SOURCES SOUGHT
S -- NIH Professional Landscaping
- Notice Date
- 3/20/2006
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 561730
— Landscaping Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, Office of Administration, 6011 Executive Blvd, Rm 538, Rockville, MD, 20892-7663
- ZIP Code
- 20892-7663
- Solicitation Number
- QQC60040
- Response Due
- 3/29/2006
- Archive Date
- 4/13/2006
- Description
- This is a sources sought announcement to seek potential SMALL BUSINESS vendors that could fulfill the below requirement. THIS SOURCES SOUGHT ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS AND THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT COMMITTED TO AWARD A CONTRACT PURSUANT TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. NO SOLICITATION PACKAGE IS AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME AND REQUESTS FOR SOLICITATION PACKAGES WILL NOT RECEIVE A RESPONSE. The applicable NAICS code is 561730 and the Size Standard is $6,500,000. This Sources Sought Synopsis is in support of market research being conducted by the NIH to identify capable potential small business sources for professional landscaping services for National Institutes of Health main campus located at Bethesda, Maryland. Based on the response to this Sources Sought, the National Institutes of Health will decide if this requirement will be set aside for small businesses, for a small business program (8a, HubZone, or Service Disabled Veteran), or done through full and open competition. The draft Statement of Work is below: The work shall be performed on the campus of the National Institutes of Health, 9000 Wisconsin Avenue Bethesda, Maryland 20892 at the Safra Family Lodge, Building 65 and the two courtyards of the Clinical Research Center, Building 10. The work shall be performed by a Specialty Contractor. A Specialty Contractor shall mean an individual professional gardener or business with professionally trained and experienced employees of established reputation in the field of landscape or estate gardening and maintenance, who is regularly engaged in and specializes in the performance of the kind of work specified herein. A Professional Gardener shall be an individual skilled, experienced and/or trained in horticultural science and/or landscape architecture and/or is a Professional Grounds Management Society Certified Grounds Manager or Certified Grounds Technician and/or holds a Maryland Master Gardener certificate and/or a Longwood Gardens (PA) Professional Gardener Training Program certificate or other related certificate of achievement. To apply pesticides, the business or individual shall possess a state or District of Columbia pesticide applicator license. The Contractor shall identify the Professional Gardener and his/her experience and training in the bid proposal package. It is the intent of these specifications to provide a comprehensive landscape maintenance program that shall create and strive to provide a neat, healthy, well kept landscape by weeding, watering, pruning, trimming, shaping, thinning and elevating, fertilizing, mulching, edging, cultivating, applying pesticides, removing litter, trash and debris including leaves and down tree branches, caring for perennial and container plants and removing dead or unsightly plants. All collected debris shall be removed and bed, lawn and pavement areas shall be raked, vacuumed, blown or swept of all unsightly debris. The site shall be left in a clean and neat appearing condition at the completion of each maintenance visit. All existing small trees, shrubs, ground cover plants, and hedge plants shall be maintained as specified herein. Ornamental trees and shade trees species under 6 inch caliper DBH (Diameter at Breast Height) or 3 meters (18 feet) shall be maintained under this contract. These species may include dogwood species, amelanchier, red bud species, cherry species, magnolia species, crape myrtle, holly species, hemlock, crab apple, etc. Tree species over 6 inches in caliper DBH or over 3 meters in height shall be maintained by others. A Maintenance Visit shall be composed of, but not limited to, the following tasks: All ornamental and flowering shrubs found in shrub beds within the contract limits shall be pruned in an expert professional manner once per season as described and graphically portrayed herein. The oldest 1/4 to 1/3 and any dead canes shall be removed during the first or second maintenance periods depending upon shrub type. All shrubs shall be properly pruned by June 30 or following their flowering. Refer to American National Standards Institute (ANSI), A300 (Part 1) - 2001, ?Tree, Shrub, and Other Woody Plant Maintenance - Standard Practices (Pruning). Dead, diseased or severely damaged branches or