Timmons LCWPP Sole Source Justification_Final.pdf

Department of Enterprise Services – C&P Page 1 of 7 June 2024

Sole Source CONTRACT Filing Justification Template Division or Region: Wildland Fire Management Division Date: 4/17/25 Solicitation Number: N/A Company Name: Timmons Group Sub-object good/services will be charged once approved: EY – Software Licenses, Maintenance & Subscription Based Computing Services Funding Source (federal/state/local): State and Federal Vendor FIN/TIN (Federal ID/Taxpayer ID No.): 54-130143

Use the following justification template for preparing to file sole source contracts in the Sole Source Contracts Database (SSCD). Once completed, copy and paste the answers into the corresponding SSCD question and answer fields. You will also need to include a copy of this completed form in the documents you post to your agency website and in WEBS.

What is a sole source contract?

"Sole source" means a contractor providing goods or services of such a unique nature or sole availability that the contractor is clearly and justifiably the only practicable source to provide the goods or services. (RCW 39.26.010)

Unique qualifications or services are those which are highly specialized or one-of-a-kind.

Other factors which may be considered include past performance, cost-effectiveness (learning curve), and/or follow-up nature of the required goods and/or services. Past performance alone does not provide adequate justification for a sole source contract. Time constraints may be considered as a contributing factor in a sole source justification; however, it will not be sufficient justification on its own.

Why is a sole source justification required?

The State of Washington, by policy and law, believes competition is the best strategy to obtain the best value for the goods and services it purchases, and to ensure that all interested vendors have a fair and transparent opportunity to sell goods and services to the state.

A sole source contract does not benefit from competition. Thus, the state, through RCW 39.26.010, has determined it is important to evaluate whether the conditions, costs and risks related to the proposal of a sole source contract truly outweigh forgoing the benefits of a competitive contract.

Providing compelling answers to the following questions will facilitate DES’ evaluation.

https://sscd.des.wa.gov/Logon/Logon.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2f https://sscd.des.wa.gov/Logon/Logon.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2f https://pr-webs-customer.des.wa.gov/

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Specific Problem or Need

• What is the business need or problem that requires this contract?

The Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HFRA) was passed by Congress in 2003 to minimize the destructive impacts of wildfire by allowing communities to shape their own plans for such disasters and to protect local resources. Developing a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) is a central piece of this legislation. The CWPP is a collaborative strategy developed by local citizens, state, and federal agencies to address wildfire risks. CWPPs are particularly utilized in areas where homes are built near fire-prone lands, known as the wildland-urban interface (WUI). This plan helps communities identify their specific wildfire protection needs and priorities, such as hazard mitigation, community preparedness, and structure protection. CWPPs enable communities to access resources and funding for implementing wildfire mitigation measures.

These plans are crucial for enhancing resilience to wildfires across various states by tailoring strategies to local conditions and priorities.

DNR seeks to acquire and implement the proprietary Living Community Wildfire Protection Plan (LCWPP) solution developed and sold by the Timmons Group, Inc. (Timmons). This sole source acquisition is an integral part of the Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR/Agency) CWPP efforts with stakeholders in the State of Washington. The LCWPP would thus serve as a central repository for State, counties and local jurisdictions to access, maintain, update, and communicate CWPP information such as proposed and completed mitigation projects, activities, and treatments.

Timmons has recently implemented its proprietary LCWPP solution in Texas, New Jersey, and North Carolina. As such, the acquisition of the LCWPP product would allow DNR to leverage Timmons’ installed base to help DNR identify key learnings and implement best practices as well as mitigating the Agency’s costs through economies of scope and scale in future DNR CWPP planning and/or project updates.

The LCWPP is a user-friendly CWPP Planning tool that:

- Systematically guides stakeholders through the CWPP process.

- Provides stakeholders with up-to-date maps and information about their area, including their fire environment.

- Enables stakeholders to identify their key areas of concern, local knowledge and values at risk.

- Enables stakeholders to build a robust action plan, mapping where to target effort (when appropriate).

https://www.timmons.com/

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- Ensures stakeholders consider proven strategies in wildfire prevention, preparedness and mitigation.

