RECORDS STORAGE

STATEMENT OF WORK (SOW)

INTRODUCTION

The Office of the Federal Public Defender (FPD), Western District of Texas, provides defense to indigent clients accused of crimes in federal court. See  https://txw.fd.org.        

OBJECTIVES

The Office of the Federal Public Defender, Western District of Texas (FPD) is soliciting quotations from record storage service providers to furnish off-site document storage and related services for its Austin, Texas offices. The office locations are as follows:

Office of the Federal Public Defender Western District of Texas, 504 Lavaca St., Ste. 960, Austin, TX 78701, and Office of the Federal Public Defender, Western District of Texas, 919 Congress Ave., Suite 950, Austin, TX 78701. 

Business hours are 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M., Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays. As of November 2025, the files that need to be stored include 1,174, 1.2 cubic foot boxes.  Besides these boxes, we anticipate additional boxes to be removed and added to storage during the contract term. The boxes currently stored are standard letter/legal file boxes (15” L x 12” W x 10” H) which is 1.2 cubic feet per box.

1. Record Storage: The vendor must provide secure off-site storage for the Office of the Federal Public Defender’s documents in a climate-controlled environment and be able to provide enough physical storage capacity for the current 1,174 standard size boxes upon initiating the contract.  The FPD may add more boxes to the vendor’s facility during the contract period, typically no more than 10% annually.  The vendor must accommodate the additional boxes at the rates offered for the contract term and store the FPD’s boxes and/or files at a single secure facility within the continental United States. 

2. Record Pickup and Delivery: The vendor shall accept and respond to pickup and delivery requests from authorized FPD staff. The vendor will deliver requested boxes during the FPD’s normal business hours from 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. CST, Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays. Orders for standard delivery placed before 3:00 P.M. CST will be delivered within two (2) business days following the initial order date at no cost to the FPD. Orders for rush delivery placed before 3:00 P.M. shall be delivered within 2 hours. If there is an additional cost or fee regarding rush orders, then the offeror shall delineate the cost or fees in their proposal. Orders for pickup of new or refile boxes will be available at least once a quarter (3-month period) if needed with no minimum number of boxes for pickup being required.  Delivery of and pickup of boxes are to be made to/at the addresses listed above unless otherwise instructed by authorized FPD staff.

3. Transition Services: At the commencement of the contract, the vendor must assume full responsibility for transferring all the FPD’s records stored at its storage facility in the Austin, Texas area to the vendor’s facility. This responsibility includes new bar coding, labeling, data entry and inventory of the boxes to be stored at the vendor’s facility at the beginning of the contract period. The vendor should include in its response the process for acquiring the client’s boxes from the facility and a timeline for the process. Any cost related to this requirement will be covered by the offeror. The new vendor will replace boxes damaged during transfer from the existing vendor to the new vendor’s facility. The new vendor will incur cost for damaged boxes during transfer from the existing vendor to the new vendor’s facility. If such damage occurs, the new vendor shall furnish a report to the FPD detailing which boxes were damaged and replaced. Upon successful completion of the transfer, the vendor will supply the FPD with an inventory report of the boxes moved to the new storage facility. The inventory report will list boxes by office name and number of boxes for each office.   

4. Inventory Tracking: The vendor shall maintain an accurate, bar-coded and computer-based inventory tracking system. The computerized system must be web-enabled, with adequate security, to provide internet access to the information by FPD users. At a minimum, the system must identify each stored FPD box by office, description and status (checked in or checked out). Essential data fields include box number, bar code, box size, location, major description, minor description, status and box history (dates of checked in and check out). The inventory tracking system shall include logs and receipts for pickups and delivery of individual boxes for verification and audit purposes.  Logs and receipts will be made available to the FPD upon request. The inventory status must be updated within 24 hours of activity.

5. Reporting: The vendor shall provide these reports to the FPD upon request. The vendor shall list any cost or fees associated with these reports in their response to this RFQ.

6. Account and Invoicing: The vendor shall submit a monthly or quarterly invoice to the FPD, by regular mail, e-mail, or both, showing a line item for the FPD’s storage and activity cost. The invoice will include a detailed list of all transactions and a summary page listing the totals.

