2001-24537 RESO
RESOLUTION NO.
2001-24537
A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF
MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, AUTHORIZING THE ADMINISTRATION TO WAIVE,
BY 5/7THS VOTE, THE COMPETITIVE BIDDING PROCESS, AND
NEGOTIATE A CONTRACT WITH MOTOROLA, INC., ERICSSON, OR ANY
OTHER PUBLIC SAFETY SYSTEM PROVIDER AS DETERMINED BY THE
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, IN REGARD TO THE REPLACEMENT OF THE
EXISTING CITY OF MIAMI BEACH 800MHZ ANALOG RADIO SYSTEM AND
THE PURCHASE OF A NEW 800MHZ TRUNKED DIGITAL SIMULCAST
PUBLIC SAFETY RADIO SYSTEM.
WHEREAS, the existing City of Miami Beach 800M Hz Analog Radio System has
become obsolete due to a lack of critical replacement parts, an increase in dead zones,
a decrease in coverage in the City's North End, and the requirement to continue
communications compatibility with the City of Miami; and
WHEREAS, the City Administration has included an appropriation in the FY2001
Budget for a new 800MHZ Trunked Digital Simulcast Public Safety Digital Radio System
and there are only a limited number of Public Safety Radio System vendors that meet
the City's requirements, such as Motorola, Inc. and Ericsson; and
WHEREAS, it is critical that the new system be purchased and implemented at
the earliest date to ensure continued high quality Public Radio System, the
Administration recommends that the Mayor and City Commission accept its
recommendation herein, and authorize, by 517ths vote, a waive of the competitive
bidding process, finding such a waiver to be in the best interest of the City.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT DULY RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, that the Mayor and City
commission hereby authorize the Administration to waive by 5/7ths vote, the
compentitive bidding process, and negotiate a contract with Motorola, Inc., Ericsson, or
any other public safety system provider as determined by the City of Miami Beach, in
regard to the replacement of the existing City of Miami Beach 800MHz Analog Radio
System and the purchase of a new 800M Hz Trunked Digital Simulcast Public Safety
Radio System.
PASSED and ADOPTED this 18thday of July, 2001.
1J!1MAYOR
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CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
CITY HALL 1700 CONVENTION CENTER DRIVE MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA 33139
www.ci.miami.beach.fl.us
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM NO, Lfo/O-OL
From:
Mayor Neisen O. Kasdin and
Members of the City Commission
Jorge M. Gonzalez 11 U ~
City Manager ~
Date: July 18, 2001
To:
A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY
OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, AUTHORIZING THE ADMINISTRATION TO
WAIVE, BY 517TH VOTE, THE FORMAL BID PROCESS AND NEGOTIATE
A CONTRACT WITH MOTOROLA, INC., ERICSSON, OR ANY OTHER
PUBLIC SAFETY SYSTEM PROVIDER AS DETERMINED BY THE CITY
OF MIAMI BEACH, IN REGARD TO THE REPLACEMENT OF THE
EXISTING CITY OF MIAMI BEACH 800MHZ ANALOG RADIO SYSTEM
AND THE PURCHASE OF A NEW 800MHZ TRUNKED DIGITAL
SIMULCAST PUBLIC SAFETY RADIO SYSTEM.
ADMINISTRATION RECOMMENDATION
Subject:
Adopt the Resolution.
BUDGETED AMOUNT AND FUNDING
None required.
ANALYSIS
In 1987, the City installed through a competitive process, a Motorola 800MHz trunked
analog public safety radio system. It included six radio sites and various handheld and
mobile equipment as well as the radio microwave system for use by Police and Fire Public
Safety staff and general government (Beach Patrol, Parking, Sanitation, Building, Code
Compliance, etc.).
An upgrade to the system was made as follows in 1997:
. The Microwave portion of the radio system was replaced. Motorola was awarded a
four-year service agreement for maintenance of all components of the radio system
including transmitter, receivers, portables, dispatch consoles, etc. The service
agreement expired on September 30, 2000 and the City Commission approved a one-
year additional service agreement on December 20, 2000.
\
AGENDA ITEM f<:7 1'1
DATE i-fr;-eJ L
Commission Memorandum
Motorola, Inc.
July 18, 2001
Page 2
. The SIMS II portion of the radio system was upgraded and all City portable radios were
replaced and/or upgraded.
In 2000, the Information Technology Department determined that the City's radio system
was obsolete, lacked proper system coverage and required additional transmitters and
other equipment in order to provide the most up-to-date digital technology.
The City Administration responded by including an appropriation in the FY2001 budget, as
adopted, for the purchase of a new Motorola Astro Digital Simulcast Radio System to be
installed by late 2001. To provide a transition period until the new system was on-line, it
was determined that a one-year Service Agreement with option to renew for a second year
for the existing system was needed. On December 20, 2000, this Service Agreement was
authorized by the City Commission. It encompassed Dispatch Service, Infrastructure
Repair, Local Radio Support Mobiles, Local Radio Support Portables, Radio Repair,
Technical Support and System Survey and Analysis and 24/7 support for the main radio
system hardware and software.
In addition, at the December 20, 2000 Commission Meeting, the City Commission
authorized a Technical Services Agreement with RCC/Omnicom, Inc. (now RCC
Consultants, Inc.) to determine if the Motorola, Inc. proposal met the needs of the City and
to advise the City if they should negotiate with Motorola, Inc. for the new 800M Hz Public
Safety Radio System. This report has been completed and submitted to the City and has
been distributed through the City Manager's Office to each member of the City Commission
by way of an Letter to Commission (LTC).
RCC Consultants, Inc. recommended authorizing the City to negotiate a contract with
Motorola, Inc., for the purchase, installation and maintenance of the new radio system (see
Appendix I). This recommendation was a result of the following considerations:
. Maintenance of the present Motorola Radio System is difficult as certain critical
components are no longer being manufactured or are not available through the
Motorola Support Center. Due to this, the City is presently being forced to borrow parts
from the Backup Radio Site for the Main Radio Site. This means that in a major failure,
the Backup Radio Site may not be able to function properly.
. Deterioration of the City's radio system is escalating within the City and this can be
seen in the increase of dead zones being reported. This is due to phenomenal City
growth whereby new structures have been obstructing radio frequency signals. This
is not only a technical difficulty, but one that impacts on Police and Fire personnel.
Commission Memorandum
Motorola, Inc.
July 18, 2001
Page 3
. The need to increase our transmission coverage in the north end of the City is
paramount to the operation of a powerful and responsive city-wide radio system. With
the communications problems that have developed in the north end of the city, it is
vitally important that a new site be erected at the earliest date to correct these
difficulties. The City has recently determined that the present Main Radio Site Tower
is in the drop zone of the proposed City of Miami Beach Emergency Operations Center
(EOC) and needs to be moved. This issue was not part of the contracted scope of
work with RCC Consultants, Inc. This proposal needs to be dealt with in the context
of the total work being considered under the Motorola, Inc. contract.
. As recently as March, 1997, the Police, Fire and other City Departments either replaced
and/or upgraded over one thousand (1,000) Motorola portable radios at a cost of
$2,743 million. If, the City were to utilize a vendor other than Motorola, Inc., for the new
radio system, it would require another total replacement of hardware/software due to
the proprietary nature of Public Safety Trunk Systems. The total replacement would
entail a large front-end cost as well as the time element involved in the purchase and
installation/programming process and any other unexpected problems involved in such
a major changeover. The use of another vendor would logistically complicate the City's
present Motorola radio system. A very precisely orchestrated transition period would
have to be undertaken whereby the Motorola System was working congruently with the
new vendor's system with no downtime for either. This is particularly important when
dealing with Public Safety Radio Systems.
. The City of Miami has a Motorola Public Safety Radio System and the City of Miami
Beach has always tried to share communication's resources with this our largest and
closest neighbor. Further, the City of Miami has recently purchased 2,000 new portable
Motorola XTS Radios that are compatible with the City of Miami Beach equipment.
This means both cities can share radio system ID's and communicate in each other's
jurisdictions when called upon for mutual aide or during emergencies.
. There are only two (2) major public safety radio communication system vendors in the
United States: Motorola, Inc. and Ericsson. If a competitive bid were done, these
would be the only vendors qualified to respond. A survey of the costs of new systems
similar to what the City is proposing was conducted by RCC Consultants, Inc., and the
result was that the Motorola, Inc. system had a price tag of $6,410,598 and Ericsson
had a price tag of $8,300,000. The higher cost for the Ericsson system was due to the
inclusion of all new portable radio hardware/software as required.