- Simplifies the process of producing a streamlined and useful CWPP.

The LCWPP enables states and counties to develop a template that communities can use to more effectively develop a predictably formatted document, with consistent information. When projects and actions are added with the tool, it provides the means to track their implementation and make it easier to update the CWPP with new strategies on an on-going basis. The tool enables community members to daylight what progress is being made and help teams quickly and easily update accomplishments.

Sole Source Criteria

• Describe the unique features, qualifications, abilities or expertise of the contractor proposed for this sole source contract.

Timmons has the only integrated CWPP solution on the market. DNR’s acquisition of Timmons’ LCWPP enables the Agency to efficiently and effectively roll out CWPP in the shortest time possible without the need to develop such a system from scratch.

The rationale and justification for DNR’s selection of Timmons’ as a sole source for the Agency’s CWPP solution include:

- Timmons is the only company working with multiple state forestry agencies on LCWPP solutions.

- Timmons is the sole company developing Community Wildfire Defense Grants (CWDG) accomplishment reporting tools.

- Timmons was selected by the Federal government to work with the Wildland Fire Leadership Council on modernizing the Forestry Grants US portal.

- Timmons has designed and deployed individual CWPP systems for 30 separate state forestry agencies’ Wildland Urban Interface (WUI)/Community Protection staff.

- Timmons collaborates directly with WUI coordinators in multiple regions of the country on the development of CWPP toolkits.

- Timmons has partnered with the United States Department of Agriculture- Forest Service (USDA-FS) on WUI and Wildfire Community projects and data.

- Timmons has extensive experience with the USDA-FS CWDG process including grant submission, and tracking.

https://forestrygrants.org/

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- Timmons has developed a proprietary dashboard specific to WUI and Community wildfire metrics both for use by state forestry agencies and USDA-FS.

- Timmons has extensive experience in the development of wildfire risk and hazard data, a critical element of a CWPP.

- Timmons has been tasked by the Department of the Interior (DOI) to integrate all fuel treatments and fire breaks across all DOI organizations (e.g., Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, etc.).

- Timmons is working with all fifty states and territories on integration of state fuel treatments and fire breaks.

- Timmons is working on the accomplishment reporting portal for USDA-FS CDWG that includes investments at the local level for fuels work.

- Timmons is a key player in the replacement of the National Fire Plan Operational Reporting System (NFPORS), the Federal government’s repository of CWPP reporting for states.

- Timmons is working collaboratively with the DOI LANDFIRE team on data aggregation efforts.

• What kind of market research did the agency conduct to conclude that alternative sources were inappropriate or unavailable? Provide a narrative description of the agency’s due diligence in determining the basis for the sole source contract, including methods used by the agency to conduct a review of available sources. Use DES’ Market Research Template if assistance is needed.

A spreadsheet was developed by DNR to identify business requirements of a CWPP system for Washington State and to evaluate applications and solutions available against these requirements. DNR and a committee of interagency personnel headed by Guy Gifford, Assistant Division Manager for Community Resiliency and Prevention, evaluated multiple applications which also included an internally developed application used in another Agency program.

Additionally, contacts were made with other state and national government entities to see what CWPP applications were being utilized across the nation. Timmons Group’s LWCPP application was the most utilized by states and other governmental agencies. LWCPP’s installed base provided excellent feedback and comments as to the application’s user satisfaction, ease of use, as well as fully meeting DNR’s business requirements.

• As part of the market research requirements, include a list of statewide contracts reviewed and/or businesses contacted, date of contact, method of contact (telephone, mail, e-mail, other), and documentation demonstrating an explanation of why those businesses could not or would not, under any circumstances, perform the contract; or an explanation of why the agency has determined that no businesses other than the prospective contractor can perform the contract.

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There were no statewide contracts, master contracts currently in place for this type of specific software. Additionally, there were no vendors listed on WEBS that had this specific type of software available.

