Report to Mayor and City Council
Tuesday, March 02, 2021
Consent
SUBJECT:
Title
CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF CONTRACT SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH MEDIASTAR, INC. FOR AUDIO VIDEO (A/V) SERVICES FOR THE CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS (CITY COUNCIL)
Body
I. SUMMARY
It is critical that the audio/video services in the City Council Chambers function smoothly during live City Council meetings and any other live broadcasted City meetings as well as deliver high quality content to the public access channel, social media, and Internet. Staff is seeking the City Council’s approval to have Mediastar Inc. provide onsite operational, maintenance, and on-call support services for a two (2) year period starting April 1, 2021. Staff is also asking for additional funds to have consultant provide on-call services for remote support of the City’s AV services for all broadcasted City meetings (if needed) and to address unforeseen repair issues that may be encountered during the contract period.
II. RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
TAKE the following actions:
1. WAIVE the bidding requirements of the Carson Municipal Code (CMC) pursuant to CMC Section 2611(e) ("Sole Source Purchasing"); and
2. APPROVE Contract Services Agreement with Mediastar, Inc. and
3. AUTHORIZE the Mayor to execute the same upon approval as to form by the City Attorney.
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III. ALTERNATIVES
If the City Council does not approve the Mediastar Inc. contract, for the reasons provided in this staff report, it would leave the City vulnerable to potential lengthy delays during live public meetings caused by unforeseen equipment breakdowns.
IV. BACKGROUND
There have been significant upgrades this past year to the multimedia audio/video equipment in the City Council Chambers that allow for the broadcasting of City Council meetings and other City events on the local cable stations, social media, and internet. These meetings are a critical tool for the City to communicate with its residents, particularly during the pandemic where all meetings are being conducted virtually. Conducting these meetings requires specific audio/video (AV) support skills and knowledge to ensure uninterrupted broadcasts. For the past year, while conducting live events virtually, we encountered unpredictable challenges and malfunctions that needed to be addressed on the spot to ensure the smooth production of our broadcasted meetings, particularly our City Council meetings.
A seasoned AV technician is needed to support the City’s critical broadcast events (Regular and Special City Council meetings, Planning Commission meetings, etc.) to ensure quick uptime during live meetings in the event of an unplanned failure. Because the City only broadcasts live meetings about 3-5 times per month, there is not enough justification to hire a full time AV Technician to do the job. While non-AV skilled intern staff can be shown how to broadcast non-critical meetings and call in for support when needed, professional AV support contract services are needed to ensure the City’s most crucial live meetings run smoothly without any delays due to technical issues.
Section 2611(e) of the City’s Municipal Code allows the City to dispense with competitive bidding processes by use of the sole source exemption if the City Manager finds that the materials, supplies, equipment, or services are unique because of their quality, durability, availability, or fitness for a particular use and are available only from one (1) source, or, if available from more than one (1) source, can be purchased from the manufacturer or service provider for a lower price. Due to their live and public nature, City Council and other broadcasted City meetings are subject to certain unique real-time constraints when technical issues arise that present issues for AV consultants that no other types of consultants are called on to address, which makes it critical that whichever consultant is operating the system possesses a certain level of expertise in the AV system and all its component parts such that it is able to immediately resolve the technical issues in real time. It is critical that there are no delays in resolving technical issues during the broadcast.
In 2019, Mediastar, Inc. built the City’s current AV system and has since that time operated the system for City Council and other meetings. As such, Mediastar, Inc. possesses a level of intimate knowledge of the system and all technical aspects of the equipment that no other AV consultant possesses, and moreover, City needs a consultant that can provide the highest possible and effective real-time resolutions to technical issues, thereby satisfying the requirement under Section 2611(e) that the services can only be obtained from one source.
The contract awarded to Mediastar Inc. would be for two (2) years for a total not to exceed $130,400, primarily for support during regular City Council meetings and provision of scheduling services for airing meetings on the local cable channels, City website and City’s social media. Of the $130,400, $86,400 would be allotted to these services, 4,000 would be allotted for training, and $40,000 would be allotted for on-call services for Mediastar Inc. to provide remote AV services support for all other City meetings and to address any unforeseen repair issues City may encounter during the contract period.
It should also be noted that the City and Mediastar Inc. currently have a contract that will expire June 30, 2021 for the operational and support services and on-call support contemplated in the contract to be awarded, but it does not provide the onsite AV engineers to run the equipment for City Council and other broadcasted meetings. City will terminate that contract effective March 31, 2021, subject to City Council approval of the new contract.
Staff plans to begin an RFP process during the second year of the contract term in time to enable the City to select another consultant through a competitive bidding process and, unless Mediastar Inc. is selected again, Mediastar Inc. will provide a full knowledge transfer to and train the next consultant on all the intricacies of the current AV system.
V. FISCAL IMPACT
The cost associated with the 2 year contract with MEDIASTAR is not to exceed the amount of $130,400. There is no fiscal impact to the Information Technology department as the $16,300 cost of the first three months of the contract are available in the adopted FY 2020-2021 budget. Information Technologies will budget in the following fiscal years the required funds to fulfill remaining contract amount.
VI. EXHIBITS
1. Mediastar Contract 2021-2023
2. Mediastar Quote 2021-2023
Prepared by: Kevin Kennedy, Information Technology Manager