B-297099, Europe Displays, Inc., December 5, 2005

B-297099 Dec 05, 2005 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Europe Displays, Inc. protests the sole-source award of a contract to Connexion under solicitation No. FTA-05-0256, issued by the Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration (FTA), for the design, construction, maintenance and dismantling of a pavilion at the Mobility and City Transport Exhibition in Rome, Italy. We sustain the protest. View Decision B-297099, Europe Displays, Inc., December 5, 2005 Decision Matter of: Europe Displays, Inc. File: B-297099 Date: December 5, 2005 Thomas C. Papson, Esq., and Jason N. Workmaster, Esq., McKenna Long & Aldridge, LLP, for the protester. Joseph A. Pixley, Esq., Department of Transportation, for the agency. Henry J. Gorczycki, Esq., and James A. Spangenberg, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1. Agency unreasonably awarded a contract for the design and construction of an exhibition pavilion on a sole'source basis under simplified acquisition procedures to a firm that the agency believed the exhibit organizer required be used, where the agency's belief was erroneous and unreasonable. 2. A firm's statement of interest and technical capability to compete in response to an agency's published notice of intent to negotiate a contract on a sole-source basis is not a bid or proposal for which the GAO will recommend reimbursement of bid and proposal preparation costs where protest of sole-source award is sustained. DECISION Europe Displays, Inc. protests the sole-source award of a contract to Connexion under solicitation No. FTA-05-0256, issued by the Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration (FTA), for the design, construction, maintenance and dismantling of a pavilion at the Mobility and City Transport Exhibition in Rome, Italy. We sustain the protest. The Mobility and Transport Exhibition, which is organized by the UITP-International Association of Public Transport, is a bi-annual international exhibition for the public transportation industry. This year's exhibition was held on June 6-9, 2005 in Rome. On April 18, FTA announced on the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) Internet site its intent to negotiate with –Fransquin & Chaiban: Connexion Company— on a sole-source basis for the design and construction of a United States pavilion at the exhibition. The notice stated that the agency was acting under sole source authority pursuant to –41 U.S.C. sect. 253(c)(1), only one responsible source— for the services. Agency Report, Tab T, FedBizOpps Solicitation/Notice, at 1. The notice further announced that other potential sources wishing to demonstrate that they could meet the agency's requirements could submit a written response with a technical capabilities statement –no later than 15 days after— the April 18 publication date. Id. at 2. On May 2, 14 days after the publication date, Europe Displays timely submitted a written response with a technical capabilities statement. On May 9, the contracting officer informed Europe Displays by phone that the agency would not give the firm an opportunity to compete. The agency's initial basis for excluding Europe Displays was that the agency believed that UITP (the exhibition organizer) required the use of Connexion for these services. Contracting Officer's Statement at 1. However, following communications with Europe Displays and others, the contracting officer learned that the agency's understanding of the requirement was incorrect, and that other firms could design and construct exhibition stands if custom designs were submitted to the exhibition architect at least 30 days prior to the start of the exhibition. Id.; Agency Report, Tab V, Exhibitor's Handbook, at 14. The contracting officer then determined that, since the exhibition was to start in less than 30 days, it was too late to get approval for another firm's design.[1] Contracting Officer's Statement at 1-2. The agency subsequently issued a justification and approval (J&A) for a sole-source award to Connexion based on the authority stated at Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) sect. 6.302-1(a)(2)(ii)(B) and 41 U.S.C. sect. 253(d)(1)(B) (2000), which authorizes the award of a follow-on contract for the continued development of a major system or highly specialized equipment when it is likely that award to a source other than the original source would result in unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency's requirements. Agency Report, Tab I, J&A, May 18, 2005, at 1.