B-400127, Zia Engineering & Environmental Consultants, LLC; Garrison Engineering & Maintenance Services, LLC, August 7, 2008

B-400127 Aug 07, 2008 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Zia Engineering & Environmental Consultants, LLC and Garrison Engineering & Maintenance Services, LLC protest the cancellation of request for proposals (RFP) No. W9124R-07-R-0009, issued by the Department of the Army pursuant to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular No. A-76 for base operations and logistics services at the U.S. Army Garrison White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), New Mexico. We deny the protests. View Decision B-400127, Zia Engineering & Environmental Consultants, LLC; Garrison Engineering & Maintenance Services, LLC, August 7, 2008 Decision Matter of: Zia Engineering & Environmental Consultants, LLC; Garrison Engineering & Maintenance Services, LLC File: B-400127 Date: August 7, 2008 Edward H. Martinez, for Zia Engineering & Environmental Consultants, LLC, and Garrison Engineering & Maintenance Services, LLC, the protesters. Maj. David Abdalla, Department of the Army, for the agency. Paula A. Williams, Esq., and Ralph O. White, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest of agency's cancellation of a solicitation for base operations support and logistics services, under a public-private competition pursuant to Office of Management and Budget Circular No. A-76, is denied where the record shows that the decision to cancel was reasonably based on a conclusion that the solicitation no longer reflects the agency's actual needs because future mission demands will significantly increase those needs. DECISION Zia Engineering & Environmental Consultants, LLC and Garrison Engineering & Maintenance Services, LLC protest the cancellation of request for proposals (RFP) No. W9124R-07-R-0009, issued by the Department of the Army pursuant to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular No. A-76 for base operations and logistics services at the U.S. Army Garrison White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), New Mexico. We deny the protests. In July 2006, the Army announced its intent to conduct an A-76 cost comparison study regarding WSMR's public works and logistical functions. Pursuant to that announcement, on February 28, 2008, the Army issued the RFP to potential private sector offerors with an April 24 due date for receipt of proposals. Thereafter, on March 19-20, the agency conducted a site visit and held a pre-proposal conference for potential offerors. Meanwhile, on March 7, the Director of the Installation Management Command (IMCOM) for the Western Region sent the Commanding General for IMCOM a formal request for authorization to cancel the WSMR solicitation. In making the request, the Director identified various significant changes that had occurred since the A-76 study had begun, such as, the Army's announced plans to station the 2d Engineering Battalion at WSMR, and the addition of a Heavy Brigade Combat Team to WSMR. In addition, the Director noted a staffing shortfall at WSMR exacerbated by the remote location of the garrison, as well as the ongoing A-76 study. Agency Report (AR) exh. 8, Letter from the IMCOM Director, at 1-3 (Mar. 7, 2008). Thereafter, on March 21, the Assistant Secretary of the Army sent a memorandum to the Deputy Under Secretary of the Department of Defense (DoD) seeking approval of IMCOM's request to cancel the WSMR A-76 competition. Id. exh. 10, Memorandum from Army to DoD (Mar. 21, 2008). On April 22, the contracting officer (CO) received an email from IMCOM directing the cancellation of the A-76 competition. AR exh. 15, Email to CO. That same day, the CO issued amendment No. 0003 canceling the solicitation and distributed the amendment, by email, to the protesters and other site attendees. Id. exh. 14, Email from CO (Apr. 22, 2008). However, on April 22 the agency had already received proposals from Zia and GEMS, but had not opened them since cancellation occurred prior to the scheduled closing date of April 24. In response to the protesters' request for an explanation of the decision to cancel the solicitation, the contracting officer stated that: Increased mission demands and future restationing efforts risk mission failure due to support of additional installation requirements while simultaneously conducting an A-76 competition. The Army recently unveiled its Grow the Army plan which includes restationing a Brigade Combat (Heavy) Team, the 2d Engineering Battalion, and expanding the Army Test and Evaluation Command mission. Support to these additional units present a tremendous challenge to the already-taxed WSMR workforce. In addition, WSMR is an isolated site with limited ability to attract and retain a quality workforce. Over the past several months, WSMR faced significant staffing challenges due to the current public works/logistics functions A-76 competition.