36C78626R50141Grounds maintenance Marion Nat Cem -- S208

Solicitation / RFP / RFQ

This document is an addendum to FAR 52.212-1, providing specific instructions for offerors responding to a competitive solicitation for commercial items. It details proposal preparation, submission requirements, and evaluation factors.

Offerors must submit a complete package compliant with the solicitation. Key items to review and complete include:

• SF 1449 form
• Attachment A Price Schedule
• Acknowledgement of amendments
• Information for non-price and price evaluation factors
• VAAR 852.219-75 VA NOTICE OF LIMITATIONS ON SUBCONTRACTING-CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE
• Three or more completed Past Performance Questionnaires (PPQ)

Incomplete offers will be deemed unacceptable and ineligible for award.

• Award will be made to the offeror representing the best value to the Government using a tradeoff process.
• Offerors must hold prices firm for sixty (60) calendar days from the solicitation closing date.
• A post-award/pre-performance conference will be scheduled.

Proposal Submission:

• Via email to olalekan.ismail@va.gov
• Subject line: 36C78626R50141 _Company Name
• Deadline: May 18, 2026, 12:00 PM EST

Evaluation Factors:

1. Technical Capability and Key Personnel: Assessed based on Grounds Maintenance Plan, staffing approach, key personnel qualifications, and required licenses/certifications (e.g., Illinois commercial pesticide/herbicide applicator license). Maximum 50 pages for submission.
2. Past Performance (Prime Contractor Only): Evaluated based on relevance, quality, and recency of at least three comparable projects within the last five years, using the provided PPQ.
3. Price: Assessed for fairness and reasonableness. Proposals exceeding available funding may be rejected.

Non-price factors combined are significantly more important than price.

• Location: Marion National Cemetery, Building 73, 1700 East 38th Street, Marion IN 46953

• Date & Time: April 29, 2026, 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM EST

• Attendance: Voluntary. RSVP by April 26, 2026, 5 PM EST to olalekan.ismail@va.gov and steven.bailey21@va.gov.

• Safety: Closed-toe shoes recommended; be aware of wildlife.

• Deadline for Questions: May 1, 2026, 5 PM EST via email to olalekan.ismail@va.gov.

• Answers: To be provided via amendment around May 6, 2026.

• Do not alter solicitation files. Incomplete or partial submissions may be nonresponsive.

• Offerors are responsible for ensuring timely and readable submissions.

Form / Attachment / Pricing Sheet

This document, "Attachment A Price Schedule," provides the detailed pricing structure for the Grounds Maintenance at Marion National Cemetery opportunity. Bidders are expected to use this schedule to input their proposed pricing for each line item across the base year and option years.

• Project Title and Location: Grounds Maintenance at Marion National Cemetery.
• Description of Requirement: Comprehensive grounds maintenance including turf management, irrigation, headstone care, pest control, and snow/ice removal.
• Services Line Items: A detailed list of 37 specific services required, such as mowing, headstone trimming, herbicide applications, fertilization, irrigation maintenance, floral pickup, tree services, stump removal, power washing, headstone cleaning, alignment, repair, turf renovation, and snow/ice management.
• Estimated Quantities and Units: Quantities and units (e.g., acres, headstones, linear feet, jobs, months, each, square feet) are provided for each service.
• Unit Price and Extended Price: Fields are included for bidders to enter their proposed unit prices and calculate extended prices for each line item and for the total contract period (Base Year through Option Year 4).

This pricing schedule is critical for bidders to understand the cost structure of the requirement and to formulate their competitive bids. It outlines all anticipated services and their estimated quantities, allowing vendors to calculate their total proposed cost for the contract. All unit prices and extended prices are currently listed as 0.0, indicating that bidders must fill in their proposed pricing.

Solicitation / RFP / RFQ

This solicitation is for grounds maintenance services at the Marion National Cemetery. The services include a variety of landscaping and groundskeeping tasks.

The solicitation details numerous specific grounds maintenance tasks, including but not limited to:

• Mowing all turf areas (53 acres)
• Headstone trimming (13,909 headstones)
• String trimming of other areas
• Blade edging (flat markers and curbing/sidewalks)
• Core aerating (53 acres)
• Overseeding (53 acres)
• Herbicide applications (pre-emergence and post-emergence)
• Fertilizing
• Insecticide applications (grub and yellow nutsedge)
• Leaf removal and pickup
• Irrigation start-up, backflow testing, system operation & maintenance, and winterization
• Floral pickup and mulch planting
• Tree pruning and removal
• Stump removal
• Col wall/committal shelter cleaning and power washing
• Headstone cleaning
• Raise and realign, fine tune alignment
• Sunken grave repair
• Turf renovation
• Snow removal (roads/parking areas and walkways)
• Salt application on roads/parking areas and walkways
• Ice melt application on walkways/columbarium
• Pest control

Services are broken down into base requirements and several option periods, with periods of performance generally running from September 1st to August 31st of subsequent years, spanning multiple years.

