Administrative
Report
N.1., File # 22-5120 Meeting Date: 11/15/2022
To: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
From: LUKE SMUDE, ASSISTANT TO THE CITY MANAGER
TITLE
DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING THE SELECTION OF A NEW WEBSITE
PROVIDER
APPROVE A THREE-YEAR AGREEMENT WITH REVIZE, LLC. TO PROVIDE A NEW CITY
WEBSITE AND CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR A TOTAL COST NOT TO EXCEED $120,000 AND THE TERM NOVEMBER 15, 2022 THROUGH NOVEMBER 14, 2025 WITH TWO
OPTIONAL ONE-YEAR EXTENSIONS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
As part of the Strategic Plan, the City Council directed staff to “pursue the improvement and/or replacement of the City’s website with a modern, responsive design that is visually appealing, user friendly, simple, informative and easily searched.” To assist in this effort, a City Council Subcommittee and a separate Working Group of community members were created to help develop procurement requirements, vet vendor responses and evaluate the suitability of various solutions for the City. After an extensive process and a thorough evaluation by the two groups of the 19 interested/responsive companies, Revize, LLC. was identified as the preferred vendor to develop a new service-based City website and implement a modern content management system that will enhance online service delivery and improve user satisfaction.
BACKGROUND
Since 2002, the City has utilized the same vendor for its website and back-end content management system. In that time, user needs and expectations for the City’s website have changed dramatically.
Rather than a source of information, users expect the City’s website to be an intuitive conduit to vital services where community members can find what they need quickly and easily. To meet these evolving expectations, Council directed staff to pursue an updated solution that highlights the services most used by the community, with a mobile-responsive design, intuitive navigation and robust search capabilities.
On May 3, 2022, the City Council approved a recommendation to form a Council Subcommittee and a stand-alone working group to help develop information, establish requirements and ultimately select the best vendor to provide a new website and content management system for the City. The Council Subcommittee included Mayor Pro Tem Nehrenheim and Council Member Loewenstein.
Staff then conducted outreach to identify a diverse group of residents with interest and expertise in information technology projects to serve on the Community Working Group. After screening interested participants, Sheila Lamb, Bhavesh Upadhyaya, Dr. Marco Papa, and Bob Pinzler were
N.1., File # 22-5120 Meeting Date: 11/15/2022
interested participants, Sheila Lamb, Bhavesh Upadhyaya, Dr. Marco Papa, and Bob Pinzler were selected by the City Manager to participate.
Following the formation of the Subcommittee and Working Group, a Request for Information (RFI) was released via DemandStar on June 2, 2022 to identify and engage experienced vendors capable of undertaking a complete redesign or replacement of the City’s website. Over 40 firms were notified online or through direct communication, which resulted in 19 responsive proposals.
Each proposal was evaluated on multiple criteria including, but not limited to, usability, implementation and support methodologies, underlying technology, security features, demonstrated project experience, references and cost. Each Subcommittee deliberated independently to select a shortlist of five vendors that were asked to provide scripted, online demonstrations of their products.
The top five included, in alphabetical order, CivicPlus, Granicus, Interpersonal Frequency, Planeteria, and Revize.
Following the online demonstrations, the Subcommittees were united in their independent selection of two finalists, CivicPlus and Revize. The City Manager and staff then interviewed the two finalists to address questions resulting from the demonstrations and to discuss their business models, company acquisition history, growth strategies and how the City of Redondo Beach would benefit from utilizing their product. At the conclusion of this multi-step process, Revize was selected as the preferred vendor to provide the City with a new website and content management system. The selection is unanimously supported by members of both the Subcommittee and Community Working Group.
Revize is an award-winning website provider focused exclusively on developing online solutions for local governments. Their tools are powerful, user friendly and designed to empower residents and business owners to engage local government and quickly find the information that is important to them.
Staff would like to thank the members of the Community Working Group. The group invested a great deal of time reviewing submissions, evaluating each platform and providing insightful questions and commentary through the online demonstrations and internal meetings. Their unwavering focus and energy provided a strong foundation for this process and ultimately led to the selection of Revize as the City’s partner of choice.
COORDINATION
In addition to the assistance provided by the members of the Council Subcommittee and Community Working Group described above, this report and the preparation of the agreement with Revise was completed in coordination with the Information Technology Department, which gave technical guidance and input throughout the RFI, vendor demonstrations and final selection process. The City Attorney’s Office approved the Agreement as to form.
FISCAL IMPACT
The proposed Agreement is for a three-year term with two optional one-year renewals with a maximum not to exceed amount of $120,000. Of the total, $73,200 is allocated for year one implementation and migration, with ongoing licensing costs of $9,700 annually for years two through five. The agreement also includes an $8,000 contingency.
N.1., File # 22-5120 Meeting Date: 11/15/2022
Funding for the new website development, the underlying CMS and the hosting services was approved in the Fiscal Year 2021-22 Information Technology Budget and is planned for carryover in Fiscal Year 2022-23.
APPROVED BY:
Mike Witzansky, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
· Agmt - Revize, LLC
· Insurance - Revize, LLC.
· Admin Report - May 3, 2022