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CITY OF GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA
REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
AGENDA ITEM
Report: Resolutions Dispensing with Competitive Bidding to purchase battery-electric buses, battery-electric bus chargers, and minivans for Beeline and Dial-A-Ride services.
1. Resolution to dispense with competitive bidding and authorize the Deputy Director of Finance-Purchasing, or his designee, to purchase five battery-electric buses from New Flyer of America, Inc., using the federalized Washington State Department of Enterprise Cooperative Agreement.
2. Resolution to dispense with competitive bidding and authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to enter into an agreement with BP Pulse Fleet North America, Inc., for the purchase, installation, operation and maintenance of three battery-electric bus chargers using the Anaheim Transit Network Request for Proposal to contract with BP Pulse.
3. Resolution to dispense with competitive bidding and authorize the Deputy Director of Finance-Purchasing, or his designee, to purchase six replacement Model – 1 Braun minivans for the City’s Dial-A-Ride services from Creative Bus Sales, using the federalized CALACT/MBTA Cooperative Procurement Agreement.
4. Resolution of Appropriation to provide adequate funding for the procurement of battery electric buses and bus chargers including installation, operation and maintenance.
COUNCIL ACTION
Item Type: Action Item
Approved for March 5, 2024 calendar
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City Council previously approved the purchase of five replacement battery-electric buses, three battery-electric bus chargers including installation, operations and maintenance services, and the purchase of six replacement Dial-A-Ride minivans. The three resolutions to dispense with competitive bidding allows the city to use federal and state compliant procurements to receive competitive pricing for the buses, charging equipment, and minivans. In addition, a resolution of appropriation to add the VW Mitigation grant funding and additional Measure R Local Return funding to purchase the five battery-electric buses and bus chargers is included.
RECOMMENDATION
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Approve the three resolutions to dispense with competitive bidding to purchase five battery-electric buses, purchase three chargers including installation and operation and maintenance services, and purchase six minivans, and approve the resolution of appropriation to add $648,000 in VW Mitigation grant funding and $111,058 in Measure R Local Return funding for the purchase of the five battery-electric buses and $370,272 in Measure R Local Return funding for bus chargers.
ANALYSIS
The City of Glendale has provided fixed-route bus service throughout the City since 1984.
The City also operates Dial-A-Ride, a sub-regional paratransit transportation service for older adults 65 and over and persons with disabilities. Residents in the cities of Glendale and La Cañada Flintridge and the unincorporated Los Angeles County communities of La Crescenta and Montrose can use the service. Both services are operated with city-owned vehicles that need to be replaced when they have reached their useful life.
The City Council previously approved the replacement of five buses and charging infrastructure, and six minivans by grant funding and local match in 2022. Historically, the City’s Transit Division has used state cooperatives, joint procurements and piggybacks to purchase its fleet.
Five Battery-Electric Buses
The Glendale City Council approved grant funding and local match on January 25, 2022, for the purchase of five battery-electric buses for a total cost of $5,125,000. Due to supply chain issues and the high Consumer Price Index (CPI), buses are now $5,884,058, a difference of $759,058. Staff is requesting City Council authority to appropriate the $648,000 in Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust Fund (VEMT) Grant Funding approved by City Council on December 12, 2023, for Beeline Battery-Electric Buses and an additional $111,058 in Measure R Local Return funding to cover the cost increase.
The City’s Purchase Order will be reduced by $650,000 once the manufacturer applies for the California's Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP); however, the City needs to provide the entire amount to issue the Purchase Order.
Issuing a bus transit bus solicitation requires specialized knowledge and experience with bus specifications and federal requirements, including Buy America, by which 70% of the bus components and subcomponents must be produced in the United States.
Accordingly, transit agencies, both large and small (e.g., LADOT Transit, Foothill Transit) use joint procurements and state cooperative agreements to mitigate the lack of staff expertise in bus specifications, and the time and cost of releasing a bus solicitation.
