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CR 88-187 Public Safety Government Radio :e . October ~, 1988 Council Rpt: 88-187 PUBLIC SAFETY/LOCAL GOVERNMENT RADIO SYSTEM ProP9sed Actio!! Staff recommends adoption of the following motion: Move that advertisement for bids for the construct~on of a public safety/local government radio ~stem be published. Adoption of this resolution will enable the City to advertise for bids for the construction of a radio communication system. Overview As directed by City Council, the design and technical specifications for 8 new radio communication system have been completed. The design and specifications are responsive to the City's desire to construct a quality communication system. A thorough analysis of the system as designed indicates a total system construction cost that exceeds the allocated budgetary amount by $216,582. Additional information on the current estimated costs is included in the primary issues to consider. Primary Issues to Consider o What are the project goals? c Do the technical specifications comply with City requirp.ments for effective radio communications? o What is the estimated cost of system construction? o What are the factors affecting cost revisions? o What is the impact of noncompletion of project? o What are the implementation alternatives'? SupportinR Information o Detailed background o Analysis of issues o Alternatives o Recommendation <"---,,,,~ ./ /' /' ..--:-/~~, "'/~:::;'~/ ~ ." .~ ._?f. /_,r'/~ -' Gary J. Therk~lsen Administrative Services Manager . r . _. _ .' ~. .' . . .' ~- " . '. . . . Council Report 88-187 Page 2 Detailed Background In 1987, having recognized serious deficiencies in the radio communications systems operated by th~ three major departments (police, fire. public works), the City Council authorized the hiring of a consulting radio engineer to study and report on existing systems and equipment and make recommendations for system development. A report from the engineer was received in December of 1987. In general. the engineer- confirmed serious radio system inadequacies to include aging and obsolete equipment and an unacceptable communications/dispatch facility. A very serious communication center deficiency is the lack of a second position foY use during peak demands and as a backup during failures and necessary servicing. An additional identified problem area is the existing sharing of one channel for fire and public works activities. Although at times this does not pose a problem. in the event of a fire or other emergency. public works use of the channel must be halted which seriously impacts the ability of various local government/public works departments to effectively manage resources and delivery of essential services. In the existing police radio system, radio communications coverage is poor. Interference from Wright County has steadily increased and disrupts police com&unications operations. The existing single-position communications configuration in the police department is very limited and requires serious attention. The antenna systems used by the City are not high enough to provide city-wide coverage to and from portable radio users. A satellite receiver' voting system is required to permit portable radio operation city-wide. The flre department portable radios and pagers do not meet hazardous atmosphere rating requirements. In addition the pagers are old and physically deteriorating to the point where many are beyond economical repair. The existing communtcations capabilities from the fire station are limited, inadequate and require upgrading. The local goverr~ent communications operation is currently shared with the fire department which negatively impa~ts both fire and public works con:munications operations. There are no available frequencies in VHF high band for our local government operation, however, an 800 MHz channel has been licensed to the City for local government operation. Both the existing police and local government systems also suffer from inadequate coverage and reception of damaging interference. further degrading their day-to-day effectiveness. Importance of effective, reliable radio communications in fulfilling our r~sponsibilities cannot be overstated. In the preliminary engineering report of December 1987, system constructions costs were estimated, In September of 1988 following completion of detailed engineering and specifications, the constructions costs were again estimated as indicated below: . . . Council Report 88-187 Page 3 1988 BUDGET 9 - 88 ESTIMATE INCREASE PERCENT 12-87 ESTIMATE Police Fir,) Local Govt. $187,873 87,566 63,693 $221,836 124,223 120,523 $33,963 15 36.657 30 56,830 53 Totals $250,000 $466,582 $127,450 $339,132 Analysis of Issues Based on the request presented, Council has six primary issues to consider: o What are the project goals? There are three primary goals associated with this radio commun:cation project. They ar.e as follows: 1. Design, license, and construct an effective, reliable and as appropriate, redundant public safety communication system. 2. Design, license, and construct an effective, reliable local government radio system, separating local government and fire cOlDIllUnications activities on a day-to--day basis, allowing, however, for intercommunication when required. 3. Design and construct a modern public safety communication center to include a dual position communication console. Achievement of these goals will reasonably ensure effective radio communications for at least 15 years without major additional expense. o Do the technical specifications comply with City requirements for effective radio communications? The City retained the services of Leonard J. Koehnen and Associates, a radio communications consulting engineering firm, to assist the City in a five-phase engineering project. The initial phase, schematic design, consisted primarily of a study of existing radio systems to include licensing and preliminary design of a new system. The design development phase followed. in which the size and character of the system was further defined. Recently completed was the construction documents phase which set forth in detail the drawings and specifications for the construction of the project, necessary bidding information and forms, as well as th~ form of agreement bEtween the City and ev&ntual contractor. The design of the system meets all required legal and t~chnica1 standards in effect at this time. Further, it would appear to address the radio communications needs for all City departments for the foreseeable future. All three primary sys~ems will facilitate any growth which can be anticipated for the life of the system. The system design is logical and will lend itself to planned enhancement and replacement in an organized and systemati~ manner. ," , .". '.' ~ .' .. . . ~ .