REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Action on an Agreement Amendment with ELB US Inc. and Approval of Call No. 20.1 for Enterprise Audio-Visual Professional Services in City Facilities [Council Pillar: Deliver and Enhance High Quality Efficient Services and Infrastructure]
Report
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In March 2017, the City issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for Enterprise Audio-Visual (AV) Professional Service Solutions. ELB US Inc. (ELB) was determined to have submitted the best value proposal based on the City’s requirements. The primary need for these services was upgrading and improving the City facilities used for public meetings and advancing staff meeting rooms with new technologies. Since 2017, ELB has provided AV upgrades in the Council Chambers, Central Library and other City buildings. ELB has been providing good service to the City and has been working well with staff to continue to integrate various systems to meet multiple departments’ needs. With the current changing environment and the need for public meetings with remote participation, there is a critical importance for continued enhancements. Staff recommends amending the current Master Call Agreement with ELB to extend the contract end date by three additional years to June 30, 2023 and approve Call No 20.1 which will continue to provide maintenance support to the public meeting room upgrades and implement additional AV improvement projects across City facilities in an amount not to exceed $300,000.
BACKGROUND
On June 13, 2017, City Council approved a master call agreement with ELB US Inc. to address the audio-visual and broadcast infrastructure needs in City facilities. Call No. 17.1 was approved for the initial broadcast system equipment upgrade in the Council Chambers to improve quality, reliability, and functionality as well as provided necessary improvements in preparation for the agenda management and video streaming system implementations.
A majority of this project work was budgeted under the Institutional Telecommunication Networks and Broadcast Infrastructure project that is funded by Public, Educational, and Governmental Access (PEG) cable fees collected from Comcast and AT&T to provide public broadcast services and information which can be used for capital projects to improve the audio video broadcast quality.
On June 26, 2018, City Council approved Call No. 18.1 for the next phase of continued equipment improvements for public broadcast services. The Central Library’s large public meeting rooms, Redwood & Margie Edinger (“Library Rooms”), had been identified as alternative locations for public meetings. To tie into the upgrades and improvements noted above for the City’s audio-visual systems and broadcast equipment, ELB completed an assessment of the Library Rooms to align them to the same City AV standards, and allow for Library programs to be recorded and broadcast as part of the Library’s service offerings.
In 2018/19, City staff and ELB continued to enhance the original AV system in the Chambers replacing the cameras and adding flat screen TV monitors to improve video quality, implementing network upgrades to improve the audio-visual system and modifying loudspeaker placement for better sound quality. These changes have resulted in improved meeting experiences and broadcast quality.
Finally, the City Cafeteria in City Hall serves as the public meeting space for the Parks & Recreation commission meetings and as the designated overflow area for large Council meetings. ELB installed new TV monitors, ceiling speakers and amplification in the cafeteria for improved sound quality.
DISCUSSION
Under Call 20.1, ELB would provide quarterly preventative maintenance service on all installed equipment in the Council Chambers and Library Rooms as well as standard and emergency support of public meetings. This maintenance service continues at the same annual rate of $49,000 over the term of the Call Order for a total of $147,000. With the current changing environment and the need for public meetings with remote participation, there is a critical need for continued AV enhancements. Remote meeting technologies can be used to connect with customers, staff, or business partners in various locations. Video conferencing hardware and software can make a great meeting experience; however, a poor audio or video experience can quickly derail a productive meeting. Staff recommends continuing to utilize ELB as the vendor who designed and installed the existing AV systems and build upon the initial improvements.
Under this Call Order, ELB will also implement additional AV improvement projects in City facilities. Some examples of pending AV projects include [1] Council Chambers installation of Zoom Room Integration: a system that provides an integration for audio conferencing, wireless screen sharing and video conferencing that will remediate the lag issue currently experienced during meetings; [2] upgrading and improving AV equipment in the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) while expanding their collaboration abilities and maximizing visibility to relevant data during critical event activities; and [3] installation of a mobile monitor / display system in Water Department Corporation Yard to enable intra-departmental communication and allowing for more effective trainings. These examples are pending projects that have been scoped out with department stakeholders and ELB will validate need, prioritization, and resource availability. Call 20.1 reserves $153,000 for these types of projects and other Citywide Conference Room AV Upgrades in support of priority initiatives and utilizes additional upgrade services for AV projects that are identified over the term of the Call Order, subject to the annual appropriation of funds.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The action being considered is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15301 “Existing Facilities” as the activity consists of the operation, repair, maintenance, permitting, leasing, licensing, or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities mechanical equipment or topographical features involving negligible or no expansion of use beyond that existing at the time of the lead agencies determination.
FISCAL IMPACT
The agreement (Call No. 20.1) has a not-to-exceed amount of $300,000. Sufficient funds are available in the Information Technology Services Fund for the $49,000 annual support and preventative maintenance services in the total amount of $147,000 over term of Agreement. The remaining funding of up to $153,000 would support prioritized AV improvement projects. Funding of $127,000 for Council Chamber upgrades is available from unallocated PEG fees in the Public, Educational, and Governmental Fee Fund; EOC AV upgrade funding in the amount of $20,000 is available in the Emergency Operations Center Capital Refurbishment project in the Fire Department Capital Fund; and $6,000 is available in the Water Utility Capital Fund’s Buildings and Ground project for the corporation yard improvements.
COORDINATION
This report has been coordinated with the Finance Department and City Attorney’s Office.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Council agenda on the City’s official-notice bulletin board outside City Hall Council Chambers. A complete agenda packet is available on the City’s website and in the City Clerk’s Office at least 72 hours prior to a Regular Meeting and 24 hours prior to a Special Meeting. A hard copy of any agenda report may be requested by contacting the City Clerk’s Office at (408) 615-2220, email clerk@santaclaraca.gov <mailto:clerk@santaclaraca.gov> .
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Authorize the City Manager to approve a Master Call Agreement Amendment No. 1 to extend the term of the agreement through June 30, 2023 and execute Call No. 20.1 with ELB US Inc. for Enterprise Audio-Visual Professional Services in City Facilities in an amount not-to-exceed $300,000, subject to budgetary appropriations.
Staff
Reviewed by: Gaurav Garg, Director, Director of Information Technology/CIO
Approved by: Deanna J. Santana, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. ELB executed Master Call Agreement and Call 17.1
2. Master Call Agreement Amendment No. 1 with ELB US Inc
3. Agreement (Call No. 20.1) with ELB US Inc