Snow removal 1240LN22Q0002.rtf

1240LN22Q0002

Aspen-Sopris Snow Removal.

Carbondale and Aspen Administrative Sites

Solicitation Issue Date: October 28, 2021

Method of Solicitation: Request for Quotation (RFQ).

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in 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 not be issued.

The solicitation and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through the most current Federal Acquisition Circular FAC 2021-05.

Responsible sources may submit a quotation which, if timely received, shall be considered by this agency.

North American Industry Classification (NAICS): 561730 (Landscaping).

Set Aside: 100% small business set-aside.

General Information: The intent of this solicitation is to obtain quotes for landscaping. See below for complete project description.

Provide quote by: 4:00 PM, Mountain Standard Time on November 9th, 2021.

DOCUMENTS TO RETURN:

The following documents shall be submitted by the offeror for evaluation to be considered responsive:

Schedule of Items

Experience Questionnaire or a document demonstrating recent and relevant experience in respect to the size and scope of this particular project.

Annual Representations & Certifications.

Send quote to: Forest Service, Property and Procurement Services, Intermountain Zone, CSA #5 E-mail David.ockert@usda.gov

For solicitation questions email David Ockert at David.ockert@usda.gov.

SCHEDULE OF ITEMS

Aspen-Sopris Snow Removal.

Carbondale and Aspen Administrative Sites Item Description Base Year Nov 20 2021- Nov 19th2022 Option year 1 Nov 20 2022-Nov 19th 2023 Option year 2 Nov 20 2023-Nov 19th 2024 Option year 3 Nov 20 2024-Nov 19th 2025 Option year 4 Nov 20 2025-Nov 19th 2026 Snow Fall ‐ 3‐8 Inches Carbondale (Est 8 time)

Snow Fall ‐ 9-12 Inches Carbondale (Est 6 times)

Snow Fall ‐ 12+ Inches Carbondale (Est 3 times)

Snow Fall ‐ 3‐8 Inches Aspen (Est 20 times)

Snow Fall ‐ 9-12 Inches Aspen (Est 10 times)

Snow Fall ‐ 12+ Inches Aspen (Est 10 times)

TOTAL BASE PERIOD + ALL OPTIONS PERIODS

Price quotation furnished by:

A Quality Control Plan shall be provided by the Contractor demonstrating how the Contractor will monitor and inspect work performed in this contract. The Quality Control Plan needs to be provided with the quote. A sample Quality Control Plan is provided in this Request For Quote.

The quoter must quote on all items. Only quotes to the nearest cent will be accepted.

Vendor shall be registered in www.sam.gov at the time quote is received.

The Forest Service has transitioned to an electronic invoicing system. Vendor shall also be registered in the Invoice Processing Platform, www.ipp.gov to submit invoices at the end of each month’s services.

DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/STATEMENT OF WORK

SCOPE

Remove excessive snow from parking lots and sidewalks based on historical snow fall listed in schedule of items on page on page 2.

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

The work to be performed under this contract will be performed at the Aspen and Carbondale administrative sites of the Aspen-Sopris Ranger District.

The Aspen site is located at 806 W. Hallam St., Aspen, Colorado, and the Carbondale site is located at 620 Main St., Carbondale, Colorado. See Technical Exhibit 1 for an illustration of each site.

PERFORMANCE BASED SERVICE CONTRACT

This work is being solicited as a performance based, commercial item contract. Performance based means the Contractor is responsible for a quality end product. Contractor will invoice at the end of the month of all the competed snowplow services performed. A commercial item contract streamlines the terms and conditions to resemble those already used in the everyday commercial marketplace.

Quality Assurance: The government shall evaluate the contractor’s performance under this contract in accordance with the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan. This plan is primarily focused on what the Government must do to ensure that the contractor has performed in accordance with the performance standards. It defines how the performance standards will be applied, the frequency of surveillance, and the minimum acceptable defect rate(s).

Federal Holidays: Contractor is not required to perform services on these days. If Snowfall does occur on a Federal Holiday, snow removal shall still be completed prior to 7:00 a.m. of the next business day.

Independence Day

Hours of Operation:

For snow removal, plowing and shoveling will be completed by 7:00 am, 7 days per week, within the performance period identified in 5.1.1.

The Contractor must at all times maintain an adequate workforce for the uninterrupted performance of all tasks defined within this PWS. When hiring personnel, the Contractor shall keep in mind that the stability and continuity of the workforce are essential.

