ORDINANCE approving and authorizing submission of an application for Grant Assistance to the UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (“USDOT”) for the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (“CFI”) Community Grant Program for the Administration and Regulatory Affairs Department – Mayor’s Office Of Resilience and Sustainability; declaring the City’s eligibility for such Grant; authorizing the Director of the Administration and Regulatory Affairs Department to act as the City’s representative in the application process, to apply for and accept the Grant and Funds, and expend the Grant Funds, as awarded, and to apply for and accept all subsequent awards, if any, pertaining to the Grant

TAGGED BY COUNCIL MEMBER CASTEX-TATUM

This was Item 31 on Agenda of July 26, 2023

The Administration & Regulatory Affairs Department recommends that City Council approve an ordinance authorizing the submission of an application for grant assistance to the United States Department of Transportation (“USDOT”) for the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (“CFI”) Community Grant Program with an estimated grant value of $15M. The anticipated project period is February 1, 2024 to December 31, 2027.

Specific Explanation

The Administration & Regulatory Affairs Department requests approval and authorization by City Council to apply for grant funds from the USDOT that will be used to deploy publicly accessible Electric Vehicle Support Equipment (“EVSE”) at City-owned libraries, community centers, and parks (about 81 project locations and 366 chargers in total). This project aligns with the City’s Resilient Houston (RH) strategy and Climate Action Plan (CAP).

If awarded, the City will direct 100% of CFI grant funding towards Top Priority (~13 sites) and High Priority (~14 sites) project locations (Table 1) within Justice40 (J40) Disadvantaged Communities (DAC) census tracts. The funds will also serve to strategically locate Direct Current Fast Charging (DCFC) stations based on proximity to Designated Alternative Fuel Corridors (AFCs) and high concentrations of Multi-Family Housing (MFH) units. The City of Houston will call for co-designing with the community.

In addition, the City will be attracting private sector partners through a request for proposals (RFP) process. Preference will be given to respondents whose plans include strategies such as, but not limited to:

• Priority sequencing for sites in low-to-moderate income (LMI) neighborhoods
• Varied pricing or funding models for LMI communities
• Multimodality considerations (such as accessibility to electric bicycles)
• Extensive community engagement and input during project design to ensure site-specific plans meet community needs

Table 1: Preliminary site selection and prioritization.

Site priority in decreasing order:

• Top Priority: In J40 DAC census tract and within 1 mile of at least two different AFCs.
• High Priority: In J40 DAC census tract, within 1 mile of one AFC, and near high concentration of MFH units or charging desert.
• Medium-High Priority: In J40 DAC census tract and within 1 mile of one AFC.
• Medium Priority: Within 1 mile of at least two different AFCs.
• Low Priority: Within 1 mile of one AFC.
• Lowest Priority: Public parking.

No City funding will be requested for this project. ARA will solicit contractual support to perform funded work through an RFP. The contractor selected through the RFP will be responsible for all non-federal costs (estimated at $14,088,833). In addition to installing the EVSE, the contractor will be responsible for owning, operating, and managing the EVSE and will share revenue with the City through a concessions agreement. If the City is selected for this award, City Council will be asked for approval to accept the award, with specific details regarding the specific amounts and sources of any required local funding match.

The estimated costs shown in Table 2 includes a cost factor multiplier of 1.55% for flood-preparedness at sites located in flood plains.

Table 2: Breakdown of estimated costs by activity and funding sources.

The Director of the Administration & Regulatory Affairs Department or his or her designee will act as the City’s representative in the application process with the authority to apply for, accept and expend the grant funds as awarded, and apply for, accept and expend all subsequent awards, if any, to extend the budget period, and to authorize the Mayor to execute all related agreements with the approval of City Attorney in connection with the grant not to exceed five years.

Fiscal Note

No Fiscal Note required for grant funded items. 

Departmental Approval Authority:

__________________________­­­­­­­­­_____________ __________________________________________

Tina Paez, Director                                         Other Authorization

Administration & Regulatory 

Affairs Department

$15,000,000.00

Federal Grant Fund

Fund 5000

Naelah Yahya               Phone: (832) 393-8530

Priya Zachariah            Phone: (832) 393-8528

Thomas Pommier         Phone: (832) 393-0277