SR 02-13-2018 3C
City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: February 13, 2018
Agenda Item: 3.C
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Joseph Cevetello, Chief Information Officer, Information Services
Department, Customer Experience and Support
Subject: Second Modification to Agreement with Avolve Software for System
Customization Services
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to negotiate and
execute a second modification to agreement No. 10279 (CCS), in the amount of
$66,199 with Avolve Software, an Arizona-based corporation, for professional services
related to ProjectDox system customizations. This will result in a three year amended
agreement with a new total amount not to exceed $224,871, with future year funding
contingent on Council budget approval.
Executive Summary
The City uses Avolve Software’s Electronic Plan Check Management System,
ProjectDox, to enable the public, design professionals, and architects to upload and
track their electronic plan submittals through the City’s plan check process. Staff can
review and comment on submitted plans, compare original submittals against
subsequent submittals, and approve the plans online. Last year, ProjectDox was
upgraded to improve functionality and enable integration with the City’s permitting and
plan check review systems. Staff now recommends executing a second contract
modification with Avolve Software to complete system customizations to improve
building plan check processes and expand system functionality for use by other City
processes, such as City Planning’s entitlement review process. The total cost of these
additional services would be $66,199, resulting in a three year amended agreement with
a new total amount not to exceed $224,871.
Background
The City uses a suite of software tools for permitting and plan check review. Since
2009, the City has used Avolve’s ProjectDox as its Electronic Plan Check Management
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System. Avolve Software ceased support and maintenance of the City’s version of
ProjectDox in 2015 due to the obsolescence of certain technical components. After
evaluating potential solutions, staff determined that the upgraded version of ProjectDox
was the only system that provided the essential functionalities to review and approve
plan checks within a user-friendly interface and integrate with the City’s permitting
software, Accela Automation.
Vendor Selection
Based on staff’s evaluation of available software options, the City recommended
Avolve’s ProjectDox to provide upgrade, implementation and integration services on a
sole source basis. The advanced technology and features that Avolve Software has
developed for its ProjectDox system are only supported and can only be maintained by
Avolve Software. On April 12, 2016 (Attachment D), Council authorized the sole source
professional service agreement with Avolve Software in the amount of $158,672 for
services related to implementation and integration services to upgrade ProjectDox. The
City subsequently modified the professional agreement to extend the contract term for
one additional year under the same contract terms.
Discussion
In October 2017, staff upgraded ProjectDox to the latest version and implemented a
new Building plan check workflow process. Since then, staff has identified several
emerging issues which would require Avolve Software to modify the integration. Not
resolving these issues will require staff to manually fix data and increase the risk of
human error.
To date, construction developers are required to submit 27 sets of paper plans to the
City for a City Planning’s entitlement review. These plans are routed manually for review
by various departments and/or committees. This paper-based review process is
cumbersome, inefficient, and environmentally unsustainable. As part of the current
ProjectDox upgrade project, staff recommends expanding the scope of services with
Avolve Software to facilitate the integration and implementation of the City’s entitlement
review process.
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The standard City Planning entitlement workflow provided by Avolve Software does not
integrate with the City’s permitting system. The lack of integration will require staff to
perform redundant data entry in both ProjectDox and City’s permitting system.
Therefore, staff recommends Avolve Software for implementation and integration
services of the planning entitlement process.
These enhancements will enable staff to leverage the full benefits of the ProjectDox
system and eliminate the need to submit paper plans.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
The contract modification to be awarded to Avolve Software is $66,199, for an amended
contract total not to exceed $224,871. Funds are available in the FY 2017-18 budget in
the Planning and Community Development Department and FY 2017-18 Capital
Improvement Program Budget. The agreement will be charged to the following
accounts:
01321.533580 $54,450
C018008.589000 $11,749
TOTAL $66,199
Future year funding is contingent on Council budget approval.
