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CC 2018-06-26_09c Termination of Fire Dispatch Agreement MEMORANDUM TO: CITY COUNCIL FROM: JAMES A BERGMAN, CITY MANAGER BY: DEBBIE MALICOAT, DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES SUBJECT: CONSIDERATION OF TERMINATION OF FIRE DISPATCHING AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY OF GROVER BEACH DATE: JUNE 26, 2018 SUMMARY OF ACTION: Terminating the current agreement for fire, rescue, and emergency medical aid dispatching services will facilitate the Five Cities Fire Authority (FCFA) entering into an agreement for dispatching services for the entire FCFA service area directly with the dispatch provider. IMPACT ON FINANCIAL AND PERSONNEL RESOURCES: There is no net cost to this action. The costs of providing dispatch services have been incorporated into the FCFA budget for FY 2018-19 and removed from the City’s budget. RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended the City Council waive the ninety-day notice requirement and agree to terminate the current agreement with the City of Grover Beach for fire, rescue, and emergency medical aid dispatching, effective June 30, 2018. BACKGROUND: In 2014, police related emergency calls began to be dispatched by agreement with the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office. At the request of the FCFA, the City of Arroyo Grande entered into an agreement with the City of Grover Beach for the provision of fire, rescue, and emergency medical aid dispatching services. At that time, the Oceano Community Services District had a long-established agreement with the City of Grover Beach for fire related dispatching services. The budget for dispatching services has historically been retained by each member of the FCFA. Item 9.c. - Page 1 CITY COUNCIL CONSIDERATION OF TERMINATION OF FIRE DISPATCHING CONTRACT WITH THE CITY OF GROVER BEACH JUNE 26, 2018 PAGE 2 ANALYSIS OF ISSUES: Several factors are influencing how emergency calls for fire related services are dispatched. First, most law enforcement agencies throughout the County are transitioning their Computer Aided Dispatch/Report Management Systems (CAD/RMS) to a common vendor, which will allow for better communication across jurisdictional boundaries. The City of Grover Beach will be participating in this effort and would need to purchase the fire “module” of the software if they continue to provide dispatching services for the three agencies that comprise the FCFA. Second, there is a desire amongst fire agencies throughout the County to consolidate dispatching services to a dedicated Fire/EMS center managed by the County of San Luis Obispo/CAL FIRE. Third, the FCFA has had a goal of consolidating the responsibility for the dispatching agreement into the FCFA, rather than as a direct agreement between the agencies. During the development of the FCFA budget for fiscal year 2018-19, the cost of paying for the fire module software upgrade was compared with the cost of contracting with CAL FIRE for dispatching. Under either scenario, there is a desire for FCFA to directly contract with the dispatch provider, therefore the budget for dispatching all FCFA calls was built into their budget and allocated to the three member agencies. The City Managers of Arroyo Grande and Grover Beach, the Oceano Community Services District Manager and the Fire Chief have been involved in discussions related to the FCFA strategic plan and budget for several months. There is a mutual desire by all three parties to transition to CAL FIRE for dispatching services and have FCFA directly contract for that service, which is less expensive than continuing the service through the City of Grover Beach. Given these facts, the current dispatching agreement will no longer be required and may be terminated by either party by providing notice in writing at least ninety (90) days prior to termination. The City of Grover Beach has agreed to waive the 90-day notification period and terminate the current dispatching agreement effective June 30, 2018 (See Attachment 1). Thereafter, the FCFA will enter into an agreement with the City of Grover Beach for dispatching services from July 1, 2018 until transition with CAL FIRE, which is expected to occur on or about October 1, 2018. ALTERNATIVES: The following alternatives are provided for the Council’s consideration: 1. Terminate the current agreement with the City of Grover Beach for fire, rescue, and emergency medical aid dispatching; 2. Do not terminate the agreement and retain dispatching services through the City of Grover Beach; or 3. Provide other direction to staff. ADVANTAGES: Termination of the agreement will alleviate the City of responsibility for fire, rescue, and emergency aid dispatching and achieve the FCFA’s goal of consolidating this within the Item 9.c. - Page 2 CITY COUNCIL CONSIDERATION OF TERMINATION OF FIRE DISPATCHING CONTRACT WITH THE CITY OF GROVER BEACH JUNE 26, 2018 PAGE 3 FCFA. In addition, FCFA’s future costs for dispatching will be reduced through an agreement with CAL FIRE. DISADVANTAGES: No significant disadvantages are identified. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: No environmental review is required for this item. PUBLIC NOTIFICATION AND COMMENTS: The Agenda was posted at City Hall and on the City’s website in accordance with Government Code Section 54954.2. Attachments: 1. Email from City of Grover Beach indicating agreement to waive 90-day notification period. Item 9.c. - Page 3 From: Matthew Bronson [mailto:mbronson@groverbeach.org] Sent: Friday, June 15, 2018 12:53 PM To: Jim Bergman; paavo@oceanocsd.org Cc: Debbie Malicoat; David Hale; Steve Lieberman; John Peters Subject: Waiver of fire/EMS dispatch termination notice Jim and Paavo,  The City of Grover Beach (City) has provided fire/EMS dispatch services to the Five Cities Fire Authority (FCFA) since the formation of the authority.  The City bills the City of Arroyo Grande and the Oceano Community Services District (OCSD) directly for these services.  Beginning on October 1, 2018, this fire/EMS dispatch will transition to a dedicated fire/EMS center managed by the County of San Luis Obispo/CAL FIRE.  Until then, the FCFA will contract directly with the City for these services and dispatch costs for the FCFA are included in the 2018-19 FCFA operating budget.  Related to this new contract with the FCFA is the need to terminate the existing agreement between the Cities of Grover Beach and Arroyo Grande and OCSD.  Paragraph 6 of this agreement states: “This Agreement shall be effective as of July 1, 2015. This Agreement may be terminated at any time by either party, with or without cause, by providing notice in writing tendered to the other party no less than least ninety (90) days of its intention to discontinue services and thereby terminate said Agreement.” In order to begin the new contract with FCFA on July 1, 2018, the existing agreement needs to be terminated by June 30, 2018.  As a result, the City of Grover Beach is hereby waiving the ninety (90) days requirement for termination of the agreement between the Cities of Grover Beach and Arroyo Grande and the OCSD.  Please confirm your respective agency’s termination of this agreement by June 30, 2018.  Thank you. Matthew Bronson | City Manager | ph 805.473.4567 | fax 805.489.9657 | mbronson@groverbeach.org City of Grover Beach | 154 South 8th Street | Grover Beach, CA 93433 | www.groverbeach.org ATTACHMENT 1 Item 9.c. - Page 4