The City is submitting to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) two applications for grant funding from the Transportation Fund for Clean Air (TFCA), a bike lane project on Moffett Park Drive and a recycling truck CNG conversion project.

Bike lanes are proposed to be installed on Moffett Park Drive from Mathilda Avenue to Lawrence Expressway. Also, staff desires to use TFCA funds to defray the extra cost of powering 4 new recycling trucks with natural gas engines. Bay Counties Waste Services, the City’s franchised refuse hauler, is scheduled to place these new trucks into service during Fiscal Year 2000/2001.

The Transportation Fund for Clean Air (TFCA) provides grants to local governments for projects that will reduce air pollution. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), of which Councilmemeber Miller is a member, administers the grant program in the San Francisco Bay Area. Grants are available for various types of projects, including bicycle projects and the replacement of heavy diesel trucks with trucks powered by clean air fuels such as natural gas. The projects discussed in this report are proposed for "Program Manager" funding, which is adminstered locally by the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA).

The Countywide Bicycle Plan identifies a project for installation of bike lanes on Moffett Park Drive. The segment of Moffett Park Drive under consideration is considered a high priority regional bicycle corridor. The Sunnyvale Bicycle Opportunities Study notes that parking removal would be required. Parking demand in this area is virtually non-existent however, so staff proposes moving ahead with securing funding for a capital project.

For vehicle purchase projects, grants are typically made available only to governmental agencies that purchase vehicles for their own use. However, an exception to this rule allows governmental agencies to obtain grant funding for vehicles that are purchased privately but are used "for public purposes," a category that includes solid waste and recycling collection contracted through a city.

Bay Counties Waste Services (BCWS) collects garbage, yard trimmings, and recyclable materials under a long-term contract with the City. Under the contract, BCWS’s compensation each year is calculated by a process that takes into account its actual allowable costs during a prior year and adjusts them for inflation. Thus, any allowable cost that the company incurs becomes part of the City’s cost in a future year. BCWS operates a total of approximately 40 trucks in a given day, collecting various types of materials. The contract includes a vehicle replacement schedule that spells out which trucks are to be replaced during which years of the contract term. Generally, trucks are replaced (or moved into a backup role) after they have been in use for 7 years. The number of trucks to be replaced in a given year varies. For example, only one truck is being replaced during FY 1999/2000, while 4 trucks are scheduled for replacement in FY 2000/2001 and 14 trucks are scheduled for replacement in FY 2001/2002.

Land Use and Transportation Element C3.5.4, Maximize the provision of bicycle and pedestrian facilities.

Air Quality Sub-Element – Goal A: Improve Sunnyvale’s Air Quality and reduce the exposure of its citizens to air pollutants.

Air Quality Sub-Element – Policy C.4: Reduce Emissions from City of Sunnyvale fleet vehicles.

The Bicycle Advisory Committee has not been specifically solicited for TFCA project proposals. However, because several other grant sources had called for projects in December, the BAC did make a number of grant funding project proposals at their January meeting, including the Moffett Park Drive bike lanes project. Staff selected that project as the most appropriate for consideration for TFCA funding. Committee input will be solicited at the January 20 BAC meeting, and any additional information will be forwarded to the City Council under separate cover at the January 25 Council meeting.

Several years ago, BCWS and City staff began to discuss how the unusually large number of trucks to be replaced in FY 2000/2001 and FY 2001/2002 created an opportunity to begin making use of alternative fuels. This is because the economics of installing the necessary fueling system make it beneficial to operate more, rather than fewer, alternate fuel vehicles. BCWS and City staff began researching the various chassis and drive train options, visited sites where alternative fuels were used to power refuse trucks, and investigated fueling options. Following this research, BCWS recommended that the City consider allowing the replacement vehicles to be powered by natural gas engines.

Conversion of the recycling trucks is consistent with the City’s shift to alternative fuels in its own fleet in recent years. In the case of diesel engines, the recent designation of diesel exhaust particulates as a carcinogen opens up new opportunities for litigation and makes long term reliance on diesel fuels problematic. Tighter air emission standards for diesel engines are also planned, meaning that the costs and difficulty of operating diesel fleets will be increasing in the future.

The incremental cost of specifying alternative fuel engines for the 4 trucks in question is estimated to be $58,900 per vehicle, a total of $235,600. The TFCA grant program will reimburse a maximum of $50,000 per truck. The remaining cost is $35,600. Amortized over the 7 year life of the trucks, this amount will have no significant effect on refuse collection rates.

Should the City fail to receive the grant funds, the alternative fuel decision could be revisited with the full financial effect on refuse ratepayers in mind. However, the regulatory and legal liability issues noted above would likely lead the City and BCWS to take advantage of this opportunity to move to alternative fuels even in the absence of grant reimbursement.

Application for TFCA Grants requires a City Council resolution authorizing submittal of applications and authorizing the City Manager to execute a funding agreement in the event an application is approved for funding. Staff is recommending that the Council approve such a resolution, shown as Attachment A.

Estimated cost for the Moffett Park Drive bike lanes project is $ 66,125. A 10% local match is proposed for this project, consistent with bicycle projects previously approved for TFCA funding. Estimated cost for the vehicle conversion project is $235,600. $200,000 would be covered by grant funding and the remaining $35,600 would consist of matching funds from the City of Sunnyvale. There is no fiscal impact to the City by authorizing submittal of this application.

The Bicycle Advisory Committee will hold a public hearing on TFCA funding at its January 20, 1999 meeting. Notice has been provided through the publication and posting of the Bicycle Advisory Committee agenda and City Council agenda. In addition, Reports to Council are available in the Library and on the City’s internet home page.

It is recommended that the City Council adopt the resolution shown as Attachment A.

Prepared by:

Mark A. Bowers
Solid Waste Program Manager

Jack Witthaus
Transportation Planner

Reviewed by:

Marvin A. Rose
Director, Department of Public Works

Approved by:

Robert S. LaSala
City Manager

A. Proposed resolution