CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: 10/06/2026
AGENDA REPORT AGENDA HEADING: Consent Calendar
AGENDA TITLE:
Consider authorizing the submittal of an application to the Federal Highway Administration PROTECT Competitive Grant Program for the Palos Verdes Drive South Reconstruction Project (CIP 8301).
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:
(1) Authorize Staff to submit an application for up to $10 million in Planning Grant funding under the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) Competitive Grant Program for the Palos Verdes Drive South Reconstruction Project (Project) (CIP 8301), provided that, prior to submittal by the October 9, 2026 deadline, Staff determines there is no other available competing grant opportunity that would provide a more advantageous funding strategy for the Project.
FISCAL IMPACT: The Fiscal Year (FY) 2026-27 Adopted Budget includes $100,000 for grant application and management services. The cost for Witt O’Brien’s (one of the City’s contracted grant writers) to prepare and submit the PROTECT Planning Grant application is not-to-exceed $15,000 and will be funded from this existing appropriation.
Accordingly, no additional appropriation is required to prepare or submit the application. If awarded, the PROTECT Planning Grant may provide up to $10 million for eligible planning, environmental review, preliminary engineering, design, and other preconstruction activities, with no local matching funds required. Funding for eventual construction of the Palos Verdes Drive South Reconstruction Project has not yet been identified and grant funds will be pursued at a future date. VR
Amount Budgeted: $100,000 (FY 2026-27 Citywide grant management services budget)
Additional Appropriation: N/A
Account Number(s): 101-400-2999-5101
(Non-Departmental – Professional/Technical Services)VR
ORIGINATED BY: Russ Bryden, PE, Interim Deputy Public Works Director REVIEWED BY: David Copp, PE, Interim Public Works Director APPROVED BY: Ara Mihranian, AICP, City Manager
1 CITYOF RANCHO PALOS VERDES
ATTACHED SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS:
A. Notice of Funding Opportunity – PROTECT Grant
B. Project Budget Sheet for CIP 8301 from FY 2026-27
C. On-Call Professional Services Agreements for Grant Application, Management, and Related Services
D. NCB Proposal for PROTECT Grant Application Preparation E. Witt O'Brien's Proposal for PROTECT Grant Application Preparation F. Witt O’Brien’s Task Order for PROTECT Planning Grant Application G. Palos Verdes Drive South Reconstruction Project Fact Sheet BACKGROUND:
Beginning in 2023, the Greater Portuguese Bend Landslide Complex (Landslide Complex) experienced extraordinary acceleration that caused significant damage to Palos Verdes Drive South (PVDS) and other infrastructure. Land movement exceeded one foot per week in some areas, resulting in fissures, sinkholes, ground deformation, drainage problems, and continued impacts to roads, utilities, and open space. Within the approximately two-mile project area, sections of PVDS have developed significant vertical and horizontal deviations and drainage deficiencies along with no longer located within the roadway easement.
PVDS is a critical regional arterial and evacuation route that carries approximately 14,000 vehicle trips per day. Failure of the roadway through the Landslide Complex would divert traffic onto other narrow roads along hillside terrain with less capacity and create detours potentially exceeding 18 miles. A failure of PVDS would also significantly impede access for fire, police, and ambulance services and impair the primary evacuation route serving coastal communities on the Palos Verdes Peninsula and in the South Bay.
The FY 2026-27 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) identifies the PVDS Reconstruction Project (Project, CIP Project No. 8301, Attachment B), which is intended to realign and reconstruct approximately two miles of PVDS within the Landslide Complex to provide a more stable roadway alignment, restore roadway geometry and drivability, improve drainage, maintain reliable access, coordinate with utilities and other critical infrastructure, and incorporate resilient design features intended to reduce future risk from ground movement. Due to the magnitude of the anticipated project costs and limited available funding, the project was not funded in the FY 2026-27 CIP and instead placed on the “Needs/Wants List”, where it will remain until funding can be identified.
DISCUSSION:
PROTECT Competitive Grant Program
On August 27, 2026, the U.S. Department of Transportation FHWA, opened the PROTECT competitive grant program for FY 2026. The program is intended to improve the resilience of the surface transportation system to natural hazards and changing conditions. The current funding opportunity includes Planning Grants, Resilience 2 Improvement Grants, Community Resilience and Evacuation Route Grants, and At-Risk Coastal Infrastructure Grants (Attachment A). Applications are due October 9, 2026.
Planning Grants may fund resilience planning and development activities, including feasibility analysis, environmental review, preliminary engineering and design, and other preconstruction activities. The current notice anticipates Planning Grant awards generally ranging from $100,000 to $10 million. Planning Grants are eligible for a 100% federal share and therefore do not require a local funding match.
Based on the current project status, Staff is evaluating a Planning Grant application for up to $10 million to advance the Project through planning and design. If awarded, the grant would not fund construction of the Project under the proposed Planning Grant application. Construction funding would remain undetermined, and Staff would continue to evaluate future federal, state, regional, and other funding opportunities for implementation of the project.
Because PROTECT is a FHWA grant, any awarded funding would be subject to the applicable federal laws, regulations, grant terms, and compliance requirements. Staff would incorporate those requirements into procurement, consultant agreements, project administration, financial management, reporting, and other grant funded activities as applicable.
Grant Strategy and Conditional Authorization
Staff are concurrently evaluating other potential funding opportunities for the Project. A different grant opportunity could provide a more advantageous funding structure based on the amount available, eligible project phases, schedule, cost share requirements, or other program conditions.
To preserve the City's ability to pursue the most beneficial available funding strategy and avoid conflicting or duplicative grant applications, Staff recommend that the City Council authorize a PROTECT Planning Grant application for up to $10 million only if Staff determines, before the October 9 deadline, that there is no other available competing grant opportunity that would be more advantageous for the Project. If Staff identifies a more advantageous competing opportunity, Staff would not submit the PROTECT application under this authorization and would instead return to the City Council as necessary for authorization to pursue the alternative funding source.
Grant Application Consultant Services
On June 16, 2026, the City Council awarded on-call professional services agreements to NCB Incorporated (NCB) and Witt O'Brien's, LLC (Witt O'Brien's) for grant application, management, and related services (Attachment C). The on-call agreements allow Staff to request project specific task proposals when grant opportunities arise and do not obligate the City to issue work to either consultant.
Because the PROTECT application is due October 9, 2026, Staff requested projectspecific quotes from both on-call consultants. NCB proposed a not-to-exceed fee of 3 $14,550 based on approximately 97 hours of work (Attachment D). Witt O'Brien's proposed a not-to-exceed fee of $15,000 based on approximately 100 hours of work (Attachment E). Staff reviewed both proposals and determined that the proposed hourly rates were consistent with the rates established in the existing PSAs and that the hours assigned to each task were commensurate to the anticipated level of effort required to prepare and submit a grant application of this type.
On September 29, 2026, Staff executed a task order with Witt O’Brien’s (Attachment F) based on the strength of its proposal and directed the consultant to begin preparing the PROTECT grant application. Ordinarily, Staff would seek City Council authorization before initiating preparation of a grant application. However, because of the limited time remaining before the October 9, 2026 application deadline, Staff determined that work should begin immediately to preserve the opportunity to submit a complete application. If Staff identifies a more advantageous grant opportunity for the Project, Staff will direct Witt O’Brien’s to stop work on the PROTECT application immediately. Similarly, if the City Council directs Staff not to submit the application, Witt O’Brien’s will be directed to stop work immediately. The consultant will be compensated only for services completed through the date work is discontinued.
CONCLUSION:
Staff recommends that the City Council conditionally authorize Staff to submit an application for up to $10 million in PROTECT Planning Grant funding for the Palos Verdes Drive South Reconstruction Project (CIP 8301), provided Staff determines prior to the application deadline that no other available competing grant opportunity would provide a more advantageous funding strategy for the Project. The PROTECT Planning Grant would require no local funding match and, if awarded, could fund eligible planning and design activities needed to advance the Project.
ALTERNATIVES:
In addition to Staff's recommendation, the following alternative actions are available for the City Council's consideration:
1. Direct Staff not to submit a PROTECT Planning Grant application for the Palos Verdes Drive South Reconstruction Project.
2. Direct Staff to modify the proposed grant amount or scope before submitting the application.
3. Take other action, as deemed appropriate.
4 Fiscal Years 2024 through 2026
Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-saving Transportation Competitive Grant Program
Notice of Funding Opportunity
Application Opening Date: 08/27/2026
Application Closing Date: 10/09/2026
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U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
Fiscal Years 2024 through 2026 Notice of Funding Opportunity Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-saving Transportation Competitive Grant Program
Table of Contents
A. BASIC INFORMATION........................................................................................................ 3 B. ELIGIBILITY......................................................................................................................... 6 C. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION............................................................................................... 12 D. APPLICATION CONTENTS AND FORMAT................................................................. 15 E. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS AND DEADLINE...................................................... 20 F. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION.................................................................... 22 G. AWARD NOTICES.............................................................................................................. 40 H. POST-AWARD REQUIREMENTS AND ADMINISTRATION .................................... 41 A-2
A. BASIC INFORMATION
The applicant should read this notice in its entirety for the information necessary to submit eligible and competitive applications.
Federal Agency Name U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
Funding Opportunity Title Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-saving Transportation (PROTECT) Competitive
Grant Program
Announcement Type This is a new Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) Funding Opportunity
Number
FHWA-PROT-26-001
Assistance Listing Number(s) 20.284
Funding Details This opportunity will result in the distribution of up to $787 million in Fiscal Years (FYs) 2024 through 2026 funding. Of this amount, up to $79 million is available for Planning Grants; up to $551 million is available for Resilience Improvement Grants; up to $79 million is available for Community
Resilience and Evacuation Route Grants; and up to $79 million is available for At-Risk Coastal Infrastructure Grants. FHWA may elect to also distribute any remaining and available prior FY PROTECT Competitive Grant Program funds in awards
under this funding opportunity. See Section C.3 for
information on statutory set-asides.
FHWA may elect to utilize funds from this NOFO for projects selected to receive an award under the previous PROTECT Competitive Grant Program NOFO. In this instance, previous awardees would not have to re-apply.
There is no minimum or maximum award size.
Key Dates Application Due Date: 10/09/2026 at 11:59:59 PM ET.
DOT anticipates announcing awards under this NOFO the
week of December 07, 2026.
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Executive Summary The PROTECT Competitive Grant Program provides funding to plan for and make surface transportation more resilient to current and future weather events, natural disasters, and changing conditions, such as severe storms, flooding, drought, levee and dam failures, wildfire, rockslides, mudslides, sea level rise, extreme weather, including extreme temperatures, and earthquakes.
The PROTECT Competitive Grant Program has the following categories of funding:
• Planning Grants (Title 23 United States Code (U.S.C.) § 176(d)(3)).
• Resilience Grants, including:
o Resilience Improvement Grants (23 U.S.C.
§ 176(d)(4)(A)).
o Community Resilience and Evacuation Route
Grants (23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(4)(B)).
o At-Risk Coastal Infrastructure Grants (23
U.S.C. § 176(d)(4)(C)).
Eligible applicants for the PROTECT Competitive Grant
Program funding are States, metropolitan planning
organizations (MPO), local governments, federally recognized Indian Tribes, public transportation agencies, port authorities, and Federal Land Managing Agencies (FLMA) when applying jointly with a State or group of States. Specific to At-Risk Coastal Infrastructure Grants, eligibility also includes U.S. territories, plus the same entities eligible for the broader program, but limited to coastal States and other specified entities within such States (see 23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(4)(C)(i)).
See Section B for more details.
The PROTECT Competitive Grant Program requires a
minimum non-Federal cost-share of 20 percent except for:
federally recognized Indian Tribes who may request zero costshare; Planning Grants, which do not require a cost-share; projects in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, which do not require a cost-share (23 U.S.C. § 120(g)); and projects covered by an applicable Resilience Improvement Plan (RIP), which could reduce the required minimum cost-share to 17 percent, 13 percent, or 10 percent (see Section B). Where required, applicants who do not provide the minimum nonFederal cost-share will be classified as ineligible. For additional information on RIPs, please refer to Section B and 23 U.S.C. § 176(e).
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Agency Contact Information U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20590
Email: [email protected]
Changes from Prior NOFO • Removed references to rescinded Executive Orders (E.O.).
• Aligned the NOFO with new E.O.s.
• Updated application evaluation criteria.
• Simplified and aligned with 2 Code of Federal
Regulation (CFR) 200 criteria.
• Changed the NOFO to one application period for FYs
2024, 2025, and 2026 funding.
• Added a required Application Template.
Applicants who applied for funding under the previous FYs 2024 through 2026 PROTECT Competitive Grant Program
NOFO published in October 2024 must re-apply using the
relevant NOFO Application Template associated with this NOFO to be considered for funding. Awards will not be made under the previous FYs 2024 through 2026 PROTECT
Competitive Grant Program NOFO.
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B. `ELIGIBILITY
1. ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS
See Section A for a summary of eligible entities, which are shown in more detail below:
Planning, Resilience Improvement, and
Community Resilience and Evacuation
Route Grants
At-Risk Coastal Infrastructure Grants
1. A State or political subdivision of a
State. (State includes the District of
Columbia and Puerto Rico).
2. An MPO.
3. A unit of local government.
4. A special purpose district or public
authority with a transportation function,
including a port authority.
1 5. A federally recognized Indian Tribe (as
defined in 23 U.S.C. § 207(m)(1)).
6. A FLMA that applies jointly with a State
or group of States.
7. A multi-State or multijurisdictional
group of entities described in (1)
through (6) above.
1. A coastal State (i.e., a State, the U.S. Virgin
Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands) that is in or bordering on the
Atlantic, Pacific or Arctic Oceans or the
Gulf of America2, or a coastal State that is
in or bordering on the Long Island Sound or
one or more of the Great Lakes.
Also, within a coastal State as described
above:
2. A political subdivision of a State.
3. An MPO.
4. A unit of local government.
5. A special purpose district or public
authority with a transportation function,
including a port authority.
6. A federally recognized Indian Tribe.
7. A FLMA that applies jointly with an
eligible State or group of States.
8. A multi-State or multijurisdictional group of
entities described in (1) through (7) above.
Multiple eligible entities who submit a joint application should identify a lead applicant as the primary point of contact (POC) and recipient for purposes of financial administration of the project. Joint applications should include a description of the roles and responsibilities of each applicant and should be signed by each applicant.
2. ADDITIONAL RESTRICTIONS ON ELIGIBILITY
Eligible Activities
1A “public authority” means a Federal, State, county, town, or township, federally recognized Indian Tribe, municipal, or other local government or instrumentality with authority to finance, build, operate, or maintain toll or toll-free facilities (23 U.S.C. 101(a)(22)). If a special purpose district applies for a PROTECT Competitive Grant, it should include appropriate documentation that it was established in accordance with applicable State law. 2 Title 23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(4)(C)(i)(I) and E.O.14172.
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Eligible activities are different for each of the four types of grants under the PROTECT Competitive Grant Program. The table below provides PROTECT Competitive Grant Program eligible activities:
Grant Type Eligible Activities
Planning 1. The development of a RIP under 23 U.S.C. § 176(e)(2) by a State or MPO;
2. Resilience planning, predesign, design, or the development of data tools to simulate transportation disruption scenarios, including vulnerability assessments;
3. Technical capacity building by the eligible entity to facilitate the ability of the eligible entity to assess the vulnerabilities of the surface transportation assets and community response strategies of the eligible entity under current conditions and a range of potential future conditions; or
4. Evacuation planning and preparation.
Resilience
Improvement
The project must include one or more construction activities to improve the ability of an existing surface transportation asset to withstand one or more elements of a weather event or natural disaster, or to increase the resilience of surface transportation infrastructure from the impacts of changing conditions, such as sea level rise, flooding, wildfires, extreme weather events, and other natural disasters including:
1. Resurfacing, restoration, rehabilitation, reconstruction, replacement, improvement, or realignment of an existing surface transportation facility eligible for assistance under Title 23;
2. The incorporation of natural infrastructure;
3. The upgrade of an existing surface transportation facility to meet or exceed a design standard adopted by FHWA;
4. The installation of mitigation measures to prevent the intrusion of floodwaters into surface transportation systems;
5. Strengthening systems to remove rainwater from surface transportation facilities;
6. Upgrades to and installation of structural stormwater controls;
7. A resilience project that addresses identified vulnerabilities described in the RIP of the eligible entity, if applicable;
8. Relocating roadways in a base floodplain to higher ground above projected flood elevation levels, or away from slide prone areas;
9. Stabilizing slide areas or slopes;
10. Installing riprap;
11. Lengthening or raising bridges to increase waterway openings, including responding to extreme weather;
12. Increasing the size or number of drainage structures;
13. Installing seismic retrofits on bridges;
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14. Adding scour protection at bridges;
15. Adding scour, stream stability, coastal, and other hydraulic countermeasures, including spur dikes;
16. Vegetation management practices in transportation rights-of-way to improve roadway safety, prevent against invasive species, facilitate wildfire control, and provide erosion control; and
17. Any other protective features, including natural infrastructure, as determined by the Secretary.
Community
Resilience and
Evacuation
Route
One or more projects that strengthen and protect evacuation routes essential for supporting emergency evacuations during emergency events, including projects:
1. Eligible as resilience improvements (see 23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(4)(A)(ii)) if the activity improves an evacuation route;
2. Ensuring the ability of an evacuation route to provide safe passage during an evacuation and reducing the risk of damage to evacuation routes as a result of future emergency events, including restoring or replacing existing evacuation routes that are in poor condition or not designed to meet the anticipated demand during an emergency event.
This can include steps to protect routes from mud, rock, or other debris slides;
3. Where the eligible entity notifies3the Secretary that existing evacuation routes are not sufficient to adequately facilitate evacuations, including the transportation of emergency responders and recovery resources, expands the capacity of evacuation routes to swiftly and safely accommodate evacuations, including installation of:
(a) Communications and intelligent transportation system equipment and infrastructure;
(b) Counterflow measures; or
(c) Shoulders;
4. To construct new or redundant evacuation routes, if the eligible entity notifies the Secretary that existing evacuation routes are not sufficient to adequately facilitate evacuations, including the transportation of emergency responders and recovery resources;
5. For the acquisition of evacuation route or traffic incident management equipment or signage; or,
6. That ensures access or service to critical destinations, including hospitals and other medical or emergency service facilities, major employers, critical manufacturing centers, ports and intermodal facilities, utilities, and Federal facilities.
3 Data-driven evidence should be included with the application to explain why the existing route is not sufficiently adequate and how capacity expansion of the evacuation route will swiftly and safely accommodate evacuations.
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At-Risk
Coastal
Infrastructure
Projects that strengthen, stabilize, harden, elevate, relocate, or otherwise enhance the resilience of highway and non-rail infrastructure, including bridges, roads, pedestrian walkways, and bicycle lanes, and associated infrastructure, such as culverts and tide gates to protect highways, that are subject to, or face increased long-term future risks of, a weather event, a natural disaster, or changing conditions, including coastal flooding, coastal erosion, wave action, storm surge, or sea level rise, in order to improve transportation and public safety and to reduce costs by avoiding larger future maintenance or rebuilding costs.
The Secretary shall provide At-Risk Coastal Infrastructure Grants for projects that address the risks from a current or future weather event or natural disaster including coastal flooding, coastal erosion, wave action, storm surge, or sea level change; and that reduce long-term infrastructure costs by avoiding larger future maintenance or rebuilding costs (23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(4)(C)(iv)).
FHWA will determine whether an application for an At-Risk Coastal Infrastructure Grant meets these requirements through merit criteria (see Section F) and by evaluating information provided in the Application Template.
Eligible Facilities
A PROTECT Competitive Grant may be awarded only for the following facilities:
• A highway4 project eligible for assistance under Title 23; • A public transportation facility or service eligible for assistance under Chapter 53 of Title 49;
• A facility or service for intercity rail passenger transportation (as defined in Section 24102 of Title 49); or
• A port facility, including a facility that:
o Connects a port to other modes of transportation;
o Improves the efficiency of evacuations and disaster relief; or o Aids transportation. (23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(5)(C)).
Statutory Requirements for Projects in Floodplains
If a PROTECT Competitive Grant Program project is proposed to be carried out, in whole or in part, within a base floodplain, under 23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(5)(B)(ii) the application must include the following:
4 The term “highway” includes a road, street, and parkway; a right-of-way, bridge, railroad-highway crossing, tunnel, drainage structure including public roads on dams, sign, guardrail, and protective structure, in connection with a highway; and a portion of any interstate or international bridge or tunnel and the approaches thereto, the cost of which is assumed by a State transportation department, including such facilities as may be required by the U.S.
Customs and Immigration Services in connection with the operation of an international bridge or tunnel. 23 U.S.C. § 101(a)(11).
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• Identification of the floodplain in which the project is to be located and disclose that information in the application; and
• Indication, whether, if selected, the eligible entity will implement one or more components of the risk mitigation plan under Section 322 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act5(42 U.S.C. § 5165) with respect to the area.
System Resilience
A PROTECT Competitive Grant may include the use of natural infrastructure or the construction or modification of storm surge, flood protection, or aquatic ecosystem restoration elements functionally connected to a transportation improvement, such as:
• Increasing marsh health and total area adjacent to a highway right-of-way to promote additional flood storage;
• Upgrades to and installing of culverts designed to withstand 100-year flood events; • Upgrades to and installation of tide gates to protect highways; and • Upgrades to and installation of flood gates to protect tunnel entrances. (23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(5)(D)).
Eligible Project Costs
PROTECT Competitive Grant Program funds may only be used for activities which are primarily for the purpose of resilience or inherently resilience related. As such, only the cost associated with making assets more resilient are eligible for funding under the PROTECT Competitive Grant Program. However, to the extent that the primary purpose of a project is to address resilience, the project may be eligible for full funding (up to the applicable Federal share). (For more information, see PROTECT Competitive Grant Program Website, available at https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/protect/competitive).
Eligible project costs are different for Planning Grants versus Resilience Grants. • For Planning Grants, development phase activities, including planning, feasibility analysis, revenue forecasting, environmental review, preliminary engineering and design work, other preconstruction activities, and other activities consistent with carrying out an 5 https://www.fema.gov/disaster/stafford-act.
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eligible PROTECT Competitive Grant Program Planning project are eligible (23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(5)(F)(ii)).
