A16_3-0034_Single_Source_Justification_Artifact_cleaning_1.pdf
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This document is a Single Source Justification under the Simplified Acquisition Threshold for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to award a sole source contract to the Nebraska Historical Society for museum conservation work on the Bertrand Collection at the DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge.
The key details are: The Bertrand Collection contains over 250,000 artifacts that require ongoing conservation treatment, with a recent $18,000 funding allocation to address high priority needs on glass signs and hat bands. The Gerald R. Ford Conservation Center in Omaha, NE has been the exclusive provider of this specialized conservation work for over 20 years, is conveniently located, and is familiar with the artifacts. Transporting the fragile artifacts to other facilities would increase costs and risk of damage. The Ford Center's hourly rate of $130 is comparable to industry standards. The justification cites the Ford Center's qualifications and past performance in supporting the sole source award.
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FWS Form 3-0034 (Rev. 10/2020) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
1. Description of Need
3. Other Capable Sources
2. Market Research Conducted
Pursuant to FAR subpart 13.106-1(b)(1)(i) and (ii), for purchases not exceeding the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT), Contracting Officers may solicit from only one source if the circumstances deem only one source is reasonably available (e.g., urgency, exclusive licensing agreements, brand name, or industrial mobilization).
Instructions: The information in the text boxes are provided as sample language or to indicate a needed fill-in. Sample language should be removed from the final document. All text boxes require information and shall not be left blank.
SINGLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION
(UNDER SAT)
JOINT ADMINISTRATIVE OPERATIONS
Acquisitions Operations
4. Barriers to Competition
5. Contractor's Qualifications
6. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Cost
7. Recommendation and Certification by Program Office
Based on the above justification, I recommend this acquisition to be conducted using sole source acquisition procedures. I hereby certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.
Program / Project Officer
8. Contracting Officer Certification and Approval: Under SAT
Based on the above justification, I hereby certify and approve the use of sole source acquisition procedures under FAR Part 13 for this purchase.
Contracting Officer
| Text3: Museum conservation work is a highly specialized field and there are few other capable sources for this type of complex museum conservation work. We as an agency are responsible for ensuring the proper care and preservation of these Bertrand Steamboat museum artifacts. These include the National Park Service’s Harpers Ferry Center in Harpers Ferry, WV and Western Archeological and Conservation Center (WACC) in Tucson, AZ, and possibly the private Conservation Center in Chicago, IL. All are long distances from DeSoto NWR, increasing costs and risk to the museum artifacts. Utilizing a new facility would require an inspection of the facility and require transfer of a large amount of background information from the refuge to the facility. When the USFWS conservation lab at DeSoto NWR ceased operations several decades ago, a new source of conservation work was needed. Since 2001, the Gerald R. Ford Conservation Center in Omaha has been the exclusive source for this work. The staff at the Ford Center are trustworthy and knowledgeable, and the facility has been vetted by previous museum curatorial staff. The staff also has experience with the artifacts and are familiar with previous treatments applied, which eliminates potential misapplication of new treatments to these priceless artifacts. They have provided hundreds of hours of conservation treatment work on thousands of items from the Bertrand Collection over the past 2 decades. Utilizing a new facility would require an inspection of the facility and require transfer of a large amount of background information from the refuge to the facility. | |
| Text2: DeSoto NWR has worked with the Gerald R. Ford Conservation Center for many years on several conservation projects. The center is conveniently located, 33 miles south of the refuge, in Omaha, NE. The refuge’s familiarity with the staff and quality of work of the Ford Conservation Center also makes it the best source for this work. The Center is familiar with the nature of the Bertrand artifacts and have done much of the previous conservation work on the artifacts, providing the refuge peace of mind that they will take care of these irreplaceable museum objects. The center’s convenient location greatly reduces the costs of shipping, as well as the danger of damage to the archeological artifacts. Utilizing a new facility would require an inspection of the facility and require transfer of a large amount of background information from the refuge to the facility. | |