limbs observed each visit shall be pruned away. Pruning is the removal of dead or living plant parts to benefit those that remain to enhance the beauty of form and abundance of flowers, increase structural strength and disease prevention, and to maintain and extend the life of the plant beyond it normal span. Depending upon the plant variety, all shrubs shall be pruned once during the contract year. The majority of shrubs shall be pruned during the first maintenance visit of the year with a completion of approximately May 15. The remainder shall be pruned during the second maintenance period with completion scheduled for approximately June 30. Shrubs such as forsythia, azalea, rhododendron, spirea, winterberry, and summersweet shall be pruned once within two weeks after the flowers have faded or fallen. Shrubs such as butterfly bush, burning bush, hydrangea, cherry laurel, boxwoods, English holly and roses shall be pruned once in late winter prior to spring growth. Prune Butterfly bush down to 24 to 30 inches during the first maintenance visit. All shrubs in identified shrub beds shall be tip trimmed in an expert, professional manner as necessary to retain shape and vigor during any maintenance visit. Trimming is the removal of excess growth to maintain the natural form of the plant variety. Excess new tip growth shall be trimmed back to appropriate lateral branches to maintain or achieve the desired height and spread of the plant during the growing season. Trimming shall only be accomplished by hand pruning using professional grade pruning shears such as Felco #2 or equal. Electric or gasoline powered shears will not be permitted. No shrub or shrub mass other than those designated formal hedges shall be formally sheared or shaped. Only those shrubs particular identified shrubs or groupings shall be sheared formally. All indicated shrub beds shall be weeded as needed each maintenance visit to completely remove all weeds and grasses from within the bed perimeters. Weeds shall have their entire root systems removed. Spot treatment of a non-selective post emergence herbicide such as Roundup or Cleanup may be used if prior approval is received by the Project Officer. The Contractor shall provide all watering equipment to reach any container plant within the contract areas. The Government shall supply the water from exterior spigots at no cost to the Contractor. During each maintenance visit, remove all wild vines such as porcelain vine, poison ivy and Halls honeysuckle and tree seedlings such as mulberry, red cedar, locust, maples and other "volunteers" from the planting areas. The Contractor shall supply and apply the specified mulch material to provide a covering depth of two (2) - three (3) inches. All shrub and ground cover beds and individual shrub and tree well shall be mulched during the first two maintenance visits in April. Mulch shall not be allowed to build up over three (3) inches in compaction. Areas exceeding three (3) inches of mulch depth shall be cultivated to revitalize and aerate the existing mulch. Bed areas at or above three (3) inches shall be ?painted? during the spring application with a thin top layer of new mulch to match the color and texture of adjacent maintained beds. Mulch shall be Double Shredded Dark Hardwood in bulk or bag form. ONLY shredded CYPRESS MULCH SHALL BE APPLIED WITHIN THE CRC COURTYARDS. Blown in bulk CYPRESS will be acceptable. During each maintenance visit remove all dead wood and stubs back to the next main alive lead. Remove dead shrubs including root ball. Fill in root depression with soil and restore disturbed area. During the first two maintenance visits, all shrub beds and individual shrub wells shall be edged at the lawn interface. It shall be done by hand or mechanically. No herbicide spraying will be allowed. Shrub beds and mass plantings shall be edged following the original outline. Edging shall be periodically performed throughout the season to redefine the edge and to remove invading grasses. All clippings, weeds, trash, and other debris including bottles, cans, papers, plastic, rocks, wood, and branches found in these areas shall be removed from the Family Lodge and CRC grounds at the end of each work day. To give a properly maintained appearance, all designated beds shall be weeded, trimmed, edged along the turf border, cleaned of trash and debris, and mulched applied or have existing mulch cultivated up to 35 weekly maintenance visits during the contract period. The Contractor shall commence as required maintenance visits on or about March 15 of each performance period. Maintenance visits shall cease on or about November 30. A Maintenance Visit shall be composed of, but not limited to, the following tasks: All ground cover plants and