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HomeMy WebLinkAbout8B - City Computer Network AGENDA #: PREPARED BY: SUBJECT: DATE: BACKGROUND: DISCUSSION: STAFF AGENDA REPORT (I 8 B ~Jv\) FRANK BOYLES, CITY MANAGER' '\ y CONSIDER AUTHORIZATION Q VUPGRADE OF CITY WIDE COMPUTER NETWORK THROUGH STATE OF MINNESOTA COOPERATIVE PURCHASING PROGRAM NOT TO EXCEED $80,000 NOVEMBER 7, 1994 The City's existing computer system is an Alpha Micro, non DOS based system that is approximately ten years old. The system has been upgraded both in hardware and software over its ten year life span. General consensus is that the ten year life span in computer technology is rather remarkable. In order to make the most effective use of city employees, both clerical, professional and technical a computer upgrade is essential. Since I arrived at Prior Lake I have been concerned about the age and productivity of our computer system. While it has been well maintained and upgraded, at ten years old the level of reliability is not what it once was. A more important consideration is the fact that since the Alpha Micro system is not a DOS based computer, we are restricted both in the type of software we acquire, the user friendliness of that software and the fact that the software system is not the norm. I have asked computer users to share their perspective on the existing Alpha Micro computer equipment. Their comments are summarized in attachment #1 entitled "User Concerns About Alpha Micro Computer, October, 1994". In brief, our existing system has the following undesirable qualities: 1 Non DOS based - There are simply a wider range of programs available to meet our computer needs on DOS based systems rather than our existing system. For example, in Parks and Recreation alone, field scheduling, and recreation program registration software are available in the DOS world but not for Alpha Micro. Similarly, in Building Inspection a building permit issuance, scheduling and tracking program is available, but not in the Alpha Micro world. Moreover, equipment maintenance, record systems and computer aided design are available in the DOS world, but not in the Alpha Micro. In short, because we are unable to use this software we are not receiving the full range of services which we should expect from our computer hardware. -1- 4629 Dakota St. S.E., Prior Lake, Minnesota 55372-1714 / Ph. (612) 447-4230 / Fax (612) 447-4245 AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER T 'r 2. User Friendliness - The existing system tends to be more oriented to the technician, consequently, commands require multiple keystrokes which may be difficult to remember and execute. Some functions do not exist in this system where they would be readily available in DOS software, for example, a word processing program has no thesaurus, no out of paper indicator and its ability to alphabetize is limited. Moreover, automatic column ability used in tables like the City Council directives is limited. Reduced user friendliness and limited functions make the system more difficult to use and production more time consuming. Frustration and time consumption lead to lost productivity. Finally, what is shown on the screen is not the way it looks in printed format. Most DOS programs offer WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get). This feature alone will increase efficiency and lower users frustrations. 3. Employee Training - Whether we are talking about new full time employees or temporary replacements, training on the Alpha Micro system is considerable. The essential reason for this is that the Alpha Micro system is a non standard computer system. That is, most employers do not use it. Consequently, individuals who are hired by the city for the short or long term are totally unfamiliar with this system. Training is longer and therefore the City must wait for a longer span of time for the employee to become fully productive in his or her role. Once this occurs they are still frustrated with a system that is not as "user friendly" as it could be which slows down ongoing production, nor will they ever have the full range of software available to meet their needs under the existing system. In addition, most employees have DOS based computer experience and may own them for personal use. To resolve this situation, I recommend that we purchase a new computer system consisting of a file server and twenty-one computer work stations. Without becoming technical the job of the file server is to store data created as a result of program use, to facilitate print and file saver sharing