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MPO TPC/TAC Board Minutes - 10/08/2008WICHITA FALLS METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION Technical Advisory Committee Minutes Wednesday, October 8, 2008 Voting Members Present: Lin Barnett —Wichita Falls MPO, MPO Director, TAC Chairperson Danny Brown — TxDOT, Director of Trans. Planning and Development Davis Powell — City of Wichita Falls, City Engineer James Kelley — TxDOT, Area Engineer John Burrus — City of Wichita Falls, Dir. AT &T (Proxy for Mark Beauchamp) Pat Hoffman — City of Wichita Falls, Property Manager (Proxy for Dave Clark) MPO staff. Tammy Marlow — TxDOT, Funding Administrator Visitors: Nora Hodges — Nortex Regional Planning Commission Absent: Allan Moore — TxDOT, Director of Construction Dave Clark — City of Wichita Falls, Dir. of Community Development Karen Montgomery-Gagne — City of Wichita Falls, Comm. Development Planner III Mark Beauchamp — City of Wichita Falls, Traffic Superintendent Tim Hertel — TxDOT, Director of Operations I. Welcome & Introduction Mr. Barnett called the meeting to order at 10:05 a.m. He welcomed everyone, thanking Ms. Pat Hoffman and Mr. John Burrus for standing in as proxies for Mr. Dave Clark and Mr. Mark Beauchamp, respectively. He then addressed the first item on the agenda. II. Review and Approval of the July 9, 2008 Technical Advisory Committee's (TAC) Meeting Minutes Mr. Barnett asked for comments on the July 9, 2008 TAC minutes. None were received. Mr. Powell motioned to approve the minutes. Mr. Kelley seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved. III. Review and Comment Regarding the Transportation Policy Committee's (TPC's) July 23, 2008 Meeting Minutes - No Action Required Mr. Barnett asked for comments on the July 23, 2008 TPC minutes. None were received. The Wichita Falls MPO TAC Meeting October 8, 2008 Page 1 of 4 board moved on to the next item of business. IV. Review and Recommendation of November 2008 TIP Revisions (Transit Portion Only) to the 2008 -2011 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) Mr. Barnett explained to the board that a directive from PTN in Austin had come down to all Texas MPO's and Councils of Government (COG's) to adopt a new format in their TIP's for displaying Federally Funded Transit Projects and the Transit Financial Summary. PTN requested this change in order to establish reporting continuity from all MPO's and COG's responsible for transit fund programming. The new format also reflects Year of Expenditure (YOE) costs as required by SAFETEA -LU legislation. Mr. Barnett explained that no new projects had been added to the Wichita Falls TIP and, conversely, none had been removed. The purpose of this agenda item was to make the TAC board aware of the new reporting format. Mr. Barnett stated this item would be included on the October 22nd TPC agenda as an informational item only, requiring no action on the part of the TPC board. V. Review, Discussion and Prioritization of the Environmental Justice Surface Transportation Project Nominations Obtained at the September 2008 Public Meetings Mr. Barnett informed the board of the efforts made by MPO staff to acquire comments and new project nominations for the 2008 -2009 Surface Transportation Projects List. He discussed events at the September 16, 2008 Environmental Justice Public Meeting and the public comment booth that the MPO set up at Sikes Senter Mall during the day of September 19, 2008. Mr. Barnett stated that he received six comment forms concerning the Wichita Falls Transit System, but that no new projects from citizens /stakeholders, TxDOT or the City were received. As a result, the list of projects actually decreased in size from last year because of projects that were "let" or are now currently under construction. The TAC board reviewed all of the remaining projects on the list, removing those that were considered non - feasible (with explanations as to why), or because of mitigating circumstances (projects no longer needed because of some external change), and then prioritized the rest. This draft list of prioritized projects will be presented to the TPC for their review and discussion at the October 22, 2008 meeting. VI. Review and Discussion of MPO By -Laws Updates Mr. Barnett presented the latest revisions to the MPO By -Laws stating that he took the comments received at the last TAC meeting in July and incorporated them into the document. The TAC board reviewed and discussed his revisions. Mr. Barnett then asked if the board felt that the document was ready for presentation to the TPC. The board agreed that it was and recommended including it for inspection at the next TPC meeting scheduled for October 22, 2008. Mr. Barnett stated he would include it on the agenda. VII. Other Business: A. Discussion & Overview of Progress on Local Transportation Projects — City and TxDOT staff (Quarterly Review) TxDOT Report: Mr. Kelley reported on the progress on the Falls Flyover ramp Wichita Falls MPO TAC Meeting October 8, 2008 Page 2 of 4 construction; concrete pavement replacement on IH -44 /US 287/ SP 