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MPO TPC/TAC Board Minutes - 04/06/2011WICHITA FALLS METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION Technical Advisory Committee Minutes Wednesday, April 6, 2011 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 Davis Powell — City of Wichita Falls, City Engineer James Kelley — TxDOT, Area Engineer Karen Montgomery -Gagne — City of Wichita Falls, Interim Planning Supervisor Mark Beauchamp — City of Wichita Falls, Traffic Superintendent Tim Hertel — TxDOT, Director of Operations MPO Staff. Ex- Officio: Visitors: Jennifer Rhone — State Rep. Lanham Lyne, District 69 John Burrus — City of Wichita Falls, Director of Aviation, Traffic, and Transportation Nora Hodges — Stakeholder Absent: Norm Standerfer — City of Wichita Falls, Director of Community Development I. Welcome & Introduction Mr. Barnett, the TAC chairperson, called the meeting to order at 10:05 a.m. and welcomed everyone in attendance. He informed the committee of the recent hiring of Mr. Norm Standerfer as the new Director of Community Development for the City of Wichita Falls. He replaces Mr. David Clark on the Technical Advisory Committee. Mr. Standerfer was unable to attend today's meeting because of prior commitments. II. Public Comment on Agenda and Non - Agenda Items Mr. Barnett asked for any public comments on agenda and non - agenda items. There were none. III. Review and Approval of the January 12, 2011 Technical Advisory Committee's (TAC) Meeting Minutes Mr. Barnett asked for any comments or corrections to the minutes. There were none. Mr. Powell motioned to approve the minutes as presented. Mr. Brown seconded the motion, which the TAC Wichita Falls MPO TAC Meeting April 6, 2011 Page 1 of 5 committee unanimously approved. IV. Review and Comment Regarding the January 26, 2011 Transportation Policy Committee's (TPC's) Meeting Minutes - No Action Required Mr. Brown asked if there was any action concerning the Rhea/Lawrence /Call Field Road intersection. Mr. Barnett said there was and that he would give a report under Other Business near the end of the meeting. The committee moved on to the next agenda item. V. Review and Recommendation to Approve the 2010 -2035 Metropolitan Transportation Plan Project List Amendments for April 2011: New TxDOT CSJ Projects Added Mr. Barnett directed the committee's attention to the TxDOT Short -Range (2010 -2020) project list inside the 2010 -2035 MTP project list. He informed the committee that his staff contacted the Wichita Falls TxDOT district office and received seventeen new CSJ projects for addition to the MTP project list. He stated that all seventeen projects fall within the 2010 -2020 timeframe. Mr. Barnett stated it was important to ensure new projects got added to the MTP as they became available so that, if funding became accessible, the project could move into the 2011 -2014 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) as a fiscally constrained project. Mr. Barnett asked for any comments or corrections to the new projects. There being none, he asked for a motion to forward the amended project list to the WFMPO Policy Board for review and approval at the April 20, 2011 Transportation Policy Committee (TPC) meeting. Mr. Beauchamp made the motion to forward the list to the Policy Board. Ms. Gagne seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. VI. Review and Recommendation to Approve the 2011 -2014 Transportation Improvement Program Amendments for April 2011: State of Good Repair Transit Grant for Two Replacement Buses Mr. Barnett explained that the City of Wichita Falls competed for and received $592,000 of Federal Transit Administration funds through the FTA's State of Good Repair transit initiative, which is a Section 5309 capital improvement program. The City of Wichita Falls will provide a local match of $148,000 (20 percent match) for a total of $740,000 to purchase two more 35- foot, low- floor, 12 -year, replacement buses. The two new buses are the same style as the newer buses the City received in January 2010. Mr. Barnett stated each bus costs approximately $360,000. Mr. Barnett directed the committee's attention to the actual amendment inside the transit section of the 2011 -2014 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). Mr. Barnett stated he presented the grant application to the Texas Review and Comment System (TRACS) for review and favorable comment, which it received, and that it would go before City Council as a public hearing agenda item in the near future. Mr. Barnett asked for any comments or corrections to the amendment, which there were none. He then asked for a motion to forward the amendment to the Policy Board for review and approval. Mr. Hertel made the motion to forward the amendment. Mr. Beauchamp seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. VII. Other Business: Wichita Falls MPO TAC Meeting April 6, 2011 Page 2 of 5 A. Discussion & Overview of Progress on Local Transportation Projects — City and TxDOT staff (Quarterly Review) TxDOT Report: Mr. Kelley reported the contractor for the Holliday Creek hike and bike trail project was installing handrails and retaining walls. He stated the contractor might put in some bids to do some extra work, but that TxDOT will contact the City first for details. Mr. Brown clarified that the "extra work" would help use up the remaining ARRA funding for the project. Mr. Kelley concurred. Mr. Kelley stated work was finishing up on the "upgrade highway illumination" project on the interchange at IH -44, US 287, and Spur 325, which included four separate projects on his project list. He stated that TxDOT was gathering bids to replace pavement markers that came loose during the February ice storms. Mr. Kelley stated the work crews installing the ADA curb ramps finished inside the City and are now working outside of town. He stated the median cable barrier project on US 287 out to the Clay County line was complete and only establishing vegetation remained. He stated the HES illumination project (install breakaway light poles) on Maplewood, from Midwestern Parkway to Kemp Boulevard, should