Approve contract with DKS Associates to develop a Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Action Plan for Yolo County with a two-year term not to exceed $299,787. (No general fund impact) (Lindbo/Olsen)

Approve contract with DKS Associates to develop a Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Action Plan for Yolo County (Attachment A) with a two-year term not to exceed $299,787. 

From September 2021 to January 2022, Yolo County staff sought applications from the public for short-term actions to further Yolo County's climate action initiatives and support the County's goal of achieving net-negative (climate positive) emissions by 2030. The effort included development of prioritization criteria and ranking of 21 short-term action proposals. The Yolo County Climate Action Commission (Commission) and the Board of Supervisors both unanimously voted to approve the top seven projects as "early actions," including the Zero Emission Vehicle Action Plan (ZEV Action Plan).

In September 2023, Yolo County was awarded $263,819 from CalTrans to develop a ZEV Action Plan for Yolo County in partnership with the four incorporated cities, UC Davis, the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, Yolo Transportation District, and other community partners. The ZEV Action Plan grant award was for completion of the following:

Yolo County has created a Yolo ZEV Task Force to implement a comprehensive public outreach strategy based on widely accepted best practices to inform the development of the ZEV Action Plan, with a focus on underserved communities, and invite representatives from different County departments, each of the four incorporated cities (Davis, Winters, West Sacramento, and Woodland), Caltrans District 3, the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, the Yolo Transportation District, UC Davis, air quality management districts, utilities, and community-based organizations working on ZEV policy and/or directly with underserved communities to participate.

The ZEV Action Plan will include an implementation plan with prioritized actions, as well as a funding strategy which matches actions to grants and other funding opportunities, to ensure Yolo County and its partners can quickly move implementation priorities forward. The project encompasses all of Yolo County and is therefore necessary to bring local governments and community-based organizations together to focus on increasing ZEV usage and mobility options in Yolo County and achieving local and state goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as well as ensure underserved communities receive needed support.

Since receiving the Caltrans grant award, the City of West Sacramento requested that a fleet transition plan for the city be incorporated into the project scope. The City has committed an additional $25,000 to cover the cost of this scope addition. Additionally, Yolo County is providing $10,968 in cash match, bringing the total project amount to $299,787. 

On May 23, 2024, the Department of Community Services released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the development of the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Action Plan. After a competitive selection process, DKS Associates was selected as the highest-ranked firm. Staff is now requesting Board approval of a contract with DKS Associates (Att. A, DKS Contract) for the development of the ZEV Action Plan with a two-year term not to exceed $299,787.

Community Services Department; General Services Department, the Cities of Davis, West Sacramento, Winters, and Woodland; the University of California, Davis; the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation; Yolo Transportation District. 

A Request for Proposals for consultants/consulting firms to provide Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Planning Services in Yolo County was issued on May 23, 2024 and posted until July 19, 2024. Seven proposals were received and evaluated. After evaluation of the seven proposals, it was determined that DKS Associates should be awarded the contract. Additional information regarding the competitive bid process is included below, including the evaluation criteria and scoring breakdown of the four proposals received. No protests concerning the contract award were received.