AGENDA REPORT
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
DATE: 5/1/2019
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Fire Department
SUBJECT:
Title
City Council consideration of purchase of U.S. Digital Designs Fire Station Alerting System equipment.
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RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the City Council:
1. Approve the purchase of U.S. Digital Designs (USDD) Fire Station Alerting System equipment in the amount of $399,279.82 as an exception to bid pursuant to Corona Municipal Code 3.08.140 (C) - Competitive Bidding Already Completed.
2. Approve the End User’s Acknowledgement and Agreement and Services Agreement with USDD for the Fire Station Alerting System.
3. Authorize the City Manager, or their designee, or the Fire Chief, to execute the End User’s Acknowledgement and Agreement and Service Agreements with USDD and to negotiate and execute any extensions and/or amendments to the aforementioned agreements which are non-substantive or otherwise in compliance with the City Council’s actions hereunder, including but not limited to the determination and implementation of any termination or mutually acceptable extensions to the Agreements.
4. Authorize the Purchasing Manager to issue a purchase order to USDD in the amount of $399,279.82.
5. Authorize the City Manager, or their designee, or the Fire Chief, to approve necessary change orders up to the amount provided by CMC section 3.08.080 (i).
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ANALYSIS:
Funds have been allocated and are available for the implementation of this project in the General Fund Capital Improvement Program and in the Developer Impact Fee Program.
The Corona Fire Department requests an exception to bidding pursuant to CMC 3.08.140(C) to approve the purchase of USDD Fire Station Alerting Equipment to improve response times and provide an automated and redundant pathway means to alert fire department units to respond to emergencies. USDD responded to a nationally advertised bid and was awarded a contract through NPPGov, a national co-operative procurement organization offering publicly solicited contracts to government entities nationwide. The Fire Department has used NPPGov in the past to purchase a variety of public safety equipment at a reduced pre-negotiated price resulting in cost savings to tax-payers.
The Corona Fire Department’s research identified that response times to emergency incidents in the community will be reduced by improving the method by which our fire stations are alerted. Reduced response times have a direct effect on our ability to administer lifesaving emergency medical services and create incident stabilization during fires, technical rescue and hazardous material events. Rapidly and simultaneously alerting crews is a cornerstone of our Department’s overall goal of achieving emergency medical response times of 5 minutes and 30 seconds, 90 percent of the time.
The USDD system was chosen after looking at several systems because it provides redundant, dual pathway alerting, flexible and modular system design, future system enhancements, mobile device alerting, and their robust technical support.
The current fire station alerting system is based on 1960’s technology, with equipment that is 15-30 years old. In addition to improving response times, the USDD Fire Station Alerting Solution will bring the Fire Department and Public Safety Dispatch Center into compliance with the National Fire Protection Association Standard 1221, covering the Installation, Maintenance and use of Emergency Services Communications Systems. This standard has specific requirements for dispatch alerting methods deployed by fire departments to ensure both effectiveness and reliability. We currently do not meet this standard, and subsequently were scored down in “Credit for Dispatch Circuits” in our 2016 Insurance Services Office Fire Department Insurance Rating. A key component in the ISO Rating accounts for rapid and redundant pathways for alerting. USDD was selected due to its ability to fail over automatically to a redundant network and a back-up radio alerting system, ensuring multiple fail-safes. The USDD Fire Station Alerting System is fully integrated and will bring full automation of dispatching with our new Spillman Computer Aided Dispatch system, slated to go live in July 2019.
A separate Request for Proposal is in process to select a local electrical and computer-network contractor for the installation of this system. This provides the dual benefit of the system purchase directly from the manufacturer through NPPGov pricing, and the selection of a local contractor without the added expense of travel or contract administrative costs.
COMMITTEE ACTION:
Not applicable.
STRATEGIC PLAN:
This item supports the City’s Strategic Plan Goal to Promote Public Safety: Protect our Residents and Businesses (b) ensure adequate funding for facilities and equipment needed to support timely delivery of fire services to our community.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Funding for the Fire Station Alerting System is available in the Capital Improvement Project Budget as follows:
The annual recurring cost for this system is 9% of the purchasing price, which is $27,387.16, plus the annual cost of the Cyber Security Insurance premium, which is $8,130, for an annual total of $35,517.16. This includes the software license, technical service and support, software upgrades, extended equipment full warranty, and access to the mobile device alerting application. Future funding requests will be submitted during the budget process
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
No environmental review is required because the proposed action is not a project governed by the California Environmental Quality Act.
PREPARED BY: ANDREAS JOHANSSON, FIRE CAPTAIN.
REVIEWED BY: CHRIS COX, DEPUTY FIRE CHIEF
REVIEWED BY: BRIAN YOUNG, FIRE CHIEF
REVIEWED BY: KYLE EDGEWORTH, DEPUTY CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER
REVIEWED BY: CITA LONGSWORTH, PURCHASING MANAGER
REVIEWED BY: KIM SITTON, FINANCE MANAGER
REVIEWED BY: KERRY D. EDEN, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER/ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES DIRECTOR
REVIEWED BY: MICHELE NISSEN, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER
SUBMITTED BY: MITCHELL LANSDELL, ACTING CITY MANAGER
Attachments:
1. End User’s Acknowledgement and Agreement
2. Public Procurement Authority Master Price Agreement
3. US Digital Contract