. RCC has determined that these proposals substantially meet the long-range needs of
the City. Further, the City should negotiate with Motorola to define a detailed
. Statement of Work (SOW) and to arrive at a fair market price. Motorola's proposal is
for $6.4 million. RCC Consultants, Inc. advises that the City should be able to reduce
this initial amount through additional negotiations.
Commission Memorandum
Motorola, Inc.
July 1S, 2001
Page 4
CONCLUSION
The Administration concurs with the recommendations of RCC Consultants, Inc" as
contained in their report, It is therefore requested that the Mayor and City Commission
authorize the Administration to waive, by 5/ih vote, the formal bid process and negotiate
a contract with Motorola, Inc., as well as to negotiate with Ericsson, or any other Public
Safety System provider as determined by the City of Miami Beach, in regard to the
replacement of the existing City of Miami Beach SOOMHz Analog Radio System and the
purchase of a new SOOMHZ Trunked Digital Simulcast Public Safety Radio System.
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TEW CARDENAS REBAl<:
KELLOGG LEHMAN
DEMARIA TAGUE
RAYMOND & LEvINE, L.L.E
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WRITER'~ DIRk!CT LINk!
(305) 539-2114
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ATTORNEYS AT LAW
August 6, 2002
VIA FACSIMILE & U.S. MAIL
Raul Aguila
First Assistant City Attorney
City of Miami Beach
1700 Convention Center Drive
4lh Floor
Miami Beach, Florida 33139
Re: 800 MHz Trunked Digital Simulcast Radio System:
lvfAIComm Correspondence
Our File No.: 10232.002
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Dear Mr. Aguila:
As you know, this law firm represents Motorola, Inc. ("Motorola") in the above-referenced
negotiation process. Our attention has been drawn to correspondence from MA/Comm's counsel.
dated May 23, 2002, which sets forth concerns stemming from the City's Request for Clarification
("Request"), and our client's response to the Request. Specifically, MAlComm alleges that it
suffered a competitive disadvantage as a result of our client's response to the Request. MAlComm' s
allegations are unfounded.
Initially, we point out that this process is not a competitive bid situation. Through Resolution
No. 2001-24537 (the "Resolution"), the City Commission, in full compliance with Miami Beach
City Code requirements, waived competitive bid requirements, authorizing the City Manager to
negotiate a contract for the above-referenced system ("Now, therefore, be it duly resolved by the
Mayor and City Commission of the City of Miami Beach, Florida. that the Mayor and City
commission hereby authorize the Administration to waive by Sl7ths vote, the competitive bidding
process, and negotiate a contract with Motorola, Inc., Ericsson, or any other public safety system
provider. . ." (emphasis added)). The Statement of Work issued by the City, therefore, was the
beginning of a negotiation. to which Motorola responded, as part of the authorized negotiation
process. MA/Comm inaccurately refers to Motorola's initial submittal as a "Best and Final Offer"
("B^FO")~ it is clear that Motorola's submittal has always been part of a negotiation process, and
subject to change. The term "BAFO" appears for the first time in MA/Comm's submital~ indeed,
neither Motorola nor the Statement of Work have characterized the initial submittal as a BAFO.
Accordingly. the process. including Motorola's response to the Request, is consistent with the waiver
of competitive bidding and negotiation, authorized by the Resolution.
. M 1/\,\1 I OFFICE .
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Raul J. Aguila, Esq.
August 6, 2002
Page 2
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Moreover, even when evaluated under competitive bid principles, MA/Comm' s concerns are
unfounded. None of Motorola's responses to the Request changed its ability to perform the required
services under the Statement of Work, nor was there any fraud, misrepresentation or dishonesty;
rather, Motorola's clarifications were limited to addressing contractual issues with the City, which
are appropriately addressed through negotiations with the City, separately from the technical review
conducted by the City's consultant. At most, Motorola's responses to the Request amount to
addressing minor irregularities. See Liberty County v. Baxter's ASDhalt & Concrete, Inc., 421 So.
2d 505 (Fla. 1982). There was no competitive advantage gained by Motorola as a result of the
responses to the Request, as Motorola's initial response to the Statement of Work was responsive,
with no material deviations from the requirements of the Statement of Work.
Thank you for your consideration.
cc: Jorge M. Gonzalez, City Manager
Robert E. Parcher, City Clerk
Gus Lopez, Procurement Director
John Caldwell
Randy Evans
Lenny Smith '