Glendale has never released a bus solicitation for either transit buses nor paratransit vans and has relied on Federal Transit Administration compliant joint procurements and cooperative agreements. Further, if the City were to issue its own solicitation, it would likely not receive the volume discounts that cooperative agreements afford. 3{{section.number}}a
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The State of Washington Enterprise Cooperative Agreement is approved by the Federal Transit Administration and allows transit agencies to collectively benefit from the innovative, cost-effective, and efficient procurement solution for awarded contractors and eligible purchasers. The Agreement was competitively bid, evaluated, and awarded pursuant to the State of Washington’s procurement laws for goods/services. The procurement and resulting contracts were designed to create competition and awarded contractors for a variety of transit buses (contract categories). The contract was designed to and meets Federal Transit Administration (FTA) requirements for a State Cooperative Purchasing Contract under the FAST Act Sec. 3019.
Transit agencies typically standardize bus fleets to ensure that spare parts and maintenance are standardized. Glendale Beeline currently has 39 New Flyer of America buses in its 41-bus fleet. Here, because the State of Washington’s Cooperative Agreement meets FTA requirements and New Flyer of America was awarded as a contractor in the 35-foot battery-electric bus category, it is in the City’s best interest to procure the 35-foot New Flyer of America Xcelsior electric buses through the Cooperative.
Chargers
The City Council approved Carl Moyer ($225,000) and Low Carbon Transit Operations Program ($197,883) grant funding and $27,117 in Measure R Local Return match funding for a total of $450,000 to purchase three chargers with installation. As with the price increase in battery-electric buses, the price for chargers and their installation have also increased. Agencies with an electric bus fleet have also encountered issues with keeping their buses charged for operation. Transit agencies have mitigated these challenges by turning to a Charging as a Service (CaaS) model, which requires the vendor to be responsible for the chargers, the installation, and maintenance.
As with battery-electric buses, the solicitation for battery-electric bus chargers requires specialized experience with chargers and installation that Glendale transit staff does not have. Moreover, while there are many vendors providing chargers, not all the chargers are performing adequately and have caused service disruptions due to breakdowns and delayed repairs.
On March 16, 2020, the Anaheim Transportation Network (ATN) issued a Request for Proposals for an energy system that included chargers, installation, and operating and maintenance services, which followed FTA requirements. The RFP resulted in an award to BP Pulse Fleet North America, Inc. (formerly AMPLY). The ability to add operating and maintenance charger services ensures that the charges will always be operational since BP Pulse is required to provide fully charged buses at the beginning of each service day for five years. The original ATN solicitation allowed for charging installation and maintenance services by BP Pulse to be made available to any transit agency within the State of California and was recently used by LADOT Transit. To address the City’s charging needs, BP Pulse has proposed five 50KW chargers that meet BP Pulse’s requirements to provide CaaS. Since BP Pulse will be responsible for fully charged buses each day, only chargers that have proven to be reliable can be installed. The cost of the 4{{section.number}}a
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50KW chargers, installation and CaaS is less than a quote obtained from New Flyer (the battery-electric bus manufacturer) for chargers and installation alone. New Flyer’s quote did not include CaaS.
Using ATN’s procurement and contract through which chargers have already been installed, and has charging as a service, allows Glendale to hire a proven vendor and most importantly, move quickly. The battery-electric buses are scheduled to arrive at the end of the year, which would not afford sufficient time to conduct a procurement and have the chargers installed and ready to charge when the five battery-electric buses arrive.
The cost to install the chargers, including operating and maintenance services is $820,272. The additional $370,272 is proposed to be appropriated from Measure R Local Return funds.
Dial-A-Ride Minivans
On January 9, 2024, the City Council approved the purchase of six replacement minivan for a total cost of $490,000 ($378,000 in FTA 5310 grant funding and $112,000 in Measure R Local Return funds).
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) administers the FTA 5310 grant program and requires awardees to purchase buses and vans from the federally and state compliant CALACT/MBTA Purchasing Cooperative. As a subrecipient of both federal and state grant funds, the City must comply with state and FTA procurement and contracting requirements. While the CALACT/MBTA Purchasing Cooperative Agreement identifies two accessible minivan vendors, currently the only FTA compliant minivan that is available is the Model 1 – Braun WAV (Side Entry) minivan.
