SR 12-13-2022 5J
City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: December 13, 2022
Agenda Item: 5.J
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Edward F King, Director, Department of Transportation, Transit Maintenance
Subject: Award Bid for Maintenance and Repair of SMDOT's Liquefied/Compressed
Natural Gas (L/CNG) Fueling Station
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Award Bid #4429 to Clean Energy for maintenance and repair services to Santa
Monica Department of Transportation’s natural gas fueling facility;
2. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with Clean
Energy, in an amount not to exceed $1,344,710 including a $122,246
contingency and a 4% cost escalator in years two through five, over a five-year
period with future year funding contingent on Council budget approval;
3. Adopt a finding of Categorical Exemption pursuant to Section 15301 (Existing
Facilities), of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines. The
bid award for the maintenance and repair of SMDOT’s fueling station would not
result in any modifications to existing liquified or compressed natural gas
facilities.
Executive Summary
The Santa Monica Department of Transportation (DOT), as Big Blue Bus, operates 176
compressed natural gas (CNG) transit buses powered by renewable natural gas
produced by capturing methane releases from landfills. The fueling facility that serves
DOT’s fleet of CNG transit buses requires regular maintenance and repairs to ensure
that it remains operational and serves CNG vehicles from other departments throughout
the City in addition to DOT’s vehicles.
Staff recommends that Bid #4429 be awarded to Clean Energy and that the City
negotiate and execute an agreement with Clean Energy for the maintenance and repair
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of the natural gas fueling station at the Big Blue Bus facility for a five-year period in an
amount not to exceed $248,270 for the first year with the total five-year contract not to
exceed $1,344,710 which includes a 10% contingency and a 4% cost escalator.
Discussion
The liquid/compressed natural gas (L/CNG) fueling station at the Big Blue Bus facility
plays a critical role in supporting the department’s core mission of providing safe,
reliable, and efficient transportation services. DOT purchases 100% domestically
produced, Renewable Bio-Liquid Natural Gas (RLNG) for use in its fleet of transit buses
and CNG non-revenue vehicles. This fuel is derived from harvested landfill methane
and is processed through a filtration and refining process that ensures few impurities to
produce a clean burn. This fuel is delivered as liquified natural gas (LNG) and is stored
in tanks at its L/CNG fueling station until converted to CNG and dispensed to vehicles
during the fueling process.
The L/CNG system incorporates complex, sensitive components, some of which require
lead times of up to six months to replace. The fueling system experiences normal wear
and tear through its operation and the handling of cryogenic LNG stored below -177
degrees Fahrenheit and high-pressure CNG gas. To ensure these parts are not worn
prematurely, it is necessary to perform maintenance and service on the fueling
equipment. This contract would ensure that DOT can receive prompt repair services for
its fueling facility to avoid disruption to the fueling of transit buses and other City CNG
vehicles. The vendor would be responsible for providing qualified personnel and any
original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts or components needed to perform
repairs. All installations are required to comply with applicable federal, state, and local
laws and regulations.
DOT has traditionally contracted the maintenance and repair of its L/CNG fueling facility
due to the specialized technical expertise needed to perform the work. The “Contract
and As-Needed Staffing Review Policy, Practice, Recommendations” report submitted
to Council on January 13, 2015, recommended that fueling facility maintenance be
contracted out due to the specialized technical nature of the work which is outside of the
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core service mission of the DOT. The report also noted that the capital and equipment
requirements of maintaining the fueling facility and the risk posed by improper
maintenance or repairs resulting in a fuel leak or substantial fueling downtime further
support this work remaining a contracted service. Based on the need for specialized
training and equipment, staff recommends the award of Bid #4429 to Clean Energy.
Vendor/Consultant Selection
Best and Only Bidder Clean Energy Corporation
Submittals Received Selection Criteria
Clean
Energy
$
1,344,710 Municipal Code SMMC 2.24.180
Evaluation Criteria Price, quality of services offered, ability to perform all services,
bidder experience, and history of providing these services to the
Department of Transportation
Bid Data
Date
Posted Posted On
Advertised in
(City Charter & SMMC)
Vendors
Downloaded
Date Publicly
Opened
8/23/2022
City’s
Online
Bidding Site Santa Monica Daily Press 16 9/19/2022
Additional Vendor Outreach and Justification to Award
Procurement conducted additional outreach to vendors who downloaded the bid to see why
they did not submit a bid and did not receive any responses. Clean Energy's bid cost
represented a reasonable increase over the current contract pricing. Additionally, Clean
Energy has a positive history of providing timely and thorough maintenance and repairs to
SMDOT's L/CNG fueling station. Based on these criteria, Clean Energy is recommended as
the best bidder.
