Agenda Item #17.1
For Council Meeting of: August 5, 2025
CITY OF SANTA ROSA
CITY COUNCIL
TO: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
FROM: RACHEL EDE, DEPUTY DIRECTOR-TRANSIT
TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS
SUBJECT: RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING A GRANT APPLICATION FOR FTA SECTION 5310 FUNDS FOR PURCHASE OF REPLACEMENT ADA PARATRANSIT VEHICLES AGENDA ACTION: PUBLIC HEARING
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended by the Transportation and Public Works Department that the Council: 1) hold a public hearing to receive public comment and to determine whether any private non-profit is readily available to provide paratransit services within the City; 2) by resolution, authorize the City Manager or designee to execute and file a grant application with the California Department of Transportation under Federal Transit Act Section 5310 to purchase replacement ADA Paratransit vehicles and execute related agreements, award documents and any amendments necessary for receiving the grant funds, subject to approval as to form by the City Attorney; and 3) authorize the Chief Financial Officer to increase appropriations equal to the successfully awarded grant funding.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City of Santa Rosa seeks to apply for funding for replacement of ADA Paratransit vehicles that have exceeded their useful life. The funds are being requested from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Section 5310 program. These funds are appropriated to urbanized areas across the United States to support transportation services for older adults and persons living with a disability. Applications for the 5310 in California are administered by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) in conjunction with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC). Caltrans requires the local jurisdiction to hold a public hearing as well as adopt a resolution prior to applying.
BACKGROUND
The City of Santa Rosa (Santa Rosa CityBus) provides next-day ADA paratransit transportation services during CityBus hours and within three-quarters (¾) of a mile from existing CityBus routes as part of the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This service is currently provided using City-owned vehicles and operated by a contractor, MV Transportation (MV).
Of the eleven accessible vehicles (cutaways) that make up the Santa Rosa Paratransit fleet, eight have exceeded their useful life as established by FTA for this type of vehicle. Two of these eight vehicles are slated for replacement through a planned purchase in Fall of 2025. The Transit Division will seek funding to replace the other six model year 2014 and 2020 vehicles through this application.
The FTA Section 5310 Program is authorized under Title 49 U.S.C. 5310 providing funding to improve mobility for seniors and individuals with disabilities. Caltrans administers the federal apportionments in California. The City becomes an eligible subrecipient of Section 5310 funds when, after holding a public hearing, the City Council determines whether there are non-profit organizations readily available to provide similar paratransit services to individuals with disabilities within our service area.
To ensure that non-profits within the UZA have been notified of this opportunity to comment on the City’s 5310 application, City staff published a notice of the public hearing in the Press Democrat and directly emailed the public meeting notice to over thirty non-profit and governmental organizations. CityBus staff, at publish date, have received no correspondence indicating that a non-profit is readily available to provide paratransit services instead of the City. “Readily available” is defined as willing, interested and capable of providing the proposed service at a comparable cost to the identified clientele in the same service area, with the same hours of frequency, and at the same level of service.
PRIOR CITY COUNCIL REVIEW
On August 8, 2023, the City Council, by Resolution No. RES-2023-142, approved a grant application to Caltrans for FTA 5310 funding for cutaway vehicles.
ANALYSIS
A successful application for 5310 grant funding covers approximately 75% of the estimated cost per paratransit vehicle awarded. The Transit Division intends to apply for a total of approximately $742,500 for six vehicles. The remaining 25% of the total cost of the vehicles, about $247,500, is expected to be drawn from the Transit Division’s annual allocation of Transportation Development Act Article IV funds. There is no required local match to apply towards a successful award, but any costs beyond the award amount per vehicle is the responsibility of the awardee.
Grant-funded vehicles will only be used for providing service to ADA paratransit eligible riders within the City’s service area.
FISCAL IMPACT
Approval of this action does not have a fiscal impact on the General Fund. The expected cost to replace the six vehicles is $990,000. If the Transit Division is successful in its 5310 application for all six vehicles, the FTA 5310 grant will cover approximately 75% (about $742,500) of the estimated cost of the vehicles. The additional 25% (about $247,500) would be drawn from the Transit Division’s annual allocation of Transportation Development Act (TDA) Article IV funds. A future purchase of paratransit vehicles using 5310 and TDA funds will be brought for Council authorization.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378, the proposed action is not a “project” subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it does not have a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. In the alternative, the proposed action is exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3) because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the project may have a significant effect on the environment.
BOARD/COMMISSION/COMMITTEE REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Not applicable.
NOTIFICATION
Public Hearing Notice published July 25, 2025 with email to community partners sent concurrently.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – Letters of Support
Resolution
PRESENTER
Yuri Koslen, Transit Planner
APPLICATION FOR FTA SECTION 5310 FUNDS FOR PURCHASE OF REPLACEMENT ADA PARATRANSIT VEHICLES PAGE 3 OF 3