OVC Orientation for FY 2023 TVSSA Grantees Undertaking Construction or Renovation Projects

YOLANDA CURTIS GIBSON: Good afternoon or good morning, depending on where you are. This is the orientation for Fiscal Year 2023 Grantees Undertaking Construction or Renovation Projects under the Office for Victims of Crime, Tribal Victim Services Set-Aside program.

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Welcome to all of you. My name is Yolanda Curtis Gibson, and I am a Grants Management Specialist and the lead for construction initiatives within OVC’s Tribal Division. During today’s webinar, you will hear from me and two contractors that are here to assist you with your construction projects. Those contractors are The Clark Group, who will assist you with environmental compliance reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act or NEPA and Blue Trident, who provides construction project management technical assistance. 

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So during today’s webinar, I will provide an overview of construction under the Tribal Victim Services Set-Aside program, which I’ll refer to as TVSSA moving forward. I will also review the five construction-related special conditions and what you must do to ensure compliance with them. And then I will open the floor for your questions.

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So by now, I’m sure that most of you are familiar with TVSSA, what the program is and how it is used to generally support victims of crime. You probably also attended OVC’s Kickoff Call for Fiscal Year 2023 TVSSA Grantees that we had last month. Therefore, I won’t spend too much time on an overview of the general TVSSA program. However, I do want to highlight that it started in 2018, and funding under this program can be used to support a range of comprehensive services for victims of all crimes and all ages. 

Under TVSSA, we are now permitted to fund construction projects that are a reasonable and necessary part of a victim service program. You’ve shared with us for many years that there’s a shortage of housing and Tribal communities, and you often don’t have a place to house victims in need. Many of your communities also lack office space needed for newly hired staff under your new or expanding victim services program. So, we’ve expanded the allowability of TVSSA grant funds to be used to meet this need. 

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So, I want to emphasize that victim services must be the driver for construction projects under TVSSA. Any construction projects under TVSSA must be justified, again, as I mentioned before, as a reasonable and necessary expense of a victim services program. Typically, funds may be used for construction or facilities for services, or to administer the program, are not otherwise reasonably available in your jurisdiction, and the lack of facilities would impede the provision of services. 

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So, next I’ll provide a general overview of allowable costs under TVSSA. These include purchase, setup, and installation costs associated with modular and other prefabricated buildings. So, there are many terms you use to describe these buildings including trailer homes, mobile homes, manufactured homes, et cetera. All of these items would be included under construction and are allowable under the program. When I say site preparation, setup, and installation cost, this can include the cost to demolish existing structures, clear land, move earth, core foundations, hook up utilities, and attach these buildings to the ground. 

Major renovations are also allowable and include things like expanding the size of an existing structure, renovations that require additional utility systems to be installed, or renovation to an existing facility where all or most interior walls are demolished, along with ceilings and floor coverings and where the HVAC, plumbing, and electrical systems are reconfigured. 

You can also use TVSSA funds for minor renovations or remodeling, which include things like repairs or updates from normal use, repairing existing interior walls, replacing windows and doors, replacing the flooring inside of a building, et cetera. You can use TVSSA funds for fencing outside of or surrounding victim services facilities. And finally, you can use TVSSA grant funds to construct things like sidewalks, parking areas, driveways, and access roads that are necessary to provide access to the victim services facility. 

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So now, we will talk about unallowable construction costs. The DOJ grants financial guide clearly prohibits using grant funds for land acquisition. In addition, page two of the Fiscal Year 2023 TVSSA allowable and unallowable cost chart specifically says that purchasing real property is an unallowable expense under TVSSA. Therefore, you would not be able to use TVSSA funds to purchase land or an existing building already affixed to land for use as a victim services facility. We are not able to make exceptions to this policy at this time, even if it is more cost effective than the options I described on the previous slide. In addition, we generally do not allow TVSSA funds to be used for traditional new construction, which is also commonly referred to as stick build or from-the-ground-up construction. 

There are some very rare cases where we might approve this type of construction, but only if you can demonstrate that it is more cost effective than purchasing and installing a modular or other prefabricated building. In this case, you would need to do your research and find cost estimates that document that a stick build or from-the-ground-up construction project is more cost effective. In addition, you’ll need to work with OVC’s construction training and technical assistance contractor, Blue Trident, to review your documentation. 

Any grantees that are doing construction are required to work with Blue Trident to ensure that your project meets OVC’s standards, and includes all of the components necessary for a successful construction or renovation project. In many cases, our construction TTA provider has assisted grantees in finding modular manufacturers and other vendors when the grantee thought that there were no options available. 

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So, all of you that proposed to use TVSSA funds for renovation or construction activities were required to complete and upload the TVSSA construction renovation efforts questionnaire with your application. 

The construction and renovation efforts questionnaire asks you several questions about your project, including information about the primary point of contact and construction point of contact, the location of your project, the purpose of the construction or renovation activities, and how the building will be used--used. It also asks for environmental information about the site, including proximity to wetlands and other water bodies, whether the site has a history of flooding, and if there are any known hazardous materials on the site. 

If you have not completed this document already, please do so as soon as possible as directed by your OVC grant manager or one of the TTA providers, and the link to the construction and renovation efforts questionnaire is available on the slide and it’s also been placed in the chat. 

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So, we realize that undertaking a construction project using federal funds can be a very daunting process. Please understand that you have a support system available to you. That support system includes your OVC grant manager, me as the lead for construction initiatives, if I am not your assigned grant manager, and the two contractors I previously mentioned, and that you will hear from later in this webinar. And again, they are The Clark Group and Blue Trident. 

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So, this next section will cover the five special conditions that are unique to construction projects and how to ensure compliance with them. 

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So, the five special conditions that I’m going to cover today are the National Environmental Policy Act or NEPA special condition, as well as the special conditions that cover Project Feasibility, Project Insurance and Bonding, Project Cost Overruns, and Real Property Reporting. 

