HomeMy WebLinkAboutContract 31087CiTY ��CR�Ti�R`�
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CONTRACT FOR CONSULTING SERVICES
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This AGREEMENT made this � da o � U�-�'� 2004 b and between
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the CityofFort Worth, Texas (City), andRice, WilliamsAssociates, Inc. (Consultant), acorporation
duly organized and existing under the laws of the District of Columbia.
WHEREAS,the Consortiumandparticipatingmunicipalitieswishtohave consulting
services conducted regarding cable television services,
WHEREAS, the City desires to engage Consultant to undertake said project,
hereinafter described,
NOW THEREFORE, the City and Consultant do mutually agree as follows:
ARTICLE 1
SCOPE OF WORK
Consultant agrees to perform the following services from a specified document
entitled, "Scope of Services," which is attached hereto and made a part of this Agreement:
Community Needs Assessment.
ARTICLE 2
TIME OF PERFORMANCE
Consultant agrees to complete performance of the services specified in Article 1 by
the end of six months from the effective date of this agreement or a date mutually agreed to by the
City's representative, as indicated in Article 6, and Consultant.
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ARTICLE 3
REPORTS
Reports on the various tasks will be provided to the City on dates mutually agreed to
by the City's representative and Consultant.
ARTICLE 4
COMPENSATION
The City of Fort Worth will pay Consultant a sum not to exceed those specified in
the Cost of Service section of the proposal, attached hereto and made a part of this Agreement. In
addition to this amount, the City will reimburse the Consultant for travel and expenses an for
services during attendance at meetings and hearings on an at cost basis, not to exceed $5,000 in the
aggregate. If consultant anticipates that such $S,OOO limit will be exceeded. Consultant shall notify
the City in writing so that the City may appropriate additional necessary funds, with the
understanding that such $S,OOO limit may not be exceeded until and unless additional funds have
been so appropriated. The City may, from time to time, require changes in the scope of the services
ofConsultanttobeperformedhereunder, includingbutnotlimitedto,the designationofone ormore
additional study areas. Such changes, including any increase or decrease in the amount of
Consultant's compensation and changes in the terms of this Agreement which are mutually agreed
upon by and between the City's representative and Consultant shall be effective when sent by the
City in writing to the Consultant.
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ARTICLE 5
METHOD OF PAYMENT
For On-Site meetings and travel Consultant will bill on a monthly basis for
services performed. For Task 1, "Community Needs Assessment, Consumer Market Survey,
andReviewofPublic,EducationalandGovernmentEquipment", Consultantshall submitthree
invoices each for one-third of the total Tack Cost. The first invoice shall be sent at the stai-t of
the project, the second invoice at the halfway point and the third invoice at the completion of
the project. The City shall pay invoice within 30 days or receipt.
ARTICLE 6
CONTACTS FOR RESPONSIBILITY
Don Williams and Jean Rice will be designated as Project Directors for this project
by Consultant, and to manage and supervise the performance of this Agreement on behalf of
Consultant. Associated with the Project Directors will be staff inembers whose experience and
qualifications are appropriate forthis study. The City shall designate Randy Westei�rnanto represent
it for all matters relating to this Agreement.
ARTICLE 7
TERMINATION OF CONTRACT
The City shall have the right to terminate any contract to be made hereunder for its
convenience by giving Consultant written notice of its election to do so and by specifying the
effective date of such termination. The Consultant shall be paid for its services through the effective
date of such termination. Further, provided a contract is awarded, if Consultant shall fail to fulfill
any of its obligations hereunder, the Agreement with said Consultant for such services shall be in
default. If this Agreement is so terminated, Consultant shall be paid only for work completed.
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ARTICLE 8
NON-DISCRIMINATION
There shall be no discrimination against any employee who is employed in the work
covered by the Agreement, or against applicants for such employment, because of race, religion,
color, sex, or national origin. This provision shall include, but not be limited to the following:
employment, upgrading, demotion, or transfer; recruitment or recruitment advertising; layoff or
termination; rate of pay or other forms of compensation; and selection for training, including
apprenticeship.
ARTICLE 9
INTERESTS OF PARTIES
A. No officer, member, or employee of the municipalities participating in the City
and no member of its governing body in which this project is situated or being carried out, who
exercises any functions or responsibilities in the review of approval of the undertaking or carrying
out of this Project shall (1) participate in any decision relating to this Agreement which affects his
personal interest orthe interest of any corporation, partnership, or association in whichhe is directly
or indirectly interested; or (2) have any interest, direct or indirect, inthis Agreement or the proceeds
thereof.
B. Consultantcovenantsthatitsofficers,employeesandshareholdershavenointerest
and shall not acquire any interest, direct or indirect, which would conflict in any manner or degree
with the performance of services required to be performed under this Agreement.
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ARTICLE 10
EFFECTIVE DATE
The effective date of this contract shall be the date the contract is signed by the City of Fort
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the City which has signed the contract and Consultant, have
executed this Agreement on the date first above written.
