TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
Mark Leyman, Parks and Recreation Director
Eve Kelso, Recreation Manager
SUBJECT:Title
Authorize Submittal of an Application for Federal Section 5310 Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities Grant Funds to Purchase New Dial-A-Ride Vehicles, and Conduct Public Hearing to Verify That There are No Nonprofit Agencies Readily Available to Provide Dial-A-Ride Services (Parks and Recreation Director Leyman).
a) CONDUCT PUBLIC HEARING
b) ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 19-0061
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt Resolution No. 19-0061 authorizing the submittal of an application for Federal Section 5310 Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities grant funds to purchase new Dial-A-Ride vehicles; and conduct a public hearing to verify that there are no nonprofit agencies readily available to provide Dial-A-Ride Services.
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FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
There are no fiscal implications associated with the public hearing.
There is no cost associated with submitting an application to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro)’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Federal Section 5310 Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities Program. The grant is a competitive reimbursement program that awards funds based on the proposed project’s ability to best achieve program goals and meet program requirements.
The grant program is funded in part by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), and the City is eligible to receive up to $600,000. The funding breakdown estimates include:
• 80% Federal Share Eligible
• 10% Toll Development Credits (TDC) provided by federal dollars through Metro
• 10% Local Match Share (required)
If Parks and Recreation is successful in obtaining the full grant funding of $600,000, the City could potentially replace up to five buses, depending upon vehicle specifications. A maximum of $60,000 of City funding would be required.
BACKGROUND:
Metro administers this grant program to fund public transportation projects that are planned, designed, and carried out to meet the special needs of seniors and individuals with disabilities. Eligible projects should improve mobility for seniors and individuals with disabilities by removing barriers to transportation services and expanding the transportation mobility options available when public transit is insufficient, inappropriate, or unavailable by:
• Exceeding the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990;
• Improving access to fixed route services and decreasing reliance on complementary paratransit; and
• Providing alternatives to public transportation.
Proposed projects must be consistent with goals and strategies included in the 2016-2019 Coordinated Public Transit-Human Services Transportation Plan for Los Angeles County (“Coordinated Plan”). The Coordinated Plan’s goals include:
• Sustaining, funding, and continuing to expand the rich array of public, human services, and private transportation services available in Los Angeles County; and
• Providing necessary support services to enable access to public and human service transportation services by seniors and persons with disabilities.
DISCUSSION:
The City of Manhattan Beach has provided Dial-A-Ride transportation service to older adult Manhattan Beach residents, 55 and over, and residents with disabilities since 1976. As a public paratransit provider, the City has determined that the age and condition of its current fleet is insufficient to meet the demands for service. Therefore, the City is eligible to apply for Federal Transit assistance up to $600,000 to purchase replacement vehicles, so long as there are not readily available nonprofit agencies that can provide the services.
The City will be applying for the Federal Section 5310 Grant. The deadline to submit a grant application is July 31, 2019. The City is eligible to receive a maximum grant award amount of $600,000 under the “Traditional Capital” category of the grant application. Grant awards are expected to be announced in December 2019, with funding available in February 2020. The City is hopeful that this will be a competitive project for Metro grant consideration.
The Federal Section 5310 grant application procedures require the applicant’s governing body to a) hold a public hearing and adopt a resolution to verify that there are not readily available nonprofit agencies that can provide Dial-A-Ride services to Manhattan Beach Residents with disabilities and seniors 55 and over; and b) adopt a resolution authorizing submittal of an application for Federal Section 5310 Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities grant funds. The resolution must also identify the signature authority for the application (e.g., the City Manager or designee) to sign all grant-related documents necessary to implement and close-out the grant once awarded.
Staff recommends that City Council approve the attached resolution verifying that there are not readily available nonprofit agencies that can provide Dial-A-Ride services to Manhattan Beach Residents with disabilities and seniors 55 and over, and authorize staff to submit a grant application to Metro for the replacement of five Dial-A-Ride buses over a two-year period.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
This public hearing has been properly noticed in accordance with State law. The resolution of intention was published in The Beach Reporter on June 13, 2019, to satisfy the grant requirements. To date, no agency has come forward claiming that they provide transportation services to seniors and individuals with disabilities.
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:
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.
ATTACHMENT:
1) Resolution No. 19-0061
Recommended Action