99--Cemetery Ground Maintenance at Sam Houston and San Antonio National Cemeteries.

100% SERVICE-DISABLED VETERAN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS SET ASIDE The National Cemetery Administration is soliciting offers under Solicitation Number: VA786-15-R-0374 is a performance-based contract for cemetery grounds maintenance services at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery and San Antonio National Cemetery, San Antonio, Texas and hereafter referred to individually as "Cemetery" or collectively as the "San Antonio Complex" The overall responsibility of the Contractor is to plan, coordinate, organize, manage, and perform the activities of mowing and trimming, trimming around headstones, edging around flat markers, and curb/sidewalk edging at both Cemeteries; and weed control, fertilizing, ant control, and irrigation maintenance at San Antonio National Cemetery and associated services described herein required to maintain a healthy and aesthetic appearance of the Cemetery grounds. Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery is located at 1520 Harry Wurzbach Road, San Antonio, Texas 78209. San Antonio National Cemetery is located at 517 Paso Hondo Street, San Antonio, Texas 78202. The period of performance will be from Date of award through September 30, 2015, with four (4) 1-year options, if exercised, to extend the term of the contract through September 30, 2020. The Government will award this solicitation as a Firm Fixed Price Service Contract in accordance with the criteria contained in 52.212-2. The Contractor shall furnish all labor, supervision, professional expertise, vehicles, tools, equipment, materials, and services necessary to ensure that grounds maintenance is performed in a manner that shall meet or exceed the requirements to maintain healthy turf grass and that presents a clean, neat, professional and aesthetic grounds appearance throughout the Cemetery. The Contractor's performance will be based on the Contracting Officer's (CO) and Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) evaluation and of the results required by the Service Delivery Summary (SDS) and not the method of performance. It is at the Contractor's discretion to determine the methods to attain the level of service at the best value. The evaluation of results will be based on COR performance assessment, tenant satisfaction, and customer complaints. Final results of the evaluations will be the determining factor for the success or failure of this contract. The Contractor shall comply with applicable federal, regional, state, local laws, and commercial standards. Services include, but are not limited to, mowing, trimming (features and headstones), edging (features and flat markers), weed control, fertilizing, ant control, irrigation system maintenance, removal of trash (generated by the Contractor), as well as sweeping or blowing off grass from sidewalks, roads and headstones. Scheduling of services shall be coordinated with the COR to avoid disruption of ongoing Cemetery operations. All work shall be done during normal Federal workdays during Cemetery workday hours. The exception is Memorial Day, which may be a workday for Federal employees, but not for the Contractor. No work shall be allowed during special weekend activities. The Contractor shall be responsible for full management of the facilities' grounds maintenance services described herein. The Government's objectives are described in the NCA's "Operational Standards and Measures" (given upon request of the Contracting Officer), the Performance Work Statement (PWS), and other requirements identified herein, as they are applicable to the services required in the Pricing Schedule. The Contractor shall develop a "Performance Work Plan" that contains solutions to accomplish the Government's objectives. The Contractor may use whatever method it chooses to meet the objectives, as long as the end result satisfies the minimum acceptable levels of performance as defined in Services Delivery Summary (SDS). Improved Grounds Mowing. The Contractor shall mow all Improved Grounds to look well-manicured, with a neat and professional appearance at all times. Improved Grounds are visually prominent and medium visual impact areas requiring more frequent maintenance, such as burial areas, high visibility specialty areas, and non-burial areas (see Attachment 6, Definitions). All Improved Grounds shall be maintained in the same manner as a high quality residential lawn under contract from a professional lawn maintenance service. This generally requires a complete mow/trim cycle every week during the growing season (April through September). Mowed areas shall be uniform in appearance, free of skips, gaps, scalping, rutting, bruising, and uneven and rough cutting. The Contractor shall maintain grass height within one (1) inch (+/-) of that which is professionally recommended for the predominant grass type at the Cemeteries (Bermuda 419) or as directed by the COR. Optimally, the height should be no more than one-half an inch (½") above the recommended range for the type of turf at the Cemetery as