HomeMy WebLinkAbout97-19 - Airborne Law Enforcement Services ABLERESOLUTION NO. 97 -19
• A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH TO AWARD SOLE
SOURCE CONTRACTS FOR INSTALLATION OF
AVIONIC INSTRUMENTATION AND INFRARED
SYSTEMS ON HELICOPTERS OF THE AIRBORNE
LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICES AGENCY
The City Council of the City of Newport Beach finds as follows:
1. The City of Costa Mesa ( "Costa Mesa ") and the City of Newport
Beach ( "Newport Beach ") have established a Joint Powers Agency, known as
the Airbome Law Enforcement Services Agency ( "ABLE "), for the purposes of
providing cooperative law enforcement helicopter services to their respective
jurisdictions.
2. 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.
3. On January 24, 1997, the ABLE Board of Directors accepted a
report from the ABLE Bureau Commander, (attached as Exhibit A) which clearly
establishes that certain vendors of avionic instrumentation and infrared systems
market superior products and/or possess superior skills such that they represent
the only practical source for equipment and systems required by ABLE.
4. Western Avionics, Inc., is a vendor which possesses unique
technical skills and avionic instrumentation required by ABLE to equip the one
new helicopter purchased in 1996 from McDonnell Douglas such that the
compliance with purchasing policies or procedures of the City of Newport Beach
preliminary to the acquisition and installation of avionic equipment from /by
• Western Avionics, Inc., is not warranted.
Res 97 -19
5. WESCAM, Inc., is a vendor which markets an infrared
• system which is technologically superior to all other similar systems currently
known to exist in that WESCAM's infrared system provides images of superior
quality and resolution than other systems and is the only system which complies
with ABLE standards for airborne observations such that the compliance with
purchasing policies or procedures of the City of Newport Beach preliminary to
the acquisition and installation of avionic equipment from /by WESCAM, Inc., is
not warranted.
6. The award of a sole source contract for avionic 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, BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Council of the City
• of Newport Beach, does hereby resolve:
1. The Chief of Police is authorized to negotiate and execute a
•
contract for avionic instrumentation with Western Avionics, Inc., in an amount not
to exceed $70,000; and
2. The Chief of Police is authorized to negotiate and execute a
contract with WESCAM, Inc., for infrared systems in an amount not to exceed
$200,000.
ADOPTED, this 10th day of March 1997.
ATTEST: MAYOR
le:,
City Clerk
•
•
•
STATE OF CALIFORNIA }
COUNTY OF ORANGE
CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH }
I, LAVONNE M. HARKLESS, City Clerk of the City of Newport Beach, California, do
hereby certify that the whole number of members of the City Council is seven; that the foregoing
resolution, being Resolution No. 97 -19, was duly and regularly introduced before and adopted by the
City Council of said City at a regular meeting of said Council, duly and regularly held on the 10th
day of March, 1997, and that the same was so passed and adopted by the following vote, to wit:
Ayes: O'Neil, Thomson, Edwards, Hedges, Glover, Noyes, and Mayor Debay
Noes: None
Absent: None
Abstain: None
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto subscribed my name and affixed the
official seal of said City this 11th day of March, 1997.
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City Clerk of the City of
Newport Beach, California
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January 24, 1997
ID: 7146443700 PAGE
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0910 ■r r.ONO
Airborne Law Enforcement Services
TO: ABI.F. BOARD OF GOVERNORS
FROM: SERGEANT BOB OAKLEY
SUBJECT: SINGLE SOURCE PURCHASE REQUEST
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.
There is only one other vendor who can respond to our facility for maintenance and repair, The
vendor is Air Comm, located in Colton. Air Comm recently completed the avionics installation
for the City of Anaheim on their new MD520N helicopter, which totaled $ 110,000.00. When I
deleted items from their installation that we will not purchase new, a more accurate comparison
would be $83,000.00 for Air Comm to do the same work proposed by Western Avionics. Past
experience with Air Comm has demonstrated that they cannot always respond in a timely manner
for repairs. We formerly used Air Comm for all of our avionics work, but found their response
for service to be slow and expensive. Anaheim's helicopter facility is not located on an airport,
so in their case Air Comm was attractive because they don't have to deliver the helicopter for
service and they are. noted for doing quality work. Air Comm does riot have a facility to wrvicc
helicopters, so they the forced to perform the installation at the customer's location. In Anlicim's
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Sole Source Contract Recommendation
Page 2
case this is a plus because it eliminates the cost and delivery time for actually flying the
• helicopter to the repair facility,
As an example of the transportation cost involved, I can refer to our experience with the last
Newport Beach helicopter purchased. The avionics installation was done by Cinema Air, in
Carlsbad, CA. We experienced problems with this installation for two years. During this time
the helicopter had to be delivered, and often left at their facility for trouble shooting and repairs
on at least 12 different occasions. Each trip required at least one pilot and when the helicopter
had to be left there it required two helicopters and two pilots to make the delivery and the same
to retrieve it. Using present day operating costs, I have estimated the cost of a single pilot trip to
the repair facility.
Flight Time to Carlsbad 30 minutes @ $200 per hour $100.00
,Pilot Time to Carlsbad 45 minutes @ $30 per hour $22.50
Flight Time From Carlsbad 30 minutes @ $200 per hour $100.00
Pilot Time from Carlsbad 45 minutes On $30 per hour $22.50
TOTAL $245.00
The example includes only the bare minimum time involved. You can see that if the pilot was to
stand -by while repairs are made, the cost increases. If the helicopter were to be left at the facility
it would require a pilot and helicopter to pick him up, then return when the work was complete.
In this scenario the cost would triple to approximately $735.00. You can see where this is going,
• since this only accounts for transportation costs. Factor in loss of use and the administrative
costs involved and the real cost of avionics goes up substantially. In this case, twelve trips at the
bare minimum would increase the cost by $8,620.00.
Western Avionics, Inc., possesses unique technical skills and avionics products required by
ABLE to equip the new helicopter. Their facility located on the John Wayne Airport makes
them accessible at all times. Based on the above information, formal bidding for such
instrumentation would not result in an economic savings for ABLE, It is therefore recommended
the sole source contract be awarded to Western Avionics, Inc., for the installation of avionics in
the new helicopter.
I am also 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. The thermal imager has no moving parts and is only available in this system. The
stability is due to a four axis stabilization unit which is also not available in the competitive
• system, WESCAM has established a service center at the Van Nuys Airport to provide after
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Sole Source Contract Recommendation
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market support to the greater Los Angeles area. They have been the bench mark in technology to
• the trews media with stabilized video equipment for news helicopters. This is the same
technology which has been applied to the Model 12 system. After three days of field testing, all
ABLE pilots agreed 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, as a comparison 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 Sapphire System as an alternative. This is a system which leas
been offered for larger helicopters due to its weight, but he told me they could downsize it for
our application. fie scheduled an appointment to demonstrate the equipment on January 20'x', 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. Based on
this i would not recommend dealing with them at this time. The Ultra 3000 System is the only
other unit available offering similar technology to the WESCAM. However, problems with this
system which have not been addressed eliminate it from consideration for use by ABLE.
The vendor, WESCAM, Inc., provides a unique and technologically superior infrared system to
all other systems known to exist which perform similar functions. It provides a greater quality of
airborne observation than any other system in existence and complies with proven standards
• required by ABLE to equip the new helicopter. It is recommended the sole source contract for
the WESCAM, Model 12 System be awarded to WESCAM at a cost not to exceed $200,000.00.
•