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So, the first thing I’d like to emphasize is that all grant-funded construction and renovation projects are required to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act or NEPA. Prior to funding, authorizing, or implementing an action--and this includes awarding grants--federal agencies, including OVC, are required to consider the effects that the proposed action may have on the environment and any related social and economic effects. OVC has a contractor, The Clark Group, that will guide you through this process and work with you to ensure your project complies with NEPA and any related environmental laws. The Clark Group will present after me and will provide additional details regarding the NEPA process and timeline. 

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To ensure compliance with the NEPA special condition, please make sure that you respond to email and telephone outreach from The Clark Group following this webinar. Please make sure to complete and submit the construction renovation efforts questionnaire if you have not done so already. And please, this is a very, very important point: Do not initiate any construction contracts or activity until the NEPA process is completed, you have been notified of completion by your grant manager, and the NEPA withholding special condition on your grant has been removed. 

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The next special condition I will cover is project feasibility. This special condition requires you to submit information about any proposed facility construction, and that includes of a prefabricated or modular building, renovation or expansion that is sufficient for OJP and specifically OVC to determine that the facility appears to be a viable structure for the proposed activity. Now, this can include providing design documents developed and approved by a qualified architect, engineer, or construction contractor. It also includes following the DOJ modular building requirements if your project involves a modular or other prefabricated building.

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So next, I’ll just briefly touch on the DOJ modular building requirements. This guide was developed to help ensure that your structure lasts for at least 20 years. You can find this document using the link on your screen, and it has also been placed into the chat box. Blue Trident, who again is OVC’s construction project management training and technical assistance contractor, will assist you with ensuring that your plans meet these requirements. 

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To ensure compliance with the Project Feasibility special condition, please be sure to respond to email and telephone outreach and documentation requests from Blue Trident following this webinar and throughout the course of your construction project. In addition, if you’re doing a project that involves a modular building, please review the DOJ Modular Building Requirements document, share it with all stakeholders involved in your project, and ensure that any RFPs--RFPs are request for proposals--any RFPs related to your project include the outlined requirements, again, if this is applicable to your project plan. 

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So, the next special condition I will cover is Project Insurance and Bonding. And under this special condition, you must provide documentation showing that you have appropriate insurance and bonding prior to commencing facility construction. The insurance requirement, as outlined in 2 C.F.R Part 200 Section 310, is simply that you insure or will insure any property acquired or improved with OVC funds to the extent that you insure other property owned by your Tribe or organization. 

The bonding requirement only applies to individual construction contracts or subcontracts that exceed $250,000. So if all of your construction contracts that you are executing with OVC funds are $250,000 or less, OVC’s bonding requirement does not apply to you, but in the event that it exceeds that amount, you must do one of two things. First, you can either certify that your Tribe or organization has a bonding policy and you will follow it or if you do not have a bonding policy, you must certify that you will meet the minimum bonding requirements outlined in 2 C.F.R Part 200 Section 326. 

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So if you use OVC grant funds to execute a construction contract or subcontract for more than $250,000, and again, as I said before, if your Tribe or organization does not have your own bonding policy, then you’re required to meet the three bonding requirements as outlined on the screen. These requirements are, first, a bid guarantee equivalent to 5 percent of the bid price. Number two is a performance bond on the part of the contractor for 100 percent of the contract price. And the third requirement is a payment bond on the part of the contractor for 100 percent of the contract price. 

So, a construction bond is essentially insurance purchased by the construction company that ensures that you as the purchaser of construction services are protected in a variety of scenarios if the construction company does a few things. So, one, the first item, the bid guarantee, you know, if a construction company bids on the project, but then decides not to take the project, the bid guarantee compensates you to some degree for the time and cost of rebidding the project. 

If the construction company fails to complete the project, requirement number two for the performance bond would cover the completion of the project. And then finally, if a construction company fails to pay its subcontractors, the third bonding requirement for a payment bond would cover those payments. 

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So. to ensure compliance with the project insurance and bonding special condition, you’ll need to complete the OVC insurance certification form and submit it to your OVC grant manager before you commence construction activity. Again, that’s an OVC form and so a template will be provided to you. 

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Okay. So, the next special condition I will cover is Project Cost Overruns. When you or your authorized representative accepted the award, you agree that you understood that you would be responsible for identifying any funding needed, additional funding needed due to any cost increases that exceed your approved grant budget. If your Tribe will cover the additional cost, you must provide a letter or other written document from your Tribal administrator or chairman or other appropriate official saying that you understand your project will exceed your OVC grant budget and that additional cost will be covered by your Tribe. OVC does permit a phased approach to construction and renovation projects, but every effort must be made to ensure that a viable facility will result at the end of the grant period. 

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So, to ensure compliance with the project cost overruns special condition, please make sure that you work with Blue Trident. Please respond to their inquiries, work with them to revise your construction budget if that’s that needed, and please be receptive to their suggestions for changes and project scale, perhaps materials to be used, revised budgeting, et cetera. They are there to help you keep your project within your approved budget. In instances where a viable project cannot result given the current budget and your Tribal organization will pay the difference, again, as I mentioned earlier, you should get a signed letter from the appropriate Tribal official and submit that to your grant manager. 

Now, in cases where it is not possible to complete the project within the approved grant budget, and your Tribe will not cover the cost, please have a conversation with your assigned OVC grant manager about next steps before you execute any contracts and before any construction activities begin. 

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So next, I am going to cover the real property reporting requirements. This special condition requires reporting on the use and status of any real property that is acquired, constructed, or improved under this award throughout the useful life of the property or until the federal interest in the property ends, whichever is shorter and it has to continue even after your grant ends. The useful life of the property is typically determined by your internal tax reporting or real property accounting policies. So, you should talk with your Tribe or organization’s appropriate accounting or legal professionals to get more information about how that is done. And you should generally expect to do real property reporting on an annual basis unless otherwise instructed by OVC’s real property coordinator. Real property reporting starts within 90 days after your construction project is completed or within 90 days of the date that your grant ends, whichever date is sooner. 

