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Fairhope reviews several procurement items and an IT migration plan; staff highlight savings and next steps
Summary
City staff outlined a $75,000 engineering contract request, recommended switching print services to Xerox (about 38% savings), discussed a three-year IT migration for ~85 servers and presented equipment and maintenance procurements including a stump grinder and elevator maintenance contracts.
City staff briefed the council on several procurement and contract items during the work session, including an engineering contract, print services, an IT transition and equipment purchases.
Staff said item 17 is a request to execute a contract with Krebs for $75,000 to help design supplemental air systems at the wastewater plant and to provide on-call engineering assistance; staff noted Krebs is familiar with the city's systems and recommended selection for on-call services.
On print services, staff reported the incumbent contract had expired and that a Xerox quote was roughly 38% lower than the current vendor; staff recommended moving print monitoring services to Xerox if the council approves.
IT staff described consideration of an open-source product (referred to in the presentation as 'Prox Smocks') and a planned three-year transition. Staff said new servers are budgeted next year and estimated about 85 servers would need migration, emphasizing thorough vetting to avoid cybersecurity or availability risks.
Other procurement items discussed included materials-only work for Dairy Road (staff said bids were solicited and the lowest materials vendor was selected), purchase of a Caterpillar high-flow stump grinder with a trade-in (presentation referenced a net transfer/trade figure and budget/accounting implications), and a three-year elevator maintenance agreement with TK Elevator at a reduced price. Council members asked about local vendor preference, price discrepancies among quotes and accounting treatment for trade-ins.
Staff said they will return items for formal action on the council agenda and continue vetting IT and vendor choices before committing to the multi-year transitions.
