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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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Reference:
Agreement No. 9976
(CCS)