~ . , ......'. l1 .... .'. " .:' . ~ ~. ..' '. "',,' . . '. . Council Report 88-187 Page 4 o What is the estimated cost of system coustruction? The current revised estimate of total system construction is $466,582. This is a substantial increase over the December 1987 preliminary estimate of $339,132. o What are the factors affecting cost revisions? Since the pr.eliminary report was prepared in December of 1987, material and labor costs have risen approximately five percent. The initial study provok~d considerable thought, discussion and research into the improv~d utilization of resources through improved radio communications capabilities. This was particularly true in the local government/public works areas. Some City departments which have not had radio cvmmunications in the past have determined that their operations can improve through their use. Others have found that additional equipment will be needed to fully utilize their rGsources. This reevaluation of needs has resulted in identification of needs which exceeded those identified in the preliminary report. A major affecting factor is the lack of conventional VHF or UHF radio frequencies for local government (public works) operation. An exhaustive search for available frequencies resulted in a list of several potentials (none of which were ideally suited for our use), however, for various technical reasons, we were unable to secure licensing for local government radio ser.vice in either VHF or UHF. The Federal Commw.ications Commission licensed our local government system in the relatively new 800 MHz band which is at this time unaffected by the overcrowding prevalent in the lower bands. Although in terms of its suitability for radio communications it is excellent, there are serious drawbacks associated with it. The availability of equipment in the 800 MHz band is not as great as it is in other bands. This results in narrower selection ranges~ as well as increased costs for equipment. ~dditionally. the nature of 800 MHz communications tends to require better and more precise equipment than lower bands. Since the fire department network is smaller than the local government system, use of the 800 MHz channel for fire department use wa~ explored as a means of limiting costs. This idea was a.bandoned. however, since there are presently no suitable fire pager monitors available in this band, and use of the 800 MHz channel for fire would limit the ability of our fire department to communicate with neighboring communities on existing mutual aid channels. This could be remedied through the installation of a second conventional VHF radio in all fir~ apparatus and the provision of VH: portable radios for personnel, however. this approach would negate any potential cost savings that might otherwise be achiev~d. Police department use of 800 MHz was also considered but determin~d inappropriate for similar reasons. The remodeling of the police department has also impacted the system cost in a~eas that were not identified at the time of the preliminary report. An example is the additional console space required for installation of various building systems such as door controls, fire alarms, etc. . . . Council Report 88-187 Page 5 All three networks. police, fire and local government. will be uti.lized extensively through hand-held portable radio equipment. In order to effectively utilize portable radios in any of the systems, a satellite receiver network must be constructed to allow portable radios reliable access to the systems. A co~on cause of radio communication system failure i.s the effect of lightning strikes to antenna systems which generally follow transmission lines tc equipment. This can be catastrophic, particularly if the site is shared by multi~le transmitters and receivers. Although there can be no guarantees that this type of damage can be prevented, it is usually possible to minimize the damage and inherent disruption from lightning strikes through careful engineering considerations, In the design of this system, the engineer has paid particluar attention to minimizing damage from lightning and other electrical sources through the use of suppression devices on antennas and transmission lines, telephone lines associated with the system, and electrical power sources. Although this type of protection is costly, it can prevent far greater costs associated with lightning strikes and commercial power surges. Modern solid state microprocessor controlled communications equipment is particularly sensitive to electrical variations and must be protected. In spite of careful planning, engineering, and construction, failures of radio communication equipment will occur. In local government and public safety systems, it is necessary to provide redundancy to minimize disruption to operations. In the design of this system, existing equipment ~ill be reused for standby purposes wherever possible. Although less expensive than new equipment, there are costs associated with reconfiguration and modification of existing equipment to fulfill standby requirements. In the present design and configuration of the proposed system, several components of the system are located off-premise of the primary site at City Hall. These sites will include the Hopkins House, Cambridge Towers Apartments, and the high-rise apartment at 9-7th Avenue South. These sites are not equipped with emergency power generating capabilities, and it is recommended these sites be battery backed up to continue operation in the event of commercial power failure. It should be kept in mind that the December 1987 cost estimate was preliminary, and prepared prior to any detailed engineering. o Wha~ is the impact of