AGENDA #4g
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TO: |
Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager |
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FROM: |
K. Stephen Spade, Transportation Director |
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SUBJECT: |
Project Ordinance for a Transportation Capital Grant |
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DATE: |
June 11, 2007 |
The attached ordinance would establish a project budget for a transit capital grant which will be used to supplement the purchase of three hybrid electric buses.
Chapel Hill Transit operates a fleet of 86 buses ranging in age from four to 19 years old. The national standard fleet age is seven years. In an attempt to maintain a modern fleet and provide modest expansion, Chapel Hill Transit staff has implemented a plan for bus replacement and expansion. The three hybrid buses are a part of the fleet expansion.
Chapel Hill Transit submitted a request for Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funds for inclusion in a FY2006 statewide application to purchase three hybrid electric buses. These funds were approved for the purchase of hybrid electric buses and operating assistance to provide transit service to the University of North Carolina’s North Chatham park and ride facility. Under the basic provisions of the CMAQ program, the project must demonstrate that it will help to improve the air quality in the region and these buses improve the air quality by reducing emissions. The Federal Highway Administration administers CMAQ funds and allocates them annually over a three-year period. The funds are transferred from the Federal Highway Administration to the Federal Transit Administration each year. The first year allocation was received in July, 2006.
An application for the second year allocation was submitted on April 25, 2007 and the grant was awarded on May 21, 2007.
A Federal Transit Administration grant totaling $587,337 was awarded on May 21, 2007 to the Town; the second year allocation for the purchase of hybrid electric buses. The federal portion of the grant will provide 80 percent ($469,869). The Town of Chapel Hill has submitted an application to the N.C. Public Transportation Division requesting 10 percent ($58,734) in matching funds. The Town’s matching share for this grant ($58,734) will come from the Transportation Capital Reserve Fund.
That the Council adopt the attached project ordinance.