| Text1: The DeSoto NWR museum collection (The Bertrand Collection) contains over 250,000 artifacts recovered from the Steamboat Bertrand. Many of these artifacts have been cleaned and treated after being excavated back in 1969 and housed in the Bertrand Museum since 1981. While museum environmental controls are maintained for optimal conditions, over time museum staff observe some deteriation in artifacts or failure of previous treatments. In the case of the three (3) glass signs outlined in the treatment proposal, these were listed as a high priority conservation project back in the 2015 assessment. All the glass signs are broken and have faded or peeling paint. For the hat bands, the original conservation treatment has begun to fail and the objects have begun to deteriorate and leach a substance that is causing them to adhere to the paper in the storage containter. Recent money from the Regional Office in the amount of $18,000 was provided to the refuge to begin conservation treatment of these high priority artifacts within the Bertrand Museum. | |
| Text4: Due to the delicacy and fragility of the museum items, shipping presents a substantial barrier to the alternate sources. Preparing the objects for commercial shipping would increase the costs of packing materials and labor, as well as the cost of appropriate transportation services. The objects can be hand-delivered to the Gerald R. Ford Conservation Center by DeSoto curatorial staff, thus substantially reducing shipping costs and the danger of damage to the fragile, irreplaceable objects. We as an agency are responsible for ensuring the proper care and preservation of these Bertrand Steamboat museum artifacts. We have to assess artifact conditions and when possible address conservation needs as quickly as possible when funds allow. Recent assessment identified high priority conservation needs to glass signs and hat bands. The refuge recently received funds from the Regional Historic Preservation officer to address these high priority conservation needs. With any irreplaceable museum object, it is necessary to assess risks and try to mitigate them as much as possible. For this project, the risk of transporting incredibly fragile artifacts is a major factor that we must mitigate as best we can. In transporting you have three main risks: theft/loss, poor environmental controls, and damage to artifacts due to mishandling. By transporting to the nearby Ford Conservation Center we are able to greatly mitigate all of the risks. For theft or loss, the artifacts will be transported by museum staff in refuge vehicles to the Ford Center to ensure a safe transportation and that the facility receives it in good condition. For environmental controls, it will be transported in government vehicle with A/C and it is just a 30 minute drive so it ensures limited exposure to potential harmful environments (high temp, humidity, dirt/dust, etc). Finally, for damage it ensures curatorial staff is always in charge of handling the artifacts so they are not jostled during transport. There is an inherent risk of vehicle collision that we cannot completely mitigate but this would be greatly reduced by keeping it in refuge staff control and for a short transport. Transporting to any other facility would greatly increase all three of these factors and could potentially results in relying on a third party vendor to transport these irreplaceable objects. This is not a risk we are willing to take for these priceless museum objects. Tom Cox, our project leader, is ultimately the responsible official for the collection and these are issues we must address in any work on the collection. | |
| Text6: DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge has worked with the Gerald R. Ford Conservation Center on previous museum contracts and they have always been fair and reliable. Their hourly rate for conservation work on museum objects is ~$130.00/hour. This rate includes labor and all supplies/treatment for the artifacts. This is comparable to industry standards. The close proximity also allows the refuge to drive the artifacts to and from the Center. This not only insures the safety of the artifacts but it also saves substantial money on the shipping costs of these very fragile museum items. | |
| 2024-07-27T08:40:27-0500 | |
| PETER REA |
Text5: The Ford Conservation Center is a world-class conservation facility that has highly qualified conservators that have trained and worked at major cultural institutions in the United States and abroad and keep abreast of the latest research and innovations in conservation practice. Their familiarity with the Bertrand Collection also allows them to use previous experience/knowledge to apply to the best conservation practice for the artifacts specified. The refuge has worked with the Ford Center previously and they have always done an excellent job in caring for these irreplaceable museum objects.
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