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4B Sales Tax Corporation Minutes - 09/04/2003MINUTES OF THE 4B SALES TAX CORPORATION September 4, 2003 Present: Ray Gonzalez, Vice President § Benay Ayers, Secretary Treasurer § Corporation Board Members Bill Altman § Tommy McCulloch § Leon Mallonee § Jim Berzina, City Manager § Matt Benoit, Assistant City Manager § City Staff Ken Coughlin, Chief of Police, WFPD § Captain Earl Foster, WFFD § Linda Merrill, Recording Secretary § Absent: Rick Boone, President § Corporation Board Members Arthur Bea Williams § I. Call To Order. Vice - President Ray Gonzalez called the meeting to order at 8:33 a.m. II. Approval of Minutes (July 24, 2003). Tommy McCulloch moved, seconded by Leon Mallonee, that the minutes of the July 24, 2003 meeting be approved. The motion carried unanimously. III. Consider a Presentation and Recommendation on a Two -Way Radio Project. Matt Benoit addressed the Board. He stated that in June 2002, the City received the results of a needs assessment from consultants on the two -way radio project. As a reminder, Mr. Benoit stated there are three legs of the radio communications project. They include: (1) two -way radios (walkie- talkies, radios in cars, supporting infrastructure, such as towers); (2) the computer -aided dispatch and records management system (from the initiation of a 911 call to dispatch, through the officer's written report of the call); and (3) mobile data terminals, allowing officers to receive written information in their cars regarding the nature of the call, as well as allowing for the opportunity to perform warrant checks on the street. Today's conversation would only involve the two -way radios. 4B Minutes — September 4, 2003 2 Requests for Proposal were requested in April for the two -way radio system. The RFP process does not necessarily tie the City to the lowest cost, but allows for presentations to be made to determine what will be received for the amount of money expended. Proposals were submitted in June from Motorola and from Daily Wells. In early July, presentations and demonstrations were conducted with the vendors. City staff and RCC Consultants reviewed the information provided. Negotiations are currently underway with Daily Wells Communications. It is not unusual to approach the Board at this juncture, even though there is no contract at this time. A budget amendment had been requested in the public safety training center process before bids were submitted. Mr. Benoit stated he felt there was enough information available at this time to request a budget amendment. Mr. Benoit reviewed some of the shortcomings of the City's existing radio system: there is inadequate coverage (Tanglewood /Canyon Trails area, Sheppard Air Force Base, and south of Southwest Parkway), channel interference and congestion, there is no exclusive vehicle -to- vehicle communication, lack of security, the equipment is outdated and bulky, and there is no room for growth. The choice of going with Daily -Wells was based on four factors: 1. Cost. Daily -Wells proposed a cost of approximately $6.6 million, while Motorola proposed $7.2 million. 2. System Design and Redundancy. Daily -Wells is offering seven sites (four prime, and three receiver -only — those receiver sites will only transmit a signal). Motorola offered two sites. More sites will provide better coverage. If the prime site in Motorola's system becomes disabled, the system loses its ability to trunk (assign a priority to each radio, such as Chief Coughlin's radio being assigned the highest priority). Daily - Wells' system will still trunk, even if one particular site goes down. 3. Coverage Testing. The entire city is divided into quarter -mile sections, and within each of those sections, you do a portable radio to dispatch, portable radio to another quadrant, a mobile radio to dispatch, and a mobile radio, moving within that quarter -mile section, to dispatch. It is a very extensive test and time - consuming. Motorola objected to a good portion of that proposed testing. Daily -Wells agreed to conduct the proposed plan, but offered instead to only deal with the most difficult issues in exchange for a quarter of a million dollars reduction on the price. At this point, there are still negotiations on the areas to be tested, but Mr. Benoit stated he believes it would be in the City's best interests to accept this offer. He suggested the City go into DB, or the amount of signal loss from being inside a building. The figure 10 DB represents that signal loss from being inside a typical brick house; inside City Hall, the signal loss would be a 20 DB. He said the testing would occur with samples of portable - to- portable radios with 10 DB and where we know it will be difficult, such as near 4B Minutes — September 4, 2003 3 Sheppard and in the Tanglewood area. The signal with portable -to- portable has to go two directions, while portable to dispatch goes only one direction. Testing would then occur at specified 20 DB structures, portable -to- portable. Mayor Altman asked who would choose the areas of testing. Mr. Benoit stated the City would, as the areas of difficulty are already identified with the current system. Mr. Altman then asked about the time limit. Mr. Benoit stated Daily Wells wanted to perform the testing within 21 days. In the event they do not, they will have to make some changes. Mr. Altman asked Police Chief Ken Coughlin if he was comfortable with this level of testing, and Chief Coughlin replied affirmatively, confirming Mr. Benoit's assertion that the City knows the difficult areas. 