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MPO TPC/TAC Board Minutes - 04/21/2004Approved July 21, 2004 f RECEIVED IN CITY CLERK'S OFFICE nntp $•�-'o B ° Time �`•' TRANSPORTATION POLICY COMMITTEE- WICHITA FALLS METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION April 21, 2004 Present: Mayor Bill Altman, Chairperson ♦ Members Jeff Watts, City of Pleasant Valley ♦ Johnny Burns, City Council Representative Larry Tegtmeyer, TxDOT, District Engineer Linda Ammons, City Council Representative ♦ Scott Taylor, Director of Public Works ♦ Carolyn Askins, TOOT, Transportation Planning ♦ Staff Danny Brown, TOOT, Director of Trans. Planning and Development Darron Leiker, ACM /Dir. Traff., Trans. & Avia., Interim MPO Director Donnie Arbeau, Transportation Planner I Joe Anderson, Director of Construction Lin Barnett, Transportation Planner II Karen Montgomery- Gagne, Community Development, Planner III Barbara Lingle, Rep. David Farabee — State Representative 69 ♦ Ex- officio ♦ HNC Keith Hall, Project Leader, Lockwood, Andrews, & Newnam, Inc. ♦ Guests Peg Purser, MKP Consulting/Wilbur Smith Associates Kala Krishnan, Wilbur Smith Associates Don Sheppard, Lakeside City ♦ Absent Dennis Wilde, NORTEX Regional Planning Commission Woodrow (Woody) Gossom, County Judge, Vice - Chairperson Welcome & Introduction. The Chairperson, Mayor Altman, began the meeting at 9:41 a.m. Introductions were made around the room. Mr. Larry Tegtmeyer and Mr. Danny Brown introduced themselves as the new TOOT District Engineer and Director of Transportation Planning and Development, respectively. II. Approval of January 21St TPC Meeting Minutes There were no comments on the minutes. Councilor Ammons motioned to approve the WICHITA FALLS MPO TPC MEETING April 21, 2004 PAGE 1 Approved July 21, 2004 minutes as presented. Mr. Taylor seconded the motion. The minutes were unanimously approved. III. Approval of March 24th TPC Meeting Minutes There were no comments on the minutes. Councilor Ammons motioned to approve the minutes as presented. Mr. Taylor seconded the motion. The minutes were unanimously approved. IV. Review and Comment Regarding the TAC's April 7th Meeting Minutes — No Action Required There were no comments on the minutes. (Mayor Altman then moved down to Item IX, the presentation by Wilbur Smith Associates, because of time constraints) V. Discussion, Recommendation and Approval of May Amendments to the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) Mr. Barnett gave a brief summary of the project amendments added to the May TIP. He stated there were five additions: none in FY 2004, one in FY 2005, and four in FY 2006. The total cost estimate for the five projects was $1,977,783. Mayor Altman asked for a motion to approve the amendments. Mr. Taylor motioned to approve and Councilor Burns seconded the motion. Mayor Altman asked for comments on the amendments. Mr. Taylor stated the City is currently designing drainage improvements for drainage channels where the bridges, which Mr. Barnett outlined in the TIP report, span the roadway. He stated the bridge approaches would also be addressed. The motion to approve the amendments carried unanimously. VI. Discussion, Recommendation and Approval Amending Appendix J of the FY 2004 UPWP — Update of the Environmental Justice Target Area Map (Revision 2) Mr. Leiker began this topic by describing the binder handed out at the meeting entitled Environmental Justice: What You Should Know, Federal Highway Administration — Washington Division Office, (June 2003). He stated that staff had received this document via TxDOT, Austin within the past week and that staff was providing copies of it to the board and to all interested parties. Mr. Leiker commented that the document contained a good body of knowledge on the subject and could be used for reference material. He stated that staff is often questioned as to what Environmental Justice is by not only public officials, but by citizens and other stakeholders as well. Often there is confusion between Environmental Justice and the physical environment, which is an EPA concern. WICHITA FALLS MPO TPC MEETING April 21, 2004 PAGE 2 Approved July 21, 2004 Mr. Barnett briefly described the second revision to the map explaining where the source documents came from, the review and comments on the map by Community Development and TAC, and, finally, the approval by TAC to forward the map to TPC for its approval to include it in the FY 2004 UPWP. He explained the gradation of the map, what the color scale represented, and where the areas of most impact were located according to the U.S. Census Bureau driven data HUD has provided on Low to Moderate Income Households. He also pointed out that, at the recommendation of TAC, the source documents supporting the map be included in Appendix J of the FY 2004 UPWP. Mr. Taylor asked if HUD was a recognized source of data for input into the Environmental Justice process. Mr. Barnett stated that the agency was a recognized source. Mr. Taylor also questioned if the use