To: Board of Supervisors
From: Marc Shorr, Information Technology Director
Report Title: Contract Amendment with Aviat U.S., Inc.
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Chief Information Officer to execute a contract amendment with Aviat U.S., Inc., with no change to the payment limit, to extend the term through December 31, 2025, for continued radio and microwave equipment installation services.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The cost for this contract is included in the Department’s FY25/26 budget. 100% User Departments.
BACKGROUND:
The Department of Information Technology maintains and operates the County’s primary data center providing critical services to the County that must be continuously available in the event of a natural disaster including earthquakes, fire and floods. In late 2022, the County started researching possible locations that could serve as a disaster recovery site as we did not currently have a viable disaster recovery center. After taking into consideration many different factors such as a low monthly fixed cost, and guaranteed 100% uptime, the County selected Nautilus Data Technologies, Inc. which is built on a floating barge that is permanently docked at the Port of Stockton in San Joaquin County. The County is now in the process of completing a connection to the site to establish data transfer for systemwide back-up and restoration.
The current Aviat contract has a payment limit of $270,000 for a term of September 1, 2024, to April 30, 2025, and was approved by the Board of Supervisors on September 10, 2024.
The extension of this contract is warranted due to unforeseen delays in the delivery of critical equipment. The extended lead times for procurement significantly impacted the project schedule and prevented timely commencement of engineering activities. These delays were beyond the County’s and the Contractor’s control and necessitate additional time to complete the engineering and implementation phases as originally projected. Extending the contract will ensure continuity of work, avoid disruption to the project, and allow for successful completion of all remaining deliverables.
The County’s broader microwave system including all public safety communication is comprised solely of Aviat equipment which has been configured by Aviat over the last four (4) decades. To complete the connection with the Nautilus center at the Port of Stockton, equipment will need to be installed on the existing Kregor Peak tower located between the cities of Clayton and Pittsburg. Other manufacturers do not have the equipment nor the expertise to provide the microwave equipment necessary to connect to our communication system. Like goods are not compatible with our system as the Aviat equipment is propriety and does not connect with other brands of equipment. This new spur connection will become part of our overall public safety communication microwave ring which connects land-mobile radio coverage throughout Contra Costa and Alameda Counties. The Contractor will be paid based on successful completion of milestones achieved. Aviat is a sole-source procurement for this system and will be procured with funds from the Microwave Upgrade Project in collaboration with the County Administrator’s Office and Public Works.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If this item is not approved, the spur required to transmit data to our offsite disaster recovery location will remain incomplete.