TO:Andrew P. Powers, City Manager
FROM:Nader Heydari, Public Works Director
DATE:May 13, 2025
SUBJECT: Electric Vehicle Blueprint Memorandum of Understanding RECOMMENDATION:
1. Approve a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Ventura County Regional Energy Alliance (VCREA) and the City governing the award of grant funds for the purchase of four electric vans under the Clean Transportation Program grant.
2. Find that this action is not a project as defined under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
LEVINE ACT ITEM: No
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
No Additional Funding Requested. Minimal staff time to prepare the report is included in the Adopted FY 2024-25 Transportation Fund Budget. Potential loss of up to $177,087 in grant funding if the MOU is not approved.
BACKGROUND:
At the November 16, 2021 City Council meeting, City Council approved an MOU with VCREA. VCREA applied for a Clean Transportation Program Grant offered by the California Energy Commission and was awarded $2.5 million to support Electric Vehicle (EV) infrastructure development in Ventura County. The award included $177,087 in grant funding toward the purchase of two electric cutaway buses for the City. The grant rules require City Council approval and execution of an MOU.
Subsequently, the City purchased two electric light-duty cutaway transit buses.
The bid placed by the dealer included a stipulated 120-day delivery time window.
The dealer also specified that a specific brand of battery would be used in the conversion. The dealer and vendor did not deliver the buses until late November
EV Blueprint Memorandum of Understanding
May 13, 2025
1 2
6 7
2022, which was nearly 60 days beyond the original 120-day delivery time.
Furthermore, the vehicles did not pass the post-delivery inspection conducted by fleet staff, due to issues with build quality and missing components.
While waiting for the dealer to effect repairs for the City to be able to accept the buses, one vehicle suffered significant water intrusion during the January 2023 rains. The interior of the bus and the electronic dashboard were damaged due to an incorrectly sealed window. In early March 2023, staff was notified that the installed batteries, which were not the batteries specified by the dealer, were recalled for safety reasons, as the manufacturer had declared bankruptcy and was no longer in business.
On May 9, 2023, City Council ratified the cancellation of a purchase contract for two electric light-duty cutaway transit buses. Staff was not able to locate another vendor or any suitable alternative vehicles within the required timeframe, and the MOU expired on June 30, 2024, without a purchase having been made.
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS:
Staff proposed an alternative project to VCREA to purchase four electric Dial-a- Ride vans, due to the inability to procure the electric cutaway buses as intended.
VCREA presented the new project to the California Energy Commission along with a request for an extension of the time to purchase the vans. The California Energy Commission agreed to extend the grant until December 31, 2025, and allow the purchase of E-Transit vehicles in place of the cutaways.
The proposed MOU contains the same terms as the previously approved agreement with the substitution of the vans for the cutaway buses and a new termination date of December 31, 2025. City Council approval of the new MOU is required for the City to be eligible for reimbursement from the grant.
This MOU meets City Council Top Priority #6 for FY 2024-25 to advance Environmental Sustainability.
COUNCIL GOAL COMPLIANCE:
Meets the following City Council goal:
C. Operate City government in a fiscally and managerially responsible and prudent manner to ensure that the City of Thousand Oaks remains one of California's most desirable places to live, work, visit, recreate, and raise a family.
PREPARED BY: John Brooks, Sr. Analyst
Attachment:
Attachment #1 – MOU
DPW:940-10\ev\Council\2025\051325\Blueprint MOU staff report.docx