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Approve a 10 year service agreement for $3,193,210 with Motorola for Core system maintenance and a system upgrade for the term July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2029; Delegate authority to the Chief Information Officer to execute the agreement and any amendments including changes to terms and conditions, scope of services, and modifications to contract limits not to exceed $75,000; and Authorize the Sheriff to execute contract amendments which are technical and administrative in nature and remain within budget appropriations
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Published Notice Required? Yes ____ No __X__
Public Hearing Required? Yes ____ No __X__
DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION:
The Sheriff recommends that the Board of Supervisors:
1. Approve a 10 year service agreement for $3,193,210 with Motorola for Core system maintenance and a system upgrade for the term July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2029;
2. Delegate authority to the Chief Information Officer to execute the agreement and any amendments including changes to terms and conditions, scope of services, and modifications to contract limits not to exceed $75,000; and
3. Authorize the Sheriff to execute contract amendments which are technical and administrative in nature and remain within budget appropriations.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
In 2015, the Solano County Board of Supervisors authorized an expansion and modernization of the Solano County Communications Center. The project included installation of a Motorola Core capable of managing all radio communications within Solano County including traditional VHF systems used by the Sheriff and the cities of Dixon, Vallejo, Suisun City (subscriber) and Rio Vista and trunked 800/700 MHz systems used by the cities of Fairfield and Vacaville. The city of Benicia subscribes to a separate system administered by Alameda County. The project is complete and the goal of establishing a center capable of consolidating public safety dispatching and communicating with all Solano County law and fire agencies was met.
The cities of Fairfield and Vacaville are in the midst of a complete communications system upgrade and will be connecting to the Core. Any city or agency connected to the Core enables the ability for any other connected user to access or share their radio systems. The connections provide redundant (back-up) capability to the users during emergencies or individual failures. The Solano County Communications Center has already provided radio services during outages to two cities without interruption and has hosted other agencies in the expanded center.
Proper maintenance and software upgrades to the Core are essential to public safety in Solano County. The recommended service agreement provides for Core system maintenance and for a system upgrade. The maintenance plan includes 24/7 access to Motorola’s service desk to report issues, network event monitoring to ensure continuous management of the system’s operational functionality, and technical support to diagnose and resolve performance issues. It also includes onsite support, annual preventive maintenance, self-installed security patches, and network hardware repair and or replacement. The system upgrade includes software and hardware updates and implementation services necessary to maintain the Core communications system, improve system functionality/operation with technology updates, and extend the useful life of the current Core system.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Over the last three years, the County has not paid for maintenance and support costs as the Core has been under warranty. The service agreement reflects Year 1 costs of $251,980, $110,893 for system maintenance $141,087 for the system upgrade. Board action will not impact the County General Fund as the Sheriff’s Office FY2019/20 Adopted Budget includes sufficient appropriation for the service agreement. The cost associated with preparing the agenda item is nominal and absorbed by the department’s FY2019/20 Adopted Budget.
Currently, there is no state or federal funding available for communications maintenance costs. The Office of Emergency Services will look for funding opportunities to offset costs in future years. The cost for the remaining years reflects annual increases and these costs will be included the Sheriff’s Office applicable budget requests. The $47,146 cost difference between Year 1 and Year 2 reflects the pending completion of the new M2 Core project funded by the 2017 Homeland Security Grant. The M2 Core is more expensive to maintain than its predecessor L2 Core.
ALTERNATIVES:
The Board can choose:
1. Not to approve the service agreement; however, this alternative is not recommended as Core system maintenance is critical to system performance and the County’s ability to respond during emergency and disaster incidents. The Department of Information Technology’s Communications Division does not have the expertise or resources, including staff or appropriations, to perform extended system maintenance. Without a functioning Core the County and all cities connected will be unable to communicate during an emergency. Moreover, non-approval may negatively impact the County’s ability to move forward with interoperable communications projects with Solano County cities; or
2. Approve a modified service agreement excluding the system upgrade; however, this alternative is not recommended as radio communications systems are routinely replaced/upgraded every five to seven years to ensure equipment, hardware, and software remain interoperable with technological advancements. Also, this alternative would require the County to expend significant one-time appropriations during the Core replacement year.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
County Counsel has reviewed and approved the contract as to form. County Purchasing has approved sole sourcing to Motorola. The Department of Information Technology has reviewed this report and concurs with the Sheriff’s recommendation.
CAO RECOMMENDATION:
APPROVE DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION