Baumholder Daily Commute Student Transportation Services, Extend Contract Period of Performance

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION 1. Contracting Agency: Department of Defense Education Activity Europe (DoDEA-E), Procurement Division, Sembach Kaserne, Building 206, Larsen Strasse, 67681 Sembach-Heuberg, Germany. 2. Description of Supplies and Services: DoDEA-E requires transportation services to safely transport students, including special-needs students, by bus to designated DoDEA schools and other education sites. The students range from kindergarten to high school age. The contractor must provide drivers, safety attendants and aides, and assure proper, well-maintained vehicles, and training. Furthermore, a contractor must obtain required access to military installations, and use procedures to transport students safely following a schedule that assures picking up all students in commuting distance, and timely transport to schools. The services are required to begin in August of 2016, at the start of the school year, and cover regular schools days, as well as provide for service when school hours are adjusted due to weather or other changes. The contractor must have a quality control plan to deal with emergencies, including student health issues and security-/force protection-related events. 3. Description of Action: This contract action is a bi-lateral modification to extend contract HE1280-11-D-0004 through 31 December 2016, which was issued on 14 July 2016. This short-term bridge contract will prevent a gap in service, and provide sufficient time to competitively re-compete these transportation requirements. The total estimated value of the extension is $398,914.00. FY16 Operating & Maintenance (O&M) funds are available to fund the extension. 4. Authority: The proposed procurement is to be made under the statutory authority of 41 U.S.C. 253(c)(2), as implemented by FAR 6.302-2, Unusual and Compelling Urgency. DODEA EUROPE AREA OFFICE ATTN: SEMBACH KASERNE PROCUREMENT OFFICE BLDG 206, LARSEN STRASSE 67681 SEMBACH-HEUBERG GERMANY 5. Reason for Exception: The Government has an urgent and compelling need for continued student transportation services. Transportation Services are needed for the Baumholder Community starting on 29 August 2016. This bridge contract award will assure there is no delay in the commencement of a contractor's performance of the required services that jeopardizes student school attendance at the start of the new school year. If there is a break in transportation services, DoDEA-E Europe will be unable to satisfy their responsibility of safely transporting students to and from school. DoDEA-E's mission of providing these students an education would be seriously injured, as an absence of this service will significantly undermine students' ability to meet curricular requirements for their education. As part of the requirement to provide these services, a contractor must, prior to the new school year, complete all necessary hiring, training, background investigations, submit all base pass access requests, and potentially acquire new vehicles conforming to the Government's requirements. Due to a protest to the Government Accountability Office, the Government cancelled a prior full and open competition Invitation for Bids (IFB) seeking bids for a long term contract award. DoDEA took corrective action to cancel this IFB due to an issue in notifying all prospective bidders of an amendment.. The original solicitation was canceled and a new solicitation was issued on 1 July 2016 requiring performance to begin on 1 August with transportation services to officially start on 29 August. After DoDEA-E issued the new fully competitive IFB in July 2016, a prospective bidder notified DoDEA-E that the timeline for that action was too restrictive due to the amount of time that would be required to ramp-up/phase-in prior to when school starts on 29 August 2016. Any nonincumbent contractor wishing to provide services would have to hire new employees, train them in accordance with the Government's required Statement of Work, complete background investigations, and submit applications for base access of all personnel prior to providing services, which could not be accomplished prior to 29 August when transportation services are required. The shortened period available for ramp-up would necessitate additional start-up costs for any non-incumbent, which would likely make them non-competitive. DoDEA agrees that there is a barrier to competition imposed by the start-up timeframe, and has determined to solicit only the minimum services needed to assure continued service. Westrich-Reisen, the incumbent of the prior long term contract for this requirement, has been identified as the only readily capable source that can provide these services at the level of quality and expertise required under the short amount of time available. Westrich-Reisen provided the required Daily Commute Student Transportation Services in the Baumholder Community under contract HE1280-11-D-0004. Their support includes all necessary personnel and vehicles necessary to successfully provide required transportation services. These services are mission essential and any disruption would significantly degrade DoDEA Europe's ability to meet their mission of educating students. This contract action will allow for continued services from 29 August (school start date) through 31 December (end of the winter break). Furthermore, the contractor has agreed to keep prices for the extension period unchanged from the competitively established rates provided under the final option year of their contract. These prices are found to be fair and reasonable, especially given the circumstances. 6. Effort to remove barriers to/increase competition: This contract action has not been synopsized due to urgency, as authorized by FAR 5.202(a)(2). The Government contacted the one known source that could meet its needs to negotiate terms for an extension/bridge contract. As outlined above, DoDEA-E intended to solicit this requirement using full and open competition. A protested competitive IFB for a long term contract to provide the Daily Commute Student Transportation Services in Baumholder was issued on 19 April 2016. Then, DoDEA-E again issued an updated IFB, but realized that the milestones required for a contractor to perform impose a limitation on potential sources. DoDEA-E will solicit a long term contract to obtain these services after this bridge contract ends using full and open competition. DoDEA will conduct this procurement during the bridge award period. 7. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Award Price The contracting officer determined the price to be fair and reasonable as the contractor has agreed to keep prices for the extension period unchanged from the competitively established rates provided under the final option year of their contract. These prices are found to be fair and reasonable, especially given the circumstances. 8. Market Research: Market research has been and will continue to be conducted for the follow-on contract which is in the pre-solicitation stage. Although three potential sources exist, Westrich-Reisen, the incumbent of the prior long term contract, is the only source that has indicated it can meet all the start up requirements to begin performance on time. Market research would not influence the need for a sole source to the current contractor as this requirement is based on the urgent need to have the continued services to meet DoDEA-E's mission. 9. Other Facts: There are no other pertinent facts. APPROVAL Approval is granted subject to the availability of funds and provided that the products/services described herein have otherwise been authorized for acquisition. 10. Contracting Officer (required): I certify that the facts and representations included in this Justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and hereby determine that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable. ANDREW CHRISTEN Contracting Officer