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APPROVE A MOTION AWARDING A PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT TO GRAY QUARTER, INC. AND A PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT TO BYRNE SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGIES, INC. FOR ACCELA PERMIT SOFTWARE TECHNICAL SUPPORT AND ENHANCEMENT
recommended action
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council approve a motion to:
1. Award a three-year Professional Services Agreement to Gray Quarter, Inc. of Atascadero, California, for Accela improvements and advanced technical services for a total not-to-exceed contract amount of $225,000.
2. Award a three-year Professional Services Agreement to Byrne Software Technologies, Inc. of Chesterfield, Missouri, for Accela Software Support Services for a total not-to-exceed contract amount of $125,000.
3. Authorize the City Manager to take all necessary and appropriate actions to carry out the purpose and intent of this motion.
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Summary
The Community Development Department requires the specialized knowledge of a consulting firm for ongoing technical support to maintain the permitting system, continue current efforts to expand online permitting offerings, enhance system configuration to increase efficiencies, enhance ease-of-use for customers and staff, and to increase access to data within the system.
The City conducted a Request for Proposals (RFP) (PUR 20-012) to select a consultant for ongoing Accela technical support and enhancement services. Nine (9) responses were received, eight (8) providing proposals and one (1) declining to participate. Of those eight (8) proposals, four (4) were selected for further interview, and of those four, two (2) were selected for reference checks.
As a result of this process the City selected two vendors, Gray Quarter, Inc. (Gray Quarter) and Byrne Software Technologies Inc (Byrne), which scored highly in different areas. Gray Quarter offers highly specialized services and experience that are directly aligned with Stockton’s specific plans for Accela system enhancement, while Byrne Software Technologies, Inc. offers solid technical and general support service at a highly competitive rate. As a result, it was decided that the most advantageous arrangement would be to utilize Gray Quarter to perform specific strategic system enhancements, with Byrne satisfying the City’s typical need for general technical support and minor configuration updates.
It is recommended that Council approve a motion authorizing the City Manager to execute two Professional Service Agreements, one with Gray Quarter Inc. for a not-to-exceed contract amount of $225,000 and one with Byrne Software Technologies, Inc. for a not-to-exceed contract amount of $125,000.
Both contracts will each be for three (3) years with two (2) one-year extension options, for a maximum of five (5) years, during which Gray Quarter and Byrne will provide on-call services for, maintenance of, and enhancements to the City’s Accela software.
DISCUSSION
Background
On May 20, 2014, Resolution 2014-05-20-1501 approved two contracts. The first contract was with Accela for the Accela Civic Platform Software as a permit tracking software product. The second contract was with TruePoint Solutions, Inc. to provide implementation and technical support services for the above Accela Civic Platform Software product. The implementation was completed in late 2015.
On June 14, 2017, a new agreement with TruePoint Solutions was approved to continue to provide technical support services for the Accela software, as well as expanding their role to implement online payment capabilities and a basic online permitting program. This contract expires December 31, 2020.
An RFP was issued on June 18, 2020 (PUR 20-012) to solicit proposals to continue on-call support, maintenance, and enhancements to Accela. The City received eight proposals
A selection committee reviewed the proposals for completeness and evaluated the proposals against RFP requirements. These criteria included:
• Qualifications, or experience of the contractors with similar requirements to the City
• Professional experience of the individuals to be assigned to the City’s contract
• Industry expertise, or ability to provide advanced technical enhancements and customized solutions
• Capacity, or ability to effectively provide solutions in a timely manner
After careful review of the proposals, four (4) companies were selected for interview, with two (2) selected for reference checks. After deliberation, the committee recommended two (2) consultants with complementary strengths: Byrne Software Technologies, Inc. and Gray Quarter, Inc. to provide enhancement, maintenance, and on-call support services.
Both Byrne and Gray Quarter have a strong base of clients, including California-based agencies. Both vendors also had well-qualified staff.
Gray Quarter’s proposal, interview, and reference checks demonstrated an understanding of staff use of the Accela system and the configuration overhauls needed to increase the efficiency of the system that Stockton has planned. Byrne was perceived as a reliable source for standard day-to-day support services. Their proposal, interview, and reference checks demonstrated technical and customer service capabilities including handling select efficiency projects as requested.
Gray Quarter has also demonstrated additional technical capabilities that are expected to also improve the accessibility and accuracy of the data available for Office of Performance and Data Analytics’ (OPDA) initiatives.
