Neutral Host Reimbursable Capital Project

Transcription

1 Finance & Administration Committee Action Item III-E November 4, 2010 Neutral Host Reimbursable Capital Project Page 37 of 161

2 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Board Action/Information Summary Action Information MEAD Number: Resolution: Yes No TITLE: Amend Master License Agreement PURPOSE: To obtain Board approval to amend the Master License Agreement with the Carrier Consortium, increase the reimbursable budget FY11 through FY13 by $7.2 million, and increase Metro staff by 40 to support the development of the Wireless Communication Infrastructure system (Neutral Host system). DESCRIPTION: On February 26, 2009, the Board granted approval to enter into a Master License Agreement with the Carrier Consortium to design, build, operate, maintain, and own a Wireless Communication Infrastructure throughout Metro`s underground stations. In addition, the Consortium will also build Metro, at no cost, its own Wireless Communication Infrastructure. On June 21, 2009, the Board granted approval to create a reimbursable capital program to fund Metro`s costs incurred during the Wireless Communication Infrastructure`s construction. The Master License agreement between Metro and the Consortium requires the Consortium to fund a cost recovery account. Contractually, this account must maintain a $100,000 monthly balance during remaining 25-month build-out portion of this project. The Consortium has agreed to increase the minimum monthly balance to $400,000. The contract stipulates that Metro can use this account to recover its support costs that are incurred during the build-out of this project. Metro can also qualify for $1.5 billion in dedicated Federal funds (Pub. L Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008), when two Neutral Host construction milestones have been met. The first was completed when the Consortium provided wireless communication service in the 20 busiest rail stations on October 16, The second milestone will be met when the Consortium provides service throughout the rail system by October 16, Page 38 of 161

3 To safely and securely support the Consortium`s development schedule and the federally-mandated project timelines, staff requests that the Board increase Metro`s staff by 40. These 40 additional reimbursable capitally-funded employees will be dedicated to supporting the Wireless Communication Infrastructure construction for the duration of this project. The additional staff will be responsible for setting up the safety work areas and monitoring contractor work to ensure all work performed meets Metro safety standards. By the terms of Metro`s agreement with Local 689, 36 of these 40 positions will be union positions. This action supports Metro`s goals to: Create a safety environment by providing the communication technology for emergency and non emergency communications and safe work conditions Deliver quality services by providing a new communication infrastructure that integrates with the existing Metro communication infrastructure ensuring reliable Rail and computer systems operations. Use resources wisely by providing a new communication infrastructure design that utilizes state-of-art networking technologies which will improve productivity and reduce maintenance requirements. FUNDING IMPACT: This project will be managed by Network Communications Systems and the project manager will be Fred Candelaria. Metro estimates the expenses, staff and non-staff, to support the development of the Wireless Communication Infrastructure system (Neutral Host system) to be not more than $7,200,000 during the remaining 25-month system construction period, and will be fully-reimbursable. The funding source for the incremental expenses will come from a $7.2 million increase in the contractually stipulated reimbursable budget which, per the existing agreement, is to be paid monthly in advance. The funding source for this reimbursable project is not currently in any approved budget and will have no impact to the jurisdictional budgets. Budget: Reimbursable Page 39 of 161

4 Budget Information FY11 FY12 FY13 Total Budget $2,700,000 $3,000,000 $1,500,000 $7,200,000 Amount: This $2,700,000 $3,000,000 $1,500,000 $7,200,000 Action: Prior Actions: $0 $0 $0 $0 Subtotal: $2,700,000 $3,000,000 $1,500,000 $7, Remaining Budget: $0 $0 $0 $0 RECOMMENDATION: Approval to amend the Master License Agreement with the Carrier Consortium, increase the reimbursable budget for FY11 through FY13 by $7.2 million, and increase Metro staff by 40 to support the development of the Wireless Communication Infrastructure system (Neutral Host system). Page 40 of 161

5 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Neutral Host Reimbursable Capital Project Finance and Administration Committee November 4, 2010 Page 41 of 161

6 Purpose Approval to amend the Master License Agreement with the Carrier Consortium Increase the reimbursable budget for FY11 through FY13 by $7.2 million Increase Metro staff by 40 to support the development of the Wireless Communication Infrastructure system (Neutral Host system) Page 42 of 161

7 Background On 2/26/09, the Board authorized staff to award the Neutral Host license to the Carrier Team On 6/21/09, the Board authorized staff to create a reimbursable capital program to recover the Wireless Communication Infrastructure s construction and support costs The Neutral Host program has a four-year build schedule with the following Federally-mandated milestones: 20 Busiest Underground Stations October 2009 (Complete) Entire Underground October 2012 Page 43 of 161

8 Costs and Benefits The Neutral Host license requires the Carrier Team to fund a cost recovery account that will reimburse Metro for costs associated with the program The Carrier Team has agreed to increase its minimum monthly balance from $100,000 to $400,000 for the remaining 25-month build-out Staff estimates the reimbursable Metro support costs to be $7,200,000 $,, Completion of this project will: Allow our customers to have cellular service throughout the underground Meet a federal mandate in the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 Page 44 of 161

9 Human Resources Plan Page 45 of 161

10 Safety Plan All new hires must complete current right-of-way (ROW) and escort training until Roadway Worker Protection (RWP) training is available Once RWP training is available, all new hires must complete: Basic ROW within first week Flagman certification within 3 weeks Lone worker training ta gate after one month Roadway Worker in Charge after three months All new hires will be paired with a current, trained escort to provide on-the-jobtraining to supplement classroom training beginning at the completion of basic ROW training All new hires will continue to be paired with a more experienced escort until the new hire completes all four RWP certification levelsl Page 46 of 161

11 Recommendation Approval to amend the Master License Agreement with the Carrier Consortium Increase the reimbursable budget for FY11 through FY13 by $7.2 million Increase Metro staff by 40 to support the development of the Wireless Communication Infrastructure system (Neutral Host system) Page 47 of 161

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