of race and ethnicity, from census data, could be included in the development process. Mr. Barnett commented that as an ongoing process those factors would be included in the update to the map for the FY 2005 UPWP. Councilor Ammons asked staff to also research how the WFISD classifies school districts under Title I, whether by race and ethnicity or income based, and the applicability of Environmental Justice to them using a school district overlay in the 2005 update. Mayor Altman asked for a motion to include the map and source documents into Appendix J of the FY 2004 UPWP. Mr. Anderson motioned to approve and Councilor Ammons seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved. VII. Discussion, Recommendation and Approval for TAC and TPC Board Members to Attend a Future TxDOT Workshop on MPO Procedures Mr. Leiker began this item by stating that TxDOT had alerted staff to the possibility of organizing a workshop on MPO procedures that would be beneficial to those board members not familiar with the MPO environment. He directed the board to the sample agenda included in their handouts and asked Ms. Askins to comment on what this type of seminar would cover. Ms. Askins began by stating the workshop is approximately six hours long, is strictly for TPC and TAC and is not open to the public. She stated that Mr. Juarez (Austin TPP office) highly recommends the Wichita Falls MPO participate in a workshop due to the fact there all several new members on both committees. She stated the normal time is from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. with lunch included as an eligible MPO expense and that the meeting would be held locally. Mr. Taylor made a motion to request staff begin the preparations to conduct a MPO procedures workshop. Mr. Watts seconded the motion. Mayor Altman asked that the workshop time be moved up to 8:30 a.m., with lunch lasting only an hour in order to be done by 3:00 p.m. He also requested the workshop materials be provided in electronic format and that some type of information be provided on the Statewide Preservation Program, Summary of Categories to help the board members better understand how WICHITA FALLS MPO TPC MEETING April 21, 2004 PAGE 3 Approved July 21, 2004 the system works. Mr. Tegtmeyer stated his office could supply the requested materials. The motion passed unanimously. VIII. Discussion, Recommendation and Approval of Remaining Appointees for the MTP Steering Committee Mr. Leiker went over the current list of appointees from the October 24, 2003 TPC meeting stating that staff needed input on how the board wanted to fill the remaining positions. Mr. Barnett commented he had been in contact with Judge Gossom a couple of weeks earlier and that he and Mr. Sheppard would try to meet soon with Mayor Altman to come up with some of the positions. Mr. Barnett stated he had not received any word back from the Archer County judge as to whom he wanted as a representative on the steering committee. Mr. Leiker inquired about the City Council representative and Mayor Altman stated he had someone in mind but that it would have to be addressed at a different meeting. No action was taken at this time. IX. Presentation by Wilbur Smith Associates of Their Initial Draft Update for the 2004 Socioeconomic Data Collection and Forecast Study (This item was moved up in the agenda behind item IV — Review of the April 7th TAC minutes because of time constraints) Ms. Purser stated the purpose of the draft was to develop Census year 2000, current year 2004, and forecast year 2030 numbers. She commented on the outline, maps, and tabulations within the report stating, for now, it covered the entire county but would be constrained to within the MPO boundary in the final version. She stated that WSA would leave behind the maps for staff to review and mark up with comments and changes. She stated that WSA was using 2001 and 2002 update data as a type of forecast while waiting for the release of the 2003 and 2004 update data from the Census Bureau. Ms. Purser briefly discussed the CTPP (Census Transportation Planning Package) Parts 1 and 2 and the TAZ's (Traffic Assignment Zones) associated. She then went through each map discussing each map's attributes, pointing out the changes from year 2000 to year 2004. She stated there would be a list of special generators at the end of the report. Also included in the report were maps of the major sectors of basic employment, retail and service. Military was included in service but could be extracted for clarity. Mayor Altman questioned where the 2030 data was located in the report. Ms. Purser stated it was not included simply to prevent the extrapolation of forecast data containing errors which would compound any problems with future forecasts. She directed everyone present to forward their comments to WSA via MPO staff. Mayor Altman asked if MPO staff was satisfied with the quality of work by WSA thus far. Mr. Leiker stated since staff had only recently acquired the draft and there had not been sufficient