REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
DATE: 09/21/2022
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Fire Department
SUBJECT:
Title
Purchase of multi-band portable radios from Motorola Solutions, Inc.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
City Council consideration of the purchase of multi-band portable radios and associated radio accessories from Motorola Solutions in the amount of $323,031. The multi-band portable radios will replace current legacy portable radios that have reached their end of life and allow seamless communication with neighboring cities and public safety agencies across a broad spectrum of radio frequencies on a P25-compliant portable radio. This purchase is the third and final phase of a three-year replacement project.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the City Council:
a. Authorize the Purchasing Manager to issue a purchase order to Motorola Solutions, Inc. in the amount of $323,031 for the purchase of multi-band portable radios and associated radio accessories.
b. Make a determination under Corona Municipal Code Section 3.08.140(c) that competitive bidding has been satisfied based upon the reasons provided in the "Basis for Determination of Competitive Bidding" section of this report.
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BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
The Corona Fire Department responds to thousands of emergency incidents each year, requiring the use of a portable radio on each call. As this is the most frequently used piece of fire department equipment, the portable radio must be able to operate on multiple band frequencies and contain enhanced safety features for firefighter safety and meet P25 compliance as explained below.
For several decades, public safety agencies purchased and used equipment developed by disparate manufacturers and operated on a different spectrum. As a result, this equipment often could not interoperate, preventing many public safety agencies from communicating when responding to critical incidents. Public safety and industry partnered through the Project 25 Compliance Assessment Program (P25 CAP) to develop standards that allow radios and other components to interoperate regardless of the manufacturer-enabling emergency responders to exchange critical communications. P25 specifies formal standards for interfaces between the various components of a land mobile radio system commonly used by emergency responders. The P25 CAP offers a compliance assessment process where a laboratory can confirm that equipment, advertised by manufacturers as P25-compliant, adheres to critical components of the P25 suite of standards.
ANALYSIS:
The legacy portable radios used by the Corona Fire Department are nearing the end of their useful life, and parts are becoming more challenging to acquire. Research conducted for a replacement portable radio identified the need for a multi-band radio. A multi-band radio platform enhances the Department's ability to communicate with neighboring cities and public safety agencies.
The Corona Fire Department evaluated the two available multi-band public safety portable radios on the market and documented a side-by-side comparison of key features. The two radio vendors were Motorola and Harris. Both radios met most of the established requirements. However, the Motorola radio most closely met the Department's needs, which included two essential safety requirements. The first key safety feature provides the ability to lock out the transmit tone. Without this feature, a firefighter could inadvertently change the transmit tone rendering the radio communications unheard by other users. The second key safety feature is the Android Team Awareness Kit (ATAK) software platform integration. This feature allows the radio to transmit a geospatial position into the ATAK platform when operating in an area with poor or no cellular service. This allows the Fire Department incident commander and firefighters to see a firefighter's location during an emergency incident.
This purchase of multi-band portable radios is the third and final phase of a three-year replacement plan. The first two stages of Motorola radios have been purchased, and the Department is awaiting the completion of this last purchase to fully implement the replacement of the Department's legacy portable radios.
BASIS FOR DETERMINATION OF COMPETITIVE BIDDING
Staff believes that Competitive Bidding has been accomplished for these purchases pursuant to Corona Municipal Code (CMC) Section 3.08.140(C), which states as follows:
“Competitive bidding already completed. When the purchasing agent and the authorized contracting party, with the approval of the City Manager, determines that:
(1) A competitive bid procedure has been conducted by another public agency including, but not limited to, another local agency, the state through the California Multiple Award Schedule (CMAS), the federal government through the General Services Administration (GSA), the U.S. Communities Government Purchasing Alliance, or the Western States Contracting Alliance (WSCA); and
(2) The price to the City is equal to or better than the price to that public agency.”
On May 24, 2022, the County of Los Angeles entered into Contract MA_IS-2240228-1 with Motorola Solutions, Inc. for radio communication equipment and related accessories (Exhibit 1). The County’s contract allows Motorola to extend the same pricing, terms, and conditions to other government agencies within California. By utilizing the County contract, the City will be leveraging a previous purchasing solicitation that another government agency performed to obtain the best pricing. The Motorola multi-band portable radios will be provided to the City with a 27% discount on the suggested list price (Exhibit 2).
The Corona Fire Department requests approval to purchase multi-band portable radios and associated accessories from Motorola Solutions, Inc. in the amount of $323,031.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Funding for the recommended action is currently available in the Fire Department’s Operating Budget.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
This action is exempt pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which states that a project is exempt from CEQA if the activity is covered by the commonsense exemption that CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. This action merely approves an agreement for the purchase of multi-band portable radios, and there is no possibility that this project will have a significant effect on the environment. Therefore, no environmental analysis is required.
PREPARED BY: JUSTIN MCGOUGH, DEPUTY FIRE CHIEF
REVIEWED BY: BRIAN YOUNG, FIRE CHIEF
Attachments:
1. Exhibit 1 - Los Angeles County Motorola Contract
2. Exhibit 2 - Motorola Contract Agreement Pricing
3. Exhibit 3 - Motorola Quote