A04 JOFOC Landscape Bridge Final1.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

WASHINGTON HEADQUARTERS SERVICES

1155 DEFENSE PENTAGON

WASHINGTON, DC 20301-1155

ACQUISITION

DIRECTORATE

Control No. 2020-WHS-0085

JUSTIFICATION FOR

OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION (JOFOC)

UNDER FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION FAR SUBPART 6.3

1. AGENCY AND CONTRACTING ACTIVITY: The Department of Defense (DoD)

Washington Headquarters Services (WHS) Facilities Service Directorate, Pentagon Building Maintenance Office (PBMO), and the WHS Acquisition Directorate (AD) Enterprise Facilities and Construction Division (EFCD) Building Maintenance and Operation Branch.

2. DESCRIPTION OF ACTION: The request is for approval to continue the Landscape

Maintenance Services, Pentagon contract with the current contractor, Custom Lawn Service, Inc., with whom our contract #HQ003414D0011 currently ends on 4/30/2020.

This will be a firm-fixed-priced (FFP), single-award, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) Bridge contract using the Pentagon Reservation Maintenance Revolving Fund (PRMRF). The FFP services are recurring services that are invoiced monthly as a task order under the base IDIQ (D-type) contract; the IDIQ nonrecurring services are ordered on separately-negotiated task orders for work that we know will be needed, but do not have the requirement details or dates for this work at time of award of the basic contract.

3. DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES: The PBMO has a requirement to maintain the landscape of the Pentagon Reservation, which requires the following services in the Performance Work Statement (PWS), which are, in part: 1) FFP recurring services such as pruning/shearing, soil nutrient management, mulching, outdoor integrated pest management, turf/grass maintenance, watering, seasonal display preparation, leaf removal, policing of landscaped areas, special events and security support such as tree-limb removal of trees and grasses that block Pentagon Force Protection Agency (PFPA) surveillance systems, bollard/post and chain maintenance, landscape aesthetics, storm water management system maintenance, and native planting mowed turf buffer; and 2) IDIQ nonrecurring services, which are intended to be separately negotiated on task order, such as product furnishing and installing of gravel, ornamental plants, etc., emergency services, including the removal of downed trees, and special projects.

Performance Periods Performance Period Dates Amount One-Year Base Period 05/01/2020 – 04/30/2021 $ XXXXXXXX 8-Month Option Period 05/01/2021 – 12/30/2021 $ XXXXXXX Base + All Options $ XXXXXXXX

4. AUTHORITY CITED: This action is authorized under provisions of 10 U.S.C.

2304(c)(2) as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-2. Due to the novel coronavirus (now referred to as COVID-19) pandemic, the Agency is justifying this exemption from competition due to Unusual and Compelling Urgency. Any delay in award of the Landscape Maintenance Services Pentagon contract will result in a gap in services. A gap in services would lead to hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost plants and the decades-long investment in the Pentagon’s landscaped areas, as well as difficulty in providing emergency services such as the removal of downed trees during heavy storms, or the removal of tree limbs, brush and grasses that obscure the PFPA security cameras across the Pentagon Reservation.

5. REASON FOR AUTHORITY CITED: The Landscape Maintenance Services Bridge contract must be accomplished through other than full and open competition due to unusual and compelling urgency and delays placed on issuing the solicitation due to COVID-19, such as an inability to conduct necessary site visits for interested vendors.

On 31 January 2020, the Secretary of Health and Human Services declared a public health emergency in the United States under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d). On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization declared that COVID-19 was an international pandemic. On 13 March 2020, the President declared a national emergency as documented in the Proclamation on Declaring a National Emergency Concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease Outbreak located online at https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/. Then, on 30 March 2020, Maryland and Virginia, where many of our contractors/vendors live and work, issued Stay-At- Home Orders that limit non-mission-essential travel, which has limited the Agency’s ability to coordinate site visits under the drafted request for proposal. These orders are in effect through June 2020, but it is unclear how long the social-distancing guidelines will remain in place after that. Due to telework recommendations and limited feasibility in coordinating these necessary site visits, the continuation of the current contract is critical to avoid a gap in services of this requirement.

WHS/AD/EFCD/BMOB was further inundated with COVID-19-mitigation requirements.

Additionally, some of the staff associated with this requirement are now 100% teleworking in light of Executive guidelines recommending social distancing, and it is not practical to have them participate in site visits. These site visits are required by the program office to align vendor expectation with the necessary services to carry out all aspects the PWS, and afford vendors the opportunity to ask questions about the requirement. All of this has hindered the ability of WHS/AD to move forward with posting a Request for Proposal (RFP) that includes site visits for Landscape Maintenance Services at https://beta.sam.gov at this time.

If we competed the requirement at this time, it would lead to unacceptable delays in fulfilling the requirement, which would result in a gap in services. If this Justification and Approval is not approved, the impact to the DoD mission will be severe in terms of the financial losses due to dead plants and landscaped areas around the Pentagon, as well as security concerns due to overgrown trees, grasses, etc. that may block the PFPA surveillance systems.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/ https://beta.sam.gov/

6. EFFORTS TO OBTAIN COMPETITION: An RFP for Landscape Maintenance

Services will be posted at https://beta.sam.gov as soon as practicable, perhaps as early as August or September 2020.

7. FAIR AND REASONABLE COST DETERMINATION: I hereby determine that the anticipated price for this contract action will be fair and reasonable. The techniques identified at FAR 15.404-1(b)(2) will be used to ensure award will be at fair and reasonable prices.

8. MARKET RESEARCH: These type of landscape/grounds maintenance services are readily available on the commercial marketplace, but, since the current contract HQ003414D0011 ends on 4/30/2020, given the short time frame we have to award a follow-on contract in time to avoid a gap in services, it is not feasible to appropriately compete this requirement under FAR Part 15 procedures and emplace a new contractor with all of the appropriate staffing, badging and equipment. Further, it is unclear how soon site visits can be conducted again and whether Agency staff are capable of hosting such visits appropriately, while also modifying other existing contracts in response to health and safety mitigation efforts caused by COVID-19.

9. OTHER FACTS: The COR/requiring activity has requested that the contract end in

December to align with and limit contractor turnover during the critical growing season, hence the 8-month option period to take us to 12/31/2021. Therefore, the full 20-month Bridge contract period will promote efficiency in contract performance, and take us safely passed the COVID-19-pandemic period.

10. INTERESTED SOURCES: To date, no other sources have expressed an interest in writing, but we will post the requirement at https://beta.sam.gov at the earliest opportunity.

11. ACTIONS TO INCREASE COMPETITION: Once this unprecedented COVID-19-pandemic period is over with, then the requirement will be competed.

12. Is this acquisition for a non-competitive follow-on acquisition previously awarded on a non-competitive basis?

☐Yes. A copy of the previous justification is attached. The actions to remove any barriers to competition cited on the previous justification ☐ were ☐ were not completed

☒No. The original acquisition was conducted on a competitive basis.

☐Not Applicable. This is a new requirement.

CERTIFICATION

I, hereby, certify that the supporting data under my cognizance included in this justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

ON FILE

Mr. Thomas Boardman Contracting Officer Representative/Program Office

Date

Ms. Keisha Simmons Contracting Officer

Date

APPROVAL

This justification is, approved.

David H. Kao, Competition Advocate Date