RFQ COMBO - Instructions and Basis of Award 12 June 2025.pdf

Request for Quote Solicitation PIID#:

FA254325Q0019

1. GENERAL INFORMATION: This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial services prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Subpart 13.5 and FAR Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested, and a written solicitation will be issued to include the CLIN breakout.

This solicitation is being issued as a Request for Quotation (RFQ). By submission of a quote, the contractor accedes to all RFQ requirements. Contractors shall clearly identify any non-material exceptions to the notice terms and conditions and provide complete accompanying rationale. A quote that takes exception to any of the material terms and conditions will be considered unacceptable and will not be awarded. Only compliant offerors whose quote contains all parts and requirements shall be evaluated. The resultant single award will be used by 460th Contracting Squadron, Buckley Space Force Base, Colorado. This notice is not authorization to begin performance and in no way obligates the Government for any costs incurred by the contractor for this requirement. The Government reserves the right not to award a contract resulting from this notice.

The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses for commercial items are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2025-03 effective 17 January 2025.

1.1. NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (NAICS)

CODE:

561730 – Landscaping Services with a Small Business Size Standard of $9,500,000.

1.2. EXTENT OF COMPETITION:

☒ Competitive Procedures ☐ Limited Sources

1.3. TYPE OF CONTRACT: Firm Fixed Price

1.4. REQUIREMENT DESCRIPTION: As specified within the

Performance Work Statement (PWS) (Attachment 2)

1.5. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE:

Base Year (12 Months): 01 August 2025 – 31 July 2026 Option Year 1 (12 Months): 01 August 2026 – 31 July 2027 Option Year 2 (12 Months): 01 August 2027 – 31 July 2028 Option Year 3 (12 Months): 01 August 2028 – 31 July 2029 Option Year 4 (12 Months): 01 August 2029 – 31 July 2030 6 Months Extension: 01 August 2030 – 31 January 2031

FA254325Q0019

1.6. ISSUING OFFICE POINTS OF CONTACT:

Contracting Officer: TSgt Matt Kennedy, matthew.kennedy.24@spaceforce.mil Contract Specialist: Zach McKie, zachariah.mckie@spaceforce.mil

1.7. SMALL BUSINESS SET-ASIDE: This solicitation is designated as a HubZone small business set-aside IAW FAR 19.502-2(b).

1.8. QUOTE DUE DATE: The Contractor shall submit its quote to the issuing office points of contact in paragraph 1.6. via email or DoD SAFE submission NLT 5:00PM MST 07 July 2025. Quotes submitted later than the due date will be considered late and will be processed in accordance with FAR 52.212-1(f) Late Submissions, Modifications, Revisions, and Withdrawals of Offers.

1.9. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: The Buckley Space Force Base Grounds Maintenance Services will be for performed for 460 Civil Engineering Squadron (CES) at 385 S. Aspen Drive, Buckley SFB, CO 80011.

1.10. QUESTIONS: All questions regarding this solicitation shall be submitted via email no later than 3:00pm MST on 24 June 2025 to the POCs at the email addresses provided above.

Any questions shall be provided to the points of contact listed in Section 1.6. via email. A formal site visit will be conducted on 20 June 2025 at 10:00am MST to allow prospective offerors the opportunity to inspect the site and assess the conditions relevant to the performance of this requirement. The contractor shall provide the names of all members attending the site visit to the POCs listed in 1.6. by 3:00pm MST on 18 June 2025. This site visit will serve as the only opportunity to view the site prior to the RFQ closing and before contract award.

2. INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS:

A. The quote submitted in response to this RFQ must be compliant with the terms and conditions of the requirements as stated in the RFQ, attachments, and the PWS. All claimed capabilities to meet the requirements shall be realistic and are subject to verification by the Government. Non-conformance with these instructions may result in rejection of the quote, an unacceptable quote evaluation, and being deemed ineligible for award. The Government seeks to award to the Lowest Price Technically Acceptable Offeror. Award will be made based on the lowest evaluated price of quotes meeting the acceptability standards for non-cost factors of Technical Capability inclusive the following subfactors: Management and Staffing Plan and Transition Plan, and the offeror’s Past Performance. The Government intends to make an award without discussions; however, this does not preclude the Government from holding quote discussions if it is in the best interest of the Government.

