Solicitation W912CN-26-Q-A011 (Ques. & Resp.).pdf

Solicitation #W912CN-26-Q-A011 Questions & Responses

1. Unscheduled Services and Response Times:

PWS Section 1.4 states the contractor shall accomplish "unscheduled Termite Pest Control/Elimination Services." Can the Government clarify the required response time from the issuance of a Task Order to the expected commencement of on-site work for these unscheduled services?

Response:

A task order is issued only after the contractor, and all stakeholders have planned and agreed on the details of the termite treatment or fumigation work.

2. Tent Fumigation Site Preparation (CLIN X006):

For full structure tent fumigations using Vikane gas, is the Contractor responsible for the interior preparation of the facilities (e.g., bagging/removing food, medicines, and plants;

relocating personnel), or will the Government/facility occupants be responsible for this preparation prior to the Contractor securing the perimeter and installing the tent?

Response:

Yes, the facility occupants are responsible for interior removal of food, medicine, plants (with the understanding they may die), and relocating personnel prior to the fumigation.

3. Damaged Bait Station Liability:

The scope requires the Contractor to replace damaged Sentricon bait stations at no additional cost. Will the Contractor be held financially liable for replacing stations that are destroyed or damaged by Government personnel or third-party landscaping contractors, or does the "no additional cost" replacement only apply to normal wear and tear and contractor negligence?

Response:

The contractor will not be held liable for any damage caused by government personnel or third-party landscaping contractors. Liability applies only to wear and tear and contractor negligence.

4. Volume of Zero-Cost Inspections:

The requirements stipulate that the Contractor must provide comprehensive facility termite assessments/inspections at no additional cost, with this cost built into the standard LF/MCF rates. To accurately burden our rates, can the Government provide the historical annual volume or an estimated frequency of these standalone assessment requests?

Response:

The government will not provide historical annual volume or an estimated frequency of these standalone assessment requests. Task orders (for termite treatment/fumigation) will be issued strictly on an as-needed basis. The contractor will be responsible for conducting their own assessment, which is typically and has historically been performed at no cost to the government.

5. Subcontractor Licensing Applicability (Sub-Factor 1.1):

The Addendum to 52.212-1 requires the submission of a valid Pest Management Business License. If an Offeror utilizes a compliant Small Business subcontractor to perform 100% of the on-site execution, will the Government accept the subcontractor's State of Hawaii Business License and Applicator Certifications to satisfy this requirement, or must the Prime Contractor also hold a State of Hawaii Pest Management Business License?

Response:

IAW FAR 52.219-14 clause, the prime contractor can utilize a compliant small business subcontractor (a "similarly situated entity") to perform 100% of the execution without violating subcontracting limitations. However, if the prime contractor is not a similarly situated entity, the Prime cannot pay more than 50% of the contract amount. Subcontracting 100% of the work to a compliant small business that qualifies as a "similarly situated entity" is permissible under this clause.

6. Utility Metering (PWS 3.3):

PWS Section 3.3 states the Government will provide access to water and electricity, but the Contractor must obtain approval prior to "installing connections and meters." Can the Government confirm if the Contractor is required to financially reimburse the Government for metered water/electricity usage during performance, or if the meters are solely for Government tracking purposes?

Response:

Any installation of connections or meters will always require written approval. This PWS language simply informs the contractor that the government will furnish water and electricity, if required, to complete the work, with the expectation that utilities will be used conservatively when possible.

7. Monthly Invoicing against Linear Foot (LF) CLINs:

PWS Section 5.1.3 requires monthly monitoring and servicing of the Subterranean Termite Colony Elimination System for one year after installation. However, the pricing structure for the monitoring CLINs (e.g., CLIN 0003) is strictly based on Linear Foot (LF) rather than Months (MO). Can the Government clarify the expected Wide Area Work Flow (WAWF) billing methodology for these monthly services? Specifically, should the contractor mathematically prorate the total Task Order LF amount across 12 monthly invoices (e.g., dividing an installed 1,200 LF by 12 months, and billing 100 LF per month) upon submission of the mandatory monthly monitoring report?

No. The contractor will submit a single invoice covering the full 12-month period after the fumigation is completed, rather than billing monthly over the 12 months.

8. Limitations on Subcontracting (FAR 52.219-14):

Does work performed by a small business subcontractor under NAICS 561710 – count toward the prime contractor's 50 percent performance requirement?

Response:

Yes, work performed by a small business subcontractor under NAICS 561710 counts toward the prime contractor's performance requirement, provided the subcontractor meets the definition of a "Similarly Situated Entity" as defined in FAR 52.219-14(b). Under this clause, work performed by a similarly situated entity is treated as if it were performed by the prime contractor for the purpose of compliance.

Based on the FAR procedures provided, below is the breakdown of how subcontracted work is credited toward the prime’s 50% requirement.

To count toward the prime's performance requirement, the subcontractor must satisfy both of the following criteria under FAR 52.219-14(b):

Requirement Description

Program Status The subcontractor must have the same small business program status that qualified the Prime for the award [e.g.: If it's an 8(a) set-aside, the subcontractor must also be an 8(a)].

Size Standard The subcontractor must be considered "small" for the size standard associated with the NAICS code the prime assigned to the subcontract.

(For solicitation W912CN-26-Q-A011, the NAICS code is 561710).

Contractors must have active/current SAM registrations at time of quote submission and prior to award.

SAM registration must be active throughout the duration of the contract to receive payments.

9. Fumigation Scope:

Approximately how many buildings per year does the government anticipate requiring tent fumigation? What is the typical building size or cubic footage range?

Condition Does it count as Prime performance? FAR Reference Subcontractor is "Similarly Situated"

Yes.

