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The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS) has a requirement to: Upgrading SCINet Cabling and WLAN at ARS, Orono, ME.

Solicitation 12305B23R0033 is issued as a Request for Proposals (RFP). The solicitation document, with the incorporated clauses and provisions, is issued in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Parts 13 and 36 and will be incorporated in the awarded firm-fixed price contract. Interested vendors should reference the solicitation documents for all terms and conditions. All interested parties are responsible for monitoring this website to ensure they have the most current information (i.e. Amendments) for the solicitation. No paper solicitation will be available. This will be evaluated using Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA), see solicitation for evaluation factors and submission requirements, sections L and M.

Notice of Set-Aside for Small Business Concerns: This requirement is a Total Small Business Set Aside.

The associated NAICS Code is 238210, Electrical Contractors and Other Wiring Installation Contractors. The small business size standard is $19.0 million.

Magnitude of Construction is between $25,000 and $100,000.

Period of performance is 30 days after receipt of the Notice to Proceed.

Bonds: If the contract exceeds $35,000, the offeror to whom award is made shall furnish a payment security, which can be a payment bond or an alternative form per FAR 52.228-13, Alternative Payment Protections. Awards exceeding $150,000 require both Payment and Performance Bonds. See solicitation details regarding a Bid Bond.

Site Visit: An organized site visit will be conducted on August 14, 2023, at 9:00 AM Eastern Time. The site visit will be held at the project location meeting. Attendees must bring their valid REAL ID or passport. In order to attend a site visit, you MUST pre-register. Please email melissa.milligan@usda.gov and cc roger.ammons@usda.gov with the company name and name(s) of the person visiting the site. See solicitation page 36 for details.

The site visit will be held for the purpose of providing contractors with the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the site which may be helpful in the preparation of offers. Attendance at this site visit is not mandatory for offer submission; however, failure to visit the site will not relieve or mitigate the successful contractor's responsibility and obligation to fully comply with the terms, conditions and specifications contained and/or referenced in this document.

All questions regarding this solicitation must be submitted in writing to the Contracting Specialist, Roger Ammons, via email to roger.ammons@usda.gov. Questions must be submitted no later than 5:00 PM ET on August 17, 2023. Answers to all questions received by that time will be posted as an amendment to the solicitation. No questions will be answered after this date unless determined to be in the best interest of the Government as deemed by the Contracting Officer. Telephone requests for information will not be accepted or returned.