Glendale commissioners endorse $1,297,453 GIS utility modernization recommendation

Glendale Water and Power staff presented a plan to replace an aging GIS platform and asked the commission to endorse sending a contract award recommendation to the City Council. Hovig Chah Gaspanian, GIS manager with the IT department, told commissioners the project is intended to "improve the efficiency and reliability of how GWP manages utility information" and recommended awarding the professional services agreement to "18 98 and Company." The presentation stated that "the proposed professional services agreement has a not to exceed amount of $1,297,453."

Commissioners pressed staff about the procurement process, vendor scoring and technical choices. Gaspanian said the city received 13 proposals, disqualified five administratively, and shortlisted two firms with final technical scores of 82 and 75. On hosting, Gaspanian said "we're planning to host at the city on premise" and that on‑premises hosting was selected for cost effectiveness while planned architecture will include multiple nodes and disaster recovery to avoid single points of failure. Staff said no additional ESRI licensing costs were required for this upgrade because the city maintains an enterprise licensing agreement.

Although the item was not on the agenda as a formal action, a commissioner moved to endorse the staff recommendation and a second was offered. Staff said it will record the commission endorsement in the upcoming council report and seek council authorization to execute the contract, with a project kickoff planned in Q4 2026 and completion targeted for Q1 2028.