Quality Lawn Maintenance

B-270690.3 Jun 27, 1996 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Protest that solicitation requirements exceed contracting agency's minimum needs and are unduly restrictive of competition is denied where there is no showing that agency lacked a reasonable basis for the challenged requirements. Includes a requirement for the contractor to have an on-staff horticulturist that is either certified by the American Association of Nurserymen or some equivalent organization. The protester contends that this requirement is in excess of the agency's minimum needs because the grounds maintenance services can successfully be provided without a certified or degreed horticulturist on staff. The protester states that this requirement was not included in predecessor contracts. View Decision Matter of: Quality Lawn Maintenance File: B-270690.3 Date: June 27, 1996 Protest that solicitation requirements exceed contracting agency's minimum needs and are unduly restrictive of competition is denied where there is no showing that agency lacked a reasonable basis for the challenged requirements. Attorneys DECISION Quality Lawn Maintenance protests the terms of invitation for bids (IFB) No. GS11P96MJC0001, issued by the General Services Administration for landscape maintenance services at 30 installations in Washington, D.C. and Maryland. The protester contends that certain requirements in the solicitation exceed the agency's minimum needs and unduly restrict competition. We deny the protest. The amended IFB, set aside for small business concerns, includes a requirement for the contractor to have an on-staff horticulturist that is either certified by the American Association of Nurserymen or some equivalent organization, or possess a Bachelor of Science Degree in either horticulture or a related life science. The protester contends that this requirement is in excess of the agency's minimum needs because the grounds maintenance services can successfully be provided without a certified or degreed horticulturist on staff. The protester states that this requirement was not included in predecessor contracts, that the requirement is restrictive for small businesses that may not have such a horticulturist on staff, and that the requirement will greatly increase the cost of the contract. In preparing a solicitation for supplies or services, a contracting agency must specify its needs and solicit offers in a manner designed to achieve full and open competition, and may include restrictive provisions or conditions only to the extent necessary to satisfy the agency's needs. 41 U.S.C. Sec. 253a(a) (1994). The determination of the agency's minimum needs and the best method of accommodating them are primarily within the agency's discretion and, therefore, we will not question such a determination unless the record clearly shows that it lacks any reasonable basis. RMS Indus., B-247233; B-247234, May 1, 1992, 92-1 CPD para. 412. The agency explains that the current IFB includes more complex technical and scientific requirements than included in prior contracts, especially due to a Presidential Directive, issued on April 26, 1994, to enhance and ensure environmentally and economically beneficial practices on federal landscaped grounds. This directive calls for utilization of techniques that complement and enhance the local environment and seek to minimize the adverse effects that the landscaping will have on it, such as the use of regionally native plants and employing landscaping practices and technologies that conserve water and prevent pollution, using integrated pest management techniques that control the use of toxic chemicals, recycling green waste, and minimizing runoff. The agency also explains that the 30 installations to be serviced under the contract involve cabinet-level agency headquarters buildings that serve as national showcases and are the subject of public scrutiny in light of the public's and the Administration's expressed interest in environmental matters. To ensure effective implementation of these interests and directives, the agency determined that an on-staff degreed or certified horticulturist was required to provide higher standards of professional expertise. We find the IFB's degreed/certified horticulturist requirement unobjectionable. Although, as the protester states, landscaping services have been procured in the past without such requirement, the agency has shown that the current requirement is reasonably related to its current minimum needs of effectively coordinating and providing quality landscaping at the 30 federal installations to be serviced under the contract. The technical requirements of the current IFB and the number of properties to be serviced have increased from prior contracts, and, as indicated by the agency, environmental concerns regarding the performance of the contract have also increased.