B. The quote shall be clear, concise, and shall include sufficient detail for effective evaluation and for substantiating the validity of stated claims. The quote should not simply rephrase or restate the Government’s requirements but, rather, shall provide convincing rationale to address how the Offeror intends to accomplish these requirements. Offerors shall assume that the Government has no prior knowledge of their equipment or experience.

mailto:matthew.kennedy.24@spaceforce.mil mailto:zachariah.mckie@spaceforce.mil

C. Discrepancies. If an Offeror believes that the requirements in these instructions contain an error, omission, or are otherwise unsound, the Offeror shall immediately notify the Contracting Officer (CO) in writing with supporting rationale as well as the remedies the Offeror is asking the CO to consider as related to the omission or error.

D. Quote Preparation and Submission: Offerors shall complete and submit a quote with the following information: Cover Letter, required contractor representations found in the cover solicitation document (Attachment 1 - FA254325Q0019 - Solicitation) (Volume 1), Price (Volume II), Technical Capability (Volume III), and Past Performance (Volume IV) as identified in the RFQ. The details for assembly of the quote are identified below. Contractor shall address all assumptions to the contracting officer through the questions and answers process prior to quote submission and shall take no exceptions. Offeror’s quotes shall be valid for 120 Days after quote due date.

E. Quote Submission Page Limits:

Section Evaluation Factor Title/RFQ Reference Page Limit Volume I Cover Letter/Conflict of Interest/Contractor Representations

Cover Letter/Conflict of Interest/ Contractor Representations

Volume II Price Cost Workbook N/A

Volume III Technical Capability Technical Capability 20

Volume IV Past Performance Past Performance 10

Details for assembly of the quote:

1. Quotes shall be electronic in a format readable by Microsoft Office applications

365 or later. Provide the quote on company letterhead.

2. Pages shall be single line spaced: with a minimum 1-inch margin all around.

3. The font shall be no smaller than 10 point and no larger than 12-point for general text, text in tables, charts, graphs, and figured.

4. No condensed fonts allowed; Times New Roman or Arial font only.

5. Pages shall be numbered consecutively within each volume.

6. If page limits are exceeded, the excess pages shall not be read or considered in the evaluation of the quote.

7. Any deviation from the RFQ requirements and format may result in non-consideration of the quote. Offerors are responsible for ensuring that they submit their quote before the submission date and time deadline.

8. Acknowledge all solicitation amendments issued. If the solicitation is amended, the offeror is responsible for acknowledging receipt of the amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the amendment. Failure to acknowledge receipt of the amendment may result in rejection of your quote. Instructions on how to acknowledge receipt of the amendment will be contained in the amendment.

9. Prior to award, the offeror must complete registration and be active in the System for Award Management, SAM.gov (https://www.sam.gov).

10. Cover Letter/Organizational Conflicts of Interest (Volume I):

• Cover Letter: The Cover Letter shall identify the Total Amount Quoted (For Base Period, Option Periods 1-4, and the 6-month extension CLINS), company’s name and address, CAGE Code, Unique Entity ID (UEI) Number, Point of Contact (POC) to include a telephone number, and email address for any questions regarding your quote. The cover letter should also include the solicitation number (Attachment 1 - FA254325Q0019 - Solicitation), the day/time specified in the solicitation for receipt of offers, and the Offeror’s socioeconomic status. The contractor shall also include required contractor representations found in the cover solicitation document (Attachment 1 - FA25425Q0019 - Solicitation).

• IAW FAR 9.5, Organizational Conflicts of Interest, if there are any OCIs for the prime and/or any team member/subcontractor in performance of the contract, identify those issues and provide an analysis of the situation and a plan to avoid, neutralize, or mitigate potential conflicts. If, prior to award of this purchase order, the Offeror enters into any activity that creates an actual or potential conflict of interest, the Offeror shall immediately notify the Procuring Contracting Officer (PCO) of the conflict. If no OCI issues are applicable, please include a statement to that effect in your quote.