• For Resilience Grants, the following are eligible:
o Development phase activities, including planning, feasibility analysis, revenue forecasting, environmental review, preliminary engineering and design work, and other preconstruction activities; and
o Construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, and acquisition of real property (including land related to the project and improvements to land), environmental mitigation, construction contingencies, acquisition of equipment directly related to improving system performance, and operational improvements (23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(5)(F)(i)).
Limitations on Awards
• There are no award limitations for Planning Grants.
• For Resilience Grants, awards are limited as follows:
o New Construction. No more than 40 percent of the amount of a PROTECT Competitive Grant Program Resilience Grant may fund construction of new capacity (23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(5)(G)(i)(I)); and
o Planning Activities. No more than 10 percent of the amount of a PROTECT Competitive Grant Program Resilience Grant may fund eligible development phase activities, including planning, feasibility analysis, revenue forecasting, environmental review, preliminary engineering and design work, and other preconstruction activities described under 23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(5)(F)(i)(I) (23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(5)(G)(i)(II)).
3. COST SHARING
Cost Share
Grant Type Federal Share
Planning grants
23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(5)(E)(i)
The Federal share of an eligible planning activity shall be 100 percent.
Resilience Grants:
• Resilience Improvement
23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(5)(E)(ii)(I)
• Community Resilience and
Evacuation Route
23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(5)(E)(ii)(II)
• At-Risk Coastal
Infrastructure
23 U.S.C. § 120(g)
Shall not exceed 80 percent of the total cost of the
project.*
For federally recognized Indian Tribes, the Federal
share of an eligible project may be up to 100
percent.**
For projects carried out in the U.S. Virgin Islands,
Guam, American Samoa, or the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands, the Federal share of an
eligible project shall be 100 percent.
* See Calculating Cost Share with a RIP below for projects in States and MPOs that have a RIP.
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** Federally recognized Indian Tribes must specify in their application the Federal share amount requested for the proposed project.
Where required, applicants who do not provide the minimum non-Federal cost-share will be ineligible for award.
Calculating Cost Share with a RIP
The non-Federal share of the cost of a project carried out using PROTECT Competitive Grant Program funds may be reduced as described below. The non-Federal share has a maximum reduction of 10 percent under 23 U.S.C. § 176(e)(1)(B)(iii)(I).6 Non-Federal
share
Reduced if Qualifiers
Reduced by 7
percent if:
The State or MPO has developed
an eligible RIP and prioritized the
project on that RIP (23 U.S.C.
§ 176(e)(1)(B)(i));
The project must be included in a RIP
before the NOFO application deadline.
The RIP must comply with 23 U.S.C.
§ 176(e) and must be provided with
the grant application.
Reduced by 3
percent if:
A State or MPO RIP developed in
accordance with Section 176(e) is
incorporated (directly or by
reference) into the metropolitan
transportation plan under 23
U.S.C. § 134 or the statewide
long-range transportation plan
under 23 U.S.C. § 135, as
applicable. (23 U.S.C. §
176(e)(1)(B)(ii)).
RIP must be incorporated in a
metropolitan transportation plan or
statewide long-range transportation
plan before the NOFO application
deadline.
RIP must comply with 23 U.S.C.
§ 176(e) and must be provided with
the grant application.
(For more information, see RIP Website at https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/protect/rip/.) Determining Cost Share
Non-Federal sources of income include State funds originating from programs funded by State revenue or local revenue funding programs, or private funds. Per 23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(5)(E)(iii), Federal funds other than PROTECT Competitive Grant Program funds may be used to meet the non-Federal cost share for PROTECT Competitive Grant Program projects provided the requirements of those funds are met. All cost-share funds used are subject to the same Federal requirements as PROTECT Competitive Grant Program funds described in Section H. Unless otherwise authorized by statute, the cost-share may not be counted as non-Federal share for both 6 A reduction of the non-Federal share under Title 23 U.S.C. § 176(e)(1)(B) shall not reduce the non-Federal share of the costs of a PROTECT Competitive Grant Program Resilience Grant funded project to an amount that is less than zero. (23 U.S.C. § 176(e)(1)(E)(B)(iii)(II)).
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a PROTECT Competitive Grant Program project and another Federal program. FHWA will not consider previously incurred costs, or previously expended or encumbered funds, toward the matching requirements for any project. (For more information on non-Federal matching requirements see: https://www.transportation.gov/grants/dot-navigator/understanding-nonfederal-match-requirements)
4. OTHER
Applications determined to be late, duplicates of applications submitted for the same round of applications, or incomplete will be disqualified.
Applicants are advised that FHWA will continue to screen projects for eligibility throughout the application review process described in Section F.
If a non-State Department of Transportation (State DOT) applicant will use Federal-aid formula funds apportioned to a State DOT as part of the total project budget, the application must also include a supporting letter from the State DOT agreeing to administer the project with the nonState DOT applicant serving as the sub-recipient.
5. APPLICATION LIMIT
There are no limitations on the number of applications an applicant may submit, but only one application may be submitted per project. If submitting more than one application, indicate the funding priority of each application on the application cover page. FHWA is not required to consider the applicant’s funding priority when making selections.
Each application may contain a project eligible for more than one PROTECT Competitive Grant category. Applicants must provide all required information for each category under which they are applying and must use the relevant Application Template for the type of grant. FHWA reserves the discretion to determine which funding category to award to a project, including a category for which the applicant did not apply.
C. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
1. PROGRAM PURPOSE
The purpose of the PROTECT Competitive Grant Program is to plan for and strengthen surface transportation to be more resilient to current and future weather events, natural disasters, and changing conditions, such as severe storms, flooding, drought, levee and dam failures, wildfire, rockslides, mudslides, sea level rise, extreme weather, including extreme temperature, and earthquakes. The PROTECT Competitive Grant Program funds Planning Grants to enable communities to assess infrastructure vulnerabilities to current and future weather events and natural disasters and changing conditions, including sea level rise, and plan transportation improvements and emergency response strategies to address those vulnerabilities. The program also funds construction projects under Resilience Improvement, Community Resilience and A-13
Evacuation Route, and At-Risk Coastal Infrastructure Grants, which are all considered Resilience Grants.
2. PROGRAM GOALS AND ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES
The intent of the PROTECT Competitive Grant Program is to fund projects to improve the resilience of the surface transportation system, including highways, public transportation, ports, and intercity passenger rail. Program goals include protecting: surface transportation assets by making them more resilient; communities through resilience improvements and strategies that allow for the continued operation or rapid recovery of surface transportation systems; coastal infrastructure; and natural infrastructure that protects and enhances surface transportation assets.
The Department seeks to fund projects that advance the priorities of the Trump Administration as described in DOT’s mission statement and across E.O.s. The Department intends to apply principles from DOT Order 2100.7, (Ensuring Reliance Upon Sound Economic Analysis in DOT’s Policies, Programs and Activities) when evaluating applications and making award selections. Such principles include utilizing sound economic principles and analysis supported by cost-benefit requirements and data-driven decisions and maximizing to the extent practicable, relevant, appropriate and consistent with law, benefits for families and communities. The Department will seek to fund projects that improve resilience to natural hazards and reduce potential for damage to the transportation system in support of the Department’s focus on core infrastructure and projects that reinvest in the American family by preventing disruption to the traveling public and communities in vulnerable areas who rely on transportation connectivity.
Further, the Department will seek to award projects that demonstrate readiness and support economic prosperity in communities and will consider projects that support the program set asides for rural communities and federally recognized Indian Tribes. See Section D, Economic Analysis, for Benefit-Cost Analysis (BCA) requirements. The merit criteria in Section F provide information on the consideration of the reinvesting in the American families, addressing core infrastructure, economic competitiveness and innovation administration priorities.
3. PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION AND FUNDING
Section 11405 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law (Pub. L.) 117-58, Nov. 15, 2021), established the PROTECT Formula Program and Competitive Grant Programs, which are codified at 23 U.S.C. § 176.
This NOFO provides PROTECT Competitive Grant Program funding of up to $787 million from FYs 2024 through 2026, plus any remaining PROTECT Competitive Grant Program funding from prior years. Different funding amounts are available for each of the four funding categories, as shown below.
Funding Category Approximate Funding Available FYs 2024 through 2026
Planning Grants Up to $79 million
Resilience Improvement Grants Up to $551 million
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Community Resilience and
Evacuation Route Grants
Up to $79 million
At-Risk Coastal Infrastructure Grants Up to $79 million Each fiscal year of funding has a required funding obligation deadline7as noted in the table below.
Fiscal Year Funding Funding Obligation Deadline
2024 September 30, 2027
2025 September 30, 2028
2026 September 30, 2029
The total period of performance for the PROTECT Competitive Grant Program awards are anticipated to be between 1 and 4 years.
This NOFO is subject to the availability of funding. The Government’s obligation under any resulting award is contingent upon the availability of funding. There is no legal liability on the part of the Government for any payment that may arise until funds are available and obligated to an award. FHWA is not obligated to make any award as a result of this notice.
Statutory Funding Provisions
• Rural8 Set-Aside: Not less than 25 percent of funding each fiscal year will be awarded to projects located outside an urban area with a population over 200,000 (23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(5)(H)(ii)). A project located in both an urban and a rural area will be designated as rural if the majority of the project’s footprint is in rural areas. • Tribal Set-Aside: Not less than 2 percent of funding from each fiscal year will be awarded for grants to federally recognized Indian Tribes 9(23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(5)(H)(iii)). • Unutilized Amounts: For any fiscal year, if the Secretary determines that the amount of the Rural Set-Aside or Tribal Set-Aside will not be fully utilized for PROTECT Competitive Grant Program grants, the Secretary may reallocate the unutilized funds to provide grants to other PROTECT Competitive Grant Program eligible entities. (23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(5)(H)(iv)).
• Limitation on Intercity Rail Passenger Transportation: For each fiscal year, not more than 25 percent of the total amount provided will be used for a facility or service for intercity rail passenger transportation (as defined in 49 U.S.C. § 24102). (23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(5)(G)(ii)).
7 Obligation for a PROTECT Competitive Grant Program award occurs when a selected recipient enters into a grant agreement with FHWA for eligible work that has met all applicable requirements for the obligation of funds. 8 For the PROTECT Competitive Grant Program, a project is designated as rural if it is located outside a Censusdesignated urban area that has a population greater than 200,000 in the 2020 Census. 9 As defined in 23 U.S.C. § 207(m)(1).
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• Benefit-Cost: BCA is required for certain award prioritizations under this program. See Section D for more information.
4. AWARD SIZE
There is no minimum or maximum award amount for PROTECT Competitive Grant awards.
While the Department reserves the right to make smaller or larger awards, based on the FY22-23 NOFO, the anticipated award range for Resilience Improvement, Community Resilience and Evacuation Route Grants, and At-Risk Costal Infrastructure Grants, the anticipated award range is $500,000 to $60,000,000. For Planning Grants, the anticipated award range is $100,000 to $10,000,000.
5. TYPE OF AWARD
The anticipated award(s) will be cost-reimbursable grant agreements.
6. PERFORMANCE GOALS
See Section H for details on performance reporting requirements and goals.
7. PREVIOUS AWARDS
Previous program awards can be seen on the PROTECT Competitive Grant Program Website:
https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/protect/competitive.
8. BUY AMERICA REQUIREMENTS
Funds made available under this NOFO are subject to domestic preference requirements. See Section H of this NOFO for additional details. Applicants can also refer to the FHWA Construction Program Guide for more information about addressing FHWA’s Buy America requirements and Build America Buy America requirements.
D. APPLICATION CONTENTS AND FORMAT
1. APPLICATION FORMAT
All applications must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov.
Application files should be single-spaced, 12-point standard font (e.g., Times New Roman), with 1-inch margins. The project narrative should not exceed 25 pages in length. Files should be in PDF unless otherwise specified (e.g., Excel based forms and location files such as Shapefile or KML/KMZ).
FHWA recommends applicants use a file naming format of: “[Applicant organization#]-2026- PROTECT” where “Applicant organization” reflects the applicant’s legal name, abbreviated as A-16
appropriate, and where “#” represents the order of applicant priority for the grant, if more than one application is submitted. If necessary, the workspace title can be edited per the instructions on Grants.gov.
The application package must consist of the following in this order.
All Project Types Non-Construction
Projects-Only
Construction ProjectsOnly
Standard Form (SF) 424 (Application
for Federal Assistance)
SF-424A (Budget
Information for NonConstruction Projects)
SF-424C (Budget
Information for
Construction Projects)
Grants.gov Lobbying Form
(Certification Regarding Lobbying)
SF-424B (Assurances for
Non-Construction
Programs)
SF-424D (Assurances for
Construction Programs)
SF-LLL (Disclosure of Lobbying
Activities form)
PROTECT Planning Grant or
Resilience Grant Application
Template
(see Section D.2 PROTECT
Competitive Grant Program
Application Templates) must be added
as an attachment to item 15 of the SF424.
2. APPLICATION CONTENT
Standard Forms
All mandatory SF of the 424 family are available for download at https://www.grants.gov/forms/forms-repository/sf-424-mandatory-family.
For more information on SF, please see: https://highways.dot.gov/resources/competitivegrants/standard-forms-1.
PROTECT Competitive Grant Program Application Templates Applicants must complete one of the PROTECT Competitive Grant Program Application Templates (either the Planning Grant Template or Resilience Grant Template) and include it as an attachment to Item 15 of their SF-424. The Application Template should provide all information necessary for FHWA to determine that the project satisfies the eligibility requirements described in Section B and to evaluate the criteria specified in Section F.
FHWA will only review the completed Application Template and the allowable supplemental documents (e.g., budget, schedule, design plans, etc.) specified within the Application Template instructions.
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The application must provide a budget for the project, either within the Application Template itself, or as an attachment. The budget must list the amount and percentage of both the Federal funding requested and any additional non-Federal funds, if any, to be used to pay for the project.
The Application Template can be found on Grants.gov.
Economic Analysis
This section outlines the requirements and recommended approaches for conducting a BCA for purposes of project prioritization and other required cost information for the PROTECT Competitive Grant Program.
Economic Analysis Requirements
PROTECT Competitive Grant
Program Funding Category
Requirements Purpose
Planning Grant
23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(3)
BCA NOT required. N/A
Resilience Improvement Grant
23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(4)(A)(iii)
BCA required unless the project is in a
qualifying RIP (23 U.S.C. § 176(e)(2)).
Project
Prioritization
Community Resilience and
Evacuation Route Grant
23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(4)(B)(iii)
BCA required. Project
Prioritization
At-Risk Coastal Infrastructure
Grant
23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(4)(C)(iv)
BCA not required, but the applicant must
demonstrate that the project would reduce
long-term infrastructure costs by avoiding
larger future maintenance or rebuilding
costs.
Project
Eligibility
The purpose of the BCA is to assess the project’s cost effectiveness by comparing its expected benefits to its expected costs, relative to a no-build scenario for the purpose of project prioritization. For projects requiring a BCA (see Economic Analysis Requirements table), the applicant must provide a standalone BCA memo document that describes the methods, assumptions, and inputs used in the analysis. Applicants must also provide all relevant files used for BCA, including any spreadsheet files (unlocked) and technical memos describing the analysis. The spreadsheets and technical memos must present the calculations in sufficient detail and transparency to allow the analysis to be reproduced by FHWA evaluators.
The BCA must carefully document the assumptions and methodology used to produce the analysis, including a description of the baseline, the sources of data used to project the outcomes of the project, and the values of key input parameters. The analysis should provide present value estimates of a project’s benefits and costs relative to a no-build baseline. To calculate present values, the applicant should apply a real discount rate specified in the DOT BCA Guidance (see https://www.transportation.gov/mission/office- secretary/office-policy/transportationpolicy/benefit-cost-analysis-guidance) to the project’s streams of benefits and costs, which should be stated in constant-dollar terms. The scope of the project’s benefits must match the scope of its costs in BCA (i.e., a BCA should include the costs associated with all benefits, and vice versa).
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The total cost used in BCA should include previously incurred costs and future costs associated with the project, rather than just costs reimbursable by the program.
Any benefits claimed for the project must be clearly tied to the expected outcomes of the project including resilience benefits such as damages avoided by the project. Projected benefits may accrue to both users of the facility and those who are affected by its use. Usage forecasts applied in estimating future benefits should account for any additional demand. While benefits should be quantified wherever possible, applicants are encouraged to describe other categories of benefits in BCA that are more difficult to quantify or value in economic terms (e.g., benefits associated with nature-based solutions or for documenting benefit of evacuation during emergency events).
The BCA must include the full cost (including those previously incurred) of developing, constructing, operating, and maintaining the proposed project compared to those costs for the existing facility, and the expected timing or schedule for costs in each of these categories. The BCA should include the costs that may accrue to those affected by the proposed project’s construction or use. The BCA may also include the present discounted value of any remaining service life of the asset at the end of the analysis period.
Detailed guidance from DOT on estimating benefits and costs, together with recommended economic values for converting them to dollar terms and discounting to their present values, is available on the DOT Website (see https://www.transportation.gov/mission/officesecretary/office-policy/transportation-policy/benefit-cost-analysis-guidance). Visit https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/protect/resources for additional BCA resources including, Best Practices for Resilience Investment Benefit-Cost Analysis.
Applications for At-Risk Coastal Infrastructure Grants must demonstrate that the project will reduce long-term infrastructure costs by avoiding larger future maintenance or rebuilding costs.
See the Resilience Grant Application Template for information on required documentation.
Economic Analysis Flexibility for Federally Recognized Indian Tribes FHWA is providing additional flexibility to federally recognized Indian Tribes regarding the information required in BCA. A federally recognized Indian Tribe may elect to provide raw data with its application to support the need for a project, without additional analysis. The applicant must provide clear identification of the problem to be solved by the project (asset risk), estimate the costs of the proposed project, current and projected future asset use (e.g., vehicle miles traveled, ridership, freight movement), and projection of the expected impacts of the project. An important benefit of projects which improve the resilience of existing transportation assets is travel time savings, for example from avoiding or reducing the amount of time an asset is closed.
For such projects, applicants must provide information that will enable FHWA to calculate travel time savings from a project. Such information must include the average amount of additional travel time from using the next best highway route. FHWA will use this data to develop estimates (given the data provided) of benefits and costs.
3. SHARING OF APPLICATION INFORMATION
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DOT may share application information within DOT or with other Federal Agencies if DOT determines that such sharing is relevant to the respective program’s goals.
For information on confidential business information please see:
https://highways.dot.gov/resources/competitive-grants/sharing-application-information-0.
E. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS AND DEADLINE
1. ADDRESS TO REQUEST APPLICATION PACKAGE
All application materials may be found on Grants.gov.
Once at Grants.gov, select the Search Grants tab. Then enter one of the following:
• Opportunity Number: FHWA-PROT-26-001; or
• Opportunity Name: Fiscal Years 2024 through 2026 Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) Program • Assistance Listing Number: 20.284–Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) Select the grant entry. This will open the grant opportunity Webpage. This Webpage has details about the grant and a link to the application. Click the “View on Grants.gov” button. This will open the grant opportunity on the Grants.gov Website. The first tab is a synopsis of the opportunity. There is also a “Package” tab which contains the application package. Select the “Package” tab to download the forms needed to submit a FYs 2024 through 2026 PROTECT Competitive Grant Program application. The applicant must complete and submit all forms included in the application package for this notice, as contained at Grants.gov.
If potential applicants are unable to download the application package from the internet, they may send a written request for a paper copy to the below address. Requests should be sent to:
Mailing Address:
U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20590
Telephone Device for the Deaf : Please call (202) 366-3993.
Email: [email protected]
Office hours are from 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM, EST, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
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2. UNIQUE ENTITY IDENTIFIER AND SYSTEM FOR AWARD MANAGEMENT Each applicant must:
• Be registered in System for Award Management (SAM) at SAM.gov before submitting its application;
• Provide a valid Unique Entity Identifier in its application; and • Continue to maintain an active registration in SAM.gov with current information at all times during which it has an active Federal award or an application under consideration by a Federal Agency.
Please note the SAM registration process takes several weeks to complete.
3. SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS
All applications must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov. The Department does not accept applications via mail, fax machine, email, or other means. Additional resources on applying through Grants.gov can be found at https://www.grants.gov/applicants.
4. SUBMISSION DEADLINES
FYs 2024 through 2026 PROTECT Competitive Grant Program applications must be submitted through Grants.gov by 11:59 PM EST on October 09, 2026. Grants.gov attaches a time stamp to each application at the time submission is complete.
5. CONSIDERATION OF APPLICATIONS
Only applicants who comply with all submission deadlines described in this notice and electronically submit valid, on-time applications through Grants.gov will be eligible for evaluation and possible selection for award.
To the extent practicable, applicants should provide supporting data and documentation in a form directly verifiable by DOT. DOT may, but is not required to, reach back to applicants for the purpose of clarifying application information. DOT will not request additional information to perfect incomplete applications.
To the extent practicable, applicants should provide supporting data and documentation in a form that is directly verifiable by FHWA. FHWA may, but is not required to, request additional information, including additional data to clarify supporting documentation submitted in an application. To ensure a fair and unbiased evaluation of applications submitted under this notice, FHWA will not request additional information to perfect incomplete applications.
6. SUBMISSION ISSUES For information on submission issues and more information on late applications, please see: Submission Issues | FHWA.
7. INTERGOVERNMENTAL REVIEW
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This program is not subject to E.O. 12372, Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.
F. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION
1. MERIT CRITERIA
FHWA will evaluate applications submitted in response to this notice using the following merit criteria:
• For Planning Grants, the merit criteria are program alignment, planning activity approach, and innovation.
• For Resilience Grants, the merit criteria are vulnerability and risk, criticality to community, design elements, and innovation.
The ratings for each merit criteria will be assigned a label of Highly Responsive, Responsive, and Non-Responsive. These will be used at the conclusion of the merit criteria evaluation to assign the application an overall merit criteria rating. a. Planning Grants
FHWA will assess Planning Grant applications using the following merit criteria.
Criterion #1: Program Alignment
FHWA will evaluate the extent to which the proposed Planning Grant activity aligns with the purpose of PROTECT Competitive Grant Program as described in 23 U.S.C 176(d)(3). FHWA will rate this criterion as described in the table, below:
Planning Criterion 1
Program Alignment
Objectives:
A. The planning project
would enable
communities to assess
vulnerabilities in current
and future weather events
and natural disasters and
changing conditions.
B. The planning project
would enable
communities to plan
transportation
improvements and
emergency response
strategies to address
Highly Responsive Responsive Non-Responsive
The application
describes how the
project will meet
both objectives and
provides qualitative
or quantitative data
or analysis to
demonstrate how the
project supports the
objectives.
