Monterey County Call Box Program: Verizon Wireless Contract Amendment:

1. APPROVE contract Amendment No. 3 with Verizon Wireless extending the term of the agreement to December 31, 2020;
2. AUTHORIZE the Executive Director to execute documentation necessary to enter into the updated Participating Addendum with NASPO Value Point (formerly Western States Contracting Alliance) and the State of California with respect to Verizon Wireless Communication and Equipment services; and
3. AUTHORIZE the Executive Director to execute the contract and changes to the contract if such changes do not increase the Agency’s net cost, subject to approval by Agency Counsel. 

In 2012, following a competitive procurement process, the Transportation Agency contracted with Verizon Wireless to provide digital cellular service for call boxes in Monterey County. The service contract with Verizon Wireless is subject to the terms of the user agreement with NASPO Value Point (formerly Western States Contracting Alliance) and the State of California with respect to Verizon Wireless Communication and Equipment services, which has been amended to extend service through December 31, 2020. This Amendment will bring the Agency’s contract into compliance with the updated NASPO Value Point contract with Verizon Wireless.

The current agreement provides for a rate of $0.06/min, no monthly services fees, free nights and weekends, and no annual term requirement or termination fees, with a not to exceed amount of $34,200, of which approximately $27,000 is remaining. These budgetary terms will remain the same.  Staff estimates that the cost of the work to be performed over the next year will be well within the remaining budget of the current contract. The funding for the cellular service comes from the $1 vehicle registration fee collected by the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

Monterey County’s system contains approximately 190 call boxes on most freeways and highways, as well as selected county roads. The Transportation Agency currently contracts with Verizon Wireless for digital cellular services for the program. Although the Agency currently has approximately 190 call boxes in use, the total number of call boxes in Monterey County is expected to decrease in the coming years as the Agency implements its Call Box Modernization Plan, which will result in actual Verizon costs lower than the budgeted amount as underutilized call boxes are removed. 

The current Verizon Wireless contract uses the pricing, terms and conditions of NASPO ValuePoint (formerly Western States Contracting Alliance, a multi-state contract to which the State of California subscribes. Using the NASPO contract allows TAMC to receive a significantly higher discount than it would otherwise qualify for as a single entity since the pricing under the NASPO agreement is based upon the 10,000+ line attainment level. The NASPO contract was amended to extend the term of the agreement to December 31, 2019 to allow time to execute new Master Agreements, and again to December 31, 2020 to allow time for adoption of the Participating Addendum. 

TAMC's original Verizon contract expiration date was June 30, 2017.  The contract was amended in August 2014 to extend the term of service to June 30, 2019.  The agreement was amended a second time in May 2019 to extend the term of service to December 31, 2019 in conjunction with the NASPO contract extension. This third contract amendment will keep TAMC's contract with Verizon in agreement with NASPO's contract expiration date.

Staff recommends amending the current contract with Verizon Wireless, and authorizing the Executive Director to enter into the amended NASPO agreement in order to continue to provide digital cellular service to the Monterey County call box system through December 31, 2020.