Monterey County Operational Area Emergency Communications System (NGEN) Project Background and Information Background: The Next Generation (NGEN) Radio Project replaces the existing public safety and local government voice and data radio networks; which includes: radios, portables, base station equipment, repeaters, and radio control systems with inter-operable narrowband and digital trunking technologies. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has mandated the current technology to be taken out of service by January 2013 per the FCC s Report and Order, FCC 03-34, adopted on February 25, 2003, and released on February 12, 2003 implementing Sections 309(j) and 337 of the Communications Act of 1934 as Amended. Most current public safety and local government radio systems use 25 khz (wide-band) channels. The Federal Communications Commission has mandated that all non-federal public safety licensees using 25 khz radio systems migrate to narrowband 12.5 khz channels by January 1, 2013. This mandate requires a major re-design of our current VHF and UHF radio communications systems. In addition, these systems are very old and in need of upgrade to ensure reliability and enable interoperability between public safety agencies and, during widespread emergencies, between safety and local government agencies. Agencies that do not meet the deadline face the loss of communications capabilities. Systems that are not listed as compliant following the January 1, 2013 deadline will be illegal and subject to fines as high as $1,000 per day per radio frequency license if operated. The estimate of time needed to design, build and implement such a regional system is three to four years, so it is necessary to begin this next phase of the project now in order to meet the federal deadline. During the review of Request for Proposal #10122 Next Generation (NGEN) Public Safety Voice and Data Radio System, a number of technological and value engineering options were considered to provide as much functionality as possible and minimize tradeoffs while keeping within a price ceiling of $12,000,000 for the infrastructure portion of the project. Timeline: Because of the narrowband mandate imposed by the FCC, Monterey County radio users, including fire, police, emergency medical, public works and local government have been working together on a strategy to meet the narrow-band requirement since 2005. In April 2006, A Monterey County Operational Area Emergency Communications System Strategic Plan was developed and accepted by the Board of Supervisors. The next phase of the County s Strategic Plan was to prepare a functional design and study of requirements for the new system. The Monterey County Information Technology Department (ITD), closely working with the members of the Monterey County Emergency Communications Users Advisory Council (ECUAC) and the NGEN Task NGEN Project Background and Information Page 1 of 6
Force, prepared a collaborative Agreement to share the cost of this design and study effort, which was signed by all participating agencies. On April 22, 2009, the Board of Supervisors approved the Memorandum of Agreement Re Next Generation Radio System Joint Governance and Financing (NGEN Financing Agreement). This Agreement requires that the County collect each agency s share of cost for soft costs and for annual debt service payments as estimated in the Agreement. Cost sharing for this system is based on the number of mobile and portable radios each agency expects to deploy on the new system. The County s pro rata share is 41%. As the first year s project soft cost expense is set at $500,000, the County is expected to contribute $205,422 to the project fund in Fiscal Years 2009 / 2010 and 2010 / 2011. The Board of Supervisors has set aside funds for the purpose of the Next Generation Radio project as a part of its Capital Improvement Program. In 2009 / 2010; $205,422 was transferred from these funds to the NGEN Project fund to meet the County share of soft costs. As a future board action, the team will make similar recommendation for the 2010 / 2011 cost share. On June 16, 2009, the County Contracts / Purchasing Officer released RFP # 10122. Responses to the RFP were received on September 16, 2009. A Next Generation Selection Panel representing all the participating agencies is composed of law enforcement, fire, technical, and city administrative officials. The selection panel has reviewed the proposals and recommended award of an Agreement to Harris Corporation as the highest scoring proposer. Since making that recommendation, the NGEN Negotiating Team has been reviewing all contract details and working to ensure that the highest value system is procured. By working together, the group has achieved: Significant cost savings resulting from maximizing use of existing frequencies and sites and sharing of infrastructure estimated to be on the order of at least 30% over acting individually. Improved funding and grant opportunities available for regional solutions Broad based support for the project throughout the County When the Board of Supervisors authorizes this contract, the project will be entering the most significant phase of its program of work. Stakeholders: In addition to affected County departments, the stakeholders involved in the project include the City of Carmel, City of Del Rey Oaks, City of Gonzales, City of Greenfield, City of King, City of Marina, City of Monterey, City of Pacific Grove, City of Salinas, City of Sand City, City of Seaside, City of Soledad, California University Monterey Bay, Big Sur Volunteer Fire Brigade, Greenfield Fire Protection District, North County Fire Protection District, Monterey County Regional (formerly Salinas Rural) Fire Protection District, Spreckels Volunteer Fire Company. The collaboration is being led by the Emergency Communications Users Advisory Council (ECUAC), the consortium that partners for regional 9-1-1 and emergency dispatch services. This body has been designated as the governing body for the NGEN project and for future NGEN Project Background and Information Page 2 of 6
