HomeMy WebLinkAboutAGENDA REPORT 2022 0105 CCSA REG ITEM 09ACITY OF MOORPARK,
CALIFORNIA
City Council Meeting
of January 5, 2022
ACTION APPROVED STAFF
RECOMMENDATION. (VOICE
VOTE: UNANIMOUS).
BY K. Spangler.
A. Receive Update on Broadband Strategic Plan Implementation, Consider a Smart City
Technology Report from Future Laboratories, and Consider: (1) Purchase of an
Automated Online Appointment System; (2) Engagement of Spearhead to Provide
Telecommunications Auditing Services to Moorpark Businesses; and (3) Finalize and
Execute a Contract with OStream to Complete Proof of Concept Projects Using its
Object Sensor Technology for the City. Staff Recommendation: Receive and file a
report on the City’s Broadband Strategic Plan implementation, receive and file the
Smart City Technology Report prepared by Future Labs, and direct staff to: (1)
Purchase an automated online appointment system; (2) Engage Spearhead to
provide telecommunications auditing services to Moorpark businesses; and (3)
Finalize and execute a contract with OStream to complete proof of concept projects
using its object sensor technology for the City. (Staff: Brian Chong, Assistant to
the City Manager)
Item: 9.A.
MOORPARK CITY COUNCIL
AGENDA REPORT
TO: Honorable City Council
FROM: Brian Chong, Assistant to the City Manager
DATE: 01/05/2022 Regular Meeting
SUBJECT: Receive Update on Broadband Strategic Plan Implementation,
Consider a Smart City Technology Report from Future Laboratories,
and Consider: (1) Purchase of an Automated Online Appointment
System; (2) Engagement of Spearhead to Provide
Telecommunications Auditing Services to Moorpark Businesses; and
(3) Finalize and Execute a Contract with OStream to Complete Proof
of Concept Projects Using its Object Sensor Technology for the City
SUMMARY
On October 21, 2020, the City Council adopted the City’s Broadband Strategic Plan
(www.moorparkca.gov/BroadbandStrategicPlan), which identified the broadband
infrastructure in Moorpark, identified gaps in that infrastructure, and recommended
actions to accelerate the deployment of broadband infrastructure and adoption
throughout the community. At the time of adoption, the City Council directed staff to
pursue six of the Strategic Plan’s recommendations, with the other two
recommendations deferred due to the significant financial uncertainty at the time caused
by the COVID-19 pandemic.
One of the recommendations contained in the Broadband Strategic Plan that the City
Council directed staff to pursue was “to further review, analyze, and create capital
projects to accomplish potential Smart City applications.” To that end, the City retained
Future Laboratories to provide technology scouting services for the City and generate a
Smart City Technology Report based on the City’s suite of services, needs, challenges,
and areas of opportunity.
At this time, staff is providing the City Council with an update on implementation of the
City’s Broadband Strategic Plan and presenting the City Council with the Smart City
Technology Report (Attachment). Staff also recommends that the City Council direct
staff to pursue three specific items contained in the Smart City Technology Report.
Item: 9.A.
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BACKGROUND
On December 6, 2017, the City Council created a Broadband Ad Hoc Committee to
consider various policy decisions that need to be made along the way in pursuing the
development and deployment of broadband infrastructure throughout Moorpark. At the
same time, City staff joined the Broadband Consortium of the Pacific Coast (BCPC), a
California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) funded group that serves as an advocate
for broadband in Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo Counties. Staff has
participated in the BCPC’s monthly meetings ever since and has received significant
support (learning, networking, and technical) through the relationship.
Subsequently, the City Council’s FY 2018/19 Goals and Objectives included an
objective to conduct a Broadband Study. On June 24, 2019, the Broadband Ad Hoc
Committee reviewed and recommended a Request for Proposals (RFP) to retain a
consultant to prepare a Broadband Strategic Plan for Moorpark. The full City Council
then reviewed and approved release of the RFP on July 17, 2019. Following staff and
Broadband Ad Hoc Committee review of the proposals received and interviews with the
proposers, the City Council approved an agreement with Magellan Advisors, LLC to
prepare the City’s Broadband Strategic Plan on November 6, 2019.
On October 21, 2020, the City Council reviewed and adopted the City’s Broadband
Strategic Plan, while providing staff with direction to pursue six of the eight
recommendations, with the other two recommendations deferred due to the financial
uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. While each of these will be discussed
in further detail below, the eight recommendations were:
Pursued
1. City Network
2. Meet Me Room
3. Governance and Policies
4. Broadband Impact Fee
5. Partnership and Funding Opportunities
6. Smart City Applications
Deferred
7. Funding for Joint Trenching
8. ROI Study for Leasing City Network
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In early 2021, and in recognition of the City’s sustained, leading efforts in advancing
broadband deployment in the region, the City was approached by the principals of
Matter Labs, a corporate innovation lab, and Fathomwerx, a 60,000 sq. ft. lab dedicated
to testing, prototyping, innovation, and demonstration projects based in western Ventura
County – essentially a “skunkworks-like” model for cutting-edge technology
development. They had recently formed Future Laboratories, a non-profit organization
focused on applying their technology scouting experience in the commercial sector to
assisting governments and other non-profit organizations, and wanted to take on
Moorpark as its first client and at no cost. On May 24, 2021, the City Manager signed a
contract with Future Laboratories to retain its technology scouting services and to create
a Smart City Technology Report based on an assessment of the City’s operations and
identified areas of opportunity.
The staff from Future Laboratories conducted interviews with staff from each of the
City’s departments and the Moorpark Police Department to gain an understanding of the
types of services provided by the City, the challenges associated with providing those
services, and areas where improving efficiency through technologies would be most
helpful. Future Laboratories delivered a first draft of its Smart City Technology Report
to staff in July, followed by several months of staff review, additional technology
scouting and research, and clarifications made in the report.
The final Smart City Technology Report (Attachment) is now presented to the City
Council for its review and consideration.
DISCUSSION
Status of Pursued Recommendations
The City Council directed staff to pursue six recommendations contained in the
Broadband Strategic Plan.
1. City Network: Take steps to develop a City-owned fiber-optic network with the
primary goal of connecting the City’s multiple facilities across the City.
Immediate actions include incorporating broadband infrastructure into
development projects along the network path and incorporating broadband
conduit into the capital projects along the network path.
Status: The City has amended its development review processes to facilitate
development of a City-owned fiber-optic network along the path identified and
mapped in the Broadband Strategic Plan. Economic Development staff also now
reviews development projects to provide comments, suggestions, and
development conditions related to broadband advancement. Staff has developed
standard conditions to require new developments along the network path to
install conduit and dedicate it to the City as part of their construction. For
example, the Hitch Ranch Development Agreement currently being negotiated
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calls for the development to install fiber-optic infrastructure for dedication to the
City as part of the construction.
Additionally, the City has incorporated broadband infrastructure into its capital
projects along the path identified and mapped in the Broadband Strategic Plan.
Both the Princeton Avenue Improvement Project and the Metrolink North Parking
Lot Expansion Project include conduit for fiber-optic cables, for example.
2. Meet Me Room: Prepare a Request for Proposals to complete a market study to
determine the financial viability of a Meet Me Room as part of the Moorpark City
Library project. Until then, direct staff to incorporate a Meet Me Room into the
Library’s design.
Status: On March 17, 2021, the City Council approved a contract with Magellan
Advisors to prepare a Meet Me Room Market Study. The study is expected to be
finalized and presented to the City Council in early 2022. Although originally
anticipated to be ready in the second half of 2021, the study has been delayed
slightly by the additional need to evaluate the effects of state and federal funding.
While overall a boon to the advancement of broadband infrastructure, the
$6 billion included in California’s budget for broadband purposes, the availability
of federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for broadband infrastructure,
and the ongoing discussions within Congress about a future federal infrastructure
bill that may include funding for broadband infrastructure have had the short-term
effect of stalling the market study. Many parties in the broadband infrastructure
and Internet Service Provider (ISP) industries are waiting to see how this state
and federal funding will be deployed before committing to projects, making
market analysis difficult. Additionally, telecommunications companies are being
inundated with similar requests from government agencies who are seeking
information from them, resulting in a backlog of information requests for the
telecommunications companies.
However, during development of the Meet Me Room Market Study’s Request for
Information, it was noted that a Meet Me Room should be detached from the new
Moorpark City Library building. The project architect noted that attaching the
Meet Me Room to the Library building would trigger additional building
requirements for the entire structure that would likely be cost-prohibitive. If the
Market Study concludes that a Meet Me Room is financially viable, then it will
also identify other potential sites elsewhere on the Civic Center campus or on
City-owned property immediately west of the U.S. Post Office on High Street.
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3. Governance and Policies: Incorporate broadband infrastructure into the City’s
planning/permitting processes, implement recommendations to facilitate efficient
review of wireless telecommunications facility permits, and develop a Dig Once
Policy for City Council consideration.
Status: As described above, broadband concerns have been fully integrated into
the City’s planning/permitting processes. The City has also streamlined its
processes for reviewing wireless telecommunications facility permits. On
December 16, 2020, the City Council established fixed fees for wireless
telecommunications facilities in the public right-of-way to provide certainty and
clarity to prospective applicants. The City also finalized its template for license
agreements to govern attachment of wireless facilities on City-owned streetlights.
Also on December 16, 2020, the City Council approved a Municipal Facility
License Agreement with AT&T to outline how AT&T can place small wireless
facilities on City-owned streetlights.
