Title
Presentation and Possible Action on Services Agreement No. AGR26-817 with Barry Slater, Inc. DBA Rep'd in the Amount Not to Exceed $552,000, plus Applicable Gross Receipts Tax, for the Purpose of Providing a Civic Engagement Software Platform that Powers the Digital Conversation Between Government Agencies and their Citizens for the Term of Fifteen Years
Recommended Action
I move that Council approve Contract for General Services, Agreement No. AGR 26-817 with Barry Slater, Inc., dba Rep'd, in the amount of $480,000 and a contingency in the amount of $72,000, for a total of $552,000, plus applicable gross receipts tax, for a fully hosted software solution to enhance communications through a civic engagement platform featuring simple built-in video recording tools that powers the digital conversation between Los Alamos County and its citizens.
Utility Manager's Recommendation
The Utility Manager recommends that Council approve this Contract for General Services as requested.
Board, Commission or Committee Recommendation
The Board of Public Utilities approved this request at their regular meeting on August 20, 2025 and recommends that Council approve this Contract for General Services as requested.
Body
The Rep’d video engagement platform is a tool that will benefit the Department of Public Utilities and the general County through enhanced government transparency and community interaction. This platform allows County users to:
1. Record, edit, upload and share short video responses to citizen inquiries
2. Maintain a dedicated video-first webpage with County branding embedded in the County website
3. Enable positive user experiences across smart phones, tablets and computers.
Through this platform, community members can ask questions or submit concerns, prompting County users to quickly record video responses using built-in tools (such as on-screen transcripts) to then upload to the web from any location, device or browser. Video responses and uploads will be authorized by select public relations/information managers.
County benefits:
1. Citizen input is a managed driver. Citizen inquiries require County approval before appearing on website.
2. Website visitors can upvote approved questions, indicating a measure of how hot a topic may be, giving the County the opportunity to address the most widespread concerns quickly.
3. While citizen input is encouraged, comment functionality is limited to avoid back-and-forth exchanges on the page such as might occur on social media.
4. Public information staff can use built-in Ai, or work with managers or other appropriate staff, to script video responses before sending video recording links to staff delivering answers. Employees who are recording can read the script through the teleprompter feature to deliver answers quickly and smoothly from any smartphone, tablet or computer with a camera and microphone.
5. Messages can be delivered from the work site whether it be in a County office or out in the field.
6. Videos can be easily shared with media, as well as to social media and email communications, and County users can download videos.
7. Licenses are unlimited among County staff to allow for high levels of usage among departments, divisions and work teams.
8. Rep’d integrates with Open Cities, the County’s website platform.
9. Rep’d is already a close partner with Zencity, a media “listening” tool used by the County to detect hot topics and misinformation on the web and social media, which is beneficial in quickly addressing those topics via a short video that can be posted and shared.
The $72,000 contingency is intended for new tools and functionality that may be introduced by Rep’d during the 15-year term of the agreement. This would negate the need to seek an additional contract and instead maintain the possibility of an amendment to this agreement should the County desire to use that functionality.
Alternatives
The Council could choose not to approve this contract, in which case, this type of citizen engagement would not be pursued. When the Request for Information was conducted to gather information about this type of service, Rep'd was the only respondent and it was determined that Rep'd is a sole source provider.
Fiscal and Staff Impact/Planned Item
The first year of the contract was budgeted by and will be paid by the Department of Public Utilities. Because the County Public Information staff desires to use this platform as well, it will be a shared cost in remaining years. The contract would begin August 27, 2025 and run through August 26, 2040.
Contract Yr Ending 8/26 Platform Fee
1 2026 $18,000.00
2 2027 $20,000.00
3 2028 $22,000.00
4 2029 $24,000.00
5 2030 $26,000.00
6 2031 $28,000.00
7 2032 $30,000.00
8 2033 $32,000.00
9 2034 $34,000.00
10 2035 $36,000.00
11 2036 $38,000.00
12 2037 $40,000.00
13 2038 $42,000.00
14 2039 $44,000.00
15 2040 $46,000.00
TOTAL $480,000.00
Attachments
A - AGR26-817_Barry Slater, Inc. DBA Rep'd
B - Barry Slater, Inc. DBA Rep'd Presentation