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MPO TPC/TAC Board Minutes - 01/30/2008f o TRANSPORTATION POLICY COMMITTEE (TPC) MEETING WICHITA FALLS METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION January 30, 2008 Ci "A w t,LLrtra . .,; =FICE Date Present: Time 2•.� Lanham Lyne, City of Wichita Falls, Mayor, Chairperson ♦ Members Charles Elmore, City of Wichita Falls, City Council Representative Danny Brown, TxDOT, TP &D Director (Proxy for Larry Tegtmeyer) Davis Powell, City Engineer (Proxy for Scott Taylor) Michael Smith, City Council Representative Steven Halloway, Lakeside City Donnie Arbeau, WFMPO, Transportation Planner II ♦ Staff James Kelley, TxDOT, Area Engineer John Burrus, City of Wichita Falls, Director of Aviation, Traffic & Transportation Lin Barnett, WFMPO, Transportation Planning Director Tammy Marlow, TxDOT, Funding Administrator Danny Brown, TxDOT, TP &D Director ♦ Ex- off icio Jerrie Sowards, Rep. David Farabee's Office ♦ Guests Jon Moller, Stakeholder Nora Zarate Hodges, NORTEX Regional Planning Commission Dennis Wilde, NORTEX Regional Planning Commission, Director ♦ Absent Jeff Watts, City of Pleasant Valley ♦ Larry Tegtmeyer, TxDOT, District Engineer Scott Taylor, City of Wichita Falls, Director of Public Works Woodrow (Woody) Gossom, Wichita County Judge, Vice - Chairperson I. Welcome & Introduction Mayor Lyne called the meeting to order at 8:36 a.m. II. Review and Approval of the October 24, 2007 Transportation Policy Committee's (TPC) Meeting Minutes Mayor Lyne asked for comments and changes to the minutes. None were made. He then asked for a motion to approve the minutes. Councilor Elmore motioned to approve and Councilor Smith seconded the motion. The minutes were unanimously approved. WICHITA FALLS MPO TPC MEETING January 30, 2008 PAGE 1 III. Review and Comment Regarding the Technical Advisory Committee's (TAC) January 16, 2008 Meeting Minutes - No Action Required Mayor Lyne asked for comments on the minutes. Mr. Barnett commented that the TAC committee focused primarily the February 2008 TIP revisions and changes to the 2007 Environmental Justice Surface Transportation Project report. No further comments were made. IV. Discussion of Current and Future Funding of TxDOT Transportation Projects Mr. Brown outlined for the committee the coming funding shortages for TxDOT. He stated that funding for Wichita Falls is beginning to return to normal. He commented that the gas tax has flattened out because modern vehicles are getting better gas mileage and gas is becoming more expensive. He stated that overall revenues are flat and that inflation on building materials is going up. A large part of funding is being rerouted to preventive maintenance of existing roads. Mr. Brown stated that public /private partnerships are being entered into for tolling projects and other transportation improvements. He stated that project lettings have been reduced significantly and that TxDOT is looking at ways to cut back both internally and externally. No projects currently under construction should be affected. V. Review and Approval of February 2008 TIP Revisions to the 2008 -2011 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) Including SAFETEA -LU Year of Expenditure Requirements Mr. Barnett briefly informed the committee of the Year -of- Expenditure and Total Project Cost requirements that, because of SAFETEA -LU legislation, the Federal Highway Administration has directed all MPO's to carry out. He directed the committee's attention to the changes made in the Federally Funded Highways section of the document stating that three lines of additional information have been added to inform the reader of various project costs. These costs include: Total Project Cost, Construction, PE, ROW, CE, Bond Finance, Contingencies and Indirect Costs. Also included was a separate line to indicate Year -of- Expenditure and documentation of the MPO's effort to comply with all items listed in the SAFETEA -LU Checklist sent out by FHWA. Mr. Barnett informed the committee that a new MPO Self Certification form, that was also SAFETEA -LU compliant, had been added to the TIP document. He then reviewed Appendix A — Statewide Grouped CSJ Projects — and the revisions made to this section. Mr. Barnett stated that four last minute revisions for this section came in from TxDOT after the meeting packets had been mailed out. He asked that the committee review and approve all revisions and the amendment presented