Attachment M - Phase One PPI Responses 5.23.22.pdf

PPI

Gov't Trackin g#

Govt Response:

1) Spec Section, Spec Title, para 3, page

2) Drawing #

3) See Soliciation Amendment #

KTR X is located in Idaho (within SBA Region X); however, we are interested in pursuing this opportunity with our protégé partner under our 8(a) Mentor‐Protégé Joint Venture and require clarification regarding the geographic restriction. The solicitation states that this opportunity is set‐aside for 8(a) businesses located within SBA Region X. In August of 2021 the SBA announced a moratorium on the requirement to establish a bona fide place of business in a specific geographic area in order to be awarded any construction contract through the 8(a) program. This moratorium is in place through September 30, 2022 to make it easier for small businesses to be eligible for construction contracts. Please clarify if competition is open to all 8(a) firms, regardless of geographic area, per the SBA’s moratorium.

See Amendment 0002, Section 00 10 00, Subsection "General Overview of the 8(a) MACC".

Section 00 21 16, page 9, Factor 2 – Corporate Experience, (a)(1)(i) states that offerors must present 5 recent and relevant “Construction projects at or above $100,000.” Can this lower limit be raised to $2,000,000?

2 The solicitation remians unchanged.

Section 00 21 16, page 12, Factor 3 – Past Performance, (a) states that “Offerors shall not incorporate by reference into their proposal PPQs previously submitted for other RFPs”.

Would it be acceptable for an offeror to physically include a PPQ previously submitted for another RFP

Yes, a PPQ previously used can be submitted as long as the associated project is submitted under Factor 2 ‐

Experience.

At this time, the SBA is not requiring Bona Fide offices. Do we have to have an office in one of the designated states (AK, ID, OR, WA) do respond to this solicitation? If this is mandated, does the office have to be opened prior to the solicitation response date?

4 Refer to PPI 001 Response

If a company is a part of 2 Joint Ventures, can a proposal be submitted by each Joint Venture since they are completely separate entities?

5 Yes

Section 00 21 16 ‐ Instructions to Proposers, PROPOSAL DUE DATE, SUBMISSION, AND FORMAT AND BASIS FOR AWARD, provides instructions for email submission of proposal as well as submission through the PIEE portal. Does NAVFAC want the proposal submitted twice (i.e. once through email and once through PIEE)?

Submission through the PIEE solicitation module is the required means of proposal submission.

FIRM x has a JV with an Oregon based company, please confirm that FIRM X qualifies to bid this project.

Contact your SBA Procurement Center

Representative

Amendment 02 attachment list includes “Attachment M Phase One Pre-Proposal Inquiry (PPI) Respon 8 See Amendment 0003.

Would the Government please provide the original Notice ID for the sources sought that was issued during the market research phase of this acquisition? I am unable to find a record of it, even searching for Inactive listings. Thank you.

A sources sought notice was not posted for this procurement based on adequate competition and the significant history of competition under prior procurements of the 8(a) MACC at NAVFAC NW.

RFP AM002 - SECTION SF 30 BLOCK 14 CONTINUATION PAGE – Item b. Amendment states: Add: This solicitation is 100% set-aside for 8(a) small businesses located in and in good standing with the Small Business Administration (SBA) Region X Office. Eligible 8(a) firms are required to have a bona fide office located in SBA Region X. Region X includes AK, ID, OR, and WA. The SBA Moratorium dated August 2021 does not apply to this procurement. NAVFAC NW received SBA approval for this 8(a) MACC prior to the moratorium effective date. The official SBA announcement can be found at the SBA’s website here:

https://www.sba.gov/article/2021/aug/26/sba-announces-moratorium-bona-fide-place-business-requirements-8a-business-development-program. There is no mention of SBA approval as a time-stamp as it were for determining when the moratorium takes effect on a given acquisition plan. The statement is simply as follows: WASHINGTON – The U.S. Small Business Administration today announced a moratorium on the requirement that participants in SBA’s 8(a) Business Development Program must establish a bona fide place of business in a specific geographic area in order to be awarded any construction contract through the 8(a) Program due to the ongoing challenges of COVID-