directed by the COR. The typical acceptable height ranges between 1 and 2 inches (optimal height of 2 inches); however, the COR, with input from the Memorial Service Network (MSN) Agronomist, may direct the Contractor on the particular height to mow at any given time depending on weather conditions. The Contractor shall be required to pick up, collect and dispose of debris and trash (see Attachment 6, Definitions), natural and manmade, prior to and after mowing/trimming any area. The Contractor shall identify, move and replace all floral or commemorative items, etc. to their original locations as necessary while performing mowing/trimming services. The Contractor shall keep all headstones, flat markers, monuments, roadways, walkways (inside and out), flagpole bases, public visitor areas including at the Committal Shelter, or other non-turf areas free of clipping or edging deposits. Clippings shall be mechanically blown or swept onto nearby turf areas when possible, or collected and disposed of on the same day as the mowing, trimming, or edging event that produced them. At no time is freshly mowed grass to be blown onto headstones The Contractor shall immediately remove and dispose of, or mulch clearly visible clumps of grass clippings on top of the turf to prevent the appearance of windrows. The Contractor shall use commercial grade rear-discharge mowers or commercial grade mowers with mulching decks only. The Contractor shall use properly maintained and adjusted cutting equipment to prevent streaks or irregularities, uneven cutting, plowing, or gouging of the soil. Cutting blades on mowing and trimming equipment must be kept sharp so that grass tips are cleanly cut and not torn or damaged. Riding mowers may be used if they are not operated within two (2) inches of markers, monuments, tree trunks or other vertical surfaces. All mowing equipment shall be cleaned before unloading or mowing at the Cemetery to reduce the risk of introducing contaminant weed seeds into the Cemetery turf. No equipment shall be cleaned on Cemetery property. The Contractor shall hand mow new seed/sod areas (present at all newly buried gravesites, second interment gravesites, and repaired gravesite locations) until they are fully established to the point where they will not be damaged by riding mowers. The Contractor shall be familiar with and utilize different mowing patterns and shall change direction, change patterns, and vary mower wheel width patterns after each mowing thereby reducing turf wear, prevent wheel rutting, and provide a neater appearance. All mowing around trees will be accomplished in a manner that prevents a "ringing pattern" around the tree and associated damage to turf. There may be periods of excessive rainfall when the Contractor cannot access areas for mowing due to excessive wetness. The COR has the authority to stop work if weather conditions are such that work that day will do more damage than good to the Cemetery grounds. During these periods, the Contractor shall be expected to ensure the grass is cut in less than a week's time once grass is suitable for mowing. Trimming. The Contractor shall trim grass and vegetation around vertical surfaces or any other structure or area that cannot be maintained by traditional mowing equipment to match surrounding area grass height within Improved Grounds. Streaks or irregularities, uneven cutting, plowing, or gouging of the soil is unacceptable. The vertical surfaces to be trimmed include headstones, flat markers, section markers, monuments, trees, planting beds, shrubs, buildings, curbs/curbing, fences, walls, poles, signs, fire hydrants, parking lot bumper blocks, boulders, utility/valve boxes and covers. The Contractor shall trim turf grass surrounding headstones and flat markers to its recommended height for the type of turf at the Cemeteries after each mowing cycle. The Contractor shall trim all areas concurrent with mowing. Trimming operations of all non-mowed turf areas shall be considered a part of mowing. The Contractor shall mow first, followed by trimming. The Contractor shall remove or mulch grass clippings when visible after trimming, before leaving work area. The Contractor shall exercise caution to avoid contact with headstones, markers, monuments, building walls, trees, shrubs, flowers, any other desirable plant materials, etc. or any other structure than can be damaged by contact with the trimming device's cutting instrument. The Contractor shall use commercial grade power trimmers and power edger's to trim grass from around headstones, flat markers, monuments, section markers, etc. The Contractor shall use trimmers with a plastic blade attachment to cleanly trim edges around all headstones and flat markers, monuments, section markers, etc. or as otherwise approved by the COR. Feature Edging. The Contractor shall blade edge all streets, curbs, walkways, tree wells, permanent building/structure lines, and planting beds. Edging shall provide a clear zone ½" to 1" wide by 2" to 3" deep with all vegetation removed from joints and cracks. Damage to asphalt/concrete shall be avoided. Edging events shall be completed