Grant Preparation Assistance:

1. APPROVE  and AUTHORIZE the Executive Director to execute a contract with Cathedral Oaks Consulting, subject to approval by Agency Counsel, in an amount not-to-exceed $150,000 to provide grant preparation assistance services through June 30, 2022;
2. APPROVE the use of Measure X funds budgeted to this project; and
3. AUTHORIZE the Executive Director to take such other further actions as may be necessary to fulfill the intent of the contract, including approvals of future modifications or amendments that do not significantly alter the scope of work, or change the approved contract term or amount, subject to approval by Agency Counsel.

On January 23, 2019, the Agency Board approved issuing a Request for Qualifications for consultant assistance and expertise to prepare grant applications to provide matching funds for various Measure X and other priority projects.  In the past, such assistance was utilized to secure over $30 million in state competitive funding. Of the six submittals received by the deadline of March 7, 2019, four were found responsive, and a review committee recommended selection of Cathedral Oaks Consulting for this on-call contract.

The Agency’s goals and objectives call for an aggressive effort to seek matching funds to leverage Measure X local transportation sales tax money with both state and federal funding, to maximize the delivery of transportation improvements under this program.

As grant opportunities arise, TAMC staff may require expert assistance in preparing these grant applications, since they often require technical analysis, and can take a great deal of time outside of normal work assignments.  Hiring outside consultant assistance can improve the Agency's ability to attract outside funding by providing the expertise and resources needed to prepare grant applications. 

The following teams submitted proposals that were found to be responsive:

• Cathedral Oaks Consulting
• Bowen-Gray-Scott
• TFG
• WSP

Additionally, Dudek and California Consulting also submitted timely proposals, but they were not responsive to all the requirements in the RFQ.

Submitting teams were evaluated by a staff panel based on the following criteria: Project Team Skills (45 points); General Knowledge and experience with grant-writing (45 points); References (5 points); Cost (5 points). 

Based on strong references, local knowledge and lower costs, the panel ranked Cathedral Oaks Consulting as the top team. The panel found that the Cathedral Oaks team has had success with a variety of projects for both federal and state grants. Cathedral Oaks wrote the successful Imjin Parkway $19 million Local Partnership Program grant, has worked with other regional transportation agencies, wrote a successful federal BUILD grant for Stanislaus COG, and brought in new team members to bolster graphics and visuals.  Their subconsultant, COH & Associates, has extensive experience with benefit-cost and greenhouse gas emissions analyses. 

Upon approval of the contract, staff will issue a first task order to work with Cathedral Oaks' team to develop a strategic grants action plan aimed at funding the priority projects in our Integrated Funding Plan.