Person County. Request For Proposal (RFP) VHF Simulcast Radio System

Person County Request For Proposal (RFP) VHF Simulcast Radio System

Table of Contents 1 INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS...6 1.1 Introduction 6 1.2 Purpose of the RFP 6 1.3 Tender closing date 6 1.4 Questions on this RFP 6 1.5 RFP Schedule 6 1.6 Mandatory point-by-point response to requirements 6 1.7 Vendor selection criteria 7 1.8 Turnkey solution 7 1.9 Validity period of the proposal 7 1.10 Compliant Bid Requirements 7 1.10.1 Pricing Form 7 1.10.2 Construction Time 7 1.10.3 Bid Deposit 8 1.10.4 Minorities Businesses 8 1.10.5 Experience Modification Rate 8 1.10.6 Subcontractors 8 1.11 Proposal Format 8 2 CURRENT NETWORK...10 2.1 Overview 10 2.2 Existing Sites 10 2.2.1 Existing Repeater Site 10 2.2.2 Existing Voting Receiver Sites 10 2.3 911 Center 10 2.3.1 Connectivity between the 911 Center and the Voting Receiver sites 10 2.4 Radio Subscribers 10 2.5 Coverage Issues 10 3 VHF SIMULCAST RADIO SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS...11 3.1 General Requirements 11 3.2 Simulcast solution for Sheriff and Fire Departments 11 3.3 Tower sites 11 3.4 Tower availability 11 2

3.5 Tower Site Detailed Information 11 3.6 Simulcast Site Configuration 13 3.7 Connectivity between the 911 Center and the Prime Simulcast site 13 3.8 Connectivity between the Prime site and the Remote Simulcast sites 13 3.9 Phased Rollout of the VHF Simulcast System 13 3.9.1 Phase 1 13 3.9.2 Phase 2 13 3.10 Phase 1 Equipment Deliverables 13 3.11 NC SHP Highway Patrol Microwave System 13 3.12 Redundancy at the Prime Simulcast Site 14 3.13 VHF analog Interface to Fiber System 14 3.14 Radio System requirements 14 3.14.1 Roxboro Prime Simulcast site 14 3.14.2 Remote Simulcast sites 14 3.14.3 911 Center 15 3.15 VHF antenna mounting brackets on the towers 15 3.16 FCC licenses for Simulcast 15 3.17 Minimize service interruption 15 3.18 Existing network remains in place 15 3.19 Technical Overview 15 3.20 VHF Simulcast Staging and Integration Testing 15 3.21 Inter-modulation studies 16 3.22 Power for equipment at the repeater sites 16 3.22.1 Power at the Roxboro, Mt. Tirzah and Woodland NC-SHP sites 16 3.22.2 Power at Bethel Hill and Bushy Fork sites 16 3.23 Power for equipment at the 911 Center 16 3.24 Space for equipment at NC SHP repeater sites 16 3.25 Space for equipment at the 911 Center 16 3.26 Product Lifecycle 17 3.27 Turnkey Solution 17 3.28 Avoiding obsolescence 17 3.29 Spares Kit 17 3.30 Construction Interval 17 3.31 Project Plan 17 3.32 Vendor Project Manager 17 3

3.33 Documentation 17 3.34 Training 18 3.35 Predicted Coverage Maps 18 3.35.1 Coverage maps 18 3.35.2 Predicted coverage map assumptions 18 3.35.3 Coverage model 18 3.36 Coverage Validation Plan 18 3.37 Thirty (30) Day Acceptance period 18 3.38 References from owners of similar projects 19 3.39 Vendors experience and qualifications in Public Safety 19 3.40 Number of similar VHF Simulcast Installations 19 3.41 Warranty Period 19 3.42 Post Warranty Maintenance Support Annual Contract 19 3.42.1 Support organization 19 3.42.2 Contacts and Location 19 3.42.3 Response time 19 4 RFP TERMS AND CONDITIONS...20 4.1 General Terms 20 4.2 Rejection/Acceptance of proposals 20 4.3 Proposal Award 20 4.4 Payment Schedule and Terms 20 4.5 Invoicing 20 4.6 Equipment Standards and Performance 21 4.7 Requirement for Original Equipment 21 4.8 Responsibilities of the Vendor 21 4.9 Permits 21 4.10 Change Orders 21 4.11 Insurance 21 4.11.1 Worker s Compensation 21 4.11.2 Commercial General Liability 21 4.11.3 Automobile 21 4.12 Performance Bond and Payment Bond 22 4.12.1 Performance Bond 22 4.12.2 Payment Bond 22 4.13 Governing Laws 22 4

4.14 Affirmative Action 22 4.15 Assignment 22 4.16 General Indemnity 22 5 PRICING...24 5.1 VHF Simulcast System - Phase 1 24 5.2 VHF System Upgrade - Phase 2 24 5.3 Optional Proposal Additional cost for new VHF Frequencies 25 5.4 Post Warranty Maintenance Support 25 6 VENDOR QUESTIONS...27 7 ADDENDUM #1...32 8 ADDENDUM #2...35 5

