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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPR 24013: APPLICATION FOR THE 2025 RAISE GRANT PROGRAM City of Port Arthur Transit Department Memorandum To: Ron Burton,City Manager From: Ivan Mitchell,Transit-Fleet Director Date: November 6,2024 Re: P.R.24013—Authorize the City Manager to Submit an Application for the 2025 RAISE Grant Program Nature of Request: Authorize the City Manager to submit an application with the U.S. Department of Transportation(USDOT)Federal Highway Administration(FHWA)for the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Grant Program. Background: The RAISE Discretionary Grant program,provides a unique opportunity for the USDOT to invest in road,rail,transit and port projects that promise to achieve national objectives. RAISE grants will be awarded on a competitive basis,per statute,for planning or constructing surface transportation infrastructure projects that will improve safety;environmental sustainability;quality of life;mobility and community connectivity; economic competitiveness and opportunity including tourism; state of good repair;partnership and collaboration;and innovation. The eligibility requirements of RAISE allow project sponsors at the State and local levels to obtain funding for multi-modal and multi jurisdictional projects. RAISE can provide funding directly to any public entity, including municipalities,counties,port authorities,tribal governments, MPOs,or others. The goal of the RAISE program is to fund eligible surface transportation projects that will have a significant local or regional impact that advance the Departmental priorities of safety, equity,climate and sustainability,and workforce development,job quality, and wealth creation. The Department seeks to fund projects under the RAISE program that reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector;incorporate evidence-based climate resilience measures and features; avoid adverse environmental impacts to air or water quality,wetlands,and endangered species; and address the disproportionate negative environmental impacts of transportation on disadvantaged communities. Recommendation:It is recommended that the City Council approve proposed P.R.24013 for the City Manager to submit a 2025 RAISE grant application in an amount not to exceed$25,000,000.00 with a cash match of$1,932,204.00. P.R. No. 24013 11/6/2024 IM RESOLUTION NO. A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE SUBMISSION OF AN APPLICATION WITH THE U.S. DEPARTMMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (USDOT) FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION (FHWA) FOR THE 2025 REBUILDING AMERICAN INFRASTRUCTURE WITH SUSTAINABILITY AND EQUITY (RAISE) GRANT PROGRAM IN THE AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $25,000,000.00, WITH A CASH MATCH OF$1,932,204.00. WHEREAS, the U.S. Department of Transportation has published a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for $1.5 billion in grant funding through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity(RAISE) discretionary grant program for 2025; and, WHEREAS, the RAISE Discretionary Grant program, provides a unique opportunity for the DOT to invest in road, rail, transit and port projects that promise to achieve national objectives; and, WHEREAS, the eligibility requirements of RAISE allow project sponsors at the State and local levels to obtain funding for multi-modal and multi jurisdictional projects. RAISE can provide funding directly to any public entity, including municipalities, counties, port authorities, tribal governments, MPOs, or others; and, WHEREAS,the City Manager desires to apply for the 2025 RAISE grant. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR: THAT,the facts, and opinions in the preamble are true and correct. THAT, the City Manager is hereby authorized to submit a 2025 RAISE grant application in an amount not to exceed$25,000,000.00, with a cash match of$1,932,204.00. THAT, upon award of the grant funding by USDOT, the City is committed to appropriating the cash match in its budget amendment or FY2026 budget approval. THAT, a copy of the caption of this Resolution be spread upon the minutes of the City Council. READ, ADOPTED AND APPROVED this day of December 2024 at a Regular meeting of the City of Port Arthur, Texas by the following vote: AYES: Mayor: Councilmembers: P.R. No. 24013 11/6/2024 IM NOES: Thurman"Bill" Bartie, Mayor ATTEST: Sherri Bellard, City Secretary APPR -TO RM: Roxann Pais Cotroneo, City Attorney APPROVED FOR ADMINISTRATION: APPROVED AS TO AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS: ate,i3.