Number: 28069309
Country: United States
Source: Federal Business Opportunities
1. Identification of the Contracting Activity and specific identification of this document as a “Justification for other than full and open competition”: The contracting activity is the General Services Administration (GSA), Public Buildings Service (PBS), Acquisition Management Division, Program Support Branch (7PQA), 819 Taylor Street, Fort Worth, TX 76102. This document serves as the Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition.
2. Nature and/or description of action being approved: This is a justification for other than full and open competition to extend the period of performance of existing small business multiple-award construction Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts under the authority at FAR 6.302-2, Unusual and Compelling Urgency. The four zones being extended are the Tulsa to Fayetteville, Arkansas, North New Mexico and West Texas zones.
3. Description of supplies or services required to meet the Agency’s needs: From April 25th to May 23rd, 2019 the Program Support Branch awarded multiple-award construction IDIQs to support AMD in the Tulsa to Fayetteville, Arkansas, West Texas and North New Mexico zones. There were six (6) small business contractors awarded in the Tulsa to Fayetteville zone, six (6) small business contractors awarded in the Arkansas zone, six (6) small business contracts awarded in the North New Mexico zone, and five (5) small business contractors awarded in the West Texas zone with a period of performance of one (1) one-year base period and four (4) one year option periods. The period of performance dates for each zone are detailed below: Zone Period of Performance Tulsa to Fayetteville 04/25/2019 – 04/24/2024 Arkansas 05/07/2019 – 05/06/2024 West Texas 05/21/2019 – 05/20/2024 North New Mexico 05/23/2019 – 05/22/2024 Throughout this five-year period the option for one contract was not executed in the Arkansas zone due to contractor financial responsibility issues. That contract will not be included in this extension as it is already closed.
The acquisition team fully anticipated to make award prior to the expiration of the current contracts, however, there have been delays due to unforeseeable circumstances. Several factors during the process of this procurement have led up to this point. The planning of the procurement began in early 2022. During the planning stages, the Contracting Team consulted several groups who utilize these IDIQs for task orders to gain a better understanding of any changes that may be beneficial for the new procurement. The topics that were discussed and ultimately decided on were a change in the zonal boundaries and an updated pricing structure.
It was decided that the zonal boundaries would be changed to create 12 zones rather than the 13 zones from the previous procurement that is currently in place. This decision is based upon data gathered by the procurement team regarding competition and the needs of each individual zone.
During market research for this new procurement, conversations with GSA Region 7 contracting personnel, contracting officer representatives and contractors were held to discuss improving the IDIQ contracts. The general feedback received was that the pricing structure for the current zonal IDIQs was difficult for all parties utilizing them. The implemented pricing structure for the contracts currently in place was based on RS Means coefficient factors. Feedback from current contractors as well as the contracting teams indicated that this method may be outdated and flawed. Deliberations were held to determine the best course of action for moving forward with pricing for the new procurement. These talks included several different teams of contracting officers, contract specialists, and project managers who work closely with these IDIQ contracts. It took 8 months of trial and error before the pricing structure was completed and approved by all interested parties. This is an issue that was not foreseen until the market research began and the procurement team felt that this was an area that needed to be improved for the next zonal IDIQs and therefore the team invest the time required to improve the pricing structure issue which resulted in an unexpected but necessary delay.
The market research portion of the procurement concluded with the completion of the Market Research Memo, GSA Form 2689, and the Acquisition Plan. The Market Research Memo and GSA Form 2689 were submitted for review and approval on February 28, 2023. The final approval was not received until March 27, 2023 which was two weeks after the initial milestone scheduled date. In an attempt to keep the procurement process moving, an initial review of the Acquisition Plan was requested on March 21, 2023. Due to the extensive changes that were made on this follow-on procurement, the acquisition plan review process took longer than anticipated. Additionally, there was a system error that prevented final signatures, which in itself caused about a full-week delay. The final approval for the Acquisition Plan was received on May 15, 2023, almost 2 months after it was initially routed for review.
Several delays occurred during the evaluation process of the first two zones under this solicitation. As a result, it delayed the process for the four zones addressed in this document. Ongoing staffing issues at the end of the 2023 fiscal year caused the evaluation team to experience some unexpected competing priorities.
The delays were further exacerbated by the delayed passing of the fiscal year 2024 Federal Budget package. This delay caused a severe backup in the planning of Task Orders in Region 7. Specifically, construction task orders that need to be awarded on the IDIQ contracts in the four zones listed previously. The Contracting Officers that manage the construction task orders are in the Request for Proposal phase of the procurement. They need more time with the current contracts to get the task orders awarded before the current period of performance ends. This would lead to more delays hindering the overall mission to support AMD’s customers.
