professional services for 2 way radio design

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FOR:

For an Engineer to Review/Design a Radio System Network for Public Safety and Public Service

Employees

Revised RFQ Issue Date: November 8, 2016

Submit STATEMENTS to:Lisa Hittle

City of Zanesville401 Market Street

Zanesville, OH 43701

I. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE:

With this Request for Qualifications (RFQ), the City of Zanesville (COZ) is seeking an Engineer to familiarize themselves with the City of Zanesville’s current radio communication system. The Engineer is to suggest and recommend an upgrade path that will move the City forward to a digital radio communication system. They will write design specifications to upgrade/replace the City of Zanesville’s current radio network for use in a formal bid process.

The selected Engineer will work with the City’s IT Manager during both Phase I and Phase II of this project. The Engineer will also be expected to report their findings and suggestions to the Mayor and City Council.

A. Background Information

The City of Zanesville currently operates with 3 different platforms for the Fire Department, Police Department, and the other Public Services divisions. See the diagrams below for the current design:

Fire Department:

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Police Department:

Public Services:

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The upgrade or replacement should reuse any current towers or equipment possible to maximize economies to the owners while at the same time maximizing the benefit to the radio system users and providing growth for future use.

A: Current Situation

System Description:

1. Radio Users: The City of Zanesville radio system provides two-way Public Safety and Public Service radio service to several employees within the City.

a. Primary Users: COZ Police department, COZ Fire department, Dispatch, Vehicle Maintenance, Waste Water Division, Water Treatment Divisions, Parks/Recreation and Cemetery Division, Street and Sanitation Division, Building Maintenance, Utility Billing, Airport, Mayor’s office, and Code Enforcement.

2. Coverage: The City of Zanesville radio system was designed to provide excellent coverage providing analog audio quality of “Speech understandable with slight effort. Occasional repetition required due to noise/distortion”, both talk-in and talk-out within the City of Zanesville while using a hand-held portable and either standing outside or sitting in a vehicle.

3. Dispatch Console System: The City of Zanesville currently operates a MIP 5000 system which operates 3 dispatch consoles at 8 locations.

a. Street Departmentb. Cemeteryc. Vehicle Maintenanced. Sewer Plante. City Hallf. Water Pumpingg. Water Maintenanceh. Safety Center

4. Subscribers: There are approximately 292 subscriber radio units (portable and mobile) affiliated on The City of Zanesville radio system.

a. Police Department: Approximately 88b. Fire Department: Approximately 78c. Street and Sanitation Division: Approximately 38d. Parks/Recreation/Cemetery Division: Approximately 10e. Waste Water Division: Approximately 29f. Water Treatment Divisions: Approximately 40g. Engineering: Approximately 1h. Code Enforcement: Approximately 2i. Mayor’s Office: Approximately 2j. Utility Billing: Approximately 1k. Airport – Approximately 3

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B: Future System

1. Technology: The City of Zanesville is wanting to move away from analog communication and move to digital communication.

2. Coverage: Future system must provide at least a 95% coverage over the City of Zanesville.

3. Infrastructure: Reuse of current towers and equipment if possible.4. Open Standards: Future system will give consideration to open standard

technology. Proprietary technology will be discouraged.5. Airtime: Future system must at a minimum be able to seamlessly handle

the current number of subscribers.

II. INSTRUCTIONS FOR RESPONDING:

A. General RequirementsThe Statements of Qualifications must be received by 12:00 pm. on December 2, 2016. Please place STATEMENTS in an envelope or box clearly labeled “RFQ COZ PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FOR: For an Engineer to Review/Design a Radio System Network for Public Safety and Public Service EmployeesSTATEMENTS must be delivered to:

City of Zanesville 401 Market StreetZanesville, OH 43701Attn: Lisa Hittle

1. All interested Respondents are required to register with the City staff, Lisa Hittle, [email protected] in order to receive updates, addenda or any additional information required. The City is not responsible for any failure to register.

2. Inquiries to the City staff requesting clarification regarding the Request for Proposal or the content therein must be made via e-mail to Lisa Hittle, [email protected] and must be received prior to the end of the business day, 5:00 pm on November 29, 2016.

