SR 04-09-2019 3C
City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: April 9, 2019
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
David Martin, Director, Planning and Community Development
Subject: Third Modification to Agreement with Avolve Software for ProjectDox system
to electronically process, manage, and monitor building permit application
submittals and plan reviews
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to negotiate and
execute a third modification to Agreement No. 10279 (CCS), in the amount of $42,570
with Avolve Software, an Arizona-based corporation, for professional services related to
additional ProjectDox workflow implementations. This will result in a five-year amended
agreement with a new total amount not to exceed $267,441 with future year funding
contingent on Council budget approval.
Summary
The City uses Avolve Software’s ProjectDox system to electronically process, manage,
and monitor building permit application submittals an d plan reviews. Staff propose
modifying Agreement No. 10279 (CCS) to implement three additional City processes
(i.e. Temporary Traffic Control Plans, structural analysis report review, Construction
Mitigation Plans) into ProjectDox to electronically manage, track, and streamline
process workflows. Digitizing these workflows is part of the City’s efforts to work more
sustainably and efficiently and to enable customers to be more informed and productive
through online tools and services. The total cost of these services would be $42,570,
resulting in a five-year amended agreement with a new total amount not to exceed
$267,441.
Discussion
The City uses a suite of software tools for permitting and plan review, one of which
includes Avolve Software’s (Avolve) ProjectDox as the electronic plan review system.
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The software enables the public, design professionals, and architects to upload plan
review submittals and supporting documents online, and provides an applicant the
ability to view corrections and track a project’s status as it moves through the City’s plan
review process. The software also provides functionality to enable staff to electronically
review, markup, and comment on project plans, easily compare changes in the versions
of plan sheets submitted in each round of plan review, and to approve the plans online .
The functionality of ProjectDox and its workflows are optimal tools for purposes of
coordinating and managing the review of projects, plans, and documents electronically.
This type of functionality can be extended for review of other City applications beyond
plan review.
The functionality of ProjectDox as a paperless project management, routing, and review
software naturally lends itself to be useful in improving the efficacy of other City
processes such as Temporary Traffic Control Plans, Structural Analysis Report Review,
and Construction Mitigation Plans. These processes would be improved by using a
template workflow created by Avolve. This template workflow would be used for intake,
review, and management of application and plan submittals. This same template has
the capability to be used for other City processes that are compatible with the simplified
workflow. A brief summary of the three initially identified processes that would benefit
from integration with ProjectDox is detailed below.
Temporary Traffic Control Plans: The review and approval of Temporary Traffic Control
Plans (TTCP) is a process required whenever work is proposed in the public right-of-
way to ensure that impacts to vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian circulation are
adequately mitigated. This review requires intake at the public counter of physical
copies of plans and TTCP application. The communication process with the applicant
for issuing corrections and receiving resubmittals occurs through email, which is
cumbersome, inefficient, and disorganized. Integrating TTCPs into ProjectDox would
move the submittal, review, and approval process to an electronic form that is simpler
and more manageable for both the applicant and City staff.
Structural Analysis Report Review (Seismic Retrofit Program): The process for review of
structural analysis reports requires the owners of properties identified as seismically
vulnerable to submit a structural analysis report prior to submittin g for plan review.
Currently, applicants submit these reports to various City offices via email, physical
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submittals, and/or postal mail. This process can be confusing and makes it difficult to
adequately monitor intake and progress. The use of ProjectDox would streamline the
process and would provide a central location where all related documentation can be
easily accessed.
Construction Mitigation Plan: For more than a year, staff have been working on
establishing a process to require the review and approval of a Construction Mitigation
Plan (CMP) prior to the issuance of a building permit for a qualifying project. The
purpose of a CMP is to comprehensively coordinate the various phases and activities of
a construction project, and the activities of any nearby construction projects, to mitigate
potential impacts caused by the construction such as right -of-way closures/obstructions,
construction parking, material staging, deliveries, neighborhood notification, etc. Upon
adoption of the CMP, the corresponding review and approval process could be
integrated into ProjectDox.
These enhancements would enable staff to leverage the full benefits of the ProjectDox
system and eliminate the need to submit paper plans. Staff seeks approval of a contract
modification for the City to continue to work with Avolve to expand ProjectDox
capabilities for other City processes.
Past Council Actions
Meeting Date Description
04/12/16 (attachment A) Professional Services Agreement for Electronic Plan
Check Management System, ProjectDox Upgrade
02/13/18 (attachment B) Second Modification to Agreement with Avolve Software
for System Customization Services
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Staff seeks authority to increase the amount of Agreement No. 10279 (CCS) with
Avolve Software for professional services related to workflow implementations.
Contract Modification Request
Agreement #
Current Authorized
Amount
Modified Request
Amount
FY 2018-19 Budget
Dept. Account #
Total Revised
Contract Amount
10279 CCS $224,871 $42,570 01700004.529230 $267,441
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Future year funding is contingent on Council budget approval.
Prepared By: Andy Pong, Lead Systems Analyst - Permitting Systems
Approved
Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Attachement A - April 12, 2016 Staff Report (Web Link)
B. Attachement B - February 13, 2018 Staff Report (Web Link)
C. OAKS INITIATIVE FORM - Avolve Software Corp
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: D0A43043-B832-4234-84E8-10AA4DC66091
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 # ___________________________
Jay Mayne CFO
jmayne@avolvesoftware.com 480-526-8780
Avolve Software Corp
Gary Heath-CEO/President
Jay Mayne-CFO/Secretary
Gary Heath, Carl Strain, and Ronald Loback
DocuSign Envelope ID: D0A43043-B832-4234-84E8-10AA4DC66091
2/12/2019
REFERENCE:
Modified
Agreement No. 10279 (CCS)