TITLE
Recommendation to adopt resolution authorizing City Manager, or designee, to execute a contract and any necessary documents including any necessary subsequent amendments, with Transnomis Solutions, of Ontario, Canada, to test a system to alert community members of traffic impacts in local neighborhoods via GIS and navigation applications, at no cost to the City, for a four-month pilot period. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
City Council approval is requested to enter into a contract with Transnomis Solutions for the creation of a public-facing, map-based, automated solution to publicize private construction activity in the public right-of-way to alert residents, businesses, visitors, and other stakeholders.
The Department of Public Works (Department) has been looking at opportunities to better inform the public when construction activity is being conducted throughout the City of Long Beach (City). The Department is searching for an innovative method to display data so that residents, visitors, and businesses are notified about anticipated traffic impacts and construction scheduling due to private development in the right-of-way.
This project aligns with the Smart City Initiative by allowing the City and a technology company to collaborate to address a civic challenge through data transparency and efficiency in service delivery. The four-month pilot period will be at no cost to the City.
This pilot opportunity is part of the City’s Smart City Challenge, which follows the principles of a challenge-based procurement, where City staff articulate their challenge without prescribing how they want it solved. It was powered by the Startup in Residence (STIR) program (<https://www.cityinnovate.com/stir/start>), which enables City Departments to collaborate with technology companies to address some of our civic problems. The pilot projects are intended to provide City staff with the opportunity to quickly understand how we might adopt technology and leverage partnerships to drive innovative service delivery for our residents. Interested proposers were requested to provide summarized information about their proposed solution, with the full scope and details of the solution finalized through subsequent rounds of interviews and scoping conversations.
The pilot opportunity was advertised via a variety of methods using the STIR platform and our City platform, with 305 potential proposers specializing in mapping and data solutions notified of the pilot opportunity. Information about the pilot opportunity was additionally made available through the Technology and Innovation Department’s Smart City Program, located on the seventh floor of City Hall and the program’s website at www.longbeach.gov/smartcity <http://www.longbeach.gov/smartcity> and the Purchasing Division, located on the sixth floor of City Hall, and the Division’s website at www.longbeach.gov/purchasing <http://www.longbeach.gov/purchasing>. An announcement was also included in the Purchasing Division’s weekly update of Open Bid Opportunities, which is sent to 37 local, minority-owned, and women-owned business groups. There were six responses received by the May 7, 2021, deadline. The determination was made that Transnomis Solutions, of Ontario Canada, was most qualified to meet the City’s challenge.
This Smart Cities Challenge was intended to solicit innovative solutions to collect and analyze quantitative and qualitative data for active and upcoming construction projects in the public right-of-way. For this pilot, it was imperative the solution chosen presented the data in a digestible and useful way. Transnomis Solutions was selected because they offer an innovative and successfully tested system to alert community members of traffic impacts in local neighborhoods via GIS and navigation applications.
City Charter Section 1807 permits the City to authorize and award negotiated contracts based on competitive proposals for electronic data processing and telecommunication equipment systems, subsystems and related materials, goods and services when authorized by a Resolution adopted by the City Council. In this case, a competitive process was provided and facilitated through the STIR platform.
Local Business Outreach
To align with the City’s outreach goal, Long Beach businesses are encouraged to submit proposals for City contracts. The Purchasing Division also assists businesses with registering on the PlanetBids database to download RFP specifications, and in this case, also provided assistance as needed regarding the STIR platform. The Purchasing Division is committed to continuing to perform outreach to local vendors to expand the bidder pool.
This matter was reviewed by Deputy City Attorney Erin Weesner-McKinley on February 15, 2022, Business Services Bureau Manager Tara Mortensen on February 25, 2022, and by Budget Management Officer Nader Kaamoush on March 3, 2022.
TIMING CONSIDERATIONS
City Council action to adopt a Resolution and award a contract concurrently is requested on March 22, 2022, to ensure the contract is in place expeditiously.
FISCAL IMPACT
This recommendation has no fiscal impact. The pilot services will be provided at no cost to the City. This recommendation has no staffing impact beyond the normal budgeted scope of duties and is consistent with existing City Council priorities. There is no local job impact associated with this recommendation.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
BODY
[Enter Body Here]
Respectfully Submitted,
ERIC LOPEZ
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS
APPROVED:
THOMAS B. MODICA
CITY MANAGER