STATE TRANSIT OFFICEdot.alaska.gov/stwdplng/transit/pub/fy06_actgrantapp_instructions.pdf · • Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Section 5309 projects are intended to supplement

STATE OF ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC FACILITIES

STATE TRANSIT OFFICE

DIVISION OF PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT

FY 2006

ALASKA COMMUNITY TRANSPORTATION GRANT APPLICATION

PROGRAM INSTRUCTIONS

Capital Grant Programs for Transportation Services

FTA Section 5310 Elderly & Persons with Disabilities Program

Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority Coordinated Transportation & Vehicles Program

Alaska Mobility Coalition FTA Section 3037 Jobs Access & Reverse Commute Program

Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority FTA Section 5309 Capital Program

Issued January 31, 2006

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Alaska Community Transportation Grant Application, Program Instructions – FY 2006FTA 5310 - AMHTA - JARC RFP Program Instructions – FY 2004

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Table of Contents

Purpose of Projects

1

Intent of the Programs

3

“State Recognition” of Coordinated Community Transportation Systems and Their Planning

5

Applicants From State Recognized Coordinated Community Transportation System Areas 6

Description Of State Recognized Coordinated Community Transportation System Service Areas

7

Planning a New Coordinated System 9

What If There Is Interest in Coordinated Transportation But a Vehicle Is Needed Sooner Than Planning a System Can Take Place?

9

What Constitutes More Limited “Coordinated Services”?

9

What Constitutes More Limited “Non-Coordinated Services”?

10

Understanding the “Purchase of Services” Feature of the Grant Programs

11

Allowable Uses of Funds

13

Developing Your Grant Project

15

• Coordination with School Bus Transportation – IMPORTANT INFORMATION!

15

• Considerations for Coordinated Systems Proposals

15

• Considerations for Vehicle, Equipment, and Facility Purchase Proposals

16

• Vehicle Characteristics Chart

20

Special Provisions for FTA Section 5310 and AMHTA Programs

21

• Current Grantees

21

• APTMS Participation Mandatory

21

• Projects in Anchorage and Fairbanks

21

• Opportunity for Public Comment and Private Sector Involvement in Projects Proposed By Public Bodies:

21

• Community Support

21

• Coordination Intent

21

• Local Match Requirements

22

• FTA Federal Rules

25

• AMHTA Rules

26


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• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

27

• Vehicle Color & Logo Requirements

27

• Insurance Requirements

28

• Reporting Requirements

28

Evaluation Process and Award of Grants

30

Structuring of Grant Awards

32

Definitions

32

Persons with Disabilities

32

Elderly

32

Beneficiary Groups (Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority)

33

FTA 5310 - AMHTA - JARC RFP Program Instructions – FY 2004 1

FTA Section 5309 and 5310 – AMHTA – JARC

Purpose of Projects All projects must increase the mobility of the elderly and/or persons with disabilities (including Alaska Mental Health Trust beneficiaries, per the definitions included near the end of this manual), with the exception of JARC. JARC projects must target welfare recipients and other eligible low-income individuals, per definitions stated in the RFP section of the RFP package. • Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Section 5309 projects are intended to supplement vehicles

purchased with FTA Section 5310 and 5311 funding. Recipients of these funds must be a governmental agency or a public transit system. Therefore, monies from this funding source will be granted to transportation agencies through their local public entity or transit system. 5309 funds must be used in a coordinated manner to the maximum extent feasible.

5309 funding as it applies to this grant application is used to help meet capital costs associated with providing coordinated transportation to the elderly and persons with disabilities. These funds support coordinated community transportation systems and other coordinated services where coordinated systems do not exist.

• significant services provided to elderly persons and persons with disabilities (complete all information in the ridership table as requested for your type of application)

• support from other organizations in the service area, including other transportation

providers (documented by letters and/or memoranda of agreement) • Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Section 5310 projects are primarily for public

transportation planned, designed, and carried out to meet the special needs of the elderly and persons with disabilities. However, where mass transportation is unavailable, insufficient, or inappropriate, 5310 does allow nonprofit agencies to be funded for other projects that serve these client groups, and local/tribal governments where no nonprofit is available. 5310 funds must be used in a coordinated manner to the maximum extent feasible. 5310 funding is used to help meet capital costs associated with providing coordinated transportation to the elderly and persons with disabilities. These funds support coordinated community transportation systems and other coordinated services where coordinated systems do not exist. An unusual feature of this program is that funds may be used to purchase transportation services (rides), usually done through some kind of coupon, voucher, or ticketing method. To be eligible for FTA 5310 funding, an applicant is expected to demonstrate:

• significant services provided to elderly persons and persons with disabilities (complete

all information in the ridership table as requested for your type of application) • support from other organizations in the service area, including other transportation

providers (documented by letters and/or memoranda of agreement)

• Local government applicants (including tribal governments) applying for these monies must provide an opportunity for a public hearing about the proposed project (documented as instructed in the application)


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• AMHTA projects are intended to significantly increase the mobility of Trust beneficiaries (those

Alaskans experiencing mental illness, developmental disabilities, chronic alcoholism with psychosis, or Alzheimer's disease or related dementia—see detailed definitions at end). Most projects support coordinated community transportation systems, although some support more limited coordinated transportation services and noncoordinated transportation projects where coordinated systems and services are determined to be infeasible or inappropriate to meet a particular need.

AMHTA funds are intended to help meet capital costs of coordinated transportation except where coordinated services are inappropriate. Funds may be awarded to support planning of new coordinated systems, new coordinated systems’ start-up operations costs, and purchase of services and vehicles. A substantial amount will be available for noncoordinated projects.

To be eligible for AMHTA funding, an applicant is expected to demonstrate:

• significant services provided to Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority beneficiaries (complete all information in the ridership table as requested for your type of application)

• support from other organizations in the service area, including other transportation providers

(documented by letters and/or memoranda of agreement)

• Local government applicants (including tribal governments) applying for these monies must provide an opportunity for a public hearing about the proposed project (documented as instructed in the application)

• JARC projects are to provide employment-related transportation to help recently past and

present TANF welfare recipients and other eligible low-income persons access jobs and/or to enable the general public to get to suburban jobs. They are to be used in a coordinated manner and are coordinated at the State level to assure this.

• JARC funds are generally targeted at developing new or expanded transportation services for welfare recipients and low-income persons (shuttles, van pools, new bus routes, connector services to mass transit, and guaranteed ride home programs, etc.) and/or at providing transportation to suburban employment centers for all populations. They are NOT intended for ongoing operating costs.

Projects may benefit persons other than the target groups, as well, as long as this benefit does not disproportionately deter services to target groups. Projects benefit all the target groups and the general public when they support coordinated community transportation systems.


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Intent of the Programs

These programs are to transport people, rather than goods. Any transport of goods (such as home-delivered meals) must be an incidental use that does not displace any transportation of the elderly and persons with disabilities, including beneficiaries of the Alaska Mental Health Trust, or the JARC target groups.

Primary Intent: The primary intent and focus of these programs is to assist planning and implementation of State-recognized coordinated community transportation systems in communities large enough to make them feasible. Such systems particularly benefit the elderly and persons with disabilities (including Mental Health Trust beneficiaries) and low-income individuals, by making significantly more rides available in a community, with services designed to meet their special needs. And they benefit whole communities or areas at the same time because they provide transportation to the general public and they serve as an economic engine for their communities (especially if they have JARC funds involved). A coordinated community transportation system is one in which multiple agencies share their transportation resources and responsibilities in a carefully planned, formalized, and meaningful way. This implies much more than, for example, two or three agencies transporting each other’s clients or loaning vehicles to each other when a vehicle is receiving maintenance or repairs. A coordinated community transportation system allows a community to provide more rides with existing social service agency vehicles and resources, through efficiencies gained by centralization of ride scheduling, vehicle dispatch, and usually other transportation functions. And it allows a community to even further increase availability of rides through thoughtful rearrangement of current transportation resources to use them to leverage thousands of dollars of additional transportation resources unavailable to a community without a coordinated system, enabling it to also provide services to the general public. Discussion about “State recognition” of these systems and how these systems benefit the elderly and persons with disabilities, low-income families, and other special populations is included in Part 4, Coordinated Community Transportation Information. Discussion identifies benefits beyond just increasing availability of rides and provides concrete examples of how resources for seniors (NTS funds) are already being effectively included in coordinated transportation in several Alaskan communities, while still maintaining accountability that they are being used only for senior rides. Secondary Intent: A secondary intent and focus of these programs is to assist other more limited coordinated transportation services that serve the elderly, persons with disabilities, and low-income individuals in circumstances where full-blown coordinated systems that also serve the public are infeasible or yet to be developed. Third Intent: A third intent and focus of these programs is to assist noncoordinated transportation projects in circumstances where coordinated systems or coordinated services are infeasible or cannot meet a particular need. Such projects will be considered for AMHTA funding if they serve beneficiaries of the Alaska Mental Health Trust and focus on client transportation or staff visits to client homes. Those projects which serve the 5310 target population(s) will be considered for 5310 funding for an ADA-accessible vehicle. For example, if it will be the only lift-equipped vehicle in the community or area (aside from an old vehicle that may be retained for back-up) and there are no other social service agencies to coordinate with. (Noncoordinated projects are not eligible for JARC funding, as FTA program rules indicate every JARC project must be part of a human services coordinated transportation planning process.)


