PORT OF SEATTLE 
MEMORANDUM 
COMMISSION AGENDA               Item No.      4e 
ACTION ITEM 
Date of Meeting     April 14, 2015 
DATE:    April 6, 2015 
TO:      Ted Fick, Chief Executive Officer 
FROM:   Dave Soike, Director, Aviation Facilities and Capital Program 
Wayne Grotheer, Director, Aviation Project Management Group 
SUBJECT:  Combined Communication and Command Center (C4) Uninterruptible Power
Supply (UPS) System Improvements (CIP #800107) 
Amount of This Request:         $832,000   Source of Funds:   Airport Development
Fund (ADF) 
Est. Total Project Cost:          $4,555,238 
Est. State and Local Taxes:        $247,000 
ACTION REQUESTED 
Request Commission authorization for the Chief Executive Officer to design and prepare
construction bid documents for the Combined Communication and Command Center (C4)
Uninterruptible Power Supply  (UPS) System Improvements  project at Seattle-Tacoma
International Airport. This authorization is for $832,000 of a total estimated project cost of
$4,555,238. 
SYNOPSIS 
This authorization would allow for the design required to replace the obsolete and failing C4
UPS System. The C4 UPS system provides power to a variety of life-safety, security, and
operationally critical applications in case of a power failure. These include the 911 Center, the
Airport Communications Center, and the 800MHz Radio System, which provides airport-wide
communications for Port of Seattle Police, Fire Department,  Maintenance, and Airport
Operations. This project will replace aging batteries, upsize the current system in order to meet
future demand, and remove the single point of failure that is currently in the system in order to
assure redundancy to these critical systems. The 911 Center requires constant backup power as a
requirement to maintain certification as an Association of Public-Safety Communication
Officials (APCO) 911 Center. This project was included in the 2015-2019 captial budget and
plan of finance. 
BACKGROUND 
The existing C4 UPS power distribution system requires modification due to obsolescence and
design deficiencies. The system includes two battery banks and two UPSs to provide
redundancy, but has experienced failures in both UPSs and both battery banks due to the UPSs' 

Template revised May 30, 2013.

COMMISSION AGENDA 
Ted Fick, Chief Executive Officer 
April 6, 2015 
Page 2 of 6 
and batteries' being beyond their useful lives. Recent tests have revealed one of the existing
battery banks is dead and is currently being replaced as an expense item (approximately
$200,000) to keep the system functional until the entire system can be replaced. The existing
batteries operate at a voltage that is not an industry standard; therefore, the replacement batteries
may not be able to be incorporated into the system upgrade. The automatic power switching
system does not function properly and cannot be corrected through repair as critical parts are no
longer available. The system also lacks redundant power paths to allow portions of the system to
be de-energized without affecting critical airport functions. Crucial equipment suppliers for the
existing system have gone out of business. The only way to correct the C4 problems is to
redesign and replace portions of the power distribution system. Failure rates for this system are
becoming increasingly frequent. 
PROJECT JUSTIFICATION AND DETAILS 
Project Objectives 
The project objective is to increase the reliability of the C4 UPS Power Distribution System by
replacing obsolete equipment, eliminating single points of failure, and provide redundant power
feeders. The project will be designed as a highly reliable system to back-up critical life-safety,
security, and business critical operations including the 911 Center, Airport Communications
Center, and the 800 MHz Radio System. The design will have no single points of failure
upstream of the Power Distribution Units. 
Scope of Work 
The scope of work for this project includes: 
Demolish and replace existing UPSs, paralleling cabinets, batteries, Automatic Transfer
or Static Switches 
Provide wiring, testing, commissioning and associated equipment for a fully functional
system with no single points of failure upstream of the power distribution units. 
Add Power Connection Box, Power Monitoring Equipment, Remote Monitoring, and
Power System Filters. 
Provide rack mount automatic transfer switches or replace with static transfer switches 
(varies depending on final design); and 
Upgrade fire protection system. 
Schedule 
Project Notebook Approval:                                 4th Quarter 2014 
Commission Authorization for Design:                          2nd Quarter 2015 
Design Start:                                               2nd Quarter 2015 
Design Completion:                                      4th Quarter 2015 
Commission Authorization for Construction:                       4th Quarter 2015 
Construction:                            4th Quarter 2015 through 1st Quarter 2017

COMMISSION AGENDA 
Ted Fick, Chief Executive Officer 
April 6, 2015 
Page 3 of 6 
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS 
Budget/Authorization Summary              Capital     Expense   Total Project 
Original Budget                      $2,052,000          $0    $2,052,000 
Budget Increase (September 2014)          $2,154,471     $348,767    $2,503,238 
Revised Budget                     $4,206,471     $348,767    $4,555,238 
Previous Authorizations (Original Scope)      $1,987,233     $348,767    $2,336,000 
Current request for authorization                  $0          $0          $0 
Total Authorizations, including this request     $1,987,233      $348,767    $2,336,000 
Remaining budget to be authorized         $2,219,238          $0    $2,219,238 
Total Estimated Project Cost              $4,206,471     $348,767    $4,555,238 
Project Cost Breakdown                     This Request       Total Project 
Design                                  $832,000         $1,330,238 
Construction                                     $0         $2,978,000 
Sales Tax                                       $0          $247,000 
Total                                                      $4,555,238 
Budget Status and Source of Funds 
This project, C800107, was included in the 2015-2019 capital budget and plan of finance at an
estimated cost of $4,555,238. This project previously received project-wide authorization in
2007. The C4 UPS System was redesigned at that time, but a decision was made to delay moving
forward with construction due to budget constraints resulting from an economic downturn. It has
been determined that only 30% of the previous design work is now usable. Consequently,
$348,767 was written off to expense in 2014. The amount needed to complete the design is
estimated to be an additional $832,000. Given the amount of time that has passed since the
original authorization in 2007, staff is returning to Commission to seek authorization to proceed
with design. The funding sources include the Airport Development Fund and future revenue
bonds. The Port plans to issue revenue bonds in 2015 to fund a number of projects. 
Staff will return in Q4 2015 to request the construction authorization needed to complete the
project.