and to ease data base sharing. For example, this memorandum would be part of the data stored in the file server. The file server will also be the home for computer programs used by everyone on the system. The network will allow work stations to share data so that documents may be shared between departments. For example, if Parks wishes to use a notice of bids document previously created by Engineering as a template they can easily do so by simply calling up the notice of bids on their work station, copying it and modifying it rather than completely typing the document. Similarly, developer's agreements or staff reports involving more than one department can be prepared in part by each department and then finalized by one department. The initial network would consist of fifteen basic work stations and six computer aided design work stations for a total of twenty-one work stations. These stations would serve Administration, Finance, Planning, Parks and Recreation, Building Inspection and Engineering. Over time there may be the necessity to add work stations as new employees are -2- T 'T"" . . hired and as the Alpha Micro is completely phased out of operation. With the initial network we would purchase the Microsoft Office integrated software package. This package which is designed to work with Windows includes Word which is a word processing program, Excel, a spreadsheet program, Power Point, a presentation software and Mail, an electronic mail software package. Included with the price is cabling and training for each work station. Attachment 2 is a personal computer network quote provided by Ameridata. Ameridata has obtained the State contract for computer systems. As a member of the State Cooperative Purchasing System, Prior Lake is eligible to purchase from Ameridata without going through the Request for Bid Process since that has already been accomplished by the State. By way of comparison, we asked Index Computer for a quotation. The prices are very similar with Index slightly better on the file server, but slightly higher on the work stations. My concern with Index is two fold. First the computers they propose are "clones" consisting of parts supplied by various vendors and assembled without a name brand. Clones are only as strong as the the components they contain. Secondly, as a relatively small firm, Index does not have the number of persons and level of support I believe is essential for supporting a computer network of this size. Index Computer is now working with the Police Department to support its system, but I believe that as the system expands it is more appropriate to receive support from a larger more established company. In addition to providing for the best prices, using reputable equipment with a proven track record, Ameridata has had significant experience in working with municipalities to meet their computer network needs. Within the last few years Ameridata has established and supported computer networks for cities which include, Plymouth, Apple Valley and Chaska. I have had personal experience with Ameridata and have confidence in their ability to provide hardware, support the network and provide training and trouble shooting which are essential to the ongoing well being of the computer network. ISSUES: There is no question in my mind that a new computer system is needed if the City of Prior Lake is to continue to address the work load which promises to do nothing but escalate as our development future unfolds. The key is how do we pay for such a system? I propose that the network we contemplate estimated at a total cost of about $80,000 would be financed as follows: 1994 Data Processing Account 1994 Contingency Budget 1995 Data Processing Budget 1995 Contingency Account $15,000 $30,000 $20,000 $15.000 $80.000 As the Council is aware, our 1994 Budget projections suggest a very tight budgeting year. We expect that we will have a surplus of $16,000 once the year is over. That is a very slim margin of error. Accordingly, I would like to structure this acquisition so that payment will be made in 1995 giving us maximum flexibility to draw a greater amount of the 1995 contingency if a lesser amount of money is available in the 1994 contingency. By the same token, if our projections for 1994 are overly -3- TT conservative, we would be able to draw a greater amount of money out of the 1994 contingency and rely less upon the 1995 budget. An additional financial challenge involves the office reconfiguration at the end of this year. It seems appropriate to accomplish both projects, that is the office relocation