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Fourth Intent: A fourth intent and focus will be employment-related transportation. JARC projects must be used for either or both of the following: • transportation targeted to welfare recipients and other eligible low-income individuals to get

them to/from jobs and employment-related activities, such as job training, interviews, child care (“jobs access”)

• Welfare recipients are federally defined for JARC purposes as those who receive or

have recently received Title IV, Part A resources under the Social Security Act. This is known as the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or TANF program.

• Other eligible low-income individuals are federally defined for JARC purposes as those

at or below 150% of poverty level as defined in the Community Service Block Grant Act. • to improve access of the general public to suburban employment (“reverse commute”). The Alaska Mobility Coalition is working to identify, inform, and assist communities who may benefit from JARC projects.


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“State-Recognition” of

Coordinated Community Transportation Systems and Their Planning Existing coordinated systems, as well as planning efforts that are State supported or satisfactory to the State, may be classified by the State Transit Office as being in “State-Recognized System Status” or in “State-Recognized System Planning Status. “State recognition” is at the discretion of the State Transit Office. It is based on considerations such as the extent to which a start-up or fully operational system includes documented multiple agency involvement, pools multiple resources, is making concrete headway toward start-up of coordinated services, whether a planning effort satisfactory to the State Transit Office is active or complete, and/or whether public funding is or was involved in a local planning effort. A coordinated system needs to be more than a public transit system with a minimally required paratransit component in order to be designated. It must have multiple social service agency involvement with significant resource pooling and development, based on a written plan acceptable to the State Transit Office as a basis for funding. Those systems currently recognized are shown below.

SYSTEM OR COMMUNITY SPONSORING AGENCY System Status AnchorRides/People Mover/Share-a-Ride Car Pool & Van Pool, Anchorage

Municipality of Anchorage

Bethel City of Bethel

CARTS (Central Area Rural Transit System), Soldotna/Kenai

Central Area Rural Transit System, Inc.

MACS (Metropolitan Area Commuter System), Fairbanks North Star Borough

Fairbanks North Star Borough

KATS (Kodiak Area Transit System)

Senior Citizens of Kodiak, Inc.

MASCOT (Matanuska-Susitna Coordinated Transportation), Wasilla

Matanuska-Susitna Coordinated Transportation, Inc.

Community Ride (“The Ride,” Sitka)

Center for Community, Inc.

Planning Status Juneau City and Borough of Juneau

Ketchikan Ketchikan Gateway Borough


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APPLICANTS FROM STATE RECOGNIZED COORDINATED COMMUNITY TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM AREAS

If you are applying for funding and your project is located within the service area of a State Recognized Coordinated Community Transportation System (SRCCTS) you will be submitting your application directly to the sponsoring agency of that system. Attached is a description of the appropriate service areas. The sponsoring agency will rate your application according to the following:

• Can the SRCCTS currently meet the needs of the applying agency’s project? • If not, does the applying agency’s project meet the goals of the SRCCTS? Would it be

worth incorporating them into the system? • If not, is this a worthy project needed by the community? Does the project appear to

be feasible as presented in the application? • What priority should be given to this project when compared to all other applications

that have been received by the SRCCTS?

The SRCCTS will forward the input to the State Transit Office, which will consider their input when making the final decision on funding.

Municipality of Anchorage Jennifer Beckmann Tom Wilson Central Area Rural Transit System, Inc. 3650 A East Tudor Road P.O. Box 993 Anchorage, AK 99507 Soldotna, AK. 99669 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] David Leone John Kern Fairbanks North Star Borough Capital Transit 3175 Peger Road 10099 Brentwood Place Fairbanks, AK. 99709 Juneau, AK. 99801 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Kara Lunde Pat Branson C/O Southeast Alaska Independent Living Senior Citizens of Kodiak, Inc. 602 Dock Street, #105 302 Erskine Ketchikan, AK 99901 Kodiak, AK. 99615 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Karen Walton Connie Sipe Matanuska-Susitna Coordinated Center for Community, Inc. Transportation, Inc. 302 Erskine P.O. Box 871590 Sitka, AK. 99835 Wasilla, AK. 99687 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] John Sargent City of Bethel P.O. Box 1388 Bethel, AK. 99559 Email: [email protected]


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DESCRIPTION OF STATE RECOGNIZED COORDINATED COMMUNITY TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM SERVICE AREAS

ANCHORAGE - People Mover, Anchorage's fixed route bus system: Primary service area is the Anchorage Bowl, with additional service north to Chugiak/Eagle River and Peters Creek. Coverage in the Bowl extends to Oceanview Drive in the south, Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in the west, and Muldoon Road and Cook Inlet Housing in the northeast and to the lower Hillside area in the southeast. DART (Dial-A-Ride Transit) is a component of the People Mover fixed route system. DART is a deviated fixed route system which serves Chugiak/Eagle River and south Anchorage. AnchorRIDES is complementary paratransit service and is available within 1/4 mile of the fixed routes. Limited service is available to areas outside the 1/4 boundaries for an additional fee of $1.50. AnchorRIDES primary customers are people with disabilities and seniors. Share-A-Ride has two components, a carpool matching service and a vanpool service. We will provide carpool matching for anyone who registers in our database. Vanpools currently serve riders from Palmer and Mat-Su and provide transportation to people who reside in Anchorage and work in the Girdwood area. The military installations are also a destination for some vanpools. BETHEL – The proposed route will go from the Bethel Airport east to Brown’s Slough and west to Lulu Herron Center. The central transfer station will be located near the Bethel Native Corporation Complex. CARTS – Serves the unincorporated communities of Sterling, Kasilof and Nikiski, and the cities of Kenai and Soldotna and surrounding areas, including Funny River and Upper Coho. JUNEAU - Fixed route service to the roaded areas of the City and Borough of Juneau north to Auke Bay and South to the Community of Douglas. Paratransit service to this same area and including residents along Thane Road South of Downtown Juneau and service to the Alaska Marine Highway Terminal north of Auke Bay. Other agencies participating in the JCTC provide client and school pupil transportation services to the entire roaded area of the City and Borough of Juneau. KATS – From Monashka Bay to past the Coast Guard Base to Women’s Bay. MASCOT - Fixed Route service - Core areas of Wasilla and Palmer, with commuter service to Anchorage (flag stops for towns in between the Valley and Anchorage).


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Demand Response - Outlying communities outside of core areas to include: Knik, Meadow Lakes, Butte, Big Lake, and Houston Non-emergency Paratransit - All above mentioned Mat-Su Valley towns. COMMUNITY RIDE (SITKA) - The SMC bus follows Sawmill Creek Road to Price Street which is on the southeastern end of town. The SMC bus also covers downtown, including Sheldon Jackson College and travels northeast on Indian River Road. It goes southwest across the bridge to Japonski Island providing services to University of Alaska and SEARHC. The HPR bus follows Halibut Point Road starting downtown and traveling northwest to the ferry terminal. The bus goes as far as Granite Creek Road. Paratransit services are available throughout the community.


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Planning a New Coordinated Community Transportation System Limited planning funds are available to support planning processes to develop written plans for coordinated community transportation systems. After a community completes a planning process satisfactory to DOT&PF, its resulting plan may then be used to seek FTA, AMHTA, JARC, and other funding for its new coordinated system. To be acceptable to DOT&PF, the planning process must include broad community involvement and result in a substantive written plan. The plan must document the community’s current transportation services, costs, needs, and resources; must identify alternative approaches to delivering transportation and the recommended or selected alternative; must identify resources to implement it, including how they will be structured; and must fully describe the planning process. Planning funds are usually used to cover contract costs for a professional transportation services planning consultant, as well as any miscellaneous associated costs. An agency interested in initiating planning of a coordinated transportation system for a community or area outside the service areas served by State-recognized coordinated transportation systems listed in this manual should check to see if other local agencies are also interested. Together they should consider whether to apply for planning funds and may contact the State Transit Office to discuss this. If they decide to proceed, the planning section of the grant application is quite easy to complete and State Transit Office staff can provide technical assistance. The State Transit Office can also help a successful applicant identify appropriate potential contractors.

What If There Is Interest in Coordinated Transportation But a Vehicle Is Needed Sooner Than Planning a System

Can Take Place?

In areas outside State-recognized coordinated systems, one or more agencies in a community may be interested in exploring coordinated transportation but one of them may also need a vehicle sooner than a planning process and coordination can be implemented. In this situation, the lead agency should apply for planning funds and, if it is the one that needs a vehicle right away, it can also apply for a vehicle in the same grant application. This lead agency will need to complete all four sections of the application.

