Title
Recommendation to Authorize the City Manager to Execute a Cooperative Agreement with the Alameda County Fire Department for the Equipment Procurement and Installation of a Phoenix G2 Fire Station Alerting System for a Total Amount Not-to-Exceed $616,469.
In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), this action is categorically exempt from further environmental review pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Sections 15301 (Existing Facilities) and 15302 (Replacement and Reconstruction). (Fire Department)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Jennifer Ott, City Manager
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Alameda Fire Department (AFD) seeks City Council approval for the City Manager to execute a cooperative agreement (Exhibit 1) with the Alameda County Fire Department (ACFD) for an amount not-to-exceed $616,469 to purchase and install a new fire station alerting system at each fire station. The new station alerting system is called “Phoenix G2.” This system will replace the current station alerting system (Locution), which is at the end of its useful life, and enable the Fire Department to continue to receive calls for service dispatched from the Alameda County Regional Emergency Communications Center (ACRECC).
BACKGROUND
ACRECC is located in Livermore and is operated by ACFD with oversight by an advisory committee. ACRECC delivers regional communications and dispatch services that optimize the deployment and coordination of emergency resources while providing superior customer service to the cities of Alameda, Dublin, Emeryville, Fremont, Livermore, Newark, Pleasanton, San Leandro, and Union City; the communities of Castro Valley, Ashland, Cherryland, San Lorenzo, and Sunol; the Lawrence Livermore National, Lawrence Berkeley National, and Sandia National Laboratories; Camp Parks Combat Support Training Center; all of unincorporated Alameda County; and is the Dispatch/System Status Management Center for the Alameda County contracted ambulance transport service (Falck Ambulance).
Since 2002, the City of Alameda (City) has contracted with ACRECC for AFD dispatch services and recently renewed the 2022 agreement through June 30, 2027. All fire agencies dispatched by ACRECC must use a standard fire station alerting system to allow ACRECC connectivity with fire stations. It currently dispatches fire emergency calls using an alerting system called Locution, which was installed approximately 22 years ago. This software and the alerting system have exceeded their useful life expectancy and recently experienced increased system malfunctions, requiring AFD to switch to backup systems to receive emergency dispatches. The unreliability of the current system, along with system failures, has a direct impact that can increase response times for emergency calls.
DISCUSSION
ACFD worked with the ACRECC consortium operations committee to determine the most appropriate station alerting system to replace the outdated Locution system. The committee brought back the recommendation to move forward with Phoenix G2 Station Alerting, which the ACRECC Advisory Board approved at its November 16, 2022, meeting. ACFD released multiple Requests for Proposal for the installation of the equipment, with initial bids coming in higher than budgeted. ACFD solicited a second bid process and received only one bid that was higher than the initial bids. ACFD was approved by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to sole source installation utilizing Honeywell International services.
The new system includes improvements to decrease dispatch and response times and will assist the AFD in maintaining National Fire Protection Association response standards. Additionally, the new alerting system will have features that improve the health and wellness of firefighters by utilizing alerting tones and lighting that ramp up in intensity, along with zone alerting that only notifies firefighters assigned to the apparatus being dispatched. The system includes a mobile app, communications dashboard, displays, scrolling messaging, LED indicator lighting, speakers, software, and hardware.
ACFD procured the Phoenix G2 equipment and installation services through Honeywell International, Inc. The agreement between the City of Alameda (City) and ACFD will allow Honeywell International to complete the installation of the new station alerting system in all four Alameda fire stations since AFD already contracts with ACRECC for dispatching services.
AFD and the City’s Information Technology will work closely with Honeywell and ACFD to facilitate the installation of the Phoenix G2 System in the City’s four fire stations. Once the agreement between ACFD and the City is approved, installation is anticipated to commence within 1-2 months.
The base project cost is $560,426, as outlined in Attachment A to Exhibit 1, and includes installation work to be performed at the following City Fire Stations:
Alameda Fire Station 1 - 2401 Encinal Ave., Alameda, CA 94501
Alameda Fire Station 2 - 635 Pacific Ave., Alameda, CA 94501
Alameda Fire Station 3 - 1625 Buena Vista Ave, Alameda, CA 94501
Alameda Fire Station 4 - 2595 Mecartney Rd, Alameda, CA 94502
To account for potential unforeseen challenges with equipment procurement and installation, a 10% contingency of $56,043 has been incorporated into the project budget, bringing the total agreement cost to $616,469.
ALTERNATIVES
• Authorize the City Manager to execute the Cooperative Agreement.
• Authorize the City Manager to execute the Cooperative Agreement with modifications and any changes would require approval from ACFD and ACRECC.
• Do not authorize the City Manager to execute the Cooperative Agreement.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
AFD intends to purchase and install a new fire station alerting system across all City fire stations. The base project cost, as outlined in Exhibit A to Exhibit 1, is $560,426 and includes installation work at all four fire station locations.
To account for unforeseen challenges that may arise during equipment procurement and installation, a 10% contingency of $56,043 has been factored into the project budget, bringing the total project cost to $616,469. This proposal has no impact on the General Fund.
Funding for this project will be pooled from two sources:
$478,000 from Project 42010 - AFD Station Alerting (in Fund 310 - Capital Improvement)
$138,469 from PP-GEMT (Public Provider Ground Emergency Medical Transport) Fund 224
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
This project supports the City Strategic Plan Priority to Enhance Community Safety and Services.
This act is subject to the Levine Act.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), this action is categorically exempt from further environmental review pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Sections 15301 (Existing Facilities) and 15302 (Replacement and Reconstruction).
CLIMATE IMPACT
There are no identifiable climate impacts or climate action opportunities associated with the subject of this report.
RECOMMENDATION
Authorize the City Manager to execute a cooperative agreement with ACFD for a not-to-exceed amount of $616,469 to purchase and install a new Phoenix G2 fire station alerting system.
Respectfully submitted,
Nicholas Luby, Fire Chief
By,
Anne Iturraran, Fire Administration Services Manager
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Ross McCarthy, Acting Finance Director
Exhibit:
1. Cooperative Agreement between the City of Alameda and Alameda County Fire Department