Z -- LANDSCAPING SERVICES

The USDA, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) requires a Contractor to provide all management, supervision, labor, subcontractors, materials, supplies and equipment, and shall plan, schedule, coordinate, and assure effective completion of all landscaping services. Services include lawn maintenance, shrub trimming, tree pruning, fertilization and weeding and mulching of beds for approximately five (5) acres of federal property at the USDA, ARS, NCCCWA facility in Kearneysville, WV in accordance with the terms, conditions and specifications contained in this document. This will be a Performance Based Service Contract (PBSC) and as such the Contractor shall be fully responsible for providing customer service, quality control and all other services related to this type of work. The Contractor will determine how often the work is to be performed, how much labor is needed to perform the tasks, what methods will be used to complete the job and which supplies, materials and equipment are needed. The Contractor shall be responsible to use best industry practices (methods and safety) to maintain the contract quality requirements. A firm, fixed-price performance based service contract will be awarded for a Base Year plus four (4) options periods. Prices are being requested and a written solicitation has been issued. The Solicitation number 11-3615-05 is issued as a Request For Quotation (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2001-27. This procurement is unrestricted in accordance with the Small Business Competitiveness Demonstration Program. This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6 as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. Proposals are being requested and a written solicitation has also been issued. The NAICS is 561730 with a size standard of $6.0 million dollars. This solicitation and any other documents related to this procurement will be available electronically at the Internet site http://www.eps.gov. BASE PERFORMANCE PERIOD: JUNE 1, 2005 (OR DATE OF AWARD, WHICHEVER IS LATER) THROUGH FEBRUARY 28, 2006 FOR Line 01 - Lawn Maintenance Services - 7 MOS - UNIT PRICE AND AMOUNT. OPTION 1 PERFORMANCE PERIOD: MARCH 1, 2006 THROUGH FEBRUARY 28, 2007 FOR LINE NO. 02 - Lawn Maintenance Services - 9 MOS - UNIT PRICE AND AMOUNT. OPTION 2 PERFORMANCE PERIOD: MARCH 1, 2007 THROUGH FEBRUARY 29, 2008 FOR LINE NO. 03 - Lawn Maintenance Services - 9 MOS - UNIT PRICE AND AMOUNT. OPTION 3 PERFORMANCE PERIOD: MARCH 1, 2008 THROUGH FEBRUARY 28, 2009 FOR LINE NO. 04 - Lawn Maintenance Services - 9 MOS - UNIT PRICE AND AMOUNT. OPTION 4 PERFORMANCE PERIOD: MARCH 1, 2009 THROUGH FEBRUARY 28, 2010 FOR LINE NO. 05 - Lawn Maintenance Services - 9 MOS - UNIT PRICE AND AMOUNT. LUMP SUM FOR BASE PERIOD AND 4 OPTION PERIODS $. Although the contract performance period is longer, the Contractor shall only be required to perform the necessary services during the months of March through November unless otherwise stated by the performance period. NOTE: THE GOVERNMENT SHALL MAKE A SINGLE AWARD. THEREFORE, OFFEROR'S MUST PROPOSE ON ALL LINE ITEMS TO BE CONSIDERED FOR AWARD. A PRE-PROPOSAL SITE VISIT is scheduled for MAY 11, 2005 at 10:00 A.M. at the USDA, NCCCWA, 11861 LEETOWN ROAD, KEARNEYSVILLE, WV 25430. To schedule attendance at the Pre-Proposal Conference, please call Mrs. Maryanne Cage at +1 (555) 000-0000 extension 332 not later than MAY 10, 2005. PREVIOUS CONTRACT INFORMATION - R&L Lawn Care Inc., P.O. Box 1090, Charles Town, WV 25414. Term of Current Contract: March through November 2004. Price: $11,430. However, the services previously required may not have been inclusive of all the required services listed in this solicitation. QUALIFIFCATIONS OF CONTRACTOR -The Contractor is regularly engaged in the specified work and shall have been in business for a minimum of one (1) year. The contractor's workers are required to have a minimum of 3 months prior experience. The Contractor's Project Managers/alternate is required to read, write and communicate in English. AGAR 452.237-74 KEY PERSONNEL - (a) The Contractor shall assign to this contract the following key personnel: Supervisor. NOTE: The number of workers required to complete the services shown in the PWS shall be determined by the Contractor. SUSPENSION OF WORK - In the event services are not provide or required by the Government because the building is closed due to inclement weather, failure of the Congress to appropriate funds, etc., deductions will be computed as follows: (1) The deduction rate in dollars per day will be equal to the per month price for the services, divided by the number of days per month (excluding holidays and weekends); (b) The deduction rate in dollars per day multiplied by the number of days services were not provided or required. In the event services are provided for portions of days, appropriate adjustments will be made by the Contracting Office to assure the Contractor is compensated for services provided. RECORDING PRESENCE - The Contractor's Supervisor may be required to sign in/out all contractor employees on a daily basis upon arriving and departing the installation. The Sign-In Sheet designated for use by the Contractor personnel only, shall be provided by the COR after award. SAFETY AND WORK PRACTICES - The Contractor and his employees shall comply with all codes and regulations pertaining to conduct on Federal Property as well as NCCCWA Safety Regulations (if applicable). The Contractor shall