City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: January 28, 2025
Agenda Item: 5.K
1 of 4
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Feroz Merchhiya, Chief Information Officer, Information Services Department Subject: Approval of Purchase Order to Lombiq Technologies Ltd. for Emergency Website Development Services
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt a finding of no possibility of significant effect pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) (Common Sense Exemption) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines;
2. Acknowledge the Procurement Manager’s authority to approve and issue a onetime emergency purchase order with Lombiq Technologies Ltd. for emergency website development services for the Information Services Department. This purchase order was approved as an exception to the competitive bidding process pursuant to Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 2.24.250(i) and was for a total amount not to exceed $6,625.
Summary
On January 7, 2025, the City issued emergency evacuation orders and warnings during the state of emergency declared as a result of the Palisades Fire, which caused a critical and unprecedented surge in traffic to the City’s website (www.santamonica.gov).
The City’s web development team required specialized vendor assistance to immediately scale-up and expand the resources to handle the increased number of users. Staff requested emergency purchase approval to utilize the services of Lombiq Technologies Ltd. (Lombiq), a vendor that had significant experience with and knowledge of the City’s website and is recognized as the industry leader in Orchard Core development – the platform that the City’s website is built on. Pursuant to Santa Monica Municipal Code Sections 2.24.250(i) and 2.24.240(a)(1), (b), (c), (d)(1), staff is seeking acknowledgement of the Purchasing Manager’s authority to shorten or waive all 2 of 4
required notice periods and competitive solicitation procedures for this purchase order, issued during a declared state of emergency, as long as within thirty days after the purchase or contract is made, the City Manager submits in writing to the City Council a full explanation of the emergency circumstances under which the purchase or contract was made. This staff report serves as written explanation, open to public inspection, and presented as part of a regular meeting of the City Council.
Discussion
The City’s website (www.santamonica.gov) is built on an Orchard Core platform using the .NET programming language. Internal City staff, with support from Lombiq, developed the City’s website on this platform. The Orchard Core platform is a free, open source, community-focused content management platform. The platform is managed by community-driven development, and Lombiq is one of the biggest contributors to its enhancements.
Lombiq provides development and support for the Orchard Core platform, which is the underlying technology used for the www.santamonica.gov website. The City has used Lombiq’s services in the past, but the City’s contract with Lombiq expired June 30, 2024, and the full contract authority of $24,100 was spent. During the term of that contract, Lombiq provided insightful and quality Orchard Core platform website development services and accumulated detailed knowledge of the structure of the City’s website. Since the Lombiq spend had approached the $25,000 threshold, a competitive solicitation process was required to procure additional Orchard Core development services. The City was in the process of posting a Request for Bids (RFB) for Orchard Core Development Consulting Services when the Palisades Fire began. That RFB is scheduled to close on January 30, 2025, but the need for Orchard Core web development services to handle the emergency website traffic during the Palisades Fire state of emergency was immediate. Therefore, this one-time emergency purchase order was issued, and will not affect the ongoing RFB process and subsequent award.
Pursuant to Santa Monica Municipal Code Sections 2.24.250(i) and 2.24.240(a)(1), (b), (c), (d)(1), staff requested and received emergency purchase approval to procure 3 of 4
Lombiq’s Orchard Core development services to immediately scale-up and expand the City’s website to handle the increased number of users. To address the immediate need, an emergency purchase order was issued for a one-time purchase for an amount not to exceed $6,625.
Vendor Selection
Exception to Competitive Bidding
Staff requested and received procurement approval for a one-time emergency purchase order issued to Lombiq Technologies Ltd. (Lombiq) to furnish and deliver emergency website development services as an exception to competitive bidding per Municipal Code 2.24.250(i). The simultaneously critical and unprecedented website traffic fueled by official evacuation orders and warnings during the state of emergency declared due to the Palisades Fire required vendor assistance to immediately scale-up and expand the City’s website to handle the increased number of users. Lombiq had previous experience and knowledge with the City’s website, which is built on an Orchard Core platform.
i. solicitation is made under the emergency procedures set forth in Section 2.24.240.
Environmental Review
The purchase order for Lombiq development services is exempt from CEQA pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines. The agreement is covered by the common sense exemption which states that CEQA does not apply, “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 purchase order provided for website development services which does not result in adverse physical impacts on the environment, and so therefore, is exempt from CEQA.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Staff seeks acknowledgement that available funding from the General Fund was approved for a one-time emergency purchase order issued to Lombiq for emergency website development services. There is no future funding for this one-time emergency purchase order.
Purchase Order Request
FY 2024-25 Future Years CIP Account Number Total Contract 4 of 4
Request Amount Amount Amount
$6,625 $0 C0107670.689000 $6,625
Prepared By: Prasanna Joshi, Enterprise Architect & Digital Development Manager
Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Lombiq Levine Act Disclosure Form 01.10.2025 signed
B. Lombiq Oaks Initiative form 01.10.2025 signed