TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
Mark Leyman, Parks and Recreation Director
Michelle Ami-Cortez, Recreation Supervisor
Linda Robb, Senior Management Analyst
SUBJECT:Title
Consideration of a Purchase of Two New England Frontrunner Buses from Davey Coach in the Amount of $407,730.92 with 90% Grant Funds from Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority for the Dial-a-Ride Program (Parks and Recreation Director Leyman).
A) APPROPRIATE FUNDS
B) WAIVE FORMAL BIDDING DUE TO COOPERATIVE PURCHASING
C) AUTHORIZE PURCHASE
Body
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RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council take the following actions:
a) Appropriate $407,730.92 from the Proposition A Fund and adjust revenues by $366,957.83
b) Waive formal bidding per Manhattan Beach Municipal Code (MBMC) Section 2.36.150 (Cooperative Purchasing)
c) Authorize the purchase of Two New England Frontrunner Buses in the amount of $407,730.92
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
The purchase of this vehicle is not budgeted in the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 budget, and an appropriation of $407,730.92 from the Proposition A Fund balance is required. These costs would be offset by a Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) Federal Section 5310 Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities Program grant awarded to the City in 2020. The grant requires a 10% match of $40,773.09 by the City resulting in a reimbursement amount of $366,957.83 from grant funds. Budgeted revenues will be adjusted by the same amount to account for the anticipated grant reimbursement.
BACKGROUND:
The City of Manhattan Beach was awarded a grant from the LACTMA Federal Section 5310 Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities Program for the purchase of four new Dial-a-Ride buses, in 2020. The original grant was awarded for the purchase of four buses at a cost of $514,000. The grant requires a 10% match of City funds, requiring $51,400 of City funds and a grant amount of $462,600.
Originally, the grant supported the purchase of four replacement buses, however, shortly after the award, the pandemic caused low inventories and supply chain issues. Bus sales companies nationwide had little to no bus inventory, and bus manufacturers did not have access to a steady supply of materials needed to manufacture bus chassis. Bus orders were taking up to two years to fulfill, and prices increased significantly. Consequently, the grant will now only support the purchase of two replacement buses, with the remaining funds being used towards the maintenance and repair costs of the vehicles for up to three years.
DISCUSSION:
Three of the City’s buses for the Dial-a-Ride program have reached the end of their useful life and are planned to be replaced in Fiscal Year 2023-2024. With the aforementioned grant opportunity, two of these buses are proposed to be replaced with these grant funds. Two buses are sufficient for the current Dial-a-Ride service which is operating at approximately half of the ridership prior to the pandemic.
Initially, staff researched the viability of purchasing electric buses as it would align with the City’s climate initiatives by gradually transitioning Dial-a-Ride to a zero-emission bus fleet. After looking at several electric models and discussions with agencies that purchased electric buses and vans, staff determined that available electric models lack the driving range to meet the needs of our current daily operations. Findings also revealed that our City’s current infrastructure is unable to fully support electric buses, which would negatively impact service. Staff also test drove and inspected a variety of gas powered vehicles. These inspections took into consideration the safety and comfort of senior passengers and the manageability of the buses to operate through challenging areas of the City which include steep incline/declines, narrow access points and other vehicle clearance issues.
Staff researched multiple gas vehicles to ensure that it would meet the needs for older adults and overall reliability and selected New England Frontrunner Buses for this purchase. The vehicles selected were brought to the City yard for a detailed inspection and driven throughout challenging areas within the City. In addition, other public agencies have used this vehicle successfully and received excellent recommendations for use and reliability.
This purchase of the two buses will leave a remaining grant balance of $95,642.17 that may be used for vehicle maintenance. The remaining balance will also require a City match of $10,626.91 which will be incorporated into a future budget to cover a total of $106,269.08 in maintenance costs.
Whenever practical and in the City's best interest, the City "piggybacks" onto contracts that are economically advantageous. Piggybacking is the extension of pricing, terms, and conditions of one agency's contract to other governmental agencies with the mutual consent of all parties. This is permissible under the City's Municipal Code, Section 2.36.150 (Cooperative Purchasing). The California Association for Coordinated Transportation (“CalACT”) takes the lead agency role in the formation of the CalACT/MBTA Vehicle and Materials Purchasing Cooperative. As a member of CalACT the City has access to purchase a variety of transit vehicles from the CalACT/MBTA purchasing cooperative. The Cooperative provides a federal and California State-compliant purchasing solution that allows the City to select the vehicle that best meets our transit needs. CalACT has competitively bid this contract as part of the purchasing cooperative.
Based on this available piggyback opportunity, staff recommends City Council authorize the purchase of two New England Frontrunner Buses in the amount of $407,730.92. If City Council approves the purchase, the new vehicles will arrive in approximately 4-6 months.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
After analysis, staff determined that public outreach was not required for this issue.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The City has reviewed the proposed activity for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has determined that the activity is not a “Project” as defined under Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines; therefore, pursuant to Section 15060(c)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines the activity is not subject to CEQA. Thus, no environmental review is necessary.
LEGAL REVIEW:
This purchase will be effected through a standard City purchase order with the City’s customary terms and conditions applied. No further legal review is required.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Funding Agreement - LACTMA
2. Agreement - Davey Coach CalACT/MBTA
3. Quote and Procurement - New England Frontrunner CalACT/MBTA