BOARD MEETING DATE: November 5, 2010
AGENDA NO. 32

REPORT:

Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee

SYNOPSIS:

Below is a summary of key issues addressed at the MSRC’s meeting on October 21, 2010. The MSRC’s next meeting is Thursday, November 18, 2010, at 2:00 p.m. in Conference Room CC8.

RECOMMENDED ACTIONS:

Receive and file.
 

Michael D. Antonovich
AQMD Representative on MSRC

Additional Funds Approved for Alternative Fuel School Bus Incentives

For its FY 2008-09 Alternative Fuel School Bus Incentives Program, the MSRC allocated $3 million for incentives to public schools purchasing CNG or propane buses. To date, $2,520,000 has been awarded to A-Z Bus Sales and $240,000 to BusWest, the two qualified vendors administering this program, leaving $240,000 available for allocation. At its October 21, 2010 meeting, the MSRC unanimously awarded the remaining $240,000 to BusWest to provide incentives to the Rowland Unified School District for four CNG buses at $60,000 per bus incentive. The AQMD Board will consider this contract modification at its November 5, 2010 Board meeting. 

Approve New/Replacement Contract for Riverside County Transportation Commission

As part of the FY 2003-04 Work Program, the Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC) was awarded $225,000 to enhance the region’s rideshare database systems through the creation of a direct communications link between RCTC’s RidePro and Metro’s TripMaster. Among other features, the communications link will facilitate the access of transit itineraries through the CommuteSmart.info website. This contract expired recently before a modification to extend the term could be executed. At its October 21, 2010 meeting, the MSRC unanimously approved a new/replacement contract for RCTC with a 12-month term in the amount of $225,000. The AQMD Board will consider this new/replacement contract at its November 5, 2010 Board meeting.

MSRC Website Upgrades to Include Pilot Project for Online Proposal Submission

The MSRC maintains a website (www.cleantransportationfunding.org) which was designed and continues to be maintained and hosted by HiP Design on behalf of the MSRC. The website acts as an outreach tool, promoting the MSRC’s programs and providing assistance to contractors, proposers and others interested in clean transportation. Although the MSRC previously authorized HiP Design to develop a website feature to allow online submissions of proposals and applications, the feature was not activated because the AQMD does not currently have online submission of proposals as part of the procurement process. After consulting with AQMD’s Finance and Legal staff, two areas for improvement were identified to ensure the integrity of the online submissions: 1) build in an additional level of password protection for proposal submission in the back-end; and 2) add an email notification and attachment mechanism. As a pilot project, AQMD’s Finance and Legal staff have agreed to allow online submissions for the MSRC’s FY 2010-11 Local Government Match Program, if desired by the MSRC. At its October 21, 2010 meeting, the MSRC unanimously elected to require mandatory online submissions for its FY 2010-11 Local Government Match Program. To facilitate this pilot project, the MSRC awarded an additional $1,500 to HiP Design to modify the website accordingly. The AQMD Board will consider this contract modification at its November 5, 2010 Board meeting. The Program Announcement for the FY 2010-11 Local Government Match Program is still being developed, but will include mandatory online submission procedures. Once the PA has been approved by the MSRC, approval to release it will be sought from the AQMD Board. It is anticipated this will occur in early 2011.

Development of New MSRC Website and Maintenance Services as Part of FY 2010-11 Work Program

As mentioned above, the MSRC maintains a website. This website, however, was developed in 2005 by HiP Design on the MSRC’s behalf. 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. And finally the website’s appearance 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 if a new website is desired. At its October 21, 2010 meeting, the MSRC authorized preparation of a solicitation in the amount of $100,000 as part of its FY 2010-11 Work Program to identify and retain a company to develop a new website and provide maintenance, hosting and upgrade services for the first two years of operation. Once the MSRC has considered and approved the solicitation for these services, approval to release it will be sought from the AQMD Board. It is anticipated this will occur in early 2011.