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To ensure compliance with the real property reporting special condition, please review the Real Property Reporting frequently asked questions document to familiarize yourself with the requirements. They are similar to BJA. BJA is the Bureau of Justice Assistance. They are another office within the Office of Justice Programs, and they’ve been funding construction projects a lot longer than OVC has. So, we’ve been working with them in many ways to help us stand up our construction program. But the link you see on the screen is correct. It is a link to a BJA site, but once you take a look at the document, you’ll see that it also mentions OVC. 

And the link to that document has also been placed in the chat. In addition, when it’s time for you to do Real Property Reporting, you would complete a particular form. It’s standard form or SF-429, Real Property Status Report, and it would be submitted to the OVC Real Property Reporting email address that is noted on the slide. Again, this will be--you’ll need to do this on an annual basis starting 90 days after your project is completed or your grant ends, whichever is earlier. And then finally, no need to fret too much about the Real Property Reporting requirements, you still have a ways to go before that happens. You will receive a reminder about the real property reporting requirements, as well as more detailed instructions about real property reporting for your specific project as it nears completion and closeout. 

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Okay. So on this slide, I’ve just inserted some images of both the Real Property Reporting Form and the Real Property Reporting frequently asked questions. The sites where you can find them are noted on the screen and will--they’re also included in the chat or will be included in the chat. And again, yes, these are links to BJA websites and they are correct, as we follow the same guidelines related to real property reporting as our colleagues at BJA. We will also work internally to get these posted directly on the OVC website in the near future. 

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So just to end my portion of the presentation, I wanted to give just a general process flow for construction projects to sort of highlight everything I talked about and to give you a visual. So the first step, you know, has already passed for most if not all of you, but the first step is that your grant is awarded and that you accept it. 

Next, you work with a NEPA contractor which again is The Clark Group on NEPA review and compliance. You would give them any relevant documentation for that process to be completed. Then, once the NEPA review is completed and approved, your grant manager will remove the NEPA withholding special condition from your grant and that frees up your construction fund so that you can begin construction activities. 

Then at that point, construction activities would begin and that includes a variety of things including working with Blue Trident who’s our construction TTA provider on executing any requests for proposals and contracts and then actual construction activities. 

After that, even once construction is completed, then you do Real Property Reporting and that begins within 90 days of construction and project completion. And then finally, as I’ve mentioned previously, Real Property Reporting would be completed on an annual basis even after your grant officially ends. 

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Okay. So that concludes my portion of the webinar. I will now open the floor for your questions. Lauren, do we have any questions in the chat?

LAUREN DIRVONAS: We do. The first question was whether or not we can share the detailed list of allowable costs that was read during the presentation or to point to the regulation that provides that information.

YOLANDA CURTIS GIBSON: Okay. So, what I basically read were examples. It’s not an exhaustive list. Some of those costs were detailed in a pre-application webinar that we did back in May. I can find the link for that webinar and share it with you. The most important things you need to remember are that you can’t use grant funds to purchase land or an existing building affixed to land. Other than that, almost every other construction expense is allowable. 

We also generally don’t fund new construction, stick builder from-ground-up construction. But there may be some instances where we can grant an exception if you can show that it’s more cost effective. So, there isn’t a specific list I can give you. We--I can look for the link again to the pre-application webinar that sort of highlighted some of those allowable and unallowable costs. But I think what’s most important for you to remember is just the two things that we don’t fund, and that was covered in this presentation. 

Blue Trident, when you work with them, will also work closely with you on your budget and can guide you on the types of expenses that should be included in your budget and that are allowed and are not allowed. I hope that answers your question. If you have any follow-up questions for me after that response, please put it in the chat and I’d be happy to respond. 

LAUREN DIRVONAS: The final and second question posted in the chat was whether or not the presentation slides would be shared.

YOLANDA CURTIS GIBSON: Yes, the presentation slides will be shared. This, as I mentioned earlier at the start of the presentation, the presentation’s being recorded. Both the recording and the slides will be posted to the OVC website within the next few weeks, and you will be notified when they are available for you to view.

LAUREN DIRVONAS: Another question was just posted in the chat regarding a horrible experience they had previously with The Clark Group and on a BJA project and there was sharp increase in costs and they’re asking how we can be sure not to repeat this experience in the future?

YOLANDA CURTIS GIBSON: Well, I would need to have an offline conversation with you about what exactly your concerns are with the project. One thing that I will say is I cannot guarantee that the costs won’t increase. But at the pre-application construction webinar I did back in May, I was very clear that you should actually account for cost increases. NEPA is a federal requirement. It’s not something imposed by The Clark Group or OVC. It is a governmentwide requirement. And the length of time that it takes to complete a NEPA review can be considerable. 

In the pre-application webinar as well as the solicitation and other materials, we were very clear in saying that if you are going to plan a construction project using OVC funds, you should pick a project period of at least 3 years. You should budget for it to take that long. So, The Clark Group, you know, again, I’m happy to talk with you individually about what your concerns are. But The Clark Group does not have a role in, you know, contributing to cost increases for your project. Unfortunately, that’s just part of the process, unfortunately. And I’m happy to put my email address in the chat box and any followup comments or questions you have, you can email me directly and we can talk directly. Any other questions or concerns? 

LAUREN DIRVONAS: Another additional question was posted in the chat. They’re looking to build a new clinic with the TVSSA construction funds to cover a percentage of the construction. This is based on the square footage of the space to cover the program’s needs. Is that the best approach for them to determine the budget?

YOLANDA CURTIS GIBSON: I don’t have enough information to answer that question. What I would say is please be responsive to outreach from The Clark Group and Blue Trident. Once we have an opportunity to talk with you directly and get more information about your project, what you have planned, the percentage of the building that’s going to be dedicated to victim services, and a variety of other factors, then both OVC and Blue Trident would be happy to advise you on what we believe is the best approach for your budget. Any other questions or concerns, Lauren? Great. Thank you so much. I’m now going to turn it over to Gustavo Rubio from The Clark Group who will present next. 

