BOARD AGENDA MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT:
Title
Selection of Grantees for the Safe, Clean Water Funded Fiscal Year 2018 District Water Conservation Research Grant Program, Project No. 26061008.
End
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Approve the top three rated projects for grant funding for the Fiscal Year 2018 District Water Conservation Research Grant Program.
Body
SUMMARY:
On September 26, 2017, the Board of Directors approved the fifth grant cycle for the Safe, Clean Water (SCW) funded Water Conservation Research Grant Program (Program). Specifically, the Board approved a funding amount for the 2018 grant cycle of up to $100,000, approved the evaluation criteria and authorized the CEO to execute grants agreements consistent with the Program.
Staff released the request for proposal on September 30, 2017. Significant outreach was conducted, including: email notification to over 400 stakeholder groups, and an additional 210 schools (including public elementary, middle, high schools, and charter schools); notification letters from District CEO to City Managers and executive directors; notification letter from District Board Chair to city mayors and the County of Santa Clara President of the Board of Supervisors; web page updates; and a pre-bid workshop. Project proposals were due November 30, 2017 and the following seven applications were received (funding request included - see Attachment 1 for more detailed information):
• DripCycle - Water Reuse Project ($50,000)
• Flycatcher Marketing - Advanced Metering Infrastructure Irrigation Sub-Metering Study ($30,000)
• PS Creations - Plate Scrape, Pre-rinse basin for commercial dishwashing ($30,192)
• Purissima Hills Water District - Residential Advanced Metering Program ($50,000)
• City of Santa Clara - Rainwater Harvesting ($10,000)
• San Jose Water Company - Water Audit Data Integration and Leak Evaluation ($30,000)
• WaterNow Alliance - Beyond Leak Detection ($50,000)
A four-member review panel (two internal and two external) evaluated the seven proposals based on the approved criteria. The average scores for each proposal are as follows (a minimum score of 70 out of 100 is required);
1. Purissima Hills Water District - 86
2. WaterNow Alliance - 84.25
3. PS Creations - 82.75
4. City of Santa Clara - 74.25
5. San Jose Water Company - 73.5
6. DripCycle - 69
7. Flycatcher Marketing - 44.5
Staff’s recommendation would result in grant awards to the top 3 rated applicants (i.e. Purissima Hills Water District, WaterNow Alliance and PS Creations)
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The recommendation is that the top three applicants be funded for a combined total of $130,192. This funding will result in the Program exceeding the Board approved FY2018 budget of $100,000 by $30,192; however, the top three applicants far outscored the other four applicants and the review panel specifically recommended that PS Creations’ project (rated as the third-highest project) be funded in this round. The additional funds are available in the SCW fund due to underspending in prior year grant cycles.
CEQA:
Purissima Hills Water District is the lead agency for purpose of complying with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for its project. The District is the lead agency for the purpose of CEQA compliance for WaterNow Alliance’s and PS Creations projects.
Each award of each grant is contingent on complying with CEQA requirements.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: 2018 Grant Project Applications Summary
UNCLASSIFIED MANAGER:
Manager
Garth Hall, 408-630-2750