Grounds Maintenance at the NOAA Wallops CDA Station

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial services prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Parts 12, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice and in accordance with the simplified acquisition procedures authorized in FAR Part 13. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. Solicitation Number EE133E-17-RQ-0497 is issued as a request for quotation with a base year and four (4) additional 12-month option years. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NESDIS, has a requirement to provide landscaping services in Wallops Island, VA. This requirement is a small business set a side. The North American Industry Classification Code (NAICS) is 561730 and the Small Business Size Standard is $6.5 million. The resulting purchase order shall be a combination firm fixed and time and materials price. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-95 effective January 19, 2017. 1. Background: The Wallops Command and Data Acquisition Station, herein referred to as the "Station", is a tenant partner of NASA Wallops Flight Facility. The Station's mission is to provide ground systems support to the National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service (NESDIS). The Station commands and receives data from the nation's environmental satellites including Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites (POES), and the Geosynchronous Orbiting Environmental Satellites (GOES) to promote, protect, and enhance the Nation's economy, security, environment, and quality of life. The Station is situated within Wallops Neck, on the mainland of Virginia's Eastern Shore, in northern Accomack County. The facility is located on the south bank of Little Mosquito Creek, at the northeast corner of NASA's WFF and located immediately west of Chincoteague Island, north of State Route 175. The physical address is 35663 Chincoteague Road, Wallops Island, VA. This grounds maintenance contract is necessary not only to maintain the aesthetic appearance of the Station's property, but to ensure a safe operating environment for our employees, contractors, and visitors. 2. Scope: Provide grounds keeping services such as grass cutting, trimming, weed pulling, and snow/ice remediation as explained in sections 3, 4 and 5. For the grounds keeping (grass & trimming) the contractor is expected to show up no later than the third business day of the call for service. For snow removal, the contractor is expected to come when the snow stops falling or in time to perform this work before shift change (7 am and 7 pm). 3. Grass Cutting and Weed Trimming: 3.1 Provide for all grass cutting and weed trimming for the Station's approximately 39 acres of land within the fence line. Attachments A, B, and C have been provided as an explanation of the areas to be serviced. This includes all areas within the gridlines on Attachment C and shown in the aerial photographs in Attachment A and B. The attachments also illustrate various obstacles that may require maneuvering and/or trimming. The obstacles shown in Attachment A, B, and C are not all-inclusive, but represent a majority of the obstacles that are present. 3.2 This component also includes weeding the flower beds and trimming the crape myrtles and other plantings within the flower beds in front of the Operations Building when needed, as well as spraying for weeds and grass growing through cracks in sidewalks, roadways, and other concrete and asphalt pads throughout the Station. The hedges and other plantings in the flower beds need to be kept neatly trimmed and are to be kept from growing too close to the building or getting too tall under the overhang of the building. Clippings should be blown off the roads, parking lots, and sidewalks 3.3 All efforts shall be taken to avoid damage to obstacles such as cable vaults when mowing or trimming. Many cable vaults are made of a composite material that can be easily damaged by a mowing deck. 3.4 The grass should be cut as low as possible without the mower deck scrapping or damaging the ground. All efforts shall also be taken to avoid "skinning" the grass or cutting it too low so as to create an area of dead grass and exposed soil as this may cause erosion problems. This height will vary depending upon the terrain of the area being cut. 4. Perimeter Fence Grass Cutting and Trimming: Provide for all grass cutting and fence-line weed trimming outside of the Station's security fence where identified in Attachment D. Mow an area 20 feet wide along the fence line and trim weeds along the fence line. In some instances, trees or other obstacles may prevent mowing 20 feet from the fence, in which case the 20 feet requirement will be reduced. 5. Snow and Ice Remediation: 5.1 Provide snow removal and spread salt when necessary for the areas identified in Attachment E for the Station's roadways, parking lots, and antenna pads as directed by Authorizing Official/Designated Official. 