EAST PALO ALTO
CITY COUNCIL
STAFF REPORT
DATE: March 21, 2023
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
VIA: Melvin E. Gaines, City Manager
BY: Greg Henry, Senior Management Analyst
Jimmie Tulabing, Senior IT Analyst
SUBJECT: Ratifying Purchases and Authorizing New Purchases from Comcast Recommendation
Adopt a resolution waiving the formal bid procedures under section 2.84.070(D) of the Municipal Code to:
1. Ratify the previous purchase of Comcast services through February 28, 2023, in an amount of $16,048.71; and
2. Authorize the purchase of Comcast services through the CALNET NextGen from March 1, 2023, through June 30, 2023 in the amount of $5,100 monthly, for a total not to exceed amount of $40,048.71.
Alignment with City Council Strategic Plan
This recommendation is primarily aligned with:
Priority No. 3: Increase Organizational Effectiveness and Efficiency Background
The Information Technology Division (IT) makes IT purchases on behalf of other departments and divisions of the City. In this role, IT has made individual purchases with Comcast, following the informal bid process as was appropriate if considered on the individual basis. However, in aggregate, these purchases now exceed the maximum allowed by City purchasing standards.
Pursuant to the Comcast Franchise agreement, which expired November 5, 2017, Comcast no longer provides the free use of the I-net fiber for the intra-network connectivity between City offices mentioned.
The City participates in the California Network and Telecommunications (CALNET) Program.
CALNET is focused on providing services that meet the State of California’s complex and critical telecommunications and network business needs. The CALNET Program accomplishes this through oversight, statewide policy, and a suite of statewide, competitively bid telecommunications contracts used by both state and local agencies. Through the CALNET program, currently, Comcast provides internet service to City Hall as well as Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) Ethernet. MAN ethernet is what connects City sites back to City Hall for internet and network access.
On June 7, 2022, staff requested that the City Council authorize payment to Comcast for services through December 31, 2022. At the time, staff knew that beginning in January 2023, CALNET would be transitioning from CALNET 3 to CALNET NextGen, with new services and prices and wished to leave open the possibility of a new provider beginning in January.
Analysis
IT has relied on Comcast for several purchases this fiscal year and previously. Comcast provides the bandwidth and reliability which the City requires. While staff researched other possible providers for these services, Comcast is the sole provider with fiber for internet to the City Hall and between City facilities. As a result, other providers costs within the CALNET NextGen program may cost less than Comcast, but there would be an additional charge for laying the fiber which would significantly increase costs.
While Comcast’s service is provided in a month-to-month fashion, the City intends to use Comcast for internet and MAN services for the remainder of the fiscal year.
In the future, authorization for purchasing these services will be included in the annual IT update which asks the City to review all IT contracts such as Microsoft and other software Licenses.
Fiscal Impact
The purchase of Comcast services through the CALNET NextGen from March 1, 2023, through June 30, 2023 will cost $5,100 monthly, for a total of $40,048.71. There is sufficient budget to fund these expenses. While the City did not bid these services directly, they were purchased through the State of California CALNET 3 and CALNET NextGen programs which were competitively bid.
Public Notice
The public was provided notice by making the agenda and report available on the City’s website and on a bulletin board located at City Hall: 2415 University Avenue, East Palo Alto.
Environmental
The proposed action does not constitute a “project” with the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines sections 15378(b)(4) and (5) in that it is a governmental fiscal, organizational or administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect changes in the environment.
Attachments
1. Resolution Authorizing Payment to Comcast