The following projects have Task Order RFPs posted for each zone:
Tulsa to Fayetteville Zone Project Title Location 47PH0624R0042 – 0025 Exterior Lighting Upgrade - Oklahoma City Federal Building Oklahoma City, OK 47PH0624R0036 - 10362 USCIS Carpet and Paint Oklahoma City, OK 7737 - TX - DALLAS - EARLE CABELL FOBCTHS - USAO Office Renovation 2589561 Dallas, TX 01030036 Liberty One Credit Union Painting TX0284DA Earl Cabell Federal Bldg. Dallas, TX 1030085 A. Maceo Smith Minimart Renovation Dallas, TX 47PH0524R0067 - Sam B. Hall Courthouse- Window Construction project, 100 E. Houston St., Marshall, TX 75670 Marshall, TX 47PH0524R0062 - Monroe Fed Courthouse 2nd and 3rd Flr Chamber Construction Monroe, LA 47PH0524R0001 - USPO 3rd Floor Renovate Construction; Fayetteville, AR 72701 (AR0084ZZ)) Fayetteville, AR 1775#, HHS Force Move Renovation project, Little Rock, AR Little Rock, AR 7003 TIGTA FARMERS BRANCH - THE CENTRE PHASE 5 - TX0302 IRS Space Reduction and Refresh Farmers Branch, TX
Arkansas Zone Project Title Location 47PH0624R0028 - 18506 Chilled Water Pump replacement - Earle Cabell Dallas, TX 47PH0624R0036 - 10362 USCIS Carpet and Paint Oklahoma City, OK 1030085 A. Maceo Smith Minimart Renovation Dallas, TX 47PH0524R0067 - Sam B. Hall Courthouse- Window Construction project, 100 E. Houston St., Marshall, TX 75670 Marshall, TX 47PH0524R0062 - Monroe Fed Courthouse 2nd and 3rd Flr Chamber Construction project Monroe, LA 47PH0524R0001 - USPO 3rd Floor Renovate Construction; Fayetteville, AR 72701 (AR0084ZZ)) Fayettevile, AR 1775#, HHS Force Move Renovation project, Little Rock, AR Little,Rock, AR #7065, Bob Casey Courtroom 402 Renovation, Houston, TX Houston, TX 7003 TIGTA FARMERS BRANCH - THE CENTRE PHASE 5 - TX0302 IRS Space Reduction and Refresh Farmers Branch, TX 47PH0524R0044 - 20137#, Paint 2nd & 4th Floor Lobby, Little Rock, AR Little Rock, AR West Texas Zone Project Title Location 47PH0624R0042 – 0025 Exterior Lighting Upgrade - Oklahoma City Federal Building Oklahoma City, OK R07-24-ONE-03-0064 Gallup Federal Building Emergency Lighting Replacement Gallup, NM R07-24 ONE-03-0067; Repair Warehouse Depot Roof Leaks Albuquerque, NM North New Mexico Zone Project Title Location Roof Anchor Point Inspection and Repair, Best ID: R07-24 ONE-03-0066, Pete V. Domenici US Courthouse Albuquerque, NM, 87102 47PH0624R0042 – 0025 Exterior Lighting Upgrade - Oklahoma City Federal Building Oklahoma City, OK R07-24-ONE-03-0064 Gallup Federal Building Emergency Lighting Replacement Gallup, NM R07-24 ONE-03-0067; Repair Warehouse Depot Roof Leaks Albuquerque, NM Due to the circumstances described above the current contracts need to be extended to ensure support continues and AMD can meet the mission of their clients. In accordance with FAR 6.302-2(d) the total period of performance awarded under this authority will not exceed one year. Each contract will be extended six (6) months to allow for the procurement of the new IDIQs. The following 22 small business contracts will be extended:
Tulsa to Fayetteville Zone: 47PH0819D0018 Hammer LGC, Inc. 47PH0819D0019 Burgos Group, LLC 47PH0819D0020 Vazquez Commercial Contracting, LLC 47PH0819D0021 Patton Contractors, Inc. 47PH0819D0022 Griffith Contracting, LLC 47PH0819D0023 American Renewable Energy
Arkansas Zone: 47PH0819D0012 Hammer LGC, Inc. 47PH0819D0014 Burgos Group, LLC 47PH0819D0015 Patton Contractors, Inc. 47PH0819D0016 King & George, LLC 47PH0819D0017 American Renewable Energy
West Texas Zone: 47PH0819D0030 Patton Contractors, Inc. 47PH0819D0031 Amstar, Inc. 47PH0819D0032 Tri-State Construction, Inc. 47PH0819D0033 Burgos Group, LLC 47PH0819D0034 Weil Construction, Inc.
North New Mexico Zone: 47PH0819D0024 Prime Builders, LLC 47PH0819D0025 Burgos Group, LLC 47PH0819D0026 Weil Construction, Inc. 47PH0819D0027 American Renewable Energy 47PH0819D0028 Pluma, LLC 47PH0819D0029 Amstar, Inc.
