V--Bryce Canyon Bus Service 2005 Pre-Proposal Site Visit Notes

Bryce Canyon Bus Service 2005 Solicitation Number: N1330050001 Pre-Proposal Site Visit Notes 01/04/05 Meeting notes prepared by: Michael W. Johnson, Contract Specialist Phone: 303-969-2307, FAX 303-969-2992 E-mail: [email protected] The following notes indicate the major topics and issues addressed at the 01/04/05 pre-proposal site visit. These notes are not a part of the official solicitation or contract for the project referenced above. Items within the notes that the National Park Service (NPS) believes should be made a part of the solicitation and/or contract will be incorporated into an official amendment. 1. A copy of the sign-in sheet for the meeting is attached. 2. NPS staff were introduced. For Bryce Canyon NP: Craig Axtell, Park Superintendent; Brent McGinn, Chief Ranger; Bruce Silliman, Purchasing Agent; Dan Cloud, Facility Manager. For the NPS Intermountain Region, Michael Johnson, Contract Specialist. 3. Superintendent Axtell provided opening remarks expressing the importance of the Visitor Transportation System (VTS) to Bryce Canyon NP. 4. Chief Ranger McGinn provided an overview and history of the park and the reasons why a VTS was needed at Bryce Canyon NP. 5. The NPS indicated that Mr. Roy Navik is the contracting officer for the project. 6. The NPS indicated that the meeting notes will be posted as an Announcement on www.fedbizopps.gov and that the notes are not part of the official solicitation or contract. The NPS further indicated that any items addressed in the notes that the NPS believes should be made a part of the solicitation and/or contract will be put into an official amendment and that any amendment will be posted on www.fedbizopps.gov. 7. Section A, SF 33 Box 10 C. and Section L.5 B. The NPS indicated that questions regarding the solicitation should be e-mailed to the Contract Specialist at the e-mail address stated in the solicitation. 8. Section L.5. Contractor McDonald Transit asked if there was a cut off date for questions. The NPS indicated that a cut off date had not yet been established for questions. Future Amendment: A cut off date will be set for questions. 9. Section A. The NPS referred to Section A of the solicitation, the Standard Form 33 and made the following points. 9a. SF 33, Box 3 - Has in it the solicitation number. Contractors shall reference the solicitation number N1330050001 on all attachments to their proposal. 9b. SF 33, Box 4 - The solicitation is a "Negotiated RFP." The NPS will award the contract based not just on price but also on other factors. The evaluation factors are listed in Section M. 9c. SF 33, Box 9 & Section L.5 B. The NPS will only accept proposals electronically. The maximum size of the entire proposal shall be 8 megabytes. Future Amendment: The maximum file size will be increased. 9d. SF 33, Boxes 12-18. Offerors must complete Boxes 12-18 of the SF 33. Per Section I.3 and FAR Clause 52.204-07, offerors shall indicate their DUNS number in Box 15 with their name and address. 9e. SF 33 Box 14. Note that SF 33, Box 14 is the Acknowledgment of Amendments Box. At the time of this meeting there is already one amendment. The SF 30, entitled, Amendment of Solicitation/Modification of Contract requires that offerors acknowledge every amendment. SF 30, box 11 describes three methods that an offeror can acknowledge an amendment. Any of the described methods is acceptable. Offerors can acknowledge the amendment(s) in box 14 of the SF 33. 9f. SF33, Box 15A. In Box 15A there are two smaller boxes. Offerors need not fill in the small blocks entitled "Code" and "Facility." Underneath the two smaller boxes is a place for the offeror to place their DUNS number, their name and address. 9g. SF 33, Box 17 is the signature box. One method that has been used to accomplish this is to print the form, sign it, scan it and send it as a PDF. 10. Section B, B-1. The NPS indicated that Solicitation Section B-1 is the Price Proposal Schedule. Offerors shall complete this schedule by indicating their price per hour and total for the Estimated Service Hours for the Base Year and for each Option Year. The NPS noted that there are 8 Price Proposal Notes that apply to the Price Proposal Schedule. 11. Section B, B-1. The NPS indicated that Price Proposal Schedule note 1 indicates that the hours indicated in Section B are estimated and they may vary from the estimated figure listed by ( + or - 15%). 12. Section B, B-1. The NPS indicated that Price Proposal Schedule note 3 describes when actual bus service must begin and when the contractor must be on site prior to the beginning of actual bus service. 13. Section B, B-1. Future Amendment: At the end of the Price Proposal Schedule notes there are 2 spaces, one entitled Firm Name and the other entitled Signature; these spaces are surplus and should be deleted. 