FHPS Wireless RFP 2021 - Addendum 1 (1).pdf

Addendum # 1

To: Interested Vendors

From: Shae Sultes– Plante Moran

Date: December 15, 2020

Re: Forest Hills Public Schools – Wireless Network Replacement

Due to social distancing guidelines and COVID-19 protocols, the public bid opening will be conducted over a Zoom video conference. In-person attendance will not be permitted. Vendors are welcome to access the Zoom conference using the information provided below:

Forest Hills Public Schools – Wireless RFP 2021 – Public Bid Opening

January 14, 2020 @ 10AM ET

Phone one-tap: US: +13017158592,,97304103987# or +13126266799,,97304103987#

Meeting URL: https://plantemoran.zoom.us/j/97304103987?pwd=MGVlUUYzVUkxV3h6Q0xlOU4zYzlJZz09

Meeting ID: 973 0410 3987

Passcode: 061826

Below is list of vendor questions and answers received to date:

QUESTION ANSWER

1. Will floor plans be provided that denote current AP locations as well as new locations?

Floor plans will be provided to the awarded vendor.

2. Can we assume that the access point enclosure is for the gym and that a lift will be required? If so, how many schools will require installation via lift?

a. Will the school provide a lift?

b. Or can all of the access point be installed via 15 ft ladder.

Lifts will be required at 5 schools. The specific schools will be identified in a pre-installation walkthrough with the awarded vendor.

3. Does the school district want the vendor to quote a Post Site Survey/Documentation for each building?

a. If so, can the sq. ft. for each building be provided?

Post site surveys are not required as part of the base bid.

4. Is this a complete refresh for all buildings noted?

Yes.

5. Is there any outdoor AP installation required? No.

6. Is new cabling required before the AP install?

Or, will existing cable runs be used?

Existing cable runs will be used in most locations. Any new cable runs will be performed by others.

7. Do existing access points need to be taken down?

a. If so, where are they located? Above the ceiling tiles or below? Are they visible?

Yes, existing access points will need to be removed by the vendor. \

All access points are in visible locations either below ceiling tile grids, walls, or other visible mounting surfaces.

8. Regarding onsite project manager requirements, would onsite project management for key milestones in the project suffice?

a. Example: Kick off meeting, configuration requirements meeting, beginning of installation, middle checkpoint of installation, close out of installation, Review of post site survey documentation (if required), or up to 10 onsite meetings?

Yes, however, a designated on-site lead may be required to assist in any field coordination.

9. The RFP mentions that the school district will be using e-Rate funds. However, e-Rate funds aren’t released until July 1 and the requested start date is May 2021. Will Forest Hills purchase and can the vendor invoice for equipment and services prior to funds being released to the school district?

a. Or, can we provide a project plan that incorporates a start date of July 1, when funds are released?

If providing a project plan that incorporates a start date of July 1st, the Vendor must still commit to project completion by mid-August prior to the start of the school year.

10. If the start of the project will be in May, if school is in sessions, should we quote a PM shift labor rate until school is out Mid-June?

While work may begin in May, we expect this to entail work limited to installation of controllers or other installation activities that do not require work within PM shifts.

11. Will the awarded vendor have full access to all buildings for installation during this time?

a. Example: Monday – Friday 8 am to 5 pm? Or will the school shut down at any time during the lift of the project?

b. Or, will the school be partially closed with limited access? If so, what would the hours be?

Typical summer hours are 7am-4pm M-F. Additional access beyond these hours may be provided with District approval.

- End of Addendum 1 -

12. [We] understands that FHPS currently operates 2 Ruckus virtual SmartZone (vSZ) controllers at Northern High School. We are confident that a pair of vSZ controllers is sufficient to meet the 1000 Ruckus R750 access points requested provided FHPS has the capacity in its hypervisor to meet the manufacturers recommendations. We do have some questions surrounding the current environment however:

a. Does the district have enough capacity licenses to add all 1000 APs to the existing vSZ environment?

If not, what would be the quantity needed?

Does the district have support licenses available to transfer to the new APs?

If not, what would be the quantity and number of years (1,3,5) desired for support licensing?

Regarding capacity licenses, the District would require approximately 20 additional licenses.

Regarding support licenses, the vendor should refer to the requirement to provide 3-year licenses as part of the base bid, with options for year 4 and year 5. These support licenses must cover the quantity of APs requested in Appendix A.

13. Section 2.4.2, paragraph 5, It is to be noted that the WLAN solution must accommodate growth requirements and be expandable to provide, at a minimum, 25% growth in usage without having to add additional hardware or licensing.

Can you please clarify this statement? Do you mean we should add more APs and Licenses, or does it mean 25% more usage or users ? If 25% more users, what is the current number of users?

The requirement for 25% growth should refer to the ability of the wireless network solution to handle 25% growth in users.

Prior to March 2020, there were about 13,000-15,000 users per day with about 4,000 concurrently.

14. Section 2.2, paragraph 2, Within each building, the main distribution frame (MDF) provides 10Gbps connectivity to each intermediate distribution frame (IDF) over single-mode fiber.

Can you confirm this statement?

Yes, confirmed.

15. On the response spreadsheet, the following buildings highlighted in yellow are missing but require APs.

Community Aquatic Center Transportation Center

See the updated copy of Appendix A included as part of this addendum.