What Constitutes More Limited “Coordinated Services”?

An example would be a limited coordinated service involving two or three agencies who commit in writing how they will jointly operate and maintain a single ADA-accessible vehicle purchased under the 5310, AMHTA, and/or JARC program, to provide rides that will be equally available to all the elderly and persons with disabilities in the service area, and provide JARC employment transportation if JARC funds are involved. If the community is large enough to make a coordinated system feasible in the future, such a coordinated service arrangement may be funded with the provision that its funding and/or services will merge into a new coordinated system when it’s created.

Another example would be continuation of a limited coordinated service provided by agencies that document their current resource coordination in writing (contracts, memoranda of understanding, etc.) and also document their active involvement in working toward development of a full-blown coordinated community transportation system.


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Another example would be a limited coordinated service involving one social service agency’s selling rides to one or more other social service agencies to avoid their needing to request one or more vehicles.

What Constitutes “Noncoordinated Services”?

An example would be when an agency in a very small community with no coordinated system or coordinated service applies for an ADA-accessible vehicle to provide rides that will be equally available to all the elderly and persons with disabilities in the community, because there is:

• no ADA-accessible school bus available that could also serve seniors and persons with disabilities; and

• no other ADA-accessible social services vehicle in the community (or only the old

one that it seeks to replace); and

• no other social services agency involved in transportation to coordinate with.

This recognizes that some small communities have no potential for coordinated systems or services. Such noncoordinated projects are eligible for FTA 5310 funding if the agency meets other eligibility requirements. They’re also eligible for AMHTA funding if they will serve Trust beneficiaries. If JARC employment transportation will also be provided, JARC funds may be used to help fund it.

Another example would be when an agency applies for a vehicle that will be the only vehicle in the community that provides “community service patrol” (to locate public inebriates and get them to safety). Another example would be when an agency applies for a vehicle to transport staff to Alaska Mental Health Trust beneficiaries’ homes and/or to transport beneficiaries who truly cannot use other available publicly funded transportation.

Such a vehicle would be more likely to be funded if plans were developed to share it during hours when it’s not being used, with a coordinated system if one exists or with another agency in limited coordinated service.


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Understanding the ‘Purchase of Services’ Feature of the Grant Programs Purchase of services funds can be requested for activities such as those listed below. Any rider coupon program is expected to require a rider fee of at least $1 per coupon, preferably $2 unless the community is very small. The rider fee may be paid by the rider or by an agency or individual on the rider’s behalf. If no rider fee is proposed, the grant application must provide justification. If a grantee will provide coupons to a nonprofit agency other than a State-recognized coordinated transportation system, for sale or free distribution to clients, the grantee must sell them to that agency at the cost the grantee paid to acquire them (such as when they are discounted taxi coupons) or at the grantee’s full cost (if they are not discounted). Purchase of services grantees of this program are not intended to subsidize or substitute for transportation costs of other nonprofit agencies. • In a State-recognized coordinated system service area, the system itself can request purchase

of services funds to purchase taxi rides to supplement the services they provide directly or through other contracts, or to purchase services from other agencies who are their contractors. For example, taxi rides may be used to fill in when system vehicles are already at capacity or there aren’t enough folks going in the same direction to justify sending a larger system vehicle.

• In a State-recognized coordinated system service area, a nonprofit agency can request

purchase of services funds to buy ride coupons from the State-recognized system, to be distributed to seniors and persons with disabilities. The bulk purchase constitutes a contractual arrangement (each coupon is good for a ride or zone trip). This helps direct rides to target group clients and provides operating funds for the coordinated system.

• Outside State-recognized coordinated system service areas, agencies are encouraged to consider whether purchasing services from another agency or reliable taxi company (usually at a discounted rate) would be more cost-effective than requesting a vehicle. Purchase of services funds can be requested for these uses.

• Purchase of services from another agency can be an easy way to get around the liability

and insurance issues entailed in trying to jointly own a vehicle and can sometimes save one of the agencies from having to buy or replace a vehicle.

• Some agencies have found that when there are few seniors and persons with disabilities

in the community who need rides, it can be more economical and satisfactory to clients to help pay for taxi rides instead of staffing, operating, maintaining, and insuring vehicles. And taxi rides usually have the advantage of being available on a 24-hour per day basis, professionally dispatched, and obtainable at a discounted rate with a guaranteed minimum number of rides.

However, agencies considering the taxi option need to realize that it may only be a good option when a small number of targeted clients need rides. It can be expensive otherwise, depending upon whether a vehicle purchase is also needed. (See discussion below for more information about taxi coupon programs.)

• Outside a State-recognized coordinated system service area, a senior center can request an

agency that serves persons with disabilities to apply for purchase of services funds to buy rides from its existing NTS project for those under-60 persons with disabilities, who may otherwise be ineligible to ride in its senior vans.

Generally, purchased services must be equally available to the elderly and persons with disabilities. The exception would be rides in senior vans that are purchased for persons with disabilities or rides


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in disability program vehicles that are purchased for nondisabled seniors. All purchased rides contractors must have ADA-accessible service available. Purchase of services arrangements outside coordinated system service areas may be considered to be limited coordinated services when, in the view of DOT&PF, coordination intent is met and documented. Arrangements too limited to be considered ‘coordinated’ will be viewed as noncoordinated projects. More on Taxi Coupon/Voucher Programs…

An agency planning services outside a State-recognized system service area can request purchase-of-services funds to buy discount taxi coupons for use by the elderly and persons with disabilities, under contractual arrangement with one or more taxi companies. These coupons must be equally available to both client groups to meet coordination intent, and rides must be ADA accessible. To meet the required local match for the coupon funding, such agencies usually charge riders for these coupons at 20% of the discounted cost.

Example: Full cost of taxi ride to the public = $8; discounted cost = $5; rider share = $1; grant share = $4. (Note that the $4 actually could be paid from a combination of the grant and some other funding source if another source can be identified, and/or the rider share could be $2 instead of $1.)

This will require that an ADA accessible vehicle be available to the taxi company. If the local taxi service is not already ADA-accessible, the agency may request a vehicle to contract to the taxi in exchange for its meeting all the operating, maintenance, and insurance costs involved. In addition to increasing ride volume, the taxi company benefits by being allowed to use the vehicle to meet its own ADA responsibilities to the general public. However, coupon clients must take priority for use of that vehicle. If a vehicle is requested, usual local match provisions apply. Applicants should be very cautious with this approach! One Alaskan taxi company has indicated this is not a profitable arrangement for the taxi but, since the taxi company breaks even, it continues the arrangement as a community service. Not all taxi companies may be willing to do this. Agencies considering this approach need to consider safety, reliability, and continuity factors both in evaluating whether to use this approach and in selecting potential taxi contractors. And successful applicants may need to establish project rules that limit the number of coupons an individual can purchase in a given period of time, to keep the project from ‘snowballing’ in coupon demand beyond what the agency can sustain. (The State Transit Office can provide technical assistance.) In addition, prospective applicants in communities large enough to warrant development of a coordinated community transportation system should be aware that DOT&PF currently views this type of taxi arrangement as a ‘stop-gap’ measure until a coordinated system is in place. Once a coordinated system is in place, it is DOT&PF intent to merge purchase of services funds back into the funding block from which coordinated systems are funded.


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Allowable Uses of Funds 5309, 5310 & AMHTA Implementation funds may be used to cover transportation-related replacement items and items to assist expansion and enhancement of transportation services, per the categories shown on the first page of the RFP:

• Vehicles (new or reconditioned) – new vehicles may include winter tires on rims, wheelchair

lift/ramp, extra battery, Community Transit logo/ lettering, agency logo/lettering)

Use of these vehicles for purposes other than transporting people must be incidental and must not displace any rides to seniors, persons with disabilities (including Trust beneficiaries), or welfare recipients and other low-income individuals, or of agency staff to Trust beneficiary homes. The number and size of vehicles applied for must be determined only by the number passengers to be transported, not other factors such as meal delivery capacity. Vehicles must be ADA-accessible (Americans With Disabilities Act), unless the agency can demonstrate it meets ADA requirements in another way and has an ADA Waiver approved by the State Transit Office, DOT&PF. Both new and reconditioned vehicles must comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) and any other applicable FTA or State Transit Office requirements. FMVSS standards also apply to vehicle rehabilitation, rebuilds, and overhauls. Applicants are encouraged to analyze the benefit of acquiring reconditioned vehicles and/or equipment in good working order whenever possible, or reconditioning vehicles and/or equipment. This not only conserves grant resources but can also save applicant agencies from significant unnecessary costs. Grant funds can be used for extended vehicle warranties only up to industry standard.

• Equipment, such as radios and communications systems, wheelchair lifts and restraints

(including retrofitting), portable vehicle shelters, and computer hardware/software systems, engines, transmissions, etc.