bed areas and vines shall be thoroughly trimmed each maintenance visit to remove excessive new growth, promote dense cover and maintain an even, neat appearance. Vines shall be allowed to grow and expand as directed by the Project Officer. Trim ground covers off building foundations, tree trunks, garden and retaining walls and walkways. Shrubbery in and adjacent to ground cover beds shall be kept free of vines each maintenance visit. Continue to train espalier shrubs on trellises. Prune and trim as necessary to retain shape and character of the espalier. Keep espaliers that are side by side matched in shape and size. All ground cover beds shall be thoroughly weeded each maintenance visit. Weeds shall be hand pulled so that their root systems are removed. No herbicides, fungicides or gasoline powered mechanical weeding machines are to be used around the Family Lodge or within the CRC courtyards. Ground cover beds shall be kept mulched and cultivated around edges and bare or thin areas using the specified shredded hardwood mulch material. Apply only shredded CYPRESS MULCH in the CRC courtyards. All ground cover beds shall be edged where they meet turf areas, walks, and roads as needed during any maintenance visit. All clippings, weeds, trash, and other debris including bottles, cans, papers, plastic, rocks, wood, and branches found in the ground cover beds shall be removed at the end of each work day. All ground cover beds shall be weeded, trimmed, edged, and mulched completely and thoroughly to give a properly maintained appearance and promote plant health and growth up to 35 maintenance visits during a contract period year. The Contractor shall commence the as requested maintenance visits on or about March 15 and cease on or about November 30. A Maintenance Visit shall be composed of, but not limited to, the following tasks. All designated hedges or specifically designated shrub(s) to be formally pruned shall be pruned using a professional grade hand pruners to bring or keep the hedge or individual plants down to the required size, increase structural strength and disease prevention, to extend the life of the plants beyond their normal span and to enhance the beauty of the formal hedge. All hedges shall be pruned as needed once during the contract year. All hedges are to be pruned during the first or second maintenance visit with completion scheduled for approximately April 15. Refer to ANSI, A300 (Part1) - 2001 ?Tree, Shrub, and Other Woody Plant Maintenance - Standard Practices (Pruning). To maintain the formal appearance of the designated hedges, the plantings shall be sheared or trimmed using hand shears to the shape and size as specified. Shearing or trimming shall be accomplished during any maintenance visit to remove new, excess growth. A properly shaped hedge is narrower at the top then at the bottom and the top should be slightly rounded to flat. Low and indented areas must be allowed to fill in before trimming. The Contractor shall retain or create the appropriate hedge batter. Maintain the ?Cloud Effect? of the Family Lodge boxwoods near the front entrance. All designated hedge beds shall be thoroughly weeded each maintenance visit. Weeds shall be hand pulled so that their root systems are removed. An approved pre-emergence may be applied in the spring immediately prior to mulch placement. All designated hedges shall be mulched from the body of the plant to the dripline. Do not add additional mulch to areas where three (3) or more inches exist. Cultivate those areas by turning over and loosening up existing mulch each maintenance visit. See All dead wood shall be removed to the first live lateral branch to promote new growth and reduce unsightliness. Dead plants shall be totally removed including the root system. Soil depression shall be filled with adjacent soil and the disturbed area restored by mulching. Beds shall be edged to the turf edge. All clippings and other debris including bottles, cans, paper, plastic, rocks, wood, and branches shall be removed from the Family Lodge and CRC courtyard grounds at the end of each work day. To give a properly maintained appearance and to promote plant health, all hedges and hedge beds shall be pruned and sheared, weeded, mulched, edged, and dead wood removed by approximately April 15. Touch up shearing or trimming shall be performed as required during each of the following 35 maintenance visits of the performance period. Fallen leaves shall be removed from all areas within the contract limits of the Family Lodge including the Great Lawns and pavements during the last two (2) maintenance visit in November; Maintenance Visits #34 and #35. Leaves shall not be allowed to accumulate on shrub and ground cover beds, on the great lawn, patios and