HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/16/2002, C5 - RADIO AND PAGING SYSTEM DESIGN SERVICES counat M °° DIq
j acEnba Report
CITY OF SAN LUIS OBI SPO
FROM: Robert F. Neumann, Fire Chief
SUBJECT: RADIO AND PAGING SYSTEM DESIGN SERVICES
CAO RECOMMENDATION:
Approve Request for Proposal (RFP) #90222 for Radio and Paging System Design Services,
authorize soliciting of proposals and authorize the CAO to award the contract award if the lowest
responsible bid is less than $50,000.
DISCUSSION
The City's existing wireless communications systems, consisting of the radio and paging
systems, have been pieced together over the past 20-30 years. They are becoming increasingly
unreliable, often failing when most needed and requiring a high level of maintenance. The
paging system is nearly overloaded and does not allow for the timely response of emergency
personnel. The primary dispatch center is served by a radio system and console support unit that
is no longer serviceable and becoming increasingly unreliable. Parts for some components are
difficult to find. The systems no longer meet our needs, yet are critical to the basic mission of
the entire organization.
Given existing workloads, the size and scope of this project is beyond the current capabilities of
staff. An outside consultant would assist staff in developing an objective timeframe. The
successful consultant will have the necessary technical information and expertise to formulate a
well-thought-out, cost-effective project that includes the following components:
■ Design a radio communications system that is reliable and dependable during a major emergency by
"hardening"the entire system This includes redundant systems,back-up generators,and an essential
spare part inventory. Recommend the necessary back-up and support systems to insure that these
systems will operate during an emergency.
■ Design a system that will meet future needs.
■ Recommend replacement for the existing system, to be broken down into two phases: primary or
main infrastructure and secondary infrastructure.
The successful consultant will study the organization's specific needs and develop a replacement
schedule for the appropriate new system. The end result will be a plan for a modern, reliable
system with low maintenance needs.
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Council Agenda Report — Radio and Paging Design Services
Page 2
FISCAL IMPACT
The 2001-03 Financial Plan has allocated$50,000 for this study.
ALTERNATIVES
This study could be delayed. However, both Police and Fire rely on the communications system
in their day-to-day interactions. The longer the study is deferred, the more deteriorated the
communications systems become and the greater likelihood of failure.
CONCURRENCES
The Information Technology Master Plan, developed by the Gartner Group at the request of the
City, indicates that updating of the radio and paging systems should be a high priority.
ATTACHMENTS
Request for Proposal (RFP)#90222 for Radio and Paging Systems Design
WCornmon/Council Agenda Report/CAR-Consultant-Radio RFP
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City of
San Luis Obispo
990 Palm Street ■ San Luis Obispo,CA 93401
Notice Requesting Proposals for
Radio and Paging System Design Services
The City of San Luis Obispo is requesting sealed proposals for design and lay-out a phased plan to assist
the City in completely rebuilding the radio and paging systems pursuant to Specification No. 90222. All
proposals must be received by the Department of Finance by May 16, 2002, 3:00 pm when they will be
opened publicly in the City Hall Council Chambers,990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401.
Proposals received after said time will not be considered. To guard against premature opening, each
proposal shall be submitted to the Department of Finance in a sealed envelope plainly marked with the
proposal title, specification number, bidder name, and time and date of the proposal opening. Proposals
shall be submitted using the forms provided in the specification package.
A pre-proposal conference will be held at San Luis Obispo City Fire Department Training Room on April
30, 2002 at 10:00 am to answer any questions that the prospective bidders may have regarding the City's
request for proposals.
Specification packages and additional information may be obtained by contacting Fire Chief Robert
Neumann or Management Assistant Viv Dilts at(805)781-7380.
® The City of San Luis Obispo is committed to including disabled persons in all of our services,programs and activities.
Telecommunications Device for the Deaf(805)781-7410.
G:common(council agenda reports/car-consultant-radio-rfp
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Specification No. 90222
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A. Description of Work 1
B. General Terms and Conditions 3
Proposal Requirements
Contract Award and Execution
Contract Performance
C. Special Terms and Conditions . 7
Proposal Content
Proposal Evaluation and Selection
Proposal Review and Award Schedule
D. Agreement 9
E. Insurance Requirements 11
F. Proposal Submittal Forms 13
Proposal Submittal Summary
References
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Section A
DESCRIPTION OF WORK
The successful applicant will be required to design and lay-out a phased plan to assist the City in
completely rebuilding the radio and paging systems.
In general, the City's wireless communications systems have been pieced together over the last 20-30
years and are in need of a complete rebuild. We request the organization's specific needs to be studied
and a replacement schedule developed for the appropriate new system. The end result will be a modem,
reliable radio and paging system with low maintenance needs.
The proposal should include the following components.
■ Design a radio communications system that is reliable and dependable during a major emergency by
"hardening" the entire system. This includes redundant systems, back-up generators, and an
essential spare part inventory. Recommend the necessary back-up and support systems to insure that
these systems will operate during an emergency.
■ Design a system that will meet future needs.
■ Recommend replacement for the existing system, to be broken down into two phases: primary or
main infrastructure and secondary infrastructure.
Existing Situation
The current radio system is unreliable. It is subject to failure when it is needed most and it requires a
high degree of maintenance. Increasingly parts are difficult to find for some components. The City's
paging system is nearly overloaded and does not allow for the timely response of emergency personnel.
A technical analysis of our current system can be found in Attachment.