at the meeting. Mayor Lyne asked for any other discussion. There was none. He then asked for a motion to approve the revisions. Mayor Halloway motioned to approve. Councilor Smith seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. Mayor Lyne asked fora motion to approve the amendment. Councilor Elmore motioned to approve. Councilor Smith seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.' ' The MPO Director checked with the City Attorney after the meeting to determine if voting by proxy was valid. The City Attorney confirmed that it was not. The votes cast by Mr. Powell and Mr. Brown could not be counted. Item V was therefore not approved because of lack of a quorum. WICHITA FALLS MPO TPC MEETING January 30, 2008 PAGE 2 VI. Review and Adoption of the 2007 MPO Surface Transportation Projects Environmental Justice Analysis Final Report Mr. Barnett commented that this was the third year to produce this document. He discussed the September 2007 Environmental Justice Public Meetings where the public was allowed to review unfunded, future transportation projects and to make the own comments and suggestions for future projects. He then reminded everyone that the final list, minus let and completed projects, had been prioritized and brought before the TPC at the October 2007 meeting. The approved list was used to develop the new document for use during 2008. Mr. Barnett explained that refinements to the document included a better description as to the potential adverse affects of a project, whether or not other negative aspects of the project had been identified and the long- term benefits of the project. He commented that the new prioritized list included 59 total projects, but that two of the City projects should be considered Preventive Maintenance and two more had gone to construction since the assembly of the list. The total number of projects remaining on the list was 55. Mayor Lyne asked for a motion to adopt the document for the coming year. Councilor Elmore motioned to adopt the document. Mayor Halloway seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. 2 VII. Review and Discussion of the 2007 Annual Performance and Expenditure Report Including the 2007 Annual List of Projects Completed — For Informational Purposes Only Mr. Barnett explained that the APER is a document produced annually and submitted to the local TxDOT District Office, whereupon it is forwarded down to Austin for TPP review. He stated that it is a recap of the past fiscal year and that it outlines everything the MPO has accomplished. Mayor Lyne asked for any questions or comments. There were none. VIII. Other Business: A. Discussion & Overview of Progress on Local Transportation Projects — City and TxDOT staff ((quarterly Review) City Report: Mr. Powell stated Maplewood Phase II had recently been released; the Kell West Extension utility relocation project was also recently awarded. Scheduled projects included street rehabilitation across various portions of the City; the transfer station bridge will be awarded in February; traffic flow improvements at NB Kemp and Callfield, Maplewood at Elmwood and Elmwood at Southwest Parkway should be awarded in February; the 10th Street and Harrison /Speedway intersection will have the existing brick replaced with faux brick; an alley rehabilitation project across various parts of the City will award later this year; the Gregg Road and Langford Road reconstruction of the existing street will award later this year; and the Faith Village Drainage Phase II & III drainage improvements should be awarded sometime in June. TxDOT Report: Mr. Kelley stated a change order for the Falls Flyover had been sent to Austin on Monday to do the repairs on the NB 287 to Kell West portion of the interchange; the IH 44 pavement repair project has been delayed due to cold weather but is still on schedule; on US 287 near Loop 11 to US 287 (SB) IH 44 west relocation of This item also became invalid due to lack of quorum. It would need to be voted on at a later date. WICHITA FALLS MPO TPC MEETING January 30, 2008 PAGE 3 the on -ramp near Maurine Street will be moved to the south to prohibit movement to Spur 325; the bridge over IH 44 at FM 890 was also added to the project; and the Kell West Main Lanes are on schedule and the utility companies are working well with TxDOT in moving utilities. B. MPO Quarterly Financial Report (4th Quarter FY 2007 — July, August, September) Mr. Barnett recapped the fiscal year