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ADOPT A RESOLUTION APPROVING FINDINGS FOR AN EXCEPTION TO THE COMPETITIVE BID PROCESS AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT WITH LATHROP-MANTECA FIRE DISTRICT FOR THE PURCHASE AND ACQUISITION OF DISPATCH CONSOLES AND SUPPORT EQUIPMENT FOR STOCKTON FIRE DEPARTMENT EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION
recommended action
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt a resolution approving findings which support and justify an exception to the competitive bidding process and authorizing the City Manager to enter into an Agreement with Lathrop-Manteca Fire District for the purchase, acquisition and installation of dispatch consoles and support equipment to replace existing equipment in City of Stockton’s Fire Department Emergency Communications Division. Staff further recommends that Council authorize the City Manager to take the appropriate actions to carry out the purpose and intent of this resolution.
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Summary
The City of Stockton (City) Fire Department operates the Emergency Communications Division (ECD) to dispatch emergency and non-emergency incidents to City of Stockton, the four contracted Fire Districts, and three other fire agencies that currently contract for dispatch services. The ECD relies upon technical equipment to handle phone calls, to manage dispatch services, radio traffic and to dispatch/alert fire stations. This dispatching/alerting equipment is termed “dispatch console,” and is located at each dispatcher’s position. There are six consoles in the ECD that are 10-years old and technical support from Motorola for the equipment is expiring soon. The support equipment to operate the dispatch consoles is over 14-years old and is located in the computer room of the ECD.
In the Agreement (Exhibit 1 to Resolution), Lathrop Manteca Fire District (District), host agency of a 2013 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (2013 AFG) award from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, has offered two dispatch consoles to City of Stockton for a local grant match payment of approximately $17,737 or approximately 11.5% of the purchase cost. In addition to the grant funded consoles, at the request of the City, the District sought deeply discounted pricing from Motorola Solutions, Inc. (Motorola) and will purchase four additional consoles and associated support equipment and services at a proposed cost of $$467,208, replacing a total of six existing primary consoles in City’s ECD. The City will be required to pay the District a total cost of approximately $484,945 for the six dispatch consoles. Purchasing the equipment in this manner will save the City approximately $307,000 after taxes or 39% less than the City’s project cost estimate planned for 2016-17 fiscal year.
DISCUSSION
Background
The Fire Department Emergency Communications Division dispatch console equipment is used by dispatchers to receive approximately 60,000 calls a year for assistance and subsequently dispatch those calls to the fire stations. Each console manages multiple phone lines and radio channels, computer screens and keyboards, station alerting buttons and various headset configurations for ease of talking on phones and managing radio frequencies to talk with fire units.
The existing dispatch consoles were purchased 10 years ago and technical support from Motorola for the equipment is expiring soon. It is also difficult to maintain adequate inventory for needed parts given the age of the equipment. The equipment that supports the dispatch consoles is nearing 15 years of life. The City’s IT and Fire departments have been planning on the replacement of these dispatch consoles for three years. As they reach end of technical support, the manufacturer can then no longer provide critical and necessary support for parts, programming and maintenance.
IT and Fire department were planning the replacement of these consoles in 2016-17 fiscal year. The projected pricing from Motorola was approximately $755,000 (before tax) for six consoles, support equipment and installation.
Lathrop-Manteca Fire District (District), in cooperation with the City through the efforts of the Fire Dispatch Joint Exercise of Powers Authority (JPA), has been an integral partner in seeking grant funds and negotiating deep discounts for fire service communications equipment throughout San Joaquin County. In discussions with the District, it was determined that there would be an opportunity to utilize 2013 Assistance to Firefighter Grant funds to acquire two dispatch consoles, should the City be interested in doing so. The City’s Fire and IT Departments evaluated the opportunity and discussed with Finance and the City Manager’s Office to determine the interest in engaging with the District in not only the grant funded consoles, but to also seek pricing for the other four dispatch consoles to possibly move the replacement schedule up one year. The City departments agreed to review the possibility.
The District hosted and secured the 2013 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (2013 AFG) with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to acquire communications equipment including two dispatch consoles, and has offered the two consoles to City of Stockton for a local grant match payment of approximately 11.5% of the purchase cost. In addition to the grant funded consoles, at the request of the City and as part of the equipment replacement plan, the District sought discounted pricing for four additional consoles to completely replace the six primary consoles in ECD. The City’s IT Department and the District worked with Motorola Solutions, Inc. (Motorola) to determine the technical requirements of the project to replace the existing dispatch consoles and support equipment. At the request of the District’s grant agent, Motorola provided a project cost based on these technical requirements. The District utilized the discounted pricing that it had received for the 2013 AFG communications equipment and sought a deeper discount from Motorola, given the quantities of the regional grant. City IT had received pricing from Motorola for the replacement of the dispatch consoles approximately 6 months ago. If the City purchases the equipment directly from Motorola who submitted pricing for six dispatch consoles, that pricing would be approximately 21% higher than the discount purchasing received by the District.