abide by all standard Safety Practices and Procedures and shall conform to all OSHA Standards. Failure to comply may result in the removal of an individual or individuals from, and, the denial of further admittance to the facility. The Contractor shall promptly comply with NCCCWA's requests for removal of personnel for violation of Safety requirements. DELIVERY OF CONTRACTOR'S SUPPLIES - The Contractor shall be responsible for obtaining all supplies for the performance of this contract in accordance with the FAR 52.237-34, F.O.B. Destination. Delivery of supplies shall be made to the Contractor's facility and not the Government facility. The Government shall not accept any liability for shipments sent to the Government facility address. Staging areas for materials will be designated by the COR. CONTRACTOR'S QUALITY CONTROL PLAN - The Contractor must submit a Quality Control Plan (QCP) within 5 business days after receipt of the notice of award. No work shall be performed until the QCP is approved and the Notice to Proceed is issued by the Contracting Officer. The QCP will be specific to the contract specifications in accordance with the provisions and requirements of the solicitation. A revised QCP will be required to be submitted for COR approval at least 30 days prior to the option effective date. DESIGNATION OF CONTRACTING OFFICER'S TECHNICAL REPRESENTATIVE - The Contracting Officer shall designate the Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR) at the time of contract award. The COR/COTR is responsible for administering the performance of work under this purchase order. In no event, however, will any understanding, agreement, modification, change order, or other matter deviating from the terms of this purchase order be effective or binding upon the Government unless formalized by proper contractual documents executed by the Contracting Officer prior to completion of the purchase order. The Contracting Officer should be informed as soon as possible of any actions or inactions by the Contractor or the Government which will change the required delivery or completion times stated in the purchase order so that the contract may be modified accordingly. (This does not apply to individual task assignments which were issued by the COTR; provided they do not affect the delivery schedule or performance period stated in the purchase order.) On all matters that pertain to the purchase order terms, the Contractor must communicate with the Contracting Officer. Whenever, in the opinion of the Contractor, the COTR requests efforts outside the scope of the purchase order, the Contractor should so advise the COTR. If the COTR persists and there still exists a disagreement as to proper contractual coverage, the Contractor should notify the Contracting Officer immediately, preferably in writing if time permits. Proceeding with work without the proper contractual coverage could result in nonpayment or necessitate submittal of a purchase order claim. ADDITIONAL QUOTATION INFORMATION - This solicitation and any other documents related to this procurement will be available electronically at the Internet site http://www.eps.gov. Potential offerors will be responsible for downloading their own copy of the solicitation and amendments (if any). It is the offerors responsibility to monitor the site for release of the solicitation and any related documents. Potential Offerors are required to provide the following information to establish a bidder's mailing list: company name, street address, telephone, fax and contact name. This information must be faxed to the Contracting Officer at +1 (555) 000-0000 and reference Solicitation No. RFP 11-3615-05. REQUESTS SENT BY E-MAIL ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE. QUOTATIONS MAY BE SENT BY FACSIMILE IN ACCORDANCE WITH FAR CLAUSE 52.214-31. CONTRACT DOCUMENTS, EXHIBITS, OR ATTACHMENTS - No. 01 - Performance Work Statement, Quality Control Plan And Quality Assurance Plan (9); No. 02 -Wage Determination No. 1994-3017 (Rev. 8) (7); No. 03 - NCCCWA Inspection Sheet (2); No. 04 - Milestone Chart for Contractor Deliverables (1); No 05 - Schedule of Work (1). The provision at 52-212-1, Instruction to Offerors - Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition and is amended as follows: Item (b) Submission of Offers is amended to include the following: The Offeror shall complete the - i. Standard Form 1449-Page 1: Blocks 12 and 17a; Page 2: Block 17b; Page 3: Blocks 30a, 30b and 30c; Page 6: Insert your price(s) in Section A.3 (inclusive of all option periods). ii. Provide Acknowledgment of amendments (if any). iii. Provide information required in the following Sections: Evaluation Information (D.4 and D.5) and the Certifications and Other Statements of Offerors, Section D.6. Send or fax the above information to the USDA, ARS, North Atlantic Area, Contracting Office, 600 East Mermaid Lane, Wyndmoor, PA 19038. FAILURE TO SUBMIT THIS INFORMATION MAY RENDER THE OFFER NONRESPONSIVE. 2. Item (c) Period for acceptance of offers is amended to include the following: The offeror agrees to hold the prices in its offer firm for 60 calendar days from the date specified for receipt of offers. FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation - Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. The following evaluation criteria are included in paragraph (a) of that provision: (a) The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers: (i) Technical capability of the item offered to meet the Government requirement; (ii) Past Performance; and (iii) Price. FAILURE TO PROVIDE THE INFORMATION RELATIVE TO EACH EVALUATION FACTOR MAY RENDER YOUR OFFER NON-RESPONSIVE. The Government intends to make an award based on the technically acceptable offer with the lowest evaluated price. 