Agenda - 05-21-1997 - 9b - Laserfiche WebLink

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ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: May 21, 1997 Action Agenda Item No. q-b SUBJECT: Bid Award- GIS Hardware and Software Services for Emergency Management Services DEPARTMENT: Purchasing PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/l) BUDGET AMENDMENT: (Y/N) ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Bid Tabulation- Bid 209 Pam Jones, ext 2652;Nick Waters, ext3030; Bid Tabulation-Bid 211 Roscoe Reeve, ext 2501 Bid Tabulation-RFP 1042 TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Hillsborough 732-8181 Chapel Hill 968-4501 Durham 688-7331 Mebane 227-2031 PURPOSE: To consider awarding two bids related to the acquisition and installation of Geographic Information System(GIS)hardware and software at the Orange County 911 Center. BACKGROUND: The 1996-97 Capital Improvement Plan(CIP) included plans to buy 8 replacement work stations and install a new server at the County's 911 center. These machines have the high speed and memory capabilities necessary to run the E911/Computer Aided Dispatching(CAD)/GIS software in a manner that provides for timely and accurate processing of information critical to public safety responders in the field. The five year old machines currently employed at the 911 Center still have some usable life, and will be reallocated to other departments, such as Land Records and the Register of Deeds, where split-second information processing is not as critical. The CIP anticipated purchasing the new machines, and accompanying software, using a 3 year lease purchase,with annual payments of approximately $80,000. However, County staff were able to develop equipment performance specifications that led to bids lower than original estimates. Therefore, staff recommends that the purchase be made in cash,using fund balance available in the Emergency Telephone System Fund(ETSF). Undesignated fund balance in the ETSF is $171,916 as of the fiscal year ending June 30, 1996. A direct cash purchase will avoid the administrative efforts of arranging financing,will save the County money by avoiding interest costs on the new equipment, and will preserve the County's"bank qualification"margin for 1997 at$1 million(the County has issued$9 million of the$10 million that can be obtained at lower,tax exempt interest rates in 1997, for Southern Village Elementary School). Bids for the eight IBM RISC 6000 Workstations and one IBM RISC 6000 Server for Orange County Emergency Management were originally solicited on Orange County bid number 209.