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to: |
Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager |
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from: |
K. Stephen Spade, Transit Director |
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Change Order for the Purchase and Delivery of Transit Buses |
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date: |
February 23, 2009 |
The purpose of this report is to request that the Town Council approve the purchase of up to 2 additional forty-foot hybrid electric buses. The attached resolution would allow a change order increase to the existing project in the amount of $1,070,222. This request is made at this time to take advantage of federal stimulus funding to reduce local funding requirements. This requires meeting federal timing guidelines.
The buses to be purchased are forty-foot hybrid electric low-floor buses. Chapel Hill Transit currently has a multi-year contract with the Gillig Corporation for forty-foot low-floor diesel and hybrid electric buses.
On January 27, 2009 Chapel Hill Transit was awarded a Federal Transit Administration grant for $3,000,000 to purchase seven hybrid buses. Those buses are currently on order and are scheduled for delivery in November, 2009.
We have received notice that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the economic stimulus package) will allocate federal stimulus funds to Chapel Hill Transit which could be as much as double the normal annual formula allocation, but is estimated to be about $3 million. The funds will be allocated via the normal federal distribution formula. Guidance provided by the Federal Transit Administration has been that a minimum of 50% of the funds must be obligated within 180 days of the publication of the federal register.
We propose to commit a portion of these funds to purchase up to two additional hybrid buses. In order to guarantee delivery of these buses in November 2009 it is necessary to have a commitment to the manufacturer prior to February 27, 2009. The next available delivery date is August 2010. A confirmed delivery date for these buses will benefit the town in that the stimulus funds can be committed within the 180 days and that the earliest possible delivery date for the buses will be set.
Federal stimulus funds are 100% and no local match is required.
That the Council adopt the attached resolution which would increase the project total cost by change order for the Purchase and Delivery of up to 2 Transit Buses.