BOARD MEETING DATE: May 6, 2005
AGENDA NO. 15

Approve Contract Modification for FY 2004-05 and New Award for FYs 2005-06 & 2006-07 AB 2766 Discretionary Fund Work Programs; Grant MSRC Authority to Adjust Project Costs Up to Five Percent; and Authorize Board Chairman to Execute Agreements

SYNOPSIS:

The MSRC retains an independent contractor to provide technical assistance in support of the AB 2766 Discretionary Fund Program. Since the current Technical Advisor contract expires June 30, 2005, and no further options can be exercised, the MSRC unanimously approved release of an RFP to solicit services for FYs 2005-06 & 2006-07. The RFP closed March 8, 2005. At its April 28, 2005 meeting, the MSRC unanimously awarded the contract to Raymond Gorski, including an option for another two-year term to be exercised at the MSRC’s discretion, subject to funding approval by the AQMD Board. Concurrently, the MSRC also approved a contract modification to award additional funds to A-Z Bus Sales under its CNG School Bus Incentive Buydown Program. The MSRC requests Board approval of a contract modification as part of FY 2004-05 Work Program and a new award as part of FYs 2004-05/2005-06 Work Programs. Finally, the MSRC requests authority to adjust the contracts up to five percent and authority for the Board Chairman to execute agreements. (Review: Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee, April 28, 2005)

COMMITTEE:

Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee, April 28, 2005, Unanimously Approved

RECOMMENDED ACTIONS:

1. Approve contract award totaling $304,473.60 to Raymond Gorski for technical advisor services for a two-year term for FYs 2005-06 and 2006-07, as described in this letter, and funded as follows:

1. For the first year of the contract term, 75 percent (or $114,117.60) will be covered in the FY 2005-06 AB 2766 Discretionary Fund Work Program and the balance (25 percent or $38,059.20) will be covered by the MSRC’s administrative budget for FY 2005-06;
    
2. For the second year of the contract term, 75 percent (or $114,117.60) will be covered in the FY 2006-07 AB 2766 Discretionary Fund Work Program and the balance (25 percent or $38,059.20) will be covered by the MSRC’s administrative budget for FY 2006-07; and
    
3. Authorize the MSRC the authority to incorporate and exercise an option clause in the contract to Raymond Gorski for a second two-year term for FYs 2007-08 and 2008-09 services, subject to funding approval by the MSRC and AQMD Board at a later date.

2. Approve contract modification for additional monies from turn back funds in an amount not to exceed $75,000 to A-Z Bus Sales, Inc. under the CNG School Bus Buydown Program as part of the FY 2004-05 AB 2766 Discretionary Fund Work Program;
    
3. Authorize MSRC the authority to adjust contract awards up to five percent, as deemed necessary; and
    
4. Authorize the Chairman of the Board to execute a contract modification as part of FY 2004-05 AB 2766 Discretionary Fund Work Program and a new contract award as part of FYs 2005-06 and 2006-07 AB 2766 Discretionary Fund Work Programs, as described above and within this letter.

Gwenn Norton-Perry
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 AQMD Governing Board.

At its April 28, 2005 meeting, the MSRC considered recommendations by its Technical Advisory Committee (MSRC-TAC) on two awards as follows:

1.     Technical Advisor Services
The MSRC retains an independent contractor to provide technical assistance in support of the AB 2766 Discretionary Fund Program. Since the current Technical Advisor contract expires June 30, 2005, and no further options can be exercised, the MSRC unanimously approved release of an RFP, which the AQMD Governing Board subsequently approved for release on February 4, 2005, to solicit services for FYs 2005-06 & 2006-07. The RFP solicited proposals to provide technical assistance for a two-year period. The RFP also included language for future consideration of an option to provide technical assistance for another two-year term covering FYs 2007-08/2008-09. When the RFP closed on March 8, 2005, only one proposal was received. At its April 28, 2005 meeting, the MSRC considered recommendations from its Technical Advisory Committee for these services; details are provided in the Proposals section.

2.     Contract Augmentation/Modification for CNG School Bus Buydown Program
The MSRC’s FY 2004-05 AB 2766 Discretionary Fund Work Program included a set aside of $1 million to implement a CNG School Bus Incentive Buydown Program as part of the FY 2004-05 Work Program. To implement the program, the MSRC awarded three sole-source contracts to A-Z Bus Sales, California Bus Sales, and BusWest. These vendors had previously qualified under a Request for Quotes process to implement a similar MSRC program in previous years. Initially each vendor was awarded $240,000, while the remaining $280,000 was retained to augment the vendor contracts based on sales performance, subject to review and approval by the MSRC. The AQMD Board approved these sole-source awards on October 1, 2004. Subsequent to this action, the remaining funds plus $260,000 were committed to two of the three vendors implementing the program. At its April 28, 2005 meeting, the MSRC considered a request from A-Z Bus Sales for additional funds to fulfill new purchase orders; details are provided in the Proposals section.

Outreach

In accordance with the AQMD's consulting and contracting policies, a public notice advertising the solicitations and inviting bids was published on two different days in 27 newspapers and publications, including several targeting minorities. Additionally, potential bidders may have been notified utilizing the Los Angeles County MTA Directory of Certified Firms, the Inland Area Opportunity Pages Ethnic/Women Business & Professional Directory; and AQMD’s own electronic listing of certified minority vendors. Notice of the RFP/RFQ was mailed to the Black and Latino Legislative Caucuses and various minority chambers of commerce and business associations, and placed on the Internet at AQMD’s Web site (http://www.aqmd.gov). Information was also available on AQMD’s bidder’s 24-hour telephone message line (909) 396-2724.

In addition to the above outreach, the RFP for Technical Advisor Services was mailed directly to several engineering and technical firms and individuals.

Bidders' Conference

No Bidders’ Conference for the Technical Advisor Services RFP was conducted, but prospective bidders were invited to contact the MSRC-TAC Chair Gretchen Hardison for questions and clarifications. Three inquiries were received and answered by Ms. Hardison.

Evaluation Process

The MSRC-TAC’s Administrative Subcommittee reviewed the Technical Advisor Services proposal (only one proposal was received), using the criteria within the solicitation. The MSRC-TAC received the Administrative Subcommittee’s recommendations at its April 14, 2005 meeting, and unanimously recommended the MSRC issue the award to Raymond J. Gorski. At its April 28, 2005 meeting, the MSRC considered the recommendation from its MSRC-TAC.

Proposals

On April 28, 2005, in a 6-0 vote, the MSRC unanimously approved the following contract award and modifications.

1.     Technical Advisor Services Award
As discussed in the Background section, the MSRC set aside $75,000 for Technical Advisor Services and released an RFP to solicit for these services. Although three inquiries were made, only one proposal was received by the closing date of March 8, 2005. The proposal was from Raymond Gorski, the MSRC’s current Technical Advisor, and it received a score of 96.6 points. The MSRC unanimously awarded a contract in the amount of $304,473.60 to Raymond Gorski for a two-year term for FYs 2005-06 and 2006-07. The contract will include an option clause for another two-year term for FYs 2007-08 and 2008-09 services, at the MSRC’s discretion, subject to funding approval by the AQMD Board at a later date. Funding specifics for the first two-year term is as follows:

1. For the first year of the contract term, 75 percent (or $114,117.60) will be covered in the FY 2005-06 AB 2766 Discretionary Fund Work Program and the balance (25 percent or $38,059.20) will be covered by the MSRC’s administrative budget for FY 2005-06; and
    
2. For the second year of the contract term, 75 percent (or $114,117.60) will be covered in the FY 2006-07 AB 2766 Discretionary Fund Work Program and the balance (25 percent or $38,059.20) will be covered by the MSRC’s administrative budget for FY 2006-07.

2.     Contract Augmentation/Modification for CNG School Bus Buydown Program
As mentioned in the Background section, A-Z Bus Sales requested once again additional funds to fulfill new school bus orders under the CNG School Bus Incentive Buydown Program as part of the FY 2004-05 Work Program. The current contract with A-Z Bus Sales is in the amount of $600,000 and all funds have been expended. On April 28, 2005, the MSRC unanimously awarded an additional $75,000 from turnback funds to A-Z Bus Sales to ensure the respective school districts could receive the full buydown per bus. These funds will be added to their existing contract as a modification.

The MSRC respectfully requests the AQMD Board’s approval of the above contract award as part of the FYs 2005-06 and 2006-07 Work Programs and the contract modification as part of the FY 2004-05 Work Program. The MSRC 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 to execute agreements, as described above and within 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.

Attachment

None

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