GROUNDS MAINTENANCE SERVICE CONTRACT FOR NIH BETHESDA AND NIHAC POOLESVILLE

The purpose of this contract module is to provide grounds maintenance services for the National Institutes of Health(NIH) Bethesda, Maryland campus and the National Institutes of Health Animal Center (NIHAC) Poolesville, Marylandcampus as specified herein. The performance period is for a basic period of twelve months (March 1, 2012 to February 28, 2013) with four, one-year,consecutive, option renewal years. The Contractor shall perform grounds maintenance services at the NIH Bethesda and NIHAC Poolesvillecampuses.Grounds Maintenance Services include the following categories of services: An organization that is not considered an 8(a) small business under the applicable NAICS code should NOT submit a response to this notice." Background: The Contractor shall perform Grounds Maintenance Services at the NIH Bethesda and NIHAC Poolesville campuses. Within the NIH Bethesda Campus, the Edmond F. Safra Family Lodge, the Children's Inn, and the Clinical Research Center (CRC) Courtyards tenants will receives special grounds maintenance services, according to exclusive needs. Grounds Maintenance Services include the following categories of services: Turf Maintenance Services, Ice and Snow Removal Services, Annual Snow Removal Plan, Tree Maintenance Services, Grounds Maintenance Service Calls, Street/ Parking Lot/Service Area Sweeping, Multi-level Parking Garage Scrubbing and Power-washing, Recycling Services, Irrigation System Maintenance, Decorative Pool and Fountain Maintenance, Ponds Maintenance, Fish Population Surveys Services, and Trash/Debris Removal Services. The work shall be performed by a specialty contractor and/or subcontractor(s). A specialty contractor shall mean a contractor of established reputation in the field of general and specific turf maintenance. The Contractor shall perform work independently and not as an agent of the Government. The Contractor shall provide all of the necessary qualified personnel, material, equipment, tools, and supplies as needed to perform any or all of the requested services as described herein this RFP. Purpose and Objectives: NIH Bethesda Campus: The Contractor shall perform all aspects of grounds maintenance services for the NIH Bethesda Campus, which encompasses approximately 308 acres. Structures, parking areas, roadways, and walkways account for over half the acreage mostly in the center of the campus. The greatest amount of the grass area of about 100 acres is around the exterior of the campus. There are approximately 700 shrub and flower beds of various sizes totaling approximately 20 acres. There are approximately 35 wooded reforestation acres (where grass is not to be mowed) mostly around the exterior of the campus. There are approximately 8,000 trees of various sizes and species. There are approximately 41 acres of paved parking lots, six (6) miles of roads, 21 miles of walkways, and four (4) miles of fence lines and vehicle cable barrier lines. NIHAC Poolesville Campus: The Contractor shall perform all aspects of grounds maintenance for the NIHAC Poolesville Campus, which encompasses approximately 500 acres, which includes approximately 85 acres of lawn in and around the structures area and approximately 180 acres of pasture land. The remaining acreage is wooded. Structures, parking areas, roadways, and walkways account for approximately 10 acres. There are approximately 300 non-forest trees of various sizes and species. There are approximately 14 acres of paved parking lots, roads, and walkways and about 9 miles of fence lines. There is a main pond and a monkey habitat pond totaling about 4 acres. Project Requirements: Turf Maintenance Services: The Contractor shall perform Turf Maintenance Services which include the following work: Mowing grounds, trimming grass after mowing, trimming grass around fences, edging walkways, edging hedges/flower beds/window wells, repairing damaged turf areas, replacing hedges/shrubs/flowers/ground cover plants, watering hedges/shrub/ground cover/flowers/trees, pruning hedges/shrubs/ground cover/flowers/trees, aerifying, overseeding, fertilizing, weeding, mulching, soil testing for pH, pesticides application, herbicide vegetation control, leaves collection/removal, and litter control on all grounds and pavement areas. Maintain grounds at the Edmond F. Safra Family Lodge, the Children's Inn, and the Clinical Research Center (CRC) Courtyards, with special emphasis on specific needs. Grounds Maintenance Service Calls: The Contractor shall perform on-call general Grounds Maintenance Service Calls in response to Government requests for work. The Contractor shall respond to be on site to start work within one hour of receiving a service call requirement from the Government and proceed until the work is completed. The Contractor shall provide all required materials. The Contractor shall notify the Project Officer by telephone when the Contractor's