AMENDMENT - Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire Claims Arbitration Services

The Federal Emergency Management Agency seeks qualified arbitrators to support the Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon Claims Office on an Advisory and Assistance Support contract, with proposals due October 29, 2026 at 3:00 PM ET. This is an amended solicitation (Amendment 10-23-2026) incorporating updated RFP, Performance Work Statement, pricing template, evaluation factors, and responses to consolidated questions. The procurement is unrestricted (no small business set-aside) and will award a single Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contract under NAICS 541199, All Other Legal Services.

Place of performance is Santa Fe, New Mexico. The contract covers a 12-month base period (November 19, 2026 to November 18, 2027) plus two optional 12-month extension periods. FEMA estimates up to 1,700 arbitration hearings over the entire performance period: 55% during the base period, 35% during Option Period 1, and 10% during Option Period 2, averaging up to 8 hearings weekly. Cases valued at $500,000 or less require a single arbitrator; cases exceeding $500,000 require a three-arbitrator panel.

The contractor must maintain a roster of up to 20 qualified arbitrators with active bar membership in good standing and at least 10 years of legal experience in agriculture, civil litigation, insurance claims, commercial litigation, business transactions, forestry, land use, water rights, or property valuation. All arbitrators must have at least 5 years of arbitration or judicial experience. All contractor personnel require favorably adjudicated background investigations and security clearances. Arbitration complexity is categorized as low (6–12 hours, approximately 90% of cases), moderate (12–18 hours, approximately 2%), and high (18–24 hours, approximately 8%). Hearings must be scheduled within 90 days of case assignment, conducted primarily virtually with up to 5% requiring in-person proceedings in New Mexico. Final written decisions are due within 10 calendar days of hearing conclusion.

The contract is hybrid Firm-Fixed-Price/Time and Materials/Labor Hour with six CLINs: start-up tasks (FFP $30,000), Project Management Office personnel (FFP monthly at 4% of core arbitration costs), travel and miscellaneous costs (T&M), travel and training time (Labor Hour), case review and arbitration hearings by complexity (FFP per case), and case review overtime (T&M). Total Independent Government Cost Estimate is $348,890 across all periods. The Government will establish a not-to-exceed ceiling for travel-related other direct costs.

Evaluation uses a best-value tradeoff approach weighting non-price factors significantly more heavily than price across five factors in order of importance: Corporate Experience, Key Personnel, Management Plan, Past Performance, and Price. Offerors rated Low Confidence on any non-price factor are ineligible for award. For Corporate Experience, contractors must demonstrate three Government or commercial prime contracts within the past five years involving arbitration services, each with minimum actual incurred costs of $1 million, similar in scope and complexity. Key Personnel submissions must include resumes for 20 proposed arbitrators and a Program Manager, with preference for local New Mexico arbitrators without conflicts of interest. Management Plan (maximum 10 pages) must address organizational structure, technical approach, cost control, quality control, project schedule, and strategies to maximize local arbitrators and maintain roster availability during extended inactivity. Past Performance submissions (maximum 6 pages) must address three relevant contracts. Proposals must be submitted electronically in two separate volumes: Volume I (technical and past performance as PDF) and Volume II (pricing using provided Excel worksheet). Questions are due October 22, 2026 at 3:00 PM ET. Administrative Contracting Officers are Lisa Thibodeaux and Sharon Edwards; submit to lisa.thibodeaux@fema.dhs.gov and sharon.edwards3@fema.dhs.gov.