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Council
Communication

Office of the City Manager

 
 

Date

January 25, 2010

Agenda Item No.          36

Roll Call No.                 10-

Communication No.     10-019

Submitted by: Judy A. Bradshaw, Chief of Police

 

 

 

AGENDA HEADING:

 

Approval to purchase radio equipment from Illowa Communications, 1405 Fuller Road, West Des Moines, Iowa 50265, Mark Clark, President to upgrade Waste Water Reclamation Facility to meet narrow banding requirements of the Federal Communications Commission and to reconfigure frequency bands allowing the construction of the Metro Interoperability Communications System.

 

 

SYNOPSIS:

 

Recommend approval to purchase radio equipment from Illowa Communications for construction of the Metro Interoperability Communications System.  The current radio frequency assignments at the Waste Water Reclamation Facility are adjacent to the frequency channels required of the Metro Interoperability Communications System being constructed by the City. These same frequencies do not meet the narrow banding requirements required of the FCC. The new equipment will resolve both interoperability and channel sizing needs of the City.

 

 

FISCAL IMPACT:

 

Amount: $37,762.65

 

Funding Source:  CP034, POL990000, BLD116, 2005 Interoperability Grant, Capital Improvements Program 2009-10/2014-15 page 23.

 

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

 

The City of Des Moines, in conjunction with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Des Moines Police Department, Des Moines Fire Department, and West Des Moines WestCom Group, are initiating construction of the Metro Interoperability Communications System. This system will allow mobile radio communication between all public safety agencies in Polk County.

 

The City of Des Moines Waste Water Reclamation Facility is currently using radio frequencies that are adjacent to the channels desired for the Metro Interoperability Communications System. Once the Metro Interoperability Communications System is activated this situation would cause serious operational issues and degradation of voice traffic between agencies. These same radio frequencies will also need to be upgraded in the near future to meet Federal Communication Commission rules concerning narrow banding.

 

A bidding process was initiated by the Police Department and the City Radio Services Section to identify a qualified vendor to provide the equipment necessary to upgrade the Waste Water Reclamation Facility radio equipment. The City Purchasing Division distributed specifications (V10-047) for the equipment and five vendors submitted proposals. One vendor submitted three proposals.

 

Illowa Communication submitted three proposals and all were lower in price than the other proposals. The low dollar bid was for $28,771.90 but was non complaint to the specifications because the equipment proposed did not include a 14 character alph-numeric display required on the radios.

 

The next low dollar bid was also from Illowa Communications and is in compliance with the specifications. It is recommended that the Illowa Communication bid labeled Bid 2 Option A at $37,762.65 be approved and accepted by the City Council.

 

The Radio Services Section will be installing the equipment and the cost of the equipment shall be funded from the 2005 Interoperability Grant.

 

 

PREVIOUS COUNCIL ACTION(S):

 

Date: November 7, 2009

 

Roll Call Number:  05-2721

 

Action:              Acceptance of Department of Justice 2005 Communications Interoperability Grant for improved voice communications between police, fire and emergency medical services in greater Polk County area.  (Council Communication No.  05-625

)  Moved by Kiernan to adopt.  Motion Carried 7-0.

 

 

BOARD/COMMISSION ACTION(S): NONE

 

 

ANTICIPATED ACTIONS AND FUTURE COMMITMENTS: NONE

 

 

 

 

For more information on this and other agenda items, please call the City Clerk’s Office at 515-283-4209 or visit the Clerk’s Office on the second floor of City Hall, 400 Robert D. Ray Drive.  Council agendas are available to the public at the City Clerk’s Office on Thursday afternoon preceding Monday’s Council meeting. Citizens can also request to receive meeting notices and agendas by email by calling the Clerk’s Office or sending their request via email to cityclerk@dmgov.org.