Off-Road Diesel Exhaust After-Treatment Demonstration Program as Part of FY 2010-11 Work Program

In October 2007, as part of its FY 2006-07 Work Program, the MSRC in partnership with CARB and the AQMD launched the “Showcase” Program to demonstrate diesel exhaust after-treatment devices on off-road construction vehicles. The Showcase Program sought to facilitate the verification of multiple devices across the broadest possible range of off-road vehicle sizes and types, and was originally intended to demonstrate devices on 230 vehicles. A primary goal of the “Showcase” Program was to provide essential in-use operations data necessary to support the verification of off-road retrofit devices and assist CARB with enforcement of its statewide “In-Use Off-Road Diesel Vehicles” regulation.  

Due to a number of factors, including the economy, vehicle/device rematches, cost issues, staff shortages and Cal-OSHA requirements, the number of vehicles participating fell dramatically to the current level of 107, of which only 44 have been retrofitted to date. This reduction includes devices which were to be demonstrated on 59 of Caltrans’ off-road vehicles. Recently, however, Caltrans decided it could not participate in the program. At its October 21, 2010 meeting, the MSRC directed staff to terminate negotiations with several manufacturers who were proposing to place the devices on Caltrans’ vehicles. The value of these awards was $1,037,495. All other contracts in the original program have been effectuated either via executed contracts or previously declined and or canceled and the funding reverted back to the AB 2766 Discretionary Fund.

Nonetheless, there clearly remains a need for additional after-treatment devices to be verified for use on off-road vehicles. Providing fleets with more than one option should help keep prices down, and there are still engine types without verified devices. A need has also been identified for demonstration of installation designs which meet OSHA visibility requirements. On October 21, 2010, the MSRC as part of its FY 2010-11 Work Program approved a follow-on Showcase Program which would utilize an extended solicitation process with broad eligibility criteria to allow either fleets or vendors to be project proponents. The MSRC allocated $2,250,000 for this follow-on Showcase Program. The funds will come from the following sources: 1) the $1,037,495 previously allocated to vendors to retrofit Caltrans’ vehicles; 2) $1,000,000 previously allocated, but not awarded, as part of the FY 2007-08 Work Program for an on-road retrofit demonstration program; and 3) $250,000 previously allocated, but not awarded, as part of the FY 2007-08 Program for a Showcase gap-filler program. Once the MSRC has considered and approved solicitation(s) for the follow-on Showcase Program, approval to release it will be sought from the AQMD Board. It is anticipated this will occur in early 2011.

FY 2010-11 Work Program Development

MSRC staff reported that the five subcommittees –Vehicles; Infrastructure; Local Government Match; Transportation Control Measures; and Showcase – have continued their deliberations toward development of FY 2010-11 Work Program elements. In addition to the website upgrades, new website and follow-on Showcase Program, approved as part of the FY 2010-11 Work Program at the MSRC’s October 21, 2010 meeting, MSRC staff briefly outlined overall concepts for several additional proposed elements, including a Local Government Match Program (with the mandatory online submission requirement); an Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Program; several potential vehicle programs including incentives to exhilarate retirement of light-duty vehicles, clean up of off-road emissions; and zero-emission vehicles; an Alternative Fuels School Bus Incentives Program; and transportation control measure programs such as an event center shuttle service, multi-mobility hubs and networks, a 511 mobile “smart phone” app and development of adaptive real-time transit schedules. Additional information including more specific details and proposed funding targets will be presented to the MSRC for consideration at its November 18, 2010 meeting. It is estimated that more than $20 million will be available for the FY 2010-11 AB 2766 Discretionary Fund Work Program.  

Contract Modification Request

The MSRC considered one contract modification for City of Redondo Beach Contract #ML07043, which provides $125,000 towards the purchase of five heavy-duty CNG vehicles. They unanimously approved a two-year contractual term extension and a modified statement of work to allow substitution of vehicles. 

Contracts Administrator’s Report

The MSRC’s AB 2766 Contracts Administrator provides a written status report on all open contracts from FY 2002-03 through the present. The Contracts Administrator’s Report for October 2010 is attached for your information. 

Attachment (PDF, 253k)

October 2010 Contracts Administrator’s Report