Description
Call Order No. A6167100014 CUVA 151629 TAS::14 1041::TAS RECOVERY A/E & CM Services for Boston Sanitary Sewer and Constructed Wetland Contract, NAICS: 541330 LIMITED SOURCES JUSTIFICATION 1. IDENTIFICATION OF THE REQUIRING AND CONTRACTING AGENCY: The Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Summit County, Ohio requires the work. The National Park Service, Denver Service Center, is the contracting agency. 2. NATURE AND DESCRIPTION OF ACTION BEING APPROVED: These justifications seeks approval for using other than full and open competition to award a non-competitive task order against an existing Blanket Purchase Agreement that the National Park Service has established against Federal Supply Schedule contract # GS23F0232L. The proposed firm is URS Group, Inc. The authority for this action is found in the Multiple Award Schedule Program, Title III of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (41 U.S.C. 251, et seq.); Title 40 U.S.C. 501, Services for Executive Agencies; and FAR 8.405-6, Limited Sources Justification and Approval. 3. DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES OR SERVICES REQUIRED TO MEET THE AGENCY'S NEED: URS Group shall provide submittal review, office services, site visits, and on-site construction inspection services for the Boston Sanitary Sewer Replacement Contract. The Task Order has a projected award date of May 15, 2010. The estimated cost for theses A&E and Construction Management Services is approximately $ 150,000. The Boston Sanitary Sewer Replacement contract includes the replacement of deteriorated septic systems which currently service 11 NPS buildings into a centralized collection and treatment system. It also includes the construction of a 2 acre wetland treatment system. 4. IDENTIFICATION AND JUSTIFICATION OF RATIONALE The rational for limiting competition to one source is found in FAR 8.405-6(b)(1) and FAR 8.405 6(b)(2) because only one source is capable of responding to the unique nature of the work and it is a logical follow-on to a previous contract. The Boston Sanitary Sewer Collection and Wastewater Treatment System (PMIS #151629) was designed by URS Corporation under task orders which originated in 2004 from IDIQ Contract #6166010017. The IDIQ contract closed in 2006 but the task orders associated with this project remained open until completion of the design in February 2010. Originally the intent was to issue another task order for construction management services under the same IDIQ. Unfortunately, planning and design complications as well as funding for construction delayed the project beyond the IDIQ contract's duration. In the Architect Engineer business, it is standard practice for the designer of record to review and approve the submittals that a particular design requires. This is because other Architect Engineer firms are generally unwilling to accept the liability of reviewing and approving another firm's design. In addition, award to any firm other than URS would likely result in duplication of costs associated with project familiarization that the government would not likely recover through competition. 5. CONTRACTING OFFICER DETERMINATION CONCERNING BEST VALUE In accordance with FAR 8.404(d), GSA has already determined that the hourly rate for the required services is considered fair and reasonable; in addition, the contracting officer has concluded that a sole source award to URS Group Inc. represents the best value available to the government. 6. MARKET RESEARCH The particular circumstances surrounding this acquisition made additional market research unnecessary. It is common knowledge that the industry standard is for the designer of record to review and approve design related submittals and plans. Therefore, no additional research was performed. 9. OTHER FACTS SUPPORTING THIS JUSTIFICATION: As noted in number three above, submittal review and CM services will be awarded to one firm. This should result in efficiencies to the government in the areas of contract preparation and administration. There is inherent risk in having the designer of record also perform CM services; therefore, the contracting officer will assign an on-site, civil engineer who is a park service employee as the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR). All requests for information from the construction contractor will be sent directly to the COR, who will then determine the necessity and cause of any resulting change and distribute to the construction inspector and the designer of record. In addition, URS has adequate separation of divisions in place to ensure conflicts between design and CM services are eliminated. These measures should fully mitigate these risks. 10. ACTIONS TO OVERCOME FUTURE BARRIERS TO COMPETITION: This office cannot do anything to change industry standards or commercial practices, however, a timely completion of the design effort would have preempted the current situation. I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief