BOARD MEETING DATE: February 3, 2006
AGENDA NO. 20

Approve Multiple Contract Awards as Part of MSRC's FY 2005-06 AB 2766 Discretionary Fund Work Program; Grant MSRC Authority to Adjust Project Costs Up to Five Percent; and Authorize Board Chairman to Execute Agreements

SYNPOSIS:

The MSRC developed a two-phase Conceptual FY 2005-06 Work Program, which was approved by the AQMD Board on September 9, 2005. The first phase includes $12.875 million in solicitations and projects, including $2.5 million allocated for alternative fuel infrastructure. On January 26, 2006, the MSRC met to consider several applications received to date under this element. At this time, the MSRC requests approval of multiple contract awards under this Program as part of the FY 2005-06 Work Program. Additional awards are anticipated in future. The MSRC also requests authority to adjust contracts up to five percent and authority for the Board Chairman to execute agreements.

COMMITTEE:

Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee,
January 26, 2006, Approved
 

RECOMMENDED ACTIONS:

1. Approve the award of five contracts totaling $1,197,981 under the Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Funding Opportunities Program, as part of FY 2005-06 AB 2766 Discretionary Fund Work Program, as described in this letter and as follows:

   1.1  A contract with Clean Energy in an amount not to exceed $250,000 for
         construction of a new publicly accessible CNG refueling station at the Moulton
         Niguel Water District Facility in Laguna Niguel;
   1.2  A contract with US Air Conditioning Distributors in an amount not to exceed
         $150,000 for construction of a new limited access CNG refueling station at their
         corporate headquarters in the City of Industry;
   1.3  A contract with County Sanitation District of Los Angeles in an amount not to
         exceed $150,000 for construction of a new limited access CNG refueling station
         at their Carson facility;
   1.4  A contract with Consolidated Disposal Service in an amount not to exceed
         $297,981 for construction of a new publicly accessible LNG station at their Long
         Beach facility and upgrades and improvements to their repair facility; and
   1.5  A contract with City of Commerce in an amount not to exceed $350,000 for
         construction of a new publicly accessible combined liquefied natural
         gas/compressed natural gas (L/CNG) refueling station at the County of Los
         Angeles Commerce Refuse to Energy Facility in the City of Commerce.
    

2. Authorize MSRC the authority to adjust contract awards up to five percent, as necessary; and
3. Authorize the Chairman of the Board to execute contracts as part of FY 2005-06 AB 2766 Discretionary Fund Work Program, 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.

The MSRC developed a two-phase Conceptual FY 2005-06 Work Program, the first phase of which was approved by the AQMD Board on September 9, 2005. The first phase includes $12.875 million in solicitations and projects, including $2.5 million for an Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Funding Opportunities Program. This Program Announcement (PA), #2006-07, provides funds for new and upgraded or expanded alternative fuel stations as well as facility modifications. New publicly accessible stations will be eligible for 50 percent of project costs up to a maximum of $250,000-$350,000 depending on station type. New limited access stations will be eligible for 25 percent of project costs up to a maximum of $150,000. Upgrades/expansions will be eligible for 50 percent up to $150,000 for public access and 25 percent up to $75,000 for limited access. Facility modifications are eligible for 50 percent of project costs up to $50,000. The MSRC’s award combined with any AQMD cost-sharing may not exceed 50 percent of the total project costs. The maximum funding for any one entity cannot exceed 60 percent of the total funding in this work program category. The extended application period for the Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Funding Opportunities Program is October 4, 2005 through June 30, 2006. Five applications were considered at the MSRC’s January 26, 2006 meeting; details are provided in the Proposals section.

Outreach

The funding solicitation described above, in accordance with the AQMD's consulting and contracting policies, was advertised in a public notice on two different days in 27 newspapers and publications, including several targeting minorities.

The funding solicitation was placed on the MSRC's website at http://www.msrc-cleanair.org and placed on the AQMD’s website at http://www.aqmd.gov. Information was also available on the AQMD’s bidder’s 24-hour telephone message line (909) 396-2724. A press release on funding opportunities available in the FY 2005-06 Work Program was issued and placed on the MSRC’s website.

In addition to the AQMD's standard practices, a postcard announcing the FY 2005-06 funding opportunities was mailed to nearly 1,800 interested parties on the MSRC's mailing list, as well as to the Black and Latino Legislative Caucuses, Ethnic Community Advisory Group, City Managers, Chambers of Commerce, and business associations. The postcard was also mailed to local legislators, mayors, city council members and city managers in the four counties, and AB 2766 Subvention Fund city administrators.

Bidders’ Conference

A non-mandatory bidders’ conference was conducted on September 28, 2005, for the Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Funding Opportunities Program Announcement.

Proposal Evaluation and Panel Composition

Proposals received were evaluated by members of the MSRC-TAC, a diverse group of individuals appointed by participating members as prescribed in the Health & Safety Code.

Proposals

On January 26, 2006, in a 5-0 vote, the MSRC considered recommendations from its MSRC-TAC and unanimously approved five contract awards under the Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Funding Opportunities Program Announcement. Awards are as follows:

1. A contract with Clean Energy in an amount not to exceed $250,000 for construction of a new publicly accessible CNG refueling station at the Moulton Niguel Water District Facility in Laguna Niguel;
2. A contract with US Air Conditioning Distributors in an amount not to exceed $150,000 for construction of a new limited access CNG refueling station at their corporate headquarters in the City of Industry;
3. A contract with County Sanitation District of Los Angeles in an amount not to exceed $150,000 for construction of a new limited access CNG refueling station at their Carson facility;
4. A contract with Consolidated Disposal Service in an amount not to exceed $297,981 for construction of a new publicly accessible LNG station at their Long Beach facility and upgrades and improvements to their repair facility; and
5. A contract with City of Commerce in an amount not to exceed $350,000 for construction of a new publicly accessible combined liquefied natural gas/compressed natural gas (L/CNG) refueling station at the County of Los Angeles Commerce Refuse to Energy Facility in the City of Commerce.

This Program Announcement remains open until June 30, 2006. Since this Program was allocated $2.5 million, funding remains available under this Program. Thus, future awards are anticipated, and will be subject to MSRC and AQMD Board approval as part of the FY 2005-06 Work Program.

In some cases the full amount requested in an application or proposal is not recommended for funding or the proposed scope of work has been modified. This is consistent with the MSRC's administrative policies, which allow the MSRC to approve a portion of a proposer’s scope of work and/or funding request. In those cases where the proposed funding level or scope of work has been modified by the MSRC, and the proposer cannot perform the project as approved, the MSRC may rescind the proposed award and retain the funds in the Discretionary Fund for future work programs.

The MSRC respectfully requests the AQMD Board’s approval of the above contract awards as part of the FY 2005-06 AB 2766 Discretionary Fund Work Program. The MSRC also 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 the authority to execute all agreements described in this letter as part of FY 2005-06 Work Program.

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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