CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Adopt the Resolution approving an Intergovernmental Agreement between the City of Aurora and the City of Naperville for use of the Cisco Smartnet equipment and information technology related support services and maintenance
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DEPARTMENT: Fire Department
SUBMITTED BY: Mark Puknaitis, Chief
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
N/A
BACKGROUND:
In 2011, the City of Naperville and City of Aurora collaborated to apply for an Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG). The grant was requested to establish video conferencing capabilities at all 22 of the departments’ collective fire stations. In February 2012, FEMA awarded the amount of $992,535 to the City of Aurora as the grant facilitator. The 20% matching obligation of the grant was split evenly between the cities.
Both entities use the video conferencing system for trainings, meetings and demonstrations. At a minimum, the Naperville Fire Department uses the video conferencing system daily to communicate to all fire stations and PSAP about operational changes and needs for the day. The advantage is that all 10 stations can participate without vacating their respective response districts. Since the original installation, the Naperville Fire Department has also added endpoints at the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and Naperville PSAP to enhance communication abilities.
DISCUSSION:
The cities currently do not have an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) for the operation, maintenance and support of the video conferencing system. As a housekeeping measure, an IGA has been developed to accurately outline responsibilities and track associated costs.
The system is nearing its end of life. As such, both cities have begun to evaluate the future of the system. The Naperville Fire Department has started conversations with the IT Department to develop a plan to replace the system. The current system performs adequately for the internal needs of the Fire Department. However, the Fire Department would like to move to using the video conferencing system that IT is working with a consultant on to implement in conference rooms with other City departments if it is able to provide similar functionality to what the Fire Department has now. This will allow for the Fire Department to communicate internally as well as to off-site departments via the video conferencing system. In the meantime, the Fire Department will continue to use the current system until a new system is implemented.
Once approved, the IGA will be effective until one of the two entities decide to terminate their use of the video conferencing system. Per the agreement, 180 days’ notice is required to allow the other entity time to perform patches the services for continued use.
FISCAL IMPACT:
CIP #: N/A
No award is being requested as part of this agenda item. The City of Naperville’s share of the maintenance costs has historically been about $34,000 per year. However, unforeseen service calls or failed hardware that may be needed would increase the cost. The Fire Department has allotted funds for this service as part of their annual budget.