Lavon,
Texas
Weather
Conditions; Sunny, 85 degrees
People often ask questions about our jobs as gate attendants and want to know the
process for getting this type of gig.
I’ve covered a little bit of this information in previous post, but will give a little more detail for those
interested.
The
first step is to apply for and receive a DUN Number, Dun & Bradstreet
(D&B) provides a D-U-N-S Number, a unique nine digit identification number,
for each physical location of your business.
D-U-N-S
Number are FREE for all businesses required to register with the US Federal
government for contracts or grants.
The
DUNS will be needed to begin your registration prior to entering SAM.
It
may take several days or more than a week to receive your DUN number.
My
experience was with Dun & Bradstreet was not pleasant. After waiting for
over a week, I had to make several calls and talk with several people over the
course of a week in order to finally receive my Dun number.
Once
you have obtained the Dun number, you can proceed to the next step.
Next
you must register with SAM to receive a number.
The
System for Award Management (SAM) is the Official U.S. Government system that
consolidated the capabilities of CCR/FedReg, ORCA, and EPLS. There is NO fee to
register for this site.
You
can register your Entity (business, individual, or government agency) to do
business with the Federal Government. To register, you must first create a user
account.
This
registration takes time, so be prepared to sit at your computer for a couple of
hours. (also, this is a government website and you must have a secured
connection in order to be able to complete the application) I tried using my
laptop with air card and it did not consider it a secured connection.
Your
SAM number must be renewed annually. Failure to renew on time will cause you to
have to go through the entire process again.
Keep
these numbers handy so that you can access them. These numbers are your
lifeline to government jobs.
Once
you have you have completed these two VERY important steps, you can now go to
Federal Business Opportunities website https://www.fbo.gov
This
is where you search for government business opportunities.
Once
you find the items you wish to bid on, the real FUN begins!
You
will select the opportunity, open the presolicitation. Look at the synopsis
which will explain in detail what the contracting office is asking for.
These
can be very lengthy. I believe the last gate attendant bid we did was almost
200 pages. There is a questionnaire and a lot of legal jargon!
By
the way, you will be bidding on a particular year and season with an option
period. For example, if you bid for next summer the option period will include
the following summer. That makes for 2 summers! Generally they exercise the
right to accept the option period as a done deal.
You’re
required to fill out the questionnaire. You’ll be instructed to submit the
questionnaire, a resume, application and bid document. This will be submitted
to the contracting office via email as a PDF file by the deadline posted on
bid.
The
bid amounts are different from season to season and from park to park. In this
area, summer bids pay more than winter bids.
There
is also an evaluation form that needs to be filled out by a recent former
employer. That evaluation form will be submitted separately by the person
preforming the evaluation.
The
information I just gave you applies to the US Army Corp of Engineers Fort Worth
District.
I
know that some districts require pictures of your RV be submitted with your
bid.
I
realize this can be very overwhelming. It certainly was for us the first time.
Meanwhile,
you’ll need to obtain a VIP (Volunteer in Parks) surety bond. This is not as
easy as it sound.
Not
every insurance company has underwriters that do these kinds of bonds.
The
bond requirement is $5,000.00 and the cost is about $100.00.
You
will have to periodically have to check the FedBizOp website to see if there
any changes or updates to the presolicitation. You will have the check on it
after the deadline to see if it has been awarded.
You
will be notified via email if you are awarded the bid. Once you are awarded the
bid, you will then be instructed to have your surety bond and a copy of your
auto insurance available for submission to the lake manager.
Besides
being paid monthly, we are furnished a covered RV site with full hookups. They
also provide a 10x12 storage building at our site.
Duties
for gate attendants for the US Army Corp of Engineers at this lake are required
to collect money for Day Use and Camping, make reservations for walkup campers,
patrol the park several times per day (in your vehicle using your fuel) reporting
any problems and maintenance issues.
We
work 4 days on and have 4 days off. Our hours are 6 A.M to 10 P.M. someone must
be in the gatehouse at all times during your shift. You’re actually on duty for
24 hours a day during your 4 day shift. You’re on call in the event anyone has
a problem.
There
are periodic police and park ranger patrols from 6 A.M to 10 P.M.
You
will be evaluated periodically on your performance. There is the occasional audit
of cash drawer. Gate attendants are required to have their own opening cash. We
started with $50.00.
At
the end of our 4 day shift, we take the monies collected and buy a money order.
That money order and reports are mailed the NRRS.
We
are required to buy our own office supplies, money orders, cleaning supplies
(cleaning supplies are for the cleaning of the gatehouse) and postage.
We
have enjoyed the work but would not want to make a career of it. The hours are
crazy long and during the week, the days can be very slow.
The
gate houses vary in size. Some are very small and some larger. Our current gate
house is roomy enough that we aren’t sitting on top of each other.
This
gate house is equipped with a computer, printer, cash drawer and a safe. We
have a restroom too. That is important!
We
brought in a microwave and the other gate attendants brought in a mini fridge.
There
are different requirements for each district and I have experience only with
the Fort Worth district.