Website Design & Development RFP 2022

LAKE ARROWHEAD COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS for Website Design & Development Date of issue: September 27, 2022 Due Date: October 27, 2022 Submit questions by October 17, 2022 electronically to: Bridget Ortiz, Customer Service Supervisor bortiz@lakearrowheadcsd.com Submit a copy of your Proposal electronically to: Bridget Ortiz, Customer Service Supervisor bortiz@lakearrowheadcsd.com mailto:bortiz@lakearrowheadcsd.com mailto:bortiz@lakearrowheadcsd.com Page intentionally left blank 1. Background The Lake Arrowhead Community Services District (District) encompasses about 15 square miles and currently services approximately 8,500 water customers (including Deer Lodge Park, and Rimforest) and 10,600 wastewater

customers. The District is located in the San Bernardino Mountains, 23 miles north of San Bernardino and approximately 75 miles east of Los Angeles. Over the years, Lake Arrowhead has become an area of permanent, semi-permanent and seasonal character. To learn about our District, log into www.lakearrowheadcsd.com 2. Purpose Lake Arrowhead Community Services District is seeking to update its website to enhance the user experience, simplify content management, and provide improved citizen-centric information and customer service to its community, while meeting high standards for design quality and visual appeal. The District would like to decentralize content management by empowering our staff to easily create and manage website content in each department under the oversight of a central administrator. The new website must have a priority of striving to be ADA compliant. The District seeks the assistance of an experienced company that can accomplish the goals of the District with all the functionality identified in this RFP. The District also seeks a company that has the capability of integrating additional features and functionality that may be identified in the future. The District would like a vendor to provide hosting services for the website in a secure data center. The experienced company should have a team of experts who understand local government, to help us achieve our vision – all while providing 24/7/365 support. 3. Required Features The information below represents required functional capabilities in the selected Content Management System (CMS). It is not all inclusive, other functionality may be recommended or added. The District's new website vendor must be able to provide at a minimum, the components shown. • ADA Compliance • Alerts & Notifications - Display alerts prominently on website with notifications sent via email and text messaging to subscribers (Urgent Alert Banners) • Archive Center - Store agendas, minutes, newsletters, and other documents • Browser Based Administration - Update, delete and create content from any device with internet access • Calendar - Update/publish calendars for departments/categories with a main calendar to display all events • Content Scheduling - Set dates for content to automatically publish and expire • Departmental Home Pages - Ability for departments to have dedicated pages within the site with that follow the same design as the other interior pages • Directories for Staff - Ability to allow citizens to search for staff department information • Document Center - Upload/download capability for files up to 1GB, back-end ability to search within published and unpublished documents • E-Notifications - Electronic subscription, scheduled notifications for email and SMS • Frequently Asked Questions - Ability to categorize FAQs by department or page • Levels of Rights/Permissions - Allow system administrators to establish levels of rights for staff to update/manage/access content based upon roles http://www.lakearrowheadcsd.com/ • Live Edit - Add, edit, and move content directly on the front end of the site without the need to utilize or be trained in writing HTML or CSS code • Multilingual Support - Using Google Translate or similar • News & Announcements - Post news releases or updates dynamically to relevant pages based on category • Online Forms - Create unlimited customizable forms, track, and export results • Online Payments - Ability to link to our secure online bill payment system Xpress Bill Pay • Image Center - Store images in a central location on website • Printable Pages - Print-friendly function • Responsive Web Design - Fully mobile responsive design - site adjusts to the screen size of all devices its being view on, includes forms, calendars, etc. • Request Tracking - Citizens can submit requests with automated workflow to correct individual/department with exportable statistics and reports • RFP/RFQ/Bid Posting - Allow for easy posting of bids to the site • Rotating Photos/Banners - Slideshow capabilities • RSS Feeds out - Registration by Department or Category • Sharing Capability - Links to share content via email and social media on every page • Site Search - Internal site search engine and log of search terms • Site Statistics - Analytics and site audit reports • Sitemap & Breadcrumbs - Automatically generated and updated sitemap and breadcrumbs • Social Media Interface - Display social media feeds (Facebook and Twitter) • Website Visitor Profile - Visitors can pick and choose the information that automatically becomes fed to their profile upon site login. • Video Page – Page to place welcome video and department spotlights. • Rebate Programs 4. Optional Features There may be additional features that are not required by the District at this time, however, please include information and availability of integration of additional features for the future. 5. Format for Proposal The District will evaluate vendor experience, qualifications and capabilities for developing and implementing a new District website. The response should be formatted to address all items outlined below. Responders are required to submit a written narrative addressing each of the underlined section items including section bullets: Executive Summary – 2 page maximum • Overview and summary of how your company will assist the District in achieving the goals outlined in this RFP • Any differentiators that set your solution apart from your competitors Company Profile • Company overview o Legal name of company o Brief company history, highlighting your experience working with local governments o Length of time the company has been in business o Number of current employees • Name, telephone number, and email address for the main point of contact during RFP process Project Team • Name and define the different roles in your company’s project team • Explain how your project team will communicate with the District and keep track of the development progress • List any specific team leaders, including o Name and title o Description of role o Education and experience One-source vendors are preferred. If utilizing subcontractors for any portion of the project including engineering, design, or support, provide key personnel and company information. Experience • Public Sector/Municipal References (minimum of three, including information below) o Client name o Website URL o Client contact person and title o Phone o Email address Features, Functionality, & Design At minimum: • Detail availability of all features and functionality listed in Required Features and Optional Features sections of this RFP • Provide a short narrative outlining your company’s design process and benefits. Implementation Plan • Typical timeline/schedule • Detailed explanation of all project phases including consultation, design, development, content migration, training, implementation • What role the District will play in the project Ongoing Services • Continuing Service & Support o Technical support services - emergency and non-emergency availability o Availability of online training manuals and ongoing support o Describe product release, enhancement, and upgrade process • Hosting & Security o 99.9% uptime (outside of scheduled maintenance) guaranteed by Service Level Agreement to be supplied upon request o Data Center ▪ Tier II, managed network infrastructure, on-site power backup and generators, redundant network, 24/7/365 system monitoring, multiple data centers o Hosting ▪ Automated software updates and security patches, redundant firewall solutions, high performance SAN with N+2 reliability o Bandwidth ▪ Multiple network providers, burst bandwidth of at least 22Gb/s o Disaster Recovery ▪ 24/7 emergency support, online status monitor, event notification emails, recovery time objective no greater than eight hours, recovery point objective no greater than 24 hours, preemptive monitoring, geographically redundant backup o DDoS Mitigation Investment Proposal All-inclusive/Lump Sum pricing is required. Pricing should include: • Development and implementation, including: o CMS Software o Number of pages for content migration & enhancement o Number of days/hours of training – Specify if virtual or on-site If on-site, indicate if travel is included or a separate cost o Additional included products and/or functionality • Annual services, including: o Hosting & security o Maintenance o Technical Support • Cost for future website redesign Fees • Total first year cost (combined one-time fees and first year annual fees) • Annual fees beginning year 2 Separately list any optional project enhancements that you believe will benefit the District’s project. Additional Products Offered (limited to one (1) page) Give brief descriptions of other products offered by the company. Do not include marketing brochures, promotional collateral, or excessive non-relevant information. 6. Schedule The approximate RFP schedule is summarized below: Notice of inviting Proposals September 27, 2022 Deadline for Questions October 17, 2022 by 5:00pm Proposals Due October 27, 2022 by 5:00pm Vendor interviews and reference checks November, 2022 Vendor approval, enter negotiations, execute a professional services agreement December, 2022 * Dates subject to change 7. Submittal Requirements The deadline for RFP responses is October 27, 2022 no later than 5:00pm (PT). Submit one, electronic file (.pdf file preferred) via email to: bortiz@lakearrowheadcsd.com. Indicate in the subject line “Website Design & Development Submittal – (Vendor Name)”. The District will only accept attachments up to 10MB. Submit one (1) hardcopy of response. Sealed proposals must be clearly marked on the outside of the envelope with the following description: “Website Design & Development Submittal – (Vendor Name)”. Proposals shall be mailed to: Bridget Ortiz Customer Service Supervisor Lake Arrowhead Community Services District PO Box 700 Lake Arrowhead, CA 92352 Submittals not received on or before the specified deadline stated above will not be accepted (no exceptions). Proposals submitted in response to this RFP shall be valid for 60 days from the submittal due date. The District reserves the right to request follow-up information or clarification from vendors in consideration. Vendor is responsible to ensure delivery by the date and time included. The District reserves the right to reject any or all submittals, to compare the relative merits of the respective responses, and to choose a vendor, which will best serve the interests of the District. Each response to this RFP shall be done at the sole cost and expense of each proposing vendor and with the express understanding that no claims against the District for reimbursement will be accepted. 8. Evaluation Criteria Responses to this RFP will help the District identify the most qualified vendor and will be indicative of the level of the firm's commitment. The District will evaluate the qualifications, references, overall fit with the District, as well as take into consideration the proposed scope and pricing submitted to determine the most qualified web vendor. 9. Selection Process The selection process will involve the following phases: Phase 1: A District selection committee will evaluate vendor submittals. The initial review will determine conformance to submission requirements and whether responses meet minimum criteria established. Review will include the vendor's acceptance of RFP terms and completeness of submissions. Phase 2: If deemed necessary by the District selection committee, interviews may be held for a short list of qualified vendors. Phase 3: Review team will check references provided. Phase 4: The District will select the successful vendor to begin negotiations as described in the Section 10. 10. Contract Negotiation & Insurance It is the intent of the District that after the successful vendor has been selected, the District and the selected vendor will enter into contract negotiations containing all terms and conditions of the proposed service. Any acceptance of a proposal is contingent upon the execution of a written contract and the District shall not be contractually bound to any bidder prior to the execution of such written contractual agreement. Before signing a contract with the successful vendor, the District requires satisfactory proof that the vendor has adequate insurance coverage for the work to be performed under the contract. 11. Proposal Submission Certification By submitting a proposal, vendor certifies that he or she has carefully examined all the documents for the project, has carefully and thoroughly reviewed this RFP, and understands the nature and scope of the work to be done and the terms and conditions thereof.