stating that the MPO spent 73.88% of its total PL- 112 funding. Mr. Barnett was asked to explain in greater detail about how funds rollover into the next fiscal year and how they are accounted for. Mr. Brown commented that Austin may consider not rolling funds forward due to budget shortfalls. Mr. Barnett then gave a detailed report on the open transit grants. There was no other further discussion. C. Updates to the Wichita Falls Transit System - Progress Report Mr. Barnett gave a timeline of dates to accomplish the goals of updating and implementing changes to the Wichita Falls Transit System. He commented that meetings with the City Manager, the City Council and then with the public were being scheduled. Mr. Burrus stated that Sikes Senter Mall would be used to gather public comment and to demonstrate proposed changes to the system. He discussed additional transfer stations and new routes. He stated there would be five proposals made available for public review and comment. Discussion then turned to the type and size of buses that should be purchased. Mr. Burrus discussed the attributes of low -floor ADA buses. He stated the foam board presentations should be ready by February 8th and that they would be set up in the City Council Conference room for viewing at the February 19th City Council meeting. D. Stakeholder Discussion on the UAND Option Draft Proposal — No Action Required Mr. Barnett prefaced the presentation by informing the committee that Mr. Moller had approached the MPO at the end of the last TPC meeting in October 2007 asking if he could present his ideas to the MPO for a redevelopment concept that he had been working on for several years. Mr. Barnett stated that he and Mr. Burrus met with Mr. Moller in early November of 2007 to listen to what he had to say. Mr. Barnett stated that he provided Mr. Moller with public data, simple maps, information on Context Sensitive Solutions (as provided by the Federal Highway Administration) and technical advice in the development of his proposal. Mr. Moller then took the floor. Mr. Moller discussed the various City departments that he has been in contact with concerning his plan for a large scale redevelopment of the neighborhood where he lives. He stated that he approached the MPO because to the transportation issues that would be involved. Mr. Moller referred the committee back to the January TAC minutes and the discussion that took place there. He stated that he had retained a consultant to help him with the development of his proposal. Mr. Moller stated that he brought a cashiers check for $2,500 dollars to the TAC meeting to apply to the MPO's overall planning budget. He stated that he wanted to contribute to the expense of planning because the private sector wants to become involved. He stated the check was a demonstration of his earnestness to participate in the planning process. WICHITA FALLS MPO TPC MEETING January 30, 2008 PAGE 4 Mr. Moller talked about the economic future of Wichita Falls and how he wanted to help in its growth. He then gave a brief description of his understanding of Context Sensitive Solutions. Mr. Moller asked if it would be alright with the committee to invite Mr. Fauver to come and give his presentation on Context Sensitive Solutions at a future date. Mayor Lyne stated he would like to have more time to go over the materials and to absorb the data being presented and that he did not mind for it to come back onto the agenda at a later date. Mayor Lyne stated that the City Attorney would need to be consulted on the appropriateness of accepting Mr. Moller's offer of $2,500 for the planning budget. Mayor Lyne asked Mr. Barnett and Mr. Burrus to follow up on this item. There was no other discussion. E. Other Mr. Brown informed the committee about the third annual Texas Transportation Forum taking place April 20 -22, 2008 in Austin, Texas. He commented that, in the past, it has been a very informative meeting of transportation professionals and that it would be the place learn about the cutting edge of public /private partnerships and other transportation funding mechanisms. The Governor of Texas spoke last year along with other high level transportation officials. Mayor Lyne encouraged those who could to go. IX. Public Comment on Anything Not on the Agenda No public comments were received. X. Adjourn The meeting adjourned at 10:01 a.m. Honorable Lanham Lyne Mayor Wichita Falls 6 WICHITA FALLS MPO TPC MEETING January 30, 2008 PAGE 5