The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About97-17 - Sole Source Contracts for Installation of Avionics Instruments and Infrared Systems on HelicoptersRESOLUTION NO. 97 - A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COSTA MESA, CALIFORNIA, TO AWARD SOLE SOURCE CONTRACTS FOR INSTALLATION OF AVIONICS INSTRUMENTS AND INFRARED SYSTEMS ON HELICOPTERS OF THE AIRBORNE LAW ENFORCE- MENT SERVICES AGENCY. THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COSTA MESA DOES HEREBY RESOLVE AND FIND AS FOLLOWS: WHEREAS, the City of Costa Mesa ("Costa Mesa") and the City of Newport Beach ("Newport Beach") have established a joint powers agency known as the Airborne Law Enforcement Services Agency ("ABLE") for the purposes of providing cooperative law enforcement helicopter services to their respective jurisdictions; and WHEREAS, Costa Mesa and Newport Beach have contributed public funds, personnel, and aircraft for the operation of ABLE and agreed to jointly purchase a new helicopter for ABLE which requires avionic instrumentation and infrared systems; and WHEREAS, On January 24, 1997, the ABLE Board of Directors accepted a report from the ABLE Bureau Commander, which report is attached as Exhibit "A" and incorporated herein by reference and provides clear and convincing evidence that only one source exists to fulfill ABLE's requirements for avionic instrumentation and installation/service and infrared systems and installation/service; and WHEREAS, The vendor, Western Avionics, Inc., possesses unique technical skills and avionic instrumentation that are required by ABLE to equip the one new helicopter purchase in 1996 from McDonnell Douglas and that formal bidding for such instrumentation would not result in an economic savings for ABLE or eliminate competition; and WHEREAS, the vendor, WESCAM, Inc., provides a unique and technologically superior infrared system to all other systems known to exist which perform similar functions such as infrared systems and provides a greater quality of airborne observation than any other system in existence and complies with proven standards required by ABLE to equip the one new helicopter and existing two helicopters of ABLE for airborne observations; and WHEREAS, the award of a sole source contract for avionics instrumentation and infrared systems will benefit the residents of Costa Mesa and Newport Beach by ensuring that the ABLE helicopters operate with the best possible equipment to fulfill the law enforcement services provided by ABLE; NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Costa Mesa does hereby resolve: 1. The sole source contract with Western Avionics, Inc., is hereby authorized and the Chief of Police is hereby authorized to negotiate and execute a contract for avionics instrumentation with such vendor. 2. The sole source contract with WESCAM, Inc., is hereby authorized and the Chief of Police is hereby authorized to negotiate and execute a contract for infrared systems with such vendor. PASSED AND ADOPTED this 3rd day of March, 1997. ATTEST: Deputy City C rk of the City of Costa Mesa STATE OF CALIFORNIA 1 COUNTY OF ORANGE ) ss CITY OF COSTA MESA ) ow ILI e �„/� .. A,RPROVED AS TO FORM CITY �ATTOVEY I, MARY T. ELLIOTT, Deputy City Clerk and ex -officio Clerk of the City Council of the City of Costa Mesa, hereby certify that the above and foregoing Resolution No. 9,7- i!7 was duly and regularly passed and adopted by the said City Council at a regular meeting thereof, held on the 3rd day of March, 1997. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Seal of the City of Costa Mesa this 4th day of March, 1997. T Deputy i y Clerk and ex -officio Clerk of the City ouncil of the City of Costa Mesa u t, Ol at- I I"% rNivomwo r Airborne Law Enforcement Services February 4, 1997 TO: TOM KATHE, CITY ATTORNEY, CITY OF COSTA MESA FROM: SERGEANT BOB 9SAKLEY SUBJECT: SINGLE SOURCE PURCHASE REQUEST - HELICOPTER AVIONICS I am making this request to use a single source vendor for the installation of avionics in the new ABLE helicopter. The City of Costa Mesa currently has a contract agreement with Western Avionics, Inc., located at John Wayne Airport. We utilize their services for the on going maintenance of the ABLE helicopters. They offer an excellent discount on parts and have historically provided excellent workmanship and service. They have also completed the initial avionics installation on two Costa Mesa helicopters with satisfactory results under the name of Continental Avionics, Inc. The attached quotation for avionics