Professional Landscape Management Services, Inc.--Costs, B-287728.2, November 2, 2001

B-287728.2 Nov 02, 2001 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Protest is clearly meritorious when a reasonable agency inquiry into the protester's allegations would have revealed that the agency had not taken reasonable steps to determine whether the procurement needed to be set aside for HUBZone small businesses. The requirement was synopsized as a small business set aside on CBDNet. Was described as grounds maintenance services including. Before the solicitation was issued. 000 if there is a reasonable expectation of receiving offers from at least two HUBZone small businesses at a fair market price. A Corps official identified as the Deputy for Small Business researched whether there were any qualified HUBZone firms available to perform this work. View Decision Professional Landscape Management Services, Inc.--Costs, B-287728.2, November 2, 2001 DIGEST Attorneys DECISION Professional Landscape Management Services, Inc. (PLMS) requests reimbursement of the reasonable costs of filing and pursuing its protest of the Army Corps of Engineers' determination to issue request for proposals (RFP) No. DACW31-01-R-0018 as a small business set-aside, rather than setting the procurement aside exclusively for small businesses certified under the Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) program. We recommend that the Corps reimburse PLMS its protest costs. BACKGROUND On February 22, 2001, the Corps's Baltimore district office received a standard form requesting that it issue a "best value" solicitation package for grounds maintenance services for the Washington Aqueduct Division. On March 3, the requirement was synopsized as a small business set aside on CBDNet, the Commerce Business Daily website, and was described as grounds maintenance services including, among other things, the removal of ice and snow. Agency Report (AR), Tab 5, CBDNet Notice. The RFP, when issued, defined snow removal as an emergency priority requiring the contractor to respond within 2 hours of notification. The RFP did not include any geographic restriction, or otherwise require offerors to be located within a particular area. RFP Sec. C.2.36.1. The agency report stated that, before the solicitation was issued, the Corps's contracting staff considered various set-aside options. In light of the requirement at Federal Acquisition Regulation Sec. 19.1305(a) and (b), that contracting agencies set aside for HUBZone small businesses all procurements exceeding $100,000 if there is a reasonable expectation of receiving offers from at least two HUBZone small businesses at a fair market price, a Corps official identified as the Deputy for Small Business researched whether there were any qualified HUBZone firms available to perform this work, using the Procurement Marketing and Access Network ("Pro-Net"), an Internet-based, searchable database that the Small Business Administration (SBA) maintains. /1/ Although no contemporaneous record of the search was maintained, this official reported that she limited her search to HUBZones in the Washington, D.C. area (including parts of Maryland and Virginia), based on her "business judgment" that grounds maintenance and snow removal fit into the category where it is essential to use local firms. Hearing Video Transcript (VT) at 10:52. /2/ The search identified no local HUBZone small businesses. VT at 9:53. This official subsequently admitted that when she conducted the search, she entered an improper code (called a "NAICS" code, based on the North American Industry Classification System) /3/ to specify the type of services being sought. VT at 10:39. She stated that it was her understanding at that time that a 5-digit code would yield more inclusive results, whereas in fact, only a 6-digit code would yield any results in this type of search. /4/ Based on her belief that only local firms could reasonably be expected to submit offers, and her belief that no HUBZone-certified firms capable of doing the work were available, the official recommended that the solicitation be issued as a small business set aside, and the contracting officer concurred. VT at 10:56. After the CBDNet notice appeared, PLMS contacted an SBA representative to inquire whether the procurement could be set aside for HUBZone small business concerns. The inquiry was conveyed to the SBA Liaison Procurement Center Representative (PCR), who then contacted the Corps. According to the Corps's Deputy for Small Business, she told the PCR about the results of the Pro-Net search without discussing the parameters of the search, and told the PCR that the procurement was being set aside for small business concerns. She also advised the PCR that: I currently . . . had two . . . [HUBZone] requirements on the street, and as a result of those two procurements, I would meet the [Corps's] imposed goal and the statutory goal as well.