J&A for Other Than Full and Open Competition Emergency Surgery Direct Expansion (DX) Chiller

The Department of Veterans Affairs, through Network Contracting Office 17 in San Antonio, Texas, awarded a sole-source firm-fixed-price contract under unusual and compelling urgency pursuant to FAR 6.103-2 for the emergency replacement of a failed 22-year-old chiller at the Central Texas Veterans Health Care System in Temple, Texas. The contract, valued at $1,740,296.17 with a potential maximum of $1,830,296.17 if the maximum three months of additional temporary chiller rental are utilized, requires the installation of a new 200-ton air-cooled chiller with full integration into the Building Automation System, demolition of the obsolete unit, and necessary structural and electrical modifications to ensure uninterrupted life-safety operations across 10 surgical suites. The performance period is 90 business days, with no formal option years, though in-scope modifications for temporary chiller rental are authorized at $30,000 per month beyond the initial one-month rental included in the base award. The contract was awarded to Brand Construction LLC, a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, with a Unique Entity ID of JN8RP53DJ577, and no competition was sought due to the critical nature of the failure and the inability to meet operational deadlines through standard procurement timelines. The procurement invoked the Buy American Act nonavailability exception under FAR 25.103(b)(2) because the required chiller, although assembled in the U.S., contains foreign components exceeding domestic content thresholds, and domestic alternatives would have required a 12-week lead time incompatible with urgent patient care needs. The Contracting Officer is required to submit an urgent requirement report to MadeInAmerica.gov within 30 days of award. No formal evaluation factors, inspection criteria beyond operational performance and BAS integration, or detailed packaging, marking, or barcoding standards are specified in the documentation; delivery and acceptance are expected on-site at the facility. Contract administration is managed solely by Contracting Officer Makarim Abdul-Jabbar, with no designated COR or COTR identified. The acquisition bypassed public synopsis requirements under FAR 5.101(b)(2) and was issued under NAICS code 238220 for mechanical construction. No security clearances, organizational conflict of interest provisions, or key personnel designations were mandated, and the entire process was streamlined due to the emergency context, with direct communication and submission