1. TECHNICAL CAPABILITY OF THE FIRM will be based on the firm's capability to perform the required services (See Sections A.6 and C.1-Attachment 1) and as evidenced with submission of Deliverables identified in Section C.1, Attachment 04, the Existing Condition Report (if applicable), Grounds Maintenance Schedule and Quality Control Plan. The maintenance schedule and quality control plan will be reviewed to determine if the contractor understands the work requirements, the staffing required to perform the work and capabilities for contract administration. All work shall be performed in a professional manner in accordance with standard industry practices. Each Offeror is required to submit descriptive literature or other documentation, warranty information for supplies and services to show how the offered services meet or exceed the requirement as specified in the Solicitation. 2. PAST PERFORMANCE- Past performance history may be based on the Contracting Officer's knowledge of any previous history of this type of work, customer surveys or any other verifiable information available to the Contracting Officer. In order to be considered for a contract award, Contractors shall provide a list of three (3) contracts of a similar nature and complexity that were awarded within the past five (5) years or that is/are currently in force. Firms lacking in relevant past performance history shall receive a neutral evaluation for Past Performance. A neutral score could be considered less favorable than a favorable past performance. This information must be submitted with your offer. For each contract, list the following: a. Name, address, and telephone number of the contracting organization, the Contractor's and Government Project Officers and Contracting Officers. b. Contract number, type, and dollar value. c. Date of contract and period of performance. d. Brief description of contract work, scope and responsibility. e. List any contract(s) terminated for convenience or default (partial or complete) within the past three (3) years. Include the contract number, name, address, and telephone number of the terminating officer. 3. PRICE- will be based on: 1. Labor, supervision, materials, shipping costs, delivery, taxes, warranties and discount terms. Offerors shall include a complete copy of the provision at FAR 52.212-3, Offeror/Representation and Certifications-Commercial Items, with the quotation or be registered in the ORCA and CCR systems. FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. FAR Clause 52.212-4 is amended to include the following clauses by reference: 1. Item a: AGAR 452.246-70, Inspection and Acceptance shall be made at: i) Destination. 2. Item (g)- Invoices shall be submitted in an original after acceptance of all items, to the Contracting Officer. 3. This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. The full text of these clauses, incorporated by reference, may be accessed electronically at this address: http://www.arnet.gov/far/ and AGAR Provisions and Clauses can be located at http://www.usda.gov/procurement/policy/agar.html. FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statues or Executive Orders-Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition and includes the following FAR clauses: 52.203-6, 52.219-14, 52.222-3, 52.222-19, 52.222-21, 52.222-26, 52.222-35, 52.222-36, 52.222-37, 52.222-39, 52.225-1, 52.225-3, 52.225-5, 52.225-13, 52.225-15, 52.225-16, 52.232-33, 52.232-36, 52.222-41, 52.222-42, 52.222-43, 52.222-44, 52.222-47. ADDENDA TO FAR CLAUSE 52.212-5 - This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. The full text of these clauses may be accessed electronically at this address: http://www.arnet.gov/far/ and AGAR Clauses at http://www.usda.gov/procurement/policy/agar.html: 52.204-4, 52.204-7, 2.214-16, 52.214-31, 52.214-34, 52.214-35, 52.217-2, 52.217-5, 52.217-6, 52.217-8, 52.217-9, 52.223-3, 52.223-6, 52.223-10, 52.223-11, 52.225-8, 52.228-5, 52.229-3, 52.232-18, 52.232-19, 52.232-32, 52.237-2, 52.237-10, 52.242-13, 52.242-15, 52.242-17, 52.246-1, 52.246-2, 52.246-4, 52.246-16, 52.246-20, 52.246-25, 52.247-34, AGAR 452.204-70 and AGAR 452.228-71. CENTRAL CONTRACTOR REGISTRATION (CCR) and ON-LINE REPRESENTATIONS AND CERTIFICATION APPLICATION (ORCA) - The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) requires that contractors be registered in the CCR database prior to being awarded a contract. Detailed information about CCR is available at http://www.ccr.gov/ . The CCR Customer Assistance Center can be contacted toll free at: +1 (555) 000-0000. ON-LINE REPRESENTATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS APPLICATION (ORCA) - The FAR now requires that prospective contractors complete electronic annual representations and certifications in conjunction with their required registration in the CCR Database. These Annual Representations and Certifications are submitted via the Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA), a part of the Business Process Network (BPN) at http://orca.bpn.gov/. Responses are due on MAY 20, 2005 by 3:30 p.m. E.S.T. (local time) to the USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Contracting Office, 600 East Mermaid Lane, Wyndmoor, PA 19038.