1 INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS 1.1 Introduction Person County, North Carolina requests proposals from qualified vendors to design and install a replacement Public Safety Radio System. The current VHF Public Safety system has large coverage dead spots throughout the County. The objective is to improve VHF radio coverage for the Sheriff, Fire and Emergency Services. 1.2 Purpose of the RFP This RFP is for the design, installation and commissioning of a Public Safety VHF Simulcast Radio system that meets the requirements defined in this document. 1.3 Tender closing date Proposals will be accepted until January 26, 2018 at 2:00 PM EDT. Bid shall be submitted in a sealed envelope, so marked as to indicate its contents without being opened. The bid deposit shall be placed in a separate envelope. Both envelopes shall be placed in another envelope and forwarded or delivered to Office of County Manager, Person County Office Building, Room 212, located at 304 South Morgan Street, Roxboro NC 27573. Bids will be received until 2:00 pm Jan 26, 2018 at which time the bids shall be opened and read aloud in Room 215. Bids submitted by vendors who did not attend the mandatory pre-bid conference on December 14, 2017, will be rejected. 1.4 Questions on this RFP Person County will respond to questions submitted ONLY via e-mail to frank.m@tsspartners.com.. 1.5 RFP Schedule Release of the RFP: January 19,2018 RFP response due date: January26, 2018 Vendor selection: February 2018 1.6 Mandatory point-by-point response to requirements A point-by-point response to all items in Section 3, and Section 4 of the RFP is mandatory. Vendors must respond to each item using one of the following responses: 6

! Fully compliant! Partially compliant with explanatory text.! Non-compliant Responses other than these three choices are not acceptable. 1.7 Vendor selection criteria This contract will not be awarded solely on price. The process to select a vendor will be based on the following criteria:! Total Cost of Ownership: 30% a. Proposed Pricing b. Maintenance Costs including warranty provisions! Proposed Solution: 35% a. Compliance with RFP Requirements: b. Technical solution c. Product lifecycle: d. Upgradeability to avoid obsolescence:! Vendor experience and performance: 35% a. Vendor experience and installed base of proposed equipment: b. Public safety reference projects interview and feedback: c. Vendor corporate organization: d. Local support capability in North Carolina: 1.8 Turnkey solution The Vendor should propose a turnkey solution for engineering, furnishing, and deploying a 2-channel VHF Simulcast Radio system. 1.9 Validity period of the proposal Proposals must be valid for a period of 90 days. 1.10 Compliant Bid Requirements The following is a list of mandatory requirements for all Vendor proposals. Proposals that do not include these items will be rejected by the County. 1.10.1 Pricing Form Vendor shall supply a complete pricing worksheet using the format in Section 5 1.10.2 Construction Time Vendor must supply the start date and the time for completion of the work to be performed. 7

1.10.3 Bid Deposit Each proposal shall be accompanied by a deposit equal to not less than five percent (5%) of the gross bid price, made payable to Person County. The deposit shall consist of cash, a cashier s check issued by, or a certified check drawn on, a bank or trust company authorized to do business in North Carolina or on a bank insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or a U.S. Money Order, 1.10.4 Minorities Businesses All contractors submitting bids will be required to provide either (1) an affidavit that includes a description of the portion of work to be executed by minority businesses, expressed as a percentage of the total contract price, which is equal to or more than the applicable total, (2) documentation of its good faith effort to meet a minimum goal of 10% of the work executed by minority businesses, including any advertisements, solicitations, and evidence of other specific actions demonstrating recruitment and selection of minority business for participation in the contract as required by the contract documents, or (3) an affidavit verifying that the bidder will be self-performing all of the work as defined in N.C Gen. Stat. 143-128.2. Failure to file the required affidavit or documentation that demonstrates that the contractor made the required good faith effort is grounds for rejection of the bid. 1.10.5 Experience Modification Rate Documentation of your Experience Modification Rate. 1.10.6 Subcontractors Names of principal subcontractors must be listed and attached to the Bid. Only one subcontractor named for each classification listed is acceptable. 1.11 Proposal Format The RFP response should be organized in the following format:! Pricing Worksheet completed as described in Section 5! Executive Summary! Bid Bond! Performance Bond! Payment Bond! Minorities Business Participation Documentation! Construction Schedule! Technical Overview of the proposed solution! Vendors experience and qualifications in Public Safety! References for at least three (3) similar projects including a description of each project! Point-by-point response to Section 3 and Section 4, 8

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2 CURRENT NETWORK 2.1 Overview Person County currently provides public safety communications using a conventional 3 channel Analog VHF Radio network. The Radio network serves the Sheriff, Fire and Emergency Medical Services (EMS). The Sheriff has one (1) VHF channel, Fire Departments use the second channel and EMS units use the third channel. A separate VHF radio network serves the City of Roxboro, North Carolina. 2.2 Existing Sites The existing VHF radio network consists of one (1) Repeater site and two (2) Voting Receiver sites. 2.2.1 Existing Repeater Site The existing repeater site is the Piedmont Communications Tower located at 301 Hill Street, Roxboro, NC. The tower is owned by the City of Roxboro, and the County has a lease agreement to use the tower. 2.2.2 Existing Voting Receiver Sites! The Moriah Fire Station Tower, located at 1879 Mt Harmony Church Road.! The Bethel Hill Charter School Water Tank located at 401 Bethel Hill School Road. 2.3 911 Center The 911 Center is located at 301 Hill Street, Roxboro, North Carolina. The Center is equipped with five (5) Motorola MCC7500 Consoles. 2.3.1 Connectivity between the 911 Center and the Voting Receiver sites Microwave links connect the Bethel Hill and Moriah Voting Receiver sites with the Piedmont Tower. 2.4 Radio Subscribers Mobiles and Portables are used by Sheriff, EMS and Fire Departments. Pagers are used by EMS and the Fire Departments. Radios and pagers are supplied by multiple vendors. 2.5 Coverage Issues The current network provides Pager and Mobile talk-out coverage in the Central region of the County but there is no coverage along the County line. Portable talk-in coverage has large gaps in the Western portion of the County. 10

