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MPO TPC/TAC Board Minutes - 07/22/2009X. 19� d'Uy TRANSPORTATION POLICY COMMITTEE (TPC) MEETING WICHITA FALLS METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION July 22, 2009 Present: Woodrow (Woody) Gossom, Wichita County Judge, Vice - Chairperson Charles Elmore, City of Wichita Falls, City Council Representative Dennis Wilde, NORTEX Regional Planning Commission, Director Danny Brown, TxDOT, Proxy for Larry Tegtmeyer Michael Smith, City of Wichita Falls, City Council Representative Russell Schreiber, City of Wichita Falls, Director of Public Works Steven Halloway, Lakeside City, Mayor Donnie Arbeau, WFMPO, Transportation Planner II Lin Barnett, WFMPO, Transportation Planning Director James Kelley, TxDOT, Area Engineer ♦ Members ♦ Staff ♦ Ex- officio John Burrus, City of Wichita Falls, Director of Aviation, Traffic & Transportation ♦ Guests Nora Zarate Hodges, Nortex RPC Rhonda Piorot, Representative for Senator Craig Estes Jeff Watts, City of Pleasant Valley ♦ Absent Lanham Lyne, City of Wichita Falls, Mayor, Chairperson I. Welcome & Introduction Councilor Smith called the meeting to order at 8:37 a.m. Introductions and role call was completed. II. Public Comment on Agenda and Non - Agenda Items Councilor Smith asked for any public comments. There were no speakers. III. Review and Approval of the Transportation Policy Committee's (TPC's) April 22 and May 28, 2009 Meeting Minutes Councilor Smith asked for comments or corrections to the April 22, 2009 and May 28, 2009 TPC minutes. There were none. Councilor Elmore motioned to approve the minutes as presented. Mr. Wilde seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. IV. Review and Comment Regarding the Technical Advisory Committee's (TAC's) July 8, WICHITA FALLS MPO TPC MEETING July 22, 2009 PAGE 1 f }- 2009 Meeting Minutes - No Action Required Mr. Barnett added that the TAC committee had reviewed the FY 2010 UPWP extensively and no major changes had been made during the update. He also stated there had been a joint TAC and TPC workshop during the afternoon of July 8 1 for the Metropolitan Transportation Plan update. Mr. Barnett stated there were 14 people in attendance. Councilor Smith asked for any further comments. None were received. V. Review and Approval of Increased ARRA Funding for the Holliday Creek Hike and Bike Trail Project Mr. Barnett informed the Policy Board that the Seymour Highway, BU 277A hot mix overlay project had a cost under run of $611,636. Therefore, it was the TAC committee's recommendation that the funds be allocated to the Holliday Creek Trail project already in progress. Mr. Barnett stated that in order to allocate the funds, he needed approval from the TPC Board, as well as a signed letter from the TPC Chairperson. Councilor Smith asked for any additional comments. Mr. Brown stated the funds did not have to be allocated to the Holliday Creek Project, but could be allocated to any qualifying project as long as it was done quickly. It would be the Policy Board's choice to direct the funding to any of the qualifying projects. Mr. Schreiber asked if the funding could be allocated to the Railroad Crossings project. Mr. Brown stated that as long the funding was allocated by March 10, 2010; it could go towards the Railroad Project. Mr. Schreiber asked if it would have to go through an obligation process again or whether it could just be considered a change order. Mr. Brown stated he would have to research what would have to be done. Mr. Schreiber questioned whether there had been money set aside for that project and if that was the reasoning behind not moving the additional funding to the project. Mr. Brown confirmed that while there was no money set aside to fund the project, they were committed to completing the project. He added that if the contract were completed, as well as the Railroad Agreement, the money could be used on the project. Mr. Elmore stated that he would like to see the funding go towards the railroad project but didn't see how the process could be completed before the ARRA March 2010 deadline for 100% obligation. Councilor Smith asked for a motion to allocate the additional $611,636 for the Holliday Creek Trail project, as it had been a project many years in the making. Mr. Barnett reminded the Policy Board that 50% of the ARRA Funding would have to be obligated by September 2009 and 100% obligated by March 2010. He also added that the funds would greatly help on the project as it had already gone over the estimated cost. Councilor Elmore motioned to allocate the additional funding for the Holliday Creek Trail Project. Judge Gossom seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. VI. Review and Approve the FY 2010 Unified Planning Work