HomeMy WebLinkAboutReso 2007-021
RESOLUTION NO. 2007-021
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
CHULA VISTA APPROVING FEDERAL FUNDING
REQUESTS FOR SUBMISSION
WHEREAS, the City of Chula Vista has, for many years, worked cooperatively and
effectively with its Congressional representative on issues concerning this community; and
WHEREAS, among the ways we have benefited from this effort is through Federal funds
to support projects and programs that the City Council has endorsed; and
WHEREAS, Department heads and other key city staff members have developed a
package of proposed City projects for which Federal funding assistance may be available in the
2007 legislative session; and
WHEREAS, there have been two informal meetings about these proposals with Chula
Vista's Congressional representative, Bob Filner, as well as follow-up conversations with
members of his staff here in Chula Vista and in Washington D.C.; and
WHEREAS, while three are no guarantees that funding will be received for any of these
projects, we have been encouraged to submit formal requests to the Congressman's office and to
work with him to determine what opportunities may be available to the City; and
WHEREAS, with Council approval, staff will begin that effort and provide updated
information to the Council as it becomes available; and
WHEREAS, a list of proposed City projects was submitted to the City Council for review
and comment in an Information Item on December 14, 2006 (Attachment A); and
WHEREAS, as of January 10, 2007, no comments have been received, so the list is
projects is brought now for formal approval; and
WHEREAS, should the City succeed in obtaining funds for one or more of the projects
submitted, City staff will return to Council with a more detailed proposal and scope of work.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Chula
Vista does hereby approve federal funding requests for submission.
Presented by
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Approved as to form by
Thomson
nterim City Manager
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Ann Moore
City Attorney
Resolution No. 2007-021
Page 2
PASSED, APPROVED, and ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Chula Vista,
California, this 23'd day of January 2007 by the following vote:
AYES:
Councilmembers:
Castaneda, McCann, Ramirez, Rindone, and Cox
NAYS:
Councilmembers:
None
ABSENT:
Councilmembers:
None
Cheryl c~&J8y
ATTEST:
-~t1.~~J_~
Susan Bigelow, MMC, City lerk
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO )
CITY OF CHULA VISTA )
I, Susan Bigelow, City Clerk of Chula Vista, California, do hereby certify that the foregoing
Resolution No. 2007-021 was duly passed, approved, and adopted by the City Council at a
regular meeting of the Chula Vista City Council held on the 23rd day of January 2007.
Executed this 23rd day of January 2007.
- 'lJ..J.. a....... )" ~- '.0 .J
Susan Bigelow, MMC, City C~
Resolution No. 2007-021
Page 3
Attachment A
Alternative Fuels Pilot Project
$750,000
The City proposes taking the next important step in becoming a national showcase for finding
and demonstrating practical sustainable energy alternatives by moving two alternative fuels
beyond the "experimental" to the practical and accessible.
Chula Vista would convert two of its CNG fuel buses to HCNG fuel use. A successful pilot
could lead the City to convert it's entire fleet ofCNG buses to cleaner burning HCNG(80% CNG
enriched with 20% hydrogen). The resulting mix is cleaner than CNG, with 50% fewer nitrous
oxide emissions at little or no additional cost. HCNG is the next generation of low-emission
fuels and one alternative that has significant promise.
The project would also offer the only public dispenser of CNG in the South Bay Region to keep
pace with growing demand by truck fleets and private passenger vehicle owners. The next
nearby source is in the City Heights area of San Diego (15 miles away). CNG itself provides a
significant reduction in polluting emissions when compared to diesel fuel or gasoline.
As a result ofChula Vista's participation in prior demonstration projects, the City already owns
almost all of the equipment required to produce and deliver HCNG and CNG fuels. Our existing
hydrogen electrolyzer, which is the largest in California, was purchased as part of a recent
Federal demonstration program funded by the Department of Transportation, the Department of
Energy, the California Energy Commission and the City ofChula Vista.
This is a very high production electrolyzer, generating as much hydrogen in one hour as many
stations generate in a day. To fully utilize the $1 million investment in this equipment, the City
plans to produce hydrogen for the HCNG bus demonstration and eventually for the fleet. Chula
Vista also owns a CNG compressor station, currently used to dispense CNG to City buses.
To combine the hydrogen and CNG into HCNG for the bus demonstration, and to dispense CNG
to the public, the project site only requires fuel lines, storage capacity, and a new mixer/dispenser
that is weights-and-measures certified for use in private vehicles. $750,000 would purchase the
station equipment necessary to transfer, mix, store and dispense the two fuels for this region
wide alternative fuels demonstration.
