Aleman & Associates, Inc., B-287275, May 17, 2001

B-287275 May 17, 2001 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights DIGEST Protest that agency's issuance of purchase orders to maintain interim services while competitive procurement for the same services was ongoing violated Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) requirements because (1) they were not procured using full and open competition. (2) their requirements were not synopsized in the Commerce Business Daily (CBD). (3) the protester was not sent a copy of the solicitations. Is denied. The purchase orders were issued using the simplified acquisition procedures of FAR Part 13 which. The 12 facilities covered by the 4 purchase orders employ Border Patrol agents who are responsible for apprehending illegal immigrants and maintaining custody of them at the facilities. View Decision In Matter Aleman & Associates, Inc., B-287275, May 17, 2001 DIGEST Attorneys DECISION Aleman & Associates, Inc. protests the issuance of purchase order Nos. ACD-1-P-0001, ACD-1-P-0002, ACD-1-P-0003, and LRT-1-P-0060 by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), Department of Justice, for janitorial and grounds maintenance services at border patrol stations and related INS facilities in the Laredo, Texas area. We deny the protest. The 12 facilities covered by the 4 purchase orders employ Border Patrol agents who are responsible for apprehending illegal immigrants and maintaining custody of them at the facilities. Contracting Officer's Statement at 1. INS previously had procured the required janitorial and grounds maintenance services for 11 of the facilities competitively, which had resulted in purchase orders to 3 different contractors; one (the precursor of ACD-1-P-0001) covered 7 facilities, another (the precursor of ACD-1-P-0003) covered 3 facilities, and the third (the precursor of ACD-1-P-0002) covered 1 facility. (The 12th facility, the Laredo North Station, which is the subject of purchase order LRT-1-P-0060, was not yet open at that time.) Subsequently, INS decided to consolidate its requirements in the interest of higher quality performance, efficiency in acquisition, and consistency in services received. Id. INS issued request for quotations (RFQ) No. ACD-8-Q-0024, set aside for small businesses, for the services to be provided at the original 11 facilities plus the Laredo North Station, which was scheduled to open on November 1, 2000. The RFQ provided for award on a best value basis. RFQ at 10. Five quotations were received on June 2, 2000. The agency evaluated them and made a competitive range determination, which included Aleman's quotation. Subsequently, amendments were issued, and revised quotations were received on August 25. Due to a protracted review process and lack of personnel resources, evaluation of revised quotations was delayed. Meanwhile, the 3 purchase orders under which the services were being performed at the 11 existing facilities were due to expire in late September. According to the agency, because the illegal immigrants are held at the facilities for an average period of 125 days, there is significant potential for the spread of disease, and it therefore is imperative that the facilities be maintained in clean condition without interruption of services. Agency's Response Brief at 2. In order to meet the interim need, purchase orders ACD-1-P-0001, ACD-1-P-0002, and ACD-1-P-0003 were issued to the incumbent contractors, using the simplified acquisition procedures of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13, for a 3-month period. /1/ Similarly, since the competitive procurement for the services had not been completed and the Laredo North Station was scheduled to open on November 1, in October INS attempted to obtain the required services for the Laredo North Station. Pursuant to simplified acquisition procedures, the agency solicited quotes from three businesses, but it received only one quote, and that vendor turned out to be a large business. After other potential small business sources were identified by the Dallas INS office, contracting officials solicited an additional quote from Pais Janitorial Services and Supplies, Inc. Since the quotation was determined fair and reasonable, and contracting officials had had positive experience with the firm, purchase order LRT-1-P-0060 was issued to Pais for 3 months for $21,749.10. Meanwhile, further revised quotations in the "consolidated" procurement were requested by February 20, 2001. On February 13, Aleman protested to our Office about (1) an alleged ambiguity in the RFQ as amended; (2) the delay in completing the competitive procurement; and (3) the issuance of purchase orders ACD-1-P-0001, ACD-1-P-0002, ACD-1-P-0003, and LRT-1-P-0060. The agency subsequently canceled the RFQ, rendering the protest academic as to that solicitation and the first and second allegations above.