Focused Tasks
Guidance and assistance in:
■ Evaluate existing communication technology for all sites/applications (i.e. radios vs. fiber optic vs.
leased phone lines,etc.)
■ Evaluate system architecturellayout, including equipment constraints and equipment locations and
possible use of the City's fiberoptic system to link the various segments of the communications
systems together.
■ Evaluate other available hardware and recommend alternatives to ensure future upgrade capability
and enhance system reliability. Include full evaluation of hardware and software tools to program,
maintain and troubleshoot hardware. Include evaluation of software "user friendliness, training, and
the available communication modes.
■ Recommend system maintenance schedules for various components of the system (i.e. radios,
antennas,repeaters, etc.)
■ Recommendations for hardware and software upgrade/replacement schedules to maintain system
reliability and support services.
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■ Evaluate overall system recommendations for flexibility for future upgrades(i.e.not"locked-in").
■ Evaluate and develop implementation plan, including priority ranking, for all system upgrades and
additional site additions.
■ Develop cost estimates for all recommendations including site relocation cost, if recommended.
■ Analyze frequencies and channel availability for expansion of primary and tactical channels (Police
and Fire).
■ Evaluate and make recommendation for future portable radio purchases. Develop cost estimates for
all recommendations.
■ Evaluate and make recommendation how to improve the in-house phone/internet-based pager
system.
■ Provide cost/benefit analysis of consolidating telephone/alpha paging/voicemail with our in-house
system vs. a third party system (e.g.Nextel).
Final Deliverable
The final work product will include specifications that the City can use in preparing and 10 requests for
proposal. The specifications will be prepared in a manner that will ensure that bidders fully understand
the work,and resulting proposals can be evaluated on an "apples-to-apples"basis.
Budget
Staff estimates the cost for this work to be about$25,000.
Appendix 1— Wireless Voice/Data Communications—Current Situation
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Section B
GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS
PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS
1. Requirement to Meet All Provisions. Consultant's proposal shall meet all of the terms and
conditions of the Request for Proposals (RFP) specifications package. By virtue of its proposal
submittal, Consultant acknowledges agreement with and acceptance of all provisions of the RFP
specifications.
2. Proposal Submittal. Consultant's proposal must be submitted on the form(s) provided in the
specifications and accompanied by any other required submittals or supplemental materials.
Consultant's proposal shall be enclosed in an envelope sealed and addressed to the Director of
Finance, City of San Luis Obispo, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, CA, 93401.
3. Insurance Certificate. Consultant's proposal must include a certificate of insurance showing:
a. The insurance carrier and its A.M.Best rating.
b. Scope of coverage and limits.
C. Deductibles and self-insured retention.
The purpose of this submittal is to generally assess the adequacy of the your insurance coverage
during proposal evaluation; as discussed under paragraph 12 below, endorsements are not
required until contract award. The City's insurance requirements are detailed in Section E.
CONTRACT AWARD AND EXECUTION
4. Proposal Retention and Award. The City reserves the right to retain Consultant's proposal for
a period of 60 days for examination and comparison. The City also reserves the right to waive
non-substantial irregularities in any proposal, to reject any or all proposals,to reject or delete one
part of a proposal and accept the other, except to the extent that proposals are qualified by
specific limitations. See the "special terms and conditions" in Section C of these specifications
for proposal evaluation and contract award criteria.
5. Competency and Responsibility of Bidder. The City reserves full discretion to determine
Consultant's competence and responsibility, professionally and/or financially. Consultant will
provide, in a timely manner, all information that the City deems necessary to make such a
decision.
6. Contract Requirement. Consultant shall execute a written contract with the City within ten
(10) calendar days after notice of the award has been sent by mail to it at the address given in its
proposal. The contract shall be made in the form adopted by the City and incorporated in these
specifications.
7. Insurance Requirements. Consultant shall provide proof of insurance in the form, coverages
and amounts specified in Section E of these specifications within 10 (ten) calendar days after
notice of contract award as a precondition to contract execution.
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8. Business Tax. Consultant must have a valid City of San Luis Obispo business tax certificate
before execution of the contract. Additional information regarding the City's business tax
program may be obtained by calling(805) 781-7134.
CONTRACT PERFORMANCE
9. Ability to Perform. The Consultant warrants that it possesses, or has arranged through
subcontracts, all capital and other equipment; labor, materials, and licenses necessary to carry
out and complete the work hereunder in compliance with any and all federal, state, county, city,
and special district laws,ordinances, and regulations.
10. Laws to be Observed. The Consultant shall keep itself fully informed of and shall observe and
comply with all applicable state and federal laws and county and City of San Luis Obispo
ordinances,regulations and adopted codes during its performance of the work.
11. Payment of Taxes. The contract prices shall include full compensation for all taxes that the
Consultant is required to pay.
12. Permits and Licenses. The Consultant shall procure all permits and licenses, pay all charges
and fees,and give all notices necessary.
13. Safety Provisions. The Consultant shall conform to the rules and regulations pertaining to
safety established by OSHA and the California Division of Industrial Safety.
14. Public and Employee Safety. Whenever the Consultant's operations create a condition
hazardous to the public or City employees, it shall, at its expense and without cost to the City,
fumish, erect and maintain such fences, temporary railings, barricades, lights, signs and other
devices and take such other protective measures as are necessary to prevent accidents or damage
or injury to the public and employees.
15. Preservation of City Property. The Consultant shall provide and install suitable safeguards,
approved by the City, to protect City property from injury or damage. If City property is injured
or damaged due to the Consultant's operations, it shall be replaced or restored at the Consultant's
expense. The facilities shall be replaced or restored to a condition as good as when the
Consultant began work.
