Staff recommends Civic Plus recreation software after multi‑vendor review

Parks staff recommended the city contract with Civic Plus for parks and recreation management software following a competitive review of eight providers. Brian/presentation staff said the recommended vendor scored highest across reliability, KPI reporting, integration with the city’s financial software, and a mobile patron experience. “It's a more robust system,” Pan Alimony said, adding that Civic Plus offers a web and mobile application suite staff expects to use for registrations, facility booking, CRM, and reporting.

Staff outlined the anticipated costs: a Year 1 implementation package at $32,685 to cover onboarding and one‑on‑one support, a recurring Year 2 fee of about $21,000, and a projected Year 3 increase to $22,155 (a 5% increase). Staff told the committee Year 1 funds would come from the capital improvement project fund or sales tax proceeds and noted a $70,000 capital fund savings from deferred work that reduces immediate budget pressure. Multiple council members asked whether vendor data imports are reliable and whether the product had been user‑tested; Pan Alimony acknowledged imports are rarely perfect but said peer cities reported a smooth transfer and that CRM functions are included in the purchase.

Committee members pressed for a written comparison of how Civic Plus outperformed lower‑cost bids. Councilmember Ben requested clearer documentation showing where the higher bid yielded operational savings or avoided staff time; staff agreed to include those details in the regular agenda packet. The committee directed staff to move the contract recommendation to the regular agenda for final action.