Performance-Based Statement of Objectives (SOO) Housing, Transportation, and Parking Services – Fermi Forward Discovery Group (FFDG)

Performance-Based Statement of Objectives (SOO) Housing, Transportation, and Parking Services – Fermi Forward Discovery Group (FFDG)

1. Scope

Fermi Forward Discovery Group, LLC (FFDG), as the manager and operator of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL) for the Department of Energy (DOE), requires a service management company to provide flexible housing accommodations, local transportation, and parking solutions in support of the Long Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF)/Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE-US) Project in Lead, South Dakota.

This SOO does not establish a housing benefit, employee entitlement, guaranteed lodging availability, or Government-sponsored housing program.

The objectives of this SOO are:

• Enable, period of occupancy (2 weeks – 12 months occupancy).

• Support multiple lodging types, including fully furnished apartments, fully furnished single-family houses, extended stay hotels, and VRBO-style accommodations.

• Ensure scalable, efficient, safe, and cost-effective management of all services while meeting DOE/FNAL standards.

• Establish a housing model in which individual occupants are financially responsible for their housing costs, while

FFDG pays only for defined transportation, parking (when mission-required), and administrative service components.

Performance Intent: The Subcontractor is expected to manage access to commercially available housing options and transport solutions without minimum inventory guarantees, minimum occupancy commitments, or revenue guarantees from FFDG.

The Subcontractor shall fully manage housing billing, payment collection, refunds, cancellations, and related financial transactions directly with occupants. FFDG shall not guarantee backstop, or advance housing payments.

2. Background

FNAL, in partnership with the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority (SDSTA), is constructing the LBNF/DUNE Far Detector 4,850 feet underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF), located within the former Homestake Gold Mine in Lead, SD.

The Far Detector & Cryogenics (FDC) subproject involves installation of cryostats, detectors, cryogenics, and supporting infrastructure. Personnel from around the world will require variable-duration housing, transportation, and parking for task-specific assignments, rotational staffing, and surge staffing during project milestones. These personnel include domestic and international users with varying lengths of stay and payment methods.

Performance Intent: Services must accommodate episodic workforce fluctuations without creating financial liability, lease obligations, minimum occupancy guarantees, or implied real property interests for FFDG or the Government.

3. Period of Performance

The Contract period is from June 1, 2026 through May 31, 2031 with one (1) year base and four (4) option years.

Individual occupancy or service duration may vary independently of the contract term. Housing units may be occupied for mid-term durations according to project staffing needs. Occupancy start and end dates may change frequently based on project needs, and housing costs incurred by occupants are independent of the Subcontract period and shall not create continuing obligations for FFDG beyond authorized service components.

4. Technical Objectives

The Subcontractor shall provide streamlined service management that includes all labor, management, applications, tools, equipment, and materials required to deliver housing, transportation, and parking services.

Delivery Flexibility: Housing, transportation, and parking services may be provided directly or through qualified partners/subcontractors. No exclusive sourcing arrangements or inventory control agreements shall be entered into that create real property interests or guaranteed minimum payments on behalf of FFDG. The Subcontractor retains full responsibility for operational outcomes, compliance, and performance metrics regardless of delivery method.

Housing solutions: d Commercially available properties including apartments, houses, extended stay hotels, and VRBO-style accommodations. Housing services shall be structured to support direct payment by occupants and shall not require FFDG to process, guarantee, advance, or reconcile housing payments.

Transportation services: Scheduled and surge personnel transport in and around Lead, SD, including shift-based transport to SURF.

Parking solutions: Scalable parking capacity aligned with housing occupancy parking costs funded by FFDG only when directly tied to mission-required transportation or operational staging needs.

5. Housing Requirements

5.1 General

• Fully furnished accommodation, within 10 miles of SURF; up to 30 miles if justified.

• Support for rotating occupants where applicable (apartments/houses)

• Comply with all federal, state, and local regulations.

• Housing rates and terms are established between the occupant and the lodging provider. FFDG does not set, negotiate, approve, or control lodging rates.

• Clearly disclose all housing rates, fees, taxes, cleaning charges, cancellation terms, and refund policies to occupants prior to reservation confirmation.

5.2 Scalable Utilization

• The Subcontractor shall monitor and adjust housing mix to optimize occupancy while mitigating risks (underutilization, overbooking, safety, and financial exposure).

• Flexibility to shift between housing types as occupancy needs change.

• Estimated housing need: Q3 2026 – 2031, starting at 10–20 units, ramping up to 50–80 units, and ramping down to 10 units over 4–5 years.

• Estimated housing need reflects projected demand planning and does not constitute a guarantee of unit quantity, duration, or revenue.

• The Subcontractor assumes all financial risk associated with housing vacancies, no-shows, early departures, or non-payment by occupants for lodging services paid directly by occupants and not invoiced to the Government.

• Administrative service pricing shall be structured independently from housing rental revenue and shall not embed vacancy cost recovery within FFDG-billable components.

5.3 Reservation System

• Web-based system for booking, payments, refunds, check-in/check-out, reporting and shall be capable of supporting data elements required for processing through FFDG’s authorized travel and expense management system (currently Concur or successor platform) as well as processing for other institutions.

• Must support multiple lodging categories on a single platform.

• Must accommodate international users and various payment methods while ensuring payment responsibility remains with the individual occupant or approved reimbursement mechanism and not as a direct payable obligation of FFDG.

