BOARD MEETING DATE: May 7, 2010
AGENDA NO. 12
PROPOSAL:
Approve Contract Modifications and Awards under FYs 2008-09 and 2009-10 AB 2766 Discretionary Fund Work Programs
SYNOPSIS:
The MSRC approved a contract modification for A-Z Bus Sales providing additional funds, as well as a new contract award to BusWest, for alternative fuel school buses as part of the FY 2008-09 Work Program. The MSRC also approved correction of a FY 2009-10 Work Program award to the City of Fullerton, to reflect that the CNG station will be new rather than an upgrade. The MSRC seeks AQMD Board approval of these contract awards and modifications under FYs 2008-09 and 2009-10 Work Programs, respectively.
COMMITTEE:
Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review, April 15, 2010, Recommended for Approval
RECOMMENDED ACTIONS:
Approve a funding augmentation in an amount not to exceed $120,000 as part of the FY 2008-09 Work Program, to existing contract #MS09002 with A-Z Bus Sales under the Alternative Fuel School Bus Incentives Program, using funds previously allocated to this Program but not yet awarded, as described in this letter;
Approve an award in an amount not to exceed $240,000 as part of the FY 2008-09 Work Program, to BusWest, a qualified vendor under the Alternative Fuel School Bus Incentives Program, using funds previously allocated to this Program but not yet awarded, as described in this letter;
Approve a corrected award to issue a contract to the City of Fullerton, as part of the FY 2009-10 Work Program, in an amount not to exceed $110,125 for the installation of a new CNG station and purchase of two heavy-duty natural gas trucks instead of the upgrade of an existing CNG station and purchase of two heavy-duty natural gas trucks, as listed in Agenda Item #13 on the November 6, 2009 AQMD Board agenda (Recommended Action 6.b), and recognize that this award augments an earlier partial award of $339,875 for the same project, as described in this letter;
Authorize MSRC the authority to adjust contract awards up to five percent, as necessary and previously granted in prior work programs; and
Authorize the Chairman of the Board to execute new and modified contracts under FYs 2003-04, 2008-09, and 2009-10 AB 2766 Discretionary Fund Work Programs, as described above and within this letter.
Greg Winterbottom
Vice-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.
FY 2008-09 Work Program
As part of the FY 2008-09 Work Program, the MSRC has allocated a total of $3,000,000 for the Alternative Fuel School Bus Incentives Program to provide buydown incentives for school districts. The MSRC has previously awarded a total of $2,140,000 to A-Z Bus Sales, leaving an available balance of $860,000. At its April 15, 2010 meeting, the MSRC considered a request from A-Z Bus Sales for an additional $120,000 for an order from the Colton Joint Unified School District; further details are provided below in the Proposals section.
Also at its April 15, 2010 meeting, the MSRC considered a request from BusWest for an award of $240,000 to fulfill orders from Colton Joint Unified School District and the Morongo Band of Mission Indians. BusWest is the second vendor, in addition to A-Z Bus Sales, qualified to offer incentives under the MSRC’s Alternative Fuel School Bus Incentives Program; further details are provided below in the Proposals section.
FY 2009-10 Work Program
On November 6, 2009, the AQMD Board approved multiple awards as part of the MSRC’s FY 2009-10 Work Program. Subsequent to the approval, staff discovered that one project had been inaccurately described to both the MSRC and AQMD. Details are provided in the Proposals section.
Proposals
FY 2008-09 Work Program
As mentioned in the Background section, the MSRC previously awarded a total of $2,140,000 of the $3 million allocated for this Program to A-Z Bus Sales to continue implementation of the Alternative Fuel School Bus Incentives Program, based on their pending orders. This $2,140,000 has already been expended or has purchase orders issued against it. A-Z Bus Sales has received an order from Colton Joint Unified School District for CNG buses, for which the total incentive would be $120,000. A-Z Bus Sales requests an additional $120,000 to cover the buydown incentives for these buses. The MSRC has a balance of $860,000 remaining in this FY 2008-09 Alternative Fuel School Bus Incentives Program. At its April 15, 2010 meeting, the MSRC considered recommendations from its MSRC-TAC and unanimously awarded $120,000 out of this allocation to A-Z Bus Sales in order to provide the full incentives for the buses on order for Colton Joint Unified School District.
As mentioned above, BusWest is the second school bus vendor who was qualified via an RFQ process to offer incentives under the MSRC’s Alternative Fuel School Bus Incentives Program. BusWest does not currently have an open contract to provide such incentives because the term of their contract expired. However, BusWest has now received the following orders for which the total incentive would be $240,000: 1) Colton Joint Unified School District, two CNG buses at $60,000 each; and 2) Morongo Band of Mission Indians, two CNG buses at $60,000 each. Colton Joint Unified School District’s order with BusWest is separate and distinct from their order with A-Z Bus Sales; they are in fact ordering a total of four buses at this time. BusWest requests the award of a $240,000 contract to cover the buydown incentives for these buses. At its April 15, 2010 meeting, the MSRC unanimously awarded a $240,000 contract to BusWest in order to provide the full incentives for the buses on order, using funds previously allocated for the Program.
FY 2009-10 Work Program
As mentioned in the Background section, on November 6, 2009 the AQMD Board approved multiple awards as part of the MSRC’s FY 2009-10 Work Program. Among these, the City of Fullerton was awarded $110,125 for the upgrade of an existing CNG station and purchase of two heavy-duty natural gas trucks. Subsequent to the approval, staff discovered that this project had been inaccurately described to both the MSRC and AQMD. The recipient and award amount were correct, but the project should have been described as the installation of a new CNG station and purchase of two heavy-duty natural gas trucks. Additionally, the description ought to have noted that this award augments an earlier partial award of $339,875 for the same project, resulting in a total award of $450,000 for the project. The MSRC approved, and at this time requests AQMD Board approval, of the corrected award.
At this time the MSRC requests the Board to approve the corrected award, contract modification, and new award and to authorize the AQMD Chairman of the Board the authority to execute the agreements as part of the FYs 2008-09 and 2009-10 Work Programs. The MSRC further requests the 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.
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.