walkways or gazebo and seating areas or in the service platform area. Care must be taken to not damage plant material. Bags or piles shall not be allowed to remain beyond the end of the work day. Leaves may be removed by hand-held blowers, vacuums or hand implements at the Family Lodge. The last maintenance visit, # 36, will be scheduled between December 15 and December 31 and shall be for leaf removal at the FAMILY LODGE ONLY. All shrub bed, lawn and pavement areas within the contract limits shall be worked. No leaf removal beyond November 30, visit #35, will be required for the CRC courtyards. To apply any pesticide, the Contractor shall be duly licensed, Maryland Department of Agriculture, Certified Pesticide Applicator, Category III, Ornamentals and Turf, III-A, (Ornamental Exterior); III-C, (Turf); and Category VII, Industrial, Institutional, Structural and Health Related, VII-E (Industrial Weed). The Contractor shall provide the Project Officer with a copy of the current certificate. The Contractor shall submit to the Project Officer for advanced approval, dates of proposed applications and product names along with Material Safety Data Sheets of each product. Only Roundup, Surflan and Treflan shall be used as a pre or post emergent herbicide. Only horticultural oils, horticultural soaps and Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) products shall be applied for insect control. Only preapproved organic fungicides such as Safer Garden Fungicide and E-Rase Powery Mildew Control or equal approved products will be allowed to be applied for plant fungicide treatment. The Contractor must ensure the safe application of any pesticide. Applications must be according to Montgomery County and State of Maryland regulations. The Project Officer reserves the right to cancel any approved application date due to any circumstance such as unscheduled outdoor events or the arrival of a State Registered Sensitive Individual at the Family Lodge or CRC. The Government strongly encourages the use of Integrated Pest Management principals. The Contractor shall monitor all plants for insect and disease infestations during each maintenance visit. Observed infestation shall be noted on the Maintenance Visit Report. Report shall include pest identified, host, location and proposed treatment plan. There are no spring flowering bulbs planted at this time. The Project Officer at some future date may request the Contractor to provide, plant and maintain specified spring flowering bulbs under a negotiated contract modification or purchase order. Perennial flower beds shall be maintained during each maintenance visit by weeding, edging, removing dead plants, removing litter and cultivating or adding mulch to maintain a neat appearance. During the last maintenance visit of November, the Contractor shall cut back perennial tops that have died back. Ornamental grasses shall be cut back at the first spring maintenance visit. Prune rose bushes before buds break into new growth. Remove dead and diseased wood, canes crossing the center of the plant and suckers emerging from the ground or below the graft. Leave four to seven strong healthy canes, keeping but cutting back their best branches. Cut branches just above an outward facing bud. After pruning, the bush should be 18 to 24 inches above the ground. Each spring following pruning apply commercially available composted cow manure around each plant extending beyond the ?drip line.? Apply shredded hardwood mulch over manure. Fertilize roses every other maintenance visit (10-14 day interval) during the growing season with ?Miracle-Gro Water Soluble Rose Plant Food? or equal at manufacturer?s recommended formula and rate per plant. All existing shade and ornamental trees under six (6) inches in caliper DBH or under 3 meters (18 feet) shall receive care and maintenance including but not limited to spring pruning or ?fruit? trees, removal of damaged or diseased limbs, removal of interfering branches or girdling roots, elevating and thinning, removing suckers and water sprouts and monitoring for insect and disease. Crabapples and cherry trees shall be lightly pruned during the first two (2) visits to retain shape and balance. Other trees shall be visually inspected during each visit and pruned accordingly. It is imperative that the Family Lodge and CRC courtyard grounds be left in a neat and clean condition following each maintenance visit. At the conclusion of the maintenance visit, the Contractor shall survey the grounds to ensure all collected litter and garden wastes are removed. Family Lodge Pea Gravel paths are to be smoothed and raked out. Kicked out stone shall be returned to the path, gazebos shall be free of litter and all pavement areas shall be swept or blown