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HomeMy WebLinkAbout28. 20-490 DECEMBER 8, 2020 20-490 RESOLUTION (CARRIED 7-0 LOST LAID OVER WITHDRAWN ) PURPOSE: APPROVE AMENDMENT TO TRANSPORTATION AGREEMENT WITH OSHKOSH AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR STUDENT TRANSPORTATION INITIATED BY: CITY ADMINISTRATION WHEREAS,the Oshkosh Area School District and the City of Oshkosh previously entered into an Agreement for the provision of free transit services to students within the Oshkosh School District boundaries from July 1, 2020-June 30, 2022; and WHEREAS, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic caused public and private schools to modify class schedules and format and provide virtual schooling for students as well as limiting student use of transportation services for school as well as other purposes; and WHEREAS, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has limited private fund raising in relation to this Agreement; and WHEREAS,the City is eligible for CARES Act funding for Transportation Services that may be applied for 2020 to reduce the impact of the loss of transportation funding; and WHEREAS,it is beneficial to amend and extend the original Agreement to account for the impacts of the pandemic. BE IT RESOLVED by the Common Council of the City of Oshkosh that the attached Amendment #1 Agreement between the City of Oshkosh/Go Transit and the Oshkosh Area School District for Student Transportation Services is hereby approved and the proper City officials are hereby authorized to execute and deliver the agreement in substantially the same form as attached hereto, any changes in the execution copy being deemed approved by their respective signatures, and said City officials are authorized and directed to take those steps necessary to implement the terms and conditions of the Agreement. a' U Oshkosh TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the Common Council FROM: Mark A. Rohloff, City Manager DATE: December 4, 2020 RE: Approve Amendment to Transportation Agreement with Oshkosh Area School District for Student Transportation BACKGROUND Earlier this year, the City of Oshkosh and the Oshkosh Area School District (OASD) entered into an agreement whereby the City would provide free bus transportation for all students in the Oshkosh Area School District, including students from private schools within the district. The Common Council ultimately approved this agreement for two years. The estimated cost of this program was $93,500, of which OASD would contribute $33,500 annually, with OASD also responsible for raising private funds of $30,000 annually. The remaining $30,000 balance would be assumed by the City through its Transit Fund reserves for a two-year period. The agreement stated that after the two years, OASD would be responsible for the entire cost of this program. The COVID pandemic has prevented this program from taking off as initially planned. Transportation Department staff projects that there will be a 70% reduction in student ridership for the 2020-21 school year. The private donors have questioned the value of their investment with such low ridership. Councilmember Mugerauer approached OASD leadership and asked if there was interest in revising this agreement back to a 3 year term due to the current circumstances. Following that discussion, Councilmember Mugerauer brought this to the attention of Council, who asked that I develop a plan to find an alternate way to fund this program for the current school year and extend the agreement to three years. ANALYSIS Staff looked at this situation from the perspective that had the current agreement not been reached with OASD, the city would have experienced the same 70% reduction in ridership due to the COVID pandemic. In that case, the city would have used Federal CARES funds to address the shortfall, regardless. With this in mind, staff asked OASD if they would be willing to fund the agreement for a third year, which is what they had proposed initially. In this case, OASD would be funding this program at $33,500 annually for 3 years. With OASD already having funded $33,500 for the current school year, city staff determined that we could use $60,000 in CARES funding to make up for the remaining lost revenue that the Transit Fund would experience due to COVID. With the above formula providing funding for 2020-21, staff determined that we could apply the $30,000 in private donations to the 2021-22 school year, and create the same funding formula for the 2022-23 school year. By applying the $30,000 in private funds already received into the next school year, this would also give DASD and private fundraisers another full year to raise the remaining $30,000 in private funds. I approached OASD Superintendent Vickie Cartwright, and she agreed that this revised funding arrangement would work for OASD. Superintendent Cartwright brought this proposal to the school board at the December 2, 2020 school board meeting, at which it was approved. City