R -- SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE - WEATHER OBSERVATION SERVICES

This notice is not a Request for Proposal (RFP). This is a market research tool to determine the availability of sources prior to issuing the RFP. This announcement is for information and planning purposes only and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Fleet and Industrial Supply Center (FISC) Norfolk, implied or otherwise, to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. The intent of this notice is to identify potential Small Businesses (SB), Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZONE) Small Businesses, Small Disadvantaged Businesses (SDB) certified by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the provisions of the Section 8(a) program, and Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB), capable of providing Weather Observation Services to multiple sites across the United States and Cuba. The NAICS code is 541990 (size standard is $6.5M average annual gross receipts for the proceeding three fiscal years.) The contract will consist of a base period and options totaling 60 months of performance. The Fleet and Industrial Supply Center, Norfolk, will use the responses to this sources sought synopsis to make appropriate acquisition decisions for the planned fixed price contract. After review of the responses to this source sought synopsis, and if the Government plans to proceed with the acquisition, a solicitation announcement will be published in Federal Business Opportunities. Responses to this sources sought are not an adequate response to the solicitation announcement. All interested offerors will have to respond to the solicitation announcement in addition to responding to this sources sought synopsis. The successful contractor, to any forthcoming solicitation, shall provide all labor, supervision, management, supplies, transportation and any other items necessary to perform surface weather observation support services at 23 Naval Air stations, Outlying Landing Fields and Auxiliary Landing Facilities across the United States and Cuba. Such services include, but are not limited to, weather observing, weather warning dissemination, and pilot to METRO circuit monitoring. Sites where work will be performed and estimated direct production weather observer positions (based on current staffing) related to the duties of weather observer are as follows: Naval Air Station Meridian, MS: 3 Naval Air Station Lemoore, CA: 3 Naval Air Station North Island, CA: 6 Outlying Field Imperial Beach, CA: 2 Naval Auxiliary Landing Facility San Clemente, CA: 2 Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, TX: 5 Naval Air Station Kingsville, TX: 2 Naval Air Station Key West, FL: 3 Naval Air Station Patuxent River, MD: 5 Naval Air Station Whiting Field, FL: 3 Naval Air Station Jacksonville, FL: 5 Naval Air Station Fort Worth, TX 4 Naval Air Field El Centro, CA: 3 Naval Station Mayport, FL: 4 Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, WA: 5 Naval Air Station Brunswick, ME: 5 Naval Air Station Fallon, NV: 3 Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans, LA: 3 Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia Beach, VA: 5 Naval Air Station Pensacola, FL: 3 Naval Air Station Guantanamo Bay, CU: 3 Naval Air Station Willow Grove, PA: 3 Naval Air Station Chambers Field, Norfolk, VA: 5 More detailed scope includes, but is not limited to, the following: Surface weather observation: Take, record, encode, and disseminate accurate surface weather observations. For sites with automated systems, augment the system to ensure observations are accurate and representative. Report and document equipment and communication outages. Transmit accurate and timely pilot weather reports (PIREPs). Disseminate NAFC issued weather warnings. Document initial observer certification and annual recurring training. Submit required reports. Weather Support Coordination: Maintain up to date applicable Government directives. Operator Maintenance: The Contractor shall perform operator maintenance on government furnished equipment. Although not all-inclusive, operator maintenance routinely consists of dusting equipment, changing ribbons, adding paper, and other similar actions. Performance of Services during crisis declared by the National Command Authority: When the National Command Authority declares a crisis, the Contractor shall continue performance under this contract as is done under non-crisis situations. Program Management: The Contractor shall provide management oversight for those issues which directly relate to weather station operations. For example, this may include, but is not limited to, the installation of new equipment or the implementation of new policies and/or procedures. Statement of Capabilities Submittal Requirements: The Statement of Capability (SOC) will determine the feasibility and/or basis for the Navy?s decision to establish this requirement as a competitive Small Business, competitive 8(a), HUBZone Small Business or Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business set aside acquisition. Interested firms who qualify in any of these categories must submit a SOC, which describes, in detail, the firm?s capability of providing surface weather observation support services at the locations described. Your SOC shall include the following: (1) full name and address of the firm; (2) name of principal (including title, telephone and fax numbers); (3) indicate whether interested business concern is Small, Small Disadvantaged, 8(a), Woman Owned, Service Disabled Veteran Owned, HubZone or any other socio-economic group and provide a copy of any certifications (if 8(a) certified, provide the SBA Business Opportunity Specialist name and phone number assigned); HUBZONE certification and SDVOSB status or Small Business status; (4) indicate if the firm is registered in the Department of Defense (DOD) Central Contractor Registration (CCR) database; (5) indicate the capability to staff and manage weather observation services across a wide geographic area (minimum of ten sites) (6) information on relative past projects that best illustrate your qualifications for this contract; of specific interest are multi-site projects with a minimum of ten (10) sites (list up to two projects performed within the last five years). Include prior experience of key company personnel both as prime and all planned subcontractors showing experience in providing and managing weather observation services at multiple locations. Provide the following information for each project listed: a. Contract number and project title; b. Name of contracting activity; c. Administrative Contracting Officer?s name, current telephone number; d. Contracting Officer?s Technical Representative or primary point of contact name and current telephone number; e. Contract type (e.g., cost plus, requirements, firm fixed-price, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity, or combination); f. Period of performance (start and completion date); g. Basic contract award amount and final contract value; h. Summary of contract work (7) transition ? provide evidence of ability to transition work within a maximum 60 day timeframe; and (8) subcontract management - provide information on any proposed teaming arrangements (i.e. team members, previous working relationships with proposed team members and percent of work anticipated to be subcontracted (note: any joint ventures with 8(a) members must comply with Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Title 13, Section 124.513.) The Government reserves the right to request additional information as needed, from any and all respondents. The SOC must be complete and sufficiently detailed to allow FISC Norfolk to determine the firm?s qualifications to perform the defined work. The SOC must be on 8 by 11-inch standard paper and is limited to 20 single sided pages (including all attachments). Interested parties must submit their responses electronically to the point of contact; S. Stuart Wirth at sally.wirth@navy.mil. Receipt of potential offeror?s SOC shall be received no later than close of business (4:00 pm EST) 11 February 2008. Contractors are reminded that should this acquisition become a Hubzone set aside, FAR 52.219-3, Notice of Total Hubzone Set-aside, will apply, which requires that at least 50 percent of the cost of personnel for contract performance be spent for employees of the concern. Contractors are reminded that should this acquisition become a Service-Disabled Veteran-owned Small Business Set-Aside, FAR 52.219-27, Notice of Total Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Set-Aside, will apply, which requires that at least 50 percent of the cost of personnel for contract performance be spent for employees of the concern. Contractors are reminded that should this acquisition become an 8(a) Set Aside, FAR 219-18, Notification of Competition Limited to Eligible 8(a) Concerns, will apply. All of the above must be submitted in sufficient detail for a decision to be made on a HUBZone, Service Disabled Veteran-owned Small Business set aside, 8(a) competitive set-aside or Small Business set-aside. Complete information must be submitted and the Government is not obligated to contact the concern for clarification of inormation. This market survey is for planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a request for proposal or as an obligation on the part of the Government. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this market survey or otherwise pay for information requested. The Government will not provide a debrief on the results of this survey. All information submitted will be held in a confidential manner and will only be used for the purpose intended. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: 23 Naval Air stations, Outlying Landing Fields and Auxiliary Landing Facilities across the United States and Cuba