16. Immigration Act of 1986. The Consultant warrants on behalf of itself and all sub-consultants
engaged for the performance of this work that only persons authorized to work in the United
States pursuant to the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 and other applicable laws
shall be employed in the performance of the work hereunder.
17. Consultant Non-Discrimination. In the performance of this work, the Consultant agrees that it
will not engage in,nor permit such sub-consultants as it may employ,to engage in discrimination
in employment of persons because of age, race, color, sex, national origin or ancestry, sexual
orientation, or religion of such persons.
18. Work Delays. Should the Consultant be obstructed or delayed in the work required to be done
hereunder by changes in the work or by any default, act, or omission of the City, or by strikes,
fire, earthquake, or any other Act of God, or by the inability to obtain materials, equipment, or
labor due to federal government restrictions arising out of defense or war programs; then the
time of completion may, at the City's sole option, be extended for such periods as may be agreed
upon by the City and the Consultant. In the event that there is insufficient time to grant such
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extensions prior to the completion date of the contract,the City may, at the time of acceptance of
the work, waive liquidated damages which may have accrued for failure to complete on time,
due to any of the above, after hearing evidence as to the reasons for such delay, and making a
finding as to the causes of same.
19. Payment Terms. The City's payment terns are 30 days from the receipt of an original invoice
and acceptance by the City of the services provided by the Consultant(Net 30).
20. Inspection. The Consultant shall furnish City with every reasonable opportunity for City to
ascertain that the services of the Consultant are being performed in accordance with the
requirements and intentions of this contract. All work done and all materials furnished, if any,
shall be subject to the City's inspection and approval. The inspection of such work shall not
relieve Consultant of any of its obligations to fulfill its contract requirements.
21. Audit. The City shall have the option of inspecting and/or auditing all records and other written
materials used by Consultant in preparing its invoices to City as a condition precedent to any
payment to Consultant.
22. Interests of Consultant. The.Consultant covenants that it presently has no interest, and shall
not acquire any interest, direct, indirect or otherwise, which would conflict in any manner or
degree with the performance of the work hereunder. The Consultant further covenants that, in
the performance of this work, no sub-consultant or person having such an interest shall be
employed. The Consultant certifies that no one who has or will have any financial interest in
performing this work is an officer or employee of the City. It is hereby expressly agreed that, in
the performance of the work hereunder, the Consultant shall at all times be deemed an
independent Consultant and not an agent or employee of the City.
23. Hold Harmless and Indemnification. The Consultant agrees to defend, indemnify, protect
and hold the City and its agents, officers and employees harmless from and against any and
all claims asserted or liability established for damages or injuries to any person or property,
including injury to the Consultant's employees, agents or officers which arise from or are
connected with or are caused or claimed to be caused by the acts or omissions of the
Consultant, and its agents, officers or employees, in performing the work or services herein,
and all expenses of investigating and defending against same; provided, however, that the
Consultant's duty to indemnify and hold /harmless shall not include any claims or liability
arising from the established sole negligence or willful misconduct of the City, its agents,
officers or employees.
24. Contract Assignment. The Consultant shall not assign,transfer, convey or otherwise dispose of
the contract, or its right, title or interest, or its power to execute such a contract to any individual
or business entity of any kind without the previous written consent of the City.
25. Termination. If, during the term of the contract, the City determines that the Consultant is not
faithfully abiding by any term or condition contained herein, the City may notify the Consultant
in writing of such defect or failure to perform; which notice must give the Consultant a 10 (ten)
calendar day notice of time thereafter in which to perform said work or cure the deficiency.
If the Consultant has not performed the work or cured the deficiency within the ten days
specified in the notice, such shall constitute a breach of the contract and the City may terminate
the contract immediately by written notice to the Consultant to said effect. Thereafter, neither
party shall have any further duties, obligations, responsibilities, or rights under the contract
except, however, any and all obligations of the Consultant's surety shall remain in full force and
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effect, and shall not be extinguished, reduced, or in any manner waived by the termination
thereof.
In said event, the Consultant shall be entitled to the reasonable value of its services performed
from the beginning date in which the breach occurs up to the day it.received the City's Notice of
Termination, minus any offset from such payment representing the City's damages from such
breach. "Reasonable value" includes fees or charges for goods or services as of the last
milestone or task satisfactorily delivered or completed by the Consultant as may be set forth in
the Agreement payment schedule; compensation for any other work, services or goods
performed or provided by the Consultant shall be based solely on the City's assessment of the
value of the work-in-progress in completing the overall workscope.
The City reserves the right to delay any such payment until completion or confirmed
abandonment of the project, as may be determined in the City's sole discretion, so as to permit a
full and complete accounting of costs. In no event, however, shall the Consultant be entitled to
receive in excess of the compensation quoted in its proposal.
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Section C
SPECIAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS
1. Proposal Content. Your proposal must include the following information:
Submittal Forms
a) Proposal submittal summary.
b) Certificate of insurance.
C) References from at least three firms for whom you have provided similar services.
Qualifications
d) Experience of your firth in performing similar services.
e) Resumes of the individuals who would be assigned to this project, including any sub-
consultants.
f) Standard hourly billing rates for the assigned staff, including any sub-consultants.
g) Statement and explanation of any instances where your firm has been removed from a
project or disqualified from proposing on a project.
Work Program
h) Description of your approach to completing the work.
i) Tentative schedule by phase and task for completing the work..
j) Estimated hours for your staff in performing each major phase of the work, including
sub-consultants.
k) Services or data to be provided by the City.
