SUBJECT/RECOMMENDATION:
Title
Update on Placer.ai Product.
Body
SUMMARY:
Staff will provide a demonstration of the Placer.ai platform at the meeting to highlight the product’s capabilities and potential use cases.
The initial primary purpose for pursuing the Placer.ai platform was to better equip City Council, the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Trustees, and the Downtown Development Board (DDB) with more accurate, consistent, and defensible estimates of attendance at special events occurring in Downtown and other areas of the city, as well as access to additional market data. The tool allows staff to move beyond self-reported or anecdotal attendance figures and instead utilize data-driven insights that support transparency, informed decision-making, and performance evaluation.
In addition, the platform provides insights into visitors’ origin, dwell time, repeat visitation, and general movement patterns, allowing staff to baseline conditions, compare performance across events or time periods, and evaluate the broader economic and placemaking impacts of City and CRA investments.
In mid-2025, the CRA Department and the Parks and Recreation Department, as the leading departments, expressed interest in utilizing Placer.ai for location and analytics intelligence. As additional city departments also indicated interest, the solution was determined to be an enterprise application requiring a centralized procurement and contract. Information Technology (IT) coordinated with the Procurement Division to ensure the services were competitively bid and that alternative solutions were evaluated.
The City issued RFP 59-25, Location and Analytics Intelligence Services, on September 15, 2025. The solicitation closed on October 15, 2025, and the City received six responsive proposals. A selection committee reviewed and scored the proposals in accordance with the established evaluation criteria at a publicly noticed meeting held on November 7, 2025. The evaluation committee included representatives from the following departments:
• Community Redevelopment Agency
• Financial and Budget Operations
• Information Technology
• Parks and Recreation
Based on the results of the evaluation process, Placer Labs (Placer.ai) was selected as the highest-ranked firm. Placer.ai was chosen due to its competitive pricing, quality and reliability of data, service delivery model, and because it was the only respondent to offer a true software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution.
The total cost of the Placer.ai subscription is $50,000, with funding contributions allocated as follows:
• $25,000 - Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA)
• $20,000 - Parks and Recreation Department
• $5,000 - Economic Development and Housing (ED&H)
This cost-sharing approach reflects both the cross-departmental benefits of the platform and the CRA’s primary role in supporting downtown events, redevelopment analysis, and performance measurement.
A Notice of Intent to Award was issued on November 10, 2025. Following the conclusion of the notice period, the city entered negotiations with the selected firm. The negotiated agreement was subsequently subject to authorization by the City Manager.
Kick-off meetings and initial training sessions are scheduled for January and February 2026. Training will consist of collaborative, hands-on sessions led by Placer.ai’s implementation team and will be open to all licensed City departments. These sessions will focus on department-specific use cases and guide participants through data analysis, baselining, and comparative reporting over time.
STRATEGIC PRIORITY:
1.1 Provide evidence-based measurement tools to continually guide municipal performance and promote accountable governance.
1.2 Cultivate a business climate that welcomes entrepreneurship, inspires local investment, supports Eco-friendly enterprises, and encourages high-quality job growth.
