City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the City Council 1) approve an amendment to the existing
professional services agreement with Utility Systems, Science, and Software, Inc.
(US3) in an amount not-to-exceed $146,599.20 ($42,055.20 for parts and $104,544
for installation) to allow for the purchase and installation of replacement parts for the
Sewer Emergency Notification System and Sewer Flow Monitoring System; and 2)
approve a budget amendment related thereto.
A budget amendment requires a four-fifths vote.
BACKGROUND:
There are two technology systems serving the City’s 88 miles of gravity sewers
lines, 2 miles of force main sewer lines, and 7 pump stations: the Sewer Emergency
Notification System (ENS) and the Sewer Flow Management System (SFMS).
Both systems are integrated under a Motorola Supervisory Control and Data
Acquisition (MOSCAD) for communication over the City’s trunked radio system and
controlled by Trihedral Engineering’s Virtual Tagged System’s (VTS) Supervisory
Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), which gives intelligence to the ENS system
to notify staff of incidents and maintain necessary databases.
Meeting Date: 02/23/2015 Item Number: C-2
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM: FOUR-FIFTHS VOTE REQUIREMENT –Approval
of an Amendment to the Existing Professional Services Agreement with Utility
Systems, Science, and Software in an Amount Not-to-Exceed $146,599.20
($42,055.20 for Parts and $104,544 for Installation) to Purchase and Install
Replacement Parts for the Emergency Notification System and the Sewer Flow
Monitoring System (ENS/SFMS); and (2) Approval of a Budget Amendment
Related Thereto.
Contact Person/Dept.: Gabe Garcia/PW Phone Number: (310) 253-5633
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [] General Fund: Yes [] No [X]
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [] Attachments: []
Commission Action Required: Yes [] No [X] Date: ________________
Public Notification(E-Mail) Meetings and Agenda – City Council (02/17/15); (E-Mail)
Utility Systems, Science and Software, Inc. (02/17/15)
Department Approval:
Charles D. Herbertson (02/13/15)
City Attorney Approval:
Carol Schwab (by H. Baker) (02/13/15)
Chief Financial Officer Approval:
Jeff Muir (by M. Noller) (02/17/15)
City Manager Approval:
John M. Nachbar (02/17/15) City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
DISCUSSION:
The ENS/SFMS system requires maintenance and the replacement of components
and parts that are failing or no longer readily available in order to ensure that the
goal of preventing sewage spills and collection of sewer flow data is met. The sewer
flow data is necessary for Culver City to comply with requirements of the
Amalgamated Agreement with the City of Los Angeles.
Some of the Motorola MOSCAD equipment used in the ENS/SFMS is
approximately 15 years old. Over the last four months, there have been three
failures of critical equipment. On two separate occasions recently, the failure of
central processing units (CPU) required that staff be present around the clock for
several days to monitor sewage levels in wet wells and turn switches on and off to
manually operate the pumps Fortunately, the components of the system were
replaced with spare parts from the consultant.
Because the City’s wireless communication system is based on the City’s Motorola
trunk radio system, and because the Motorola MOSCAD equipment has proven to
be dependable beyond the typical 5-year life cycle, staff recommends the
replacement with current Motorola technology. As is typical with all technology, the
manufacturers upgrade their products. Recently, Motorola released their latest line
of new technology called Motorola ACE. Staff recommends that the City Council
approve the purchase of Motorola ACE technology to replace the existing 15-year
old system.
On June 23, 2014, the City Council approved two one-year extensions to the
professional services agreement with US3 for the maintenance of the ENS/SFMS.
The agreement with US3 is a professional services agreement and does not include
parts. US3 is an authorized Motorola technology partner and dealer and has
provided a letter proposal for the parts and labor to install them.
Pursuant to Culver City Municipal Code Section 3.07.045.C, staff recommends
entering into a single-source agreement with US3 because the firm is a Motorola
technology partner and dealer. Additionally, they have over 12 years’ experience
with the City’s ENS/SFMS system. Furthermore, US3 will provide the parts at their
cost, without charging the City overhead – in some instances, that cost is less than
the City would pay if it purchased the parts on its own, rather than through a dealer.
Finally, management of the project will be simplified in that staff will not need to
work with two or more contractors.
City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
FISCAL ANALYSIS:
The cost of the parts needed by the ENS/SFMS system is $42,055.20. The
additional professional services hours required to replace the parts and components,
perform programming, calibrate, and test their operation are estimated to be 960
hours, for a total professional service cost of $104,544. Staff recommends that the
existing professional services agreement with US3 be amended to increase the
contract amount for the current contract year to include parts and professional
services, in an amount not-to-exceed $146,599.20.
The parts purchase and the amendment to the professional services agreement will
be funded by the Sewer Enterprise Fund, budget line item 20460300.619800. A
budget amendment to appropriate $146,599.20 from the Sewer Enterprise Fund to
this account is required. There is sufficient funding available to fund this request.
MOTIONS:
That the City Council:
1. Approve a budget amendment appropriating $146,599.20 from the Sewer
Enterprise Fund (requires a four-fifths vote); and,
2. Approve an amendment to the existing professional services agreement with
Utility Systems, Science, and Software, Inc., for a not-to-exceed amount of
$146,599.20; and
3. Authorize the City Attorney to review/prepare the necessary documents; and
4. Authorize the City Manager to execute such documents on behalf of the City.