GUSTAVO RUBIO: Hi. Good afternoon. And thank you, Ms. Gibson. My name is Gustavo Rubio and I am a Managing Director for The Clark Group. As you guys are already aware, we are responsible to support you on your environmental compliance, needs associated with your grant projects. And the first couple of slides, I am going to talk about our company, just to give you a brief overview, and then I will go more into details about the OVC support that we provide. 

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So, The Clark Group has been in business for 22 years. We are a woman-owned small business. We have been supporting the Office of Justice Programs for about 6 years. We have 11 staff members located in either Montpelier, Vermont, or Washington, D.C. More information about us and the projects that we’re currently doing can be found on our website. And you can send us an email at [email protected] or give us a call at the phone number listed below. 

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So even though we’re a small company, we have a couple of different core capabilities, which are listed in this slide. Environmental planning and compliance, communications and public engagement, regulations and policy development, environmental and community sustainability and resilience, and guidance and training. So, for OVC, we are primarily implementing our environmental planning and compliance capability. We do have staff members that are capable in all other capabilities, but we are providing those on like--on as needed basis. 

Primarily, we’re just--for OVC grants, primarily supporting planning and compliance. I won’t give--or I won’t read out a list of services associated with each capability but they provide you a brief overview of the other things that we do. So now, those first two slides were a brief overview of ourselves. And then the next couple of slides, we’re going to go into more detail about the OVC support. 

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So, as Ms. Gibson has shared with everyone previously, we are currently supporting OVC with National Environmental Policy Act and related environmental and historic preservation compliance requirements for individual grant funds. So, our support includes outreach and clinical assistance to grantees in processing NEPA compliance for individual grant projects, development of project-specific environmental assessments, and coordination and development of consultations that might be required under the Endangered Species Act or the National Historic Preservation Act. So, this slide, and this statement, it gives you more of a 30,000-foot view of what we do and the type of support we provide, but the next set of slides then go into detail about the support. Next slide please. 

So, first, I’m just going to give a very brief introduction and overview of the National Environmental Policy Act. Then all of the OVC grants, they are determined to be Categorically Excluded or CATEX or requiring an environmental assessment. So, I’m going to talk about those two processes and how the processes work, and then also talking about the roles and responsibilities that we all have for the purpose of successfully implementing the grant. 

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So, the National Environmental Policy Act requires federal agencies to evaluate the environmental effects of their actions prior to making a decision and informing the public about their decisionmaking. NEPA applies to all federal actions, including actions that are funded by federal agencies such as grant projects. As Ms. Gibson shared, finalizing the scope of the grant project prior to initiating NEPA compliance can help prevent delays. And, more importantly, the NEPA compliance process must be completed before the final design and construction can move forward. As I’ve shared, the OVC grants, they’re going to be categorized as either a Categorical Exclusion or an Environmental Assessment. 

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So within the environmental services field, NEPA is considered an umbrella law, an umbrella statute, because as you complete the NEPA process, you are incorporating within your analysis an overview of the impacts that the project might have on all other environmental laws, so that then the end product of the NEPA process, which is usually a document, can provide the federal decisionmaker with a comprehensive overview of the--of the environmental impacts that a project might have, which then basically informs their decision to either move on and execute the project or figure out if there are better solutions to minimize any environmental impact. So because of the comprehensiveness of the process, which reviews all of these environmental laws associated to a project, that’s why the NEPA process is considered an umbrella process. 

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So, as I briefly mentioned, the OVC grant projects, they’re going to be categorized as Categorical Exclusion or Environmental Assessment. Projects that are Categorically Excluded are usually for activities that are known to have no significant impacts on the environment. 

Examples of these type of projects are court improvement projects, minor renovations, renovations of systems or utilities, remodeling, and travel and training. Environmental Assessments are considered for projects that are larger in scope and the development of the Environmental Assessment falls within The Clark Group. 

And Environmental Assessments are required for projects such as renovations that expand the size of an existing structure, renovations that add a new structure, activities that seek to add space beyond the existing structure, renovations that change the function of a structure, construction of a new structure, and the introduction of a modular building. So, as you can see, the Environmental Assessment projects, they’re a little bit larger in scope than Categorically Excluded projects and the process, the environmental compliance process for them is quite different. 

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So for all of these grant projects, we are working as a team to try to successfully complete the environmental compliance action so that the project can move forward. Different roles and responsibilities starting with the NEPA coordinator, which coordinates the NEPA process between the OVC grant manager and us in The Clark Group. And then since NEPA is a federal requirement, a final signature and approval of any NEPA documentation that we develop, it needs to be approved by the federal agency that is sponsoring the project. 

So, the OVC NEPA coordinator is also responsible for obtaining the final signatory approval on behalf of the government. The OVC grant managers, as everyone knows, they’re responsible for lifting the funding polls, in this case, specifically related to environmental compliance. The technical assistance providers, since we’re talking about environmental compliance, it is ourselves in terms of a The Clark Group. And we work with grantees in developing the categorical exclusion checklist that I’m going to talk about shortly. And we have the primary role in developing Environmental Assessments. 

And we work with grantees, so that you can provide us any additional information that we need to add into any of those two type of documents so that the federal decisionmaker can have the best information available in order to make a final decision, in order to move on with the project. 

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So now, I’m going to be talking a little bit more specifically about the--about projects that are determined to be Categorically Excluded. The process itself is the completion of a checklist or a form that is around eight pages in length. If we determine that a project is Categorically Excluded, we’d provide copy of that form, the grant manager shares that form with the grantee, and then the grantee starts to fill out the form. 

If there are specific questions that grantees have about the form, we can certainly help in answering those questions and, in some instances, in assisting in completing the form as well. I’ve just included a snapshot of the first page of the form. And I think that, more importantly, projects that are Categorically Excluded, the completion of the form, and final signature of the form by OVC, that process usually takes between 1 to 2 weeks. 

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So the--for projects that are categorized as requiring an Environmental Assessment, this slide provides a brief overview of that process. First and foremost, the process itself can take between 6 months to a year, and the process starts after the project scope is finalized. Then after that, the idea is to hold a kickoff meeting where we would then come in with an understanding of the scope and ask you for additional information that might--that we might use for the drafting of the Environmental Assessment. 

