NASA/GSFC plans to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a Food and Vending Machine Services Concession Agreement. This notice is a Request for Information (RFI) and supersedes the RFI NNG08GEWA issued by NASA for similar services that originally posted on 11/27/07.
The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) at Greenbelt, MD conducts, among other things, space and earth science research, engineering, spacecraft integration and testing, and mission support. GSFC currently provides for the operation of 2 full service cafeterias (Building 1 and Building 21) and a vending service in most, but not all**, of its facilities at Greenbelt. It has an approximate on-site population of 8,000 – 10,000 civil servants and contractors combined - as well as other seasonal workers, such as summer students, and visitors. The NASA GSFC facility permits its organizations to have their own coffee messes, to include beverages and products, maintained on an informal, local, and relatively small level.
The building 21 cafeteria is approximately 10,336 square feet with a seating capacity of 402. The Building 1 cafeteria is a smaller facility, approximately 5,258 square feet with a seating capacity of approximately 200. The current hours of operation for both are 7:30 AM to 2:00 PM. In addition, there are approximately 141 vending machines located in 34 buildings throughout the Center and a mobile snack bar which makes approximately 26 stops.
A list of Government-owned equipment available to the vendors is attached to this notice. NASA/GSFC does not own or maintain any of the vending machines.
The operations are arranged through a concession agreement, executed and managed for Goddard by its Goddard Employee Welfare Association (GEWA), which is a non-appropriated fund instrumentality of NASA, authorized under the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, as amended. Goddard reserves the right to assign execution and management responsibility to GEWA or to another Goddard organization, at its sole discretion, at any time.
The facilities as are often the case, are aging. The Center will be issuing a competitive solicitation for award of combined vending/food service operations for a period of up to 10 years. In developing performance specifications and scoring plan for the solicitation, the Center is interested in receiving meaningful input as to how these facilities may be used to offer quality food and vending services to the personnel on-site at Goddard’s Greenbelt campus.
The Center by this release is soliciting your comments and ideas to assist in creating a competitive environment where quality services are assured, and encouraging innovative approaches to the use of these facilities. Services should provide value (quality food at reasonable prices) and range of selections, as well as provide attractive environments, which will encourage employees to meet and collaborate while using these facilities. The Center understands that such approaches may be limited by the current condition of its facilities and equipment. Therefore, the Center is also interested in those modifications to equipment and facilities, including relocation of equipment, which are minimally necessary to enable the approaches, and how those modifications can be funded through a business case. Finally, any approaches should also identify existing operations the contractor has demonstrated to be viable.
It is the Center’s current feeling that the Building 1 cafeteria, along with the Library noted below, offer greater opportunities for innovative services, such as a cyber-café and/or a deli/bistro operation attractive for casual use by customers while reading papers, viewing laptops, or having small group conversations. However, the Center is not limited to this view if viable alternatives for a set of comprehensive food services are possible.
In addition to the above facilities, the Center is considering making available a portion of what is now its Library in Building 21, with minimal furnishings thereof, if there are viable proposals for an alternative service in the conversion of that space to a collaborative facility such as a cyber-café. This has not been part of the previous concession arrangements at the Center.
There should be an assumption that no center funds will be provided to upgrade facilities and equipment, except for minimal furnishings in the Library, if such is included in the actual solicitation. Interested participants will be provided an on-site tour of the facilities on 4/28/08. Those persons interested in this tour must email their request to theresa.a.stevens@nasa.gov by COB 4/23/08 (with full names of each individual planning to attend the site visit. You must be a US Citizen to attend this site visit). Questions resulting from the tour must be submitted in writing by COB 5/2/08. Responses to all questions will be posted to NAIS by COB 5/9/08. Each potential offerors comments, innovative approaches, etc. which may include concession terms and conditions necessary to enable facility and/or equipment upgrade are due by 4:30 p.m. local time on 05/16/2008.
The Center recognizes the need of any potential Offeror to protect information which provides specific approaches to meeting the Center’s requirements. This is particularly the case involving innovative approaches to the use of Center facilities, which have not been available at the Center previously. Therefore, the Center intends to protect the specific description of any innovative use identified in response to this Request For Information, as well as associated terms and conditions (e.g. specific investment strategies), while reserving the right to: 1) modify its statement of requirements to characterize, through a set of performance-based requirements, services to be required in use of the identified facilities; and 2) identify an evaluation and scoring plan, which gives the Center maximum ability to give credit for viable, innovative approaches, while balancing the need for reasonable product pricing and high quality food products. The Center shall only consider release of such limited-rights information outside of the Government in response to a request submitted under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552, and shall provide the necessary analysis required under NASA’s regulations at 14 CFR Part 1206 in order to reflect the status of such data as proprietary to the submitter. Such specific descriptions are considered to be proprietary to the submitter until award of the contemplated concession agreement, at which time there shall be no further obligation on the part of the Government to protect such information.
** Randolph-Sheppard operations are provided outside the concession agreement for Building 33 and are expected to be provided for Building 34 when completed. Those buildings are excluded from the provision of the concession agreement.
Interested organizations may submit their capabilities, qualifications, innovations and ideas to perform the effort in writing to the identified point of contact not later than 4:30 p.m. local time on 05/16/2008.
Oral communications are not acceptable in response to this notice.
Prospective offerors are invited to submit written comments or questions to: Contract Specialist Theresa Stevens via electronic transmission at Theresa.A.Stevens@nasa.gov or by facsimile transmission at 301-286-1649, no later than 4:30 p.m. on 05/02/2008. When responding reference NNG08GEWA2.
All responsible sources may submit an offer which shall be considered by the agency.
Comments may be forwarded via electronic transmission or by facsimile transmission to:
Point of Contact
Name: Theresa Stevens
Title: Contract Specialist
Fax: 301-286-1649
Email: theresa.a.stevens@nasa.gov
This presolicitation synopsis is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government, nor will the Government pay for the information submitted in response. Respondents will not be notified of the results.
An ombudsman has been appointed -- See NASA Specific Note "B".
Ombudsman: Judith N. Brunner, Mailstop 100
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center,
Business Phone: 301 286-8936,
Fax Number: 301 286-1714,
E-mail address: Judith N. Brunner@nasa.gov
The solicitation and any documents related to this procurement will be available over the Internet. These documents will reside on a World Wide Web (WWW) server, which may be accessed using a WWW browser application. The Internet site, or URL, for the NASA/GSFC Business Opportunities home page is:
http://prod.nais.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/eps/bizops.cgi?gr=D&pin=51
It is the offeror's responsibility to monitor the Internet cite for the release of the solicitation and amendments (if any). Potential offerors will be responsible for downloading their own copy of the solicitation and amendments, if any.
Any referenced notes may be viewed at the following URLs linked below.
http://prod.nais.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/eps/bizops.cgi?gr=D&:pin=51#117173
