Title
Apply for U.S. Department of Transportation Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-saving Transportation Grant Opportunity for Federal Fiscal Year 2022-23 - Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Funding (Ordinance S-50148)
Description
Request to retroactively authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to apply for, accept and, if awarded, enter into an agreement for disbursement of Federal funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) through the Federal Fiscal Year 2022-23 Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-saving Transportation grant opportunity. Further request to authorize the City Treasurer to accept, and the City Controller to disburse, all funds related to this item. Funding for this grant opportunity is available through the Federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The total grant funds applied for will not exceed $6.25 million, and the City would not be required to provide a local match.
Report
Summary
The Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-saving Transportation (PROTECT) grant program provides funding for projects that address the climate crisis by improving the resilience of surface transportation systems against natural hazards including climate change, sea level rise, flooding, extreme weather events and other natural disasters. The grant program supports innovative and collaborative approaches to risk reduction, including the use of natural infrastructure. Also called nature-based solutions, these strategies include conservation, restoration or construction of riparian and streambed treatments, marshes, wetlands, native vegetation, stormwater bioswales, breakwaters, reefs, dunes, parks, urban forests and shade trees.
The Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2022-23 PROTECT grant specifies that the minimum award amount for urban planning projects must be at least $100,000 with no award ceiling. The City’s grant request will be for the total project cost in the amount of $6.25 million.
The FFY 2022-23 PROTECT grant submittal deadline was Aug. 18, 2023. Retroactive approval is requested due to the timing of the application deadline, which occurred during Council recess.
PROTECT planning grants are awarded on a competitive basis considering these evaluative criteria:
- Program Alignment
- Schedule and Budget
- Public Engagement, Partnerships and Collaboration
- Innovation
The Parks and Recreation and Street Transportation departments are collaborating on a planning grant submittal for the Laveen Area Conveyance Channel. The purpose of the planning grant is to evaluate and update the design and improve resiliency of a dual-purpose amenity channel that extends 5.5 miles in the Laveen Village of Phoenix, serving to capture and convey local regional drainage while also serving the community as an active transportation corridor. The goal of the planning grant will be to evaluate and make recommendations that would best serve the existing transportation amenity, including but not limited to improvements to the existing channel design and to design a 10-foot multi-use path on the north side, including landscaping, updated irrigation, turf improvements, exercise equipment, improved drainage system equipment, booster pump and well, path lighting and other transportation or green infrastructure appropriate for the surrounding corridor. This planning project will meet the grant criteria for competitiveness.
Financial Impact
The estimated total cost for the project is approximately $6.25 million. The maximum federal participation rate is 100 percent, with no required local match of the total eligible project cost. If awarded, the federal match would not exceed $6.25 million (100 percent), with no required local funding match. There is no impact to the General Fund.
Location
The Laveen Area Conveyance Channel is a 5.5 mile multi-use path and drainage channel located in Laveen Village which runs from the intersection of 43rd and Southern avenues to the Salt River.
Council Districts: 7 and 8
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Managers Mario Paniagua, Alan Stephenson and Inger Erickson, and the Street Transportation and Parks and Recreation departments.