Development of a Dig Once Policy, which would require a brief hold before
issuing Encroachment Permits involving significant trenching to allow other
utilities and broadband providers the opportunity to install their infrastructure in
the same trench, has not yet begun. Work was delayed following the retirement
of the City’s Public Works Director, and the new Public Works Director has been
focused mostly on advancing the City’s capital projects thus far.
4. Research Broadband Impact Fee: Complete additional research into a potential
Broadband Impact Fee as an option to fund broadband-related infrastructure.
Status: This item has been incorporated into the City’s upcoming Fee Study. The
City issued a Request for Proposals for updates to its cost allocation plan, impact
fees, and developer fees on October 25, 2021, with proposals due on
November 30. Staff expects to present a contract with a selected consultant in
early 2022, with the study and its findings to be presented in early 2023.
5. Partnership and Funding Opportunities: Monitor grant opportunities to fund
broadband-related projects, track and participate in regional efforts by the County
of Ventura and the Broadband Consortium of the Pacific Coast to advance
broadband deployment in Moorpark, and engage with potential partners about
how to work collaboratively to advance broadband deployment in Moorpark.
Status: The City Council also incorporated this direction into its 2021-2023 Goals
and Objectives (3.3 Support regional and local broadband deployment issues.).
The City has been an active participant with the Broadband Consortium of the
Pacific Coast and a key partner with the County of Ventura as it works to develop
its own middle-mile fiber-optic network across the county. Staff has evaluated
numerous potential funding opportunities to advance the City’s broadband goals,
though none has yet been a clean fit for the City based on the community’s
urban/suburban nature, population, existing broadband availability levels, and
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scale. Notably, Moorpark staff led a regional effort to secure federal earmark
funding for Ventura County’s broadband network. Though ultimately not
successful, staff’s effort secured support letters from the Cities of Camarillo,
Fillmore, Moorpark, Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Santa Paula, Ventura, and Westlake
Village, as well as from the Economic Development Collaborative, Broadband
Consortium of the Pacific Coast, and Ventura Council of Governments. All of
these entities are now partners in regional broadband advancement.
6. Smart City Applications: Review, analyze, and create capital projects to
accomplish potential Smart City applications identified in the Broadband Strategic
Plan.
Status: Staff commissioned and is presenting a Smart City Technology Report as
part of this agenda item.
Status of Deferred Recommendations
The City Council deferred two recommendations contained in the Broadband Strategic
Plan due to the fiscal uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
7. Funding for Joint Trenching: Defer discussion of setting aside funding for joint
trenching opportunities to install fiber-optic conduit until the City’s Mid-Year
Budget discussion, when the City hopefully has a clearer picture of the near-term
financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Status: Appropriating funds for an unknown future project, at an inherently yet-to-
be-determined location at a yet-to-be-determined cost, was not an attractive
option either at the time of Broadband Strategic Plan adoption or the Mid-Year
Budget report, as the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic were still
unclear. However, appropriating funds for this purpose remains a policy option
for the City Council going forward.
Of note, one possible co-location project presented itself in June 2021, when the
groundwork for the Amazon Fresh store was being constructed. Located in an
area that struggled with broadband availability, Amazon Fresh paid a
telecommunications provider to install fiber-optic cable to its store across the
Arroyo Simi bridge to the west. Without funding immediately available, staff
could not take advantage of co-locating its own conduit across the Arroyo at the
same time.
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8. ROI Study for Leasing City Network: Defer commission of a study to determine
the market, potential revenue, and potential costs for leasing a City-owned
network to Internet Service Providers until such time as the City has a clearer
funding mechanism to begin construction of a network.
Status: No additional physical components of a City network have been
completed or imminently funded, so staff continues to recommend that this item
be deferred.
Smart City Technology Report
The Smart City Technology Report is provided as an Attachment to this staff report.
Based on interviews and discussions with the City’s operating department, Future
Laboratories organized its report into the following categories:
• Solar Lighting
• Water Monitoring
• Soil
• Utilities
• Water Generation
• Telcom/Storage, Communications
• Community Engagement
• Appointments
• Chat Bots
• Non-Lethal Weapons
• Miscellaneous
- “WDKWWDK” – We don’t know what we don’t know
- “Swiss Army Knives”
Both within and across categories, the costs vary widely with different scales and types
of products and services. To help acclimate readers, a relative cost rating of ($), ($$),
or ($$$) has been provided for each listed item within each particular category. Note
that these cost ratings should not be compared across categories; an expensive
appointment system will be cheaper than any solar lighting solution, for example.
Staff from each of the City’s operating departments reviewed the Smart City Technology
Report and the prospective Smart City technology vendors and service providers in their
respective operational areas. Staff recommends that staff be directed to pursue three of
them, while taking note of several of the larger scale products and services may be
incorporated into future capital projects. The three recommended items are:
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Automated Online Appointment System
Last year, the Solid Waste Division switched the City’s Free E-Waste Dropoff and
Paper Shredding events from a first-come, first-served model to an appointment
based model. The switch was popular because it reduced wait times for the thrice-
yearly events, particularly at the start of the event when many participants queued
ahead of the opening time. Solid Waste Division staff used the City’s existing
website software to create an online form for participants to secure appointments.