3. Any questions regarding this RFQ will be handled as promptly and as directly as possible. If a question requires only clarification of instructions or specifications, it will be handled verbally. If any question results in a change or addition to the RFQ, the changes or additions will be forwarded to all registered Respondents as quickly as possible by addendum.

4. Respondents shall designate a contact person, with appropriate contact information, to address any questions concerning a proposal. The Respondents shall also state the name and title of individuals who will make final decisions regarding contractual commitments and have legal authority to execute the contract on the Respondent's behalf.

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mailto:[email protected]

III. INSTRUCTIONS FOR RESPONDING (CON’T):

A. General Notifications

1. No person shall be excluded from participation in, denied any benefits of, or otherwise discriminated against in connection with the award and performance of any contract on the basis of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, sex, age, ethnicity, or on any other basis prohibited by law.

2. The City’s policy to encourage greater availability, capacity development, and contract participation by with certified minority, female, disadvantaged businesses.

3. All respondents shall comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and all STATEMENTS and a subsequent contract, if any, shall include the following statement:

“The Respondent shall take the necessary actions to ensure its facilities are in compliance with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. It is understood that the program of the Respondent is not a program or activity of the City of Zanesville. The Respondent agrees that its program or activity will comply with the requirements of the ADA. Any costs of such compliance will be the responsibility of the Respondent. Under no circumstances will the Respondent conduct any activity which it deems to not be in compliance with the ADA.”

4. The City has the right to modify the requirements herein, to request modified STATEMENTS from Respondents, and to negotiate with the selected Respondent on price or other contract terms as necessary to meet TARE’s objectives.

5. Although it is the City’s intent to choose only the most qualified Respondents to interview, the City reserves the right to choose any number of qualified finalists for interview and/or final selection.

6. This Request for Qualifications does not commit the City of Zanesville to pay any costs incurred in the submission of a proposal or the costs incurred in making necessary studies and designs for preparation thereof, or contract for service or supplies.

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IV. PROGRAM OBJECTIVES:

The RFQ scope of services is detailed below. The goal is to create a radio system that supports all of The City of Zanesville’s current and longer term public safety radio and nonpublic safety requirements as well as, enabling interoperable communications for any emergency service providers including regional partners.

1. Familiarize itself with the current City of Zanesville radio system2. Assess the current overall communications environment3. Suggest and recommend an upgrade path4. Assist in writing the “Needs and Specifications”5. Deliver a bid specification package to seek vendors to upgrade/replace the

City of Zanesville’s radio system6. Assist the City of Zanesville to evaluate received bids

V. DELIVERABLES:

The scope of services follows; however, the Engineer is encouraged to suggest deletions or additions within their understanding of the program/program approach if they believe changes will better meet the objectives of the program.

Phase 1 The engineer shall:

1. Evaluate the land mobile radio market trends and top tier vendors, 2. Identify, assess and define the needs of all radio system stakeholders, 3. Investigate the use of available grant funding for this project, 4. Create an RFP to cover the design, development, procurement, construction and implementation of a standards based, interoperable land mobile and portable radio communications system (upgraded or new) that will support the current and future needs for Public Safety Communications, other nonpublic safety city departments. The RFP shall be functional and performance-based rather than dictate a specific system design approach. Thus, the RFP will define the functions that need to be supported, the services required, and the overall radio system performance that must be achieved.

Phase 2 The engineer shall:

1. Assist in evaluating the Proposals for the upgraded or new systems.

This work will include assisting in the selection of the best overall system, the appropriate services, software and components to achieve the required system functionality and negotiation of the final contract between the chosen vendor and the City.

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V. PROJECT TIMELINE:

1. RFQ re-issued November 8, 2016

2. Questions should be submitted to the City in writing by November 29, 2016

3. Statements of Qualifications are due December 2, 2016 by 12:00 p.m. (noon) in the IT Office

4. Selection of the Contractor by the City will be concluded on December 7, 2016

5. Negotiation of Scope and Fee complete by January 6, 2017

6. If necessary, legislation presented to City Council for consideration and approval of contract on December 12, 2016

Note: The City reserves the right to adjust this schedule as necessary to meet its objectives.