DNR evaluated the Agency’s internal Forest Health Tracker application and determined that Timmons Group LCWPP module is a better fit to meet business requirements across the State of Washington and meet county needs.

• Per the Supplier Diversity Policy, DES-090-06: was this purchase included in the agency’s forecasted needs report?

No

• Describe what targeted industry outreach was completed to locate small and/or veteran-owned businesses to meet the agency’s need?

DNR searched the internet and talked with many other states and partner agencies to try and find what applications currently exist that would meet CWPP needs. There were very few applications out there commercially and in talking with other states and partner agencies Timmons LCWPP by far was the most recommended solution.

• What considerations were given to unbundling the goods and/or services in this contract, which would provide opportunities for Washington small, diverse, and/or veteran-owned businesses. Provide a summary of your agency’s unbundling analysis for this contract.

It was important to the Interagency Committee and DNR that the application selected approached the development, implementation and management of CWPPs in an integrated and efficient manner while at the same time meeting HFRA requirements. If the software functionality were unbundled, it would have negative impacts and consequences on the use of the software as well as significantly reducing the productivity and integration of the software solution.

• Provide a detailed and compelling description that includes quantification of the costs and risks mitigated by contracting with this contractor (i.e. learning curve, follow-up nature).

Based on our evaluation, which includes feedback from other states and jurisdictions, the LCWPP product includes an easy-to-use interface facilitating rapid and efficient implementation. The total cost of the application to DNR is mitigated by its widespread deployment across state, Department of Enterprise Services – C&P Page 6 of 7 local and Federal wildland fire jurisdiction’s. Timmons is one of the nation’s leading wildfire application companies.

• Is the agency proposing this sole source contract because of special circumstances such as confidential investigations, copyright restrictions, etc.? If so, please describe.

No

• Is the agency proposing this sole source contract because of unavoidable, critical time delays or issues that prevented the agency from completing this acquisition using a competitive process? If so, please describe. For example, if time constraints are applicable, identify when the agency was on notice of the need for the goods and/or service, the entity that imposed the constraints, explain the authority of that entity to impose on them, and provide the timelines within which work must be accomplished.

DNR is proposing this sole source contract based upon national standards and recommendations within the wildfire community. Although there are no unavoidable, critical time delays or issues that prevent the agency from completing this acquisition, current funding is available only until June 30, 2025. Additional federal funding may be available in the future, with the current political climate it is not guaranteed. Therefore, this acquisition needs to be completed this fiscal year.

• What are the consequences of not having this sole source filing approved? Describe in detail the impact on the agency and the services it provides if this sole source filing is not approved.

The consequences of not having this sole source filing approved would result in the possibility of not obtaining an LCWPP application affecting the CWPP’s and providing counties and communities with the benefits of having a central repository and public information regarding the CWPP’s which could affect public health and safety during wildfires.

Sole Source Posting

• Sole Source Posting on Agency Website - Provide the date in which the sole source posting, the draft contract, and a copy of the Sole Source Contract Justification Template were published on your agency’s website.

- If failed to post, please explain why.

• Provide the date in which the sole source posting, the draft contract, and a copy of the Sole Source Contract Justification Template were published on WEBS.

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- If failed to post, please explain why.

• Were responses received to the sole source posting in WEBS?

- If one or more responses are received, list name of entities responding and explain how the agency concluded the contract is appropriate for sole source award.

Reasonableness of Cost

• Since competition was not used as the means for procurement, how did the agency conclude that the costs, fees, or rates negotiated are fair and reasonable? Please make a comparison with comparable contracts, use the results of a market survey, or employ some other appropriate means calculated to make such a determination.

DNR’s analysis and evaluation of all CWPP applications available in the marketplace concluded that the costs and fees for LCWPP proposed by Timmons is fair and reasonable. This conclusion was also based upon the Agency’s examination of other states’ contracts with Timmons.

Additionally, the Agency stands to benefit from leveraging the experiences of other states in helping identify key learnings and implement best practices as well as mitigating costs through economies of scope and scale during current and future CWPP planning and/or project updates.