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TO:

Honorable Mayor and Members of the Common Council

FROM:

Jon Urben, General Services Manager

DATE:

October 8, 2024

SUBJECT:

Res 24-536 Approve Purchase from TelVue Corporation for Master Control Equipment for Oshkosh Media ($71,238.63)

BACKGROUND

The master control equipment in Oshkosh Media (OM) was originally procured in 2018 through an RFP that solicited firms to design and install this equipment. The master control equipment is located within the OM facility in City Hall and is used to program and distribute the signals of Gov TV and Life TV to cable providers, the OM live web stream, OM’s over-the-top (OTT) apps (Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV) and digital signage displays for Gov TV, Life TV and the City Hall first-floor lobby monitors. At their April 10, 2018 meeting, the Common Council awarded the original RFP to TelVue Corporation. With this award, the TelVue proprietary equipment, systems and software became the standardized system for OM master control. Staff have been very pleased with the TelVue line, specifically the efficiencies it creates with scheduling OM channels and the flexibility it provides for distributing live coverage on all these platforms.

The 2025 CIP allocated $75,000 for the planned replacement of this equipment. However, at their September 10, 2024, meeting, the Common Council approved a budget amendment to appropriate ARPA funds for 2024 infrastructure projects, including the replacement of this master control equipment for $75,000. Given TelVue’s proprietary software for content management and scheduling is now standardized throughout the OM master control, Purchasing confirmed this purchase qualifies as an exception to our purchasing ordinance under Section 12-11 of the Municipal Code.

ANALYSIS

Purchasing solicited a proposal from TelVue for replacement of master control equipment and components. Staff review of TelVue’s pricing concluded the proposal covered all necessary master control equipment, including the playback server, digital signage players, encoders to deliver the OM signals to the web and OTT apps and any network components needed to facilitate OM programming.

FISCAL IMPACT

The Common Council approved a budget amendment to appropriate ARPA funds of $75,000 for this project. TelVue’s proposal for this project is $71,238.63. OM staff will use the remaining funds for this project to purchase various other components necessary to complete the replacement. This purchase will be charged to A/N#: 02240150 7204 15457 (Machinery & Equipment - ARPA - Media Master Control Equipment Replacement).

RECOMMENDATION

Section 12-11 of the Municipal Code provides that, subject to approval of the City Manager, purchases may be made without following a formal competitive bidding process when the purchase is from only one source of supply or when standardization or compatibility is the overriding consideration. Based on staff review, and in accordance with Section 12-11 of the Municipal Code and with approval by the City Manager, Purchasing recommends the Common Council approve the master control equipment proposal from TelVue Corporation, 16000 Horizon Way, Suite 100, Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054 for $71,238.63. If there are any questions about this purchase, please contact me or OM Operations Coordinator Jake Timm.

Attachments

Res 24-536