5.2 Part A in Attachment E includes the Station's entry road and parking lots.\ 5.3 Part B and C in Attachment E include the Station's antenna access roads and antenna pads. 5.4 Coordinate with Station personnel to have vehicles moved from parking lots or roadways to complete this task. 5.5 Take all necessary precautions to avoid damaging property or the road surface with the snow removal equipment. 6. Interference to Antenna Systems via RFI/EMI: 6.1 All equipment used by the Contractor when working within the antenna field shall be of diesel combustion as the electronic ignition systems on gasoline engines interferes with the antenna operations. 6.2 Only diesel and gasoline powered equipment that is properly shielded and has been proven to not interfere may be allowed in the antenna field. RFI Shielding of a gasoline engine's ignition system can often be accomplished by the installation of a resistance spark plug. However, most modern engines have plastic/unshielded ignition coils, plug wires, etc. 3M and other manufacturers sell a conductive foil tape product that can be used to shield plastic or otherwise unshielded engine components. 6.3 In the event that a piece of equipment is found to be adversely affecting Station Operations, the Authorized Official and/or Designated Official may call a work stoppage. In which case the Contractor will be required to stop using that piece of equipment within the antenna field and shall find an alternate means of completing the task without additional cost to the Government. 7. Hours of Operation: 7.1 Grounds keeping work should normally be performed during the hours of 0800-1630, Monday thru Friday excluding Federal Holidays. Snow removal work will be dictated by weather conditions. 7.2 Any work outside normal hours requires prior approval of the designated COR. 8. Designation of Authority: 8.1 During off-hours, 16:30 to 08:00, the Designated Official will be the Operations Supervisor. 8.2 During normal business hours, 08:00 to 16:30, the Authorized Official will be from the (Support Branch Chief) and/or the (Facilities Maintenance Supervisor). Contact information for these parties will be provided to the Contractor following award. 8.3 At award the successful offeror shall provide a point of contact (POC) who has authority to respond to Station requests for these services in a timely manner. 9. Security Background Investigative Requirements: The Contractor shall submit the names (First, Middle, and Last Name) and nationalities of all employees serving under this SOW. The list of names shall be submitted 2-business days after the contract is awarded and 5 business days prior to the start of work. 10. Safety and Health: 10.1 Contractor shall provide for the safety and health of their employees and all personal protective equipment. 10.2 The Contractor, and employees thereof, shall comply with all Station safety policies as provided by the Authorized Official. 10.3 The Contractor, and employees thereof, shall read and understand the Station visitor/contractor policy. 11. Deviations: Contractor must have approval of the Contracting Officer before any changes are implemented into the requirement. 12. Liability: 12.1 Contractor shall be fully liable for the conduct of their employees during the performance of this agreement. 12.2 When cutting grass or other activities that may stir up dust or projectile debris, the Contractor and employees thereof, shall take all measures necessary to avoid damage to surrounding properties of both the Government and its employees or visitors. 12.3 The Contractor shall repair any damage to those facilities, including those that are the property of a third party, resulting from failure to comply with the requirements of this agreement or failure to exercise reasonable care in performing the work. If the Contractor fails or refuses to repair the damaged property, the Station may have the necessary work performed and charge the cost to the contractor. 13. Cost Chart: 13.1 Each offeror shall complete the chart below indicating their costs per task category. 13.2 Assumption in calculation of the offerors pricing for grass cutting. Within the fence lines will be requested once every two weeks depending on precipitation and the rate of grass growth during the spring, summer, and fall months. 13.3 Grass cutting outside the fence line on the north side of the campus will likely be required once every 4 to 6 weeks during the spring, summer, and fall months. 