3 VHF SIMULCAST RADIO SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS 3.1 General Requirements The County requires a five (5) site VHF Simulcast system to expand coverage throughout the County. This RFP defines the requirements for the Simulcast system. 3.2 Simulcast solution for Sheriff and Fire Departments The County requires a two (2) channel Simulcast solution to serve the Sheriff and Fire Departments. EMS will continue to be served by the existing EMS repeater site located at 301 Hill Street, Roxboro, NC. 3.3 Tower sites The network configuration consists of three (3) North Carolina State Highway Patrol (NC-SHP) towers and two (2) County owned towers. The sites are as follows;! Roxboro (NC-SHP) Tower! Woodland NC-SHP Tower! Mt Tirzah NC-SHP Tower! Bethel Hill Tower (County owned)! Bushy Fork (County owned) 3.4 Tower availability The Woodland, Roxboro and Mt Tirzah towers are existing NC-SHP Towers. The estimated availability for Bushy Fork and Bethel Hill towers is April 2018. 3.5 Tower Site Detailed Information The following tables provide information for the five (5) tower sites. Roxboro NC SHP Tower Coordinates 36.38344, -79.001074 Structure height 280 ft. Antenna height Receive - 280 ft.; Transmit 230 ft. Ground elevation 742 ft Support Structure Self-supporting Tower Location Crichter -Wilkerson Road, Roxboro, NC 27549 11

Woodland NC-SHP Tower Coordinates 36.461833, -79.083617 Structure height 280 ft. Antenna height Receive - 280 ft.; Transmit 230 ft. Ground Elevation 528 ft. Support Structure Self-supporting Tower Location 7391 Semora Road, Semora, NC 27343 Mt Tirzah Tower Coordinates 36.317281, -78.86112 Structure height 280 ft. Antenna height Receive - 280 ft.; Transmit 230 ft. Ground Elevation 646 ft. Support Structure Self-supporting Tower Location Mt. Harmony Church Road, Roxboro, NC 27572 Bethel Hill Tower Coordinates 36.507133, -78.91815 Structure height Antenna height Ground Elevation Support Structure 300 ft. Receive - 300 ft.; Transmit 250 ft. 601 ft. Self-supporting Tower Location 401 Bethel Hill School Road, Roxboro, NC 27574 Bushy Fork Tower Coordinates 36.306988, -79.091296 Structure height 270 ft. Antenna height Receive - 270 ft.; Transmit 220 ft. Ground Elevation 672 ft. Support Structure Self-supporting Tower Location 7901 Burlington Road, Hurdle Mills, Roxboro, NC 27541 12

3.6 Simulcast Site Configuration The Vendor will configure the Roxboro NC-SHP site as the Prime Simulcast site. The Vendor will configure Bethel Hill, Mt Tirzah, Bushy Fork and Woodland as Remote Simulcast sites. 3.7 Connectivity between the 911 Center and the Prime Simulcast site The County will provide dedicated dark fiber between the 911 Center and the Roxboro Simulcast Prime site. The estimated availability for fiber connectivity on this route is December 2018. 3.8 Connectivity between the Prime site and the Remote Simulcast sites The County will provide dedicated dark fiber between the Roxboro Simulcast Prime site and each of the remote Simulcast sites. Fiber availability between the Roxboro Prime site and Remote sites are as follows;! Bethel Hill and Bushy Fork to Roxboro fiber availability is estimated to be December 2018! Woodland and Mt. Tirzah to Roxboro fiber availability is estimated to be June 2019 3.9 Phased Rollout of the VHF Simulcast System To coincide with the phased availability of fiber at the tower sites, the VHF Simulcast rollout will consist of two (2) Phases. 3.9.1 Phase 1 The Phase 1 network will utilize a mix of County owned fiber and exiting NC-SHP microwave links.! Vendor will use County fiber to connect the 911 Center with the Roxboro Prime site! Vendor will use County fiber to connect the Roxboro Prime site with Bethel Hill and Bushy Fork.! Vendor will use existing North Carolina State Highway Patrol microwave to connect Mt Tirzah and Woodland to the Roxboro Prime site. 3.9.2 Phase 2 Vendor will use County fiber to connect Mt Tirzah and Woodland to the Roxboro Prime site. The NC-SHP microwave will be configured as back-up. 3.10 Phase 1 Equipment Deliverables The vendor shall deliver all equipment to the respective tower sites for Phase I and Phase 2 as part of the Phase1 project. 3.11 NC SHP Highway Patrol Microwave System The Vendor will supply a T1 interface to the NC-SHP microwave system. The NC SHP microwave system serving the Roxboro to Mt Tirzah and Roxboro the Woodland links is an Alcatel MDR8000 Digital Microwave Radio system. 13