There will be a cost to the public for purchase of CNG fuel at the site, as with any other fueling
station. The cost would vary with CNG market fluctuations, but in general would be roughly
equal to the prevailing cost in Southern California. Cost components would include the City's
fuel purchase price plus a small increment to cover City costs for maintenance, delivery, and
program administration including bank costs. The City is in the process of completing a bank
agreement to accept credit cards. Bank charges will be recouped from the fuel charge.
There is already a demand for CNG fuel by the public, but to heighten public awareness about
the Chula Vista station, $15,000 in public outreach costs has been factored into the appropriation
request. The station would also be listed on Internet natural gas fueling maps for travelers
including Clean Car Maps, the California Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition map, and possibly the
SDG&E map.
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Resolution No. 2007-021
Page 4
Attachment A
Bi-National University Park & Research Center
Master Plan
$3 - 5 Million
The Master Plan project will develop an organizational and funding structure for the creation and
operation of the campus for the region's first bi-national university; prepare the detailed
planning, infrastructure and environmental documents for the campus; and provide an initial
capital fund to seed philanthropic support for the construction of campus buildings.
A U.S. - Mexico consortium of colleges and universities has developed a prospectus for a bi-
national University Park and Research Center on a 450 acre site centered between downtown San
Diego and downtown Tijuana - an international metropolitan area of more than 6 million people
that includes the busiest land border crossing in the world.
With a focus on international issues related to trade, transportation, economic development,
energy, security and the environment - the University Park and Research Center campus will
become a center for the analyzing and addressing shared challenges in the countries' border
regions.
The campus will provide higher education opportunities in a traditionally underserved area of the
region, help to address a significantjobslhousing imbalance, and provide a major forum for the
exchange of ideas and solutions for students, faculty, and local, state and federal officials from
the U.S. and Mexico.
The City of Chula Vista has provided more than $1.2 million in initial funding and will donate
the site for the campus.
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Resolution No. 2007-021
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Attachment A
Community Safety and Communication System
$5 - 6 Million
A comprehensive wired and wireless safety communications system that could serve as the
backbone of an improved regional interagency communication system. It could also stabilize
future public agency communication costs and provide free WiFi- WiMax services for the public.
The project would build on the City's hard wired system that has begun to connect major public
facilities and compliment that system with a compatible wireless system that uses free public
airwaves to interconnect mobile safety vehicles, personnel and critical infrastructure such as
traffic lights and emergency operation centers.
Having control of the system infrastructure, intellectual property and airwaves required to run the
system would allow Chula Vista to stabilize future costs, establish and maintain emergency
priorities and establish a model that will enhance interagency communication.
The WiFi-WiMax backbone for safety communications can also stabilize costs for other public
service field personnel, replace City broadband capacity and be expanded to provide a free
public wireless business model that also enhances local government public education capacity.
The proposed project would:
. Fund fiber infrastructure to connect the Police Department, Emergency Operations Center,
Fire Administration, Fire Stations, Dispatch, traffic signals and other key emergency
servIces,
. Simultaneously create fiber backbone to reduce costs for connecting the rest of the City
facilities, and provide a back up to emergency communications,
. Have the capacity to provide some access to agencies with overlapping jurisdiction and
further demonstrate the system's interagency communication and financial effectiveness,
. Have the potential to replace the current broadband support losses in 2009 from state cable
franchises and, stabilize or eliminate the City's future lahdline, intemetlintranet and related
communication operating costs,
. Fund Wireless- WiFi - WiMax backbone to provide stable, reduced cost mobile safety service,
. Provide Chula Vista/South Bay with a competitive edge in the WiFilWiMax development
market in San Diego and catch up with North County San Diego and others that have
established or are exploring free and low cost WiFi business models,
. Fund video production capacity to initially target safety communication messages and
ultimately expand Chula Vista and South Bay's public communication outreach and
marketing capacity (public and cable franchise video production has often been shared
regionally, Chula Vista has never had the benefit of being the host).
. Attract complimentary funding to enhance public services and free communication access,
. Compliment Chula Vista's developing education, research and commercial infrastructure with
broadly available state of the are communications,
. Develop a model to invest in all of the above in a manner that reduces existing general fund
costs to participating local agencies, stabilizes future costs and expands the City's open,
transparent and inclusive public participation and emergency service programs.