However, the system’s back-end is very driven by manual processes. Modern
appointment software systems offer more robust features such as: allowing
participants to change or cancel their appointments by themselves through a
website; automatically closing and re-opening appointment times as they become
available or unavailable; automatically sending appointment reminders to
participants; automatically sending follow-up surveys to get feedback on the event;
and more.
Telecommunications Auditing Services
Businesses often do not re-evaluate their telecommunications costs after initially
signing up for them. Rather, they continue to pay their bills monthly at whatever cost
was originally in place when they opened. This leads to many businesses
overpaying for telecommunications services because they do not take advantage of
new pricing tiers, they pay for services they don’t actually utilize, or they use
outdated technology with higher operating costs. The Smart City Technology Report
identified a vendor, Spearhead, who offers audits of businesses’ telecommunications
contracts and suggests ways for those businesses to reduce their
telecommunications costs. Although the City’s Economic Development staff has not
reached out to Spearhead thus far, an envisioned partnership would make these
auditing services available to any Moorpark business at no cost.
Object Sensors: Proof of Concept Projects
The Smart City Technology Report identified a vendor, OStream, whose technology
combines object sensors with artificial intelligence that identifies what those objects
are and extracts metrics on their behavior, without capturing images and the privacy
concerns that accompany them. Its devices also utilize cutting edge networking and
communications technologies to eliminate the need for networking and power to its
sensors, allowing for quick deployment. The devices have numerous and greatly
varying potential uses to collect data for a municipal government. For example, the
devices could be mounted in the City Hall parking lot and count gravel trucks driving
on Moorpark Avenue on a 24/7 basis, while excluding other vehicle and truck types.
The devices could count how many people and dogs visit the City’s dog park, and
whether they go to the big dog or small dog section, again on a 24/7 basis. The
devices could count how many people use different playground equipment to help us
identify the most popular types.
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OStream is looking for a municipal partner to prove the concept, effectiveness, and
viability of its technology, and they are willing to provide their services at greatly
reduced cost for that partner. Staff has had conceptual discussions for OStream to
provide its services two or three use cases – depending on their complexity – at a
total cost of $2,000. Staff recommends that the City Council direct the City Manager
to finalize and execute a contract with OStream on a retainer basis, for two or three
projects at a City cost of $2,000. Based on the City’s operational needs in the
coming months, staff and OStream will identify the projects to use as a proof of
concept. Staff anticipates that funding for the contract can be absorbed into the
City’s existing budget due to the relatively low cost of the service.
The Parks, Recreation & Community Services Department (PRCS), which is
responsible for the City’s buildings and facilities, has also taken interest in some of the
larger-scale items identified in the Smart City Technology report related to solar lighting,
soil technologies, and energy generation. These technologies may be appropriate for
the Moorpark City Library construction or the temporary City Hall tenant improvements,
but both of these projects are currently in the pre-architectural design phase at this time.
As such, exploring these technologies at this time would be premature.
FISCAL IMPACT
Staff recommends that the City Council direct the City Manager to enter into retainer
agreement with OStream, with a value of $2,000, for two or three proof of concept
projects to be determined. Although future appropriations may be necessary to
implement items contained in the Smart City Technology Report, staff anticipates that
the existing City’s current Fiscal Year 2021/22 Budget is sufficient to implement the
three recommended projects.
COUNCIL GOAL COMPLIANCE
This action is consistent with City Council Goal 3, Objective 3 (3.3): “Support regional
and local broadband deployment.”
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Receive and file a report on the City’s Broadband Strategic Plan implementation,
receive and file the Smart City Technology Report prepared by Future Labs, and direct
staff to: (1) Purchase an automated online appointment system; (2) Engage Spearhead
to provide telecommunications auditing services to Moorpark businesses; and
(3) Finalize and execute a contract with OStream to complete proof of concept projects
using its object sensor technology for the City.
Attachment: Smart City Technology Report
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ATTACHMENT
2
Smart city technology report for the City of Moorpark 2021
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Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS 3
ABOUT FUTURE LABS 4
INTRODUCTION 5
HIGHLIGHTED 6
$, $$, $$$ 6
THANK YOU 6
DISCLAIMER 6
RESILIENCY 7
SOLAR LIGHTING 7
WATER MONITORING 8
SOIL 9
UTILITIES 9
Energy Storage, Generation & Management 9
Water Generation 11
Telcom, Storage, Communications 11
INSIGHTS 13
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT 14
SOCIAL MEDIA, CAMPAIGNS, AND PROGRAMS 14
APPOINTMENTS 15
CHAT BOTS 16
WDKWWDK 17
Non-Lethal Weapons 18
“SWISS ARMY KNIVES” 19
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About Future Labs
Future Laboratories is organized and operated exclusively for charitable, educational
and scientific purposes in accordance with Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue
Code. More specifically, Future Laboratories is dedicated to Innovation, Research,
Education and the Commercialization Of New And Emerging Technologies Through
Collaborative Partnerships With Industry, Academia, Military, Nonprofits, and
Government.
Activities include:
● Advancing the public good through innovation and education
● Testing, improving, inventing, and scaling solutions for the benefit of nonprofits
and government entities.
● Helping to support the economic vitality of our local region by helping to attract
entrepreneurs and educational partners to promote and foster job creation and
financial security for our community.
We are problem solvers for social good. Most real challenges are multi-faceted and
require complex analysis and simultaneous solutions. While our work ranges from
addressing environmental challenges, health risks, food security issues, homeland and
border security, data collection and analysis, R&D, and nonprofit back-office support,
the central theme is our ability to bring together a wide range of volunteers committed to
solving problems for the social good.
A special Thank You to Haley and Alyson Lucas on our team for all their hard work on
this project.
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Introduction
The City of Moorpark is well poised to take advantage of emerging Smart City
technologies, designed to take advantage of state-of-the-art sensor-based technologies,
communications technologies, data analytics technologies, and artificial intelligence-
based technologies in its mission to provide quality, efficient municipal services to the
residents and businesses of Moorpark. The City has taken numerous affirmative steps
in recent years to position itself as a potential incubator of Smart City technologies,
including development and adoption of its Broadband Strategic Plan, purchase of its
streetlights from Southern California Edison, and participation in regional efforts to
advance the deployment of broadband infrastructure through Moorpark and throughout
Ventura County.
The Smart City space is an emerging market, with innovation occurring at a rapid pace
and with frequent starts and stops for inventors and investors alike. In such an
environment, government agencies have historically been hesitant to invest significant
time or money on unproven products or services. Government agencies also generally
do not have the resources to proactively gauge the market for new technologies and vet
potential vendors and service providers to ensure their potential partners are truly
legitimate and viable.
Future Laboratories is dedicated to connecting government, nonprofits, the military,
academia, and industry leaders with new and emerging technologies that solve real-
world problems faced in those sectors. Future Laboratories has the personnel and
expertise to proactively identify and evaluate new and emerging technologies that may
prove valuable in the City of Moorpark’s core mission of efficiently providing quality
municipal services to its constituents.
Future Laboratories proposed the following set of tasks to provide the City of Moorpark
with technology scouting services:
TASK 1: MEET WITH CITY STAFF TO IDENTIFY NEEDS
Future Laboratories will meet with City staff to gain an understanding of the types of
services provided by the City of Moorpark, available community assets that can be
leveraged to take advantage of Smart City technologies, current operational challenges
currently faced by the City, and areas of opportunity where the City could benefit from
Smart City technologies. Meetings will be held either in person or via teleconference,
as pandemic-related public health regulations allow.
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TASK 2: TECHNOLOGY SCOUTING
Based upon the results of Task 1, Future Laboratories will identify and vet potential
technologies and vendors that may assist the City in improving efficiencies, improving
service delivery, or expanding services relevant to the City.
TASK 3: DELIVERABLES AND PRESENTATION OF RESULTS
Future Laboratories will provide the City with a written report identifying and outlining
potential technologies and vendors that may be beneficial to the City. The report will
include an estimate of cost for the City to obtain and implement a given product, within
each individual category. In addition to the written report, Future Laboratories will
conduct a meeting with City staff to present their findings, either in person or via
teleconference, as pandemic-related public health regulations allow.
Highlighted
We encourage using local businesses, top performers, and companies we have
relationships with. We have highlighted several companies in this report that we feel
bring a "bonus”. If there is interest in any of these companies we would be happy to
share why we have included them and possibly make introductions.
$, $$, $$$
We wanted to give some sense of costs within the category. Keep in mind these are
relative to one another and maybe based on other items or services that add to the cost.
Not knowing quantities, current systems, services desired, capabilities or time frame of
purchase these costs are estimated.
Thank you
Our team at Future Labs would like to thank the City of Moorpark staff for the incredible
work they do and their time they gave to this project. We would especially like to thank
Brian Chong, the Assistant to the City Manager, for giving us this opportunity.
Disclaimer
The information contained in this document is just for informational purposes. We are
not responsible for any decisions, engagements or outcomes from this document. All
companies and articles should be vetted and are not formally endorsed by Future Labs.
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Resiliency
Solar Lighting
Solar lighting makes cities resilient in both emergency and non-emergency situations.
It’s preventative uses include protecting businesses and pedestrians by illuminating
dark alleyways, walkways, and roadways and offering an autonomous power source
that does not require connection to a power grid and can withstand power outages,
extreme weather conditions, and many natural disasters that threaten the power grid.
Further, solar-powered lighting has a minimal carbon footprint, requires no trenching to
connect to a power grid, requires extremely low maintenance in comparison to
traditional lighting systems.
Greenshine New Energy - $$
Commercial Outdoor Solar Lighting Applications
https://www.streetlights-solar.com/
Sol - $
Commercial Solar Lighting - Street, Roadway, Pathways, Parks, Parking
Lots
https://solarlighting.com/
SEPCO - $
Solar Street & Roadway Lighting Systems
https://www.sepco-solarlighting.com/solar-street-lighting
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First Light
Lighting Parks, Streets, Pathways, Parking Lots & More
https://www.firstlighttechnologies.com/
GenPro Energy Solutions - $$
Solar panels, Racking, Energy storage, Inverters, Balance of systems,
Solar water pumps, Solar lighting, UVC sanitation, LED lighting, Power
generators, Generator parts
https://genproenergy.com/
Water Monitoring
Municipalities monitor water quality to protect public health, improve water quality, and
protect against flooding. Many pollutants that pose a concern to public health are found
in stormwater and storm runoff. Monitoring water in city irrigation, sewer, etc., via
cellular, radio, wifi, and wired networks creates a custom, low-power solution that is able
to reach remote areas and increase data accuracy and monitoring capability. Flow
sensors can determine if a stormdrain is blocked and can thereby prevent flooding due
to clogged stormdrains. Running these monitoring systems on battery and solar
recharge power is an additional advantage as opposed to the current civil structures
that are used to monitor channel flow and water quality.
YSI - $$
Stormwater, Groundwater, Wastewater, Surface Water, Source, Raw &
Drinking Water
https://www.ysi.com/applications/stormwater\
Downstream Services, Inc - $
Stormwater Pollution Prevention, Compliance and Maintenance
NOTE: They have a project with Naval Base Ventura County
https://www.downstreamservices.com/stormwater-compliance.html
Intermountain Environmental, Inc. (IEI) - $
Specialize in Weather Stations, Water Monitoring & Control Systems
https://www.inmtn.com/water/water-flow/flow-sensors/
MACE - $$
Solutions for wastewater flow monitoring & telemetry
https://macemeters.com/solutions/wastewater/
SonTek - $$
Stormwater, Groundwater, Wastewater, Surface Water, Ocean, Coastal,
Irrigation Canals, Bathymetric
https://www.sontek.com/stormwater-monitoring-solutions
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StormSensor - $
Integrated solution provides real-time storm, sewer, and coastal system
diagnostics
https://www.stormsensor.io/
Soil
Soil quality determines the quality of food production and future usability. Through using
cutting edge Cloud-tracking technology to store data and insights on soil usage and
quality, communities can identify crops’ limiting nutrients, accurately apply crop
nutrients, and maximize input investment on every acre. For municipalities that maintain
large landscaped areas, such as parks, facilities, and active open space, smart soil
systems can optimize and make maintenance efforts as efficient as possible.
Deveron - $$
Smart Soil Sampling, Imaging, Agronomy, Data Analytics,
Photogrammetry, Carbon Sequestration
https://deveronuas.com/
Utilities
The goal is to build utility networks that never go down. But when they do, energy
storage systems can stand at the ready to temporarily power buildings and other critical
facilities, restart critical generators, power plants, and get networks back up as soon as
possible. Furthermore, energy storage can serve as a fast acting load resource to
ensure supply and demand are managed in lockstep to take advantage of time-of-use
rate structures and time-of-day sensitive power sources like solar power. This balancing
capability ensures a stable network is maintained throughout the whole process and
facilitates use of more environmentally-sustainable power sources.
Energy Storage, Generation & Management
Build energy infrastructure that drives economic growth and supports
communities.
Fluence - $$$
Energy storage technology
https://fluenceenergy.com/
NextEra Energy Resources - $$$
Wholesale power generation and energy-related services
http://www.nexteraenergyresources.com/
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BYD Company - $
Battery-electric automobiles, buses, medium and heavy-duty trucks
and forklifts; the SkyRail monorail system; solar power generation
and energy storage systems; and consumer electronics.
http://www.byd.com/en/index.html
Samsung SDI - $$
Creative Energy & Materials Solutions
https://www.samsungsdi.com/index.html
Parker Hannifin - $$$
Backup & Emergency Power, Solar Energy, Wind Energy, Biogas &
Landfill, Water Energy, Transmission & Distribution
https://www.parker.com/
GE Energy
Lower-carbon solutions, renewable energy
https://www.ge.com/power
LG - $$
Energy generation, storage and management
https://www.lg.com/global/business/ess
ComEd - $$$
!"#$%&’$()&*&!"#$%&+,%,$
https://www.comed.com/Pages/default.aspx
NEC Energy Solutions - $$
Smart, efficient, cost-effective energy solutions, storage and
management
https://www.neces.com/
RES - $$
World’s largest independent renewable energy company
https://www.res-group.com/en/
Invenergy - $$
Wind, Solar, Storage, Natural Gas, Clean Water
https://invenergyllc.com/
Tesla - $$
Solar, EVs and Batteries
https://www.tesla.com/energy
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Xtreme Power - $$
Manage power demands and plan for emergencies
https://www.aggreko.com/en-us/microgrid-and-storage-solutions
US Floating Solar - $$
Floating Solar Arrays
https://usfloatingsolar.com
Water Generation
Generating fresh-water from air using integrated technologies has only
recently been conceived. In a world being transformed by climatic
challenges and increasing pressures on natural resources and causing
more frequent and severe droughts, technological innovation can provide
lasting solutions that can revolutionize the way water providers sustain
their existing populations and future growth in an era of increasing
fresh-water scarcity at local levels.+
Genesis Systems - $$$
Large scale Atmospheric water generation (AWG)
https://genesissystems.global/
Telcom, Storage, Communications
Make the shift from IT delivery to IT innovation so you can focus on what
matters, like achieving your goals, meeting your KPI’s and growing your
business. Solves the problem of maintaining trust, provenance & reliability
across disparate data systems which may or may not be available at any
given time
Spearhead - $
Spearhead saves businesses the cost, time, and hassle of
selecting, procuring, and managing 3rd-party IT service
relationships.
https://spearhead.biz/
ARRA Networks - $$
Last Mile Connectivity: Hardware, software, block chain, revenue
generator (Great for AG Communities)
https://arranetworks.com/
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Why is Battery Storage Important?
Battery storage technologies are essential to speeding up the replacement of fossil
fuels with renewable energy. Battery storage systems will play an increasingly pivotal
role between green energy supplies and responding to electricity demands. Battery
storage systems also hold the potential to decrease consumer costs through peak load
management and improve resiliency in the event of power outages and brown out
events.
● https://www.eia.gov/analysis/studies/electricity/batterystorage/pdf/battery_
storage.pdf
- Article Overview: This report explores trends in battery storage
capacity additions in the United States and describes the state of
the market as of 2018, including information on applications, cost,
ongoing trends, and market and policy drivers.
● https://www.pge.com/en_US/about-pge/media-newsroom/news-
details.page?pageID=60e06c0a-7bd5-406c-9d91-
d2a08e234a17&ts=1639702238583
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Insights
Kalscott Engineering - $$
Wireless Power Transfer, Multi Payload, Reconfigurable UAS, Ground Radar,
Hardware & Software for Tracking Air Vehicles, Obstacle Avoidance
http://kalscott.com/
OStream - $
Computer Vision Anywhere - Sensing streetlight outages, graffiti, storm drain
flows
https://ostream.ai/
Samsara - $$
real-time visibility, analytics using IoT devices
https://www.samsara.com/
Sound Intelligence - $$
Gunshot, graffiti, people detection
https://www.soundintel.com/products/overview/graffiti/
iOmniscient - $$
Multi-Sensory Analytics Platform that includes sound and smell
https://iomni.ai/
Awair Inc - $$
Monitoring the air quality for schools, homes and businesses
https://www.getawair.com/products/omni
Tuya - $$$
Global Leading IoT Cloud Platform
https://www.tuya.com/about
Trackable Health - $
Smart medical devices and platforms
https://trackablehealth.com/
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Community Engagement
Social Media, Campaigns, and Programs
Interesting Articles:
What Works Cities
Remote Community Engagement
https://medium.com/the-guide-to-remote-community-engagement
AARP
How Community Leaders and Residents Can Connect
https://www.aarp.org/livable-communities/livable-in-action/info-2016/where-we-
live-engagement.html
Bee Smart City
How Smart Cities are Boosting Citizen Engagement
https://hub.beesmart.city/en/strategy/how-smart-cities-boost-citizen-engagement
Crowdfund Plymouth
Funding
https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/sites/default/files/CrowdFundPlymouthLeaflet.pdf
Maptionnaire
Online Community Engagement
https://www.beesmart.city/solutions/maptionnaire-online-community-
engagement-service
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Lubin, City in Poland
Green Budget
https://www.beesmart.city/solutions/green-budget
City of Saint Paul Fund
Community Engagement Systems
https://macgrove.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Engagement-Cities-Report-
April-2017.pdf
CIVICPLUS
Citizen Engagement
https://www.civicplus.com/blog/ce/12-inspiring-examples-of-citizen-engagement-
initiatives-for-smart-cities
ZenCity
Time Lapse Footage of Major Construction Project
https://zencity.io/blog/how-civic-engagement-can-transform-community-
relationships/
2. Gamify Civic Life -
https://engagedcitiesaward.citiesofservice.org/boston-
massachusetts-finalist/
5. Bring City Hall to the Community
Data-Smart City Solutions
Citizen Engagement
https://datasmart.ash.harvard.edu/news/article/critics-agree-citizen-engagement-
key
Appointments
EZnet Scheduler, Inc - $$
Schedule online appointments, manage resources
https://www.eznetscheduler.com/industry/government-scheduling-software/
Picktime - $
City councils Scheduling Software
https://www.picktime.com/scheduling-software/city-councils
Q-nomy Inc. - $$
Self Service Scheduling Software for Government Offices
https://www.qnomy.com/government-appointment-scheduling
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Chat Bots
CivicPlus - $
Chatbot Optimized for Local Government
https://www.civicplus.com/civicplus-chatbot
IBM - $$
Powered by Watson Discovery and Watson Assistant.
https://www.ibm.com/blogs/nordic-msp/ibm-chatbot-digitalize-37-municipalities/
CITIBOT - $$
AI-powered chatbot
https://www.citibot.io/web-chat
Article: https://www.govtech.com/biz/citibot-announces-chatbot-for-local-
government-websites.html
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WDKWWDK
“We don’t know, what we don’t know”. Here are a few things that you might not
know:
Carbon Cycle - $$$
Organic/Inorganic Waste to product, Tires/Ag Waste to Biochar, Petroleum,
Steel, Carbon Black
https://carboncycle.co/
Tesseract Ventures LLC - $$
Agrobots, Smart Space, Wearable Robots, Automated Robots, Sensors, All
Connected
https://tesseractventures.io/
RotorX - $$
Logistics and Personnel Transportation, Ag Fertilization
https://rotorxaircraft.com/
Modjoul - $
A wearable that collects motion, location, and environmental data to proactively
identify if a worker is at risk and with whom they are interacting with.
https://www.modjoul.com/
Volansi - $$
Autonomous delivery service in action
https://volansi.com/
Robodub - $$
“morphing drone” technology enabling safer, more efficient and more practical
transport of multiple and dynamic payloads
https://robodub.com/
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Non-Lethal Weapons
Genasys, Inc - $
Handheld LRAD - non-lethal crowd control
https://genasys.com/lrad_products/lrad-100x/
Coming soon…
Electromagnetic beam a new non-lethal weapon - $$
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvlaytcltDk
Non-Lethal Shot at Any Range
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYwUbIRinXI
NOTE: This technology has been around at least a decade, but
interesting.
“Plasma ball” that talks to the potential intruders.
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2019/07/19/pentagon-
scientists-are-making-talking-plasma-laser-balls-for-use-as-non-lethal-
weapons/
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“Swiss Army Knives”
There are a few groups that cover a variety of the areas listed above and many more.
AVNET - $
Avnet (AVT) is a FORTUNE 500 company that helps more than 2.1 million
customers and 1,400+ suppliers in 125 countries around the world navigate each
phase of the product innovation and technology lifecycle.
Avnet’s deep expertise and heritage in large volume broad line distribution is now
enhanced with added specialization in product idea and design, along with a
greatly expanded online community, supporting resources and commerce
offerings. This dramatically improves our ability to engage engineers and
entrepreneurs alike at the earliest stages of the innovation and product lifecycle.
And because we support every stage of that lifecycle, Avnet is uniquely
positioned to help anyone – from the largest of multinationals to the smallest of
start-ups – to move swiftly and seamlessly from idea and product concept to
volume production.
https://www.avnet.com
● Submersible pressure sensors (KPSI) can be used for measuring flow rate
in sewers. Also, water level in storage tanks, catch basins, aqueducts
● Piezo traffic sensors to monitor local traffic patterns, control traffic lights,
parking garage use and occupancy, and bicycle lanes.
● Thermopiles for detection of cars and pedestrians for street lighting
control. Turns the lights off if no one is on the street. Save energy.
●Temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure sensors for air quality
monitoring stations.
● CMOS video cameras (First Sensor) for all kinds of applications – graffiti
detection, measure traffic density, pedestrian traffic, surveillance
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● Accelerometers, load cells, torque sensors to monitor structural health of
buildings (think Miami collapse), measure seismic events for intensity.
● Tilt sensors to monitor wind loads on high-rise buildings. They actually
bend and tilt quite a bit.
● GMR and TMR sensors to monitor magnetic fields from cell towers, WiFi
routers
DEVVIO - $
Tracking for everything using proven blockchain technology
https://www.devv.io/
Nano FlowX - $
Nano coatings, water proofing, anti graffiti, material hardening, heat resistance
https://www.nanoflowx.com/
HCI Energy - $$
Smart Power and Connectivity
www.hcienergy.com
OStream - $
Computer Vision Anywhere - Sensing streetlight outages, graffiti, storm drain
flows
https://ostream.ai/
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DISCLAIMER: The details provided in this report do not form part of any contract and
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