The application
describes how the
project will meet
at least one
objective.
The application
does not describe
how the project
will meet at least
one objective.
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transportation
vulnerabilities.
Criterion #2: Planning Activity Approach
FHWA will evaluate the planning activity approach outlined in the application against the criterion elements described below.
Planning Criterion 2
Planning Activity Approach
Objectives:
A. For States or MPOs developing a
RIP, the application provides
information about how the resulting
plan will address the contents
outlined in 23 U.S.C. § 176(e)(2).
B. For resilience planning, predesign,
design or data tool projects, the
application identifies data and
resources that will be utilized to
inform the planning process,
describes how the project will utilize
data on past and future conditions to
address critical transportation
infrastructure, including the needs of
the traveling public, such as traveling
families and communities in
vulnerable areas.
C. For technical capacity building
activities, the application describes
the training programs that would be
implemented, how the training will
facilitate the ability of the applicant
to assess: the vulnerabilities of the
surface transportation assets, the
potential for impacts to communities
and the traveling public and
community response strategies under
current conditions and a range of
potential future conditions, and
describes how such technical
capacity building will provide
economic opportunities or increased
access to jobs.
Highly
Responsive
Responsive NonResponsive
The application
describes how
the project will
meet all
elements of at
least one
objective and
provides
qualitative or
quantitative data
or analysis to
demonstrate how
the project
The
application
describes how
the project
will meet all
elements of at
least one
objective.
The
application
does not
describe how
the project
will meet all
elements of at
least one
objective.
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D. For evacuation planning and
preparation activities, the application
documents potential future disasters
or conditions that demonstrate the
need for evacuation routes, explains
how the project will leverage
planning information from State and
local level government, such as
hazard mitigation and emergency
management planning, and how the
evacuation planning and preparation
activities considers the needs of
families and persons with disabilities.
supports the
objective.
Criterion #3: Innovation
FHWA will evaluate the extent to which the project advances DOT’s innovation agenda to usher in the golden age of transportation through American innovation that leads to cost savings, efficiencies, or better or more timely information as described in the table below:
Planning Criterion 3
Innovation Objectives:
A. The planning project
analyzes the potential use
of nature-based solutions
or builds technical
capacity for the use of
nature-based solutions
and access to nature.
B. The planning project
employs innovative or
novel technologies and
techniques that will be
used to analyze risks and
risk reduction strategies.
C. The planning project
demonstrates and
documents innovative
techniques and best
practices that other parts
of the country can
consider replicating.
Highly Responsive Responsive Non-Responsive
The application
describes how the
project will meet at
least one of the
objectives and
provides qualitative
or quantitative data
or analysis to
demonstrate how the
project supports the
objectives.
The application
describes how the
project will meet
at least one
objective.
The application
does not
describe how the
project will meet
at least one
objective.
Overall Merit Criteria Rating for Planning projects
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FHWA will assign an overall merit criteria rating on the following basis:
Rating Description
High All merit criteria are rated Highly Responsive.
MediumHighTwo merit criteria are rated Highly Responsive, including program alignment, and none are rated Non-Responsive.
Medium All merit criteria are rated at least Responsive.
Low One or more merit criteria are rated Non-Responsive.
Only those applications that receive a medium rating or higher for merit criteria will receive a project readiness evaluation.
b. Resilience Grant Applications
FHWA will assess Resilience Improvements, Community Resilience and Evacuation Routes, and At-Risk Coastal Infrastructure Grant applications using the following merit criteria.
Criterion #1: Vulnerability and Risk
For all Resilience Grant applications, FHWA will evaluate the extent to which the project addresses the following:
Resilience Criterion 1
Vulnerability and Risk
Objectives:
A. The application describes the
relevant current or future
weather events, natural
disasters, or changing
conditions to which the project
area is exposed and that the
project will address.
B. The application describes how
the project addresses each
element, as applicable, of
vulnerability-exposure,
sensitivity, and adaptive
capacity (see
https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/envir
onment/protect/competitive).
Highly Responsive Responsive NonResponsive
The application
describes how the
project will meet all
objectives and
provides qualitative
and quantitative data
or analysis to
demonstrate how the
project supports the
objectives.
The application
describes how
the project will
meet all
objectives.
The
application
does not
describe how
the project
will meet all
objectives.
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C. The application demonstrates
that there is a high risk to the
transportation asset or system
from current or future weather
events, natural disasters, or
changing conditions (risk is a
function of the likelihood of
negative impact and the
consequence should the impact
occur).
For At-Risk Coastal Infrastructure Grants, FHWA will use information provided for this merit criterion to verify that proposed projects address the risks from a current or future weather event or natural disaster, including coastal flooding, coastal erosion, wave action, storm surge, or sea level change (23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(4)(C)(iv)(I)).
Criterion #2: Criticality to American Families and Communities Criticality focuses on the most critical elements of the transportation system. Criticality may be defined by the needs of the community, such as providing access to critical community facilities (e.g., hospitals, schools), and may include factors such as infrastructure with high cost of failure, average daily traffic, or evacuation needs. Criticality may also be defined by the impact to freight mobility, including how disruptions impact the supply chain and increase the cost of living.
FHWA will evaluate the extent to which the project will address criticality to American families and communities as follows:
Resilience Criterion 2
Criticality to American
Families and Communities
Objectives:
A. The application
demonstrates that the project
is critical to support
continued operation or rapid
recovery of crucial local,
regional, or national surface
transportation assets and
facilities that serve families
and communities, including
providing for reliable access
to homes, businesses,
hospitals, schools, important
freight routes, or other
Highly Responsive Responsive NonResponsive
The application
describes how the
project will meet
objectives A, B,
and C, and provides
qualitative or
quantitative data or
analysis to
demonstrate how
the project supports
the objectives.
OR
The application
describes how the
The application
describes how the
project will meet
objectives A, B,
and C.
OR
The application
describes how the
project will meet
objective D.
Projects with
minimal (2-9
detour miles) or
moderate impacts
The application
does not
describe how
the project will
meet any of the
objectives.
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critical community or
business destinations.
B. The application
demonstrates the project
would be timely to address
transportation infrastructure
risks to the community and
that consequences are severe
if resilience improvements
are not made in the near
term.
C. The application
demonstrates the project is
critical to supporting
community functions (such
as economic activities or
emergency operations
during evacuations).
D. The application
demonstrates that the project
would address an
infrastructure asset along the
National Highway Freight
Network, draft National
Multimodal Freight
Network, or the National
Highway System, and the
failure of which would
create substantial, widereaching impacts across
supply chains. For bridges or
other single-points-offailure, the length of detour
should be quantified.
E. For At-Risk Coastal
Infrastructure Grants, the
application identifies the
extent to which the project
will (1) provide access to
coastal homes, businesses,
communities, and other
critical infrastructure,
including access by first
responders and other
emergency personnel; or (2)
provide access to a
project will meet
objective D and
provides qualitative
or quantitative
analysis to
demonstrate how it
supports the
objective. Projects
with high (25-49
detour miles) or
extreme impacts
(50+ detour miles)
will be considered
highly responsive.
For At-Risk
Coastal
Infrastructure Grant
applications, the
application also
demonstrates that
the project provides
access as described
in (1) or (2) of
objective E.
(10-24 detour
miles) will be
considered
responsive.
For At-Risk
Coastal
Infrastructure
Grant
applications, the
project does not
identify how it
provides access
as described in
(1) or (2) of
objective E.
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designated evacuation route
(23 U.S.C.
§ 176(d)(4)(C)(v)).
Criterion #3: Design Elements, including Addressing Core Infrastructure FHWA will evaluate the extent to which proposed project design elements will reduce risks to surface transportation infrastructure from current or future weather events, natural disasters, or changing conditions over the anticipated service life.
Visit https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/protect/resources for a list of resources and tools to help assess vulnerabilities, identify critical assets, and assess the resilience of projects to extreme weather and other natural hazards.
FHWA’s evaluation of design elements as described herein as part of the review and selection of projects under this NOFO is not and should not be interpreted as FHWA approval or concurrence of final project design. Approval of the final and specific design elements that will be used in the construction of the project will follow Title 23 or 2 CFR Part 200 requirements depending on the type of applicant.
FHWA will evaluate the extent to which the project will address design elements, including addressing core infrastructure as follows:
Resilience Criterion 3
Design Elements, including
Addressing Core Infrastructure
Objectives:
A. The application identifies the
anticipated service life of the
facility or asset and identifies
design element(s) to address
current and future vulnerabilities
over that service life.
B. The application documents the
source of relevant evidence-based
data, projections, and scenarios
used or proposed for use as the
basis for resilience design
element(s).
C. The application describes how the
design elements will reduce
current and future vulnerabilities
and risks to surface transportation
Highly
Responsive
Responsive NonResponsive
The application
describes how
the project will
meet all
objectives A
through F and
provides
qualitative or
quantitative data
or analysis to
demonstrate how
the project
supports the
objectives.
The
application
describes how
the project will
meet at least
four of the
objectives A
through F.
The application
does not
describe how
the project will
meet at least
four of the
objectives A
through F.
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infrastructure identified within the
application.
D. The application describes how the
project will improve the condition
and safety of the surface
transportation infrastructure by
reducing current and future
vulnerabilities.
E. The application describes how the
funded design elements will be
maintained for the anticipated life
of the facility, identifies which
entity will be responsible for
maintaining the project, and
anticipated funding sources for
future maintenance.
F. In support of reinvesting in the
American family: the project
improves wayfinding (e.g., clear
signage, intuitive layouts, and
predictable operations for
caregivers) and considers the
accessibility of the transportation
system for families and persons
with disabilities.
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Criterion #4: Innovation
FHWA will evaluate the extent to which the project advances the Department’s innovation agenda to usher in the golden age of transportation through American innovation that leads to cost savings, efficiencies, or better or more timely information as shown below:
Resilience Criterion 4
Innovation Objectives:
A. The project uses nature-based
solutions to improve resilience.
B. The project employs innovative
or emerging technologies or
techniques that will be used to
mitigate risk of structural failure
or increase reliability of the
surface transportation asset
throughout its anticipated service
life, reinforcing the Nation’s
leadership in technology and
innovation.
C. The project employs innovative
project delivery methods.
Highly
Responsive
Responsive NonResponsive
The application
describes how the
project will meet
at least one of the
objectives and
provides
qualitative or
quantitative data
or analysis to
demonstrate how
the project
supports the
objectives.
The application
describes how
the project will
meet at least
one of the
objectives.
The application
does not
describe how
the project will
meet at least
one of the
objectives.
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Overall Merit Criteria Rating for Resilience Projects
FHWA will assign an overall merit criteria rating on the following basis:
Rating Description
High At least three merit criteria are rated Highly Responsive, including vulnerability and risk.
Medium-High Two merit criteria are rated Highly Responsive, including vulnerability and risk.
Medium All merit criteria are rated at least Responsive.
Low One or more merit criteria are rated Non-Responsive.
Only those applications that receive a medium or higher rating for merit criteria will receive a project readiness evaluation.
2. PROJECT READINESS RATING
To assess the likelihood of a successful project, DOT will consider project readiness for eligible applications receiving a medium or higher merit criteria rating.
For the Project Readiness Assessment, DOT will consider three evaluation ratings: Technical Assessment, Financial Completeness Assessment, and Permitting Risk Assessment. DOT will use information from the Project Readiness Assessment portion of the application as well as information contained throughout the application to complete the Project Readiness Assessment.
The ratings for each Project Readiness Assessment criteria will also be assigned a numerical label. These will be used at the conclusion of the Project Readiness Assessment to assign the application an overall readiness rating.
Readiness: Technical Assessment
The Technical Assessment will evaluate the applicant’s capacity to successfully deliver the project in compliance with applicable Federal requirements and also assess the technical feasibility of the project as described in the application. Technical Assessment ratings will be one of the following: Certain (3), Somewhat Certain (2) Or Unknown or Uncertain (1), as defined in the table below.
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Technical Assessment ratings will be based on:
Rating Certain (3) Somewhat Certain
(2)
Unknown or
Uncertain (1)
Technical Assessment
Elements:
A. The applicant has the
resources to deliver the
project.
B. The project will comply
with all applicable
Federal requirements.
C. The applicant
demonstrates a
commitment for timely
project delivery as
demonstrated by the
schedule information in
the application,
including meeting
PROTECT Competitive
Grant Program
obligation deadlines.
D. The applicant
demonstrates the
technical feasibility of
the project.
The application
demonstrates that
the applicant and
project will meet
all four
Technical
Assessment
Elements.
The application
demonstrates that the
applicant and project
will meet Technical
Assessment Elements
B, C, and D, and may
not have currently the
resources to deliver
the project but will
obtain needed
resources to deliver
the project if awarded.
The application
does not
demonstrate that
the applicant or
project will meet
Technical
Assessment
Elements B, C,
and D, and may
not have currently
the resources to
deliver the project
and does not
commit to
obtaining the
necessary
resources.
Readiness: Financial Completeness Assessment
The Financial Completeness Assessment evaluates the availability of matching funds and whether the applicant presented a complete funding package and will receive a rating of Complete (3), Partially Complete (2), or Incomplete (1) as defined in the table below.
Financial completeness assessment ratings will be based on:
Rating Complete (3) Partially
Complete (2)
Incomplete (1)
Financial Completeness
Assessment Elements:
A. The application
demonstrates the
costs in the estimate
are reasonable and
The application
demonstrates that
the applicant and
project will meet
Financial
Completeness
Assessment
The application
demonstrates that
the applicant and
project will meet
Financial
Completeness
The application does
not demonstrate that
the applicant or
project will meet all
Financial
Completeness
A-32
necessary to complete
the project.
B. The application
includes a plan to
address potential cost
overruns.
C. The application
demonstrates
reasonable
availability of all
funding needed to
complete the project
with an award.
D. For construction
projects, the proposal
includes information
on how future
operation,
maintenance and
preservation costs
will be funded.
E. For construction
projects, the budget
must ensure that no
more than 10 percent
of the grant is spent
on development
phase activities (23
U.S.C.
§ 176(d)(5)(F)(i)).
Elements A, B, and
C; and for
construction
projects, will also
meet Elements D
and E.
Assessment
Elements A and C.
However, while a
plan for cost
overruns is
provided, it is
incomplete or
based on
approaches or
funding sources not
reasonably
assumed available
to the applicant.
For construction
projects, will meet
Element E, but the
funding described
for future
operation,
maintenance or
preservation costs
are not reasonably
assumed available
to the applicant.
Assessment
Elements.
Readiness: Permitting Risk Assessment
The Permitting Risk Assessment evaluates the status of the environmental approvals required for the proposed project and the likelihood other necessary approvals, permits, or public engagement, will affect project obligation. The applicant must also disclose if there is open litigation concerning the project; or, if there is known, and difficult to resolve, public controversy, or Agency opposition to the project on environmental grounds. This assessment will result in a rating of high risk (1), moderate risk (2), or low risk (3), as defined in the table below.
Permitting ratings will be based on:
Rating Low Risk (3) Moderate Risk (2) High Risk (1)
Permitting Risk
Assessment Elements:
The application
demonstrates the
project will meet
The application
discusses Permitting
Risk Assessment
The application
indicates risk as
described in
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A. The National
Environment Policy
Act (NEPA)* review
is complete, or the
application
demonstrates NEPA
will be complete in
time to meet the
project schedule.
B. All necessary
permits have been
obtained, or the
application
demonstrates permits
and approvals will be
obtained in time to
meet the project
schedule.
C. Public engagement
has occurred or will
occur, and any
known public
controversy has been
or will be addressed
or mitigated.
D. The application
discloses any known
and unmitigated
issues posing high
risk to project
delivery. Examples
include litigation,
known public
controversy, or
Agency opposition
to the project on
environmental
grounds.
Permitting Risk
Assessment
Elements A, B, and
C but does not have
any known
unmitigated risks to
project delivery as
shown in Element
D.
Elements A, B, and C,
but there is risk of
schedule delay because
either:
• An environmental
assessment or
environmental
impacts statement is
needed, and the
NEPA document has
not been released for
public review;
• Permit work has not
started, and the
schedule does not
include time for
schedule delays; or
• Public engagement
has not started, and
the schedule does not
include time to
address public input.
• Also, the project or
program does not
have any known
unmitigated risks to
project delivery as
shown in Element D.
Permitting Risk
Assessment
Element D, or
the application
does not meet
Elements A, B,
or C.
* Projects that would be eligible for a categorical exclusion under 23 CFR 771.117(c), such as Planning Grants, should state such as a response to this item in their application.
The project readiness ratings described above will be translated to a high, medium, or low rating using the table below:
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Project Readiness Rating Description
High Two readiness assessment items rated as a 3,
with one readiness assessment item rated as
a 2.
Medium One readiness assessment item rated as a 3,
with two readiness assessment items rated as
a 2.
Low All readiness assessment items rated as either
a 2 or a 1.
3. OVERALL RATING OF THE APPLICATION
DOT will assign each eligible application an overall rating of Highly Recommended, Recommended, or Not Recommended. The rating will be assigned on the following basis:
• A rating of “Highly Recommended” will be assigned to a project that received no less than a medium-high rating for merit criteria and a medium project readiness rating. • A rating of “Recommended” will be assigned to a project that received no less than a medium rating for merit criteria and project readiness rating. • A rating of “Not Recommended” will be assigned to a project that is not otherwise assigned a “Highly Recommended” or “Recommended” rating.
4. THE ECONOMIC ANALYSIS REVIEW FOR RESILIENCE IMPROVEMENT AND
COMMUNITY RESILIENCE AND EVACUATION ROUTES PROJECTS
For Resilience Improvement and Community Resilience and Evacuation Routes Projects that receive an overall rating of Highly Recommended or Recommended, FHWA will conduct an economic analysis. Only those Resilience Improvement projects which are not on an applicable RIP under 23 U.S.C. § 176(e)(2) will be evaluated under the economic analysis.
To the extent possible, FHWA will rely on the applicant’s submission of well-supported BCA results. The purpose of BCA is to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the proposed project by comparing its expected benefits to its expected costs relative to the current infrastructure, often referred to as the “baseline” or “no-build alternative.” The baseline defines the world without the proposed project. Any benefits claimed for the proposed project, both quantified and unquantified, should be clearly tied to the expected outcomes of the proposed project. While benefits should be quantified whenever possible, FHWA acknowledges that some aspects of calculating resilience benefits are difficult to quantify. Applicants should nonetheless discuss these types of benefits qualitatively, providing data, news reports, or other information to support the potential scale of the unquantified benefits.
BCA should account for current and future vulnerabilities from extreme weather events that may occur in the geographic area in which the project is located using the best available evidence and analysis. Sources should be provided whenever possible.
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BCAs are conducted via annual costs and benefits, so applications should include justifications with sources for future annual hazard event probabilities, facility use, and development patterns.
For these annual probabilities, applicants should use official sources as much as possible.
Examples include Federal Emergency Management Agency Flood Data and the University of California Merced’s Weather Toolbox. Applicants can deviate from official sources provided that their sources are as good or better than the official sources.
For Resilience Improvement projects which are not on the applicable RIP under 23 U.S.C. § 176(e)(2) and Community Resilience and Evacuation Routes projects, FHWA will consider a project’s benefits compared to its costs to determine whether a project is cost effective and assign an economic analysis rating. To the extent possible, FHWA will rely on quantitative, evidence-based, and data-supported analysis in this assessment. FHWA will also consider qualitative descriptions of benefits that are more difficult to quantify or value in monetary terms.
Based on FHWA’s assessment, FHWA will assign an economic analysis rating of high, mediumhigh, medium, medium-low, or low according to the following table:
Rating Description
High The project’s benefits will exceed its costs, with a benefit-cost ratio of at least 2.0.
Medium-High The project’s benefits will exceed its costs.
Medium The project’s benefits are likely to exceed its costs.
Medium-Low The project’s costs are likely to exceed its benefits.
Low The project’s costs will exceed its benefits.
Resilience Improvement projects that are not on the applicable RIP and receive an economic analysis rating of Medium, Medium-High, or High will receive a determination that the benefits of the eligible activity proposed to be carried out by an eligible entity exceed the cost of the activity under 23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(4)(A)(iii)(I)(aa).
Resilience Improvement projects will be given priority if they receive an economic analysis rating of Medium, Medium-High, or High and FHWA determines that there is a need to address the vulnerabilities because of the high risk of, or impacts associated with failure because of, the impacts of weather events, natural disasters, or changing conditions. However, projects that receive a rating of Medium-Low or Low may be selected for an award if the project demonstrates clear potential benefits to resiliency and quality of life.
Resilience Improvement projects that are on the applicable RIP will be prioritized. Applicants should consult with their State DOT or MPO regarding applicable RIPs.
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Community Resilience and Evacuation Routes Projects that receive an economic analysis rating of Medium, Medium-High, or High will receive a determination that the eligible activity is costeffective after taking into account:
• Current and future vulnerabilities to an evacuation route because of future occurrence or recurrence of emergency events that are likely to occur in the geographic area in which the evacuation route is located; and
• Projected changes in development patterns, demographics, and extreme weather events based on the best available evidence and analysis under 23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(4)(B)(iii).
5. STATUTORY AND DOT PRIORITY CONSIDERATIONS
After completing the merit criteria review and Project Readiness Assessment, among projects of similar application rating of Highly Recommended or Recommended, DOT will first prioritize projects based on the statutory priority considerations, then by one or more of the DOT priority considerations as described below:
Statutory Priority Considerations
Resilience Grants:
The Secretary shall prioritize a Resilience Improvement Grant to an eligible entity if the Secretary determines:
• The benefits of the eligible activity proposed to be carried out by the eligible entity exceed the costs of the activity (as demonstrated by the economic analysis); and • There is a need to address the vulnerabilities of surface transportation assets of the eligible entity with a high risk of, and impacts associated with, failure due to the impacts of weather events, natural disasters, or changing conditions, such as sea level rise, wildfires, and increased flood risk; or
• The eligible activity is included in a RIP as described by 23 U.S.C. § 176(e)(2).
The Secretary shall prioritize Community Resilience and Evacuation Route Grants for eligible activities that are cost-effective, as determined by the Secretary (by the results of the economic analysis), taking into account:
• Current and future vulnerabilities to an evacuation route due to future occurrence or recurrence of emergency events that are likely to occur in the geographic area in which the evacuation route is located; and
• Projected changes in development patterns, demographics, and extreme weather events based on the best available evidence and analysis.
