Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
GAOA Star Meadows MEP Repairs Utility Installations Flathead NF
Department of Agriculture · Forest Service · Sol. 1240BH27Q0001
Due in 59 daysSmall business
Track this notice by email. We'll email you if it's amended or awarded, and a week and two days before responses are due.
AI summary Beta
Some details weren't available to this summary, so it may miss requirements. Check the attachments on SAM.gov.
The USDA Forest Service (Tally Lake Ranger District, Flathead National Forest) wants a small business to install heating, propane, water, and sewer systems at the Star Meadows rental cabin near Whitefish, Montana. It is a 100% small business set-aside for one fixed-price order, estimated between $100,000 and $250,000, with work expected from March to June 2027. Quotes are due December 8, 2026, and bid and performance/payment bonds are required.
Watch out for
- Bid guarantee of 20% of bid price. You must put up a bid bond or other guarantee worth 20 percent of your price with your quote, which can be hard for a small firm to obtain.
The amount of the bid guarantee shall be 20 percent of the bid price.
- Performance and payment bonds required. On a job this size you need a surety willing to bond you, and bond cost and capacity can rule out new or thinly capitalized firms.
BID GUARANTEE, PERFORMANCE AND PAYMENT BONDS ARE REQUIRED FOR THIS PROJECT
- Licensed Montana design professional needed. The boiler and hydronic system is a deferred design submittal that must come from a Montana-licensed boiler or HVAC professional with 5 years of similar experience, so you may need to hire or team with one.
MINIMUM 5 YRS DESIGN SERVICE EXPERIENCE TO PROVIDE HVAC AND POTABLE
- Pre-bid site visit on October 27. The site visit is at a remote cabin about 30 miles from Kalispell; the files do not say whether it is mandatory, so plan to attend and confirm with the contact.
Date: Tuesday, October 27,2026
- Lowest price wins. Award goes to the lowest-priced quote that passes technical and past performance checks, so pricing must be tight and complete.
Only the lowest priced offer will be evaluated for Technical Acceptability.
- Past performance with three similar projects. You need three comparable projects from the last three years with references; a firm with no record is rated Neutral, which is still acceptable.
Furnish a list of three (3) projects of similar magnitude completed by the firm within the last three
- Davis-Bacon wages and construction labor rules. Prevailing wage reporting adds payroll paperwork and cost, and the wage determination file could not be read here, so check the rates yourself.
DAVIS BACON WAGES APPLY - WAGE DETERMINATION ATTACHED
- Propane tank supply unclear. The SOW says the tank is government supplied, but the contract data says no government property is provided and drawing notes mention tank installation, so ask who supplies the tank.
Install a concrete pad and propane yard-lines between a government supplied tank and appliances.
- Buy American construction materials. Only domestic construction materials may be used unless the Contracting Officer approves an exception, which affects boiler, pipe and fixture sourcing.
- Remote forest site with seasonal hazards. Bear-resistant food storage, fire plans and possible Hoot Owl shutdowns, weather suspensions, and a water supply that will be disrupted during work can slow the job.
- Quantities are estimates. Drawings say dimensions are for estimating only and the contractor must verify quantities before bidding, so unseen conditions fall on you.
Read from the notice and 5 attachments. 3 not read in full.
- C04 SF1442 1240BH27Q0001.pdf
- C04b Attachment 2 SOW 1240BH27Q0001.docx
- C04g Attachment 7 Site Visit Info 1240BH27Q0001.docx
- C04e Attachment 5 RFI Form 1240BH27Q0001.docx
- C04d Attachment 4 Drawings 1240BH27Q0001.pdf
- C04c Attachment 3 Specifications 1240BH27Q0001.doc: .doc files aren't read yet
- C04f Attachment 6 General Decision MT20260032.pdf: scanned PDF: no text to read
- C04a Attachment 1 SOI 1240BH27Q0001.xlsx: spreadsheet: not read yet
Full brief
What they want
- Install hydronic heating: combi-boiler with tankless water heater, radiant floor heat loops, and piping and pumps
- Install air heating and distribution: air handler, ducts, grills, sensors and controls
- Install propane service: concrete pad, buried yard-lines, regulators and shut-offs, and interior gas lines
- Install two propane fireplaces with venting, hearth and wall shields
- Retrofit the existing well with a pump and pitless unit, and run a pressurized water line to the cabin and kitchen faucet
- Stub in new sewer drains from the septic tank to the basement bathroom and keep the kitchen sink connected
- Demolish basement bathroom, wall and ceiling items and old electric wall heaters, and replace the electrical panel
- Install four hardwired smoke/CO alarms, insulation and related carpentry; get utility locates and permits
- Contract type
- Firm-fixed-price; the RFQ will result in one purchase order (commercial construction, FAR Part 12)
- Period of performance
- Start within 10 calendar days after notice to proceed and finish within 120 calendar days after NTP; the SOW estimates March 2027 through June 29, 2027
- Place of performance
- Star Meadows Rental Cabin, 5250 Star Meadow Rd, Whitefish, MT 59937 (Flathead National Forest)
- Estimated value
- Between $100,000 and $250,000 (stated magnitude)
- How they'll choose
- Lowest price technically acceptable. Only the lowest-priced quote is checked first; if it fails technical or past performance, the next-lowest is checked.
