Agenda Item   

AGENDA STAFF REPORT

 

                                                                                                                        ASR Control  19-000508

 

MEETING DATE:

06/25/19

legal entity taking action:

Board of Supervisors

board of supervisors district(s):

2

SUBMITTING Agency/Department:

John Wayne Airport   (Approved)

Department contact person(s):

Barry A. Rondinella (949) 252-5183 

 

 

Scott Hagen (949) 252-5241

 

 

Subject:  Renew Sole Source Contract with Sentry Control Systems, LLC

 

      ceo CONCUR

County Counsel Review

Clerk of the Board

Concur

Approved Agreement to Form

Discussion

 

 

3 Votes Board Majority

 

 

 

    Budgeted: Yes

Current Year Cost: N/A

Annual Cost:
FY 2019-20 $626,633
FY 2020-21 $56,967

 

 

 

    Staffing Impact:

No

# of Positions:

Sole Source: Yes

    Current Fiscal Year Revenue: N/A

  Funding Source: Airport Operating Fund 280:100%

County Audit in last 3 years: No

 

 

    Prior Board Action: 06/26/2018 #59, 07/23/2013 #24

 

RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):

 

 

1.

Authorize the County Procurement Officer or Authorized Deputy to execute Amendment Number One to renew a sole-source contract with Sentry Control Systems, LLC for Parking Access Revenue Control System maintenance and repair services, in an amount not to exceed $683,600, effective August 1, 2019, through and including July 31, 2020, for a revised cumulative contract total amount not to exceed $1,351,600, renewable for one additional one-year period.

 

2.

Consent to assignment of the Contract from Sentry Control Systems, LLC to SKIDATA, Inc., effective upon the merger of the two companies.

 

 

 

 

SUMMARY:

 

Approval of Amendment Number One to renew a sole-source contract with Sentry Control Systems, LLC will provide continued support for the operation of the Parking Access Revenue Control System at John Wayne Airport.

 

 

 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

 

In 2011, John Wayne Airport (JWA) installed the SKIDATA Parking Access Revenue Control System (PARCS) in all guest parking structures (A1, A2, B2 and C) and surface parking lots (Main Street and Employee Lot) to facilitate the expedited use of cash, credit and electronic payment of automobile parking fees; enhance revenue control measures; and reduce the opportunity for fraud and improve customer service through new technology.

 

On July 23, 2013, the Board of Supervisors (Board) approved a five-year, sole-source contract with then-Sentry Control Systems, Inc. (Sentry) for PARCS Maintenance and Repair, which expired on July 31, 2018.  Sentry’s name changed to Sentry Control Systems, LLC in 2014.

 

On June 26, 2018, the Board approved a one-year, sole-source contract with Sentry for PARCS Maintenance and Repair, effective August 1, 2018, through and including July 31, 2019, in the amount of $668,000, renewable for two additional one-year periods. Proposed Amendment One is the first of two one-year renewal periods. The contract is a sole-source contract as Sentry is the exclusive distributor of SKIDATA equipment in California, and is the only authorized vendor with trained and certified professionals to support, service and maintain the PARCS SKIDATA system at JWA. A completed Sole Source Request Form for the first renewal period under proposed Amendment One has been reviewed and approved by the County Procurement Office. A letter from SKIDATA, Inc. (SKIDATA) CEO Stefan Schaffner dated April 17, 2019, attesting to Sentry’s exclusive distributorship and supply of certified specialists, is attached to the Sole Source Request Form (Attachment B).

 

The contract provides for two payment types to the contractor. The first payment type consists of fixed monthly fees for covered services and parts for the PARCS system that includes entry/exit gate equipment, in-ground vehicle detection loops, personal computers, ticket dispensers, ticket readers, cashier equipment, servers, garage space counting systems and related digital signage and various other hardware and software components.

 

The second payment type consists of labor rates for Service Technicians and System Engineers to provide services that are not included in the fixed monthly fee and may include parts that are in addition to the fixed monthly fee. For example, if the ticket dispenser at an entry lane were to be damaged by a parking patron’s vehicle, repair or replacement of the equipment would be covered under this second payment type and not under the fixed monthly fee component. Services and parts not included in the fixed monthly fee are charged to JWA based on the chart found in Attachment C (Contract Summary Form), Section B (Fees and Charges).

