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MPO TPC/TAC Board Minutes - 01/27/2010TRANSPORTATION POLICY COMMITTEE (TPC) MEETING WICHITA FALLS METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION January 27, 2010 Present: Lanham Lyne, City of Wichita Falls, Mayor, Chairperson Charles Elmore, City of Wichita Falls, City Council Representative Glenn Barham, Proxy for Michael Smith, City Council Representative Larry Tegtmeyer, TxDOT, District Engineer Russell Schreiber, City of Wichita Falls, Director of Public Works Steven Halloway, Lakeside City, Mayor Woodrow (Woody) Gossom, Wichita County Judge, Vice - Chairperson Donnie Arbeau, WFMPO, Transportation Planner II James Kelley, TxDOT, Area Engineer Lin Barnett, WFMPO, Transportation Planning Director Tammy Marlow, TxDOT, Funding Administrator Danny Brown, TxDOT, TP &D Director Jerrie Sowards, Rep. David Farabee's Office Rhonda Poirot, Senator Craig Estes Office Andrew Howard, Kimley -Horn and Associates, Inc. Monica Morris, City Airport Administrator Dennis Wilde, NORTEX Regional Planning Commission, Executive Director Jeff Watts, City of Pleasant Valley I. Welcome & Introduction Mayor Lyne called the meeting to order at 8:35 a.m. and completed the roll call. II. Public Comment on Agenda and Non - Agenda Items i ♦ Members ♦ Staff ♦ Ex- officio ♦ i J ♦ Guests B LU '- E ♦ Absent J i ♦ €v I�rti � t Ti ! CJ Mayor Lyne asked for any comments from the public on any of the agenda and non - agenda items. There were no comments. III. Review and Approval of the Transportation Policy Committee's (TPC's) October 26, 2009 Meeting Minutes Mayor Lyne asked for comments and corrections to the October 26, 2009 TPC minutes. There were no comments. Councilor Elmore motioned to approve the minutes as presented. Mr. Schreiber seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. WICHITA FALLS MPO TPC MEETING January 27, 2010 PAGE 1 IV. Review and Comment Regarding the Technical Advisory Committee's (TAC's) January 13, 2010 Meeting Minutes - No Action Required Mayor Lyne asked for comments on the TAC minutes. Mr. Barnett informed the committee that the TAC committee thoroughly reviewed the final draft of the 2010 -2035 Metropolitan Transportation Plan update and made their final revisions and corrections before presenting the plan to the Policy Board. He stated the plan was on time and within budget. There were no other comments. V. Wichita Falls Airport Master Plan Presentation Mayor Lyne introduced Ms. Morris as the presenter to the Policy Board. Mr. Barnett informed the committee why he had invited Ms. Morris to come and give her presentation of the Airport Master Plan. He stated that the road into and out of the new terminal building might qualify for some type of federal, state or stimulus funding. If the road qualifies then it will have to be added to the Transportation Improvement Program in order to receive funding. The Policy Board would have to make that determination. Ms. Morris began her presentation. She briefed the Policy Board on state of the Wichita Falls Municipal Airport and the Downtown Kickapoo Airpark. She discussed the lease agreements with Sheppard Air Force Base and the maintenance responsibilities of the City. She outlined the runway reconstruction projects and their funding sources. She presented the current building inventory at the Municipal Airport. She discussed runway safety issues, which included runway edge lighting. She stated the City had applied for a $5 million dollar grant to begin repairing runway 17/35. She stated the City's portion will be between $400,000 and $800,000. Ms. Morris discussed the forecasting done to identify the needs and functions for the new airport terminal. She stated the size of the terminal would double from 17,000 square feet to approximately $38,000 square feet. She stated the new terminal would be built on the northwest side of the current location and the old terminal would be demolished to make a new parking lot. Buffers would be built into the terminal to allow for future expansion. The new terminal would include a USO room and a family meditation room. The terminal would incorporate and open air style to allow sunlight to filter into the building. The new terminal would include a passenger boarding bridge as well as traditional boarding methods. The terminal would include a gift and snack shop, but not a restaurant. The existing aircraft apron would be rehabilitated. Ms. Morris stated the existing terminal building is still on Sheppard's inventory list as an asset and that the Air Force may help demolish it in order to meet a government mandate to reduce inventory. Ms. Morris discussed other planned capital improvements including drainage and hot mix overlays. She then discussed the different funding sources available for capital improvements, including future stimulus funding. Ms. Morris completed her presentation then answered questions from the Policy Board. Mr. Barnett expressed his appreciation to Ms. Morris for taking time to make her presentation to the Policy Board. VI. Review and Approve the Transit TIP Amendment for the FY 2010 "Falls Ride" Transit Grant Mr. Barnett informed the Policy Board that a TIP amendment was needed so that the Federal Transit Administration could continue processing the FY 2009/2010 "Falls Ride" transit operations grant. He drew their attention to the capital funding set aside to purchase land, perform