HomeMy WebLinkAbout10B Purchase 800 MHz
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MEETING DATE:
AGENDA #:
PREPARED BY:
AGENDA ITEM:
DISCUSSION:
4646 Dakota Street S.E.
Prior Lake, MN 55372-1714
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
November 19, 2007
10B
Randy Hofstad, Lieutenant
CONSIDER APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE PURCHASE OF
800 MHZ COMPATIBLE MOBILE AND PORTABLE RADIO UNITS
I ntrod uction
The purpose of this agenda report is to request City Council approval for the
purchase of 800 MHz Trunked Radio System Equipment. This request includes the
purchase of mobile (vehicle based) and portable (hand held) radios for the Police,
Fire and Public Works departments of the City of Prior Lake.
Historv
The entire Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area is moving toward 800 MHz
Trunked Radio Systems for two fundamental reasons:
1. The existing system lacks frequencies to allow for the expected growth in the
metropolitan area emergency service communication needs.
2. The existing system does not allow emergency service providers to communicate
with one another in small, medium or large groups.
Hennepin and Carver Counties have converted to 800 MHz. Scott, Dakota and
Washington Counties are in the process.
In October 2004, the Scott County Board of Commissioners reviewed and approved
a plan to migrate the County radio system from its current "stand alone" public safety
radio system onto the regional 800 MHz radio system "backbone." This was a very
significant decision for the County and all municipalities within the County since all of
them must now convert their radio equipment.
The 800 MHz system, referred to as a Trunked Simulcast Radio System, consists of
multiple channels and features providing multiple users the ability to communicate
simultaneously across the entire system, within an entire organization, or within
smaller pre-defined talk groups within each organization. In the system set up, each
radio is assigned to one or more talk groups. Each radio can be configured to talk
within one or more talk groups at a time. There are many talk groups set up within
each organization that use the 800 MHz system. For example, police officers can
choose to communicate within various patrol districts, or across the entire police
department.
The 800 MHz system can also be configured to communicate across departmental
lines, Le. police to fire. As you may recall, one of the major findings and
recommendations of the 9/11 Commission had to do with the inability of the various
emergency responding entities to communicate with one another. Lives were lost -
police, fire and public - because the emergency responders could not communicate
with one another with the old style radio system.
www.cityofpriorlake.com
Phdne952;447.9800 j Fax 952.447.4245
The change to 800 MHz is scheduled to take place in the spring 1 summer of 2008
on a Scott County-wide basis. The transition must occur at least 90 days before the
Republican National Convention scheduled for the beginning of September 2008,
which would be on or about June 1, 2008.
The City of Prior Lake has planned for this capital expenditure for three years by the
allocation of $400,000 in its 2008 Capital Improvement Program budget.
Current Circumstances
The City's current radio system includes a large number of radios installed in virtually
every piece of Public Works, Police and Fire equipment, plus hand held units issued
to every Police and Fire employee and some Public Works employees. But the
current radio equipment will not operate on the new 800 MHz system. Virtually every
city and county in Minnesota and many other states find themselves in the same
circumstance.
An assessment was done of the radio needs for the various departments within the
City of Prior Lake. In an effort to save some money, Public Works is proposing to
convert to portable radios only rather than a combination of vehicle mounted and
portable. It has been determined that the following list will meet the immediate
needs of each of those departments:
POLICE
16 XTL 2500 Main Radios (one for the Police station and the remainder for
vehicles)
28 XTS 2500 Portable Radios with Rapid SMART Chargers and remote
Speaker microphones (hand held for each officer)
FIRE
6 XTL 2500 Main Radios with dual heads (for the larger trucks for
communication on the front and back of the truck)
9 XTL 2500 Main Radios (for the smaller trucks and fire station)
45 XTS 2500 Portable Radios with Rapid SMART Charges and remote
Speaker microphones (hand held for all firefighters)
2 Headsets with adaptors
PUBLIC WORKS
1 XTL 2500 Main Radio (for Public Works garage)
23 XTS 1500 Portable Radios (hand held for Public Works employees)
4 Six unit rapid chargers
Knowing that virtually every city and county in Minnesota would be making
purchases, the 800 MHz mobile and portable radios and accessory equipment were
bid by the State of Minnesota as part of their cooperative purchasing program.
Motorola received the state cooperative bidding contract. Recently, Motorola
announced that its authorized dealership, Ancom Communications, could discount its
state bid contract amounts. The following costs are applicable:
,.,'..... Bid
Vendor XTL 2500 XTL 2500 XTS 2500 XTS 2500 XTS 1500
Main Single Main Double Portable 3 Portable Portable 5
Head 1 Head 2 Water
Resistant 4
Motorola $3,342.85 $3,898.50 $2,348.83 $2,452.33 $1,386.50
Ancom $3,142.75 $3,698.50 $2,148.83 $2,252.33 $1,286.50
Communications $2,115.76 $2,219.26
1
2
3
4
5
Used by Police at the station and in squad cars, Firefighters at the station, and Public Works in the garage.
Used by Firefighters in large rigs so the radio can be used in the cab or back of the truck.
Police portable I hand held units.
Fire portable I hand held units.
Public Works portable I hand held units.
Conclusion
Prior Lake must acquire this equipment in order to communicate in Scott County and
the State of Minnesota. The equipment must be ordered to be delivered early
enough that it can be programmed and operational by June 1, 2008.
ISSUES:
There are various issues the City Council should consider in making this purchase:
1. Are there other manufacturers of 800 MHz radios? Yes, the State bid also
includes E.F. Johnson and Kenwood.
