71--Notification of Government's intention to issue Request for Quote on a Limited Source basis

(i) IDENTIFICATION OF AGENCY AND CONTRACTING ACTIVITY: This document constitutes a limited source justification for the acquisition described below and is executed on behalf of the Nation Park Service, Northeast Regional Contract Office. (ii) NATURE AND DESCRIPTION OF ACTION: The National Park Service Northeast Regional Office proposes to issue a delivery order utilizing FSS 711-7 for the procurement of High-Density Moveable Shelf Filing Systems for the Statue of Liberty National Monument/Ellis Island ImmigrationMuseum. (iii) DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES: The Museum Services Division of the Statue of Liberty National Monument/Ellis Island received approval of PMIS Project No. 116065 entitled "Expand Archival Storage in the Ellis Island Immigration Museum." To accomplish this end, additional High-Density Mobile Shelf Filing Systems are required and the additional shelving will be added to the existing shelving. Consequently the additional shelving must be compatible with existing shelving currently in use in the Museum. Estimated value of this proposed action is $68,727.15. (iv) IDENTIFICATION OF THE JUSTIFICATION RATIONALE AND, IF APPLICABLE, A DEMONSTRATION OF THE PROPOSED CONTRACTOR'S UNIQUE QUALIFICATIONS TO PROVIDE THE REQUIRED SUPPLY OR SERVICE: Pursuant to FAR 8.405(6)(b)(i) only one responsible source is capable of responding due to the unique/specialized nature of the work. The contractor, Modern Office Systems of New York City, installed the existing compact shelving in the library area of the Museum several years ago using equipment manufactured by Space Saver Corporation. Modern Office Systems is the authorized representative for Space Saver Corporation products in the New York City area. The moveable shelving units run on metal rails installed in the floor and are stabilized against tipping by metal runner bars attached to the tops of the shelving units. Because such compact shelving increases the weight per square foot of flooring, the floor in the storage area had to be reinforced. The existing track system was installed with room for expansion and covers the remaining portion of the reinforced floor. It is on this existing track, which was constructed specifically for expansion, that the additional shelves will be mounted. This procurement proposes to use products made by Space Saver Corporation, which have been deemed the only products compatible with the existing storage configurations, and have the equipment installed by Modern Office Systems, the authorized company representative in the area. (v) DETERMINATION THAT THE ORDER REPRESENTS THE BEST VALUE IN ACCORDANCE WITH FAR 8.404(d): The Market Research described below was unable to identify other providers/manufacturers of compatible shelving units. Space Saver Corporation has a current GSA Contract No. GS-28F-1003C to provide the exact types of additional shelving units/equipment required by the requsitioning activity that are compatible with existing units. GSA has determined the prices of supplies under schedule contracts to be fair and reasonable in accordance with Far 8.404(d). (vi) MARKET RESEARCH: A market survey was conducted for this proposed action. Two firms, Burroughs Corporation and Metropolitan Office Systems, were contacted since both firms provide similar products and have GSA Contracts. Burroughs Corporation manufactures a line of mobile shelving called "Aisle Saver" while Metropolitan Office Systems deals with several lines of mobile shelving including "Aurora Mobile" and "Datum". Neither firm could provide products that would be compatible with the existing shelving/floor rails manufactured by Space Saver Corporation and would therefore would not be able to submit a quote if formally solicited. (vii) ANY OTHER SUPPORTING FACTS: There was a substantial cost involved with the reinforcement of the floor in the Museum Library to handle the original shelving and room for expansion. The continued use of compact shelving systems, such as the one manufactured by Space Saver Corporation, preserves as much of the limited available floor space as possible, is able to use the existing floor-mounted rails and allows the National Park Service to continue to reap the long-term benefits from the cost of the original reinforcement/expansion effort. (viii) ACTIONS TAKEN TO REMOVE BARRIERS TO COMPETITION: The existence of floor rails for expansion of the shelving in the Library mandates using a system that is compatible with those rails as well as the existing shelving.