- Offers due
- December 8, 2026, 3:00 PM Mountain Time
- How to submit
- Email to PPS.proposals@usda.gov (shared mailbox) with subject line '1240BH27Q0001 1173844 GAOA Star Meadows MEP Repairs Utility Installations at Flathead NF'
What they'll judge offers on
- Technical Approach (rated Acceptable or Unacceptable)
- Past Performance (rated Acceptable, Neutral, or Unacceptable)
- Price (checked for fair and reasonable; lowest price wins among acceptable quotes)
What to include when you submit
- Send four separate PDF documents (the price schedule can be Excel or PDF): signed SF1442 offer, Schedule of Items price proposal, technical proposal, and bid guarantee
- SF1442: complete blocks 14, 15, 16, 17, 20a, 20b and 20c, and blocks 19 and 20 if amendments are issued; must be signed by a person who can bind the firm
- Price all line items on Attachment 1 (Schedule of Items) with offeror name, UEI, date and contact name and email; missing line items may get the quote excluded
- Technical proposal must explain how you will do all the work, what you will subcontract (and to whom), work sequencing and timeline, and the people and equipment you will use
- Past performance: list three similar projects finished in the last three years with name, location, contact, cost, and a short narrative
- Bid guarantee: scanned, fully executed Standard Form 24 plus Power of Attorney
- Hold prices firm for 90 calendar days after the due date
- Questions (RFIs) must use Attachment 5 and be emailed by November 10, 2026, 3:00 PM Mountain Time; answers will be posted as an amendment
- Pre-bid site visit is Tuesday, October 27, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. Mountain Time, meeting at the cabin
You must have
- Must be a small business under NAICS 238220 (size standard $19 million); this is a total small business set-aside.
THIS IS A 100% SMALL BUSINESS SETASIDE UNDER NAICS 238220
- Active SAM.gov entity registration is needed to submit a quote.
Offeror must have an active entity registration at https://www.sam.gov/ to submit a quote.
- Bid guarantee, plus performance and payment bonds if awarded.
BID GUARANTEE, PERFORMANCE AND PAYMENT BONDS ARE REQUIRED FOR THIS PROJECT
- Heating and hot water system design must be done by a Montana-certified licensed boiler operator or HVAC professional authorized to design LP/NG gas-fired boiler systems, with at least 5 years of design experience on similar combi-boiler and tankless water heater systems.
BE DELEGATED TO A MONTANA CERTIFIED LICENSED BOILER OPERATOR OR HAVC
- Davis-Bacon wage rates apply (General Decision MT20260032), so you must pay prevailing wages and keep certified payrolls.
DAVIS BACON WAGES APPLY - WAGE DETERMINATION ATTACHED
- Must certify compliance with federal anti-discrimination laws (USDA anti-DEI certification), including for subcontractors and teaming partners.
Not in the notice text
- Schedule of Items (Attachment 1, spreadsheet) with the line items and quantities you must price was not read
- Specifications (Attachment 3, .doc file) were not read
- Wage determination MT20260032 (Attachment 6, scanned PDF) was not read, so the actual wage rates are unknown
- Whether attending the October 27 site visit is mandatory
- Who supplies the propane tank
- Whether any base and option line items exist beyond the base items listed
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Key facts
- Response due
- Dec 8, 2026, 10:00 PM UTC
- Posted
- Oct 1, 2026
- Notice type
- Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
- Solicitation
- 1240BH27Q0001
- Agency
- Department of Agriculture · Forest Service
- Office
- USDA Forest Service
- Set-aside
- Small Business Set Aside - Total
- NAICS
- 238220
- Product/service code
- Z2FB
- Business type
- Construction & renovation
- Place of performance
- Whitefish, MT, 59937
- Contracting contact
- James Edingtonjames.edington@usda.gov
What similar contracts paid
42 contracts at this agency under the same NAICS code, in the same state, had activity in the last 5 years, according to USAspending.gov. Small businesses won 93% of the dollars in this market over the last 3 fiscal years.
Typical contract$14.3KMiddle half: $8.7K to $42.8K
Typical per year$34.1KValue divided by years of performance
Before you respond
Full notice text from SAM.gov
Work includes complete operational assembly of Hydronic Heating, Air Heating and Distribution, Propane Service, Propane Fireplaces, Water Supply, and Sewer Drain.
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