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MPO TPC/TAC Board Minutes - 10/06/2004WICHITA FALLS METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION Technical Advisory Committee CECEIVED,IN Minutes ln' CLERK'S OFFICE Date Wednesday, October 6, 2004 Voting Members Present: Darron Leiker — City of Wichita Falls — ACM /Dir. Aviation, Traffic & Trans., Interim MPO Director Danny Brown — TxDOT, Director of Trans. Planning and Development Dave Clark — City of Wichita Falls, Dir. of Community Development James Kelley — TxDOT, Area Engineer Jeff Hogan — City of Wichita Falls, City Engineer Joe Anderson — TxDOT, Director of Construction Karen Montgomery-Gagne — City of Wichita Falls MPO, Planner III Mark Beauchamp — City of Wichita Falls, Traffic Superintendent Others Present: Carolyn Askins — TxDOT, Transportation Planning Assistant Donnie Arbeau — City of Wichita Falls MPO, Transportation Planner I Lin Barnett — City of Wichita Falls MPO, Transportation Planner III Highway Needs Committee Members: None Visitors: None Absent: Tim Hertel — TxDOT, Director of Operations Time r,1' I. Welcome & Introduction. Mr. Leiker, the interim MPO Director and TAC Chairperson, began the meeting at 8:30 a.m. Mr. Leiker introduced Mr. Beauchamp as the newest TAC board member. II. Approval of July 7th meeting minutes There were no comments. Mr. Hogan motioned to accept the minutes and Mr. Anderson seconded the motion. The minutes were unanimously approved. III. Review and Comment Regarding the TPC's April 21St Meeting Minutes — No Action Required Wichita Falls MPO TAC Meeting October 6, 2004 Page 1 of 6 No comments were made. IV. Recommendation to Forward to TPC Revisions to the MPO's Public Involvement Policy for Approval (Required 45 -Day Public Comment Period Expired 09/05/04) Mr. Barnett stated the revised Public Involvement Policy had been available for public inspection and comment for the required 45 -day period following the July 21St TPC meeting. The document was on display at the Transportation Planning office and on the MPO's webpage soliciting public comment. Mr. Brown asked if any public comment was received during the comment period. Mr. Barnett stated his office did not receive any emails, telephone calls or letters concerning the document during the allotted time period. Mr. Clark motioned to forward the PIP to TPC for final approval. Mr. Anderson seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. V. Recommendation to Forward to TPC for Approval the Revised and Corrected Version of the 2004 Wilbur Smith Associates Update to the Socioeconomic Data Collection and Forecast Study of FY 2000 (Updates to Binders Mailed in Advance of Meeting) Mr. Leiker commented that after much examination of the document, and communication with Wilbur Smith Associates, staff felt the update was ready for submission to TPC for approval. He asked the board if there were any last minute recommendations or revisions that should be included. Mr. Barnett explained the discrepancies found within the update and how they were resolved, commenting the product had finally reached an acceptable state. Mr. Leiker commented on the less than desirable quality of service that Wilbur Smith Associates had extended towards the City on this project, stating the City should consider that fact when submitting future projects for RFP. Mr. Leiker asked for a motion to forward the update to TPC for approval. Mr. Clark made the motion. Mr. Anderson seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. VI. Review and Discussion of the FY 2005 Wichita Falls Transit Grant Application Mr. Barnett briefly discussed the items in the application outlining Capital expenditures for preventive maintenance, the purchase of two (2) thirty -foot busses, annual software maintenance agreement expenses /purchases and an A/C recovery system for the transit shop. Mr. Leiker commented on the cost savings that would be attained, over time, with the purchase of the A/C recovery system. Mr. Barnett explained the Planning section of the application commenting that $25,000 would be programmed to help in a Special Studies project involving signalization efficiency on the Kemp and Southwest Parkway traffic corridors. The remainder of the funding would come from PL -112 funds. Wichita Falls MPO TAC Meeting October 6, 2004 Page 2 of 6 Under Operating, programmed funding would rise by approximately $3,700. Mr. Barnett stated there was a public hearing held on September 14th for public comment and that Mr. Leiker presented the application to City Council on September 21St as an agenda item. No comments were received at either hearing. No further comments were made. TAC recommended forwarding the application to TPC as an FYI for the October 20th meeting. VII. Discussion and Recommendation for Signal Studies on the Kemp and Southwest Parkway Traffic Corridors Mr. Beauchamp commented the information in the meeting packet was from the most recent volume studies on street intersections. He explained that because of the wide range of signalization there was substantial variance on the traffic corridors causing a great deal of concern. The current traffic patterns indicate increased congestion at key intersections at certain times of the day. He stated a traffic study would help to optimize existing equipment and reduce delays. Mr. Clark stated he remembered a study from two years ago that listed the intersection at Elmwood and Kemp as a candidate for signalization. Mr. Beauchamp agreed statin that Westgate was also a candidate. Mr. Clark commented that Avenue K, 9th and 102 Streets should be considered part of the study at the north end of Kemp. Mr. Brown commented that Callfield Road should also be included as part of the Kemp study. Mr. Leiker agreed stating that it should be carried as far west as Lawrence Road. TAC will forward a recommendation to TPC, at the October 20th meeting, to approve the study as it is listed in the FY 2005 UPWP under Subtask 5.1. TAC will also recommend the formation of a subcommittee of TAC board members to develop the Request for Proposal. Mr. Leiker, Mr. Beauchamp and Mr. Brown volunteered to serve on the subcommittee, should TPC approve the study. Mr. Clark