13.4 The "Cost of service per call" category in the "Basis of Price" column refers to the price for completing all tasks within that work element. I.E. Task 1and 2 includes all mowing, trimming, weed pulling, within section 3 and illustrated in Attachment A & B as well as outside the security fence perimeter in Attachment D. 13.5 The "Cost of service per hour" category in the "Basis of Price column refers to the price per hour when engaged in the task within that element. I.E. When called upon for snow removal services, the contractor will be billed at the stated hourly rate X dollars per hour from the time the Contractor arrives at the Station to perform the task to the time the task is complete. In the case of snow removal, several factors could change the amount of time necessary to complete the task such as coordinating with the Operations Supervisor to have personal vehicles moved or continuous snow fall. 13.6 Materials will be included for all tasks. Commerce Acquisition Regulation (CAR) clauses: CAR 1352.201-70 Contracting Officer's Authority (APR 2010) CAR 1352.209-73 Compliance with the Laws (APR 2010) CAR 1352.209-74 Organizational Conflict of Interest (APR 2010) CAR 1352.233-70 Agency Protests (APR 2010) {Fill-in paragraph "b": Department of Commerce, NOAA, NESDIS, Field Delegate 1335 East West Highway, room 8472, silver Spring, MD 20910; fill-in paragraph "c": U.S Department of Commerce, Senior Procurement Executive, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW Suite 6422, Washington DC 20230} The following FAR clause is provided in full text: FAR clause 52.212-2, EVALUATION--COMMERCIAL ITEMS (OCT 2014) (a) 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) The offerors capability to successfully perform the contract (2) Price. (b) "Options." The Government will evaluate offers for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement. The Government may determine that an offer is unacceptable if the option prices are significantly unbalanced. Evaluation of options shall not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s). (c) A written notice of award or acceptance of an offer, mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful offeror within the time for acceptance specified in the offer, shall result in a binding contract without further action by either party. Before the offer's specified expiration time, the Government may accept an offer (or part of an offer), whether or not there are negotiations after its receipt, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received before award. (End of Provision) 52.203-99, PROHIBITION ON CONTRACTING WITH ENTITIES THAT REQUIRE CERTAIN INTERNAL CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENTS (DEVIATION 2015-02) PROHIBITION ON CONTRACTING WITH ENTITIES THAT REQUIRE CERTAIN INTERNAL CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENTS (FEB 2015) (a) The Contractor shall not require employees or subcontractors seeking to report fraud, waste, or abuse to sign or comply with internal confidentiality agreements or statements prohibiting or otherwise restricting such employees or subcontractors from lawfully reporting such waste, fraud, or abuse to a designated investigative or law enforcement representative of a Federal department or agency authorized to receive such information. (b) The contractor shall notify employees that the prohibitions and restrictions of any internal confidentiality agreements covered by this clause are no longer in effect. (c) The prohibition in paragraph (a) of this clause does not contravene requirements applicable to Standard Form 312, Form 4414, or any other form issued by a Federal department or agency governing the nondisclosure of classified information. (d)(1) In accordance with section 743 of Division E, Title VII, of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Resolution Appropriations Act, 2015 (Pub. L. 113-235), use of funds appropriated (or otherwise made available) under that or any other Act may be prohibited, if the Government determines that the Contractor is not in compliance with the provisions of this clause. (1) The Government may seek any available remedies in the event the Contractor fails to comply with the provisions of this clause. (End of Provision) 52.203-98, PROHIBITION ON CONTRACTING WITH ENTITIES THAT REQUIRE CERTAIN INTERNAL CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENTS-REPRESENTATION (DEVIATION 2015-02) PROHIBITION ON CONTRACTING WITH ENTITIES THAT REQUIRE CERTAIN INTERNAL CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENTS-REPRESENTATION (FEB 2015) (a) In accordance with section 743 of Division E, Title VII, of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Resolution Appropriations Act, 2015 (Pub. L. 113-235), Government agencies are not permitted to use funds appropriated (or otherwise made available) under that or any other Act for contracts with an entity that requires employees or subcontractors of such entity seeking to report fraud, waste, or abuse to sign internal confidentiality agreements or statements prohibiting or otherwise restricting such employees or subcontractors from lawfully reporting such waste, fraud, or abuse to a designated investigative or law enforcement representative of a Federal department or agency authorized to receive such information. (b) The prohibition in paragraph (a) of this provision does not contravene requirements applicable to Standard Form 312, Form 4414, or any other form issued by a Federal department or agency governing the nondisclosure of classified information. (c) Representation. By submission of its offer, the Offeror represents that it does not require employees or subcontractors of such entity seeking to report fraud, waste, or abuse to sign internal confidentiality agreements or statements prohibiting or otherwise restricting such employees or subcontractors from lawfully reporting such waste, fraud, or abuse to a designated investigative or law enforcement representative of a Federal department or agency authorized to receive such information. 