Attorney Lorenson has prepared the attached amendment to the agreement to reflect the above referenced terms. This would extend the agreement through August 31, 2023. Given the circumstances presented to our community by the COVID pandemic, staff believes that this amendment reflects Council's intent when they initially proposed this agreement. Staff recommends adoption of the amendment as proposed. Respectfully submitted, Mark A Rohloff City Manager AMENDMENT #1 TO CONTRACT BETWEEN CITY OF OSHKOSH / GO TRANSIT AND OSHKOSH AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR TRANSIT SERVICES TO STUDENTS Whereas, the Oshkosh Area School District (hereinafter referred to as "OASD") and the City of Oshkosh (hereinafter referred to as the "City") previously entered into an Agreement for the provision of free transit services to OASD students within the Oshkosh area and private school students who currently attend private schools within the OASD boundaries from July 1, 2020-June 30, 2022(hereinafter referred to as "the Agreement"); and Whereas, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic caused public and private schools to modify class schedules and format and provide virtual schooling for students as well as limiting student use of transportation services for school as well as other purposes; and Whereas, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has limited private fund raising in relation to this Agreement; and Whereas, the City is eligible for CARES Act funding for Transportation Services that may be applied for 2020 to reduce the impact of the loss of transportation funding; and Whereas, City and OASD mutually agree it is beneficial to amend and extend the original Agreement to account for the impacts of the pandemic. In exchange for the mutual consideration, the Parties agree as follows: That Paragraph 1 of the Agreement pertaining to Term shall be amended to read as follows: 1. Term. The term of this Agreement shall be from September 1, 2020 through August 31, 2023. City of Oshkosh/GO Transit — Oshkosh Area School District Page 1 of 4 That Paragraph 4 of the Agreement pertaining to Term shall be amended to read as follows: 4. The estimated revenue loss to the City of Oshkosh Transit Division from the provision of the services identified within this Agreement without fare charged to students is ninety-three thousand and five hundred dollars ($93,500.00) annually. For the term of this contract, this $93,500.00 will be replaced by funding received from the City, OASD and private funding as follows: a. 2020-2021 Funding i. $30,000.00 in private funding was paid to the City for the 2020-2021 year services. Under this Amendment the City will retain the private funding but this private funding payment shall be applied for the 2021-2022 year services. ii. OASD has paid to the City $33,500.00 for 2020-2021 year services. iii. City shall fund through CARES Act Funding or other means $60,000.00 for the 2020-2021 services. b. 2021-2022 Funding i. The $30,000.00 in private funding currently held by the City under paragraph a. above shall be applied to the 2021-22 school year services. ii. The City shall issue an invoice to OASD on or about June 1, 2021 for the $33,500.00 for 2021-2022 school year services. OASD shall pay the invoice within 30 days of the date of invoice. c. 2022-2023 Funding i. Prior to June 1st, 2022 it is anticipated that $30,000.00 for the 2022-23 school year services to be provided by private funding shall be privately raised and paid to the City in a single lump sum payment. If the $30,000.00 is not paid to the City on or before June 1, 2022, this Agreement shall be terminated and neither City nor OASD shall have any rights or obligations hereunder. ii. Upon payment $30,000.00 for 2022-23 school year services to be provided by private funding, the City shall issue an invoice to OASD on or about June 1, 2021 for the $33,500.00 for 2022-2023 school year services. OASD shall pay the invoice within 30 days of the date of invoice. City of Oshkosh/GO Transit — Oshkosh Area School District Page 2 of 4 d. Subsequent Year Funding After June 30, 2023, the City reserves the right to adjust the annual payment based on ridership and anticipated lost revenue if the program is to continue. After June 30, 2023, the City shall have no further financial responsibility to participate in this program. Except as specifically modified by this Amendment #1, all other terms and conditions of the Agreement shall remain unaltered by this Amendment and in full force and effect. The City of Oshkosh hereby duly executes the Agreement the day of December, 2020. By: Mark A. Rohloff, City Manager By: Lynn A. Lorenson, City Attorney By: Pamela R. Ubrig, City Clerk Oshkosh Area School District (OASD) hereby duly executes this Agreement the day of December, 2020. By: Vickie Cartwright, Superintendent City of Oshkosh/GO Transit — Oshkosh Area School District Page 3 of 4 City of Oshkosh/GO Transit — Oshkosh Area School District Page 4 of 4