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Transit Security Grant Program Tier II FY 2009

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Dates/Timelines

Fiscal Year 2009 TSGP Important Dates

Date & Time

Event

Additional Info

Thursday
November 6, 2008
1:00 PM EST

FY09 TSGP Kickoff Conference Call

Call-in number:
877-988-9660
Passcode: 6827433

EVERY WEDNESDAY
November 12, 2008 through
January 7, 2009
1:00 PM EST

FY 2009 TSGP Conference Call

Call-in number:
888-323-4702
Passcode: Wednesday

Conference Call Summaries

1/28/09 Conference Call

TSGP Conference Call Summary
January 28, 2009
Time: 1:00 PM EST

Opening Comments:

TSA: Hello and good morning or afternoon, depending on from where you are calling. A quick update that I will share with you is that since the application deadline for Tier I & Tier II has passed, the conference calls will now continue on a bi-weekly basis. There will be no call next week since we are no longer in the application period; the next conference call will be Wednesday, February 11, 2009.

I know several of you who have been applying have experienced issues with grants.gov during the submission process. If you have not done so already, please submit any issues that you have had with submitting your applications through grants.gov to TSA Grants at TSAgrants@tsa.dhs.gov so that we can make sure these issues are documented. We are keeping track of these issues, and will be following up extensively with grants.gov regarding the problems that you all have been experiencing.

At this time I would like to open the call up to questions.

Questions and Answers:

There were no questions and answers.

Closing Comments:

TSA: If there are no questions, I would like to conclude this call. Thank you for calling. As a reminder, there will not be a conference call next week. These conference calls will now be held bi-weekly. The next conference call will be on Wednesday, February 11, 2009 at 1 PM EST. The call-in number is 1-888-323-4702, and the Passcode is Wednesday.

As always, if you have any questions, please email us at TSAgrants@tsa.dhs.gov and carbon copy ASKCSID@dhs.gov.

This concludes the call.

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1/14/09 Conference Call

TSGP Conference Call Summary
January 14, 2009
Time: 1:00 PM EST

Opening Comments:

TSA: Hello and good morning or afternoon, depending on where you are calling from. Grants.gov is up and operational for submission of applications. The deadline for submitting your applications has been extended to Friday, January 23, 2009. If you have not received this information in your email please send an email to TSAgrants@TSA.dhs.gov and also to ASKcsid@dhs.gov asking to be included on our email list so we can be sure you receive all updates.

At this time I would like to open the call up to questions.

Questions and Answers:

There were no questions and answers.

Closing Comments:

TSA: If there are no other questions, I would like to conclude this call and thank you for calling in. We have another call next week on Wednesday, January 21, 2009 at 1 PM. The call-in number is 1-888-323-4702, and the Passcode is Wednesday.

Thank you for joining us on this call. If you have any questions during the week, please email us at TSAgrants@tsa.dhs.gov and carbon copy ASKCSID@dhs.gov. You will receive a formal response from us after we review your question and these questions and answers will be posted on our website at www.tsa.gov/grants.

This concludes the call.

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1/07/09 Conference Call

TSGP Conference Call Summary
January 7, 2009
Time: 1:00 PM EST

Opening Comments:

TSA: Good morning or good afternoon depending on what time is for you. The grants application materials are not available yet on the grants.gov website and unfortunately, we do not have any updates from grants.gov. This means that the Investment Justification (IJ) template, detailed budget template, standard forms (SF4242s), assurances and certifications are not posted on the grants.gov website. FEMA is actively working on this with their leadership and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) but there is no formal word on an extension at this time.

We have heard from several agencies and regions that it takes several days to get the SF424s through their legal and finance departments. We want you to know that we are aware of that and we want to assure you that we will give you adequate time to complete the application process.

We would now like to open up the line for questions.

Questions and Answers:

Please see the following website for questions and answers: http://www.tsa.gov/grants.

Closing Comments:

TSA: If there are no further questions, we will conclude this call. Thank you for calling. The next conference call will occur on Wednesday, January 14, 2009 at 1 PM EST. The call-in number is 1-888-323-4702, and the Passcode is Wednesday.

We will send out an email through TSAGrants and ASKCsid to all of our agency contacts as soon as we hear any updates on the application deadline or grants.gov and we will post any updates on our website. So you can look there as well for any updates.

As always, if you have any questions, you can submit them to AskCSID@dhs.gov, FEMA’s email address and carbon copy us at TSAgrants@tsa.dhs.gov. You will receive a formal response from us after we review your question and these questions and answers will be posted on our website at www.tsa.gov/grants.

