Sole Source Service for L25398 – Approve an Ordinance Awarding a sole source contract to Across The Street Productions in an amount not to exceed $767,657.25 for Blue Card Certification Training for firefighters for the Houston Fire Department.
Specific Explanation:
The Houston Fire Chief and the Chief Procurement Officer recommend that City Council approve an ordinance awarding a sole source contract for three-years, with two one year options to Across The Street Productions in an amount not to exceed $767,657.25 for the purchase of Blue Card certification training for firefighter fire suppression command staff for the Houston Fire Department. This contract will be used to provide firefighters Blue Card Incident Commander Training and Certification.
Funding for this item is included in the FY2017 Adopted Budget. Therefore, no Fiscal Note is required as stated in the Financial Policy Ord. 2014-1078.
Across The Street Productions is the sole source provider for the Blue Card Command Certification Program. It is a state of the art training and certification system that teaches company and command officers how to standardize local incident operations across their organization through following the National Incident Management System (NIMS) guidelines. The program uses a combination of online and in-class simulation training which results in an incident commander solution that addresses local hazard zone operations. It is designed to teach management of local, NIMS Type 4 and 5 incidents. These 2 Incident Types account for more than 99 percent of a department’s incident activity. Until the advent of Blue Card, there has not been a curriculum or standard for an incident commander to manage a local, type 4 and 5 hazard zone.
The Houston Fire Department will monitor this contract to ensure compliance with Administrative Procedures and EMS guidelines.
This recommendation is made pursuant to Chapter 252, Section 252.022 (a) (7) (A) “a procurement of items that are available from only one source, including: items that are available from only one source because of patents, copyrights, secret processes, or natural monopolies” of the Texas Local Government Code for exempted procurements.
M/WBE Participation:
Zero-percentage goal document approved by the Office of Business Opportunity
Hire Houston First:
This procurement is exempt from the City’s Hire Houston First Ordinance. Bids/proposals were not solicited, because the department is utilizing a professional services contractor for this purchase.
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John J. Gillespie, Chief Procurement Officer Departmental Approval Authority Signature
Finance/Strategic Procurement Division
Estimated Spending Authority
|
Department
|
FY2017
|
Out Years
|
Total
|
|
Houston Fire Department
|
$397,806.25
|
$369,851.00
|
$767,657.25
|