Funds will not be awarded for equipment with unit cost of under $3,000 that is not associated with the purchase of a vehicle. Funds will not be used for cell phones (unit cost too low) or cell phone service (operating cost). Funds cannot be used to purchase specialized equipment unrelated to transporting passengers, such as racks or heating/refrigeration units related to meal delivery. Equipment applicants are encouraged to analyze the benefit of acquiring reconditioned equipment in good working order whenever possible, or reconditioning equipment. This not only conserves grant resources but can also save applicant agencies from significant unnecessary costs. FMVSS standards apply to reconditioning, rehabilitation, rebuild, and overhaul equipment for vehicles.

• Facility acquisition or construction (such as of vehicle shelters, bus stop shelters) • Other capital improvements • Initial installation costs of the above


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• Start-up operating costs for fully implemented coordinated transportation systems

Funds may be used to purchase cell phones and cell phone service. • Purchase of transportation services (via contract, tickets, passes, vouchers, blocks of rides,

and similar arrangements)

• by State-recognized coordinated systems

• from State-recognized coordinated transportation systems

• for other more limited coordinated services in areas outside coordinated system service areas

• for noncoordinated projects outside coordinated system service areas, such as

for rides in NTS-operated senior vans for persons with disabilities who are under 60 years of age, or for senior rides in disability agency vehicles.

Grant funds awarded for purchase of services projects outside State-recognized coordinated system service areas may be limited to approximately $15,000 per project. This is approximately equivalent to one year’s value of a $60,000 vehicle an agency might otherwise request, that would have an expected life of four years.

Planning funds may be used only to plan new coordinated community transportation systems for communities or areas outside the service areas of State-recognized coordinated systems, to:

• educate the community about current community transportation issues • identify existing transportation providers and resources • assess the need for additional transportation services • recommend a community transportation service model through which the community can

maximize its existing transportation resources to significantly increase rides availability in the community or area.

Usually planning funds are awarded to a lead community agency to contract for the services of a professional transportation services consultant acceptable to the State Transit Office to assist the community in its coordinated transportation planning effort.

JARC funds may be used for costs to increase employment-related transportation of welfare

recipients and other eligible low-income to job training, job interviews, jobs, child care, and other employment related support and/or increase public transportation to suburban employment opportunities:

• Capital costs

• Operating costs

JARC funds cannot be used to meet planning and coordination costs.


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Developing Your Grant Project

Coordination with School Bus Transportation – IMPORTANT INFORMATION! The State Transit Office and the Department of Education are continuing discussions regarding coordination of school and community transportation. The Department of Education is very supportive of school districts sharing use of their vehicles when they are not transporting pupils, particularly in small communities where school buses are not as heavily used. For example, school buses can be made available to transport seniors and persons with disabilities during some hours of the day. This is already being done in Alaska and can be an effective way to stretch both your and the school district’s resources. Funds that might otherwise be spent to purchase and operate a vehicle could be used to purchase rides on a school vehicle, probably at a lower cost. Before requesting a vehicle, an agency in a small community should investigate whether such an arrangement is workable and whether it needs to request “purchase of services” funds instead of a vehicle.

Agencies should also be alert that Federal law has changed. Agency transport of children to school, school activities, and Headstart must now be done only in vehicles that meet school-bus standards, including school-bus yellow paint color. The State Transit Office is willing to work with agencies to help them acquire a new ‘hybrid’ vehicle that meets both school bus safety standards and FTA safety standards, if such a vehicle is needed in a particular community.

Considerations for Coordinated Systems Proposals

• An applicant for a new coordinated community transportation system must have completed a planning process acceptable to the State Transit Office, DOT&PF. It must have resulted in a written plan for the new system that is also acceptable to the State Transit Office, DOT&PF, in order for the system to be considered for funding. The plan must identify where the new system’s administrative, operating, and capital revenues will come from for a three-year period. And those systems who request funds to meet start-up operating costs must identify how they will be financially solvent once the start-up operating funds are no longer available.

• Fare box revenues typically meet only about 20% of operating costs, so new systems must plan

other ways to meet the remaining 80% or more. Other possible funding sources include: sale of blocks of rides to agencies, businesses, and the general public (gift coupons); public and private grants; advertising revenues; and local government support; in addition to support from DOT&PF, FTA, AMHTA, and special grant programs (such as JARC, TANF). It can take about five to seven years for a new system to achieve a sound ongoing financial base.

• Taxi companies should be included in coordinated transportation systems to the extent that they

are willing to participate, safe, reliable, and operate with continuity. Coordinated systems are not intended to displace taxi services. They will usually need them as part of their service, and can enhance them.

• Any taxi company that is willing can be included in a coordinated system. A typical

arrangement is that the system makes an ADA-accessible vehicle available to the taxi company, if it’s not already ADA-accessible. The taxi company uses the vehicle to provide ADA-accessible rides to system clients when they cannot otherwise be accommodated and sometimes during hours the system does not operate (paid for by the system, usually at a discounted rate). In exchange, the system lets the taxi company use the ADA-accessible vehicle to serve other members of the general public who request accessible taxi services, which helps the taxi company meet its own ADA obligation.


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• Older Americans Act operating funds granted to senior programs by the Alaska Commission on Aging can be a resource to support operating costs of coordinated community transportation systems. Older Americans Act rules present a challenge, but not a barrier, to coordinated transportation systems. Coordination results in more rides for seniors. When these funds are coordinated, they can still be used only for seniors and must still be accounted for separately, as discussed elsewhere in this manual.

Considerations for Vehicle, Equipment, and Facility Purchase Proposals Facilities Proposals – Applicants are alerted that funds available under this RFP are limited. This

means that proposals for expensive facilities are unlikely to be funded because of the many other needs that exist for these funds across the state. However, this does not mean that an agency cannot apply for a facility project if it chooses to do so. And certainly an applicant should not hesitate to request needed funds for a small facility project such as a bus shelter.

Maintenance Considerations - Grant rules require good vehicle maintenance, so do not request a

vehicle that you cannot properly maintain for the required four years or 100,000 miles (whichever comes first). Large buses must be maintained for considerably longer. Applicants are expected to state their plans and identify resources to maintain requested vehicles and equipment in a manner that will assure they will be kept in good, clean, and working condition for their expected useful life. You will need to be sure there is a qualified person and necessary tools available to properly maintain the vehicle. Remember that even paratransit vehicles that meet State specifications are ‘high maintenance’ in nature (due in large part to wheelchair equipment), so you’ll need to plan maintenance resources carefully. Some vehicles have longer life expectancies than others and will require longer maintenance accordingly. Maintenance plans for vehicles, equipment, and facilities should include routine mechanical and safety inspections, as appropriate, to maintain them to OEM standards (Original Equipment Manufacturer standards), as well as identify major maintenance scheduling and resources, and provide for documentation of inspections, inspection results, and corrective repairs. Plans for equipment or facility maintenance should extend for the reasonable life of the equipment or facility.

Vehicle Storage Considerations - Applicants who have no garage or covered storage available for a requested vehicle are encouraged to consider whether to request funds for a portable shelter. DOT&PF funding is usually insufficient to purchase garages, but portable shelters can be a practical compromise and may be requested.

Grant application reviewers will consider the quality of planned vehicle storage in their scoring. For example, applications which show vehicle storage in a heated garage will score higher in this criteria than those which show vehicle storage in an unheated garage or portable shelter; storage in an uncovered fenced outside area will score yet lower but still higher than parking on the road.

• Documentation of Resources to Pay for Maintenance and Storage - To document resources available for maintenance and storage of requested items, include such items as: letters from or memoranda of agreement with the organizations who agree to do your maintenance, letters from boards of directors stating the resources they have reserved and what they are for, notices of grant award that show resources available for specific maintenance and/or storage, etc.


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• How Long Will It Take to Get a New Vehicle? Agencies are cautioned that it can take six months from the time the grant agreement is in effect to obtain a vehicle.

To speed the process and make grantees’ lives easier, the State Transit Office now does the hard part of vehicle purchase. It writes the vehicle specifications for the classes of vehicles most commonly approved under these funding programs and has the State Equipment Fleet conduct the procurement process for these vehicle classes. This results in a State contract with a single vendor for each class of vehicle. When a grant is awarded for a vehicle in one of these classes, the State notifies the grantee when and how to order the vehicle from the State contract. The ordering process is simple for the grantee, and the grantee still gets to select among several optional features. Delivery time after the order is placed has recently been about four months, as each vehicle has to be individually built to the State contract specification. This new procedure has been very popular with grantees that have recently purchased vehicles using it, and they have been delighted with the higher quality and better price of these vehicles. Although State Transit Office intent is that all vehicles as appropriate be acquired via the State contract, there may at times be special circumstances under which use of some other State-approved vehicle specification and a grantee bid process is appropriate. This decision is at the discretion of the State Transit Office. If a grantee is approved to order an ADA-accessible vehicle using a custom specification, it can take six months to a year after the grant agreement is in place to get the vehicle. Detailed and complex vehicle specifications must be written or updated, vehicles must be ordered using complex government-required procurement procedures, vehicles usually must be individually built to meet the specifications, and seasonal delays for barge shipping can be a factor. The State Transit Office does all in its power to speed the process. If a grantee is approved to order a non-ADA vehicle, this sometimes can take a shorter period of time to obtain, depending upon the ready availability of the particular class of vehicle. The grantee should still be prepared for the time that it will take for the State Transit Office to approve the vehicle specifications, for the bid process, and for shipping time.