1) Any other information that would assist us in making this contract-award decision.
Compensation
m) Proposed compensation and payment schedule tied to accomplishing key tasks.
Proposal Length and Copies
n) Proposals should not exceed 15 pages,including attachments and supplemental
materials.
o) Ten copies of the proposal must be submitted.
2. Proposal Evaluation and Selection. A review committee will evaluate proposals based on the
following criteria:
a) Understanding of the work required by the City.
b) Quality,clarity and responsiveness of the proposal.
C) Demonstrated competence and professional qualifications necessary for successfully
performing the work required by the City.
d) Recent experience in successfully performing similar services.
e) Proposed approach in completing the work.
f) References.
g) Background and related experience of the specific individuals to be assigned to this
project.
3. Proposal Review and Award Schedule. The following is an outline of the anticipated schedule
for proposal review and contract award:
a) Issue RFP April 16,2002
b) Pre-Proposal Conference April 30,2002
C) Receive proposals May 16,2002
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d) Complete proposal evaluation June 13,2002
e) Conduct finalist interviews via telephone conferencing June 27,2002
f) Finalize staff recommendation July 15,2002
g) Award contract July 22,2002
h) Start work July 29,1002
4. Pre-Proposal Conference. A pre-proposal conference will be held at the following location,
date, and time to answer any questions that prospective bidders may have regarding this RFP.
5. Ownership of Materials. All original drawings plan documents and other materials prepared by
or in possession of the Consultant as part of the work or services under these specifications shall
become the permanent property of the City,and shall be delivered to the City upon demand.
6. Release of Reports and Information. Any reports, information, data, or other material given
to, prepared by or assembled by the Consultant as part of the work or services under these
specifications shall be the property of City and shall not be made available to any individual or
organization by the Consultant without the prior written approval of the City.
7. Copies of Reports and Information. If the City requests additional copies of reports, drawings,
specifications, or any other material in addition to what the Consultant is required to furnish in
limited quantities as part of the work or services under these specifications, the Consultant shall
provide such additional copies as are requested, and City shall compensate the Consultant for the
costs of duplicating of such copies at the Consultant's direct expense.
8. Required Deliverable Products. The Consultant will be required to provide:
a) Twenty-five copies of the final report addressing all elements of the workscope. City
staff will review all documents or materials provided by the Consultant, and where
necessary, the Consultant will respond to staff comments and make such changes as
deemed appropriate.
b) One camera-ready original, unbound, each page printed on only one side, including any
original graphics in place and scaled to size,ready for reproduction.
C) When computers have been used to produce materials submitted to the City as a part of
the workscope, the Consultant must provide the corresponding computer files to the
City, compatible with the following programs whenever possible unless otherwise
directed by the project manager:
■ Word Processing Word
■ Spreadsheets Excel
• Desktop Publishing Coreldraw,Pagemaker
• Computer Aided Drafting(CAD) AutoCad
Computer files must be on 3'/z", high-density, write-protected diskettes, formatted for
use on IBM-compatible systems. Each diskette must be clearly labeled and have a
printed copy of the directory.
9. Attendance at Meetings and Hearings. As part of the workscope and included in the contract
,price is attendance by the Consultant at one public meeting to present and discuss its findings
and recommendations. Consultant shall attend as many "working" meetings with staff as
necessary in performing workscope tasks.
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Section D
FORM OF AGREEMENT
AGREEMENT
THIS AGREEMENT is made and entered into in the City of San Luis Obispo on this
day of 2002, by and between the CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO, a municipal corporation,
hereinafter referred to as City, and hereinafter referred to as Consultant.
WITNESSETH:
WHEREAS, on City requested a proposal from the Consultant for radio
and paging system design services per Specification No. 90222; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to said request, Consultant submitted a proposal, which was accepted by
City for said service.
NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of their mutual promises, obligations and covenants
hereinafter contained, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1. TERM. The term of this Agreement shall be from the date of this Agreement is made
and entered, as fust written above,until acceptance or completion of said services.
2. INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE. City Specification No. 90222 and
Consultant's proposal dated are hereby incorporated in and made a part of this
Agreement.
3. CITY'S OBLIGATIONS. For providing services as specified in this Agreement, City
will pay and Consultant shall receive therefore compensation in a total sum not to exceed
4. CONSULTANT'S OBLIGATIONS. For and in consideration of the payments and
agreements hereinbefore mentioned to be made and performed by City, Consultant agrees with City to do
everything required by this Agreement and the said specification.
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5. AMENDMENTS. Any amendment, modification or variation from the terms of this
Agreement shall be in writing and shall be effective only upon approval by the City Administrative
Officer.
6. COMPLETE AGREEMENT. This written Agreement, including all writings
specifically incorporated herein by reference, shall constitute the complete agreement between the parties
hereto. No oral agreement, understanding, or representation not reduced to writing and specifically
incorporated herein shall be of any force or effect, nor shall any such oral agreement, understanding, or
representation be binding upon the parties hereto.
7. NOTICE. All written notices to the parties hereto shall be sent by United States mail,
postage prepaid by registered or certified mail addressed as follows:
City City Clerk
City of San Luis Obispo
990 Palm Street
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
Consultant
8. AUTHORITY TO EXECUTE AGREEMENT. Both City and Consultant do covenant
that each individual executing this agreement on behalf of each party is a person duly authorized and
empowered to execute Agreements for such party.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this instrument to be executed the day
and year first above written.
