JA FY23-00357 REDACT.pdf

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN

COMPETITION

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

J&A No.: FY23-00357

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 HSHQE4-17-D-00003, with FJC Security Services, Inc., for Armed Protective Security Officer (PSO) services at various sites throughout the State of Tennessee on a basis of other than full and open competition.

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

(a) Nature of action: FPS intends to procure protective security officer services on a noncompetitive basis for up to two (2) months beginning December 1, 2023 through January 31, 2024, to allow the awardee of the follow-on contract a full 120-days for transition. The follow-on contract will be awarded not later than September 30, 2023.

The current contract is set to expire on November 30, 2023. This action will result in a modification to extend the ordering period of the current Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity contract to allow placement of a task order to continue critical PSO services throughout the State of Tennessee. The task order will only be issued under this contract for the necessary length of time required, but not to exceed two (2) months to accomplish the 120-day transition. The follow-on procurement is currently in the award phase.

Additional time is needed allow the awardee the required 120 days to transition. As such, this extension will provide an adequate transition period to the new effort for this requirement.

(b) Name and address of the contractor.

• FJC Security Services, Inc.

3310 Queen Blvd Suite 300 Long Island, NY 11101-2302

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

(d) Estimated total value: Two Months -

Period of Performance Hours Rate Total PSO Services December 1, 2023 - January 31, 2024 50,000

(e) Type of funding: Operations and support funds

(f) Year of funding: Fiscal Year 2024

(g) Solicitation number: Not Applicable

(h) Background information about the requirement: FPS AD intends to obtain services pursuant to FAR 6.302-1 as only one responsible source and no other sources will satisfy agency requirements for the continuation of PSO services at facilities throughout the State of Tennessee.

3. Description of Supplies/Services.

The requirement is to provide Armed PSO services at locations throughout the State of Tennessee. FJC Security Services, Inc. is currently performing under a six (6) month extension approved on May 11, 2023 under Justification & Approval (J&A) FY23-094, which commenced June 1, 2023 and ends November 30, 2023. The D&F to exercise the option under the six (6) month option period available under FAR 52.217-8, Option to Extend Services, was approved on October 28, 2022, for the period commencing on December 1, 2022 and ending on May 31, 2023. To provide the required 120-day transition period for the new follow-on contract, FPS AD finds it necessary to request approval for an additional two months of service under the authority for other than full and open competition cited herein. This will extend the ordering period under Contract HSHQE4-17-D-00003 from December 1, 2023, through January 31, 2024.

The instant action is to allow FPS to continue procuring PSO services from FJC Security Services, Inc. under contract HSHQE4-17-D-00003 while the awardee of the competitive follow-on contract completes their 120-day transition period. This will ensure uninterrupted security services at federal facilities throughout the State of Tennessee 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 throughout the 120-day transition and allow for the new vendor to train and meet all requirements of the contract prior to standing post. The requirement was solicited with 120-days for transition and the awardee is entitled to the 120-days. 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 two months of additional PSO services from December 1, 2023, through January 31, 2024 at an approximate value of $ .

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.

FJC Security Services, Inc. is currently satisfactorily performing PSO services under Contract HSHQE4-17-D-00003 at various locations throughout the State of Tennessee. The contract is set to expire on November 30, 2023. FPS AD is prepared to award a competitive follow-on contract which was solicited via total small business under Request for Proposal 70RFP122RE4000002 on October 27, 2022. However, due to unexpected delays throughout the evaluation process, the government requires additional time to transition the follow-on contract, which requires 120 days, in order to avoid a detrimental break in services.

Unexpected and unavoidable delays occurred as a result of the following circumstances: 1) The Central Zone program office, which has cognizance over Tennessee and several southern Atlantic states, had operational emergency security requirements including FEMA emergency services in Arkansas and Illinois as well as high priority US and Mexico border support operations in the Western part of Texas. The increased focus on these unanticipated operational priorities took precedence over this recompete action, thus causing delays with the completion of the evaluation. 2) Due to the receipt of several keenly competitive proposals, additional analysis, revision and refinement of the documentation of each proposals’ merits and deficiencies was necessary to ensure the best value to the government for this particular requirement.

