B-297177.3; B-297177.4, NANA Services, LLC, January 3, 2006

B-297177.3; B-297177.4, NANA Services, LLC, January 3, 2006 TITLE: B-297177.3; B-297177.4, NANA Services, LLC, January 3, 2006 BNUMBER: B-297177.3; B-297177.4 DATE: January 3, 2006 *********************************************************** B-297177.3; B-297177.4, NANA Services, LLC, January 3, 2006 DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This redacted version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of: NANA Services, LLC File: B-297177.3; B-297177.4 Date: January 3, 2006 Steven W. Silver, Esq., and Carl Winner, Esq., Robertson, Monagle & Eastaugh, and Richard B. Oliver, Esq., McKenna Long & Aldridge, for the protester. Carl Walker, Esq., and Elizabeth Rivera, Esq., Department of the Navy, and Laura Mann Eyester, Esq., and John W. Klein, Esq., Small Business Administration, for the agencies. John L. Formica, Esq., and James A. Spangenberg, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST The award of noncompetitive bridge contract under the Small Business Administration's section 8(a) program is unobjectionable where the acceptance of the requirement into the 8(a) program does not violate any statute or regulation. DECISION NANA Services, LLC protests the award of a contract for morale, welfare, and recreation (MWR) services for Department of Defense (DOD) personnel on Guam, made by the Department of the Navy under the Small Business Administration's (SBA) section 8(a) program on a noncompetitive basis for performance by Global Food Services (GFS). We deny the protest. The agency explains that the "MWR services on Guam are indispensable due to the `remote' location and the needs of the U.S. personnel and their families on the island of Guam." Agency Report (AR) at 2. The MWR services to be provided include "child development/child care and youth services, recreation, physical fitness and library services to multiple [DOD] commands, activities, detachments, and Federal activities." Id. The agency points out that the "child development and child care facilities on Guam care for approximately 200 children during core work hours," and that the "lack of these services would have an extremely deleterious effect on the service members and civilian workforce who rely on these services while on duty." AR at 3. The MWR services had been provided since 2000 by Raytheon Technical Services under a large base operations support (BOS) contract, with that contract having an end date of September 30, 2005. AR at 3. In preparation for the expiration of Raytheon's contract, the agency issued request for proposals (RFP) No. N00604-05-R-0003 (RFP -0003) as a small business set-aside for the MWR services only. The agency received proposals from NANA and GFS, and selected GFS's proposal for award. NANA filed protests with our Office on September 8 and 13, 2005, challenging the agency's selection of GFS for award, and in response, the agency informed our Office and the parties that it would reevaluate the proposals of NANA and GFS, and make a new source selection. Because the agency's actions rendered NANA's protests academic, our Office dismissed the protests on September 15. The record reflects that the agency considered a number of options to ensure the uninterrupted provision of the MWR services while the proposals of NANA and GFS were being reevaluated, including the extension of the MWR services portion of Raytheon's contract past September 30, and the provision of the services through SBA's section 8(a) program. AR, Tab 3, Memorandum for the Record Concerning Raytheon's BOS Contract (Sept. 22, 2005); Tab 4, Memorandum for the Record Concerning Raytheon's BOS Contract (Sept. 23, 2005). Based upon its understanding that Raytheon was either not interested or unable to provide the MWR services past September 30, and because the agency's requirement for a bridge contract to acquire the MWR services while the proposals were being reevaluated was accepted by SBA into its section 8(a) program, a contract for the MWR services with a base period of 3 months and one 3-month option period at a total price of $2,711,097 was awarded to GFS, a section 8(a) firm, through the 8(a) program on a noncompetitive basis. AR, Tab 25, Post-Negotiation Memorandum (Sept. 26, 2005), at 3-4.