° Community Development 589-3095
C ity of Nash ua Planning and Zoning 589-3090
. sone Building Safety 589-3080
Community Development Division Code Enforcement 589-3100
City Hall, 229 Main Street, PO Box 2019 Can rogram mission cbscnine
Nashua, New Hampshire 03061-2019 Transportation 880-0100
www.nashuanh.gov FAX 589-3119
Date: December 16, 2020
To: Jim Donchess, Mayor
From: Camille Pattison, Transportation Manager
Re: Finance Committee — Sole Source Purchase for 2 Electric Hybrid Vans
In May 2020, the Nashua Transit System (NTS) was awarded a $356,046 dollar Low-No Emission
grant from the Federal Transportation Administration (FTA) to include the purchase of two electric
hybrid gasoline vans. Nashua Transit System will partner with Creative Bus Sales to expand our
fleet of green vehicles. This grant will allow us to replace two 2009 vans, well beyond their useful
life, with two new electric hybrid Arboc vans. The two new vans will be equipped with XLH
Hybrid Electric Upfit technology and are anticipated to reduce CO2 emissions by 20% with a 25%
increase in miles driven per gallon. These technologies will assist the City of Nashua in achieving
its goal of reducing municipal vehicle emissions by 25% by 2025.
A unique feature of the Low-No grant, is that FTA considers the grant selection a competitive bid
process, and does not require an additional RFP process to occur. Instead, grantees may pursue
contracts with named partners in the grant application. In this case, NTS will partner with Creative
Bus Sales. In accordance with NRO Sec. 5-84 (A) (5), Special purchasing procedures for sole
source procurements, NTS would like to move forward on a contract with Creative Bus Sales to
manufacture the two Electric Hybrid Gasoline vans. One van will be purchased immediately, with
the second van within the year, once the NH Department of Transportation (NH DOT) appropriates
the remaining funds.
Each vehicle will not exceed $173,000 for a total of $346,000. FTA grant funds will pay 85% of
the capital costs of this purchase, up to a total of $294,100 dollars. The remaining 15% will be split
between the City of Nashua and NH DOT. The FY17 CERF budget contains up to $26,828 for the
replacement of these two vans. In addition, the City of Nashua worked with the Nashua Regional
Planning Commission (NRPC) and the State of NH, to secure matching funds from the State to
offset the City’s costs in this purchase. The State of NH has committed to 7.5% of the local match
for this purchase of up to $25,950 through their FY19 fiscal budget and State Transportation
Improvement Plan (STIP),