and computerization at the same time, since wiring for the computers will be part of that project and we may be able to achieve some cost savings. From a financial perspective, unfortunately, this will also require reliance upon the 1994 contingency. We expect the office relocation project to cost $75,000. Those costs would be drawn from: 1994 Buildings & Plant Budget - 1994 Contingency Budget 1995 Contingency Budget $30,000 $30,000 $15.000 $75.000 ALTERNATIVES: A number of alternatives are available: 1. Approve acquisition of the computer system as recommended in this memorandum with the proviso that staff is to time the acquisition in such a fashion that it does not exceed our financial abilities to pay. 2. Direct staff to provide additional information to address Council concerns. 3. Do nothing and stay with the existing Alpha Micro system. RECOMMENDATION: I recommend Alternative #1. While an acquisition such as this can always be deferred, the impact of such deferral is to reduce employee productivity. Considered cumulatively, this erosion of productivity and the associated frustration it creates can ultimately cause greater city expenditures through higher turn over of employees and hiring of additional personnel which might not otherwise be required with fully versatile computerization. In short, a modern, effective and user friendly computer system can squeeze the most of our personnel complement. Such action is consistent with the Council's lean staff philosophy. ACTION REQUIRED: Adopt the attached Resolution authorizing the acquisition of a computer network from Ameridata Corporation under the State of Minnesota Cooperative Purchasing program at a cost not to exceed $80,000. AGND8SWRT -4- T 'T ~~~"'~\- \ USER CONCERNS ABOUT ALPHA MICRO COMPUTER October - 1994 City computer users (primarily office support staff) were asked to share their concerns about the Alpha Write word processing concerns and computer system. Below is a synopsis of their responses: . Software Availability- Most office programs today are written for DOS (disk operating system) and for Windows for user friendliness. Alpha Micro use AMOS which is a proprietary operating system and does not have a great amount of software available. Programs which we could purchase with a DOS system but cannot with our current system include: Field scheduling, recreation program registration, building permit issuance, equipment maintenance records, auto CAD and property management. . System Age - While the system has been upgraded, it is basically a ten year old system. Accordingly, it is technologically obsolete and subject to daily "crashes" which cost each user time, productivity and frustration (anywhere from 5 to 25 minutes of down time). . What You See is What You Get- Documents must be printed multiple times because the user cannot see what will actually appear on the printed page on screen. For example decimals align vertically only if one font is used. The tabs and lines shown on the screen are not identical to that printed on paper. This wastes staff time and paper and adds to frustrations. . Functions - The functions available in software are limited. For example, there is no thesaurus, no out of paper indicator, the ability to alphabetize is limited, automatic column ability is limited and does not have page preview. The creation of this type of output is time consuming because it is difficult to create boxes, and entered data does not automatically align. . User Friendliness - Commands require multiple key strokes and are difficult to remember and execute. Examples are, bolding, copy/move, indent, capitalizing, copy text, directory system, updating/creating documents, collapsed text. . Standardization - Temporary help and new hires must familiarize themselves with our system which is substantially different than the system used by most of their employers. This reduces our productivity. For instance if a temporary is hired to fill in for a week, it usually takes two to three days for them to become even remotely familiar with Alpha Write, considerable time is also taken by our clerical people to help the temporaries or new hires. ALPHAWWRT FB/db ....---..-.'