TITLE
Recommendation to adopt resolution authorizing City Manager, or designee, to execute a contract, and any necessary documents and subsequent amendments, with Citizens Telecommunications Company of California, Inc., dba Frontier Communications (Frontier), to occupy, place, and maintain attachments on Frontier poles and use conduits for the purpose of extending telecommunication services to the Santa Fe Avenue Synchronization Enhancement Project, in an annual amount not to exceed $20,000, for a period of ten years. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
City Council approval is requested to enter into a contract with Citizens Telecommunications Company of California, Inc. dba Frontier Communications (Frontier), for pole attachments and conduit occupancy. This agreement will allow the City to leverage Frontier’s conduits, ducts, innerducts, manholes/handholes, and poles west of Atlantic Avenue in the City’s limits to extend fiber network infrastructure to the Santa Fe Avenue corridor to support the Santa Fe Avenue Synchronization Enhancement Project (Project), a project under the City’s Traffic Signal Synchronization Program. This Project aligns with the City’s fiber network and digital inclusion initiatives.
The Public Works (PW) Department has received funding from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to perform capital improvements and traffic signal synchronization along the Santa Fe Avenue corridor. The Project is due for completion in December 2021 and completion is dependent on installing fiber across Anaheim Street and across Wardlow Road to the City’s fiber infrastructure. Frontier already has conduits crossing the Los Angeles River and Interstate 710, which have previously been used by the City, that provide the most direct access to the Project location. This agreement will enable the City to use the conduits to extend the City’s fiber network to the Project site to ensure timely completion.
On March 4, 2021, the PW, Technology and Innovation (TI) and Economic Development (ED) Departments released a memorandum to the City Council providing an update on the Citywide Fiber Network Infrastructure Initiative. As described in the update, TI issued RFI No. TI19-064 and did vendor outreach to identify potential private sector service providers and legacy fiber infrastructure in existence within the City’s limits. As part of these outreach efforts, Frontier was identified as owning conduits and poles within the geographic boundaries in the north, west and south of the City’s limits, as well as east of Atlantic Avenue. The identified conduits and poles align with the area identified in the Project.
On April 7, 2021, PW and TI released a memorandum to the City Council providing an update on the City’s Dig Once Policy. Under this policy, City departments continue to coordinate projects and opportunities to minimize public right-of-way impacts and costs to develop the City’s fiber infrastructure. Approval of this agreement with Frontier will align with the City’s Dig Once Policy by maximizing access to existing conduit infrastructure, already in existence within the City, while coordinating construction plans led by PW. PW and TI will continue the coordination between numerous stakeholders and extend partnerships between the City and providers in the goal to bring fiber to underserved areas of Long Beach.
City Charter Section 1801 requires that contracts for City purchases be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder after a competitive bid process but allows for awards without a competitive bid process when authorized by a Resolution adopted by the City Council. TI conducted a Request for Information (RFI) to determine which service providers have conduits in various parts of the City. Frontier is the only known service provider that owns conduits located on or near the bridge pathways allowing for the most direct east/west access into the Santa Fe corridor; therefore, no useful purpose would be served by advertising for bids and to do so would constitute an unnecessary expenditure of public funds.
This matter was reviewed by Deputy City Attorney Erin Weesner-McKinley on May 26, 2021, Business Services Bureau Manager Tara Mortensen on May 19, 2021, and by Budget Management Officer Rhutu Amin-Gharib on May 25, 2021.
TIMING CONSIDERATIONS
City Council action to adopt a Resolution and award a contract concurrently is requested on June 15, 2021, to ensure the Project can be implemented in the targeted timeframe.
FISCAL IMPACT
The estimated annual contract costs, including subsequent amendments, will not exceed $20,000 annually. Sufficient appropriation is budgeted in the General Services Fund Group in the Technology and Innovation Department and is recovered from client departments through the annual TI Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). This recommendation has no staffing impact beyond normal budgeted scope of duties and is consistent with existing City Council priorities. There is no local job impact associated with this recommendation.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
BODY
[Enter Body Here]
Respectfully Submitted,
LEA D. ERIKSEN
DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION
ERIC LOPEZ
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS
APPROVED:
THOMAS B. MODICA
CITY MANAGER