REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF THE COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO
AND RECORD OF ACTION
February 9, 2021
FROM
LARRY AINSWORTH, Chief Information Officer, Department of Innovation and Technology
SUBJECT
Title
Contract with NDSL Corporation for Cellwatch Battery Monitoring System Equipment and Training
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve Contract in the amount of $292,099 with NDSL Corporation for equipment and training for the Cellwatch Battery Monitoring System.
(Presenter: Tim Trager, Public Safety Communications Division Chief, 388-5563)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Improve County Government Operations.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this Contract will not result in the use of Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). Approval of the necessary budget adjustments to the Department of Innovation and Technology’s (IT) 2020-21 budget are not requested at this time, but will be included on a future quarterly countywide budget report presented to the Board of Supervisors (Board) for approval, if necessary. IT’s operating costs are recovered via service rates and fees approved annually by the Board.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The County’s communication sites rely on battery systems that allow critical radio, microwave, and network equipment to continue operating during surges, brown-outs, and rolling or unplanned commercial power outages. The Cellwatch Battery Monitoring System (Cellwatch), which is manufactured, sold, and supported by NDSL, is an industry standard technology designed to provide real-time monitoring and surveillance of the battery systems that provide emergency power to the County’s communication sites. These communication sites provide the backbone that supports the County’s public safety radio, wide area network, and telephone systems. Through ongoing monitoring of communication site battery systems, the operational status of each individual battery is always available and is verified electronically on a continuous basis, with data collected and presented for review and analysis by County technical staff.
In May 2019, IT purchased Cellwatch from NDSL and deployed this equipment at 30 high priority communication sites to pilot remote monitoring of County communication sites. The Cellwatch system has proven to be effective in monitoring the battery systems at the County’s communication sites and staff recommends that Cellwatch battery monitoring equipment be deployed at the remaining 50 communication sites. The training component consists of a 2-day certification class that will allow the County to install and monitor the equipment independently without the need to contract services from the vendor. The contract has an indefinite term due to the nature of the equipment, which is tied to monitoring software that is licensed under the End-User License Agreement (EULA) included in the contract. Approval of this contract will result in Cellwatch systems being deployed to all County communication sites to ensure a high state of readiness to support critical communications and to protect the County’s expansive communications network from power disruptions. The contract can be terminated for convenience with 30 days’ written notice.
The County standard agreement was negotiated with NDSL to include the following non-standard terms:
The term of the contract is indefinite.
• County Policy 11-06SP does not permit indefinite term or automatically renewing contracts unless approved by the Board.
• Potential Impact: There is no end term to the contract and the County is indefinitely bound to the terms and conditions of the contract.
PROCUREMENT
In May 2019, IT made a non-competitive purchase of Cellwatch Battery Monitoring equipment in the amount of $193,564 under the Purchasing Director's authority, per Policy 11-04, Procurement of Goods, Supplies, Equipment and Services, to determine if Cellwatch was the best long-term solution for the County's communication equipment sites. Based on the performance of the Cellwatch Battery Monitoring System, IT recommends installation of the Cellwatch Battery Monitoring system at the remaining communication equipment sites to have a standardized, integrated real time single battery system monitoring for all County communication equipment sites. NDSL is the only vendor that sells Cellwatch battery monitoring equipment. County Purchasing concurs with the non-competitive purchase of battery monitoring equipment and training from Cellwatch in order to have a standardized, integrated real time single battery monitoring system for all County communication sites.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Bonnie Uphold, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5487) on January 19, 2021; Purchasing (Jessica Barajas, Lead Buyer, 387-3376) on January 19, 2021; Finance (Monique Amis, Administrative Analyst, 387-4883) on January 25, 2021; and County Finance and Administration (Kelly Welty, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on January 26, 2021.