TITLE
Recommendation to authorize City Manager to execute agreements and all related documents with The Active Network, Inc., of San Diego, California, for upgrades, and continued utilization thereafter, of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine's facility reservation and registration system, at a cost not to exceed $150,000, for a term of three years, with three, one-year renewal options at the discretion of the City Manager or his designee. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
Since 1994, the Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine (PRM) has utilized the CLASS Software System (CLASS) to manage its park facility reservations for over 160 parks, 24 community centers, 96 permitted athletic fields, and 12 picnic sites, as well as over 2,500 recreation classes and 30,000 registrations each year. The CLASS product has been one of the parks and recreation industry's premier reservation and registration tools. PRM has not had the resources to provide for the required upgrades to the CLASS system for several years. In Fiscal Year 2014, the City Council appropriated $150,000 in one-time resources to provide the implementation of a much-needed upgrade to PRM's CLASS system in order to bring it up to the most up-to-date version.
Several years ago, The Active Network, Inc. (TAN), purchased CLASS and several other reservation and registration software companies, and has developed a cloud-based upgrade for CLASS (renamed ActiveNet). This updated delivery model shifts the responsibility of hosting the software and data on in-house servers owned by the City of Long Beach (City) and maintained by City staff, to TAN's secure, off-premise, redundant facilities. PRM staff will only require access to the Internet in order to access the system, which means it is no longer restricted to facilities with expensive hard-wired network connections. Mobile hardware and wifi technology will now be compatible and will allow for the necessary expanded use identified in the PRM Collections Audit conducted by the City Auditor's Office in 2012. PRM worked with the Technology Services Department to ensure the cloud-based upgrade meets the City's technology and security standards.
This upgrade to the City's existing park facility reservation and registration system will help PRM achieve a number of service enhancements for both staff and customers. The upgrade will provide an enhanced public interface, creating an improved, as well as simpler, experience for customers from a personal computer or mobile device, while providing PRM an opportunity to better market its contract classes and rental facilities. It will also enable more services to be conducted online, such as facility rentals. As a transaction-based model, the City is responsible for only what is used and is not tied to set licensing and maintenance fees. The revenue is shared between TAN and the City per transaction, whereby TAN keeps a small, varying percentage of each payment received, based on the type and amount of the transaction processed. Therefore, ActiveNet is scalable and can grow or contract based on actual utilization. Because PRM will always be running the most up-to-date version of the product, it will no longer be necessary to address unbudgeted upgrade expenses in the future. The ActiveNet tool continues to be a leader in the profession, as demonstrated by its use in over 900 communities, including: San Jose, California; Atlanta, Georgia; Chicago Park District, Illinois; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Houston, Texas.
ActiveNet will serve as PRM's standardized and centralized enterprise software solution. The upgraded product will provide analytical tools, such as real-time performance dashboards and enhanced reporting capabilities, which are necessary to better manage and optimize operations, while at the same time, improving accountability and revenue management.
This matter was reviewed by Deputy City Attorney Gary J. Anderson on November 18, 2013, and by Budget Management Officer Victoria Bell on November 14, 2013.
TIMING CONSIDERATIONS
City Council action is requested on December 3, 2013, in order to ensure full implementation and data migration prior to the upcoming 2014 Day Camp registration process.
FISCAL IMPACT
The implementation of the upgrade in the amount of $150,000 is budgeted in the General Fund (GP) in the Parks, Recreation and Marine Department (PR). The City's annual portion of the revenue sharing, based on the anticipated number of transactions, is projected to continue to be approximately $8 million, which will accrue to the General Fund (GP), the Tidelands Operations Fund (TF 401), the Marina Fund (TF 403), and the Rainbow Harbor Fund (TF 411) in the Parks, Recreation and Marine Department (PR). Under this upgraded model, there are no additional costs for use of the software, including licensing or maintenance, and the number of PRM sites where ActiveNet can be deployed is unlimited. There is no impact to jobs associated with the recommended action.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
Respectfully Submitted,
GEORGE CHAPJIAN
DIRECTOR OF PARKS, RECREATION AND MARINE
CURTIS TANI
DIRECTOR TECHNOLOGY SERVICES
APPROVED:
PATRICK H. WEST
CITY MANAGER