Accordingly, in order to be in compliance with FTA grant program rules, it is in the City’s best interest to dispense with competitive bidding for the purchase of six Model 1 – Braun accessible minivans.
STAKEHOLDERS/OUTREACH
The City of Glendale’s transit services, Beeline and Dial-A-Ride provide residents with mobility. For Beeline, the new battery-electric buses will replace CNG buses that have reached their useful life and the replacement battery-electric buses will reduce GHG emissions. The Dial-A-Ride program provides older adults and persons with disabilities living within the Glendale sub-regional paratransit transportation service to reach doctors appointments, grocery stores, senior centers and other locations needed for daily living.
By replacing minivans that have reached their useful life, the Dial-A-Ride program can continue to provide this much-needed service.
FISCAL IMPACT
The purchase of battery-electric buses, chargers including installation, operation and maintenance and minivans will cost $7,194,330 total, a portion of which was not included as a part of the FY 2023-24 budget. Therefore, staff is requesting for an appropriation of $1,129,330 total from the VW Mitigation Grant and Measure R Local Return Fund balance. The appropriation request is outlined below:
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Existing Appropriation for Five Battery-Electric Buses
Amount Account String Funding Source
$2,186,396 GL: 51000-2160-PWD-0020-P0000-
PL: PWD00787AG
Miscellaneous Grant Fund
$ 832,051 GL: 51000-2230-PWD-0020-P0000-
PL: PWD00787BG
Measure M Subregional
Fund
$1,000,000 GL: 51000-5830-GWP-0020-P0000-
PL: GWP00242AN
GWP Electric Depreciation
Fund
$1,106,553 GL: 51000-2540-PWD-0020-P0000-
PL: PWD00787CN
Measure R Local Return
Fund
Requesting Appropriation
Amount From (Account
String)
To (Account String) Funding Source
$ 648,000 GL: 32610-2160-
PWD-0020-P0000-
PL: PWD00787DG
GL: 51000-2160-
PWD-0020-P0000-
PL: PWD00787DG
State Grant – VW
Mitigation Grant
$ 111,058 GL: 24212-2540-
PWD-0000-
GL: 51000-2540-
PWD-0020-P0000-
PL: PWD00787CN
Measure R Local
Return Fund
Existing Appropriation for Charging
Amount Account String Funding Source
$ 197,883 GL: 51000-2160-PWD-0020-P0000-
PL: PWD00531AG
Miscellaneous Grant Fund
$ 225,000 GL: 51000-2160-PWD-0020-P0000-
PL: PWD00531CG
Miscellaneous Grant Fund
$ 27,117 GL: 51000-2540-PWD-0020-P0000-
PL: PWD00531BN
Measure R Local Return
Fund
Requesting Appropriation
Amount From (Account
String)
To (Account String) Funding Source
$370,272 GL: 24212-2540-
PWD-0000-
GL: 51000-2540-
PWD-0020-P0000-
PL: PWD00531BN
Measure R Local
Return Fund
Existing Appropriation for DAR Minivans
Amount Account String Funding Source
$ 378,000 GL: 51000-2160-PWD-0020-P0000-
PL: PWD01128AG
Miscellaneous Grant Fund
$ 112,000 GL: 51000-2540-PWD-0020-P0000-
PL: PWD01128BN
Measure R Local Return
Fund
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ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW (CEQA/NEPA)
This item is considered a ministerial activity and therefore not subject to CEQA/NEPA review.
CAMPAIGN DISCLOSURE
This item is exempt from campaign disclosure requirements.
ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Alternative 1: Release three bids for battery-electric buses, chargers and minivans. This would require the hiring of a consultant to prepare the vehicle and charger specifications and comply with federal procurement guidelines. Staff anticipates this option will result in higher capital costs.
Alternative 2: The City Council may consider any other alternative not proposed by staff.
ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION
Submitted by:
Daniel Hernandez, Interim Director of Public Works
Prepared by:
Martha D’Andrea, Transit Manager
Approved by:
Roubik R. Golanian, P.E., City Manager
EXHIBITS/ATTACHMENTS
None.