• Vehicles Designed to Accommodate Stretchers – The State Transit Office now has the ability to

assist a community to secure a paratransit vehicle that will accommodate a stretcher. Such ‘stretcher-equipped paratransit vehicles’ are NOT ambulances and not medically equipped but may be suitable in places where an ambulance (or staffing for it) is too expensive or where an ambulance cannot meet the nonemergency medical transport needs. Any vehicle of this type would need to be primarily for transit use, but could do nonemergency medical transport on an occasional basis. The State Transit Office has met with the State Division of Emergency Medical Services and the two agencies plan to work together to help communities secure such vehicles when these are appropriate.

• Hybrid Vehicles Designed to Meet Both School Bus and FTA Requirements – Refer to the

section that discusses this earlier in this manual. These vehicles are not currently available. • Considerations for Buying Used Vehicles – The useful life for most new vehicles smaller

than buses is considered to be four to seven years(depending on the class of vehicle) or 100,000 miles. Therefore, a used vehicle that is two years old should have only about 50,000 miles on it to have a comparable remaining life expectancy. Reconditioning a vehicle extends its life expectancy, but it’s prudent to carefully weigh the cost of reconditioning and future maintenance against the cost of a new vehicle. There is a


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‘breaking point’ at which a reconditioned vehicle is not practical. Also note that all used and reconditioned vehicles must still meet FMVSS standards (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards) and, if they provide accessible services, ADA requirements. And you MUST have State Transit Office approval of the particular vehicle before it is purchased, for it to be reimbursable under your grant!

• What Kind of Vehicle Can I Get and What Will It Cost? - Do not go vehicle shopping now!

The grant application allows you to identify the class of vehicle you’d prefer, judging by the number of passenger seats and wheelchair stations you think you will need, and whether the vehicle needs to have four-wheel drive and be gas or diesel. The various classes of vehicles are on the next page, including passenger seating characteristics and ballpark prices (including shipping). Actual prices will vary depending upon options selected, shipping, and likely increases in production costs that may increase the contract price. Choose the vehicle class which best meets your needs (if it is likely to be used in a State-recognized coordinated system, it must be selected based on the system’s needs).

• CAUTION! Any vehicle that transports 16 or more passengers is required by Federal law to

be driven by someone with a CDL (Commercial Drivers License).

• CAUTION! Vehicles without wheelchair stations do not meet ADA. Only request one if you can demonstrate that you meet ADA another way.

The State Transit Office contracts for bulk purchase of some classes of vehicles. The State may contract for additional vehicle classes in the future, such as ADA minivans, hybrid school buses, stretcher-equipped paratransit vehicles, etc.) If you request funding for a standard-body or a narrow-body cutaway (small buses), you will most likely be buying under a State contract if you receive a grant. It will save you a lot of time and effort. You will get a terrific vehicle built for safety, comfort, easy maintenance, and long wear. And you will get to select from among several optional features. If you request funding for a vehicle for which the State has no contract, you’ll still have to use a State-approved vehicle specification but conduct the bid process yourself. If you request funding for something other than a vehicle listed in the next few pages (such as a heavy duty bus or a boat), roughly estimate the price (including shipping) for purposes of the grant application. If a grant is awarded, you will then need to write detailed specifications that must be approved by the State Transit Office prior to your engaging in the required procurement process to get the item.


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Other Considerations in Vehicle Selection • CAUTION! If you’re asking to include winter tires with a cutaway vehicle, be sure to check

with the State Transit Office to see whether to request 4 or 6 tires on rims, as some vehicles have dual rear wheels.

Larger vehicles may cost more to insure, maintain, and operate; can be more difficult to drive; may require a CDL driver; and require wider streets and larger areas for turning around. On the other hand, ADA-accessible minivans have proven themselves unsuitable for Alaskan communities without paved streets and good snow removal because they are too low to the ground. In fact, one provider in Juneau (where streets are paved and well maintained) recently decided a state-of-the-art ADA-accessible minivan is too low to the ground for winter conditions with its 7-inch clearance (lower than a non-ADA minivan). Navigating snow berms is out of the question for such low vehicles. If you request an ADA-minivan, you must demonstrate in your grant application that it will work in your community. If you are not a State-recognized coordinated system but your requested vehicle will be or is likely to be used in a State-recognized coordinated system within its useful life, you will need to approach the coordinated system director to see which vehicle class and characteristics to request. If you are awarded funds for a vehicle, the State Transit Office will work with the coordinated system to be sure the vehicle you get will be usable in the system. If this results in your needing to seek funding for a larger vehicle than you would otherwise have requested, this will also require more local match than you planned. Discuss this with the director of the coordinated system. The system may be able to help you figure out a way to meet the additional match required. If this does not work, contact the State Transit Office.


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Vehicle Characteristics Chart

Class of Vehicle Passenger Seating Estimated Cost (EXCLUDING

THE DRIVER SEAT) (INCLUDING

SHIPPING TO SEATTLE))

ADA Minivan 4 passenger seats & 1 wheelchair station $45,000

(ADA Lowered Floor Ramp-Equipped Minivan) 3 passenger seats & 2 wheelchair stations

Do not request if you do not have paved roads, good winter road maintenance, and very limited snowfall!!! It is too low to the ground for poor road conditions (only about 7 inches clearance).

ADA Narrow-Body Cutaway $53,000

(ADA Small Bus on Narrow-Body 8 passenger seats & 2 wheelchair stations Cutaway Chassis) At least 2 passenger seats & 3

wheelchair stations

ADA Standard-Body Cutaway $60,000

(ADA Small Bus on Standard Commercial 12 passenger seats & 2 wheelchair stations Cutaway Chassis) 6 passenger seats & 4 wheelchair stations

ADA Mid-Size Bus 17 passenger seats & 2 wheelchair stations $100,000 ADA Stretcher-Equipped Paratransit Vehicle $60,000

At least 2 passengers & 1 stretcher; seating similar to Narrow-Body Cutaway when stretcher is removed

NOT CURRENTLY AVAILABLE *ADA “Hybrid” School Bus/Paratransit Vehicle Seating similar to Narrow-Body Cutaway $55,000 Non-ADA Standard Minivan 7 passenger seats & no wheelchair stations $40,000 Non-ADA Standard Passenger Van 8 passenger seats & no wheelchair stations $45,000 Non-ADA Standard Extended-Body Passenger Va 15 passenger seats & no wheelchair stations $34,000 Non-ADA Narrow-Body Cutaway 10 passenger seats & no wheelchair stations $47,000

(Non-ADA Small Bus on Narrow-Body Cutaway Chassis)

Non-ADA Standard-Body Cutaway 15 passenger seats & no wheelchair stations $50,000

(Non-ADA Small Bus on Standard-Body Cutaway Chassis)

Non-ADA Mid-Size Bus 24 passenger seats & no wheelchair stations $90,000

NOTE: For safety reasons, the State Transit Office does not expect to approve funding for any lift-equipped converted raised roof vans, typically called “15-passenger pop-top vans.”

These vehicles have a high center of gravity (elevated rollover risk), are cramped and difficult to board for passengers, and can cost as much or more than the ADA narrow-body cutaway on the State contract, which serves the same function. The narrow-body cutaway is a taller vehicle so looks bigger, but its length, width, and maneuverability are about the same and it is a safer vehicle.

The State Transit Office is investigating industry capability to modify short standard cargo vans for use by taxi companies to provide ADA-accessible rides, in a manner that will satisfactorily address safety concerns, because ADA minivans are too low for taxi use in many communities.


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Special Provisions CURRENT GRANTEES: If you already receive AMHTA funds, your reporting must be up to date for your agency to be considered for funding under this RFP. APTMS PARTICIPATION MANDATORY: To be awarded funding, an applicant who operates transportation services supported with federal or state public funds must participate on a current basis in the Alaska Public Transportation Management System (APTMS). This system is a statewide database of information about all federal- and state-funded vehicles, equipment, and facilities in Alaska. APTMS is designed to centrally document location of these items and aid in planning for their timely replacement. It demonstrates need, and its use has already helped dramatically increase funding for transportation services in recent years. The APTMS is posted on the State Transit Office web page: http://dot.alaska.gov/transit/. An applicant who is not currently in the APTMS will provide some APTMS data in the grant application and must agree in the grant application to provide other data needed to complete remaining APTMS requirements. PROJECTS IN ANCHORAGE AND FAIRBANKS: Any proposal for a project in DOT’s Anchorage or Fairbanks “metropolitan planning area” is subject to the federally required Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) planning process for that area. If your proposal is for anywhere in the Anchorage or Fairbanks area, contact the State Transit Office right away at 1-888-PLAN-DOT. OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT AND PRIVATE SECTOR INVOLVEMENT IN PROJECTS PROPOSED BY PUBLIC BODIES: Local government applicants (including tribal governments) must: • provide an opportunity for a public hearing and hold a hearing unless no one requests one,

to consider the economic, social, and environmental effects of the project and to find the project consistent with official plans for the area.

