S01 SOW - FY25 State Operational Meeting NRCS - Arkansas - FINAL.pdf

Statement of Work United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)

Arkansas State Operational Meeting Springdale, Arkansas December 2 – 4, 2024

1. Background The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS) requires conference space and lodging rooms to conduct the Arkansas NRCS State Operational Meeting to coordinate FY25 business for approximately 275 participants. Approximately 200 lodging rooms are required.

2. Hotel/Facility Requirements The hotel and meeting facility shall meet the following requirements:

• Be in a secure location and all guest rooms shall have interior entry. Entrance doors that are not manned by hotel personnel are locked for security.

• Free or discounted parking for employees driving to participate from this meeting.

• Be on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) List of Approved Hotels and Motels for Federal Travelers (https://apps.usfa.fema.gov/hotel/) or provide certification that it offers the minimum level of fire safety by 1) having at least one, single-station, hard-wired smoke alarm in each guest room and 2) each room having additional protection provided by an automatic fire sprinkler system, if the building is four or more stories tall.

• Compliant with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.)

throughout the event.

• The hotel/meeting facility must be in Springdale, AR.

• Sleeping room block and meeting space can be split if the location of meeting space is in close proximity (a 2 to 4 block walk).

3. Lodging

The hotel shall block 200 sleeping rooms for the nights listed in Appendix A. The hotel will provide a room block name. The hotel is free to release the remaining rooms not reserved by the hold end date. If fewer than 200 rooms are reserved by the hold end date, no additional fees will be assessed to USDA. Request 1 per 15 comp room(s).

Each employee is responsible for their reservation and will make their own lodging reservations using the room block name and pay for lodging rate using their government issued travel card or private credit card. The card will not be charged until the day of checkout. Lodging will not be paid for through the purchase order payment process.

Once a reservation is made by an employee, the hotel’s cancellation policy applicable for that reservation applies, should the individual not be able to travel and needs to cancel the reservation. If the employee does not cancel within the cancellation period, the employee is responsible for paying any cancellation fee and it will not be paid by USDA through a resultant contract for the services defined in this Statement of Work. The cancellation period shall not exceed three calendar days prior to arrival.

All sleeping rooms must be provided at the Federal government per diem rate published at https://www.gsa.gov/travel/plan-book/per-diem-rates for the relevant location and time period, which is currently $110.00. If the Federal government is not exempt from state and local sales tax, these are the only additional amounts that can be added to the nightly rate, if applicable.

If possible, the hotel should offer maximum flexibility on an earlier check-in time to accommodate early arrivals.

The check-in and check-out times must be provided. Additionally, some employees may check out on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. These employees will only reserve a room for one, two, or three nights instead of two at the time they make their reservation. This potential reduction in the number of nights shall not impact the pricing for the other services required in this Statement of Work.

USDA is not authorized to pay for and is not liable for any additional lodging related costs (e.g., in-room movies, alcohol, or food and beverage). Any such costs must be paid for directly by the room occupant using a payment method other than a government travel card issued by USDA.

4. Dates of Workshop Training dates are December 2–4, 2024; actual training dates are Tuesday December 3 and Wednesday Dec 4, Hotel room Check-in for 2 event coordinator/presenter: Sunday, December 1, 2024 Hotel room Check-out for 3 event coordinator/presenter: Thursday, December 5, 2024 Hotel room Check-in for attendees: Monday, December 2, 2024 Hotel room Check-out for attendees: Wednesday, December 4, 2024

5. Audio Visual (AV) Equipment Needs The hotel shall provide the AV equipment defined in Appendix A for the dates specified. Hotel provided equipment must be in good working order for the duration of the meeting. If the equipment fails, the hotel is responsible for immediately resolving the issue and providing working equipment (e.g., fix or replace). The equipment will be available from 7:30AM to 5:00 PM each meeting day.

The hotel shall provide an AV technician to support the workshop. The hotel shall provide appropriate technologies that allow meeting participants to connect virtually to the meeting.

USDA is permitted to use its own government-issued AV equipment at its discretion in the meeting space (e.g., external PC camera and microphone) at no additional cost.

The Federal government is exempt from sales and other taxes on the goods and services is acquires through contract and these taxes shall not be included in the cost for audio visual services.

6. Lunches Two catered lunches on December 3, 2024, and December 4, 2024, to be provided for 275 participants. To ensure attendees full participation in the Operational Meeting informational updates/training will be provided during lunch time, thus shortening the duration of the meeting and reducing the need for an additional day to allow for travel time. The lunches will need to offer two choices of meat and a vegan option.

7. Light Refreshments A sufficient supply of drinking water with ice available and cups/glasses must be provided for 275 people for the duration of the meeting time each day, as identified in Appendix A.

Morning and Afternoon Refreshment breaks will include a modest assortment of coffee, juice, tea, and/or sodas, https://www.gsa.gov/travel/plan-book/per-diem-rates as well as light snacks as defined in Appendix A, sufficient for 275 people. Coffee should be offered until 11 a.m., water available all day, and juice/tea/sodas during breaks with the light snacks. The listed beverages and snacks are examples of the types of beverages and light snack assortment that shall be included by the hotel. Beverages and snacks would be provided once during an AM break (e.g., coffee, juice, water, muffins, pastries, and fresh fruit) and a second time during a PM break (e.g., soft drinks, iced tea, water, chips, crackers, cookies, and fresh fruit).

The Federal government is exempt from sales and other taxes on the goods and services is acquires through contract and these taxes shall not be included in the cost for food and beverage.

