MPO TPC/TAC Board Minutes - 10/07/2009WICHITA FALLS METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION
Technical Advisory Committee
Minutes
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Voting Members Present:
Lin Barnett — Wichita Falls MPO, MPO Director, TAC Chairperson
Allan Moore — TxDOT, Director of Construction
Danny Brown — TxDOT, Director of Trans. Planning and Development
Dave Clark — City of Wichita Falls, Dir. of Community Development
James Kelley — TxDOT, Area Engineer
Davis Powell — City of Wichita Falls, City Engineer
Doug Wooster proxy for Mark Beauchamp — City of Wichita Falls, Traffic Superintendant
David Rohmer proxy for Tim Hertel — TxDOT, Director of Operations
MPO Staff:
Donnie Arbeau — Wichita Falls MPO, Transportation Planner II
Tammy Marlow — TxDOT, Funding Administrator
Visitors:
Nora Hodges — Nortex Regional Planning Commission
Lori Davidson — Kimley -Horn
Andrew Howard — Kimley -Horn
Absent:
Karen Montgomery-Gagne — City of Wichita Falls, Comm. Development Planner III
I. Welcome & Introduction
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Mr. Barnett called the meeting to order at 9:05 a.m. and completed the role call. Participants
identified themselves and stated whom they represented. Mr. Barnett proceeded on to the next
agenda item.
II. Public Comment on Agenda and Non - Agenda Items
Mr. Barnett asked for any public comments. There were no speakers.
III. Review and Approval of the July 8, 2009 Technical Advisory Committee's (TAC)
Meeting Minutes
Mr. Barnett presented the minutes and asked for any corrections or comments. There was
none. Mr. Barnett asked for a motion to approve the minutes. Mr. Clark made the motion to
approve and Mr. Kelley seconded his motion. The board unanimously approved the minutes.
Wichita Falls MPO TAC Meeting October 7, 2009 Page 1 of 5
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IV. Review and Comment Regarding the Transportation Policy Committee's (TPC's) July
22, 2009 Meeting Minutes - No Action Required
Mr. Barnett asked for comments on the July 22, 2009 TPC meeting minutes. There was none.
V. Kimley -Horn Presentation on Draft Outcomes of the 2010 -2035 MTP Update Project
Mr. Barnett informed the committee that all of the comments and corrections received from the
TAC committee at the September 2, 2009 oversight meeting were now incorporated into the
MTP update. He also informed them that the projects from the 2009 annual prioritized project
list would constitute the baseline project list in the financial plan of the 2010 -2035 Metropolitan
Transportation Plan. Mr. Barnett then asked Mr. Howard to present the draft of the MTP update
to the committee.
Mr. Howard began by discussing the bulleted list that came out of the TAC oversight meeting on
September 2 "d. He went through each item on the list and discussed the actions taken to
address each issue. Several of the committee members made comments and recommendations
concerning the improvements. Some members offered further suggestions for improvements in
order clarify some of the key issues.
Mr. Howard then presented each section of the MTP update to the committee pointing out the
different legislative requirements of the document. There were nine sections in the document
excluding appendices. Those sections included: Introduction /Goals & Objectives; Public
Participation; Regional Growth and Mobility Trends; Travel Demand Modeling and Mobility
Scenarios; Policy & Program Recommendations; Future Economic Stimulus and Special
Projects; Bicycle Master Plan; Transit Master Plan; and the Financial Plan, which will include the
baseline MTP project list. The appendices were incomplete at this point in the process.
The TAC committee spent almost three hours reviewing every detail in the report. They were
satisfied with the Goals and Objectives of the plan and with the Public Participation efforts up to
this point. The MPO held one workshop for the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee in
early June while two workshop style public meetings were held for the public during the same
period. Public participation was very good at all of these events. The TAC committee reviewed
the Regional Growth and Mobility Trends section and determined the information presented was
accurate except for the Lane Miles, specifically the graph on Lane Miles per Capita. The
information presented in this graph did appear to be correct concerning Wichita Falls. Mr.
Howard stated he would look into the problem and get it corrected.
