SUMMARY:

Overview:
Wildfires, earthquakes and terrorism are just three of many threats that face the San Diego region. When an emergency occurs, it is critical to have the ability to pass accurate information from emergency managers to residents as quickly as possible. In addition to communicating through the Emergency Alert System and through the media, advanced mass notification systems can provide immediate notification to residents through phone calls, e-mails, and text messages. If approved, this request will allow the County to purchase a state-of-the-art mass notification system allowing for the rapid notification of impacted communities. This system would be available for use by the County and all cities within the County during emergencies and disasters.

Recommendation(s):

CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER:
1.    In accordance with Section 401 et seq, of the County Administrative Code authorize the Director, Department of Purchasing and Contracting to award a contract for a mass notification system to Twenty First Century Communications for a term of three years, with one option year and up to an additional six months if needed, and to amend the contract as needed to reflect changes to services and funding, subject to approval of the Director, Office of Emergency Services.

2.     Authorize the Director, Office of Emergency Services to make the system available to all local government and special districts throughout the San Diego Operational Area pursuant to the provisions of the Mass Notification Protocol.

Fiscal Impact:
Funds for this request are budgeted in the Office of Emergency Services. The funding source is the Federal Fiscal Year 2006 Emergency Management Program Grant (EMPG) funds. The purpose of the EMPG program is to improve local emergency management capabilities. If approved, this request will result in Fiscal Year 2007-08 costs and revenue of $200,000 and will require the addition of no staff years. Ongoing maintenance costs in Fiscal Years 2008-09 and 2009-10 are expected to be $19,000 and will be supported by subsequent year EMPG grant funds.

BACKGROUND:

The evacuations prompted by the Firestorm of 2003 demonstrated the need for a County-wide notification system providing timely emergency information to the public. Events such as the Firestorm and the hurricanes that ravaged the Gulf Coast region in 2005 highlight the value of mass notification systems and the importance of investing in existing and future technologies that notify large numbers of people in a timely manner. In 2005, the County implemented a Reverse 9-1-1 system, which provides a very practical and low cost method of contacting residents during an emergency. However, communications technology has expanded exponentially since the County implemented its current system, and new internet-based mass notification systems are available that can take full advantage of emerging wireless technology.

By implementing this new system, San Diego County will be leaping to the next level to protect the public during an emergency. For example, during the wake of Hurricane Katrina almost all traditional phone lines in New Orleans were destroyed. Within 72 hours after the hurricane, however, the city was able to re-establish wireless phone coverage for significant parts of the city by bringing in mobile cell phone towers. In another example, during 9/11, phone usage increased by 400% in New York, making phone line connections almost impossible, but text messaging continued unimpeded. These two examples demonstrate the value of modern internet-based wireless notifications and text messaging systems, and give insight on how these systems will be the key to future mass notification solutions. Additionally, the new system employs advanced network routing capabilities and load balancing techniques. These systems are capable of getting calls through to residents despite an overloaded phone system that typically follows a disaster.

Approximately 400,000 messages or more can be sent out per hour with the proposed new system. With San Diego County’s 1.1 million households, each one could be reached in less than three hours during a catastrophic emergency, which is significantly faster than the capabilities of Reverse 9-1-1. The system is simple to operate and has the added advantage of allowing messages to be sent to email addresses, pagers, fax machines, instant messengers, and Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) as well as telephones. This greatly enhances the versatility and usefulness of the system.

On November 14, 2006 (7) your Board approved the Chief Administrative Officer’s recommendation to authorize the Director, Department of Purchasing and Contracting to issue a Competitive Solicitation for a County-wide mass notification system. Your Board directed that upon successful negotiations and determination of a fair and reasonable price that we return to your Board with specific recommendations on implementing and funding the system.

In December 2006 Purchasing and Contracting issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a new Mass Notification System that would take advantage of the most advanced network routing capabilities and load balancing techniques. A Source Selection Committee (SSC) made up of representatives from several County departments as well as other cities within the region, conducted an extensive review of the proposals. Based upon the results of this competitive selection process, the proposal provided by Twenty First Century Communications was found to offer the best value to the County.

The pricing in this proposal allows the County to obtain the system for an upfront cost of $200,000. This upfront cost includes: 1) a licensing fee; vendor provided training; first year maintenance and system customization and 2) the cost of one million emergency notification messages. It is expected that the one million emergency notification messages will last the region at least three years. The cost for notifications ranges from 3 cents to 10 cents per call, depending on the type and length of message. Ongoing annual maintenance costs are expected to be $19,000, however, in the unlikely event that one million emergency notification messages are exhausted in the first year, an additional desired number of messages can expeditiously be purchased from the vendor. This Board Letter will authorize the Director of Purchasing and Contracting to award the contract to Twenty First Century Communications.

Further, this Board Letter will authorize the Director, Office of Emergency Services to make the system available to all the cities and special districts throughout the San Diego region. Through this process, we can ensure we have a truly regional approach to public notification. Working through the region’s Unified Disaster Council, strict protocols and governance measures will be implemented to ensure the system remains as effective as possible. Primary among these protocols will be designating the emergencies for which the system will be activated. Emergency Community Notifications will be limited to:

1. Imminent threat to life or property
2. Disaster notifications
3. Evacuation notices
4. Public health emergencies
5. Any notification to provide emergency information to a defined community

As a general rule, the system will be used only when the public is being asked to take some action (e.g. evacuate, prepare to evacuate, shelter in place, boil tap water before drinking, be on the lookout for a missing child in their neighborhood). Be it evacuation notices, a chemical spill, missing child, or a health emergency, getting the word out in minutes rather than hours can make all the difference. This new mass notification system provides San Diego County and its regional partners with the capability to make these quick and important notifications.

Linkage to the County of San Diego Strategic PlanThis proposal supports the Safe and Livable Communities Initiative of the County’s Strategic Plan by providing a reliable and technologically advanced mass notification system to further augment other alert notification capabilities. This proposal also supports the Information Technology discipline of the County’s Strategic Plan.

Respectfully submitted,

WALTER F. EKARD Chief Administrative Officer