USDA, Rural Development, 4440 NW 25th Place, PO Box 147010, Gainesville, Florida 32614-7010

S -- RURAL HOUSING CARETAKING AND SECURITY SERVICES SOL RFP 09-00-6-65P. Due 082396. Contact Betty C. McMurtry, 352-338-3426, Contracting Officer. USDA, Rural Development requires caretaking, maintenance and Securing services for single-family, Government inventory and custodial properties located within the county(ies) of Nassau, Duval, Clay, St. Johns, Bradford, Union and Baker in the State of Florida. The contract award will be a requirements, indefinite quantity, indefinite delivery, fixed-price per line item; the requirements are for base year FY 97, with two option years through FY 99. An award will be subject to appropriations of funds for the program mission. The Government estimate is between $25,000 and $50,000 for each of three years. Notice is given that some services fall under ``R'', i.e., routine inspection associated with property management. Qualification statements are required. Eligibility for award will be determined by the evaluation of an offeror's qualification statement to determine that the qualifications documented are either acceptable, unacceptable, or susceptible to being made acceptable. Acceptability will be determined by evaluation of the following qualification criteria: (1) UNDERSTANDING OF MANAGEMENT - Documentation of tracking and control process to support the handling of multiple task order assignments simultaneously with competing priorities; to track continuous services ordered for specific properties without benefit of repeat delivery orders; to determine costs assignable to specific properties and to individual fund accounts amount three; (2) GROUNDS MAINTENANCE - Documentation of experience and skill in cutting grass to certain heights predicated by climatic conditions and growth periods; experience in pruning and caring for shrubbery and trees for particular regions of Florida; (3) UNDERSTANDING OF REQUIREMENTS OF TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT AND KNOWLEDGE OF ORDINANCES CONTROLLING DISPOSAL OF WASTE INCLUDING HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE - Documentation by job requirements the tools and equipment that will be required for the specific tasks and how these may be acquired by the offeror; documentation of the control of waste disposal in the individual county governments and municipalities included within the scope of the covered areas of work; (4) ACCESSIBILITY VIA COMMUNICATIONS - Documentation of how the offeror proposes to establish access throughout a work day for the purpose of receiving critical communications on security requirements and inspections of properties acquired or brought into custodianship. (5) MINIMUM CARPENTRY REPAIR SKILLS - Documentation of sufficient skill to patch roof, replace entry doors and replace windows; knowledge of the installation of boards to secure the dwelling without damaging structural properties in the installation and/or removal of the boarding of windows and doors. This is a ``best buy'' procurement, and as such, it is the intent of the Government to make an award to the offeror whose proposal represents the best overall value. In deciding which proposal represents the best overall value, the Government will consider the following three (3) factors: (1) PRODUCTION CAPABILITY, (2) PAST PERFORMANCE, and (3) PRICE. DECISION RULE: The government will decide if an offeror's marginal superiority in production capability and past performance are worth any marginal increase in price. The Government's objective is to make an award to a capable supplier whose past performance was that of timely delivery and quality production of services. This objective is more significant than that of achieving the lowest price for the services solicited. Offerors are notified of this decisional rule. Notice is provided herein, too, that the Government will not pay an unreasonable price for superior past performance as to the quality and timeliness of production delivery. A best buy procurement on the part of the Government in this request for proposals and ultimate contract award will be deemed by the Government to be a best buy, i.e., the best value only if the Government can find rationale to support its belief that offeror's production quality, past performance and price are worth the price. Thus, the relative importance of past performance, production quality and price will ultimately depend upon the differences among the competing offerors and not on any predetermined assignment of weights. Telephone requests for solicitation packages will not be accepted. Fax requests (352 338 3405) will be accepted. Contemplated closing date is August 23, 1996 at 11:00 AM, local time. See Note 1. (185)

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