Greenhouse Shade Cloth Replacement

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Soil Management and Sugarbeet Research Unit (SMSBRU) has a requirement for the replacement of greenhouse shade cloth at the CROPS Research Laboratory in Fort Collins, CO. Overview: The USDA, ARS, SMSBRU has four greenhouses at the CROPS Research Laboratory in Fort Collins, CO. The greenhouses are roughly 10 years old, and as such, the shade cloth is in need of replacement. See the attached Statement of Work for the complete requirement. Solicitation #AG-8KAP-S-16-0004 is issued as a Request for Quote (RFQ). The solicitation document, with the incorporated clauses and provisions, is issued in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and will be incorporated in the awarded firm-fixed price purchase order. Interested vendors should reference the solicitation documents for all terms and conditions. All interested parties are responsible for monitoring this website to ensure they have the most current information (i.e. Amendments) for the solicitation. No paper solicitation will be available. Notice of Set-Aside for Small Business Concerns: This requirement is a Total Small Business Set Aside. The associated NAICS code is 238390, Other Building Finishing Contractors. The small business size standard is $15.0 Million. Magnitude of the Project: Between $25,000 and $100,000 Period of Performance: 90 days after receipt of the Notice to Proceed Bonds: If the contract exceeds $35,000, the bidder to whom award is made shall furnish a payment security, which can be a payment bond or an alternative form per FAR 52.228-13 - Alternative Payment Protections, and AGAR 452.228-70 - Alternative Forms of Security. Wages: The minimum wage rates, required by the Davis-Bacon Act, to be paid to the various classes of laborers and mechanics employed on this project are set forth in attachment 4, Davis Bacon Wage Determination. Site Visit: An organized site visit will be conducted on Feb. 11th, 2016 at 10am MST. The site visit will be held at the project location. Please contact Molly Jackson at contact@example.gov if interested in attending the site visit. The site visit will be held for the purpose of providing contractors with the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the site which may be helpful in the preparation of offers. Attendance at this site visit is not mandatory for offer submission. However, failure to visit the site will not relieve or mitigate the successful contractor's responsibility and obligation to fully comply with the terms, conditions, and specifications contained and/or referenced in this document. Questions: All questions regarding the solicitation must be submitted in writing to the Contracting Officer, Molly Jackson, via email to contact@example.gov. Questions must be submitted no later than 4pm MST, Feb. 19th, 2016. Biobased Products: This procurement requires the use of Biobased products to the extent that such products are reasonably available, meet agency or relevant industry performance standards, and are reasonably priced. The products should first be acquired from the USDA designated products categories. All supplies and materials shall be of a type and quantity that conform to applicable Federal specifications and standards, and to the extent feasible and reasonable; include the exclusive use of biobased and recycled products. Please visit www.biopreferred.gov for more information on the USDA Biobased Program and to reference the catalog of mandatory biobased products. Also visit http://cfr.regstoday.com/7cfr3201.aspx to find the list of biobased designated items. Quote Submission Instructions: 1. Read the solicitation in its entirety. 2. Quote submissions need to include a completed and signed copy of page one, the Standard Form 18 (SF-18), with a technical proposal. The quote should also include any other documentation deemed necessary, such as past performance references, referenced on page 13. 3. Quotes must be submitted via email by 4pm MST, Feb. 26th, 2016, to Molly Jackson at contact@example.gov. 4. This is a "Buy Best Value" Acquisition. Award of the contract resulting from this solicitation will be made to the responsible offeror, as defined by FAR 9.104-1, whose proposal offers the "best value" to the Government, which may not necessarily be the quote offering the lowest price nor the highest technical score. In the event two or more offerors within the competitive range are considered essentially equal in terms of technical competence, the Government reserves the right to award to the offeror with the lowest realistic price. The Government may elect to conduct discussions with offerors whose quotes are technically acceptable (or which may be expected to be made acceptable by moderate modification) and fall within the competitive price range. The Government reserves the right, however, to award a contract based on initial offers without conducting discussions. Therefore, each quote should be submitted in the most favorable terms, from a price and technical standpoint. Contractor shall be registered in the SAM (System for Award Management) at https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/ prior to the offer receipt time. Quotes received from vendors not registered by the submission deadline will be rejected and not considered for award. Criteria for Evaluating Proposals: The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers: 1. Technical: This factor will be evaluated based on how well the offeror demonstrates their ability to meet the requirements outlined in the Statement of Work. 2. Past Performance: This factor will be evaluated based on the offeror's capability and capacity to meet the contract requirements, based on past contract performance. Past performance will be assessed based on references or by known past performance with the procurement office. Offerors should provide references for TWO similar contracts completed within the last two years. If no references are provided and there is no known past performance with the procurement office, the vendor will be given a neutral rating. 3. Price: Offerors are encouraged to provide discounts in their pricing. The Government will evaluate prices offered for reasonableness in accordance with FAR 13.106-3(a) - Basis for Award. The Technical and Past Performance evaluation factors, when combined, are of equal importance to the Price evaluation factor.