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Resolution No. 2007-021
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Attachment A
Installation of Permanent Domestic Water Line
&
Resurfacing of Access Road
Serving the Chula Vista Nature Center
$460,660
The former underground domestic water line had to be abandoned due to significant settling of
the levy road that is used to access the Nature Center and Sweetwater Marsh National Wildlife
Refuge. The road has been shored and patched, and a temporary potable water line has been
installed above ground.
This temporary line is providing critical service for maintaining plant and animal collections, and
is providing water for restrooms, drinking fountains, and other sanitary needs.
The road is federally-owned; the City utilizes an easement. This is the only access route to the
National Wildlife Refuge Field Office and to the Nature Center for environmental education and
conservation uses. The road was originally constructed by the Army Corps of Engineers but is
now maintained by the City.
Proj ect would include underground installation of a new water line and resurfacing of the road.
Cost estimate: $460,660 (includes contingencies, per General Services)
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Resolution No. 2007-021
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Attachment A
Missing Infrastructure/
School Zone Traffic and Pedestrian Safety
$132,000,000
2,300,000
The City's existing and planned transportation facilities vary dramatically in condition and availability
from the newly developing areas of the City to the older aging pre-smart growth neighborhoods. The
City Council frequently receives competing requests from the public for local infrastructure
improvements. An overwhelming proportion of citizen requests directly correlate with the City
Council's desire to ensure safe routes to schools.
Public infrastructure and land use patterns in neighborhoods near schools strongly influence the health
and safety of our school children. They influence neighborhood walkability, pedestrian and bicyclist
safety, traffic circulation patterns and speeds, public transit systems, multimodal choices, and
community character and pride. These issues, combined with a limited pool of resources for
infrastructure improvements, now call for a precise identification and prioritization of City pedestrian,
bicycle, and traffic circulation improvements through community-based master planning efforts.
Beginning with the Southwest area and eventually incorporating the entire City, the project focuses on
the Y.-mile "buffer zones" surrounding each of the City's 37 public elementary schools. Observations
are that parents residing within these zones are more apt to allow their children to walk to school,
particularly if safe and adequate facilities are available for walking and biking. Therefore, the first
stakeholders to gain benefits from this project will be the City's schoolchildren, their families, and
their neighbors. Ultimately, the project will have positive impacts for all residents.
A unique aspect of this project is its community-directed focus. Stakeholder organizations
participating in this planning project will include Healthy Eating, Active Communities (HEAC) and
Walk San Diego which are working together as the South Bay Partnership. This partnership works at
the community level to reduce childhood obesity by promoting walkability and reducing reliance on
cars. The South Bay Partnership will be the City's key planning partner on this project. Other
stakeholders will include the recently formed Southwest Chula Vista Civic Association, the
Environmental Health Coalition, the Northwest Civic Association, and Crossroads II. Local schools
(where the community meetings will take place) and school districts, parent faculty groups and
homeowners associations will have critical involvement throughout the process. Jurisdictional
stakeholders such as City Councilmembers, the City's redevelopment agency, and impacted City
departments such as Public Works and Police will benefit from well-targeted planning outcomes and
directi ves from this project.
The City is close to completing the first phase of the project (inventory of the infrastructure) with
existing resources. The second phase (community outreach walking audits in partnership with the
Southbay Partnership) is the subject of a recently submitted Caltrans Transportation Planning Grant.
The first two phases have been completed at two elementary schools (Rice and Otay) and
recommended infrastructure improvements are the subject of a Safe Routes to School Grant
application being submitted on January 2, 2007 through a partnership with the City of Chula Vista, the
Chula Vista Elementary School District and the Southbay Partnership. Additionally, the City recently
received approval for a $9.5 million HUD loan to complete work in the area of Castle Park
Elementary. This federal funding request would allow us to realize an environmentally sustainable
infrastructure demonstration project in our third priority area, Harborside Elementary. The positive
impact to the community, should we be successful securing funding to complete infrastructure
improvements around four of the city's neediest elementary school, is immeasurable.
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Resolution No. 2007-021
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Attachment A
National Energy Center for Sustainable Communities
Facility, Research, Training & Technical Assistance Programs
$6 -10 Million
Funding will be used to support the construction and operation of a national research, education
and training facility dedicated to advancing local community economic development through the
deployment of clean, reliable and secure energy technologies.
The facility will be located in Chula Vista, California and administered by the National Energy
Center for Sustainable Communities. The Center is currently administered as a partnership
between the City ofChula Vista and San Diego State University. The funds will be used to
match contributions from state, local and private sources designated for: the building
construction fund (total building cost estimated at $12-15 million) ; an employment training
program for renewable and solar energy equipment installers; and a technical assistance program
on energy-efficient community development for municipal officials.
