The National Park Service found that a proposal for an NPS concession contract was non-responsive because it provided outdated financial documents and failed to provide a written commitment letter authorizing the offeror’s use of personal funds which were otherwise identified in the proposal. The prospectus was for oversnow vehicle concession contracts for operations in Yellowstone National Park. NPS’ standard prospectus requires an offeror to demonstrate its ability to obtain the funds required for starting up the concession operations. The offeror stated that it would obtain the funds needed through a loan from a specific individual and submitted personal financial statements from that individual that identified funds in excess of those required.
NPS noted, however, that the financial statements, which apparently were dated nearly two years prior to the due date for the proposals, were outdated. While a current bank statement was apparently also submitted which identified sufficient funds for the start-up costs, NPS was unable to locate a commitment letter from the entity listed as owner of the personal funds identified on the bank statement authorizing the offeror access to those funds. As a result, NPS concluded that the offeror “did not provide sufficient evidence that it will have the required funds due to the lack of recent financial statements and lack of a commitment letter” from the person identified on the bank statement. Consequently, NPS deemed the proposal to be non-responsive and thus ineligible for award.