Exception to Fair Opportunity (redacted).pdf

JUSTIFICATION FOR AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY

The following facts and rationale justify the basis for an exception to fair opportunity following the requirements of FAR Subpart 16.505(b)(2)(ii).

1. I recommend that the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), Office of Budget and

Financial Management (OBFM) use an exception to fair opportunity procedures in the acquisition of design and construction administration support services from Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill (SOM). The estimated price, including any options, is $331,503.01.

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

The period of performance will be one 18-month base period, and one 12-month option period, commencing on May 8, 2020.

The name of the proposed contractor is:

Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill (SOM) 2001 K Street NW, Suite 200 Washington, DC 20006

The resultant task order (TO) will be issued by FHFA on a hybrid labor-hour and fixed-price basis, under the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract, TCC15HQD0003, to SOM.

3. A description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs.

FHFA’s Office of Facilities Operations Management (OFOM) has a requirement for design and construction administration support services for the re-initialization of the FHFA renovation project as well as the support services for the expansion space project.

4. An identification of the exception to fair opportunity and the supporting rationale.

41 U.S.C. § 4106(c)(3); FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i) (C). The order must be issued on a sole-source basis in the interest of economy and efficiency because it is a logical follow-on to an order already issued under the contract, provided that all awardees were given a fair opportunity to be considered for the original order.

FHFA, as a result of a fair opportunity competition, awarded a TO to SOM on July 25, 2016, with a total value of $294,902.18. This TO, FHF-16-F-0015, was competed among the three OCC IDIQ contract holders. As part of this TO, SOM was required to provide design and construction administration support services for a project that included thirteen different renovation efforts at FHFA’s Constitution Center headquarters. SOM completed the initial design development package and final construction drawings for all thirteen efforts in August 2017. Prior to the commencement of construction, FHFA leadership determined it would in the best interest of the agency to delay the construction of the efforts. Given this, FHFA descoped TO FHF-16-F-0015 to remove the construction administration support services.

In April 2019, a new Director was sworn in whose primary focus is on responsibly moving the Enterprises out of their conservatorships and transitioning FHFA into a world class regulator in a non-conservatorship environment. The Director indicated a desire to expand and strengthen FHFA’s supervisory capacity to help achieve this goal. To support the expansion of FHFA’s supervisory capacity and the Agency reorganization, FHFA will now implement the construction of the previously designed efforts, and renovate additional leased space.

This logical follow-on TO is in the interest of economy and efficiency because it will avoid substantial duplication of efforts and previously incurred costs that are not expected to be recovered through competition. SOM competed for, and was awarded, the initial design and construction administration support TO in FY 2016. SOM completed the design of the renovation efforts in FY 2017. Under this current TO, SOM will be required to update its renovation drawings to reflect any potential staffing and space utilization changes that may have occurred over the last several years. It is unlikely that a new vendor would be able to immediately provide this support without significant delays and duplication of effort. A new vendor would need to familiarize themselves with the current status of the project, which would necessarily include performing its own review of the already completed construction designs. A new vendor would need to complete this effort before the commencement of the renovation construction project, which is scheduled for the 3rd quarter of FY 2020. Any delay in the review of the construction documents, would result in a delay in the release of bid documents, which would negatively impact the construction completion date. Moreover, it is unlikely that a different firm would be able to perform the resultant construction administration using SOM’s designs more efficiently than SOM. In addition, this requirement includes the creation of a stacking and blocking assessment, which the vendor will incorporate into a Facility Master Plan. The previously designed renovation projects will serve as the baseline for this assessment. SOM, as the design firm of record, will not need to perform a substantial review of these designs. Finally, under this TO the vendor will be required to design an opening between FHFA’s current space and the expansion space. This space will need to be integrated into FHFA’s renovation designs to ensure a consistent design and aesthetic. Again, SOM would not need to familiarize itself with the existing construction drawings.

5. A determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the

Government will be fair and reasonable.

The hourly rates established in the master IDIQ contract awards have already been determined to be fair and reasonable by the OCC Contracting Officer, as part of the initial IDIQ competition. The FHFA Contracting Officer will request that SOM provide further discounts from these rates. In addition, the CO will also compare the updated design and construction administration price to the proposed price from the original TO, which was awarded competitively.

6. Any other facts supporting the justification.

None.

7. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to the exception to fair opportunity before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services is made.

FHFA does not anticipate that it will require these services after the completion of this renovation and expansion projects.

CERTIFICATIONS

I certify that this justification is accurate and contains complete data necessary to support the recommendation for an exception to fair opportunity.

//S// Signed Date REDACTED

Office of Facilities Operation Management

I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of the Contracting Officer’s knowledge and belief. Also, I hereby (1) determine the circumstances cited as the statutory authority apply to this action, (2) determine the anticipated cost to the government will be fair and reasonable, and (3) approve this action.

//S// Signed Date Kevin M. Klekner

Contracting Officer

I determine that this submission is legally sufficient to support an exception to fair opportunity procedures.

//S// Signed Date REDACTED

Assistant General Counsel Office of General Counsel