As I’ve shared, the Environmental Assessment is a document. After we have all of the needed information, we start drafting the Environmental Assessment, which takes about 3 to 4 months to complete. Then after the draft version is completed, it is the responsibility of the federal agency to seek public comment on the draft Environmental Assessment. And one of the primary purposes is also to inform the public that the project--that the federal agency is considering implementing this project. 

The public comment period lasts 30 days. If there are any comments received during that time, we incorporate those comments in the final Environmental Assessment. If no comments are received, we move forward from the draft Environmental Assessment to the final one. 

And then depending on the outcomes of the assessment, if there are no significant impacts that the project has on the surrounding environment, then another document is developed, which is called a Finding of No Significant Impact, which could take about a month. 

And then the two final documents, which is the final EA and the FONSI, both of those are separate documents, are submitted to the OVC grant manager to obtain that final signature and approval from the federal agency. And after that is done, the OVC grant manager then removes the NEPA hold that’s listed in JustGrants. 

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So still going or providing a little bit more details about the Environmental Assessment process, the previous slide was more of a process slide. And now this slide goes more in details about what the Environmental Assessment contains and includes. Again, this is a document. Most documents that are of this length, they are subdivided into chapters. And the sections here are basically the chapters that are included in the Environmental Assessment. 

So, chapter 1 is the Purpose and Need chapter where we talk about why are we proposing the project and what problem is it intended to address. Then chapter 2, the Description of a Proposed Action and Alternatives, talks about the project’s who, what, when, where, and how. It introduces the project location and the surrounding environment, and also tries to introduce any historical knowledge or reports that are known about the project area that might describe some environmental trends that have happened in time. 

The most time-consuming part of developing an Environmental Assessment are chapter 3, which is the Affected Environment, and chapter 4, which is the Environmental Impacts. In chapter 3, Affected Environment, what you’re doing in that chapter is that you are describing the surrounding environment as it is currently without the project being implemented. And we have to look at all the resources within the project area such as air quality, water resources, cultural resources, energy resources, so on and so forth. These are just a couple of one--a couple of the ones that are included. And it is through the evaluation of the current resources that are there--and that--then that is how you start to see how NEPA starts to act as an umbrella, because we are covering all of the other environmental laws that I described in the previous slide. 

The affected environment is also called kind of like the baseline environment. And after that description is done in chapter 3, then in chapter 4, that’s where the analysis comes in, where you start to now incorporate how the project will impact all of the other listed resources such as how will the project impact air quality, how will the project impact water resources, so on and so forth. And throughout that analysis, you make--we make a significant determination to highlight if some of those impacts would be a significant impact on any of the resources that were previously described. So, really, chapter 3 and chapter 4 is the meat of the assessment itself and the first two chapters are more of an introductory portion and description of the project itself. 

So, by now, I’ve shared with you a little bit more about the two different types of determinations that will be made for OVC grant projects, and those are either categorizing them as a Categorical Exclusion or needing an Environmental Assessment. And then I have talked a little bit about the process that needs to be done for either type of project. 

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So now the next steps, as we are envisioning them right now, is that before the end of the year, a Clark Group staff member will reach out to you to coordinate the scheduling of a kickoff meeting. We have assigned a staff member to all of the OVC grants. So you--so it’s going to be a different person contacting different OVC grantees. 

The purpose of the kickoff meeting is for the staff member to introduce itself to the OVC grantee. And as part of the kickoff meeting, Blue Trident staff members will also be attending or requested to attend. Blue Trident has also assigned different staff members to the OVC grants. Aside from the introduction, the purpose of the kickoff call is to confirm the project scope, establish the lines of communication, and discuss and obtain additional information that we need in order to make the NEPA determination, which, as previously stated, would either be Categorical Exclusion or an Environmental Assessment. 

So, this is--or this slide shows the activities that we’re looking to move forward or to complete before the end of the year. So with that information, I ask for the next slide, and I’m happy to take any questions. Thank you.

LAUREN DIRVONAS: So, the first question posted in the chat was whether or not environmental compliance is required on all lands, including if the units are on Tribal lands?

GUSTAVO RUBIO: Yes. Since the funding for the projects are federal funds, then NEPA requires all federal actions, including the funding of grant projects, to undergo the NEPA process. We didn’t hear the question, Lauren. Your mic might not have been working.

YOLANDA CURTIS GIBSON: Gustavo, can you hear me? Okay.

GUSTAVO RUBIO: Yes.

YOLANDA CURTIS GIBSON: I think Lauren is having some technical difficulties so I’ll take over. The next question is, "In your roles,"--and now I’m echoing. Lauren, I see you’re--I saw you speaking but you were muted. You're still muted. You’re still muted. And when you unmute, I can hear myself echoing. So, if it’s okay, I’ll go ahead and ask the questions for Gustavo because we aren’t able to hear you. Not sure what happened there. You were fine initially. But the next question is, "In your roles and responsibilities, you didn’t mention the BIA. BIA is Bureau of Indian Affairs. At what point during the EA NEPA--or /NEPA process do you usually engage with BIA?

GUSTAVO RUBIO: Yes. Thank you. It is--it is my understanding that there might be projects where cultural resources might be impacted. When--if that is the case, then we need to then consult with the Tribal historical preservation officer or the state historical preservation officer, which basically includes providing them documentation in the form of a letter, sharing with them information about the project itself and what has our determination been in terms of if the project will cause a significant impact to the current cultural resources that might be present at the project site. 

Once that consultation letter is submitted, they have, I believe it’s 30 to 45 days. And that is--the Tribal historical preservation officer or the state historical preservation officer have 30 to 45 days to provide a response, basically judging our assessment. And if they require more information in their response, they will let us know that. And some additional information could be that they might require us to do a field survey to determine or to determine definitively that there are no cultural resources present. 

There are other actions that they might require you to conduct as part of that cultural resources review, but that is only applicable for projects where cultural resources might be present. And then for those activities, the requirement is for us to consult with the state historical preservation officer or the Tribal historic preservationist.

