F018--JC & JB Bio-Retention Pond Restoration and Stewardship (VA-20-00045949)

This Sources Sought Notice is for planning purposes only and shall not be considered as an invitation for bid, request for quotation, request for proposal, or as an obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any products or services. Your response to this Sources Sought Notice will be treated as information only. No entitlement to payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by the Government will arise as a result of contractor submission of responses to this announcement or the Government use of such information. This request does not constitute a solicitation for proposals or the authority to enter into negotiations to award a contract. No funds have been authorized, appropriated, or received for this effort.

The information provided may be used by the Department of Veterans Affairs in developing its acquisition approach, statement of work/statement of objectives and performance specifications. Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary or competition sensitive information contained in their response. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this Sources Sought Notice or to otherwise pay for the information submitted in response to this Sources Sought Notice.

The purpose of this sources sought announcement is for market research to make appropriate acquisition decisions and to gain knowledge of potential qualified Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses, Veteran Owned Small Businesses, 8(a), HUBZone and other Small Businesses interested and capable of providing the services described below.

Documentation of technical expertise must be presented in sufficient detail for the Government to determine that your company possesses the necessary functional area expertise and experience to compete for this acquisition. Responses to this notice shall include the following: (a) company name (b) address (c) point of contact (d) phone, fax, and email (e) DUNS number (f) Cage Code (g) Tax ID Number (h) Type of small business, e.g. Services Disabled Veteran Owned small Business, Veteran-owned small business, 8(a), HUBZone, Women Owned Small Business, Small disadvantaged business, or Small Business HUBZone business and (i) must provide a capability statement that addresses the organizations qualifications and ability to perform as a contractor for the work described below.

The VA Heartland Network 15, Contracting Office located at 3450 South 4th Street, Leavenworth, KS, 66048-5055 is seeking a potential qualified contractor to provide all labor, personnel, equipment, tools, materials, vehicles, supervision, waste disposal, and other items and services necessary for the restoration and stewardship of the bio-retention ponds and other applicable areas at the VA s John Cochran and Jefferson Barracks.

Please see the statement of work on following pages.

NAICS Code: 115310 ( Support Activities for Forestry ) $8.0 million

Important information: The Government is not obligated to nor will it pay for or reimburse any costs associated with responding to this sources sought synopsis request. This notice shall not be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract, nor does it restrict the Government to a particular acquisition approach. The Government will in no way be bound to this information if any solicitation is issued. Currently a total set-aside for Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business firms is anticipated based on the Veterans Administration requirement with Public Law 109-461, Section 8127 Veterans Benefit Act. However, if response by Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business firms proves inadequate, an alternate set-aside or full and open competition may be determined. The North American Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 115310 (Support Activities for Forestry). The small business size standard is $8.0 million. Notice to potential offerors: All offerors who provide goods or services to the United States Federal Government must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM located on the web at www.sam.gov). Additionally, all Service Disabled Veteran Owned Businesses or Veteran Owned Businesses who respond to a solicitation on this project must be registered with the Department of Veterans Affairs Center for Veterans Enterprise VetBiz Registry located at http://vip.vetbiz.gov.

All interested Offerors should submit information by e-mail: to michael.murphy7@va.gov.

All information submissions should be received no later than 11:00 am CST on April 20, 2020. After review of the responses to this announcement, the Government intends to proceed with the acquisition and a subsequent solicitation will be published.

STATEMENT OF WORK

SUMMARY SCOPE OF WORK: The Contractor shall provide all labor, personnel, equipment, tools, materials, vehicles, supervision, waste disposal, and other items and services necessary for the restoration and stewardship of the areas identified in Attachment A for the VA St. Louis Health Care System, John Cochran and Jefferson Barracks divisions. The services shall be provided in accordance with current federal, state, and local regulations.

PERFORMANCE PERIOD: The Contractor shall make available to services required under this Statement of Work (SOW) commencing with the effective date of award, unless otherwise directed by the Contract Office (CO) and shall provide the required services until the date of contract expiration. Work at the VA shall not take place on Federal holidays or weekends unless direct by the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) or CO.

The contract shall include a base year and four renewable, non-guaranteed, option years. All restoration work shall be completed prior to stewardship activation.

AREAS TO BE MAINTAINED

Specific areas are identified on Attachment A Schedule of Price and Delivery and Attachment C Site Maps. The maps, descriptions and approximate square footage are only given as a guide and are not to be relied upon for estimating purposes. The Contractor shall field verify existing conditions and final dimension/quantities.

During the life of the contract, additional service areas will be added or changed due to renovations, growth, etc. The contractor shall be prepared for this. When this occurs, service shall be priced commensurately and comparably to similar and like, already priced locations, that are listed on Attachment A Schedule of Price and Delivery.