• document that this requirement has been met, by including in the application a copy of the

published notice, the hearing record if a hearing was held, and a summary of efforts to involve the private sector to the maximum extent feasible.

COMMUNITY SUPPORT: Applicants must provide letters of support from particular community organizations, including other transportation providers (see application for specifics). COORDINATION INTENT: The major focus of programs covered under this RFP is to develop and implement coordinated transportation systems and services, with funding also awarded for noncoordinated uses where coordination is inappropriate or infeasible. • Any items purchased through a grant awarded under this RFP to support coordination must

meet the coordination intent for a period of six years after receipt of that item. • If a funded agency breaks its written agreement to coordinate with a State-recognized

coordinated system, DOT&PF reserves the authority to transfer the funded item(s) to another agency.

• If a new coordinated transportation system is implemented in the community or service area

anytime within the six years following receipt of a vehicle, that vehicle may be required to be made available for at least some use in the coordinated system.


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• If an agency wants to use a given grant-funded item for other than its original intent or to dispose of it within four to seven years (dependent on the class of vehicle) of receipt, that agency must secure DOT&PF’s approval. DOT&PF may, instead, arrange the transfer of that item to another agency.

LOCAL MATCH REQUIREMENTS: The AMHTA program does not technically require match, although match is encouraged as a demonstration of community support for the proposed project and as means to enable the program to serve more people. A 20% level is suggested. The FTA 5309 program requires applicants to document availability of at least 20% match. The FTA 5310 program requires applicants to document availability of at least 9.03% match to be considered for FTA 5310 funds. The JARC program requires a 50% match. JARC, 5309 and 5310 funds cannot be used to match each other, because US DOT funds (including FTA funds and JARC funds) cannot be used to match other US DOT funds. But other Federal agency funds can be used to match US DOT funds unless their program rules prohibit this. Allowable Match: • For vehicles and equipment (including rehabilitation & reconditioning), any local match

committed to a vehicle or equipment purchase project must be CASH to help pay for the purchase.

• Contract revenue is allowable match (only if the portion assigned to this project is not

used to match anything else).

• Farebox revenues cannot be used for match by recipients of FTA 5309 or 5310 funding for funds awarded under this RFP (must be used to defray 5309 or 5310 operating deficit).

• Farebox revenues are allowable match for other grantees, except where this use may

be prohibited by rules applicable to other grants (such as NTS, where such program income must help meet operating costs).

• For facilities acquisition or construction, local match may be CASH or may be an IN-KIND

contribution (such as the land for the facility). • For purchase of services, local match committed to the project may be CASH or, in some

instances, IN-KIND. Cash may be from agency resources or may be generated from “ride coupon” sales, depending on how the project is set up. In-Kind contributions include the cash value of rides provided above the face value of the “coupons” purchased, when the coordinated system or service makes “free” coupons available to the applicant agency under this or a similar arrangement. They include the difference between the full value and discounted price of taxi rides purchased by the proposed project.

• For planning funds, no local match is required but is welcome.


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• For any JARC activity, cash match is required. However, FTA interprets that the documented fair-market cash value of in-kind resources constitutes cash. Therefore, in-kind resources are allowable assuming that actual cash is not necessary to purchase the capital item or pay the operating expense.


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Expectation to Contribute Match & Possible Match Sources: The Program Evaluation Committee will decide which funds (Sections 5309, 5310, or AMHT) are the best choice for each application. This allows for the largest number of needs to be met with the monies that are available. (JARC funds are specifically for low-income, job related transportation and are not as flexible as the other funds. Persons applying for JARC funding need to mark this on Section II, Table 1. ) Generally, applications that document a significant proportion of community-generated local match commitment to their projects will receive higher priority in funding consideration. Providing a 20% match makes the applicant eligible for more pots of money. Applicants in mid-size to larger communities that can reasonably be expected to have capacity to generate local match are encouraged to generate their own match. Every applicant should plan to contribute at least some community-generated local match to the proposed project (other than solely planning on AMHTA and/or Rasmuson funds for match). This demonstrates community support and commitment to the project. Any applicant who cannot generate a full local match should explain in the application why it cannot provide it. There are a couple of options available to help such applicants: • The applicant may ask that at least some funds awarded be AMHTA dollars, to help meet

the match. This can only work if Trust beneficiaries will be served by project. • The applicant may contact the Rasmuson Foundation [phone: (907) 297-2881] to discuss

the possibility of securing some Rasmuson Foundation funding for match. The State Transit Office, the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority, and the Rasmuson Foundation coordinate funding of projects. If you have contacted the Rasmuson Foundation and as a result intend to seek Rasmuson Foundation funds to help with your local match, you may show this as intended match in your application. For documentation, attach written documentation of your contact with the foundation and the result, or attach a copy of one or two key pages from your application to Rasmuson.

Documentation of Local Match: The availability of all community-generated local match committed to your project must be documented in your application. • Such documentation needs to be items such as: a letter from your own board, from

another nonprofit agency board, or a government entity authority certifying commitment of specific cash resources; a notice of grant award showing resources available; a letter from your board stating that your agency has applied to another entity for matching funds for this project and when you expect to know the results (such as if you have or will soon apply to the Rasmuson Foundation for match); etc.

If In-Kind match will include the cash value of rides provided above the face value of the “coupons” purchased when a coordinated system or coordinated service makes “free” coupons available to the applicant agency under this or a similar arrangement, documentation of that agreement is required.


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FTA FEDERAL RULES: FTA programs operate under many federal program rules and the usual federal accounting rules. Most grantees will need fund accounting systems to correctly track their federal funding. Any agency that accepts a FTA grant must agree to comply with federal rules by signing the FTA 2006 Standard Certifications and Assurances and the grant agreement. OTHER FEDERAL RULES OF PARTICULAR NOTE: • Private Transportation Company Participation Must Be Assured: Applicants who wish to

be considered for funding must include private mass transportation companies to the maximum feasible extent when they plan and provide their special transportation services of the project, and they must pay or arrange to pay ‘just compensation’ under state or local law to each private mass transportation company for its franchise or property acquired under this project. In order to receive FTA funds, a successful applicant will be required to certify that it complies with these FTA requirements.

• Competitive Procurement: Grantees must follow government-required procurement rules

to obtain vehicles and other items under their grants. (FTA Circular 4220.1D identifies these requirements for FTA grantees. Procurement usually must be done competitively, depending upon the value of the purchase. Sometimes a formal bid process is required. An easy way to find FTA Circular 4220.1D is to use the Google search engine on the internet; search for: “4220.1D”.) For those grantees whose new vehicles are purchased under a State vehicle contract, the State completes the competitive procurement process instead of the grantee.

• Altoona Testing Requirement for Vehicles: New vehicles purchased with FTA funds are

required to be “Altoona Tested.” This is a test run on a specific vehicle (bus/van) type and configuration. The vehicle is tested for maintainability, reliability, safety, performance, structural integrity, fuel economy, and noise. The testing facility is located in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Grantees will be required to provide DOT&PF a copy of the test results, prior to vehicle purchase. Any vehicle purchased with FTA funds must also meet both FMVSS 220 standards for rollover protection. For those grantees whose new vehicles are purchased under a State vehicle contract, the Altoona testing requirement will already have been met in the State’s procurement process.

• Pre- and Post-Delivery Vehicle Inspections: There must be both pre- and post-delivery

vehicle inspections of vehicles purchased with FTA funds. (Sometimes these are called “pre- and post-delivery audits.”) Their purpose is to assure that each vehicle received is complete per specifications and operates properly. Grantees whose new vehicles are purchased under a State vehicle contract will only need to do a simple post-delivery inspection.

• Vehicle Titles: Alaska DOT&PF must be listed as the lienholder on vehicle titles. Each agency that purchases a vehicle must arrange with DMV to have the title sent to Debbi Howard at DOT&PF within 30 days.

• Documentation of Contractual Arrangements: If a vehicle, equipment, or other capital item

to be purchased through the proposed project will be rented or leased to another entity, The State Transit Office in DOT&PF must approve the arrangement prior to its finalization via written agreement. Any arrangement that will involve the proposed project in a coordinated transportation system or other cooperative arrangement must also be documented by written agreement.