demolition, produce architectural plans, and begin construction of the downtown transit hub. He stated funding sources for local match to pull in the federal dollars were advertising revenues from the bus wraps, the City's general fund contribution, estimated fare box revenues, WICHITA FALLS MPO TPC MEETING January 27, 2010 PAGE 2 and possible 4A funding. Mr. Barnett commented this was the City's first $3 million dollar transit grant. Judge Gossom made a motion to adopt the transit TIP amendment as presented. Mr. Tegtmeyer seconded the Judge's motion. The motion passed unanimously. VII. Review and Approve the 2010 -2035 Metropolitan Transportation Plan Update Mr. Barnett informed the Policy Board that the basis for developing the 2010 -2035 Metropolitan Transportation Plan update (MTP) originated with the 2005 MTP update. He stated that before 2005 there was no Bicycle Master Plan for the City of Wichita Falls. The 2005 MTP update produced the first Bicycle Master Plan. Mr. Barnett briefly discussed the steps taken in 2009 to produce the final document, which included several public meetings and workshops with the TAC and TPC committees. Mr. Barnett stated that the MTP update for 2010 also included updating the 2005 base year of the WFMPO's Travel Demand Model or TDM. He stated that 61% of the budget, or nearly $67,000, was for the TDM update. He reiterated the 2010 -2035 MTP update was a continuation of the 2005 -2030 update. He stated the plan was based on SAFETEA -LU legislation because the U.S. Congress was developing a new transportation reauthorization bill at the time of the 2010 update. He stated the plan identified new goals with enabling objectives. He stated the plan examines regional growth and mobility trends in an effort to forecast future transportation needs. Mr. Barnett stated that Kimley -Horn examined the WFMPO's Public Participation Plan for legislative conformity and found it to be a sound document. Mr. Howard commented that the Wichita Falls MPO experienced more public involvement from its citizens and stakeholders than some areas of much larger population. Mr. Barnett stated the plan makes policy and program recommendations to the MPO for better transportation planning. He stated the plan update makes recommendations for future economic stimulus programs and special projects. He stated the Bicycle Master Plan, the Transit Master Plan, and the Financial Plan (Appendix A) all received updates. Mr. Barnett then discussed Appendix A, the Financial Plan, which contained all of the known projects at that time for the WFMPO region. He stated the TxDOT 10 -Year and Long -Range tables require fiscal constraint based on state projections of revenue sources. He stated the fiscally unconstrained TxDOT projects were located in a table for unmet needs. Mr. Barnett commented the 10 -Year and Long -Range tables might change before the Federal Highway Administration approves the plan update because the forecasted funding levels may change. If that were to happen, then projects in the 10 -Year table would move to the Long -Range table and some from the Long -Range table would move down to the Unmet Needs table. Mr. Barnett stated Appendix "A" also contained Unmet Needs tables for City of Wichita Falls, Lakeside City, Pleasant Valley, and Wichita County projects. The appendix also contained a map of the projects listed in the previous tables. The final part of the appendix contained the transit financial summary. He stated the rest of the Appendices (B through E) illustrate the update process and give the reader more information on Public Meeting Documents, Maps, Travel Demand Model Validation, TDM Measures of Effectiveness, and Access Management Best Practices. Mayor Lyne asked for a motion to approve the 2010 -2035 MTP update as presented. Councilor Elmore made the motion to approve. Judge Gossom seconded his motion. The MTP update was unanimously approved. WICHITA FALLS MPO TPC MEETING January 27, 2010 PAGE 3 Vlll. Discussion Concerning Development of the Wichita Falls 2011 -2014 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) Mr. Barnett informed the Policy Board that the process to develop the 2011 -2014 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) had already begun. He stated that 2011 was the last effective year of the current 2008 -2011 TIP. He stated TIP development comes from fiscally constrained projects in the Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP). Mr. Barnett said he would be working with TxDOT and City officials to incorporate fiscally constrained surface transportation and transit projects into the 2011 -2014 TIP. He stated there would be public meetings held to gain input from citizens and stakeholders. Mr. Barnett then directed the Policy Board's attention to the TIP development guidelines in the meeting packet. He discussed the TIP development process and the TxDOT Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) development/approval timeline for 2010. Mr. Barnett stated the draft 2011 -2014 TIP was due into the TxDOT TP &P office in Austin by June of 2010. Councilor Barham commented that the Ridgemont Drive /Craigmont Drive project on the 2009 prioritized project list was of increasing importance to Councilor Michael Smith because of the chance for flooding in the Tangle Wood subdivision. He stated Councilor Smith requested the Policy Board consider moving the project from "MED" to "HIGH" on