14. Section B, B-1, Price Proposal Schedule note 8. Contractor McDonald Transit asked which Department of Labor category for mechanic applied to this solicitation. Contractor Lewis Bros. commented that they found the category of auto mechanic more appropriate than heavy equipment mechanic. Contractor McDonald Transit also asked if it would be possible to obtain which DOL categories for employees were used in the past. Contractor McDonald Transit commented that in a separate contract at another location they were provided the specific DOL employee categories. The NPS indicated it would review these questions and respond in the Pre-Proposal Site Visit Notes Announcement. In response to these questions a Future Amendment will list the DOL categories that will apply to this solicitation/contract (N1330050001). 15. Section B, B-1, Price Proposal note 7. Contractor McDonald Transit asked when are DOL Wage Determinations issued. NPS indicated that it would provide the contractor with the appropriate DOL wage determination applicable to a particular option year at that particular time. 16. Section B, B-1. Contractor Lewis Bros. asked if the two lines/blanks under the caption "TOTAL" for a particular year should contain the same amount. NPS responded, yes. Further review of the question and Schedule B-1 indicates that the answer is correct as it pertains to each particular year, however, offerors should also note that at the bottom of page there is also a single line/blank for the caption "TOTAL PRICE FOR OPTION YEARS" and a single line/blank for the caption "TOTAL PRICE FOR BASE AND OPTION YEARS." 17. Sections E, F, I, K, L and M. NPS noted that Offerors are required to complete several blocks that appear in the contract clauses/provisions (both those stated in full text and those incorporated by reference). 18. Sections E, F, I, K, L and M. Contractor McDonald Transit asked if offerors are required to review all clauses including those appearing in the solicitation by full text and those incorporated by reference to verify whether or not there are areas/blocks for the offeror to complete. The NPS responded that offereors are to required to accomplish that review. 19. Sections E, F, I, K, L and M. Section L.1. Contractor Lewis Bros. asked if when completing the blocks in various clauses incorporated by reference whether the entire clause had to be repeated in the offeror's proposal. The NPS responded by locating Section L.1, Clause 52.252-01 which indicates that for provisions incorporated by reference, that in lieu of submitting the full text of those provisions, the offeror may identify the provision by paragraph identifier and provide the appropriate information with its offer. Future Amendment: (at Section L.5) Clauses already appearing in full text in the solicitation that require completion by the offeror shall be repeated by the Contractor in full text in their offer. 20. Section C-13 B.1. j. Contractor Lewis Bros. asked if the provision requiring bus driver's have a full year of experience could be changed to allow the Contractor to train their bus drivers. The NPS indicated that it would respond to this question in the Pre-Proposal Site Visit Notes Announcement. Future Amendment: Eliminating the one-year requirement and allowing contractors to train bus drivers. 21. Section C-13 C. 1. a. Contractor Lewis Bros. asked if the provision requiring dispatchers have a full year of dispatching experience is firm and commented that the typical progression is from driver to dispatcher. Future Amendment: Eliminating the one-year requirement and allowing contractors to train dispatchers. 22. Section C-17 E. Contractor Lewis Bros. commented that if the contractor is to pay for all fuel costs then the cost per hour would be higher. Contractor McDonald Transit had the same comment and added that fuel costs could be treated as a pass thru cost. NPS indicated it would respond to these comments in the Pre-Proposal Site Visit Notes Announcement. NPS's response is to leave the provision as is in the solicitation. 23. Section C-17 D. and Section C-5. Contractor Lewis Bros. asked if the contractor is expected to water and to pay for the watering of the landscape plants at the Shuttle Staging Area. NPS indicated it would respond to these comments in the Pre-Proposal Site Visit Notes Announcement. Future Amendment: The Contractor shall provide, at its cost, watering of the landscape plants at the Shuttle Staging Area. 24 Section C-13 E.1. Contractor McDonald Transit indicated that Utah law did not allow anyone under the age of 21 to drive a bus unless they have the required CDL with passenger endorsement. Future Amendment: Contractor's mechanics must meet all requirements established by Utah state law. 25. Section C-4. Contractor McDonald Transit asked what type of system must the contractor provided cash registers be compatible with. The NPS indicated that Bryce Canyon NP currently uses the Advantage Software system which is connected through phone lines. 26. Section C-4. Contractor McDonald Transit asked about the location and number of cash registers. Future Amendment: NPS requires 3 cash registers to be in place, 2 registers are to be located at the Shuttle Staging Area and 1 at Ruby's Inn. 27. Section C-5. Contractor McDonald Transit asked about the meaning of Section C-5 C. 3.e. NPS responded that the provision meant that park visitors who had RVs would be allowed to park RVs at the Shuttle Staging Area and leave them overnight when the visitor used VTS buses to enter the park. NPS indicated that the visitors could not, however, stay in their RVs overnight and use the Shuttle Staging Area as a camping location. 