Council approves $400K in purchases
Contracts include software, hardware and grass seed
The Yuma City Council recently approved several purchases, including almost $300,000 in software and hardware equipment and $168,000 in grass seed.
The consent agenda for the Dec. 19 meeting included the $123,900 purchase of a subscription for a program management information system for the Engineering Department.
The system will be bought through a cooperative purchase agreement originated by the Texas Department of Information Resources from Systemates Inc. of Richardson, Texas.
A staff report noted that the Engineering Department has been reviewing software applications since March. The evaluation process included an extensive online research to narrow the choices to the vendors most likely to meet the department’s needs.
Then in April, six vendors made presentations to an evaluation team consisting of employees from the Engineering Department, Information Technology Services and city administration. From those presentations, the list was narrowed to the four vendors who most closely met the department’s functionality needs, the report said.
The four vendors were invited to provide a more in-depth, in-person demonstration of their system’s capabilities based on the detailed scope of services provided to them. These presentations occurred in early September.
Based on the information presented, the evaluation team recommended the Projectmates PMIS solution from Systemates.
During a Dec. 18 work session, City Engineer Jeff Kramer said that the initial cost of the five-year agreement includes the set-up and 200 hours of consulting help and annual renewal fees, which are less than half of the upfront costs.
Kramer explained that the city doesn’t currently have an integrated sys-
tem in place and the new system will lead to “efficiencies gained and time saved.” The Engineering Department currently uses multiple tools and file folders with internal access only. The new system is a fully integrated program that can be accessed from anywhere and allows collaboration such as notesharing. It can manage the entire Capital Improvement Program, with contractors and managers able to upload information and send notifications. It also automatically creates and sends reports.
Councilman Edward Thomas asked whether the purchase includes upgrades. Kramer clarified that it’s a license, not a software purchase but noted that the company automatically upgrades the software.
Councilman Mike Shelton asked if the license can be canceled if the department doesn’t like the new system. Kramer said he didn’t know and would have to ask the company, but from talking to other clients, he expects the department will like it.
The council also approved a $167,706 purchase of network switch infrastructure hardware through Premier Educational Purchasing Program from CXtec Inc. of Syracuse, N.Y.
Staff noted in a report that the current network infrastructure at City Hall, the Police Department and Agua Viva Water Treatment Plant contains network switches that have exceeded their expected end of support from the manufacturer and cannot be upgraded to support 10GB speeds. The equipment and hardware being purchased will enhance data network speeds of 10GB between these sites.
The network has also been redesigned to offer power redundancy which currently is not available on some of the existing switches. There are some devices that will be enhanced to support 10GB speeds with the addition of fiber optic modules, the report says.
In addition, the Utilities Department has a need to isolate its computer network from the city network, a requirement to enhance security and reliability. The new hardware will make total isolation possible. The existing infrastructure switches are past their manufacturer support term and will be replaced.
The council also approved the $165,676 purchase of grass seed for annual use by the Parks and Recreation Department at city parks and sport fields and by other city departments. Contracts were awarded for $154,756 from Harrell’s LLC, of Lakeland, Fla., and $10,920 from Nutrien AG Solutions of Yuma.
Nutrien submitted a bid for only one type of seed and received that purchase contract. The rest went to Harrell’s, which bid on all five. They will provide grass seed for both summer and winter months.