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ADMINISTRATIVE
COMMITTEE |
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5. |
CONSIDER EXPENDITURE
OF BUDGETED FUNDS TO INSTALL AIR CONDITIONING UNIT IN THE DISTRICT’S COMPUTER
ROOM |
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Meeting
Date: |
April 14, 2008 |
Budgeted: |
Yes |
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From: |
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Program/ |
Capital Assets |
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General
Manager |
Line Item No.: Account
No. 99-01-9160 |
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Prepared
By: |
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Cost
Estimate: |
$ 8,000 |
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Chief
Technology Officer |
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General Counsel Approval: N/A |
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Committee Recommendation: The Administrative Committee considered this item on April 14, 2008 and recommended ____________. |
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CEQA Compliance: N/A |
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SUMMARY: The District office has central air conditioning that is setup as zones in the building. The computer room is located in a small (approximately 6x12 foot area), second floor space, and is not sufficiently cooled by the air conditioning system serving that part of the building. The closed-room temperature averages between 75-90 degrees Fahrenheit. Staff must leave the computer room door open and deploy fans for airflow in order to cool the computer room temperature. This has helped reduce the temperature to about 70 degrees, which is still too high for servers and IT equipment to function reliably during extended periods of operation. In addition to the cooling problem, the noise level from the servers carries to the offices around the computer room, leading staff to close doors to their offices. This, in turn, causes varying and often unacceptable temperatures in the individual offices for staff to work in. To prevent server equipment malfunction, as has happened in the past, the computer room should be equipped with a separate air conditioning unit.
District staff received four proposals for installation of the air conditioning unit as shown on Exhibit 5-A. After reviewing the estimates, staff has determined that the proposal in the amount of $6,450 from Comfort Control, Inc. is the lowest acceptable quote. While one quote was for a lesser amount, it did not include electrical work and was not considered responsive.
RECOMMENDATION: District staff recommends that the Board approve a not-to-exceed amount of $8,000 (includes a 25% contingency of approximately $1,500 for unknown issues that may arise) to purchase and install the new air conditioning unit in the computer room. The Administrative Committee considered this matter at its April 14, 2008 meeting and voted _____ to recommend _________.
BACKGROUND: The District had fewer servers and computers when staff moved into the building in April 2000. With the need for more data storage, to maintain data redundancy and general support, the IT infrastructure has grown at a fast rate. The computer room needs to have a proper temperature and airflow for the servers and equipment to function properly.
5-A Table of Estimates for installation of AC in the
computer room
U:\staff\word\committees\Admin\2008\20080414\05\item5.doc