„4,41) Ronald Burton ) Lynda Boswell City Manager CI ��' Director of Fin ce l 1 !� Ltli bter#.4" Clifton Williams, CPPB Ivan Mitchell Purchasing Manger Transit-Fleet Director 3 A. BASIC INFORMATION The Office of the Secretary (OST) announces the intention to hold two rounds of selections under the FY 2025 Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity(RAISE) Notice of Funding Opportunity(NOFO). • Round 1 —The Department is reserving a portion of the $1.5 billion in FY 2025 RAISE funds,provided by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act(Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, or BIL), for Highly Rated applications that were not selected under the FY 2024 RAISE NOFO and designated FY 2024 Projects of Merit. FY 2024 Projects of Merit not selected for award under Round 1 must submit a revised application in Grants.gov to be considered under Round 2 of the FY 2025 RAISE program. • Round 2—The Department will make another round of selections using a portion of the $1.5 billion in FY 2025 RAISE BIL funds and/or additional funding that may become available for the program under the FY 2025 Appropriations Act. Please note, all FY 2025 annual appropriations amounts are subject to availability of funding. DOT cannot guarantee that Congress will appropriate additional funding to RAISE via a future FY 2025 appropriation. The FY 2024 RAISE NOFO stated: • Projects for which an FY 2024 RAISE application is advanced by the Senior Review Team to the Highly Rated List,but that are not awarded, are automatically designated as "Projects of Merit."Projects with this designation will be carried over into FY 2025 RAISE and considered by the SRT for advancement to the Highly Rated List, along with other FY 2025 applications eligible for advancement to the Highly Rated List. The Department is reducing the burden on all previous applicants,who would otherwise have to revise and resubmit applications, by evaluating and selecting applications for funding using the same criteria as the FY 2024 RAISE NOFO originally published on November 30, 2023. Additionally,this process expedites selections making a portion of the funds available to project sponsors earlier. 4 Topic Description Announcement Type This is the initial announcement for the FY 2025 round of this program Funding Opportunity FY 2025 National Infrastructure Investments Title Funding Opportunity DTOS59-25-RA-RAISE Number Assistance Listing 20.933 National Infrastructure Investments Number Prior Awards • In FY 2024, the Department received 1048 eligible applications requesting nearly $13 billion • 148 projects were awarded a total of$1.8 billion • Awards were made to projects in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico,American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands • Awards ranged from$328,000 to $25 million Maximum Award • RAISE grant awards are capped at $25 million Size Submission Round 1: FY 2024 Projects of Merit Requirements and • FY 2024 Projects of Merit must email Deadlines RAISEgrantsAdot.gov by 11:59 pm December 2, 2024 if they want their FY 2024 application considered for award under the reserved funding • No amendments are being made to either the selection criteria or process. No application modifications will be needed or accepted • Round 1 selections are expected to be announced by January 13, 2025 • FY 2024 Projects of Merit not selected for award under Round 1 must submit a revised application in Grants.gov to be considered under Round 2 of the FY 2025 RAISE program. _ Round 2: All Applicants • All interested applicants must submit applications in Grants.gov no later than 11:59 pm eastern on January 30, 2025. • Complete instructions on how to register and apply can be found at Grants.gov. If applicants experience difficulties at any point during registration or application process, please use the help available on Grants.gov such as the Customer Support Hotline at 1-800-518-4726 or email support(alizrants.go\ • Round 2 selections are expected to be announced no later than June 28, 2025. Eligible Activities Planning and/or constructing surface transportation infrastructure 5 Eligible Applicants • States and the District of Columbia • Any territory or possession of the United States • A unit of local government • A public agency or publicly chartered authority established by one or more States • A special purpose district or public authority with a transportation function, including a port authority • A Federally recognized Indian Tribe or a consortium of such Indian Tribes • A transit agency • A multi-State or