BIOBASED PRODUCTS

Biobased Products: The Contractor shall comply with the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 and the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (7 U.S.C. 8102(c)(3)) as required under the clause - 52.223-1 Biobased Product Certification and 52.223-2 Affirmative Procurement of Biobased Products Under Service and Construction Contracts (see Section I).

Use of biobased products: The use of biobased products by prospective offerors shall be utilized over any non-biobased product of equal value.

Examples of acceptable Biobased products: A complete list of acceptable Biobased products can be found at: www.biopreferred.gov. Following is an example list of products that may be used in this contract for which biobased products are available. The list is an example only and is not all inclusive. It is desirable that vendors be able to supply the greatest number of biobased products listed meeting the health and environmental specifications.

The following is a list of categories for bio-preferred products that are required for performance of this contract:

Absorbents Diesel fuel additives De-icers

For more information regarding the Department of Agriculture Biobased Program go to: http://www.biopreferred.gov.

SAFETY

The Contractor is solely responsible for personnel selection, training, and supervision, as well as provision and use of the snow removal equipment, supplies and methods used in performance of this work, to ensure safe site working conditions for the personnel employed under this contract. The Contractor shall also abide by all applicable laws, regulations and best management practices regarding worker safety. In the event of an emergency such as fire, injury or criminal activity, the Contractor’s staff shall immediately call 911 before calling the COR or Contractor.

SUPERVISION AND QUALIFICATIONS

A background check may be required on Contractor and any employee(s) prior to award or subsequent employment. Upon request, a social security number shall be provided to the Contracting Officer.

The Contractor must provide security sufficient to prevent illegal entry into or loitering on the premises; to prevent loss by pilferage or theft; and to admit to the space during off-duty hours only those who are authorized to enter.

CONTRACTOR FURNISHED ITEMS

General: The Contractor shall furnish all supplies, equipment, personnel, and services required to perform work under this contract that are not listed under Section 3 of this PWS. If a piece of equipment needs repair or is determined unsafe by the COR, the Contractor shall immediately stop using the equipment and shall repair or replace within 72 hours.

Government Responsibilities: The Government will not be responsible for damage occasioned by fire, theft, accident, or otherwise to the Contractor's supplies, materials, or equipment in storage, or the Contractor's and their employee's personal belongings.

Contractor Responsibilities: The Contractor is responsible for loss, theft, damage, or destruction of any Government or personal items belonging or assigned to Forest Service employees when such acts can be proven, beyond a reasonable doubt, to be the fault of the Contractor or one of their employees.

Fire Prevention: Fire prevention shall be exercised at all times by the Contractor and employees. All combustible material shall be used and stored in a safe manner. Contractor shall report to the COR/CO any fire hazards.

Federal Regulations: Full compliance with all Federal, State, Local, USDA and Forest Service regulations is required.

Codes and Standards: The work of this contract shall be done in accordance with all applicable local codes and industry standards to include any safety requirements established by the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA)

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Full compliance with environmental and hazardous waste management laws, rules, and regulations is applicable.

Federal, State, and Local Codes and Laws: All chemicals used will be those commercially available which meet Federal, State, and local codes and which have been approved by the COR/CO.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATONS

Contract Period Contract period of performance will be November 20, 2021 through November 19th 2022 for the base period and November 20th 2022 through November 19th 2026 for all optional periods.

Specific Tasks:

Basic Services: At the Aspen and Carbondale Administrative Sites, the contractor shall plow/shovel snow from all paved areas, parking areas, and sidewalks whenever snowfall accumulation meets or exceeds 3 inches or more in a 12-hour period. Plowing and snow shoveling/blowing will be completed by 7:00 AM, seven days a week. Should snowfall continue to accumulate upon the premises throughout the day, after the initial morning clearing, the Contractor shall clear the primary site traffic-ways throughout the day for each additional 3 inches of snowfall accumulated. Once snowfall ends, the Contractor shall return after normal office hours to clear the remaining portion of the parking lot and sidewalks, to be completed by 7:00 a.m. the following business day. This will count as septet snowplow service each time the vendor comes out. Period of performance will be November 20 to November 19th 2022. Parking lots and entrances shall be plowed so that snow is not piled onto sidewalks or walkways nor block the pedestrian use of sidewalks or walkways. All paved and parking areas shall be plowed to the bare pavement or gravel with no trailing windrows left in these areas. All parking spaces shall be cleared of snow and available for parking until the contractor and COR agree to begin using secondary storage sites. Snow shall be pushed into designated areas so that landscaping, trees, shrubs, sprinkler heads, improvements and utilities are protected. Reference maps will be provided.

