Efforts by the Court to renew its lease for the San Fernando Valley Division building are in the closing phase. The lease is to be signed by the lessor and GSA by February 2011.
The Court communicated to the Ninth Circuit its decision to exercise a five-year lease extension for the Northern Division Bankruptcy Court building. The extension has not yet been enacted because GSA is still in the process of negotiating a more favorable rental rate on the building. The extension is expected to be enacted in early 2011, and the new lease will be effective in 2012.
A new air conditioning unit was installed in the Northern Division's server room in October. The new unit replaces the inefficient older unit that recently began failing due to wear and tear from age. With the new unit, Northern Division should avoid any potential disruptions to their operations.
In June, the Clerk's Office completed an extensive reconfiguration of the Los Angeles Division Records area. The redesign created a more efficient layout for the mailroom and records area, and increased storage capacity for IT equipment and additional workspace for the Office Services department. The project, which ran from August 2009 to June 2010, repurposed nearly 18,000 square feet of space.
In order to address updated power and data requirements, the Court is in the process of removing the existing bulky Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) systems in the divisional offices and reconfiguring the space to support rack mounted UPS systems. The upgraded UPS systems allow the network to be safely shut down during a loss of power, thereby preventing loss of data or damage to the network. The UPS systems in the San Fernando Valley and Santa Ana Divisions were completed in May, and Riverside Division's UPS systems were completed in June. The Court is awaiting information from GSA before continuing the project in the Los Angeles and Northern Divisions.
The Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) for the Central District provides guidance for maintaining essential court functions when the use of a division is diminished due to a man-made, technological, or natural disaster. The plan is designed for activation in the event that conditions require the Court to relocate to an alternative facility that may be geographically removed from the affected area. The Court's COOP has the capability to be operational within 12 hours of an emergency.
Every year, the federal government conducts exercises to help agencies test and refine their COOP and emergency response procedures. On May 18, the Central District participated in the National Level Exercise: Eagle Horizon (NLE10). The exercise focused on testing the Court's ability to communicate during an emergency, as well as knowledge of the chain of command and the Relocation Team's preparation of vital records and equipment needed for relocation.
The outcome of this year's exercise was encouraging, with all notifications distributed on time and the appropriate response received. The operations managers and supervisors were able to assemble in the desired location within 10 minutes of the request and identify their vital records and relocation teams. They were also knowledgeable about the chain of command that would be used in the event of a COOP emergency.
The Court continues to provide stocked emergency supply bags for all its divisional offices and departments. These kits include essential items such as water, food rations, masks, hand sanitizers, and crowbars. The items are checked regularly for expiration dates and can sustain employees for two days during a shelter-in-place emergency situation.
On March 11, the Court's COOP representatives participated in the Radiological Dispersion Device (Dirty Bomb) COOP Tabletop Exercise called CESIUM DIEM. Conducted by the San Francisco Bay Area COOP Working Group, the exercise was on behalf of the San Francisco Bay Area Federal Executive Board, Region IX's Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Department of Energy Radiological Assistance Program. The exercise provided a forum for the Court to critically assess and validate its own COOP plans against the challenges associated with responding to a radiological dispersion device incident.