work force is on site prepared to begin work. Tree Maintenance Services: The Contractor shall perform Tree Maintenance Services which includethe following work: Tree Inspection, inventory, mapping, pruning, removal, planting, stump grinding/removal, fine/standard pruning, pesticide application, emergency maintenance response services, and other types of tree maintenance and arborist services that the Government may require. Ice & Snow Removal Services: The Contractor shall perform Ice and Snow Removal Services on the grounds of the NIH Bethesda and NIHAC Poolesville Campuses to clear all roads, walkways, parking areas, pavement areas, campus and building entry ways, docks, and other designated areas within and along the boundaries of the two campuses. De-icing application and storm debris removal are included in this requirement. Immediately following snow and ice removal, the Contractor shall evenly apply a deicing compound and/or sand/salt abrasive to the full surface area immediately following snow and ice removal. Street/Parking Lot/Service Area Sweeping and Vacuuming: The Contractor shall sweep NIH Campus streets and service areas monthly or approximately twelve (12) times per year depending upon the weather. The Contractor shall schedule sweepings for weekends and evenings, when the majority of vehicles are gone. The Contractor shall sweep NIH Campus parking lots three (3) times during each contract year. The Contractor shall sweep parking lots free of accumulated and loose sand, grit, litter, trash, leaves, and other organic matter. The Contractor shall sweep up to and along the edges of wheel stops with a mechanical street sweeping machine. The Contractor shall remove debris from the back of wheel stops with a vacuum wand or shall manually sweep debris to the front where it can be removed with a mechanical street sweeping machine. The Contractor shall vacuum up surface debris and not sweep debris off the sides of the pavement. The Contractor shall periodically clean and/or replace vacuum equipment filters and dust control protective features. There are approximately 781,000 square feet of uncovered parking lots. There are approximately 41 acres of paved parking lots, six (6) miles of roads, 21 miles of walkways, and four (4) miles of fence lines and vehicle cable barrier lines. Multi-level Parking Garage Scrubbing, Trash/Debris Removal, and Power-washing Stairwells: The Contractor shall clean eight (8) Multiple Level Parking (MLP) garages. Two (2) parking garages are underground parking structures and most are stand alone parking structures. The Contractor shall pick up all loose trash and debris from entrance/exit ways and ramps, lobbies stairwells, elevators, elevator entrance areas, bicycle areas, wall appendages, overhead pipes and lights, and other garage surface areas and shall also sweep these areas to remove debris and dirt. The Contractor shall sweep stairwells clean from top to bottom to remove debris, dirt, and dust from stairs, landings, walls, rails, window wells, lights, and other surfaces. The Contractor shall remove accumulated sand, grit, and other debris from crevices and around/next to wheel stops, speed bumps, curbs, pillars, and walls. The Contractor shall remove sand, dirt, and debris from floor drains and inlets. The Contractor shall remove abandoned items. Trash/Debris Removal Services: Every weekend the Contractor shall remove trash litter bags, empty trash receptacles, replace plastic bag liners in receptacles, and relocate trash receptacles to desired designated locations in all eight (8) multilevel parking garages. There are approximately 115 trash receptacles in the parking garages. For disposal the Contractor shall place trash only in dumpsters as designated by the Project Officer and not in other Contractor's dumpsters. The Contractor shall leave receptacles in a clean condition. Receptacles are normally near stairwells and exits. The Contractor shall power-wash 19 stairwells of seven (7) multiple level parking garages two (2) times annually to remove dirt and stains from the steps, walls, pipes, crevices, and other surface areas. Debris Recycling/Composting and Annual Reporting: The Contractor shall dispose of yard waste, including plant clippings, grass clippings, thatch, wood chips, leaves, brush and branches of less than four inches (4") in diameter, stream debris or other organic compostable material must be disposed of in accordance with Montgomery County regulations #109-92 "Residential and Commercial Recycling". The Contractor shall submit written annual and quarterly recycling reports to the Project Officer. The Annual Report shall identify the number of tons of recyclable materials generated and the number of tons of materials actually recycled. The Contractor shall recycle at least 10% of total materials generated during the base year of the contract and at least an additional 10% each successive year of the contract in accordance with