City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: CONSENT CALENDAR
Lead Department: Utilities
Meeting Date: February 5, 2024
Staff Report: 2311-2281
TITLE
Approval of Amendment No. 2 to Contract S23184693 with Infosend, Inc. for Printing Services for the Utilities Department Programs and Projects to add $300,000 for a New Total Not to Exceed Amount of $555,000, and to Amend the Schedule of Rates. CEQA status: not a project.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that Council approve and authorize the City Manager or their designee to execute Amendment Number 2 to contract S23184693 with Infosend, Inc. for printing services for the Utilities Department Programs and Projects to add $300,000 for a total not to exceed amount of $555,000 through January 31, 2026, and to amend the schedule of rates to include more types of printing services without increasing existing per-unit costs.
BACKGROUND
On February 1, 2023, the City awarded a contract to Infosend, Inc. to provide print services for the Utilities Department communication and outreach requirements. Printed materials are needed for communication on regulatory actions, rates, safety, infrastructure projects, customer programs, and customer service. Print services include, but are not limited to, monthly utility bill inserts, full page brochures, triple and bifold brochures, door hangers, envelopes, letterhead, flyers, posterboards, and more.
Contracting with an outside print vendor is necessary because currently, the City’s Print Shop and mail room do not have the resources to perform this work in-house. Many of the Department’s print needs are high volume specialty items that require unique formatting, layout, folding, and mailing. The City’s Print Shop is unable to meet these needs at this time, however Utilities will work with the Print Shop in the coming year to determine whether more print materials can be shifted to in-house printing.
Based on staff’s original estimates, Infosend, Inc. was awarded a contract of $255,000 for a total amount not to exceed $85,000 per year, for a three-year term. The original estimated contract
dollar amount with Infosend, Inc. is not sufficient to cover the costs for these print services and therefore the annual not to exceed amount is recommended to be increased.
DISCUSSION
The City of Palo Alto Utilities (CPAU) Department provides electric, natural gas, water, and wastewater services to approximately 29,500 customers. Fiber optic service is currently available to commercial customers. Use of printed communication and outreach materials for the community are critical to the Utilities Department achieving its mission of providing safe, reliable, cost-effective, and sustainable services.
Printed materials are necessary for CPAU to meet Federal and State regulatory requirements for public outreach about critical items such as gas safety awareness, drinking water quality, utilities rates, crisis, and emergency situations. Implementation and outreach about residential and non- residential customer programs are key to enable CPAU to meet mandates and goals for energy and water efficiency savings. Print services ensure CPAU informs customers about utility billing, meter reading, low-income customer programs, and account management services through the online MyCPAU portal.
Per City rules and regulations, CPAU provides printed notifications to the public for capital improvement, operations, and maintenance projects. Local policies adopted by City Council such as the Sustainability and Climate Action Plan (S/CAP) require extensive customer outreach and marketing for participation in programs and initiatives to meet established goals. CPAU continues to introduce new technologies to improve customer service through adoption of a new Outage Management System (OMS), Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), and fiber optic services.
These endeavors require expansive outreach through print and digital means.
During the first year of the contract with Infosend, Inc. it became evident that the original dollar amount allocated was insufficient to cover the costs for these print services. Staff recommend increasing the annual not to exceed amount. Staff also recommends amending the schedule of rates to include additional types of printing services without raising the unit pricing for the printing services already addressed in the agreement.
While Infosend’s unit pricing has remained the same, more services from Infosend have been needed than originally anticipated. New programs and initiatives this year created the need for additional print services beyond the original estimate and additional programs are in development to align with the City’s Sustainability and Climate Action Plan (S/CAP), beneficial electrification for homes, buildings, and the transportation sector, and energy and water efficiency mandates. Over the years, additional outreach is required to meet compliance for regulations such as gas safety awareness, drinking water quality, and utilities rates.
Print estimates for different types of materials that have informed this recommended contract not to exceed funding are below. These quantities and type of print materials will vary throughout the year based on programmatic and outreach needs as well as in house capacity. 1) Monthly utility bill inserts: 600,000 quantity
2) Direct mail postcards: 160,000 quantity
3) Brochures: 100,000 quantity
4) Rate changes notifications: 75,000 quantity
5) Miscellaneous projects: 30,000 quantity
Bid Process
The City issued a Request for Proposal through PlanetBids on August 16, 2022 to identify providers with experience working with municipal utilities to provide printing services.
Proposals were due on September 9, 2022. Table 1 summarizes the solicitation process:
Based on the evaluation, staff selected Infosend because of their municipal experience and lowest cost proposal. The award of the contract does not guarantee Infosend will be assigned any dollar amount, quantity, or type of printing materials.
As a result of Council’s approval to maintain in-house print and mail services ( Agenda Item 5; Staff Report 2310-2165) 1, Utilities will work with the Print Shop to provision services in-house.
The Print Shop is in the process of adding resources following Council’s approval in late 2023, which will increase capacity.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
Funding for FY 2024 is available in the FY 2024 Utilities Operating Budget. Funding for subsequent years is subject to City Council approval of the annual appropriation of funds through the annual 1 Agenda Item 5, Staff Report 2310-2165
https://cityofpaloalto.primegov.com/Portal/Meeting?meetingTemplateId=13056 Proposal Description
Utilities Printing
Services (RFP 184693)
Length of Service 3 years
Number of notices sent to vendors 232
Number of proposals downloaded by vendors 22
Bids received 7
Table 1: Summary of Solicitation Process
budget process. Table 2 summarizes the breakdown of the amendment amount for the term of the contract.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This activity is not a project under California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as defined in CEQA Guidelines, section 15378.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Contract Infosend, Inc., Amendment No. 2 (S23184693) APPROVED BY:
Dean Batchelor, Director Utilities
Staff: Catherine Elvert, Utilities Communications Manager Year Original Amendment Total
1 85,000$ 50,000$ 135,000$
2 85,000$ 125,000$ 210,000$
3 85,000$ 125,000$ 210,000$
Total 255,000$ 300,000$ 555,000$
Table 2: Breakdown of Amendment