BOARD MEETING DATE: October 1, 2010
AGENDA NO. 19

PROPOSAL:

Approve Contract Modification, New Award and Corrected Award under FYs 200809 and 200910 AB 2766 Discretionary Fund Work Programs

SYNOPSIS:

The MSRC approved additional funding for an existing contract with one of the MSRCs school bus vendor contractors, providing alternative fuel school bus funding under the FY 200809 AB 2766 Discretionary Fund Work Program.  The MSRC also approved a new contract award to implement the Telework Demonstration Program, as well as a correction to a previous award under the Heavy-Duty Alternative Fuel Engines Program, both as part of the FY 200910 Work Program.  The MSRC seeks AQMD Board approval for these actions under the FYs 200809 and 200910 AB 2766 Discretionary Fund Work Programs.

COMMITTEE:

 Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review, September 20, 2010, Recommended for Approval

RECOMMENDED ACTIONS:

1.   Approve a funding augmentation, contingent upon receipt of documentation of order, in an amount not to exceed $180,000 as part of the FY 200809 Work Program, to existing contract #MS09002 with AZ 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;

2.   Approve the award of a contract with Elham Shirazi in an amount not to exceed $199,449 for the Telework Demonstration Program as part of the FY 2009-10 Work Program, as described in this letter;

3.   Approve corrected award to New Bern Transport, a subsidiary of Pepsi Bottling Group, for the purchase of up to two heavy-duty natural gas vehicles and the repower of up to ten heavy-duty natural gas vehicles instead of the purchase of up to twelve heavy-duty natural gas vehicles, as listed in Agenda Item #18 on the July 9, 2010 AQMD Board agenda (Recommended Action 4.h.), as part of the FY 2009-10 Work Program, as described in this letter;

4.   Authorize MSRC the authority to adjust contract awards up to five percent, as necessary and previously granted in prior work programs; and

5.   Authorize the Chairman of the Board to execute new and modified contracts under FYs 200607, 2008-09, and 2009-10 AB 2766 Discretionary Fund Work Programs, as described above and within this letter.
 

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.  

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.  $2,340,000 of this funding was previously awarded to AZ Bus
Sales and $240,000 to BusWest, leaving an available balance of $420,000.  At its September 20, 2010 meeting, the MSRC considered a request from AZ Bus Sales for an additional $180,000 for an anticipated order from the Ontario-Montclair Unified School District; further details are provided below in the Proposals section.

FY 200910 Work Program

Telework Demonstration Program

As part of the FY 200910 Work Program, the MSRC released an RFP #P201027 for the Telework Demonstration Program.  The RFP establishes a funding level not to exceed $200,000 and seeks qualified bidders to research the reasons why telework has not been more widely adopted, what can be done to remove employer resistance, and to demonstrate these concepts at actual employment sites within this region. The RFP included a proposal preparation and submission period commencing June 4, 2010 and closing July 20, 2010.  The RFP set the following scoring criteria: Program Design (40 points), Proposer Qualifications (40 points), Cost Schedule (10 points) and DVBE/Local Business/Small Business status (10 points).  Four proposals were received before the deadline.  At its September 20, 2010 meeting, the MSRC considered the proposals; details are provided in the Proposals section.

Outreach

In accordance with AQMDs Procurement Policy and Procedure, a public notice advertising the Telework Demonstration Program RFP and inviting bids was published in the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register, the San Bernardino Sun, and Riverside County Press Enterprise newspapers to leverage the most cost-effective method of outreach to the entire South Coast Basin.

Additionally, potential bidders may have been notified utilizing AQMDs own electronic listing of certified minority vendors.  Notice of the RFP was mailed to the Black and Latino Legislative Caucuses and various minority chambers of commerce and business associations, and placed on the Internet at AQMDs website (http://www.aqmd.gov). Information was also available on AQMDs bidders 24-hour telephone message line (909) 396-2724.  Further, the solicitation was posted on the MSRCs website at http://www.cleantransportationfunding.org and electronic notifications were sent to those subscribing to this websites notification service.

Proposal Evaluation and Panel Composition

Applications received in response to the Telework Demonstration Program RFP were evaluated by members of the MSRCs Technical Advisory Committee (MSRC-TAC), a diverse group of individuals appointed by participating members as prescribed in the Health & Safety Code. 

Heavy-Duty Alternative Fuel Engines for On-Road Vehicles

On July 9, 2010, the AQMD Board approved multiple awards as part of the MSRCs FY 200910 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

At its September 20, 2010 meeting, the MSRC considered recommendations from its MSRCTAC and unanimously approved the following:

FY 2008-09 Work Program

As mentioned in the Background section, the MSRC previously awarded a total of $2,580,000 of the $3 million allocated for this Program to AZ Bus Sales and another qualified vendor to continue the implementation of the Alternative Fuels School Bus Incentives Program, based on their pending orders.  This $2,580,000 has already been expended or has purchase orders issued against it.  AZ Bus Sales anticipates receipt of an order from Ontario-Montclair Unified School District for three CNG buses, for which the total incentive would be $180,000.  AZ Bus Sales requests an additional $180,000 to cover the buydown incentives for these buses.  The MSRC has a balance of $420,000 remaining in this FY 200809 Alternative Fuel School Bus Incentives Program.  The MSRC considered recommendations from its MSRCTAC and awarded $180,000 out of this allocation to AZ Bus Sales, contingent upon receipt of documentation of the purchase order, to provide the full incentives for the buses for Ontario-Montclair Unified School District.

FY 2009-10 Work Program

Telework Demonstration Program

As discussed in the Background section, the MSRC released an RFP #P201027 for the Telework Demonstration Program as part of the FY 200910 Work Program.  Four applications were received by the close of the submittal period at 5:00 p.m. on July 20, 2010.  The proposal from Elham Shirazi received the highest score, with a total of 93 points.  The MSRC unanimously awarded a contract to Elham Shirazi in an amount not to exceed $199,449 for design, implementation and administration of a telework demonstration program.

Heavy-Duty Alternative Fuel Engines for On-Road Vehicles Program

As mentioned in the Background section, on July 9, 2010, the AQMD Board approved multiple awards as part of the MSRCs FY 200910 Work Program.  Among these, New Bern Transport, a subsidiary of Pepsi Bottling Group, was awarded $113,865 for the purchase of up to twelve heavy-duty natural gas vehicles.  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 purchase of up to two heavy-duty natural gas vehicles and the repower of up to ten heavy-duty natural gas vehicles.  The MSRC approved, and at this time requests AQMD Board approval, of the corrected award.

At this time the MSRC requests the AQMD Board to approve the contract modification, new award and modified award under the FYs 200809 and 200910 Work Programs as outlined above.  The MSRC also requests the Board to authorize the AQMD Chairman of the Board the authority to execute all agreements described in this letter.  The MSRC further requests authority to adjust the funds allocated to each project specified in this Board letter by up to five percent of the projects 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 AQMDs operational budget.