Back to DC public schools main page
|
Major Areas State Education
Agency Calendars Columns Directories Organizations |
Council of the District of Columbia 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20004 To: Members of the Council The attached Contract Summary for a proposed contract with Watkins Security Agency of Washington, D.C. in the amount of $45,648,967.22 to provide security services to D.C. Public Schools, filed in the Office of the Secretary on February 27, 2004, is circulated for your review. The 5 day review period begins Monday, March 1, 2004, and ends Friday, March 5, 2004. If no resolution of approval or disapproval is filed within this period, the proposed contract described in the Contract Summary will be deemed approved upon official receipt by the Council. Retained by the Council with comments from the Committee on Education, Libraries, and Recreation. Attachment cc: General Counsel DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS FEB 26 2004 Honorable Linda W. Cropp Dear Chairman Cropp: Pursuant to Section 105a (j) of the District of Columbia Procurement Practices Act of 1985, effective March 8, 1991 (D.C. Law 8-257; D.C. Code § 2-301.05a(j)), please find enclosed for consideration by the Council of the District of Columbia, a Council Summary for a proposed contract with Watkins Security Agency of D.C. The contract amount is forty-five million six hundred forty eight thousand nine hundred and sixty seven dollars and twenty-two cents ($45,648,967.22). As always, I am available to discuss any questions you may have regarding the proposed contract. In order to facilitate a response to any questions concerning the proposed contract, please have your staff contact Glorious Bazemore, Agency Chief Procurement Officer, Office of Contracts and Acquisitions, District of Columbia Public Schools at (202) 442-5111. I look forward to a favorable consideration of this contract. Respectfully, Enclosures cc: Phyllis Jones, Secretary to the Council City Council Contract SummaryPursuant to Section 105a (j) of the District of Columbia Procurement Practices Act of 1985, effective March 8, 1991 (D.C. Law 8-257, Code §2-301.05a (j)), the following is provided: (A) Name of the proposed contractor, contract number, contract amount and term of the proposed contract:
(B) Description of services to be provided:Watkins Security Agency of Washington, D.C. shall provide security services to District of Columbia Public Schools, Office of School Security. The security services will include provision of security guards/personnel, security investigations and, monitoring of entrances to schools and administrative buildings with metal detectors and electronic monitoring and surveillance systems. (C) Description of the selection process, including the number of offerors, the evaluation criteria, the evaluation results, and basis for selection of the proposed contractor:The Office of Contracts and Acquisitions issued an RFP for Security and Related Services on May 16, 2002. The RFP was advertised in the Washington Times Classified Section on May 15, 2002. The RFP was posted on the District's Office of Contracts and Procurement website. A Pre-proposal conference was held on May 30, 2002 at 10:00 a.m. at 825 North Capitol Street, N.E. Seven (7) firms were represented at the pre-bid conference. The schedule closing date was June 17, 2002 at 3:00 p.m. The revised closing date was July 8, 2002, 10:00 a.m. The solicitation was open for 54 days to allow time for prospective respondents to review and respond to the solicitation. July 8, 2002, OCA received five (5) offers in response to the RFP. The Respondents were:
The evaluation panel members were selected for their background and knowledge in the area of security and related issues. The evaluation panel submitted the evaluation summary on August 7, 2002 stating all offerors were considered to be in the competitive range. Negotiations were completed with all offerors on August 14, 2002. Best and Final Offers (BAFO's) were requested on August 16, 2002 and received on August 22, 2002. During the source selection review and analysis process, the Contracting Officer discovered that MVM, Inc. had taken some exceptions to requirements of the solicitation in their proposal. Specifically, MVM, Inc. took exception to Solicitation Clause 1.8 that requires 35% of the total dollar value of the contract to be performed by designated business classification (certified LSDBE's). While the company intends to make a good faith effort to subcontract all Facility Security Officer positions and the maximum feasible portion of its non labor costs to LSDBE's, MVM, Inc. would like to reserve for itself the right to reduce or eliminate subcontracting of services if MVM is unable to negotiate an acceptable subcontract with a subcontractor. The company also proposed to cap its liability on the contract that would result from the solicitation to $100,000.00 per claim. DCPS solicitation did not set a cap