3.12 Redundancy at the Prime Simulcast Site The Vendor shall supply On-Site redundancy solution for the Simulcast Controller and any other controller functions required at the Roxboro Prime site on Critcher Wilkinson Road. The redundancy solution should operate in hot-standby mode to provide automatic switchover. The County requires a solution that will avoid downtime of the Simulcast network due to failure of a single component. 3.13 VHF analog Interface to Fiber System The Vendor will supply an optical Fiber to VHF analog interface at the 911 Center and at each of the five Simulcast sites. The interface will be a rack plug-in unit that will light the dark fiber and provide a four (4) wire analog interface to the VHF system. The approximate length of the run between the 911 Center and the Roxboro prime Site is 2 miles. The approximate length of the run from Roxboro Prime site to each of the Remote sites is as follows;! Bethel Hill 17 miles! Bushy Fork 10 miles! Mt Tirzah 15 miles! Woodland 11 miles All fiber is single mode and average fiber attenuation is less than 0.35db/kilometer. 3.14 Radio System requirements The vendor shall furnish and install all necessary equipment to meet the following requirements at each repeater site. 3.14.1 Roxboro Prime Simulcast site! Supply, install and test a two (2) channel VHF repeater system equipped with Prime Simulcast operation.! Supply, install and test all antennas and coaxial cable feed-line systems.! Supply, install and test a combiner/duplexer solution that conserves tower space while maximizing performance.! Supply and install lightning protection! Supply and install grounding following R56 standards. 3.14.2 Remote Simulcast sites! At each site supply, install and test a two (2) channel VHF repeater system equipped with Remote Simulcast operation.! At each site supply, install and test all antennas and coaxial cable feed-line systems.! At each site supply, install and test a combiner/duplexer solution that conserves tower space while maximizing performance.! At each site supply and install lightning protection! At each site supply and install grounding following R56 standards. 14

3.14.3 911 Center! Supply, install and test all necessary equipment to provide connectivity between the 911 Center and the VHF Simulcast network.! Supply, install and test all necessary ancillary equipment. 3.15 VHF antenna mounting brackets on the towers Proposals must include the cost of VHF antenna mounting brackets for the three (3) NC- SHP sites. Antenna mounting brackets will be available on the two County owned towers. The mounting brackets will be a 6 foot sidearm at the Transmit and Receive heights listed in Item 3.5 3.16 FCC licenses for Simulcast The County has filed an application for FCC licenses for Fire and Sheriff frequencies and approval is expected by January 2018. The Call Sign for the Sheriff is KNFA334 and the County Fire is WPFJ474. The County requires an optional proposal for the cost to move to new frequencies, if the FCC requires new frequencies to mitigate co-channel interference. The reprogramming cost of the Radios to move to new frequencies will be based on 108 Mobiles, 292 Portables and 353 Pagers. 3.17 Minimize service interruption The vendor must plan, coordinate, and conduct all work with minimal interruption of service to existing radio communications systems. 3.18 Existing network remains in place The existing Voting Receivers and the Repeater Site serving Fire and Sheriff at the 911 Center will remain in place as back up after the Simulcast radio system is operational. 3.19 Technical Overview The vendor must provide a detailed technical description of the proposed VHF Simulcast System. Vendor responses are required to address the following requirements:! Proposed technical solution to expand coverage throughout the County.! Quantity of similar systems currently in service in North Carolina and throughout the US.! Redundant design of the equipment supplied.! Field performance of the equipment that includes service outages during the last 12 months 3.20 VHF Simulcast Staging and Integration Testing The entire VHF simulcast system must be staged for Integration Testing at the factory prior to shipment. 15

3.21 Inter-modulation studies The vendor must perform tenth order inter-modulation studies for the Roxboro, Mt Tirzah and Woodland NC-SHP sites to comply with NC-SHP co-location requirements. Vendors are responsible for the cost of the study and will supply the results to the County prior to Contract signature. The Call Signs for the NC-SHP sites are; Mt Tirzah Woodland Roxboro WQXV219 WQWH413 WQST895, WQSF651, WOUE354. 3.22 Power for equipment at the repeater sites 3.22.1 Power at the Roxboro, Mt. Tirzah and Woodland NC-SHP sites Existing power equipment serving the NC-SHP equipment at the Roxboro, Mt Tirzah and Woodland sites will provide power to the Person County VHF equipment. All sites are equipped with battery backup and a diesel generator. The successful bidder will provide forecasted average and peak power requirements for the proposed equipment. 3.22.2 Power at Bethel Hill and Bushy Fork sites County owned power equipment at the Bethel Hill and Bushy Fork sites will provide power for the VHF equipment. Both sites are equipped with battery backup and a diesel generator. The successful bidder will provide forecasted average and peak power requirements for the proposed equipment. 3.23 Power for equipment at the 911 Center Power is available in the 911 Center equipment room for VHF equipment. The 911 site is equipped with battery backup and a diesel generator. The successful bidder will provide forecasted average and peak power requirements for the proposed equipment. 3.24 Space for equipment at NC SHP repeater sites Space for two (2) 19-inch racks is available at Roxboro. Space for two (2) 19-inch racks is available at Mt Tirzah. Space for two (2) 19-inch racks is available at Woodland. Vendor must confirm that these space requirements are acceptable. 3.25 Space for equipment at the 911 Center Space is available on an existing CAD server rack for two (2) rack units. Vendor must confirm that the space is acceptable. 16

