CC - Item 7A - Telephone System ReplacementROSEMEAD CITY COUNCIL
STAFF REPORT
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUN IL
FROM: JEFF ALLRED, CITY MANAGER
DATE: OCTOBER 12, 2010
SUBJECT: TELEPHONE SYSTEM REPLACEMENT
SUMMARY
Included in the 2010 -11 Budget and workplan is the replacement of the City's existing
telephone system. The City's current Mitel telephone and voicemail system is over 10
years old, and replacement parts are no longer available. Approximately six months
ago proposals were requested from a number of vendors that specialize in telephone
systems and five proposals were received. Each bidder was asked to provide a turn-
key solution including all hardware for the phone system itself and a full telephone
company solution provided by a vendor of their choice. Through this RFP process
these bidders have provided on -site demonstrations for staff to test out the systems,
provided site visits to existing customers along with performing an analysis of the City's
needs and top priorities. Replacement of the system will result in a cost savings to the
City of approximately $20,000 per year.
Staff recommendation
Staff recommends that City Council authorize the following:
1. The City Manager to enter into an agreement (Attachment A) with Intelesys
Communications Company for the acquisition and installation of a Shoretel
Phone System in the amount of $89,950.86 plus a 10% contingency. The
purchase will be financed over a five (5) year period through a standard
lease /purchase contract with a buyout of $1 at the end of the term.
2. The City Manager to enter into an agreement (Attachment B) with TelePacific for
the implementation of an MPLS telephone and data network for a period of three
(3) years for a monthly cost of $4,419.08.
BACKGROUND /ANALYSIS
Approximately nine months ago, the City's current telephone vendor, Standard Tel
Networks, informed City staff that they were no longer going to be able to acquire new
parts for the telephone and voicemail systems and in the event of an equipment failure,
used parts would have to be located. Shortly thereafter, the software on the voicemail
system began failing and the system has been patched together several times over the
past nine months to keep everything up and running.
APPROVED FOR CITY COUNCIL AGENDA:
City Council Meeting
October 12, 2010
Page 2 of 3
Disaster preparedness and disaster recovery have also been a driving factor behind the
replacement as currently the City has three different systems supplying service to
various City facilities. The City presently utilizes a Mitel system for City Hall, a Nortel
system for Public Safety and AT &T centrex lines for all the other sites. Along with
increased maintenance and operation costs of operating three systems, the City has
virtually no redundancy should a disaster occur. If City Hall was unavailable due to an
earthquake, there is no current way to reroute calls or phone lines to the Public Safety
Center or another facility.
Based upon these two driving factors, staff has been working over the past six months
to receive proposals for the best possible solution for the City. During the initial
discussions it was determined that a modern Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP)
telephone system was the most logical solution. Virtually all new phone system are
VOIP and will provide the most flexible and redundant solution for the City. Proposals
were received from vendors representing the following telephone systems: Shoretel,
Cisco, Mitel, Avaya, and Fonality. A proposal from each vendor has been included for
your reference; however, since they are technology proposals and potentially contain
proprietary information, the vendors have all requested that they be kept confidential
and are not distributed publically.
Each vendor was given the opportunity to provide on -site demonstrations for City staff
along with off -site demonstrations at either a demo center or an existing customer. The
proposals were reviewed and judged on the following criteria: Voice quality, voicemail
functionality, disaster recovery, call accounting /tracking, mobility function, cost and
overall flexibility. Based upon this thorough review, staff is recommending the
installation of a Shoretel phone system. Shoretel provides telephone systems for
dozens of cities across the State including some local cities such as Glendora, La
Verne, and La Canada Flintridge. Staff spoke to several municipal references that have
been using Shoretel for a number of years and all of the agencies are very happy with
the product and service they have received.
In conjunction with replacing the actual telephone and voicemail system, proposals
were also received from telephone network vendors to provide the actual phone lines
for the voice and data service. Since VOIP systems are based upon a completely
different technology from the existing phone system, new phone line connections will be
required at all City facilities. Vendors were asked to submit proposals for an MPLS
network linking all City sites together along with redundant connections to the Public
Service Telephone Network (PSTN). Three of the five hardware vendors provided
recommendations to utilize TelePacific for the voice and data network. Proposals were
also received from AT &T and TelCentris. After reviewing the proposals, staff has made
the recommendation to utilize TelePacific for voice and data service. TelePacific has an
excellent reputation and currently provides telephone and data service for dozens of
municipalities including Baldwin Park, Diamond Bar, La Verne and Sierra Madre.
City Council Meeting
October 12, 2010
Page 3 of 3
FISCAL IMPACT
Along with reaping the benefits of new technology and a reliable telephone system, the
City will also be able to replace the existing phone system without increasing the
budget. Currently, telephone, data and maintenance services equate to approximately
$105,000 per fiscal year. The existing phone system is expensive to maintain $15,000
to $20,000 per year plus the costs for internet and telephone service at each individual
City site. Under the proposal recommended, all hardware costs, annual maintenance
coverage and monthly telephone service will be provided for approximately $85,000.
This cost benefit is a direct result of being able to utilize new technology and spreading
the acquisition cost over five (5) years through a lease /purchase contract.
PUBLIC NOTICE PROCESS
This item has been noticed through the regular agenda notification process.
Prepared by:
C r
Matthew E. Hawkesworth
Assistant City Manager
Attachments: A - Intelesys Contract
B — TelePacific Contract
C — Intelesys Proposal (Confidential)
D — Standard Telephone Network Proposal (Confidential)
E — Corporate Telecom Proposal (Confidential)
F — Ricoh Business Solutions Proposal (Confidential)
G — AT &T /Cisco Proposal (Confidential)