COMMISSION AGENDA 
Ted Fick, Chief Executive Officer 
April 6, 2015 
Page 4 of 6 
Financial Analysis and Summary 
CIP Category             Renewal/Enhancement 
Project Type              Renewal & Replacement 
Risk adjusted discount rate     N/A 
Key risk factors             N/A 
Project cost for analysis        4,555,238 
Business Unit (BU)          Admin (costs allocated to all cost centers) 
Effect on business performance  NOI after depreciation will decrease 
IRR/NPV             N/A 
CPE Impact             $.01 in 2017 
Lifecycle Cost and Savings 
The replacement of the existing Uninterruptable Power System will decrease the risk of
unforeseen failures of obsolete equipment that can impact critical operations at the Airport; 
however, the replacement will not appreciably decrease the number of preventative maintenance
activities performed on the system. Weekly UPS testing is required for 911 certification. 
STRATEGIES AND OBJECTIVES 
This project supports  the Port's Century Agenda Objective of meeting the region's air
transportation needs at Sea-Tac Airport for the next 25 years. Maintaining our existing assets
and infrastructure is necessary to meeting this objective. 
ALTERNATIVES AND IMPLICATIONS CONSIDERED 
Alternative 1)  Maintain status quo. 
Capital Cost: $0; increased maintenance expense 
Pros: 
The Port could delay expenditure of the cost of system design and replacement, using the funds 
for other purposes. 
Cons: 
Maintaining status quo is not a feasible option. The existing system would fail and put the Port
at unnecessary risk by not having the code-required uninterruptable power supply to back up
critical life/safety, airport operations and business functions. Without a reliable UPS system, the
Port would lose its 911 certification and would be forced to back out of agreements with local
police and fire departments. 
Alternative 2)  Replace both battery banks, both uninterruptable power supplies and static
switches in kind, without upsizing equipment or reconfiguring the system to provide redundant
power feeders and thereby eliminating single points of failure. 
Cost: $4,064,238

COMMISSION AGENDA 
Ted Fick, Chief Executive Officer 
April 6, 2015 
Page 5 of 6 
Pros: 
This option would save $491,000 and take a month off the project schedule. 
Cons: 
This option would leave the system lacking the redundancy required to ensure adequate support
of critical airport functions. This alternative would leave a single point of failure within the
system, which means in the event of an equipment failure, there would be no way to bypass the
failure and connect to the emergency generator. This option leaves emergency communications
such as 911 vulnerable to extended outage, and leaves the system undersized for current and
future needs.
Alternative 3)  Upsize and replace both battery banks, both uninterruptable power supplies, 
and static switches, without reconfiguring the system to provide redundant power feeders and
eliminating single points of failure. 
Cost: $4,147,238 
Pros: 
This option would save $408,000 and take a month off the project schedule. Alternative 3 is
similar to Alternative 2 above, but this option upsizes the system to meet current and future
demands. 
Cons: 
Similar to Alternative 2 above, this option would leave the system lacking the redundancy
required to support critical airport functions. Alternative 3 leaves a single point of failure within
the system, which means in the event of an equipment failure, there would be no way to bypass
the failure and connect to the emergency generator.  Failure within the system without
redundancy to bypass takes a minimum of several hours and up to several months to correct,
leaving the Port and surrounding areas without emergency communications until corrected. 
Alternative 4)  Redesign system and increase reliability by replacing obsolete equipment,
increasing capacity by upsizing equipment, eliminating single points of failure, and providing
redundant power feeders. 
Cost: $4,555,238 
Pros: This option would result in a redundant system capable o f supporting emergency
communications for critical airport functions in the event of power outage or equipment failure. 
Cons: This is the most expensive project alternative and requires one to two additional months to
complete. 
The recommendation is to pursue Alternate 4. This option replaces current obsolete
equipment with new equipment sized properly for current and future needs and reduces the
vulnerability of the existing system by installing redundancy and eliminating single points of
failure.

COMMISSION AGENDA 
Ted Fick, Chief Executive Officer 
April 6, 2015 
Page 6 of 6 
ATTACHMENTS TO THIS REQUEST 
PowerPoint Presentation. 
PREVIOUS COMMISSION ACTIONS OR BRIEFINGS 
June 28, 2007 - Commission authorized design, advertisement, award, and construction
of the C4 UPS system for $2,336,000.