REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM BRYON HORN, Director
Information Services Department
BY: FRANK D. VAWTER, Assistant Director
Information Services Department
SUBJECT
Title
Approve the purchase of a new access control system in the amount of $612,200 to Johnson Controls Inc., for the replacement of the City’s current system. Bid File No. 3813.
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that Council approve the selection of Johnson Controls Inc., as the best value proposer for the replacement of the City’s access control system (ACS), as determined by the Access Control System Replacement RFP committee. The cost of the replacement, as proposed by Johnson Controls Inc., is $612,200.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On May 18th, 2021, the City released a Request for Proposals (RFP# 3813) for the replacement of the City’s access control system (ACS). The current system no longer meets the needs of the City as it lacks features important for modern access control system operations. The RFP received six responses and the evaluation committee, comprised of staff from the Information Services Department (ISD) and Police Department (PD), have unanimously selected the proposal from Johnson Controls Inc., as the best value for the City. Johnson Control’s proposed replacement system has a cost of $612,200. The replacement will be spread across two fiscal years, FY22 and FY23 with funding coming from appropriations dedicated to the improvement of the City’s physical security infrastructure.
BACKGROUND
Card-based access control systems allow for very granular granting of access rights to employees and contractors and as compared to the use of keys, allows for more agile control of access, including the ability to revoke access, and set scheduled access times.
ISD is responsible for the maintenance of the access control system. The current access control system was originally deployed in 2009 to manage access for a handful of doors at City Hall. Since that time the system has expanded to multiple sites and encompasses the needs of multiple groups who administer the system for their respective sites and users. The system has grown such that the originally deployed management software no longer meets the needs of its users in that it lacks key features that we desire to improve the management of badges and access control. Further we seek to improve the management of the system and its ability to integrate with two of the City’s existing systems, Active Directory and our video surveillance system.
Currently, the access control system is deployed across City Hall, MSC, FAX, Manchester Transit, Budget, as well all major PD sites, including HQ and district stations, and at all entrances to the City Council Chamber. There are approximately 254 access-controlled gates and doors across the above-mentioned sites. Managing users in the system is primarily done by ISD and PD, less active users include Facilities and FAX. The system currently in use lacks major features that are deemed critical for the effective management of the access control system; these features are integration with the City’s Active Directory system, which is itself integrated with PeopleSoft, and the ability to use Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) to contain the scope of users that administrators can manage. For example, a properly configured RBAC system will assure that only ACS administrators at PD, or approved by PD, can manage PD staff as well as PD doors and gates.
In the scoping of our needs for a replacement system ISD, working in conjunction with other major system stakeholders, outlined the following features as being important to our new system and successful integration of this system:
• Maintain support for all existing doors and gates
• Integration with the City’s Active Directory system
• Integration with the City’s video surveillance system such that access controlled doors with cameras pointed at them are able to marry the video of door being accessed with the identity of the card being used to access the door
• Reusing as much of the existing hardware and wiring as possible to minimize costs
• Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
• Support for current card and key fob types, as well as modern, more secure, card types
• Robust reporting
• Ability to meet the unique data cabling challenges at the PD Headquarters and Annex buildings
• On-premises server
• Possible future integration with intrusion detection systems
From our RFP the committee received responses from six proposers: ECK Enterprises Inc., HCI Systems Inc., Johnson Controls Inc., Netgain Networks Inc., Valitus Technologies Inc., and West Coast Security Inc. The committee reviewed the proposals, engaged in interviews, demonstrations, and site walks with the proposers who we felt had offerings that were most likely to fit our need and created the most value. Upon completion of our assessments the committee determined that Johnson Controls Inc., proposed the system that best meets our needs and was most likely to be able to successfully execute the system integration.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
The approval of this purchase is not a project for the purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference was not implemented because this is a non-professional service. Johnson Controls has an office within the City of Fresno.
FISCAL IMPACT
This project will be funded across two fiscal years, FY22 and FY23. The funds for this project are a component of the funds dedicated to improving physical security at City Hall. These funds are expected to continue to be available in FY23.
Attachments: Bid Evaluation
Final Committee Evaluation Report