Appendix A

MEETING NAME

NRCS Arkansas Operational Meeting

MEETING DATES

Dec 2 – 4, 2024

Sleeping Room Requirements Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

Date 12/2/2024

12/2/2024

12/3/2024

12/4/2024

Rooms Booked/Night 2 200 200 3

NOTES Room block requested may be amended slightly. If reservation comes under 200 people hotel agrees no fees will be assessed. Requesting 1 per 15 comp rooms

Function Space Requirements Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Date 12/2/2024 12/3/2024 12/4/2024 12/5/2024 12/6/2024

General Session Mtg Room None

General Session:

(seating for 275 people total; banquet style) Time: 11:00

AM – 5 PM

1-Stand alone podium w/ mic

2-Mic w/stand for middle of room

2-LCD

Projector/Scre en 1-Connection with Microsoft Teams and to project on screen project on screen

275-WiFi access

General Session:

(seating for 275 people total; banquet style) Time: 7:30

AM – 5 PM

1-Stand alone podium w/ mic

2-Mic w/stand for middle of room

2-LCD

Projector/Scre en 1-Connection with Microsoft Teams and to project on screen

General Session:

(seating for 275 people total; banquet style) Time: 7:30

AM – 5 PM

1-Table on elevated stage w/skirt to seat 12 people 1-Lavailer Mics 2-Table top Mics 1-Stand-alone podium w/ mic 2-Mic w/stand for middle of room

2-LCD

Projector/Scr een 1-Connection with Microsoft Teams and to project on

None None screen

Breakout Rooms None Registration Table—Time:

11:00 PM –

2:00 PM

Two Tables with seating for 2 people each

•Breakout Room 1:

(seating for 75 people total) Time: 8:30

AM – 5 PM

1-Stand-alone podium w/ mic 1-Mic w/stand for middle of room

1-LCD

Projector/Scre en 1-Connection with Microsoft Teams and to project on screen 75-Plugs for laptops 75-WiFi access

•Breakout Room 2:

(seating for 75 people total) Time: 8:30

AM – 5 PM

1-Stand-alone podium w/ mic 1-Mic w/stand for middle of room

1-LCD

Projector/Scre en 1-Connection with Microsoft Teams and to project on

Registration Table— Time: 8:00

AM - 10:00

AM

Two Tables with seating

None None screen 75-Plugs for laptops 75-WiFi access

•Breakout Room 3 (seating for 75 people total) Time: 8:30

AM – 5 PM

1-Stand-alone podium w/ mic 1-Mic w/stand for middle of room

1-LCD

Projector/Scre en 1-Connection with Microsoft Teams and to project on screen 75-Plugs for laptops

Registration Table

Registration Table—Time:

8:00 PM –

10:00 PM

Two Tables with seating

Function Space Requirements cont.

MEETING ROOM

SETUP/ AUDIO

VISUAL

REQUIREMETNS

Hotel shall provide pens and writing pads (4x6) in each room once for the week.

The hotel shall provide an AV technician to support the workshop for the duration of the conference.

General Session Room – Monday, December 2, 2024 11:00 AM thru Wednesday, December 4, 2024 at 5:00pm.

Banquet style set up Monday – Tuesday, December 2-3, 2024 2 - Projection Screens (i.e., 11x10 w/12k) 2 - LCD Projectors 1 - Standalone podium with mic 2 - wireless mics on stands in middle aisles.

2 – Trash Cans

Banquet style set up Wednesday, December 4, 2024 1 - head panel table on elevated stage in front of room with skirt to seat 12 people 2 - Projection Screens (i.e., 11x10 w/12k) 2 - LCD Projectors 1 - Lavalier Mic 1 - Standalone podium with mic 2 - wireless mics on stands in middle aisles.

3 - table talk mics on head table (push to talk) 2 – Trash Cans

Equipment that can accommodate a virtual connection with participants outside of the meeting space.

Monitor cables and adapters must be available for compatibility with USDA laptops (i.e., HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI, and VDA). At least 10 Power strips and extension cords.

Breakout Rooms 1- 4 Breakout Room #1 – Classroom style set-up for 75 Breakout Room #2 – Classroom style set-up for 75 Breakout Room #3 – Classroom style set-up for 75 Breakout Room #4 – Classroom style set-up for 25 *Ballroom could be used for a session unless it will be broken down to make the breakout rooms

Each breakout room to be set up as follows:

2 trash cans in each breakout room 1-Stand-alone podium w/ mic 1-Mic w/stand for middle of room 1-LCD Projector/Screen 1- Wi-Fi and bandwidth to support connection with Microsoft suite of software and internet capacity to project on conference room screen.

Equipment that can support a virtual connection with participants outside of the meeting space.

Meeting rooms must be booked on a 24-hour hold beginning from day and time the Government takes possession of function space.

LUNCHES &

LIGHT

REFRESHMENTS:

Water service, hand sanitizer, and mints in all meeting rooms. AM and PM Breaks to include coffee, juice, water, muffins, pastries, and fresh fruit in the a.m. and p.m. break should consist of soft drinks, iced tea, juice, chips, crackers, cookies, and fresh fruit. Two lunches to be provided on December 3, 2024, and December 4, 2024.

Refreshments shall be available for the following times:

Monday, December 2 PM Break 2:30 PM-3:30 PM Tuesday, December 3 AM Break 7:30 AM – until gone PM Break 2:45 PM – 3:45 PM Wednesday, December 4 AM Break 7:30 AM – until gone Actual break times for group may be subject to change.

SHIPPING AND

STORAGE

Meeting materials will be shipped to hotel no more than one week prior to the meeting date.

Hold shipped materials of name badges, table tents, agenda, and handout materials in a secure area at the hotel and/or meeting facility up to one week prior to the start of the meeting at no additional cost. The volume to materials and equipment will be limited to 5-6 medium to large size boxes. The boxes must be made available upon arrival of the USDA representative organizing this meeting on Monday afternoon.