VI. RESPONDENT AND SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS:

To be considered, interested firms should submit or address the following:

A. One (1) unbound original and five (5) bound copies of the SOQ plus 1 full copy on CD-ROM.

B. A description of the firm’s qualifications and experience and that of key personnel assigned to this project (and that of each firm proposed as part of the team). It is noted that equipment, material and staff shall be provided by the Respondent. Your engagement manager must be named.

C. A description of previous projects that your firm (and those of each firm proposed as part of the team) has conducted for organizations of similar size and complexity. Provide contact names and telephone numbers of references.

D. To ensure that this project be completed in a timely manner, the City will require that the selected Contractor perform steps concurrently to expedite results and recommendations, as feasible.

E. At the discretion of the City, one or more Respondents may be invited to be interviewed for purposes of clarification or discussion of the proposal. If requested, presentation materials will be required (TBD).

F. Any expenses incurred by the Respondent(s) in appearing for an interview or in any way in providing additional information as part of the response to this Request for Qualifications are solely the responsibility of the Respondent. The City of Zanesville is not liable for any costs incurred by Respondents in the

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preparation of STATEMENTS or any work performed by the Respondent prior to the approval of an executed contract by City of Zanesville.

VI. RESPONDENT AND SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS (CON’T):

G. The following must be included with your submission:

1. A one (1) page cover letter, addressed to the City from the responding organization signed by the Owner or CEO

2. A one (1) page summary of the name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, website of the primary Contractor and/or team of Contractors that will be assigned to this contract, if awarded

3. One (1) page that indicates at least three (3) and no more than five (5) clients (denoting previous or current) as references for Contractor’s branding projects, community outreach and public education projects. The page should include POC information for each reference listed.

4. One page that outlines the Respondent’s approach for the City’s proposed activities and the Respondent’s estimate of hours to complete each

VII. EVALUATION OF STATEMENTS:

The Selection Panel will be comprised of a minimum of 5 participants including the Budget/Finance Director, the Information Technology Manager, the Public Safety Director and the Public Service Director. Selection shall be determined to be in the best interest of the City as evaluated by the Selection Panel. The approval of the selected firm will be subject to the final approval of the Mayor and will be contingent on the successful completion of a contract between the City and the successful respondent.

The City will evaluate submissions based on the needs of the City and generally will consider these factors in the evaluation of the Contractors:

1. The ability, capacity and skill of the Respondent to perform the contract or provide the service required,

2. The Respondent’s submitted concepts for the City’s project,

3. The judgment, experience and efficiency of the Respondent,

4. The quality and performance by Respondent of previous contracts or services,

5. The sufficiency of the financial resources and ability of the Respondent to perform the contract or provide the service,

6. The quality, availability and adaptability of the Supplies, Services, and Information Technology Systems offered by Respondent to the particular use required,

7. The ability of the Respondent to provide future maintenance, support and service related to Respondent’s offer,

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VIII. EVALUATION OF STATEMENTS (CON’T):

1. The degree to which the submission is complete, clear, and addresses the requirements in the specifications.

Weights – A maximum of fifty (70) points will be assigned to items 1 thru 4. A maximum of thirty (30) points will be assigned to items 5 thru 8.

IX. MISCELLANEOUS:

A. Your response to this RFQ and any subsequent correspondence related to this proposal process will be considered part of the contract, if one is awarded to you.

B. All data included in this RFQ, as well as any attachments, are subject to Public Information requests made to the City.

C. The use of the City of Zanesville’s name in any way as a potential customer is strictly prohibited except as authorized in writing by the City of Zanesville. The use of the City’s name in any way as a potential customer is strictly prohibited except as authorized in writing by the City of Zanesville.

D. The City expects to enter into a written Agreement with the chosen Contractor that shall incorporate this RFQ and your proposal. In addition to any terms and conditions included in this RFQ, The City may include in the Agreement other terms and conditions as deemed necessary.

*End of RFQ*

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professional services for 2 way radio design

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