Hollywood Park council approves contract to negotiate IT services with Barcom after vendor presentations

Hollywood Park — The City Council voted Nov. 12 to authorize the mayor to negotiate and execute an agreement with Barcom Technology Solutions to provide municipal information‑technology services after hearing formal presentations from Barcom and Documation and extensive public questioning.

Councilmembers said the decision followed detailed vendor briefings on cybersecurity, backups and monitoring, a review of contract structure and debate about cost. Mayor Meredith Drash opened the special meeting saying the council would consider selecting an IT vendor and “authorize the mayor to negotiate and execute an agreement for the IT services.”

Martha Sanchez, a resident who spoke during citizen participation, urged caution and criticized prior EDC advice about allowed expenditures, saying the counsel shown at a previous Economic Development Corporation meeting was "so untrue and irresponsible" and called for additional review before major negotiations proceed.

Barcom’s presentation: Adrian Valdez, Barcom’s vice president of solutions, told the council his company is headquartered in San Antonio and offers 24‑hour, 7‑day support and CJIS‑certified technicians when they touch police data. "We're around the clock," Valdez said, describing layered security that includes employee training, perimeter protections, network segregation and endpoint tools such as SentinelOne and Huntress.

Valdez and a Barcom engineer explained the company’s backup approach (local backups plus cloud replication using a product called Accent), a dedicated backup team that checks backups regularly, quarterly security audits and monthly reporting. Barcom said the proposal used sample counts of 40 endpoints and 13 server licenses and that some implementation work — for example, backup migration — carries a one‑time onboarding cost while ongoing monitoring and audits are included in monthly service fees. Barcom emphasized a contractual option allowing a 30‑day termination.

Documation’s presentation: Brian Strickland and Matt Martin of Documation outlined a different model. Documation said it performed about 90 days of on‑site assessment and recommends standardizing network equipment and a BDR appliance (Datto) to limit downtime. The company said it bills by supported user rather than per device and presented a 48‑month equipment financing term that would align warranties with the financing schedule.

Council questions and budget concerns: Council members focused on what the proposals included and excluded: whether council cell phones or mobile public‑safety devices were covered, how often backups are taken, which security products were essential, and what kinds of incidents would generate an upcharge (for example, major hardware replacement or extensive virus recovery). City staff clarified that mobile public‑safety devices used by police and fire are managed in cooperation with Bexar County IT and were not part of the mobile‑device quote presented.

Several councilmembers stressed security should not be sacrificed for cost savings. One councillor warned against removing pieces of the recommended security stack and characterized that approach as risky. Others pushed the mayor to negotiate on device and server counts so the final price reflects the town’s actual environment; city staff said the budgeted annual amount for computer support and licenses is about $85,000 (roughly $54,000 for staff support and $31,000 for licenses).

Contract length and exit options drew sustained discussion. Documation’s plan used a 48‑month financing model for hardware; Barcom proposed a service model with a 30‑day out. Council members asked that any multi‑year arrangement include performance guarantees or a separation between hardware financing and services so the town could more easily exit services if performance was unsatisfactory.

Motion and vote: After discussion a councilmember moved to enter into a contract with Barcom and a second was made. The council approved the motion by voice vote; Mayor Drash said he would proceed to negotiate the contract terms with the city attorney’s review before executing the agreement.

What’s next: The mayor will negotiate specific contract language (including device counts, onboarding scope and any performance clauses) and present the final agreement for signatures after attorney review. The council signaled it intends to preserve core security protections while seeking to keep recurring costs aligned with the town’s budget.