While Gray Quarter’s demonstrated expertise was perceived as the highest of all respondents, due to the size of their team, capacity was identified as a potentially limiting factor in selecting them as the sole contractor to provide services to the City. As Byrne was the next highest scoring contractor in most areas with one of the largest teams available, it was decided that part of the budgeted appropriation for this contract should go to retain Byrne’s services to provide additional capacity and responsiveness for on-call service requirements.
Gray Quarter was selected as the highest-ranking consultant in areas related to advanced, highly specialized and technical enhancement services. Byrne was selected as the next most competent technical consultant with the highest perceived capacity and responsiveness to day-to-day support requirements.
CDD’s strategy is to utilize Byrne’s services for general technical support needs as well as for developing reports to increase CDD’s access to the data contained within the system, while utilizing Gray Quarter’s services to renovate and enhance the system implementation itself for greater system usability and integrity of data.
Present Situation
During the fourth quarter of 2019 and through the first half of 2020, staff, with the assistance of on-call support, implemented new features of Accela which included online payment of fees and permit application/review/receipt. These enhancements assisted in streamlining some permitting services and met the needs of citizens for online services. This additional service became vital during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic that required improving the City’s online services and reducing in-person contact as much as possible.
The services of an implementation consultant have been invaluable to ensure the system maintains its current level of function, in addition to pursuing many areas of configuration updates to optimize the system to increase efficiencies for both staff and customers.
Under these proposed new contracts, Gray Quarter Inc. and Byrne Software Technologies, Inc. will work together to provide specialized support and guidance to continue to optimize Accela. It is anticipated that Gray Quarter Inc. and Byrne Software Technologies, Inc. will continue the City’s efforts in increasing our online permitting capabilities.
Gray Quarter is expected to assist in:
• Optimizing workflows
• Addressing data clean-up issues
• Updating fee configuration
• Enhancing data and analytic report creation
Byrne is expected to assist in:
• General technical support
• Creation and maintenance of standard reports
• Training
Gray Quarter Inc. and Byrne Software Technologies, Inc. provided implementation services and support to agencies such as the cities of Santa Barbara, Oakland, and Fresno. During reference checks, the City of Oakland’s staff expressed particularly positive feedback for Gray Quarter. A list of other Accela projects and experience is available in the proposals (Attachment A - Byrne Software Technologies Professional Services Agreement; and Attachment B - Gray Quarter Inc Professional Services Agreement).
Findings
Pursuant to Stockton Municipal Code (SMC) section 3.68.070, The City Council may approve findings which support and justify exceptions to the competitive bidding process. The following findings justify such an exception:
1. The City has a need for specialized support of the Accela platform and does not have staff that possess the highly technical skills needed for these changes.
2. In selecting a vendor to provide these services, the most important criteria are experience, specialized programming capability, knowledge of the Accela platform and how it will interface with the City’s new Tyler Munis ERP system.
3. Use of the RFP process is appropriate for these Professional Services Contracts because it relies on the evaluation of professional qualifications and performance as the basis for selection of a vendor. The selected vendors were the most qualified in separate complementary areas.
4. The City negotiated the contracts following solicitation of competitive proposals in accordance with SMC section 3.68.070.A.3.
Staff recommends the City Council approve these findings and award a three-year Professional Service Agreement to Gray Quarter Inc., not to exceed $225,000 and a three-year Professional Services Agreement to Byrne Software Technologies not to exceed $125,000 for the technical support and enhancement of the Accela permit software system
FINANCIAL SUMMARY
The FY 2020-21 Annual Budget includes an appropriation of $175,000 in anticipation of this Agreement, in the Development Services Community Development Administration account number 048-1810-510. Fund 048 is anticipated to have sufficient funds to sustain these expenditures each year, as outlined by the table below. Fund appropriations will be budgeted in subsequent fiscal years and subject to Council approval during the annual budget development process. Staff anticipates that annual contract amounts shall be as follows:
|
|
20/21 |
21/22 |
22/23 |
Contract Totals |
|
Gray Quarter |
145,000 |
60,000 |
20,000 |
225,000 |
|
Byrne |
30,000 |
40,000 |
55,000 |
125,000 |
|
Annual Totals |
175,000 |
100,000 |
75,000 |
350,000 |
These figures are based on the anticipated workload for each consultant based on their respective skill sets and the City’s Accela needs.
Attachment A - Byrne Software Technologies Professional Services Agreement
Attachment B- Gray Quarter Inc. Professional Services Agreement