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Title:
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Authorization of an Amendment to the Eiger Tech Systems Contract to Increase the Total Contract Amount by $35,000 for the SmartBus Project.
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City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the City Council approve an amendment to the current Eiger
Tech Systems contract authorizing an increase of $35,000 for the SmartBus project.
BACKGROUND:
The SmartBus project is an integrated system which includes an Automatic Vehicle
Location (AVL) subsystem that determines the bus location by utilizing Global
Positioning System (GPS) technology, and a Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD)
subsystem that generates an area map display of the location of buses in real time.
On October 10, 2002, a Request for Proposals (RFP) was issued for program
management services. These services are necessary due to the very technical
nature of this procurement. Staff does not possess the technical expertise to
develop appropriate specifications and oversee the purchase and installation of this
ITS technology. Staff believes that the City’s needs will best be served through the
use of a company that specializes in technology and has an extensive background
working with public transit agencies.
On March 23, 2003, the City Council approved a $156,127 contract with Eiger Tech
Systems for project management services for the Transportation Department’s
Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) project.
On February 5, 2005, the City Council approved a 10% increase to the Eiger Tech
Systems contract for additional costs associated with switching radio frequencies
from the City UHF channel to a 800 MHz channel. This increase was also
Meeting Date: 3/12/07 Item Number: A-3
AGENDA ITEM: Authorization of an Amendment to the Eiger Tech Systems
Contract to Increase the Total Contract Amount by $35,000 for the SmartBus
Project.
Contact Person/Dept.: Art Ida Phone Number: (310) 253-6545
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [] General Fund: Yes [] No [X]
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [X] Attachments: []
Public Notification:
Eiger Tech Systems
Department Approval:
Stephen C. Cunningham (2/20/07)
City Attorney Approval:
Carol Schwab (by H. Iker) (03/06/07)
City Controller Approval:
Marlee Chang (03/07/07)
City Manager Approval:
Jerry B. Fulwood (03/07/07)City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
associated work from the Federal Transportation Administration’s (FTA) new ITS
Architecture audit process.
For the past ten months, Transportation has been working with Eiger Tech Systems
and Orbital in developing alternate radio frequency scenarios to support the data
transmissions for the SmartBus project. Each scenario required frequency
engineering designs, hardware installations, testing, reporting, approval from
surrounding governmental agencies affected by our transmissions, approval from
the Regional Frequency Coordination Group and the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC).
DISCUSSION:
The Transportation Department will integrate other ITS technologies including
automatic passenger counters, automatic bus stop voice annunciation, real time
arrival information at major bus stops, onboard video surveillance, and vehicle health
monitoring. The ITS project is highly technical and Eiger Tech Systems has been
very responsive in making sure system requirements for the Transportation
Department will be met.
Due to the complexity of the SmartBus project, we have experienced several events
which contributed to additional consulting hours for Eiger Tech Systems to ensure
the success of this project. One of the key components of this ITS system is the
utilization of radio frequencies to transmit voice and data. The Transportation
Department originally engineered the SmartBus system to utilize the City UHF
channel. However, it was discovered that the utilization of this particular UHF
channel was not feasible. Through changes in the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) regulations, we were informed that there would be a scarce
amount of available channels in Los Angeles County and that obtaining such a
channel would take a long time and prove to be very costly. Fortunately, our
Communications Department developed an alternative solution which would use an
existing 800 MHz channel to transmit the data. This solution would provide some
costs savings estimated around $100,000 and will also lower the time it will take to
implement the project.
Several radio frequency scenarios were developed with each one having pros and
cons that would affect performance, costs, additional equipment, agency approvals
and implementation time. In developing the 800 MHz radio frequency scenarios,
each scenario would result in additional re-engineering designs, testing and agency
approvals. The amount of work that was involved with development of these
scenarios proved to be a significant increase to the amount of technical work for
Eiger Tech Systems. When staff reviewed all of the additional work with Eiger Tech City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
Systems, including all of the remaining tasks, and its comparison to the remaining
number of hours left on the current contract, we have determined that an additional
$35,000 will be needed in order to cover the Eiger Tech Systems remaining tasks
which includes Mini Fleet testing, Fleet installations, and post installation system
evaluation.
FISCAL ANALYSIS:
Staff is recommending the City Council approve an amendment to the existing
contract with Eiger Tech Systems to add an additional $35,000. The Transportation
Department has sufficient federal transit capital grant funds in the current line item
budget account for this additional amount. There will be no impact on the City’s
general fund.
ATTACHMENTS:
None
MOTION:
That the City Council:
1. Approve an amendment to the contract with Eiger Tech Systems for project
management services for the Transportation Departments Intelligent
Transportation System (ITS) project to increase the contract amount by $35,000.
3. Direct the City Attorney to prepare the necessary amendment to the contract and
authorize the City Manager to execute the contract amendment on behalf of the
City.