City Council
259 N. Wilma Avenue
Ripon, CA 95366
MEMO
To: Honorable City Council
From: Christiana Giedd, Associate Civil Engineer
Date: 04/11/2023
Subject: CMAQ Call for Projects
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Authorize staff to complete the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Program application for the Solar EV Charging Station Project and a CNG Garbage Truck purchase.
BACKGROUND:
The San Joaquin Council of Governments will be soliciting projects for the CMAQ Program this year. The CMAQ Program is administered through the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and was implemented to support surface transportation projects and other related efforts that provide air quality improvements and provide congestion relief.
Through this process, there is approximately $21 million available for eligible projects in San Joaquin County. The City of Ripon has previously received funding through the CMAQ program for a portion of the East Main Traffic Signal Project in 2020, Jack Tone Park and Ride Lot Project in 2014, a portion of the Compressed Natural Gas Refuse Truck purchases in 2017 and 2020, and a portion of the River Road/Fulton Avenue Intersection Improvements.
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS:
Examples of eligible projects under the program include but are not limited to:
Transit Vehicle Engine Retrofits and Vehicle Replacements Street Sweeper and School Bus Engine Retrofits and Vehicle Replacements Transit Service Improvements
Traffic Flow Improvements to Relieve Congestion
Bicycle and Pedestrian Improvements
The Engineering Department evaluated two potential projects that have eligible components under the CMAQ program:
1. Solar EV Charging Station Project
This project was selected because solar charging stations have ranked well in past CMAQ cycles. The installation of solar EV charging stations will help enable the City to meet State electric vehicle requirements in the future. The proposed scope of this project is to install ten solar-powered electric vehicle charging stations. Five charging stations will be installed at the City’s Fleet Maintenance Facility, and five charging stations will be installed at City Hall.
2. Purchase of a CNG Garbage Truck.
This project will replace a public works diesel garbage truck with a CNG garbage truck, which would lower air emissions.
There is no minimum to the number of applications that may be submitted. The deadline to submit the CMAQ Grant Application(s) to SJCOG has not been announced yet. This is a competitive grant process where each project is scored based on the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) Cost Effectiveness Calculation Methodology to determine the project rankings.
The Cost Effectiveness Calculation Methodology is an analysis that determines the air quality benefits of a project. Specifically, projects will be ranked in order of their “CMAQ Dollars per pound of emissions” value.
Staff is seeking direction from Council to submit applications for the Solar EV Charging Station Project and CNG Garbage Truck purchase.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There are no local fund match requirements for the grant. However, a project utilizing local dollars to decrease the amount of federal funds requested will result in a higher score than a project that does not include local match.
The table below identifies the proposed funding for each of the projects considered:
Project Estimated
Cost
Proposed CMAQ
Funding
Proposed Local Match
& Funding Account
Solar EV Charging Station
Project
$500,000 $500,000 (100%) $0
CNG Garbage Truck
purchase
$500,000 $150,000 (30%) $350,000
(Garbage Enterprise
Capital Fund)