Funds would be used for NECSC building design and construction and for research projects
relating to improving energy affordability through the integration of advanced renewable and
energy-efficient technologies in community development. Further, the earmark could support an
NECSC employment training program targeted at unemployed individuals in the region seeking
employment as installers of renewable energy technologies, and in particular solar PV and
thermal energy technologies. Finally, the earmark could support the formulation ofa technical
assistance program for municipal officials from economically disadvantaged communities,
enabling them to pursue energy-efficient community development and related local jobs training
initiatives.
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Resolution No. 2007-021
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Attachment A
Palomar Gateway
$3,125,000
This project is located in southwest Chula Vista between the Interstate 5 Palomar Street entrance
and Industrial Boulevard. The project area is at the heart of the larger surrounding Palomar
Gateway District which is within one of the city's primary redevelopment zones. The district
contains existing and planned mixed use development, and the Palomar Transit Station-a major
terminus for local and regional modes of transportation. The city has identified this project area
as an opportunity to strengthen the connection between local land uses and the regional
transportation network by applying the principles of smart growth to best serve our residents and
visitors.
The project is designed to provide a true gateway to the city, encourage the use of public transit,
promote foot traffic and bicycle use throughout the community, attract a superior quality of high-
density housing development to the area, and enhance connectivity between all modes of
transportation serving the Palomar District.
The City has secured $2,000,000 in grant funding through SANDAG and has identified $375,000
in matching funds. Total project cost is estimated at $5,500,000, resulting in a federal funding
request of$3,125,000. Without federal assistance, the City will not be able to proceed with this
innovative, attractive and functional project.
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Resolution No. 2007-021
Page 10
Renewable Energy Park Partnership-
to Compliment Sustainable Zero Energy Community
(Allied, CEC, CPUC)
Diesel Manufacturers, CARB/AQMD
Attachment A
$5 - 6 million I
This project focuses funding on public private partnerships to develop infrastructure and working
models for state of the art alternative fossil free electricity generation systems, complimented by
biofuels derived from local waste products and renewable crop resources to demonstrate zero
energy center(s), (Corp Yard, University EVC, Civic Center).
The project would build on the City's renewable energy and transportation fuel projects to
demonstrate their sustainability at the community level and their integration into traditional
systems; using local resources, solar, wind, water and sustainable crops and waste to push toward
zero fossil fuel consumption. Chula Vista can take advantage of resources such as a local
landfill, strong recycling and reuse programs, contracts and existing experience with solar, fuel
cell, methane recovery, bio-diesel programs and an emerging research, education and
commercial environment to demonstrate a roadmap for urban America to reduce its dependency
on fossil fuels.
The 50Q-acre Otay Landfill and adjacent 26-acre Public Works facility are contiguous to a
redevelopment area (a 'recycling park that consists mostly of auto dismantling, vehicle
operations yards, warehouse space and metal fabricating firms) that also includes fuel cell, solar,
natural gas, solar and the proposed hydrogen/natural gas (hythane) fueling facilities as well as
the City's Emergency Operations Center. The landfill operator manages flared methane and
methane to energy infrastructure, one of the first and largest bio-diesel fleets in the nation and
the City's recycling, green waste and trash collection programs.
The City also owns the option for 53 free acres ofland adjacent the landfill and the local school
district owns ten acres adjacent to both parcels for a future public works yard. Those assets and
redevelopment designation create the opportunity to establish an energy park with efficiencies
and public benefit applications not easily replicable in other parts of the region.
The project would involve public private partnerships to expand the City's bio-diesel programs
to include the franchise collection and distilling of offal (fats and oils) generated within the City.
Those feed stocks can be combined with "cellulose" feedstock grown and harvested from landfill
and right of way spaces to generate a consistent, local and environmentally sustainable feedstock
for bio-fuels for City vehicles, recycling and trash trucks, school buses, back up generators and
other fossil fueled equipment.
The locally generated fuels will stabilize fuel costs for local agencies, reduce local emissions,
turn waste products into value added resources, create local jobs and demonstrate how locally
derived alternative fuels can play an important part in fuel markets and sustainable local
practices. The project would also expand the City's solar, fuel cell, back up generation facilities,
and add a wind component to demonstrate their closed loop environmental and fossil free
potential.
12
I The Transit-Fleet proposal for hydrogen-Natural Gas (hythane) duplicates $1 million dollars in the range stated
here.