ARTICLE 11
MISCELLANEOUS
Venue for any action hereunder shall lie in State courts located in Tarrant County,
Texas.This Agreement shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Texas.
By execution of this Agreement the City does not waive any immunities granted or available
to by applicable law.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the City has signed the contract and Consultant has executed
this Agreement on the date first above written.
RICE, WILLIAMS ASSOCIATES, INC.
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BY:. � � �, � �-�
Don C. Williams, Ph.D., Partner
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CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
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Community Needs Assessment, Consumer Market Survey, and Review of Public,
Educational and Government Equipment
Rice, Williams Associates is firmly committed to the belief that local cable communications can
provide:
• A vehicle for community dialogue on local issues
• A cost-effective method to disseminate information and services to the public by the
City, local governments and public institutions
• Improved entertainment, information, and service options to the public
• Cost saving telecommunications networks for local governments and schools.
An important step in the cable refranchising process is the City's estimation of its "future
cable-related community needs and interests," as stated in the Cable Communications Act of
1984, the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992, and the
Telecommunications Act of 1996. Rice, Williams Associates will assist the City in conducting a
thorough assessment of municipal, community, and consumer demand for enhanced local
programming, additional communications capabilities, and improvements in other types of cable
service.
Rice, Williams Associates would conduct two types of surveys:
A community needs assessment, which would consist of a survey of the current and
potential users of the government, public, and educational access channels and
facilities and other existing and proposed institutional services such as data
communications, traffic signalization, video surveillance, and telephone line
replacement.
A consumer market survey that would measure cable subscriber satisfaction on a wide
variety of issues, including repair, installation, picture quality, among others,
emergency alert notices on all channels, and viewership of local government,
education, and community access programming.
The methodologies for performing each of these activities follow.
Community Needs Assessment
Rice, Williams Associates will work with City of Fort Worth to identify the local government
departments, schools, public service agencies, and other organizations to be surveyed for this
ascertainment. The knowledge and plans of the Government Access Channel will be important.
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If desired, an information seminar would be held to inform organizations about the potential of
using cable access channels.
Rice, Williams Associates will consult with the Ciiy on the design and administration of the
survey used in the ascertainment. The specific outcomes of the survey would be to identify:
■ The coinmunity's need for public, educational, and governmental access channels and
programming support over the long term
■ Public buildings and institutions that currently or in the future want to utilize access and
institutional channels, video equipment, and cable drops
■ The need to replace or upgrade access equipment, facilities, and access services that are
currently being provided
■ Interest in and benefit from utilization of institutional telecommunications capacity
■ Current and future demand by the City for use of an institutional network. This would
include identification of specific ways in which the City would achieve cost savings via
intra-governmental communications and cable/fiber optic delivery of information and public
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■ Identification of current and potential telecommunications applications, such as:
• closed-circuit training program delivery to work sites
• security services
• delivery of library information
• data transmission
• traffic signalization
• video surveillance, and
• leased telephone line replacement.
Mailed questionnaires will be used to collect the information. Once the data has been collected
and verified, Rice, Williams Associates analyze the results and provide a report, and a summary
to the City, including specific reco�endations.
This activity would provide data to evaluate how well the cunent cable operator is supporting
public access and how future needs for public, educational, and government access might be met.
Our activities will support the City's decision making on the scope of the access support,
technical parameters, and services to be specified in any new cable franchise agreement.
Additionally, full documentation of City and community needs and interests enables the City to
present the strongest case during final franchise agreement negotiations.
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Review of Public, Educational and Government Equipment
RWA will evaluate On-Site the compliance of the current system operator for:
■ Community Programming
• Hours of operation
• Equipment and availability
• Training
• Actual hours of programtning
■ Consumer Practices for Local Programming
■ Equipment and Facility Recommendation for Local Program.ming.
Based on this analysis and the results of the consumer market survey, Rice, Williams Associates
will make recommendations to the City on requirements for future access needs.
Consumer Market Survey
Our consumer market survey provides a means to receive input on the existing cable services
from a cross-section of subscribers. This survey could be designed to determine:
■ Customer satisfaction with installation, sales, repair work, response time, picture reception,
billing, appointment scheduling, and outages
■ Ability to reach the cable operator on the telephone
■ Awareness and viewership of local, public, educational and government access programming
■ Public interest in expanded local programming.
■ Local emergency alert notices
■ Consumer willingness to pass costs through.
The approach to determining customer satisfaction and needs that we recommend is as follows:
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Following discussions with the City and a review of service offerings, a questionnaire would be
designed by Rice, Williams Associates. Rice, Williams Associates will insure that the survey
provides a valid representation of cable subscribers. The survey design will be cross-sectional.
A random sample of residents will be scientifically generated to ensure that representative results
are obtained from all geographic areas.
