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County seeks nearly $30,000 amendment to make Lake County 2050 website DOJ-compliant; staff to confirm alternatives
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Summary
County staff asked the board for a $29,873 amendment to PlaceWorks to bring the Lake County 2050 website and related documents into compliance with a 2024 accessibility law and Department of Justice standards before an upcoming public-input deadline. IT is exploring a countywide subscription solution that might cover the site; the board deferred final action until staff confirms vendor compatibility and budget details.
County staff asked the Board of Supervisors April 14 for a $29,873 amendment to the PlaceWorks contract to upgrade the Lake County 2050 public website and associated documents so the site meets the Department of Justice's web-accessibility standards tied to a 2024 law.
Community Development Director Mireya Turner said the amendment is time-sensitive because the EIR public-comment window and a related accessibility deadline fall within days. Turner said county IT reviewed options but could not guarantee an in-house solution in the available time, so staff requested the contractor perform the remediation to avoid taking the site offline during a critical public-review period.
IT Director Shane French told the board the county is negotiating a broader accessibility service — an automated mitigation/subscription product — that could be deployed for county-hosted sites and potentially protect the PlaceWorks site as well. He provided an informal, nonbinding estimate (discussed as roughly $15,000$17,000) for the countywide tool but cautioned final pricing and contract terms were pending vendor discussion.
Supervisors raised budget and product-ownership questions, with one urging staff to confirm that PlaceWorks will permit the county's accessibility service to operate over the third-party site or to transfer the site to county control. Public commenters also urged clarity about who owns the underlying general-plan data and recommended migrating materials to county-controlled systems where feasible.
The board agreed to delay final action until staff could confirm (1) whether the countywide accessibility service can be applied to the PlaceWorks site and (2) the final costs and budget impacts. Staff planned to confer with PlaceWorks and the IT vendor and return later the same day or at a forthcoming meeting with the updated recommendation.
Quote: "We did not want to have to take it down while we were getting into compliance with these new standards," Community Development's Mireya Turner said.