made a motion that TAC advocates the study of the Kemp Street and Southwest Parkway traffic corridors. The study parameters for Kemp would start at Southwest Parkway and extend north to Seymour Highway and include the extension of Callfield Road west to Lawrence Road. The study parameters for Southwest Parkway would start at the east side of Professional Drive and extend west to Barnett Road. Mr. Hogan seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. VIII. Discussion and Recommendation to Add a Representative from SAFB to the TAC Committee Mr. Brown stated that although SAFB is not set up to be a votin g representative from the base would be an appropriate addition t o because of the traffic generator that SAFB represents. Mr. Clark department would be able to provide a list of possible names member on TPC, a the TAC committee commented that his that the MPO could Wichita Falls MPO TAC Meeting October 6, 2004 Page 3 of 6 contact. Also, Mr. Beauchamp stated he had a list of contact names. Mr. Leiker asked that a contact list be assembled in time for the October 20th TPC meeting. Mr. Leiker asked for a motion to recommend TPC appoint a representative from SAFB as a new TAC board member. Mr. Brown made the motion to approve. Mr. Hogan seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. IX. General Discussion on Pass - Through Financing Mr. Leiker stated that although there was no new information for the board to review, it should discuss the current situation of this item. Mr. Brown commented that TxDOT had received a draft of the guidelines that Austin would be providing to the MPO's for building an application or petition for acquiring funding. He stated, using the draft guidelines, that a presentation could be started that would eventually be presented to County Commissioner's Court and to City Council. Mr. Brown stated once the guidelines were finalized then the TPC appointed subcommittee (Mr. Leiker, Mr. Taylor, Judge Gossom, Mr. Brown and Mr. Wilde) would be able continue its work on this subject. X. Other Business: a. Discussion & Overview of Progress on Local Transportation Projects — (Quarterly Review) City and TxDOT Staff City Report: Mr. Hogan stated the annual CDBG project for 2004 will be funded at $222,000 for asphalt street overlay. The 2004 regular street rehabilitation was awarded on September 21St by City Council to All -Tex of Dallas, Texas at approximately $1.2 million. Pre - construction meetings have already begun. Traffic control on Southwest Parkway is now in service again after being discontinued last spring for the Faith Village Phase I drainage improvement project completion, which was completed on September 20th. Phase II and III will not require any rearrangement of the system and is expected to go into construction late spring 2005. There will be culvert replacement from Southwest Parkway at Kemp north to Kock's Liquor turning east into the drainage system, which may affect left -turn lanes. TxDOT: Mr. Kelley stated the FM 2380 project would soon be complete and would be visually pleasing to motorists. The Scott Street Bridge was virtually complete other than a small amount of clean -up. Mr. Kelley commented the state would be able to diamond grind and do some concrete patchwork on the bridge because of extra funding that TxDOT received. The contract for Maureen Street and Jacksboro Highway has been let beautification and pre - construction meetings should begin shortly. This project will include the interchange at Holiday Street and Jacksboro Highway. Mr. Leiker inquired as to when the two landscaping projects would begin. Mr. Kelley stated they should start within 30 days. Wichita Falls MPO TAC Meeting October 6, 2004 Page 4 of 6 b. MPO Quarterly Financial Report (3rd Quarter —Apr, May, Jun) Mr. Barnett discussed the MPO's expenditures for the third quarter commenting that expenses were tracking as expected and that there should not be any shortages or overages in any of the five tasks. c. Report on TxDOT /MPO Meeting with Councilor James Esther Concerning the 1-44 /Maureen Street Landscaping Project Mr. Leiker stated the meeting between TxDOT staff, City staff and Councilor James Esther was held August 20th at the Central Services Complex Conference Room. A presentation was made to Councilor Ester, by TxDOT, describing how the beautification project would be accomplished at the Maureen Street intersection. Mr. Brown stated TxDOT would be able to accommodate the suggestions made by Councilor Ester for that area. The meeting was considered a success by all who attended. d. Updated 2004/2005 TAC and TPC Rosters Mr. Barnett stated the rosters were included in the meeting packets as a way to inform every one of recent changes in board membership on both TAC and TPC committees. Mr. Brown inquired if there were any unfilled positions on either board. Mr. Barnett stated both boards were fully staffed at this time. e. Public Comment on Anything Not on the Agenda Ms. Gagne inquired about Indian Tribe responses to the agendas they receive. Mr. Barnett stated that the MPO never receives any feedback from any of the Indian Tribes. He did state the annual postcards would soon be mailed out asking those individuals on the MPO mailing list if they wished to continue receiving agendas and /or packets. Mr. Clark proposed moving the TAC meeting time to later in the day due to the fact that Plats Committee meets on the first Wednesday of every month at the same time as the TAC meetings. The board agreed that 10:00 a.m. on the first Wednesday of the month would work the best. Mr. Hogan inquired about TxDOT's involvement with the accident at the edge of town on US 287 coming from Fort Worth involving a waste spill. Mr. Kelley stated the trucking company paid for the clean -up. Mr. Leiker informed the board of the upcoming MTP public meetings. Mr. Barnett discussed the various means of advertising the meetings including using billboards. XI. Adjourn The meeting adjourned at 9:44 a.m. Wichita Falls MPO TAC Meeting October 6, 2004 Page 5 of 6 i DarrcrK Leiker Interim MPO Director, TAC Chairperson ACM, Director of Traffic, Transportation and Aviation Wichita Falls MPO TAC Meeting October 6, 2004 Page 6 of 6