TO: Board of Supervisors
FROM: Steven Lederer, Director of Public Works
REPORT BY: Estrella Munoz, Junior Engineer
SUBJECT: Waiver of Competitive Bid and Award of Emergency Construction Contract for the "Mt. St. Helena Communications Tower Emergency Generator Project," PW 25-45
RECOMMENDATION
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Approve a report of emergency Public Works actions to establish the Mt. St. Helena Communications Tower emergency generator replacement project as authorized by Resolution No. 2015-37; determine that based on the emergency does not permit the delay associated with competitive bidding procedures, and that the emergency actions are necessary to respond to the emergency pursuant to Public Contract Code section 22050; and approve and authorize the emergency construction contract with Peterson Power Systems, Inc. of Santa Rosa, CA. (Fiscal Impact: $145,313 Expense; Capital Projects Fund; Budgeted; Discretionary)
[4/5 vote required]
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BACKGROUND
The County of Napa Communications Department currently has a 40-foot-tall telecommunications tower atop the South Peak of Mt. St. Helena that was built in 1970. This site is critical for the operation of public safety communication throughout the county serving local government, law enforcement, and fire agencies.
In April of 2025, the emergency generator that previously provided power during outages ceased operation. To temporarily resolve this, Public Works borrowed one mobile generator from the Office of Emergency Services (OES) to operate on standby at the communications tower. While this temporary solution works in the short term, it limits resources that OES can deploy in emergency situations. Additionally, there is concern that the fuel capacity of the mobile generator may not meet the operational time required for emergency situations at the communications tower during a power outage. Because of the tower's remote location, access to the tower during an emergency may be significantly hampered, making refilling the t...
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