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TO: |
Board of Trustees |
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THROUGH: |
Jay Fox, Executive Director |
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FROM: |
Alisha Garrett, Chief Enterprise Strategy Officer |
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PRESENTER(S): |
Kyle Brimley, IT Director |
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TITLE:
title
Change Order: Secondary Data Site Change Order 1 - Power Distribution Unit Hardware Upgrade and Annual Maintenance (Tonaquint Data Centers, LLC dba ValorC3 Data Centers)
end
AGENDA ITEM TYPE:
Procurement Contract/Change Order
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve and authorize the Executive Director to execute Change Order 1 to contract 20039139 with Tonaquint Data Centers, LLC dba ValorC3 Data Centers in the amount of $142,990.56 to increase power capacity and associated services at UTA’s secondary data center, resulting in a revised not-to-exceed (NTE) total contract value of $474,302.23, inclusive of one-time non-recurring charges.
BACKGROUND:
UTA’s data center strategy has evolved over the past decade to address increasing operational risk, scalability constraints, and continuity requirements. In 2014, UTA determined that the on-premises data center located at Meadowbrook could no longer support the organization’s growing technology needs due to physical limitations related to power, cooling, and space. Executive leadership approved a shift away from owned facilities toward a Tier III co-location model to improve reliability, scalability, and long-term flexibility.
UTA established a Tier III primary data center through a partnership with the University of Utah and, following a 2015 Federal Transit Administration audit recommendation, secured a Tier III secondary data center in 2016 with Tonaquint Data Centers (now ValorC3). The secondary site was initially sized to support backups and limited disaster recovery.
In 2021, UTA updated its disaster recovery strategy to align with the organization’s Continuity of Operations (COOP) plan. This update established a long-term objective of expanding the secondary data center to full capacity parity with the primary site, enabling true peer-site operations and seamless failover. From 2021 through 2025, UTA made planned, incremental investments to expand compute, storage, and backup capabilities at the secondary site as funding allowed.
On August 18, 2025, the Board of Trustees approved contract 20039139 under state contract MA4577 with ValorC3 and by 2025 UTA completed the expansion of the secondary data center to full compute capacity, matching the primary site. This strategic milestone required corresponding increases in power density to safely support production-level workloads. The proposed power upgrade represents the final infrastructure dependency required to fully realize this long-standing resilience strategy.
DISCUSSION:
This contract amendment increases power capacity in the secondary data center by upgrading from a 208V 30A A+B configuration to a 208V 60A three-phase A+B configuration, providing 17.27 kW of available power at 80% load. This upgrade is required to safely support the production-level compute density now deployed at the secondary site.
Key considerations include:
• The power upgrade is a planned and necessary outcome of achieving full compute parity between primary and secondary data centers, not a reactive expansion.
• Increased operating costs beginning in 2026 and one-time non-recurring infrastructure charges were anticipated as part of the phased resilience strategy.
• Expanding power capacity under the existing ValorC3 contract avoids emergency procurement, market-rate exposure, and operational disruption.
• The amendment supports UTA’s ability to maintain a dual-site Tier III operating model, enabling seamless failover for safety-critical, latency-sensitive, and regulated systems.
• The upgrade aligns with UTA’s ongoing effort to bring both data centers into compliance with NIST Cybersecurity Framework 800-53, supporting standardized access controls, monitoring, and incident response.
This amendment does not extend the contract term or change vendors and remains governed by Utah State Contract MA4577.
CONTRACT SUMMARY:
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Contractor Name: |
Tonaquint Data Centers, LLC dba ValorC3 Data Centers |
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Contract Number: |
20039139-1 |
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Base Contract Effective Dates: |
State Contract: June 26, 2024 - May 14, 2029 |
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Change Order: March 1, 2026 - May 14, 2029 |
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Extended Contract Dates: |
n/a |
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Existing Contract Value: |
$331,311.67 |
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Amendment Amount: |
$142,990.56 |
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New/Total Contract Value: |
$474,302.23 |
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Procurement Method: |
Utah State Contract MA4577 |
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Budget Authority: |
Approved 2026 Operating Budget |
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ALTERNATIVES:
Do Not Approve Amendment (Not Recommended)
• Leaves secondary data center power-constrained
• Introduces operational and continuity risk
• Undermines the strategic objective of full site parity
Delay Expansion or Seek Alternate Facility (Not Recommended)
• Higher cost and longer lead time
• Increased operational complexity
• Duplicative given existing Tier III environment
FISCAL IMPACT:
Operating expense projections reflect stabilized multi-year contract pricing, incremental escalation, and the phased financial impact of increased power capacity at the secondary data center, rather than a single step increase in any one year. Funding will be supported through Operations Expenditure Account 5200.50353.92.
• 2026 Contract Total: $42,433.60
o March - July, 2026: $12,055.00
o August - December, 2026: $30,378.60
• 2027 Contract Total: $31,897.53
• 2028 Contract Total: $33,492.41
• 2029 Contract Total: $35,167.02
Change Order Total Value: $142,990.56
Total not-to-exceed Contract Value: $474,302.23
ATTACHMENTS:
• Change Order: Secondary Data Site Change Order 1 - Power Distribution Unit Hardware Upgrade and Annual Maintenance (Tonaquint Data Centers, LLC dba ValorC3 Data Centers)