MPO TPC/TAC Board Minutes - 11/16/2005CITY CLERK'S OFF < <'E
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TRANSPORTATION POLICY COMMITTEE (TPC) MEETING
WICHITA FALLS METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION
November 16, 2005
Present:
Lanham Lyne, Mayor, Chairperson
Charles Elmore, City Council Representative
Don Sheppard, Lakeside City
Jeff Watts, City of Pleasant Valley
Larry Tegtmeyer, TxDOT, District Engineer
Linda Ammons, City Council Representative
Scott Taylor, Director of Public Works
Carolyn Askins, TxDOT, Transportation Planning Assistant
Danny Brown, TxDOT TP &D Director
Donnie Arbeau, Transportation Planner II
John Burrus, Acting Director of Traffic, Transportation and Aviation
Lin Barnett, MPO Director
Monty Brown, TxDOT, Engineering
Barbara Maley, FHWA, Transportation Planning Coordinator
Dennis Wilde, NORTEX Regional Planning Commission
Woodrow (Woody) Gossom, County Judge, Vice - Chairperson
I. Welcome & Introduction
♦ Members
♦ Staff
♦ Ex- officio
♦ HNC
♦ Guests
♦ Absent
Mayor Lyne called the meeting to order at 2:10 p.m. Introductions where made around
the room.
II. Review, Discussion and Approval of the MPO /City/TxDOT Transportation
Project List for FY 2006
Mr. Barnett briefly outlined events leading up to today's meeting and the reasons for it.
He then asked the board members how they wished to proceed. The consensus of the
board was to examine specific projects and not the entire project list. The board first
WICHITA FALLS MPO TPC MEETING November 16, 2005
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examined project ID# 11 — Construction of the Kell West Main Lanes — and determined
that it should be moved up from a "Medium" ranking to a "High" ranking on the project
list.
The next project the board examined was project ID# 54 — Turtle Creek Road, widening
of existing street and drainage improvement — and determined that it too should be
moved up from a "Medium" ranking to a project ranking of "High ". Mr. Taylor
commented this project was number 3, in priority, on the City of Wichita Falls' list of
projects. He also asked that the "Callfield Reliever — Phase 1 & 2" project names be
corrected to say "Maplewood Extension — Phase 1 & 2" in future project lists.
Mr. Taylor stated project ID# 34 — Sunset and Duty Lanes, street improvement — were
programmed and financed and that Landon Lane would also be added to the project.
(The list was updated accordingly).
The board then discussed project ID# 62 — Puckett Road, extension and widening of
existing street. This road actually runs across private property and cannot be
considered for improvement until the right -of -way is purchased. This project will remain
in the "Low" category of the list.
The board examined project ID# 46 — Taft Blvd., from Hampstead to Kell Freeway,
convert to 4 -lane street with center turn lane — and determined this project to be non -
feasible. (The list was updated to reflect this determination).
Mr. Barnett informed the board that project ID# 47 — Old Iowa Park Road, eastbound,
signage for left turn lane onto Central Freeway service road — had already been
completed by TxDOT. He then concluded the review of projects by discussing the
October 31, 2005 meeting in Austin of the Texas Transportation Commission (TTC). Mr.
Barnett stated that the TTC was asking each MPO to develop its own list of projects for
inclusion into the state's Unified Transportation Plan (UTP) early in 2006. He stated the
work by the Policy Board and Technical Advisory Committee on this list would go a long
ways towards fulfilling that goal.
Mayor Lyne then asked for a motion to approve the 2006 Prioritized MPO Area Project
List with revisions. Mr. Sheppard motioned to approve. Councilor Ammons seconded
the motion. The motion to approve passed unanimously.
III. Review, Discussion and Approval of the Final Report on the June, 2005
Environmental Justice Public Meetings Concerning MPO Roadway Projects
Mr. Barnett asked the board if there were any questions concerning the report. Mr.
Taylor asked if City of Wichita Falls projects, which receive no federal funding, fall under
the umbrella of Environmental Justice analysis. Mr. Barnett stated his interpretation of
Executive Order 12898 was that any agency that receives federal funding must
complete an EJ analysis for each project considered; therefore, the City was probably
exempt. He went on to say, however, that it would be a "best practice" to continue doing
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EJ analyses of City projects. Ms. Maley commented that a governmental entity does not
usually become involved in a lawsuit stemming from E.O. 12898 infractions. However,
she did go on to say that a governmental entity can be sued for Title VI — Civil Rights
violations and the City should consider this during the planning phase of a project. The
general consensus of the board was to continue EJ analysis on all projects submitted to
the MPO.
Mr. Taylor asked that project ID# EJ -7, in the report, have the title corrected to include
Landon Lane and that the last sentence in the second paragraph be corrected to say
"Clearly defined financing has been identified before the outset of the project to ensure
fair and equitable distribution of project costs along with monitoring of the project for
effectiveness ".
Mayor Lyne asked for any other changes or comments to the EJ report. There were
none. Mayor Lyne then asked for a motion to approve, with revisions, the 2005 MPO
Roadway Projects Environmental Justice Analysis Final Report completed in October,
2005. Councilor Ammons motioned to approve. Mr. Watts seconded the motion. The
motion passed unanimously.
IV. Public Comment on Anything Not on the Agenda
No comments were received.
V. Adjourn
The meeting adjourned at 3:45 p.m.
Mayor Lanham Lyne, TPC Chai erson
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