REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
SUBMITTED TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
SUBMITTED BY: Travis Hopkins, City Manager
VIA: Chau Vu, Director of Public Works
PREPARED BY: Chris Davis, Senior Management Analyst
Subject:
title
Approve and Authorize the Execution of a Professional Services Contract with Partners In Control, Inc. DBA Enterprise Automation in the Amount of $2,500,000 for On-Call Engineering Services for the Public Works Utilities Division Supervisory Control and Data Acquisitions (SCADA) Systems for a Three-Year Term
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Statement of Issue:
Submitted for City Council approval is a Professional Services contract with Enterprise Automation to provide on-call services for the Public Works Utilities Division SCADA systems, which monitor and control the City’s water, storm water and wastewater systems.
Financial Impact:
The City’s approved Fiscal Year (FY) 2026-2027 Budget includes adequate funds to cover the Enterprise Automation contract for FY2026-2027. Funding for FY 2026-2027 has been identified as follows:
|
Fund |
Business Unit |
Amount |
|
Water Enterprise (506) |
50685807.69365 |
$300,000 |
|
|
50685201.69365 |
$100,000 |
|
Sewer Service (511) |
51185301.69365 |
$200,000 |
|
|
Total |
$600,000 |
Additional funds will be used from specific projects included in the approved Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Budget, for Well 14, the On-site Chlorine Generation and the McFadden Sewer Lift Station projects. Funding for future years will be included in the respective business units as part of the City’s annual budget approval process.
Recommended Action:
recommendation
Approve and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute a $2,500,000 Professional Services Contract between the City of Huntington Beach and Enterprise Automation for On-Call Engineering Services for Water and Wastewater SCADA Systems for a three-year term.
end
Alternative Action(s):
Do not approve the Professional Services Contract and direct staff accordingly.
Analysis:
The City’s Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system is the operational backbone of the Utilities Division. It continuously monitors and controls the City’s drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater facilities, including wells, reservoirs, booster stations, sewer lift stations, and flood control facilities. The system enables operators to remotely monitor and control equipment, receive alarms, collect operational data, and respond quickly to system issues, improving reliability while reducing the need for manual field operations.
Over the next three (3) years, the Utilities Division will continue implementing numerous Capital Improvement Program (CIP) projects that require integration into the City’s SCADA system, including water treatment improvements, well upgrades, sewer lift station improvements, and other infrastructure modernization projects. The projects require specialized SCADA programming, control system design, testing, commissioning, cybersecurity support, and ongoing maintenance. Because of the highly specialized nature of these systems, these services cannot be effectively performed using existing City staff alone.
On March 26, 2026, the City’s Purchasing Division issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for On-Call Engineering Services for Water and Wastewater SCADA Systems. Two (2) qualified firms submitted proposals, Enterprise Automation and ACET Solutions, LLC. An evaluation committee consisting of Utilities Division staff and representatives from the Information Services Department and Public Works Engineering independently reviewed each proposal using the evaluation criteria established in the RFP. Evaluation categories included:
• Compliance with RFP requirements
• Understanding of the project
• Experience performing similar work for public agencies
• Qualifications and experience of proposed staff
• Cost
• References
• Local responsiveness
Following the evaluation process, Enterprise Automation received the highest overall score and was determined to be the best overall value to the City of Huntington Beach. While both firms demonstrated technical qualifications and submitted responsive proposals, Enterprise Automation distinguished itself in several key areas that are critical to the City’s long-term operational success.
Enterprise Automation demonstrated a comprehensive understanding of the City’s existing SCADA infrastructure and future operational needs. Their proposal specifically addressed Huntington Beach’s existing control systems, ongoing capital improvement projects, system standardization efforts, disaster recovery capabilities, and long-term modernization strategies. By comparison, the second proposal provided a more generalized approach that was not tailored to the City’s existing SCADA environment.
Enterprise Automation also demonstrated extensive experience performing comparable SCADA integration projects for municipal water and wastewater agencies throughout Southern California. Their staff possesses specialized manufacturer certifications and extensive experience with the same software platforms, programmable logic controllers (PLCs), communications networks, and control system technologies currently utilized by the City. This familiarity significantly reduces implementation risk, minimizes training requirements, and allows future projects to be completed more efficiently.
In addition, Enterprise Automation maintains a local office in Irvine, California, allowing rapid onsite response when field support is required for critical water and wastewater facilities. The firm currently maintains a dedicated virtual testing environment that replicates the City’s SCADA system, enabling software updates and configuration changes to be thoroughly tested before deployment into the City’s live operating environment. This capability minimizes operational risk, reduces system downtime, and provides an additional layer of disaster recovery support.
Although ACET Solutions submitted a competitive proposal, Enterprise Automation’s superior understanding of the City’s systems, extensive municipal SCADA experience, specialized technical qualifications, demonstrated familiarity of the City’s infrastructure, and ability to provide rapid local support resulted in the highest overall evaluation score and represents the best overall value to the City. For these reasons, staff recommends approval of a Professional Services Agreement with Enterprise Automation for On-Call Engineering Services for Water and Wastewater SCADA Systems for a three-year term.
Environmental Status:
Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(5), administrative activities of governments that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment do not constitute a project.
Strategic Plan Goal:
Non Applicable - Administrative Item
For details, visit www.huntingtonbeachca.gov/strategicplan.
Attachment(s):
1. RCA Contract Agreement Summary
2. Professional Services Agreement
3. PowerPoint Presentation