YOLANDA CURTIS GIBSON: There is a followup comment to that from Ms. or Mr. Jamie George, where they said, "I wasn’t referring to THPO, Tribal historic preservation officer, or cultural resources but BIA, so federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, for land use."

GUSTAVO RUBIO: So, there is no requirement under the National Historic Preservation Act that is a law, covering cultural resources, that requires us to consult with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In some cases, I’ve seen some NEPA projects where the Bureau of Indian Affairs is a partner funding project for a specific grantee project than they have input as part of that, but we are not required to consult with them on the Environmental Assessment process.

YOLANDA CURTIS GIBSON: Okay. There’s a followup comment saying that they can’t construct anything without approval from BIA, but that’s something that you would work through as you work individually with The Clark Group, and you may need to pull in the BIA during that process. We can have a more detailed discussion about that when The Clark Group sets up the kickoff meeting with you, your grant team, and your grant manager. The next question for Mr. Rubio, could you speak about where the environmental assessment is posted for public comment for 30 days? What happens if no public comments are received? What happens if negative comments are received?

GUSTAVO RUBIO: Yes. Thank you. So, we usually try to coordinate with our grantees on the best media that they see where the people can be informed that this project is going on. There is no one specific standard, if you will, where the draft Environmental Assessments are published. We have published them in local newspapers in--primarily in local newspapers but then that discussion is--we have it with the grantee so that we can come into an agreement as to where--what is the best venue to post the draft Environmental Assessment. It is not really the posting of the entire document. It is the posting of a notice that provides them more information as to how to request the entire document, which we can give to them either via email or we can print and mail in the copy as well. If no--before going there, the public comment period, NEPA requires for it to be a 30-day public comment period. 

Then after the public period ends, the public comment period ends, if no comments are received, we move forward with the final Environmental Assessment. If there are negative comments received, those comments need to be reviewed and/or adjudicated to make sure that they are--that there’s any relevancy or importance to the comment itself and it is related to the project area. And then if there’s a negative comment that is substantiated, then part of the process is to include mitigation actions that can be proposed as part of the Environmental Assessment for the grant applicant to complete to address that comment that was received if it is in fact substantiated. So that is how the public comment aspect is. 

YOLANDA CURTIS GIBSON: Okay. And there was a followup comment in the chat related to the previous question about involvement from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Ann Cross, from the Oglala Sioux Tribe, said that for them and they are currently—they’ve already worked with The Clark Group with prior year funding. But she says for the OST, Oglala Sioux Tribe, interacting with the BIA and land lease was at the very beginning before NEPA, before the Tribal historic preservation officer, and cultural resources. So, that gives you some context for where BIA is involved, for another Tribe that has already worked with The Clark Group on the NEPA process. Okay. I don’t see any other questions or concerns, so we can move on to the Blue Trident presentation.

MEGHAN RHODUS: Good morning and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you, Yolanda. My name is Meghan Rhodus. I’m the Project Director for Blue Trident for the OVC Grant Projects. A little background about Blue Trident, we are located in Bainbridge Island, Washington. We also have offices in San Diego, California, and an office in Florida. We have two divisions. One of the divisions is a construction services portion and the other is architecture and engineering, and the OVC Grant Projects falls under the architecture and engineering division. 

Next slide, please. 

Here is a look at the Blue Trident Construction TA Team. As I said, my name is Meghan Rhodus. My background is architecture. I’ve worked in it for many years along with working with a general contractor here in California to do some project management. We also have Eric Jackson as a Project Coordinator. He has extensive experience. He’s also worked on OVC and BJA grant projects, so he has some background on how these work. We have Wayne Rutherford who is a General Contractor, has 30-plus years in construction, has also worked with some of the Western Tribes and has a background in that. And then we have Joseph Lopez who is a Project Coordinator. He has over 10 years with construction management. Everyone on the team is very excited to be working with you in helping you guys get a really good successful project in the end. 

Next slide, please. 

For the Grantee Project Team, we’re always looking forward to working with your committed project manager, your dedicated project team members, and that you have the backing of your Tribal Council or those in authority. We, as Gustavo and Yolanda have said, always think of this as a team project. Our ultimate goal is to get a successful project for you as the end user. 

Next slide, please. 

Here is the Grant Project Process Overview. I know some of this has already got--been discussed between the OVC and The Clark Group but obviously, we start with your grant award, which most of you have already received. And then we would move into an initial team site visit. Sometimes the initial visit is in person and sometimes it’s virtual, but when we come out to the actual site, we’ll look at the site’s specific location, we’ll work with The Clark Group on--help and support them on the NEPA process and then that’s where our Blue Trident services come in. So, moving into the Grant Project Management, we will go over the project scope, the NEPA phase, a delivery approach, and construction phase. And I’ll go into each of these a little further on the next slides. 

Next slide, please. 

So, at the initial team site visit or team call, we discuss your scope and the planning that you have. The Clark Group will obviously discuss the NEPA requirements of the project. Blue Trident helps by assisting with any programming needs that you might need for the project. If you have a preliminary design, we discuss that with you. If you don’t, we discuss steps on how to get that. If you’re doing a renovation, we’ll discuss the building viability assessments, the site viability assessment, and the project overall viability. We’ll discuss program and maintenance operations programs, we’ll do a site walkthrough, and then we’ll take some site photos while we’re there. 

Next slide, please. 

So, how we help define the project. Obviously, we work with the grant stakeholders to see what your ultimate end goal is for your end users. We figure out who your project manager is, the team members that are going to be on the team working with us, and then a key contact. We will talk to you about the status of your preliminary design because some grantees have a preliminary design already and some don’t. If you don’t have one, we’ll discuss if there’s a need for hiring an architect. And then we’ll offer you some example RFPs on how to go about acquiring an architect. 

