S80-E32373 - Approve an ordinance authorizing an interlocal agreement with Geo-Technology Research Institute (GTRI) in the maximum contract amount of $228,040.00 to engage Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC) for assistance with the implementation of the City of Houston's Climate Action Plan and the Resilient Houston Plan for the Office of Resilience and Sustainability of the Administration and Regulatory Affairs Department.
Specific Explanation:
The Director of Administration and Regulatory Affairs Department and the Interim Chief Procurement Officer recommend that City Council approve an ordinance authorizing an interlocal agreement for a fifteen-month period with four, optional, one-year extensions between the City of Houston and Geo-Technology Research Institute (GTRI) in the maximum contract amount of $228,040.00 to engage Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC) for assistance with the implementation of the City of Houston's Climate Action Plan and the Resilient Houston Plan.
The GTRI was created by the Texas Legislature in 1993 through enactment of Chapter 149 of the Texas Education Code to conduct basic and applied research and analysis in geoscience, geo-technology, and related fields, including the implementation of technological advances and development of integrated databases. The GTRI is located in the Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC), a research consortium that includes the University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University, Rice University, and the University of Houston. HARC supports resilience and sustainability endeavors of communities, local governments, non-profit organizations, and other private and public entities.
The City has identified a number of climate and resilience program areas for short-term and medium-term implementation. In order to expedite the implementation of the most critical short and medium-term programs, the City is seeking to engage the professional services of HARC through GTRI to provide the necessary additional capacity to support the City's Office of Resilience and Sustainability. Both GTRI and HARC were integral partners with the City during the development of the City's Climate Action Plan. As such, GTRI and HARC are familiar with the program and the community stakeholders and are best suited to support the Resilience and Sustainability Office during this critical period.
The scope of work provides that GTRI/HARC will assist the City with services including, but not limited to, the following:
- Identifying and developing additional projects, programs, and initiatives under programmatic areas, including land-use, buildings, heat, energy transition, mobility, water, materials management, city operations, and neighborhood resilience;
- Program management and implementation of funded projects, programs, and initiatives;
- Developing communication, engagement, and outreach strategies to promote success and opportunities related to implementation of projects, programs, and initiatives in defined programmatic areas;
- Developing overall project tracking and evaluation framework and tools to keep track of programmatic activity;
This recommendation is made pursuant to subsection 791.025 of the Texas Government Code, which provides that “a local government may agree with another local government or with the state or a state agency, including the comptroller, to purchase goods and services” and that such a purchase “satisfies the requirement of the local government to seek competitive bids for the purchase of the goods and services.”
M/WBE Subcontracting:
This interlocal agreement was issued with a 9.62% M/WBE participation goal. Geo-Technology Research Institute (GTRI) has designated the below-named company as its certified M/WBE subcontractor.
Company Type of Work Dollar Amount
GreeNexus Consulting, LLC Communication, engagement and $21,945.00
outreach strategies
Hire Houston First:
This procurement is exempt from the City's Hire Houston First Ordinance. Bids/proposals were not solicited because the department is utilizing an interlocal agreement for these purchases.
Fiscal Note:
No Fiscal Note is required on grant items.
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Jedediah Greenfield
Interim Chief Procurement Officer
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Department Approval Authority
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Estimated Spending Authority
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Department
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FY2023
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Out-Years
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Award Amount
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Administration and Regulatory Affairs
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$128,040.00
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$100,000.00
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$228,040.00
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