SR - AGR-6334 - WEBSITE REDESIGN DEVEOLOPMENT & IMPLEMENTATION SERVICESo� •'S
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AGENDA ITEM
April 12, 2016
TO: Honorable Mayor and
Members of the City Council
THRU: Rick Otto
City Manager
FROM: William M. Kolbow
Finance Director
ReviewedNerified B
City Manager
Finance Direct
To Be Presented By: Will Kolbow
Cons Calendar _
City Mgr Rpts
Council Reports _
Legal Affairs
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Public Hrgs
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Plan /Environ
1. SUBJECT
Award of Bid No. 156 -26; Website Redesign, Development, Conversion and
Implementation Services
2. SUMMARY
The City requested proposals from qualified consultants for the redesign, development,
conversion and implementation to replace the City's current website. Three qualified responses
were received. After evaluating the proposals and interviewing all three responders, staff is
recommending award of the master services agreement to CivicPlus of Manhattan, KS in the
amount of $53,640. Staff is also recommending a transfer of $70,000 to cover the cost of the
services, plus the cost of additional modules and contingencies related to the website design.
3. RECOMMENDED ACTIONS
1) Approve a Master Services Agreement with CivicPlus in the amount of $53,640 for the
redesign, conversion and implementation services required to replace the City's website and
authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute the contract on behalf of the City.
2) Authorize the transfer of $70,000 from expenditure account number 790.1601.56033.19640,
"Computer Replacement Fund — Information Technology Upgrades" to expenditure account
number 790.1601.56033.20274, "Computer Replacement Fund — Internet Website Upgrades ".
4. FISCAL IMPACT
Upon transfer, funds will be available to cover the cost of the website redesign, development and
conversion and implementation services as follows:
790.1601.56033.20274 Computer Replacement Fund — Internet Website Upgrades $70,000
ITEM a.I 1 4/12/2016
5. STRATEGIC PLAN GOAL(S)
4a. Provide outstanding public services — Enhance technology to improve public accessibility to
information and services.
6. GENERAL PLAN IMPLEMENTATION
Not applicable.
7. DISCUSSION and BACKGROUND
Background
The City's website, which was developed by the website platform and design firm of Civica, was
last updated in 2003. Since then, technology has advanced tremendously as consumer bandwidth
and online capabilities have grown. As such, the website as an effective communications tool
has diminished. Nonetheless, the website plays a vital role in communicating to the public. On a
monthly basis, the City website has approximately 40,000 distinct visits, which reflects that the
community relies on the website for relevant information about City operations. The
proliferation of mobile devices has also impacted the effect of the website, as it is not easily
converted for reading in a mobile format.
Discussion
One of the priorities of the City has been to improve the way in which we communicate with the
public. Enhancing the City's website is a major step toward achieving that goal. A website
committee was formed consisting of members from the City Manager's office, the Community
Services Department, the Community Development Department, the Finance Department, and
Information Technology staff to evaluate alternatives for updating the City's website. The
committee spoke with other Orange County cities to see which companies they were using for
their website. The committee also visited the cities' websites to evaluate the quality of work of
the various vendors.
Based on the evaluation, it was discovered that almost all cities that outsource their website
services in Orange County use one of three vendors: Civica, CivicPlus, and Vision Internet. Of
those websites that have been updated over the past few years, all of them looked modern and
were functionally superior to the City's website. The committee then collaborated to prepare a
Request for Proposal (RFP), based on their findings, to bring the City's website up to today's
standards of functionality and technology.
City staff requested proposals from three qualified website firms. Three proposals were received,
and a sub - committee consisting of the Economic Development Manager, the Information
Technology Manager (from Xerox /ACS), the Public Information Officer, and the Library
Technical Support Services Manager conducted interviews with the three vendors. The firms
were ranked, based on their proposals and interviews, as follows:
ITEM 2 4/12/2016
Rank
Firm
Avera a Score
1
CivicPlus
75
2
Civica
68
3
Vision Internet
63
Although the end product of each of the three vendors were similar, CivicPlus's approach to the
project and high ranks in customer satisfaction from references were the areas that put them at
the top. CivicPlus has a proven track record of success and their customers stated that their
technical support after the initial project is completed is excellent. CivicPlus provides websites
for more than 2,000 clients. Some cities in California that they currently serve include Anaheim,
La Habra, Lake Forest, Laguna Hills, Rancho Santa Margarita, and Rancho Palos Verdes. The
committee also felt that the current vendor, Civica, has struggled to provide satisfactory support
of the current website and failed to address how their service would improve if we stayed with
them.
Staff initiated fee negotiations with CivicPlus because their fee exceeded our budget. After
negotiating some of the items that the City felt were unnecessary, a price point was reached that
was within budget while still providing the services necessary to successfully complete the
project. While certain elements were removed from their initial proposal, included in the fee is a
website redesign after four years of continuous service. Although the price, after negotiations,
was still higher than Civica, the committee felt the superior quality of service provided by
CivicPlus was worth the premium. In addition to the services outlined in the Master Services
Agreement, CivicPlus offers additional functionality options to add or enhance features to the
website.
The website committee will work closely with CivicPlus through the process of executing the
project. There are five phases to the project. Phase one includes reviewing goals and
expectations and reviewing the current website and related statistics to figure out which sections
are most relevant. Phase two involves developing the layout of the website, using rough sketches
and strategizing on the color pallet of the website. For phase three, CivicPlus will deliver the
website design and production, to which the website committee will provide feedback and
collaborate with CivicPlus on any needed changes. Phase four is staff training on the content
management of the site. Finally, phase five is the go live, where CivicPlus will monitor the
website and address any system issues, and City staff will test functionality of the website and
report issue to CivicPlus for resolution. Based on the timeline proposed, the go live date for the
website is scheduled for the fall of 2016. More details on project implementation and timeline
can be found in the CivicPlus proposal, attached to this staff report.
The structure of the funds transfer is such that appropriated funds in the generic Information
Technology Upgrade project, which included funds for the website upgrade, are moved to a
project that is set up specifically for the website upgrade.
The cost of the website redesign is $53,640. This fee includes the design and execution of the
new website, as well as the first year of support and hosting. Beginning in year two of the
contract, the annual maintenance, support and hosting of the website is $8,999.
ITEM 3 4/12/2016
18. ATTACHMENTS
Master Services Agreement with CivicPlus
CivicPlus Proposal
ITEM 4 4/12/2016