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CONSIDERATION OF ACCEPTANCE OF A CONGESTION MITIGATION AND AIR QUALITY (CMAQ) GRANT IN THE AMOUNT OF $84,148 FROM THE ASSOCIATION OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA GOVERNMENTS (ACOG), APPROVAL OF CONTRACT K-1920-119, AND BUDGET APPROPRIATION FROM THE CAPITAL FUND BALANCE.
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BACKGROUND: On November 5, 2019, the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments (ACOG) announced a $350,000 ACOG-administered Public Fleet Clean Air Grant Program using Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funds allocated to ACOG’s fiscal year 2019-2020 (FY 2020) Public Fleet Clean Air Grants program. This grant program allows public sector fleets to access CMAQ funds for conversions to clean fuel technologies to include alternative fuel vehicles and alternative fuel refueling infrastructure. This grant will be provided as reimbursement of City funds once construction is completed.
In November 2019, the Public Works Department contracted the original CNG Fueling Facility design firm, Small Arrow Engineering, LLC, Joplin, Missouri, to provide Grant Writing services for the FY 2020 ACOG Clean Air Grant application. Total cost for this service was $5,990.
On December 15, 2019, City Manager, Darrel Pyle, authorized the grant application to be submitted to ACOG requesting assistance with the expansion of the City’s CNG slow fill facility from 2351 Goddard Avenue to the future Transit and Park Maintenance Facility to be located south of Da Vinci for $170,000 with a local match of $170,000 (a 50/50 percent split) for a total of $340,000.
On February 13, 2020, ACOG recommended the slow fill expansion to the Intermodal Transportation Technical Committee (ITTC) for approval. During this meeting, three (3) projects were reviewed with the City of Norman ranking third (3rd).
On February 27, 2020, the ITTC will recommend the storage and controls upgrade to the Intermodal Transportation Policy Committee for final approval.
By March 4, 2020, ACOG will send out award notifications with a notice to proceed. One notable exception is as follows: while the original request was for a 50/50 split, ACOG approved a lower amount of grant assistance for the slow fill expansion of $84,148 with a local match of $255,852, or a 75/25 split of the original $340,000 project.
The City of Norman was previously awarded nine (9) ACOG CMAQ grants in the total amount of $1,302,000 between 2009 and 2020. An additional grant, using “stimulus” funding from the American Recovery and Reimbursement Act (ARRA) administered by the Oklahoma Department of Commerce (ODOC) in the amount of $1,429,365 was also awarded. The City’s CNG fleet now totals 137 vehicles/equipment including refuse trucks, street sweepers, pickup trucks, sedans, and generators along with a CNG Slow Fill Facility (for private use) and a CNG Fast Fill Facility (for public/private use).
DISCUSSION: The City’s CNG Fueling Facility was opened to the general Public and City fleet on January 9, 2012. The City’s CNG Fueling Facility in 2012 was projected to compress 10,000 gasoline gallon equivalents (GGE) CNG a month by 2017 in order to meet the demand. After the second year of service, the station was compressing 15,000gge a month; and now the station is averaging up to 35,000gge a month to meet the high demand. As of January 1, 2020, the City has a total station throughput of 2,120,272 gasoline gallon equivalents (GGE) over the past eight years. Out of seventy (70) Public/Private CNG fueling facilities located in the Oklahoma Natural Gas (ONG) network, the City of Norman’s CNG Fueling Facility is ranked 10th in Oklahoma for total volume throughput, according to Oklahoma Natural Gas Company. The City saved over $1 million in its fuel budget in the first (3) three years of operation of the CNG fueling station.
If approved, this infrastructure improvement will provide ten (10) new dual hose CNG slow fill dispensers for the fleet of CNG transit vehicles, five (5) new dual hose CNG slow fill dispensers for the Park Maintenance Division, along with a new vehicle de-fueler at the Transit facility. These new CNG components will be fed from the current CNG station compound along Goddard Ave (please refer to attached Exhibit for concept layout).
RECOMMENDATION No. 1: It is recommended that City Council accept CMAQ grant funding from ACOG in the amount of $84,148 and it is further recommended that the Mayor be authorized to sign Contract K-1920-119. Grant funds will be deposited into revenue account Other Revenue-ACOG Fleet Conversion (Account No. 275-333388) when received.
RECOMMENDATION No. 2: Appropriation of $140,000 from FYE 2020 Capital Fund balance (50-29000) to Project Dual Slow Fill Pumps Project BG0079 (27590078- 46101).