3.26 Product Lifecycle The vendor must state the product life cycle for the equipment supplied in this bid. The County will not accept Proposals that include systems or equipment at the end of their respective lifecycles. The County defines end of lifecycle products as products for which the manufacturer intends to discontinue support within the next 7 years. 3.27 Turnkey Solution Vendor proposals must include all components and services required to deliver a turnkey VHF Simulcast System. The Vendor must furnish all design, services, materials, equipment, tools, engineering, testing, and labor necessary to construct a VHF simulcast solution as specified in this RFP. 3.28 Avoiding obsolescence The vendor must propose a state of the art solution that can be upgraded without having to replace repeaters, or major infrastructure. 3.29 Spares Kit The Bidder must provide a recommended list for spares required to maintain the equipment supplied. The bidder must provide part numbers and pricing in the proposal for recommended spares. The sparing policy must be based on a minimum of one spare plug-in unit for each model of plug in used at the five (5) repeater sites and the 911 Center. Spares will be stored by the equipment vendor locally and be available on a 24-hour turnaround. Prime site turnaround is four (4) hours. 3.30 Construction Interval Vendor shall supply the start date and the time for completion of the work to be performed. 3.31 Project Plan Vendor proposals must include a high-level Project Plan. The Project Plan should include a schedule of key events including:! Equipment delivery date! Installation start and completion date! Coverage Acceptance Testing start and complete date! 30 Day Final Acceptance start and complete date 3.32 Vendor Project Manager The successful bidder must provide a Project Manager, with at least four (4) years experience in managing similar Public Safety system implementation for City, County, State or Federal agencies. The successful bidder must supply a biography for the Project Manager listing qualifications and the number of years of experience in managing projects of similar complexity. 3.33 Documentation The selected bidder must supply Engineering drawings for the equipment configuration supplied to Person County at each Repeater site and the 911 Center. Also, the successful bidder must supply Operations and Maintenance documentation. 17

3.34 Training To facilitate a smooth transition to Simulcast at the 911 Center, the vendor must provide a comprehensive training plan for 911 Center staff at Contract signature.! The vendor must outline the training program and list the number of training hours.! The vendor must provide a biography for the Trainer that lists training experience on Simulcast transitions for 911 Center staff. 3.35 Predicted Coverage Maps The vendor must supply predicted coverage maps for within Person County and beyond the County line. 3.35.1 Coverage maps Predicted coverage maps must be supplied for the vendor s Simulcast solution. File format must be ESRI shapefile. The following propagation maps are required:! Talk-out to Mobiles! Talk-out to Pagers Indoor! Talk-out to Portables Indoor! Talk-in from Portables Indoor! Talk-in from Portables Outdoor! Talk-in from Mobiles 3.35.2 Predicted coverage map assumptions Predicted coverage maps will be based on standard in-building loss values and portable antenna loss factors as specified in the current version of TIA/TSB-88. 3.35.3 Coverage model Coverage predictions must be based on the Longley-Rice algorithm. 3.36 Coverage Validation Plan To validate the Coverage maps, the vendor must perform drive testing throughout the entire County in compliance with the coverage test method specified in TSB - 88C. Copies of the results must be supplied to the County. The County reserves the right to have a County staff member ride along with the vendor drive test team. 3.37 Thirty (30) Day Acceptance period After the system has been installed and coverage testing is completed, the County requires 30 days of functional service prior to Final Acceptance. Major equipment malfunctions or failures, as determined by Person County, will delay acceptance and the 30-day trial will restart the day after repairs are completed. The 30-Day Acceptance process serves as a sign off procedure for final payment to the successful bidder. 18

3.38 References from owners of similar projects Provide a list of three (3) recent projects where the vendor supplied a similar Public Safety system implementation or upgrade for City, County, State or Federal agencies. The information must include contact information for the person within the City/County who was the Project Manager or held an equivalent role on these projects. A brief overview of the project must be provided. 3.39 Vendors experience and qualifications in Public Safety The vendor must provide a detailed narrative outlining experience and qualification in providing Public Safety system implementation or upgrades for City, County, State or Federal agencies. 3.40 Number of similar VHF Simulcast Installations The vendor must provide the number of VHF Simulcast installations within the State of North Carolina and adjacent States. 3.41 Warranty Period A minimum of a one (1) year warranty period is required for all hardware, radio and ancillary equipment provided by the successful Bidder. This is to include software/hardware updates that are introduced by the Equipment vendors during the Warranty period. The one (1) year period will commence upon Final Acceptance of the system by Person County. The warranty must include both parts and labor and 24-hour manufacturer phone support. Maintenance services provided under warranty must be available seven (7) days per week; twenty-four (24) hours per day, and two (2) hour response time from call initiation by the county throughout the entire warranty period. 3.42 Post Warranty Maintenance Support Annual Contract The Bidder must provide a price for extending the one (1) year mandatory warranty period in one-year increments up to a total of (5) years in the Pricing Section of the proposal. The warranty extension must cover hardware and/or software. A written explanation of the services and/or materials covered under the extension, major items or components not covered, and the cost of the extended warranty must be included. 3.42.1 Support organization The proposal must describe the vendor s nationwide and state level organizational structure for North Carolina. 3.42.2 Contacts and Location The vendor must supply the address and contact information where certified maintenance technicians will provide diagnostic and repair services. Contact information for regular business hours as well as afterhours and holidays must be provided. 3.42.3 Response time The Bidder must describe the proposed support response time for network problems resulting in service outages as well as non-service impacting outages. The proposal must address response times during regular business hours, after hours, weekends and holidays. 19