time to go over the report, but that it had been emailed to TAC for comment and suggested changes. Ms. Purser concluded her presentation commenting at the next TPC meeting (probably in May) the final draft would be presented for approval. WICHITA FALLS MPO TPC MEETING April 21, 2004 PAGE 4 Approved July 21, 2004 Once MPO staff has a final approved version of the socioeconomic update, it will be forwarded to the MTP consultant for inclusion in the MTP update. X. Other Business: a. Discussion & Overview of Progress on Local Transportation Projects — (Quarterly Review) City and TxDOT Staff Mr. Taylor gave the City report stating the Phase I Faith Village project was on schedule with box culverts going in at Southwest Parkway. He stated last year's overlay project was nearing completion having been delayed by weather in December. Very shortly, next year's overlay project would begin to be put together, a CDBG overlay project would soon be going to bid, and it would soon be determined on where the balance of $1.3 million dollars for street rehabilitation would be spent. Mr. Anderson gave the TxDOT report stating the FM 2380 (Old Lake Road) project first half is complete and TxDOT would soon begin the second half. The projected completion time is mid June. The next project, FM 369 (Southwest Parkway), had a TDR inspection completed on the ramps recently. The Phase I Sikes Lake hike and bike trail project was completed and Phase II has already begun. At the east end of town, at the US 82 and Hwy 79 intersection, the retaining walls by the fountain along with landscaping are complete. Mayor Altman stated several people have inquired as to whether there could be lighting in that area and how hard would it be to accomplish. Mr. Leiker commented that it could easily be accomplished. Mayor Altman also commented that MSU has inquired about adding a sign stating "Home of MSU" to that location. Mr. Anderson stated the Scott Street Bridge project is on time and on schedule. The estimated completion date is August 5t with stiff penalties in place if the project goes past August 13th. He discussed the ongoing traffic management center on the 1 -44 corridor, which should be finished by August. Mr. Brown discussed the Kell Interchange and the problems with funding it stating it would continue to get bumped out to the next letting year until the funding problem has been addressed. Discussion then centered on the subject of Shadow or Pass - Through tolling. Mr. Leiker mentioned that Abilene is considering a pass- through tolling project. Mayor Altman pointed out those metropolitan areas proposing this type of tolling should have a better chance of succeeding than those that wait until later. Mr. Tegtmeyer supported this view stating the available funds would only continue to shrink. Mr. Hall briefly outlined the recently released rules for doing a shadow toll project. Mr. Brown commented that the project had been studied for regular toll feasibility and did not meet the criteria. Mr. Taylor commented that the western end of Kell should be included somehow with the interchange. b. MPO Quarterly Financial Report (Vt Quarter — Oct, Nov, Dec) Mr. Barnett gave a brief summary of the expenditures for the first quarter commenting that the directives from the last TPC meeting were incorporated into WICHITA FALLS MPO TPC MEETING April 21, 2004 PAGE 5 Approved July 21, 2004 the report to provide a clear understanding of how MPO funds are spent. He stated that if this format was acceptable to the board members then staff would continue to use this type of report. Mr. Leiker commented that second quarter figures were unavailable due to the fact that City Finance had not yet supplied staff with the information needed. c. Update on MTP Progress: Public Meetings Scheduled, Initial MTP Steering Committee Meeting and Data Collection Mr. Leiker presented the sample advertisements to be used on the City's cable channel, the City's website and in the Times Record News for the upcoming MTP public meetings in May stating staff did try to work them into the Falls Focus newsletter, but because Falls Focus would mail out after the meeting date, the emphasis would be on citizens providing input before the second set of meetings in the fall of this year. Mr. Barnett discussed the initial meeting with the MTP Steering Committee at the last TAC meeting and the goals and objectives sheet included in the meeting packet. Mr. Hall asked that everyone present to forward to him any specific goals or objectives they wished to see added to the list. Mayor Altman asked that the subject of Pass - Through Tolling be discussed at the upcoming meetings in order to gauge public reaction. d. Statewide Preservation Program of the Unified Transportation Program Mr. Barnett stated the handout was included at the request of TxDOT. e. Other XI. Public Comment on Anything Not on the Agenda There were no public comments. XII. Adjourn (,AJ Mayor William Altman, TPC Chairperson WICHITA FALLS MPO TPC MEETING April 21, 2004 PAGE 6