Dumpsters: All snow shall be removed from around the dumpsters to allow for pedestrian access for the pedestrian access for the disposal of refuse. No snow shall be placed in front of the dumpsters nor block the area so that snow accumulation impedes trash removal service.

Snowplow Operations: Snow plowing shall include the clearing of snow from designated driveways, parking areas, and sidewalks by pushing and piling snow into adjacent areas as designated by the US Forest Service and shown on the attached maps. No snow piles shall be left in the plowed areas. The parking areas shall not have a reduction of more than 10 percent of parking spaces at the end of the operations, in reference to the parking conditions available at the beginning of the snow season. At the parking lot entrances and exits, the snowbanks shall not exceed three (3) feet high in these areas. Snowbanks shall be pushed back, or snow removed to meet these standards, except that snow may not be pushed or piled onto the streets or sidewalks, per city of Aspen and Carbondale ordinances. When cars are present in parking lots or other areas of snow removal at the time of operations, the Contractor shall remove snow in adjacent parking spaces, as practical. The Contractor shall not block vehicles with snow piles or banks and assumes liability for damage to vehicles caused by snowplow operations.

PART 6 - INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

52.246-20 Warranty of Services.

That the Government does not require correction or re-performance.

If the Contractor is required to correct or re-perform, it shall be at no cost to the Government, and any services corrected or re-performed by the Contractor shall be subject to this clause to the same extent as work initially performed. If the Contractor fails or refuses to correct or re-perform, the Contracting Officer may, by contract or otherwise, correct or replace with similar services and charge to the Contractor the cost occasioned to the Government thereby, or make an equitable adjustment in the contract price.

If the Government does not require correction or re-performance, the Contracting Officer shall make an equitable adjustment in the contract price.

GOVERNMENT QUALITY ASSURANCE PLAN FOR SNOW REMOVAL SERVICES

This Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) has been developed to evaluate contractor actions while implementing this Statement of Work. It is designed to provide an effective surveillance method of monitoring contractor performance for each listed objective on the Service Delivery Summary (SDS) in the maintenance contract.

The QASP provides a systematic method to evaluate the services the contractor is required to furnish.

This QASP is based on the premise the government desires to maintain a quality standard in the functions needed for their facilities and that a snow removal service contract to provide these services is the best means of achieving that objective.

The contractor, and not the government, is responsible for management and quality control actions to meet the terms of the contract. The role of the government is quality assurance to ensure contract standards are achieved.

In this contract the quality control program is the driver for service quality. The contractor is required to develop a QUALITY CONTROL PLAN for inspections and monitoring actions. The first major step to ensuring a “self-correcting” contract is to ensure that the quality control program approved at the beginning of the contract provides the measures needed to lead the contractor to success.

Once the quality control program is approved, careful application of the process and standards presented in the remainder of this document will ensure a high-quality assurance program.

Performance Objective (The Service required—usually a shall statement) Standard Performance Threshold (This is the maximum error rate. It could possibly be “Zero deviation from standard”) Method of Surveillance

PRS # 1.

The contractor shall provide services for removal of snow from all parking lots and sidewalks by 7:00 AM after every accumulation of three inches or greater in a 12-hour period.

The contractor provided snow removal to a level acceptable for non-off-road vehicles to operate safely and pedestrian traffic to walk safely from vehicles to the sidewalks and building entries during the performance period.

Zero deviation from standard Periodic surveillance of snow accumulation at 7:00 AM and no more than 3 validated customer complaints per service month

PRS # 2

The contractor shall ensure all parking spaces and the dumpster areas are cleared of snow and available for parking and trash removal.

The contractor maintained the available number of parking spaces and an area around the dumpsters.

No more than 10% of parking spaces and the dumpster area are blocked by accumulated snow.

Periodic surveillance of and no more than 3 validated customer complaints per service month

PRS # 3

The contractor shall remove snow from parking areas in a manner that protects landscaping, trees, shrubs, sprinkler heads, improvements and utilities, and yet still allows pedestrian use of sidewalks and walkways.

The contractor removed snow without damage to government property/facilities and did not block sidewalks and walkways with snow piles or windrows.