 

The current contract expiring July 31, 2019, specifies performance levels that, if unmet, would trigger payment deductions from the monthly fees due to the vendor. These provisions are designed to: 1) improve Sentry’s resolution of priority faults (prioritized repair calls with response times based on priority ranking) involving technical expertise; 2) maintain consistent support of covered ancillary systems that provide essential functionality to parking operations; 3) establish response/repair times and service request/reporting protocols that will mitigate unforeseen complications; and 4) implement the required system changes.    

  

With these performance levels, Sentry has shown an improvement in response times and resolution of priority system faults (service tickets). While the full allowable monthly deduction of $24,853 was taken in August and September 2018, as Sentry implemented procedures and protocols in compliance with contract requirements, the deductions have since trended downward overall, averaging approximately 22 percent or $5,468 of the maximum monthly deduction between October 1, 2018, and March 31, 2019. Thus, Sentry’s service performance has improved, demonstrating that the service level provision has proven effective in incentivizing the vendor to be highly attentive to JWA’s service needs related to PARCS. Further, in its weekly meetings with Sentry, JWA management noted that the majority of the deductions are not related to system faults that directly affected JWA guest experience and/or parking revenue. Rather, the payment deductions primarily entailed communication on ticket updates and resolution within the timeframes specified in the contract. In addition, Sentry has instituted electronic communication, recordkeeping and documentation procedures designed to achieve operational efficiencies such as the following:

 

1.

On March 11, 2019, Sentry Management hosted a Communication Workshop that was attended by members of JWA, LAZ Parking (JWA’s parking operator) and Sentry. Attendees were able to identify ways to streamline electronic communication related to work ticket processing through a communication flowchart and clarify the protocols for escalation of any persistent system faults.  

 

2.

In recognition of a need to simplify work ticket processing, Sentry advised JWA management that it will be deploying a centralized field service scheduling, tracking and management tool called Astea Alliance v12.5 at no additional charge to the County. This web-based system will allow LAZ Parking and JWA staff to enter work orders, receive timely status notifications and view configurable reports. Sentry field technicians who maintain the PARCS system will be able to receive work orders and update their status from mobile devices for quicker service response times.

 

3.

Lastly, Sentry is proposing to provide JWA with a new third party License Plate Inventory (LPI) system that will replace the existing LPI system which currently operates on end of life hardware. LPI allows the parking operator to record vehicles that are parked overnight in JWA parking facilities as part of the revenue control process.

 

Sentry’s performance has been confirmed as satisfactory but there are identified issues as described above. JWA continues to weekly monitor Sentry's management of its work ticket processing and field service scheduling efforts for increased performance improvment. JWA has verified there are no concerns that must be addressed with the Contractor’s ownership/name, litigation status or conflicts with County interests.

 

JWA seeks Board approval of the proposed sole-source contract renewal to efficiently operate JWA’s six parking facilities.

 

The Contract does not currently include subcontractors or pass through to other providers. See Attachment C for Contract Summary Form.

 

Sentry, a wholly owned subsidiary of SKIDATA, intends to merge with and into SKIDATA with SKIDATA being the surviving entity. On the effective date of this merger, which Sentry and SKIDATA anticipate will occur on or about July 15, 2019, SKIDATA will continue the business and operations of Sentry, and Sentry will cease to exist. Sentry and SKIDATA have requested the County’s consent to the assignment of the Contract from Sentry to SKIDATA from and after the effective date of the merger. (See Attachment D).

 

Compliance with CEQA: The proposed project was previously determined to be Categorically Exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to Section 15301 (Class 1) of the CEQA Guidelines which provides for the exemption of the repair or maintenance of existing facilities involving negligible or no expansion of the existing use on July, 23, 2013, when it was originally approved.

 

 

 

FINANCIAL IMPACT:

 

Appropriations for this contract will be included in the FY 2019-20 Budget for Airport Operating Fund 280 and will be included in the budgeting process for future years.

 

The Contract contains language allowing the County to immediately terminate the Contract without penalty for cause or after 30 days’ written notice without cause unless otherwise specified.

 

 

 

STAFFING IMPACT:

 

N/A

 

ATTACHMENT(S):

 

Attachment A - Amendment Number One to renew Contract MA-280-18011856
Attachment B - Sole Source Form and SKIDATA Letter
Attachment C - Contract Summary Form
Attachment D - Assignment Letter from Sentry