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Presentation, discussion, and possible action on a timely filed appeal to the Board under the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs’ Request for Applications to administer the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Department of Energy Weatherization Assistance Program
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RECOMMENDED ACTION
recommendation
WHEREAS, Adults and Youth United Development Association, Inc. (AYUDA) submitted an application in response to a Request for Applications (RFA) released by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (the Department) to administer the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) Department of Energy (DOE) Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP);
WHEREAS, staff evaluated the application and determined that the application is not eligible because it did not meet the requirement as stated in the RFA that the successful applicant(s) must have experience with federal and state requirements governing DOE WAP, and have staff that possess the required DOE weatherization certifications;
WHEREAS, AYUDA timely filed an appeal to the Executive Director arguing that they did possess the requisite experience and staff to deliver the proposed DOE BIL WAP services;
WHEREAS, the Executive Director denied the appeal and concurred with staff’s determination that they did not satisfy the requirements of the RFA;
WHEREAS, in response to the Executive Director, AYUDA timely filed an appeal to the Board stating that they understand that specific experience in DOE weatherization is crucial, and that they are committed to fulfilling the requirements to the best of their ability; and
WHEREAS, staff recommends the denial of AYUDA’s appeal on grounds that they did not meet the minimum requirements of the RFA because they did not demonstrate in their application that they have experience with federal and state requirements governing DOE WAP and have staff that possess the required DOE weatherization certifications, and such experiences existing within the organization is critical to an applicant’s successful ability to promptly and compliantly operate such a program;
NOW, therefore, it is hereby
RESOLVED, that the Board concurs with the Executive Director’s decision to deny the appeal and uphold the determination that AYUDA is not qualified, according to the RFA, to administer DOE BIL WAP based on lack of the required DOE WAP experience, thereby making AYUDA’s application ineligible.
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BACKGROUND
The Department released an RFA on August 16, 2023, seeking eligible applicant organizations to apply for an award to provide DOE BIL WAP weatherization services, either regionally or statewide, to multifamily rental households and shelters. Per the RFA, eligible applicant organizations “must meet the requirements set forth in the RFA” and “be familiar and have experience with federal and state requirements governing the DOE WAP and have staff that possess the required DOE weatherization certifications.” Additionally, the RFA stated that the Department’s goal was to select applicants who demonstrate, through their responses to the Application Questions in the RFA, the following:
1) a capacity to effectively administer BILWAP funds and to ensure compliance with regulations;
2) an ability to demonstrate staff and organizational capacity to deliver the proposed services; and
3) an ability to demonstrate positive past performance with DOE WAP.
The reason for these specific requirements is that the DOE WAP program is very complex and rigorous and has standards and certifications well in excess of a typical non-DOE weatherization activity. An organization having some weatherization experience while not having existing expertise in the DOE regulations and having existing staff with the requisite certifications, will be unable to perform under a contract to satisfy the Department’s needs.
On October 26, 2023, AYUDA sent a letter of appeal (attached) to the Executive Director of the Department appealing staff’s decision to not recommend AYUDA for a BIL WAP award because of their application’s failure to demonstrate staff and organizational capacity to deliver the proposed DOE weatherization services and their application’s failure to demonstrate positive past performance with DOE WAP. In its appeal, AYUDA did not deny their lack of DOE WAP experience, but emphasized their experience with weatherization requirements for other housing programs and that various staff have attended training events regarding weatherization.
After careful consideration, the Executive Director of the Department denied their appeal and concurred with staff’s decision to not recommend AYUDA for an award based on the requirement, clearly stated in the RFA, that DOE specific weatherization experience is a threshold requirement to provide BIL DOE WAP services. In his letter denying AYUDA’s appeal, the Executive Director also provided examples of certifications (e.g., Energy Auditor, Quality Control Inspector) required by DOE to ensure that all DOE applicable program rules and standards are met and that these certifications and the requisite amount of experience and training can take months or even years to become proficient according to DOE standards. Furthermore, the Executive Director explained that without the proper DOE certifications, units weatherized cannot be reported as complete with DOE funds, regardless of other weatherization experience.
On November 6, 2023, AYUDA filed a timely appeal to the Board acknowledging the importance of meeting the stringent requirements and standards set by DOE and that AYUDA is committed to fulfilling these requirements prospectively to the best of their ability. AYUDA also stated they believe they can provide a valuable service to the community (i.e., El Paso, Hudspeth and Presidio counties - the counties for which they applied) through this program and are committed to meeting all necessary requirements.
Without the mandatory DOE experience and requisite DOE certifications, granting this appeal would put the Department and AYUDA at risk of bearing significant disallowed costs. For this reason and because the DOE specific experience requirement is clearly represented within the RFA, it is staff’s recommendation to deny AYUDA’s appeal to the Board and to sustain staff’s termination of the application to administer the BIL DOE WAP in El Paso, Hudspeth and Presidio counties. It should also be noted that the subsequent Board item (Item #450) recommends an award to an applicant, which satisfied all RFA requirements and which applied for the same region (i.e., El Paso and Hudspeth counties).