19. The moratorium is effective August 25, 2021, and applies to all 8(a) construction contracts offered to the 8(a) Program between August 25, 2021, and September 30, 2022. & “The SBA is committed to finding innovative ways to assist small businesses, particularly small disadvantaged businesses that have been historically underserved,” said Bibi Hidalgo, Associate Administrator for SBA’s Office of Government Contracting and Business Development. “This change to the SBA’s 8(a) program -- our flagship contracting program born out of the Civil Rights movement -- will help small businesses continue to drive our economic recovery and position themselves at the forefront of our nation’s reimagined economy.”

During the moratorium, any 8(a) Program participant seeking an 8(a) construction contract (either on a sole source or competitive basis) will not be required to have or establish a bona fide place of business in any specific geographic location.

INQUIRY: Since this solicitation was not officially advertised, i.e., “offered to the 8(a) Program” until May 04, 2022, which is well inside the moratorium period, we respectfully request that the Government amends the solicitation to remove this restriction.

This procurement was offered and accepted by the SBA office in March of 2021, prior to the moratorium in place. Competitive Offer letters received prior to August 25, 2021, where a bona fide place of business is required, will continue to be required. To be eligible for this solicitation a firm needs to be located or have an approved bona fide office in Region X.

RFP AM002 - SECTION SF 30 BLOCK 14 CONTINUATION PAGE – Item b. Amendment states: Add: This solicitation is 100% set-aside for 8(a) small businesses located in and in good standing with the Small Business Administration (SBA) Region X Office. Eligible 8(a) firms are required to have a bona fide office located in SBA Region X. Region X includes AK, ID, OR, and WA. The SBA Moratorium dated August 2021 does not apply to this procurement. NAVFAC NW received SBA approval for this 8(a) MACC prior to the moratorium effective date.

INQUIRY: Is the Government able to provide the documentation which demonstrates the timeline of this decision in conjunction with the SBA as well as the timeline from when the original Sources Sought market research was issued in order to effectively make the determination that this procurement would be set-aside for 8(a) Small Businesses?

11 See Amendment 0003

Section 00 21 16 – Instructions to Proposers, Page 7, paragraph 4 and page 16, paragraphs 2-3 (Phase I).

The government states on page 7 that the cover letter shall include the 9 bullets listed. However, on page 16 it states that the cover letter should include all of the 10 bullets listed under Phase I. The bullets under phase I on page 16 appear to mirror the sections within the Proposal rather than items that are listed on the cover letter. Can the government clarify if the information under the Phase I bullets are sections that are to be included within the proposal, under designated tabs, or if they are items that are supposed to be included with the cover letter?

12 See Amendment 0003

The RFP details the required composition of the Proposal Cover Letter in two (2) separate locations, of which both differ. Page 7 of 96 requires the Cover Letter include “acknowledgement of all amendments” while page 16 of 96 references FAR 52.215-1(c)(2) and requires inclusion of the SF1442, Surety Letter, Section 00 45 00, and VETS-4212 Confirmation. Please clarify what Offerors are required to include in their Cover Letter. In addition, in order to assist Offerors in providing the Government requested documents and attachments in a consistent order for the Government to review, will the Government consider providing a consolidated list of the items Offerors are required to submit and the order in which they should be provide in Phase I – Technical Proposal? As an example: -Cover Letter, -SF1442, -Section 00 45 00, -Surety Letter, -VETS-4212 Confirmation, -Factor 1 – Technical Approach, -Factor 2 – Corporate Experience, -Factor 3 – Past Performance, -Factor 4 - Safety

13 See Amendment 0003. Your example list would be acceptable.

Solicitation Final, page 9 of 96, Factor 2 (a) (1) Construction Experience. “…maximum of five (5) relevant construction projects…within the past five (5) years…” Would NAVFAC consider seven

(7) years?

