Site_Visit_-_Minutes_-W912HN-17-R-0023.pdf

Formal Site Visit/Proposal Overview Conference

SOLICITATION W912HN-17-R-0023

MINUTES

A formal site visit/proposal overview of solicitation W912HN-17-R-0023 was held on 10 April 2018 in accordance with Section L.6. The following agenda was provided to all attendees:

W912HN-17-R-0023

Maintenance, Repair, Facility Renovation/Rehab and Operations of the Thurmond Project

O&M Hybrid Contract Formal Site Visit April 10th 2018 at 9:00 A.M.

AGENDA

I. Welcome Scott Hyatt, Operations Project Manager

II. Proposal Format/Content Bruce Helms, Contracting Officer and Evaluation Approach MAJ Fallen, Contracting Specialist

III. Site Visit Aaron Wahus, Park Operations Manager

Chrissy Alford, Contracting Officer’s Representative

• Thurmond Project Management Office 510 Clarks Hill Hwy, Clarks Hill, SC

• Contractor Compound 220 Clarks Hill Hwy, Clarks Hill, SC

• Thurmond Power Plant 384 Power Plant Rd, Clarks Hill, SC

• Meet at Russell Power Plant – 2:00 P.M. 4144 Russell Dam Drive, Elberton, GA

• Russell Project Management Office 4144 Russell Dam Drive, Elberton, GA

Access to all areas listed in Appendix H of the solicitation will be made available, upon request, subsequent to the site visit date.

For assistance with directions or any other questions/concerns related to the site visit, please call Chrissy Alford at (864) 333-1104

A pre-bid conference sign-in sheet was signed by each attendee; list attached for reference. In addition, the following Corps employees participated in the morning briefing by phone:

Annette Dotson, Park Ranger, Richard B. Russell Project Mark Dotson, COR, Hartwell Project Kenneth Bedenbaugh, Park Operations Manager, Hartwell Project

Mr. Scott Hyatt, Thurmond Operations Project Manager, began the meeting by introducing himself and the other Corps staff in the room. He then presented a power point overview that included the New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam, J. Strom Thurmond and Richard B. Russell Projects. It also included a summary of changes in contract type and proposal format.

The slides from this presentation are attached for reference.

Major Fallen, Savannah District Contract Specialist, spoke on behalf of Contracting Officer Bruce Helms, who was unable to attend. He discussed ProjNet and encouraged bidders to use it to submit questions about the contract. All questions should go through ProjNet at https://www.projnet.org. To submit, or review submitted questions, users must register on the ProjNet site. To-date, one question has been submitted requesting a 30-day extension. Major Fallen explained that the decision must be made by Mr. Helms when he returns next week. He also discussed use of AMRDEC SAFE for proposal submittals:

https://safe.amrdec.army.mil/SAFE/. He explained that, if you run in to issues uploading documents, the contracting office goes by the date & time stamp on the receiving end. He encouraged bidders to start uploading at least 1-2 hours ahead of time. Major Fallen will download the documents and send an e-mail stating that the proposal has been received. This does not mean your proposal is responsive and compliant; only that it has been received by the contracting office. You only need to submit one (1) copy of your proposal via AMRDEC SAFE.

You can also ask for a ‘read receipt’. Keep in mind that it may take a while to upload. Major Fallen discussed additional submission requirements, to include compliance with file formats and page restrictions. Regarding past performance on previous projects, they will go by the Past Performance Questionnaire (PPQ) and Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS). So, if you submit any information that conflicts with these two sources, PPQ and CPARS will supersede. Major Fallen again encouraged the use of ProjNet to submit questions related to the contract solicitation.

Mr. Hyatt reminded the group that there are several solicitations on the street simultaneously for similar work and they were not developed in unison. He is looking for feedback on which ones work well and not-so-well.

Mr. Aaron Wahus, Thurmond Park Operations Manager, reiterated that Mr. Helms will be back the first of next week and that we will get with him then on the ProjNet question. He referenced Section L of the solicitation related to Projnet and encouraged its use. Mr. Wahus referenced page 121 of the solicitation and quoted “Any remarks or explanations provided by the Government representative before, during, or after the site visit, whether oral or written, shall not change or qualify any of the terms or conditions of the solicitation. The solicitation can only be changed by formal written amendment issued by the Contracting Officer.”