Planning Grants:
There are no statutory priority considerations for Planning Grants.
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DOT Priority Considerations
After applying the statutory priority considerations, DOT will provide for the Rural and Tribal set-asides (see Section C) and may prioritize selections for both Resilience and Planning Grants based on one or more of the conditions below.
• Priority may be given to projects that support critical infrastructure for industries of national interest.
• Priority may be given to applications which demonstrate that the project would contribute to promoting economic prosperity in communities, including rural areas, and Tribal communities.
• Priority may be given to applications which prioritize improvement of the condition and safety of existing transportation infrastructure, particularly infrastructure with high cost of failure, such as bridges with lengthy detours, impacts to critical corridors, or failures that will cause economic disruption.
• Priority may be given to a project that receives a high readiness rating and demonstrates an ability to meet PROTECT Competitive Grant Program obligation deadlines (see Section C). The FY 2024 funds may be prioritized for construction ready projects because of the need to be obligated before the end of FY 2027. • Priority may be given to projects that reduce roadway traffic congestion. • Priority may be given to projects that improve access to national security and defense facilities or facilitate movement of military cargo or personnel. • DOT may prioritize projects that repurpose existing specialized travel lanes for bicycles, buses, or pedestrians for general purpose use by all motor vehicles, including singleoccupant motor vehicles, if the applicant demonstrates the repurposing will meet the PROTECT program purpose, will reduce congestion on the facility, will utilize 40 percent or less of requested PROTECT funds for adding capacity consistent with 23 U.S.C. 176(d)(5)(G)(i)(I), will address safety consistent with the merit criteria described in Section F of this NOFO, and will comply with applicable federal requirements, including the Clean Air Act and criteria under 23 U.S.C. 217(e).
6. REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS
DOT will review applications received by the deadline for completeness and eligibility based on the information found in Section B of this notice. This review phase is referred to as the intake and eligibility review. Applications that pass the intake and eligibility review will be evaluated by the Technical Review Team (TRT), and once evaluated and rated, will then be evaluated by Senior Review Team (SRT), to determine which applications are presented to DOT leadership for final selection, as described below.
Technical Review
The evaluation of eligible applications will be conducted by a TRT who may consist of individuals from: (1) FHWA; (2) Federal Transit Administration; (3) Maritime Administration; (4) Federal Railroad Administration; and (5) Office of the Secretary of Transportation (OST).
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The TRT will assess each eligible application against the merit criteria in Section F.1. The TRT will then complete the Project Readiness Assessment as described under Section F to determine which applications are rated as Highly Recommended, Recommended, or Not Recommended.
The TRT will then evaluate each Highly Recommended and Recommended application for its responsiveness to the priority considerations.
The economic analysis evaluation of Highly Recommended and Recommended Resilience Improvement and Community Resilience and Evacuation Route Grant applications will then be conducted by the Economic Analysis Review Team. The Economic Analysis Review Team may include but is not limited to individuals from: (1) FHWA Office of Transportation Policy Studies; (2) other FHWA Headquarters and division offices; (3) and OST.
The Economic Analysis Review Team will assess the BCA of Community Resilience and Evacuation Route projects, and Resilience Improvement projects not on the applicable RIP. The BCA will be conducted in a manner that is consistent with DOT Order 2100.7, “Ensuring Reliance Upon Sound Economic Analysis in Department of Transportation Policies, Programs, and Activities.” The BCA review results will be provided to the SRT.
The TRT will send to the FHWA SRT information on all eligible applications including the rating for each merit criteria, the Project Readiness Assessment rating, the economic analysis results (for Resilience Improvement and Community Resilience and Evacuation Route Grant applications), and the evaluation of responsiveness to the priority considerations.
FHWA will use not less than 2 percent for grants to federally recognized Indian Tribes and 25 percent for grants to projects located in rural areas (see Section C). The FHWA SRT may recommend for funding all Highly Recommended applications under the set-asides and then recommend for funding additional Recommended applications up to the minimum amount. Any remaining Recommended applications will be considered for funding with the remaining nonTribal applicants and projects located in rural areas under review by the SRT.
The FHWA Administrator may consider options for reduced awards and the ability to award certain eligible applications under any of the four grant types. To the extent possible, all applications will be considered for any of the four grant programs regardless of which grant is applied for (see Section C).
Senior Review
The SRT may consist of officials from OST, the FHWA Administrator, and others in Senior leadership positions requested to serve by the FHWA Administrator. The SRT will determine which projects advance to DOT leadership for final selection. DOT leadership has the discretion to determine which applications best address the PROTECT Competitive Grant Program merit criteria, Project Readiness Assessment, and priority considerations and should be selected.
DOT is not obligated to make any award as a result of this NOFO.
DOT intends to apply principles from DOT Order 2100.7, (Ensuring Reliance Upon Sound Economic Analysis in DOT’s Policies, Programs and Activities) when evaluating applications A-39
and making award selections. To the maximum extent permitted by law, DOT will prioritize projects in alignment with the principles outlined in DOT Order 2100.7.
Reduced Awards
In accordance with Section D of this NOFO, DOT may enter into discussions with an applicant to discuss, if mutually agreeable, a lesser scaled amount of a potential award. This may occur because of the quantity, size and scope of the applications received in response to this notice and the results of the application review process.
7. APPLICANT RISK ASSESSMENT
Prior to award, each selected applicant will be subject to a risk assessment required by 2 CFR § 200.206. DOT must review and consider any information about the applicant in the designated integrity and performance system accessible through SAM. An applicant may review information in SAM.gov and comment on any information about itself that a Federal awarding Agency previously entered. DOT will consider comments by the applicant, in addition to other information in SAM.gov, in making a judgment about the applicant’s integrity, business ethics, and record of performance under Federal awards when completing the risk assessment. DOT reserves the right to deny an award based on the results of the risk assessment or include special conditions that correspond to the degree of risk assessed may be applied to the Federal award in accordance with 2 CFR § 200.206.
DOT will consider the following factors in its risk assessment in accordance with 2 CFR § 200.206:
• Financial stability-the applicant’s record of effectively managing financial risks, assets, and resources;
• Management systems and standards-quality of management systems and ability to meet the management standards prescribed in this part;
• History of performance, if applicable-the applicant’s record of managing previous and current Federal awards, including compliance with reporting requirements and conformance to the terms and conditions of Federal awards, if applicable; audit reports and findings-reports and findings from audits performed under subpart F or the reports and findings of any other available audits, if applicable; and • Ability to effectively implement requirements-the applicant’s ability to effectively implement statutory, regulatory, or other requirements imposed on recipients of Federal awards.
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G. AWARD NOTICES
1. HOW PROJECT SELECTIONS ARE ANNOUNCED
Following the evaluation outlined in Section F, the Secretary will announce awarded projects by posting a list of selected projects at: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/protect/competitive.
Notice of selection is not authorization to begin performance or to incur costs for the proposed project. Following that announcement, FHWA will contact the POC listed in the SF-424 to initiate negotiation of the project agreement for authorization.
The PROTECT Competitive Grant Program grants will be awarded upon the execution of a grant agreement between the DOT and the recipient.
Unsuccessful applicants may request a debriefing up to 90 days after the selected funding recipients are publicly announced. The request must be submitted by the applicant identified on the SF-424. The debrief will be limited to how the application responded to the grant program evaluation criteria described in Section F of the NOFO. All debrief requests should be submitted to [email protected].
2. REIMBURSEMENTS AND COSTS INCURRED PRIOR TO AWARD AND
OBLIGATION OF GRANTS
Unless authorized by DOT in writing after announcement of the FYs 2024 through 2026 PROTECT Competitive Grant Program selections, any costs incurred prior to DOT’s obligation of funds for a project are ineligible for reimbursement and are ineligible for cost share requirements. DOT will primarily administer grants on a reimbursement basis. Under the reimbursement approach, DOT funds will reimburse recipients only for costs incurred after execution of a grant agreement for costs DOT determines to be allowable, reasonable, and allocable, as defined under 2 CFR Part 200, and after the recipient submits valid requests for reimbursement.
If a recipient cannot complete a project on a reimbursable basis, DOT will–on a case-by-case basis–consider recipient requests to use alternative payment methods as described under 2 CFR 200.305(b).
H. POST-AWARD REQUIREMENTS AND ADMINISTRATION
1. ADMINISTRATIVE AND NATIONAL POLICY REQUIREMENTS
Administrative Requirements
All awards will be administered pursuant to the FHWA Competitive Grant Program general terms and conditions, and the uniform administrative requirements, cost principles and audit requirements for Federal awards found in 2 CFR Part 200, as adopted by DOT at 2 CFR Part 1201. Applicable Federal laws, rules, and regulations set forth in Title 49 of the CFR, shall apply A-41
to awards provided under this program.
In connection with any program or activity conducted with or benefiting from funds awarded under this notice, recipients of funds must comply with all applicable requirements of Federal law, including, without limitation, the Constitution of the United States; the conditions of performance, non-discrimination requirements, and other assurances made applicable to the award of funds in accordance with regulations of DOT and FHWA; and applicable Federal financial assistance and contracting principles promulgated by Office of Management and Budget (OMB). In complying with these requirements, recipients must ensure that no concession agreements are denied, or other contracting decisions made on the basis of speech or other activities protected by the First Amendment. If DOT determines a recipient has failed to comply with applicable Federal requirements, DOT may terminate the award of funds and disallow previously incurred costs, requiring the recipient to reimburse any expended award funds.
Program Requirements
Critical Infrastructure Security, Cybersecurity and Resilience It is the policy of the United States to strengthen the security and resilience of its critical infrastructure against all threats and hazards, including physical and cyber risks, consistent with National Security Memorandum 22 to secure and enhance the resilience of U.S. Critical Infrastructure. Each applicant selected for Federal funding must demonstrate, prior to the signing of the grant agreement, effort to consider and address physical and cyber security risks relevant to the transportation mode and type and scale of the project. Projects that have not appropriately considered and addressed physical and cyber security and resilience in their planning, design, and project oversight, as determined by DOT and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, will be required to do so before receiving funds.
Domestic Preference Requirements
As expressed in E.O. 14005, Ensuring the Future Is Made in All of America by All of America’s Workers (86 FR 7475), the executive branch should maximize, consistent with law, the use of goods, products, and materials produced, and services offered in, the United States. Funds made available under this notice are subject to FHWA’s steel, iron, and manufactured product domestic requirements at 23 U.S.C. 313 and 23 CFR 635.410, and the construction materials domestic preference requirement at Pub. L. No 117-58, div. G §§ 70901–70927, as implemented by OMB at 2 CFR Part 184. DOT expects all applicants to comply with those requirements.
Federal Anti-Discrimination
• Except where prohibited by court order, pursuant to E.O. 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, as a condition of grant award, each recipient must agree that its compliance in all respects with all applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws is material to the Government’s payment decisions for purposes of Section 3729(b)(4) of Title 31, U.S.C.
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• Except where prohibited by court order, pursuant to E.O. 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, as a condition of grant award, each recipient must certify that it does not operate any programs promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives that violate any applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws.
To the extent a court order bars the implementation or enforcement of one or more of these provisions with respect to a particular applicant or recipient, DOT will not implement or enforce the relevant provision(s) against that applicant or recipient for as long as the order remains in place.
Compliance with Federal Law and Policies
Except where prohibited by court order, the applicant assures and certifies, with respect to any application and awarded project under this NOFO, it will comply with all applicable Federal laws, regulations, E.O., policies, guidelines, and requirements as they relate to the application, acceptance, and use of Federal funds.
2. REPORTING
Each applicant selected for the PROTECT Competitive Grant Program grant funding must submit semi-annual progress reports and Federal Financial Reports (SF-425) to monitor project progress and ensure accountability and financial transparency.
Each PROTECT Competitive Grant Program recipient must collect and report to DOT information on performance measures as detailed in the project grant agreement.
Per the Performance and Program Evaluation statement on the FHWA Website, DOT reserves the right to request additional information, if deemed needed, to better understand the status of the project. The successful applicant will provide additional financial reporting beyond the quarterly reporting if such statements are necessary to address DOT’s Stewardship and Oversight responsibility of the awarded grants funds.
The successful applicant also agrees to allow periodic project inspections and DOT will provide notice for such inspections.
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Adopted Budget 2026-2027 8800 Series – Public Right-of-Way Projects 403
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM APPENDIX RECREATION, PARKS & OPEN SPACE PUBLIC WORKS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Insert Descriptive Photo
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
This project is intended to realign and reconstruct Palos Verdes Drive South in the Greater Portuguese Bend Landslide Complex area.
PROJECT COST ESTIMATES
8300 Series Landslide Improvement Projects 8301
Palos Verdes Drive South Reconstruction
Not recommended for funding in Fiscal Years 2026-27 through 2030-31:
Overall
Planning TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
FY26/27 FY27/28 FY28/29 FY29/30 FY30/31
Committed as of
4/27/2026
Environmental TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
Management TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
Engineering TBD TBD TBD TBD
TBD
Project Contingency TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
TBD TBD
Inspection TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
Construction TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
$ TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD - TBD
FUNDING
FY26/27 FY27/28 FY28/29 FY29/30 FY30/31
Future
Fiscal Years
TBD TBD
Currently
Budgeted
$ - $ -
$ TBD TBD TBD TBD -
$ - $ - $ - $ - $ -
$ - $ -
$ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ -
$ - $ - $ - $ - $ -
Due to land movement associated with the Greater Portuguese Bend Landslide Complex, areas of this road have signficant vertical and horizontal deviations and drainage deficiencies. Additionaly, sections of the road have encroached onto private property. The current configuration of the roadway needs to be modified to allow for a more direct travel path. This project will result in an improved driving experience when passing through the area.
Construction is not anticipated to begin until the Portuguese Bend Landslide Remediation project is constructed and land movement has stabilized.
ESTIMATED SCHEDULE
To be determined
Project Location Map Background and Justification
$ - $ -
$ TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD T BD -
$ - $ - $ - $ - $ -
B-1
CITY OF ~ RANcHO ~LDS VERDES
C-1
Docusign Envelope ID: BBB857C3-4E01-86F0-80E8-81980945229C
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT
By and Between
CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES
and
WITT O'BRIEN'S, LLC
for
On-Call Grant Management Services
1 C-2
Docusign Envelope ID: BBB857C3-4E01-86F0-80E8-81980945229C
AGREEMENT FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
BETWEEN THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES AND
WITT O'BRIEN'S, LLC
THIS AGREEMENT FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES ("Agreement") is made and entered into on June 16, 2026 by and between the CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES, a California municipal corporation ("City") and WITT O'BRIEN'S, LLC~ a Delaware limited liability company ("Consultant") for On-Call Grant Management Services. City and Consultant may be referred to, individually or collectively, as "Party" or "Parties."
RECITALS
A. City has sought, by issuance of a Request for Proposals, the performance of the services defined and described particularly in Article 1 of this Agreement.
B. Consultant, following submission of a proposal for the performance of the services defined and described particularly in Article 1 of this Agreement, was selected by the City to perform those services.
C. Pursuant to the City of Rancho Palos Verdes Municipal Code, City has authority to enter into and execute this Agreement.
D. The Parties desire to formalize the selection of Consultant for performance of those services defined and described particularly in Article 1 of this Agreement and desire that the terms of that performance be as particularly defined and described herein.
OPERATIVE PROVISIONS
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual promises and covenants made by the Parties and contained herein and other consideration, the value and adequacy of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties agree as follows:
ARTICLE 1. SERVICES OF CONSULTANT
1.1 Scope of Services.
In compliance with all terms and conditions of this Agreement, the Consultant shall provide those services specified in the "Scope of Services", as stated in the Proposal, attached hereto as Exhibit "A" and incorporated herein by this reference, which may be referred to herein as the "services" or "work" hereunder. As a material inducement to the City entering into this Agreement, Consultant represents and warrants that it has the qualifications, experience, and facilities necessary to properly perform the services required under this Agreement in a thorough, competent, and professional manner, and is experienced in performing the work and services contemplated herein. Consultant shall at all times faithfully, competently and to the best of its ability, experience and talent, perform all services described herein. Consultant covenants that it shall follow the highest professional standards in performing the work and services required hereunder and that all materials will be both of good quality as well as fit for the purpose intended.
For purposes of this Agreement, the phrase "highest professional standards" shall mean those 01203.0001/835260.1
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Docusign Envelope ID: BBB857C3-4E01-86F0-80E8-81980945229C standards of practice recognized by one or more first-class firms performing similar work under similar circumstances.
1.2 Consultant's Proposal.
The Scope of Service shall include the Consultant's Proposal which shall be incorporated herein by this reference as though fully set forth herein. In the event of any inconsistency between the terms of such Proposal and this Agreement, the terms of this Agreement shall govern.
1.3 Compliance with Law.
Consultant shall keep itself informed concerning, and shall render all services hereunder in accordance with, all ordinances, resolutions, statutes, rules, and regulations of the City and any Federal, State or local governmental entity having jurisdiction in effect at the time service is rendered.
1.4 California Labor Law.
If the Scope of Services includes any "public work" or "maintenance work," as those terms are defined in California Labor Code section 1 720 et seq. and California Code of Regulations, Title 8, Section 16000 et seq., and if the total compensation is $1,000 or more, Consultant shall pay prevailing wages for such work and comply with the requirements in California Labor Code section 1770 et seq. and 1810 et seq., and all other applicable laws, including the following requirements:
(a) Public Work. The Parties acknowledge that some or all of the work to be performed under this Agreement is a "public work" as defined in Labor Code Section 1720 and that this Agreement is therefore subject to the requirements of Division 2, Part 7, Chapter 1 ( commencing with Section 1720) of the California Labor Code relating to public works contracts and the rules and regulations established by the Department of Industrial Relations ("DIR") implementing such statutes. The work performed under this Agreement is subject to compliance monitoring and enforcement by the DIR. Consultant shall post job site notices, as prescribed by regulation.
(b) Prevailing Wages. Consultant shall pay prevailing wages to the extent required by Labor Code Section 1771. Pursuant to Labor Code Section 1773 .2, copies of the prevailing rate of per diem wages are on file at City Hall and will be made available to any interested party on request. By initiating any work under this Agreement, Consultant acknowledges receipt of a copy of the DIR determination of the prevailing rate of per diem wages, and Consultant shall post a copy of the same at each job site where work is performed under this Agreement.
(c) Penalty for Failure to Pay Prevailing Wages. Consultant shall comply with and be bound by the provisions of Labor Code Sections 1774 and 1775 concerning the payment of prevailing rates of wages to workers and the penalties for failure to pay prevailing wages. The Consultant shall, as a penalty to the City, forfeit $200 (two hundred dollars) for each calendar day, or portion thereof, for each worker paid less than the prevailing rates as determined by the DIR for 2 C-4
Docusign Envelope ID: BBB857C3-4E01-86F0-80E8-81980945229C the work or craft in which the worker is employed for any public work done pursuant to this Agreement by Consultant or by any subcontractor.
( d) Payroll Records. Consultant shall comply with and be bound by the provisions of Labor Code Section 1776, which requires Consultant and each subconsultant to: keep accurate payroll records and verify such records in writing under penalty of perjury, as specified in Section 1776; certify and make such payroll records available for inspection as provided by Section 1776; and inform the City of the location of the records. ( e) Apprentices. Consultant shall comply with and be bound by the provisions of Labor Code Sections 1777.5, 1777.6, and 1777.7 and California Code of Regulations Title 8, Section 200 et seq. concerning the employment of apprentices on public works projects. Consultant shall be responsible for compliance with these aforementioned Sections for all apprenticeable occupations. Prior to commencing work under this Agreement, Consultant shall provide City with a copy of the information submitted to any applicable apprenticeship program. Within 60 (sixty) days after concluding work pursuant to this Agreement, Consultant and each of its subconsultants shall submit to the City a verified statement of the journeyman and apprentice hours performed under this Agreement.
(f) Eight-Hour Work Day. Consultant acknowledges that 8 (eight) hours labor constitutes a legal day's work. Consultant shall comply with and be bound by Labor Code Section 1810.
(g) Penalties for Excess Hours. Consultant shall comply with and be bound by the provisions of Labor Code Section 1813 concerning penalties for workers who work excess hours. The Consultant shall, as a penalty to the City, forfeit $25 (twenty five dollars for each worker employed in the performance of this Agreement by the Consultant or by any subcontractor for each calendar day during which such worker is required or permitted to work more than 8 (eight) hours in any one calendar day and 40 (forty) hours in any one calendar week in violation of the provisions of Division 2, Part 7, Chapter 1, Article 3 of the Labor Code. Pursuant to Labor Code section 1815, work performed by employees of Consultant in excess of 8 ( eight) hours per day, and 40 (forty) hours during any one week shall be permitted upon public work upon compensation for all hours worked in excess of 8 hours per day at not less than one and 1 ½ ( one and one half) times the basic rate of pay.
(h) Workers' Compensation. California Labor Code Sections 1860 and 3700 provide that every employer will be required to secure the payment of compensation to its employees if it has employees. In accordance with the provisions of California Labor Code Section 1861, Consultant certifies as follows:
"I am aware of the provisions of Section 3700 of the Labor Code which require every employer to be insured against liability for workers' compensation or to undertake self-insurance in accordance with the provisions of that code, and I will comply with such provisions before commencing the performance of the work of this contract." lr~s
Consultant's Authorized Initials lfi
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Docusign Envelope ID: BBB857C3-4E01-86F0-80E8-81980945229C (i) Consultant's Responsibility for Subcontractors. For every subcontractor who will perform work under this Agreement, Consultant shall be responsible for such subcontractor's compliance with Division 2, Part 7, Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1720) of the California Labor Code, and shall make such compliance a requirement in any contract with any subcontractor for work under this Agreement. Consultant shall be required to take all actions necessary to enforce such contractual provisions and ensure subcontractor's compliance, including without limitation, conducting a review of the certified payroll records of the subcontractor on a periodic basis or upon becoming aware of the failure of the subcontractor to pay his or her workers the specified prevailing rate of wages. Consultant shall diligently take corrective action to halt or rectify any such failure by any subcontractor.
1.5 Licenses, Permits, Fees and Assessments.
Consultant shall obtain at its sole cost and expense such licenses, permits and approvals as may be required by law for the performance of the services required by this Agreement. Consultant shall have the sole obligation to pay for any fees, assessments and taxes, plus applicable penalties and interest, which may be imposed by law and arise from or are necessary for the Consultant's performance of the services required by this Agreement, and shall indemnify, defend and hold harmless City, its officers, employees or agents of City, against any such fees, assessments, taxes, penalties or interest levied, assessed or imposed against City hereunder.