ATTEST: CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO, A Municipal
Corporation
By:
City Clerk City Administrative Officer
APPROVED AS TO FORM: CONSULTANT
By:
City Attorney
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Section E
INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS: Consultant Services
The Contractor shall procure and maintain for the duration of the contract insurance against claims for
injuries to persons or damages to property which may arise from or in connection with the performance
of the work hereunder by the Contractor, its agents,representatives,employees, or subcontractors.
Minimum Scope of Insurance. Coverage shall be at least as broad as:
1. Insurance Services Office Commercial General Liability coverage (occurrence form CG 0001).
2. Insurance Services Office form number CA 0001 (Ed. 1/87) covering Automobile Liability, code
1 (any auto).
3. Workers' Compensation insurance as required by the State of California and Employer's Liability
Insurance.
4. Errors and Omissions Liability insurance as appropriate to the consultant's profession.
Minimum Limits of Insurance. Contractor shall maintain limits no less than:
1. General Liability: $1,000,000 per occurrence for bodily injury, personal injury and property
damage. If Commercial General Liability or other form with a general aggregate limit is used,
either the general aggregate limit shall apply separately to this project/location or the general
aggregate limit shall be twice the required occurrence limit.
2. Automobile Liability: $1,000,000 per accident for bodily injury and property damage.
3. Employer's Liability: $1,000,000 per accident for bodily injury or disease.
4. Errors and Omissions Liability: $1,000,000 per occurrence.
Deductibles and Self-Insured Retentions. Any deductibles or self-insured retentions must be declared
to and approved by the City. At the option of the.City, either: the insurer shall reduce or eliminate such
deductibles or self-insured retentions as respects the City, its officers, officials, employees and
volunteers; or the Contractor shall procure a bond guaranteeing payment of losses and related
investigations,claim administration and defense expenses.
Other Insurance Provisions. The general liability and automobile liability policies are to contain, or be
endorsed to contain,the following provisions:
1. The City, its officers, officials, employees, agents and volunteers are to be covered as insureds as
respects: liability arising out of activities performed by or on behalf of the Contractor; products
and completed operations of the Contractor; premises owned, occupied or used by the
Contractor; or automobiles owned, leased, hired or borrowed by the Contractor. The coverage
shall contain no special limitations on the scope of protection afforded to the City, its officers,
official, employees,agents or volunteers.
2. For any claims related to this project, the Contractor's insurance coverage shall be primary
insurance as respects the City, its officers, officials, employees, agents and volunteers. Any
insurance or self-insurance maintained by the City, its officers, officials, employees, agents or
volunteers shall be excess of the Contractor's insurance and shall not contribute with it.
3. The Contractor's insurance shall apply separately to each insured against whom claim is made or
suit is brought, except with respect to the limits of the insurer's liability.
4. Each insurance policy required by this clause shall be endorsed to state that coverage shall not be
suspended, voided, canceled by either party, reduced in coverage or in limits except after thirty
(30) days' prior written notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, has been given to the
City.
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Acceptability of Insurers. Insurance is to be placed with insurers with a current A.M. Best's rating of
no less than ANU.
Verification of Coverage. Contractor shall furnish the City with a certificate of insurance showing
maintenance of the required insurance coverage. Original endorsements effecting general liability and
automobile liability coverage required by this clause must also be provided. The endorsements are to be
signed by a person authorized by that insurer to bind coverage on its behalf. All endorsements are to be
received and approved by the City before work commences.
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PROPOSAL SUBMITTAL FORM
The undersigned declares that she or he has carefully examined Specification No. 90222, which is hereby
made a part of this proposal; is thoroughly familiar with its contents; is authorized to represent the
proposing firm; and agrees to perform the specified work for the following cost quoted in full:
Radio and Paging System Design Services $
❑ Certificate of insurance attached; insurance company's A.M.Best rating:
Firm Name and Address
Contact Phone
S nature of Authorized Representative
Date
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REFERENCES
Number of years engaged in providing the services included within the scope of the specifications under
the present business name or by the principal assigned to this engagement:
Describe fully the last three contracts performed by your firm or the principal assigned to this
engagement which demonstrates your ability to provide the services included with the scope of the
specifications. Attach additional pages if required. The City reserves the right to contact each of the
references listed for additional information regarding your firm's qualifications.
Reference No. 1
Customer Name
Contact Individual
Telephone&FAX number
Street Address
City,State,Zip Code
Description of services provided
including contract amount,when
provided and project outcome
Reference No.2
Customer Name
Contact Individual
Telephone&FAX number
Street Address
City,State,Zip Code
Description of services provided
including contract amount,when
provided and project outcome
Reference No.3
Customer Name
Contact Individual
Telephone&FAX number
Street Address
City,State,Zip Code
Description of services provided
including contract amount,when
provided and project outcome
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APPENDIXI
WIRELESS VOICE/DATA COMMUNICATIONS—CURRENT SITUATION
In order to develop the overall radio communications strategy for San Luis Obispo's public safety and
general government departments, it is first necessary to assess the capabilities and effectiveness of
existing systems. This section of the report will present an overview of the public safety and general
government voice radio operations.The review and assessment of the City's voice, data,microwave,and
paging capabilities is also presented. In addition,we have addressed the radio coverage,channel loading,
equipment age,point-to-point communications, interoperability agreements, facilities and sites,
maintenance and training issues.
Police Department
The City's Police Department provides law enforcement services for San Luis Obispo and also
participates in mutual aid activities throughout the City and adjoining jurisdictions including the County
of San Luis Obispo.The police station is located in downtown and employs a workforce of 57 sworn
officers and 26 non-sworn personnel.