on liability in its solicitation. The DCPS Office of the General Counsel reviewed the MVM exception and determined that it was unacceptable to DCPS. As a consequence, the Office of Contracts and Acquisitions reopened discussions with all five (5) Offerors on October 22, 2002 and requested a 2nd BAFO from all Offerors, due October 24, 2002. All the Offerors except MVM, Inc. were advised that while DCPS did not have specific questions and/or issues with their BAFO submittals, they were free to include any and all additions or changes to their offer in the 2nd BAFO submittals. For its part, MVM, Inc was advised the exceptions contained in its BAFO were unacceptable to DCPS. All five Offerors submitted a 2nd BAFO. Holiday International submitted a testimonial from one of its references. Homeland Security provided additional detail on its corporate training. Watkins Security Agency did not provide any additional detail on its corporate training. Watkins Security Agency did not provide any additional information to its BAFO submittal. Instead, the company sent correspondence requesting that its BAFO serve as its 2nd BAFO. Unlimited Security replaced its BAFO with a 2"d BAFO that included a revised (reduced) Price Schedule. MVM Inc. submitted a 2nd BAFO, that deleted the insurance contingency clause but added that it reserve the right to walk off the contract at any time without significant prejudice during the life of the contract. Upon review, this exception too was determined to be unacceptable by the DCPS Office of the General Counsel. The 2nd BAFO submitted by Holiday International, Homeland Security and Unlimited Security were evaluated so see if they add additional value to BAFO. None of them did. In accordance with 27 DCMR Chapter 16, the Contracting Officer determined that although MVM, Inc. was the highest scored Offeror, exceptions taken in their 2nd BAFO rendered their position untenable for a contract award. The offer of Watkins Security Agency of D.C., the second highest scored Offeror, was determined to be the most advantageous offer to the District of Columbia Public Schools, considering price and other factors in the solicitation After completion of extensive evaluation of all proposals and negotiation of terms and conditions, a Letter Contract was awarded to Watkins Security Agency of D.C. on July 8, 2003. The Letter Contract awarded on July 8, 2004 shall merge with the Definitized Contract. (D) Background and qualifications of the proposed contractor:Watkins Security Agency was founded by Lieutenant Colonel James H. Watkins in 1981, in Baltimore City. After 28 years of distinguished service with the Baltimore City Police Department, Lt. Colonel Watkins retired as Deputy Chief and entered the private sector. The President and Chief Executive Officer, Richard A. Hamilton is a retired detective of the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department, with twenty-five (25) years of service. He has extensive training and experience in burglary, arson, bombing, robbery, homicide and fraud investigations. Mr. Hamilton has served as Director of Safety and Security for the Grant Park Care Center and The Jefferson Hotel. He organized security details for a number of dignitaries, including former President and Mrs. Bill Clinton, former Vice President and Mrs. Al Gore, former Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin, former President George Bush and Denzel Washington. (E) Performance standards and expected outcomes of the proposed contract:Watkins Security Agency of D.C. will provide security and related services to District of Columbia Public Schools. The Contractor shall provide security services to include all manpower, uniforms, materials, equipment, and services at all D.C. Public Schools, administrative facilities, and other facilities under the charge of D.C. Public Schools and/or the Board of Education. These security services which will at minimum, meet standards established by DCPS, or at best exceed the standards established by DCPS for security. The Contractor shall make recommendations with regards to programs, policies, and procedures that will enhance the security program and efficiency of operations; conduct security surveys of schools and administrative buildings, as directed by the Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR). (F) Description of the funding source and certification that the contract is consistent with the District's financial plan and budget:The source of identified funding (0l-GAO-03-79111-99000--0409) is Appropriated. See attached statement of appropriated authority. (G) Certification of legal sufficiency, including the proposed contractor's compliance with District Tax Laws.The certification of legal sufficiency, tax compliance statements from the Department of Finance and Revenue and the Department of Employment Services are attached. |
![]()
Send mail with questions or comments to webmaster@dcpswatch.com
Web site copyright ©1997-2003, DCWatch