The TAC committee reviewed the Travel Demand Model (TDM) and Mobility Scenarios section
of the draft and determined the TDM portion was ready to submit to the TxDOT Transportation
Planning and Programming Division in Austin for review. Mr. Barnett stated he would send the
model to Mr. Greg Lancaster, TxDOT Team Leader in the Traffic Analysis Section, in Austin the
next day. The TAC committee indicated that language should be added to this section in order
to tie Wichita Falls directly to the mobility scenarios illustrated. Mr. Clark stated that more local
photographs should be added to help readers identify with our area and with the goals of the
plan.
Mr. Howard discussed the Policy and Program Recommendations section. He stated that
federal transportation was working towards linking transportation and land use decisions with an
overall focus on quality of life. Key to this concept is Livable Communities, Network Initiatives
and Context - Sensitive Solutions and Design. Mr. Howard encouraged the board to develop a
Wichita Falls MPO TAC Meeting October 7, 2009 Page 2 of 5
Sustainable Network policy for the MPO. Mr. Barnett stated that after approval of the MTP, he
would begin developing a policy, with help form the TAC committee, for submission to the TPC
as a MPO resolution.
The TAC committee then reviewed the Future Economic Stimulus and Special Projects section.
The committee determined the information and recommendations presented were all relevant
and useful except for the paragraph concerning Main Street Development. This paragraph did
not really address the issues facing downtown Wichita Falls. The committee recommended
deleting this paragraph from the section.
Mr. Howard discussed the updates to the Bicycle Master Plan, which was Section 7 of the
document. He stated that during the BPAC and public meeting workshops five special bicycle
and pedestrian projects came out of those meetings. He recommended adding those projects to
the Financial Plan for possible future funding consideration. Mr. Clark stated there were some
inaccuracies with some of the trails that would need correcting before publication of the final
document. Mr. Barnett stated his staff would work with Community Development to make the
corrections and forward them to Mr. Howard for inclusion in the final document.
TAC reviewed the Transit Master Plan in Section 8 and determined that is was well written and
had achievable goals. Mr. Barnett pointed out that one of the goals was already well within
reach with the addition of the new low -floor transit buses due for delivery in February of 2010.
The TAC committee reviewed Section 9, the Financial Plan, to see what new special projects
had come out of the public meetings. Mr. Barnett stated he would incorporate those projects into
the list the committee was developing as its baseline of projects for this section of the MTP. He
stated he would remove any duplication before publication of the final list.
Mr. Howard stated he would make all of the required changes discussed during the meeting and
forward them to Mr. Barnett well in advance of the TPC meeting scheduled for October 26t . Mr.
Barnett stated he would then forward the revised document to the TAC committee for review
before including it in the TPC meeting packets. The TAC committee agreed to this procedure
and asked Mr. Barnett to email the revised document to them once it was in his possession. The
TAC committee made no other comments or recommendations concerning the MTP update. Mr.
Barnett moved on to the next agenda item.
VI. Review, Discuss, and Forward the 2009/2010 Prioritized Project List to the
Transportation Policy Committee for Review and Approval.
The TAC committee reviewed the voting results of the 2009/2010 annual prioritized project list.
Mr. Powell recommended removing all of the PM projects from the list in the interest of
continuity. Mr. Barnett stated that he left the Wichita County, Lakeside City, and Pleasant Valley
PM projects on the list because there were no other projects from these agencies to prioritize.
Mr. Barnett agreed removing them from the prioritized list because of their PM status would
promote continuity of the document. However, Mr. Barnett stated the PM projects removed from
the prioritized list would remain in the MTP project list in the Financial Plan until funding became
available to release them for construction.
Mr. Barnett asked for a motion to forward the list to the
made the motion to approve. Mr. Brown seconde d
approved.