The data from the survey will be elicited, coded, and verified to ensure valid results. Computer
data analysis will be used to calculate relevant frequency distribution, corresponding statistics
and any relevant cross tabulation of data.
Pre-tests will be conducted prior to the start of the project with input as to specific language and
question content.
All telephone interviews are conducted using trained and monitored interviewers. Call backs are
made at the completion of the survey process to assure compliance with proper survey
procedures.
Given the low penetration rate we recommend a 6% error level be used. The sample will yield
statistically valid results at the ninety-five percent (95%) conf'idence interval, aa1d a not-to-exceed
six percent (6%) two-tailed error level. The error level is based on the standard error of the
estimated percentages for the sample which is the difference between the survey results obtained
with the sample and the result that would be obtained by a complete census of the population.
This means that for any question in which fifty percent (50%) of the respondents answered "yes,"
the true population value lies in the interval between forty-four and fifty-six percent, and that
ninety-five percent (95%) of all samples would yield results within this interval.
A report on the findings of the consumer market survey will be prepared for the City to provide a
solid basis for analyzing the existing cable operation and documenting the interest in local
programming. All surveys will be accompanied by a report summarizing and interpreting the
relevant data, including recommendations for incorporating the results into the public record and
using them as the basis for future planning and evaluation.
FEES
Rice, Williams Associates offers a flexible fee schedule to enable the City to select the scale and
scope of service that the City feels is most appropriate. All Rice, Williams Associates fees are based
on our costs and are levied on a service-by-service basis. Our hourly rate is $140.00 per hour for
Senior Consultants.
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Following are the fees for the tasks described in this proposal:
Task 1: Community Needs Assessment (Includes two days of On-Site meeting exclusive of
travel costs) $48,000
Spanish Language surveyor (minimum 2% of completed surveys) $ 5,000
On-Site Meetings Professional Hourly Charges
Travel and Expenses At Cost with written notification if overage is anticipated
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City of Fort Worth, Texas
Mayor and Council Communication
COUNCIL ACTION: Approved on 11/9/2004
DATE: Tuesday, November 09, 2004
LOG NAME: 02RICE WILLIAMS REFERENCE NO.: **C-20388
SUBJECT:
Authorization to Execute a Professional Services Agreement with Rice Williams Associates, Inc. to
Conduct Community Needs Studies for Charter Communication Franchise Renewal
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council authorize the City Manager to execute a contract for professional
services with Rice Williams Associates, Inc. to conduct a telephone survey of future cable-related
community needs, and Marcus Cable Associates L.L.C. d/b/a Charter Communications (Charter)
performance under the current franchise agreement. The cost of these services will not exceed $58,000.
DISCUSSION:
On November 19, 2003, the City received a request for franchise renewal from Charter. This request
triggered formal renewal procedures the City must follow under Section 626 of the Federal Cable Act. City
Council was briefed on these procedures in IR 8554, dated December 16, 2003, and in Executive Session
on January 20, 2004.
The Rice Williams Associates, Inc. was recommended by Varnum, Ridderling, Schmidt and Howlett, one of
the nations top law firms that deal with cable franchise renewal. Rice Williams is a professional consulting
service that has conducted hundreds of surveys dealing with cable television providers
By contracting with Rice Williams, Inc. the City will have two studies, one from the
Committee and one from a third party professional consulting firm. The City will need to
data about community needs, such as public, educational, government channels, I-Net to
and schools and traffic signalization before continuing franchise renewal discussions.
Rice Williams Associates, Inc. would assist the City Council by conducting:
Citizens' Cable
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public facilities
1. A community needs assessment, which will consist of a survey of the current and potential users of
the government, public, and educational access channels and facilities and other existing and proposed
institutional services such as data communications and traffic signalization.
2. A consumer market survey that will measure cable subscriber satisfaction on a wide variety of
issues, including repair, installation, picture quality, emergency alert notices on all channels and viewership
of local government, education and community access programming.
Rice Williams Associates, Inc will conduct telephone interviews in both English and Spanish using trained
and monitored interviewers. Call backs will be made at the completion of the survey process to assure
compliance with proper survey procedures. Rice Williams Associates will conduct a minimum of 380
interviews, with at least two and one half percent in Spanish (Charter's records indicate that 2% of the
subscribers are spanish speaking). The data from the survey will be elicited, coded and verified to ensure
valid results with a ninety-five (95%) confidence level.
Logname: 02RICE WILLIAMS Page 1 of 2
FISCAL INFORMATION/CERTIFICATION:
The Finance Director certifies that funds are available in the current operating budget, as appropriated,
General Fund
TO Fund/Account/Centers
FROM Fund/Account/Centers
GG01 539120 0905500 $58,000.00
Submitted for City Manager's Office b� Richard Zavala (Acting) (8511)
Originating Department Head: Eileen Houston-Stewart (6415)
Additional Information Contact: Randy Westerman (871-6119)
Logname: 02RICE WILLIAMS Page 2 of 2