Agenda - 03-19-2013 - 5g - Laserfiche WebLink

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ORD- 2013 -011 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: March 19, 2013 Action Agenda Item No. 5 -g 1 SUBJECT: Public Safety Console Replacement and Approval of Budget Amendment #8 -B DEPARTMENT: Emergency Services PUBLIC HEARING: (Y /N) No ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: 1) Radio Console Price & Spec Sheet Craig Blackwood, 245 -6130 2) February 12, 2013 Letter from NC Paul Laughton, 919 - 245 -2152 9 -1 -1 Board 3) Communications System Agreement PURPOSE: To approve an agreement for the purchase of seven (7) Motorola Radio consoles in the 9 -1 -1 Center to replace seven (7) existing consoles that will soon be obsolete, and purchase four (4) additional consoles to prepare for growth, with the new consoles all being APCO P25 digital compliant. BACKGROUND: Orange County's existing 9 -1 -1 Motorola Radio Consoles are analog devices consisting of computer /radio workstations, software and hardware. These units are not P25 compliant, meaning that they are not digital devices. The APCO P25 standard is an open standard for digital radio developed in North America under state, local and federal representatives and Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) governance. The standard was developed to foster the development and progress of the art of public safety communications. The State of North Carolina will soon be changing from an analog VIPER (Voice Interoperability Plan for First Responders) system to a digital P25 VIPER system, tentatively scheduled for the end of 2013. Unfortunately, the existing consoles cannot be upgraded. They must be replaced in order to communicate using the new digital P25 VIPER radio system for the purpose of dispatching and receiving radio transmissions to /from emergency responders. This replacement supports the recommendations from the Emergency Services Workgroup, the Comprehensive Assessment of Emergency Medical Services & 911 /Communications Center Operational Study recommendations, and is also in alignment with the Orange County Chief's Association 2012 Strategic Plan for the Provision of Emergency Services. Goal II in that plan states "to work with Orange County to ensure the deployment of a state -of- the -art 9 -1 -1 Telecommunications Center that is able to dispatch emergency calls within 90 seconds or less 90% of the time by January 2014." North Carolina General Statute (NCGS) 143- 129(e)(6) allows for purchases of apparatus, supplies, materials, or equipment to be purchased using sole- source exception when: (i)