TPC for review and approval. Mr. Kelley
his motion. The board unanimously
Wichita Falls MPO TAC Meeting October 7, 2009 Page 3 of 5
VII. Discuss and Disseminate Information Concerning the Upcoming TxDOT Travel Survey
Program
Mr. Barnett directed the boards attention to the TxDOT Travel Survey Program materials
included in their meeting packets. He informed the committee that sometime in October or
November of 2009 the Texas Department of Transportation would initiate a household travel
survey to collect information on the amount, types, and patterns of travel that are produced by
households on an average weekday with the urban study area. Mr. Barnett stated the cost of
the travel survey was approximately $950,000 and would take place within the boundary lines of
the MPO at no cost to the MPO. The Texas Transportation Institute would assist with the travel
survey. Mr. Barnett encouraged everyone to be familiar with the materials in the handout so that
they could answer any questions from the public. Mr. Brown agreed and described the process
in further detail commenting that compensation to the public for participating would be
authorized by the state. There were no further comments or discussion.
VIII. Other Business:
A. Discussion & Overview of Progress on Local Transportation Projects — City and
TxDOT staff (Quarterly Review)
TxDOT Report: Mr. Kelley reported that the Kell West main lanes and bridge striping and
punch list was nearing completion; that the Loop 11/IH -44 /FM 890 ramp relocation, new
facility, replace bridge and approaches project was complete; that the replace bridge and
approaches at Middle Fork of Pond Creek, West Fork of Pond Creek, on CR 228 at
North Side Canal, and CR 339 at the draw were complete; that the Novachip project on
US 287 from IH -44 /US 287/SP 325 interchange to FM 368 was in progress; that bridge
maintenance and repair on US 82 on the frontage road bridges at Holliday Creek was
complete; and that the hot mix overlay on BU 277A (Seymour Hwy.) from Loop 11 to
Brook Street was complete.
City of Wichita Falls Report: Mr. Powell reported that Faith Village drainage
improvements on McGrath Creek from Southwest Pkwy. to Maplewood Ave. were 15%
complete; that the ADA ramps and median landscape work at the intersection of 7th and
MLK West of the Stone Lake Drive intersection were 60% complete; that the 2009 street
rehabilitation project at Fairway, Colonial Park, 8th and 11th streets was 40% complete;
that the Holliday Creek Trail project was scheduled for award in December 2009; that
the 2010 Street Rehabilitation Project was scheduled for award in February 2010.
B. MPO Quarterly Financial Report (3`d Quarter FY 2009 — April, May, June)
Mr. Barnett reported the MPO had spent $82,302.58 (39.64 %) of its 2009 allocation as
of June 2009. He stated expenditures on the MTP update should bring the MPO within
the 75% minimum expenditure requirement by the end of the fiscal year. Mr. Barnett
commented the FY 2009 transit grant was not active yet because of all the work required
during the year on stimulus and TIGER grant applications. He stated the grant would be
ready for use before the end of the year. Mr. Barnett asked for comments or questions
about the financial report. There was none.
Wichita Falls MPO TAC Meeting October 7, 2009 Page 4 of 5
C. Presentation on 31) Visualization Techniques
Mr. Barnett informed the committee that at the last TPC meeting in July Councilor Smith
inquired about the 3D model of the Falls Flyover mentioned in the 2009 Unified Planning
Work Program. At that time, Mr. Barnett informed Councilor Smith that the model was
still in a very rough state and was not yet ready to show to the public. After many weeks
of dedicated work, Mr. Arbeau prepared the model for demonstration. Although not quite
complete, the model does give a good perspective from the air of how the Falls Flyover
functions. SAFETEA -LU legislation requires MPO's to use 3D visualization techniques
wherever possible when interacting with the public. This model is the first in a series of
steps to illustrate future transportation projects within the Wichita Falls MPO boundaries.
Mr. Arbeau presented his work to the committee. They were very pleased with his
accomplishments and recommended presenting his work to the TPC at the next
meeting.
D. Other items
Mr. Barnett shared with the committee the latest information on federal rescissions
concerning the state of Texas as opposed to the rest of the nation. The latest rescission
required Texas to return $1.9 million, bringing the total rescinded since FY 2006 to
$742,240,415 or 8.52% of the nationwide total of $8,708,000,000. Mr. Brown
commented the latest rescission could have repercussions on projects located within the
MPO's boundaries.
IX. Adjourn
The meeting adjourned at 12:36 p.m.
v
Irvan F. "Lin" Barnett Jr.
MPO Transportation Planning Director
Wichita Falls MPO
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