Mr. Wahus reviewed site visit schedule and referenced the folders that were provided. He reviewed the agenda and explained that most parks (not on agenda) are open for the season, with the exception of 4 that are partially open. If bidders would like access to the closed areas, see Heather Killips or Chrissy Alford. He made suggestions for park visits today that are en-route to Russell Project: West Dam, Petersburg, Keg Creek, Gill Point and Morrahs.

The tour continued as planned from the Thurmond Project Management Office, to the Contractor Compound, the Thurmond Power Plant, the Russell Power Plant, and concluded ahead of schedule around 2:00 p.m. at the Russell Project Management Office.

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“The views, opinions and findings contained in this report are those of the authors(s) and should not be construed as an official Department of the Army position, policy or decision, unless so designated by other official documentation.”

W912HN-17-R-0023 SOLICITATION BRIEFING

Presenter:

Scott Hyatt

Operations Project Manager

J. Strom Thurmond Project

SAVANNAH RIVER BELOW AUGUSTA

WHAT’S THERE:

Inactive navigation channel from Augusta to Savannah Harbor

New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam – will be heavily modified or removed during this contract period.

NO assigned staff

Lock operations and the adjacent recreation area are leased

J. STROM THURMOND PROJECT

WHAT’S THERE:

1,200 shoreline miles, including islands

540 boundary line miles

71,000 surface acres of water

80,701 acres of land above normal pool

Bordering Georgia and South Carolina

Seven counties

Dam is over 1 mile in length

7 Generator power plant with 364 MW capacity

RICHARD B. RUSSELL PROJECT

WHAT’S THERE:

37 Miles upstream from J. Strom Thurmond Dam

26,650 acres of water

Bordering Georgia and South Carolina

Four counties

8 Unit power plant, 4 units function as pumpback units

All other project lands are leased to the states for operation

WHAT DO THEY COST?

FY18 Budget: JST $12M, RBR $8.9M, SRBA $137K

STAFFING

Hydropower Plant- JST: 31*, RBR: 17

Park Operations- JST: 10

Natural Resources- JST: 13, RBR: 7

Project Support- JST: 4*, RBR: 5

Total - JST: 45, RBR: 29

*includes other district support staff

THURMOND PROJECT VISITORS

Visitation User Fees

FY14 3,138,618 $844,679.93

FY15 3,277,018 $915,895.74

FY16 3,586,010 $985,291.76

FY17 3,674,237 $946,450.18

THURMOND RECREATION PROGRAM

8 Campgrounds (6 class A, 2 primitive)

6 Day Use Areas 28 Boat Ramps

NATURAL RESOURCES ACTIVITIES:

One of the largest civil timber management programs in USACE

Approximately 180 acres of food plots managed

2,908 shoreline permits

WHAT IS CHANGING

Contract type:

Why?

Proposal format:

Why?

Old New

Cost Plus Award Fee Hybrid contract with Firm-Fixed Price and Cost Plus fixed fee elements

The National Defense Authorization Act of 2009 requires the use of Firm-Fixed price contracts wherever possible, regardless of practicality or demonstrated success.

The regional Principle Assistant Responsible for Contracting (PARC) is requiring Award Fees to be converted to Fixed Fees due to lax programs at other locations and a perception that Award Fee monitoring adds substantial cost to contracts and provides minimal incentives.

Old New

Required bidders to present lengthy technical descriptions for common, routine tasks

Limits technical descriptions to unique or complex items, requests only information that best differentiates between bids.

Since most tasks are routine technical descriptions establish basic competency, but rarely differentiate between bidders. Workforce organization, scheduling, and lines of authority play a much more significant role. The proposal format is being adjusted to focus on the qualities that create a meaningful distinction between bidders and past performance will be used more heavily to verify basic competency.

J. STROM THURMOND DAM AND LAKE

Questions?