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SR 02-28-2023 5B City Council Report City Council Meeting: February 28, 2023 Agenda Item: 5.B 1 of 6 To: Mayor and City Council From: Edward F King, Director, Department of Transportation, Transit Maintenance Subject: Approval of Agreement with Gillig LLC to Purchase Fifteen 35-foot Battery Electric Buses Recommended Action Staff recommends that the City Council: 1. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with Gillig LLC to furnish and deliver up to fifteen 35-foot battery electric buses to the Santa Monica Department of Transportation. This recommended award is made as an exception to the competitive bidding process pursuant to Section 2.24.250(c) and is for a total amount not to exceed $18,147,670 with future year funding contingent on Council budget approval; 2. Authorize budget changes as outlined in the Financial Impacts & Budget Actions section of this report; 3. Adopt a finding of Categorical Exemption pursuant to Section 15302 (Replacement or Reconstruction) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines. Summary To advance efforts to transition the Big Blue Bus fleet to zero emissions buses by 2030, staff recommends that the City execute a contract not to exceed $18,147,670 with Gillig, LLC for the purchase of up to 15 battery electric buses (BEBs), including spare parts, training, and warranty. The award recommendation is based on a competitively bid agreement awarded to Gillig by the State of Washington. Operating a regional transit system covering more than 60 square miles of the western Los Angeles area and serving more than 7 million passengers a year, the Big Blue Bus (BBB), a division of the Department of Transportation (DoT), is committed to reducing 5.B Packet Pg. 66 2 of 6 harmful emissions and pursuing the most environmentally sustainable vehicles to provide service to customers and meet the operational needs of the department. In support of that goal, DoT is converting its Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) fleet of buses to Zero Emissions vehicles. Pursuant to its Fleet Management Plan and Federal Transportation Administration (FTA) guidelines, DoT replaces buses every 12 years or 500,000 miles. Staff recommends that buses be replaced on a one-for-one basis to comport to its Fleet Management Plan strategy. Fifteen (15) CNG buses, purchased in 2010 and 2011, are currently due for replacement. Discussion To support the City of Santa Monica’s sustainability goals, the Santa Monica Department of Transportation presented a Fleet Composition Study to Council in April 2018. Based on the study’s findings, Council reaffirmed its commitment to a full transition to zero emissions by 2030. In support of the City’s sustainability target, DoT has been operating BEBs in its fleet since August 13, 2019, and currently has nineteen BEBs in service. In preparation for the adoption of BEBs, DoT completed a fleet electrification master planning effort that evaluated its service to create a phased implementation plan for the replacement of its CNG-powered buses and the installation of charging infrastructure to fuel the vehicles. This report found that Big Blue Bus’s current service needs can be met with existing BEBs now available on the market and that overnight charging for these buses can be accommodated by our existing charging system. DoT is also planning to enhance its charging infrastructure to accommodate future BEB purchases. A consultant is currently developing construction and design documents for the next phase of DoT’s electric bus charging infrastructure which is scheduled to be built by the end of 2024. Additionally, the BEBs in the Big Blue Bus fleet have performed well, and staff has received positive feedback from Motor Coach Operators who have driven the buses and customers who have ridden on them. Since Gillig vehicles comprise more than 80% of the BBB fleet, parts, maintenance, and technician familiarity with the bus provide efficiencies and economies of scale for fleet maintenance and warehousing of vehicle parts. 5.B Packet Pg. 67 3 of 6 Staff recommends executing a contract with Gillig LLC, pursuant to the same base price as set forth in the terms and conditions in the State of Washington’s Transit Bus Invitation for Bid (IFB) dated March 4, 2020, and the subsequently executed contract 06719-01 dated April 1, 2021. This procurement authorizes local government agencies outside the State of Washington to purchase electric buses in accordance with the prices listed in Attachment D of the IFB. Procurement of electric buses using the State of Washington bid would enable the department to meet its goal of timely replacement of vehicles that have reached their twelve-year useful life in accordance with BBB’s fleet replacement plan. Analysis Base Price for