Elko Grounds Maintenance Solicitation Questions Responses.pdf

Questions/Responses

Elko National Cemetery Grounds Maintenance

1) How many developed acres are there to service

Response: 5 acres of irrigated turf, as well as 2.5 acres of non-irrigated buffer areas and .35 acres of irrigated Landscape beds/Tree Mulch Rings a total of 8 acres. (PWS Technical Exhibit 3

2) Are there any maps of the site with dimensions

Response: We will provide available as-builts and a map of the site.

3) Grounds maintenance is to be done from 9/1/2026 to 2/28/2027 - 6 months. How many mowings are anticipated?

Response: The nature of a Performance Work Statement is that the contractor is expected to use their expertise to provide turf at an acceptable range of height as detailed in PWS (3.0-3.5 inches, PWS 5.4.12.13) at all times throughout the year when the turf is not dormant.

4) Structure Cleaning & Light Maintenance & Janitorial (SCA) - Specifically, what are the duties and days, and hours expected to be dedicated to these requirements?

Response: Janitorial services shall be performed and completed Monday through Friday in all areas including the PIC (PWS 5.10.9.3), public restrooms are cleaned Sunday through Saturday including holidays (PWS 5.10.9.5). Restrooms are inspected daily and determined to be clean and supplied in accordance with a restroom checklist (PWS 5.10.3.2). Light Maintenance and Structural Cleaning required tasks and frequency are prescribed in section 5.10, some of which are Semi-Annual, quarterly, or Annual services. (PWS 5.10.14 – 5.10.29)

5) Interments (Pre-placed Concrete Crypts Full Casket) (SCA) - Will the contractor be responsible for supplying the concrete crypts?

Response: Concrete Crypts are pre-installed prior to interments. Contractor will not be responsible for supplying concrete crypts.

6) Who will be responsible for the transportation of the remains to the burial sites?

Response: Contractor is responsible for transportation of the remains to the gravesite (PWS 5.1.13.1.

7) Do you know how many trash can receptacles are located throughout the site?

Response: The Cemetery has 5 floral stations with a trash receptacle in each station.

8) The solicitation notes that no site visit is scheduled "due to construction safety at the location." Will the government provide a site survey, aerial photography, existing drawings, or other reference materials that would allow offerors to understand the current site conditions, developed acreage, and infrastructure status as of the solicitation date?

Response: The Government will provide all as-builts and drawings available. Many have been made available.

9) The Performance Work Statement (PWS) references a phase-in period of two to four weeks beginning the first business day after contract award. Given that the cemetery is described as a Rural Initiative project established under a construction project, can the government confirm whether construction will be substantially complete and the site accessible for contract performance by the September 1, 2026, start date? If not, how will delays in site readiness affect the contract start date or base period?

Response: The Government cannot provide the exact date of construction completion. For this we need to require that proposals are valid for 120 days due to any required change in the start date due to possible construction delays. If there is a delay, we would need to adjust the base start date prior to award. For example, the 6-month base could potentially be a 5-month base if construction is delayed one month.

10) Section 5.1.5.2 states that the excavation equipment operator must have a minimum of five years of experience operating excavation equipment and two years’ minimum experience excavating gravesites. Does this experience requirement apply to the individual operator or to the contractor organization? And must this experience be verified and documented in the Quality Control Plan submitted with the proposal, or only prior to commencement of interment operations?

Response: (PWS 5.1.5.2) States that the operator responsible for the excavation of the gravesites must have a minimum of 5 years of experience operating excavation equipment and 2 years’ minimum experience excavating gravesites.

11) The CLIN schedule lists Upright Headstone Setting (CLIN 0007) with a base quantity of 45 each and annual option year quantities of 90 each. Technical Exhibit 4 shows 0 headstones currently on site, with an estimated 90 per year. Can the government confirm whether CLIN 0007 quantities represent net new headstone settings only, or do they include any retroactive settings for headstones already on site at award? Additionally, is the 45-unit base quantity adjusted for the 6-month base period only, or does it reflect an expected ramp-up from zero to operational?