11. Price (Volume II):

• The Offeror shall submit a reasonable, complete, and balanced cost workbook.

The Cost Workbook shall contain elements documenting the cost of performance, including but not limited to: material, labor, overhead, and profit.

The pricing information submitted should fully support the PWS requirements for each major functional element specified in the PWS. The CLIN structure is listed in Attachment 1 - FA254325Q0019 - Solicitation.

• Information shall be segregated by the performance periods and the total price for each CLIN as specified in the solicitation. Information shall also show the http://www.sam.gov/ consolidated total price for the base and all options periods and the total price the life of the contract.

• All Unit Price dollar amounts provided shall be rounded to the nearest penny.

• All fully-burdened labor rates shall be rounded to the nearest penny.

12. Technical Capability (Volume III):

• Should be specific and complete in all areas of the requirement. Legibility, clarity, and coherence are very important. Provide as specifically as possible the actual methodology you would use for accomplishing/satisfying the requirements. Address your technical solution for meeting the Government’s minimum performance or capability requirements. All the requirements specified in the solicitation and PWS are mandatory. By submitting a quote, the Offeror is representing that their firm will perform all the requirements specified in the solicitation. Do not merely reiterate the objectives or reformulate the requirements specified in the solicitation. Technical Capability is inclusive of the following subfactors: Management and Staffing Plan & Transition Plan.

• Management and Staffing Plan:

The management and staffing plan shall include the contractor’s plan to manage the requirements and oversee daily operations IAW the PWS. The contractor shall include their organizational and staffing structure to include defined roles and responsibilities of management and how staffing will be maintained for continuous operation of performance requirements throughout the life of the contract. The plan shall address the labor mix between growing and non-growing seasons.

• Transition Plan

The contractor shall address key mobilization activities that results in a fully staffed and qualified contractor workforce fully performing within 15 days following the contract start date. Include in the transition actions a plan for meeting the 01 August 2025 start date involving any possible lead times.

13. Past Performance (Volume IV)

• The Government will evaluate past performance to determine whether the offeror has demonstrated a record of satisfactory performance on recent and relevant efforts. The offeror shall submit two past performance citations. The citations shall include contract number, contract dollar value, and provide a point of contact knowledgeable of performance on the contract or any other pertinent information if these are not available. Past Performance citations should demonstrate recency (examples that are ongoing or completed within the past five (5) years from the date of issue for this RFQ) and relevancy (examples similar in scope and complexity of the requirements listed within the PWS).

Scope includes similarity of the work performed to the current requirement, such as routine grounds maintenance services (mowing, edging, trimming), landscaping services (tree and shrub care, mulching), and irrigation system maintenance. Complexity includes similarity in type of installation (military base, federal facility, large campus environment), size of area maintained, and frequency of service. To be determined “acceptable”, both of the offeror’s citation(s) must demonstrate recent and relevant past performance and there is no indication of unsatisfactory performance that would pose a risk to the Government. Past performance may be found “unacceptable” if the offeror lacks relevant or recent past performance, and/or has relevant past performance including repeated instances of unsatisfactory performance which would pose an unacceptable risk to the Government. The Government may also rely upon other sources such as other Federal Government offices, commercial sources, or any other method listed within FAR 13.106-2(b)(3)(ii) for evaluating past performance.

3.0. BASIS OF AWARD

A. Award will be made to the Offeror whose quote results in the Lowest Price Technically

Acceptable offer to the Government. A contract may be awarded to the Offeror who is deemed responsible IAW FAR 9.1, as supplemented, whose quote conforms to the RFQs requirements (to include all stated terms, conditions, representations, certifications, and all other information required by the RFQ instructions) and is evaluated to be the Lowest Price Technically Acceptable offer.

