R -- Lawn and Grounds Maintenance Services, NIEHS, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina

THIS IS A MARKET SURVEY, NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALThe National Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of Research Facilities (ORF), Office of Acquisitions is seeking Sources Sought from 8(a), HUB Zone, Service-Disabled Veterans, Small Disadvantaged and Women-Owned Small Businesses to provide Lawn and Grounds Maintenance Services at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. All efforts of the contractor shall be directed toward enhancing, beautifying, creating, and maintaining a safe, neat, well-kept appearance for all NIEHS outside areas. This effort will include providing healthy growing conditions for all existing or newly established plant material including grass, trees, shrubs, and ground cover, weed control, and pavement cleaning. All work performed by the contractor shall be of high quality and shall conform to accepted industry standards. Work shall include, but is not necessarily limited to, mowing, edging, trimming, weeding, mulching, pruning, pest control, fertilizing, watering, litter removal, erosion control, de-thatching, maintaining storm drainage, maintaining sprinkler systems, maintaining road signs, fertilizing a 27-acre lake, maintaining life ring stations, ball field maintenance, maintaining the Memorial Garden, maintaining the patio umbrellas, maintaining flower boxes, picking up trash from roadways and walkways on a daily basis, keeping all paved roads and walkways clear of debris, snow and ice removal, excavation service, and additional lawn repairs. Plant materials may be required by the Government to extend existing beds or provide seasonal enhancement. The contractor shall provide, install, and maintain such plant materials as directed by the Project Officer. Such plant materials may include trees, shrubs, ground cover, annuals or perennials. The contractor shall provide ice/snow removal service that will allow personnel at NIEHS to safely enter and exit from parking lots and service entrances. The contractor shall remove all snow and ice from roadways, parking lots, loading docks, storm drain, and access roads to work areas, sidewalks, walkways, patios, steps, and building entries of all designated facilities at NIEHS. Potential sources must demonstrate and document the following in their capability statements: Offerors may be required to demonstrate relevant experience, appropriate certifications, necessary personnel, and adequate facilities. Interested Small Business organizations should respond with a capability statement no later than 16 June 2006 and must not be any longer than 10 pages in length. Capability statements must reference similar work that has been performed by the contractor, the dollar value of that work, and contract information for references knowledgeable about the quality of work completed. All organizations who respond to this announcement will receive notification of how NIH intends to proceed with this requirement. Please reference the sources sought number on all related correspondence. No collect calls will be accepted. No facsimile transmissions will be accepted. This notice is for information and planning purposes only and does not commit the Government to award a contract now or in the future. This is not a request for proposals. The Government does not intend to award a contract based on responses under this announcement. Any proprietary information should be so marked. Interested organizations presenting a capability statement in response to this sources sought announcement must identify their size status and NAICS Codes Certifications. The applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code is 561730.