• The system shall support individual occupant billing and shall not provide FFDG access to individual payment instruments or personally identifiable financial data beyond aggregated performance reporting and shall not permit direct invoicing, billing, or charge-back to FFDG by lodging providers, property managers, or affiliates unless expressly authorized in writing by FFDG Contracting Authority.

• Must comply with applicable data privacy, PCI, and international payment regulations.

• The reservation system shall not create, imply, or establish any master lease, rental guarantee, occupancy guarantee, or vacancy liability on the part of FFDG.

• Nothing in the operation of the reservation system shall create privity of contract between FFDG and any third-party lodging provider.

5.4 Cleaning & Linen Services

• Provide cleaning and linen services where not already included by the lodging provider.

• Ensure units are clean, sanitary, and safe, with minimal disruption to occupants.

• Adhere to all safety, environmental, and quality requirements.

• Establish standards and response procedures for uninhabitable conditions, including relocation or corrective action at no additional cost to the affected occupant.

5.5 Safety & Security

• All premises must comply with local codes and safety standards.

• Responsibility for landlord compliance remains with the commercial property owner or housing provider.

• Secure entry for buildings and units, appropriate lighting, and key/passcode controls.

• Risk mitigation procedures to protect occupant health, safety, and well-being.

• Maintain documented emergency response and winter operations plans appropriate to the Lead, SD environment.

5.6 Specialty Accommodations

• Ensure that all visiting staff can be accommodated safely and comfortably, even when standard lodging does not meet their needs.

• The Subcontractor shall make reasonable efforts to source units that meet applicable accessibility requirements (e.g., ramps, elevators, wide doorways, accessible bathrooms). Legal compliance responsibility remains with the property owner. Multi-Bedroom / Group Units: Support family units, visiting teams, or groups requiring shared accommodations.

• Vendors must confirm capability for specialty accommodations in proposals or RFI responses.

• Specialty accommodations must be fully integrated with standard housing, billing, and reservation systems to ensure operational consistency.

6. Transportation Requirements

• Provide safe, reliable, and timely personnel transport.

• Align primary transport to SURF shift schedules; support short-term, surge, and episodic transport needs.

• Provide vehicles, drivers, supervision, and necessary coordination with rental agencies.

• Maintain compliance with FMCSA, DOT, OSHA, and winter driving safety standards.

• Implement contingency plans for vehicle breakdown, severe weather, and operational surges.

• Transportation services shall not create personal commuting entitlements and shall be structured as project-operational support services.

7. Parking Requirements

• Identify and secure parking capacity to support scalable workforce needs.

• Parking agreements, if required, shall be executed by the Subcontractor and shall not establish Government leasehold interests.

• Maintain safe, accessible parking, including snow/ice removal, lighting, signage, and hazard mitigation.

• Parking solutions must be within reasonable distance (<5 miles) of SURF or housing.

• Provide metrics for peak vs off-peak parking utilization.

8. Financial Responsibility and Risk Allocation

• The Subcontractor assumes all financial risk associated with housing vacancies, no-shows, early departures, or non-payment by occupants for lodging services paid directly by occupants and not invoiced to the Government.

The Subcontractor shall structure all lodging provider agreements to prevent direct billing, master lease commitments, occupancy guarantees, or vacancy liability being assigned to FFDG.

• Nothing in this SOO shall be construed to create a Government obligation for lodging costs incurred by individual occupants or to establish any direct payment obligation, rental guarantee, or financial commitment between FFDG and any third-party housing provider, landlord, or property manager.

• This arrangement does not establish a lease, rental agreement, or real property interest on behalf of the Government nor does it create privity of contract between FFDG and any lodging provider.

• Only services expressly authorized by written Task Order shall be billable to FFDG. No implied authority shall be recognized and all authorized lodging-related reimbursements shall be processed through FFDG’s approved travel and expense management system (currently Concur or successor platform) in accordance with applicable travel policy.

• Under no circumstances shall FFDG assume financial responsibility for vacancy risk, long-term lease exposure, cancellation penalties beyond approved travel policy, or guaranteed occupancy provisions.

9. Management Objectives

• Subcontractor shall coordinate all operational management, including onsite Project Manager oversight.

• Provide day-to-day operational planning, monitoring, compliance tracking, reporting, and performance oversight.

• Provide weekly governance reports, incident reporting, and proactive issue resolution.

• Personnel shall be cross trained for flexibility, with staffing scalable to meet occupancy and transport requirements.

• FFDG oversight shall be limited to systemic performance monitoring and shall not extend to individual landlord-tenant matters.

• Subcontractors or partners used for service delivery remain under the prime’s oversight. The Subcontractor is fully accountable for all operational, reporting, and performance obligations.

10. Performance Requirements

The Subcontractor’s performance will be evaluated against:

1. Governance & Oversight – Transparent operations, compliance, risk mitigation, continuous improvement.

2. Occupancy Utilization – Flexible metrics by housing type; short-term stays not penalized in utilization calculations.

3. Safety & Compliance – Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) minimized, 100% regulatory compliance, winter risk management plans.

4. Resident Satisfaction – Used solely as an operational performance indicator to identify systemic service deficiencies and not as a hospitality or benefit evaluation metric.

5. On-time Transport – ≥95% within ±5 minutes, with contingencies for weather or surge operations.

6. Parking – Safe, accessible, scalable, and maintained.

7. Billing Transparency & Issue Resolution – ≥95% of occupant billing inquiries and payment disputes resolved within 5 business days without escalation to FFDG.

Key Principle: Metrics emphasize operational readiness, risk mitigation, fiscal stewardship, and mission support outcomes rather than employee benefit or convenience factors.