FY24 0004 JA Final Redacted.pdf

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN

COMPETITION

41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(1)

J&A No.: FY24-0004

Pursuant to the requirements of the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) as implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 6.3 and in accordance with the requirements of FAR 6.303-1, the justification for the use of the statutory authority under FAR Subpart 6.3 is justified by the following facts and rationale required under FAR 6.303-2 as follows:

1. Agency and Contracting Activity.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of Procurement Operations (OPO), Federal Protective Service (FPS), Acquisition Division (AD) proposes to extend the ordering period of contract 70RFP218DEC000004, with Golden SVCS LLC, for Armed Protective Security Officer (PSO) services at several locations in the Washington DC area on a basis other than full and open competition.

2. Nature and/or Description of the Action being Approved.

(a) Nature of the action: FPS AD intends to procure protective security officer services on a noncompetitive basis for up to six (6) months, from November 1, 2023, through April 30, 2024, to allow time to award the competitive follow-on contract and provide adequate time for transition. This action will result in a modification to extend the ordering period under the current contract to allow placement of a task order to continue critical PSO services at several locations in the Washington, DC area. The task order will only be extended under this contract for the necessary length of time required, but not to exceed six (6) months. The current contract is set to expire on October 31, 2023. The follow-on procurement is currently in the pre-solicitation phase.

The Program Office submitted a requirements package to the contracting office on August 10, 2023. This follow-on effort will also require a transition period of at least 60 days from the date of award to the performance start date. As such, this extension will allow time to complete the solicitation, evaluation, and award as well as provide an adequate transition period to the new effort for this requirement.

(b) Name and address of the contractor:

Golden SVCS LLC 414 Old Holderford Road Kingston, TN 37763

(c) Contract type: Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ), Firm Fixed Price

(d) Estimated total value: $4,217,101.62 (six (6) months)

The instant action is to allow FPS AD to continue procuring Armed PSO services from Golden SVCS LLC under contract 70RFP218DEC000004 to allow for the award of the competitive follow-on contract and the necessary transition period. This will ensure uninterrupted security services at several locations in the Washington, DC area between the expiration of the existing contract and the start of full performance by the successful vendor under the follow-on effort. The proposed sole source extension will ensure services are provided while the follow-on effort is being solicited, evaluated, and awarded as well as during the entire transition period for the new vendor to train and meet all requirements of the contract prior to the security personnel standing post. The Program Office has only recently submitted a requirements package for this follow-on effort which was received by FPS AD on . The requirement fulfills an existing Government need, and the extension of the existing contract is the most advantageous method of fulfilling the Government’s need, price and other factors considered. This contract extension also takes into account the government’s need for continuity of operations and potential costs of disrupting operations. The period of performance for this extension is for up to six (6) months of additional Armed PSO services from November 1, 2023, through April 30, 2024, at an approximate value of $4,217,101.62.

4. Identification of 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)(1) implemented by FAR 6.302-1, only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

5. Identification of Exception to the Buy American Statute

Not Applicable

6. Demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited.

Golden SVCS LLC is currently performing Armed PSO services under contract 70RFP218DEC000004 at several locations in the Washington, DC area. The contract is set to expire on October 31, 2023. FPS AD is processing a competitive follow-on contract. However, due to unexpected delays, throughout the pre-solicitation process, the government requires additional time to complete the procurement prior to issuing the award of the follow-on contract, which requires a minimum of a 60-day transition period, in order to avoid a detrimental break in services.

Unexpected and unavoidable delays occurred as a result of the following circumstances: FPS had to divert resources to procure new and unanticipated armed PSO contracts. This included new contracts and/or new task orders for PSO requirements that were previously delegated to other federal agencies.

FPS recently rescinded the previous security delegations to some agencies for operational reasons, which created an immediate need for service that FPS is now responsible for providing. In addition, a previous PSO contractor in Region 11 was no longer able to perform on its contracts with FPS, which required FPS to recompete and award three new contracts much earlier than anticipated to ensure continuation of essential services at affected locations. These unanticipated priorities took precedence over the present requirement because there was no contractor in place to provide service at locations previously delegated to other agencies, or previously performed by the contractor who was no longer able to perform. FPS thus chose to focus its limited resources on those procurements with no contractor in place to avoid an unacceptable lapse in essential service. Therefore, the circumstances listed above necessitate an extension of the incumbent contract to allow for the solicitation and award of the follow-on contract and the required transition period. The follow-on requirement under this contract is estimated to be awarded on or before February 29, 2024, with an anticipated performance start date on or before May 1, 2024. The follow-on contract will have a transition period with a minimum of approximately 60 days from the date of award to the performance start date. This transition period enables the follow-on contractor to obtain all necessary equipment, licenses, training, and other certification/suitability requirements for its employees to be able to begin standing post at the start of performance. Due to extensive screening, training, health, licensing, and transition requirements for required for Armed PSOs under the FPS program, another Armed PSO firm cannot immediately replace the existing contractor without a significant and severe drop in overall security jeopardizing federal government personnel, visitors, and assets. Accordingly, it is also not feasible for any portion of the work to be segregated to allow for competition. The incumbent contractor, Golden SVCS LLC, is familiar with the instant requirement, facility locations, and has a fully qualified staff in place and is the only contractor at this time that can immediately fulfill the requirement without delay and interruption of services. As a result, a short-term extension of services under the current contract is necessary to ensure a seamless transition takes place from the existing requirement to the follow-on effort.

Title 40 United States Code (U.S.C.) §1315 gives DHS the responsibility to protect Federal facilities and the people thereon. Presidential Policy Directive 21 (PPD-21), and the National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) further refine DHS’s responsibility to protect buildings, grounds, and property that are owned, occupied, or secured by the Federal Government. These documents also establish U.S. policy for the protection and resilience of the Nation’s critical infrastructure and provide a framework for integrating efforts designed to enhance the safety of critical infrastructure. Given the reality of terrorist threats, it is in the best interests of DHS and the public to continue to allow the incumbent contractor to provide services until the follow-on contract is appropriately transitioned.

Effective Armed PSO services are integral to the FPS mission to respond to terrorist attacks, domestic workplace violence, trespassing, disorderly conduct, and emergency medical situations. Armed PSO services also mitigate threats be detecting firearms, hazardous materials, and suspicious packages at these locations. Due to these critical roles, a modification to extend the ordering period under contract 70RFP218DEC000004 with Golden SVCS LLC is required to allow placement of a new task order to provide continued services is needed to ensure uninterrupted service, a seamless transition, and to eliminate potential disruption in Armed PSO services.

7. Description of Efforts Made to Ensure that Offers are Solicited from as Many Potential Sources as is Practicable.

The circumstance restricting competition for this acquisition is that “only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements,” pursuant to FAR 6.302-1. Therefore, no exception to the FAR 5.2 notification requirement applies, and FPS AD will post this requirement on SAM.gov on or before 10/31/2023, pursuant to FAR 5.201(b)(1)(ii). FPSAD intends to make this justification publicly available pursuant to FAR 6.305.