4. Maintenance. Mr. Benoit stated that Daily Wells offered an in -house solution for much of the day -to -day maintenance. The City will have the opportunity to assign talk groups. All police officers operating in the north quadrant of the City could be on their own talk group, for example. The talk group can be as small as two officers, or as large as the entire city. For purposes of example, if an officer assigned to the north quadrant is reassigned to the south quadrant, his portable radio would need to be reconfigured so that he would be able to communicate with his fellow south quadrant officers, rather than still be plugged into the north quadrant talk group. This will be a simple procedure, and one that in -house personnel can be trained to handle. The staff, trained by Daily Wells, would be responsible for going through a written process and perform triage on the radios. The on- the -job training would be furnished free of charge by Daily Wells, and there is no limit on the number of personnel to be trained. The training would continue through design, construction and installation so that the personnel would understand the process. Mr. Altman asked how this has been handled by other cities. Mr. Benoit surmised that this situation is unique, as Daily Wells is part of MA /COM. Mr. Altman asked Chief Coughlin how the maintenance issue is handled with the department's existing radios. Chief Coughlin replied there are maintenance contracts with Mobile Phone of Texas and Bob's Communication, but that in addition to the maintenance payment, there is also a fee for each service call. Mr. Altman asked what the effect of this maintenance with Daily Wells would have on the City's budget. Mr. Benoit stated only the public safety personnel will be on the new system; there will still be a need for maintenance of the radios used by other departments, such as Public Works and Parks. It could be considered a "wash," but those maintenance agreements will not be going away. Tommy McCullough asked what effect the in -house training will have on City staff. Chief Coughlin replied the quartermaster, who issues equipment, should be able to absorb these duties. 4B Minutes — September 4, 2003 E Mr. Benoit explained that the training would be for day -to -day issues. Daily Wells will do tower climbing, making sure microwave dishes are pointed correctly. The City will have 24 -hour, 7 day a week service with Daily Wells, within the RFP's response time. If a radio breaks and in -house personnel cannot fix it, it would be sent to Daily Wells, which will send the City a new radio and repair the broken one. If a radio is totally incapacitated, the City would be able to purchase a replacement at probably half the original cost (less the software charges with the original purchase). Daily Wells' maintenance costs for 2 -5 years totals $560,000. Motorola offered maintenance for the same period at a cost of $852,644. The cost of the maintenance is built -in to what is being requested of the 4B Board. Mr. McCullough asked if the two -way radios would reduce the need for several cell phones. Chief Coughlin replied that it probably would eliminate the majority of them. There will still be a need for some cell phones, however; for example, a patrol officer could offer the use of a cell phone if someone at the scene of an accident needs to place a call to their spouse. There are three cell phones currently assigned to patrol. Mr. Benoit stated there would be a five - channel system, which will solve the channel congestion problem. For planning purposes, 100 radio users are placed on one channel. Mr. Altman asked how many talk groups would be assigned. Mr. Benoit stated Daily Wells offered 800 per channel; the City agreed to 128 per channel as being sufficient. Mr. Benoit then addressed encryption. Inherently, digital systems come with a level of encryption. A higher level can be added on a case -by -case basis, which would involve placing an additional chip in a radio. In the Request for Proposal, the City specified the outside agencies the City will need to be able to communicate with — the sheriff's department, AMR, Sheppard Air Force Base, and DPS. The demonstration by Daily Wells showed it was easy to communicate with those agencies. At this juncture, Daily Wells has offered to lower their price to $6.37 million by reducing the scope (less encryption, and fewer talk groups per channel). The larger of the two reductions was the encryption at approximately $250,000; the fewer talk groups amounts to approximately $36,000. An additional discount request has been made; negotiations are still underway. The consultant's original estimate in June 2002 was $5.8 million for a three -site system. Jim Berzina asked if the radios would be the same as currently identified if the City chose to go with a higher encryption. Chief Coughlin replied the only difference would be realized by those trying to get into the system. Mr. Benoit added that the City's consultants told him that two years ago, no one could hear past the base level of encryption on a digital radio, but today, there is public access to that technology. At this 4B Minutes — September 4, 2003 5 point, an individual will not be able to go to Radio Shack and buy something to hear past the level of encryption that comes with a base digital radio. But by the time the radios are in use, it's hard to predict the level of technology that will be available. Mr. Benoit said the higher level of encryption would bring the cost back up to close to $6.6 million, Daily Wells' original proposal. A different chip would be inserted in those radios with DES encryption. Mr. Altman stated the higher encryption uses a different algorithm to scramble the transmission, and it would not be interoperable with the base level encryption radios. Mr. Benoit stated it was not his understanding that the two levels could not communicate. Chief Coughlin noted the system would probably allow for a switch on the radios, so that the higher encrypted radios could switch down to the base level encryption. Mr. Berzina noted he would like to preserve the option of a higher level of encryption for some of the radios. Mr. McCullough agreed, stating that, as it is a significant amount of money being spent, the project should be done right. Mr. Altman noted it might be possible to get federal funding from a security standpoint from the Homeland Security Fund. Vice - President Gonzalez asked who would retain ownership of the towers. Mr. Benoit stated the towers would belong