7. Secure Storage and Facility Standards: The vendor’s storage facilities shall provide a level of affirmation consistent with industry standards. These standards must meet all applicable and current requirements of the National Fire Protection Association. The storage facility must be properly shelved, secured and equipped with motion, smoke, heat detectors/alarms to prevent loss from theft or fire. The FPD requires that the facility be constructed and equipped with fire safety systems as required by International Fire Code and other applicable codes. The records storage facility cannot house any hazardous material. Storage facilities cannot be within a flood area or risk exposure from external hazards. The vendor’s storage facility shall be solidly constructed with secure loading and unloading areas. The floors shall support at least 300 pounds per square foot and shall be above ground level to ensure dry storage. The walls surrounding the records storage area shall be fire resistant. The roof shall be of non-combustible construction and leak proof. Appropriate redundant systems must ensure continuous operation. Vendor shall provide proof of semi-annual treatment and/or inspection for rodent and insect protection. The vendor is responsible for all content stored in any of its storage facilities. The vendor must provide a written disaster and recovery plan for any catastrophic occurrences including, but not limited to earthquakes, flood, fire, etc. The vendor is responsible for recovery from any catastrophic occurrences, including, but not limited to fire, damage or theft, and any associated cost. The vendor must maintain the appropriate insurance and provide proof thereof. Storage facilities must have an intrusion alarm system monitored 24 hours per day, including weekends and federal holidays, and provide proof thereof. The vendor must provide adequate storage capacity to meet both the current and future needs of the FPD. The FPD estimates annual growth at 10-15% per year, or 100-200 boxes.

8. Transportation: The vendor must provide vehicles designed for the transportation of storage records. The vehicles must have the appropriate security features (anti-theft device) and be secured while at a delivery/pickup site. All vehicles must have a fire extinguisher.

9. Account Representation: The vendor shall appoint an account representative for the FPD as a single point of contact to ensure a high level of responsiveness to the FPD’s needs. A backup contact shall also be designated to provide coverage during the primary contact’s absence.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS/INFORMATION:

As a federal agency and a law firm, the Office of the Federal Public Defender must have secure record storage and reliable access to FPD records. 

CONFIDENTIALITY:

The vendor and its personnel shall be restricted from accessing FPD records. FPD records are to remain closed while in storage and transport.

CONTRACT AWARD:

The contract is intended to be awarded by Friday, December 12, 2025.  If a move is required, the vendor will need to coordinate transition of the boxes between January 20, 2026, and January 30, 2026.   

The offeror’s initial quote should contain the offeror’s best terms from a price and technical standpoint. The FPD reserves the right to conduct discussions if the Contracting Officer later determines them to be necessary. The FPD intends to award a contract to a responsible offeror providing a proposal that conforms to the requirements of the SOW, at the lowest price technically acceptable.

EXERCISE OF OPTIONS

The contracting officer shall provide written notice or award to the contractor within 60 days of termination of the existing contract. The contracting officer will exercise the option if it fulfills and existing government need. The exercise of the option is the most advantageous method of fulfilling the Government’s need, price and other factors. The contractor’s past performance evaluations on other contract actions have been considered. The contractor’s performance on the existent contract has been acceptable, e.g., received satisfactory ratings.

LOCATION FOR PERFORMANCE:

The locations involved in the SOW are as follows:

Office of the Federal Public Defender

Western District of Texas

504 Lavaca St., Ste. 960

Austin, TX 78701

Office of the Federal Public Defender

Western District of Texas

919 Congress Ave., Suite 950

Austin, TX 78701.    

      Points of Contact:

      Shannon Tallent, Contracting Officer, contact@example.gov

      Angela Kessel, Contracting Officer, Angela_Kessel@fd.org           

QUOTATION SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS:

The quotation sheet shall consist of:

1. A total estimated annual cost for the base year plus four (4) option years, to be submitted on the cover sheet of the RFQ.  Quote sheet is to be completed in its entirety to be considered for award.

2. A Certificate of Insurance demonstrating compliance with the requirements outlined in the RFQ.

3. The offeror shall confine submissions to essential matters, enough to define the proposal in a concise manner, to permit a complete and accurate evaluation of the proposal. Offerors are cautioned that “parroting” of the requirements in the solicitation does not demonstrate an understanding of the requirements or capability to perform. Offerors must include enough details to permit a complete and accurate evaluation of each proposal. Proprietary information shall be marked.  

FURTHER INFORMATION:

The primary point of contact for this RFQ is:

      Shannon Tallent

      Contracting Officer

      Office of the Federal Public Defender, Western District of Texas

      300 Convent St.

      Suite: 2300

      San Antonio, TX 78205

      Phone: +1 (555) 000-0000

      Email: contact@example.gov

The secondary point of contact for this RFQ is:

      Angela Kessel

      Contracting Officer

      Office of the Federal Public Defender, Western District of Texas

      300 Convent St.

      Suite: 2300

      San Antonio, TX 78205

      Phone: +1 (555) 000-0000

      Email: contact@example.gov