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MPO TPC/TAC Board Minutes - 07/06/2011WICHITA FALLS METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION Technical Advisory Committee Minutes Wednesday, July 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, Community Development Planner Mark Beauchamp — City of Wichita Falls, Traffic Superintendent Norm Standerfer — City of Wichita Falls, Director of Community Development Tim Hertel — TxDOT, Director of Operations { MPO Staff: M C7 Donnie Arbeau —Wichita Falls MPO, Transportation Planner II m Jaimie Grigsby — Wichita Falls MPO, Transportation Planner I Tammy Marlow — TxDOT, Funding Specialist, North Region Support Center m O Visitors: T n Jennifer Rhone — State Rep. Lanham Lyne, District 69 t� Mike Beaver — TxDOT, Engineer �M Ex- Officio: Tim Juarez — TxDOT, MPO /RPO Coordinator, North Region Support Center Absent. Welcome & Introduction Mr. Barnett, the TAC chairperson, called the meeting to order at 10:03 a.m. and welcomed everyone in attendance. He informed the committee of that morning's teleconference from Austin regarding the Texas Transportation Commission's need for action from the MPO's and the Districts on Proposition 12 and the $3 billion allocation for highway priority projects. He outlined this issue in detail later in the meeting. 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 April 6, 2011 Technical Advisory Committee's (TAC) Meeting Minutes Wichita Falls MPO TAC Meeting July 6, 2011 Page 1 of 5 m M M a no I0 Mr. Barnett asked for any comments or corrections to the minutes. There were none. Mr. Powell motioned to approve the minutes as presented. Mr. Standerfer seconded the motion, which the TAC committee unanimously approved. IV. Review and Comment Regarding the April 20, 2011 Transportation Policy Committee's (TPC's) Meeting Minutes — No Action Required Mr. Barnett asked for comments on the April 20, 2011 TPC meeting minutes. None were received. The committee moved on to the next agenda item. V. Review and Recommendation to Approve Revision to the 2011 Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP): Final PL -112 Allocation Subtask Assignment of Funds Mr. Barnett directed the committee's attention to page 39 of the meeting packet, which contained the Task 5 — Funding Summary of the 2011 Unified Planning Work Program. Mr. Barnett explained to the committee after all of the billings for FY 2010 was processed, there was an additional $15,621.81 above the original estimate of carry over funds. When originally created, the total TPF funding for the FY 2011 UPWP was $331,114.00. With the additional allocation, that brings the funding up to $346,735.81. Mr. Barnett explained that he increased subtasks 5.2 through 5.5 to $20,000 and placed the remainder into subtask 5.1. He stated the funds would remain in subtask 5.1 until there was another need for them elsewhere. Mr. Barnett asked for any comments or questions from the committee, which there was none. He then asked for a motion to forward the updated funding of the UPWP to the policy board for review and approval. Mr. Brown made the motion to forward the document. Mr. Hertel seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. VI. Review and Recommendation to Approve the 2012 Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) Mr. Barnett directed the committee's attention to page 65, Subtask 1.8 of the meeting packet. Mr. Barnett explained that the MPO's current plotter was over eight years old and failed frequently on mapping jobs. The cost of the plotter in 2003 was over $17,000; therefore, Mr. Barnett budgeted $26,200 for a new plotter. He stated the payment would split three ways; 70% would come out of TPF /PL -112 funds, 20% would come from 5307 Transit Grant funds, and the remaining 10% would be local city match. Mr. Arbeau stated that the MPO would receive credit for the old plotter at the time of trade -in. Mr. Barnett stated he would contact the City's Information Systems department on an exact estimate for the new plotter. He would then break that cost down, percentage wise, and send the request to FHWA and to Mr. Juarez so they are aware of the purchase. Mr. Barnett asked if there were any questions about Subtask 1.8, there were none. Mr. Barnett then discussed Subtask 3.5 on page 73 of the meeting packet. He stated Transit was approximately $1.5 million short for completing the hub downtown and would be submitting an application for TOOT public transportation "Coordinated Call for Project" funds. However, there must be a Regional Coordination Transportation Plan in place before a transit agency can apply for these funds. The North Texas Regional Wichita Falls MPO TAC Meeting July 6, 2011 Page 2 of 5 Planning Commission has developed a Regional Coordination Transportation Plan for our region. Mr. Barnett then outlined Subtask 3.6, which was a new task that Mr. Brown and he created in regards to identifying congestion bottlenecks in the local transportation network and formulating solutions to relieve them. This could ultimately lower the Texas Congestion Index (TCI) in Wichita Falls. Mr. Barnett asked for any questions about these subtasks, there were none. Mr. Barnett discussed new subtasks 5.4 and 5.5 on page 79 of the meeting packet. Subtask 5.4 outlined working with a consulting firm to conduct an alternative fuel study for the Wichita Falls Transit System. The last study conducted was in 2003. The TAC committee mutually agreed that it would not be cost effective to use an outside firm. The technology has not changed that much in the last few years and the outcome would be similar to the study done in 2003. However, the committee agreed that MPO staff should update the data in the existing study to identify any significant changes in fuel choices. Mr. Barnett asked for any other questions concerning the development