HomeMy WebLinkAboutSpec Transp Fund DistributionDate: February 1, 2011
To: Deschutes County Board of Commissioners
From: Judith Ure, Management Analyst
Subject: Special Transportation Fund Advisory Committee (STFAC) Recommendations
for Distribution of Grant Funds
Special Transportation Fund Discretionary Grant Program
Each biennium, Deschutes County solicits applications from local transportation service providers
for projects to be included in the County’s request for funding through the Oregon Department of
Transportation (ODOT) Special Transportation Fund Discretionary Grant (STG) and Federal Transit
Administration (FTA) 5310 funding programs. Programs and projects supported by STG and 5310
funds can address a wide variety of uses including capital equipment purchases, vehicle
maintenance, purchased services, and operations. Applications submitted are reviewed by the
Special Transportation Fund Advisory Committee (STFAC), which then forms a recommendation
for consideration by the Board of County Commissioners. Upon Board approval, staff will compile
the recommendations into a composite County request for grant funds.
Program Changes for the 2011-13 Biennium
On December 22, 2010, while local service providers were preparing their STG and 5310
applications, ODOT adopted a new policy to be more consistent with FTA rules regarding grant
recipients that provide services to a limited clientele rather than to the general public. The new
policy states that such agencies must offer services to the general public and/or share their
vehicles with public transportation providers in order to receive funding. In Deschutes County,
Central Oregon Resources for Independent Living (CORIL) and the Opportunity Foundation of
Central Oregon (OFCO) are affected by this change. CORIL and OFCO have routinely received
grants from both the STG and 5310 programs in the past and had already submitted applications
before they were notified that they might be disqualified. Both agencies are now working with
ODOT and other local public transportation providers in an attempt to become compliant with
the new policy. If they are unsuccessful, it may be difficult to maintain the level of
transportation services currently available to their clients. As the issue was not resolved at the
time of the STFAC meeting, applications submitted by CORIL and OFCO were reviewed by the
committee. The STFAC agreed to include funding for CORIL and OFCO in a preferred
recommendation, but to also submit a secondary recommendation that reallocates those funds in
the event that ODOT determines that the CORIL and OFCO requests are ineligible. Both
recommendations are detailed below and, if approved by the Board of Commissioners, will be
forwarded to ODOT.
STF Advisory Committee Review Process
ODOT has allocated a total of $52,387 to Deschutes County for STG requests and $1,053,446
for 5310 funding requests. In response to a public solicitation, the County received eligible
applications for grants in the amount of $35,493 and $1,340,655 respectively. Applications are
allowed to be submitted in both categories to fund a single request. For example, Cascades East
Transit proposes purchasing a new vehicle using $64,606 in 5310 funding and $7,394 in STG
funding for a total project cost of $72,000.
STFAC members considered the merits of each application as well as the community priorities
outlined in the Deschutes County Coordinated Human Services Transportation Plan, applicant
history, scope of benefit, geographical impact, and sustainability issues to develop preliminary
individual recommendations. During a public meeting held on January 31, 2011, the STFAC
met as a group to develop a consensus recommendation for the Board’s consideration.
Representatives of each applicant agency attended that meeting to provide additional information
and answer questions regarding their needs and priorities.
STFAC Recommendations
The following table details the STFAC’s preferred recommendation for allocating STG and 5310
funds. As the amounts available were not sufficient to fund all the applications, the committee
chose to fully fund one capital purchase that could not be carried out with less than full funding,
then to prorate the remaining requests allowing each agency to receive approximately 77.5% of
the amounts requested. As applications submitted for STG funds totaled less than the amount
available, the STFAC also shifted a portion of the unfunded balance of one 5310 request to the
STG category to ensure that all available funds were allocated.
Preferred Recommendation
Applicant Description Source Request Recommended
City of Redmond Contractual transportation services
provided by Cascades East Transit.
5310 $286,580 $222,077
City of Sisters Contractual transportation services
provided by Cascades East Transit.
5310 $52,420 $40,622
CORIL Preventive maintenance for existing fleet. 5310 $38,763 $30,038
OFCO Preventive maintenance for existing fleet. 5310 $50,697 $39,286
Bend Area Transit Contractual transportation services
provided by Paratransit Services.
5310 $358,920 $278,135
Bend Area Transit Maintenance software and shop tools. 5310 $81,654 $63,277
Bend Area Transit Preventive maintenance for existing fleet. 5310 $161,514 $125,161
Cascades East Transit Preventive maintenance for existing fleet. 5310 $245,501 $190,244
Cascades East Transit Replacement vehicle. 5310 $64,606 $64,606
Total: 5310 Funds $1,340,655 $1,053,446
Bend Area Transit Maintenance software and shop tools. STG --- $16,894
Cascades East Transit Preventive maintenance for existing fleet. STG $28,099 $28,099
Cascades East Transit Replacement Vehicle STG $7,394 $7,394
Total: STG Funds $35,493 $52,387
Secondary Recommendation
As described above, the STFAC formed a secondary recommendation to be considered in the
event that ODOT disqualifies CORIL and OFCO from consideration. The secondary
recommendation transfers the amounts requested by CORIL and OFCO for preventive
maintenance to the amount requested by Cascades East Transit for preventive maintenance. If
accepted by ODOT, this recommendation is intended to award the available funds to Cascades
East Transit for the explicit purpose of performing preventive maintenance on CORIL and
OFCO vehicles free of charge on a contractual basis, allowing CORIL and OFCO to continue
operating at near current levels for at least the next two years while they explore other options to
sustain operations long-term.
Applicant Description Source Request Recommended
City of Redmond Contractual transportation services
provided by Cascades East Transit.
5310 $286,580 $222,077
City of Sisters Contractual transportation services
provided by Cascades East Transit.
5310 $52,420 $40,622
CORIL Preventive maintenance for existing fleet. 5310 $38,763 ---
OFCO Preventive maintenance for existing fleet. 5310 $50,697 ---
Bend Area Transit Contractual transportation services
provided by Paratransit Services.
5310 $358,920 $278,135
Bend Area Transit Maintenance software and shop tools. 5310 $81,654 $63,277
Bend Area Transit Preventive maintenance for existing fleet. 5310 $161,514 $125,161
Cascades East Transit Preventive maintenance for existing fleet
and CORIL and OFCO fleets.
5310 $245,501 $259,568
Cascades East Transit Replacement vehicle. 5310 $64,606 $64,606
Total: 5310 Funds $1,340,655 $1,053,446
Bend Area Transit Maintenance software and shop tools. STG --- $16,894
Cascades East Transit Preventive maintenance for existing fleet. STG $28,099 $28,099
Cascades East Transit Replacement Vehicle STG $7,394 $7,394
Total: STG Funds $35,493 $52,387
Board Action
Staff recommends that the Board of Commissioners approve the recommendations of the STFAC
as submitted and to authorize the Board Chair to sign the County’s 2011-13 Discretionary Grant
Program application to ODOT when available.