Revised Gardening Services Solicitation QA.docx

U.S. Embassy Port au Prince Q&A for the Gardening Services Solicitation

1. Who is supposed to provide the tools?

The Contractor shall provide all tools required for performance of the duties and requirements of this contract

2. How many employees does the current contractor have at CMR and the NEC?

Currently there are 10 gardeners at CMR and 7 at the NEC

3. Who is the current contractor?

Haiti Jardin

4. What is the current salary of the gardeners?

Currently, monthly gardener salary ranges from Gourdes 5,000 to Gourdes 9,000. But as stated in Section H.4 of the solicitation, “the Contractor shall be responsible for payment of all employee wages and benefits required by host country law or agreements with its employees….. Where local law requires bonuses, specific minimum wage levels, premium pay for holidays, payments for social security, pensions, sick or health benefits, severance payments, child care or any other benefit, the Contractor is responsible for payments of these costs …..”

5. Is the general liability insurance of $100,000 and $50,000 requested on the solicitation mandatory?

Yes, the general liability insurance request is mandatory. Note that “the Contractor shall obtain any other types of insurance required by local law or that are ordinarily or customarily obtained in the location of the work. The limit of such insurance shall be as provided by law or sufficient to meet normal and customary claims.”

6. Do you have the plan of the properties?

Yes we do

7. Can we have a copy?

For security reasons, we cannot distribute copies of the plan.

8. What holidays do you observe?

We observe American and Haitian holidays. See clause I.10 and J.5 of the solicitation for details.

9. How many interior plants do you have at CMR and the NEC?

We have approximately 20 plants inside the residence and 20 additional ones in the nursery. 20 interior plants are also disseminated in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd floor at the NEC.

10. Do you have automatic sprinklers at CMR?

We do not have automatic (installed) sprinklers at CMR. We only have portable sprinklers that should be provided by the contractor.

11. Can we add that on the plan?

No. Installed system should be part of separate contract. The Embassy is currently working on getting authorization for this project.

12. How is your irrigation system?

Part of it is damaged after the January 12th earthquake. The Embassy is working on repairing it. The timer is programmable and can easily be reset. The contractor should make sure that the system does not have any leak since some areas of the garden require drip drop watering.

13. Does dust affect the plant in the NEC area?

No, dust does not really affect plants in at the NEC but mud is usually a problem for the lawn on the outer perimeter fence.

14. Is the car wash area included into the contract?

The only requirement for the contractor in this area is to cut weeds along the fence line.

15. Is the contractor required to clean the barbed wire along the perimeter fence?

The barbed wire is on top of the perimeter fence, it should be free of weeds. The contractor will be able to use approved chemicals to kill these weeds.

16. Will the tents at the NEC be removed?

Yes they will be removed by the end of June 2011 and the area will need to be covered with grass and appropriate plants/flowers.