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• Compliance with Federal Administrative Rules for Grants: FTA grantees are required to comply with the Federal Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements and Cost Principles applicable to your type of agency, and with Federal and State audit requirements.

AMHTA RULES: • Competitive Procurement: If your agency also receives federal funds, follow your regular

government-required procurement process. If your agency receives no federal funds, follow a competitive process (solicit at least three bids) and document this in writing. For those grantees whose new vehicles are purchased under a State vehicle contract, the State completes the competitive procurement process instead of the grantee.

• Post-Delivery Vehicle Inspections: Post-delivery vehicle inspections are to assure that each

vehicle received is complete per specifications and operates properly. The State Transit Office provides the required checklist.

• Vehicle Titles: Alaska DOT&PF must be listed as the lienholder on vehicle titles. Each

agency that purchases a vehicle must arrange with DMV to have the title sent to Debbi Howard at DOT&PF within 30 days.

• Documentation of Contractual Arrangements: If a vehicle, equipment, or other capital item

to be purchased through the proposed project will be rented or leased to another entity, The State Transit Office in DOT&PF must approve the arrangement prior to its finalization via written agreement. Any arrangement that will involve the proposed project in a coordinated transportation system or other cooperative arrangement must also be documented by written agreement.

• State Audit Requirements: AMHTA grantees are required to comply with State audit

requirements and are advised to also follow the same federal administrative rules for grants as FTA grantees, as these represent sound administrative practice.


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AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA): Agencies receiving funds must comply with ADA. In planning their projects, agencies should assure not only vehicle accessibility but also accessibility of their equipment and programs. Agencies need to assure they are accessible to their employees and potential employees as well as to clients. Equipment used by employees needs to be accessible to them. Communications systems need to be accessible (for example, are TTY’s in place?). Staff, meetings, and events need to be accessible. VEHICLE COLOR AND LOGO REQUIREMENTS: Purpose: The usual intent of uniform vehicle color is to make a particular agency’s vehicles readily recognizable to the public, and logos usually identify the agency. For coordinated transportation system vehicles, uniform color is also intended to make vehicles readily recognizable as part of the coordinated system, and logos usually further identify them as part of the system rather than as the property of a given agency. . Current Color/Logo Requirements: • Any vehicle purchased with a grant funded under this RFP must be white if new and must

display the new “Alaska Community Transportation” logo decals when provided by DOT&PF. Logos will be applied by the vehicle vendor for those vehicles purchased through the State vehicle contract.

• When the new logo decals are available, they must be placed on the back and left side of

the vehicle. Instructions will be included with the logos. The logo decal is approximately 12” x 18”.

• Exceptions may be granted to color and logo requirements to address special

circumstances, if a compelling argument is made in the “Special Notes About Your Proposed Project” section of the grant application. Later, exceptions may also be requested from or stipulated by the State Transit Office. (Examples of special circumstances: a used vehicle is not white, vehicle needs to match an existing coordinated transportation system fleet, decals won’t fit)


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INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS: Grantees are required to carry insurance per the provisions that will be in their grant agreements. Failure to carry the required automobile insurance until the State releases the lien on the vehicle is grounds for the State Transit Office to transfer a vehicle from the grantee to another agency. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS: • Grantees are required to submit to DOT&PF performance reports as specified by DOT&PF,

for a four to seven -year period (dependent on the class of vehicle) after a vehicle is in service or as otherwise specified by DOT&PF. DOT&PF reserves the right to adjust reporting requirements to meet current needs.

• Grantees and/or their insurance agencies are also required to submit proof of current

insurance annually. FTA 5310 reporting is on a semi-annual basis. • Grantees are required to accurately track and report one-way trips provided; number of trips

to elderly, disabled, and other riders. • Grantees will also be required to report vehicle acquisition status, vehicle condition, etc. • Grantees may be required to report equipment acquisition status and progress toward any

facility acquisition or construction, particularly if satisfactory progress is not apparent to DOT&PF through the grant reimbursement billing process.

• Grantees may be required to report purchase of services information beyond what is

provided in their invoices for reimbursement. JARC reporting requirements are undetermined, as the AMC JARC program is brand new and reporting requirements have not yet been established. They may vary from grantee to grantee, based upon the types of projects funded. AMHTA reporting is on a "snapshot in time" basis, currently with data tallied for two one-month periods during the year (currently January and July). • Grantees are required to accurately track and report one-way trips provided; number of trips

to elderly, disabled, and other categories of riders; etc. AMHTA grantees will also be required to estimate numbers of clients by various characteristics who use the service, based on agency knowledge of clients. Clients will not need to make their eligibility conditions known to drivers.

• Grantees will also be required to report vehicle acquisition status, vehicle condition, etc. • Grantees may be required to report equipment acquisition status and progress toward any

facility acquisition or construction, particularly if satisfactory progress is not apparent to DOT&PF through the grant reimbursement billing process.

• Grantees may be required to report purchase of services information beyond what is

provided in their invoices for reimbursement.


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• Grantees will be required to implement customer satisfaction data collection in vehicles and report customer satisfaction with their transportation services, as specified by DOT&PF.

The annual Alaska Community Transportation Conference held each fall often includes information to help agencies identify data needs for effective transportation management, as

well as for reporting, and how to collect data.

Watch the State Transit Office web site for conference information: http://dot.alaska.gov/transit


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Evaluation Process and Award of Grants Each application will be considered for one or more funding sources covered by the RFP, depending upon the nature of the proposal. The exceptions are that applications for planning and for noncoordinated projects that serve only beneficiaries of the Alaska Mental Health Trust will be considered only for AMHTA funds, and applications for coordinated system start-up operations funds will be considered only for AMHTA funds. Employment transportation proposals (or components of proposals) will be considered for JARC funds if available, and secondarily for 5309, 5310 and/or AMHTA funds if eligible for these sources. The grant application review process will involve initial staff screening of applications. All applications passing this initial screening will be scored by a Proposal Evaluation Committee (PEC). Their scoring will include a “Staff Score” of particular items. Staff will initially screen applications for items such as: legal eligibility of applicant; suitability of proposal to funding sources; status in meeting current grant reporting requirements; participation in APTMS; compliance with special requirements for some types of applicants; completeness of application; local match level, allowability, and documentation; sufficiency and documentation of resources to carry out project; and ADA compliance. Applicants should make every effort to assure their applications are error-free. In no case will an applicant be allowed to supply a missing part of an application that is not received within the application deadline, except if there is an extended deadline for all applicants for that particular item. If the number of applications is sufficiently small and time permits it, staff may use its discretion to offer applicants the opportunity to correct minor errors discovered during initial screening, provided that all applicants who make the same error are afforded the same opportunity to correct it. Incomplete and ineligible applications will not be scored or considered for funding. Staff will score particular application and past performance items that the PEC does not have the necessary background and information to score. These staff scoring items will be included in the final PEC scoring. The PEC includes representation of the following agencies and boards, to the extent they each have a representative available to participate: the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority, Alaska Mental Health Board, Alaska Mobility Coalition, Community Health and Emergency Medical Services Section, Governor's Advisory Board on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, Governor's Council on Disabilities and Special Education, Division of Behavioral Health, Division of Public Assistance, Division of Senior and Disability Services, State Independent Living Council; and from DOT&PF: Statewide Transit Coordinator, Statewide Transit Planner, and Regional Planners. DOT&PF may at its discretion invite one or more additional state level agencies or organizations to be represented on the PEC. The PEC will evaluate grant applications based on scoring results as well as other considerations which the PEC determines are valid to make funding recommendations in the public interest. Individual projects may be recommended for funding at less than requested levels. The PEC may recommend funding for only particular elements of a multifaceted project, or partial funding of any element. The PEC may recommend award of all funds available under the RFP, if it is satisfied that there are sufficient satisfactory applications to warrant this, or may recommend funding some or none of the proposed projects if, in its judgment, applications are unsatisfactory. An agency whose application falls slightly short of meeting 5310 eligibility requirements but who, in the judgment of DOT&PF staff, can actually demonstrate 5310 eligibility may be recommended by the PEC to receive FTA 5310 funds provided it demonstrates its eligibility


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before actually being awarded the funds. This same consideration will be provided regarding JARC funding. This provision increases the flexibility of the PEC and DOT&PF to most effectively use each funding source under the RFP. The PEC will adhere to the program focus as discussed in the RFP. Copies of the criteria/scoring documents planned to be used are provided to applicants during the RFP process. DOT&PF reserves the right to edit the evaluation instruments should the need become apparent. The PEC may also consider:

• readiness for coordinated system planning or implementation • relative need to replace items versus initiate new activity • efficiency of the proposal to accomplish the desired result • relative need of one community/area or agency • availability of other funding sources • amount and timing of other DOT&PF transportation funds already directed toward

that community or area • reasonable geographic distribution of resources • compliance of the application with special requirements of the program • special stipulations or a modified funding level recommended for the proposal to be

funded • past funding and performance • additional considerations the PEC deems appropriate

The PEC meeting will be held as scheduled in the RFP timetable (or amendment thereto) and will be open to the public. All applicants will be notified of the location and time of the meeting either in the RFP or via separate web posting or letter. Applicants are welcome to attend the PEC meeting; however, no testimony will be solicited nor accepted at that time. The PEC’s funding recommendations will be to DOT&PF. Final Funding Determinations: DOT&PF makes final funding determinations for both the AMHTA and 5310 Programs. The Alaska Mobility Coalition will have power to veto or modify DOT&PF’s funding determinations for the AMC 5309 and JARC programs. If a grant is awarded, DOT&PF sends a grant agreement to the grantee. It must be signed by a person authorized to legally bind the agency to the terms and conditions of the grant. The signed grant agreement must be returned to DOT&PF within 45 days and must be received and signed by DOT&PF before any funds can be authorized for release to a grantee. Unsuccessful applicants will be notified and have the opportunity to reapply for funding in the next grant cycle, within the parameters of that cycle’s RFP.


