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6 <br /> SERS/SnOtiOnN;Sii County <br /> 1121 SE Everett Mall WA, Suite 210 Everett, Washington 98208 <br /> (425) 407-3949 (425) 407-3967 FAX <br /> April 1, 2003 <br /> To Whom it May Concern, <br /> The Snohomish County Emergency Radios System (SERS)has elected to purchase, as a part of the <br /> radio system we are building, a Motorola 800 MHz trunked radio infrastructure. As a part of the contract <br /> to purchase this infrastructure, SERS has elected to contract for the purchase of compatible mobile, <br /> portable and base station radios. This is effectively a sole source purchase since all brands of radio <br /> systems which use this type of technology are essentially proprietary systems with vendor-specific <br /> technologies. As a result, agencies participating in the SERS system will be required to purchase radios <br /> from Motorola, using our established contract, and the discount levels offered by the contract. I have <br /> provided some additional background which may explain more of the details of how and why we are <br /> solely using the Motorola product. <br /> The SERS governing board (actually its precursor organizations, the Interlocal-Management-Funding <br /> Committee), comprised of representatives from the ten jurisdictions which came together to found SERS <br /> (Brier, Marysville, Woodway, Everett, Mukilteo, Mill Creek, Snohomish County, Mountlake Terrace, <br /> Lynnwood, and Edmonds) elected to build a regional 800 Mhz trunked radio system. These systems are <br /> supplied domestically by one of three manufacturers. Each manufacturer builds a system that uses <br /> proprietary technology and the customer must select one technology and can only use mobile, portable, <br /> and base station radios using that one technology. <br /> This group looked at the installed base of similar systems in our region and recognized that Motorola <br /> offered the most compatibility with the installed systems. Major regional users (which have an impact <br /> on public safety operations in Snohomish County) include all police, fire and EMS users in King <br /> County, Boeing and the Washington State Department of Corrections. There was essentially zero <br /> presence in and around Snohomish County for the other two vendors. If police and fire agencies needed <br /> compatible communications, Motorola was the only acceptable provider. Additionally, Snohomish <br /> County PUD uses a similar Motorola technology and the SERS system was originally planned to <br /> interface at the infrastructure level with the PUD radio system. Finally, the City of Tacoma(and likely <br /> Pierce County) are currently installing a Motorola 800 MHz trunked radio system. This system is also <br /> fully compatible with the Snohomish County system being installed. In an effort to provide some <br /> imprint of review of a like sole source purchase, the Snohomish County Council approved moving <br /> forward with a sole source purchase. <br /> A decision was made to develop a sole source contract with Motorola and to negotiate the best terms <br /> possible for such a contract. Attorneys from the City of Everett, Snohomish County and SERS all were <br /> involved in a series of extensive negotiations that lasted the better part of a month. A sole source <br /> contract was developed by SERS staff, Motorola, the attorneys previously mentioned and approved by <br /> 19 <br />