The follow-on requirement under this contract is estimated to be awarded immediately, with an anticipated performance start date on or before February 1, 2024. The follow-on contract will have a transition period of 120-days from the date of award to the performance start date. The task order will only be issued under HSHQE4-17-D-00003 for the necessary length of time required, but not to exceed two months. This transition period enables the follow-on contractor to hire, obtain all necessary equipment, firearms, licenses, training, and other certifications/ suitability requirements for its employees to be able to begin standing post at the start of performance. Due to extensive equipment requirements, screening, training, health licensing, and transition requirements for PSOs under the FPS program, another PSO firm cannot immediately replace the existing contractor without a severe and unacceptable degradation in overall security jeopardizing federal government personnel, visitors, and assets. For these reasons, it is also not feasible for any portion of the work to be segregated to allow for competition. The incumbent contractor, FJC Security Services, Inc., 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 or 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 therein. 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 PSO services are integral to the FPS mission to respond to terrorist attacks, domestic workplace violence, trespassing, disorderly conduct, and emergency medical situations. PSO services also mitigate threats by detecting firearms, hazardous materials, and suspicious packages at these locations. Due to these critical roles, a modification to extend the current contract, HSHQE4-17-D-00003, with FJC Security Service, Inc. is required to ensure a seamless transition, and to eliminate potential disruption in 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 requirement 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 to SAM.gov on or before September 30, 2023, pursuant to FAR 5.201(b)(1)(ii). FPS AD intends to make this justification publicly available pursuant to FAR 6.305.

8. Determination by the Contracting Officer that the Anticipated Cost to the Government will be Fair and Reasonable.

The Contracting Officer has determined that the hourly rate of is fair and reasonable based on comparison of the agreed price to historical prices paid for the same or similar items in accordance with FAR 15.404-1(b)(2)(ii). The price analysis table below shows the comparison in hourly priced rates from different contracts that were competitively awarded for PSO Armed Guard Services for the FPS Central Zone to the price established for the J&A period. All contracts have similar Statements of Work and similar training/certification requirements as they are all for Armed PSO services.

Contractor Contract Number Location Basic Hourly Rate Difference

FJC Security Services, Inc. HSHQE4-17-D-00003 (12/1/2023-1/31/2024) Tennessee -

Triple Canopy (TC) 70RFP421DE7000002 (5/1/2023-04/30/2024) Oklahoma

Hana Industries 70RFP119DE4000004 (12/1/2022-11/30/2023) IRS Kentucky

Paragon Systems 70RFP418DE5000001 (1/01/2023-12/31/2023) Illinois

As shown, the hourly rate is competitive to the rates for other PSO services in the marketplace. As CBAs are in place under this contract, any other contractor would be required to pay PSOs the same wage and fringe benefits as the current contractor, FJC Security Services, Inc. is currently paying its PSOs. In accordance with FAR 15.403-1(b)(3), no certified cost or pricing data will be required because the service is commercially available to the general public.

9. Description of Market Research.

The agency has conducted market research for the new requirement and is familiar with the other potential sources and their qualifications. Based on our market research, other firms could provide PSO services at the Tennessee locations, however they could not do so by December 1, 2023, causing unacceptable delays or potentially jeopardizing the safety of government employees or visitors. Accordingly, no other contractor can provide the services without an unacceptable interruption in service at this time.

10. Any Other Facts Supporting the Use of Other Than Full and Open Competition.

Since it is essential that service continue without interruption for the security of the facilities, its tenants, its visitors, and the fact that FJC Security Services, Inc. is performing satisfactorily as documented under the Contractor Performance Evaluation Assessment Report (CPAR), it is in the best interest of the government to extend contract HSHQE4-17- D-00003 for two months with the current contractor.

11. A Listing of the Sources, if Any That Expressed, in Writing, an Interest in the Acquisition.

Not Applicable.

12. A Statement of the Actions, if Any, the Agency May Take to Remove or Overcome Any Barriers to Competition Before Any Subsequent Acquisition for Supplies or Services Required.

This requirement is for the sole purpose of issuing a modification to continue PSO services under Contract HSHQE4-17-D-00003 until the competitive follow-on contract’s transition is complete. The agency plans to make award no later than September 30, 2023, with the new award to start performance no later than February 1, 2024. It is essential that services continue without interruption for the security of federal facilities throughout the State of Tennessee to include government personnel and visitors at these locations.