Prepared By: Andy Pong, Systems Analyst - Permitting Systems
Approved
Forwarded to Council
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Attachments:
A. November 10, 2009 Staff Report
B. June 11, 2013 Staff Report
C. August 25, 2015 Staff Report
D. April 12, 2016 Staff Report
E. 2017 OAKS INITIATIVE ProjectDox
CITY OF SANTA MONICA
OAKS INITI ATIVE NOTICE
NOTICE TO APPLICANTS, BIDDERS, PROPOSERS
AND OTHERS SEEKING DISCRETIONARY PERMITS, CONTRACTS,
OR OTHER BENEFITS FROM THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
Santa Monica’s voters adopted a City Charter amendment commonly known as
the Oaks Initiative. The Oaks Initiative requires the City to provide this notice and
information about the Initiative’s requirements. You may obtain a full copy of the Initiative’s
text from the City Clerk.
This information is required by City Charter Article XXII—Taxpayer Protection. It
prohibits a public off icial from receiving, and a person or entity from conferring, specified
personal benef its or campaign advantages from a person or entity after the official votes,
or otherwise takes official action, to award a “public benefit” to that person or entity. The
prohibition applies within and outside of the geographical boundaries of Santa Monica.
All persons or entities applying or receiving public benefits from the City of Santa
Monica shall provide the names of trustees, directors, partners, and officers, and names
of persons with more than a 10% equity, participation or revenue interest. An exception
exists f or persons serving in those capacities as volunteers, without compensation, for
organizations exempt from income taxes under Section 501(c)(3), (4), or (6), of the
Internal Revenue Code. However, this exception does not apply if the organization is a
political committee or controls political committees. Examples of a “public benefit” include
public contracts to provide goods or services worth more than $25,000 or a land use
approval worth more than $25,000 over a 12-month period.
In order to facilitate compliance with the requirements of the Oaks Initiative, the City
compiles and maintains certain information. That information includes the name of any
person or persons who is seeking a “public benefit.” If the “public benefit” is sought by an
entity, rather than an individual person, the information includes the name of every person
who is: (a) trustee, (b) director, (c) partner, (d) officer, or has (e) more than a ten percent
interest in the entity. Therefore, if you are seeking a “public benefit” covered by the Oaks
Initiative, you must supply that information on the Oaks Initiative Disclosure Form. This
inf ormation must be updated and supplied every 12 months.
DocuSign Envelope ID: C55F3D1D-2328-4624-879A-1CCFDA473772
CITY OF SANTA MONICA
OAKS INITI ATIVE DISCLOSURE FORM
In order to facilitate compliance with the requirements of the Oaks Initiative, the City
compiles and maintains certain information. That information includes the name of any
person or persons who is seeking a “public benefit.” If the “public benefit” is sought by
an entity, rather than an individual person, the information includes the name of every
person who is: (a) trustee, (b) director, (c) partner, (d) officer, or has (e) more than a ten
percent interest in the entity.
Public benef its include:
1. Personal services contracts in excess of $25,000 over any 12-month period;
2. Sale of material, equipment or supplies to the City in excess of $25,000 over a 12-
month period;
3. Purchase, sale or lease of real property to or from the City in excess of $25,000
over a 12- month period;
4. Non-competitive franchise awards with gross revenue of $50,000 or more in any
12-month period;
5. Land use variance, special use permit, or other exception to an established land
use plan, where the decision has a value in excess of $25,000;
6. Tax “abatement, exception, or benefit” of a value in excess of $5,000 in any 12-
month period; or
7. Payment of “cash or specie” of a net value to the recipient of $10,000 in any 12-
month period.
Name(s) of persons or entities receiving public benefit:
Name(s) of trustees, directors, partners, and officers:
Name(s) of persons with more than a 10% equity, participation, or revenue interest:
Prepared by: ____________________________Title: __________________________
Signature: ______________________________________ Date: ________________
Email: ____________________________________ Phone: ____________________
FOR CITY USE ONLY:
Bid/PO/Contract # ____________________________ Permit # ___________________________
DocuSign Envelope ID: C55F3D1D-2328-4624-879A-1CCFDA473772
Ronald Loback, Gary Heath, and Carl Strain
CFO
jmayne@avolvesoftware.com
Avolve Software Corporation
Jay Mayne
Ronald Loback, Gary Heath, and Carl Strain
1/17/2018
REFERENCE:
Modified Agreement
No. 10279
(CCS)