start at the end of April and last approximately six weeks. City Report: Mr. Powell reported the downtown intersection enhancement project received stained concrete on 8th and Scott. He stated crews would install the remaining street concrete in the next couple of days. All lanes of traffic should open up on Scott Street in another week. Crews are working on sewer and utility relocations on Lamar in preparation for concrete enhancement, but Indiana Street was complete. The entire project was 80 percent complete. Mr. Powell stated the drainage project on the east side of Beverly Drive was awarded but not under construction yet. However, the project should start soon. He stated the City awarded the 2011 Street Rehabilitation Project to the Zack Burket Company and should start in the next few weeks. The major work will be on Maplewood, from Southwest Parkway to Midwestern Parkway, and will include milling up the existing asphalt, stabilizing the soil underneath, and installing a six -inch asphalt overlay. There will be heavy traffic disruption during this time. In addition, the project includes a straight, clean, overlay on Scott Street from 8th to 13th, which includes striping. Mr. Powell stated the City was reviewing the Holliday Creek hike and bike trail with TxDOT. He stated there was a considerable amount of work left for completion and some quality issues to be addressed. Mr. Brown agreed stating TxDOT and the City should keep pushing the contractor forward on the plans. Mr. Kelley asked to add one more item to his report. He informed the committee that railroad crews would replace the railroad crossing on Southwest Parkway, south of Certainteed and east of Allendale Road, during the weekend of May 7th. He stated this part of Southwest Parkway will close to all traffic until crews finish around May 9th or 10tH B. MPO Quarterly Financial Report (1St Quarter FY 2011 — October, November, December) Mr. Barnett reported on first quarter expenses for the MPO. He stated a large portion of the expenses pertained to the final invoices for the West of Kemp Mobility Study. Mr. Barnett stated that he was still working with estimated FHWA (PL -112) revenues because of partial funding allocations and an undetermined FY 2010 carry over amount. Mr. Brown questioned if the MPO was on track with its spending, whereas it should have spent approximately 25% of its total allocation in the first quarter. Mr. Barnett stated that the WFMPO spent 14.39% of its estimated total allocation. He acknowledged that the Wichita Falls MPO TAC Meeting April 6, 2011 Page 3 of 5 MPO was slightly behind on spending its estimated allocation but that he did have a couple of planning studies requiring professional consulting services that he wanted to do later in the year. Mr. Barnett explained that, as Transit Grant Manager, one of his duties was to lead and coordinate the Triennial Review of the Wichita Falls Transit System. He stated that he was devoting a lot of his time and resources to preparing for the third -party auditor's desk review and site review. Before moving on, Mr. Barnett told the committee that one study involves using a consultant to explore alternative fuels for the transit system while the other study involves analyzing traffic safety at key intersections across the MPO. Mr. Barnett asked for any other questions or comments about the first quarter report. Receiving none, he moved on to the next agenda item. C. Wichita Falls Transit System — Triennial Review Continuing from Item B, Mr. Barnett informed the committee of the upcoming congressionally mandated Triennial Review of the Wichita Falls Transit System. He stated the desk review requires document submission from the MPO, Finance, Human Resources, Purchasing, and the Transit Administrator by May 26th of this year. The Federal Transit Administration scheduled the auditor's on -site visit for June 21 and 22. Mr. Barnett gave a brief overview of the Triennial Review requirements and his role as leader in the process. D. Other Items Mr. Barnett related to the committee discussion items for future meetings. These included the possible expansion of the WFMPO boundary to include Burkburnett, Iowa Park, Holliday, and other smaller municipalities; examining ways to bring in more funding for local transportation projects; and working with area transit providers such as TAPS and Sharplines to submit "Call for Projects" applications to the state in order to fund construction of the downtown transit hub. Mr. Barnett stated that MPO staff had done some preliminary work on the MPO boundary expansion and that he wanted to have it ready for the July TAC meeting. Mr. Barnett informed the committee that the City of Wichita Falls had selected the architectural firm of Secord and Lebow to create the design build plans for the downtown transit hub. The firm will also perform project administration during the construction phase of the hub. Going back to Mr. Brown's earlier inquiry about the Rhea/Lawrence /Call Field Road intersection, Mr. Barnett informed the committee that the MPO presented the West of Kemp Mobility Study findings and recommendations to City Council at their strategic planning session on February 16, 2011. Since that time, Mr. Barnett informed the committee that the Assistant City Manager, Mr. Kevin Hugman, was coordinating with the MPO, Property Management, and Public Works to put together a detailed memo explaining costs and options about the intersection to the Council. Mr. Barnett contacted LAN to update his information in the study so that he could prepare for the City Council Executive Session on April 19th where he would highlight the pros and cons of the two alternatives for this intersection. He stated he would keep the TAC informed on events as they transpired. There were no other comments or business to discuss. Wichita Falls MPO TAC Meeting April 6, 2011 Page 4 of 5 VIII. Adjourn The meeting adjourned at 10:58 a.m. Irvan F. "Lin" Barnett Jr. MPO Transportation Planning Director Wichita Falls MPO Wichita Falls MPO TAC Meeting April 6, 2011 Page 5 of 5 IlEeEIVEU IN CITY CLERK'S OFFICE DATE: % - r3 l BY:% TIME: