TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Mark Danaj, City Manager
FROM:
Bruce Moe, Finance Director
Sanford Taylor, Information Technology Director
Leilani Flores Emnace, Information Technology Manager
Gwen Eng, Purchasing Manager
SUBJECT:Title
Approval of Contract Amendments #2 and #3 ($20,985) to Communication Strategies for Technology Consulting Services (Finance Director Moe).
APPROVE
Line
_________________________________________________________
Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council approve contract amendments #2 and #3 in the amount of $20,985 for technology consulting services with Communication Strategies.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
The Fiscal Year 2014-2015 budget included $450,000 for the purchase of a new telecommunication platform. In May 2014, the City entered into a contract with Communication Strategies (Com-Strat) for preliminary services for $12,950. In May 2015, the City entered into a contract with Com-Strat for telecommunication consulting services in the amount of $32,930.
Staff is requesting approval of contract Amendments #2 ($16,280) and #3 ($4,705) for additional professional services. With these two amendments, the total contractual amount for Com-Strat services is $66,865. Sufficient project funds remain to accommodate these amendments.
BACKGROUND:
The following is a chronology of the contracts and amendments with Com-Strat:
• May 23, 2014: The City approved a contract to Com-Strat to perform a needs assessment, prepare specifications and facilitate the vendor evaluation process for a new telecommunications platform. This work was awarded based upon competitive quotes from four consulting firms. Total value of contract: $12,950.
May 5, 2015: City Council approved contract Amendment #1 with Com-Strat in the amount of $32,930 for project implementation.
• November 19, 2015: Staff issued contract Amendment #2 ($16,280) for phone line billing analyses (137 lines) to determine which phone line services should be retained, modified or cancelled. The work was estimated to take 88 hours at $185 per hour, consistent with the hourly billing rate of the original contract and Amendment no. 1.
• May 17, 2016: Amendment #3 ($4,705) primarily includes work to resolve telephone provider (Verizon/Frontier) issues, as well as decommissioning the prior telephone system, the former of which has been complicated by the acquisition of Verizon telephone service by Frontier Communications on April 1, 2016. This will include placing change orders with Frontier Communications and ensure that the City is billed appropriately.
• Total maximum amount of City’s contractual obligations to Com-Strat, if Amendment No. 2 and 3 are approved: $66,865. Of this amount, the City has already paid Com-Stat $39,695.
DISCUSSION:
At the time of issuance, staff believed that contract amendment #2 for $16,280 was within its authority since the amount was below that requiring City Council approval ($50,000). However, the original contract for $12,950 with Com-Strat in May 2014 included language that limited the City Manager’s authority to amend the total contract to no more than $20,000 (an additional $7,050) which was consistent with the Municipal Code authority at that time. As a result, staff is requesting that City Council approve contract Amendment #2 for $16,280 for work which has already been completed, and Amendment #3 for $4,705 for additional professional services. This brings the total contract value to $66,865.
The new telecommunications system is in place, and with these amendments, is $59,822 below the original budgeted amount of $450,000.
PUBLIC OUTREACH/INTEREST:
There is no public outreach required for this item.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
There is no environmental impact associated with this item.
LEGAL REVIEW
The contract has been signed by the contractor and has been approved as to form by the City Attorney.
Attachments:
1. Com-Strat Original Contract
2. Com-Strat Contract Amendment #1
3. Com-Strat Contract Amendment #2
4. Com-Strat Contract Amendment #3