RTA board approves change order for six additional EV Level 2 chargers at Hemet facility

The Riverside Transit Agency board on Aug. 28 authorized staff to execute a change order to Purchase Order 63202 with BSE Engineering Incorporated for architectural and engineering services to add six additional electric vehicle Level 2 charging stations at the Hemet facility. The change order amount is $38,411 with a 10% contingency of $3,841; staff stated the total project authorization after the change order will be $129,923.

Melissa Blankenship, director of contracts, said the original Phase 2 EV infrastructure procurement followed a Brooks Act qualifications-based selection, and the agency previously awarded a purchase order to BSE in the amount of $87,671. Phase 2 as described in the board packet includes adding 14 dual-port chargers to the Riverside facility and two dual-port chargers to the Hemet facility; staff said the additional six chargers at Hemet are needed to support an increase in direct operations when contracted fixed-route services move in-house effective July 1, 2026.

Blankenship said the original award amount was below the agency's $100,000 staff-approval threshold; adding the $38,411 change order pushes the project over that threshold, requiring board approval. Staff recommended a 10% contingency for unforeseen circumstances and said sufficient funds exist in the board-approved capital budget. The board administration and operations committee discussed the item Aug. 6 and unanimously recommended it to the full board.

Board members asked several operational questions during the discussion. A board member representing Canyon Lake asked staff to review the CEO's spending authority in light of inflation and rising costs; a board member identified as District 2 also urged a review of the $100,000 threshold. Staff provided the following fleet and charger counts during the conversation: the agency currently has 12 vehicles that use chargers and has released an IFB to purchase another six; staff said the plan is to transition support vehicles to 100% electric in the next three to four years and that the total support vehicle fleet will be approximately 40 vehicles. Blankenship also said the Riverside facility currently has four chargers and Hemet currently has two; with planned Phase 2 work staff said Riverside would reach 18 chargers and Hemet 10 chargers (as presented to the board). A board member from Calimesa asked whether the agency's chargers would be available to outside entities; staff answered no, the chargers will be for agency use only.

The board approved the change order; the meeting record indicates the item carried unanimously. Staff said the quoted cost was found fair and reasonable based on previously negotiated rates.