To: Board of Directors
From: Lewis Broschard, Chief, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District
Report Title: GIS Professional Services Agreement
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Purchasing Agent to execute, on behalf of the Fire Chief, a three-year Professional Services Agreement with GeoComm using their Disclaimer of Warranties and Limitation of Liability in an amount not to exceed $175,000, for the purchase, installation, and maintenance of a Geographic Information System dataset for use in Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) mapping system, that complies with the National Emergency Number Association’s (NENA) standards and PSAP mapping system requirements, to dispatch emergency responders effectively and maximize accurate responses to emergencies, for the period April 10, 2024 to March 31, 2027.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Budgeted. 100% CCCFPD General Operating Fund.
BACKGROUND:
Geographic Information System (GIS) is used to map the Fire District, all station boundaries, service jurisdictions, topographical elements, roadway names and speed limits, and structural address points and access ways within the Fire District in order for emergency services dispatchers to correctly identify the appropriate station, fire apparatus and ambulance to send the most appropriate and closest responders to the emergency. Such mapping maximizes the ability for emergency dispatchers to connect incoming emergency calls to the correct emergency responders throughout the Fire District, as well as providing those emergency responders with information necessary for effective deployment, routing and emergency response. Maps and accordant information needs review and updating on a continual and ongoing basis as development within and by unincorporated Contra Costa County and individual municipalities within the County occurs on a frequent basis, affecting sites, structures, roadways, access ways, and topographical elements (elevations, rivers, ditches, rail tracks, etc.) impacting service by the Fire District. Providing the accurate mapping product and information aids the Fire District in maximizing emergency response and enhances the safety of all communities in the Fire District’s jurisdiction and the emergency responders dedicated to its service.
Executing this agreement enables the Next Generation (9-1-1 (NG9-1-1)) or Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) mapping systems to be updated to accurately reflect the current situation in the Fire District’s service area.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If this Agreement is not approved, the District will be using outdated or inaccurate GIS and mapping products in order to dispatch emergency responders and accordant apparatus. Using inaccurate GIS and mapping products may lead to a greater negative impact on community and personnel safety, increased response times due to inaccurate road and access information, or topographical information such as riverbeds, gullies, steep hillsides, etc.; errors in response with responders failing to have the appropriate apparatus responding to an emergency; and/or ineffective overlap of deployed resources from multiple or neighboring stations.