Council to consider contract for new 9-1-1 dispatcher consoles; administration seeks waiver and emergency to execute purchase

The Senior Director of Operations told the committee the administration plans to procure new 9-1-1 dispatcher workstations and asked council to authorize the mayor to sign a contract with Winstead Company LLC for $185,000, including a roughly $12,000 contingency.

Background and procurement: staff said the consoles were part of the larger FF&E procurement but were bid as a separate alternate. After receiving pricing, staff decided to procure the 9-1-1 consoles directly; the total contract amount is $185,000 and staff plans to use $25,000 from the FF&E budget plus a dedicated 2025 equipment allocation of $160,000 for dispatcher consoles (project 2502).

Waiver/emergency note: staff told council emergency authorization is required for the mayor to sign the contract; the director said the mayor cannot execute the contract until the waiver/referral period has expired or emergency authority is granted. Staff requested waiver and emergency so the contract can be on the Aug. 18 regular agenda and executed promptly.

Council questions: Councilmembers asked whether equipment over at the citybackup site at 400 West Johnstown could be reused; staff said the existing consoles are smaller and the city plans to maintain some consoles at the backup site for redundancy. Council also asked about cost stability prior to mayoral signature; staff said pricing stands but the mayor cannot sign until waiver/emergency and the statutory posting period have been addressed.

Next steps: Staff requested authorization to place the item on the Aug. 18 agenda with waiver and emergency so the mayor can sign a contract with Winstead Company LLC and proceed with procurement.