Monday, February 12, 2007

The Camera Bid

http://www.purchasing.cityofno.com/bso/external/bidDetail.sdo?bidId=2231-00211

That is the link for the Crime Camera Bid. You are supposed to register to get to it but screw that I'm liberating it....Please pass this link on to any companies locally or otherwise who may be able to fulfill this contract.

I'm hoping NetMethods isn't the only company who bids on it....so please help spread the word, I want to make it as difficult as possible for Kurt to kickback this contract to his buddies.

The contact info for the bid: Contact Rebecca Iverson at (504)658-7744

This is the Bid authorization from Kurt:

























Can anyone decipher the handwriting here on special consideration?? The last line says too expensive...but I can't read the first line.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

"About to Expire" ?

Jason Brad Berry said...

fuckin, eh, DB...that's it.

about to expire, too expensive.

that's apparently describing the reason they're dumping the current contractor, Active Solutions.

interesting.

Anonymous said...

they will get the contract and then over-run it with extra fees and expansions of scope. Turn 120k into 250k or more.

Asked why it cost so much more they will respond, "this stuff is complicated," or "don't you want to fight crime?"

LAW70 said...

okay Dambala...don't leave us hanging. Please share your thoughts. I have already contacted someone I know who works for Bearcom Operating, LP which provides the cameras for Downtown Dallas. I have some questions of my own and I am curious about something based on the camera bid that is posted. I am also waiting for my "inside" source from Dallas City Hall to return my call.

LAW70 said...

This is interesting...for the city of Dallas we received the following:

"34 cameras with the ability to pan, zoom, and rotate 360 degrees from overhead street lights and traffic signals will not only prevent crime but also help the police apprehend criminals after the crime has been committed. Officers will even be able to access the cameras with a simple laptop from their patrol cars."

Question - Do the cameras/police in Nola have these capabilities?

Now according to the June 28, 2006 City Hall meeting -
"Addendum addition 27: Authorize the purchase, installation and maintenance of a video surveillance camera system in the Central Business District with the most advantageous proposer of six - Bearcom Operating, LP - Not to exceed $772,506 - Financing: Meadows Foundation Grant Funds"

Question - Are there any grants that could be used to help pay for cameras? Are the city officials even considering a camera bid?

Sounds like Nola is getting hosed.

Jason Brad Berry said...

I think Mr. Haney nailed it, Law. The first thing they have to do is get the contract in their court...then they'll expand it at will.

They never intended to put this out for bid....and I'm sure they don't expect anyone else to bid on it but themselves and AS. The best way we can stop them from kicking back the contract to themselves is to get some more legitimate bids in.

I've seen this happen with the School Board and insurance contracts....Insurance companies alreay know the fix is in on bids and they don't even bother bidding on a 50 million dollar contract.

This is just business as usual in New Olreans.

Law70, I'm quite sure our cameras don't have all those capabilities at least not the ability for the officers to watch the cameras from their cars.

So according to the Dallas budget it came out to be about 22k per camera....which is close to this estimate for 6 of them.

mominem said...

Perhaps the PDFs have the specifications. I couldn't get them to load.

mominem said...

I got the specs. The Camera is here:

A. Include an IP based PTZ camera. The camera network interface shall be via an 8-pin, RJ-45 10
Base-T/l00 Base-TX, Ethernet. The camera shall be compatible with ONSSI NetDVMS version 6.0.
The camera shall utilize JPEG or MPEG-4 compression. The camera shall incorporate a built-in web
server such that standard web browsers Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator can be used to view
the camera view without need for special viewer software. The camera shall have Color and B/W
mode compatibility. The camera will automatically switch between these modes depending on
luminance level. The minimum illumination for the color mode will be 0.3 lux. The minimum
illumination for the B/W mode will be 0.005 lux. The camera shall have a minimum pan range of320
degrees and a minimum tilt range of 120 degrees. The camera shall support a minimum of sixteen (16)
preset positions. The camera shall support limiting of its bandwidthusage. The camera shall support
DHCP. The camera shall support up to 4CIF resolution. The camera shall support a maximum of 30
frames per second at JPEG compression and 20 frames per second at MPEG-4 compression.

This seem to be similar to the Axis

Anonymous said...

This is a bid, not an RFP. Lowest price wins, period. They can buy as many of these as they want for the bid price (including none). Just got message from Louisiana Technology Council that they are publicizing this bid in order to increase competition as per City's direction.

bayoustjohndavid said...

I can't remember if I made this comment here on on my own blog, but I don't understand why the request for bids is hidden on a part of the website that you're supposed to register as a vendor to see. It may or may not make any practical difference, but I thought everything was supposed to be open and transparent. If I, or any other resident, wants to know what's going on at City Hall, I shouldn't have to fill in my name and the name of my business in order to find out. Unless I missed something, you need to do that to find out what's up for bid. What, only businessmen have the right to know how their tax dollars are being spent?

Jason Brad Berry said...

David,

yeah....that's exactly the point.

I had to deep link that bid to post it.

You have no idea what's going on in my mailbox right now. I can't post about 95% of it, but suffice to say I'm doing my best to disseminate the valid info and force these assholes to bid this contract publicly.

The funny thing is it's not even that much money....but it could turn into a lot more.

LAW70 said...

Wow!! This is amazing!! This has dirty business written all over it.

Go Dambala Go!!