Response: Elko is a brand-new cemetery and there have been no interments yet. Upon opening there will be 0 headstones on site.

12) CLIN 30012 (Grounds Maintenance, OY3) shows a period of performance ending 05/31/2030, which is three months beyond the other OY3 CLINs ending 02/28/2030. Is this an error, or does OY3 grounds maintenance intentionally extend through May 2030? Please clarify so offerors can price OY3 accurately.

Response: This will be corrected and the option year three period of performance end date is 02/28/2030.

13) This contract is described as a hybrid SCA/DBA vehicle with Service Contract Act applying to most CLINs and Davis-Bacon applying to headstone setting and realignment (CLINs 7 and 8).

Will the government confirm which specific work elements are governed by DBA and which by SCA for mixed-task days where, for example, a crew performs both headstone work and turf maintenance in the same workday? Specifically, how should the contractor handle payroll reporting for workers who perform both SCA and DBA work on the same day?

Response: The only tasks that are DBA applicable are the headstone setting CLINS 7 & 8. In NCA grounds maintenance contracts, Contractor’s routinely account for DBA in their personal accounting for their employees. The method of accounting is proprietary and unknown to the Cemetery.

14) The solicitation references CLIN quantities for Headstone Fine Tuned Alignment (CLIN 0009, 4 each per base period) as subject to SCA, and Upright Headstones Raise/Lower/Realign & Reset (CLIN 0008, 2 each) as subject to DBA. Can the government confirm the complete list of CLINs subject to DBA versus SCA so contractors can apply the correct wage determinations and payroll recordkeeping procedures to each CLIN?

Response: The only CLIN subject to DBA wage determinations are 0007 and 0008.

15) The solicitation states that generic or non-site-specific technical proposals may be rated Unacceptable. Given that no site visit is available and limited public information exists about the Elko National Cemetery's current development status, what specific site characteristics, operational context, or reference materials should offerors use to ensure proposals are considered sufficiently site-specific?

Response: The PWS contains every task required under each section and subsection. The solicitation is requesting Site-specific proposals that addresses the tasks called for under the

PWS.

16)Technical Subfactor 2 requires offerors to "identify total estimated percentage of work to be subcontracted." For a small business prime using a similarly situated small business subcontractor (as contemplated by FAR 52.219-14), does the government expect the proposal to treat subcontracted work by a similarly situated entity as subcontracted work for purposes of this subfactor, or as self-performance? How should the offeror frame the subcontracting percentage disclosure in that scenario?

Response: The requirement is being evaluated on a tiered evaluation and SDVOSB offerors must demonstrate that their total performance meets the minimum 51% SDVOSB effort requirement. Contractor must comply with 852.219-75 (DEV) VA NOTICE OF LIMITATIONS ON

SUBCONTRACTING-CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE FOR SERVICES AND CONSTRUCTION (NOV

2022) (DEVIATION JAN 2023).

17) The Deliverables Schedule (Technical Exhibit 2) requires submission of a Comprehensive Grounds Management Plan (GMP) with the proposal in draft form and as a final version within 30 workdays of contract award. Can the government confirm whether the draft GMP submitted with the proposal will be evaluated as part of Technical Subfactor 5 (Grounds Management Plan), and if so, what level of specificity is expected in the draft GMP at proposal stage versus the final GMP submitted post-award?

Response: The GMP shall identify every task, frequency, and planned duration required under this contract (PWS 4.1.2). While the draft GMP will not be as detailed as the full GMP required within 30 workdays following award, it will encompass every task listed along with frequencies and planned duration.

18) Can you provide the incumbent contractor's name?

Response: This is a new contract for a cemetery that is currently in construction.

19) Can you provide the current contract number?

Response: This is a new contract for a cemetery that is currently in construction.