Stockton has utilized Motorola system equipment to support Public Safety for over 30-years. It is necessary to deploy the same type of equipment across operational assignments to reduce user error, synchronize training, and to reduce maintenance costs and required expertise to service multiple systems. As part of the plan to create interoperability for all Public Safety providers in San Joaquin County, the County purchased a Motorola M-Core, the backend of a trunked radio system. Motorola equipment is designed specifically to work as a complete ecosystem to allow all agencies to coordinate activities when necessary. There is no other product that would seamlessly integrate with this infrastructure and allow for interoperability. This is consistent with the County-wide Radio Master plan.
Present Situation
The City’s IT department began working with the District and Motorola to determine the feasibility of moving the dispatch console replacement project forward from FY2017 to FY2016. Based on the discussions and the evaluation of funding availability from IT’s Radio Equipment ISF, it was determined that the project is feasible and financially viable for FY2016.
The total estimated cost to implement this ECD dispatch console replacement project through an Agreement with Lathrop Manteca Fire District is $484,945. The savings for moving the project forward and accessing the grant funded equipment with the discounts is approximately $307,000 after taxes or 39% of the Fire/IT project cost estimate planned for 2016-17 fiscal year. The new dispatch consoles and support equipment will be covered under a two-year warranty through Motorola. Maintenance beyond the first two years will be budgeted in the Radio ISF.
The new consoles are capable of integrating with the current City and the contract agencies’ radio equipment. The new consoles are also capable of handling the long-term plan for updating the aging City radio network towards a regional radio and data network, which was an important aspect of the planning and evaluation of the equipment.
The proposed agreement between City of Stockton and Lathrop Manteca Fire District is necessary to facilitate the purchase and acquisition of the six consoles and support equipment to replace existing dispatch equipment in Stockton Fire Department’s Emergency Communications Division.
Recommendation for Exception to Competitive Bidding Process
Stockton Municipal Code Section 3.68.070 authorizes the City Council to award contracts without the requirement of a competitive bid process in those cases where facts exist that support and justify the exception. In this item, the following facts exist which, if adopted by Council, would constitute sufficient justification for making such a finding:
1. Lathrop Manteca Fire District is the recipient of a 2013 Assistance to Firefighters Grant award for regional infrastructure improvements for countywide communications upgrade and has offered two grant funded dispatch consoles to City of Stockton for a local grant match cost to the City of 11.5% of purchase cost.
2. Lathrop Manteca Fire District has established a Communications System Agreement with Motorola Solutions, Inc. for a countywide trunking system project through a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) process that was completed in fall, 2014 that was reviewed by City’s Purchasing Division and has been assessed as compatible to the City of Stockton standards with regards to formal process, technical qualifications, and reasonable pricing.
3. Lathrop Manteca Fire District’s existing agreement with Motorola Solutions, Inc. provides for volume pricing and extends a higher discount that will allow the City to realize approximately 39% savings from the projected pricing provided directly to the City by the same vendor.
4. Purchase and acquisition of six dispatch consoles from Lathrop Manteca Fire District through this Agreement is for the best interest of the City as this will save City time and resources to conduct its own competitive bidding process, and will be providing significant cost savings to the City.
FINANCIAL SUMMARY
Pursuant to the Agreement between the City of Stockton and Lathrop-Manteca Fire District, City of Stockton will be required to pay $484,945 to the District as outlined in the table below.
|
Local Grant Match |
No. of Units |
List Price (Before Tax) |
Discount |
Discounted Price |
Total Cost Plus Tax |
City Share of Cost |
Total City Savings |
Savings% |
|
Dispatch Console |
2 |
104,993 |
(15,749) |
89,244 |
95,903 |
10,940 |
103,502 |
90% |
|
Systems Integration (Programming) |
|
72,689 |
(10,903) |
61,786 |
61,786 |
6,796 |
65,893 |
91% |
|
Grant Match - Subtotal |
|
177,682 |
(26,652) |
151,030 |
157,689 |
17,737 |
169,395 |
91% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
100% City Cost |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dispatch Console |
4 |
304,840 |
(97,215) |
207,625 |
226,312 |
226,312 |
105,964 |
32% |
|
Systems Integration (Programming) |
|
272,926 |
(32,029) |
240,897 |
240,897 |
240,897 |
32,029 |
12% |
|
City - Subtotal |
|
577,766 |
(129,244) |
448,522 |
467,208 |
467,208 |
137,993 |
23% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TOTAL |
|
$755,448 |
($155,896) |
$599,552 |
$624,897 |
$484,945 |
$307,388 |
39% |
Sufficient funds are available in IT’s Radio ISF account 503-5201-670.80-02 (Replacement Equipment) for the costs associated with the ECD dispatch console replacement project. Rental charges will be incorporated in Fire Department’s annual budget to accumulate funds for future maintenance, repair and replacement in IT’s Radio ISF budget. These annual operating costs, including the ISF rentals are partially offset by dispatch fees collected from agencies serviced by ECD.