Program Mr. Barnett presented the FY 2010 Unified Planning Work Program to the Board. He stated the first four tasks remained virtually the same except for minor changes such as dates and meeting locations. Mr. Barnett stated the major changes had occurred in Task 5: Special Studies. There were three main subtasks found in Task 5: Subtask 5.1 - the continuation of the Metropolitan Transportation Plan Update; Subtask 5.2 - hiring a consulting firm to complete an objective, mobility study involving north and south mobility to the west of Kemp Boulevard; and Subtask 5.3 - contributing funding, in order to gain access, to the Wichita County Appraisal District's aerial pictometry updates. Councilor Elmore stated that he believed the connection of Seymour Hwy and Seymour Rd. was more important than developing a connection between Loop 11 and 8th St. Mr. Barnett responded by saying that the study would hopefully answer problems and questions about which options were the most feasible. He WICHITA FALLS MPO TPC MEETING July 22, 2009 PAGE 2 ,` � estimated that it would cost around $60,000 - $70,000 to complete the study. The Policy Board asked if there would be any involvement between the City and the County in future TIF projects. Mr. Burrus asked if it was one of the MPO's responsibilities to look at long -term transportation projects that could potentially affect economic development, and if so, could they include a long -range economic forecast in the mobility study as well. Mr. Barnett stated that economic development was a part of the transportation planning process. He stated that he would contact Mr. Dave Clark, Director of Community Development, to ask his advice on the matter before the start of the study. Mr. Barnett informed the Board of the contributions made to the Appraisal District in order to gain access to the updated aerials and pictometry. Mr. Barnett then presented the budget summary to the Board. He explained that most of the funding categorized as "carry -over funds" was already obligated to specific projects yet to be completed. Councilor Smith asked if the 3D- Flythrough of the MPO area was completed yet, and if MPO staff could present a portion of the project to the Board. Mr. Barnett commented that Mr. Arbeau had started building the model and continued to work on it as time permitted, but because of higher priority projects it was not complete. Mr. Arbeau said he would have a portion of the model ready to present to the Policy Board at the October 2009 meeting. Mr. Barnett asked for any additional comments or questions. Councilor Smith asked for a motion to approve the FY 2010 UPWP. Councilor Elmore motioned to approve the UPWP as presented. Mayor Halloway seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. VII. Review and Approve the Interlocal Agreement Between TxDOT and WFMPO Concerning NEPAssist Training and Technical Assistance Mr. Arbeau informed the Board that NEPAssist is a web -based application that allows users to complete environmental assessments. The program uses government sanctioned GIS files to complete assessments based on their information. Mr. Arbeau explained that TxDOT was organizing a training class and after completion of the training class, participants would be granted access to use the application on the web. Mr. Arbeau told the Board that while the MPO does not currently complete environmental assessments, it would be a great tool for many City and TxDOT officials and engineers. Mr. Barnett said he had be granted approval from TxDOT to send a City staff member to complete the training as well. Councilor Elmore asked if there was a limit on the amount of people attending the training. Mr. Barnett stated he was unaware of any limitations. Mr. Schreiber asked if there would be a log -in limit. Mr. Barnett said he would send out an email to both committees with more details about the training when he found out more information. Judge Gossom asked for a motion to approve the interlocal agreement and the MPO resolution. Mr. Wilde motioned to approve the agreement containing the resolution. Councilor Smith seconded the motion, which was passed unanimously. VIII. Other Business: A. Discussion & Overview of Progress on Local Transportation Projects — City and TxDOT staff (Quarterly Review) TxDOT Report — Mr. Kelley began by stating that the Flyover Ramp was completed. Kell West has been projected to be finished in late October as the main lanes will be complete. The Loop 11 project was complete except for a few utility sinkholes and some patch work. Mr. Kelley moved on to the bridge projects. The Iowa Park Rd Bridge, the only bridge in the MPO area, had been completed. The illumination and signal project WICHITA FALLS MPO TPC MEETING July 22, 2009 PAGE 3 A. was