BOARD MEETING DATE: May 1, 2009
AGENDA NO. 3B

PROPOSAL:

Modify Contract and Award in Support of Mountain Area CNG School Bus Demonstration Program, Issue RFP for MSRC Technical Advisor Services and Exercise Option for Website Services under FYs 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 AB 2766 Discretionary Fund Work Programs

SYNOPSIS:

As an element of its FY 2006-07 Work Program, the MSRC funded the Mountain Area CNG School Bus Demonstration Program. The MSRC approved an increase in the award to its infrastructure vendor and extension of leases for the school buses to provide the participating school district a full year of demonstration. In addition, the contract for the MSRC’s Technical Advisor, an independent contractor who provides technical assistance in support of the AB 2766 Discretionary Fund Program, expires June 30, 2009. To ensure continuation of these services, the MSRC approved release of an RFP to solicit Technical Advisor services for FYs 2009-10 & 2010-11, including a two-year option to extend. Finally, the MSRC approved exercising the option in its contract with HiP Design for continuation of website services fro two more years. At this time the MSRC seeks AQMD Board approval to release the Technical Advisor RFP and to execute the award/contract modifications under FYs 2008-09, 2009-10 & 2010-11 AB 2766 Discretionary Fund Work Programs.

COMMITTEE:

Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review, March 19 and April 16, 2009

RECOMMENDED ACTIONS:

1. Approve augmentations totaling up to $131,928 for two contracts/awards under the Mountain Area CNG School Bus Demonstration Program as part of the FY 2008-09 Work Program, as described in this letter and as follows;
1. Augmentation of award to Gas Equipment Systems, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $41,000, which combined with the original $30,000 award will result in a revised award amount not to exceed $71,000, to provide temporary refueling infrastructure for Bear Valley Unified School District; and
2. Augmentation of contract with BusWest, Inc. in an amount up to $90,928 (subject to AQMD contribution of funds, which may reduce this amount), which combined with the current contract value, would result in a revised award amount not to exceed $181,856, for the lease of two CNG school buses for use by Bear Valley Unified School District.
2. Issue RFP for Technical Advisor Services for FYs 2009-10 & 2010-11, including a two-year option to extend;
3. Exercise second two-year option for website services with Haaland Internet Productions (HiP Design) in the amount of $7,200 under FY 2008-09 AB 2766 Discretionary Fund Work Program;
4. Authorize MSRC the authority to adjust contracts awards up to five percent, as necessary; and
5. Authorize the Chairman of the Board to execute new and modified contracts under FYs 2008-09, 2009-10 & 2010-11 AB 2766 Discretionary Fund Work Programs, as described above and within this letter.
    

Ron Roberts
Chair, MSRC

Background

In September 1990 Assembly Bill 2766 was signed into law (Health & Safety Code Sections 44220-44247) authorizing the imposition of an annual $4 motor vehicle registration fee to fund the implementation of programs exclusively to reduce air pollution from motor vehicles. AB 2766 provides that 30 percent of the annual $4 vehicle registration fee subvened to the AQMD be placed into an account to be allocated pursuant to a work program developed and adopted by the MSRC and approved by the Board.
 

1. Mountain Area CNG School Bus Demonstration Program

As an element of the FY 2006-07 Work Program, the MSRC funded the demonstration of two CNG school buses at one or more mountain area school districts. The Bear Valley Unified School District elected to participate. This demonstration project was comprised of two elements: a) the lease of two natural gas buses from BusWest, Inc.; and b) the lease of a portable CNG refueling station from S-W Compressors, Inc.

The portable CNG refueling station was installed and commenced refueling operations on or about October 2008. Subsequent to station startup, Bear Valley Unified experienced multiple technical issues associated with the station installation, including CNG leaks that were attributed to loose connections on station fittings and components. Although station repairs, reinstallations, and other corrective actions were taken on at least three occasions, perceived safety issues resulted in Bear Valley Unified School District’s unilateral decision to discontinue station operation until such time as all operational issues were corrected.

Due to recurrent problems with the original station, the original contract with S-W Compressors has been closed, and the $52,500 balance has reverted to the AB 2766 Discretionary Fund. A substitution of refueling station vendor was performed by the MSRC at their December 2008 meeting, with approval of a $30,000 award to the current infrastructure vendor, GESI, and subsequently approved by the AQMD Board on January 9, 2009. At that time, MSRC staff believed that amount to be an accurate estimate of contract cost for substituting a temporary station. A contract has not yet been executed with GESI.

The MSRC directed staff to obtain a firm cost estimate from GESI for the design, installation, and maintenance of the temporary CNG station. At their March 19, 2009 meeting, the MSRC considered GESI’s quotation and staff recommendations thereon. Further details are provided in the Proposals section.

Bear Valley Unified accepted delivery of the leased CNG school buses on or about September 2008, and entered the buses into service in October 2008 when the original temporary CNG station commenced operation. However, due to the recurrent problems with the original station and its subsequent removal, the buses have not accrued the intended amount of operation. At their March 19, 2009 meeting, the MSRC considered staff recommendations to allow the demonstration of the buses to continue through the 2009-10 school year. Further details are provided in the Proposals section.
 

