TAB_4_Montpelier_Emergency_Remediation_JOTFOC_2023_08_08.docx.pdf

U.S. GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

Public Buildings Service, Region 1

10 Causeway Street, Boston, MA 02222

Project Name: Montpelier, Vermont Emergency Water Remediation

Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition

1. Contracting Agency and Activity (FAR 6.303-2(b)(1)).

The General Services Administration (GSA), Public Buildings Services (PBS), Region 1 (R1), Acquisition Management Division (1PQ), plans to contract by means other than full and open competition, via a Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition (JOTFOC).

Per FAR 6.302-2(d)(5), “The determination may be made after contract award when making the determination prior to award would unreasonably delay the acquisition.” Such is the case here due to the extreme emergency situation with the Montpelier, Vermont flooding.

2. Nature and/or Description of the Action Being Approved and a description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs (including the estimated value) (FAR 6.303-

2(b)(2) & (3)).

The action being approved is a contract award with an estimated value of $1,100,000.00 to BMS

Cat, Inc. (BMS Cat) for emergency water remediation services.

The morning of July 11, 2023, the Government was made aware of heavy flooding in and around

Montpelier, Vermont due to sustained heavy rains over a two-day period. The GSA buildings affected by the flooding are the Montpelier Federal Building (FB), U.S. Post Office and

Courthouse (“Montpelier FB”) located at 87 State Street, Montpelier, Vermont, and the Social

Security Administration Building (“SSA”) located at 33 School Street, Montpelier, Vermont.

On July 11, 2023, at 3:34 PM, after regional confirmation of funding allocations, the Government issued a verbal Notice to Proceed (NTP) to BMS Cat to mobilize and provide emergency water remediation services. The verbal NTP was authorized at a not-to-exceed amount of $200,000.00 in accordance with the regional Emergency Contracting Procedures. A delay in mobilization would have resulted in significantly greater damage to the Government. Mobilization utilizing the emergency procedures allowed for the contractor to begin building a team and securing equipment in an environment where demand for these resources would be extremely high.

The Government issued a formal contract to BMS Cat on July 18, 2023, in the amount of

$400,000.00. This amount was inclusive of the original $200,000.00 which had been issued via a verbal NTP. A modification was made to the contract to increase funding to $818,802.00 on

August 2, 2023. It is expected that additional funding will be required as BMS Cat continues its attempts at stabilizing the situation at the Montpelier FB and SSA building. The current estimated value of this project is now $1,100,000.00.

BMS Cat was required to mobilize and begin emergency water remediation services at the

Montpelier FB and the SSA Building within hours of the verbal NTP given by GSA. BMS Cat would build a team and obtain equipment in order to perform tasks to stabilize the federal buildings that were currently flooded with water and get them to a state that would allow for repairs and restoration necessary to bring the buildings back in service. Tasks that BMS Cat performed include:

1. Pumping out all water from the buildings.

2. Cutting out wet and damaged drywall.

3. Removal of oil and mud from inside of the building from the flood.

4. Disinfecting surfaces contaminated by the flood.

5. Removal of building materials that are porous or organic.

DocuSign Envelope ID: 3DDF15BC-7C73-4E5D-A380-AEA754EE4B87

6. Provide air filtration to prevent contaminants and mold spores from entering the rest of the building.

7. Dehumidify the building and remove ground water coming in between the slab.

8. Remove mud and silt from storm drains to allow the parking lot to drain properly.

3. An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition

(FAR 6.303-2(b)(4)).

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(2) as implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 6.302- Unusual and compelling urgency.

4. A statement demonstrating the unique qualifications of the proposed contractor or the nature of the action requiring the use of the authority (FAR 6.303-2(b)(5)).

BMS Cat was uniquely qualified to provide the services the Government needed because of its past experience in support of GSA in Vermont, acceptable past performance overall, experience in

Vermont (via a prior Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) for emergency water remediation services), and the technical capability and approach to perform emergency water remediation services. The technical capability of BMS Cat included its ability to mobilize almost instantly, due to the fact that it had employees already in and around Montpelier, Vermont when the services were needed.

5. A description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by

FAR 5.2 and, if not, which exception under FAR 5.202 applies (FAR 6.303-2(b)(6)).

The Contracting Officer (CO), Huy Le, reached out to two emergency water remediation companies on July 11, 2023, the moment the Government was made aware that emergency water remediation services were needed due to flooding at the Montpelier FB and SSA Building. The two companies solicited were Southeast Restoration and BMS CAT. Southeast Restoration has an active BPA with GSA PBS R1, and BMS CAT once held a BPA with GSA PBS R1 and has past experience with emergency remediation at GSA buildings in Vermont. Due to the unusual and compelling urgency of the situation, soliciting orally with these two companies was the most practicable level of competition given the situation.

As mentioned in Paragraph 4, the CO chose BMS Cat due to prior experience with GSA in

Vermont, acceptable past performance on that GSA project in Vermont, and their technical capability and approach.

A notice of this requirement was not publicized as required by FAR 5.2. The Government utilized the FAR 5.202 (a)(2) exception:

“(2) The proposed contract action is made under the conditions described in

6.302-2 (or, for purchases conducted using simplified acquisition procedures, if unusual and compelling urgency precludes competition to the maximum extent practicable) and the Government would be seriously injured if the agency complies with the time periods specified in 5.203;

https://www.acquisition.gov/far/part-6#FAR_6_302_2 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/part-5#FAR_5_203

Per FAR 6.305(b), “In the case of a contract award permitted under 6.302-2, the justification shall be posted within 30 days after contract award.”

6. Determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable (FAR 6.303-2(b)(7)).

The CO has determined that the anticipated price(s) will be fair and reasonable based on a tracking of all costs expended due to the time and materials nature of the contract, and a comparison of those costs to BMS Cat’s open market commercial rate schedule provided at time of verbal NTP.

The price will also be compared to an Independent Government Cost Estimate developed for this procurement. Any price related concerns will be negotiated with the contractor.

7. A description of the market research conducted (see FAR Part 10) and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted (FAR 6.303-2(b)(8)).

Market research was conducted to the extent detailed in Paragraph 5 above, due to the extreme nature of the emergency. In addition, GSA PBS R1 has always maintained BPAs for emergency water remediation and was able to review current and past BPA holders and acquisition history to determine the best option to meet this requirement.

The GSA PBS Region 1 Emergency Contracting Procedures for issuing a verbal NTP was utilized;

the verbal NTP was approved by a regional budget analyst, the acquisition director, and the zonal finance director as required. Incremental funding was provided as a means to reduce the risk of the time and materials contract, which allowed for periodic check-ins with the contractor and GSA

COR. Although the emergency policy prefers the usage of the regional emergency water remediation BPA, the policy provides latitude in choosing the acquisition approach that is in the best interest of the Government. In this instance, the BPA was not utilized for reasons provided under Paragraphs 4 and 5 above.

8. Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition (FAR 6.303-

2(b)(9)). When 6.302-2 is cited, data, estimated cost, or other rationale as to the extent and nature of the harm to the Government (FAR 6.303-2(b)(9)).

The flood of July 11, 2023, was the second most serious flood in Montpelier history (only the flood of 1927 was higher). The Montpelier FB was flooded up to 48 inches on the first floor and the entire basement was under water. All major systems in the building were damaged and the longer these systems were in such a state the less likely that they would be salvageable to any degree. Power, HVAC, and all building climate systems were damaged and due to the flooding, the first floor and basement are now subject to water damage and mold growth. There was also the question of disinfecting the building due to raw sewage and chemicals in the flood water.

Time was of the essence as the longer the building was subjected to flood waters the less likely we would be able to recover systems; also, there were biohazards that needed to be prevented (i.e., mold blooms) in the building to include the upper floors that were not yet affected. If we develop mold throughout the building, then significant costs could be added to the salvage costs of the https://www.acquisition.gov/far/part-6#FAR_6_302_2 building.

Much the same situation was encountered at the SSA Building, but to a comparatively lesser extent. The SSA building was at a higher elevation a few blocks away and is built on slab and therefore does not have a basement.

Montpelier was a federal declared disaster zone and emergency actions needed to be taken to remediate the water flood damage and begin to stabilize the building to ensure that further deterioration did not occur.

9. A listing of any sources that expressed a written interest in the acquisition (FAR 6.303-

2(b)(10)).

Southeast Restoration expressed strong interest in meeting the needs of the Government via its existing regional BPA. They were contacted along with BMS Cat.

10. A statement of any actions the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition if subsequent acquisitions are anticipated (FAR 6.303-2(b)(11)).

Applicable FAR regulations would be followed in subsequent acquisitions for similar services.

GSA PBS R1 also has an Emergency Contracting Procedures policy, which includes use of pre-awarded BPAs for emergency water remediation. This BPA will always be the first consideration when responding to flooding emergencies.

In addition, GSA will hold a stakeholder meeting after the emergency remediation contract is complete to review and discuss areas of improvement and to document lessons learned. These situations will continue to occur within the region and improving GSA’s ability to act effectively will result in substantial savings in the form of Government resources and Government funding.

The approval of this Sole Source Justification will allow the Government to expedite the time frame in remediating the flood waters that damaged the Montpelier FB and SSA, preserving both cost and property as detailed above in Paragraph 8. The circumstances described herein are specific to the immediate requirement.

11. Contracting officer certification that the justification is accurate and complete to the best of the contracting officer’s knowledge and belief (FAR 6.303-2(b)(12)).

Contracting Officer: I certify that the data supporting the recommended use of other than full and open competition is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Contracting Officer Date

8/8/2023

Technical/Requirements Personnel: I certify the requirement meets the Government’s minimum need and that the facts, representations, and data included in this justification are complete and accurate.

Contracting Officer’s Representative Date

12. CONCURRENCE

For actions between $700k and $13.5M, one level above the Contracting Officer and the

Acquisition Policy Branch must sign and approve the Justification.

Concur: One-Above the Contracting Officer

Supervisory Contracting Officer Date

Concur: Acquisition Policy Branch

Branch Chief Date

Concur: Acquisition Director

Director Date

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8/9/2023

8/9/2023

8/9/2023

8/9/2023

Concur: Office of General Counsel

General Counsel Date

Approved: Competition Advocate

For a proposed contract over $700,000 but not exceeding $13.5 million, the Competition Advocate must sign and approve the Justification.

Deputy PBS Regional Commissioner Date

8/11/2023

8/11/2023