ITEM: CONSENT CALENDAR

6. CONSIDER AUTHORIZATION TO PURCHASE EQUIPMENT FOR INFORMATION SYSTEMS SUPPORT

Meeting Date: May 19, 2003 Budgeted: $ 46,000 FY 2002-2003

Program/Line Item No.: N/A

Staff Contact: Inder-Mohan Osahan Cost Estimate: $ 44,000

General Counsel Approval: N/A

Committee Recommendation: The Administrative Committee reviewed this item on May 12, 2003 and recommended approval.

CEQA Compliance: N/A

SUMMARY: Staff seeks authorization to purchase new hardware, software and replace the color printer for use with the District’s information system to enhance the quality of public presentations, develop GIS (Geographical Information systems) infrastructure and web applications for a centralized database. Cost of goods was estimated by requesting quotes for government pricing from multiple vendors of the products. Prior to acquiring the products for use, staff will be getting new quotes if there is a change in price of any item. In the case of GIS software, it is being acquired directly from the software developer as they alone resell the software.

RECOMMENDATION: If this item is approved with the Consent Calendar, staff will be authorized for an expenditure not-to-exceed $ 44,000.00 to purchase the following items:

ITEMS	ESTIMATED COST
Large format printer for presentations material for maps	$ 6,676.00
Software for the large format printer	$ 1,976.00
Handheld unit for GPS data collection including software	$ 7,485.00
Parcel Data	$ 450.00
GIS software licenses	$ 8,335.00
GIS analyses software	$ 5,711.00
Replacement laptop computer for presentation for large files and maps	$ 3,000.00
Replacement color printer for presentations and reports	$ 4,067.00
Air conditioning unit for the computer room	$ 3,000.00
Software for developing web-based applications	$ 3,300.00
TOTAL	$ 44,000.00

The Administrative Committee discussed this item on May 12, 2003 and voted 3 to 0 to recommend approval.

BACKGROUND: Over the last two years staff determined the hardware and software needs to develop an in-house GIS that would enable staff to make effective public presentations using GIS technology. Staff has developed some GIS-related materials for presentations at meetings, fairs and conferences using the District’s equipment, but the materials had to be printed off-site. Time is of the essence, and the off-site printing will require more time than anticipated. To ensure the quality of printing, staff had to spend extra time working with printing vendors locally and out-of-town to make sure that the document printed was actually like the original. By having the large-format printer on site staff will be able to fulfill the printing requirement in a more efficient manner. The large-format printer would allow staff to print high quality maps, posters and other materials as needed for making presentations to the Board and public. Staff will explore the difference between owning and leasing the color printer that is being replaced. Based on total cost of ownership and regular maintenance costs including consumables, staff will determine the best alternative available to the District and acquire the printers.

Staff has been working towards developing a GIS for over two years. Previously, GIS work had been done by consultants for various studies and projects authorized by the Board. To be able to view and use the GIS technology, staff installed a GIS workstation at the District and formed a team to help use this technology and train each other. Some GIS-related materials have been generated in-house such as parcel maps, District boundary maps, and other visualization of data for the Carmel river mitigation program. To be productive and use time efficiently to create GIS products such as developing maps showing production wells and visualizing legal lots, staff needs to acquire additional software licenses and other GIS analysis tools to help make these projects feasible.

To educate the public on District activities and make presentations, these materials could be made available on the District’s website. The current computer systems at the District will allow such data types on the District’s website. To create such web-savvy pages, staff needs to purchase web application development software. Additionally, as staff is required to make public appearances, a powerful laptop is required to display the large-size data sets, maps, and presentations created using the large images. Staff recommends purchasing the web development tools and a new laptop.

In June-July 2002, the District’s computer system was upgraded and new servers were added to the computer room along with the phone and voicemail system. These computers support all of the District’s computing needs. When all the computers are running, they generate a lot of heat in the computer room. Staff monitored the computer room temperature and it was averaging between 85-90 degrees Fahrenheit. Staff recommends installation of a small air-conditioning unit in the computer room to maintain lower temperature to avoid damaging the servers and the phone system.

IMPACT ON STAFF AND RESOURCES: The hardware, software data collection and development tools, and computer-room modification items were budgeted in the FY 2002-2003 budget. The District has sufficient funds that were budgeted to pay for the items listed above in the current year’s budget. To have the work completed at a low cost, staff will be installing the new hardware and configuring the new software in-house with support from the manufacturers and vendors of the equipment.

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