SB 1 Grant Assistance Contract - Rail Extension to Salinas:

1.  RATIFY the Executive Director's sole source contract with ICF Jones & Stokes, Inc., for an amount not to exceed $8,250, to perform the greenhouse gas analysis for the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Improvement Program grant application for the Rail Extension to Salinas, for the period ending June 30, 2018;

2.  APPROVE a budget amendment shifting $8,250 in Agency reserve funds to the Rail Extension to Salinas project to be used for this purpose; 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 agreement term or amount.

Staff issued a request for proposals to the Agency's list of on-call engineering consultants for SB 1 Grant Assistance and received no proposals.  The grant is sought to provide money to fill a funding gap in the Kick Start project (service to Salinas) and to fully fund the rest of the project - stations in Pajaro and Castroville, as well as expansion of the layover facility. Due to the January 12, 2018 deadline for the grant application, staff reached out to ICF Jones & Stokes, Inc., who is preparing the greenhouse gas emissions calculations for the Capitol Corridor, and received a sole source proposal for services. 

The Rail Extension to Salinas project will support new passenger rail service from Santa Clara County south to Salinas, provided by Caltrain and/or the Capitol Corridor.  TAMC is seeking new SB 1 Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) funding to support the project.  Staff has met with the Caltrans Division of Rail and the California State Transportation Agency and has been encouraged to apply for funding not only to supplement the cost of the Kick Start improvements, but also future phases of the project, including the creation of new passenger stations at Pajaro and Castroville, an expanded layover facility in Salinas, and associated track improvements.  Consultant services are needed to conduct the highly technical greenhouse gas emissions analysis to support the TIRCP grant application.  The analysis will be based on existing ridership and other data, and be consistent with the California Air Resources Board’s (ARB) 2018 TIRCP Quantification Methodology and Excel analysis tool.

A sole source contract was entered into for several reasons.  ICF Jones & Stokes, Inc. was recommended by the Capitol Corridor as having specialized expertise in performing this greenhouse gas analysis for rail projects.  Initially, a request for proposals was sent to the TAMC engineering on-call list of consultants, but no proposals were received.  There is insufficient time to reissue the request for proposals given the January 12, 2018 grant application deadline.  Given the size of the contract and the specialized expertise of the selected consultant, the Executive Director proceeded with a sole source award.