to the City, and for the most part, the towers would be located on City property. Mr. Altman noted that not all of them would be on City property, and noted the jail annex as an example. He noted a concern with Daily Wells in that the sites they proposed for towers had not been checked with the FCC. Motorola came in with a very slick presentation, but Daily Wells seemed almost proud to have put their presentation together the night before. Mr. Benoit noted the president of the company noted that the site locations may be tinkered with, but the costs for the towers are built in, and the location at this point does not necessarily matter. Benay Ayers asked if Daily Wells had installed comparable systems in other cities. Mr. Benoit noted they had been a subcontractor for MA/COM in San Antonio; maybe in Oklahoma City; they have been prime contractors in the Kerr County Sheriff's office; Riverside County, California; and a "mop up" job in Irving, Texas. Mr. Benoit stated that not much has changed since the Board's last meeting in regard to financing. There are four ways to pay for the system: cash, or 15 -, 10 -, or 5- year certificates of obligation. From a timeline standpoint, if the 4B Board approves a budget amendment today, Mr. Benoit noted that City staff would present a budget amendment to the City Council at its September 16 meeting. Negotiations will continue until the contract is completed and approved by the City Council. The system completion date is estimated at March 2005, assuming a contract is signed in September. Mr. Benoit stated his recommendation to the Board is to amend its budget in the amount of $6.4 million, . 4B Minutes — September 4, 2003 6 unless the Board wanted to include the higher cost of encryption. Ms. Ayers opined that a couple of hundred thousand dollars savings from a $6 million contract was insignificant compared to the security the additional encryption would provide. Mr. Benoit noted the issuance of bonds would not occur until in conjunction with the presentation in October for the CAD /RMS. The final cost will be firmed up by then. Mr. McCullough asked who made the equipment used by Daily Wells. Mr. Benoit replied that MA/COM is the manufacturer. Vice - President Gonzalez asked if there is a difference between that equipment and that of Motorola. Mr. Benoit noted that Motorola has taken on the role of offering a "Cadillac," while Daily Wells is doing a good, strong "Chevrolet," but there is nothing to suggest it is offering a substandard system. American Public Communication Officers Association developed a standard of where public communication needs to be, called "Project 25 Compliant." Mr. Benoit states this Project allows 800 megahertz public safety entities to be able to communicate with other 800 megahertz public safety users, regardless of each entity's system. Motorola is the only company at this point that offers this compliance, but Mr. Benoit stated there was not a good reason for Wichita Falls to be concerned with this compliance standard. Daily Wells offers the "patch" system that allows the local entities to communicate. Mr. Altman noted Project 25 required that entities be able to buy equipment from different vendors, and it all be able to work together. Ken Coughlin agreed. Mr. Berzina asked what level of communication would occur with the county. Mr. Benoit noted the county would not be able to talk directly to any given police officer without the patch. Mr. Altman noted the 4B Board would probably also be asked to consider funding half the purchase of a fire truck. The City has found the money to fund half of the total purchase of $900,000. Jim Berzina noted that it may actually cost $800,000, and noted it is a big aerial truck. Mr. Altman also noted on the next Council agenda meeting will be a resolution urging Congress to not extend the moratorium on sales tax on Internet sales. If this protection of Internet sales is allowed to continue, it could eventually affect property taxes. Mr. McCullough asked who would pick up the pieces, if Daily Wells goes out of business. Mr. Benoit asked if he meant during the system installation. Mr. McCullough noted that the City was unable to provide the Board with a reference list of 15 -20 cities with which Daily Wells has contracted. Mr. Benoit stated that when Daily Wells took on big systems like San Antonio and Oklahoma City, they were in the capacity as a subcontractor. He noted the huge job in Riverside County garnered Daily Wells a very 4B Minutes — September 4, 2003 7 good reference. Captain Earl Foster noted Daily Wells had been around since the CB- radio era. Chief Coughlin noted there are only two to three radio communications companies worldwide, Motorola, MA /COM, and E.F. Johnson. Mr. Benoit noted that MA /COM had bought that component of the Ericsson company. Mr. McCullough asked why MA /COM itself did not submit a proposal to the city. Mr. Benoit surmised the company had its hands full with San Antonio and Oklahoma City. Mr. McCullough asked if MA /COM is a publicly traded company, and Mr. Benoit replied he believed it is. IV. Conduct a Public Hearing on a Two -Way Radio Project. A public hearing was held for this project. No one addressed the Board concerning this project. The hearing was closed. V. Consider an Amendment to the Board's Fiscal Year 2003 -2004 Budget for a Two -Way Radio Project. Mr. Altman moved that the 4B Board amend its budget in the amount of $6.6 million for the two -way radio project. Ms. Ayers seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved. VI. Confirm October 10, 2003 Meeting. Mr. Benoit reminded the Board there is now a requirement for a 60 -day lapse between notice of a meeting and expenditure of monies approved to be spent at such meeting. He has posted a meeting notice for October 10 to meet those timeline requirements. Mr. Mallonee, Ms. Ayers and Mr. Altman all noted they would be unavailable on that date. VII. Adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 9:48 a.m. Linda Merrill Benay Ayers Recording Secretary Secretary Treasurer