14 See Amendment 0003

Section 00 21 16 - Instructions to Proposers The RFP states that the, “…total length for each project data sheet shall not exceed one (1) double-sided page (or two (2) single-sided pages).” However, then it goes on to say we are to, “Provide applicable documentation on projects that were validated and/or certified through a Sustainable Third Party Certification program.” Can you please confirm that any third-party documentation will be outside of the two-page limitation for Attachment A?

Confirmed. Third party documents are allowable outside of the 2-page requirement specified in Section 00 21 16.

Page 7 of 96 outlines certain requirements for the Cover Letter; however, Page 16 of 96 outlines different requirements for the Cover Letter. Can you please clarify the Cover Letter requirements? 16 See Amendment 003.

Page 7 of 96 states, “A cover letter shall accompany both the technical and price proposals…” This implies that we are to submit a Technical Proposal AND a Price Proposal for Phase I. Can you please confirm that Phase I consists of only one volume?

Submit a cover letter with the Phase I Technicacl proposal and the Phase II technical and price proposals. See Amendment 0003.

Page 16 of 96 states we are to provide confirmation of filing of current VETS-4212 report. As a newly formed JV, we do not have a VETS-4212 report. Can you please confirm that the government will accept submission of each individual JV Member’s VETS-4212 report in response to this requirement?

18 Acceptable, but required filing upon potential contract award.

Page 9 of 96 requires us to submit a simple organization chart. Can you please exclude the simple organization chart from the one-page limit? 19 The solicitation remains unchanged.

Page 13 of 96 requires us to submit five previous complete calendar years’ worth of data for the DART RATE and TCR RATE. Can you please confirm that we should provide CY2017, CY2018, CY2019, CY2020 and CY2021 rather than what is listed in this section?

20 See Amendment 003.

Section 00 10 00 - Solicitation Page 4 of 96 says that, “…A site visit will be scheduled during Phase Two. See Section 00 21 16.” We do not see the seed project SOW. Will the seed project SOW also be issued in Phase Two?

21 The Seed Project Scope of Work will be issued in Phase II.

Section 00 21 16 - Instructions to Proposers Page 16 of 96 shows that Attachment E – Financial Questionnaire will need to be submitted in Phase II. How will this form be evaluated? 22

Attachment E will be used to evaluate a firm's financial stability/situation as a part of the responsibility determination.

Page 12 of 96 Factor 3 – Past Performance If we have previously filled out PPQ’s may we submit them instead of having clients filling out new ones? Does your answer refer to Construction and Design PPQ’s?

Previous NAVFAC NW PPQ forms may be submitted; however, ensure information provided includes all information requested on the current PPQ form.

Page 9 of 96 Factor 2 – Corporate Experience Projects must be at least $100,000 to be evaluated and considered relevant based on size. What is the maximum size project we are allowed to show to be considered relevant based on size?

24 Factor 2 does not have a limit on maximum project size.

Page 9 of 96 Factor 2 – Corporate Experience The RFP requires the offeror to demonstrate the ability to manage multiple (at least two) work sites simultaneously under a single contract. Can we show multiple projects under different contract numbers or is the requirement to show at least 2 tasks orders under a multiple award contract simultaneously?

The Government's intention is to require project experience with multiple work sites under the same project.

During the pre-proposal conference, Offerors were informed that the Pre-Proposal Inquiry (PPI) deadline would be extended, would the please Government confirm the new PPI deadline? 26 Phase I PPI due date will not be extended.

Due to the current Volatility in the Construction Materials market, the Offeror respectfully requests the following FAR Clause be included with all Contract Awards related to this solicitation (NAVFAC NW 8a MACC); FAR 52.216-4 2.216-4 Economic Price Adjustment-Labor and Material.

