IFBP05081700003_CLARIFICATION_SET_ONE_REP_COOL_TWR_FCC_FOX.pdf

U.S. Department of Justice

Federal Bureau of Prisons Administrative Division

Field Acquisition Office Grand Prairie, Texas 75051

August 31, 2017

ATTN: ALL BIDDERS

RE: Clarification Set Number One

Solicitation IFBP05081700003 FCC Forrest City, Arkansas Replace Cooling Towers (Medium)

Dear Bidders, In reference to the above solicitation, enclosed are clarifications. These clarifications are for informational purposes only.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at (972) 352-4641 or e-mail at dpatton@bop.gov

Sincerely, Douglas V. Patton Contracting Officer Federal Bureau of Prisons Field Acquisition Office U.S. Armed Forces Reserve Complex 346 Marine Forces Drive Grand Prairie, Texas 75051

Enclosure cc: File

SCS, FCC Forrest City COR, FCC Forrest City Facility Manager, FCC Forrest City Regional Facilities Administrator, SCRO

CLARIFICATION SET NUMBER ONE

IFBP05081700003

REPLACE COOLING TOWERS (MEDIUM)

FCC FORREST CITY, ARKANSAS

1. Q Please advise if are to include removal and reinstallation of the existing lightning arrestor system.

Answer: Yes, the contractor shall remove and reinstall the existing lightning protection system. Refer to Amendment #1.

2. Q: Can VFDs be mounted into existing starter buckets?

Answer: The specification has been revised to require VFDs to be installed indoors. They may be installed inside existing starter buckets, if possible. Refer to Amendment #1

3. The specification calls for FRP (plastic) casing panels or in lieu of FRP, we can provide stainless steel. The rest of the cooling tower is galvanized steel. Manufacturers would never mix two types of materials in the wetting areas. Is all galvanized steel acceptable?

Answer: Casing panels shall be constructed of FRP. Refer to Amendment #1.

4. Spec 23 65 00, Section 2.3 - Would a SS cold water basin only be acceptable?

Answer: The specification has been revised to require the cold water basin to be constructed of galvanized steel and receive both a thermoset hybrid polymer and polyurethane coating.

Refer to Amendment #1.

5. Spec 23 65 00, SECTION 2.3 - The section states that welded 316 SS Basin is acceptable alternate, but doesn’t state what it’s an alternative to. Please advise on the base material.

Answer: The specification has been revised to require the cold water basin to be constructed of galvanized steel and receive both a thermoset hybrid polymer and polyurethane coating.

Refer to Amendment #1.

6. Spec 23 65 00, SECTION 3.6 This section called for a 7-year warranty with a space heater but a space heater is does not appear to be a requirement of the spec. Please confirm this.

Answer: The fan motor shall be externally mounted and will not require a space heater.

Refer to Amendment #1.

7. Spec 23 65 00, SECTION 5.1 – Not all manufactures have “removable” air inlet louvers. They are still designed to prevent splash-out, icing, and scaling. They are not removable by themselves. Please advise if this is acceptable.

Answer: Removable inlet louvers are a requirement to accommodate future maintenance and fill replacement.

8. Spec 23 65 00, SECTION 8.3 –Should the towers be provided with a system in each cell (for cell isolation) or is one system enough for the 2-cell tower.

Answer : Towers shall be provided with an electronic water level control system in each cell.

Refer to Amendment #1.

9. Spec 23 65 00, SECTION 8.5 – The spec calls for basin sweeper piping which would be used with a filtration system. Does this system currently exist and if not, shall we continue to price it this way?

Answer: Due to inmate labor availability for basin cleaning, we have revised the specification to eliminate basin sweeper piping. Refer to Amendment #1.

10. Spec 23 65 00, SECTION 8.7 - The spec states access door or service platform are not acceptable”. Please clarify what this means.

Answer: A caged ladder shall be provided to access the fan deck.

11. Spec 23 65 00, SECTION 8.12 - This is in conflict with section 8.8. These are not necessary and will not provide the fan deck access you will need at some point in the future. Plus, the davit is on the fan deck so you need protection when that is being used. Please advise.

Answer: The specification has been revised to remove the requirement for louver face platforms. Refer to Amendment #1.

12. Spec 23 65 00, SECTION 8.16 – A pre-wired terminal box is not practical. The towers ship with motor outside the airstream and they must be field installed. There are two cells and each cell ships in two modules. It’s not possible to provide any type of prewired terminal panel. Please advise.

Answer: The specification has been revised to remove pre-wired terminal boxes. Refer to Amendment #1.

13. Specification Section 236500-2.3 calls out float type make-up water valve. Specification Section 236500-8.3 calls out a 5-probe electronic water level control system. Please confirm which form of make-up water control is required.

Answer: The specification has been revised to remove float control and require electronic water level control for each cell. Refer to Amendment #1.

14. Specification Section 236500-2.4 calls out the hot water distribution basins shall be heavy-gauge, G-235 hot –dip galvanized steel. The hot water distribution basin is the most corrosion intensive sections of a crossflow cooling tower. It is rare to see the cold-water basin and casing be stainless steel, but the hot water basin be galvanized. Please confirm galvanized hot water basins are required.

Answer: The specification has been revised to require FRP hot water basins. Refer to Amendment #1.

15. Specification Section 236500-3.2 calls out fan motors to be mounted outside. Would it be acceptable to mount the fan motor inside the tower with internal drive access platform?

Answer: No, fan motors shall be mounted outside the tower.

16. The prebid meeting notes state the contractor shall be onsite no later than 10 days after NTP to begin work or they will be in default. There will be no work to perform at just 10 days out. The cooling towers have a 6-week lead time and our mobilization would align with the onsite arrival of the new towers. Please advise if this is acceptable. Office work will begin immediately (issuing contracts, approval drawing reviews, shop drawing reviews, assembling of project schedule, arranging field crews, etc.), but onsite work won’t begin until the new towers arrive. There is very little mechanical work that can begin before the new towers arrive onsite.

Answer: yes it is acceptable. As long as you are mobilzing, issuing submittals etc

17. Upon inspection of the cooling tower support steel, it appears to be rust and corrosion free. Please advise if blasting and recoating is still desired. We took many pictures and could find no section of the steel that looked like it needs blasted and coated.

Answer: Upon further inspection, we agree with your assessment and have removed this work from the project. Refer to Amendment #1.

18. There was some existing insulation missing on the tower bypass piping and we were told we don’t need to include reinsulating the piping. Please confirm this is not part of the scope and we are to only retrace and insulate the piping that we physically remove and replace.

Answer: The insulation that was off the piping at the time of the pre-bid site visit was due to the installation process of heat trace and maintenance by BOP staff. This is not part of the scope of this project. The contractor shall retrace and reinsulate the piping that is physically removed to accommodate tower replacement.