1.6 Familiarity with Work.
By executing this Agreement, Consultant warrants that Consultant (i) has thoroughly investigated and considered the scope of services to be performed, (ii) has carefully considered how the services should be performed, and (iii) fully understands the facilities, difficulties and restrictions attending performance of the services under this Agreement. If the services involve work upon any site, Consultant warrants that Consultant has or will investigate the site and is or will be fully acquainted with the conditions there existing, prior to commencement of services hereunder. Should the Consultant discover any latent or unknown conditions, which will materially affect the performance of the services hereunder, Consultant shall immediately inform the City of such fact and shall not proceed except at Consultant's risk until written instructions are received from the Contract Officer in the form of a Change Order.
1. 7 Care of Work.
The Consultant shall adopt reasonable methods during the life of the Agreement to furnish continuous protection to the work, and the equipment, materials, papers, documents, plans, studies and/or other components thereof to prevent losses or damages, and shall be responsible for all such damages, to persons or property, until acceptance of the work by City, except such losses or damages as may be caused by City's own negligence.
1.8 Further Responsibilities of Parties.
Both parties agree to use reasonable care and diligence to perform their respective obligations under this Agreement. Both parties agree to act in good faith to execute all instruments, prepare all documents and take all actions as may be reasonably necessary to carry out the purposes 4 C-6
Docusign Envelope ID: BBB857C3-4E01-86F0-80E8-81980945229C of this Agreement. Unless hereafter specified, neither party shall be responsible for the service of the other.
1.9 Additional Services
City shall have the right at any time during the performance of the services, without invalidating this Agreement, to order extra work beyond that specified in the Scope of Services or make changes by altering, adding to or deducting from said work. No such extra work may be undertaken unless a written Change Order is first given by the Contract Officer to the Consultant, incorporating therein any adjustment in (i) the Contract Sum for the actual costs of the extra work, and/or (ii) the time to perform this Agreement, which said adjustments are subject to the written approval of the Consultant.
Any increase in compensation of up to 15% (fifteen percent) of the Contract Sum; or, in the time to perform ofup to 90 (ninety) days, may be approved by the Contract Officer through a written Change Order. Any greater increases, taken either separately or cumulatively, must be approved by the City Council. It is expressly understood by Consultant that the provisions of this Section shall not apply to services specifically set forth in the Scope of Services. Consultant hereby acknowledges that it accepts the risk that the services to be provided pursuant to the Scope of Services may be more costly or time consuming than Consultant anticipates and that Consultant shall not be entitled to additional compensation therefor. City may in its sole and absolute discretion have similar work done by other Consultants. No claims for an increase in the Contract Sum or time for performance shall be valid unless the procedures established in this Section are followed.
If in the performance of the Services, the Contractor becomes aware of material defects in the Scope of Work, duration, or span of the Services, or the Contractor becomes aware of extenuating circumstance that will or could prevent the completion of the Services, on time or on budget, the Contractor shall inform the City's Contract Officer of an anticipated Change Order.
This proposed change order will stipulate the facts surrounding the issue, proposed solutions, proposed costs, and proposed schedule impacts.
1.10 Special Requirements.
Additional terms and conditions of this Agreement, if any, which are made a part hereof are set forth in the "Special Requirements" attached hereto as Exhibit "B" and incorporated herein by this reference. In the event of a conflict between the provisions of Exhibit "B" and any other provisions of this Agreement, the provisions of Exhibit "B" shall govern.
ARTICLE 2. COMPENSATION AND METHOD OF PAYMENT.
2.1 Contract Sum.
Subject to any limitations set forth in this Agreement, City agrees to pay Consultant the amounts specified in the "Schedule of Compensation" attached hereto as Exhibit "C" and incorporated herein by this reference. The total compensation, including reimbursement for actual expenses, shall not exceed $75,000 (Seventy Five Thousand Dollars) (the "Contract Sum"), unless additional compensation is approved pursuant to Section 1.9. 5 C-7
Docusign Envelope ID: BBB857C3-4E01-86F0-80E8-81980945229C
2.2 Method of Compensation.
(a) The method of compensation may include: (i) a lump sum payment upon completion; (ii) payment in accordance with specified tasks or the percentage of completion of the services; (iii) payment for time and materials based upon the Consultant's rates as specified in the Schedule of Compensation, provided that (a) time estimates are provided for the performance of sub tasks, and (b) the Contract Sum is not exceeded; or (iv) such other methods as may be specified in the Schedule of Compensation.
(b) A retention of 10% shall be held from each payment as a contract retention to be paid as part of the final payment upon satisfactory and timely completion of services. This retention shall not apply for on-call agreements for continuous services or for agreements for scheduled routine maintenance of City property or City facilities.
2.3 Reimbursable Expenses.
Compensation may include reimbursement for actual and necessary expenditures for reproduction costs, telephone expenses, and travel expenses approved by the Contract Officer in advance, or actual subcontractor expenses of an approved subcontractor pursuant to Section 4.5, and only if specified in the Schedule of Compensation. The Contract Sum shall include the attendance of Consultant at all project meetings reasonably deemed necessary by the City.
Coordination of the performance of the work with City is a critical component of the services. If Consultant is required to attend additional meetings to facilitate such coordination, Consultant shall not be entitled to any additional compensation for attending said meetings.
2.4 Invoices.
Each month Consultant shall furnish to City an original invoice, using the City template, or in a format acceptable to the City, for all work performed and expenses incurred during the preceding month in a form approved by City's Director of Finance. By submitting an invoice for payment under this Agreement, Consultant is certifying compliance with all provisions of the Agreement. The invoice shall detail charges for all necessary and actual expenses by the following categories: labor (by sub-category), travel, materials, equipment, supplies, and sub-contractor contracts. Sub-contractor charges shall also be detailed by such categories. Consultant shall not invoice City for any duplicate services performed by more than one person.
City shall independently review each invoice submitted by the Consultant to determine whether the work performed and expenses incurred are in compliance with the provisions of this Agreement. Except as to any charges for work performed or expenses incurred by Consultant which are disputed by City, or as provided in Section 7.3, City will use its best efforts to cause Consultant to be paid within 45 (forty-five) days ofreceipt of Consultant's correct and undisputed invoice; however, Consultant acknowledges and agrees that due to City warrant run procedures, the City cannot guarantee that payment will occur within this time period. In the event any charges or expenses are disputed by City, the original invoice shall be returned by City to Consultant for correction and resubmission. Review and payment by City for any invoice provided by the Consultant shall not constitute a waiver of any rights or remedies provided herein or any applicable law.
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Docusign Envelope ID: BBB857C3-4E01-86F0-80E8-81980945229C
2.5 Waiver.
Payment to Consultant for work performed pursuant to this Agreement shall not be deemed to waive any defects in work performed by Consultant.
ARTICLE 3. PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
3.1 Time of Essence.
Time is of the essence in the performance of this Agreement.
3.2 Schedule of Performance.
Consultant shall commence the services pursuant to this Agreement upon receipt of a written notice to proceed and shall perform all services within the time period(s) established in the "Schedule of Performance" attached hereto as Exhibit "D" and incorporated herein by this reference. When requested by the Consultant, extensions to the time period(s) specified in the Schedule of Performance may be approved in writing by the Contract Officer through a Change Order, but not exceeding 60 (sixty) days cumulatively.
3.3 Force Majeure.
The time period(s) specified in the Schedule of Performance for performance of the services rendered pursuant to this Agreement shall be extended because of any delays due to unforeseeable causes beyond the control and without the fault or negligence of the Consultant, including, but not restricted to, acts of God or of the public enemy, unusually severe weather, fires, earthquakes, floods, epidemics, quarantine restrictions, riots, strikes, freight embargoes, wars, litigation, and/or acts of any governmental agency, including the City, if the Consultant shall within 10 (ten) days of the commencement of such delay notify the Contract Officer in writing of the causes of the delay. The Contract Officer shall ascertain the facts and the extent of delay, and extend the time for performing the services for the period of the enforced delay when and if in the judgment of the Contract Officer such delay is justified. The Contract Officer's determination shall be final and conclusive upon the parties to this Agreement. In no event shall Consultant be entitled to recover damages against the City for any delay in the performance of this Agreement, however caused, Consultant's sole remedy being extension of the Agreement pursuant to this Section.
3.4 Term.
Unless earlier terminated in accordance with Article 7 of this Agreement, this Agreement shall continue in full force and effect until completion of the services but not exceeding June 30, 2027, except as otherwise provided in the Schedule of Performance (Exhibit "D"). The City may, in its sole discretion, extend the Term by two (2) additional one-year term(s) provided the City give written notice of the same not later than ninety (90) days' before the expiration of the Term.
ARTICLE 4. COORDINATION OF WORK
4.1 Representatives and Personnel of Consultant.
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Docusign Envelope ID: BBB857C3-4E01-86F0-80E8-81980945229C The following principals of Consultant ("Principals") are hereby designated as being the principals and representatives of Consultant authorized to act in its behalf with respect to the work specified herein and make all decisions in connection therewith:
Michelle Little Director
Chelsea Morganti Director
It is expressly understood that the experience, knowledge, capability and reputation of the foregoing principals were a substantial inducement for City to enter into this Agreement.
Therefore, the foregoing principals shall be responsible during the term of this Agreement for directing all activities of Consultant and devoting sufficient time to personally supervise the services hereunder. All personnel of Consultant, and any authorized agents, shall at all times be under the exclusive direction and control of the Principals. For purposes of this Agreement, the foregoing Principals may not be replaced nor may their responsibilities be substantially reduced by Consultant without the express written approval of City. Additionally, Consultant shall utilize only the personnel included in the Proposal to perform services pursuant to this Agreement.
Consultant shall make every reasonable effort to maintain the stability and continuity of Consultant's staff and subcontractors, if any, assigned to perform the services required under this Agreement. Consultant shall notify City of any changes in Consultant's staff and subcontractors, if any, assigned to perform the services required under this Agreement, prior to and during any such performance. City shall have the right to approve or reject any proposed replacement personnel, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld.
4.2 Status of Consultant.
Consultant shall have no authority to bind City in any manner, or to incur any obligation, debt or liability of any kind on behalf of or against City, whether by contract or otherwise, unless such authority is expressly conferred under this Agreement or is otherwise expressly conferred in writing by City. Consultant shall not at any time or in any manner represent that Consultant or any of Consultant's officers, employees, or agents are in any manner officials, officers, employees or agents of City. Neither Consultant, nor any of Consultant's officers, employees or agents, shall obtain any rights to retirement, health care or any other benefits which may otherwise accrue to City's employees. Consultant expressly waives any claim Consultant may have to any such rights.
4.3 Contract Officer.
The Contract Officer shall be the Deputy City Manager or such person as may be designated by the City Manager. It shall be the Consultant's responsibility to assure that the Contract Officer is kept informed of the progress of the performance of the services and the Consultant shall refer any decisions which must be made by City to the Contract Officer. Unless otherwise specified herein, any approval of City required hereunder shall mean the approval of the 8 C-10
Docusign Envelope ID: BBB857C3-4E01-86F0-80E8-81980945229C Contract Officer. The Contract Officer shall have authority, if specified in writing by the City Manager, to sign all documents on behalf of the City required hereunder to carry out the terms of this Agreement.
4.4 Independent Consultant.
Neither the City nor any of its employees shall have any control over the manner, mode or means by which Consultant, its agents or employees, perform the services required herein, except as otherwise set forth herein. City shall have no voice in the selection, discharge, supervision or control of Consultant's employees, servants, representatives or agents, or in fixing their number, compensation or hours of service. Consultant shall perform all services required herein as an independent contractor of City and shall remain at all times as to City a wholly independent contractor with only such obligations as are consistent with that role. Consultant shall not at any time or in any manner represent that it or any of its agents or employees are agents or employees of City. City shall not in any way or for any purpose become or be deemed to be a partner of Consultant in its business or otherwise or a joint venturer or a member of any joint enterprise with Consultant.
4.5 Prohibition Against Subcontracting or Assignment.
The experience, knowledge, capability and reputation of Consultant, its principals and employees were a substantial inducement for the City to enter into this Agreement. Therefore, Consultant shall not contract with any other entity to perform in whole or in part the services required hereunder without the express written approval of the City; all subcontractors included in the Proposal are deemed approved. In addition, neither this Agreement nor any interest herein may be transferred, assigned, conveyed, hypothecated or encumbered voluntarily or by operation of law, whether for the benefit of creditors or otherwise, without the prior written approval of City.
Transfers restricted hereunder shall include the transfer to any person or group of persons acting in concert of more 25% (twenty five percent) of the present ownership and/or control of Consultant, taking all transfers into account on a cumulative basis. In the event of any such unapproved transfer, including any bankruptcy proceeding, this Agreement shall be void. No approved transfer shall release the Consultant or any surety of Consultant of any liability hereunder without the express consent of City.
ARTICLE 5. INSURANCE AND INDEMNIFICATION
5.1 Insurance Coverages.
Without limiting Consultant's indemnification of City, and prior to commencement of any services under this Agreement, Consultant shall obtain, provide and maintain at its own expense during the term of this Agreement, policies of insurance of the type and amounts described below and in a form satisfactory to City.
(a) General liability insurance. Consultant shall maintain commercial general liability insurance with coverage at least as broad as Insurance Services Office form CG 00 01, in an amount not less than $1,000,000 per occurrence, $2,000,000 general aggregate, for bodily injury, personal injury, and property damage. The policy must include contractual liability that has 9 C-11
Docusign Envelope ID: BBB857C3-4E01-86F0-80E8-81980945229C not been amended. Any endorsement restricting standard ISO "insured contract" language will not be accepted.
(b) Automobile liability insurance. Consultant shall maintain automobile insurance at least as broad as Insurance Services Office form CA 00 0 I covering bodily injury and property damage for all activities of the Consultant arising out of or in connection with Services to be performed under this Agreement, including coverage for any owned, hired, non-owned or rented vehicles, in an amount not less than $1,000,000 combined single limit for each accident. (c) Professional liability (errors & omissions) insurance. Consultant shall maintain professional liability insurance that covers the Services to be performed in connection with this Agreement, in the minimum amount of $1,000,000 per claim and in the aggregate. Any policy inception date, continuity date, or retroactive date must be before the effective date of this Agreement and Consultant agrees to maintain continuous coverage through a period no less than three (3) years after completion of the services required by this Agreement. ( d) Workers' compensation insurance. Consultant shall maintain Workers' Compensation Insurance (Statutory Limits) and Employer's Liability Insurance (with limits of at least $1,000,000).
(e) Subcontractors. Consultant shall include all subcontractors as insureds under its policies or shall furnish separate certificates and certified endorsements for each subcontractor. All coverages for subcontractors shall include all of the requirements stated herein. (t) Additional Insurance. Policies of such other insurance, as may be required in the Special Requirements in Exhibit "B".
5.2 General Insurance Requirements.
(a) Proof ofinsurance. Consultant shall provide certificates ofinsurance to City as evidence of the insurance coverage required herein, along with a waiver of subrogation endorsement for workers' compensation. Insurance certificates and endorsements must be approved by City's Risk Manager prior to commencement of performance. Current certification of insurance shall be kept on file with City at all times during the term of this Agreement. City reserves the right to require complete, certified copies of all required insurance policies, at any time.
(b) Duration of coverage. Consultant shall procure and maintain for the duration of this Agreement insurance against claims for injuries to persons or damages to property, which may arise from or in connection with the performance of the Services hereunder by Consultant, its agents, representatives, employees or subconsultants. ( c) Primary/noncontributing. Coverage provided by Consultant shall be primary and any insurance or self-insurance procured or maintained by City shall not be required to contribute with it. The limits of insurance required herein may be satisfied by a combination of primary and umbrella or excess insurance. Any umbrella or excess insurance shall contain or be endorsed to contain a provision that such coverage shall also apply on a primary and non10 C-12
Docusign Envelope ID: BBB857C3-4E01-86F0-80E8-81980945229C contributory basis for the benefit of City before the City's own insurance or self-insurance shall be called upon to protect it as a named insured.
( d) City's rights of enforcement. In the event any policy of insurance required under this Agreement does not comply with these specifications or is canceled and not replaced, City has the right but not the duty to obtain and continuously maintain the insurance it deems necessary and any premium paid by City will be promptly reimbursed by Consultant or City will withhold amounts sufficient to pay premium from Consultant payments. In the alternative, City may cancel this Agreement.
( e) Acceptable insurers. All insurance policies shall be issued by an insurance company currently authorized by the Insurance Commissioner to transact business of insurance or that is on the List of Approved Surplus Line Insurers in the State of California, with an assigned policyholders' Rating of A- (or higher) and Financial Size Category Class VI (or larger) in accordance with the latest edition of Best's Key Rating Guide, unless otherwise approved by the City's Risk Manager.
(f) Waiver of subrogation. All insurance coverage maintained or procured pursuant to this agreement shall be endorsed to waive subrogation against City, its elected or appointed officers, agents, officials, employees and volunteers or shall specifically allow Consultant or others providing insurance evidence in compliance with these specifications to waive their right of recovery prior to a loss. Consultant hereby waives its own right of recovery against City, and shall require similar written express waivers and insurance clauses from each of its subconsultants.
(g) Enforcement of contract prov1s10ns (non-estoppel). Consultant acknowledges and agrees that any actual or alleged failure on the part of the City to inform Consultant of non-compliance with any requirement imposes no additional obligations on the City nor does it waive any rights hereunder.
(h) Requirements not limiting. Requirements of specific coverage features or limits contained in this section are not intended as a limitation on coverage, limits or other requirements, or a waiver of any coverage normally provided by any insurance. Specific reference to a given coverage feature is for purposes of clarification only as it pertains to a given issue and is not intended by any party or insured to be all inclusive, or to the exclusion of other coverage, or a waiver of any type. If the Consultant maintains higher limits than the minimums shown above, the City requires and shall be entitled to coverage for the higher limits maintained by the Consultant. Any available insurance proceeds in excess of the specified minimum limits of insurance and coverage shall be available to the City.
(i) Notice of cancellation. Consultant agrees to oblige its insurance agent or broker and insurers to provide to City with a 30 (thirty) day notice of cancellation (except for nonpayment for which a 10 (ten) day notice is required) or nonrenewal of coverage for each required coverage.
G) Additional insured status. General liability policies shall provide or be endorsed to provide that City and its officers, officials, employees, and agents, and volunteers shall 11 C-13
Docusign Envelope ID: BBB857C3-4E01-86F0-80E8-81980945229C be additional insureds under such policies. This provision shall also apply to any excess/umbrella liability policies.
(k) Prohibition of undisclosed coverage limitations. None of the coverages required herein will be in compliance with these requirements if they include any limiting endorsement of any kind that has not been first submitted to City and approved of in writing. (1) Separation of insureds. A severability of interests provision must apply for all additional insureds ensuring that Consultant's insurance shall apply separately to each insured against whom claim is made or suit is brought, except with respect to the insurer's limits of liability. The policy(ies) shall not contain any cross-liability exclusions. (m) Pass through clause. Consultant agrees to ensure that its subconsultants, subcontractors, and any other party involved with the project who is brought onto or involved in the project by Consultant, provide the same minimum insurance coverage and endorsements required of Consultant. Consultant agrees to monitor and review all such coverage and assumes all responsibility for ensuring that such coverage is provided in conformity with the requirements of this section. Consultant agrees that upon request, all agreements with consultants, subcontractors, and others engaged in the project will be submitted to City for review. (n) Agency's right to revise specifications. The City reserves the right at any time during the term of the contract to change the amounts and types of insurance required by giving the Consultant 90 (ninety) days advance written notice of such change. If such change results in substantial additional cost to the Consultant, the City and Consultant may renegotiate Consultant's compensation.
( o) Self-insured retentions. Any self-insured retentions must be declared to and approved by City. City reserves the right to require that self-insured retentions be eliminated, lowered, or replaced by a deductible. Self-insurance will not be considered to comply with these specifications unless approved by City.
(p) Timely notice of claims. Consultant shall give City prompt and timely notice of claims made or suits instituted that arise out of or result from Consultant's performance under this Agreement, and that involve or may involve coverage under any of the required liability policies.
( q) Additional insurance. Consultant shall also procure and maintain, at its own cost and expense, any additional kinds of insurance, which in its own judgment may be necessary for its proper protection and prosecution of the work.
5.3 Indemnification.
To the full extent permitted by law, Consultant agrees to indemnify, defend and hold harmless the City, its officers, employees and agents ("Indemnified Parties") against, and will hold and save them and each of them harmless from, any and all actions, either judicial, administrative, arbitration or regulatory claims, damages to persons or property, losses, costs, penalties, obligations, errors, omissions or liabilities whether actual or threatened (herein "claims or liabilities") that may be asserted or claimed by any person, firm or entity arising out of or in 12 C-14
Docusign Envelope ID: BBB857C3-4E01-86F0-80E8-81980945229C connection with the negligent performance of the work, operations or activities provided herein of Consultant, its officers, employees, agents, subcontractors, or invitees, or any individual or entity for which Consultant is legally liable ("indemnitors"), or arising from Consultant's or indemnitors' reckless or willful misconduct, or arising from Consultant's or indemnitors' negligent performance of or failure to perform any term, provision, covenant or condition of this Agreement, and in connection therewith:
(a) Consultant will defend any action or actions filed in connection with any of said claims or liabilities and will pay all costs and expenses, including legal costs and attorneys' fees incurred in connection therewith;
(b) Consultant will promptly pay any judgment rendered against the City, its officers, agents or employees for any such claims or liabilities arising out of or in connection with the negligent performance of or failure to perform such work, operations or activities of Consultant hereunder; and Consultant agrees to save and hold the City, its officers, agents, and employees harmless therefrom;
(c) In the event the City, its officers, agents or employees is made a party to any action or proceeding filed or prosecuted against Consultant for such damages or other claims arising out of or in connection with the negligent performance of or failure to perform the work, operation or activities of Consultant hereunder, Consultant agrees to pay to the City, its officers, agents or employees, any and all costs and expenses incurred by the City, its officers, agents or employees in such action or proceeding, including but not limited to, legal costs and attorneys' fees.
