TITLE:  White Sands Concessions, Inc., B-295932, March 18, 2005
BNUMBER:  B-295932
DATE:  March 18, 2005
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   Decision

   Matter of:   White Sands Concessions, Inc.

   File:            B-295932

   Date:              March 18, 2005

   Janet T. White for the protester.

   Dana E. Jacobsen, Esq., Department of the Interior, for the agency.

   Jennifer D. Westfall-McGrail, Esq., and Christine S. Melody, Esq., Office
of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the
decision.

   DIGEST

   Protest against the terms of a prospectus for proposals for the award of a
concession contract for the operation of a gift shop and snack bar at a
National Park Service visitor center is dismissed as beyond the scope of
the Government Accountability Office's bid protest jurisdiction where the
contract to be awarded does not involve the delivery of goods or services
of more than de minimis value to the government.

   DECISION

   White Sands Concessions, Inc. protests the terms of prospectus No.
WHSA001-05, issued by the Department of the Interior, National Park
Service for proposals for the award of a concession contract for operation
of a gift shop and snack bar in the visitor center at White Sands National
Monument in New Mexico.

   We dismiss the protest because it does not pertain to a contract for the
procurement of property or services and thus is outside the scope of our
bid protest jurisdiction.

   Our authority to decide bid protests derives from the Competition in
Contracting Act of 1984 (CICA), as amended, and encompasses written
objections by interested parties to "a solicitation or other request by a
federal agency for offers for a contract for the procurement of property
or services."  31 U.S.C. S 3551(1)(A) (2000).  Where the government
invites offerors to compete for a business opportunity such as a
concession contract, the performance of which also involves the delivery
of goods or services of more than de minimis value to the government, the
contract is one for the procurement of property or services within the
meaning of CICA and, therefore, is encompassed within our Office's bid
protest jurisdiction.  Great South Bay Marina, Inc., B-293649, May 3,
2004, 2004 CPD P 108 at 2.  Where, on the other hand, the government
invites offerors to compete for a business opportunity that does not
involve the delivery of goods or services or that involves the delivery of
goods or services that are de minimis in value, the contract is not one
for the procurement of property or services within the meaning of CICA;
accordingly, it is not within our Office's bid protest jurisdiction. 
Starfleet Marine Transp., Inc., B-290181, July 5, 2002, 2002 CPD P 113 at
6, 8; Crystal Cruises, Inc., B-238347, Feb. 1, 1990, 90-1 CPD PA 141 at 2,
aff'd, B-238347.2, June 14, 1990, 90-1 CPD P 560.

   Here, the only services that the concessionaire is required to furnish in
connection with its operation of the snack bar/gift shop are maintenance,
repairs, housekeeping, groundskeeping, and pest and weed control for the
concession facilities themselves.  Prospectus, Tab IV (Draft Contract) at
11, 15.  In other words, the only services that the concessionaire is
required to furnish are those pertaining to the upkeep of the space in
which it operates its business.  We think that the provision of such
services is properly viewed as de minimis, given that the benefit
conferred upon the government--which would have no need for performance of
the services but for the concessionaire's operation of its business--is
minimal.  In this regard, the facts of this case are distinguishable from
the facts in cases that involved the delivery of services to the
government of more than minimal value that the government might otherwise
have had to purchase or perform itself.  See, e.g., Great South Bay
Marina, Inc., supra (concessionaire required to commit to reconstruction
and rehabilitation services valued at over $3 million for government-owned
facilities); Shields & Dean Concessions, Inc., B-292901.2, Ba**292901.3,
Feb. 23, 2004, 2004 CPD P 42, recon. denied, B-292901.4, Mar. 19, 2004,
2004 CPD P 71 (concessionaire required to provide maintenance, repair and
other services for government facility, as well as facility improvement
valued at over $800,000); Starfleet Marine Transp., Inc., supra
(concessionaire for ferryboat services required to provide janitorial
services for agency's docks and piers, equip ferries with public address
systems for use by Park Ranger, and provide transportation for Park
Ranger); Alpine Camping Servs., Ba**238625.2, June 22, 1990, 90-1 CPD
PA 580, recon. denied, B-238625.3, Aug. 28, 1990, 90a**2A CPD P 161
(campground concessionaire required to recondition and maintain
recreational facilities and enforce Forest Service rules and regulations).

   The protest is dismissed.

   Anthony H. Gamboa

   General Counsel