AGENDA REPORT
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
DATE: 09/18/2019
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Library and Recreation Services Department
SUBJECT:
Title
City Council consideration of CivicRec Software Implementation and Licensing Agreement and General Fund Appropriation in the amount of $55,000 for Implementation.
End
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the City Council:
1. Approve Professional Services Agreement with CivicPlus, LLC, of Manhattan, Kansas, for the use of CivicRec Recreation Management Software for an initial use period September 18, 2019 through June 30, 2021 to include a one-time software licensing fees and program implementation in an amount not to exceed $55,000.
2. Authorize the City Manager, or his designee, or the Library and Recreation Services Director to execute the initial two-year agreement with CivicPlus, LLC, of Manhattan, Kansas, for CivicRec Recreation Services Management Software and authorize the City Manager or the Library and Recreation Services Director, with City Council approval, to exercise two 2-year renewals on a fiscal year basis as provided by Corona Municipal Code (CMC) 3.08.070(i).
3. Authorize the Purchasing Manager to issue a purchase order to CivicPlus, LLC for implementation of CivicRec software license in an amount not to exceed $55,000 for the initial use period September 18, 2019 through June 30, 2021 and approve necessary change orders or amendments up to the amount provided by CMC 3.08.070(i).
4. Authorize a one-time appropriation of $55,000 from the General Fund to the Library and Recreation Services Department for purchase and implementation of recreation management software.
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ANALYSIS:
The City has been under contract with The ACTIVE Network (TAN) for recreation services management software since 2012. The software is the primary tool of Library and Recreation Services for activity registration, facility reservation, field allocation, analytics, and patron account management. The software also incorporates several online self-services including activity registration, access to facility use permits, and instructor rosters.
The department has experienced recent software challenges with The Active Network, most notably their inability to pass through third-party transaction fees to users. These are anticipated to cost the City $35,000 this fiscal year. After several months of trouble shooting the transactional issues, TAN has still not provided a solution.
Additional challenges include a lack of product support, a confusing fee model, system errors, lack of communication, and an online interface that is difficult to use. TAN has not provided permanent solutions to address these issues despite repeated requests. These performance shortfalls have led the City to seek competitive bids for similar recreation management software solutions with a sustainable web-based platform, no operational overhead costs to the City, the ability to meet customer service needs, and a user-friendly interface that works for both staff and the community.
The existing contract with TAN allows the City the right to terminate services with adequate notice. The City served them with a notice of separation effective March 1, 2020 if they were unable to resolve the major software performance issues identified. With no solutions presented since the time of the notice, the Purchasing Department was directed to conduct a formal competitive bidding process for new recreational software.
In order to select a vendor that best serves the City’s needs, the Purchasing Division conducted the competitive process by means of an Request For Proposal, as allowed by CMC Section 3.08.060(H). Staff believes that the RFP conducted for these services is in the best interest of the City because of the importance of delivering excellent service to the general public through a high-performing recreation software platform. Specifically, an RFP allows staff to evaluate potential consultants on criteria other than their bid amount, such as experience, technical competence, product and service performance with similar municipal agencies, and cost competitiveness.
The City of Corona Purchasing Division solicited proposals from qualified consultants to provide a software platform that offered activity and facility registration, instructor and volunteer management, and point of sale and payment processing functionalities.
On April 8, 2019, the City issued RFP 19-025WY, titled “Recreation Services Management Software”. The City solicited seventeen (17) contractors known to provide such services resulting in five (5) consultants submitting proposals by the submission date of April 25, 2019. These were reviewed by a panel of City staff from multiple departments.
The bidder evaluation was composed of two phases, Phase 1 “Proposal Evaluation” and Phase 2 “Presentation Evaluation”. The evaluation of the proposals was based on four criteria: 1. Qualifications of Firm; 2. Qualifications and Experience of Personnel; 3. Completeness and Timeliness of Response; 4. Competitive Cost and Price.
The vendor presentations, before a panel of City Staff, were conducted on June 4th, 2019 and were evaluated on ten scenario-based criteria: Internal System Interface; Customer Interface; Activity Registration; Customer Management; Financial; Administrative Functions; Facility Booking and Reservations; Membership Tools; League Management; and Data Reports.
CivicPlus, LLC scored highest in both phases of the evaluation process. The proposal evaluation scoring resulted with CivicPlus, LLC receiving the highest scores for their Personnel Qualifications and the strength, stability, and overall Firm Experience. The Presentation scoring resulted in CivicPlus, LLC receiving highest scores for their Internal System Interface, League Management, and Facility Booking and Reservation.
The summary of proposal scoring and presentation evaluation rankings are presented below:
Phase 1 “Proposal Evaluation”
|
CONSULTANT |
TOTAL SCORE - 100 Pts |
RANK |
|
CivicPlus, LLC |
825 |
1 |
|
ACTIVE Network LLC |
680 |
2 |
|
US eDirect |
680 |
2 |
|
Vermont Systems, Inc |
640 |
3 |
|
RecDesk Software LLC |
Nonresponsive |
Nonresponsive |
Phase 2 “Presentation Evaluation”
|
CONSULTANT |
TOTAL SCORE - 100 Pts (Cumulative) |
RANK |
|
CivicPlus, LLC |
1703 |
1 |
|
ACTIVE Network LLC |
1533 |
2 |
|
US eDirect |
1332 |
3 |
CivicRec Software is able to provide all of the same functionality as The ACTIVE Network including Activity Registration, Citizen Dashboard, Event Ticketing, Facility Reservations, Financial Tools & Accounting, Hardware Compatibility, IT Support, Sports League Management, Marketing and Brochure Export, Membership Management, Mobile Friendly Interface, Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard Compliance for credit card transactions, Point of Sale system, Proven Competence, Reporting, Data Security, Training, and Volunteer Tracking. Given their capabilities and fee model, CivicRec was unanimously recommended to serve as Corona’s Registration and Reservation Software provider. Additionally, their overall costs are highly competitive.
With the approval of the Professional Services Agreement, staff will begin working with CivicPlus LLC on software training and implementation timeline. It is the intent of the department to have the CivicRec Software go live to the community on March 1, 2020, with the sunset of the existing contract with The Active Network.
COMMITTEE ACTION:
This item was reviewed by the Public Services Committee on August 4, 2019 and the Parks and Recreation Commission on August 14, 2019. Both affirmed the need for a new software vendor and the selection of CivicRec as the best available option.
STRATEGIC PLAN:
Not applicable.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Implementation of CivicRec requires one-time, onsite configuration and implementation costs of up to $55,000. This includes $21,325 the initial product licensing, database creation, staff training, and technical assistance to ensure a successful implementation; $2,661 for miscellaneous associated hardware costs such as credit card swipers, signature pads, and other technology; and an estimated $31,014 in first and second year transaction fees, which will be offset by revenue.
Beyond the first year, no additional fees would be incurred by the City as CivicRec is subsequently paid as a result of third-party transaction fees for both software use (Transaction Fees) and credit card processing (Merchant Fees). For Corona, this currently averages $71,000 a year from thousands of individual transactions.
With the proposed migration to CivicRec, it is estimated that software implementation costs will be fully recovered by Fiscal Year 2021-22 when compared to current losses in transaction fees. Based on the functionality of CivicRec, a simplified convenience fee of 3% can be applied to ensure that all overhead costs (transaction and merchant fees) are recovered by fiscal year end in accordance with the Citywide Master Fee Recovery Schedule.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
No environmental review is required because the proposed action is not a project governed by the California Environmental Quality Act.
PREPARED BY: JASON LASS, RECREATION SERVICES MANAGER
REVIEWED BY: DAVID MONTGOMERY-SCOTT, LIBRARY AND RECREATION SERVICES DIRECTOR
REVIEWED BY: CITA LONGSWORTH, PURCHASING MANAGER
REVIEWED BY: KIM SITTON, FINANCE MANAGER III
REVIEWED BY: KERRY D. EDEN, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER/ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES DIRECTOR
REVIEWED BY: MICHELE NISSEN, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER
SUBMITTED BY: MITCHELL LANSDELL, ACTING CITY MANAGER
Attachments:
1. CivicPlus Proposal
2. RFP Evaluations
3. CivicPlus Professional Services Agreement