SUBJECT/RECOMMENDATION:
Title
Approve the extension of a piggyback contract and issuance of a purchase order to Cale America, of Clearwater, FL, for a service/maintenance agreement, parking payment technologies and back-office support in an amount not to exceed $812,005.00 for a four-year term through June 30, 2028, pursuant to Clearwater Code of Ordinances, Sections 2.563(1)(c), Piggyback or Cooperative Purchasing, and 2.563(1)(d), Non-Competitive Purchases, and authorize the appropriate officials to execute same.
Body
SUMMARY:
Since 2008, Clearwater has been utilizing Cale America, DBA Flowbird, parking kiosks to provide an efficient, user friendly method for parkers to pay for their parking in some areas of downtown and on Clearwater beach. In June of 2023, the Council approved a piggyback Contract (#05-39) with Cale America from the National Cooperative Purchasing Alliance Region XIV Education Service Center. Contract #05-39 extended our warranty & back-office support for our existing meters through March 31, 2025, and earmarked funds to cover the fees associated with electronic parking payment technology until July 2024. This item would extend that contract and allow for a new purchase order to sync the fees for parking payment technology with the warranty and back-office support for all 94 of our kiosks on the same terms through June 30, 2028.
The underlying NCPA contract allowed for a continuing service/maintenance agreement for up to five years, even after the initial term of the overall contract, and since Flowbird is the only company that can maintain their products and provide the needed back-office support, we are seeking a non-competitive purchase for these services. The extended warranty and back-office fees are to remain the same under this new agreement for the first two years with a 3% increase beginning in April 2027. Even with the increase, (the first in several years) the prices are below what was advertised in Contract #05-39. The fixed costs for the warranty and back-office support should not exceed $95,880.00 per year the first two years and $123,445.00 for the final 15 months or $315,205.00 over the term of this contract.
The second part of our June 2023 contract with Flowbird was for electronic parking payment service fees for; text receipts, text to extend transaction fees, and pay by text transaction fees. All these fees are charged per transaction at the time of purchase. Pay by Text users and Extend by Text users are charged a $0.35 cent transaction fee that is collected by the City and then reimbursed to Flowbird monthly via a billing/invoicing process. The benefit of the Extend by Text is that customers do not have to return to a kiosk to add time to their parking. Pay by Text allows customers to pay for parking from the onset without using the kiosk. Text receipts are charged to the Parking Division based on a “per use” basis of $0.03 cents per transaction when a customer requests a text message receipt at the time of initial payment. The benefit of the text receipt is that it eliminates paper receipts, reducing costs and decreasing the frequency for maintenance. That $0.03 is also a $0.02 discount from the fee advertised in the NCPA
contract but it is absorbed by the Parking System and not passed to the customer. The number of customers electing to utilize these payment services is difficult to lock down but the popularity of each is increasing. Currently, it is estimated that the costs to cover these per transaction fees will not exceed $124,200.00 per year or $496,800.00 over the term of this contract.
The combined costs for service/maintenance agreement, parking payment technologies and back-office support is estimated to be an amount not to exceed $812,005.00 for a four-year term through June 30, 2028.
APPROPRIATION CODE AND AMOUNT:
4351333-530300
Funds for fiscal year 2024 are available in cost code 4351333-530300, Contractual Services, and will be included in budgets for Fiscal Years 2025 through 2028 to fund this purchase order.
USE OF RESERVE FUNDS: N/A
STRATEGIC PRIORITY:
1.3 Adopt responsive levels of service for public facilities and amenities, and identify resources required to sustain that level of service.
1.5 Embrace a culture of innovation that drives continuous improvement and successfully serves all our customers.
2.3 Promote Clearwater as a premier destination for entertainment, cultural experiences, tourism, and national sporting events.
5.3 Generate organizational success through collaborative engagement and inclusive decision-making to create shared value.
