REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS RFP# RFP03-1036W MACON COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS PUBLIC WIFI AND SECURITY

Description: Request for Proposals - Macon County Fairgrounds Public WiFi and Security Proposals, subject to the conditions and specifications herein, are invited for furnishing the services described in this Request for Proposals. Proposals will be received by the Macon County Finance Department until 3:30 p.m. local time on Wednesday, December 16, 2026. Proposals received after this deadline will not be considered. 1. Introduction and Background 1. Macon County (the "County") is requesting proposals from qualified Vendors to furnish, install, configure, and test a public and secure WiFi network and a video surveillance system at the Macon County Fairgrounds (the "Fairgrounds"). The system will provide high-speed secure WiFi for ecommerce vendors, group programs, and other events; public WiFi for visitors; and video surveillance of key areas of the property, all supported by remote management and monitoring. 2. Aerial photographs of the Fairgrounds property, showing the buildings and areas to be served, are included in Appendix A. A proposed network plan is included in Appendix B. 3. The Fairgrounds property is owned and managed by the Macon County Fairgrounds Association, a 501(c)(3) organization (the "Association"), and is financially supported by Macon County, revenue from events, and private donations. The property has a long history of hosting annual county fairs and other community events. 4. Because the property's copper landlines are being retired, the Association has contracted with an internet service provider (ISP) for fiber service to the Alumni building at the entrance, which serves as the property administrative office. Installation is expected to be complete by the end of November 2026, before a Vendor is selected for this project. Until this project is complete, the fiber service will support only limited WiFi and video surveillance coverage at the Alumni building. 5. Cellular coverage is available in the open areas of the property, but signal strength is weak, especially inside the metal buildings, making it spotty and unreliable for programs, events, and ecommerce activities. This makes the venue less desirable for commercial vendors because it limits their ability to accept credit card purchases. The lack of reliable data service in the buildings also makes it difficult to host programs and events that require internet access. 6. There is no video surveillance around the property other than at the entrance. This creates public safety and security concerns and limits the ability of the County and the Association to use the property for more diverse and expanded events. 7. Because of these limitations, the property remains under-utilized for events that require internet and ecommerce capability. 8. The following appendices and attachments are part of this RFP: Appendix A Aerial Site Photographs Appendix B Proposed Fairgrounds Network Plan Attachment 1 Non-Collusion Affidavit Attachment 2 Request for Proposal Form 2. Goals and Objectives Primary Goal 1. Expand public and protected WiFi availability and increase video surveillance capability throughout the Fairgrounds property so that it can better support events, vendors, and public safety. Secondary Goals 2. Provide high-speed secure WiFi to support ecommerce vendors, group programs, and other events in the following areas: a. Buildings A, B, C, and D. b. The north vendor and parking field. c. The Show Arena and Show Arena Building, to support video streaming and ecommerce in conjunction with events such as auctions and competitions. 3. Provide public WiFi to improve data access for cell phones in the following areas: a. Buildings A, B, C, and D. b. Throughout the Fairgrounds property. 4. Provide video surveillance coverage of the following areas: a. The entrance, promenade, and concession pavilion areas. b. The Show Arena. c. The north vendor and parking field. 5. Provide a WiFi and video network that supports remote management and monitoring. 3. Scope and Requirements (selected highlights) 1. The network will be supported by the Association's fiber WAN connection at the Alumni building, which is procured separately and is not part of this RFP. 2. Primary gateway equipment shall be located in the Alumni building, housed in a mounted and lockable rack enclosure, have UPS power backup, and have all cable runs at the Alumni building terminated via patch panel. 3. Remote data connections shall use fiber optic cable with 10 Gbps capacity; remote fiber optic cable runs shall be enclosed in conduit or duct. 4. Remote switch/PoE nodes shall be enclosed in lockable enclosures (weather tight where applicable); the remote switch/PoE node serving Buildings A, B, C, and D shall have UPS backup. 5. All exterior cameras and access points must be outdoor rated. 6. The network, wireless, gateway, switching, network management, camera management, video recording, and surveillance components shall utilize the Ubiquiti UniFi platform products. The UniFi Network application will be used to manage the WAN, LAN, and WiFi, and the UniFi Protect application to manage the cameras and video recording (NVR). Proposed alternate platforms will not be accepted. Enclosures, cable, conduit, terminations, SFP modules, and power equipment are not required to be Ubiquiti products. 7. The Vendor shall furnish and install the network equipment, cable, conduit, enclosures, and terminations required to meet the requirements of this section. 8. The Vendor shall identify in its proposal any new electrical circuits required to serve network equipment. The Vendor is not required to coordinate or install power connections. The County is responsible for providing any new circuits so identified. 9. The Vendor shall configure and test the completed WiFi and video surveillance systems, including the capability for remote management and monitoring. Initial configuration will be agreed upon between the Vendor and Macon County IT. 10. The fiber WAN connection is expected to be active at the Alumni building before the Vendor begins work. The ISP provides an IP handoff from its ONT, which the Association will initially connect to an ISP-provided router. When the new network is ready, the Vendor shall connect the primary gateway to that handoff and the ISP-provided router will be retired. The Vendor is not responsible for procuring, installing, or upgrading this connection. 11. The Vendor must hold all North Carolina licenses and registrations including but not limited to those required by N.C. Gen. Stat. Chapter 74D (Security Systems Licensing Act) and by N.C. Gen. Stat. § 87-43.3 and 21 NCAC 18B (Security Systems Business License, Licensed Qualifying Agent, Registration of Installing Technicians, Low Voltage Electrical License). 12. Warranty: The Vendor shall provide a minimum one (1) year warranty commencing upon final acceptance of the Project by Macon County covering installation workmanship and labor, configuration and programming services, defects in materials supplied by the Vendor, repair or replacement of defective equipment, and troubleshooting and corrective services necessary to restore system functionality. The Vendor shall respond to warranty service requests within two (2) business days of notification by the County and shall provide all applicable manufacturer warranties and assign such warranties to the County upon final acceptance. Proposal submission schedule and mandatory site walk-through are specified in Section 4 of the RFP.