Description
JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITIONMay 14, 2010 For Crown Tour Pass Reservation, Sales and Issuance ServicesAt Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island As required by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.3, authority is herein requested to contract on a sole source basis for tour pass reservation, sales and issuance services to be provided for Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island in support of National Park Service visitor services. In accordance with 41 U.S.C. 253(c), this justification is submitted to request award of a contract to Statue Cruises, LLC of Jersey City, NJ, for crown tour pass reservation, sales and issuance services. As specified by FAR 6.303-2, Content, the following are the facts and rationale to justify the use of the specific authority cited. (1) Identification of the agency and the contracting activity, and specific identification of the document as a "Justification for other than Full and Open Competition." The agency is the U.S. Department of the Interior acting through the National Park Service, Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island (Park). The Contracting activity is the National Park Service WASO-WCP. This document is a Justification for other than Full and Open Competition. (2) Nature and/or description of the action being approved. Procurement of tour pass reservation, sales and issuance services to support visitor services provided by the Park. (3) Description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency's needs (including the estimated value). The contractor will provide, staff and operate a computerized reservation, sales and issuance system for Park crown tour passes. The estimated cost for this requirement is estimated to be $xxx,xxx over a five-year term. (4) An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition. FAR 6.302-1 - Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements (41 U.S.C. 253(c)(1)). (5) A demonstration that the proposed contractor's unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited. The tour pass reservation, sales and issuance services required by the Park can only be provided by the proposed contractor, Statue Cruises, LLC (SC), since they alone are able to meet the system requirements to fulfill the Park Service's need and they are the only source currently authorized to sell ferry tickets. The scope of services for the proposed contract states that the contractor shall provide, staff and operate a computerized reservation, sales and issuance system for crown tour passes at the Park with the following system requirements: System Requirement1. Integrated with reservation, sales and issuance of ferry tickets, pedestal tour passes, and audio tours. Purpose of Requirement #1 A. Crown tour passes cannot be used by Park visitors unless they also have a ferry ticket to reach the Park.B. Crown tour passes must be tied to timed ferry departures to disperse the passes throughout each day - this is a critical Park management requirement.C. Park management requires that all visitation access to Park resources and programs be coordinated to allow effective oversight. System Requirements2. Crown tour passes are issued on the same printed ticket as ferry tickets, pedestal tour passes and audio tours. Purpose of Requirement #2Prevent visitor confusion over multiple tickets, accidental loss of redundant tickets, and litter from multiple discarded tickets. System Requirements 3. Available in multiple languages. 4. Available on the Internet 24 hours every day of the year. 5. Accept online payment by Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discovery credit card. 6. Available by telephone every day of the year except Christmas from at least 8:00am to 7:00pm Eastern Time. 7. Available in-person at ticket counters located at all ferry embarkation sites every day of the year except Christmas from at least one hour before to one-half hour after ferry sailings. Purpose of Requirements #3-7Assure broadest possible visitor access to limited crown access passes. System Requirements 8. Passes are issued only at ferry embarkation site will-call windows. 9. Passes are issued only after confirming reserving parties' photo identifications and credit cards (for online purchases). 10. Reservations are limited to four passes per party. 11. Pass inventory is carefully tracked and managed. Purpose of Requirements #8-11Prevent unauthorized use or third-party re-sale of passes. System Requirement 12. Provide complete, transparent and auditable accounting records for all pass sales. Purpose of Requirement #12Facilitate oversight by Park and prevent fraud. System Requirement13. Pass-through receipts from the sale of crown tour passes to the National Park Service on a monthly basis. Purpose of Requirement #13Facilitate accounting and use of revenues from passes by Park. It is imperative that Crown tour passes and ferry tickets are reserved, sold and issued in conjunction one with another for the following reasons: 1. See system requirement 1 above. The proposed contractor is the Park's ferry concessioner. They currently provide, staff and operate a computerized reservation, sales and issuance system for ferry tickets, pedestal tour passes, and audio tours under Concession Contract CC-STLI001-07. This contract began on April 1, 2008, and will expire on March 31, 2018. No other party has access to the concessioner's proprietary system and, therefore, no other party can integrate the reservation, sales and issuance of crown tour passes with the concessioner's proprietary system. 2. See system requirement 1 above. If another party were to provide the required services for issuance of crown passes without integration in the ferry ticket reservation system, visitor access to the crown would be compromised. Currently, and with no change anticipated, all visitor access to Liberty Island is provided by the ferry concessioner. During peak season, ferries are completely sold out early each day through a combination of advance reservations and walk-up sales. In addition, due to the high demand for Crown tour passes, they are typically reserved and sold out three to five months in advance. Unless these two events are handled by a single contractor, there is a high probability of a visitor being able to get a ferry ticket and not a pass to tour the Crown or obtaining a pass to tour the Crown with no way of getting there. This would completely undermine the management objective of the Park. 3. See system requirement 1 above. Unless crown tour passes are tied to timed ferry departures, demands for access to the Liberty Island security screening facilities and the crown would be uncontrolled and concentrated at the most popular times of the day. This would create an unmanageable situation for the Park. 4. See system requirements 1 and 2 above. The Park's mission is, in large part, to provide for the enjoyment of its resources by visitors. If crown tour passes are not coordinated with other Park access and program reservations and sales, visitors would have to use multiple Internet sites, telephone call centers, and walk-up windows representing different Park services. This would cause unacceptable redundancy and confusion for visitors and make it more difficult for visitors to find all the information they need to maximize their Park experience. The only effective way to provide for and manage visitor access to Park resources is through a unified system. (6) A description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by Subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under 5.202 applies. A notice of intent to award a sole source contract will be publicized as required by Subpart 5.2. (7) A determination by the contacting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable. It is anticipated that the basis for determining fair and reasonable pricing will be to compare it to the independent government estimate and a comparison to similar services. (8) A description of the market research conducted (see Part 10) and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted. Market research was not conducted because the required services are unique (a portion of a larger computerized reservation, sales and issuance system) and no comparable services are available. (9) Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition. - Since the proposed contractor already has a system in place there would be no start-up costs. This would be a savings to the government estimated at $26,000. - In addition to start up costs, the proposed contractor already has the system in place to provide both the ferry tickets and crown passes, this eliminates any redundant coordination efforts resulting in cost savings since reservations, sales, and issuance services are handled by a single contractor. - Only the proposed contractor currently has a system in place that has been tested and proved to be successful. - The ferry ticket and the crown pass are separate tickets yet they compliment each other. In essence, since the two tickets are so linked in purpose it would be unrealistic to request visitors to go to two separate ticket windows to reserve and pick up their tickets. This situation would be comparable to if an airline company required the passenger to check their luggage through a completely different company. (10) A listing of the sources, if any that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition. No sources have expressed, in writing, an interest in this acquisition. (11) A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required. Increased competition for this requirement is not possible as long as access to the Park is provided by the ferry concessioner and access to the crown is limited. Since this is the case, there is a management need to integrate the ferry ticket and crown tour pass reservation, sales and issuance systems. (12) Contracting Officer certification that the justification is accurate and complete to the best of the contracting officer's knowledge and belief. As the approving Contracting Officer, I hereby certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. Mary A. Ray Contracting Officer Date:__________________