Zero deviation from standard Periodic surveillance

PRS # 4

The Contractor shall not block vehicles with snow piles or banks and shall not damage vehicles when conducting services.

The contractor removed snow without damage to vehicles and did not block vehicles with snow piles.

Zero deviation from standard Periodic surveillance of and no validated customer complaints

SURVEILLANCE: The government quality assurance (QA) person will receive complaints from station personnel and pass them to the contractor's quality control inspector (QCI) for correction.

STANDARD: 95% of all facilities are without customer complaints for the month or service period. For example, the QA should receive no more than 5 customer complaints during the service period. The QA shall notify the contracting officer for appropriate action in accordance with FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items or the appropriate Inspection of Services clause, if any of the above service areas exceed five customer complaints.

PROCEDURES: Any station employee that observes unacceptable services, either incomplete or not performed, for any of the above performance objectives should immediately contact the QA and the QA will complete appropriate documentation to record the complaint. The QA will consider the customer complaint valid upon receipt from the customer. The QA should inform the customer of the approximate time the unacceptable performance will be corrected and advise the customer to contact the QA if not corrected. The QA will consider customer complaints as resolved unless notified otherwise by the customer. The QA shall verbally notify the Contractor’s Quality Control Inspector (QCI) to pick up the written customer complaint. The QCI will be given 24 hours after verbal notification to correct the unacceptable performance. If the QCI disagrees with the complaint after investigation of the site and challenges the validity of the complaint, the QCI will notify the QA. The QA will conduct an investigation to determine the validity of the complaint. If the QA determines the complaint as invalid, he will document the written complaint of the findings and notify the customer. The QA will retain the annotated copy of the written complaint for his/her files. If after investigation the QA determines the complaint as valid, the QA will inform the QCI and the QCI will be given an additional hour to correct the defect. A defect will not be recorded if proper and timely correction of the unacceptable condition(s) is accomplished. The QCI shall return the written customer complaint document, properly completed with actions taken, to the QA, who will file the complaint for monitoring future recurring performance. Recurring customer complaints are not permitted for any of the above service items. If a repeat customer complaint is received indicating the same deficiency during the service period (month, quarter, etc.), the QA should contact the Contracting Officer for appropriate action.

INVOICING & PAYMENTS

All payments are processed using The Invoice Processing Platform (IPP). This is a mandatory requirement initiated by the U.S. Department of Treasury and you can find more information at this website https://www.ipp.gov/index.htm. Please make sure that your company has registered at https://www.ipp.gov/vendors/enrollment-vendors.htm to establish your account.

The IPP Customer Support Desk is available to assist users Monday through Friday (excluding Federal holidays) from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET, to answer questions related to accessing IPP or completing the registration process. Their toll-free number is 1-866-973-3131 or they can be reached at IPPCustomerSupport@fms.treas.gov. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please contact the Controller Operations Division Help Desk at 1-877-243-3072 or cod.help@usda.gov.

CONTRACT CLAUSES

52.252-2 Clauses Incorporated by Reference. (FEB 1998) This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. Also, the full text of a clause may be accessed electronically at this/these address(es): http://farsite.hill.af.mil/

52.204-13 System for Award Management Maintenance (OCT 2018) 52.204-18 Commercial and Government Entity Code Maintenance. (JUL 2016) 52.223-2 - Affirmative Procurement of Biobased Products Under Service and Construction Contracts. (SEPT 2013) 52.246-1 - Contractor Inspection Requirements. (APR 1984)

52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions—Commercial Items. (OCT 2018) Addenda to 52.212-4:

Replace paragraph (r) of clause 52.212-4 with the following as specified in DEVIATION 2017-1 (AUG 2017):

(r) Compliance with laws unique to Government contracts. The Contractor agrees to comply with 31 U.S.C. 1352 relating to limitations on the use of appropriated funds to influence certain Federal contracts; 18 U.S.C 431 relating to officials not to benefit; 40 U.S.C. chapter 37, Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards; 41 U.S.C. chapter 87, Kickbacks; 10 U.S.C. 2409 relating to whistleblower protections; 49 U.S.C. 40118, Fly American; and 41 U.S.C chapter 21 relating to procurement integrity.

52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items. (Jan 2021)

(a) The Contractor shall comply with the following Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clauses, which are incorporated in this contract by reference, to implement provisions of law or Executive orders applicable to acquisitions of commercial items:

(1)