complete, except for the signal mast arms that were being manufactured. Mr. Kelley said they would continue with the concrete repair projects, and the Novachip project would be competed later in the week. The bridge maintenance repair work over Holliday Creek was making good progress. There was also a guardrail update along Highway 79 that had been completed. City of Wichita Falls Report — Mr. Schreiber stated Phase II and III of the Faith Village Drainage Project were currently underway. The 2009 Street Rehabilitation Projects are 80% complete and affecting various areas around the city. Phase II of the Street Rehabilitation Project "let' and was awarded at the last council meeting and would affect various areas around the city. The 7'h Street at MLK intersection improvements and the Southwest Parkway median hardscaping projects had both let the previous day and had come in under budget. The projects would go before Council for awarding in August. Mr. Brown asked what the project along Southwest Parkway and Lake Park Drive would affect. Mr. Schreiber explained that they were replacing and realigning the sewer line in that area, which had been falling apart and flattening. B. MPO Quarterly Financial Report (2nd Quarter FY 2008 — July, August, September) Mr. Barnett informed the Board that the MPO had spent 19% of their FY 2009 funds. However, they would soon be receiving invoices for the Metropolitan Transportation Plan Update which would increase the amount. He felt confident that they would meet the 75% minimum spending criteria. Mr. Barnett asked for further questions. None were received. C. 2010 — 2035 Metropolitan Transportation Plan Update: Progress Report Mr. Barnett presented the Policy Board with a timeline showing the progress that had been made thus far. He stated that at the first workshop on June 4, 2009 they hosted 45 participants and at the joint TAC and TPC workshop on July 8, 2009 they hosted 14 participants. Mr. Barnett stated that Kimley -Horn was currently working on the analysis portion. Kimley -Horn was also working with TxDOT to update the Traffic Demand Model. They were hoping to stay on schedule to present their work on the MTP update to the public and then to the TAC & TPC committees accordingly. Afterwards, the final product would be reviewed again by the TAC & TPC before asking for approval at the January 2010 meeting. D. TIGER Discretionary Grant: Wichita Falls Municipal Airport Terminal Building Mr. Barnett informed the Policy Board that the City of Wichita Falls had submitted a project nomination form to TxDOT to begin the process of acquiring TIGER grant funds for the construction of a new airport terminal building at the Wichita Falls Municipal Airport. The funding would come from the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery discretionary program and would offer support for projects in the $20 - $300 million range. The Texas Transportation Commission would review proposed projects from all 25 MPO's around the state. Only seven MPO's had submitted projects as of today. Mr. Burrus explained that the City of Wichita Falls had begun a Master Plan in April 2009 to reconstruct and redesign the terminal building at Municipal Airport. The Master Plan project should be completed around February 2010, which was likely the time period that they would receive the grant funding if they were awarded funds for the project. They would therefore be in position to enter into a contract with an architectural WICHITA FALLS MPO TPC MEETING July 22, 2009 PAGE 4 i engineering firm immediately. One of the requirements of the grant was to be under contract by September 2011. Mr. Burrus added that Wichita Falls was seeing a higher unemployment rate than statewide rates in neighboring areas including: New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Bringing a construction project into the area would provide an opportunity to provide local contractors with a sizable project. The funding would provide a complete overhaul of the current facilities. The application would be due September 15, 2009. They were also considering renaming the facility in order to show more regional support. The Policy Board then discussed the future planning and advancements of the transit transfer station building in the downtown area of Wichita Falls. Mr. Burrus expressed that while he did not believe the transfer station would be an alternate for the TIGER Grant, they did currently have a solid balance to begin the project with and many other options in order to gain funding to support the project. E. Other items There were no other items for discussion. IX. Adjourn The meeting adjourned at 9:54 a.m. "-,44,, Honorable Lanham Lyne Mayor Wichita Falls WICHITA FALLS MPO TPC MEETING July 22, 2009 PAGE 5