28. Section C-5. Contractor McDonald Transit asked if the Shuttle Staging Area was fenced in entirely. NPS responded that there was a locked gate at the entrance from Highway 63 and there was some barbed wire around the rest of the area but that it was not entirely secured by fencing. 29. Section C-6. Contractor McDonald Transit asked if NPS had a type of bus preference, and that the description of the buses in the solicitation sounded like a description of Transit Buses. Contractor McDonald Transit indicated that a Transit Bus was like a city bus. Contractor Lewis Bros. commented that a Transit style bus had a flat nose. NPS commented that Section C-6, A. 8. required that buses must have an entry at both front and back of the bus and must off-load on the right side of the bus. NPS commented that it did not want School Buses. Future Amendment: Buses shall not be school buses. 30. Section C-6. Contractor McDonald Transit commented that New Series 50 Detroit Diesel engines and the V730 transmission are not compatible with one another and commented whether the NPS needed the type of power generated by the New Series 50 Detroit Diesel. Contractor Lewis Bros. indicated that the question regarding the remanufactured engine type could also be stated in terms of the amount of required horse power and that in any event the specifications required a clean burning engine. Upon review of the comments regarding Section C-6 A.1.b.and c. the NPS notes that both of the sections also indicate that an equivalent engine and transmission can be substituted. Future Amendment: All other conditions and specification for new buses specified in Section C-6 apply to remanufactured buses. 31. Section C-12. Contractor McDonald Transit asked what type of bus signage the NPS was looking for and commented that certain types of signage, other than electrical, sometimes require a lengthy time to effect a change. Future Amendment: NPS requires electrical bus signage. 32. Section C-3. Contractor Lewis Bros. asked if the NPS foresaw an additional bus route called the Green Line being required in the future. The NPS indicated, no. 33. Section C-3. Contractor McDonald Transit asked if there was just one route. The NPS responded, yes. 34. Section C-3. A contractor asked whether the route can be completed in an average of 55 minutes. The NPS responded, yes. 35. Section C-3. Contractor McDonald transit asked if the stops along the route were specifically stated. The NPS noted the stops are stated in the solicitation, Section C-3 A. 36. Section I.7, I.8, K.6. Contractor McDonald Transit asked if HUBZones were limited to urban areas. NPS responded that HUBZones were not limited to urban areas and referenced sections in the solicitation that referred to HUBZones and that additional information on HUBZones is located on the SBA Website. 37. Section C-6. A contractor asked how many buses were required. The NPS indicated 5 buses plus 2 spares. 38. Section C-3 and Section J. Contractor McDonald Transit asked if any information was available broken down by number of riders per hour and day. NPS indicated that they were not sure if the information on riders per hour was available but that the riders per day may be available. Future Amendment: Making available year 2003 rider per day information (C-3 and Section J) 39. Section C-5. A contractor asked whether a new Shuttle Staging Area would mean a change in routes, and a decrease in the number of cashiers. The NPS indicated, no, to both questions. The NPS indicated that there would still be two locations required for the sale of shuttle passes. The NPS noted that the reason for the changes in the Shuttle Staging Area is due to the future expiration of a lease that the NPS has for the current Shuttle Staging Area. Future Amendment: The NPS indicated that there would be a small change in the description of the possible locations for the future Shuttle Staging Area. 40. Section C-17. A NPS comment was made that it is the contractor's responsibility to fuel their buses. A NPS comment was made that there are no fueling facilities located inside of the Park. 41. Section C-5. Contractor McDonald Transit asked if Shuttle Staging Area major maintenance items such as repair of crumbling pavement in the Shuttle Staging Area parking lot would be the responsibility of the contractor. The NPS indicated that it would not, that major maintenance items are the responsibility of the NPS. 42. Section C-15. Contractor McDonald Transit asked regarding Section C-15, B.2., whether the solicitation required the contractor's bus drivers, or the contractor's dispatchers to notify the NPS in the event of an accident. Future Amendment: Bus drivers will immediately notify the dispatcher, who will in turn notify the NPS. 43. Section J. Contractor McDonald Transit asked about the format for accident reports. The NPS referred to the attachments at Section J. 44. Section C-5. Contractor McDonald Transit asked whether a copy of the floor plan for the existing Shuttle Staging area was available. The NPS indicated that it would attempt to locate a floor plan. Future Amendment. NPS provides a copy of the floor plan.