TO: Board of Supervisors
FROM: Minh C. Tran - County Executive Officer
REPORT BY: Leah Greenbaum - Emergency Services Coordinator
SUBJECT: Agreement No. 220213B with Nixle, LLC
RECOMMENDATION
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County Executive Officer and Emergency Services Officer request approval of and authorization for the Chair to sign Agreement No. 220213B with Nixle, LLC for a total of $63,559 for the term beginning November 1, 2021 through October 31, 2022 to provide a proprietary cloud-based, opt-in emergency notification system.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The County of Napa, on behalf of the Napa Operational Area, entered into a service agreement with Nixle, LLC in the Fall of 2014 for provision of its proprietary cloud-based, opt-in emergency notification system. The County renewed this contract through Agreement No. 170517B with Nixle, LLC for a total annual maximum of $45,558 for a three-year term that began November 1, 2018 through October 31, 2021. Today’s action, which requests the Chair sign Agreement No. 220213B, extends existing services with Nixle for a one-year term of service for a total of $ 63,559.21 beginning November 1, 2021 through October 31, 2022.
FISCAL & STRATEGIC PLAN IMPACT
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Is there a Fiscal Impact? |
Yes |
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Is it currently budgeted? |
Yes |
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Where is it budgeted? |
Emergency Services. Costs are offset by revenue from participating agencies identified in the Background section. |
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Is it Mandatory or Discretionary? |
Mandatory |
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Is the general fund affected? |
Yes |
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Future fiscal impact: |
Any future costs will be budgeted accordingly in Napa County OES budget. The additional costs will be covered by the Community Power Resiliency (CPR) grant. |
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Consequences if not approved: |
County would not have the immediate operational capability to send mass notifications in the event of an emergency. |
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County Strategic Plan pillar addressed: |
Collaborative and Engaged Community |
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Effective and Open Government |
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: The proposed action is not a project as defined by 14 California Code of Regulations 15378 (State CEQA Guidelines) and therefore CEQA is not applicable.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
In the Fall of 2014, the County contracted with Nixle, LLC for their proprietary Nixle 360 communications system following careful consideration of various systems that were currently available. The Nixle 360 system was chosen to replace the previous WARN notification system when that contract expired. Napa County OES accesses the Integrated Public Alert Warning System (IPAWS) through the Nixle platform.
On October 16, 2018, the Board authorized the Chair to sign Amendment No. 1 to Agreement No. 170517B with Nixle, LLC for a total maximum of $45,558 for a three-year term beginning November 1, 2018 through October 31, 2021 to provide interactive emergency communications to the Napa Operational Area.
On December 10, 2019, the Board authorized the Chair to sign Amendment No. 2 to Agreement No. 170517B with Nixle, LLC for an increase of $1,942 for a total contact maximum of $47,500 for the term December 10,2019 through October 31, 2020 and a total contract maximum of $47,558 for the term beginning November 1, 2020 through October 31, 2021 to add a Nixle communication portal for the Veteran's Home in Yountville and County’s Housing and Homeless Services Program.
On April 6, 2021 the Board, authorized the Chair to sign Amendment No. 3 to Agreement No. 170517B with Nixle, LLC for an increase of $1,802 for a total contract maximum of $49,360 for the term beginning April 1, 2021 through October 31, 2022 to add an additional Nixle communication portal for the Napa Courts services system.
The County is the lead agency for the service agreement, but has partnered with several other local jurisdictions/agencies, so each participant pays a percentage of the cost of the agreement according to their predetermined usage. Participating agencies include:
• Napa County Office of Emergency Services
• Napa County Public Health
• Napa County Sheriff’s Office
• Napa County Fire/Dispatch
• Napa County Public Works
• Napa County Office of Education
• City of Napa
• City of American Canyon
• American Canyon Fire Protection District
• City of St. Helena
• City of Calistoga
• Yountville Veteran’s Home
• Napa County Housing and Homeless Programs
• Napa County Superior Court
The annual cost of this service increases with this agreement, as Nixle, LLC now requires their clients to purchase messaging credits to send SMS text messages and place voice calls. These additional costs will be funded with grant funds from the Community Power Resiliency Allocation Program, administered by California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.
In 2015, Everbridge Inc., another developer of cloud-based opt-in emergency notification systems, acquired the assets and team of Nixle LLC.
In 2019, Everbridge was included as part of a team of providers that were awarded a five-year contract with the State of California to upgrade the state’s 9-1-1 system to a new Next Generation 911 emergency alerting platform. As part of that contract, which is managed by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, county operational areas, including Napa, will be granted access to some Everbridge features in 2022, including Reverse-911. Amendment No 220213B is a one-year agreement, designed to allow Napa County OES to integrate the new features of Everbridge into the County’s Alert and Warning program, as appropriate.