SERVICES TO BE PROVIDED

RESTORATION:

Restoration shall include all tasks and materials needed to bring the areas identified up to the approved St. Louis Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) specifications. Restoration shall include but is not limited to the following:

Removal of weedy herbaceous, invasive and woody species and cutting back of existing desirable species.

Removal of silt, trash, and other debris that have accumulated in the areas.

b. STEWARDSHIP:

Stewardship shall include but is not limited to the following:

General maintenance of each area, treating weed species with herbicide, hand pulling of weeds, removing debris, removing trash, mulch cultivation, sediment removal, and selective pruning.

Areas devoid of mulch should be re-mulched as needed.

Inspect underdrain cleanouts to ensure no sediment accumulation and proper draining of pipes. Flush drains if sediment is visible.

Pruning shall be accomplished consistent with horticultural practices and in a manner, which ensures that the size and proportions of the trees, shrubs, hedges, beds and plants are maintained.

Replace annual flowers in designed planting beds and planters. Submit names/types of flowers to be replanted annually to COR for approval before planting. Spring through fall color in these areas is the main concern and shall be provided.

Stewardship activities do not include perennial plant material replacement.

The identified number of visits for each area is intended to ensure facility compliance with applicable MSD permits.

3. SPECIAL WORK REQUIREMENTS

PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION VERIFICATION (PIV): Only the Job Superintendent shall be fully PIV registered and shall be completed 45 days after contract award.

Except for initiating registration with the PIV Sponsor, personnel conducting business pursuant to this contract shall not enter VA owned or leased property without a current and valid VA issued badge. Personnel may also be subject to inspection of their personal effects, including tool boxes, lockers, vehicle, or any other container, whilst on VA owned or leased property upon request from VA Police. Contractor shall coordinate with COR for PIV badging.

All restoration and stewardship services shall be performed by trained personnel using current acceptable horticultural practices in accordance with the terms of this contract.

FIELD REPORTS: Upon the completion of work, the contractor shall leave a signed, legible, written report with the COR indicating the date and what work was completed during the day. The report form will be provided by the government. (Attachment B Field Report).

The Clinic Building (Bldg. 55) light wells are to be maintained outside of normal business hours. Normal business hours are between 6:00 am and 6:00 pm Monday through Friday.

The Contractor is to accompany the COR quarterly on a general inspection of the areas identified in Attachment A. Problems or corrections shall be corrected as noted solely by the contractor unless otherwise specified.

All contractor laydown areas (equipment, materials, dumpsters, etc.) shall be coordinated with the Medical Center prior to work commencement.

Restoration and stewardship may include the use of herbicides to control existing weedy populations of invasive or non-desirable plants. All product labels and Safety Data Sheets (SDS) shall be provided prior to chemical usage. All applications must be completed by a licensed Missouri Department of Agriculture Certified Applicator. When chemical methods are used to remove weeds or unwanted vegetation, the contractor shall assure the compatibility of the chemicals with the existing vegetation and ensure that only the weeds shall be affected by the chemicals.

IDENTIFICATION: The Contractor s personnel shall wear either a company shirt or hat bearing the company logo.

VEHICLES: All Contractor s vehicles will be locked and keys removed while performing service on the VA property. This is intended to protect the Contractor s property and provide for the safety of the VA Medical Center s personnel. Vehicle(s) shall bear the company logo. It is the responsibility of the Contractor to park in the appropriate designated parking areas. Information on parking is available from the VA Police. The VA will not invalidate or make reimbursement for parking violations of the contractor under any conditions.

SAFETY REQUIREMENT: Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) shall be worn when work is being performed.

QUALITY OF SERVICE: The contractor shall have competent, documented experience (3- years) in stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs) and bio-retention basin stewardship.

RESTRICTIONS: Smoking is prohibited on VA grounds. Possession of weapons is prohibited. Enclosed containers, including tool kits, shall be subject to search. Violations of VA regulations may result in a citation answerable in the United States (Federal) District Court, not a local district state, or municipal court.

DAMAGE: The contractor shall take all necessary precautions to prevent damage to any government property. The Contractor shall repair any damage to the premises caused by the Contractor, its employees, or the agents. The Contractor shall hold harmless and indemnify the Government from and against any and all losses or damages resulting from the Contractor s installation, maintenance, service, removal, or operation of the equipment or any other equipment of the Contractor s except loss or damage arising from negligent or intentional act or omission of the Government. The contractor shall report any damages immediately to the COR. Any damaged material (i.e., trees, shrubs, lawn/turf, cubs, gutters,

sidewalks, etc.) will be replaced in a timely manner or corrected by the Contractor with like materials, at no extra cost to the government, upon approval of the CO.

n. SCHEDULE: The Contractor shall submit, 30-days after award, the planned restoration and stewardship schedule.

