BOARD MEETING DATE: March 7, 2008
AGENDA NO. 3

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Authorize the Chairman to execute a contract with Maria Robles, Consultant, for administrative services related to the organization of two air quality and health-related conferences from the Clean Fuels Fund not to exceed $149,760.

Barry R. Wallerstein, D.Env.
Executive Officer

Background

The South Coast Air Basin continues to have some of the poorest air quality in the nation. Recent analyses estimate that the population living within the District suffers significantly disproportionate exposure to unhealthful levels of particulate matter in the U.S.. This exposure leads to an estimated 5,400 premature deaths per year due to particulate pollution, as well as more asthma symptoms, hospital admissions, and emergency room visits. Additionally, the AQMD Multiple Air Toxics Study (MATES) III identified cancer risks from toxic air pollutants such as diesel exhaust are substantially higher in communities near sources of these pollutants.

The AQMD has sponsored two successful Asthma and Air Pollution Conferences, on February 17, 2006 and April 26-27, 2007, the latter featuring a keynote address by Governor Schwarzenegger. An international conference on ultrafine particles was also held in 2006. The high attendance at all of these conferences illustrates the need for such venues to disseminate information on the health effects of air pollutants to the public, elected officials, other regulatory agencies, and public policy makers. Feedback from the attendees also strongly encouraged follow-up conferences. Such venues also present a significant forum for the generation of ideas and policies to attain healthy air quality in the South Coast Air Basin and indicate the continued need for follow-up conferences.

Based on these experiences, staff proposes two conferences on air mobile source derived quality impacts, health impacts, and technologies to reduce mobile source emissions:

• An international Conference on Particle Pollution with potential topics to include asthma and other health related effects, exposure to pollutants related to goods movement, ultrafine particles and control technologies, and policy options; and
• An Air Toxics Health Conference with potential topics to include emission sources, monitoring, impacts, and policy options.

As a result, the Board released RFP#2008-02 to solicit level-of-effort expertise for administrative assistance to assist staff in organizing, administering, advertising, and hosting these two conferences.

Outreach

In accordance with AQMD’s Procurement Policy and Procedure, a public notice advertising the RFP/RFQ and inviting bids was published in the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register, the San Bernardino Sun, the Riverside County Press Enterprise newspapers and the California State Contracts Register to leverage the most cost-effective method of outreach to the entire South Coast Basin.

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.

Proposal Evaluations

Two proposals were received in response to the RFP. The proposals were evaluated and scored by a three-member panel consisting of two AQMD Assistant Deputy Executive Officers and the Executive Director of the Asthma & Allergy Foundation of America. The panel’s gender and ethnic distribution were two male, one female; two Asian Pacific Islander and one Caucasian. The panel scores are shown in Table 1 below.

Table 1. Administrative Assistance for Conference Support Proposal Scores

Proposal

Based on the combined technical and cost scores, staff recommends executing a contract with Maria Robles, Consultant, in an amount not to exceed $149,760. Ms. Robles provided outside expertise to the two previous highly successful Asthma Conferences where she demonstrated excellent abilities in securing conference sponsors and speakers as well as providing assistance to staff with event planning and miscellaneous administrative support. Given her demonstrated capabilities, the evaluation panel believes she is very capable of assisting in successful administration of the two conferences.

Benefits to AQMD

The proposed conferences will provide venues for further enhancing the perception, understanding, and communication of the health effects of air pollution, of the development of technologies to reduce emissions, and in the development of recommended AQMD activities and policies to achieve healthful air quality. This project was included in the Technology Advancement Office Clean Fuels Program 2006 Annual Report and 2007 Plan Update under the Outreach and Technology Transfer category, “Assessment and Technical Support of Advanced Technologies and Information Dissemination.”

Resource Impacts

The total amount of AQMD funding for the level-of-effort contract will not exceed $149,760. Sufficient funds are available from the Clean Fuels Fund, established as a special revenue fund resulting from the state-mandated Clean Fuels Program. The Clean Fuels Program, under Health and Safety Code Sections 40448.5 and 40512 and Vehicle Code 9250.11, establishes mechanisms to collect revenues from mobile sources and stationary sources to support projects to increase the utilization of clean fuels, including the development of the necessary advanced enabling technologies. Funds collected from motor vehicles are restricted, by statute, to be used for projects and program activities related to mobile sources that support the objectives of the Clean Fuels Program.