The Police Department operates the dispatch center,which is the Public Safety Answering Point(PSAP)
for San Luis Obispo. The PSAP dispatches both law enforcement and fire personnel. It is estimated that
the PSAP reports approximately 28,000 law incidents per year and 3,900 fire incidents per year.The
dispatch center operations are discussed in more detail later in this section.
The Police Department's fixed radio system consists of the primary repeated site at South Hill and a
voting receive-only site at Fire Stations#2 and#3. The Police Department also has a backup repeater at
the Cuesta Peak site that is used only as a hot standby for failure. The Dispatch Center at the Police
Department accesses the South Hill site via a set of UHF and VHF two-way radios that function as a
remote base station at the Police Department.There are currently no wireless mobile data applications in
use by the Police Department,however, a MDC Users Group exists that is currently exploring mobile
data options regarding hardware, software and wireless network components.
Based on a separate radio inventory maintained by the Police Department's own staff, 80 portable radios
and 40 mobile radios are in use throughout the Department Because of the variety of makes and models
of radios,the Department has difficulty with interchanging parts on the radios.All police officers are
assigned individual portable radios. The Police Department uses the Green channel,which is a repeated
UHF channel, for dispatch and operations.The TAC channel, also a repeated UHF channel,is utilized for
tactical and special operations. A summary of all channels used by the Police Department and other radio
users is provided in separate attachments.
Fire Department
The Fire Department provides fire suppression, fire rescue, fire prevention and other services for the City
of San Luis Obispo. In addition,the Department oversees the City's Disaster Management program. The
Chief of the Fire Department also serves as the City's manager of wireless communications and is
responsible for all pagers,radios and cell phones used by City employees. The Fire Department's
administrative office is located at Fire Station One at 2160 Santa Barbara Avenue and employs 54
regular positions (45 Safety personnel and 9 Non-Safety personnel).Fire Station One also houses the
City's Emergency Operations Center that hosts 24 dedicated lines coming into the facility.There are a
total of four fire stations located throughout the four zones of the City.
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Fire dispatch is done out of the dispatch center located in the Police Department. Fire personnel are
alerted of emergency calls through a paging system over the City Fire channel.This paging system is
controlled through the radio consoles by the dispatchers at the dispatch center. Selective ring-down
capability exists that allows dispatchers to notify any combination up to all four fire stations in an
emergency. There are no wireless mobile data systems currently in use by the Fire Department.
There are about 15 mobile radios and 30 portable radios in use by Fire Department and a large cache of
portable radios for disaster use only(VHF and UHF).
Because of the variety of makes and models of radios, the Department has difficulty with interchanging
parts on the radios. Fire Department personnel are not assigned individual portable radios. Fire
Department personnel use City Fire,which is a repeated VHF channel, for dispatch and operations and
use OrangeNet as a secondary VHF channel for tactical field operations. OrangeNet is not a repeated
channel,but the Dispatch Center communicates with units in the field via a UHF linked remote base
located on Tassajara Peak.There are no repeaters at any of the fire stations throughout the City. Fire
Stations Two and Three each have Police,Fire and Public Works voting receivers that are connected via
T-1 landline link to the South Hills site.
Public Works
The Public Works Department is charged with maintaining the City's street.system, traffic flow,City
buildings,parks, landscapes and trees. It manages the City's transit and parking operations. It also
administers and oversees private construction activities that take place in the public right-of-way.The
Department is responsible for implementing the City's Capital Improvement Program(CIP),which
includes the design and construction of new parks,buildings, streets,water and sewer lines.The
Department also provides internal services to other City employees by maintaining all government
buildings and general fleet vehicles.
All service trucks within the Department are equipped with fixed mobile radios. Several divisions within
the Department have a varying number of handheld portable radios that employees have the option of
carrying with them.In addition radios,the Department utilizes pagers, cell phones and voice mail
accounts for communicating. Currently, there are six possible ways in which an employee can be
contacted in the field: 1)radio call, 2)horn alert,3)direct numeric pager,4)network based alphanumeric
pager, 5)voicemail based paging and 6) cell phone call.
The latest City inventories show the various divisions within the Public Works Department to be using
45 mobile radios and six portable radios currently.The age and manufacturers of these radios varies
throughout the Department. All purchasing and maintenance of the Public Works Department's radios is
done through the Fire Department Communications Division.
Utilities
The Utilities Department provides a variety of services and programs to the residents of San Luis
Obispo.The Department is responsible for providing utility billing information,responding to
emergencies,providing water audits managing the retrofit.rebate program and running the voluntary
service lateral rehab program. The Department is responsible for all water and wastewater management
for the City. There are 20 mobile radios and.20 portable radios utilized by the various divisions within
the Utilities Department.With the exception of the radios used at the Whale Rock facility, all purchasing
and maintenance of the Department's radios is done through the Fire Department Communications
Division.
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Utilities uses several splinter 450 MHz channels and 3 900 MHz repeater pairs for its telemetry
operations.
Recreation
The Parks and Recreation Department is responsible for providing the community with a wide variety of
recreation programs,planning new park facilities and managing City open space that is accessible to the
public.
Park Rangers while on patrol or performing maintenance carry radios. Rangers on patrol can be
dispatched through the Police Department Communications System.The Ranger Service has 6 radios,
one of which is on the fire frequency. The remainder is on the police frequency.