4. CHANGES TO STATEMENT OF WORK

Any changes to this SOW shall be authorized and approved only through written correspondence from the CO. Cost incurred by the Contractor through the actions of parities other than the CO, or those specifically delegated to the COR, shall be borne by the Contractor.

(f) Contract Administration Data

(1) All contract administration functions will be retained by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Contracting Officer will be the only person authorized to approve changes or modify any of the requirements under this contract. The Contractor shall communicate with the Contracting Officer on all matters pertaining to contract administration. Only the Contracting Officer will be authorized to make commitments or issue changes that affect price, quantity, or quality of performance of this contract. In the event the Contractor effects any such change at the direction of any person other than the Contracting Officer, the change shall be considered unauthorized and no adjustment will be made in the contract price to cover any increase in costs incurred as a result thereof.

(g) Contracting Officer s Representative

(1) Pursuant to VAAR Provision 852.270-1, Representatives of Contracting Officer, the designated representative for this contract is will be determined at award.

(h) Acronyms and Definitions

CDR: Contract Discrepancy Report. Report issued by the Government to the contractor to document a supply or service found to be unacceptable during contract performance.

CLIN: Contract Line Item Number. Unit of work (or service) to be performed (or delivered) by the contractor as a pay item.

CO: Contracting Officer. A person with the authority to enter into, administer, and/or terminate contracts and make related determinations and findings.

COR: Contracting Officer s Representative. An individual, including a Contracting Officer s Representative (COR), designated and authorized in writing by the contracting officer to perform specific technical or administrative functions.

QA: Quality Assurance. Actions taken by the government to assure contracted services meet PWS requirements.

i. Personnel

(a) Non-Personal Services

(1) This is a non-personal services contract. Personnel rendering services under this contract are not subject either by the contract s terms or by the manner of its administration, to the supervision and control usually prevailing in relationships between the government and its employees. The Government shall not exercise any supervision or control over the contract service s performing services herein. Such contract service s shall be accountable solely to the Contractor who, in turn, is responsible to the Government.

(b) Contractor Compliance with the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952

(1) The Contractor shall comply with any and all legal provisions contained in the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, As Amended; its related laws and regulations that are enforced by Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S Department of Labor as these may relate to non-immigrant foreign nationals working under contract or subcontract for the Contractor while providing services to Department of Veterans Affairs patient referrals.

j. Hours of Operations

(1) Business hours for the VAMC follow:

(A) Administrative hours: Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

(B) National Holidays: The 10 holidays observed by the Federal Government are:

New Year s Day;

Martin Luther King s Birthday;

Presidents Day;

Memorial Day;

Independence Day;

Labor Day;

Columbus Day;

Veterans Day;

Thanksgiving;

Christmas; and

any other day specifically declared by the President of the United States to be a national

holiday.

(C) Off-Duty hours: Friday through Monday, 4:30 p.m. - 8:00 a.m.; Monday through Thursday,

4:30 pm 8:00 am.

k. Quality Control

(a) CONTRACT PERFORMANCE MONITORING. The COR may perform surveillance of services by any of the methods listed below:

1) Observing actual performance;

2) Inspecting the services to determine whether or not the performance meets the performance standards; and

3) Review of any other appropriate records.

(c) When unacceptable performance occurs, the COR shall inform the Contractor and the Contracting Officer. This will normally be in writing unless circumstances necessitate verbal communication. In any case the COR shall document the discussion and place it in the COR file. When the COR determines formal written communication is required, the COR shall prepare a Contract Discrepancy Report (CDR), and present it to the contractor program manager. The Contractor shall acknowledge receipt of the CDR in writing. The CDR will specify if the Contractor is required to prepare a corrective action plan to document how the Contractor shall correct the unacceptable performance and avoid a recurrence. The CDR will also state how long after receipt the Contractor has to present this corrective action plan to the COR. The Government shall review the Contractor corrective action plan to determine acceptability. Any CDRs may become a part of the supporting documentation for any contractual action deemed necessary by the Contracting Officer.

(d)Pursuant to VAAR Provision 852.270-1, Representatives of Contracting Officer representative(s); The Government shall periodically evaluate the Contractor performance by appointing a Contracting Officers Representative (COR) to monitor performance to ensure services are received. The Government representative(s) shall evaluate the Contractor performance through inspections of observations, inspection of services or any other form of documentation and all complaints from VA personnel. The Government may inspect as each task is completed or increase the number of quality assurance inspections if deemed appropriate because of repeated failures or because of repeated customer complaints. Likewise, the Government may decrease the number of quality assurance inspections if performance dictates. The Government Contracting Officer shall make final determination of the validity of customer complaint(s).