operation and maintenance of the system, with the concurrence of the Emergency Communications Policy Advisory Council. The County is represented on the Users Advisory Council by: Sheriff Mike Kanalakis, Interim EMS Agency Director Chris LeVenton, and (as non-voting members), Emergency Communications Director, Lynn Diebold, and (representing the CAO) Intergovernmental and Legislative Affairs Director, Nicholas Chiulos. Information Technology Director, Virgil Schwab also participates actively in ECUAC meetings. The County is represented on the Policy Advisory Council by Supervisors Fernando Armenta and Simon Salinas. Initially, the Monterey County Department of Information Technology (ITD) took a lead coordinating role in this group that consists of all of the incorporated cities in the County, CSUMB, and several fire districts. In 2010, a new division of labor and project governance was established and approved. Under this structure, the ITD will focus on technical support and maintenance issues and the Emergency Communications Department (ECD) will serve as the project administrator handling contracts, funding and fiscal issues, as well as coordination with other County departments and project teams / committees. The ECUAC has appointed various committees to aid in this work including: the NGEN Task Force, chaired by ITD Director Virgil Schwab; the Mobile Data sub-committee chaired by the City of Monterey Fire Chief Sam Mazza; the NGEN Finance Committee, chaired by County of Monterey Intergovernmental and Legislative Affairs Director, Nicholas Chiulos; and the RFP Review and Selection Committee, chaired by Salinas Police Commander Tracy Molfino. The project milestones, financing, and Agreement have also been reviewed and approved by the Emergency Communications Policy Advisory Council. Selection Committee Members Included: City Manager Representatives: Michael Powers (King City), Jill Anderson (Seaside), Jim Becklenberg (Pacific Grove) Law Representatives: Tracy Molfino (City of Salinas PD); Michael Aspland (City of Monterey PD); Chuck Monarque (Monterey County Sheriff) Fire Representatives: Sam Klemek (City of Salinas Fire); Doug McCoun (North Monterey County Fire); Rich Foster (Soledad Fire and Spreckels Volunteer Fire) Technical Representatives: Virgil Schwab (Monterey County Information Technology); David Dalby (Monterey County Information Technology); Lee Hollingsworth (Monterey County Information Technology); Leslie Ragghianti (Monterey County Emergency Communications). The Director of Intergovernmental and Legislative Affairs and County Debt Manager Ron Holly, participate on the NGEN Finance Committee. The County Contracts / Purchasing Officer Mike Derr and Deputy County Counsel Traci Kirkbride have actively participated on the NGEN Selection Panel and NGEN Negotiating Team. The NGEN RFP Selection Committee spent hundreds of hours ensuring that all essential functional requirements specified in the Request for Proposal were included in vendor responses to ensure that the system acquired would best meet the needs of all stakeholders. After the RFP was released and proposals returned, the group participated in reference NGEN Project Background and Information Page 3 of 6
checking, site visits, and vendor presentations. The proposals were evaluated on a number of factors with significant factors including cost, coverage (areas where a radio signal can be received), and features and functionality including interoperability with other agencies such as CALFIRE, and improved reliability. Legacy equipment throughout the County as well as radio dispatch consoles at the Emergency Communications Center will be replaced. After this extensive review, the NGEN RFP Selection Committee became the NGEN Negotiating Team. Most members remained the same except that the City Manager Representatives were replaced by Fred Cohn (City of Monterey) Chair of the ECUAC. That team began negotiations with the highest scoring proposer. As a result of extensive discussions and negotiations combined with a rigorous review of proposals, the group secured an agreement that not only satisfies the narrowband mandate but also provides for improved coverage throughout the County, increased capacity, increased functionality, and improved reliability all within the cost ceiling identified in the strategic plan in 2006. Improvements include: Agencies will no longer need to share channels. While retaining as much of our existing radio infrastructure and VHF radio channels as possible, the new system uses newer digital trunked technology. Many specialized talk groups can be created, optimizing the use / reuse of the radio frequency spectrum. Reductions in interference from other agencies using nearby channels. Greatly improved coverage in areas of the