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Report regarding a resolution approving a consulting services agreement with Superion, LLC of Lake Mary, Florida in the amount not to exceed $445,256 for a five year term to upgrade the City’s existing permitting system, and provide ongoing maintenance and support, and authorizing the City Manager to execute the agreement. (Tony Barrera, Information Technology Director).
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RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Staff recommends approving a five-year consulting services agreement with Superion, LLC of Lake Mary, Florida in an amount not to exceed $445,256 for upgrading the City’s permitting system, and subsequent support, and authorizing the City Manager to execute the agreement.
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BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
The City of South San Francisco has been using the TRAKIT permitting system since 2001 to manage building, engineering, and fire permits, development projects, business licenses and code enforcement cases. The system is heavily used by several departments and has been very stable throughout the years. When the City first began using the TRAKIT system, the vendor providing the application system and support was CRW. In 2015, Superion, LLC acquired the original company, CRW, and continued to provide maintenance and support to the TRAKIT system, including making several beneficial improvements to the application.
In 2016-2017 staff implemented the online portal of the TRAKIT application which provides businesses, contractors, homeowners and developers easy online access to apply for permits, make online payments, check permit status and renew business licenses. The system has provided significant value to City staff and helped streamline departmental processes, reduce paper, and provide an easy one stop permit center.
Recently, City staff was informed by Superion that the City’s current version of the TRAKIT software has reached its end of life and soon Superion will no longer provide support and maintenance for TRAKIT. In order to continue utilizing the same permit tracking system, City staff is recommending upgrading to the latest version of the application, now called Community Development Software, to continue with the permitting system in place and take advantage of new features. This major software release will include an improved web-based user interface, a redesigned business license module, and integration with the City document repository application. In addition, the upgrade will allow departments to review current business practices and processes within the application and modify it for optimal use.
Because Superion is the only vendor that offers the new version of TRAKIT, City staff did not seek proposals from other software vendors. City staff recommends entering into the proposed consulting services agreement with Superion for continued software maintenance and support. For these reasons, a RFP process would be impracticable and not beneficial for the City. California Public Contract Code Section 3400(c) permits general law cities to suspend competitive bidding and to make sole source purchases of products or equipment in order to match other products currently in use. In addition, the South San Francisco Municipal Code subsection (a) of Section 4.04.080 permits the City to dispense with open market procedures if a commodity can only be obtained from one vendor.
If, during the term of the agreement, the City no longer is satisfied with the system, the City may choose to terminate the agreement at any time with 60 days written notice to the vendor.
FISCAL IMPACT
The proposed contract with Superion, LLC is for a total amount of $445,256. This includes data migration, training, report writing and maintenance. The funding is included in the Fiscal Year 2018-2019 budget.
The cost of the upgrade is broken down as follows:
Professional Services: $88,240
Travel Expenses, not to exceed: $18,000
Year 1 Annual Maintenance: $61,353
After the initial year, the annual maintenance fee will increase by five percent each year as indicated below:
Year 2: $64,421
Year 3: $67,643
Year 4: $71,024
Year 5: $74,575
RELATIONSHIP TO STRATEGIC PLAN
The permitting system upgrade is an action under the Financial Stability section of the City Strategic Plan.
CONCLUSION
The TRAKIT permitting system has been a reliable and easy to use application for staff for many years. Upgrading to the latest version, now called Community Development Software, will result in a better user experience for residents, businesses and contractors, while maintaining a reliable application for staff.