(e) If any of the services do not conform to contract requirements, the Government may require the Contractor to perform the services again in conformity with contract requirements, at no increase in contract amount. When the defects in services cannot be corrected by re-performance, the Government may -

(f) Require the Contractor to take necessary action to ensure that future performance conforms to contract requirements at no additional cost to the Government.

m. Contract Security

1) The C&A requirements do not apply and a Security Accreditation Package is not required .

Attachment A Schedule or Price and Delivery

Jefferson Barracks

Permit No.

Name of Area

Description

Approximate Square Feet

Restoration Cost

# of Visits / Year

Per / Visit Cost

Stewardship / Year Cost

P-0004047-05

Energy Plant

Pond 1

8,739

8

Pond 2

7,727

8

Drain 1

170

4

Drain 2

170

4

Riprap Channel

3,780

4

P-0004047-06

Clinic Bldg. (Bldg. 55)

Pond 1

16,395

8

Pond 2

7,525

8

Pond 3

555

8

Pond 4

2,350

8

Pond 5

5,144

8

Planting Beds

2,379

8

Light Wells

630

6

18MSD-00328

Engineering Warehouse

(Bldg. 57)

Green Roof

25,295

6

P-29881-00

Impact Parking

Pond 1

6,152

4

Drain 1

300

4

Drain 2

210

4

Riprap Channel

2,420

4

P-0004047-11

Bldg. 25

Pond 1

1,373

8

Riprap Channel

700

4

P-0004047-12

Tenant Bldg. (Bldg. 56)

Pond 1

7,277

8

Pond 2

14,970

8

Green Roof

5,266

6

Entrance

525

8

Planting Beds & Planters

1,800

8

John Cochran

Permit No.

Name of Area

Description

Approximate Square Feet

Restoration Cost

# of Visits / Year

Per / Visit Cost

Stewardship / Year Cost

18MSD-00245

Sextro Lot

Pond A

780

8

Pond B1

312

8

Pond B2

400

8

Pond B3

360

8

Pond B4

360

8

Pond C1

440

8

Pond C2

480

8

P-0029-883-00

Old Cab Lot

Pond 1

2,083

8

Jefferson Barracks Areas to be added

Permit No.

Name of Area

Description

Approximate Square Feet

Restoration Cost

# of Visits / Year

Per / Visit Cost

Stewardship / Year Cost

18MSD-00192

Rehab Bldg. (Bldg. 54)

Pond 1

1,906

8

Pond 2

1,024

8

Pond 3

882

8

Pond 4

229

8

Pond 5

226

8

Pond 6

226

8

Pond 7

305

8

Pond 8

384

8

Pond 9

227

8

Pond 10

226

8

Pond 11

463

8

Pond 12

330

8

Pond 13

226

8

Pond 14

226

8

Pond 15

465

8

Pond 16

359

8

Pond 17

226

8

Pond 18

226

8

Pond 19

215

8

Pond 20

1,730

8

Pond 21

241

8

Pond 22

1,126

8

Pond 23

969

8

P-0004047-06

Clinic Bldg. (Bldg. 55)

Retaining Wall

2,500

8

18MSD-00328

Engineering Warehouse

Pond 1

TBD

8

Pond 2

TBD

8

Part 1 (Bldg.

57)

Pond 3

TBD

8

Pond 4

TBD

8

Pond 5

TBD

8

Pond 6

TBD

8

Pond 7

TBD

8

Pond 8

TBD

8

Pond 9

TBD

8

Pond 10

TBD

8

Pond 11

TBD

8

Pond 12

TBD

8

Pond 13

TBD

8

Pond 14

TBD

8

Pond 15

TBD

8

Pond 16

TBD

8

Pond 17

TBD

8

19MSD-00268

Engineering Warehouse Part 2 (Bldg.

57)

Pond 1

TBD

8

Pond 2

TBD

8

Pond 3

TBD

8

Pond 4

TBD

8

Pond 5

TBD

8

19MSD-00334

South Campus Parking

Pond 1

TBD

8

Pond 2

TBD

8

Pond 3

TBD

8

Pond 4

TBD

8

Pond 5

TBD

8

Pond 6

TBD

8

Attachment B Field Report

Date

Work Performed

Check if work is performed

Area(s) of Work

Description of Work Completed

RESTORATION

Pruning

Weeding

Sediment removal

Debris removal

Trash removal

Herbicide application

Other:

STEWARDSHIP

Pruning

Weeding

Sediment removal

Debris removal

Trash removal

Fertilization

Herbicide application

Insect/Pest & disease inspection

Other: _

Signature of Contractor