Consultant shall incorporate similar indemnity agreements with its subcontractors and if it fails to do so Consultant shall be fully responsible to indemnify City hereunder therefore, and failure of City to monitor compliance with these provisions shall not be a waiver hereof. This indemnification includes claims or liabilities arising from any negligent or wrongful act, error or omission, or reckless or willful misconduct of Consultant in the performance of professional services hereunder. The provisions of this Section do not apply to claims or liabilities occurring as a result of City's sole negligence or willful acts or omissions, but, to the fullest extent permitted by law, shall apply to claims and liabilities resulting in part from City's negligence, except that design professionals' indemnity hereunder shall be limited to claims and liabilities arising out of the negligence, recklessness or willful misconduct of the design professional. The indemnity obligation shall be binding on successors and assigns of Consultant and shall survive termination of this Agreement.
ARTICLE 6. RECORDS, REPORTS, AND RELEASE OF INFORMATION
6.1 Records.
Consultant shall keep, and require subcontractors to keep, such ledgers, books of accounts, invoices, vouchers, canceled checks, reports, studies or other documents relating to the disbursements charged to City and services performed hereunder (the "books and records"), as shall be necessary to perform the services required by this Agreement and enable the Contract Officer to evaluate the performance of such services. Any and all such documents shall be 13 C-15
Docusign Envelope ID: BBB857C3-4E01-86F0-80E8-81980945229C maintained in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and shall be complete and detailed. The Contract Officer shall have full and free access to such books and records at all times during normal business hours of City, including the right to inspect, copy, audit and make records and transcripts from such records. Such records shall be maintained for a period of three (3) years following completion of the services hereunder, and the City shall have access to such records in the event any audit is required. In the event of dissolution of Consultant's business, custody of the books and records may be given to City, and access shall be provided by Consultant's successor in interest. Notwithstanding the above, the Consultant shall fully cooperate with the City in providing access to the books and records if a public records request is made and disclosure is required by law including but not limited to the California Public Records Act.
6.2 Reports.
Consultant shall periodically prepare and submit to the Contract Officer such reports concerning the performance of the services required by this Agreement as the Contract Officer shall require. Consultant hereby acknowledges that the City is greatly concerned about the cost of work and services to be performed pursuant to this Agreement. For this reason, Consultant agrees that if Consultant becomes aware of any facts, circumstances, techniques, or events that may or will materially increase or decrease the cost of the work or services contemplated herein or, if Consultant is providing design services, the cost of the project being designed, Consultant shall promptly notify the Contract Officer of said fact, circumstance, technique or event and the estimated increased or decreased cost related thereto and, if Consultant is providing design services, the estimated increased or decreased cost estimate for the project being designed.
6.3 Ownership of Documents.
All drawings, specifications, maps, designs, photographs, studies, surveys, data, notes, computer files, reports, records, documents and other materials (the "documents and materials") prepared by Consultant, its employees, subcontractors and agents in the performance of this Agreement shall be the property of City and shall be delivered to City upon request of the Contract Officer or upon the termination of this Agreement, and Consultant shall have no claim for further employment or additional compensation as a result of the exercise by City of its full rights of ownership use, reuse, or assignment of the documents and materials hereunder. Any use, reuse or assignment of such completed documents for other projects and/or use of uncompleted documents without specific written authorization by the Consultant will be at the City's sole risk and without liability to Consultant, and Consultant's guarantee and warranties shall not extend to such use, reuse or assignment. Consultant may retain copies of such documents for its own use. Consultant shall have the right to use the concepts embodied therein. All subcontractors shall provide for assignment to City of any documents or materials prepared by them, and in the event Consultant fails to secure such assignment, Consultant shall indemnify City for all damages resulting therefrom. Moreover, Consultant with respect to any documents and materials that may qualify as "works made for hire" as defined in 17 U.S.C. § 101, such documents and materials are hereby deemed "works made for hire" for the City.
6.4 Confidentiality and Release of Information.
14 C-16
Docusign Envelope ID: BBB857C3-4E01-86F0-80E8-81980945229C (a) All information gained or work product produced by Consultant in performance of this Agreement shall be considered confidential, unless such information is in the public domain or already known to Consultant. Consultant shall not release or disclose any such information or work product to persons or entities other than City without prior written authorization from the Contract Officer.
(b) Consultant, its officers, employees, agents or subcontractors, shall not, without prior written authorization from the Contract Officer or unless requested by the City Attorney, voluntarily provide documents, declarations, letters of support, testimony at depositions, response to interrogatories or other information concerning the work performed under this Agreement. Response to a subpoena or court order shall not be considered "voluntary" provided Consultant gives City notice of such court order or subpoena. ( c) If Consultant, or any officer, employee, agent or subcontractor of Consultant, provides any information or work product in violation of this Agreement, then City shall have the right to reimbursement and indemnity from Consultant for any damages, costs and fees, including attorney's fees, caused by or incurred as a result of Consultant's conduct. ( d) Consultant shall promptly notify City should Consultant, its officers, employees, agents or subcontractors be served with any summons, complaint, subpoena, notice of deposition, request for documents, interrogatories, request for admissions or other discovery request, court order or subpoena from any party regarding this Agreement and the work performed there under. City retains the right, but has no obligation, to represent Consultant or be present at any deposition, hearing or similar proceeding. Consultant agrees to cooperate fully with City and to provide City with the opportunity to review any response to discovery requests provided by Consultant. However, this right to review any such response does not imply or mean the right by City to control, direct, or rewrite said response.
ARTICLE 7. ENFORCEMENT OF AGREEMENT AND TERMINATION
7.1 California Law.
This Agreement shall be interpreted, construed and governed both as to validity and to performance of the parties in accordance with the laws of the State of California. Legal actions concerning any dispute, claim or matter arising out of or in relation to this Agreement shall be instituted in the Superior Court of the County of Los Angeles, State of California, or any other appropriate court in such county, and Consultant covenants and agrees to submit to the personal jurisdiction of such court in the event of such action. In the event of litigation in a U.S. District Court, venue shall lie exclusively in the Central District of California, in the County of Los Angeles, State of California.
7.2 Disputes; Default.
In the event that Consultant is in default under the terms of this Agreement, the City shall not have any obligation or duty to continue compensating Consultant for any work performed after the date of default. Instead, the City may give notice to Consultant of the default and the reasons for the default. The notice shall include the timeframe in which Consultant may cure the default.
This timeframe is 15 (fifteen) days, but may be extended, though not reduced, if circumstances 15 C-17
Docusign Envelope ID: BBB857C3-4E01-86F0-80E8-81980945229C warrant. During the period of time that Consultant is in default, the City shall hold all invoices and shall, when the default is cured, proceed with payment on the invoices. In the alternative, the City may, in its sole discretion, elect to pay some or all of the outstanding invoices during the period of default. If Consultant does not cure the default, the City may take necessary steps to terminate this Agreement under this Article. Any failure on the part of the City to give notice of the Consultant's default shall not be deemed to result in a waiver of the City's legal rights or any rights arising out of any provision of this Agreement.
7.3 Retention of Funds.
Consultant hereby authorizes City to deduct from any amount payable to Consultant (whether or not arising out of this Agreement) (i) any amounts the payment of which may be in dispute hereunder or which are necessary to compensate City for any losses, costs, liabilities, or damages suffered by City, and (ii) all amounts for which City may be liable to third parties, by reason of Consultant's acts or omissions in performing or failing to perform Consultant's obligation under this Agreement. In the event that any claim is made by a third party, the amount or validity of which is disputed by Consultant, or any indebtedness shall exist which shall appear to be the basis for a claim of lien, City may withhold from any payment due, without liability for interest because of such withholding, an amount sufficient to cover such claim. The failure of City to exercise such right to deduct or to withhold shall not, however, affect the obligations of the Consultant to insure, indemnify, and protect City as elsewhere provided herein.
7.4 Waiver.
Waiver by any party to this Agreement of any term, condition, or covenant of this Agreement shall not constitute a waiver of any other term, condition, or covenant. Waiver by any party of any breach of the provisions of this Agreement shall not constitute a waiver of any other provision or a waiver of any subsequent breach or violation of any provision of this Agreement.
Acceptance by City of any work or services by Consultant shall not constitute a waiver of any of the provisions of this Agreement. No delay or omission in the exercise of any right or remedy by a non-defaulting party on any default shall impair such right or remedy or be construed as a waiver.
Any waiver by either party of any default must be in writing and shall not be a waiver of any other default concerning the same or any other provision of this Agreement.
7.5 Rights and Remedies are Cumulative.
Except with respect to rights and remedies expressly declared to be exclusive in this Agreement, the rights and remedies of the parties are cumulative and the exercise by either party of one or more of such rights or remedies shall not preclude the exercise by it, at the same or different times, of any other rights or remedies for the same default or any other default by the other party.
7 .6 Legal Action.
In addition to any other rights or remedies, either party may take legal action, in law or in equity, to cure, correct or remedy any default, to recover damages for any default, to compel specific performance of this Agreement, to obtain declaratory or injunctive relief, or to obtain any other remedy consistent with the purposes of this Agreement. Notwithstanding any contrary 16 C-18
Docusign Envelope ID: BBB857C3-4E01-86F0-80E8-81980945229C provision herein, Consultant shall file a statutory claim pursuant to Government Code Sections 905 et seq. and 910 et seq., in order to pursue a legal action under this Agreement.
7.7 Termination Prior to Expiration of Term.
This Section shall govern any termination of this Contract except as specifically provided in the following Section for termination for cause. The City reserves the right to terminate this Contract at any time, with or without cause, upon thirty (30) days' written notice to Consultant, except that where termination is due to the fault of the Consultant, the period of notice may be such shorter time as may be determined by the Contract Officer. Upon receipt of any notice of termination, Consultant shall immediately cease all services hereunder except such as may be specifically approved by the Contract Officer. Consultant shall be entitled to compensation for all services rendered prior to the effective date of the notice of termination and for any services authorized by the Contract Officer thereafter in accordance with the Schedule of Compensation or such as may be approved by the Contract Officer, except as provided in Section 7.3. In the event of termination without cause pursuant to this Section, the City need not provide the Consultant with the opportunity to cure pursuant to Section 7.2.
7.8 Termination for Default of Party.
If termination is due to the failure of the other Party to fulfill its obligations under this Agreement:
(a) City may, after compliance with the provisions of Section 7.2, take over the work and prosecute the same to completion by contract or otherwise, and the Consultant shall be liable to the extent that the total cost for completion of the services required hereunder exceeds the compensation herein stipulated (provided that the City shall use reasonable efforts to mitigate such damages), and City may withhold any payments to the Consultant for the purpose of set-off or partial payment of the amounts owed the City as previously stated. (b) Consultant may, after compliance with the provisions of Section 7.2, terminate the Agreement upon written notice to the City's Contract Officer. Consultant shall be entitled to payment for all work performed up to the date of termination.
7.9 Attorneys' Fees.
If either party to this Agreement is required to initiate or defend or made a party to any action or proceeding in any way connected with this Agreement, the prevailing party in such action or proceeding, in addition to any other relief which may be granted, whether legal or equitable, shall be entitled to reasonable attorney's fees. Attorney's fees shall include attorney's fees on any appeal, and in addition a party entitled to attorney's fees shall be entitled to all other reasonable costs for investigating such action, taking depositions and discovery and all other necessary costs the court allows which are incurred in such litigation. All such fees shall be deemed to have accrued on commencement of such action and shall be enforceable whether or not such action is prosecuted to judgment.
ARTICLE 8. CITY OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES: NON-DISCRIMINATION 17 C-19
Docusign Envelope ID: BBB857C3-4E01-86F0-80E8-81980945229C
8.1 Non-liability of City Officers and Employees.
No officer or employee of the City shall be personally liable to the Consultant, or any successor in interest, in the event of any default or breach by the City or for any amount which may become due to the Consultant or to its successor, or for breach of any obligation of the terms of this Agreement.
8.2 Conflict of Interest.
Consultant covenants that neither it, nor any officer or principal of its firm, has or shall acquire any interest, directly or indirectly, which would conflict in any manner with the interests of City or which would in any way hinder Consultant's performance of services under this Agreement. Consultant further covenants that in the performance of this Agreement, no person having any such interest shall be employed by it as an officer, employee, agent or subcontractor without the express written consent of the Contract Officer. Consultant agrees to at all times avoid conflicts of interest or the appearance of any conflicts of interest with the interests of City in the performance of this Agreement.
No officer or employee of the City shall have any financial interest, direct or indirect, in this Agreement nor shall any such officer or employee participate in any decision relating to the Agreement which affects her/his financial interest or the financial interest of any corporation, partnership or association in which (s)he is, directly or indirectly, interested, in violation of any State statute or regulation. The Consultant warrants that it has not paid or given and will not pay or give any third party any money or other consideration for obtaining this Agreement.
8.3 Covenant Against Discrimination.
Consultant covenants that, by and for itself, its heirs, executors, assigns, and all persons claiming under or through them, that there shall be no discrimination against or segregation of, any person or group of persons on account of race, color, creed, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry or other protected class in the performance of this Agreement. Consultant shall take affirmative action to insure that applicants are employed and that employees are treated during employment without regard to their race, color, creed, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry or other protected class.
8.4 Unauthorized Aliens.
Consultant hereby promises and agrees to comply with all of the provisions of the Federal Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1101 et seq., as amended, and in connection therewith, shall not employ unauthorized aliens as defined therein. Should Consultant so employ such unauthorized aliens for the performance of work and/or services covered by this Agreement, and should any liability or sanctions be imposed against City for such use of unauthorized aliens, Consultant hereby agrees to and shall reimburse City for the cost of all such liabilities or sanctions imposed, together with any and all costs, including attorneys' fees, incurred by City. 18 C-20
Docusign Envelope ID: BBB857C3-4E01-86F0-80E8-81980945229C ARTICLE 9. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
9.1 Notices.
Any notice, demand, request, document, consent, approval, or communication either party desires or is required to give to the other party or any other person shall be in writing and either served personally or sent by prepaid, first-class mail, in the case of the City, to the City Manager and to the attention of the Contract Officer (with her/his name and City title), City of Rancho Palos Verdes, 30940 Hawthorne Blvd., Rancho Palos Verdes, California 90275 and in the case of the Consultant, to the person(s) at the address designated on the execution page of this Agreement.
Either party may change its address by notifying the other party of the change of address in writing.
Notice shall be deemed communicated at the time personally delivered or in 72 (seventy two) hours from the time of mailing if mailed as provided in this section.
9.2 Interpretation.
The terms of this Agreement shall be construed in accordance with the meaning of the language used and shall not be construed for or against either party by reason of the authorship of this Agreement or any other rule of construction which might otherwise apply.
9.3 Counterparts.
This Agreement may be executed in counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original, and such counterparts shall constitute one and the same instrument.
9.4 Integration; Amendment.
This Agreement including the attachments hereto is the entire, complete and exclusive expression of the understanding of the parties. It is understood that there are no oral agreements between the parties hereto affecting this Agreement and this Agreement supersedes and cancels any and all previous negotiations, arrangements, agreements and understandings, if any, between the parties, and none shall be used to interpret this Agreement. No amendment to or modification of this Agreement shall be valid unless made in writing and approved by the Consultant and by the City Council. The parties agree that this requirement for written modifications cannot be waived and that any attempted waiver shall be void.
9.5 Severability.
In the event that any one or more of the phrases, sentences, clauses, paragraphs, or sections contained in this Agreement shall be declared invalid or unenforceable by a valid judgment or decree of a court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity or unenforceability shall not affect any of the remaining phrases, sentences, clauses, paragraphs, or sections of this Agreement which are hereby declared as severable and shall be interpreted to carry out the intent of the parties hereunder unless the invalid provision is so material that its invalidity deprives either party of the basic benefit of their bargain or renders this Agreement meaningless.
9.6 Warranty & Representation of Non-Collusion.
19 C-21
Docusign Envelope ID: BBB857C3-4E01-86F0-80E8-81980945229C No official, officer, or employee of City has any financial interest, direct or indirect, in this Agreement, nor shall any official, officer, or employee of City participate in any decision relating to this Agreement which may affect his/her financial interest or the financial interest of any corporation, partnership, or association in which (s)he is directly or indirectly interested, or in violation of any corporation, partnership, or association in which (s)he is directly or indirectly interested, or in violation of any State or municipal statute or regulation. The determination of "financial interest" shall be consistent with State law and shall not include interests found to be "remote" or "noninterests" pursuant to Government Code Sections 1091 or 1091.5. Consultant warrants and represents that it has not paid or given, and will not pay or give, to any third party including, but not limited to, any City official, officer, or employee, any money, consideration, or other thing of value as a result or consequence of obtaining or being awarded any agreement.
Consultant further warrants and represents that (s)he/it has not engaged in any act(s), omission(s), or other conduct or collusion that would result in the payment of any money, consideration, or other thing of value to any third party including, but not limited to, any City official, officer, or employee, as a result of consequence of obtaining or being awarded any agreement. Consultant is aware of and understands that any such act(s), omission(s) or other conduct resulting in such payment of money, consideration, or other thing of value will render this Agreement void and of no force or effect. lr~s
Consultant's Authorized Initials lfi
9.7 Corporate Authority.
The persons executing this Agreement on behalf of the parties hereto warrant that (i) such party is duly organized and existing, (ii) they are duly authorized to execute and deliver this Agreement on behalf of said party, (iii) by so executing this Agreement, such party is formally bound to the provisions of this Agreement, and (iv) that entering into this Agreement does not violate any provision of any other Agreement to which said party is bound. This Agreement shall be binding upon the heirs, executors, administrators, successors and assigns of the parties. [SIGNATURES ON FOLLOWING PAGE]
20 C-22
Docusign Envelope ID: BBB857C3-4E01-86F0-80E8-81980945229C IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement on the date and year first-above written.
ATTEST:
~ ·
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
ALESHIRE & WYNDER, LLP
William Wynder, City Attorney
CITY:
CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES, a
municipal corporation
[g'"""'"'
0::::::, 464E6
Paul Seo, Mayor
CONSULTANT:
By: [c;,;~~t~ Name: Cheryl Jomer
Title· ~QW. of Contracts and Compliance
/II tdtd!eE rflMh By:
Nam~e-:=M-ret11ic~h~e~ll~e~P~a~shk:-:--o--------
Title: Vice President Human Resources
Address: 818 Town & Country Blvd, Suite 200,
Houston, TX 77024
Two corporate officer signatures required when Consultant is a corporation, with one signature required from each of the following groups: 1) Chairman of the Board, President or any Vice President; and 2) Secretary, any Assistant Secretary, Chief Financial Officer or any Assistant Treasurer. CONSULTANT'S
SIGNATURES SHALL BE DULY NOTARIZED, AND APPROPRIATE ATTESTATIONS SHALL BE
INCLUDED AS MAY BE REQUIRED BY THE BYLAWS, ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION, OR OTHER RULES OR REGULATIONS APPLICABLE TO CONSULTANT'S BUSINESS ENTITY. 21 C-23
Docusign Envelope ID: BBB857C3-4E01-86F0-80E8-81980945229C 01203.0001/835260.l
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Docusign Envelope ID: BBB857C3-4E01-86F0-80E8-81980945229C EXHIBIT "A"
SCOPE OF SERVICES
I. Consultant will provide on-call professional services relating to grant management services ( the Services), as more fully detailed herein. Consultant has been selected to provide this Scope of Services that will be readily available at the rates in this Agreement when needed. However, before any work is performed, Consultant must provide a specific written proposal for any requested services and obtain advance written approval to proceed from City's Contract Office, as such process is more fully described below. Unless specifically defined, each category or type of work listed shall be construed to include all services customarily performed by a first-class consultant as defined under such category or type.
II. Work Request Procedure
A. Each task to be performed shall be set forth in a verbal or written request ("Request") produced by City's Contract Officer with a description of the work to be performed, and the time desired for completion. All tasks shall be earned out in conformity with all provisions of this Agreement.
B. Following receipt of the Request, Consultant shall prepare a "Task Proposal" that includes the following components:
1. A written description of the requested task ("Task Description") including all components and sub-tasks, and including any clarifications of the descriptions provided in the Request,
2. The costs to perform the task ("Task Budget"),
3. A breakdown of the costs or an explanation of how the cost was determined, and
4. A schedule for completion of the task ("Task Completion Schedule"), including a final completion date ("Task Completion Date") C. City' s Contract Officer shall approve, modify, or reject the Task Proposal in writing, and issue a Notice to Proceed when a written agreement has been reached on the Task Proposal.
D. The task shall be performed at a cost not exceeding the Task Budget.
E. Consultant shall complete the task and deliver all deliverables to Contract Officer by the Task Completion Date and in accordance with the Task Completion Schedule.
01203.0001/835260.l A-1
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Docusign Envelope ID: BBB857C3-4E01-86F0-80E8-81980945229C III. Consultant acknowledges that City has no obligation to request that any services be performed by Consultant under this Agreement. City's Contract Officer may establish a rotation schedule with multiple consultants, and may seek competing Subtask Proposals, may select a consultant that in its judgement is best suited for a particular sub-task, or may select a consultant in a manner that is in the best interest of City. City's Contract Officer will assign work to the consultant that best meets the City's needs at the time the services are sought.
IV. Brief description of the work to be performed:
On-Call Grant Application Development and Post-Award Management
1. Develop grant applications as approved and directed by the City to help the City meet its goals and objectives. Includes full spectrum of actions required to deliver proposal, submissions, and post-submission follow-up activities.
2. Develop Request for Information (RFI) responses for submitted grant applications.
3. Provide engineering support for grant applications and RFI responses as needed.
4. Complete post-award tracking and reporting for funding obtained through the consultant's services.
5. All other activities necessary to provide complete grant application and support services.
V. As part of the Services, Consultant will prepare and deliver the following tangible work products to the City:
A. Draft and final grant application packets for funding opportunities the City decides to pursue.
B. Draft and final RFI responses for submitted grant applications.
C. Grant reports and documentation for funding opportunities the City obtains through the consultant's services.
D. Debriefing reports, notes or other documentation for funding opportunities the City does not obtain through the consultant's services.
01203.0001/835260.l A-2
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Docusign Envelope ID: BBB857C3-4E01-86F0-80E8-81980945229C E. Any other related documents for grants, as necessary.
VI. In addition to the requirements of Section 6.2, during performance of the Services, Consultant will keep the City appraised of the status of performance by delivering the following status reports:
A. Quarterly reports summarizing the status of pending and submitted applications.
B. Coordination meetings and phone calls as necessary.
VII. All work product is subject to review and acceptance by the City, and must be revised by the Consultant without additional charge to the City until found satisfactory and accepted by City.