4 RFP TERMS AND CONDITIONS 4.1 General Terms Submission of any proposal signifies the vendor s agreement that the proposal content and associated prices will become part of the contract that is negotiated between Person County and the selected vendor. 4.2 Rejection/Acceptance of proposals This is a request soliciting proposals only. It is not an offer to enter into a contract or that a contract ultimately will be executed. 4.3 Proposal Award This contract will not be awarded solely on the basis of price. Rather the contract for this project will be awarded to the most responsive bidder, based on the evaluation criteria listed in this RFP. 4.4 Payment Schedule and Terms The contract payment terms for the VHF Phase 1 project are:! 15% upon completion of Project Kickoff Meeting! 50% upon delivery of Equipment! 20% upon completion of Installation and Coverage Testing.! 15% upon successful completion of 30-day Final Acceptance. The contract payment terms for the VHF Phase 2 project are:! 50% upon Project Kickoff! 50% upon completion of installation, testing and acceptance Payment terms are net 30 days after receipt of invoice. 4.5 Invoicing The selected vendor must submit invoices for each progress payment outlined in the Payment Schedule above. Invoice must include a detailed breakdown of all charges. Invoices must be based upon completion of tasks or deliverables and must include progress reports. All invoices must be forwarded to the following address: Person County General Services Office Attention: Ms. Debra Davis Person County 304 S. Morgan Street Roxboro, NC 27573 20

4.6 Equipment Standards and Performance All infrastructure equipment and components supplied for this project must conform to applicable FCC, OSHA, NEC, TIA and similar regulations and standards for emissions, power, safety, and other relevant technical aspects. 4.7 Requirement for Original Equipment All equipment must be new, of current manufacture, original and unmodified, and be generally recognized as public safety grade. 4.8 Responsibilities of the Vendor It must be the responsibility of vendor to verify completeness of the material list and the suitability of the devices to meet the total requirements of the County. 4.9 Permits All permits required for installation of equipment must be procured by the selected bidder and any costs involved in procuring permits shall be the responsibility of the selected vendor. 4.10 Change Orders The County shall be the only party with the authority to approve Change Orders. 4.11 Insurance The successful bidder must procure, maintain, and provide proof of insurance coverage for liability, injuries to persons and property damage as may arise from or in conjunction with the work performed on behalf of the County by the vendor, his/her agents, employees or subcontractors. Proof of coverage, must be submitted 15 days prior to the commencement of work, and such coverage must be maintained by the bidder for the duration of the contract period. Person County must be listed as additional insured. Claims made must be covered for three years after contract completion date. Proof of coverage for the following insurance policies must be submitted to the County:! Workers Compensation! Commercial General Liability! Automobile 4.11.1 Worker s Compensation The vendor must provide and maintain Worker s Compensation Insurance as well as employer s liability coverage with minimum limits of $1,000,000.00 per occurrence, covering all of contractor s employees who are engaged in any work under the contract. If any work is sublet, the vendor must require the subcontractor to provide the same coverage for employees engaged in any work under the contract. 4.11.2 Commercial General Liability General Liability Coverage must be the minimum amount of $1,000,000.00 per occurrence. 4.11.3 Automobile Automobile Liability Insurance, to include liability coverage, covering all owned, hired and non-owned vehicles, used in connection with the contract. The minimum combined single limit must be 21

$1,000,000.00 bodily injury and property damage; $1,000,000.00 uninsured/under insured motorist and $1,000,000.00 medical payment. 4.12 Performance Bond and Payment Bond In accordance with the NC General Statute, the vendor must meet the following bonding requirements in order to enter into an agreement with the County. 4.12.1 Performance Bond To enter into a Contract with the County, the selected bidder shall supply a Performance Bond in the amount of one hundred percent (100%) of the construction contract amount, conditioned upon the faithful performance of the contract in accordance with the plans, specifications and conditions of the contract. Such a bond shall be solely for the protection of the contracting body that is constructing the project. 4.12.2 Payment Bond To enter into a Contract with the County, the selected bidder shall supply a Payment Bond in the amount of one hundred percent (100%) of the construction contract amount, conditioned upon prompt payment for all labor or materials for which a contractor or subcontractor is liable. The payment bond shall be solely for the protection of the persons furnishing materials or performing labor for which a contractor, subcontractor, or construction manager at risk is liable. 4.13 Governing Laws This contract must be governed in accordance with the laws of the State of North Carolina. 4.14 Affirmative Action The supplier will take affirmative action in compliance with all Federal and State requirements concerning fair employment and employment of people with disabilities, and concerning the treatment of all employees without regard to discrimination by reason of race, color, religion, sex, national origin or disability. 4.15 Assignment No assignment of the vendor s obligations or the vendor s right to receive payment hereunder must be permitted. However, upon written request approved by Person County, and solely as a convenience to the vendor, the vendor may:! Forward the vendor s payment check directly to any person or entity designated by the vendor, and! Include any person or entity designated by vendor as a joint payee on the vendor s payment check. In no event must such approval and action obligate Person County to anyone other than the vendor and the vendor must remain responsible for the fulfillment of all contract obligations. 4.16 General Indemnity The vendor must hold and save Person County, its officers, agents, and employees, harmless from liability of any kind, including all claims and losses, including consequential damages, accruing or resulting to any other person, firm, or corporation furnishing or supplying work, services, materials, or supplies in connection with the performance of this contract, and from any and all claims and losses accruing or resulting to any person, firm, or corporation that may be injured or damaged by the vendor in 22

the performance of this contact and that are attributable to the negligence of the vendor provided that the vendor is notified in writing within 30 days that Person County has knowledge of such claims. 23