the project list. There were no other comments. Mayor Lyne addressed the next agenda item. IX. Other Business: A. Discussion & Overview of Progress on Local Transportation Projects — City and TxDOT staff (Quarterly Review) City Report: Mr. Schreiber stated the City only had a couple of projects currently in progress. He stated the Faith Village project and the Rhea Road Trail project were the only projects currently under way for the City. He stated the City was preparing their 2010 mill and overlay program and alley rehabilitation projects. TxDOT Report: Mr. Kelley reported that the contractor was finishing up on the punch list for the Kell West Main Lanes. Once completed, the construction office would make their inspections. He commented that the facility might show up again on the list because it is a lengthy process to finish a large job such as this. He reported inspections of bridges on BU 287J, CR 228, and CR 339 were under way. He reported that the Holiday Creek Hike and Bike trail was awaiting the pre- construction meeting with the contractor. He stated their paper work needed correcting because of the stimulus fund regulations before starting to work on the project. B. MPO Quarterly Financial Report (4t`' Quarter FY 2009 — July, August, September) Mr. Barnett informed the Policy Board that total expenditures for FY 2009 reached $255,859.46 or 64.24% of the total budgeted amount of $398,280.50. He stated the carry over from FY 2009 would pay for the West of Kemp Mobility Study in FY 2010. He informed the Policy Board that he planned to hire another transportation planner in order to help him with the every day workload of MPO business. He stated this would help free up some of his time to focus on strategic issues and to attend more MPO related meetings. He asked for any questions on the final quarter of FY 2009. There were no questions. WICHITA FALLS MPO TPC MEETING January 27, 2010 PAGE 4 C. 2010 West of Kemp Mobility Study Report Mr. Barnett informed the Policy Board that the TAC committee received seven proposals to perform the study. A subcommittee of the TAC interviewed three finalists and selected the firm Lockwood, Andrews, and Newnam, Inc. (LAN) to perform the study. He stated the entire TAC committee would serve as the oversight committee for the project. He stated the project was listed as Subtask 5.2 in the FY 2010 Unified Planning Work Program. He informed the Policy Board that the kick -off meeting would take place on February 16, 2010. LAN informed him they would need the Travel Demand Model in order to complete the study. Mr. Barnett stated that Mr. Greg Lancaster, lead modeler with TxDOT TP &P in Austin, informed him their validation of the Travel Demand Model should not interfere with LAN's study efforts. He informed the Policy Board that LAN's original price to perform the study was $124,000. Mr. Barnett stated that he negotiated the price down to $93,494, which was $15,586 under his budgeted amount of $109,080 dollars. He stated he would send out monthly updates on the progress of the study to the TAC and TPC committees. He stated the results of the study should be ready by the October meetings. D. Other items TxDOT/Texas Transportation Institute Travel Survey: Mr. Barnett informed the Policy Board that the kick -off meeting for the TxDOT Household Travel Survey was tomorrow, January 29, 2010. He reminded the board of the information given to them about the survey at the October 2009 TPC meeting. He commented the cost of the study was $950,000, but required no local match from the MPO, TxDOT, or the City. He stated the last time a survey like this was done was in the late 1960's or early 1970's. He stated the data from the survey would be used to update the Travel Demand Model at the next regular cycle update. He stated the kick -off meeting would inform everyone as to when the survey would actually begin. Recovery Act 2: "Jobs for Main Street ": Mr. Barnett informed everyone that a bill was proceeding through the U.S. Congress to implement another round of stimulus funding to create jobs in the United States. He stated the bill would require 50% of a project's funding be in contract within 90 days of availability. One hundred percent of the funds must be in contract within one year. Congress will make the funds available through the year 2011. Recovery Act 2 would require project specific TIP amendments to fund any qualifying projects. The bill was currently moving from the House of Representatives to the U.S. Senate. Mr. Brown informed everyone that the Wichita Falls TxDOT District had $140 million dollars worth of projects ready to implement over their nine - county region. Mass Transportation Benefit Program: Mayor Halloway informed everyone about a Department of Defense program for mass transit assistance implemented in 2008 to benefit service men and women. Mayor Halloway stated the program provides up to $230 per month for any military person desiring to use mass transit as a means of transportation. He stated the program would not cost the City any funding to implement and that he was bringing it before the board as information only. He stated the program would probably begin at Sheppard Air Force Base in another year or so. X. Adjourn The meeting adjourned at 9:57 a.m. WICHITA FALLS MPO TPC MEETING January 27, 2010 PAGE 5 Honorable Lanham Lyne Mayor Wichita Falls WICHITA FALLS MPO TPC MEETING January 27, 2010 PAGE 6