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Structuring of Grant Awards

After the grant application review process is complete and funding recommendations are finalized, DOT&PF finalizes funding decisions and prepares grant agreements. In this process, staff tries to structure grants in a manner that it believes will be most advantageous to grantees. For example, a grantee may have requested funding for purchase of services for a coupon project and be awarded some 5310 funds and some AMHTA funds for the project. If coupon sales will generate at least 20% match, there is no need to structure the grants so AMHTA funds match 5310 funds, even though the two funding sources are involved. Staff will divide the awarded funding into two entirely separate grants with neither shown to match the other. With two simple projects instead of one complex one, accounting is easier. And the AMHTA grant will be received earlier and can be used until it’s fully expended, then the 5310 grant used for the balance of the year.

Definition of “Persons with Disabilities” For purposes of the AMHTA and FTA Section 5310 programs, “persons with disabilities” are: • Alaska Mental Health Trust Beneficiaries: persons with mental illness including

Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia, developmental disabilities, and severe alcoholism, as defined in the following pages

• persons who, by reason of illness, injury, age, congenital malfunction, or other

permanent or temporary incapacity or disability, including any person who uses a wheelchair or has semiambulatory capabilities, is unable without special facilities to use public transportation facilities and services effectively

Definition of “Elderly” For purposes of the AMHTA and FTA Section 5310 programs, an “elderly person” is: • any person over sixty years of age or who qualifies as elderly under program guidelines

of State and Federal programs benefiting the elderly.

Alaska Community Transportation Grant Application, Program Instructions – FY 2006FTA 5310 - AMHTA - JARC RFP Program Instructions – FY 2004 ii

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ALASKA MENTAL HEALTH TRUST AUTHORITY Beneficiary Group Definitions

Beneficiary group Statutory definition AMHB definition the mentally ill "the mentally ill" includes persons with the following

mental disorders: (1) schizophrenia; (2) delusional (paranoid) disorder; (3) mood disorders; (4) anxiety disorders; (5) somatoform disorders; (6) organic mental disorders; (7) personality disorders; (8) dissociative disorders; (9) other psychotic or severe and persistent mental

disorders manifested by behavioral changes and symptoms of comparable severity to those manifested by persons with mental disorders listed in this subsection; and

(10)persons who have been diagnosed by a licensed psychologist, psychiatrist, or physician licensed to practice medicine in the state and, as a result of the diagnosis, have been determined to have a childhood disorder manifested by behaviors or symptoms suggesting risk of developing a mental disorder listed in this subsection.

[AS 47.30.056(d)]

In the last year, the Alaska Mental Health Board (AMHB) has refined and clarified the way it defines the group of people whose mental health diagnoses place them within these ten categories. The original definition, compiled in 1995, consisted of a listing of DSM-IV codes that describe diagnoses within each of the statutory beneficiary categories. However, this definition appeared to undercount beneficiaries. The AMHB expanded the definition to include diagnoses described in some DSM-III, DSM-IIIR, and ICD-9 codes. The AMHB has also clarified the way it identifies people with childhood disorders. AMHB’s position is that all individuals under the age of eighteen with a mental illness are considered at risk of developing a mental disorder, except those with V Code diagnoses (relational problems, problems related to abuse or neglect, etc.).


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Beneficiary group Statutory definition GCDSE definition the mentally defective and retarded

"the mentally defective and retarded" includes persons with the following neurologic or mental disorders: (1) cerebral palsy; (2) epilepsy; (3) mental retardation; (4) autistic disorder; (5) severe organic brain impairment; (6) significant developmental delay during early

childhood indicating risk of developing a disorder listed in this subsection;

(7) other severe and persistent mental disorders manifested by behaviors and symptoms similar to those manifested by persons with disorders listed in this subsection.

[AS 47.30.056(e)]

The Governor’s Council on Disabilities and Special Education uses the state’s definition of a person with a developmental disability to define the Trust’s beneficiaries. Alaska’s definition of a developmental disability, amended in 1992, is consistent with the federal definition. According to AS 47.80.900 (7): “...person with a developmental disability” means a person who is experiencing a severe, chronic disability that (A) is attributable to a mental or physical impairment or combination of mental and physical impairments; (B) is manifested before the person attains age 22; (C) is likely to continue indefinitely; (D) results in substantial functional limitations in three or more of the following areas of major life activity: self-care, receptive and expressive language, learning, mobility, self-direction, capacity for independent living, and economic self-sufficiency; and (E) reflects the person’s need for a combination and sequence of special, interdisciplinary, or generic care, treatment, or other services that are of lifelong or extended duration and are individually planned and coordinated. In addition, the Council considers infants and toddlers who have developmental delays and who are at risk of acquiring developmental disabilities to be Trust beneficiaries. These children ages birth to three have disabilities or delays which can be significantly ameliorated or whose function can be maximized at an early age, but who would otherwise require more intensive long term services.


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Beneficiary group Statutory definition ABADA definition

chronic alcoholics suffering from psychoses

"chronic alcoholics suffering from psychoses" includes persons with the following disorders: (1) alcohol withdrawal delirium (delirium

tremens); (2) alcohol hallucinosis; (3) alcohol amnesiac disorder; (4) dementia associated with alcoholism; (5) alcohol-induced organic mental disorder; (6) alcoholic depressive disorder; (7) other severe and persistent disorders

associated with a history of prolonged or excessive drinking or episodes of drinking out of control and manifested by behavioral changes and symptoms similar to those manifested by persons with disorders listed in this subsection.

[AS 47.30.056(f)]

The Advisory Board has developed an “operational definition” of alcoholism with psychosis which translates the above data into assessment features collected in the State’s Management Information system, which is collected by all state funded treatment programs along with those previously funded by the Indian Health Service and those private providers who choose to collect and report the data. These criteria are as follows: • Alcohol is first drug of choice (information collected from initial

assessment) • Client assessed as either dysfunctional or dependent • Client reports consuming alcohol at least six days per week (this

question is eliminated for persons receiving services while incarcerated in the penal system)


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Beneficiary group Statutory definition ACoA definition

Senile people who as a result of their senility suffer major mental illness

"senile people who as a result of their senility suffer major mental illness" includes persons with the following mental disorders:

(1) primary degenerative dementia of the Alzheimer type;

(2) multi-infarct dementia; (3) senile dementia; (4) presenile dementia; (5) other severe and persistent mental

disorders manifested by behaviors and symptoms similar to those manifested by persons with disorders listed in this subsection.

[AS 47.30.056(f)]

The ACoA finds that, in the case of Alzheimer’s’ Disease, there is no definitive diagnostic test and the diagnosis becomes one of exclusion. In defining the population for which they advocate, the Commission includes people with Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, frail with no cognitive impairment, and other ADRD including including Supra Nuclear Palsy, cerebral atrophy, Huntington’s chorea, brain tumor, attention deficit disorder with cognitive impairment, Pick’s disease, multiple sclerosis, organic brain disorder, multi-infarct dementia, Parkinson’s disease, cancer-related dementia, hydrocephalus, and hypoxia.

A very few people with cognitive impairments related to other diagnoses qualify in this population: people with alcohol-related dementia, chronic mental illness, major depression, brain injury, developmental disability, DD-related Alzheimer’s, and AIDS-related dementia. The common denominator among these diagnoses is cognitive impairment, except for the frail category.


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Grant Application Scoring Instruments

Planned to Be Used

by the

Proposal Evaluation Committee

[DOT&PF reserves the right to edit these instruments if the need becomes apparent.]

Note: There are two separate scoring instruments,

one for Implementation Grants and one for Planning Grants.

These will be posted on the web page at a later date from publication of this manual.

If you are looking for these on the State Transit Office web page, look for two separate Excel files.

Each Excel file contains two worksheets.

Documents

STATE TRANSIT OFFICEdot.alaska.gov/stwdplng/transit/pub/fy06_actgrantapp_instructions.pdf · • Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Section 5309 projects are intended to supplement