27 The solicitation remains unchanged.

Factor 1, Page 9 of 96, requires an Organizational Chart, Teaming Agreements, and Letters of Commitment be provided within the Offeror’s proposal, would the Government confirm that these are exempt from the page limit?

The Simple Organizational Chart is included in the page limit. Teaming Agreements and Letter's of Commitment are exempt from the page-limit.

Factor 1, Page 9 of 96, requires Offerors to describe roles and responsibilities of each entity and provides a one-page limit, would the Government please allow offerors additional pages so those proposing with teaming partners may adequately demonstrate intent/manner of actual performance on the contract?

29 The solicitation remains unchanged.

Factor 2, Page 10 of 96, states that, “The Offeror MAY NOT utilize experience of a subcontractor to demonstrate construction experience under this evaluation factor unless specialist subcontractor experience is stated as acceptable. Failure to submit this information may result in a lower rating.”

Please confirm our understanding that the Government will accept CON/Design experience and past performance from an offerors team partner and affiliate, so long as their involvement in the current contract being solicited is thoroughly described in the teaming arrangement.

As stated in Factor 2 - Construction Experience, the offeror may not utilize experience submitted by a subcontractor.

Factor 2, Page 11 of 96, requires Offerors to, “Provide applicable documentation on projects that were validated and/or certified through a Sustainable Third Part Cert Program.” Under what Factor and Section of the proposal does the Government want these documents?

Project specific documents should be placed in Factor 2, behind the corresponding project data experience sheets.

Factor 2, Page 11 of 96, requires Offerors to, “Provide applicable documentation on projects that were validated and/or certified through a Sustainable Third Part Cert Program.” Please confirm Documentation (stated above) is not included in page limits.

32 Confirmed

Factor 4, Page 13 of 96, states that, “For a partnership, joint venture, the Offeror shall submit separate DART, TCR for the specified five (5) CY for each contractor who is part of the partnership or joint venture; however, only one safety narrative is required.” Would the Government confirm that this does not apply to affiliates?

33 Confirmed

Factor 2, Page 9 of 96, states that the, “Construction & Design experience Project Data Sheet (Attachment A) is MANDATORY and SHALL be used to submit project information.” Would the Government please confirm whether the Offeror is allowed to make minor adjustments to the formatting of Project Data Sheets (Attachment A) to allow for space (assuming that the content and sequence of required information remains intact)?

34 Confirmed. Offeror may make minor adjustments to the form to allow for space.

Price, Page 16 of 96, states that a, “Cover letter in accordance with FAR 52.215-1(c)(2) Instructions to Offerors – Competitive Acquisitions (JAN 2017) that includes… Standard Form (SF) 1442 (Solicitation). Complete blocks 14, 15, 16, and 18; Letter from the Offeror’s Surety. The letter shall verify the Offeror has a minimum $10M in bonding capacity per project; Offeror is to ensure the System for Award Management (SAM) is updated and current. Supplemental Representations and Certifications in Section 00 45 00, are current, completed and posted in SAM; Confirmation of filing of current VETS-4212 report. Provide your firm’s Small Business Administration (SBA) District Office location and SBA District Office Point of Contact including email and phone number.” Would the Government please confirm that the Phase I Cover letter includes the above and is not restricted by a page limit?

Confirmed. The Cover Letter is not included in page limitations. See Amendment 003.

Is there a minimum amount/percentage of Task Order responses that a contractor/bidder is expected to respond to in order to maintain active status under the MACC? 36

A percentage is not identified. Failure to submit on a reasonable number of proposals may impact future consideration for proposed task orders or exercise of the option.

On page 16 of 96 under (a) Proposal Submission Requirements: Phase I: The solicitation states, “Letter from the Offeror’s Surety. The letter shall verify the Offeror has a minimum $10M in bonding capacity per project” It is our understanding that the $10M represents the upper end of project range per Section 00 10 00 which states: “Projects are anticipated to fall within the minimum/maximum dollar range of $100,000 to $10,000,000” though this section goes on to say, “however, task orders below or above this range may be solicited under this 8(a) MACC”. Please clarify what bonding capacity needs to be demonstrated by the Offeror. Please also state whether the offeror needs to demonstrate a specific amount of aggregate bonding capacity.

