TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Mark Danaj, City Manager
FROM:
Robert D. Espinosa, Fire Chief
Eve Irvine, Police Chief
SUBJECT:Title
Creation of a Joint Powers Agency to Form the Interoperability Network of the South Bay (Fire Chief Espinosa).
APPROVE
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to execute a Joint Powers Agency Agreement to form the Interoperability Network of the South Bay.
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FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Although no funding is necessary to join the JPA, once the Wide-Area infrastructure is placed into production, initial annual maintenance and service fees for the City of Manhattan Beach will be approximately $123,658 per year based on the cost allocation formula contained in the Agreement. This cost will be partially offset by the annual maintenance costs of our current system. The earliest funds will be needed is Fiscal Year 2017-2018. Once known, the exact amount will be included in any adjustments to the FY 17/18 budget when it is reconsidered in the third quarter of FY 16/17.
BACKGROUND:
Since August 2000, the Manhattan Beach Police and Fire Departments have operated on a “conventional” analog radio system for public safety radio communications. This system was designed to provide superior coverage throughout the City and has proven successful for over a decade and a half.
Although this communication system has functioned well, the radio infrastructure and equipment is aging beyond its useful service life. Additionally, the manufacturer will be discontinuing factory-level maintenance and support by December 31, 2018, after which they will no longer be providing replacement parts and repairs. Further, due to the technological limitations of this equipment, interoperable communications between neighboring agencies remains limited.
The City of Torrance accepted a grant for the 2014 State Homeland Security Program and approved a proposal to establish the Area G JPA. Torrance will serve as the Prime Site for the radio communications equipment and infrastructure. The system will interconnect to a regional subsystem and provide radio coverage throughout the South Bay. The system will be interdependent with the Interagency Communications Interoperability System (ICI) in Glendale. The newly formed Interoperability Network of the South Bay would provide services similar to the Los Angeles Interoperability Communications System (LA RICS) which the City withdrew from in 2015.
DISCUSSION:
In order to achieve interoperability throughout the area and region, a JPA is being formed. The JPA will establish and maintain a regional interoperable radio system to be shared by a proposed seven members: Cities of El Segundo, Gardena, Hawthorne, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, and Torrance. All six JPA member cities have approved the agreement.
Formation of the JPA will establish a governance board of voting directors representing all seven proposed members. The JPA board will meet regularly, adopt a budget, seek capital grant funding, allocate shared system costs, and contract for goods and services. Each City’s City Manager shall serve as the voting director for that City. The JPA will be a body subject to the Brown Act. The JPA Agreement provides a shared cost allocation based on each member’s 3-year average calls for police and fire service.
Funding to build the infrastructure will be through grants awarded to the South Bay Regional Public Communications Authority (SBRPCA) and the City of Torrance. The Prime Site will be located in the City of Torrance and additional sites will be located throughout the South Bay area to ensure adequate coverage remains for Manhattan Beach and all member agencies.
Specifically, authorizing execution of the JPA will provide the following:
• Expand mutual aid communication and roaming coverage throughout Area G, with the proposed seven members and their 4000+ field unit radios on the same radio platform.
• Adopt the ICI model which makes direct interoperability between law, fire, and local enforcement agencies from over 80 cities beyond Area G.
• Allow the JPA to seek grant funding and award a construction contract to build the $5 million dollar Area G Wide-Area System establishing 5 shared radio transmitter sites.
• In the long term, the JPA would obtain, coordinate or assist in the funding of approximately $20 million dollars in replacements for each member agency’s mobile and portable radio inventory.
POLICY ALTERNATIVES:
There are no known pros to not joining or participating in the INSB JPA. The cons for any alternative would be great fiscal impacts in developing a standalone interoperable radio system.
LEGAL REVIEW
The City Attorney has reviewed the attached agreement and approved as to form.
Attachment/Attachments:
1.INSB JPA Projected Costs
2.Interoperability Network of the South Bay JPA Agreement