as ordered by the COR. The first edging cycle shall be completed approximately at the start of the mowing season, the second cycle one week prior to Memorial Day, the third during the month of July, and a fourth edging during the month of September. Additional edging events may be scheduled by the COR. The exact dates will be provided by the COR. Flat Marker Blade Edging. The Contractor shall edge turf perpendicular to the outside perimeter (edge) of flat grave markers to remove all grass/vegetation that is growing around or over the entire outside perimeter of the flat grave markers during each mow/trim cycle. The depth of the vertical cut at the edge of the flat markers shall be 1" to 2" deep and the width of the cut shall not exceed ½". There shall be a clean and neat vertical edge left around each flat marker. No metal blades shall be used to edge around flat markers. The Contractor shall exercise caution not to chip flat markers with blades. Flat markers are grouped together in the same burial sections. Semi-Improved Grounds Mowing and Trimming. The Contractor shall mow and trim all Semi-Improved Grounds to look neat and professional. The Semi-Improved Grounds at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery are medium visual impact, native grass/plant areas near the Assembly Area, around the irrigation pond, and along the streets exterior to the Cemetery (indicated on Grounds Map) that are generally viewed at a distance and/or meant to be maintained in a neat but natural state. The Contractor shall maintain grass height between 4 and 6 inches. This generally requires a complete mow/trim cycle every two weeks during the growing season (March through November). Mowed areas shall be uniform in appearance, free of skips, gaps, scalping, rutting, bruising, and uneven and rough cutting. Trimming height shall match surrounding area grass height. All areas shall be trimmed concurrent with mowing. Fences in Semi-improved areas shall be free of vines/vegetation. The Contractor shall mulch or remove grass clippings when visible after trimming, before leaving work area. Weed Control. The Contractor shall control broadleaf and grassy weeds through execution of a weed control program appropriate for the area, in accordance with NCA Handbook 3410, Integrated Pest Management Procedures for VA National Cemeteries, and current federal, state, and local regulations. The Contractor shall comply with all applicable parts of 29 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 1910, Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Standards; 29 CFR 1925, Labor, Safety and Health Standards for Federal Service Contracts; 40 CFR 150-189, Protection of Environment, Pesticide Program; and 49 CFR 171, Transportation, General Information, Regulations, and Definitions. This acquisition is 100% Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Business Set-Aside. The NAICS Code is 561730. Size standard is $7.5 Million. Electronic solicitations will be available for download from Federal Business Opportunities http://www.FedBizOpps.gov on or around August 27, 2015. Responses to the solicitation are due by 2:00 p.m. on or about September 17, 2015. Offeror's are advised that they are responsible for obtaining amendments to the solicitation which will be available at FedBizOpps. No telephone requests will be accepted. Any questions should be sent via email and addressed to: Henry Dukes, Contracting Officer in writing at contact@example.gov. All proposals must be submitted through the Department of Veterans Affairs - Electronic Management System (eCMS) Vendor Portal website in order to be considered for award. https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov. PRE-BID SITE VISIT: Pre-bid site visit inspection is highly recommended, contact the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) to schedule visit. Please go to the VA eCMS Vendor Portal website at https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov to register. Once on the webpage, proceed to the Vendor Portal Login section located on the far left side of the webpage and click on 'Request a user account' to register. In the event an Offeror is unable to submit a proposal through the Vendor Portal domain, prior to the proposal closing date, contact the VAAS helpdesk at +1 (555) 000-0000, or via email at contact@example.gov. Submission of proposals through email will not be accepted. Proposal transmission/uploads must be completed by the date/time specified. Late or incomplete Proposals will not be considered. No telephone requests will be accepted. Any questions should be sent via email to: Henry Dukes at: contact@example.gov by September 09, 2015. DESIGNATED CONTRACTING OFFICER'S REPRESENTATIVE (COR): The VA Contact Person is Ms. Sara Elton at: +1 (555) 000-0000 or Aubrey David at: +1 (555) 000-0000 contact@example.gov or contact@example.gov NOTE: VENDORS MUST BE CERTIFIED IN VETBIZ IN ORDER TO BE AWARDED THE CONTRACT AT TIME OF AWARD. IF YOU ARE NOT VERIFIED AS A SERVICE DISABLED VETERAN OWNED SMALL BUSINESS YOU MAY SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION AT VETBIZ.GOV