B. Methodology: The Government shall conduct the evaluation in a multi-step approach as follows:

• Step 1: First, the Government shall order the quotes received in response to the solicitation from lowest to highest price. Then the Government will review the quotes in the above order for compliance with RFQ instructions.

• Step 2: The Government will evaluate the lowest priced Offeror’s Past Performance citations (Volume IV) as technically “Acceptable” or “Unacceptable”. Any Offeror’s Past Performance citation(s) rated “Unacceptable”, will render the entire quote ineligible for award. The Government may not evaluate further if the Offeror’s Past Performance is rated as technically “Unacceptable.”

• Step 3: If the lowest priced Offeror’s Past Performance is found “acceptable”, the Government will evaluate the lowest priced Offeror’s Technical Capability approach (Volume III) as technically “Acceptable” or “Unacceptable”. Any Offeror’s Technical Capability approach rated “Unacceptable”, will render the entire quote ineligible for award. The Government may not evaluate the offer further if the Offeror’s Technical Capability is rated as technically “Unacceptable.”

• Step 4: If the lowest priced quote is determined to be technically “acceptable” in Past Performance and Technical Capability, an evaluation of the offeror’s price will be conducted. If Price is found acceptable, the evaluation process will end, and a resultant award will be issued to that offeror without further consideration to any other offerors.

• Step 5: If the lowest priced quote is determined to be technically “unacceptable” in either Past Performance or Technical Capability, the next lowest priced quote will be evaluated. This process will be repeated until an offeror meets technical acceptability.

C. The Government intends to make award based on the initial quote submissions without conducting discussions. Therefore, each offer should contain the Offeror’s best terms from a price and technical standpoint. However, the Government reserves the right to hold discussions with all, some, or none of the offerors if, during the evaluation, it is determined to be in the best interest of the Government. Additionally, the Government reserves the right to conduct exchanges (fluid interaction(s) between the Contracting Officer (CO) and the contractor(s) that may address any aspect of the quote and may or may not be documented in real time). Offerors may be given the opportunity to clarify certain aspects of their quotes such or to resolve minor or clerical errors.

D. Evaluation Factors:

The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers:

• Factor 1 – Price: The Government will determine prices fair and reasonable through the procedures listed in FAR 13.106-3. Price competition is anticipated and exists if two or more responsible Offerors, competing independently, submit priced quotes that satisfy the Government’s expressed requirements. Offeror’s Total Evaluated Prices (TEPs), inclusive of the total price of the base year, Option Years 1-4, and the FAR 52.217-8, Option to Extend Services, will be evaluated for price reasonableness, completeness, and balance. The Government may compare Offeror TEPs to the Independent Government Estimate (IGE) or may use other price analysis techniques.

• Completeness: The Government will evaluate Offerors’ cost workbook for completeness. The Offeror’s proposed price and other information will be evaluated to ensure continuity and traceability of prices to the technical volume, and between the initial quote, and any revisions thereto and to determine the extent to which all the price elements have been addressed. The review will determine the adequacy of the Offeror’s quote in addressing and fulfilling the RFQ requirements.

• Reasonableness: The Government will evaluate Offerors’ cost workbook for reasonableness. For a price to be reasonable, it must represent a price to the Government that a prudent person would pay in the conduct of competitive business. Additionally, Attachment 4 – Work Order Price List will be evaluated for reasonableness.

• Unbalanced pricing: The Government will evaluate Offerors’ cost workbook for balance. Offerors are cautioned against submitting an offer that contains unbalanced pricing. The Government shall analyze offers to determine whether they are unbalanced with respect to separately priced line items or sub-line items and annual periods of performance. An offer that is determined to be unbalanced may be rejected if the Contracting Officer determines that the lack of balance poses an unacceptable risk to the Government.

Evaluation of FAR 52.217-8 Option to Extend Services: The solicitation and subsequent award for this acquisition contains the clause at FAR 52.217-8, Option to Extend Services. This option to extend the contract term shall be evaluated as part of the initial evaluation, whereby any resultant exercise of this option is within scope of the pending contract. The option provision may be exercised more than once and for any length of time at less than or equal to six months, but the total extension of performance hereunder shall not exceed six (6) months.

