Council approves $121,349 contract with AECOM for zero-emission vehicle transition plan

The Clovis City Council unanimously approved a $121,349 consulting contract with AECOM Technical Services Inc. to develop a zero-emission vehicle transition plan for the city fleet.

Staff described the contract as a planning step to comply with California regulations that will require an increasing fraction of medium- and heavy-duty vehicle purchases to be zero-emission. A staff member told the council that regulations require 50% of medium- and heavy-duty fleet purchases to be zero-emission beginning in 2024 and that by 2027 100% of purchases of vehicles over 8,500 pounds must be zero-emission. That regulation will capture solid-waste vehicles and many construction vehicles.

During council discussion members pressed staff on the cost differences between traditional diesel solid-waste trucks and electric models. A staff member said the city has paid about $440,000 for conventional solid-waste trucks; electric equivalents are currently in the roughly $1,000,000 range and do not include charging infrastructure. Staff told the council the AECOM study will analyze capital and infrastructure needs, charging and depot upgrades, vehicle lifecycles, workforce training and cost impacts to users.

Councilmember (name not specified in the transcript) moved to approve the contract; the measure carried 5-0.

Staff said the consultant will provide a transition roadmap that feeds into fleet budget planning and long-term capital forecasting. The study will inform whether and how the city phases in zero-emission vehicles, where to site chargers and how to train staff and maintain vehicles.

The council directed staff to pursue the contract award and to amend the 2024–25 fleet budget to allocate project funds so the work can begin.