Consent 1.E.
Regular City Council Meeting
- Meeting Date:
- 07/13/2020
- TITLE
- MET Transit Purchase of Nine Transit Buses
- PRESENTED BY:
- Kevin Ploehn
- Department:
- Airport
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council approve the purchase of nine new transit buses for the amount of $3,374,838 from Eldorado National-California, utilizing the State of Montana Department of Transportation Heavy-Duty Bus Procurement Contract.
BACKGROUND (Consistency with Adopted Plans and Policies, if applicable)
| The MET Transit is pursuing the purchase of nine diesel transit buses at $374,982 per bus, to replace vehicles that have exceeded their usable life as defined by the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) minimum useful life regulations. These buses are becoming increasingly unreliable due to age, and are expensive and difficult to maintain due to lack of available parts. Purchase of these buses has been delayed for multiple years in the Equipment Replacement Plan process due to lack of financial resources in past years, and will be updated in the next Equipment Replacement Plan prior to vehicle delivery. This project will purchase 30-foot diesel transit buses manufactured by Eldorado National-California. This purchase is being made under the State of Montana Department of Transportation Heavy-Duty Bus Contract. In 2019, MET Transit was awarded $840,000 of FTA Section 5339(B) competitive funds, of which MET Transit is using $688,000 toward the purchase of these buses. Through the Montana Department of Transportation, MET Transit will be utilizing $268,204.10 of MET's available FTA 5339(A) formulary funds. The local match required for the total of these two funding sources is $168,741.90. In 2020, MET Transit was awarded $5,358,483 for CARES Act funding, which is eligible for 100% Federal reimbursement and requires no local match. MET Transit will be utilizing $2,249,892 of these funds for this project. The total cost of the project including all funding sources stated is $3,374,838. MET previously ordered eight new buses after City Council approval on December 16, 2019. That order combined with this new order will provide MET with 17 new buses over the next year or so and nearly complete MET's bus replacements for a while. Once an order is placed, the manufacturer is projecting a 13-month build out. |
ALTERNATIVES
City Council may:
- Approve the purchase of nine buses and authorize MET Transit to move forward with this project; or
- Disapprove the purchase of the nine buses, delay the project, and provide direction on how staff should proceed.
FISCAL EFFECTS
The total cost of this project is $3,374,838. The funding sources of this project consist of $3,206,096.10 in FTA and CARES Act grant funds, and $168,741.90 in Local matching funds. The Fiscal Year 2021 budget included three buses, however, since the CARES Act funds do allow for MET to purchase the additional six buses using 100% grant funds, there is no direct impact to the MET's actual budget funding, and at a later date a budget amendment will be made to the MET Capital account for both the revenue and expenses for this purchase to rectify any budgeting irregularities.