325 interchange; ramp relocation near Loop 11 to the US 287 (SB) / IH -44 west merge; the IH -44 to US 287 new facility; bridge construction on IH -44 at FM 890; Kell West Main Lanes construction between FM 369 and McNiel; bridge work at Middle Fork of Pond Creek on BU 287J, at West Fork of Pond Creek on County Road 228, at Northside Canal on County Road 228, and at draw on County Road 339. He also reported on traffic signal upgrades at the intersection of SP 447 and BU 287J and at the intersection of Barnett Road and Johnson Road. He stated that breakaway light poles would be installed on Midwestern Parkway from LP 473 to US 281; on Kemp Street from Maplewood to Midwestern Parkway and on Taft from Midwestern Parkway to FM 369. City of Wichita Falls Report: Mr. Powell reported on the progress on Maplewood Extension Phase II (38% complete); the Transfer Station Bridge (83% complete); the beginning of existing brick replacement with faux brick stamped concrete on 10th Street from Garfield to Tilden; the provision of left turn lanes on northbound Kemp at Callfield, at Maplewood and Elmwood and at Elmwood and Southwest Parkway. He also reported on reconstruction of existing street on Gregg Road from Southwest Parkway to Langford and on Langford from Gregg Road to Barnett road (39% complete). The installation of storm sewer along Granada, Haiti and Antigua Streets in the Colonial Park Subdivision is in the early stages of completion. Scheduled projects included drainage improvements on McGrath Creek from Southwest Parkway to Maplewood Avenue (Faith Village Drainage Phase II and III) and the annual alley rehabilitation project at various locations across the City. B. MPO Quarterly Financial Report (3rd Quarter FY 2008 — April, May, June) Mr. Barnett presented the 3rd quarter financial report to the committee stating that as of the last billing (Number 11) the MPO had met its goal of expending the minimum 75% requirement of PL -112 funding. He stated the MPO had expending 77.53% of its FY 2008 PL -112 funding and should end somewhere close to 85% with the final bill Number 12. Mr. Barnett asked for comments or questions. There were none. C. Wichita Falls Transit System D.B.A. "Falls Ride" — Plan Implementation Report Mr. Barnett reported to the committee that since the inception of "Falls Ride" on July 7th several minor changes to the route booklets would be needed. He stated that MPO staff was working with the Transit Administrator to incorporate those changes and have them ready in time for the next printing of the booklet. He also informed the committee that the revised booklet would be printed in Spanish some time in 2009 to help with Limited English Proficiency problems. Mr. Barnett informed the board that, with help from the City's Property Manager, Ms. Hoffman, the Transit Administrator and MPO staff are actively searching for a prime location in the downtown area to locate the new Transit Transfer Station. The station will serve as a regional connector for Falls Ride and other area 5310 (elderly and disabled) and 5311 (rural) transit agencies and will replace the temporary station located at 4th and Burnett. D. 2010 - 2035 Metropolitan Transportation Plan Update: Consultant RFP Mr. Barnett informed the committee that he had almost completed the Request for Proposal to be issued later that month concerning the hiring of a qualified consultant to perform the 2010 -2035 Metropolitan Transportation Plan update. He stated that once it Wichita Falls MPO TAC Meeting October 8, 2008 Page 3 of 4 was ready it would be reviewed by the City's Purchasing Agent for any legal problems and then mailed out to a list of consultants and also posted via the MPO website and the local Times Record News newspaper. He stated the MTP update would be due in January of 2010. Mr. Barnett then asked for four volunteers to serve on the MTP selection and oversight committee. Mr. Powell stated that he would serve and Mr. Brown stated that Mr. Hertel and Mr. Moore would be willing to serve. Mr. Barnett stated he would ask one of the other City board members to serve. E. Other items Mr. Brown discussed the possibility of the TPC creating a position on the TAC committee for a representative from Sheppard Air Force Base. He commented that it would be very helpful to have someone from SAFB on the TAC committee to voice transportation problems and concerns near and around the base. Mr. Kelley commented that hardly a week goes by that he does not receive some type of transportation communication from SAFB. The board agreed this would be a good topic for discussion at the next TPC meeting on October 22 "d. This item will be added to that agenda for discussion. VIII. Public Comment on Anything Not on the Agenda Mr. Barnett asked for public comments on anything that was not discussed on the agenda. There were none. IX. Adjourn The meeting adjourned at 11:52 a.m. Z��AJ4-6 QAE--- Irvan F. "Lin" Barnett Jr. MPO Transportation Planning Director Wichita Falls MPO RECEIVED IN�� CITY CLf RK'S OFFICE Date W AY0 &0', By Time S�y� t Wichita Falls MPO TAC Meeting October 8, 2008 Page 4 of 4