Title
Agreements with All Commercial Landscape Services and Arizona State University in Conjunction with United States Bureau of Reclamation Grant (Ordinance S-46179)
Description
Request to authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to enter into agreements with All Commercial Landscape Services (ACLS) and Arizona State University (ASU) pursuant to a grant award from the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR). Further request to authorize the City Treasurer to accept, and the City Controller to disburse, matching funds from ASU.
Report
Summary
At its April 17, 2019 Formal meeting, City Council adopted Ordinance S-45568 which authorized the Water Services Department (WSD), in conjunction with ASU, “…to apply for and, if awarded, accept and enter into agreements” with the USBR under the Bureau’s "Lower Colorado Region Water Conservation Field Services Program Financial Assistance for Fiscal Year 2019" funding opportunity. The Ordinance also authorized the City Treasurer to accept, and for the City Controller to disburse, any grant monies awarded.
Subsequently, USBR selected the City's application for award of a financial assistance agreement for $98,634. The grant was conditioned on a dollar-for-dollar match from a non-federal/municipal water provider source, for which the application specified a $100,000 commitment: $50,000 from WSD Capital Improvement Program (CIP) funds and $50,000 from ASU. With the $198,634 total, the City and ASU will perform a pilot project to determine the efficacy of water-absorbing polymers (known as “hydrogel”) in conserving potable water supplies and reducing watering costs in turf-irrigation settings.
In keeping with the grant application, the City and ASU will each provide adjoining demonstration sites at which ACLS (as the exclusive provider of the Aqua Cents Water Management system) will install the hydrogel under 12 existing acres of turf currently being irrigated with City potable water. In addition, WSD, Parks & Recreation and ASU staffs will collaborate on compiling historical water application rates at the sites, developing study methodologies, and quantifying post-hydrogel watering over an initial two-year study period. These efforts will be followed by preparation of a joint report on the findings.
Contract Term
The grant provides two years to complete the installation and study. To allow for installation, commissioning and analysis of the hydrogel, a two-year contract with ALCS is needed. In addition, a five-year Intergovernmental Agreement is needed with ASU to cooperate on a longer-term hydrogel evaluation and report.
Financial Impact
A one-time City expense of $50,000 would be incurred in FY 2019-20. Funding is available in the WSD’s CIP budget. Using the USBR grant and ASU and WSD matching funds, WSD will pay ALCS a total of $198,634 under the Phoenix/ALCS contract. Under the grant award, USBR will remit $98,634 to the City, and ASU will remit its $50,000 share under the Phoenix/ASU intergovernmental agreement.
Concurrence/Previous Council Action
The City Council approved Agreements for 2019 Lower Colorado Region Water Conservation Field Services Grant, in Conjunction with ASU(Ordinance S-45568) on April 17, 2019.
Public Outreach
If the study produces the positive results anticipated, the City and ASU will share the outcomes with the public to encourage use of hydrogels for turf applications. This outreach may yield substantive water conservation within the City’s service area and throughout the region.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Karen Peters and the Water Services Department.