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Home My WebLink About2020-09-22; City Council; ; Update on Work to Build City’s Digital Information NetworkMeeting Date: To: From: Staff Contact: Subject: Sept. 22, 2020 Mayor and City Council Scott Chadwick, City Manager Maria Callander, Information Technology Director maria.callander@carlsbadca.gov 760-602-2454 Joe Stephenson, Information Technology Manager joe.stephenson@carlsbadca.gov 760-602-2789 Update on Work to Build City’s Digital Information Network Recommended Action Receive a report on the status of the implementation of a robust digital information network. Executive Summary The City Council approved an agreement on December 17, 2019, that took advantage of a pre- existing agreement with Crown Castle Communications to build a new enterprise information network for the City of Carlsbad utilizing unused fiber-optic cable already installed around the city. The proposal also included equipment and services from Logicalis, Inc. This network has become known as the Carlsbad digital information network. The Information Technology Department is pleased to report that this project is on schedule and the primary business network should be moved over to the new system before the end of calendar year 2020. This will be immediately followed by making the interconnections to the traffic signal network in early 2021. Full completion will still be well within the timeline staff gave to the City Council. Additionally, there have been no major unexpected issues or costs. The COVID-19 pandemic caused only a two-week delay because of a necessary pause to reevaluate any potential impact. Staff were successfully able to make the necessary adjustments to the project plan to keep the work on track. This included shifting some tasks to virtual meetings and collaboration sessions and making sure that all onsite work was conducted in line with county health department guidelines. Communications is deemed an “Essential Critical Infrastructure Sector” so construction work was able to continue. Vendors took appropriate steps for personal protection of all staff. Discussion Crown Castle, Logicalis and city staff have been working hard toward completion of this project. This has included onsite installation of the required fiber-optic equipment at the four main city locations: City Hall, Faraday Center, Safety Center, and the Carlsbad City Library on Dove Lane. Sept. 22, 2020 Item #4 Page 1 of 4 CA Review CKM Crown Castle has also completed fiber-optic cable installation at 21 of the 24 locations specified in the contract, which include a range of city facilities. Installation of fiber and network equipment was not significantly hindered by the COVID-19 pandemic because, as noted above, Crown Castle and Logicalis and their sub-contractors are in the communications sector, which was designated as an essential critical service by the federal and state governments. Although there were some shipping delays as the carriers had to make modifications to their internal processes, our project plan allowed us to focus on other project tasks while waiting for equipment. Crown Castle only had to briefly pause to make sure its staff and subcontractors were able to meet necessary safety guidelines when working in public. The Information Technology Department has received excellent support from all city departments in this project. Facilities and Construction Management & Inspections in the Public Works Branch has been key in approving designs in physical plant installations and ensuring necessary power is available for all equipment. This included new circuit installations at all four sites and the addition of a new uninterruptible power supply device at City Hall. Public works staff have also been available to oversee and inspect work conducted by Crown Castle. The transportation director’s support of the project has ensured coordination among information technology and traffic staff and the city’s outside consultants in making the appropriate connections to the traffic system. Community development staff swiftly helped define a process for determining the necessary permit types and providing design guidance in conjunction with Crown Castle. This project will eventually require over 130 permits, so this assistance has been essential. The city’s Parks & Recreation Department has also provided critical oversight of work to make sure there is no impact to landscaping or disruption to some of the limited activities that have been allowed during the pandemic. Crown Castle still has some work to do, including the completion of the fiber-optic cabling for installations at three traffic signals, Carlsbad Boulevard at Carlsbad Village Drive, El Camino Real at Palomar Airport Road and Rancho Santa Fe Road at La Costa Avenue. Scheduling the installation at the final three traffic signals will require greater coordination with the Transportation Department and third-party traffic consultants to make sure traffic operations are unaffected. Crown Castle also needs to complete the necessary fiber-optic cable connections in the public right of way and deliver the contracted internet service to the Faraday Center. All fiber installation and certification activities Crown Castle are required to perform are currently scheduled to be completed by the end of October 2020. Information technology staff are currently working with partners at Logicalis to implement the Cisco software that will ultimately be used to operate the new network and allow for easy configuration and high security. As staff reported to the City Council last December, this includes a new software-based network architecture. This work should be completed by the end of September, but cannot be fully tested until all the fiber-optic cabling has been completed. That testing is scheduled to occur in the early part of November, which would allow the migration to the new network to occur in December. Sept. 22, 2020 Item #4 Page 2 of 4 Detailed planning for the city’s move from the old network to the new one and the network’s overall implementation is currently underway. There will likely be a transitional weekend in which digital services at locations such as parks and libraries will be unavailable. This public impact is unavoidable because of the magnitude of this change, but staff will work to minimize any impacts and to let the public know about any potential disruptions in service ahead of time. As this project nears completion, the Information Technology Department is planning for the next phase of the process of building the city’s new robust, multi-service network. City staff will be engaging in a master planning agreement to continue efforts in completing the other phases necessary to provide a network that is reliable, responsive and services all city departments. An item will be brought to the City Council at a future meeting for consideration on this topic. Fiscal Analysis The following is a summary of the project’s financing so far: If needed and as noted in the staff report presented to the City Council on Dec. 17, 2019, funding for additional expenditures for minor equipment and services are available in the Innovation Fund. To date, $54,380 has been expensed or encumbered for these minor costs. There may be short periods during the project in which both the old and new networks will need to run in parallel. The costs of operating both networks simultaneously are to be paid from the Innovation Fund. Next Steps Staff will continue work on this project based on the established schedule and will report back to the City Council upon the project’s completion early next year. Environmental Evaluation (CEQA) Pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 21065, this action does not constitute a “project” within the meaning of CEQA in that it has no potential to cause either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, and therefore does not require environmental review. Budgeted Expenditures Encumbrance Remaining Council-approved project costs Innovation Fund Logicalis agreement 4,446,793$ 3,822,934$ 623,858$ -$ Magellan agreement 78,791 44,308 34,483 - Total council-approved operating cost 4,525,584$ 3,867,242$ 658,341$ -$ Council-approved operating cost IT Dep't Operating Fund Crown Castle agreements 396,000$ Logicalis agreements 70,653 Total council-approved operating cost 466,653$ Sept. 22, 2020 Item #4 Page 3 of 4 Public Notification and Outreach This item was noticed in accordance with the Ralph M. Brown Act and was available for public viewing and review at least 72 hours prior to scheduled meeting date. Exhibits None Sept. 22, 2020 Item #4 Page 4 of 4