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12/31/08 Conference Call

TSGP Conference Call Summary
December 31, 2008
Time: 1:00 PM EST

Opening Comments:

TSA: The application deadline remains January 13, 2009 at 11:59pm EST. We do not have any updates but we wanted to hold the call in case anyone had any questions. Are there any questions?

Questions and Answers:

Please see the following website for questions and answers: http://www.tsa.gov/grants.

Closing Comments

TSA:If there are no other questions, we would like to thank you for calling and wish you a Happy and Healthy New Year. The next conference call will occur next Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 1 pm EST. The call-in number is 1-888-323-4702, and the Passcode is Wednesday.

If you do have a question between now and next week, you can submit it to AskCSID@dhs.gov which is FEMA's email address and carbon copy us at TSAgrants@tsa.dhs.gov. You will get a formal response from us after we review your question. Our Tier I representatives may also contact their FEMA or TSA representatives directly. This concludes the call.

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12/24/08 Conference Call

TSGP Conference Call Summary
December 24, 2008
Time: 1:00 PM EST

Opening Comments:

TSA: Grants.gov is still not up with the standard forms. You can still access the Investment Justification (IJ) and the detailed budget template on our website at www.TSA.gov/grants. If you have completed an application in the past, the standard forms should be the same. The application deadline remains January 13, 2009 at 11:59pm EST. At this time I would like to open the call to any questions you may have.

Questions and Answers:

There were no questions during this call.

Closing Comments:

If there are no other questions, we would like to thank you for calling and wish you a Happy Holiday. The next conference call will occur next Wednesday, December 31, 2008 at 1 pm EST. The call-in number is 1-888-323-4702, and the Passcode is Wednesday.

If you do have a question between now and next week, you can submit it to AskCSID@dhs.gov which is FEMA’s email address and carbon copy us at TSAgrants@tsa.dhs.gov. You will get a formal response from us after we review your question. Our Tier I representatives may also contact their FEMA or TSA representatives directly. This concludes the call.

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12/17/08 Conference Call

TSGP Conference Call Summary
December 17, 2008
Time: 1:00 PM EST

Opening Comments:

TSA: Hello everyone and welcome to the weekly conference call. There are no new announcements or news. We are here to answer any questions that you may have. Are there any questions now?

Questions and Answers:

Please see the following website for questions and answers: http://www.tsa.gov/grants.

Closing Comments:

If there are no more questions, we would like to thank you for calling. If you do have a question between now and next week, you can submit it to AskCSID@dhs.gov which is FEMA’s address and carbon copy us at TSAgrants@tsa.dhs.gov. You will receive a formal response from us after we review your question. Our Tier I representatives may also contact their FEMA or TSA representatives directly.

The next conference call will occur next Wednesday, December 24, 2008 at 1 PM. The call-in number is 1-888-323-4702, and the Passcode is Wednesday. This concludes the call.

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12/10/08 Conference Call

TSGP Conference Call Summary
December 10, 2008
Time: 1:00 PM EST

Opening Comments:

TSA: Thank you for calling in. I do not have many updates today. As you know we are in the middle of the application period with about a month left. Applications are due January 13, 2009 at 11:59pm EST through grants.gov.

We are continuously updating our website at www.tsa.gov/grants to post all the questions and answers that we receive in the conference calls and also through the emails at tsagrants@tsa.dhs.gov. We encourage you to check the website on a regular basis as we keep it updated so you can be aware of any new questions that we receive and our answers to those questions.

Grants.gov is still not up for the grant programs. FEMA is working with them to get the issues resolved.

Right now we do not have the intention to extend the submission deadline. As the deadline comes closer and grants.gov is still not available, we will re-evaluate the deadline date. We do not want anyone to be unable to apply because they are unable to get the SF424 paperwork through their agencies. We are monitoring this situation because we do not want this issue to preclude you from applying for a grant.

Questions and Answers:

There were no questions and answers.

Closing Comments

Since there are no questions we will conclude this call. The next conference call will occur on Wednesday, December 17, 2008 at 1 PM EST. The call-in number is 888-323-4702 and the Passcode is Wednesday.

We would like to thank you for calling. As always, if you have any questions before the next conference call, please e-mail us at TSAgrants@tsa.dhs.gov and carbon copy FEMA at. AskCSID@dhs.gov. This concludes the call.

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12/03/08 Conference Call

TSGP Conference Call Summary
December 3, 2008
Time: 1:00 PM EST

Opening Comments:

TSA: Hello everyone. Thank you for calling in. I do not have too much new today. I want to remind you that all grant applications are due at 11:59 PM EST on January 13, 2009.