County that previously had poor to no radio coverage particularly in North Monterey County, South County, and the Big Sur Coast. Encryption is available as an option on high end user radios for law enforcement operations. Improvements in reliability including redundancy for critical system components. Improved ability to monitor the system. The system will have alerting capability to notify support staff of problems even before users are aware of them. Interoperability across all law agencies, and across disciplines such as between law and fire, including the ability for Salinas PD to communicate with all system users. Previously, Salinas PD was on a different frequency band (UHF) and could not talk directly with fire departments or other law agencies without special patching or dispatcher relay. Cost: The initial strategic plan estimated the total project expense at $24 Million divided into two parts for infrastructure and subscriber radio equipment. The NGEN Financing Agreement addresses approximately one half of the total project cost including the design build of the shared infrastructure and soft costs of project management. Soft costs include items such as project management, grant matches, and Selection Committee expenses. NGEN Project Background and Information Page 4 of 6
The County s share of the $12 Million estimate covered by this Agreement is 41% or $205,422 in FY 2009-10 and 2010-11 for soft costs, and annual debt service of $415,000 in FY 20011-12 through 2027. The NGEN partners are continuing to actively seek grant funding to lower the cost of the shared infrastructure which could lower the cost for all parties to the Agreement. As of this date, three grants have been awarded to the project participants which have reduced the amount needed to be financed but per the grant terms have affected participants differently. As a result of distribution of these grants, the County s share of costs has been reduced by $453,435. Annual payments will be reduced from $461,000 to $415,000. Since a vendor has been selected, the County Debt Manager has been working to secure best available financing for all parties to this Agreement. Several assured financing alternatives have been identified that minimize impact to the County s overall debt capacity. Following this request for award of a contract to Harris, the Board will take separate action to the County Debt Manager to execute agreements for best available financing. The County will be responsible for 100% of its subscriber radios. At least $4.4 Million subscriber radios must be purchased in FY 11-12 in order to meet the contract discount requirements. The NGEN Project Team is continuing to evaluate the number of additional radios that will require replacement as some existing equipment is narrowband capable and may be compatible with the new system at no cost, or with a low cost upgrade. Reference Attachment 2 for additional financing details including end user equipment costs. A summary of project costs is below (County is responsible for 41% of all costs): Infrastructure provided by Harris includes o Trunked VHF System a digital replacement that covers most of the populated regions of the County o 700 MHz Sites to improve in-building coverage o Control Stations for all radio systems o Backhaul (Microwave Systems) o Site Development for all radio sites in Trunked VHF, 700 MHz, and Microwave o Vehicular Repeaters to improve coverage in rural areas o Replace Dispatch Consoles o Logging Recorder upgrades o Network Hardening and Backup (Information Technology and Security) o All associated services including vendor project management An Analog Overlay to be installed by ITD that will provide additional coverage particularly in rural areas NGEN Project Background and Information Page 5 of 6
Soft Costs including Project Management, Grant Writing, Grant Matches, ITD Staffing Costs (in addition to costs for Analog Overlay), and Selection Team Costs Project Contingency for site issues and unanticipated project needs. Sales Tax The Emergency Communications Department is managing the NGEN Radio Project Capital Project Fund which has been established by the Auditor-Controller. Funds have been deposited by all agencies for the first and second year of project costs including project management costs, grant matches, and special counsel. Grant funds and proceeds from financing will also be deposited to this account. Project Status and Costs: Early in the effort, the group divided the project into four phases: Phase Description Estimated Total Cost I Assessment and Development of a Strategic Plan II Create Organizational Agreements and Secure Funding for Functional Specification III Detailed System Functional Design Specification IV Construct and Implement Digital Radio Network the NGEN System. Monterey Status County Cost $117,000.00 $117,000.00 Completed and reported to Board of Supervisors on April 11, 2006 $0.00 $0.00 Agreements completed April 2009. Committee working to pursue funding $350,000.00 $136,137.93 Functional Design Completed and RFP Released in June 2009 $16,000,000 - $24,000,000* $10,652,000 $13,454,000 After award of Agreement, a Detailed Design Review will take place followed by construction. Planned Completion of Construction in 2012. *Estimated Total Cost of Phase IV includes total cost of infrastructure and subscriber equipment for all agencies combined. NGEN Project Background and Information Page 6 of 6