of the 2012 UPWP. He received none. Mr. Barnett then asked for a motion to approve the 2012 UPWP, with revisions, and forward them to the Policy Board for review and approval. Mr. Beauchamp made the motion to forward the document to the Policy Board. Mr. Kelley seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. VII. Discussion of U.S. Congressional Bill to Eliminate Non -TMA MPO's Mr. Barnett presented the TAC committee with a handout of Congress' draft transportation reauthorization bill. He talked briefly about the June 13th TEMPO meeting in Austin where the topic of the possible elimination of Non -TMA (Transportation Management Area) MPO's under 200,000 in population was discussed. The ramifications for WFMPO are the possible elimination of the organization by 2013. If selected for termination, WFMPO would still have a chance to petition the decision by proving we have demonstrated adequate technical capacity and that we should remain active. The Secretary of Transportation for the USDOT would review our petition to determine whether the WFMPO would remain active or not. If denied, then responsibilities of the MPO would pass to TxDOT. Washington D.C. would then be responsible for making decisions on local transportation planning needs. VIII. Discussion and Presentation of Proposed WFMPO Boundary Expansion ( Subtask 5.4 of 2011 UPWP) Mr. Arbeau presented a brief presentation to the committee for expanding the WFMPO boundary. Our existing MPO boundary consists of Wichita Falls, Pleasant Valley, and Lakeside City. The proposed expansion would consist of Wilbarger Co., Wichita Co., Archer Co., Young Co, Montague, and Clay Co., in addition to the existing boundaries. This would put the MPO boundary population over the 200,000 threshold. Mr. Juarez commented that the Federal Government only recognizes Urbanized Area (LIZA) boundaries for establishing MPO boundaries. Mr. Arbeau will send the presentation to Mr. Juarez for comments and revisions before presenting it to the Policy Board at the July 20, 2011 TPC meeting. Wichita Falls MPO TAC Meeting July 6, 2011 Page 3 of 5 IX. Discussion of TxDOT's Proposition 12 Bonds and Funds Available for the WFMPO Area Mr. Brown stated that the Texas State Legislature voted to give TxDOT and the MPO's the remainder of the Proposition 12 funds of $3 billion dollars. TxDOT will divide the money out to the various districts. The Wichita Falls MPO will receive $2.6 million for use on on- system projects. The funds must go towards highway purposes. The recommended project goals are to enhance safety, relieve congestion, improve air quality, preserve the transportation system, and promote economic opportunities. The MPO Policy Board must create a list of highway projects for funding by the Proposition 12 bond money and must state a justification as to why they are spending the money on those particular projects. The deadline for the project list is September 1, 2011. X. Other Business: a. Discussion & Overview of Progress on Local Transportation Projects -City and TxDOT staff (Quarterly Review) TxDOT Report: Mr. Kelley reported that construction on the Hike and Bike trail under Jacksboro Highway and was moving toward completion. City Report: Mr. Powell reported the downtown intersections, 8th and Lamar, 8th and Scott, and 8" and Indiana are now complete. He stated the Beverly Drainage project was about 35% complete and moving along very well. Mr. Powell moved on to the 2011 Street Rehab project with various locations across the City including Maplewood, from Southwest Parkway to Midwestern parkway, Scott St, and from 8th street to 13th street was approximately 15% complete. He stated traffic control was being set up on Maplewood with two -way traffic on one side of the street and rehab on the other. Contractors predict Maplewood will be under construction for approximately 12 weeks. The joint sealing work on Scott Street from 8th street to 13th street and an overlay will happen shortly. Mr. Kelley discussed the Scheduled Projects including the Seymour Highway /Barnett Road Hike and Bike Trail Project. He stated the plans are almost ready for final review with TxDOT and hope to be going out for bid in August. b. MPO Quarterly Financial Report (2nd Quarter FY 2011 - January, February, March) Mr. Barnett reported on the second quarter expenses for the MPO. He stated that as of halfway through the fiscal year, the MPO has spent 28.57% of its allocation. He acknowledged that the MPO was slightly behind on spending its estimated allocation but had a few projects planned for later in the year. Mr. Barnett asked for any other questions or comments about the second quarter report. Receiving none, he moved on to the next agenda item. c. Wichita Falls Transit System - Triennial Review: Post Audit Report (Handout at Meeting) Mr. Barnett informed the committee of the Triennial Review at the Wichita Falls Transit System (WFTS) conducted on June 21 and 22. Out of 24 areas of Wichita Falls MPO TAC Meeting July 6, 2011 Page 4 of 5 compliance, WFTS had two minor deficiencies. The first was Title VI Civil Rights where the Transit Division must analyze how many people riding the transit system are Limited English Proficient (LEP). The MPO must submit this analysis by August 20, 2011. The second deficiency was for lack of an Independent Cost Estimate (ICE). Peggy Gahagan, Purchasing Agent, will address this issue. Despite the two deficiencies, the Wichita Falls Transit System received high marks and the Triennial Review Auditor was very pleased with the outcome. d. Other Items Mr. Barnett asked the committee for any other items of business. There were no other comments or business. XI. Adjourn The Meeting adjourned at 12:40 p.m. Irvan F. "Lin" Barnett Jr. MPO Transportation Planning Director Wichita Falls MPO Wichita Falls MPO TAC Meeting July 6, 2011 Page 5 of 5