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Conference Calls

Transit Security Grant Program Tier I FY 2007

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Conference Call Summaries

02/14/2007 Conference Call

No new issues or questions were raised during this call.

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02/07/2007 Conference Call

No new issues or questions were raised during this call.

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01/31/2007 Conference Call

Opening Comments:

Good afternoon. G&T is also on the call to answer any questions. I'd like to take a few minutes to talk about the FY07 TSGP Tier II conferences scheduled on February 8, 9, and 12:

I would like to give a brief overview of agenda for the conferences:

We hope to complete the conferences by 3:00 PM.

As always, please submit questions through askcsid@dhs.gov. Askcsid@dhs.gov is the only official way we have of making sure every question is addressed, and also the only way for you to receive an official answer. We often participate in different meetings at different venues with applicants, and when questions arise, you may or may not get an official/correct answer. All questions that are submitted through askcsid@dhs.gov are guaranteed the correct and official answer.

We also have some additional clarification to the FY07 TSGP Guidance:

1) Appendix 4, page 34, 3rd paragraph: there is language that states "In addition, Investment Justifications must be approved by the applicable SAA(s) and all eligible transit systems in the region." To clarify, for both Tier I and Tier II, the applicable SAA(s) must approve the Investment Justifications. However, only Tier I Investment Justifications must be approved by all eligible transit systems in the region. For Tier II, transit system approval is not required; only SAA approval is required.

2) In prior conference calls, we mentioned that Tier II transit systems were only eligible to submit up to three Investment Justifications. That answer was incorrect. Tier II transit systems are eligible to submit up to 10 Investment Justifications for individual transit systems, and up to five regional Investment Justifications.

I would now like to open the floor for questions.

Questions and Answers:

Click here to read the questions and answers from all TSGP stakeholder conference calls.

Wrap Up:

G&T: I would like to reiterate/extend on the point that we are anticipating a public announcement in early May, and the time clock will start ticking on the Tier I Investment Justifications as soon as possible thereafter (once the formal award is made to SAA). We hope that the timeframe between the public announcement and the actual award will be very brief, but we do not expect that the award will be on the exact date of the public announcement.

TSA: We hope we will be able to see everyone at the conferences, and we look forward to working with everyone. If you have any questions or comments, we welcome them through askcsid@dhs.gov.

We have received some requests from people to be on distribution list for these conference call minutes and Q&As. Unfortunately, in some cases, emails are bouncing back. If you have requested to be added to the distribution list, and have not been receiving the conference call minutes and Q&As, please resend your request to askcsid@dhs.gov so we can ensure we have your correct email.

The Q&As from last three conference calls will be posted by tomorrow on the TSA website, and on G&T's website shortly.

Thanks for participating in today's call. We appreciate your participation and the questions you raise. We hope to see you all soon at the conferences, and in regional working groups. We look forward to talking with you again next week. We will continue to host conference calls every Wednesday at 1:00 pm, EST. The telephone number for each call is (888) 323-4702; the pass code is "Wednesday."

Again, thank you all for participating in the call; we hope you'll attend the call next week as well.

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01/24/2007 Conference Call

Opening Comments:

We have received multiple requests for greater outreach and communication, and in response to that, we have scheduled three (3) Tier II conferences:

Please visit this Web site for more details regarding the Tier II conferences.

Additionally, we will schedule two Tier I conferences (one on the west coast, one on the east coast) during the second week in April.

I would now like to open the floor for questions.

Questions and Answers:

Click here to read the questions and answers from all TSGP stakeholder conference calls.

Wrap Up:

Thanks for participating in today's call. I think we all get valuable information through this dialog. We'll continue to host conference calls every Wednesday at 1:00 pm, EST. The telephone number for each call is (888) 323-4702; the pass code is "Wednesday." Also, please submit questions asked today during the call, as well as all questions that may arise, to the help-desk at askcsid@dhs.gov. Responses received through askcsid@dhs.gov are considered the official responses.

If you are not receiving informational updates via email please send us your email addresses to ensure that you are included on our distribution list. To update your personal information, please send an email to both tsagrants@dhs.gov and askcsid@dhs.gov. We will be sending out an Information Bulletin to rectify any errors that we may find in the guidance documents.

Again, thank you all for participating in the call; we hope you'll attend the call next week as well.

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01/17/2007 Conference Call

Opening Comments:

I'd like to start by discussing the timelines for the program, then touch on several other points before opening the floor for questions.

Tier I – Currently the project proposals with Investment Justifications aren't due until 90 days after the award. Applications are due to G&T by March 6, 2007. Sixty (60) days after that date is the deadline for G&T to take action. The Investment Justifications for Tier I stakeholders will be due 90 days after May 6, which falls roughly around August 4. We are planning on having a conference sometime in the first part of April. We'll send an email around to Tier I when we determine the final date. Your questions are welcome at any time through the conference call forum or through email via askcsid@dhs.gov.

Tier II – Applications are due March 6, 2007, along with your Investment Justifications. The award will be made at some point before May 6. At this point, no conferences have been scheduled for Tier II stakeholders. We'll continue to have these conference calls until Tier I is done with the process, which means we'll host calls through the end of July.

Regarding the funding request limit, we're aware that the guidance states, "Applicants are encouraged not to request more than two times the average percentage of IPP funds received annually from FY03 through FY06." Both TSA and G&T want to say that this is a suggestion and not mandatory in any way.

Project Proposal Limits – Currently Tier I stakeholders are permitted to submit up to five (5) regional and ten (10) individual project proposals. Tier II stakeholders will be limited to three (3) project proposals per transit system.

Canine Teams – Canine teams are once again an allowable cost, even though they are not mentioned in the guidance. The government will fund start-up costs, but not expenses of an existing team.

I would now like to open the floor for questions.

Questions and Answers:

Click here to read the questions and answers from all TSGP stakeholder conference calls.

Wrap Up:

Thanks for participating in today's call. I think we all get valuable information through this dialog. We'll continue to host conference calls every Wednesday at 1:00 pm, EST. The telephone number for each call is (888) 323-4702; the pass code is "Wednesday." Also, please submit questions asked today during the call, as well as all questions that may arise, to the help-desk at askcsid@dhs.gov.

If you are not receiving informational updates via email please send us your email addresses to ensure that you are included on our distribution list. To update your personal information, please send an email to both tsagrants@dhs.gov and askcsid@dhs.gov. We will be sending out an Information Bulletin to rectify any errors that we may find in the guidance documents.

Again, thank you all for participating in the call; we hope you'll attend the call next week as well.

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01/10/2007 Conference Call

Opening Comments:

Doyle: Welcome. We're joined by Ray Cotton, the Acting General Manager for Highway and Motor Carriers; Jack Kalro, Manager of Grants at TSA; and Kerry Thomas of the Office of Grants and Training. I'd like to turn things over briefly to Mr. Ray Cotton.

Ray: Good afternoon. I think the process this year should meet expectations, and address feedback from last year. I'd like to also point out that this year's Intercity Bus Security Grant guidance, which will be released in the next day, incorporates five Intercity Bus Security Priorities:

  1. Protection of high risk/high consequence assets that have been identified through system-wide risk assessments
  2. Use of visible, unpredictable deterrence
  3. Targeted antiterrorism training for key front-line and operations center staff
  4. Emergency preparedness drills and exercises
  5. Public awareness and preparedness campaigns

Kerry: I now want to walk through the highlights of the IBSGP guidance, which will be posted shortly on www.grants.gov, along with the rest of the FY 07 Infrastructure Protection Program, of which the IBSGP is a part, focused on enhancing critical infrastructure. I'm going to start by outlining the new areas of the IBSGP.

New for FY 07 – IBSGP is adopting a tiered structure, similar to Transit Security Grant Program (TSGP); tier placement is determined by risk factors:

Own/operate a charter bus service using over-the-road buses and provide a minimum of 50 trips annually to one or more defined UASI jurisdictions.

There is $11.64M available funding in IBSGP – $8.1M for Tier I, and $3.5M for Tier II

An investment justification will be used this year, very similar to the program narratives, to level and normalize the collection of information across the grant programs

DHS has established minimum funding levels for projects as follows:

For Tier I:
$50,000 for projects focused on training and/or exercises
$100,000 for other projects

For Tier II:
$5,000 for projects focused on training and/or exercises
$25,000 for other projects

The period of performance (POP) for this grant cycle will be 36 months, rather than 30 months

The UASI list has been updated to include new eligible UASI jurisdictions

We are awaiting permission to post the IBSGP guidance soon on grants.gov The Application period is open from January 9 through March 6, 2007 (approximately 60 days). Given this extended timeframe, there is a lot of opportunity for collaboration and feedback throughout the process. Awards are expected to be announced late April.

Doyle: I want to reaffirm our commitment to stakeholder outreach. We want to work with the applicants to explain risk and the tiered structure. Tiers allow us to get to large fleets, and collaborate and work together to address risk, while still allowing smaller bus companies to receive funding.

Questions and Answers:

Click here to read the questions and answers from all IBSGP confrence calls

Wrap Up:

Doyle: If there are no more questions at this point in time I'd like to say thanks for joining us today; we look forward to your participation in future calls. As a reminder, we will be hosting bi-weekly calls on Fridays, starting January 19. The following table outlines the information for conference calls that we have scheduled.

Date

Time

Telephone Number

Pass Code

January 19, 2007

1:00 p.m. EST

(888) 323-4702

1245

February 2, 2007

1:00 p.m. EST

(888) 323-4702

1278

February 16, 2007

1:00 p.m. EST

(888) 323-4702

2356

We will also add more events as/if necessary. Please submit your questions to askcsid@dhs.gov. Thank you.

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