On June 29, 2009, the National Park Service, Southeast Regional Office (NPS) will issue a prospectus seeking proposals for a new 10-year concessions contract to provide limited concession services at Cades Cove, Oconaluftee, and Sugarlands Visitor Centers and the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The visitor services that will be required under the new contract include visitor convenience items approved by the Superintendent, vending machine sale of soft drinks and bottled water, and vending machine sale of feminine hygiene products in restrooms. Cades Cove Visitor Center and the Great Smoky Mountains Institute are near Townsend, Tenn. The Sugarlands Visitor Center is near Gatlinburg, Tenn. and the Oconaluftee Visitor Center is near Cherokee, N.C.
Great Smoky Mountains Association is the existing concessioner with gross revenues reported over the past five years averaging $223,236 annually. Great Smoky Mountains Association currently provides vending at Sugarlands and Oconaluftee Visitor Centers and sells visitor convenience items at all four locations. In addition to operating convenience and vending operations under a concessions permit, the Great Smoky Mountains Association is a Cooperating Association that operates educational and interpretive sales areas in the Park under the terms of a Cooperating Association Agreement with the Service. The NPS has determined that this is a qualified concession contract with regard to the preferential right of renewal for the existing concessioner and that Great Smoky Mountains Association is a Preferred Offeror.
Under the terms of the NPS Concessions Management Improvement Act of 1998, concession contracts must be awarded through a competitive selection process. Under this process, the Act does include a preference authority for a Preferred Offeror of a qualified concession contract if certain other criteria are met. One qualification is that gross annual receipts are less than $500,000.
Any offer, including that of the existing concessioner, must be received by the NPS at the address listed in the prospectus no later than 4:00 p.m. on September 18, 2009, in order to be evaluated and considered for an award of a concession contract. The prospectus describes the business opportunity and includes the terms and conditions under which the NPS will award the concession contract.
The prospectus will be available on the NPS website at http://www.concessions.nps.gov/Prospectus.cfm, or interested persons can receive a hard copy for $50.00. To request a mailed copy of the prospectus, send a check for $50.00 payable to the National Park Service at the following address: Mark Morgan, Concessions Management Specialist, NPS Southeast Region, AFC, 1924 Building, 100 Alabama Street, S.W., Atlanta, GA 30303. Printed copies are also available for pick up at the Superintendent’s Office located at Park Headquarters (near Gatlinburg) for $45.00 (checks only). Inquiries can be directed to Mark Morgan at (404) 507-5638 or e-mail at Mark_Morgan@nps.gov. No telephone requests for the prospectus will be honored.
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