VIII. Consultant will utilize the following personnel to accomplish the Services:
Staff
Michelle Little
Daniel Petrelli
Kayla Jones
Emily Winburn
Chelsea Morganti
Karen Patterson
Bill Sario
Brian Donovan
Len Wright
John Connolly
01203.0001/835260.l
Title
Project Manager
Assistant Project Manager
Grant Writing Specialist
Quality Control Specialist
Grant Management Subject Matter Expert
Grant Management Subject Matter Expert
Engineering Project Manager
Professional Engineer
Professional Engineer
Professional Engineer
A-3
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Docusign Envelope ID: BBB857C3-4E01-86F0-80E8-81980945229C EXHIBIT "B"
SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS
(Superseding Contract Boilerplate)
Added text indicated in bold italics, deleted text indicated in strikethrough.
Section 1.3, Compliance With Law, is hereby amended as follows:
1.3 Compliance with Law.
Consultant shall keep itself informed concerning, and shall render all services hereunder in accordance with, all applicable ordinances, resolutions, statutes, rules, and regulations of the City and any Federal, State or local governmental entity having jurisdiction in effect at the time service is rendered. Specific requirements include, but are not limited to:
Build America, Buy America Act (BABAA) Compliance Clause
1. Applicability
This project is funded in whole or in part with federal funds, including from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). As such, the Contractor shall comply with the Build America, Buy America provisions of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Pub.
L. No. 117-58, § 70901-70927), and any implementing guidance issued by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (0MB), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and FEMA.
2. Domestic Preference for Infrastructure Projects
In accordance with BABAA, the Contractor agrees that all iron, steel, manufactured products, and construction materials used in the project shall be produced in the United States unless a valid waiver has been issued by FEMA.
a. Iron and Steel
All iron and steel products used in the project must be produced in the United States. This means all manufacturing processes, from the initial melting stage through the application of coatings, must occur domestically.
b. Manufactured Products
The cost of the components of manufactured products that are mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States must exceed 55% of the total cost of all components of the product. Final assembly must also occur in the United States. c. Construction Materials
Construction materials (e.g., lumber, drywall, glass, plastic, composite building materials) 01203.0001/835260.l B-1
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Docusign Envelope ID: BBB857C3-4E01-86F0-80E8-81980945229C must be manufactured in the United States. All manufacturing processes, including the final manufacturing process, must take place in the U.S.
3. Waivers
If the Contractor believes that a specific item or material is not available domestically in sufficient quantity or of satisfactory quality, the Contractor shall promptly notify the Owner/Grantee in writing. No foreign-made iron, steel, manufactured product, or construction material may be used unless FEMA has issued a specific waiver for that item. It is the Contractor's responsibility to support any waiver request with sufficient justification and documentation.
4. Flow-Down Requirements
The Contractor shall include this BABAA Compliance Clause in all subcontracts and purchase orders for work or products under this contract, ensuring compliance throughout all tiers of sub recipients, suppliers, and subcontractors.
5. Records and Audits
The Contractor shall maintain records sufficient to demonstrate compliance with BABAA, including but not limited to: origin of materials, percentage of U.S.-manufactured components, and relevant certifications. These records shall be available to the Owner/Grantee, FEMA, and any other authorized agency upon request.
6. Noncompliance
Failure to comply with the Build America, Buy America Act requirements may result in the withholding of payment, termination of contract, debarment from future federal work, or other legal remedies as provided by law.
Financial Reporting and Performance Requirements Clause (Incorporating 2 C.F.R. § 200.327)
1. Financial Reporting Obligations
The Contractor/Subrecipient shall provide financial information related to this federally funded project as required by the Recipient and in compliance with the reporting requirements of 2 C.F.R. § 200.327.
Specifically, the Contractor/Subrecipient shall:
a. Submit financial data using standard OMB-approved information collections, including the Federal Financial Report (SF-425) or any successor form required by the federal awarding agency;
b. Provide information that is accurate, complete, and supported by adequate documentation; c. Submit reports at the frequency and due dates prescribed by the Recipient (e.g., monthly, quarterly, or as otherwise directed);
01203.0001/835260.l B-2
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Docusign Envelope ID: BBB857C3-4E01-86F0-80E8-81980945229C d. Provide project status updates, including progress toward performance goals and milestone completion, as requested.
2. Performance Reporting
If required, the Contractor/Subrecipient shall also submit performance reports that include:
• A comparison of actual accomplishments to the objectives established for the period; • The reasons why established goals were not met, if applicable; • Additional pertinent information including analysis and explanation of cost overruns or high unit costs;
• Any other performance indicators or metrics defined in the project scope of work or required by the federal awarding agency.
3. Record Retention and Access
The Contractor/Subrecipient shall maintain complete and accurate financial and programmatic records for a minimum of three years from the date of submission of the final expenditure report (or longer if required by 2 C.F.R. § 200.334). These records shall be available for review by the Recipient, FEMA, DHS, the Comptroller General of the United States, or any of their duly authorized representatives.
4. Remedies for Noncompliance
Failure to comply with the financial or performance reporting requirements may result in actions including but not limited to:
• Withholding of payments;
• Disallowance of costs;
• Termination of this contract;
• Suspension or debarment from future federal awards;
• Other remedies as provided under 2 C.F.R. § 200.339 and applicable federal law.
Federal Contract Provisions (Appendix II to 2 C.F.R. Part 200) The following provisions apply to this contract in accordance with Appendix II to 2 C.F.R.
Part 200 and are required when federal funds are used:
1. Equal Employment Opportunity (Applicable to contracts> $10,000) The Contractor shall comply with Executive Order 11246, "Equal Employment Opportunity," as amended by Executive Order 11375, and as supplemented by regulations at 41 C.F.R. part
60. The Contractor agrees not to discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.
2. Davis-Bacon Act (Applicable to prime construction contracts> $2,000 funded by HUD only)
If applicable, the Contractor shall comply with the Davis-Bacon Act (40 U.S.C. 3141-3148), including the payment of prevailing wages and submission of certified payroll records. 01203.0001/835260.l B-3
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Docusign Envelope ID: BBB857C3-4E01-86F0-80E8-81980945229C
3. Copeland "Anti-Kickback" Act (Applicable to construction or repair contracts> $2,000) Contractor shall comply with 18 U.S.C. § 874 and 40 U.S.C. § 3145 and the Copeland "AntiKickback" Act (29 C.F.R. Part 3). No part of the compensation of laborers may be returned to the employer in the form of kickbacks.
4. Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (Applicable to contracts> $100,000) Contractor shall comply with 40 U.S.C. 3702 and 3704, as supplemented by 29 C.F.R. Part 5.
No laborer or mechanic shall work more than 40 hours in a workweek unless compensated for overtime at not less than one and one-half times the basic rate of pay.
5. Rights to Inventions Made Under a Contract or Agreement (Applicable to contracts with research institutions)
If this contract involves the performance of experimental, developmental, or research work, the Contractor agrees to comply with the requirements of 37 C.F.R. part 401 and any implementing regulations issued by the federal awarding agency.
6. Clean Air Act and Federal Water Pollution Control Act (Applicable to contracts > $150,000)
Contractor shall comply with:
• The Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 7401-767lq);
• The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. §§ 1251-1387); and • All applicable standards, orders, or regulations issued under those Acts.
Contractor shall report violations to FEMA and the Regional Office of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
7. Debarment and Suspension (Applicable to all contracts) Contractor certifies that neither it nor its principals are debarred, suspended, or proposed for debarment by any federal agency. This contract is a covered transaction for purposes of 2 C.F.R. Part 180 and 2 C.F.R. Part 3000 (FEMA suspension and debarment rules).
8. Byrd Anti-Lobbying Amendment (Applicable to contracts > $100,000) Contractor certifies that it will not and has not used federally appropriated funds to pay any person for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of Congress, or any employee of a Member of Congress in connection with this federal contract.
Contractor shall complete and submit 0MB Standard Form-LLL ("Disclosure of Lobbying Activities''), if applicable.
9. Procurement of Recovered Materials (Applicable to all contracts for items designated under EPA guidelines)
01203.0001/835260.l B-4
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Docusign Envelope ID: BBB857C3-4E01-86F0-80E8-81980945229C Contractor must comply with section 6002 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and procure only EPA-designated items containing the highest percentage of recovered materials practicable.
10. Access to Records
Contractor agrees to provide access to the Recipient, FEMA, the Comptroller General of the United States, or any of their authorized representatives to any books, documents, papers, and records of the Contractor that are directly pertinent to this contract for auditing, examination, or inspection purposes.
11. DHS/FEMA-Specific Requirements
a. DHS Seal, Logo, and Flags: The Contractor shall not use the Department of Homeland Security or FEMA seal, logo, or flags without prior written consent. b. Compliance with Federal Law, Regulations, and Executive Orders: Contractor acknowledges that federal funding requires full compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, executive orders, FEMA policies, and award terms and conditions. c. No Obligation by Federal Government: The federal government is not a party to this contract and is not subject to any obligations or liabilities to the non-federal entity, contractor, or any party to the contract.
d. Program Fraud and False or Fraudulent Statements or Related Acts: Contractor acknowledges that 31 U.S.C. Chapter 38 (Administrative Remedies for False Claims and Statements) applies
Section 5.2 (a), General Insurance Requirements, is hereby amended as follows:
5.2 General Insurance Requirements.
(a) Proof of insurance. Consultant shall provide certificates of insurance to City as evidence of the insurance coverage required herein, along with a waiver of subrogation endorsement for workers' compensation. Insurance certificates and endorsements must be approved by City's Risk Manager prior to commencement of performance. Current certification of insurance shall be kept on file with City at all times during the term of this Agreement. City reserves the right to require complete, certified, and redacted to maintain confidentiality, copies of all required insurance policies, at any time.
Section 5.2 (f), General Insurance Requirements, is hereby amended as follows:
5.2 General Insurance Requirements.
01203.0001/835260.l B-5
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Docusign Envelope ID: BBB857C3-4E01-86F0-80E8-81980945229C (f) Waiver of subrogation. All insurance coverage maintained or procured pursuant to this agreement shall be endorsed to waive subrogation against City, its elected or appointed officers, agents, officials, employees and volunteers, to the extent of the liabilities assumed by Consultant under this Agreement, or shall specifically allow Consultant or others providing insurance evidence in compliance with these specifications to waive their right of recovery prior to a loss. Consultant hereby waives its own right ofrecovery against City, and shall require similar written express waivers and insurance clauses from each of its subconsultants.
01203.0001/835260.l B-6
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Docusign Envelope ID: BBB857C3-4E01-86F0-80E8-81980945229C EXHIBIT "C"
SCHEDULE OF COMPENSATION
I. Consultant shall perform the following tasks at the following hourly rates:
EMPLOYEE CLASSIFICATION RATE
A. Project Manager $175
B. Assistant Project Manager $150
C. Grant Writing Specialist $115
D. Quality Control Specialist $125
E. Grant Management Subject Matter Expert $150
F. Engineering Project Manager $225
G. Professional Engineer $195
II. Within the budgeted amounts for each Task, and with the approval of the Contract Officer, funds may be shifted from one Task subbudget to another so long as the Contract Sum is not exceeded per Section 2.1, unless Additional Services are approved per Section 1.9.
III. The City will compensate Consultant for the Services performed upon submission of a valid invoice. Each invoice is to include:
A. Line items for all personnel describing the work performed, the number of hours worked, and the hourly rate.
B. Line items for all materials and equipment properly charged to the Services.
C. Line items for all other approved reimbursable expenses claimed, with supporting documentation.
D. Line items for all approved subcontractor labor, supplies, equipment, materials, and travel properly charged to the Services.
IV. The total compensation for the Services shall not exceed the Contract Sum as provided in Section 2.1 of this Agreement.
V. The Consultant's billing rates for all personnel are attached as Exhibit C-1. 01203.0001/835260.l C-1
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Docusign Envelope ID: BBB857C3-4E01-86F0-80E8-81980945229C EXHIBIT "D
SCHEDULE OF PERFORMANCE
I. Consultant shall perform all work (the sum of City-issued Task Orders) within the durations specified in the Agreement and supplemented by individual Task Orders starting from the date(s) of the Notice(s) to Proceed in each respective Task Order.
II. Consultant shall deliver tangible work products to the City by the deadlines specified in the Agreement, as supplemented by City-issued Task Orders.
III. This agreement shall continue in full force through June 30, 2027. The City may, in its discretion, extend the Term by two additional one (1)-year terms, in accordance with Section 3.2.
01203.0001/835260.l D-1
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0 docusign_
Certificate Of Completion
Envelope Id: BBB857C3-4E0 1-86F0-80E8-819B0945229C Status: Completed Subject: Complete with Docusign: RPV - Witt O'Brien's On-Call Grant Management PSA FY 26-27 FINAL.pdf Source Envelope:
Document Pages: 34
Certificate Pages: 5
AutoNav: Enabled
Envelopeld Stamping: Enabled
Signatures: 5
Initials: 2
Time Zone: (UTC-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada)
Record Tracking
Status: Original
6/15/2026 5:11:19 PM
Signer Events
Cheryl Joiner
[email protected]
Director Contracts & Compliance
Witt O'Brien's, LLC
Security Level : Email, Account Authentication
(None)
Electronic Record and Signature Disclosure:
Accepted: 6/22/2026 12:19:40 PM
ID: 6504d27f-696c-4ac5-b051-9777290f3589
Michelle E Pashko
[email protected]
Vice President Human Resources - Ambipar North
America
Security Level: Email, Account Authentication
(None)
Electronic Record and Signature Disclosure:
Accepted: 6/24/2026 2:46:41 AM
ID: 83794233-aaf1-4b5f-a341-42419ef79224
Paul Seo
[email protected]
Mayor of RPV
Security Level: Email, Account Authentication
(None)
Electronic Record and Signature Disclosure:
Accepted: 12/17/2025 3:23:57 PM
ID: 0771065e-7 5e8-4062-b23e-0088408f91 e0
William Wynder
[email protected]
City Attorney
City Attorney
Security Level: Email, Account Authentication
(None)
Electronic Record and Signature Disclosure:
Accepted: 6/26/2026 2:00:39 AM
ID: cb865444-9cad-4 710-94eb-ddd51365215b
Holder: Megan Barnes
[email protected]
Signature
lrDocuSigned by:
~~~
Signature Adoption: Pre-selected Style
Using IP Address: 70.140.89.205
G
Signedby:
;t/tdtdkE ?tl41tM
7CA68E3AA502458
Signature Adoption: Pre-selected Style
Using IP Address: 73.132.17.192
Signed using mobile
r:s;gned by,
e7464E6
Signature Adoption: Drawn on Device
Using IP Address: 47.141.5.147
Signature Adoption: Pre-selected Style
Using IP Address: 2a02:26f7:c344:4000:d000::5
Signed using mobile
Envelope Originator:
Megan Barnes
30940 Hawthorne Blvd.
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275
[email protected]
IP Address: 72.34.97.146
Location: DocuSign
Timestamp
Sent: 6/16/2026 9:49:16 PM
Resent: 6/22/2026 11 :24:36 AM
Viewed: 6/22/2026 12:19:40 PM
Signed: 6/22/2026 12:19:50 PM
Sent: 6/22/2026 12:19:51 PM
Viewed : 6/24/2026 2:46:41 AM
Signed: 6/24/2026 2:54:05 AM
Sent: 6/24/2026 2:54:07 AM
Viewed: 6/24/2026 9:39:29 AM
Signed: 6/24/2026 9:39:39 AM
Sent: 6/24/2026 9:39:40 AM
Viewed: 6/26/2026 2:00:39 AM
Signed: 6/26/2026 2:03:38 AM
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Signer Events
Teresa Takaoka
[email protected]
City Clerk
Security Level: Email, Account Authentication
(None)
Electronic Record and Signature Disclosure:
Accepted: 6/26/2026 6:04:45 AM
ID: 24941 dc8-1 efa-4034-98e7-7d0238291 c5d
In Person Signer Events
Editor Delivery Events
Agent Delivery Events
Intermediary Delivery Events
Certified Delivery Events
Carbon Copy Events
Witness Events
Notary Events
Envelope Summary Events
Envelope Sent
Certified Delivered
Signing Complete
Completed
Payment Events
Signature
r-=DocuSigned by:
~ -
Signature Adoption: Drawn on Device
Using IP Address: 70.170.27.194
Signed using mobile
Signature
Status
Status
Status
Status
Status
Signature
Signature
Status
Hashed/Encrypted
Security Checked
Security Checked
Security Checked
Status
Electronic Record and Signature Disclosure
Timestamp
Sent: 6/26/2026 2:03:39 AM
Viewed: 6/26/2026 6:04:45 AM
Signed: 6/26/2026 6:04:54 AM
Timestamp
Timestamp
Timestamp
Timestamp
Timestamp
Timestamp
Timestamp
Timestamp
Timestamps
6/16/2026 9:49:16 PM
6/26/2026 6:04:45 AM
6/26/2026 6:04:54 AM
6/26/2026 6:04:54 AM
Timestamps
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Electronic Record and Signature Disclosure created on: 6/15/2021 5:55:39 PM Parties agreed to: Cheryl Joiner, Michelle E Pashko, Paul Seo, William Wynder, Teresa Takaoka
ELECTRONIC RECORD AND SIGNATURE DISCLOSURE
From time to time, City of Rancho Palos Verdes (we, us or Company) may be required by law to provide to you certain written notices or disclosures. Described below are the terms and conditions for providing to you such notices and disclosures electronically through the DocuSign system. Please read the information below carefully and thoroughly, and if you can access this information electronically to your satisfaction and agree to this Electronic Record and Signature Disclosure (ERSD), please confirm your agreement by selecting the check-box next to 'I agree to use electronic records and signatures' before clicking 'CONTINUE' within the DocuSign system.
Getting paper copies
At any time, you may request from us a paper copy of any record provided or made available electronically to you by us. You will have the ability to download and print documents we send to you through the DocuSign system during and immediately after the signing session and, if you elect to create a DocuSign account, you may access the documents for a limited period of time (usually 30 days) after such documents are first sent to you. After such time, if you wish for us to send you paper copies of any such documents from our office to you, you will be charged a $0.00 per-page fee. You may request delivery of such paper copies from us by following the procedure described below.
Withdrawing your consent
If you decide to receive notices and disclosures from us electronically, you may at any time change your mind and tell us that thereafter you want to receive required notices and disclosures only in paper format. How you must inform us of your decision to receive future notices and disclosure in paper format and withdraw your consent to receive notices and disclosures electronically is described below.
Consequences of changing your mind
If you elect to receive required notices and disclosures only in paper format, it will slow the speed at which we can complete certain steps in transactions with you and delivering services to you because we will need first to send the required notices or disclosures to you in paper format, and then wait until we receive back from you your acknowledgment of your receipt of such paper notices or disclosures. Further, you will no longer be able to use the DocuSign system to receive required notices and consents electronically from us or to sign electronically documents from us.
All notices and disclosures will be sent to you electronically C-38
Unless you tell us otherwise in accordance with the procedures described herein, we will provide electronically to you through the DocuSign system all required notices, disclosures, authorizations, acknowledgements, and other documents that are required to be provided or made available to you during the course of our relationship with you. To reduce the chance of you inadvertently not receiving any notice or disclosure, we prefer to provide all of the required notices and disclosures to you by the same method and to the same address that you have given us. Thus, you can receive all the disclosures and notices electronically or in paper format through the paper mail delivery system. If you do not agree with this process, please let us know as described below. Please also see the paragraph immediately above that describes the consequences of your electing not to receive delivery of the notices and disclosures electronically from us.
How to contact City of Rancho Palos Verdes:
You may contact us to let us know of your changes as to how we may contact you electronically, to request paper copies of certain information from us, and to withdraw your prior consent to receive notices and disclosures electronically as follows:
To contact us by email send messages to: [email protected] To advise City of Rancho Palos Verdes of your new email address To let us know of a change in your email address where we should send notices and disclosures electronically to you, you must send an email message to us at [email protected] and in the body of such request you must state: your previous email address, your new email address. We do not require any other information from you to change your email address.
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To request paper copies from City of Rancho Palos Verdes To request delivery from us of paper copies of the notices and disclosures previously provided by us to you electronically, you must send us an email to [email protected] and in the body of such request you must state your email address, full name, mailing address, and telephone number. We will bill you for any fees at that time, if any.
To withdraw your consent with City of Rancho Palos Verdes To inform us that you no longer wish to receive future notices and disclosures in electronic format you may:
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i. decline to sign a document from within your signing session, and on the subsequent page, select the check-box indicating you wish to withdraw your consent, or you may; ii. send us an email to [email protected] and in the body of such request you must state your email, full name, mailing address, and telephone number. We do not need any other information from you to withdraw consent.. The consequences of your withdrawing consent for online documents will be that transactions may take a longer time to process ..
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Acknowledging your access and consent to receive and sign documents electronically To confirm to us that you can access this information electronically, which will be similar to other electronic notices and disclosures that we will provide to you, please confirm that you have read this ERSD, and (i) that you are able to print on paper or electronically save this ERSD for your future reference and access; or (ii) that you are able to email this ERSD to an email address where you will be able to print on paper or save it for your future reference and access. Further, if you consent to receiving notices and disclosures exclusively in electronic format as described herein, then select the check-box next to 'I agree to use electronic records and signatures' before clicking 'CONTINUE' within the DocuSign system.
By selecting the check-box next to 'I agree to use electronic records and signatures', you confirm that:
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• Until or unless you notify City of Rancho Palos Verdes as described above, you consent to receive exclusively through electronic means all notices, disclosures, authorizations, acknowledgements, and other documents that are required to be provided or made available to you by City of Rancho Palos Verdes during the course of your relationship with City of Rancho Palos Verdes.
