SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETER SERVICES

AAAAA The purpose of this amendment is to provide answers to questions about this solicitation 1. QUESTION: The solicitation requests a single fully loaded hourly price for presumably the Vinton, IA area. May the proposal provide a table of other fully rates based upon the state services are provided in? This would be advantageous to the government since the proposal does not have to default to the highest price of all states in order to properly cover the payroll incurred, thereby giving the government a better value. ANSWER: You are requested to provide one loaded rate for nationwide services 2. QUESTION: Could you please clarify a question that I have concerning the size standard restriction pertaining to this particular opportunity? The synopsis reads that the size standard restriction is $7.0 million, does that mean that our company cannot make more than this amount or that our annual sales cannot be over this amount. ANSWER: This is an unrestricted requirement; the noted restriction is invalid. 3. QUESTION: Can you please clarify what you require for submission of this solicitation? ANSWER: The Solicitation states what you need to provide for quote evaluation. 4. QUESTION: Who is the current vendor and what are their rates? ANSWER: No Current vendor 5. QUESTION:Is this a new BPA? ANSWER: YES 6. QUESTION: If it is not new, who is the incumbent? ANSWER: NONE 7. QUESTION: Would you please provide a listing of cities within the states listed? ANSWER: There is no listing of cities just the states listed in 6.0 Place of Performance. The successful bidder will notified as appropriates prior to any BPA call of location. Keep in mind that the Wage determination is nationwide. 8. QUESTION: We understand that travel costs, such as air and rail, will NOT be reimbursed, what about overnight hotel costs if the closest interpreter is beyond a reasonable drive? ANSWER: No we will not, also please note that any authorized travel costs most conform to Joint Travel Regulations (JTR). 9. QUESTION: How much notice will we have for services? Will there be last minute requests? ANSWER: Generally, two weeks' notice will be available, however, there may be occasions where shorter notice requirements arise, i.e. 48 hours or less 10. QUESTION: How long is the interval between 6-8 week periods? Example, Session 1 ends on Friday May 14, 2010, when does the next session start, Monday, May 17th? ANSWER: Varies dependent on many factors, it could be the next day, i.e. Sat. May 15, 2010. Typically, a round will end on a Thursday or Friday and the members will go through a transition in Vinton, Iowa for 3-5 days. Some support is needed during those transitions. After the transition, they go to their next projects. Projects are generally 6-8 weeks but can be much shorter. 11. QUESTION: Penalties when there is no interpreter available? ANSWER: No 12. QUESTION: For assignments over 2 hours, will there be reimbursement for a 2nd interpreter (which is proper risk management for sign language interpreters)? ANSWER: YES 13. QUESTION: Is it your intention to award several contracts based on location (one in each)? ANSWER: NO 14. QUESTION: Are the locations, other than general state lists, already determined? ANSWER: No, those are not normally set until 3-4 weeks out 15. QUESTION: Are they remote areas or more urban? ANSWER: Varied 16. QUESTION: It is not clear the volume of hours you expect the interpreter to be present. How many paid hours do you anticipate? ANSWER: Varies greatly - Sometimes it could be two interpreters for the bulk of a day. Occasionally it may be a couple hours per day for 2-3 days. Sometimes just one person for a one-hour meeting. It depends on the particular sponsor, type of work, needs of the member being supported, etc 17. QUESTION: Is subcontracting with other agencies in each location allowed and if so, do we need to disclose those plans in this RFQ since it is not an RFP? ANSWER: You do not need to disclose. 18. QUESTION: How important is consistency from site to site or even at a particular site? ANSWER: We expect the same responsiveness, timeliness and high quality work at all sites. 19. QUESTION: How much notice will you provide when the request is made? ANSWER: As stated in the Solicitation 20. QUESTION: Is it your intention to award several contracts based on location (one in each)? ANSWER: No 21. QUESTION: Are the locations, other than general state lists, already determined? ANSWER: No, those are not normally set until 3-4 weeks out. 22. QUESTION: It is not clear the volume of hours you expect the interpreter to be present. How many paid hours do you anticipate? ANSWER: Varied, It depends on the project. It could be two hours of orientation in one day or two full days of training. 23. QUESTION: Is subcontracting with other agencies in each location allowed and if so, do we need to disclose those plans in this RFQ since it is not an RFP? ANSWER: NO 24. QUESTION: How important is consistency from site to site or even at a particular site? ANSWER: I would expect responsiveness, timeliness and high quality work at all sites. 25. QUESTION: How much notice will you provide when the request is made? ANSWER: Noted on SOW, Sessions have about 5 days between them. During that time, there will be a few days of support needed back at our campus in Vinton, IA (30 minutes from Cedar Rapids). We will pay for a second interpreter for sessions going more than 2 hours. 26. QUESTION: Paragraph 10.0 TRAVEL is deleted and replaced with: Per industry standard, portal to portal payment is permitted. The AmeriCorps NCCC reserves the right to limit reimburse travel mileage NTE 25% of the day's billable cost but in no case shall travel costs exceed the Joint Travel Regulations allowance for the affected area. The government will not reimburse for air, rail, or other forms of conveyance costs. 27. QUESTION: Are they remote areas or more urban? ANSWER: varied All other terms and conditions remain unchanged but for this amendment.