City staff will revise $40M Air District grant after reviewers flag Benicia proposal

City staff said the City of Benicia and Benicia Unified School District each advanced a catalyst grant for further review by the Bay Area Air District, but the district asked both applicants to revise and resubmit.

"As you know, the city submitted 2 applications to the Bay Area Air District," Carrie, a city staff member, told the commission, adding that the Air District processed two qualifying catalyst applications and planned award announcements in September.

Chair Fleming said reviewers found weaknesses in the city's proposal. Fleming said the city applied for the full $40,000,000 available under the catalyst category while the school district sought roughly $26,000,000. "I have to say it's fairly disappointing, the status of this process," Fleming said, and raised reviewer concerns about measuring outcomes and a proposal item to purchase diesel-electric generators for city buildings.

Commissioners asked whether the city coordinated with the school district so the two applicants would not directly compete for the same pot. Fleming noted that the school district already has bond funds from a prior Proposition F approval and questioned why the district would seek grant money for projects that appear funded by that bond.

Carrie said Air District staff recommended working individually with both applicants so they could resubmit revised applications; city staff will collaborate with the Air District and expect to resubmit by the end of July.

The commission discussed consultant fees in the city's budget and the practical limits of small-city staffing; the group suggested offering more local review or a pre-submission retrospective to improve future proposals. The Air District's award decisions are expected in September.

Next steps: city staff will work with Air District staff to revise the application and resubmit; commissioners asked staff to consider greater pre-submission outreach and clearer outcome metrics.