Explanation
BACKGROUND: This legislation authorizes the Director of Finance and Management to enter into a contract with ADS LLC for the purchase of 80 flow meters and 23 rain gauges for the Division of Sewerage and Drainage. The Division of Sewage and Drainage, Sewer System Engineering Section has been monitoring flow in the collection system over the last 20 years and we currently have over 230 flow meters and rain gauges deployed. As the wireless carrier starts to phase out the 2G network at the end of year 2016, we are in the need of replacing our meters to the latest 3G standards. We are pursuing these replacements with a bid waiver of City Code Chapter 329 as outlined below:
1) Maintain data consistency - Our consent order plan (Blueprint Columbus) was developed using the collection system model, and the model was developed and calibrated based on the flow monitoring data. A change to a different manufacturer could lead to improper assessments to the improvements in the collection system due to the calibration differences associated with different flow monitoring manufacturers.
2) With a different manufacturer, the new data will be in a completely different format from the existing database. It will force us to purchase the new manufacturer’s software, and will significantly increase the difficulty for data management as we host two separate databases.
3) Our flow monitor crew was well trained in both ADS flow meter hardware and software. If we change to a new manufacturer, it will require a steep learning curve for our crew.
4) Because the 2G wireless network will stop working by the end of year 2016, we will lose communication to our meters. There is urgency to purchase new meters now and replace them before the loss of communication.
This waiver is only intended to cover the one time purchase of 80 flow meters and 23 rain gauges. In the future, we will follow the competitive bid process to acquire new meters.
The company is not debarred...
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