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Home My WebLink AboutMINUTES - 10261999 - C85 Contra TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Costa FROM: PHIL BATCHELOR, County Administrator County DATE: October 26, 1999 SUBJECT: DECLARE EMERGENCY RELATED TO SEISMIC SAFETY OF COUNTY TELECOMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE ---------------__ SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS: 1 . FIND and DECLARE based on the evidence set forth below and pursuant to Public Contract Code sections 22035 and 2.20150, that an emergency exists related to the seismic safety of the County's telecommunications infrastructure, and that the emergency will not permit a delay resulting from a competitive solicitation for bids, and DELEGATE to the County Administrator, or designee, authority to immediately proceed with the implementation of the "high priority actions" as recommended by C.S.I. Telecommunications, Inc., in its attached report. 2. FIND that the recommended project is exempt from the California Environmental Protection Act (CEQA). 3. APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the County Administrator, or designee, to enter into contracts and/or consulting agreements for project execution without the need for competitive bids or additional Board approval. 4. DIRECT staff to post notice of CEQA exemption with the County Clerk and to arrange for payment of the County Clerk processing fee. FINANCIAL IMPACT: The estimated cost to implement the highest priority actions is $375,000, which has been identified in the County budget and will be appropriated for this project. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: V YES SIGNATURE: k ;1 RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION•,&BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER i SIGNATURE(S): 4�eg�e ACTION OF BOARD ON O tobpr 2tss r�9�19 APPROVE AS RECOMMENDED OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN 77 UNANIMOUS(ABSENT `'TT AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE AYES: NOES: SHOWN, ABSENT: ABSTAIN: ATTESTED Qr tobpr 26 1QQQ CONTACT:GEORGE ROEMER (925)335-1055 PHIL BATCHELOR,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR CC: COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR C.S.I.TELECOMMUNICATIONS,INC.(VIA CAO) GENERAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT Bjjj�EPUTY EMERGENCY ACTION TELECOMMUNICATIONS OCTOBER 26, 1999 PAGE 2 BACKGROUND: The scope of the recommended project includes replacement of the communications towers at Bald Peak, Cummings Peak and Kregor Peak, and the retrofit of communications and telephone equipment mountings throughout the County, to minimize the risk of equipment failure in the event of an earthquake. These communications sites are critical links in the County's microwave system that hosts radio equipment used by all County and local agencies including Sheriff, police and fire. A licensed structural engineer identified these sites to be overloaded and unstable, and particularly vulnerable to failure in the event of an earthquake. On October 19, 1999, the Board of Supervisors considered C.S.I.`s recommendations and decided that structures and equipment identified as vulnerable in a seismic event should be addressed immediately on an emergency basis. CONSEQUENCES OF NEGATIVE ACTION: An evaluation of the communications towers and equipment in question indicated that they are unstable and would be particularly vulnerable to failure in the event of an earthquake. Since these sites and equipment are relied upon by local emergency response agencies, failure of these vital communication links, especially in a disaster situation, would put the public safety at risk. C. S. I. Telecommunications Centra Costa County Review of Telecommunications Infrastructure September 30, 1399 { a Sia Summary High Priority Action Items Bald Peak $ 45,000 Cummings Peak 45,000 Kregor Peak(Tower only) 153,000 Communications Site Seismic Mounting 50,000 Communications Site Safety Equipment 1,500 ;p• Telecommunications Equipment Seismic Mounting 79,400 �''�'VA �' Subtotal $ 373,900 Priority Action Items Harris Tandem Switch $ 49,000 Octel Voice Mail 315,000 Telecommunications Test Equipment 102,000 Subtotal $ 466,00€1 Action Items Communications Site Improvements $ 90,000 Battery Replacement 75,000 Air Conditioning 125,000 Standard Interfacing r 50,000 Subtotal $ 350,000 Grand Total $1,1119,900 2 review of the building (which is actually three different buildings sharing common walls) is in process. Until the review is complete, this firm cannot report on the exact condition of the building or what corrective actions must be undertaken or at what cost. All that can be said at this time is that one of the three parts of the building is suspect. It is recommended that a new tower be constructed to meet current EIA standards and to accommodate known antennas and reasonable future growth, at an estimated cost of $108,000. In addition, the County will need to provide new antennas, coax, and site combining for the new tower, costing $45,000. Communications Site Seismic Mounting Y. The equipment at the County's communications sites is not properly mounted to Zone 4 seismic standards and could fail in the event of an earthquake. It is recommended that all of the communications sites be retrofitted at an estimated cost of$50,000. Communications Sites Safety Equipment All of the County's major communications sites are located on mountaintops and isolated from populated areas. They are lacking basic safety items such as first aid kits and fire extinguishers. In addition, they all have lead acid batteries that have the potential to cause injury. It is recommended that all sites be equipped with basic safety items at a total cost of$1,500. Telecommunications Equipment Seismic Mounting A review of telephone equipment, including Private Branch Exchange (PBX) equipment and voice mail equipment, revealed that none was seismically mounted to the manufacturer's recommendations. In the event of an earthquake, the equipment could shift around or topple which may cause it to fail and prevent essential County telephone communications. It is recommended that all of the County's telephone equipment mountings be retrofitted to manufacturer's recommendations at a total cost of $79,400. 4 Action Items While the following items are not as critical as the ones previously listed, they still are important to maintaining the County's telecommunications infrastructure. Communications Site Improvement While three of the County's communications sites will have new towers as recommended elsewhere in this report, the rest of the sites still need to have their antennas and coax replaced, and transmitter combining installed. The recommended work is estimated to cost $90,000. Battery Replacement Batteries provide back up power at County communications sites. Currently the County uses inexpensive wet cell lead acid batteries that must be replaced every two or three years, and a home-made charging system. We recommended replacing the batteries and charging systems with valve-regulated sealed lead acid batteries and a properly designed charging and distribution system. While these batteries are more expensive, they have a twenty-year life. The total cost of this upgrade is estimated at$75,000. Air Conditioning None of the sites are properly air conditioned to keep the equipment operating at a proper temperature. In addition, the buildings are not sealed and current ventilation systems suck in dust and dirt that ultimately rests on the equipment. For maximum system reliability, it is recommended that all sites be sealed and properly air conditioned at an estimated cost-of$125,000. Standard Interfacing The County's technicians have designed and constructed much of the interconnection hardware between various communications systems. The net result is a collection of "very custom" electronics that are not well understood by all County technicians (some of the work was done by technicians no longer employed by the County), and are not well documented. This lack of familiarity can greatly increase the time necessary to resolve a problem. We recommend replacing all of the "very custom" electronics with standard off-the-shelf assemblies and converting all transmitter control to tone control systems at an estimated cost of$60,000. 6