Environmental Review
The award of this bid for maintenance and repair service is categorically exempt from
the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under section 1530. Section 15301 of
the CEQA State Guidelines provides Class 1 (existing facilities) exemption for projects
that consist of the operation, repair, maintenance, leasing, licensing, permitting, or
minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, mechanical equipment,
or topographical features, involving negligible or no expansion of the existing or former
use. The award of this bid for the maintenance and repair of SMDOT’s fueling station
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would not result in any modifications to existing liquefied or compressed natural gas
facilities. Natural Gas fueling facilities currently exist and the proposed bid award would
not expand or materially change existing fueling operations. Therefore, the project is
categorically exempt as set forth in Section 15301 of the CEQA State Guidelines.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Staff seeks authority to approve funding from the Big Blue Bus Fund to award a contract
with Clean Energy for maintenance and repair to SMDOT’s L/CNG fueling station.
Contract Request
FY 2022-23 Budget Department/CIP
Account #
Total Contract
Amount
Request Amount
$116,270 60600011.550016 $629,755
$132,000 C6004830.689000 $714,955
Total $1,344,710
Future year funding is contingent on Council budget approval.
Prepared By: David Nanjo, Administrative Analyst
Approved
Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Clean Energy Oaks
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CITY OF SANTA MONICA
OAKS INITIATIVE NOTICE
NOTICE TO APPLICANTS, BIDDERS, PROPOSERS
AND OTHERS SEEKING DISCRETIONARY PERMITS, CONTRACTS,
OR OTHER BENEFITS FROM THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
Santa Monica’s voters adopted a City Charter amendment commonly known as
the Oaks Initiative. The Oaks Initiative requires the City to provide this notice and
information about the Initiative’s requirements. You mayobtain a full copy of the Initiative’s
text from the City Clerk.
This information is required by City Charter Article XXII—Taxpayer Protection. It
prohibits a public official from receiving, and a person or entity from conferring, specified
personal benefits or campaign advantages from a person or entity after the official votes,
or otherwise takes official action, to award a “public benefit”to that person or entity. The
prohibition applies within and outside of the geographical boundaries of Santa Monica.
All persons or entities applying or receiving public benefits from the City of Santa
Monica shall provide the names of trustees, directors, partners, and officers, and names
of persons with more than a 10% equity, participation or revenue interest. An exception
exists for persons serving in those capacities as volunteers, without compensation, for
organizations exempt from income taxes under Section 501(c)(3), (4), or (6), of the
Internal Revenue Code. However, this exception does not apply if the organization is a
political committee or controls political committees. Examples of a “public benefit” include
public contracts to provide goods or services worth more than $25,000 or a land use
approval worth more than $25,000 over a 12-month period.
In order to facilitate compliance with the requirements of the Oaks Initiative, the City
compiles and maintains certain information. That information includes the name of any
person or persons who is seeking a “public benefit.”If the “public benefit”is sought by an
entity, rather than an individual person, the information includes the name of every person
who is: (a) trustee, (b) director, (c) partner, (d) officer, or has (e) more than a ten percent
interest in the entity. Therefore, if you are seeking a “public benefit”covered by the Oaks
Initiative, you must supply that information on the Oaks Initiative Disclosure Form. This
information must be updated and supplied every 12 months.
5.J.a
Packet Pg. 291 Attachment: Clean Energy Oaks (5410 : Award Bid for Liquified/Compressed Natural Gas (L/CNG) Fuel Station Maintenance)
CITY OF SANTA MONICA
OAKS INITIATIVE DISCLOSURE FORM
In order to facilitate compliance with the requirements of the Oaks Initiative, the City
compiles and maintains certain information. That information includes the name of any
person or persons who is seeking a “public benefit.” If the “public benefit” is sought by
an entity, rather than an individual person, the information includes the name of every
person who is: (a) trustee, (b) director, (c) partner, (d) officer, or has (e) more than a ten
percent interest in the entity.
Public benefits include:
1. Personal services contracts in excess of $25,000 over any 12-month period;
2. Sale of material, equipment or supplies to the City in excess of $25,000 over a 12-
month period;
3. Purchase, sale or lease of real property to or from the City in excess of $25,000
over a 12- month period;
4. Non-competitive franchise awards with gross revenue of $50,000 or more in any
12-month period;
5. Land use variance, special use permit, or other exception to an established land
use plan, where the decision has a value in excess of $25,000;
6. Tax “abatement, exception, or benefit” of a value in excess of $5,000 in any 12-
month period; or
7. Payment of “cash or specie” of a net value to the recipient of $10,000 in any 12-
month period.
Name(s) of persons or entities receiving public benefit:
Name(s) of trustees, directors, partners, and officers:
Name(s) of persons with more than a 10% equity, participation, or revenue interest:
Prepared by: ____________________________Title: __________________________
Signature: ______________________________________ Date: ________________
Email: ____________________________________ Phone: ____________________
FOR CITY USE ONLY:
Bid/PO/Contract # ____________________________ Permit # ___________________________
Chad Lindholm Senior Vice President
February 8, 2022
david.canales@cleanenergyfuels.com (949) 437-1000
Clean Energy
Andrew J. Littlefair, Mitchell W. Pratt, Robert M. Vreeland, and Barclay F. Corbus
None
5.J.a
Packet Pg. 292 Attachment: Clean Energy Oaks (5410 : Award Bid for Liquified/Compressed Natural Gas (L/CNG) Fuel Station Maintenance)