52.217-6 -- Option for Increased Quantity (Mar 1989) The Government may increase the quantity of supplies called for in the Schedule at the unit price specified. The Contracting Officer may exercise the option by written notice to the Contractor within 30-days of the expiration of the performance period. Delivery of the added items shall continue at the same rate as the like items called for under the contract, unless the parties otherwise agree. (End of provision) 52.217-9 --Option to Extend the Term of the Contract (Mar 2000) (a) The Government may extend the term of this contract by written notice to the Contractor within 60-days; provided that the Government gives the Contractor a preliminary written notice of its intent to extend at least 30 days before the contract expires. The preliminary notice does not commit the Government to an extension. (b) If the Government exercises this option, the extended contract shall be considered to include this option clause. (c) The total duration of this contract, including the exercise of any options under this clause, shall not exceed 60 (months) (End of Clause) The following FAR Provisions and Clauses are incorporated by reference: 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors (OCT 2015) 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items (APR 2016) 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items (MAY 2015) 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required To Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items (MAR 2016) applies to this acquisition and the following additional FAR clauses cited in the clause at paragraph (b) are applicable to this acquisition: 52.204-10, Reporting Executive Compensation and First-Tier Subcontract Awards (NOV 2015) 52.209-6, Protecting the Government's Interest when Subcontracting with Contractors Debarred, Suspended, or Proposed for Debarment (OCT 2015) 52.219-6, Notice of Total Small Business Set Aside, (NOV 2011) 52.219-28, Post Award Small Business Program Representation (JUL 2013) 52.222-3, Convict Labor, (JUN 2003) 52.222-19, Child Labor--Cooperation with Authorities and Remedies (FEB 2016) 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities, (APR 2015) 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity, (APR 2015) 52.222-36, Equal Opportunity for Workers with Disabilities (JUL 2014) 52.222-50, Combating Trafficking in Persons (MAR 2015) 52.223-18, Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging While Driving (AUG 2011) 52.225-1, Buy American Act -- Supplies, (MAY 2014) 52.225-3, Buy American Act - Free Trade Agreements - Israeli Trade Act (MAY 2014) 52.225-13, Restrictions on Certain Foreign Purchases, (JUN 2008) 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer - System for Award Management, (JUL 2013) 52.233-4, Applicable Law for Breach of Contract Claim (Oct 2004) 52.239-1, Privacy or Security Safeguards (AUG 1996) 52.232-39, Unenforceability of Unauthorized obligations (JUN 2013) 52.232-40, Providing Accelerated Payments to Small Business Subcontractors (DEC 2013) 52.222-41, Service Contract Act of 1965, 52.222-42, Statement of Equivalent Rates for Federal Hires In order to comply with the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996, ALL Vendors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) to be considered for an award of a Federal contract. For information regarding registration in SAM, contact the SAM website at www.sam.gov. Additionally, each offeror must obtain, and provide with the quote, their nine-digit Dun and Bradstreet (DUNS) number. All questions pertaining to this RFQ must be submitted in writing to contact@example.gov. (E-mail only) by 1:00 P.M. EST on June 23, 2017. All responsible sources may submit a quotation which shall be considered by the agency. Quotes must be submitted via electronic means (e-mail) by 1:00 P.M. EST on June 29, 2017; any award resulting from this RFQ will be made based on meeting technical specifications, delivery date, and price. Quotes must be submitted electronically via e-mail to contact@example.gov The anticipated award date is on or about July 15, 2017. Contractors are encouraged to register with the FedBizOpps Vendor Notification Service as well as the Interested Vendors List for this acquisition (see applicable tab within FedBizOpps where this synopsis/solicitation is posted). Potential offerors may direct all inquiries pertaining to the solicitation in writing to contact@example.gov. Telephonic requests will not be honored.