S--Grounds and Facility Maintenance Services for the Tahoma National Cemetery.

The National Cemetery Administration (NCA) is soliciting offers under Request for Proposal (RFP) Number VA786-16-R-0475 to provide Grounds and Facility Maintenance Services for the Tahoma National Cemetery. This acquisition is 100% set aside for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs). The NAICS Code is 561730; Size Standard is $7.5 Million. Offers received from concerns that are not SDVOSBs shall not be considered. SDVOSBs must be verified for ownership and control and listed in the Vendor Information Pages (VIP) at https://www.vip.vetbiz.gov prior to the due date for proposals. (See Provision 852.219-10 VA Notice of Total Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Set-Aside.) The Contractor shall provide all supervision, labor, equipment, materials, and supplies necessary to provide Interment and Grounds Maintenance Services at the Tahoma National Cemetery located at 18600 SE 240th Street in Kent, WA 98042. The contractor shall use an innovative and creative technical approach to manage the grounds maintenance operation at the Cemetery in order to maintain the high standards of appearance as a National Shrine, in accordance with the National Cemetery Administration National Shrine Commitment Operational Standards and Measures (Version 4.0, October 2009) and standard commercial practices. The contract period of performance is from October 1, 2016 (or effective date of award of contract), through September 30, 2017, with four (4) one (1) year option periods to begin on the first day of the fiscal year, if exercised. PRE-BID SITE VISIT: Potential offerors are urged and expected to inspect and investigate the performance site by observation. Offerors are also urged to submit Requests for Information (RFI) and responses through the Contracting Office to satisfy their understanding of the work to be completed as well as all general, local, and technical conditions that may affect the cost and feasibility of the proposal. In no event shall failure to inspect the site constitute grounds for a claim after award. There is only one organized site visit: 09/16/2016 at 11:00am. (PST). If you are not able to be there, you may do a self-guided visit. There will be no Cemetery Personnel available at that time to show you around and you must call the COR to make sure she knows you will be there. Please do not ask Cemetery Personnel questions if you do a self-guided visit. Cemetery POC(s): Cemetery Director: Thomas L. Yokes Telephone: +1 (555) 000-0000 ext. 110 Email: contact@example.gov Contracting Officer's Representative (COR): Christopher Pichner Telephone: +1 (555) 000-0000 Email: contact@example.gov The Government will award a Firm-Fixed price contract using the best value tradeoff approach resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose proposal is most advantageous to the Government regarding price and other factors considered. In addition, the Government intends to award without discussions. Therefore, the offeror's initial proposal should contain optimal terms from a price and technical standpoint. The following factors listed in descending order of importance will be used to evaluate offers: (1) Past Performance, (2) Technical Qualifications; and (3) Price. Past Performance and Technical Capability when combined are more important than Price. Bonding: The Government retains the right to ask for bonding (bid, performance, payment) if it is determined to be necessary to address Government concerns. In such cases, the Government will reimburse 100% of the bonding price. Failure to receive or qualify for bonding will result in removal from further consideration for award. The Experian Credit Report will be one of the tools used to determine if bonding should be required due to the business financial stress score/summary. The number of contracts outstanding will be another consideration in determining if bonding will be needed. Failure to obtain bonding within a reasonable time will result in withdrawal of award and discussion with the next best offer. If bonding is not required, the prime contractor is required to notify all subcontractors that there is no bonding on the contract. Reference FAR 52.228-16 Performance and Payment Bonds - Other than construction. Electronic solicitations will be available for download from Federal Business Opportunities http://www.FedBizOpps.gov on or around September 14, 2016. Responses to the solicitation are due by 4:00 p.m. (EST) on or about September 23, 2016. The question and answering period commences on September 14, 2016 and concludes on September 20, 2016 by 5:00 p.m. EST. Email questions to contact@example.gov. Offerors are advised that they are responsible for obtaining amendments to the solicitation which will be available at FedBizOpps. All proposals must be submitted through the Department of Veterans Affairs - Electronic Management System (eCMS) Vendor Portal website in order to be considered for award. https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov. Please go to the VA eCMS Vendor Portal website at https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov to register. Once on the webpage, proceed to the Vendor Portal Login Section located on the far left side of the webpage and click on 'Request a user account' to register. In the event an Offeror is unable to submit a proposal through the Vendor Portal Domain prior to the proposal closing date, contact the VAAS helpdesk at +1 (555) 000-0000, or via email at contact@example.gov . Submission of proposals through email will not be accepted. Proposal transmission/uploads must be completed by the date/time specified. Late or incomplete Proposals will not be considered. No telephone requests will be accepted. Any questions should be sent via email to contact@example.gov.