THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT AND PURCHASING DIVISION RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THE ABOVE MOTIONS.
This item supports the Board's value for "Cooperatively delivering an efficient and accessible regional intermodal transportation network."
On June 14, 2016, the Board entered into an agreement for the funding, design, construction, operation and maintenance of the 2.8 mile modern streetcar project to be constructed in downtown Fort Lauderdale known as the Wave. On June 13, 2017, the agreement was subsequently amended to address updated project milestone dates and fiscal responsibility for various elements of the project. Under the terms of the current project agreement, FDOT is the project sponsor (previously South Florida Reginal Transportation Authority) for the FTA Section 5309 Small Starts Grant funds. The agreement that was amended by Board action in June 2017 contemplated that FDOT would be acquiring the vehicles for the project, which were estimated to cost $30 million, with a $6 million contingency. During the Board’s summer recess, FDOT worked with the Florida Department of Management Services (DMS) to finalize the procurement of the vehicles. DMS and FDOT were unable to come to an agreement that would allow FDOT to acquire the vehicles. In order to remain on schedule and within the grant’s budget, Broward County began evaluating options for acquiring the vehicles under its procurement process. Broward County initiated a conference call and meetings with the project partners (including the City of Fort Lauderdale and Downtown Development Authority) to discuss the options available for acquiring project vehicles in advance of the FTA Quarterly Meeting August 28, 2017. It was determined that the partners would approach FTA with vehicle procurement options that would ensure the project remained on schedule and limit the potential for budget overruns.
The FTA Atlanta Regional Director indicated support for the County’s acquisition of light-rail vehicles currently used by the Charlotte Streetcar (GSV) using an approved piggy-back process. Subsequently, Broward County finalized negotiations with Siemens to purchase five GSVs at fixed costs identified in Exhibit 2, as long as the option is exercised by September 29, 2017. The cost to acquire these vehicles is within the anticipated budget in the full funding grant agreement and allows the project to remain on schedule. Also of import is the fact that acquiring GSV allows the downtown circulator system to expand to other fixed-guideway lines anticipated as part of a larger regional rail network within the County.
No additional costs will be incurred by the County.
The Transportation Department has requested approval to use the "Piggyback" option off of the City of Charlotte, Charlotte Area Transit System's (CATS) Contract No. 2017000930, Gold Line Modern Streetcar Vehicles (GSV's), as well as all related materials, engineering, support and services options included with the CATS contract. Additionally, this procurement will include as most reasonable source procurement for optional items (Stop Requests Pushbuttons, LED Door Openers Light Strips, and Receptacle Plugs (Exhibit 2)).
The Office of Economic and Small Business Development did not assign Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) participation goals for this procurement. Consistent with the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT), the purchase of streetcar vehicles with federal funding has been exempted from the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) goal setting program by the USDOT. Of note, USDOT regulations require that each transit vehicle manufacturer, as a condition of being authorized to bid or propose on FTA-assisted transit vehicle procurements, certify that it has complied with the requirements of title 49 CFR 26.49(a)(1)(Exhibit 4).
In accordance with Section 21.36 of the Procurement Code, the Director of Purchasing may purchase directly from federal, state or local contracts, when the contract expressly permits or if the awarding jurisdiction and/or the vendor agree to allow the County to purchase therefrom. By utilizing these contracts, the County will benefit from lower costs available through competitive pricing based on large volume discounts and save significant time in procuring streetcars for the Wave Streetcar project.
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