• Solicitation Number: 36C78626R50141

• Offer Due Date: May 18, 2026, 12:00 PM ET

• NAICS Code: 561730 (Landscaping Services)

• Size Standard: $9.6 Million

• Set Aside: Small Business

• Period of Performance: Base period starts September 1, 2026, with multiple option periods extending through August 31, 2031.

• Proposals must be submitted via email by May 18, 2026, 12:00 PM EST.

• Offerors must complete and return a complete package of all items required by the solicitation.

• Evaluation will be based on a trade-off process, considering Technical Capability and Key Personnel, Past Performance, and Price.

• Non-price factors are significantly more important than price.

• This solicitation is a total small business set-aside.

• A vendor site visit is scheduled for April 29, 2026.

• Questions must be submitted by May 1, 2026.

Form / Attachment / Pricing Sheet

This document is a Past Performance Questionnaire. It is used to collect information about a contractor's previous performance on comparable federal, state, local government, or private contracts. This information is likely used as part of the evaluation process for the associated opportunity.

• Instructions: Contractors must list at least three (3) comparable contracts completed or current within the last five (5) years. National Cemetery Administration (NCA) contracts should be listed first, followed by non-NCA contracts.
• Contract Reference Fields:
  • Contract Number
  • Contractor Name, Address, Zip Code
  • Telephone Number
  • Email Address
  • Type of Contract
  • Contract Dollar Value
  • Date of Award (or status if not completed)
  • Type/Extent of Subcontracting
  • Percentage of Work completed by the Contractor
  • Description of Supply/Services provided, location & relevancy of work
  • Address, Telephone Number & Email of the Contact Person and Position

Bidders will need to complete this questionnaire accurately and thoroughly for each relevant past contract. The information provided will be used to assess the bidder's past performance, which is a key factor in the evaluation of proposals for this opportunity. The form may be duplicated for multiple contract references.

Form / Attachment / Pricing Sheet

This document is the Sub-Contractor Participation Document, which requires the prime contractor to provide information regarding their own size and socioeconomic categories, as well as details on their planned participation of small businesses in the contract.

• Prime Contractor Size: Selection of applicable size and socioeconomic categories (e.g., Small Business, SDB, WOSB, HUBZone, SDVOSB).
• Participation of Small Businesses: A table to detail the total contract value, minimum quantitative requirement (MQR), and breakdown of dollar value and percentage of total contract value for:
  • Total Contract Value – Prime Contractor
  • Total Small Business
  • Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB)
  • Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB)
  • HUBZone Small Business
  • Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB)
  • Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB)
• Sub-Contractor Participants: A detailed table to list each subcontractor, including:
  • Company Name, Address, Employee Name
  • Contact Information
  • Business Category(ies)
  • Product(s)/Service(s) to be Provided
  • NAICS Code
  • % of work to be performed based on total contract value

This document is crucial for bidders to understand the government's requirements for subcontracting with small businesses. Prime contractors must complete this form accurately to demonstrate their commitment to small business participation and to outline their strategy for meeting any set-aside goals or minimum quantitative requirements. It helps bidders assess the feasibility of the subcontracting plan and the potential for small business involvement.

Form / Attachment / Pricing Sheet

This document is a Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) for the Ground Maintenance Services contract at Marion National Cemetery. It outlines the government's methods for monitoring contractor performance to ensure required service standards are met. Bidders should review this to understand how their performance will be evaluated.

• Purpose: To describe systematic methods for monitoring performance and ensuring required service levels are achieved.
• Roles & Responsibilities: Defines roles of the Contracting Officer (CO/KO) and Contracting Officer's Representative (COR).
• Performance Standards: Details specific performance standards and acceptable quality levels (AQLs) for various grounds maintenance tasks (e.g., mowing, trimming, fertilization, irrigation, snow removal).
• Surveillance Methods: Outlines how the government will monitor performance, including random monitoring, 100% inspection, periodic inspection, and customer feedback.
• Documentation: Specifies the use of monitoring forms for recording assessments.
• Analysis: Describes how performance will be determined, reported, and how issues will be resolved.
• Attachments: Includes a Performance Requirements Summary (Attachment 1) detailing specific tasks, standards, AQLs, surveillance methods, and impact on payments, and sample monitoring forms (Attachment 2).

This QASP is crucial for bidders to understand the government's expectations regarding the quality and performance of grounds maintenance services. It details the metrics by which the contractor's work will be measured, the acceptable quality levels, and the consequences of not meeting these standards (e.g., impact on payments, CPARS assessment). Understanding these requirements is essential for developing a compliant and competitive proposal and for successful contract execution.