Montgomery County regulations with a minimum of 50% of materials recycled in the last year of the contract. Irrigation System Maintenance: The Contractor shall maintain irrigation systems at the Family Lodge, the Children's Inn, and the two CRC Courtyards. The Contractor shall inspect lawn and shrub irrigation systems apparatus for proper functioning with specific checks for broken, missing or misaligned sprinkler heads. The Contractor shall observe sprinkler water patterns for even coverage and note excessive or other distorted water coverage. The Contractor shall note water sprinkler performance issues on the Visit Report submitted to the Project Officer. The Contractor shall adjust drip irrigation system lines when needed. The Contractor shall bury drip irrigation lines back into the mulch when lines are found to be exposed or after the Contractor makes adjustments to the lines. The Contractor shall maintain and repair outdoor fountains and irrigation systems at the Family Lodge, the Children's Inn, and the two CRC Courtyards. Decorative Pool and Fountain Maintenance: The Contractor shall maintain the fountain at the Family Lodge and the two (2) fountains in the CRC Courtyards as part of the turf maintenance work to be performed at the Family Lodge and the CRC. The Contractor shall shut down and winterize the fountains the third week of October and open up and de-winterize the fountains for use the first week of April each year. The Contractor shall check fountains for proper operation during maintenance visits, clean/replace fountain filters periodically as needed, and maintain proper chemical balance of fountain water. The Contractor shall service fountain pumps and filtration systems when opening/de-winterizing fountains for use in April and again when shutting down/winterizing fountains in October. The Contractor shall repair fountain pumps and filtration systems as needed to operate properly. The Contractor shall report needed electrical and plumbing repairs when fountains have electrical power source or wiring problems and/or plumbing problems other than problems with the electrical pumps and filtration systems. Ponds Maintenance: The Contractor shall establish a pond management program to achieve functional, aesthetic, and recreational value for the use of the ponds on the NIHAC Poolesville grounds. As part of the pond management program, the Contractor shall maintain the main pond and the monkey habitat pond to meet USDA standards and the standards of the Maryland Department of Natural Resource Conservation. As part of the pond management program, the Contractor shall conduct bi-annual Fish Population Survey and submit the survey, along with recommendations for pond improvements, to the Project Officer within one (1) week of completing the survey. Main Pond: The Contractor shall perform maintenance treatments to control algae for the main pond on the NIHAC Poolesville grounds. The Contractor shall test for oxygen and pH level and restore water to the proper levels if needed. Maintenance treatments shall be performed each month for the months of May through September each year of the Contract. Monkey Habitat Pond: The Contractor shall perform two (2) maintenance treatments to control algae for the Monkey Pond on the NIHAC Poolesville grounds. Maintenance treatments shall be performed during May and August each year of the contract. The Contractor shall coordinate maintenance visits with the Project Officer in advance of visits. Aeration System Maintenance: The Contractor shall check and perform annual maintenance on the aeration system during the month of May each year of the contract. The Contractor shall make any necessary repairs to the aeration system. Deliverables: - Fish Population Survey Reports - Litter Control Reports - Nutrient Management Log - Maintenance visit Reports - Tree Leaf On/Leaf Off Inspection Reports - Tree Inventory and Mapping Survey Reports - Monthly Evaluation Reports; Turf Maintenance, Tree Maintenance, Snow/Ice Removal, and Herbicide Records. Anticipated Period of Performance: Base Year: March 1, 2012 to February 28, 2013, followed by four (4) subsequent option years. Other Important Considerations: Annual Work Plan for Grounds Maintenance Services: The Contractor shall plan and control all Grounds Maintenance Services work. The Contractor shall prepare an Annual Work Plan for all Grounds Maintenance Services by month and submit it to the Project Officer. The plan shall project the work events for each month by the week in which the Contractor intends to perform the events. The Project Officer will transmit approval electronically back to the Contractor prior to the start of the contract work year. During the course of the annual contract year, the Contractor shall adhere to the Annual Work Plan unless the Project Officer approves a formal request from the Contractor to modify or deviate from the Plan or the Project Officer requests a change to the plan.