2. Why is Motorola equipment being recommended? Since 800 MHz radios
were developed in 1989, Motorola has supplied the greatest preponderance of
emergency and public service radios. Motorola sells both Public Service
Answering Point (PSAP) equipment as well as vehicle mounted and portable
equipment. This means there is complete compatibility and integration between
field and PSAP equipment. Since this equipment is extraordinarily software-
dependent, this is an important consideration.
Moreover, the dependability and longevity of the Motorola radio is greater than
either of the other manufacturers based upon our experience and that of other
area municipalities. Virtually all Police, Fire and Public Works departments in
Scott, Dakota and Carver Counties are purchasing Motorola. (Our existing
equipment is Motorola). The features on the Motorola radio exceed the other
models, particularly in grouping capabilities. The strength of 800 MHz is
grouping. Groups can be three radios or unlimited numbers of radios. For
example, a group could be: 1) Prior Lake Police or any subgroup thereof; 2)
Prior Lake Fire; 3) Allina Ambulance; 4) Prior Lake Public Works; or, a 5)
combination of all, some, or a subset of each.
3. How did we determine the number of radios? Radio numbers correspond
with the number of existing vehicleslemployees in Police, Fire and Public Works.
The order includes three to five spares in each activity area to serve both as
back up and for unique assignments in each department. In an emergency
situation, Council members or others may need a radio that otherwise would not
receive one. Additional vehicle andlor portable radios would be acquired as new
vehicles are purchased or employees hired. We could purchase some, rather
than all, equipment now, but such action would be contrary to our
communications objectives especially in an emergency situation.
4. How long will these radios last? Generally the car-mounted radios are a 10-
15 year investment. The portable radios (hand held) are more like a 5-10 year
investment given the considerably greater usage, wear and tear they receive.
Batteries need replacement every three to four years.
5. What is the warranty? Included in the price is a three-year, 100 percent, parts
and service warranty on all equipment.
6. What will we do with the old equipment? We will attempt to sell it, as is, to
small towns in other states that may still use them. Motorola will not repurchase
them.
FINANCIAL
IMPACT:
The total cost of the radios and all accessories (chargers, headsets, remote
microphones, etc.) to serve Police, Fire and Public Works is $311,702.17
$312,288.76i based upon Ancom Communications' bid which is $23,300 $25,714.00
less than the Motorola bid. State statute exempts the cost of these radios from sales
tax as these items are considered emergency service capital investments like squad
cars. In anticipation of this required purchase, the City Council allocated $400,000 to
the 2008 equipment replacement fund in the Capital Improvement Program for this
purchase.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. Adopt a resolution authorizing the award of bid to Ancom Communications for
the purchase of 800 MHz radios to serve Police, Fire and Public Works.
2. Request additional information.
RECOMMENDED Alternative #1.
MOTION:
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4646 Dakota Street S.E.
Prior Lake, MN 55372-1714
RESOLUTION 07 -xxx
A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE PURCHASE OF 800 MHZ RADIOS FOR POLICE, FIRE AND
PUBLIC WORKS FROM ANCOM COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
Motion By:
Second By:
WHEREAS, Scott County will be changing its public works and emergency radio system to 800
MHz; and
WHEREAS, Scott County has been advised that the conversion County-wide must be completed by
June 1, 2008; and
WHEREAS The cities in Scott County must bring their radio equipment into conformance with the
Scott County equipment; and
WHEREAS Knowing that the radio equipment must be purchased, the City Council allocated
$400,000 for this purpose in the 2008 Capital Improvement Program budget; and
WHEREAS The State of Minnesota has solicited bids for 800 MHz radios to facilitate their
acquisition by public safety and public service agencies; and
WHEREAS Bids were received as follows for Motorola Radio Equipment:
Vendor
Radios Bid
XTL 2500 XTL 2500 XTS 2500 XTS 2500 XTS 1500
Main Single Main Double Portable 3 Portable Portable 5
Head 1 Head 2 Water
Resistant 4
$3,342.85 $3,898.50 $2,348.83 $2,452.33 $1,386.50
$3,142.75 $3,698.50 $2,115.76 $2,219.26 $1,286.50
Motorola
Ancom
Communications
1
2
3
4
5
Used by Police at the station and in squad cars, Firefighters at the station, and Public Works in the garage.
Used by Firefighters in large rigs so the radio can be used in the cab or back of the truck.
Police portable I hand held units.
Fire portable I hand held units.
Public Works portable I hand held units.
WHEREAS
The State of Minnesota has exempted the purchase price of this equipment from sales
taxation.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF PRIOR LAKE,
MINNESOTA as follows:
1. The recitals set forth above are incorporated herein.
2. The Ancom Communications bid from the State of Minnesota Cooperative Bidding Contract is
considered to be the lowest responsible bid.
wyvw .cityofpriorlake. com
Phone 952.447.9800 / Fax 952.447.4245
3. An expenditure not to exceed $314,702.47 is hereby authorized for the purchase of 800 MHz radios
for Police, Fire and Public Works.
4. Funds for this purchase are hereby allocated from account # 101-49999.
5. The Mayor and City Manager are authorized to enter into the City's standardized construction
contract to effectuate this purchase.
PASSED AND ADOPTED THIS 19th DAY OF NOVEMBER 2007.
YES
NO
Hauaen
Erickson
Hedberg
LeMair
Millar
Haugen
Erickson
Hedberg
LeMair
Millar
Frank Boyles, City Manager
R:\Council\Agenda Reports\2007\11 1907\800 MHz Radio ResolutionDOC
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