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SR-10-14-2014-3FCity Council Meeting: October 14, 2014 Agenda Item: 3 °F To: Mayor and City Council From: Jacqueline A. Seabrooks, Chief of Police Subject: Purchase of a Mobile Command Center for the Police Department Recommended Action Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a contractual service agreement with LDV, Inc., a Wisconsin based company, for the purchase of a Mobile Command Center. This is a sole source contract in an amount not to exceed $657,509. Executive Summary Over the course of the last few years, the after - action review of several significant incidents, most notably the June 7, 2013 shooting spree, identified the need for a Mobile Command Center. The Police Department has operated without a Mobile Command Center since the late 1990s. The vehicle would enable the Police Department to provide continuity of service in the event the Public Safety Facility was incapacitated or otherwise uninhabitable, as well as provide the flexibility of field -based incident and event management. LDV, Inc. has built hundreds of custom mobile command vehicles and is widely regarded as an industry leader in design and innovation. LDV, Inc. can custom design a state -of- the -art Mobile Command Center. Based upon the vendor's design and the ability to obtain competitive pricing using piggy -back procurement processes, staff recommends award of a contract with LDV, Inc. in the amount of $657,509. Background In the early 1990s, the Police Department acquired a Mobile Command Post as part of an asset seizure. The vehicle was a consumer -grade recreational vehicle that the Police Department converted for use as a Mobile Command Post. The vehicle contained very basic communications equipment and served a limited purpose during its life- cycle. The vehicle was eventually retired from service in the late 1990s after estimates for several significant mechanical problems which would have resulted in repair costs that exceeded the value of the vehicle. The Police Department has operated without a Mobile Command Post since the vehicle was retired. 1 Over the course of the last decade, multiple large -scale scheduled events such as GLOW, L.A. Marathon, Pier Centennial and the Twilight Concert Series, which warranted the use of supplemental law enforcement services, as well as several other unusual occurrences, such as the shooting incident on June 7, 2013, highlighted the need for a mobile command vehicle. As the frequency of these types of incidents increased, the Police Department began researching best practices for design of mobile command vehicles. Discussion A Mobile Command Center would provide the Police Department the capability to manage large -scale events or serious tactical incidents from any location with vehicle access. From such a location, the Mobile Command Center would provide key operational capabilities such as communications and technology at the same level as if the command center were located at the Public Safety Facility. Mobile Command Centers serve as a resource management center, rallying point for outside resources, and location for a centralized and unified command. Vendor Selection In order to ensure that the vehicle is designed and built exactly to the desired specifications which have already been defined by other law enforcement agencies, staff recommends piggy- backing as opposed to issuing a Request for Proposal (RFP). Piggybacking is the post -award use of a contractual process that allows an agency that was not involved in the original competitive procurement to purchase the same supplies /equipment through that original process. Comparing this process to developing and issuing an RFP, the Police Department sought to obtain the most competitive price as a result of discounts afforded by vendors that have established contract pricing. The process to perform a formal RFP is estimated to have taken at minimum one year, utilizing a significant amount of staff time and resources. The use of the piggy -back process eliminates the need to spend staff time performing tasks that have already been performed by other agencies. 2 The Police Department determined that the proposed Mobile Command Center is available through the General Services Administration (GSA) contract, Schedule 23V, Vehicular Multiple Award Schedule (VMAS), contract number GS -30E- 00091, awarded to LDV, Inc. on August 26, 2006. The contract is valid through July 11, 2015. The GSA oversees the business of the Federal government. GSA's acquisition solutions supply federal purchasers with cost - effective high - quality products and services from commercial vendors. The contract that GSA awarded to LDV. Inc. was verified via a cost analysis and confirmed to have been extended by an amendment dated April 2014. The Police Department also contacted another vendor who stated that they could not match or beat the GSA contract since it was originally awarded based on quantity purchases. The Police Department has worked with the Finance Department to confirm that these materials and services would be supplied to the City at the same or better price ($657,509) as was obtained through competitive bid procedures of Federal, State, County, City or special district government agencies, or cooperative purchasing agencies consisting of such agencies. Many local government agencies have taken advantage of the pricing offered under the GSA contract, including the State of California. Pursuant to section 2.24.080(b) of the Santa Monica Municipal Code, Exception to Competitive Bidding, staff recommends contracting with LDV, Inc. For this proposed purchase, the Police Department obtained copies of the original bidding documentation for the GSA award and reviewed them with the Finance Department. The documentation was compared to purchasing documentation for like vehicles purchased by other agencies to confirm pricing was below market pricing. The proposed Mobile Command Center would be a custom designed, purpose -built vehicle that would include four fully - operational dispatch workstations with technology capable of operating the Police Department's Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system, accessing all city -owned CCTV cameras, providing connectivity to the City's emergency and non - emergency phone systems, supporting the use of the City's incident management system, and accessing law enforcement software systems and networks 3 at the scene. The vehicle would be designed to connect directly to the City's fiber optic network at traffic signal controllers and facilities throughout the City, as well as support secure broadband wireless communications in the event the vehicle was setup at a remote location that precluded wired access to the City's network. The vehicle would support interoperable radio communications on all bands thereby making the vehicle capable of communicating with any federal, state or local first or secondary responders. The vehicle would be designed to support upgrades in technology for future system growth. In addition to the advanced and versatile technological design of the vehicle, the Mobile Command Center would include a conference center capable of providing critical incident support to the Police Department's staff. The recommended purchase is for a new vehicle. The vehicle would not be acquired through any type of program whereby surplus equipment is offered by the Federal government. The proposed Mobile Command Center would have a useful life expectancy of at least 20 years. No general fund money would be used for the proposed purchased. A portion of the proposed purchase would be funded through expenditure control savings generated during FY 2013 -14. n Financial Impacts & Budget Actions The purchase to be awarded to LDV, Inc. is for an amount not to exceed $657,509. Funds are available in the FY 2014 -15 budget in the Police Department. The purchase amount would be charged to the following accounts: 21304.588500 $457,509 S010300.589000 $200,000 TOTAL $657,509 Prepared by: Eric Uller, Lead Public Safety Systems Analyst Forwarded to Council: LL Rod Gould City Manager Attachments: Sample pictures of a Mobile Command Vehicle built by LDV, Inc. for Jefferson County Sheriff's Office 5 0 Reference: Agreement No. 9976 (CCS)