Grants.gov does not have the standard forms up yet for the Transit Security Grant Program (TSGP) but the fillable templates for the Investment Justification (IJ) and the detailed budget are available on our website at www.TSA.gov/grants. Go to our website, see all the information that is there, download the IJ template and the budget template, and begin filling out your applications for your projects now.

On our website, we also have the IJ writing guide that provides in great detail the type of information that the National Review panel (NRP) will be looking for in each section of the IJ that helps them accurately evaluate your project. If you were not able to attend one of our workshops, all of the information that we went over is available on our website for you to review and download.

At this time we will open the floor for questions.

Questions and Answers:

There were no questions and answers.

Closing Comments:

Since there are no questions we will conclude this call. The next conference call will occur on Wednesday, December 10, 2008 at 1 PM EST. The call-in number is 888-323-4702 and the passcode is Wednesday.

We would like to thank you for calling. As always, if you have any questions, please e-mail us at AskCSID@dhs.gov and carbon copy TSAgrants@tsa.dhs.gov. This concludes this call.

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11/26/08 Conference Call

TSGP Conference Call Summary
November 26, 2008
Time: 1:00 PM EST

Opening Comments:

TSA: Welcome everyone to the weekly TSGP conference call during the FY09 TSGP application period. Thank you for joining us and taking the time to call in. I would like to give everyone some status updates. The forms for the Surface Transportation Security grant programs are not up on grants.gov at this time. However, you can still begin writing your investment justifications and detailed budgets, as those forms are on the TSA web site, www.tsa.gov/grants.

As a reminder, all grant applications are due on January 13, 2009, 11:59PM EST. At this time we will open the floor for questions.

Questions and Answers:

There were no questions and answers.

Closing Comments:

We would like to thank you for calling. Have a happy Thanksgiving and a safe and happy holiday.

Please submit via email any and all questions to TSAgrants@tsa.dhs.gov and carbon copy ASKCSID@dhs.gov. You will receive a formal response from us after we review your question.

The regularly scheduled TSGP conference call will occur again next week on Wednesday, December 3, 2008 at 1:00PM EST. The dial in number is 888-323-4702, and the passcode is Wednesday. This concludes this call.

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11/19/08 Conference Call

TSGP Conference Call Summary
November 19, 2008
Time: 1:00 PM EST

Opening Comments:

TSA: Welcome everyone to the weekly TSGP conference call during the FY09 TSGP application period. Thank you for joining us and making the time to call in. We are making this call from the fifth of six TSGP workshops in Portland, Oregon. If you are planning on attending the final workshop in DC this Friday, November 21st, please register to tsagrants@tsa.dhs.gov ASAP. We need at least 24 hours notice to enter you into the visitor registration system since the workshop is being held within our buildings at TSA headquarters. At this time, we will open the floor for questions.

Questions and Answers:

Please see the following website for questions and answers:
http://www.tsa.gov/grants.

Closing Comments:

TSA: Please submit via email any and all additional questions to TSAgrants@tsa.dhs.gov and ASKCSID@dhs.gov. The regularly scheduled TSGP conference call will occur again next week on Wednesday November 26, 2008 at the same time and dial in number: 888-323-4702, passcode Wednesday 1 PM EST.

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11/12/08 Conference Call

TSGP Conference Call Summary
November 12th, 2008
Time: 1:00 PM EST

Opening Comments:

TSA: Hello everyone and thank you for joining us today. I wanted to go over quickly again some of the highlights of the fiscal year 2009 TSGP. First, all awards will be made directly to the transit agencies. Second, there is no match requirement for either 2008 or 2009. Information Bulletin #298 was released on Monday outlining the steps and options available to transit agencies for dealing with the removal of the match requirement from fiscal year 2008.

There is a 30 percent cap on the funds available for "operational costs" this year due to the 9/11 Act. Operating Costs include security training, exercises, public awareness campaigns, canine patrols, development of security plans, overtime reimbursement, and operational costs associated with security or counter-terrorism duties. Last year the cap was 50 percent.

The TSGP Guidance and Application Kit was released last Wednesday, November 5th. It is posted on the TSA Grants website at www.tsa.gov/grants. We have also posted grant guidance 'frequently asked questions' (FAQ'S), a fact sheet on grants, the weekly conference call schedule, workshop dates and locations, timelines, and Investment Justification (IJ) writing information.

We held our first workshop in Saint Petersburg, Florida on Friday, November 7 with great success. We will post a summary and the questions and answers from that workshop as soon as possible. We also have a workshop today in Chicago, and the next four are located in Houston, Texas; San Diego, California; Portland, Oregon; and at TSA HQ in Arlington, Virginia. All information, including the agenda and locations, are on the website – please look there.

At this time, we will open the floor for questions.

Questions and Answers:

Questions and answers will be posted on the following website:
http://www.tsa.gov/grants.

Closing Comments :

If there are no other questions, we would like to thank you for calling. Remember, there are four more workshops.

You can also email any questions you have to TSAgrants@tsa.dhs.gov and AskCSID@dhs.gov. You will get a formal response from us after we review your question.

Our next weekly call is scheduled for Wednesday, November 19 at 1 pm EST; call-in number 888-323-4702, and passcode Wednesday.

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11/06/08 Conference Call

Transportation Security Grant Program (TSGP)
Kick-off Conference Call Transcript
November 6, 2008
Time: 1:00 PM EST

Opening Comments:

(TSA): The purpose of the call today is to discuss the TSGP fiscal year (FY) 2009. Thank you for calling in today. In the room with me are representatives from Mass Transit, FEMA and TSA Grants. The guidance was posted late yesterday and we sent it out to you this morning through e-mail.

To begin, I would like to focus my comments on key program changes and highlights then associated dates and timelines, which are more critical than ever before. First, the funding for FY09 is at the same amount as it was in FY08. The allocations are still target allocations and they are the same as last year. While ridership numbers have changed, they increased across the board and essentially canceled each other out so the decision was made to keep the allocations the same.

There are two major changes that were made as a result of the FY09 Appropriations Bill. For FY09, the transit agencies are the direct grantees; funding will no longer go through the State Administrative Agency. This has other implications in that each agency is now responsible for submitting their own applications and for the administration and reporting of the grant. Second, there is no cost share or match requirement. This is retroactive as well for FY08. This means that any project that is eligible does not require any type of cost share.

Beside those two changes, we have enhanced our funding priorities. While we tried to remain consistent with last year, this year we added a fifth Project Effectiveness Group to include interoperable communications, evacuation plans, and anti-terrorism security enhancement measures for low-density stations.

Another key change that should be noted is that no project types are specifically prohibited. If you want to put forward a project, you must identify the project type and justify how the project fits into that particular project group.

Next, we have streamlined and shortened the Investment Justification (IJ). We took out eight questions. Hopefully it is less of a burden to you this year.

To be eligible for funding, per the 9/11 Act, agencies must have a current security plan and it must be updated every three years. You may request funding for a security plan if you do not have a current or updated plan

TSA will no longer be a co-chair on the Regional Transit Security Working Groups (RTSWG). But TSA and FEMA will continue to support the RTSWG as they did in the past. The State Administrative Agency (SAA) will be invited to act as a co-chair for the RTSWG. Their role will be one of coordinator and facilitator. They will not serve as an approval authority on projects or activities.

As mandated by Congress, you have 45 days to submit your applications following the release of the guidance. The application due date is January 13, 2009. Late applications will not be accepted. Tier II applicants must have their full applications submitted through grants.gov by the deadline. Tier I applicants, you are required to submit draft Investment Justifications (IJs) and detailed budgets by this date; you have until February 13th to submit your final IJs and budgets through the secure portal. However, we strongly encourage that your IJ is as close to final as possible by January 13, 2009.

Grants.gov is new to many applicants and it is a new application process for this program. For those reasons, we suggest that you start the registration process immediately as it can take several weeks to complete all of the necessary steps in the process. The instructions for registering are contained within the guidance beginning on page 16.

Those are the key highlights that I wanted to cover. I would now like to open the call to questions.

Questions and Answers:

Please see the following website for questions and answers: http://www.tsa.gov/grants.

Closing Comments:

If there are no additional questions, I would like to reminder you of our normal outreach activities. We will have weekly conference calls beginning on November 12th and running through January 14, 2009 every Wednesday at 1 pm EST. The dial-in number is 888-323-4702, and passcode "Wednesday". We will also hold 6 workshops over the next few weeks. The workshops are as follows:

We tried to offer several options and hope that you will be able to join us at one of these locations.

You can find the grant guidance and other materials on our website: www.tsa.gov/grants. We will also be posting a summary of this call along with the questions and answers from this call on our website.

If you have not been receiving our email or other distributions, please email your contact information to TSA grants at TSAGrants@tsa.dhs.gov to ensure that you get the information in the future.

If there are no additional questions, we hopefully will either talk to you on the conference calls or see you at one of workshops.

As always, if you have any questions, please e-mail us at AskCSID@dhs.gov and carbon copy TSAgrants@tsa.dhs.gov. This concludes this call.

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