DATE: 10/02/2024
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Public Works Department
2024-55
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
SUBJECT:
PURCHASE OF FIRE STATION ALERTING SYSTEM EQUIPMENT FROM US DIGITAL DESIGNS BY HONEYWELL IN THE AMOUNT OF $160,314.38 FOR THE FIRE STATION NO. 2 REBUILD CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT NO. FC-2022-20 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This staff report asks the City Council to approve the purchase of fire station alerting system equipment for the Fire Station No. 2 Rebuild Project from US Digital Designs by Honeywell in the amount of $160,314.38. The project will construct temporary living quarters for fire station personnel while the old station is being demolished and the new station rebuilt in its place.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
That the City Council:
a. Approve the purchase of US Digital Designs by Honeywell fire station alerting system equipment in the amount of $160,314.38 as an exception to bid pursuant to Corona Municipal Code 3.08.140(C) – competitive bidding already completed. b. Authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to issue a purchase order to US Digital Designs by Honeywell in the amount of $160,314.38.
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
The City of Corona (City) Strategic Plan commits to providing a safe community. When the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was approved in 2021 in response to the COVID19 pandemic to aid in responding to the public health emergency, the City of Corona opted to use a portion of its $29 million allotment to meet this goal and rebuild Fire Station No. 2. Fire Station No. 2 was built in 1961, with an expansion in 1996. Due to the station’s age and needs to support the Fire Department’s many functions, the Fire Station No. 2 Rebuild Capital Improvement Project No. FC-2022-20, was created. The station has been under design for the past year.
On May 1, 2019, the Corona City Council approved the purchase of fire station alerting system equipment from US Digital Designs (USDD) based on an exception to bid and approved the End User’s Acknowledgement and Agreement. This purchase will follow the same terms and conditions approved by Council and Risk Management under the End User’s Acknowledgement and Agreement. Fire station alerting equipment is used to improve response times and provide an automated and redundant pathway means to alert fire department units to respond to emergencies. The USDD system and equipment were originally chosen after the Fire Department evaluated several systems and determined that USDD provided redundant, dual pathway alerting, flexible and modular system design, mobile device alerting, and robust technical support.
The USDD Fire Alerting System has been installed and in use in all seven of the City of Corona Fire Stations since the beginning of 2024.
ANALYSIS:
The new Fire Station No. 2 will be located on the same parcel as the existing fire station, at 225 E. Harrison Street. Temporary living quarters consisting of two customized mobile trailers will be constructed in the northeast corner of the lot, where fire personnel will be stationed during construction. A 9,044-square-foot apparatus storage building will also be constructed for use both during and after construction. To maintain continuity of function, these new buildings will require the installation and testing of fire station alerting system equipment prior to staff occupancy.
Once station personnel are relocated to the temporary living quarters, equipment in the current station will be removed, and the existing fire station will be demolished to make way for the new fire station. New system equipment will be installed during the construction of the new Fire Station No. 2. The equipment previously removed from the existing fire station will be stored for use as spare equipment to be re-utilized in other stations as needed.
Basis for Determination of Competitive Bidding
Pursuant to CMC 3.08.140(C), an exception to competitive bidding can be determined when the Purchasing Agent and the authorized contracting party, with the approval of the City Manager, determines that:
1) A competitive bid procedure has been conducted by another public agency including, but not limited to, another local agency, the state through the California Multiple Award Schedule (CMAS), the federal government through the General Services Administration (GSA), the U.S. Communities Government Purchasing Alliance, or the Western States Contracting Alliance (WSCA); and 2) The price to the City is equal to or better than the price to that public agency.
The City of Corona is a member of the National Purchasing Partners Government (NPPGov). NPPGov is a national cooperative procurement organization offering publicly solicited contracts to government entities nationwide. These contracts are awarded through a public solicitation and award process by a lead public agency. NPPGov also focuses on fire/rescue and law enforcement members’ needs.
A lead public agency, the League of Oregon Cities (LOC), conducted Request for Proposals (RFP) No. 2020 public safety software solutions, data collection, storage, and utilization. RFP No. 2020 was issued on January 6, 2020, and published in various commercial publications. The RFP closed on March 9, 2020. Thirteen proposals were received and evaluated by the LOC. As a result of this RFP, US Digital Designs by Honeywell was awarded contract number PS20350. PS20350 is effective from June 2, 2020, through June 2, 2026. Based on this competitive procurement process, staff is requesting an exception to bid for this purchase.
Additionally, since federal funding is being utilized for this procurement, a non-competitive procurement can be used based on the Code of Federal Regulations for Procurement Standards. Section §200.320 (c) states that non-competitive procurement can only be awarded if one or more of the following circumstances apply:
(1) The acquisition of property or services, the aggregate dollar amount of which does not exceed the micro-purchase threshold;
(2) The item is available only from a single source;
(3) The public exigency or emergency for the requirement will not permit a delay resulting from publicizing a competitive solicitation;
(4) The federal awarding or pass-through entity expressly authorizes a noncompetitive procurement in response to a written request from the non-federal entity; or (5) After solicitation of a number of sources, competition is determined inadequate.
Because the City of Corona has already installed the USDD system and equipment at its fire stations and it is currently in use, USDD is the only source that this equipment can be purchased from. Therefore, these items are only available from a single source, and a non-competitive procurement method can be used.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Funding for the recommended actions is available in the Fire Station No. 2 Rebuild Capital Improvement Project No. FC-2022-20 within the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Fund 413.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
These actions are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Action (CEQA), as the actions are not a “project” as defined by CEQA (PRC Section 21065 and CEQA Guidelines Section 15378), guidelines which define a “project” as the whole of an action, which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or reasonable foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, and that is an activity directly undertaking by any public agency including public works construction and related activities. These actions involve the approval of an agreement for the purchase of equipment. Therefore, no environmental analysis is required at this time.
PREPARED BY: TRACY MARTIN, SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER
REVIEWED BY: SAVAT KHAMPHOU, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Exhibit 1 – Location Map
2. Exhibit 2 – Equipment Quotes