JA - Fisher House Fiber Redacted

MEMORANDUM

Department of
Veterans Affairs
Date: 2 October 2026
From: Contracting Officers Representative
Subj:

Contract: 36C77621C0096
“EHRM Infrastructure Upgrades Construction - Captain James A. Lovell FHCC West Campus Justification and Approval – Out-of-Scope Modification – Other Than Full and Open Competition (FAR 6.302)

Thru: Contracting Officer
To:

Contract File

1. Contracting Activity:

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Program Contracting Activity Central (PCAC), 6100 Oak Tree Boulevard, Suite 490, Independence, OH 44131.
2. Nature and/or Description of the Action Being Processed: The contracting activity plans to award an out-of-scope bi-lateral modification to existing firmfixed price contract number 36C77623C0089 for the subject contract in accordance with VAAR 819.7004, 819.7005 and 819.7008 as interpreted by GAO Decision RCG of North Carolina, B419691 which states: “There is nothing in section 8127 of the Veterans Benefits Act that requires a contracting officer to make award to an SDVOSB on a competitive basis, rather than on a sole-source basis, where the same objective (i.e., award to an SDVOSB) will be met in either instance…” The original contract award was competed among VHA Program Contracting Activity Central (PCAC) SDVOSBs and awarded in the original amount of $42,597,900.00 to Povolny Group. 3. Description of Supplies/Services Required to Meet the Agency’s Needs: The requirement is to extend the VA.gov network from the in-campus Captain James A. Lovell FHCC West Campus to the on-site Fisher House. This effort will: •
•
•

Eliminate the current recurring
monthly fee associated with the GSU circuit network;
Improve network performance by providing scalable connectivity of up to 10 Gbps or greater; and
Extend the existing guest wireless network from the National Campus Hub (NCH) to the Fisher House facility.

No DOT permits are required for this work. Estimated initial costs for directional boring and fiber-optic penetration to the nearest existing fiber connection point are approximately . This one-time investment is expected to eliminate recurring circuit costs and improve service reliability, resulting in a positive return on investment and net savings to the Government over the life of the contract.

4. Statutory Authority Permitting Other than Full and Open Competition: 41 USC § 3304(a)(5), 38 U.S. Code § 8127 and VAAR 806.302-570 provides the express authority to use other than competitive procedures for sole source awards to verified