multijurisdictional group of entities that are separately eligible Reconnecting Extra • Applications submitted for consideration under Round 2 of Designation the FY 2025 RAISE competition,that have an identical project scope to applications that were submitted and evaluated under the FY 2024 Reconnecting Communities Program(RCP) competition and received the designation of "Reconnecting Extra,"will automatically advance for second-tier analysis if they receive an overall merit rating of "Recommended" and have at least one "High"rating in a priority criterion. • The Department expects projects that rated well under the FY 2024 RCP Program criteria will do well under the FY 2025 RAISE program criteria. • Applicants should note in the FY 2025 RAISE Project Information Form whether their FY 2025 RAISE application was also submitted under the FY 2024 RCP competition and received the "Reconnecting Extra"designation Questions Email RAISEgrantsAdot.gov Due to the competitive nature of the program, during the application submittal phase, the Department is unable to accommodate individual meeting requests to discuss the opportunity or specific project ideas, and unable to provide individualized guidance or render opinions about the merit of a specific project. 1. ROUND 1 i. Reservation of Funds for FY 2024 RAISE Projects of Merit Under this NOFO, the Department is making a portion of the $1.5 billion in FY 2025 RAISE BIL funding available to Highly Rated applications that were submitted but not selected under the FY 2024 RAISE NOFO. The Department will follow the criteria and process set forth in the FY 2024 RAISE NOFO for making selections to receive the reserved funding. The Department will carryover all applications that advanced to the Highly Rated List but were not selected for funding. These projects were designated as FY 2024 Projects of Merit. For 6 purposes of this reservation of funds,the Department incorporates the FY 2024 RAISE NOFO by reference and will follow that NOFO criteria for all Round 1 selections. Using the discretionary authority provided in statute, the Secretary will select projects from the FY 2024 Projects of Merit List for award, consistent with the selection criteria and statutory requirements for geographic and modal diversity. The Secretary may, depending on the pool of qualified applications, seek to award at least one project per state or territory. If an applicant submitted an application for funding under the FY 2024 RAISE NOFO, advanced to the Highly Rated List, but was not selected and thus designated a Project of Merit, such applicant must notify the Department by emailing RAISEgrantsna,dot.gov by December 2, 2024, if the applicant wishes for that application to be reconsidered for award using this reservation of funding. FY 2024 RAISE Projects of Merit seeking reconsideration of their unawarded application will not be permitted to modify, amend, or supplement applications. To maximize chances of obtaining an award, FY 2024 RAISE Project of Merit applications may request consideration under the reserved funds, and they may also submit applications for Round 2 of this NOFO. The FY 2024 Project of Merit application(s) will count against an entity's three-application limit. 2. ROUND 2 i. Funding for FY 2025 RAISE Applications Under this NOFO, in addition to Round 1, the Department intends to make another round of selections using a portion of the $1.5 billion in BIL funds and/or additional funding that may become available for the program under the FY 2025 Appropriations Act. Please note, all FY 2025 annual appropriations amounts are subject to availability of funding. DOT cannot guarantee that Congress will appropriate additional funding to RAISE via a future FY 2025 appropriation. All interested applicants must submit applications in Grants.gov no later than 11:59 pm eastern on January 30, 2025. Round 2 selections are expected to be announced no later than June 28, 2025. 3. CHANGES FROM THE FY 2024 NOFO This FY 2025 RAISE NOFO makes changes from the FY 2024 RAISE NOFO to: • Outline the process to carry forward FY 2024 RAISE Projects of Merit applications for consideration under Round 1 of the FY 2025 RAISE NOFO; • Reserve a portion of the $1.5 billion FY 2025 BIL funding for FY 2024 RAISE Projects of Merit applications; • Update Areas of Persistent Poverty to account for the most recent annual Small Area Income Poverty Estimates as estimated by the Bureau of the Census; • Update references to comply with updated 2 CFR Part 200 Appendix I; and • Improve organization and clarity of the information the Department uses to assess project readiness.