Village of Flossmoors Water System Automation Project, Flossmoor, IL

By way of this notice, and in accordance with FAR 6.302-1, the Chicago District - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announces its intention to award a sole source contract to the original source provider, "Gasvoda and Associates, Incorporated (GAI) of Calumet City, IL," to perform follow-on services related to the improvements of the Flossmoor Village's entire Water System Automation project.  Throughout the years, the Village has invested a significant amount of its funds on the replacement of out-dated system controls with modern electronic devices.  All improvements were carefully selected to allow for growth and compatibility with an automated SCADA system that would link all water facilities to one central location. The initial component replacements were performed by GAI as well as all additional replacements, which has allowed for a seamless continuity of all improvements. Additionally, GAI has been the Village's contractor responsible for trouble shooting, repairs, and component replacements for over 20 years.  Their technicians are trained to provide technical support on all software and programming problems.  With water supply being an essential function of Public Works, it is paramount to have a contractor available 24/7, 365 days a year, whose intimately familiar with the intricacies of project, as GAI has successfully demonstrated and consistently proven of its strong capabilities to the Village for over 20 years.  Because GAI has provided lengthy service to the Village on this major project; has been the sole provider of the control equipment installation towards the Village's system automation efforts, and is the local area representative for this particular type of equipment, any change in suppliers who are not familiar with the unique features and component operations of the system and its antiquated nature thereof, could result in: 1) an increased cost to the project; 2) a substantial duplication of cost to the Village that is not expected to be recovered through competition; 3) create major impacts to the three main water system functions (e.g. filling the three million gallon emergency reservoir, changing pump cycles at both the main pump station and remote pressure boosting station, and switching to emergency diesel pump operations during a major power failure).

Under the contract, GAI will be responsible for removing the manually operated components and replacing them with automated ones that will fulfill all the necessary functions in order to operate the system.  The contractor will have a mandatory performance period of 90 days to complete the entire work. It is anticipated that the resultant contract will be firm-fixed-price construction contract.  The construction costs are estimated between $100K and $250K. This is an ARRA project.

This notice is NOT a Request for Proposals; therefore, NO solicitation documents will be issued.  Award is anticipated on or about 1 August 2009. 

Any response to this notice must demonstrate that competition would be advantageous to the government. In doing so, interested sources must submit technical capabilities, pricing, and other information that demonstrates their ability to meet the Village's needs. Detailed capabilities must be submitted to Regina Blair prior to 4:30 p.m. (CDT) on July 6, 2009, via fax to: 312-886-5475 (ensure that the Solicitation Number of "W912P6-09-R-0017" is included on the fax transmittal sheet).

No contract will be awarded on the basis of offers received in response to this notice, but offers will be used to determine if a comparable source is available and more advantageous to the government. If no affirmative written response is received by 4:30 p.m. (CDT) on July 6, 2009, a contract may be issued to GAI without further notice.