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CC - CONSENT ITEM: (1) Approval of a One-Year Agreement with TruePoint Solutions for Software Licensing, System Implementation and Integration of an Electronic Document Review Cloud-Based System Named DigEPlan to Accela Civic Platform, the City’s Enterprise Permitting/Code Enforcement Tracking Systems, in an Amount Not-to-Exceed $90,000; and (2) Authorization to the City Manager to Extend the Agreement for Four Additional One-Year Periods.
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Meeting Date: July 10, 2023
Contact Person/Dept: Trisha Perez/Information Technology Department
Johnnie Griffing/Information Technology Department
Phone Number: (310) 253-5950
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [] General Fund: Yes [X] No []
Commission Action Required: Yes [] No [X]
Public Notification: (E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas - City Council (07/06/2023)
Department Approval: Michele Williams, CIO (06/30/2023)
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council (1) approve a one-year agreement with TruePoint Solutions for software licensing, and professional services to implement and integrate DigEPlan, an Electronic Document Review Cloud-Based System, to Accela Civic Platform, the City Enterprise Permitting and Code Enforcement Tracking Systems in an amount not-to-exceed $90,000 and; and (2) authorize the City Manager to approve four additional one-year extensions for annual software subscription, support and maintenance.
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
DigEPlan and AB2234
DigEPlan, a fully integrated Electronic Plan Review Solution by Avolve Software, enables the plan review process to work within the City’s permitting platform, creating a seamless link into the existing portal for document management, workflow and tasking. DigEPlan is aligned to support the electronic plan review challenges facing the public sector.
Some key electronic plan review features include, but are not limited to:
• Embedded automated batch stamping
• Calibrated measurement
• Compare and overlay
• Corrections management
• Document management - permitting integrated with 'My documents'
• External third-party agency review collaboration
• Identity management - MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication)
• Intelligent stamps
• Multi-format support
• Real-time collaboration
• Role-based User Interface
• Specialized review and markup tools
• Standard comments
• Multi-page file and sheet management
AB 2234 was approved by the State of California on September 28, 2022, and other recent housing laws such as the Housing Crisis Act of 2019 (also known as SB 330) have further implemented the Permit Streamlining Act (PSA), a law that establishes timelines for local governments to determine the completeness of a permit application, and a timeline to act on the application once it is complete. If a local agency fails to meet the deadlines, the application can be "deemed complete," and under certain circumstances, the permit can even become "deemed approved." However, the PSA only applies to discretionary approvals such as conditional use permits or tentative subdivision maps (approvals commonly referred to as "entitlements," which are typically issued by the Planning Commission or City Council). The PSA's timelines do not apply to ministerial acts, such as building and grading permits, that developers must seek from building department staff, typically after entitlement approvals are issued.
To address this, AB 2234 mirrors aspects of the PSA process and applies those standards to defined "post-entitlement housing development permits" such as building permits, demolition permits and permits for minor or standard excavation, grading or off-site improvements. Specifically:
• Public agencies must publish formal application checklists for post-entitlement housing development permits, as well as examples of complete applications for specific types of housing developments.
• Local agencies must respond within 15 business days after an agency receives an application by identifying any specific information from the published checklist that was missing from the application, or else the application becomes "deemed complete."
• Local agencies must complete their review of any complete application within 30 business days (for developments with 25 homes or fewer) or 60 days (for developments with more than 25 homes). Exceptions to this timing requirement only apply if the application requires review by an outside agency or if the local government makes formal findings that the application permit might have a "significant, quantifiable, direct, and unavoidable impact, based on objective, identified, and written public health or safety standards, policies, or conditions" in effect at the time the application was deemed complete.
• Most critically, AB 2234 provides that a local agency's failure to comply with the specified timelines is a violation of the Housing Accountability Act (HAA), exposing the local agency to the attorney's fees, mandamus relief and potential fines provided by the HAA.
Accela Civic Platform
On November 24, 1997, the City Council authorized entering into a contract with Sierra Computer Systems to obtain software and data conversion services for upgrading the City’s permit tracking system. Primary users of the enterprise permitting system include staff from Building Safety, Finance, Fire Prevention, Planning and Engineering. In 2000, Sierra Computer Systems merged with Open Data Systems to form the company that is now known as Accela, Inc.
On January 8, 2018, City Council approved the purchase of the cannabis permit module as part of the Accela enterprise system. Accela developed this module to support the various business processes required in managing commercial cannabis businesses. This includes the application process, the workflows required for the processing of applications throughout the various City departments, permit issuance, inspections, and renewals. The State of California and the City of Los Angeles are using the cannabis Accela solution.
The City has successfully launched this module. The Accela solution has been integrated with the existing Accela Automation system, allowing the City to leverage the investment already made and staff’s familiarity with how the software functions.
With technology constantly evolving, many software vendors are moving towards cloud-based solutions as their standard platform. Accela has kept current with such industry trends and aims to take Culver City’s present environment to this updated hosted methodology with their Accela Cloud/SaaS solution built upon Microsoft Azure.
Most recently, the City has successfully migrated Accela Civic Platform from on-premise to off-premise on May 8, 2023.
TruePoint Solutions is a certified development partner of Accela. Staff recommends engaging with TruePoint Solutions for professional services to execute the installation of the DigEPlan software solution and its integration with Accela Civic Platform to enhance the City’s existing technical methodologies to address AB2234, refine efficiencies, and garner productivity gains for City staff and the public.
Pursuant to Culver City Municipal Code (CCMC) Section 3.07.055.B, this purchase is exempt from bidding requirements, as the equipment is a component for equipment or a system of equipment previously acquired by the City, and is necessary to repair, maintain or improve the City's utilization of the equipment. Additionally, this procurement is exempt from formal bidding procedures per CCMC Section 3.07.055.E, which exempts bidding requirements where items to be purchased are computer software, hardware maintenance or software maintenance services.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
Approval of an agreement with TruePoint Solutions includes the following expenditures for software licensing and initial implementation in the first year. If the agreement is extended for the additional four one-year terms, ongoing maintenance and support would be budgeted in future fiscal years:
The Technology Surcharge Fund, established in 2005 as a 4% surcharge on City permits and dedicated to support and implement technical improvements within the permitting process, will be used for these costs. There is sufficient funding in the Adopted Budget for Fiscal Year 2023/2024 in Accounts #41224100.600200 (Technology Surcharge Fund - R&M Equipment) and #41224100.619800 (Technology Surcharge Fund - Other Contractual Services) to support this expenditure.
The ongoing annual maintenance and support expenditure will be budgeted in Account #41224100.600200 (Technology Surcharge Fund - R&M Equipment) in future years during the budget process.
ATTACHMENTS
None.
MOTION
That the City Council:
1. Approve a one-year agreement with TruePoint Solutions for software licensing and professional services to implement and integrate DigEPlan, an Electronic Document Review Cloud-Based System, to Accela Civic Platform, the City’s Enterprise Permitting / Code Enforcement Tracking Systems, in an amount not-to-exceed $90,000; and
2. Authorize the City Manager to approve four additional one-year extensions for annual maintenance, support, and software subscription; and
3. Authorize the City Attorney to review/prepare any necessary documents; and
4. Authorize the City Manager to execute such documents on behalf of the City.