Approximately 20 employees carry pagers. About half of them are available to be paged 24/7. The
remainder has their pagers on during the workday, and when programs under their supervision are being
offered.
The Parks and Recreation Department has a 450 frequency that they use for irrigation control.
System Backbone Overview
South Hills is the City's primary radio communications site. The City leases the land and the equipment
shelter that houses the communications equipment at the site from a local radio station for approximately
$10,000 per year.This site is equipped with backup power that is supplied by an Onan generator that is
than one year old.Due to interference caused by co-located private communications companies at the
South Hills site,the City is interested in exploring opportunities to identify an alternative site dedicated
to public safety communications that may replace the current South Hills site sometime in the future.
The equipment shelter houses the three MSF 5000 Motorola repeaters used to support City operations.
Public Works and Fire transmit off of VHF repeaters,while Police transmits off of a UHF repeater. In
addition,there is a voter/comparator at the South Hills site that repeats the incoming signals from
Stations 2 and 3. Also at the site is a differential Trimble GPS transmitter/receiver located in the shelter.
The dispatch center communicates out of South Hills via a VHF and UHF link.
Fire Stations Two and Three are receive-only sites that are connected via digital T-I links to the South
Hill site.
Tassajara is a backup site and is located in unincorporated County land a top a mountain.The.City pays
an annual lease of$8,400 for the site. The site hosts a UHF TAC repeater for Police, and two VHF
backup repeaters for the Fire and Public Works Departments,and the Fire Department's Orange remote
base net. The City's Zetron paging system is also located at the Tassajara site.Currently the City's
equipment resides in a five year-old shelter that the City leases. Most of the equipment in the shelter is
between 15-20 years old.
Cuesta Peak hosts an additional Police backup repeater and is used as a hot-standby by the Department in
the case of failure.The Police Department pays an annual lease of$2,500 for the site.Most of the
equipment in the shelter is between 15-20 years old.The Cuesta Peak site is located on County property.
Cuesta Peak hosts several other non-City radio sites and can be a hostile environment to City employees
due to the intense amount of RF occurring at the site.
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Some of the key voice communication considerations include:
• Radio Backbone Is Approximately 12 - 15 Years Old - The radio system backbone was
installed in the late 1980s and many of the repeaters and base stations are nearing the end of their
life expectancy. Based on our understanding in planning for upgrading communication systems,
fixed radio equipment typically has a useful life of 10 — 15 years depending on the level of
maintenance provided.
• Radio Sites Are Not Supported By Remote Alarms - A remote alarm system is not in place
that would alert City personnel if communications system hardware and ancillary equipment
fails at the various sites. Site visits are required to determine if an AC power outage exists. A
remote alarm system would enhance the maintenance support of critical radio backbone
components and is commonly a feature in public safety communication systems.
• Existing System Radio Coverage Is Adequate, But Problematic Areas Exist The City's
current radio system utilizes repeaters and voters to enhance radio coverage for the City Fire,
Green and Public Works channels. Coverage problems have not impeded any operations in the
field to date; however, dead spots exist throughout certain parts of the City. There are significant
coverage holes on the TAC and White channels on South Higuera and in the industrial areas near
Broad Street. Radio coverage is poor in the area near the airport as well as in residential areas
being targeted by the City for annexation in the near future. In-building coverage is poor in the
General Hospital, AT&T building downtown, French Hospital, County Courthouse and the all
steel and glass Walter Brothers Building. In general, coverage is much worse on portable radios
than it is with mobile radios due to the power differences between the radios. Occasionally, the
City experiences interference that is caused by co-located commercial system operators at the
South Hills site.
• Age and Manufacturers of User Equipment Varies - There are approximately 15 different
models of mobiles and portables that comprise three different brands of radios that are in use by
City personnel. Due to the large number of different brands and models, maintenance
complexities and ensuring that replacement parts are available may present challenges for
Communications staff. These radios range in age from brand new to over 25 years old. It is
difficult to assess the age of several of the radios due to incomplete inventories on file. The
Mobile and Portable Radio Inventory is the most up to date inventory of the City's portable and
mobile radios; however, it is incomplete. The City has spent significant time trying to account
for each radio in operation and has been unable to account for every radio. Generally accepted
industry guidelines have shown that the life expectancy of a mobile and portable radio is five to
eight years and four to six years, respectively. Actual equipment life expectation is highly
dependent on radio use and maintenance.
• No Emergency Alerting Capability - Emergency alerting provides for instant access to a
channel to request assistance, and can include automated alerting to dispatch or "clear channel"
audible indicators. The current communication system does not provide this automated
capability. This capability is becoming more popular in public safety.
• Minimal Channel Congestion — Congestion on Green and City Fire channels is the exception
rather than the norm. Police traffic is heavier than Fire traffic, however, there do not appear to be
any major channel congestion problems on any of the primary public safety and government
radio channels. On Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, Police at times experience congestion
on the Green channel during a peak four hour period due to heavier arrests and more officers
using the system. If a third dispatcher in the communications center is working during times of
heavy traffic, both SNAP (Student Neighborhood Assistance Program) personnel and Park
Rangers are moved off of the Green channel to the TAC channel to alleviate congestion.
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• Communication System Maintenance—The Communications Division of the Fire Department
maintains all radio and microwave communications equipment. The Fire Chief has the ultimate
responsibility for maintaining all wireless communications, including pagers, cell phones and
radios. One person is assigned full-time to maintaining the entire City's voice communication
system. In addition, the Communications Division is responsible for the maintenance of the
City's mobile and portable radios and provides radio installation services for the City's fleet of
vehicles.
