REPORT

RAPPORT

 

DATE:

 

26 April 2011

TO/DEST:

 

Executive Director, Ottawa Police Services Board

FROM/EXP:

 

Chief of Police, Ottawa Police Service

SUBJECT/OBJET:

ADDITIONAL FUNDING REQUIREMENT FOR REPLACEMENT OF EMERGENCY GENERATORS AT 474 ELGIN STREET

 

 

 

RECOMMENDATION

 

That the Ottawa Police Services Board approve an increase to the OPS Elgin Emergency Generator Project #904137 of $1,150,000 by way of a budget transfer from OPS Facilities Lifecycle Project #905486.

 

BACKGROUND

 

As part of the 2010 budget process, the Board approved a budget of $2,500,000 to replace the emergency generator at OPS Headquarters at 474 Elgin Street. This amount was based on a consultant’s best estimates using information available at that time.

 

An increase of $1,150,000 is now required for this project following the completion of detailed engineering studies and a clearer definition of the project’s scope after tendering of the major components.

 

DISCUSSION

 

The existing emergency backup power system for the OPS Headquarters at 474 Elgin Street was installed over 30 years ago.  The existing main generator (650kW) is original to the building and only provides emergency power to 70% of the building’s requirements.  Shortly after the building opened, a power failure, coupled with a failure of this main generator, left the entire facility without power — including the OPS Communications/911 Centre.  As a result, a second smaller generator (125kW) was subsequently added to provide secondary backup power to the Communications/911 Centre and related support systems.  Presently, both generators have reached the end of their useful life and are unable to support both current and future needs of this facility.

 

To further supplement these systems in the event of a power failure, an Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) system was added during the Year 2000 cut-over (Y2K) to ensure that critical areas of the building such as OPS Communications/911, Dispatch, City Radio and OPS Computer and IT Systems could remain operational in the event that a switch to backup power was necessary.  This UPS is now at its maximum capacity and has reached the end of its useful life. Further expansion is impractical from both a design and cost basis and system reliability is at a critical point.

 

Expansion of Project Scope

 

In 2009, several investigations of the electrical systems at 474 Elgin Street were conducted due to operator safety issues encountered by City of Ottawa staff responsible for operating and testing the emergency power systems.   The investigations sought to accomplish the following:

 

  1. Identify solutions to issues with harmonics and power quality for all UPS-supplied equipment;
  2. Provide lifecycle replacement of the building’s main electrical components;
  3. Provide lifecycle replacement of the emergency generators;
  4. Upgrade, enlarge and stabilize the power system to provide the entire facility with access to emergency power with a margin of safety above the current maximum demand and estimated future loads; and
  5. Install equipment that would allow for ongoing maintenance and operator safety without affecting the overall system reliability.

 

Following the completion of the investigations, staff concluded that combining the various smaller initiatives into a single, comprehensive solution would generate cost efficiencies while minimizing down time.

 

The project scope was therefore expanded and now includes:

 

  1. Supplying emergency power for the entire building with some consideration for growth demand;
  2. Resolving current issues with the UPS by adding expandability and increasing system reliability;
  3. Replacing all aging equipment (generators, UPS, transfer switches and main switch gear);
  4. Implementing a solution which permits mandatory maintenance to be routinely performed without disrupting the ability to provide the building with emergency power;
  5. Implementing a solution which incorporates two generators and which allows for priority systems to remain operational in the event one generator should fail (dual redundancy);
  6. Phasing the project work to minimize disruptions to OPS and Communications Centre/911 daily operations;
  7. Including a requirement for replacement of the Underground Fuel Storage Tank (UST) that would meet the latest, more stringent Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) regulations; and
  8. Installing a larger-than-planned UST to allow longer run times of generators before refuelling is required.

 

Staff took delivery of the two new generators during March 2011.  The project has now advanced to the construction tendering stage and the result of a competitive tender has determined that an additional $1,150,000 will be required to fund this project to its completion.

 

Cost Escalation

 

In addition to the impact of an expanded project scope, cost pressures from the original budget estimates are due to the following:

 

 

Details of the cost estimates to date are shown in below in Table 1:

 

Table 1

Cost Estimates for Emergency Generators

 

Description

Amount

Type

Additional Consultant fees

$        42,445

Estimate

Generator Purchase

$      766,834

Actual

CCN #1 tank size changes to meet TSSA requirements, removal of canopy from between the 2 exiting units, additional storage due to project delays

$        31,250

Actual

CCN #2 additional storage of generators until Board approves funds.

$        10,000

Estimate

Building Permit

$        12,000

Estimate

Tender Price

$   2,460,000

Tender

Contingency (10% of tender)

$      246,000

Estimate

Sub Total

$   3,568,529

 

Taxes (1.76%)

$        62,806

Estimate

Estimated Total

$   3,631,335

 

 

 

CONSULTATION

 

Public consultation is not required.

 

FINANCIAL STATEMENT

 

A budget transfer in the amount of $1,150,000 is being requested to supplement the Elgin Generator Project. The budget base to be transferred has been identified within capital project # 905486 –“2011 Facility Lifecycle”.

 

The implementation of the Elgin Generator Project in 2011 will cause the design and construction work of a number of Police Facility Lifecycle Projects to be delayed until 2012.   Table 3 identifies the projects that will be affected.

 

Table 2

Capital Project Transfer

 

 

Elgin Emergency Generator Project # 904137

 

 

2011 Facility Lifecycle Project #905486

 

 

 

 

 

Approved Budget

$2,500,000

 

Approved Budget

$2,039,000

Budget Transfer Requested

  1,150,000

 

Budget Transfer Requested

 (1,150,000)

Revised Budget

  3,650,000

 

Revised Budget

      889,000

Spent/Committed

    (780,400)

 

Spent/Committed

                 0

Available

  2,869,600

 

Available

      889,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 3

Delayed Facility Lifecycle Projects

 

Project

Amount

Comments

Elgin - Membrane and Topping Replacement - Phase 1 of 4

$   620,000

Project prep in 2011 will use $5,000 of $625,000 budget. Project cannot proceed in 2011 due to site interference with Generator Project

Elgin - Replace UPS Battery

$     60,000

Project eliminated due to scope inclusion in Generator Project

Elgin - Replace Lobby Ventilation AHU

$     25,000

Project prep in 2011 will use $5,000 of $30,000 budget. Project delayed to 2012.

Elgin - Replace Range Supply AHU

$     95,000

Project prep in 2011 will use $5,000 of $100,000 budget. Project delayed to 2012.

Elgin - Garage Supply and Exhaust Fan Rebuild

$     50,000

Project delayed to 2012.

10th Line - Lobby floor tile replacement

$     30,000

Project deferred to 2012.

Greenbank - Modernize Existing Elevator & Cabs

$   120,000

Project can be delayed for maximum two years.

Greenbank - Exterior Caulking

 

$   150,000

Caulking scope reduced as 2010 temporary remediation work has performed better than anticipated.

 

 

$1,150,000

 

 

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

The upgrade to the Emergency Generators at 474 Elgin Street is an essential requirement to ensure that, in the event of an electrical power outage, the OPS Communications/911 Centre, OPS computer and IT systems and City of Ottawa Radio Networks can continue to operate on an uninterrupted basis.  With Board approval of this request, the Elgin Emergency Generator Project will be able to be awarded immediately with project completion anticipated by the fall of 2011.

 

(original signed by)

 

Vern White

Chief of Police