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Resolution No. 2007-021
Page II
Attachment A
Sustainable Wastewater Treatment Partnership
$10 Million
Demonstration project a Constructed Wetland Treatment System scaled to serve a Chula Vista
neighborhood adjacent to an existing water body. These systems utilize the natural process
involving wetland vegetation, soils and their associated microbial processes to assist in treating
wastewater. They take advantage of many of the same processes that occur in natural wetlands,
but do so within a more controlled environment.
Operational experience and research shows: a growing interest in the use of constructed wetlands
as a part of water treatment, tremendous opportunity for realizing sizable future savings in
wastewater treatment costs, and opportunities for upgrading existing large treatment facilities.
Funding provided by the National Science Foundation, Department of the Interior, NASA, EPA,
Army Corp of Engineers, Department of Agriculture and others have played an important role in
stimulating the development of the available information and guidance on more than 15
constructed wetland treatment systems in ten states, including California.
The existing systems and their associated case studies provide valuable information regarding the
development of cost effective wastewater and storm water run-off projects that also create
wetland habitat for waterfowl and other wildlife, along with areas for public education and
recreation. Some of these 15 projects have been recognized by the Ford Foundation for
Innovation in a Local Government Project and excellence in Engineering by the American
Society for Civil Engineers.
A scalable, community project for a portion ofChula Vista's wastewater capacity would put
Chula Vista and the South Bay at the forefront of a solution for this critical regional challenge--
demonstrating a solution that "solves many problems while creating no new ones." Other
potential benefits:
. Establishes an alternative waste treatment strategy that secures additional wastewater and
reclaimed water capacity,
. Demonstrates a locally sustainable model and compliments the local watershed and wildlife
habitat,
. Establishes intellectual capacity for a technology not broadly used in Southern California,
. Compliments the state Climate Change recommendations, the National Energy Center and
local sustainability goals,
. Provides an alternative to traditional wastewater treatment and the exposure from a
financially and environmentally challenged "business as usual" regional program,
. Has the potential to attract complimentary funding to complete or expand projects and build
on a public education and research component
. Works with other local state and federal agencies to provide these benefits.
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Resolution No. 2007-021
Page 12
Attachment A
Wildland-Urban Interface
$1,200,000
The City ofChula Vista is moving toward the adoption of its own Wildland-Urban Interface
(WUI) Code. This code will be specific to our city's climatic, geological, and topographical
needs. As published by DUDEK, the purpose of this WUI Code Implementation Project is to
minimize the risk of wildfire while providing for the preservation and management of sensiti ve
biological resources. This pre-disaster strategic plan provides analysis and risk assessment of the
City's WUI areas and, based on that risk; lays out a baseline of WUI related code revision
recommendations.
The WUI Code Implementation Project indicates that a significant wildfire threat exists within
Chula Vista because of several hazardous wildland areas and canyons within the city, including
the perimeter of the city adjacent to the Otay Reservoir, the intermix surrounding Rice Canyon
and neighboring canyons, and the lower Otay River bottom. This threat is substantiated through
a series of fire modeling assessments as performed within the scope of the WUI Code
Implementation Project. In addition, the City's Hazard Mitigation Plan identifies wildland fires
to be the greatest hazard to the city. This known hazard was further validated during the Wildfire
Storm in 2003 where the Mine Fire burned right up to the city's boundary and threatened homes
throughout the community.
Initial and on-going vegetation maintenance throughout the city is critical to reduce the potential
loss of residences, structures, and lives during a wildfire conflagration. Some of these areas in
need of fuel reduction currently support sensitive biological resources that are protected under
the City ofChula Vista's adopted Multiple Species Conservation Program (MSCP) Subarea
Plan. In consultation with the Wildlife Agencies, the City has developed Area Specific
Management Directives (ASMDs) for approximately 1,350 acres of designated Preserve land
within Rice Canyon. The ASMDs provide specific guidelines for long-term maintenance and
management of the Preserve, including techniques for implementing brush management. The
WUI Code has been uniquely modified to incorporate fuel reduction techniques that are
consistent with the City's MSCP Subarea Plan and the ASMDs, and complimentary to the brush
management recommendations of the WUI Code. With this modification, implementation of the
WUI Code will provide adequate protection for sensitive biological resources, while ensuring the
protection of public health and safety by reducing the potential wildland fire risks.
Upon implementation, approximately four hundred sixty (460) acres need vegetation
management at an estimated cost of $1,200,000 for the initial clearance to reduce the significant
risk and exposure to disasters. All on-going costs will be assumed by the City ofChula Vista
and are addressed within the plan. This project is the first of its kind in the South County; by
awarding federal grant funding, it will also be the first to provide visible results.
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