A 12-page outline of the city’s plan was issued Thursday, spelling out the following goals and objectives as it invites tech companies to offer solutions:
- Increase Digital Access and Equity: We want to help more people more easily connect with the digital world by doing things such as providing ubiquitous, high-quality public Wi-Fi.
- Improve the Movement and Interconnectivity of People Through Our City: We want to reduce the reliance on single-occupancy vehicles, increase the safety of walking and biking and enhance the connections to the wealth of opportunities and natural beauty in this region to improve air quality and reduce vehicle miles traveled.
- Create Safe, Accessible, Practical and Delightful Public Space: We want to provide public spaces that work for people, that provide good way-finding, and that are vibrant places for people to come together to enjoy the vibrant community that we are.
- Deliver Exceptional City Services: We want to deliver the basics better than anyone, from issuing permits and business licenses to fixing potholes and keeping our streets maintained and well lit.
- Expand Constituent Engagement: We want to engage our residents and visitors, providing timely information when needed, connecting people with services in new ways, and getting good feedback on how our city can be even better on things that matter most to our residents.
- Spark Business Growth and Employment: We want to put in place infrastructure that helps new and existing businesses expand services and reach new customers. We believe the ‘Green’ economy is a great opportunity for Stockton to build in resilience to our economic development.
- Build a Platform for Learning: We want to establish a network that helps rapidly design, deploy, and improve sensors that deliver civic value.
The city outlines its assets that may be included in or used by proposed tech solutions, including “city-owned fiber, conduit, streetlights and data center rack space.”
Stockton, whose tech operations are headed by IT Director and Chief Information Officer Norbert Ruijling, also included this caveat: “As a city, our budget is constrained. Moreover, it’s challenging to fund new initiatives when the return is not clear and the civic value is undefined. We’re open to public/private partnerships, and interesting, new ways to fund infrastructure. Let us know the strategies you are proposing as well as any trade-offs you see and how you would mitigate those trade-offs.”
The guidelines for submission are detailed, and they’re spelled out in the RFI. But some general advice: “Given all the various resources and assets we have at street-level in Stockton, let us know how you would redesign, augment or replace to create the next generation streetscape. Tell us if you are looking to test or ready to scale. Please no more than 10 typed pages; we will allow up to 5 additional pages for illustrations, diagrams and photographs. If you have multiple ideas, we will accept multiple submissions.”
Questions on the RFI should be submitted to stocktonbids@stocktonca.gov by Thursday, and the city will publish a compilation of questions and answers, if needed, by Oct. 8, at www.stocktonca.gov/ITBID. The deadline for submissions is 5 p.m. Oct. 15, and they should also be sent to stocktonbids@stocktonca.gov. By Oct. 29, the city may ask respondents to attend a panel discussion.