in our helicopter is $64,571.33. The actual cost may vary slightly, depending on items which we have not anticipated. We took great pains to include everything in this quote, which is why I believe this estimate is very close. As you know this is a complex installation. Past experience has shown that in the best case, there are bugs to be worked out. From an operational perspective, it is preferable to use a vendor who is accessible to deal with these problems. Western Avionics will send their personnel to our hangar. This eliminates the need to deliver the aircraft to the repair facility, the.pilots time for delivery and the cost of flight time. In addition, loss of use and down time are minimized. The cost of the installation is also attractive. A comparable installation for the City of Anaheim for their new MD520N helicopter was estimated at $110,000.00 with another avionics installer. Based on the above information, I believe it is beneficial for ABLE to consider Western Avionics as a single source vendor for our new helicopter. EXHIBIT "A" Page 1 of 3 WESCAM - INFRARED Page 2 The Cities of Newport Beach and Costa Mesa both own a FLIR Systems, Model 2000, infrared imager. As a condition of our request for a quote from WESCAM, I asked that they take both units in trade. The Newport Beach system is eight years old and the Costa Mesa system is 11 years old and in need of overhaul. The attached quote includes a trade-in for both old systems. The equipment included with the new system provides peripheral components for all three ABLE helicopters and one operating system. It includes all wiring and adapters and is compatible for use with a microwave down -link system. This specification will provide the ability to enhance system capability with minimal cost in the future. The WESCAM quote is $225,900.00 less $50.000.00 trade-in for our two old systems, bringing the total price to $175,900.00. WESCAM is the manufacturer of this equipment. The thermal imaging technology and the stabilization system employed in the Model 12 is not available in a competitive unit designed for police application. Based on the above information, I recommend we consider WESCAM as a single source vendor for the Model 12 Dual Sensor System. EXHIBIT "A" Page 2of3 f r r.rr r Ai �.rrborne Law Enforcement Services February 4, 1997 TO: TOM KATHE, CITY ATTORNEY, CITY OF COSTA MESA FROM: SERGEANT BOB OAEY SUBJECT: SINGLE SOURCE PURCHASE REQUEST - WESCAM - INFRARED I am making this request to use a single source vendor for the purchase of a new infrared/video system for ABLE. In our quest to update our current infrared system to the latest generation equipment available, I narrowed the search to two vendors, WESCAM and FLIR Systems, Inc. They were the only vendors offering the type of technology we were looking for. I contacted sales representatives from both organizations to schedule a product demonstration. Todd Newton, from WESCAM scheduled a three day period for us to install and test the Model 12, Dual Sensor System in our helicopter. He arrived on time and spent three days with us while we put the system to the test. The WESCAM, Model 12 utilizes third generation infrared technology. It is more sensitive and stable than our current system. It is a digital system which requires no moving parts. This should relate to fewer problems with the thermal imager, compared to the mechanical unit we now operate. After three days all ABLE pilots agreed the this system far exceeds their expectations. My contact with FLIR Systems was Mike McGinn, the area representative. I was originally looking at the Ultra 3000 System, which would be comparable to the WESCAM. I became aware of problems with the Ultra 3000 which FLIR Systems has not addressed satisfactorily with the customer (City of Riverside PD and the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department). Mike acknowledged these problems and offered their Saphire System as an alternative. This is a system which has been offered for larger helicopters due to its weight, but he told me they could downsize it for our application. He scheduled an appointment to demonstrate the equipment on January 20`h, but did not show up and did not call. I questioned him later about it and he related that he could not come through with the system he promised. This type of service is consistent with what I have heard from other law enforcement air units about FLIR Systems after market support. Base on this I would not recommend dealing with themat this time. EXHIBIT "A" Page 3 of 3