Submitted By: Tye Chighizola
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Presentation By: Tye Chighizola
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Department: Growth Management
STAFF RECOMMENDATION (Motion Ready):
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Approve a professional services agreement between the City of Ocala and the Center for Transportation and the Environment concerning the Low or No Emission Grant Project in the amount of $708,000
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OCALA’S RELEVANT STRATEGIC GOALS:
Operational Excellence, Quality of Place
PROOF OF PUBLICATION:
N/A
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BACKGROUND: Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is, “To improve the health of the climate and communities by bringing people together to develop and commercialize clean, efficient, and sustainable transportation technologies.” CTE is partnering with SunTran, and 17 other transit agencies awarded funding, through the Fiscal Year 2023 Low or No Emission (Low or No) Project for Buses and Bus Facilities Competitive Program.
CTE will be responsible for guiding the electric bus vehicle purchase and constructing the expanded maintenance facility. Each of the proposed task work orders will be approved by staff before being released to CTE. The following is a summary of the proposed task work orders:
1. Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Award and Project Consultant Contract Execution - CTE is an approved vendor by FTA as indicated in the Fiscal Year 2023 Low or No Grant application submittals.
2. Project Planning and Initiation - This task will result in a formal kick-off of the project with all stakeholders and project team members to align the project team on objectives, tasks, assignments, timelines, and expectations to successfully meet project goals and objectives.
3. Requirement Analysis - This task includes bus modeling, route simulation, charge modeling, rate modeling, and confirmation of the technical specifications for the bus and charging equipment.
4. Bus Procurement & Build - CTE will assist SunTran as it finalizes the bus configuration and other documents required for bus procurement from Gillig, LLC and Creative Bus Services.
5. Infrastructure Procurement, Design, and Build - CTE will assist SunTran as it finalizes the charging specifications and other documents required to procure depot chargers.
6. Bus and Infrastructure Deployment - CTE will advise on the acceptance testing parameters that will be based on SunTran’s existing acceptance criteria with recommendations for battery electric bus (BEB) vehicles. CTE will work with SunTran to develop a plan for performance validation testing and beginning revenue service.
7. Deployment Validation - CTE will collect various data parameters to measure operational performance and realized benefits (e.g. actual energy savings, cost savings, and greenhouse gas emissions reductions) resulting from the deployment of zero-emission buses into passenger service.
8. Project Management, Administration, Reporting, and Control - CTE will develop project control and risk management procedures that will be employed to guide the effective and efficient management of the project.
9. Training - CTE will conduct a workforce development assessment for existing City of Ocala employees and SunTran staff. Workforce assessment enables the City to understand the employee perspective and gain critical insights on how to make informed decisions leading to its zero-emission fleet transition and microtransit application.
FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS: Funding is allocated to projects on a competitive basis, from proposals submitted to FTA in response to a Notice of Funding Opportunity. CTE has established itself as a trusted partner, offering transit agencies proposal support, project management, and technical assistance services for zero-emission bus deployment projects. Through its proven risk mitigation methodology, CTE ensures the smooth execution of these projects, guaranteeing the successful deployment of zero-emission buses.
FISCAL IMPACT: The funding for the proposed nine CTE task work orders total $708,000. A complete breakdown of each item is included as attachment 1 to the agreement. The $708,000 is part of the $16,166,822 Low or No Emission Grant and is contingent upon receipt of the grant.
PROCUREMENT REVIEW: The agreement complies with the City’s and FTA procurement policies.
LEGAL REVIEW: This agreement has been reviewed and approved for form and legality by City Attorney, William E. Sexton.
ALTERNATIVE:
• Approve with Changes
• Table
• Deny