Report to Mayor and City Council
Tuesday, May 02, 2023
Consent
SUBJECT:
Title
CONSIDER AWARDING A CONTRACT SERVICES AGREEMENT TO MAGELLAN ADVISORS, LLC, FOR A CITYWIDE BROADBAND ASSESSMENT STUDY.
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I. SUMMARY
The City Council earmarked funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to conduct a Citywide Broadband Assessment Study.
The City released Request for Proposals (RFP) No. 23-001 on January 5, 2023, for a Citywide Broadband Assessment Study and received six proposals (Exhibit No. 1). The proposals were evaluated, scored, and ranked. The firms with the top three scoring proposals were shortlisted and invited to participate in an interview. Following this comprehensive evaluation period, Magellan Advisors, LLC (Magellan) was identified as the top firm and a Notice of Intent to Award was released to all the proposers on April 10, 2023 (Exhibit No. 2).
The team that Magellan has assembled is knowledgeable and experienced in broadband development and the City’s review committee is confident that they will be able to deliver as proposed. Staff is recommending the City Council award a contract to Magellan in the amount of $217,600.00 (Exhibit No. 3) and authorize a contingency budget in the amount of $32,400.00 to cover extra work beyond that specified in the Scope of Services. Extra work can be but is not limited to, assisting the City in the preparation of a grant(s) seeking funds to construct, underground exploratory work, and/or design work.
II. RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
TAKE the following actions:
1. AWARD and APPROVE a Contract Services Agreement with Magellan Advisors, LLC, for the Broadband Assessment Study in the amount of $217,600.00.
2. AUTHORIZE contingency funds in the amount of $32,400.00 to cover extra work beyond that specified in the Scope of Services.
3. AUTHORIZE the Mayor to execute the contract, following approval as to form by the City Attorney.
4. ADOPT Resolution No. 23-077 “A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF CARSON CITY COUNCIL AMENDING THE FISCAL YEAR 2022-23 INNOVATION, SUSTAINABILITY, PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT BUDGET, FOR SERVICE AGREEMENT TO MAGELLAN ADVISORS, LLC.
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III. ALTERNATIVES
TAKE another action the City Council deems appropriate, consistent with the requirements of the law.
IV. BACKGROUND
On January 5, 2023, the City issued RFP No. 23-001 via PlanetBids, the City’s online bidding site, and notices were published on the City’s website and advertised in the local paper, Our Weekly. Proposals were due on February 8, 2023, and the City received six proposals. The proposals were checked for responsiveness, evaluated, scored, and ranked by an internal City review committee. Proposals were evaluated based on the criteria specified in the RFP including general qualifications, staff, project understanding, project approach, work plan, and cost proposal. Three out of the six firms that submitted proposals were invited to participate in interviews.
The review committee consisted of City staff from Planning and the Innovation, Sustainability, and Performance Management Departments. Staff from the City’s Purchasing division facilitated the interviews and corresponded with the firms during this formal RFP process.
The three firms that were interviewed did a good job of articulating their firm’s qualifications, project understanding, approach, and schedule. The final ranking results are shown below in Table 1.
Table 1. Ranking
|
Vendor |
Proposal Ranking |
Interview Ranking |
|
Government Technology Group, LLC |
4 |
- |
|
Magellan Advisors, LLC |
1 |
1 |
|
Nationwide CLEC, LLC |
5 |
- |
|
Televate, LLC |
2 |
2 |
|
TeleworX, LLC |
6 |
- |
|
Timmons Group |
3 |
3 |
Magellan’s proposal and interview were ranked the highest among the review committee for several key reasons. Their team is experienced and has worked with several southern California municipalities, the South Bay Council of Governments, and others. They are well known in the broadband space and specialize in planning, designing, and building fiber networks. They understand that faster, more reliable high-speed internet is needed for local governments that want to bridge the digital divide and enhance economic development, education, healthcare, and the quality of life for their residents and businesses. They know that infrastructure alone will not address the digital divide and that they will need to identify barriers and provide insight and recommendations to improve adoption.
Magellan has proposed an 8-month schedule to complete the work specified in the RFP which will start when the City issues the Notice to Proceed.
V. FISCAL IMPACT
This City has set aside $250,000.00 from its ARPA allocation to fund this project. Resolution No. 23-077 amends the fiscal year 2022-23 budget to transfer ARPA funds in the amount of $250,000 from the Public Works Department to the Innovation, Sustainability, and Performance Management Department. (Exhibit No. 4)
VI. EXHIBITS
1. Bid Register. (pg.4)
2. Notice of Intent to Award. (pg.5)
3. Contract Services Agreement with Magellan Advisors, LLC. (pgs. 6-44)
4. Resolution No. 23-077. (pgs. 45-46)
Prepared by: Reata Kulcsar, Innovation and Sustainability Manager, and Tarik Rahmani, Deputy City Manager