Payments to these entities are excluded from the 50% subcontracting limit.

Paragraph (e)(1)

Subcontractor is NOT "Similarly Situated"

No.

These payments count against the 50% limit that the Prime cannot exceed.

Paragraph (e)(1)

The government anticipates tenting approximately four (minimum) buildings per period of performance, with structures ranging from single-story facilities to five-story buildings.

10. Subcontractor Certification Timing:

Does the requirement to file subcontractor certifications with the COR within 24 hours prior to performance (Section 1.5.6.1) apply before each individual job throughout the period of performance, or only at contract start?

Response:

Yes. This requirement will apply prior to each individual job throughout the period of performance, because certifications may expire prior to work being performed. The government must ensure the contractor is compliant with current certifications prior to work commencing.

11. Certificate of Insurance:

Is a Certificate of Insurance required as part of the quote submission or only after award?

Response:

The contractor must provide a certificate of insurance upon award and upon expiration during each option year.

12. [Contractor’s name removed] is currently evaluating subcontractors for the above-referenced solicitation and has a question regarding EPA commercial applicator certification requirements.

A potential subcontractor holds EPA commercial applicator certification in Category 7 only, with subcategories 7A, 7B, and 7C. The solicitation references Categories 2, 3, 7, and 8.

Please advise whether Category 7 certification alone would be acceptable for the scope of work under this solicitation.

As additional context, this subcontractor uses the Sentricon Termite Baiting System exclusively for all ground termite treatments and no longer applies liquid treatments. It is also worth noting that most, if not all, pest control companies operating in Hawaii hold Category 7A, 7B, and 7C certification only.

Refer to FAR 52.212-2 Addendum. Next, refer to PWS section 1.6.8.10.

Contractors and sub-contractors must submit valid/current certifications in the EPA / Hawaii categories 2 (forestry), 3 (ornamental and turf), 7 (general use pesticides), and 8 (public health pest management). Accordingly, the contractor shall maintain all required certifications, licenses, and qualified personnel necessary to perform the work within these categories in compliance with all applicable federal, state, DoD, and installation-specific requirements.

Site visit conducted on May 20, 2026 at 9 AM. Buildings scheduled for viewing are Wheeler Army Airfield building 106 and Schofield Barracks (SB) 580. After viewing SB 580, contractors requested to view other buildings nearby. Buildings viewed were SB 2075, 2076, and 2077, which were single soldier barracks.

13. Wheeler Army Airfield building 106 – does the parking structure adjacent to this building need to be fumigated?

What about the roof/entry way into the building?

What about the stairwell leading to down to a basement?

Response:

No. This building’s parking structure was not historically fumigated and will not require future fumigation.

Yes. The roof/entry way of the building will be included in the fumigation.

Yes. The basement will be included in the fumigation.

Fumigation will be required on an “as needed” basis.

14. What types of structures need to be fumigated?

Only federal administrative office buildings (under USAG-HI ownership), including single soldier barracks, will require fumigation.

Army housing units and MWR/NAF facilities will NOT be fumigated under this contract.

15. Can you explain the unit of measures for this solicitation?

Refer to the solicitation’s CLINs.

For CLINs X001 – X005 (for termite treatments), the unit of measure is linear feet.

For CLINs X006 (for termite fumigation), the unit of measure is mass cubic feet (i.e. volume under the tent).

16. Will this requirement/solicitation result in one contract with one awardee?

Or one contract with multiple awardees?

Yes, this solicitation will be awarded to one contractor.

17. What is the solicitation and resulting contract’s period of performance (POP) dates?

Refer to the solicitation’s performance dates.

The resulting contract’s POP dates is anticipated to commence on/around July 1, 2026.

There will be one (12 month) base year and four (12 month) option periods, totaling five (5) years.

Refer to the table below.

18. How often will the government require Sentricon baiting to be checked?

Bait monitoring will not be completed monthly.

Monitoring will be conducted on an “as needed” basis, which will be determined by the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR).

Per PWS section 5.1.3.1, the contactor shall monitor and service the system in accordance with the manufacturer’s user instructions for a period of (1) year after installation. The contractor must replace missing or damaged bait stations at no additional cost to the Government. If activity continues, another year of monitoring and baiting services will be added until no activity is found. The contractor shall inspect facility for infestation entry points. The contractor shall submit a semi-annual monitoring/inspection report and bait application log containing all information as required by the manufacturer to the Contracting Officers Representative (COR).

Solicitation W912CN-26-Q-A011 Period of Performance (POP)

Period Date Base Year July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027 First Option Year July 1, 2027 – June 30, 2028 Second Option Year July 1, 2028 – June 30, 2029 Third Option Year July 1, 2029 – June 30, 2030 Fourth Option Year July 1, 2030 – June 30, 2031

19. Additional Comments / Contractor Recommendations:

• Sentricon baiting is too close to WAWF building 106 – recommend Sentricon baiting be three (3) feet away from a building.

Noted. Bait placement will be at the contractor’s and COR’s concurrence.

• Trim larger trees/shrubs (that touch a building or its roof) prior to fumigation

Noted.

• Keep ground termite treatment (i.e. Sentricon) longer in the ground

Bait monitoring will not be completed monthly.

Monitoring will be conducted on an “as needed” basis, which will be determined by the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR).

Per PWS Section 5.1.3.1, the contactor shall monitor and service the system in accordance with the manufacturer’s user instructions for a period of (1) year after installation. The contractor must replace missing or damaged bait stations at no additional cost to the Government. If activity continues, another year of monitoring and baiting services will be added until no activity is found. The contractor shall inspect facility for infestation entry points. The contractor shall submit a semi-annual monitoring/inspection report and bait application log containing all information as required by the manufacturer to the Contracting Officers Representative (COR).