2. Issue RFP for Technical Advisor Services

The MSRC retains a Technical Advisor, an independent contractor who provides programmatic and technical assistance in support of the AB 2766 Discretionary Fund Program. The current Technical Advisor contract expires June 30, 2009. To ensure continuation of these services, the MSRC’s Technical Advisory Committee (MSRC-TAC) developed a Request for Proposals (RFP) to solicit Technical Advisor services for FYs 2009-10 and 2010-11, including a two-year option to extend. At their April 16, 2009 meeting, the MSRC considered the MSRC-TAC’s recommendations; further details are provided in the Proposals section.
 

3. Exercise Second Two-Year Option for Website Services

Several years ago the MSRC created a website as a marketing and outreach too as well as a source of information for its contractors and other interested entities. HiP Design was the contractor chosen through an RFP process to design and host the website. HiP Design has continued to provide hosting and maintenance services for the website. HiP Design’s current contract includes a second two-year option to extend. At their April 16, 2009 meeting, the MSRC considered the MSRC-TAC’s recommendations to execute the second two-year option; further details are provided in the Proposals section.
 

Proposals

At its March 19 and April 16, 2009 meetings, the MSRC unanimously approved the following.
 

1. Mountain Area CNG School Bus Demonstration Program

GESI provided a quotation for the design, installation, rental and maintenance of a temporary CNG station to be located at Bear Valley Unified for a period of one year. GESI quoted a total cost of $71,000, inclusive of the $30,000 previously awarded. MSRC staff expressed concern relative to the estimated costs for the drawing package and site construction elements. Staff recommended that should the MSRC wish to move forward with the GESI contract, in accordance with standard administrative practice for MSRC contracts, the contract should reflect “not-to-exceed” values for each task and further stipulate that expenses will be reimbursed on actual costs incurred and documented. As part of the FY 2008-09 Work Program, the MSRC approved augmentation of the GESI award in an amount not to exceed $41,000, which combined with the original award of $30,000 will result in a combined Time and Materials contract award of up to $71,000, for the design, installation, rental and maintenance of a temporary CNG station.

Due to lack of a refueling station, and difficulties with the initial contract, Bear Valley Unified has not been able to operate the CNG buses as anticipated. Staff recommended that should the MSRC wish to continue the Mountain Area CNG School Bus Demonstration Program, the MSRC consider an extension of BusWest’s contract for the lease of buses in order to allow the demonstration of the buses to continue through the 2009-10 school year, as well as an increase in the contract amount to cover the additional demonstration period. BusWest has indicated their willingness to extend the buses’ lease at the current rate of $22,732 per calendar quarter. The additional cost of extending the lease for one year would be $90,928.

On March 19, 2009, the MSRC as part of its FY 2008-09 Work Program approved an augmentation and modification of BusWest’s contract in an amount up to $90,928, which combined with the current contract value of $90,928, would result in a combined award amount not to exceed $181,856, for the lease of two CNG school buses for use by Bear Valley Unified School District for an additional year. At the MSRC meeting, AQMD staff expressed the desire to partner with the MSRC and seek approval for funding a portion of the project. On May 1, 2009, the AQMD Board will consider a proposal from its staff to partner with the MSRC on this project and provide $80,000 in funding toward the lease extension of the two CNG school buses for use by Bear Valley Unified School District. If this funding is approved, the MSRC’s funding for the second year lease will be reduced from $90,928 to $10,928.
 

2. Issue RFP for Technical Advisor Services

The MSRC retains a Technical Advisor for programmatic and technical assistance. At their April 16, 2009 meeting, the MSRC unanimously approved release of an RFP to solicit Technical Advisor services for FYs 2009-10 and 2010-11, including a two-year option to extend. The MSRC also approved a three-month no-cost term extension of the current Technical Advisor contract to ensure services would be continued until a new contract could be executed.
 

3. Exercise Second Two-Year Option for Website Services

Finally, the MSRC maintains a website and HiP Design first created and has since maintained and hosted the website. At their April 16, 2009 meeting, the MSRC unanimously approved executing the second two-year option to extend HiP Design’s contract and augmented the contract with an additional $7,200, which provides a modest $300 per month for hosting and maintenance.

The MSRC respectfully requests AQMD Board approval to release the Technical Advisor RFP and to execute the above award/contract modifications under FYs 2008-09, 2009-10 & 2010-11 AB 2766 Discretionary Fund Work Programs. The MSRC also requests authority to adjust the funds allocated to each project specified in this Board letter by up to five percent of the project's recommended funding. The Board has granted this authority to the MSRC for all past work programs. Finally, the MSRC requests the Board authorize the AQMD Chairman of the Board the authority to execute all agreements described in this letter.
 

Resource Impacts

The AQMD acts as fiscal administrator for the AB 2766 Discretionary Fund Program (Health & Safety Code Section 44243). Money received for this program is recorded in a special revenue fund (Fund 23) and the contracts will be drawn from this fund. These contracts will have no fiscal impact on the AQMD’s operational budget.