City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: MAY 16, 2023
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
THROUGH: JAMES F. PARAJON, CITY MANAGER
FROM: TARRENCE MOORER, INTERIM DIRECTOR, TRANSPORTATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Consideration of a Resolution to Support a Grant Application to the U.S. Department of Transportation for the FY 2022/FY 2023 Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant Program. [ROLL-CALL VOTE]
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ISSUE: Should the City seek grant funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to advance charging infrastructure in the City.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council:
(1) Approve the resolution (Attachment 1) supporting the grant applications to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).
(2) Commit to include funds for its local match of up to $3 million, if awarded, in its Fiscal Year 2024 and 2025 Capital Improvement Program Budget.
(3) Approve the submission of up to $15 million in federal funding to the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure grant programs by May 30, 2023; and
(4) Authorize the City Manager to apply for the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) grants and enter into any necessary agreements with U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration to accept this funding.
BACKGROUND: The CFI Discretionary Grant Program is a new competitive grant program created by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to strategically deploy electric vehicle charging and alternative fueling infrastructure in communities and along designated Alternative Fuel Corridors (AFCs). The Bipartisan Infrastructure law provides $2.5 billion over five years with up to $700 million in this funding opportunity. The U.S. DOT will prioritize community projects that expand access to electric vehicle charging infrastructure in (1) rural areas, (2) low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, (3) communities with low ratios of private parking spaces, and (4) communities with high ratios of multi-unit dwellings. Grant applications are evaluated by the DOT with considerations including safety, climate change, resilience, and sustainability; equity, community engagement, and the Justice40 initiative, workforce development, job quality, and wealth creation, and lastly fulfilling the CFI programs vision. Community projects have a minimum award value of $500,000 and a maximum award value of $15 million.
DISCUSSION: In May 2021, the City finalized the Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Readiness Strategy (EVRS), which acts as a roadmap for meeting the electric vehicle charging infrastructure and technical needs of City residents, workforce members, and visitors. The EVRS will help promote electric vehicle adoption so the community can benefit from the City’s electric vehicle ecosystem since Alexandria residents are adopting electric vehicles at a rate faster than the national average.
The proposed CFI grant application will support the implementation of the EVRS recommendations through the installation of publicly accessible Level 2 and Direct Current Fast Chargers at multiple sites across the City, such as public parks, libraries, and on-street locations. The chargers will be installed in areas that will benefit disadvantaged communities and serve areas with a high concentration of multi-unit dwellings and limited off-street parking. Staff are proposing up to six locations that meet the criteria of the grant.
The DOT encourages applicants to partner with private organizations upon award to complete the proposed projects. These grant terms indicate that applicants can require these private partners to provide the 20% cost share match requirement for the charging installations. Upon award of the grant, the City will conduct a competitive procurement to select project partners to support the charger installation and will require those project partners to provide the 20% cost share. The City will demonstrate the availability of the full required cost share to support the grant application, with an understanding that the City will require competitively procured private partners to meet the project cost share requirements.
The City is including the following activities in the project application:
• Charging Infrastructure Installation Projects
o Public charging infrastructure installations (Up to $13.75M): Costs for the design, installation, operation, and maintenance of publicly accessible chargers at multiple sites throughout the City.
• Other Projects
o Vehicle-to-Building Pilot (Up to $400K): Implement bi-directional charging capabilities at one of the charging sites to allow a DASH or ACPS battery electric bus to act as a mobile generator that can provide power to a shelter facility (e.g., recreation center) during a power outage.
o Workforce Development (Up to $450K): Participate in regional efforts to develop workforce development programs that will create good paying jobs and support wealth creation, consistent with the US DOT’s Equity Action Plan.
o Community Engagement and Outreach Activities (Up to $400K): Educational and community engagement activities that support the use of electric vehicles as associated charging infrastructure.
The maximum total project amount is $15 million, but staff will continue to refine the project budget request based on the grant criteria and the City’s needs for publicly accessible charging infrastructure. It is likely that the final grant request will be lower than $15 million. Staff will include language in the application indicating that a preference will be given for registration with the Electrical Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program and participation in apprenticeship programs registered with the federal and state government.
FISCAL IMPACT: The CFI Program requires a local match of 20%. If the City is granted the full award of up to $15 million, the match would be $3 million for all projects. The grant terms indicate that private project partners can be required to provide the local match. If the City cannot secure private project partner funding, the match will be funded through the FY 2023 Citywide Electric Vehicle Charging Station CIP project, which shows a total of $500,000. The FY 2024 and FY 2025 Citywide Electric Vehicle Charging Station project shows a total of $500,000 and $2.4 million, respectively.
However, the City anticipates securing private project partner funding, up to $2.75 million. The City may be responsible for about $250,000 in match for the Other Projects described above (i.e., Vehicle-to-Building Pilot, Workforce Development, and Community Engagement), which would be funded through the aforementioned CIP project.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: Resolution
Attachment 2: Letters of Endorsement
Attachment 3: Presentation
STAFF:
Emily A. Baker, Deputy City Manager
Hillary Orr, Deputy Director, T&ES
Helen Lee, Environmental Program Manager, T&ES
Philippe Simon, Grants Coordinator, T&ES
Ryan Freed, Climate Action Officer, Office of Climate Action
Amy Posner, Electric Vehicle Planner, Office of Climate Action