....r---w- . ~~~\-'-- Personal Computer Network Costs Qty Item No. Description Unit Price Extended Price Frle Server State Contract Price- Ameridata Compaq Pro Signia 486DX/66 Model 1050 486DX2 Processor, 66 MHz, 8 k Cache, Integrated Fast SCSI-2 Controller, 32 bit Net Flex Controller, 1050 MB Hard Drive, 1.44 Floppy, Internal Tray Load CD-ROM, 16 MB Memory, 1024 x 768 1 C~-184040~02 Graphics, 6 EISA Expansion Slots $ 4,024 $ 4,024 1 Mirror Image Drive 1,050 MB $ 1,053 $ 1,053 1 C~-M-8M 8 MB memory Module (80ns) $ 481 $ 481 1 CPQ 194951-001 Compaq VGA Monochrome Monitor $ 199 $ 199 Subtotal File Server $ 5,757 $ 5,757 American Power Conversion Smart Uninterruptible Power Supply, (600VA) 5.0 1 APC-600 AMPS $ 385 $ 385 American Power Conversion AT UPS Monitor 1 APC 9500E Board for Novell includes software and cable $ 64 $ 64 Subtotal Power Supply $ 449 $ 449 1 C~-142181~01 4116GB TurboDAT drive - Tape Backup $ 1,767 $ 1,767 Subtotal Tape Backup $ 1,767 $ 1,767 Subtotal Sen'er , Tape Backup & Power Supply $ 7,973 $ 7,973 1 C~-145706~01 MS DOS v 6.0 Single User Package $ 72 $ 72 1 l'lOV~0662644023342 l'lovelll'letware v 3.12--25 users $ 1,973 $ 1,973 1 Microsoft Mail - File Server 360 $ 360 Subtotal Sen'er Software $ 2,045 $ 2,045 1 Sales Tax $ 651 $ 651 Grand Total Server $ 10,669 Workstations Compaq Enhanced Prolinea 4/50 Model 200 w 486SX2 Processor 50MHZ, 200 MB Hard Drive (13.5 ms) 1.44 Floppy, 4 MB Memory, Local Bus Graphics Controller, I MB DRAM, 3 expansion slots, I available drive bay, 2 serial, Parallel/Mouse 15 C~-164750~02 ports, keyboard, mouse $ 1,113 $ 16,695 15 MEM-141684~01l'lP 4 MB Memory (generic) $ 150 $ 2,250 15 CPQ-143650-501 Compaq VGA Color Monitor, energy saver $ 222 $ 3,330 3 Com etherlink ill 16 Bit ISA (10 base n 15 l'letwork Interface Card (at 20 Package price) $ 89 $ 1,335 Subtotal Work Station $ 1,574 $ 23,610 Software Options Page 1 11/2/94 ~ -\-~Ii\N-,^- ~]... Personal Computer Network Costs Qty Item No. Description Unit Price Extended Price Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Mail)- 3 With Media & Documentation $ 429 $ 1,287 Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Mail)- 17 User License $ 330 $ 5,610 Microsoft Office Professional (Office plus Access 1 data manager) $ 488 $ 488 21 Scheduler $ 86 $ 1,806 Total Software S 9,191 CAD Workstations Compaq Enhanced ProLinea 4/66 ModeI200/w. 486 OX 2 Processor, 66 MHz , 200 MB hard Drive, 4 MB Memory, Local Bus Video Graphics Controller. 1 MB DRAM 3 expansion slots, MS 6 CPQ-164650-002 DOS, Windows S 1,636 $ 9,816 6 17" Monitor $ 954 $ 5,724 6 8 MB Memory Module $ 300 $ 1,800 3 Com etherLink III 16 Bit ISA (10 base T) 6 Network Interface Card (at 20 Package price) $ 89 $ 534 Subtotal CAD Workstations $ 2,979 S 17,874 Subtotal Hardware and Software $ 61,344 Sales Tax on Workstations and Software S 3,294 Other Costs (Estimated) 1 year Annual Maintenance Support $ 1,500 $ 1,500 26 Hours Network Installation, Setup, Training $ 95 $ 2,470 21 Cabling (@ 125 per workstation $ 125 $ 2,625 21 Training $ 400 $ 8,400 $ 525 $ 14,995 Grand Total $ 79,633 Page 2 11/2/94 . MOTION BY: WHEREAS, WHEREAS, WHEREAS, WHEREAS, WHEREAS, {Seal} RS9459,WRT RESOLUTION 94-59 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE ACQUISITION OF A DOS COMPUTER NETWORK FROM AMERIDATA CORPORATION UNDER THE STATE OF MINNESOTA COOPERATIVE PURCHASING PROGRAM AT A COST NOT TO EXCEED $80,000 KEDROWSKI SECONDED BY: GREENFIELD the City's existing computer system is ten years old and is not a DOS based system; and the system should be replaced to provide for greater reliability, greater flexibility in completing day to day work and data processing capacity to meet the challenges of the City's future workload; and the City of Prior Lake as a member of the State of Minnesota Cooperative Purchasing Program; and Ameridata Corporation has received the State of Minnesota Contract for 1994 for the purchase of computer equipment including installation, training and support; and the City has obtained quotations from Ameridata with respect to such equipment. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF PRIOR LAKE, MINNESOTA, hereby does authorize the acquisition of a DOS based computer network including a file server and approximately twenty-one work stations, including training, installation and support at a cost not to exceed $80,000; and BE IT FURTHER BE RESOLVED, that staff is authorized to expend $15,000 from the 1994 Data Processing Account, up to $30,000 from the 1994 Contingency Account, up to $20,000 from the 1995 Data Processing Account and up to $15,000 from the 1995 Contingency Account for this acquisition. Passed and adopted this 7th. day of November, 1994. Andren Greenfield Kedrowski Scott Schenck YES X X X X ABSENT NO Andren Greenfield Kedrowski Sco Schenc t,~ 4629 Dakota St. S.E., Prior Lake, Minnesota 55372-1714 / Ph. (612) 447-4230 / Fax (612) 447-4245 AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER .. ... T.~.~..~-Y--...."..--r----_...