• Equipment Inventories Are Not Fully Developed — Detailed mobile and portable radio
inventories have been logged over the past few years,however, these inventories are incomplete.
• Additional Site Locations May Exist — The City's primary radio site is located at the South
Hills site, which currently provides acceptable coverage throughout the City. The City leases the
land and the equipment vault that houses the communications equipment from a local radio
station for approximately $10,000 per year. Due to interference caused by co-located private
communications companies at the South Hills site, the City is interested in exploring
opportunities to identify an alternative site dedicated to public safety communications that may
replace the current South Hills site sometime in the future. Also, the City owns several pump
stations and lift stations that stand atop mountains throughout the area. The City should explore
whether any of these alternative sites could provide equal or better coverage than the current
South Hills site, while being economically and technically feasible. No coverage studies have
been conducted to explore additional coverage to be gained from locating transmitters at these
various locations.
• Citywide Pager Program In Place—The City has implemented a citywide paging program that
is capable of accommodating up to 600 users (local area only). Originally designed to support
the needs of public safety personnel only, the system is now used by a combination of public
safety and non-public safety personnel for a variety of communications purposes. The City
utilizes a Zetron paging system that currently hosts 300 users throughout the City. The system is
currently used for City business as well as 9-1-1 paging purposes and is used by Police, Fire,
telemetry and other departments throughout the City. The paging system works relatively well,
but increased use by City personnel is stressing the capacity of the system. Due to heavy traffic
during a workday,the volume of traffic is expanding rapidly.The current paging system supports
a maximum of four trunks coming into the controller, one of which is dedicated to the Utilities
Department so that personnel can respond to sewer emergencies. In order to prevent future busy
signals, the City is looking into purchasing a new paging system that will expand the capacity
well beyond that of its current system. Because the current system is a one way paging system,
the message sender does not receive any sort of positive confirmation that his or her message has
been received. The City does not currently have a backup paging system in place. Some
employees have the need for statewide paging. The City has a contract with Arch Paging that
supplies this service via our local only system(rebroadcast).
Trends
• System Backbone Infrastructure — Typical fixed radio equipment has a useful life of 10-15
years depending on the level of maintenance provided.
• Site Emergency Notification And Remote Alarming — Remote alarm systems enhance the
maintenance support of critical radio backbone components.
• Radio Coverage — Portable coverage is typically less than that of mobile coverage in
communications systems. Mobile radios generally have greater transmitter power,thus providing
better coverage than a portable radio being used at the same location. Since wide area coverage
is essential to all public safety agencies, typical coverage parameters should be designed in terms
of portable coverage to help ensure reliable communications throughout the City. Typical
coverage parameters include 95-97% mobile coverage and 93-97% portable coverage. When
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designing systems for in-building coverage, it is best to specify coverage requirements on a site-
by-site basis. Otherwise, coverage designs that guarantee similarly high levels of portable in-
building coverage can cause a system to become extremely expensive,resulting in area coverage
minimums that may exceed the needs of the City. Often, cities can add additional receive-only
sites to improve talk-in coverage,a much less costly alternative.
• Site Interconnection—Public safety radio sites are most often connected by either leased line or
microwave connections. While microwave connectivity generally offers a higher degree of
reliability than leased line connectivity, it can also be a much more costly alternative. In
addition, microwave connectivity requires a line of sight path between two points, while leased
lines are normally run underground and do not require a line of sight path. The City currently
owns an extensive fiber-optic network that may be able to replace the T-1 landline.
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PROPOSERS LIST
RADIO AND PAGING SYSTEM DESIGN SERVICES-- SPECIFICATION NO. 90222
NAS Wireless C.S.I. Telecommunications
7172 Regional St., 313 P.O. Box 29002
Dublin,CA 94568 San Francisco, CA 94129
Phone No. 800-647-6459 Phone No. 415-751-8845
FAX No. 925-803-2102 FAX No. 415-292-9981
PAI Systems Gary E. Boyd&Associates, Inc.
Arthur H. Daly 15540 Woodcrest Drive
122 S. El Camino Real,#165 Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
San Clemente, CA 92672 Phone No. 732-431-4236
Phone No. 949-361-5548 FAX No. 732-780-1597
Motorola, Inc. William L. Doolittle&Assoc. ,Inc.
Chris Lopez 233 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 400
9980 Carroll Canyon Rd. Santa Monica, CA 90401-1214
San Diego, CA 92121 Phone No. 310-264-6172
Phone No. 805-647-5087 FAX No. 310-264-6173
ACDOM Engineering Co. Macro Corporation
14631 128th Ave. 654 Market St., Suite 612
Woodinville, WA 98072 San Francisco, CA 94104
Phone No. 425-821-8827 Phone No. 415-956-6118
adcommeng.com FAX No. 415-956-3228
MobileTec International, Inc. Gartner Group
4201 West Cypress St. 5950 Canoga Avenue
Tampa,FL 33607 Suite 600
Phone No. 813-876-8333 Woodland Hills, CA 91367
FAX No. 813-877-8589 Phone No. 818-710-8855
FAX No. 818-710-1467
Darly D. Jones Dr. Robert Selman
1160 Industrial Road#15 Director of Operations
San Carlos, CA 94070 P.O. Box 8831
Phone No. 650-590-1801 Calabasas, CA 91372
FAX No. 650-367-7240 818-222-0777
Henry L. Crutcher&Associates
Telecommunication Consultant
6845 Hazel Ave
Orangevale, CA 95662
916-989-5224
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