Agenda Report
TO:
FROM:
Honorable Mayor and City Council
Housing Department
October 24, 2022
SUBJECT: AUTHORIZATION TO AMEND CONTRACT NO. 30848, WITH BITFOCUS, INC. FOR ADDITIONAL CONTINUUM OF CARE FUNDING
FOR SOFTWARE SERVICES
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council take the following actions:
1) Find that the recommen,ded actions are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines per Section 15061 (b) (3), the "common sense" provision that CEQA only applies to projects that may have an effect on the environment;
2) Authorize the City Manager to amend Contract No. 30848, with Bitfocus, Inc. to increase the total contract value by $92,761, through November 30, 2023 for a not-to-exceed amount of $511,447, for the provision of the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) software services; 3) Authorize the City Manager to execute amendments to Contract 30848, for five additional years, subject to availability of funding, to increase annually by up to $100,000, for a not-to-exceed contract amount of $1,011,447; and 4) To the extent the contact amendments could be considered a separate procurement subject to the Competitive Bidding and Competitive Selection process, grant the proposed exemption from Competitive Bidding pursuant to City Charter Selection 1002(F), contracts for professional or unique services and the Competitive Section process pursuant to Pasadena Municipal Code (PMC)
4.08.049(8), contracts for which the City's best interests are served.
MEETING OF 10/24/2022 AGENDA ITEM NO. __ 6_· __
Authorization to Amend Contract No. 30848
October 24, 2022
BACKGROUND:
The City of Pasadena, as the administrative entity for the Pasadena Continuum of Care, is a member of the Los Angeles Homeless Management Information System (HMIS} Collaborative. Together with the Glendale and Los Angeles Continua of Care, the City administers a HUD-required HMIS database called Clarity Human Services ("Clarity") which is used by local and regional homeless services providers to enter client-level data. The City uses the Clarity database to generate reports which are submitted to funders including HUD and the State of California and are also used to guide the planning and funding of homeless services. The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), administrative entity for the LA CoC, conducted a competitive selection process in 2016 on behalf of the LA HMIS Collaborative for an HMIS software vendor. City staff participated in that process which resulted in the selection of Bitfocus, Inc. Each CoC has its own contract with Bitfocus, Inc., and the City receives a discount for the software services as a result of being a member of the larger collaborative.
On May 16, 2017, Contract No. 30848 with Bitfocus, Inc. was approved in the amount of $67,660. The contract was subsequently amended annually based on City Manager authority, by an amount of less than $75,000. With each amendment, prior funds became unavailable to Bitfocus, Inc. and only the funds added in said amendment were available during the annual renewal period. The contract currently has a not-to-exceed amount of $418,686 and is set to expire on November 30, 2022. The contract is funded by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant funds.
In addition to funding the ongoing provision of the Clarity HMIS database, the proposed amendment includes $14,900 of funding for the development of a dashboard within the Clarity database. The dashboard will provide staff real-time data on how many people are active in our homeless services system at any given time, as well as information on how people move through our homeless services system which will be used to inform system improvements efforts. The dashboard will assist the City in making progress toward its goal of reducing the average length of time people experience homelessness as well as reducing overall homelessness in the City.
Subject to available funding, future amendments would remain under the exemptions listed in recommendation four and Department staff would assess annually whether updated pricing is still fair and reasonable. The continued and uninterrupted provision of software services under Contract No. 30848 will ensure the City remains in compliance with HUD CoC requirements and will support the ongoing of coordinated homeless services within the City and in coordination with regional resources.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
The actions proposed herein are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines Section 15061 (b )(3), the "common sense" provision of CEQA which applies to projects which may have the potential for causing a Authorization to Amend Contract No. 30848
October 24, 2022
significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. The approval of an amendment to an existing contract to add funding and extend the term will not have a significant effect on the environment and, hence, is not subject to CEQA.
COUNCIL POLICY CONSIDERATION:
Approval of the recommended action will ensure the continued administration of the HUD-required HMIS database and will allow for the creation of a custom dashboard within the database. This action is consistent with the City Council's goal to support and promote the quality of life and local economy. The proposed actions are in accordance with the Pasadena Continuum of Care system, General Plan Housing Element, Five Year Consolidated Plan, and Five-Year Public Housing Authority Plan.
FISCAL IMPACT:
City Council approval of an amendment to Contract No. 30848 will have no fiscal impact as the Continuum of Care grant funds are included in the Department's FY 2023 Operating Budget.
Prepared by:
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Jennifer O'Reilly-Jones
Program Coordinator Ill
Approved by:
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MIG MARQUEZ
City Manager
Respectfully submitted,
for WILLIAM K. HUANG
Housing Director