Justification - West Gate Landscaping Project_GPE.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE

HEADQUARTERS AIR FORCE TEST CENTER

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE CALIFORNIA

30 September 2026

MEMORANDUM FOR RECORD

FROM: AFTC/PZIOB

SUBJECT: Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition and Contracting Officer Determination (RFO Part 12) – West Gate Landscaping Project

References: (a) RFO 12.102(b), Restricting competition (Commercial, over SAT)

(b) RFO 6.104 and 6.104-1, Justification and approval / content

(c) RFO 12.204(a), Commercial Price Reasonableness

(d) RFO 5.101 and Table 5-3, Presolicitation notice requirements

(e) RFO Subpart 9.1 / FAR Subpart 9.1, Responsible Prospective Contractors

(f) 41 U.S.C. 1901

1. Identification and Nature of the Action This memorandum serves as both the written justification required by RFO 12.102(b) and RFO 6.104 and the Contracting Officer’s determination for award. The action is a new, standalone firm-fixed-price commercial contract to Desert Haven Enterprises, Inc. (DHE) for landscape construction, grading, irrigation installation, decomposed granite, decorative rock, planting, and related site work at the Edwards AFB West Gate in accordance with the approved design and Statement of Work. The total firm-fixed price is $930,000.00. The action is fully funded via certified AF Form 9 F1S2AA6267AW04 (FY26 3400 O&M). The period of performance is 180 calendar days after Notice to Proceed.

2. Description of the Supplies or Services Required and the Estimated Value The requirement is to complete the approved West Gate landscaping design, including topographic survey, clearing and grubbing, grading and drainage improvements, installation of decomposed granite and decorative rock, planting, irrigation system (lines, valves, sprinklers, bubblers, and backflow prevention), and associated site restoration. Estimated value: $930,000.00 (firm-fixed-price).

3. Statutory Authority This acquisition is conducted under the simplified procedures for commercial services at RFO 12.201-1.

Competition is restricted pursuant to RFO 12.102(b). The statutory authority cited is 41 U.S.C. 1901.

4. Demonstration that the Proposed Contractor’s Unique Qualifications or the Nature of the Acquisition Requires Use of the Authority Cited Market research consisted of review of commercial market capabilities for landscaping and irrigation construction, historical Edwards AFB grounds requirements, and performance under the incumbent grounds maintenance contract FA930122D0005. Only one source (DHE) is reasonably available based on the following:

a. Single Point of Accountability (Liability/Severability). Award to any third-party installer would create an unacceptable liability gap. If new plantings fail or the irrigation system leaks after acceptance, the Government would face conflicting claims between the construction contractor and DHE, the incumbent maintenance contractor responsible for the footprint. Award to DHE ensures a single point of

One AFMC…Powering the World’s Greatest Air Force accountability. Upon completion, this work will be bilaterally incorporated into DHE’s base-wide maintenance contract.

b. Zero-Delay Mobilization and Base Access. The Mission Partner requires execution and obligation of expiring FY26 funds not later than 30 September 2026. DHE is already fully mobilized at Edwards AFB with established staging areas, vetted personnel, and active DBIDS access. Any other vendor would require a minimum 30-day administrative lead time for security vetting, vehicle passes, and base access.

That delay would prevent timely obligation of the funds.

c. Infrastructure Familiarity. The project requires integration into the existing base water and irrigation infrastructure. DHE actively maintains this specific irrigation grid on a daily basis and possesses unique systemic knowledge that materially reduces the risk of disruption to base utility infrastructure during construction.

5. Efforts to Obtain Competition and Results of Those Efforts / Publicizing No competitive quotations were solicited. Under RFO 5.101 and Table 5-3, commercial acquisitions above the simplified acquisition threshold normally require a combined synopsis/solicitation that provides a reasonable opportunity to respond. Given the extreme end-of-fiscal-year timeline, the absolute requirement for immediate mobilization by a contractor already possessing base access and infrastructure familiarity, and the single-point-of-accountability requirement, even a compressed combined synopsis/ solicitation was determined to be impracticable. Further publicizing would have prevented obligation of the expiring funds and defeated the purpose of the acquisition. This determination is documented for the file.

6. Market Research Market research was conducted through review of commercial capabilities, historical base requirements, and the incumbent contract FA930122D0005. No other source was identified that could meet the combination of technical integration, immediate mobilization, and single-point accountability requirements within the available time. The findings are incorporated into this justification.

7. Price Reasonableness Determination (RFO 12.204(a)) The contractor proposed a total firm-fixed price of $930,000.00. The Civil Engineering Mission Partner’s Technical Evaluation dated 29 September 2026 confirms the proposal is acceptable and aligned with the Statement of Work and approved design.

a. In addition, the Contracting Officer compared the proposed price to the recent South Gate Landscaping award (May 2026) to the same contractor for similar commercial landscaping and irrigation work in the amount of $349,879. The West Gate requirement involves a substantially larger scope — approximately 228,000 square feet of grading, 190,000 square feet of decomposed granite, 38,000 square feet of decorative rock, 108 plants, full irrigation installation, and associated drainage corrections. The proposed price of $930,000 is consistent with the significant increase in quantity and complexity relative to the South Gate award.

b. Competitive quotations were not available due to the extreme end-of-fiscal-year timeline and the unique qualifications required. Based on the technical evaluation, the comparison to the recent analogous award, and the Contracting Officer’s judgment of commercial market conditions for this type of work, the price is determined fair and reasonable. The Contracting Officer acknowledges that no independent government estimate or detailed unit-price analysis was prepared and deliberately accepts the residual risk associated with that thinner record under the time constraints of this acquisition.

8. Contractor Responsibility In accordance with RFO Subpart 9.1 / FAR Subpart 9.1, DHE is determined to be a responsible prospective contractor. DHE has a satisfactory performance record on the incumbent maintenance contract FA930122D0005. A review of the System for Award Management confirmed DHE has no active exclusions and is eligible for award.

9. Actions to Remove Barriers to Competition on Future Acquisitions Upon completion of this project, the work will be incorporated into the base-wide grounds maintenance contract. Future similar requirements will likely not be competed until the risks associated with the sole-source environment this procurement presented have been lifted following the next Grounds Maintenance contract.

10. Contracting Officer Certification I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. The value of this action ($930,000) exceeds the $900,000 threshold in RFO 6.104-2 Table 6-1 and therefore requires Competition Advocate approval.

CHRISTOPHER BARNES, DAF

Contracting Officer & Lead Contract Specialist