BOARD MEETING DATE: December 3, 2010
AGENDA NO. 17
PROPOSAL:
Approve Issuance of RFP for Development, Hosting & Maintenance of New Website and Approve Work Program Elements for FY 2010-11 AB 2766 Discretionary Fund Work Program
SYNOPSIS:
The MSRC approved the elements and funding allocations totaling more than $22 million for its FY 2010-11 AB 2766 Discretionary Fund Work Program as well as an RFP for one element of the Work Program. The MSRC seeks AQMD Board approval of the FY 2010-11 Work Program elements as well as issuance of one RFP for a new website at this time. Additional solicitations will be brought forward for approval in the near future.
COMMITTEE:
Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review, November 18, 2010, Recommended for Approval
RECOMMENDED ACTIONS:
Approve FY 2010-11 AB 2766 Discretionary Fund Work Program with the following elements or categories and funding allocations totaling $22.7 Million:
Local Government Match Program, totaling $5 Million;
Alternative Fuels Infrastructure, totaling $5 Million;
Off-Road Engine Repowers, totaling $3.5 Million
On-Road Engine Repowers, totaling $3.5 Million;
Alternative Fuel School Bus Incentives, totaling $1.5 Million;
School Bus Life Extension Program, totaling $1.5 Million;
Event Center Shuttles, totaling $1.5 Million;
Multi-Mobility Hubs, totaling $1 Million; and
“511” Smart Phone Application, totaling $200,000.
Approve issuance of RFP #P2011-13 for development, hosting and maintenance of new MSRC website, as part of the FY 2010-11 Work Program, as described in this letter and the attachment.
Greg Winterbottom
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. It is estimated that nearly $23 million is available for the FY 2010-11 AB 2766 Discretionary Fund Work Program.
Over the last few months the MSRC and its Technical Advisory Committee and support staff have been brainstorming categories for its FY 2010-11 AB 2766 Discretionary Fund Work Program. Five subcommittees were formed to assist with this process --Vehicles; Infrastructure; Local Government Match; Transportation Control Measures; and Showcase.
Previously at its October 21, 2010 meeting, the MSRC approved three elements of its FY 2010-11 Work Program. One of these was development of a new MSRC website including hardware upgrades and maintenance and hosting for two years. While the MSRC currently maintains an existing website (www.cleantransportationfunding.org), it was initially developed in 2005 by HiP Design on the MSRC’s behalf. And over the last five years, a variety of new options for content management system platforms and hosting have become available. The newer platforms provide for more flexibility and smoother processing. Additionally, much of the current hosting hardware, although still operational, is outdated and needs replacement. The website’s appearance also needs to be refreshed and updated. It has been determined that the existing MSRC database and its contents can be smoothly moved to newer platforms. The MSRC set aside $100,000 for this RFP and directed staff to prepare an RFP for consideration at its next meeting. On November 18, 2010, the MSRC considered this RFP for release as well as the remaining work program elements or categories and the parameters thus far identified for each as well as funding target allocations for each category. Further details are provided below in the Proposals section.
Proposal
At its November 18, 2010 meeting, the MSRC unanimously approved a Request for Proposals #P2011-13 to identify and retain a contractor to develop, host and maintain their new website. Proposals will be due by 5 p.m. on Friday, January 7, 2011. It is anticipated that an award will be made on or about May 1, 2011. Award recommendations will be brought forward by the MSRC to the AQMD Board at that time. As mentioned above, the MSRC has allocated $100,000 for this effort as part of its FY 2010-11 Work Program.
Also on November 18, 2010, the MSRC unanimously approved the remaining elements or categories of its FY 2010-11 AB 2766 Discretionary Fund Work Program, including funding target allocations, as follows:
Local Government Match Program - $5 Million - a Program Announcement with a mandatory online submission work program requirement will be developed and released to implement this program, and eligible applications will be funded on a first-come, first-serve basis; alternative fuel infrastructure and vehicles will continue to be eligible categories, along with potentially other eligible project types, but it is anticipated that funding per project and per entity will be reduced from past programs.
Alternative Fuels Infrastructure - $5 Million - a Program Announcement will also be developed and released to implement this program and funding applied on a first-come, first-served basis if applicants meet the criteria and conditions set forth in the PA; this program will be limited to CNG and LNG refueling stations and may be limited to new stations only.
Off-Road Engine Repowers - $3.5 Million – this program will provide funding to repower older natural gas engines in off-road equipment, targeting emission reductions for older “legacy” fleets.
On-Road Engine Repowers - $3.5 Million – this program will provide funding to repower older natural gas engines in on-road vehicles including transit buses, again targeting emission reductions for older “legacy” fleets and extending the lifespan of these existing alternative fuel engines.
Alternative Fuel School Bus Incentives - $1.5 Million – this allocation will support school districts and the AQMD’s fleet rules by providing incentives toward the purchase of alternative fuel school buses required to expand school district school bus fleets; a Request for Qualifications will probably be released to identify qualified vendors to implement the incentives, which will likely be lower than in prior years.
School Bus Life Extension Program - $1.5 Million – this program intends to provide incentives for school districts to install new natural gas engines and fuel tanks in existing natural gas school buses typically purchased about ten years ago; this will extend the life of the school buses and reduce emissions but without the need for substantial capital investment which would be required if new natural gas buses had to be purchased.
Event Center Shuttles - $1.5 Million – this program will provide funding to event centers to develop public transportation where congestion is a problem because they are not served by regular public transportation; this will be similar to the MSRC’s very successful Dodger Stadium Clean Fuel Shuttle Program implemented earlier this year.
Multi-Mobility Hubs - $1 Million – this effort, which supports the intent of SB 375, will assist public transit users, especially rail users, and offer options for commute end transportation; multiple stakeholders and public/private partnerships are anticipated and the options will be tailored for each location/project to address the particular needs of that hub(s); and
“511” Smart Phone Application - $200,000 – an RFP will probably be developed to identify and retain a firm to develop this smart phone application which would bring real-time commute data to smart phones through an app accessing 511 information.
The AQMD Board will consider the FY 2010-11 Work Program elements or categories at its December 3, 2010 meeting. Solicitations to implement each category will be brought forward to the MSRC and AQMD Board for consideration in the near future.
At this time the MSRC requests the AQMD Board to approve the FY 2010-11 Work Program elements or categories and issuance of RFP #P2011-13 as part of the FY 2010-11 Work Program, as outlined above and in the attachment.
Outreach
In accordance with AQMD’s Procurement Policy and Procedure, a public notice advertising the RFP/RFQ and inviting bids will be published in the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register, the San Bernardino Sun, and the Riverside Press-Enterprise newspapers to leverage the most cost-effective method of outreach to the entire South Coast Basin.
Additionally, potential bidders may be notified utilizing AQMD’s own electronic listing of certified minority vendors. Notice of the RFP/RFQ will be mailed to the Black and Latino Legislative Caucuses and various minority chambers of commerce and business associations, the State of California Contracts Register website, and placed on the AQMD’s Web site (http://www.aqmd.gov) where it can be viewed by making menu selections “Inside AQMD”/“Employment and Business Opportunities”/“Business Opportunities” or by going directly to http://www.aqmd.gov/rfp/index.html). Information is also available on AQMD’s bidder’s 24-hour telephone message line (909) 396-2724.
Bidders’ Conference
To assist potential bidders in submitting qualified applications in response to RFP #P2011-13 for development, hosting and maintenance of the MSRC’s website, a non-mandatory Bidders’ Conference will be conducted at AQMD headquarters at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, December 16, 2010. Interviews of finalists will also be conducted on January 25, 2011.
Proposal Evaluation and Panel Composition
Proposals received in response to the RFP (further outlined under the Proposals section) will be evaluated by members of the MSRC’s Technical Advisory Committee (MSRC-TAC), comprised of individuals appointed by participating member agencies as prescribed in the Health & Safety Code.
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.
Attachment (DOC, 890kb)