Scope of Work Fee Authorization
Contact: Dawn Olsgaard, Director
(714) 274-5961
[email protected]
Client Name City of Rancho Palos Verdes 9/16/2026
Client Contact Name David Copp 9/18/2026
Telephone 310-544-5335 Yes (by RPV)
Email [email protected] 0%
Grant Program Name TBD (up to $10M)
$ 14,550
Project Name, if known
SOW Fee Developed by Dawn Olsgaard, Director
EST HRS UNIT PRICE AMOUNT
10 -
10 50 -
50 19
Standard Forms (SF-424, SF-424A, SF-424B, Grants.gov Lobbying Form, SF-LLL) 2 8 1
3 2
2 1
0 18 -
4 -
8 -
4 -
2 -
Subtotal labor 97 $ 150 $ 14,550.00
Direct Costs (no markup)
$ -
$ -
Total $ 14,550.00
No direct costs
Subtotal Direct Costs
Date Prepared
NTP Requested by
Estimated Grant Request
Cost to develop proposal
Resolution Required
TBD
Local Match Required
Application Attachments and Grants.gov Forms
Compliance, Drafts, and Submission
Ongoing internal reviews to assess competitiveness, risk, and alignment with win strategy(ies). Formal independent compliance checks at red and gold
Develop and provide red draft (approximately 75-85% complete) and gold draft (100% final) for review and feedback, incorporate edits
Conduct final compliance and quality control check; submit proposal Provide final documents to client via email/file sharing and calendar award announcement date (if known) Planning Grant Application Template (25-page maximum; 16 pages of limited narrative sections) USDOT Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) Competitive Grant Program – Planning Grant
Summary (250-word limit)
Project Information (3-page limit)
Budget and Funding
Merit Criteria (6-page limit)
Program Alignment
Planning Activity Approach
Innovation
Project Readiness (4-page limit)
Technical Assessment
Financial Completeness Assessment
Permitting Risk Assessment
DOT Selection Priorities (3-page limit)
Benefit-Cost Analysis – Not Required for Planning Grants Description
Palos Verdes Drive South Project
Detailed budget and funding documentation
Project schedule
Supporting data and technical exhibits
Attachment list, file naming, and final packaging
Other allowable attachments (if needed)
Win Strategy, Kickoff, and Check-ins
Requirements analysis, develop Proposal Planner and compliance matrix, kickoff session. Effort also includes electronic file setup and 24/7 sharing capabilities, liaison with funding agency (as needed), conduct and lead check-in calls, setup/confirm online portal submission requirements; and NCB strategic oversight
Cost to develop proposal as %
of estimated revenue
Letters of Support and partner coordination (Congressmember, Golf Course, SCAG, Coast Guard) Project location map
1 of 2
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Scope of Work Fee Authorization
Contact: Dawn Olsgaard, Director
(714) 274-5961
[email protected]
Description EST HRS UNIT PRICE AMOUNT
Special Considerations or Notes
Printed Name Authorized Signature Date
Thank you for your business!
•NCB's work is always time-and-materials - - this is a not-to-exceed quote •A change order will only be requested if additional services not listed above are requested or there is a change in the proposal requirements •If fee estimation was based on draft guidelines, a final SOW Fee Estimation will be provided after final release By signing below, I authorize NCB Incorporated to perform the services described above in accordance with the scope and fees presented. • Planning Grants do not require a benefit-cost analysis and may receive up to a 100% Federal share (no local match required). • Application is due through Grants.gov by 11:59 PM EST on October 9, 2026. Estimate assumes notice to proceed by September 18, 2026 and timely client-provided technical, budget, and supporting information. 2 of 2
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818 Town and Country Blvd.
Suite 200
Houston, TX 77024
T: +1 (281) 320-9796
F: +1 (281) 320-9700
E: [email protected]
wittobriens.com
September 24, 2026
RE: Proposal for Grant Writing Services
Dear City of Rancho Palos Verdes,
We are pleased to submit our proposal to support the City of Rancho Palos Verdes. This proposal outlines our support to develop a grant application for the PROTECT competitive grant program.
For questions related to our services please contact Zabrina Minor Gregg, by phone at (205) 873-4537 or email at [email protected]. We look forward to an impactful partnership with you and your team.
Respectfully,
Witt O’Brien’s, LLC
Matthew D. Hanson
Matthew Hanson, CGMS
Managing Director
Grants and Policy
cc: Jason Millsaps, Chief of Staff
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Proposal for Grant Support Services i
TABLE OF CONTENTS
WHY WITT O’BRIEN’S?............................................................................................................................ 2 WHO IS THE TEAM?.................................................................................................................................. 3 WHAT IS THE SCOPE OF SERVICES AND COST? ............................................................................... 6 PROPOSED ENGAGEMENT TERMS ........................................................................................................ 6 WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS?................................................................................................................ 9 E-2
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Proposal for Grant Support Services 2
WHY WITT O’BRIEN’S?
Witt O’Brien’s is a firm focused on policy advisory services and the entire lifecycle of grants management to improve the resilience of communities nationwide. For more than 20 years, Witt O’Brien’s has led and supported grants management
efforts across the country, including critical grants
implementation and oversight following nearly every major natural or human-caused disaster during this timeframe. We have provided strategic grants planning, program design including technical services, and overall implementation of federal, state, and local grants-funded programs while also continuing our work in disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation to build resilience.
In total, we have supported more than 170 state and local governments to run efficient grants programs in just the last 5 years. This has allowed us to develop a centralized knowledge base that enables our team to pull established and vetted templates to quickly stand-up and support all components of the grants management lifecycle—including grants management policy and procedures documents, training curriculum, application templates, risk assessments, monitoring toolkits, reporting templates, closeout checklists, documentation standards, and audit prep materials.
Recent examples of support from across the country include:
• Providing monitoring, compliance, and closeout for Harris County’s almost $1 billion in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds
• Acting as technical lead on the National League of Cities Local Infrastructure Hub • Supporting the Federal Communications Commission on the deployment of their Affordable Connectivity Program
• Helping the Kansas Office of Broadband Development administer over $175 million in Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF), American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), Capital Projects Fund (CPF), and Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) funding
Witt O’Brien’s integrated consulting approach is further substantiated by its affiliation with our parent company, Ambipar Holdings USA, Inc. Witt O’Brien’s, LLC is a 100% wholly owned subsidiary of Ambipar. All information submitted in this proposal pertains exclusively to Witt O’Brien’s, as the “Offeror.” Although our firm is backed by our parent company’s financial strength, all the resources to be used in performing services under this contract for the Town will be provided through Witt O’Brien’s, LLC.
The current Witt O’Brien’s, LLC entity dates to the 2009 merger between Witt Associates and O’Brien’s Response Management. We design and implement policy, administrative, and technical solutions that ensure the continuity, stability, and resilience of mission-critical government and corporate missions, thus helping protect our clients by preparing for all types of disruption. We’re with you when it counts. Founded in 1995, Ambipar maintains $1 billion in annual revenue and specializes in preparing for and responding to environmental, chemical, and biological emergencies that affect communities, companies, and the environment.
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Proposal for Grant Support Services 3
WHO IS THE TEAM?
Witt O’Brien’s senior leadership are at the forefront of national thought leadership on addressing multiple federal funding streams simultaneously. Our Community Services practice utilizes internally developed comprehensive tools, templates, methods, and processes to enable quick and effective implementation of complex, regulatory-compliant programs. Our integrated program management approach ensures appropriate oversight and coordination of all critical and necessary program functions by all relevant stakeholders.
MATTHEW (MATT) HANSON, CGMS, GPC– PROJECT EXECUTIVE
Matt is an industry thought leader in grants management with more than 30 years of progressive experience in government programs/grants management, finance, and agency operations at the Federal, state, and local levels. He is a Certified Grants Management Specialist (CGMS) and Grant Certified Professional (GCP). As Managing Director at Witt O’Brien’s, he supports clients nationwide by providing strategic planning, development, and implementation of Federally funded grants and assistance programs. He is an industry thought leader focusing on the benefits of centralized approaches to grants management and the use of technology as resource multipliers. He was invited in May 2023 to provide testimony to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Federal Grants Management.
Before joining Witt O’Brien’s, he served as Assistant Director of the Arizona Governor’s Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting and led the State’s response to and recovery from COVID-19 by administering the CARES Act and other Federal programs. Matt also previously served in several roles for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Justice Programs (OJP), including Director of the Grants Policy Office.
ZABRINA GREGG, PMP, MBA– PROJECT MANAGER
Zabrina has more than 15 years of experience in grants writing and administration, with a focus on Federal grant programs addressing housing, community development, and resilience. Since joining Witt O’Brien’s in 2021, she has provided local government agencies with program leadership and technical expertise for end-to-end grants management support for programs under the ARPA SLFRF, ARPA ERAP, and the IIJA/BIL. Specifically, she is providing technical assistance and training to cities on E-4
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Proposal for Grant Support Services 4
Federal grant pursuance and management as part of the NLC Local Infrastructure Hub and the North Carolina League of Municipalities. She is providing grants research and application development support for several local organizations across Alabama, focusing on grants from Federal agencies (e.g., DOT RAISE and SS4A, FEMA AFG), the State, and foundations. Prior to joining Witt O’Brien’s, Zabrina had nearly 10 years of experience in organizations focusing on community housing, people experiencing homelessness, and housing for the low-income population.
EMILY WINBURN, PHD, GPC, PMP– GRANT WRITER
Emily is a grant writing and management specialist with 10 years of professional experience in grants management and education, as well as a PhD and Grant Professionals Certification (GPC). Since joining Witt O’Brien’s, Emily has provided grants writing and grants management support to dozens of local government agencies seeking to maximize funding opportunities under the IIJA/BIL and other funding sources. She conducts grants research to identify right-fit funding opportunities and provides advisory services for application development, resulting in more than $15 million in awards to date.
Specifically, in support of the North Carolina League of Municipalities, she has been responsible for more than 40 grant applications ranging from $1,000 to over $14 million. She was also the lead writer for Harris County’s (TX) successful application to the DOE BIL Consumer Electronics Battery Recycling Programs for more than $4.8 million. She also supports grants management and compliance for COVID19- related funding programs. Prior to joining the firm, Emily was a grant writer for United Way of Greater Charlotte and the U.S. Climate Action Network. She was also a grants manager and educational specialist with Littlejohn Community Center’s TRIO Educational Opportunity Center. In this role, she managed several educational support and community development grants ranging from $5,000 to $5 million.
INGRID AULT, MURP – GRANTS SPECIALIST
Ingrid has 30 years of experience in grants research, application development, grants compliance, and risk management, with expertise in community planning, housing, and economic development issues.
She has provided technical assistance to numerous jurisdictions in Alabama and North Carolina to develop strategies and submit grant applications for Federal and State funding. She also assisted the Nebraska Broadband Office in development of its comprehensive Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grant proposal. In addition, Ingrid provides compliance assistance in management of large ARPA/SLFRF grant programs, including the King County (WA) $150 million and Sonoma County (CA) $24 million SLFRF programs. For the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation’s E-5
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Proposal for Grant Support Services 5
management of their $56 million ARPA Housing Assistance Fund, she developed policy and guidance documents, developed reporting metrics, and tested software.
TARA VOGELIEN, MSC, MBA, CFE, – CRA-BUDGET & FINANCIAL ANALYST Tara is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) and Certified Research Administrator (CRA) with more than 20 years of professional experience in federal grants fund management, business operations, and project management. Since joining the firm, she has been supporting state and local government agencies with design and implementation of Federally funded programs, including COVID-19 related programs under the CARES Act and ARPA. These programs have focused on economic revitalization, housing and food security, local community organization partnerships, and public health/social services support initiatives. Her support includes project eligibility analysis, fiscal operations management, reporting and dashboards, program performance metrics, subrecipient monitoring, and grant program closeout. For more than 10 years prior, she served as the Director for Business and Research Administration at Plants for Human Health Institute, a North Carolina State University-based research and education organization. In this role, she provided expertise on finance, operations, contracts, and research administration. She also has experience managing large environmental remediation contracts.
SARAH PERRY, MPPM, CGMS – GRANT WRITER
Sarah has more than 15 years of experience in policy analysis and grants management capacity building, including recent support for COVID-19 funding programs and the IIJA. Sarah supports the management of COVID-19 funds from ARPA, including conducting eligibility reviews and providing subrecipient monitoring support. For the West Central Arkansas Planning and Development District, she is currently supporting programmatic and financial monitoring services for workforce development programs assisting youth and adults in Arkansas. She also supported the Harris County, Texas, ARPA SLFRF-funded program, managing a team of project owners to complete eligibility reviews and collect pre-award documentation for ARPA-funded projects. For Sonoma County, California, she provided technical assistance and training to subrecipients and County staff on ARPA SLFRF and Uniform Guidance. Prior to joining the firm, Sarah led research efforts related to education and workforce to make recommendations on investments to bolster Pennsylvania’s innovation economy, which supported the publication of Pennsylvania’s first Innovation Economy Dashboard.
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WHAT IS THE SCOPE OF SERVICES AND COST?
Task 1: Program Alignment and Project Vetting
Level of Effort in Hours Estimate: 10 hours
Objective: Evaluate the proposed project, activities, and funding components for eligibility, competitiveness, and alignment with the Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-saving Transportation Program (PROTECT) NOFO.
Activities
• Review the NOFO, application guidance, and evaluation criteria. • Conduct kickoff meeting with project stakeholders.
• Assess proposed project activities against program requirements and priorities. • Identify funding opportunities, gaps, risks, and compliance considerations. • Provide recommendations to strengthen project competitiveness. • Facilitate coordination meetings with project team members and partners.
Deliverable
• Funding Alignment Assessment
• Recommendations to support project competitiveness
Proposed Level of Effort
Activity Hours
NOFO Review and Analysis 3
Stakeholder Meetings and Coordination 2
Project Eligibility Assessment 2
Outline Recommendations 2
Documentation and Follow-Up 1
Total Task 1 10 Hours
Task 2: Narrative Development and Project Design
Level of Effort in Hours Estimate: 65 hours
Objective: Support project development and prepare a comprehensive grant narrative of up to twenty (25) pages addressing all program requirements and evaluation criteria.
Activities
• Facilitate project design and strategy sessions.
• Conduct interviews with project stakeholders and partners.
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• Gather supporting documentation and data.
• Develop narrative outline.
• Draft, revise, and finalize grant narrative.
• Coordinate reviews and incorporate stakeholder feedback. • Ensure alignment between narrative, budget, timelines, and attachments. • Conduct quality assurance and final editing.
Deliverables
• Narrative Outline
• Draft Grant Narrative
• Final Grant Narrative (up to 25 pages)
• Coordination and Meeting Documentation
Proposed Level of Effort
Activity Hours
Project Development Meetings 5
Data Collection and Research 10
Narrative Outline Development 5
Narrative Writing 30
Reviews and Revisions 10
Final Quality Assurance 10
Total Task 2 65 Hours
Task 3: Grant Submission Package Development
Level of Effort in Hours Estimate: 25 hours
Objective: Review all grant application materials to ensure completeness, consistency, responsiveness, and compliance with NOFO requirements.
Activities
• Review draft application package.
• Verify required attachments and supporting documentation. • Assess responsiveness to scoring criteria.
• Conduct compliance and quality assurance review.
• Coordinate revisions with project team.
• Facilitate review meetings and submission planning sessions. • Prepare final submission checklist.
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Deliverables
• Application Completeness Checklist
• Final Submission Readiness Review
Proposed Level of Effort
Activity Hours
Application Review 3
Compliance and Quality Assurance 10
Coordination Meetings 2
Revision Tracking and Support 5
Final Submission Review 5
Total Task 3 25 Hours
PROPOSED ENGAGEMENT TERMS
Witt O’Brien’s proposes a two-week engagement through October 9, 2026 with a not to exceed amount of $15,000 or approximately 100 hours of dedicated grant development support. The following rate schedule is intended to be comprehensive to provide the greatest amount of flexibility in identifying and utilizing services based on the organization's dynamic needs.
While we anticipate all work will be conducted virtually by the Witt O’Brien’s team, if conditions change and on-site support is required, in addition to the hourly rates quoted above, out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with performance of this agreement will be invoiced. Travel expenses such as lodging, airfare (coach class), rental car, and other miscellaneous expenses shall be reimbursed at our cost, without mark-up. Per diem will be reimbursed according to the rates published by the General Services Administration for the operation area. If mileage is applicable, mileage shall be reimbursed at the prevailing Internal Revenue Service (IRS) mileage rate.
Professional Services Rate/Hour
Management Consultant V $225.00
Management Consultant IV $175.00
Management Consultant III $150.00
Management Consultant II $130.00
Management Consultant I $95.00
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WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS?
Witt O’Brien’s appreciates your review and consideration of this proposal. We sincerely hope to forge a long and meaningful partnership with LMG and its employees. For next steps in establishing a contract for services with Witt O’Brien’s, please contact Zabrina Minor Gregg, by phone at (205) 873-4537 or by email at [email protected]
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Docusign Envelope ID: EE29EAEF-80C3-8FC7-8118-9206B92C393A City of Rancho Palos Verdes
City Manager’s Office
30940 Hawthorne Blvd.
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275
(310) 544-5207
[email protected]
TASK ORDER AUTHORIZATION FORM
PROJECT NAME: Grant Writing for PROTECT Grant Contractor Name: Witt O’Brien’s, LLC PURCHASE ORDER NUMBER: Pending Date: 9-29-26
TASK ORDER NUMBER: WOB-01
DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED WORK:
Develop grant application for the US DOT – Federal Highway Administration’s Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation Program (PROTECT) FY24-26 grant for the Palos Verdes Drive South Reconstruction Project.
Description Est. Hours
Task 1: Program Alignment and Project Vetting
Evaluate the proposed project, activities, and funding components for eligibility, competitiveness, and alignment with the Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-saving Transportation Program (PROTECT) NOFO.
10 Task 2: Narrative Development and Project Design
Support project development and prepare a comprehensive grant narrative of up to twenty-five (25) pages addressing all program requirements and evaluation criteria.
65 Task 3: Grant Submission Package Development
Review all grant application materials to ensure completeness, consistency, responsiveness, and compliance with NOFO requirements.
25 Maximum Hours 100
Maximum Cost $15,000
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Docusign Envelope ID: EE29EAEF-80C3-8FC7-8118-9206B92C393A City of Rancho Palos Verdes
City Manager’s Office
30940 Hawthorne Blvd.
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275
(310) 544-5207
[email protected]
Special Considerations or Notes
There is a possibility the City may make a determination to not apply for this grant. In that event, Consultant would be directed to stop working. Invoices will cover only hours completed.
CONTRACT CEILING (TASK ORDER BUDGET): $75,000
TOTAL VALUE OF TASK ORDERS: $15,000
REMAINING TASK ORDER BUDGET: $60,000
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Docusign Envelope ID: EE29EAEF-80C3-8FC7-8118-9206B92C393A City of Rancho Palos Verdes
City Manager’s Office
30940 Hawthorne Blvd.
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275
(310) 544-5207
[email protected]
TASK ORDER AUTHORIZATION FORM
Project Name: Grant Writing for PROTECT Grant Contractor Name: Witt O’Brien’s, LLC Purchase Order Number: Pending Date: 9-29-26
Task Order Number: WOB-01
By signing this Task Order, Contractor understands and agrees that it is accepting the specified sums and adjustment of contract time of completion (if any) set forth herein as full, final and complete satisfaction of any and all claims by Contractor for all costs and expenses of Contractor and anyone for whom Contractor may be responsible for the work referred to herein, including but not limited to costs or expenses of the Contractor or any of its subcontractors, materials suppliers, vendors or anyone else for whom Contractor is responsible, for labor, materials, services or equipment, no matter how characterized, whether known or unknown to Contractor, including but not limited to, all field and home office overhead, delay costs/claims, acceleration costs/claims, unabsorbed or under-absorbed home office overhead, extended field costs, general conditions, claim preparation costs, inefficiencies, or the like, no matter how characterized. Contractor further understands and agrees by signing this Task Order that any attempt by Contractor to purportedly reserve rights to claim additional time or compensation for the work referred to herein, is void.
Except as set forth, all terms and provisions of the contract and all prior Task Orders remain in full force and effect.
Execution of this Task Order by both parties constitutes a binding agreement. This document constitutes the entire agreement between the parties. The person signing this Task Order for Contractor hereby represents and warrants that he/she is fully authorized to sign this Agreement on behalf of Contractor:
Michelle Pashko
Contractor
September 29, 2026
Date
Accepted and Executed by:
Megan Barnes
Contract Officer Signature
September 29, 2026
Date
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Realign and reconstruct approximately 2 miles of Palos Verdes Drive South through the Landslide Complex to a more stable location.
Restore positive drainage and address ongoing flooding.
Restore roadway geometry, alignment, and drivability to acceptable roadway standards.
Maintain reliable access to residences and nearby businesses.
Coordinate with utilities and other critical infrastructure.
Incorporate resilient design to reduce future risk from ongoing ground movement.
PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY
RESTORATION
SAFETY
Urgent funding is needed to realign and reconstruct 2 Miles of Palos Verdes Drive South through the Landslide Complex.
INFRASTRUCTURE
RESILIENCE
EVACUATION
ACCESS
WHY THIS MATTERS
In 2023, the Greater Portuguese Bend Landslide Complex began experiencing extraordinary acceleration, resulting in significant roadway damage and other infrastructure impacts. Land movement exceeded 1 foot per week in some areas, causing fissures, sinkholes, ground deformation, and damage to roads, utilities, open space, and private property. The landslide has threatened, and continues to threaten, an approximately 2-mile stretch of Palos Verdes Drive South, a critical regional arterial and evacuation route, and other infrastructure and services.
Palos Verdes Drive South is a high-capacity coastal arterial road that carries approximately 14,000 vehicle trips every day. Failure of this arterial road would force traffic onto other narrow, mountainous roads with limited capacity, creating an 18-mile detour substantially increasing travel times and disrupting regional connectivity and nearby commercial operations. It would also significantly impede, and could block, conventional ground access for fire, police, and ambulance services. A roadway failure would effectively disable the primary evacuation route serving the coastal communities of the Palos Verdes Peninsula and the South Bay, resulting in red-tagging local residences and businesses.
PALOS VERDES DRIVE SOUTH REALIGNMENT & RECONSTRUCTION A Critical Roadway and Infrastructure Safety Project
PROJECT REQUEST
$25 MILLION
Grant funding requested for roadway realignment and reconstruction.
BACKGROUND
PROJECT OBJECTIVES
The roadway urgently needs to be realigned and reconstructed to restore acceptable federal and state roadway standards and eliminate recurring flooding. The project will:
Comply with all applicable federal and state roadway design standards.
Provide a more stable roadway alignment.
Reduce the risk of future road closures.
Improve drainage to eliminate flooding during storms.
Maintain reliable access for residents, businesses, first responders, and the traveling public.
PROPOSED PROJECT
Builds a more resilient
transportation
network.
Maintains a critical
regional evacuation route.
Restores reliable access and
connectivity for the community,
residences, local businesses, and
recreational facilities.
Protects residents,
visitors, and emergency
responders.
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