DEPARTMENT: Information Technology Services Department
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Craig Hopkins.
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City Wide
SUBJECT: San Antonio Public Safety Radio System
SUMMARY:
A briefing on the status of the replacement project for the San Antonio Public Safety Radio System.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The current Public Safety Radio System, which has been in operation since 2004 and provides public safety grade two-way radio communications for the City of San Antonio, Bexar County and surrounding public agencies, will reach end of life at the end of 2021. The City initiated a procurement process for a replacement radio system in 2015, and following evaluations by both a Project Technical Committee and Executive Evaluation Committee, recommended Dailey & Wells Communications, Inc. for contract award.
On February 15, 2018, Council approved a contract with Dailey & Wells for the construction, system delivery, and system operation of a new P25 compliant public safety radio system, referred to as the Alamo Area Regional Radio System (“AARRS”). On the same date, Council also authorized the execution of an Interlocal Agreement (ILA) between the City, Bexar County (County), and CPS Energy (CPS) for County and CPS to City of San Antonio Agreement (ILA) between the City, Bexar County (County), and CPS Energy (CPS) for County and CPS to make financial contributions to obtain minority ownership interests in the AARRS.
The ILA sets out the terms of the shared ownership including, but not limited to, financial contributions, fiscal controls, governance, management, vendor oversight, construction, testing, delivery, operation, maintenance, technology upgrades and enhancements, selection of equipment, and the admission of radio subscribers.
The contract approved by City Council in February 2018 with Dailey & Wells, Inc. (DWC) was for an amount of $108.2 million ($80.7 million for the purchase and installation of a new radio system and $27.5 million for 15 years of ongoing maintenance and support.) In March 2019, Council approved additional appropriations of $1.36M to increase capital costs for the purchase and installation of the new radio system to $82.05M
The AARRS will replace the current Enhanced Digital Access Communication System (EDACS) and will provide public safety grade two-way radio communications for the City, Bexar County, CPS and surrounding participating agencies. Once installed, the system will manage an average of 400,000 radio calls per day from approximately 13,000 radios, which includes external agencies. The radio system will cover over 1,200 square miles of Bexar County and provide a single source of communications to dispatch all Police and Fire/EMS in the City and County in response to any emergency. The AARRS consists of a network made up of interconnected system tower sites and related communications facilities that provide wireless connectivity to public safety users. To provide the coverage needed by the AARRS, the current radio network consisting of 14-cell tower sites is being increased to a 28-site network.
During the December 16 briefing, staff will provide a status update on the project schedule, project delivery, and budget.
ISSUE:
This item is for briefing purposes only.
ALTERNATIVES:
This item is for briefing purposes only.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This item is for briefing purposes only.
RECOMMENDATION:
This item is for briefing purposes only.