9/16/1997 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Instrumentation is one of the most critical parts of the water plant process control. The review of the proposed computer screens and the associated programming undergoes many reviews by the Engineer and by the County staff to assure that it meets all the intended needs of the facility. As an additional verification of the system, the instrumentation company must perform a Witnessed Factory Performance Test of the system for an operation period of 40 hours. The supplier for this system has chosen to do this over a 5 -day period in 8 hour increments, in order to allow time for troubleshooting. ANALYSIS This procedure has in the past revealed numerous operation problems and programming anomalies. The Factory Witnessed Test is reviewed by an Instrumentation Engineer and the County's project engineer, as they are most familiar with the system's needs. For this project, the instrumentation company's main office is located in Charlotte, North Carolina. The supplier has requested that the testing be done at that facility to better accommodate the Contractor. This requires travel outside of the state at the Contractor's expense. (Please reference the attached specification pages 35-37, Section 13300) The expenses for the travel on the part of the County will be paid for by the Contractor (as per the contract documents). The Utilities Department assures that these expenses have been included as part of the Contractor's bid, therefore, assuring that the County is directly paying for their portion. In concurrence with the County's legal staff, we are presenting this item to the Commission to avoid any possible misconception regarding the necessity and funding for this project's travel. RECOMMENDATION The staff of the Department of Utility Services recommends that the Board of County Commissioners authorize staff travel as outlined above and provide direction as to appropriate funding through one of the following alternatives: Alternative 1 - Proceed as described with Contractor funding (costs included in his bid). Alternative 2 - Delete travel expenses from the Contractor's bid and have County pay expenses directly. ON MOTION by Commissioner Macht, SECONDED by Commissioner Ginn, the Board unanimously approved Alternate #2, deleting travel expenses from the Contractor's bid and having the County pay the expenses directly, as recommended by staff. ON MOTION by Commissioner Ginn, SECONDED by Commissioner Macht, the Board set a County policy that no travel expenses for any staff member be included in any contractor's bid. SEPTEMBER 16, 1997 37