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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: .June 27, 2006 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No....~' - (' <br />SUBJECT: Bid Award: Emergency Generators <br />DEPARTMENT: Purchasing and Emergency PUBLIC HEARING: (YIN) No <br />Management <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />Bid Tabulation <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Pam Jones, (919) 245-2652 <br />Jack Ball, (919) 968-2050 <br />PURPOSE: To award a bid to Tarheel Generator of Siler City, North Carolina for one (1) 200 <br />kW diesel powered generator for standby power for the Orange County EMS-911 Center at <br />1914 New Hope Church Road, Chapel Hill and for one (1) 50 kW diesel powered generator for <br />standby power for the Eno Mountain Communication Tower. <br />BACKGROUND: At the April 10, 2006 regular meeting, the Board of Commissioners adopted <br />a grant project ordinance appropriating $92,986 in federal and State grant funding for the <br />acquisition and installation of replacement emergency generators at the County's Emergency <br />Management and 9-1-1 Center on New Hope Church Road, and at the Eno Mountain Tower <br />site. No County funds are involved in this project, and staff recommend that the Board award <br />bids far these two generators as outlined below. <br />Currently, the EMS-91 1 Center is connected to a 50 KW diesel generator that has been in <br />service for more than twelve years. This generator is only able to power roughly half of facility in <br />the event of power outages. Although the communications consoles and other critical <br />equipment are connected to this generator, staff recommend that the entire building be capable <br />of operation in the event of power failures. <br />The second generator that would be purchased under this award would replace the more than <br />20-year old 37 KW generator that supplies back up power to the Eno Mountain Communications <br />building. Both the capacity of the existing generator to serve the equipment at the site and the <br />extreme unreliability of the automatic transfer switch are drivers that prompt the replacement <br />request. <br />After an evaluation of current and potential peak demand by the County's electrician, in <br />conjunction with the electrical inspector from the Planning Department, it was determined that <br />(1) 200 kW diesel powered generator would be the best solution for Orange County EMS-911 <br />Center; and a 50 kW diesel powered generator would best serve the Eno Mountain <br />Communication Tower. Bath of the subject facilities are served by single-phase, rather than <br />three-phase power, thereby necessitating greater generator capacity. This sizing will allow the <br />generators to operate more efficiently since their capacity is not at maximum loads and will <br />