noncompletion of project? The primary ineffective deli very of failures. The radio licenses which have been issued for the systems would be forfeited if not put in use within eight months of date of issue, Further, if not implemented at this time and if a decision is made in the future to pursue system development. full engineering and licen~ing costs would be required with less likelihood of success in obtaining the required authorizations. All other implementation costs could be expected to have increased significsn~:~ as well. impact would, of course, be radio communications systems services and expose the City continued use of unreliable and which will increasingly degrade to liability associated with o What are the implementation alternatives? ) '''''' . , . ~ '. ...... ".' . , ' ~ . : . . Council Report 88-187 Page 6 Complete procurement and installation of the specified systems will result in the achievement of the goals associated with this project. If. however, economic limitations require, some portions of the project could be deferred or phased without immediate negative impact on system performance. Of the current cost estimate, perhaps ten percent ($47,000) could be deferred. It must be assumed that the ten percent may cost significantly more due to inflation. and extended quantity prices which would be anticipated in a project of this magnitude if completed in its entirety. There would, of COl1rse, be some deficiencies in the systems in general until it was fully installed and implemented. A more obscure additional cost of deferment would be administrative and support resources involved in a phase procurement. The existing specifications, contract documents and bid forms for this project permit line item deletion and/or modification if necessary. That is to say that th~ project may be offered for bids. allowing the City the unrestricted right to delete or modify as required. Alternatives 1. Authorize advertisement for bids. Following bid analysis, study phasing of project if appropriate. 2. Do not authorize advertisement for bids. 3. Abandon radio project. This alternative is not recommended due to conflict with established City goals relative to communications abilities. This would &180 increase liability and impact service delivery issues for all departments. Costs associated with system study de~ign and development would be lost, and costs associated with resurrecting the project at a future date would be higher. Possible savings $466,000. 4. Construct the police and fire systems, maintaining public works/fire department channel sharing. This alternative is also not recommended since it conflicts with the system development goals, would impact service delivery and may impair any future ability to separate the systems. Possible savings $38,000. 5. Delete local government standby station from system. This is not advised and should be done only with the full awareness that any failure in the primary station would render the local government system totally inoperative with extremely limited communications abilities for those departments. Possible savings $12,000. 6. Delete local government receiver voting system. This alternativ~ would minimize the effectiveness of portable radios in the local government system. Much of the potential gain from full system development would be lost through system inefficiency. The local government system will rely heavily on the use of portable radios in its pr~sent design. providing su?erior flexibility in resource utilization to using departments. Potential cost savings $9,000. 7. Delete secondary console in public safety communications center. This is not recommended as it would prev~nt realization of one of the goals . '.' ~ . ",; ". J'. c".' '. ... . . . . ~ ~.' .-', . . . . -- Council Report 88-187 Page 7 which is to provide additional redundancy and flexibility in the communications center operation. This effect would be felt at periods of peak activity as well as in the event of a primary console failure. Potential cost savings $~2tOOO. 8. Partial deletion of the secondary public safety communications center console functions. While retaining some basic functionality, this would not be recommended since total functionality would not be achieved during failures, peak acti.vity periods and routine servicing of the primary console. Potential cost savings $8,000. 9. Delete fire department receiver voting system. This alternative would diminish the usefulness and value of portable radios operating in the fire department system. In a life-safety communications system; the impact of ineffective portable communications could be severe. Potential cost savings $8,500. 10. Delete police department votlng system. In addition to being in conflict with the primary system development goal of establishing reliable radio communications, this alternative could affect the safety of citizens of t~e community as well as employees of the police department. In the existing system, one of the most serious deficiencies is that of inadeql~te portable radio communications in the system. Potential cost savings $14,900. 11. Delete fire department station communications improvements. This alternative is not recommended since it would have day-to-day impact on the fire department's ability to carry out its mission. These improvements will provide greate~ efficiency and accuracy in fire department communications by elimination of the relaying of information through the public safety communications center. Potential cost savings $15,400. 12. Upon award of contract for the public safety/local government radio system, pay the successful bidder in udvance prior to delivery of materials or installation and construction. The amount of money that may be saved in this manner is unkno~l, however, this alternative would carry significant risk to the City in the event of a bidder's inability to meet specifications and/or deadlines associated with the project. 13. Delete the requirement for a performance bond by the successful biddeL. This alternative is also considered to be high risk, in that the City 'Would not be protected through a bond against a faHure of a bidder. to perform in the contract. Possible cost savings $46,600. Recommendation Staff recommends alternative 1.