REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
March 25, 2025
FROM
DON DAY, Director, Project and Facilities Management Department
SUBJECT
Title
Contract with Westnet, LLC for the Alerting Platform and Automated Voice Dispatch System for the Valley Communication Center Project
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. Find that the purchase and installation of the Westnet First-In Alerting Platform and Automated Voice Dispatch System, and not allowing substitution of an equal product, is acceptable under Public Contract Code section 3400(c)(2), as installation of this system is required in order to match other products in use on a particular public improvement either completed or in the course of completion.
2. Approve contract, including non-standard terms, with Westnet, LLC, for the purchase and installation of the First-In Alerting Platform and Automated Voice Dispatch System, in an amount not-to-exceed $225,940, for the Valley Communication Center Project.
3. Authorize the Director of the Project and Facilities Management Department to execute documents relating to the acceptance and testing of the Westnet First-In Alerting Platform and Automated Voice Dispatch System, including but not limited to, the Delivery Verification Form, Installation Verification Form, Acceptance Test Plan, and Final System Acceptance Certificate.
(Presenter: Don Day, Director, 387-5000)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Improve County Government Operations.
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
Pursue County Goals and Objectives by Working with Other Agencies and Stakeholders.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in additional costs to the project budget. This contract award remains within the approved project budget for the Valley Communication Center Project (WBSE 10.10.0181 - $124,981,367), which was approved on June 11, 2024 (Item No. 110), by the Board of Supervisors (Board) as part of the 2024-25 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Budget.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
On June 13, 2023 (Item No. 57), the Board awarded Construction Contract No. 23-527 for the Project. The Project contemplates the construction of a new facility known as the Valley Communication Center, located at the southeast corner of Rialto Avenue and Lena Road in San Bernardino.
The Project consists of a new three-story, 75,085 gross square foot building on the 6.85-acre site. Once completed, the Project will be a new mission-critical facility that will be operational 24 hours per day, 365 days per year, as the primary Emergency Operations Center in the San Bernardino Valley and is replacing the existing facility housed in the Miro Way Complex in Rialto.
The new facility will be occupied by the Sheriff/Coroner/Public Administrator, Office of Emergency Services, San Bernardino County Fire Protection District, Consolidated Fire Agencies (CONFIRE), Inland Counties Emergency Medical Agency, Innovation and Technology Department, and Project and Facilities Management (Facilities Division).
Westnet, LLC’s (Westnet) First-In Alerting Platform and Automated Voice Dispatch System is the cornerstone of CONFIRE’s dispatching communications. This capability allows for the immediate and automatic dispatch of resources by Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) with an appropriate voiced dispatch broadcast over the radio by an automated voice. This frees up the Primary Radio Dispatcher (PRD) to more effectively and efficiently monitor CAD recommendations for accuracy and reconfigure responses as directed by field units. The Westnet First-In Alerting Platform and Automated Voice Dispatch System equipment is currently used by CONFIRE Communications in the Valley and Desert dispatch centers to alert fire stations and provide incident information upon dispatch. The quote from Westnet is for the installation, testing and deployment of the system in the Valley Communication Center.
Per County Policy 11-05, a contract containing non-standard terms must be approved by the Board. The Westnet contract contains the following non-standard terms, which require Board approval:
1. Payment terms are Net 30 days.
• The County standard payment terms are Net 60 days with no interest or late payment penalties.
• Potential Impact: County standard processing time is 60 days or more. Failing to pay within Net 30 days may result in a material breach of the contract, which could allow the vendor to terminate the contract and seek other legal remedies.
2. Venue is the Orange County.
• The County standard contract requires venue for disputes to be in the Superior Court of California, San Bernardino County, San Bernardino District.
• Potential Impact: Having a venue in Orange County may result in additional expenses.
3. Westnet limits their liability to the purchase price of the products.
• The County standard contract does not include a limitation of liability.
• Potential Impact: In the event of a legal dispute, the County could only pursue damages up to the price of the contract and could not pursue incidental, special, indirect, exemplary, punitive, or consequential damages.
4. Westnet requires the County to defend Westnet against, and pay any damages awarded against Westnet and direct expenses, including reasonable attorneys' fees (but excluding any lost revenues, lost profits or other consequential economic damages of Westnet) to the extent the claimed infringement is based on or results in any material part from (a) any use of the Product other than in accordance with Westnet’s published instructions, (b) any unauthorized modification or alteration of the Product, (c) any combination or use of the Product with any other product or system or technologies not supplied by Westnet; (d) Westnet's compliance with Customer's design or specifications, or (d) any refusal to accept or use suitable modified or replacement Products provided by Westnet to avoid infringement.
• The County standard contract indemnify provision requires the contractor to indemnify, defend, and hold County harmless from third party claims arising out for the acts, errors or omissions of any person. The standard contract provision for intellectual property indemnity is: contractor will indemnify, defend, and hold harmless County and its officers, employees, agents and volunteers, from any and all third party claims, costs (including without limitation reasonable attorneys’ fees), and losses for infringement of any United States patent, copyright, trademark or trade secret (Intellectual Property Rights) by any goods or services.
• Potential Impact: Westnet is not required to defend, indemnify or hold the County harmless from any claims arising from the scenarios mentioned. The County may be solely liable for the costs of defense and damages, which could exceed the total contract amount.
5. The contract requires the County to agree to binding mediation for dispute resolution.
• The County standard contract does not require binding mediation.
• Potential Impact: Binding arbitration decisions are not appealable. In addition, disputes that might otherwise be settled in small claims court would incur arbitration costs that could exceed the costs of a small claims action, and the contract amount.
PFMD is requesting approval for the purchase despite the non-standard terms as the Westnet Alerting Platform and Automated Voice Dispatch System is necessary for the critical operations that are to occur at the Valley Communication Center.
PROCUREMENT
This is a single/sole source purchase due to the proprietary capture of the interaction between the Westnet alerting system components already in place at CONFIRE and several fire station installations throughout the County of San Bernardino. The system will also work with legacy alerting systems in non-WESTNET served stations.
The Purchasing Department supports this non-competitive procurement due to the functional specifications that meet the criteria demanded by CONFIRE communication dispatchers for their alerting and communication needs.
County Policy 11-04, Procurement of Goods, Supplies, Equipment, and Services, requires departments to seek Board approval for non-competitive purchases of goods in excess of $200,000 annually.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Daniel Pasek, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on March 7, 2025; Purchasing (Dylan Newton, Purchasing Buyer II, 387-3377) on March, 7, 2025; Auditor-Controller/Treasurer/Tax Collector (Mima Ugbo, Deputy Chief Controller, 382-3035) on March 7, 2025; Project and Facilities Management (Rob Gilliam, Chief of Project Management, 387-5000) on March 7, 2025; American Rescue Plan Act (Joon Cho, Chief Administrative Analyst, 387-5402) on March 7, 2025; Finance (Yael Verduzco, Principal Administrative Analyst, 387-5285) on March 11, 2025; and County Finance and Administration (Paloma Hernandez-Barker, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on March 11, 2025.
(SH: 909-771-1182)