Report to Mayor and City Council
Tuesday, September 20, 2022
Consent
SUBJECT:
Title
CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF PUBLIC WORKS CONTRACT WITH DATAGEAR, INC. FOR WIFI IN EXTERNAL AREAS AT 12 PARKS, CITY HALL, AND COMMUNITY CENTER (CITY COUNCIL)
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I. SUMMARY
The overall goal of this project is to support the City Council’s vision of providing free access to the Internet (via WIFI) for Carson residents while visiting any of the City’s major parks or business centers (Community Center & City Hall) whether outside or inside of buildings located on those properties. Access to free public Wi-Fi increases access to jobs, educational opportunities, civic engagement, and critical public services. Since the cost of this contract exceeds the amount that the City Manager may approve, the City Council is being asked to award a contract to DataGear, Inc., for an amount not to exceed $420,272.94. The agreement will require contractor to complete installation and configuration of the network and thereafter, contractor will support and maintain the completed infrastructure for a period of three (3) years. City may, in its sole discretion, extend the term of the support and maintenance portion of the agreement for two (2) additional one-year terms, at no additional cost to City.
II. RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
TAKE the following actions:
1. AWARD a Public Works contract to DataGear, Inc. for the installation of WIFI hardware/software at 12 City Parks, the City Hall, and Community Center.
2. AUTHORIZE the Mayor to execute the contract after approval as to form by the City Attorney.
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III. ALTERNATIVES
1. REJECT all bids.
2. TAKE another action the City Council deems appropriate consistent with the requirements of the law.
IV. BACKGROUND
The overall goal of this project is to support the City Council’s vision of providing free access to the Internet (via WIFI) for Carson residents while visiting any of the City’s major parks or business centers (Community Center & City Hall) whether outside or inside of buildings located on those properties. Access to free public Wi-Fi increases access to jobs, educational opportunities, civic engagement, and critical public services.
By offering free Wi-Fi in all of our City parks, we are providing the citizens of Carson with a much-needed resource. Enhanced internet availability provides an environment for students to work on their schoolwork, increases access to jobs, educational opportunities, civic engagement, and critical public services. Park patrons of all ages would benefit from internet access to enable them to easily obtain information about parks, reserve picnic/field areas and other amenities, register for recreation programs, and sign up to volunteer at their local parks.
Currently, free Internet access for the Public (via WIFI) is only accessible from inside of City Park buildings, the City Hall, and the Community Center. This second phase of the WIFI project is to ensure this access is extended to include the outside areas of the City Hall, Community Center, and heavily populated areas of the 12 major parks (playgrounds, sports fields, pools, etc.) located at:
• Anderson Park - 19101 Wilmington Avenue., Carson, CA 90746
• Calas Park - 1000 E. 220th Street., Carson, CA 90745
• Carriage Crest Park - 3800 Figueroa Street, Carson, CA 90745
• Carson Park - 21411 S Orrick Avenue, Carson, CA 90745
• Carson City Hall - 701 E Carson Street, Carson, CA 90745
• Carson Community Center - 801 E Carson St, Carson, CA 90745
• Del Amo Park - 703 E Del Amo Blvd, Carson, CA 90746
• Dolphin Park - 21205 S Water St., Carson, CA 90745
• Dominguez Park - 21330 Santa Fe Ave., Carson, CA 90810
• Foisia Park (Formerly Scott Park) - 23410 Catskill Ave., Carson, CA 90745
• Hemmingway Park - 700 E Gardena Blvd., Carson, CA 90746
• Mills Park - 1340 E Dimondale Dr., Carson, CA 90746
• Stevenson Park - 17400 Lysander Dr., Carson, CA 90746
• Veterans Park - 22400 Moneta Ave., Carson, CA 90745
On July 21, 2022, the Purchasing Division released an RFP (No. 22-015) for External Public WIFI access in these 12 City Parks, the City Hall, and at the Community Center. The bid opening was held in the City Clerk’s office at 5:00 p.m. on August 17, 2022. There were eight (8) bid responses, seven (7) of which were determined to be responsive: DataGear, Inc. was determined to be the lowest responsive and responsible bidder by our Internal WIFI Committee. Their costs were reasonable and within our budget at $420,272.94.
The bid amounts and bidders from among the seven (7) responsive bids are listed below:
DataGear $420,273
Celplan Technologies $472,580
Netexperts Inc. $480,384
ICommunity Management $540,492
Ubicquia Inc. $551,040
Elecnor Belco Electric Inc. $595,376
AT&T $609,630
The agreement will require DataGear Inc. to complete installation and configuration of the network and thereafter, contractor will support and maintain the completed infrastructure for a period of three (3) years. City may, in its sole discretion, extend the term of the support and maintenance portion of the agreement for two (2) additional one-year terms, at no additional cost to City, because the $420,272.94 amount is inclusive of all maintenance even during the extension periods.
V. FISCAL IMPACT
Funding for the $420,272 WiFi project (PW1738) is available from the following sources:
Account No. |
Fund Type |
Amount |
299-54-520-999-8006 |
American Rescue Plan Act Fund |
$350,000 |
101-54-520-101-6020 |
General Fund |
$70,272.94 |
Total |
$420,272.94 |
VI. EXHIBITS
1. RFP No. 21-015 Bid Sheet
2. DataGear Contract
Prepared by: Kevin Kennedy, Information Technology Manager