37 See Amendment 003.

Section 00 10 00 which states: “Projects are anticipated to fall within the minimum/maximum dollar range of $100,000 to $10,000,000” though this section goes on to say, “however, task orders below or above this range may be solicited under this 8(a) MACC” Please consider lowering the project range to $100,000 to $5,000,000. We believe that the higher range established by the solicitation will have the effect of limiting small business participation as many 8(a) firms will not have the ability to bond multiple projects, especially if those projects fall within the upper end of project range.

38 The solicitation remians unchanged.

Regarding Attachment E – Financial Questionnaire: If the offeror is a Joint Venture, should each JV partner’s financial institution submit a completed financial questionnaire, or should only the Joint Venture’s financial institution submit a completed questionnaire?

If the offeror is able to obtain a completed Financial Questionnaire for the JV, then submit Attachment E for the JV. If the offeror is not, then submit completed Attachment E for each partner/member.

Regarding submission of the Phase I proposal in PIEE: If the offeror is a Joint Venture, can the managing JV partner submit the proposal, or should the Joint Venture register with PIEE and submit? 40

Proposals may be submitted in PIEE by either a JV member or by the JV registered in PIEE.

Reference FP p. 9: The Offeror must demonstrate “the ability to successfully manage multiple work sites simultaneously under a single project.” Would this include, for example, a single contract where the Offeror managed multiple trade teams covering multiple work sites within a single structure (e.g., basements, multiple floors, roof, etc.) at a single physical address (i.e., federal building with multiple tenants and areas)?

41 Refer to PPI 025 Response and Amendment 0003.

Reference FP p. 9: For clarity, can the Government please provide an example that would meet the requirement for an Offeror to “demonstrate the ability to successfully manage multiple work sites simultaneously under a single project?”

42 Refer to PPI 025 Response and Amendment 0003.

Section 00 21 16 - Instructions to Proposers, Factor 1 – Safety, (A) (1), page 9 of 96: The instructions for Factor 1 state “Provide a simple organizational chart that clearly identifies the lines of authority between the proposed primary construction firms and primary design firms for this contract.

Include a brief description of the role and responsibility of each entity not to exceed (1) one single-sided page.” Is the organization chart included in the limitation of one single-sided page, or does that limitation refer only to the accompanying description?

43 Refer to PPI 028 Response.

Amendment 2: Please confirm Attachment J issued with Amendment 2 is to be submitted for task orders and is not required as part of the Phase I proposal. 44 Confirmed

Section 00 21 16 - Instructions to Proposers, Factor 2 – Corporate Experience, (A), page 9 of 96:

The instructions for Factor 2 state At least one project shall demonstrate the ability to successfully manage multiple (at least two) work sites simultaneously (separate and distinct) under a single project.

Please confirm that work being performed on multiple floors of a facility under a single task order will be considered as meeting this requirement.

45 Refer to PPI 025 Response and Amendment 0003.

Section 00 21 16 - Instructions to Proposers, Factor 2 – Corporate Experience, (A), page 10 of 96:

For Factor 2, offerors are instructed, as a part of Attachment A, to provide applicable documentation on projects that were validated and/or certified through a Sustainable Third Party Certification program.” Please confirm this documentation is outside of the two-page limitation for Attachment A.

46 Confirmed. This documentation is outside of the subject page limitations.

Section 00 21 16 - Instructions to Proposers, Factor 4 – Safety: Please confirm that the Experience Modification Rate (EMR) is not required as part of Factor 4. 47 Confirmed

Section 00 21 16 - Instructions to Phase II, page 16 of 96: Page 16, within the instructions for Phase II, indicates requirements for a cover letter for Phase I. This requirement does not match the requirements for the Phase I cover letter listed on Page 9. Please clarify the requirements of the cover letter.