each BEB (April 2021) 808,816 City and DoT technical requirements* 147,772 Delivery 1,997 Pre-tax unit price 958,585 PPI Adjustment per WA Contract (11.78%) (June 2022) 112,921 Current Pre-Tax Unit Price - (1/16/2023) 1,071,506 Applicable taxes 64,854 Total current unit price including taxes 1,136,360 Price for 15 electric buses 17,045,400 Spare Parts 150,000 Training 100,000 Contingency - 5% 852,270 Total Authorization Requested for Electric Bus Contract 18,147,670 *City and DoT technical requirements include Clever Devices hardware/software for the Radio/Computer-Aided Dispatch-Automated Vehicle Location (CAD-AVL) system, Automatic Passenger Counters, Wi-Fi, electric doors, the BBB seating layout, wheelchair restraints, and passenger surveillance systems. Vendor Selection Exception to Competitive Bidding 5.B Packet Pg. 68 4 of 6 Staff recommends Gillig LLC to furnish and deliver battery electric transit buses as an exception to competitive bidding per Muni Code 2.24.250 (c). SMMC 2.24.250 (c) allows for the City to use a competitive bidding process of another government entity where the goods or services supplied to the City are the “same or better price” as the price obtained by that agency. Here, the State of Washington followed all federal requirements and procedures in connection with its IFB for the delivery of 35-foot electric buses. As a result of this process, Washington determined that four vendors, including Gillig, were qualified to provide electric transit buses and executed contracts with each of the qualified vendors. Gillig was selected as the best value for Santa Monica DoT from among the qualified vendors primarily due to the following factors: Maintainability: Approximately 80% of DoT’s existing fleet are Gillig buses and the BEBs produced by Gillig share 80% of parts and design with 40’ Gillig buses in the existing fleet. As a result, less training is needed to familiarize technicians with Gillig components and Motor Coach Operators with the operation of the vehicle. History of excellent product support: Gillig is a California-based company headquartered in Livermore CA. DoT has a positive work history with Gillig buses since 2013, and DoT has received excellent parts and service support for its 19 BEBs. Technical design, and passenger and community considerations: DoT’s 19 Gillig BEBs have performed well since their deployment in revenue service and are well received by both motor coach operators and passengers. c. competitive procedures were followed by a governmental agency, federal, state, county, city, joint powers agency, special district, or cooperative purchasing agency and the goods or services are supplied to the City at the same or better price; Environmental Review The award contract for the purchase of electric replacement buses is categorically exempt from CEQA pursuant to Section 15302 of CEQA. Section 15302 exempts Class 2 projects which “consists of replacement or reconstruction of existing structures and facilities where the new structure will be located on the same site as the structure replaced and will have substantially the same purpose and capacity as the structure replaced”. The electric buses would replace existing CNG buses, with essentially the same purpose and capacity of existing CNG buses. Therefore, the project qualifies for a Class 2 exemption. 5.B Packet Pg. 69 5 of 6 Past Council Actions Meeting Date Description 4/24/2018 BBB Fleet Composition Study 7/24/2018 Purchase of (1) Prototype Gillig Electric Bus 10/22/2019 Purchase of (18) 40’ Gillig Electric Buses Financial Impacts and Budget Actions Staff seeks authority to appropriate $4,077,128 of Federal Section 5307 reimbursable funds and approve the use of this funding from the Big Blue Bus Fund to award a contract to Gillig LLC for the purchase of up to fifteen 35-foot Battery Electric Buses as follows: FY 2022-23 Budget Request Funds to be Appropriated Account Number Amount C6004810.689000 $4,077,128 Contract Request FY2022-23 Budget Department/CIP Account # Total Contract Amount Request Amount $18,147,670 C6004810.689000 $18,147,670 The funds will be reimbursed by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) as expenses are incurred, which is anticipated to be in FY2023-24. As such the revenue will be budgeted during the biennial budget process. Future year funding is contingent on Council budget approval. Prepared By: David Nanjo, Administrative Analyst Approved Forwarded to Council 5.B Packet Pg. 70 6 of 6 Attachments: A. Gillig Oaks 5.B Packet Pg. 71 5.B.a Packet Pg. 72 Attachment: Gillig Oaks (5304 : Purchase of (15) 35-foot Battery Electric Buses) 5.B.a Packet Pg. 73 Attachment: Gillig Oaks (5304 : Purchase of (15) 35-foot Battery Electric Buses) 5.B.a Packet Pg. 74 Attachment: Gillig Oaks (5304 : Purchase of (15) 35-foot Battery Electric Buses)