Once the grant team is in agreement with the design and that we have verified the project location viability, structural viability if you’re doing renovation, make sure we all understand the scope of the project both inside and outside the building. If you’re doing the renovation, what the square footage is going to be? If there’s any equipment upgrades such as your HVAC or if you need to upgrade electrical, what kind of security you’re looking for, soundproofing or sound attenuation. We’ll also discuss if there’s any other source of funds available for the project because that will help with the budgeting. And once we get to all of--through all of that--and everyone’s decided the preliminary design looks good, you’ll give us a cost estimate, and we’ll try to—we’ll do our first budget analysis on the project. 

Next slide, please. 

So, this is what a budget analysis looks like from our perspective. The budget analysis should include all associated construction costs and project costs. So as you can see, you know, we break it out by line items so it’ll have the site work; if you’re doing a renovation, what that looks like; any expansion construction costs; the general contractor conditions and profit; if you have an architect or an engineer on board, the consultant fees for that; if you’re doing a site survey; Geotech; all of those things are going to be included. 

And we’ll take what you budgeted for it and then we’ll compare it with industry standards, what we believe the budget will end up being, and then come up with the total project cost. At that point, we will--if it matches up, great. If it doesn’t match up, we’ll come back and have a discussion with you on whether or not you have additional funds that might be able to help meet the construction cost or if we need to go about during a scope change. 

Next slide, please. 

And then all of this is happening, you’re going to have the NEPA phase which Gustavo went through. We work closely with The Clark Group to make sure if there are any scope changes that happened after the budget analysis to see if it’s going to affect the NEPA process. 

Next slide, please. 

So, there are three delivery approaches that you can use when going through your project. Blue Trident project coordinators will talk with you and decide--help you decide what would be best for your specific project. I’ll go over the three different types. I know it’s a lot of information but hopefully you guys will be able to remember. And if not, we’ll be there to talk to you when we get to this point. But the first delivery approach is a design-bid-build. That’s kind of a traditional low-bid approach where you’re looking at it, you’ll hire the A and E first. After your preliminary floor plans, if you don’t have an RFP already for your A and E, we’ll help you by giving you some examples of how to write one and then you’ll send it out. 

Once you’ve hired the architects, they’ll move into the conceptual plans, and then design development, and the final design. At each of those steps, we recommend having a cost estimate done just to make sure that everything’s staying within budget, so you’re not overspending and you don’t have to go back to the drawing board if you get to the final design. And then once the final design has been reached, you go into construction bidding. So with the design-bid-build, the construction bidding is done with--you can do it a couple of ways. You can do it with prequalified bidders. So, you can have a list of prequalified general contractors you’d like to work with, and ask them to bid, and then they will give you the prices. You can do a competitive bid, or you can do sealed bids. 

Overall, this type of delivery approach is more geared towards price than qualifications. And we recommend that you typically get at least three bids to make sure that all of the numbers are working out. And then once you’ve decided on your construction award, you award the contract, and then we go into construction. But there are two other types of delivery approaches. 

So, next slide. 

With this delivery approach, which may be appropriate for your project is a design-build. This differs from a design-bid-build in the fact that we bring--you would bring in the contractor earlier on. So, you would already have your preliminary floor plan, and your site survey and soils report. And then we would help you, if you needed it, write the RFP or RFQ to bring on a contractor. And then once you’ve hired on the contractor, they will work with an A and E, and you as well, to work through the conceptual plans, the design development, and final phase. The nice thing about this particular delivery approach is that you have more cost control. You’re finding out real-time cost numbers instead of waiting until either DD or final plans. And you have a little bit more control of the schedule since everyone’s been brought on earlier. Once the final plans are decided on, that’s when you’re going to start doing your subcontracting bidding. And you’ll have those numbers come in and then you’ll do the contract award and then go into construction. 

And then the third delivery approach, on the next slide, is a Construction Manager or CM at Risk. This also involves bringing in someone earlier in the project. So, you would do--you know, we would start with our preliminary floor plans, and then you would have your A and E RFP out. And at the same time, we would also provide, if you would like, a CN--CM at Risk RFP. So, you can also be looking for someone at that point. 

Once you’ve hired the architect, they’ll be going through the conceptual plans and then the design development. And by that point, you should have your CM contract awarded, and then they’ll come on board and they’ll start doing a design review and estimates for you. And then once you get to the final plan, they’ll go into the CM subcontractors, and hiring those. 

A nice advantage of using this particular approach is, you know, someone is coming in early, you get your cost estimating much earlier, you have your general contractor being selected over with--over--with qualifications over price. And then you would also need to get multiple sub-bid orders once you finalize the CM at Risk guaranteed maximum price. And then if you do go with this approach, you would also just need to make sure you have an open book policy to make sure that each--you can see each of the line items to see where your money’s directly going, and then we would move into construction. 

Next slide, please. 

So, depending on how your delivery approaches, the ultimate goal is getting to the construction phase, we cannot stress enough. And this is just, you know, my big bug in my hat, that safety first. So, you always want to make sure that during the construction phase, safety is your number one priority on the site. As the grantee, you are responsible and liable for safety, so that’s one of--the other reasons why we’re really harp on it. 

Blue Trident will also help you during the construction phase monitoring the budget. We’ll monitor any change orders you might be receiving to make sure, you know, everything’s in order. We’ll help you maintain the schedule, make suggestions on that. We’ll attend the biweekly construction progress meetings. And then the Tribe or the authority in charge will be in charge of doing the quality inspections while it’s happening. 

Periodically, your architect will want to come out and do site observations. We’ll also come out during construction and do a site observation as well. Your electrical and building code inspections are going to be happening. And then once you get towards the end of the construction, we also help you, like, creating a punch list and the project closeout, helping you get the certificate of occupancy, other than doing any final reports and photos to do the grant closeout. So, that’s kind of an overall view quickly of all of the options that we can provide you with. 

Next slide, please. 

So, like I mentioned earlier, our main goal is to offer you support. We’re not here to do the actual work. We’ll just offer suggestions based on our experience. All of our services are free to you, so please do not hesitate to reach out if you have questions or any concerns. We’ll also provide a grant budget overview for you. 

