Amendment 0003.pdf

AMENDMENT 0003

1. Single Project Clarification | Can work at a single site, but involving both DOD and Non-DOD clients, be considered a single project?

Government Response: See Amendment 0002 response to Question 9. See also Amendment 0001 responses to Questions 26 and 27.

2. Font Clarification | Please clarify response to font question provided in MOD 0001. Does 10 fonts include the section titles in the SF330 forms?

Government Response: See Amendment 0003 response to Question 22 below.

3. MOD 0001 - 39. Font Size | In Section 4. Submission Requirements state that Font size shall not be less than 10 fonts. Can a smaller (and still legible) font be used on graphics and tables such as TNR or Arial 8?

Government Response: See Amendment 0001 response to Question 39. Also see Amendment 0003 response to Question 22 below.

4. Extension | Based on responses to questions in MOD 0001 received on 2/15, along with the fact that the Government is still considering responses to questions that may still be submitted (through 2/18), we respectfully request a minimum of a one-week extension for proposal submission to provide sufficient time for industry to address synopsis modifications.

Government Response: See Amendment 0002 response to Question 2.

5. Please confirm that Part II’s are outside the prescribed page count.

Government Response: SF 330 Part II is not included within the page count.

6. We fully intend to be compliant with the 10-point font requirement in our responses to this solicitation, however it appears, from the clarification provided in Amendment 0002, that the Corps is wanting us to also change the font on the Standard Form 330 (Rev. 7/2021) Part I forms, where most of the forms field names are in 9- and 7-point Arial font. Please confirm that the 10-point font requirement only pertains to our responses and NOT the SF330 form field names.

Government Response: See Amendment 0003 response to Question 22 below.

7. Section 1, second paragraph – Will there be a pool of small, disadvantaged business primes (8a, WOSB, HUB Zone, SDVOSB) as part of the 3 to 6 small business contracts for the MATOC pool? If so, how many, and if not, why not?

Government Response: There will not be a separate pool of small, disadvantaged business primes.

There will be one Small Business pool. As stated in Section 1 of the Synopsis, there will be a Small Business Reserve. This is based on the results of the market research.

8. Would there be a deduction given to projects that are a) over 6 years old, b) non-USACE, or c) projects outside the geographic area of interest? If so, how much?

Government Response: Projects that are over 6 years old, non-USACE or outside the geographic area of interest are not as relevant as those less than 6 years old, USACE projects or within the geographic area of interest. See Synopsis Section 3 Selection Criteria (a).

9. Do the individual primary evaluation criterion (“a” through “f”) carry the same weight?

Government Response: Synopsis Section 3 Selection Criteria states “Selection criteria are listed below in descending order of importance. Criteria (a) through (f) are primary factors, criteria (g) thru (i) are secondary factors and will only be used as, ‘tie-breakers', among firms that are essentially and technically equal.”

10. Do the individual secondary evaluation criterion (“g” through “i”) carry the same weight?

Government Response: See Amendment 0003 response to Question 9.

11. Would the resumes of proposed key personnel be counted toward the page limit?

Government Response: Resumes of required personnel under Section 3 Selection Criteria (b) Professional Qualifications are included in the page limit.

12. Can the March 4 submission due date be extended by at least two weeks?

Government Response: See Amendment 0002 response to Question 2.

13. Can a person hold 2 roles (i.e., Geologist and Hydrogeologist)?

Government Response: See Synopsis Section 3 Selection Criteria (b) (2) “Individuals may fill multiple roles (e.g., PM and LSP) but this must be clearly indicated.”

14. For HTRW Design Engineer, are we required to provide three resumes for Civil, Environmental and Process Engineer or is the HTRW Design Engineer expected to have experience with all three disciplines (Civil, Environmental and Process Engineering)?

Government Response: No. The Synopsis Section 3 Selection Criteria (b) Professional Qualifications for HTRW Design Engineer states “(Civil, Environmental, OR Process Engineer)”.

15. On page 10 of the Synopsis, it states “For design projects, provide completion date and cost for construction phase.” Can you clarify if the completion date is for the design phase or construction phase?

Government Response: Intent is for completion date of construction but completion dates for both the design phase and construction phase would be helpful. For projects not yet completed, a projected completion date of the design and/or construction phase may also be provided.

16. If in Section F, Block 22, Construction is identified as N/A, is the construction date required again in Block 24?

Government Response: No.

17. If in Section F, Block 22, Construction is identified as N/A, is the construction cost required in Block 24?

Government Response: No.

18. If the bidder decides to combine various projects at a single site funded by multiple Task Orders/Contracts into one Section F Project, should CPARS for each Task Order/Contract be provided?

Government Response: The CPARs can be submitted for each Task Order/Contract, otherwise provide the most applicable or most recent CPARs.

19. Answer to Question 10 of Amendment 002 implies firms to alter the font of the SF330 Form itself to size 10. Please confirm the Government's intent is that information provided by bidders within the forms must be at least 10-point font, but the existing font of the form itself can remain at the size provided by GSA in the SF330 forms.

Government Response: See Amendment 0003 response to Question 22 below.

20. Under solicitation section (h), Extent of Participation of SB Concerns: Does our response to this section count to the page limit or can it be excluded? Is a complete SB participation plan required or is a summary included in Section H of the proposal sufficient to address this?

Government Response: The Offeror’s submission must include within SF 330 Part I a response to section H and this response is included in the page limit. However, a Small Business plan is not required with the Offerors submission, just a summary of anticipated small business participation is required.

21. Can an acronym list be excluded from page count?

Government Response: No. Acronym list is not required.

22. I believe it’s important for the District to understand the impact of two responses provided in the already published addendums, specifically the guidance regarding font size on the SF330s.

Government Response: Amendment 0001 and Amendment 0002:

Amendment MOD 0001 Question 39: Font Size | “In Section 4. Submission Requirements state that Font size shall not be less than 10 fonts. Can a smaller (and still legible) font be used on graphics and tables such as TNR or Arial 8?”

Government Response: Font size shall not be less than 10 fonts.

Amendment MOD 0002 Question 10: Font Clarification | “Please clarify response to font question provided in MOD 0001. Does 10 fonts include the section titles in the SF330 forms?”

Government Response: Font size shall not be less than 10 fonts. See Amendment 0001 response to Question 39.

While I don’t think this is the government’s intent, the outcome of the second response is that in order to comply with the district’s requirements, all respondents will be forced to modify the SF330 template (Rev. 7/2021) as provided to the public at the GSA.gov website. Specifically, the standardized template utilizes fonts substantially smaller than 10 for many, if not most of the section titles. Modifying the template to incorporate a font size of 10 will noticeably decrease the amount of space allocated for the critical information that the district is actually looking for on project descriptions, resumes, etc. I will also note that the district has previously accepted SF330s without the requirement to modify the template. Respondents are now faced with an unnecessary predicament: comply with a published requirement that is likely not actually wanted by the district or work with a previously accepted template that now runs the risk of being viewed as non-compliant by the government. Finally, I’ll add that I can confirm other likely respondents have identified this same quandary.

I humbly offer a recommended solution to the issue: the district could prepare a third amendment that clarifies their position on the template and notifies all that the subject headings can be used as per the SF330 template provided by GSA.gov. The font 10 requirement would still exist for all text, call-out boxes, etc. And there is still more than enough time before responses are due for the district to publish the amendment without having to extend the due date.

Government Response: The Government is not changing the font size of the Standard Form. The 10-font requirement only applies to the information provided by the Offeror within their SF 330 submission.