clean of fine soils and debris. There are varieties of blue Hydrangea that will require periodic pH soil testing and analysis to retain or produce the desired blue flowers. pH testing will be conducted by this contractor yearly in April and again in August. Desired pH shall be in the range of 5.0 - 5.5 and maintained within that range. Apply and incorporate the required amount of aluminum sulfate to lower the pH or sulfur to raise the pH into the soil surrounding individual hydrangea. See Clemson University Extension Service web site http://hgic.clemson.edu and refer to HGIC 1067 for suggested product and application rates. Blue flowering hydrangea varieties are ?Blue Bird? and ?Nikko Blue?. Others including Laniarth White, ?Alice? oakleaf and climbing varieties shall remain white. During each maintenance visit, the Contractor shall visually inspect lawn and shrub irrigation heads for broken, missing or misaligned heads. Observations shall also be made of the sprinkling patters of lawn and shrub heads. Areas of excessive moisture or areas of under coverage shall be noted. A soil moisture meter is recommended for taking readings of soil moisture content to ensure plant and turf survival. Note on the Visit Report all such observations. No sprinkler head adjustments or repairs will be made by this contractor. Minor adjustments to the drip irrigation system lines shall be part of this contract. During each maintenance visit, the Contractor bury any exposed drip irrigation line back into the mulch bed. Care must be used when using weeding or cultivating tools to not disturb or puncture the shallow buried lines. Repairs shall be made to any drip irrigation line damaged during maintenance operations. Lawn care such as mowing, trimming, fertilizing, dethatching, aerating, overseeding and weed control shall be done by others. Trees over six (6) inch caliper DBH or over 3 meters in height shall be maintained by others. The Family Lodge comprises approximately 20,968 square feet of shrub bed area, approximately 43,530 square feet of lawn area and approximately 40,478 square feet of pavement within the contract limits; sidewalks and patios (17,031), pea gravel walks (2,086) and roadway and parking lot pavement area (21,361). The two CRC courtyards comprise approximately 19,054 square feet of landscaped area and another approximately 13,946 square feet of pavement. NO GASOLINE POWERED EQUIPMENT OF ANY KIND SHALL BE USED WITHIN THE TWO CRC COURTYARDS OR NEAR FAMILY LODGE AIR INTAKES OR OPEN WINDOWS. NO MECHANICAL GASOLINE POWERED EQUIPMENT OTHER THAN HAND TOOLS IS ALLOWED IN THE COURTYARDS. NO PESTICIDES OF ANY KIND SHALL BE APPLIED TO EITHER SITE WITHOUT THE EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE PROJECT OFFICER. THESE ARE SPECIAL ?HEALING GARDENS? AND MAY BE FREQUENTED BY INDIVIDUALS VERY SENSITIVE TO FUMES OF CHEMICAL PRODUCTS. ONLY SHREDDED CYPRESS MULCH SHALL BE APPLIED WITHIN THE TWO CRC COURTYARDS. Responses must reference the sources sought to Sources Sought QQC60040 and include the following: (1) Name and Address of the Organization, (2) The size standard and small business program (8a, Service Disabled Veteran, HubZone) status of the company, (3) Point of contact with name, title, phone, fax and email, (4) DUNS number, (5) Contractor?s existing literature on services provided and experience (i.e. pamphlets, brochures, etc.) (6) List of organizations to whom similar types of services have been previously provided to include contract number, dollar value, name and phone number of contracting officer, (7) Qualifications or resumes of any key personnel. THIS SOURCES SOUGHT IS FOR INFORMATION AND PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS A COMMITMENT BY THE GOVERNMENT. NO REIMBURSEMENT WILL BE MADE FOR ANY COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH PROVIDING INFORMATION IN RESPONSE TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AND ANY FOLLOW-UP INFORMATION REQUESTS. RESPONDENT WILL NOT BE NOTIFIED OF THE RESULTS OF THE EVALUATION. ALL INFORMATION SUBMITTED IN RESPONSE TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT MUST BE RECEIVED ON OR BEFORE THE CLOSING DATE. THE CLOSING DATE FOR RESPONSES IS March 29, 2006 at 1PM EST. Emailed capability statements are authorized, but it is up to the vendor to make certain that the email was received. All questions must be in writing and may be emailed to Zedekiah J. Worsham at worshamz@od.nih.gov. Mailed documents can be sent to the address listed in Fedbizopps.
- Place of Performance
- Address: National Institutes of Health (NIH), 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, Maryland 20892,
- Record
- SN01009879-W 20060322/060320211744 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |