HomeMy WebLinkAboutAGENDA REPORT 1997 0416 CC REG ITEM 10GTO:
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
CITY OF MOORPARK
The Honorable City Council
Mary K. Lindley, Director of Community Services
April 6, 1997 (CC Meeting of April 16)
7A 7, 3 00 (4-)
ITEM O. Cam.
CM OF 1 COFAW CAT r"OR NL4
Ci , it Mee
Of___
ACTION•
BY• d�
Consider the Purchase of Recreation Registration, Facility Scheduling, and
League Scheduling Computer Software
Executive Summary
The City Council is being asked to approve the purchase of computer software designed to
process and track recreation class registrations, facility reservations, and league scheduling. The
cost of the proposed software purchase, including training, installation, a one -year maintenance
agreement, and sales tax is expected to be $7,800. There are currently funds for computer
hardware and software purchases available in the Recreation Division Budget that can be used to
accomplish this purchase.
Background
In April 1994, the City contracted for software development services to design a computer
program to process recreation class registration (Rec Reg). This particular option was selected
over purchasing one of several existing pre - programed recreation software, in part, because it was
a less expensive option. The total amount approved for this project was $500.00. This particular
program was designed specifically for the City, however; it proved to be ineffective for its
intended purpose and staff stopped using it in mid 1996. The program also had significant
capacity limitations, i.e.; it was only able to process one quarter of the year at a time which
prohibited staff from working on future quarters or retrieving reports from past quarters. In
addition, the Rec Reg program was designed for use on a Macintosh computer and the
Community Services Department has since converted to IBM computers.
The Community Services Department's conversion to IBM computers was highly desirable since
it allows the Department to integrate with other City departments (all other departments operate
using IBM compatible computers). Converting the Department to IBM computers is consistent
with the City's plans to install a local area network system which will allow all the City's
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Recreation Software Purchase
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computers to share programs and data files, this would include the recreation software being
proposed for purchase. As a result, any staffperson will be able to determine the status of any
recreation class; i.e.; is it open or closed, and facility room availability. Measures will be taken to
restrict unlimited access to ensure that non approved transactions can not be entered.
Staff has looked at pre - programed recreation software currently on the market and in use by other
cities. The most widely used recreation software program is "RecWare ". RecWare consists of
many various modules that can either be used alone or used in combination, as a part of an
integrated system. Staff is proposing that the City purchase two program modules: Activity
Registration, Facility Reservation, and League Scheduling.
The Activity Registration module will process activity registrations, produce a customer receipt,
produce instructor contracts, create a number of mailing lists designed for different needs, create a
large number of customer and activity reports, tract revenue, and calculate payments due and
facilitate the use of credit cards. Lastly, the module can be expanded to incorporate telephone
"touch tone" registration in the future, if desired by the City.
The Facility Reservation module will allow staff to automate reservations for all facilities,
including City Hall, Arroyo Vista Recreation Center, and all parks by producing and maintaining a
"master calendar ". In addition, the module will price facility rentals, tract revenue and any
required insurance certificates, process deposit, create rental contracts, and produce customer
receipts.
Lastly, the League Scheduling module will allow staff to customize a program that meets the
City's league scheduling needs. The program will track dates, times, locations, and individual
sport's facilities scheduled for use for rentals as well as for the City's sports leagues.
In addition to other cities, the cities of Agoura Hills, Calabasas, and Santa Clarita all use
RecWare. The City of Santa Clarita and Calabasas have been using the program for a number of
years and both have indicated that they are very happy with the way the program performs and
satisfied with the support they receive from the vendor, Sierra Digital, Inc. The City of Calabasas
expanded its Activity Registration module to incorporate the "touch tone" component which
allows residents to register for classes and activities using a touch tone phone and a credit card.
Since this system does not require that personnel be available to take the information, Calabasas
residents can register 24 hours a day.
The City of Agoura Hills recently installed the RecWare program (Activity Registration only) in
January. They had previously used another pre - programed recreation software program that no
longer met their needs. Agoura Hills' staff indicated that they were pleased with the training and
support they received converting to the new program, and so far, their staff is happy with
RecWare.
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The most notable of the comments staff received when researching RecWare users, is that
RecWare is easy to use, when compared to other recreation registration programs, and the
number of reports that are available on the system more than meet each user's needs. Class and
activity reports can be valuable tools for reviewing past and current programs and for future
planning.
RecWare programs can also very useful as a "target marketing" tool. It will create a number of
mailing lists targeted towards specific types of classes and activities. This allows the user to
target residents its knows to be interested in a particular subjects.
RecWare computer software can be purchased for a single user or for multi users. The multi -user
program requires a local area network server to facilitate two or more users accessing the same
data system. Since the City does not have a network server in place yet - although one is planned
for the future - staff proposes moving forward with the purchase of the single -user program.
When the City installs its local area network server, it can also upgrade RecWare to the multi -user
program, trading in the single -user program and paying only the difference between the two. As a
result, funds will not be lost by purchasing the single -user system now and converting to the
multi -user system in the future. RecWare will provide the City with a written guarantee
regarding the option to upgrade to a multi -user system.
Without the local area network server, each RecWare program module can only be used at one
site location. It is proposed that the class registration and league scheduling modules be installed
at Arroyo Vista Recreation Center (AVRC), since AVRC staff have primary responsibility for
these two areas. The facility reservation module would be installed at City Hall, as the
Department's secretary is responsible for processing facility reservations. Staff will develop an
internal system to accept and process class registrations at City Hall without requiring residents to
make an extra trip to AVRC. Once the City implements credit card registration, this task will be
made even easier (staff does plan to come back to the City Council in the near future to present a
proposal to implement the use of credit cards for class and sports activity registrations and facility
rentals). With the installation of the proposed local area network, it will be very easy to handle
any of the three recreation activities at either City Hall or AVRC.
Sierra Digital, the RecWare vendor, offers a price break for purchasing multiple modules. The
cost of the three modules, Activity Registration, Facility Reservation, and League Scheduling for
a single user is $3,500. The cost for annual maintenance support and software upgrades is
$1,300, and training (unlimited staff for three full days) and installation is $1,500. The total cost
including sales tax is approximately $6,800. Staff is working with Sierra Digital to secure a
maintenance contract the includes the remainder of the 1996/97 fiscal year at no cost, annual
maintenance costs would apply to FY 1997/98. Since there is currently a balance of $8,600 in
the Recreation Division Budget under computer equipment, no new funds are needed for this
purchase.
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Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council approve the purchase of RecWare Recreation software,
Activity Registration and Facility Reservation modules, at a cost not to exceed $6,800, and
authorize the City Manager to sign a yearly maintenance agreement on behalf of the City.
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