5 Pricing 5.1 VHF Simulcast System - Phase 1 VHF Equipment Roxboro Site Price VHF Equipment Woodland Site VHF Equipment Mt Tirzah Site VHF Equipment Bethel Hill Site VHF Equipment Bushy Fork Site VHF Equipment 911 Center Spares All sites Installation, Testing and Coverage Testing Services All sites TOTAL Note: Vendor will supply all Equipment for Phase 1 and Phase 2 as part of the Phase 1 price proposal 5.2 VHF System Upgrade - Phase 2 Installation, Testing and Acceptance - Mt Tirzah to Roxboro Prime site connectivity upgrade to fiber - Woodland to Roxboro Prime Site connectivity upgrade to fiber - Configure the NC-SHP microwave as backup TOTAL Price 24

5.3 Optional Proposal Additional cost for new VHF Frequencies Price Radio Reprogramming (Mobiles, Portables, Pagers) TOTAL 5.4 Post Warranty Maintenance Support Price Year 1 Included in base price Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 25

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6 VENDOR QUESTIONS QUESTION 1: Section 1.11.3, page 8 Each proposal shall be accompanied by a deposit equal to not less than five percent (5%) of the gross bid price, made payable to Person County. a) When will Person County return the 5% cash deposit of funds to the vendor? i. Upon contract award? ii. Upon Project Kickoff Meeting? ANSWER 1. The Bid Deposit funds will be refunded at Contract signature. QUESTION 2. Section 1.11.6, page 8 "Names of principal subcontractors must be listed and attached to the Bid. Only one subcontractor named for each classification listed is acceptable." a) Please clarify the intent and purpose for the statement, Only one subcontractor named is acceptable. ANSWER 2. The County requires a listing of principal subcontractors to be attached to the bid. The County has removed the limitation stating only one subcontractor is acceptable. QUESTION 3. Phase I and Phase 2 implementations, Item 3.9, page 13 What are the estimated timelines for the start of Phase 1 and Phase 2. a) Is the general expectation that work will not commence until December of 2018, when the first fiber links are anticipated to be ready for service? b) What is the risk and associated contingency plan for the possibility that the implementation of those links will be delayed? c) To ensure that the most up-to-date hardware and software releases are implemented, we recommend that major components should not be ordered and built until they are needed. Is that agreeable and consistent with Person County s expectations? 27

ANSWER 3. The availability dates for fiber at Bushy Fork and Bethel Hill is December 2018. The availability date for fiber at Mt Tirzah and Woodland is December 2019. To accommodate this phased rollout of fiber, the Vendor requires a Three (3) Phase rollout as follows; Phase 1; 1. Contract Signature is estimated to take place in April 2018 following loan approval. 2. Phase 1 will consist of Roxboro, Woodland and Mt Tirzah plus the 911 Center. 3. Mt Tirzah and Woodland will utilize existing NC-SHP links to the Roxboro Prime site. Existing Fiber will be used to connect the 911 center to the Prime site. 4. Equipment shall be delivered to all sites since the shelters will be available at Bethel Hill and Bushy Fork by June 2018, but fiber will not be available in the Phase 1 timeline at these sites. 5. The anticipated Phase 1 schedule is Kickoff April 2018, Installation Complete Sept 2018. Coverage testing will be completed for the entire network as part of Phase 2. 6. All Phase 1 sites and Phase 1 connectivity are ready today, thereby mitigating risks Phase 2: 1. Fiber will be available at Bethel Hill and Bushy Fork sites December 2018. 2. Vendor will add Bethel Hill and Bushy Fork to provide connectivity at all sites. 3. Coverage testing and 30-Day acceptance to enable county wide coverage. 4. Vendor shall state the estimated schedule for Phase 2. Phase 3: 1. Fiber will be available at Woodland and Mt. Tirzah Dec. 2019. 2. Vendor will upgrade Woodland and Mt Tirzah to fiber and configure NC SHP microwave as backup, 3. Vendor shall state the estimated schedule for Phase 3 based on December 2019 kickoff. To reflect the updated Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3 deliverables outlined above, the Pricing Sheet in the RFP is updated and is included as Addendum No1 after the Question and Answers. QUESTION 4. Item 3.92. Page 13. Vendor will use County fiber to connect Mt Tirzah and Woodland to the Roxboro Prime site. The NC-SHP microwave will be configured as back-up. a) Is a specific technology required or requested by Person County to accomplish switching between primary and backup links? ANSWER 4. 28

