James Dean Paving

B-412454.2 Feb 08, 2016 Jump To FULL REPORT VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights James J. Dean, doing business as Dean's Paving, of Marcy, New York, a small business, protests the award of a contract to Mohawk Valley Materials, Inc. (MVM), also of Marcy, New York, by the Department of the Air Force, under request for proposals (RFP) No. FA8751-15-R-0022, for snow and ice removal services. Dean argues that the Air Force misevaluated MVM's past performance, and therefore deviated from the RFP criteria for award. We deny the protest. We deny the protest. View Decision 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:  James J. Dean, doing business as Dean's Paving File:  B-412454.2 Date:  February 8, 2016 Evan A. Rossi, Esq., Rossi & Rossi Attorneys at Law, PLLC, for the protester. Col. Matthew J. Mulbarger, and Heather M. Mandelkehr, Esq., Department of the Air Force, for the agency. Paul N. Wengert, Esq., and Tania Calhoun, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest that agency unreasonably evaluated the awardee as having relevant past performance is denied where the agency noted that the response to a past performance questionnaire for a potentially relevant contract was unclear, the agency contacted the person who completed the questionnaire and obtained more specific information, and the agency evaluated the contract as relevant based on the person’s response.  DECISION James J. Dean, doing business asDean’s Paving, of Marcy, New York, a small business, protests the award of a contract to Mohawk Valley Materials, Inc. (MVM), also of Marcy, New York, by the Department of the Air Force, under request for proposals (RFP) No. FA8751-15-R-0022, for snow and ice removal services.  Dean argues that the Air Force misevaluated MVM’s past performance, and therefore deviated from the RFP criteria for award.  We deny the protest. BACKGROUND On October 7, 2015, the Air Force issued the RFP as a combined synopsis and solicitation for commercial items, seeking fixed-price proposals to provide snow and ice removal services at Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate and the Defense Financial Accounting Service facilities in Rome, New York, for a base year and four option years.  The RFP provided that award would be made to the offeror whose proposal was technically acceptable, based on a consideration of past performance and price.  RFP at 3-4.  More specifically, the RFP provided that the Air Force would consider past performance for the offeror whose acceptable proposal offered the lowest price.  Id.  If that offeror’s past performance was rated substantial confidence[1], the Air Force would make award to that firm; that is, without evaluating other proposals or making tradeoffs.  Id. at 4.  If the lowest-priced acceptable proposal failed to obtain a past performance rating of substantial confidence, the Air Force would select an awardee based on a tradeoff of past performance and price.  Id. The RFP also provided a standard to be used in the evaluation of past performance.  In order to be relevant, past performance had to involve snow/ice removal for “roadways, parking lots, sidewalks and entranceways or loading docks,” and had to show “an area to be serviced of 100,000 Square Yards (SY) or greater.”  RFP at 3.  The Air Force received proposals from five firms, including MVM and Dean (the incumbent contractor).  Agency Report (AR) at 4.  The Air Force ranked the proposals according to their evaluated prices.  The evaluation determined that all five offerors had submitted “reasonable and realistic” prices, and then ranked them from lowest priced to highest.  Id.  MVM’s proposal was the lowest-priced acceptable proposal at $1.67 million, and Dean’s was the second-lowest, at $1.71 million.  Id. at 4 n.4.  As provided in the RFP, the Air Force then evaluated MVM’s past performance.  Id. at 4.  Although MVM submitted five past performance references, and the Air Force received five questionnaire responses, the agency viewed only one as being recent and potentially relevant:  a contract for snow removal and deicing for the operator of two bus terminals.  Id.  In its proposal, MVM described that contract as providing service for an area of approximately 107,000 SY.  AR Tab 7, MVM Proposal, at 18.  Although the past performance questionnaire did not specifically ask for the area covered, the response submitted by the bus terminal operator mentioned that MVM’s services were at three sites and “over 20 acres.”  AR Tab 8, MVM Past Performance Questionnaires, at 1.  The questionnaire went on to describe the firm’s work as excellent, and stated that MVM was the best snow/ice removal contractor the bus terminal operator had found.  Id.