PUBLIC ROUNDTABLE
ON
PR 18-48
THE “PROCUREMENT BY COMPETITIVE SEALED PROPOSALS
FOR THE 11TH STREET BRIDGE
AMENDMENT APPROVAL RESOLUTION OF 2009”
&
PR 18-59
THE “SMALL PURCHASE AND OTHER SIMPLIFIED PURCHASE PROCEDURES
AMENDMENT APPROVAL RESOLUTION OF 2009”
BEFORE
THE
COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS AND THE ENVIRONMENT
MARY M. CHEH, CHAIRPERSON
COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
TESTIMONY
OF
DAVID P. GRAGAN, CPPO
CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICER
OFFICE OF CONTRACTING AND PROCUREMENT
FEBRUARY 4, 2009
11:00 AM
Good morning Chairperson Cheh and members of the Committee on Government Operations and the Environment. 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 two resolutions. The first is PR 18-48, the “Procurement by Competitive Sealed Proposals for the 11th Street Bridge Amendment Approval Resolution of 2009”. My prepared testimony will be posted on the OCP Website after this hearing.
PR 18-48
Amendment of the Municipal Regulations. PR 18-48 would amend Title 27 of the D.C. Municipal Regulations by adding a new section to Chapter 16 concerning solicitations for the design and construction of the 11th Street Bridge. This amendment would authorize a two-step procurement process to be used to select a contractor who would design and build a replacement for the 11th Street Bridge which is considered a large, complex project.
Creation of Two-Step Selection Process. Emergency and proposed rules were specifically created for the 11th Street Bridge project so that the structure can be constructed using a 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 design and construction of the bridge. The first phase was completed on September 28, 2008.
After the statements of qualifications were received, five (5) firms were evaluated based upon their ability to respond to the RFP which was to be subsequently issued pursuant to the requirements of Chapter 16 concerning competitive sealed proposals. The purpose of the RFP is to design and construct the bridge.
One new feature added to the emergency and proposed rule is the provision that would allow the District to pay a stipend to up to four (4) unsuccessful offerors that have submitted responsive proposals in compliance with the requirements in the RFP. The stipend would compensate them for a portion of their proposal development costs and encourage competition. An OCP contracting officer would be authorized to determine the amount of the stipend to be paid, and its acceptance would authorize the District to retain the right to use ideas and information contained in the offerors’ design documents and technical drawings. The stipend will be determined by using a formula that will be fairly applied.
Status of the Procurement. Since the initial emergency and proposed rule became effective, OCP has issued the Request for Proposals to the firms selected in Step 1. The deadline for receiving responses is April 2009, at which time they will be evaluated to determine the successful offeror. After that, OCP anticipates awarding the contract in June 2009.
Conclusion. Madam Chair, it’s important to note that the Federal government regularly uses the two-step process on complex procurements, and we believe that it will be useful in getting best value for the District on future projects. While this particular rulemaking would only apply to the 11th Street Bridge project, OCP intends to submit to the Council a similar rule that would make the process generic and available for any procurement on which it would be applicable.
This concludes my comments on PR 18-48.
PR 18-59
I now will offer testimony regarding the second resolution, PR 18-59, the “Small Purchase and Other Simplified Purchase Procedures Amendment Approval Resolution of 2009.”
Small Purchase Limits. D.C. Official Code §2-303.21 authorizes special small purchase procedures. The regulations that implement the procedures are found in Title 27 of the DC Municipal Regulations (DCMR) at Chapter 18.
Current Regulatory Requirements. Under the current regulations, a “non-competitive small purchase” includes procurements between $0 and $10,000 (generally) or $0 and $25,000 (for OCTO). A contracting officer is not required to obtain a verbal or written price quote from multiple vendors when a non-competitive small purchase is involved.
Amendments made by PR 18-59. Under the proposed rule change made by PR-18-59, the non-competitive small purchase threshold would be reduced from $10,000 to $5,000 for all agencies. The purpose of this change is to bring the District’s competition threshold more in line with other jurisdictions, and to ensure that the District continues to get the best value for its contracting dollars by increasing competition.
During the process of considering this rule change, my staff conducted research using a study conducted by the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing (NIGP). The NIGP is a national, membership-based non-profit organization, started in 1944, that provides research and technical assistance to professionals in the public sector purchasing profession. A 2007 NIGP benchmark study of the small purchase competition threshold for cities, states, municipalities, and counties revealed that the median competition threshold is $2,500. We believe that the changes made by this resolution are consistent with other governments and, more importantly, reflect my desire to embrace and increase competition.
Madam Chair, this concludes my comments on PR 18-59. I would be happy to respond to any questions that you might have.