Attachment

SAFETY ADVISORY AND TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE AGENDA APRIL 25, 2006 - 5:00 P.M. - Council Chambers - City Hall - City of Dover Public comments are welcomed on any item and will be permitted at appropriate times. When possible, please notify the City Clerk (736-7008 or e-m ail at Jgreen@dover.de.us) should you wish to be recognized. AGENDA ADDITIONS/DELETIONS 1. Authorization to Purchase - Reverse 911 Telephone System (Police) 2. Public Hearing - Parking of Boats, Motorhomes, Trailers, etc. in Residential Neighborhoods /jg S:\ClerksOffice\Agendas&Minutes\Committee-Agendas\2006\04-25-2006 SA&T.wpd THE AGENDA ITEMS AS LISTED MAY NOT BE CONSIDERED IN SEQUENCE. THIS AGENDA IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE TO INCLUDE THE ADDITION OR THE DELETION OF ITEMS, INCLUDING EXECUTIVE SESSIONS.

ACTION FORM PROCEEDING: Safety Advisory and Transportation Committee AGENDA ITEM: 4/25/06 – 1 DEPARTMENT OF ORIGIN: Police DATE SUBMITTED: 4/5/06 PREPARED BY: Captain Ray M. Sammons III – Administrative Division Commander SUBJECT: Authorization to Purchase – Reverse 911 Telephone System REFERENCE: N/A RELATED PROJECT: N/A APPROVALS: City Manager, Finance Director EXHIBITS: N/A EXPENDITURE REQUIRED: $53,584.00 AMOUNT BUDGETED: $0 FUNDING SOURCE (Dept./Page in CIP & Budget): CJC Grant Funding / Federal Funding TTIMETABLE: Once approved by Council, the system will be ordered and installed within a timely manner. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Approve the expenditure and sole source justification BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS: The Police Department researched different methods available to public safety agencies regarding mass telephone notifications. There are two different types of systems available. The first type of system is owned and operated by the company with whom we would contract for their services. This system charges a cost for each call every time we use the system to make a mass notification. We are requesting approval for the purchase of the second type of system from Reverse 911 (name of the vendor) with grant funds. In this type of system we buy access to a block of phone lines, make calls using a computer mapping program that interfaces with an extensive address/phone directory and is owned/operated by the Police Department. The system will be used to notify citizens of emergency situations, non-emergency situations and other items of public interest. The concept of mass telephone notifications appeals to the Police Department because it will provide the Department the ability to notify a large number of citizens in a relatively short period of time regarding specific situations. We are excited about the possibility of having a system like this available to us and to our city government. We justified the grant funds for this system based on our plan to improve our Sex Offender Notification process. The process currently used to make the notifications is a tremendous burden on our manpower. The mass telephone notifications will eliminate the necessity for officers to go door to door to notify the residents and businesses. Using the new system, all the officers will have to do is select the area to be notified using the mapping program; tape the audio recording to be used for the notification, and send it out through the system. For those citizens who do not have access to telephones or do not wish to participate in the program, their notification will be completed as before. We believe most residents will want to participate based on the convenience, ease and reliability of the system. The system can also be used by city government during brown-water notifications and other incidents of importance to our citizens. The system we are requesting is a 16-port system, capable of making twenty-four hundred (2,400), thirty (30) second calls per minute. This system is currently used by the United States House of Representatives as well as the Wilmington and New Castle Police Departments within our state. Rehoboth Beach Police Department is purchasing the system in the near future, and the Seaford Police Department has been inquiring about purchasing the system. This system is capable of interconnecting with other agencies using the same system, utilizing their phone lines for an even larger call volume. However, there is an annual fee for this module which could be shared with the other agencies involved.

SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS/COMPONENTS: • Reverse 911 Base System 16 port turn-key solution that includes all of the hardware, software, mapping, commercial database, installation, training and 1st year support and maintenance. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week telephone support. Twenty-four hour response time for hardware problems. • Mobilization Plus A module which contacts pre-determined individuals by way of multiple devices. Tracks who has responded to the notification (call). • Community Information Line A module which offers information to the community without them calling 911. Ideal for calendar of community events, Police, Fire, City Government directories, Crime Watch and other community information of interest to the public. • Line Grabber A module which utilizes existing telephone lines which are not in use to make calls. No need to pay additional money for additional telephone lines just for the system. • Guarding Calling A module which allows us to establish a list of senior citizens or shut-in citizens and monitor their well-being by scheduling automatic “check-in” calls as a public service. (This module was included for no additional cost) • Public Telephone Database The system includes the public telephone number database. This is continually updated by Reverse 911 at no charge to the City. Additional Items • E911 Database This is a database of unlisted/private telephone numbers which Verizon Telephone Company owns and we will have to obtain from them for a fee which is included in our grant funding. FUNDING The Department obtained funding from a Criminal Justice Council grant program and federal funding to cover the cost of this system and was justified as an improvement for our Sex Offender Notification System. The only initial cost to the City is for one dedicated telephone line for the system. After the warranty period expires (after the third year), there will be a fixed price service contract ($4,728.00) that will never increase unless we increase the number of ports on our system. SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION The Department is requesting to sole source this expenditure because Reverse 911 was the original company to offer this type of product. As the founder of this type of system, it holds several patents on the product and is the industry leader/standard. In addition, it makes sense to purchase Reverse 911 since there are several other agencies within the state already using the system. Their systems will be capable of interconnecting with our system to increase the call volume capability if we decide to enter into an agreement with the other agencies, and together we purchase the module which is required. Another vendor’s product cannot offer nearly the same degree of capability or flexibility. As of this time, the Police Department has not contacted the City Purchasing Agent regarding this request. If the sole source request is not approved, the Police Department will contact the Purchasing Agent and request bids be advertised utilizing the specifications already obtained for the system.