O2019-0917 ORDINANCE amending Ordinance No. 2019-350 to establish maximum contract amount; approving and authorizing first amendment for contract between the City of Houston and LOPEZ NEGRETE COMMUNICATIONS, INC for Consulting Services for the Census 2020 Engagement Initiative for the Planning and Development Department - $627,586.00 - General Fund

S33-T28754.A1 - An Ordinance approving and authorizing a first amendment to Contract No. 4600015489 between the City of Houston and Lopez Negrete Communications, Inc. (approved by Ord. No. 2019-0350) to increase the contract amount by $627,586.00, establish a maximum contract amount of $1,277,586.00, and revise the fee schedule and scope of work for the “2020” Census Engagement Initiative for the Planning and Development Department.

Specific Explanation:
The Director of the Planning and Development Department and the Chief Procurement Officer recommend that City Council approve a first amendment to the contract between the City of Houston and Lopez Negrete Communications, Inc. to increase the contract amount by $627,586.00, establish a maximum contract amount of $1,277,586.00, and revise the fee schedule and scope of work for the “2020” Census Engagement Initiative for the Planning and Development Department.

The work was initially expected to cost $1,622,586.00 but will now cost $1,277,586.00. The reduction in amount is due primarily to increased collaboration with Harris County. Through this collaboration, we are reducing costs by eliminating redundancies and duplication of efforts between the City and the County.

The contract was broken into two phases and Phase I was awarded on May 8, 2019 for the total amount of $650,000.00 by Ordinance No. 2019-0350 for the completion of Phase I of the Census “2020” Engagement Initiative. For the Phase I deliverables the Consultant conducted 10 focus group meetings with trusted voices from the non-Hispanic white, African American, Latino, Chinese and Vietnamese communities. Based on the results of these focus groups, the Consultant team developed the approach and the creative campaign that will be implemented throughout the next Phase. In addition, the Consultant team developed training programs for grass-roots organizations that the city will coordinate implementation with.

The first amendment of the contract contains revised terms and services to encompass the work to be completed in Phase II. Phase II will focus on the activation and deployment, measurement and optimization of various tasks including, but not limited to:

• building and training a network consisting of community-based groups and public entities that will canvass Houston neighborhoods and encourage Census response;

• building a student-led, student designed, peer-to-peer canvassing in high schools in Houston’s Hard-to-Count areas;

• monitoring response rates to establish strategic deployment of additional resources to low-response areas; and

• providing overall management and coordination of Complete Count Committee and Sub-Committee activities.

The first amendment of the contract also contains a revised Contract Fee Schedule encompassing the additional services to be provided in Phase II. The contract will remain in effect until the Census “2020” Engagement Initiative is complete.

The scope of work requires the contractor to provide all supervision, labor, materials, necessary to develop a multi-level census campaign that will reach Houstonians of all socio-economic levels. The contractor will also coordinate with the Census Bureau to verify and ensure appropriate placement of media and advertising campaign materials.

MWBE Participation:

The contract was awarded with a 24% M/WBE participation level. Currently, Lopez Negrete Communications, Inc. is achieving 35.2%.

Fiscal Note:

Funding for this item is included in the FY 2020 Adopted Budget. Therefore, no Fiscal Note is required as stated in the Financial Policies.

$627,586.00

General Fund

Fund No.: 1000