use by the shuttle system is authorized under the National Forest Roads and Trails Act. The fee charged is for commensurate share of the road use which goes towards annual road maintenance conducted by the Forest Service. The estimated annual commensurate share use cost is $5,170. See Section C.5.k. Commensurate Share for Road Use of the prospectus, p. 36.

b. The optional federally-owned facilities (visitor’s center, maintenance yard, and ticket booth) are authorized under the Granger-Thye Act. If the bidder chooses to use any of these facilities for their operation, the fee is six percent (6%) of the value of the facility, determined by the amount of area used (square feet or acres), charged annually. The current values are as follows:

i. Visitor’s Center: $151/square foot

ii. Ticket Booth: $151/square foot

iii. Maintenance Yard: $500/acre

7. How will 6% fee of appraised value work? Is it Granger Thye?

a. The fee will be based upon the amount of square footage the successful bidder requests.

b. Yes, it is authorized under Granger-Thye.

8. What is appraised value of Visitor Center calculated?

a. Due to the flexible nature of the available government owned improvements in this offering, the improvement values will depend on what the applicant proposes. Applicants can estimate the value of the improvements by using local costs per square foot of average commercial retail space.

9. Would any improvements installed by the shuttle operator fall in Granger Thye?

a. In general, no.

10. What entails a good rating?

a. Providing satisfactory performance based upon items such as adherence to the terms of the permit and operating plan, satisfactory inspections, positive safety record, and quality customer service.

11. How is the transition plan evaluated? Is shorter better?

a. The transition plan will be evaluated based upon the items listed in Section IV.C.2, p. 34.

b. The period of time proposed in the transition plan to get to full compliance with the requirements outlined in the prospectus will be but one factor in the evaluation.

12. Are the evaluation elements weighted?

a. For all – see Section IV. D. pages 37 and 38.

13. Will improvements at the new overflow stop be Granger Thye eligible?

a. No.

14. In Appendix 4, the sample annual operating plan, the table of contents lists ‘Law enforcement and security’ as a section that needs to be addressed in the sample plan, but the detail in the actual outline skips that section and provides no detail. What do you want to see in that section?

a. No law enforcement and security plan is required. It is an error in the table of contents. We will provide a corrected Operating Plan as soon as possible on the website and FedBizOps.

15. Also in Appendix 4, sample operating plan section (6. Holder Advertising), do you all want to see the reference to service ‘being located in Coronado National Forest’ actually on the shuttle (since we will propose identifying features on the shuttle)?

a. The shuttles do not need to reference “being located in Coronado National Forest.” The reference is required for any print, digital, or other media advertising.

The following answers may be used for the purposes of bidding, but may be subject to change when the permit is issued:

1. What is the value per acre (vacant land) that will be used for the facility maintenance site?

A. In researching the Pima County Assessor’s website, the following value has been assessed for an adjacent piece of property owned by the Forest Service (labeled as “USFS Ranger Station” on the map below the valuation table). This puts the current value for calculating land use rental fees at $500/acre.

2. What is the value of the visitor’s center and ticket booth?

A. The current value of the visitor’s center, according to the Forest Service building database, is $635,751 and has 4,197 useable square feet. That puts the current value for calculating land use rental fees at $151/sq. ft. The ticket booth, which is adjacent to the visitor’s center, is valued the same for calculating land use rental fees, at $151/sq. ft image1.png image2.png