By BOB MARTIN
Eagle Times Staff
Safe travel is not only a goal of those in the federal government, but also in Sullivan County, and on Wednesday the commissioners chose a firm to take the reins and lead an action plan to focus on keeping drivers safe.
The Sullivan County Commissioners voted 3-0 to award the Safe Streets and Roads For All (SS4A) Action Plan project to AECOM Technical Services, Inc., after the county administration reviewed six proposals and the company came back as the most qualified with the lowest cost.
According to information provided by County Administrator Derek Ferland, the total award is $340,000, of which 80% ($272,000) is provided by the Federal Highways Administration. The remaining 20% is a combination of cash and in-kind match provided by Sullivan County and its municipal partners.
“I authorize the County Manager to execute all necessary contract documents with AECOM in accordance with their cost proposal of $319,681 as presented today,” Commission Chair Bennie Nelson said in his motion. “This kind of opens the door for municipalities to access more money.”
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) website, “The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) established the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) discretionary program with $5 billion in appropriated funds over 5 years, 2022-2026. The SS4A program funds regional, local, and Tribal initiatives through grants to prevent roadway deaths and serious injuries. Almost $2 billion is still available for future funding rounds.”
Ferland explained that you cannot go to the SS4A for implementation money unless there is an action plan in place, which in this case is “Safer Roads for Sullivan County.”
“The action plan is a necessary predicate for construction funding, basically,” Ferland said. “So, if you’re talking about road improvements, intersection improvements, safety measures, you have to have the action plan in hand before you can obtain additional federal dollars.”
Ferland showed a map of the county that shows fatal accidents, serious injuries and accidents involving bicyclists and pedestrians. This will benefit most municipalities in the county.
“It was one of the aspects of the proposal that personally as an evaluator I found intriguing,” Ferland said. “It’s not just about being reactive about what has happened in the past. It’s about being predictive and proactive.”
He added that this will help municipalities to think about where they can make road improvements for safety.
“We don’t have a ton of fatalities, but there are a ton of accidents,” Ferland said. “With things like distracted driving becoming more and more important, I just think there are definitely improvements that could be made, and this plan will give the municipalities the tools to find resources to help make improvements.”
Ferland explained that six vendors submitted applications and were reviewed by the SS4A Evaluation Committee. There were six factors that each vendor was scored on with a maximum score of 100, which included: 20 points for experience with similar projects; 25 points for experience of key staff; 25 points for project approach; 10 points for overall quality of submission; 10 points for schedule and 10 points for references.
AECOM was the highest with 92.25 points, with the next closest being 86.75. He said after the evaluation it was clear that there was enough separation where he wouldn’t have to make a tie breaking call, especially with the cost being in line with the best qualified.
“The cost proposals for AECOM was not only ranked as the highest qualified vendor but also came in under budget with the lowest price,” Ferland said. “Each of the vendors that submitted qualifications had relevant experience on SS4A projects and met minimum qualifications. But with AECOM having the highest score and also the best price, the committee is recommending the award to AECOM.”
According to the firm’s website, AECOM is the “world’s trusted infrastructure consulting firm, partnering with clients to solve the world’s most complex challenges and build legacies for generations to come.”
Ferland said this has been a “robust grant program,” with a lot of firms doing a lot of work across New England and beyond.
“That was good to see,” Ferland said. “We had a lot of very good firms to pick from.”
Ferland said there is roughly $48,000 in cash match, and Claremont has committed $30,000. Sunapee has committed $3,000 and last year the county assigned $15,000 as a placeholder. Ferland said having some amount of cash match was the only way this would work.
“When I spoke to you in December and thinking of pulling the plug, it changed pretty quickly when I went back and talked to municipalities,” he said. “Claremont obviously stepped up and said they would be able to kick in that much. That really is going to make a difference because I don’t think we would have gotten that kind of in-kind match to make that work.”
Ferland said that this is the biggest grant they were able to procure for the county. The commissioners had nothing but praise for the grant.
“It seems like the county benefits from it,” said Commissioner Joe Osgood.