We will provide samples for RFPs for hiring an architect. Also for the contractors, we’ll do a project schedule review for you, make sure that you're on budget for that. We’ll do construction contractor bidding and award assistance as well, if you need it; help with the schedules; advise on the occupancy procedures. And like I said, we don’t do any of the work. We’re just here to assist you on that particular option. 

Next slide, please. 

These are some lessons learned that we have learned on our end while doing some of--providing services for the grants. We love when a grant team that’s been organized is available throughout the whole project. This allows the schedule to be kept. Also, there isn’t a loss of knowledge if people are leaving and changing on the project teams. And the same thing goes with, you know, on Blue Trident side, we try and keep everyone who’s been assigned to the project through--on that project throughout the whole time. Developing a work plan based on industry standards really helps as well. That’s something we can help you with. 

There is a definite urgency to get the NEPA documents prepared as soon as possible, just because the length of the time it takes to receive the OVC approval, you can’t have your grant funding released until the NEPA is approved. You can’t build it--buy anything or build anything. And because construction costs, unfortunately, keep going up every year, but your grant funds remain the same, that’s part of the reason we really like to get the NEPA going as soon as possible. 

We also recommend that you plan, as a grantee, on reaching out and contacting architecture and engineering firms and contractors directly. You can do that either by phone or email to promote interest in your project. So, that way by the time you have your RFP written for the architect or for the general contractors, they already know that the project’s going to be coming, they’re excited about it, and they kind of have it in their workflow that they’re going to be bidding on it for you. And then we found that some grantees’ lack of experience may require additional services from an architectural consultant or hiring an outside construction manager, CMA at Risk. So, these are all things that we would talk to you about during that initial meeting that’s going to be set up by The Clark Group, just to kind of make sure your project gets off on a really good foot. Because overall, we really want a successful project for you guys. 

Next slide. 

I will open up to any questions that you might have.

LAUREN DIRVONAS: I apologize, everyone. I seem to have an error with my microphone before. The first question in the chat after this presentation is, "What if you are simply putting in a mobile unit or a tiny house type structure for transitional living. The designs are already completed, and it’s basically putting skirting around it. In addition, if you live in a rural area and you have very few people to do the prep work, with the exception of local contractors--we only have two businesses in the area and even have mobile units--how does one go about the bid process?"

MEGHAN RHODUS: So, each grantee’s project is going to be, you know, very specific and that's a very specific one. So, some of the steps you may not have to go through with all of us, and we would be happy to look at it, obviously when we get into the project about whether or not those two contractors are sufficient or if we can provide another way of having other contractors be able to bid on the project for you. That one is very specific, but ...

LAUREN DIRVONAS: The next comment in the chat stated that the three slides on the delivery approach were confusing and they requested for those to be broken down to better understand the difference between the three and which each of them mean.

MEGHAN RHODUS: Okay. Just a really, like, short, quick overview. A design-bid-build is basically you go with the lowest bidder. If you just do a design-build, the contractor is brought in. You’re kind of locked into your pricing with that contractor. But you also know earlier on what the cost is going to be. And then a Construction Manager at Risk is almost like an owner’s agent in a way. But they’re brought in to help do cost control and cost estimating earlier on. And again, it depends on your particular project. So, once we get into whatever your project is, we can go further into what delivery approach would be best for that particular project. But I can also send to Yolanda or we can just email it out to everyone a further breakdown on those options as well. Hopefully that answered that question, sort of.

LAUREN DIRVONAS: And the final question here in the chat is, “If there’s a particular delivery approach that is used most frequently with Tribes planning to install modular homes, and what happens”--oh, sorry—"and, if the type of construction project, whether or not that matters.”

MEGHAN RHODUS: I’m going to have Bob answer this, just because he’s been doing this a little bit longer than I have. So, I’m not sure if there's a particular type, but I’ll throw it to Bob.

BOB CLARKE: Yeah, I can--I can say from my experience with both BJA and OVC, and want to make sure you can hear me.

LAUREN DIRVONAS: Yes.

BOB CLARKE: From the year and a half I’ve been working with both BJA and OVC, I believe that the design-bid-build is the most common approach. And I think that the--I think the reason is because the customer has the most comfort with getting a full design before going out for bids for construction only. And I think that the other two methods are a little more sophisticated and just--they require a little more nuanced management. But again, we can coach you on that. Your TA provider and your project coordinator from Blue Trident can assess the project and the site, and coach you on that and provide assistance on the--on the templates and things that it would help to--to make that decision.

MEGHAN RHODUS: Thank you, Bob. Are there any other questions? All right. I know that was a lot of information. I appreciate you guys listening to that. If you have any further questions, I believe we have one more slide that shows our contact information, so you can reach out. But we will also be reaching out to you directly. And with that, I will turn it back over to Yolanda.

YOLANDA CURTIS GIBSON: Great. Thank you so much, Meghan. So, I do want to just allow some additional time--that this concludes the three formal presentations for today’s webinar. I do want to open the floor for any additional questions or concerns that you have. 

Please feel free to put those in the chat. While you’re thinking of any additional questions and typing them, I just want to thank all of you for attending today’s webinar. I would also like to thank the teams from Blue Trident and The Clark Group for their help with planning and executing today’s webinar. I also really appreciate all of the thoughtful questions that all of you have presented today. I really appreciate it and appreciate your engagement. As a reminder, the PowerPoint slides and the recording will be posted on the OVC website in the next few weeks. You will be notified when those materials are available. 

I will also work with the Blue Trident Team to have these slides sent to you through email ahead of time, since it does take a considerable amount of time to get the recording ready and posted on the website. Another reminder, following this webinar, The Clark Group and Blue Trident will be reaching out to you to set up individual kickoff meetings for your projects. Please be on the lookout for those emails and please be sure to respond. Your timely response is needed to ensure successful completion of all steps needed to get started on your construction project. I’m going to pause. Just to ask Lauren, are there any additional questions in the chat box?

LAUREN DIRVONAS: It doesn’t appear that there are any further questions.

YOLANDA CURTIS GIBSON: Okay. Thank you. Okay. With that, thank you all again for attending. I hope you have a great rest of your day and we look forward to working with you. Have a great day, everyone.