• Designated “Reserved” CLINS will not be evaluated for price at the time of award but will be negotiated prior to issuance of Work Orders.

Estimated values may be established at the discretion of the Government at the time of contract award.

Factor 2 -- Technical Capability: The Government will evaluate the Offeror’s written technical quote in comparison to the PWS tasks. The Technical Capability rating reflects the degree to which the offeror meets or does not meet the minimum performance or capability requirements.

The Government will evaluate Technical Capability and the sub-factors of: Management and Staffing Plan and the Transition Plan on an “Acceptable” or “Unacceptable” basis and assign an overall rating of Acceptable or Unacceptable. An unacceptable rating of any of the sub-factors will result in an unacceptable rating for the Technical Capability factor.

Technical Capability Ratings Description Acceptable Quote meets the requirements of the solicitation Unacceptable Quote does not meet the requirements of the solicitation.

Technical Capability acceptability shall be evaluated against the following sub-factors:

Management and Staffing Plan: This sub-factor is deemed acceptable when it successfully meets the following criteria:

a). The management and staffing plan shall include the contractor’s plan to manage the requirements and oversee daily operations IAW the PWS. The contractor shall include their organizational and staffing structure to include defined roles and responsibilities of management and how staffing will be maintained for continuous operation of performance requirements throughout the life of the contract. The plan shall address the labor mix between growing and non-growing seasons.

Transition Plan: This sub-factor is deemed acceptable when it successfully meets the following criteria:

a). The contractor shall address key mobilization activities that results in a fully staffed and qualified contractor workforce fully performing within 15 days following the contract start date.

Include in the transition actions a plan for meeting the 01 August 2025 start date involving any possible lead times.

Factor 3 -- Past Performance: The Past Performance evaluation is an assessment of the offeror’s probability of meeting the minimum past performance requirements. The Government will evaluate past performance to determine whether the offeror has demonstrated a record of satisfactory performance on recent and relevant efforts. The offeror shall submit two past performance citations. Both citations must meet the acceptability criteria for Past Performance to receive an overall “Acceptable” rating. The citations shall include contract number, contract dollar value, and provide a point of contact knowledgeable of performance on the contract or any other pertinent information if these are not available.

Past Performance Rating Description Acceptable Based on the offeror’s past performance record, the

Government has a reasonable expectation that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort, or the offeror’s performance record is unknown.

Unacceptable Based on the offeror’s performance record, the Government does not have a reasonable expectation that the offeror will be able to successfully perform the required effort.

Past Performance citations shall demonstrate Recency (examples that are ongoing or completed within the past five (5) years from the date of issue for this RFQ). All performance prior to five years from the issuance of the solicitation will not be evaluated.

Past Performance citations shall include Relevancy (examples similar in scope and complexity of the requirements listed within the PWS). Scope includes similarity of the work performed to the current requirement, such as routine grounds maintenance services (mowing, edging, trimming), landscaping services (tree and shrub care, mulching), irrigation system maintenance, and total acreage of grounds maintenance experience. Complexity includes similarity in type of installation (military base, federal facility, large campus environment), size of area maintained, and frequency of service.

To be determined “acceptable”, the offeror’s citation(s) must demonstrate recent and relevant past performance and there is no indication of unsatisfactory performance that would pose a risk to the Government. Past performance may be found “unacceptable” if the offeror lacks relevant or recent past performance, and/or has relevant past performance including repeated instances of unsatisfactory performance which would pose an unacceptable risk to the Government. The Government may also rely upon other sources such as other Federal Government offices, commercial sources, or any other method listed within FAR 13.106-2(b)(3)(ii) for evaluating past performance.

LIST OF ATTACHMENTS:

Attachment 1: FA254325Q0019 - Solicitation

Attachment 2: Performance Work Statement dated 11 June 2025

Attachment 3: Wage Determination 2015-5419 Rev 28

Attachment 4: Work Order Price List

***END OF RFQ***