An automatic switchover that does not require manual intervention is required. The solution can be any technology that can perform the switchover in approximately 1 to 2 minutes. QUESTION 5. Item 3.12, Page 14 The County requires a solution that will avoid downtime of the Simulcast network due to failure of a single component. Please provide a detailed description and/or map of the topology for the planned inter-site links to help identify the prime site components that will provide the most suitable redundancy. E.g., does the link for one site traverse another site? Is any part of the topology designed as a loop? Are existing microwave links (for voting receivers) suitable for use as a part of a redundant design? ANSWER 5. As described in the Answer to Question 3, the Phase 1 network will utilize a mix of Fiber and NC-SHP microwave for inter-site links. The Phase 2 network will utilize fiber for all inter-site links. a) See map of the Fiber inter-site links. b) The NC-SHP microwave inter-site links are direct hops and do not traverse another site. The NC-SHP links are listed in the Answer to Question 3. QUESTION 6. Item 3.13, Page 13. The Vendor will supply an optical Fiber to VHF analog interface at the 911 Center and at each of the five Simulcast sites. The interface will be a rack plug-in unit that will light the dark fiber and provide a four (4) wire analog interface to the VHF system. a) Please clarify the intent and purpose for these interfaces. b) The description suggests that specific equipment is desired. Is a particular technology or manufacturer/model of hardware either requested or required for these interfaces? c) Since the only direct interfaces between the consoles and the simulcast network are at the prime site, are the four (4) wire analog interface rack plug-in units at each remote site intended to connect to other, non-simulcast radio equipment at each site? If so, will fiber links be provided for those devices separate from the links used for the simulcast network? ANSWER 6. a) Vendor shall be responsible for Fiber to VHF connectivity between 911 and the Prime site. b) Vendor is also responsible for Fiber to VHF connectivity between the Prime Site and Remote Sites. c) The Vendor is responsible for selecting the choice of technical solution QUESTION 7. Item 3.14.1, Page 14 Supply, install and test a combiner/duplexer solution that conserves tower space while maximizing performance. a) Licensing, tower loading charts, and other references in the RFP suggest that a combining network is desired by Person County. Is the use of duplexers an acceptable alternative? 29

Do any specifications apply to the proposed combining or duplexer systems, such as insertion loss and gains, isolation specifications, filter characteristics, cable types and connectors, etc.? ANSWER 7. The most desirable duplexer/combiner solution is the one that delivers balanced coverage for both Talk-In and Talk-Out. QUESTION 8. Item 3.18, Page 15 The existing Voting Receivers and the Repeater Site serving Fire and Sheriff at the 911 Center will remain in place as back up after the Simulcast radio system is operational. Will the existing links used with the voting receivers remain in place as well, or is the intent that the new fiber site links will be used to support the voting receivers? ANSWER 8. This requirement is now removed from the RFP requirements since the Voting Receivers equipment is at end of life. QUESTION 9. Wireless Communications dba Mobile Communications America, Inc. intends to subcontract the antennae and line tower work to PRS Tower Management Services (Woman Owned) as the only subcontractor for this bid. Wireless Communications through purchases of equipment specified and our normal course of business for all other services is not in a position to subcontract any other items. The PRS subcontract will not (through overall contract value) achieve 10% of the contract. Questions are as follows: 1. Does a WBE meet the Person County standards under 1.11.4? 2. Does the County have a form for compliance with 1.11.4? 3. What documentation is required in the bid submission regarding a value under 10%? 4. Does the County have a form for less than 10%? If not, what method should this be communicated with the bid submission? 5. If item 1. Does not meet the County requirement, does the County have a form for Good Faith Effort? If not, what method should be communicated with the bid submission? ANSWER 9. The Vendor must make a Good Faith Effort to get the 10%. If the Vendor undertakes a good faith effort, and reports this efforts in the response, nothing further is required for this project. A Woman owned business does not meet the requirements. 30

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7 ADDENDUM #1 PRICING UPDATE SHEET The Phase I, Phase 2 and Phase 3 deliverables are updated in response to Question 3. The Vendor will supply all Equipment for Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3 as part of the Phase 1 price proposal. Phase 1 will be implemented using Woodland, Mt Tirzah and Roxboro sites. Phase 2 will then add Bushy Fork and Bethel Hill to the network Coverage testing for the entire network is implemented in Phase 2. Phase 3 will upgrade Woodland and Mt Tirzah to fiber PRICING FORM VHF Simulcast System - Phase 1 VHF Equipment Roxboro Site Price VHF Equipment Woodland Site VHF Equipment Mt Tirzah Site VHF Equipment Bethel Hill Site VHF Equipment Bushy Fork Site VHF Equipment 911 Center Spares All sites Installation - Roxboro, Woodland Mt Tirzah, and 911 Center TOTAL 32

VHF System Upgrade - Phase 2 Installation - Add Bushy Fork and Bethel Hill sites Coverage Validation and 30-Day Acceptance - All sites TOTAL Price VHF System Upgrade - Phase 3 Price Installation - Upgrade Mt Tirzah and Woodland sites to fiber Configure NC -SHP microwave as backup TOTAL 33

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8 ADDENDUM #2 Overview The County has authorized a project to relocate their existing VHF repeaters currently serving Sheriff, EMS and Fire to the Roxboro VIPER tower. The relocation will result in the installation of new antennas, combiner, feedlines, lightning protection and R56 grounding. Item 3.14.1 in the RFP released on December 19, 2017 states that bidders shall supply new antennas, combiner, feedlines, R56 grounding, lightning protection and R56 grounding. This addendum requires bidders to reuse the new antennas, combiner, feedlines, R56 grounding, lightning protection and R56 grounding that will be available at the Roxboro VIPER tower. Item 3.14.1 is modified as follows; 3.14.1 Roxboro Prime Simulcast site Supply, install and test a two (2) channel VHF repeater system equipped with Prime Simulcast operation. Reuse and test the new antennas and coaxial cable feed-line systems that were installed to serve the relocated repeaters Reuse and test the new combiner that was installed to serve the relocated repeaters Reuse the new lightning protection that was installed to serve the relocated repeaters Reuse the existing R56 grounding that was installed to serve the relocated repeaters. Power down the relocated repeaters when the Simulcast system is turned up. 35