48 See Amendment 003

Section 00 21 16 - Instructions to Phase II, page 16 of 96: Is the SF 1442 to be submitted with Phase I proposals, or only Phase II? 49 Phase I. See Amendment 003

Section 00 21 16 - Instructions to Phase II, page 16 of 96: Is a letter confirming bonding capability required with Phase I or Phase II? 50 Phase II. See Amendment 003.

Section 00 21 16 - Instructions to Phase II, page 16 of 96: Is confirmation of VETS-4212 required with Phase I or Phase II? 51 Phase I. See Amendment 0003.

Section 00 21 16 - Instructions to Proposers, Factor 2 – Corporate Experience, (A) (1), page 9 of 96:

The RFP asks for Construction and Design projects to have been completed “within the past five (5) years of the date of issuance of this RFP.” Would the government consider increasing these limits to ten (10) years?

52 See Amendment 003

SF 1442, box 13, B. shows that a bid guarantee is required. Please confirm that a bid bond on SF24 is not required with the Phase 1 submission. Please confirm that the bid guarantee will be submitted for the seed project in Phase 2.

53 Confirmed. See Amendment 0003.

Amendment 2 PPI 005 Government response: If one company participates in two joint ventures and each of the joint ventures submits a bid, how will the government and other offerors be assured each joint venture has prepared an independent proposal and independent pricing in response to the solicitation?

All offerors will be treated as separate entities independently subject to and evaluated under the Competition in Contracting Act.

Page 9 of 96, Factor 1, Technical Approach states that we are to provide a brief description of the role and responsibility of each entity not to exceed one single-sided page. Does that mean one page per entity, or one page total to describe all? If one page total, please consider allowing two or three pages to describe the team and their qualifications.

55 One single-sided page total.

Section 00 21 16, Factor 3 – Past Performance: Typically, CPARS are not available to the A/E for Design-Build projects so a PPQ will be required. For design PPQs, please confirm the client is the DB contractor, not the federal government

If the offeror is unable to obtain a completed A-E CPARS for a design project submitted under Factor, submit a PPQ.

Under Section 00 21 16, Factor 2 – Corporate Experience, under the header similar in complexity on page 9, it states, “…constructing various projects simultaneously, or managing multiple work sites simultaneously”. Is it the Government’s intention to have Offerors submit a single project with multiple work sites?

57 Refer to PPI 025 Response and Amendment 0003.

Under Section 00 21 16, Factor 2 – Corporate Experience, page 9, it states, “At least one project shall demonstrate the ability to successfully manage multiple (at least two) work sites simultaneously (separate and distinct) under a single project. Failure to provide at least one project demonstrating the ability to successfully manage multiple work sites (at least two) simultaneously will result in a deficiency for Factor 2 – Experience”. Is it the Government’s intention to require Offerors to submit a single project with multiple work sites or a project for which it was completed simultaneously with another separate and distinct project?

58 Refer to PPI 025 Response and Amendment 0003.

Would projects completed within the AOR be considered more favorably? 59 No Under Section 00 21 16 Instructions to Proposers, page 6, it is stated that Offerors are to include VETS-4212, where should Offerors include this information? 60 Refer to PPI 013 and PPI 025 Responses in Amendment 0003.

There is no information as to where Offerors should include the SF1442, VETS-4212, or if Representations and Certifications should be included in Phase One. On page 16 under Price: (a) Proposal Submission Requirements, it states to submit the following: Cover letter, SF 1442, Letter from Offeror’s Surety, SAM record, Supplemental Representations and Certifications, VETS-4212, and SBA office location and POC. Are Offerors to include this information in Phase One with Factors 1-4 or in Phase Two with Factor 5 and Price?

61 Refer to PPI 013 and PPI 025 Responses in Amendment 0003.