The estimated value of this action is $0. No additional money is required. The maximum ordering limitation (MOL) on the current IDIQ contracts is sufficient and does not need to be increased to accommodate the task order work under this period of performance extension.
4. Statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition: The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(2), as implemented by FAR 6.302-2, Unusual and compelling urgency. 5. Rationale justifying use of the cited authority: GSA has been working on the procurement for new construction IDIQ contracts and fully anticipated award prior to the expiration of the current IDIQ contracts. However, due to unexpected delays encountered, the follow-on contracts will not be awarded prior to the expiration of the current IDIQ contracts. Therefore, an extension of the current IDIQ contracts is required to support the timeframe needed to complete the current projects. This extension is to ensure continued support to AMD remains through the contract award period for the follow-on construction IDIQs based on the normal procurement acquisition lead time.
A lapse in contractual coverage will result in a significant cost impact to the Government as these construction IDIQ contracts provide an efficient and competitive procurement vehicle for AMD to achieve construction requirements. Without this construction vehicle AMD would be left to procure each construction requirement through an alternate stand-alone contract method such as an unrestricted procurement that will most likely result in extended procurement time, cost, and risk on behalf of the Government. This would jeopardize AMD’s mission to support the requirements of its customers in a most timely and efficient manner.
A lapse in coverage, even for a brief period of time, would result in the following negative impacts: • Significant delays in construction requirement awards. If the task orders currently in the RFP stage are not awarded before the base contracts expire, they will need to be re-competed without the beneficial use of the IDIQ contract. The PALT for a task order against an IDIQ contract is 45-60 days depending on the estimated value whereas the PALT for an unrestricted contract is either 180 or 250 days depending on the estimated value. The additional procurement time would result in increased cost to the government, administrative burden and further delay and jeopardize the mission of the customer agency. Many of the upcoming projects are time-sensitive and delays in accomplishing the work will result in the customer agency not meeting mission objectives at the needed rate and cost. • The loss of competitive pricing resulting in the government paying more through alternative procurement methods. If an IDIQ vehicle wasn’t available, the majority of AMD requirements would be issued through sole source contracts or unrestricted competition. Many sole source 8(a)/HUBZone construction contracts procured by AMD have been awarded ahead of the established PALT schedules. While this alternative would help AMD expedite the award, AMD would have to forgo the benefits of competition and may not receive the best value available when a requirement is competed. Lack of competition could result in AMD paying higher prices for the requirements and result in unnecessary additional costs to the government. • A loss of expertise of selected IDIQ contract holders. AMD construction projects are located at potentially complex work sites, such as operational land ports of entry. Many sites are remote and require being operational during construction. The current IDIQ contractors were evaluated and awarded IDIQ contracts on a best-value basis with technical factors being significantly more important than price. Significant consideration was given to the offerors’ past experience at complex sites such as operational land ports-of-entry. If various contractors are awarded individual construction projects at these complex sites a higher risk of performance would exist. This would require AMD program staff to spend more time monitoring construction work resulting in costs for additional hours spent overseeing the construction project and require surplus travel. More contractor-initiated modifications are also more likely as a result of new contractors being unaware of the usual issues that arise at typical AMD work sites. Modifications after award place the government at risk for additional costs and delays to the construction schedule. • Delays in starting construction work as a result of delays in obtaining security clearances. Current IDIQ contractors already have many of the required clearances for the types of projects AMD executes which allows for construction work to start immediately after award. If new contractors are required for each project, the security clearance process would result in significant delays.
6. Description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable: The extension would be issued to only the current contractors who hold an IDIQ contract in the Tulsa to Fayetteville, Arkansas, West Texas and North New Mexico zones. The follow-on contract was posted on www.SAM.gov to allow for the maximum number of offerors.
7. Determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost will be fair and reasonable: The extensions will come at no additional cost to the government.
8. Description of market research: Market research was not required to find the current sources, but market research was utilized to ensure that as many contractors, given consideration to small business, had an opportunity to compete on the follow-on IDIQ contracts.
9. Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition: The extension of the current IDIQs is in the best interest of the government. The lapse in this IDIQ vehicle to execute construction requirements will significantly injure the government financially. It will also jeopardize the mission of AMD and the customer agencies it serves as GSA may not be able to meet the needs of the customer agencies in a most efficient and timely manner.
10. A listing of sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition: None.
11. Statement of the actions, if any, the Agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for required supplies of services:
The procedure for the procurement of contracts in the remaining zones under this solicitation will contain more frequent meetings and planning strategies with all parties involved to better understand the procurement timelines. Additionally, the procurement process timeline will be moved up to accommodate any further potential and unforeseen delays.
