Good afternoon Chairperson Schwartz and members of the Committee on Workforce Development and Government Operations.  I am David P. Gragan, the Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) and Director of the Office of Contracting and Procurement (OCP).  I’m here today to discuss PR 17-788, the “Procurement by Competitive Sealed Proposals Amendment Approval Resolution of 2008”.  My prepared testimony will be posted on the OCP website after this hearing.

Amendment of the Municipal Regulations.  PR 17-788 would amend Title 27 of the D.C. Municipal Regulations by adding a new section to Chapter 16 concerning competitive sealed proposals.  The resolution would specifically address the solicitation for the design, development, construction and management of the Anacostia Gateway Government Center, a proposed District office building.

Creation of Two-Step Selection Process.  An emergency rule was specifically created for the Anacostia Gateway Government Center -- commonly called AGGC – because the building was to be constructed using a new, two-step selection process involving “requests for qualifications” followed by “requests for proposals” (“RFP”).  The qualifications process, or the first phase, involved the solicitation of statements of qualifications from firms or combinations of firms prior to the issuance of an RFP for the building design, development, and construction.  The AGGC qualifications stage was completed April 10, 2006.

After the statements of qualifications were received, the firms were evaluated based upon their ability to respond to an RFP which was to be subsequently issued pursuant to the requirements of Chapter 16.

The qualifications process not only was designed to maximize competition and dialogue between the District and the private development community, but also was intended to facilitate decisions regarding the scope and timing of the AGGC site development and issuance of the RFP during phase two.

History of the Emergency Rule.  The first rule issued to authorize the two-step process was adopted on an emergency basis on October 19, 2005.  Subsequent rules have been adopted and the final rule is before you today.

Madam Chair, it’s important to note that the rule being proposed in PR 17-788 was originally intended to serve as a test case.  The Federal government regularly uses the two-step process on complex procurements, and we believe that it will be useful in completing future procurements.  The District is currently using the two-step process, under a separate rule, for the design and construction of the 11th Street Bridge.

While the current final rule only applies to the AGGC project, OCP intends to submit to the Council a similar rule that would make the process generic and available for any procurement.

This concludes my comments on PR 17-788.  I would be happy to respond to any questions that you might have.