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MPO TPC/TAC Board Minutes - 10/02/2013 • WICHITA FALLS METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION Technical Advisory Committee Minutes Wednesday, October 2, 2013 Voting Members Present: RECEIVED IN Lin Barnett, Wichita Falls MPO, MPO Director, TAC Chairperson CITY CLERK'S OFFICE Danny Brown, TxDOT, Director of TP&D DATE: David Rohmer, TxDOT, Area Engineer Davis Powell, City of Wichita Falls, City Engineer BY; .d TIME. z.ZJ`0N/ Karen Montgomery-Gagne, City of Wichita Falls, Planning Administrator Mark Beauchamp, City of Wichita Falls, Traffic Superintendent MPO Staff: Jaimie Lee, Wichita Falls MPO, Transportation Planner I Visitors: Mark McBurnett, Civil Engineer, SAFB 82 CES Mike Beaver, TxDOT, Engineer Tammy Marlow, TxDOT, North Region Support Center Jeffrey Gordon, Crane West, Programmer Absent Kevin Hugman-City of Wichita Falls, ACM/Director of Community Development Allan Moore, TxDOT, Director of Construction Tim Hertel-TxDOT, Director of Operations I. Welcome & Introduction Mr. Barnett, the TAC chairperson, called the meeting to order at 9:34 a.m. and welcomed everyone in attendance. II. Public Comment on Agenda and Non-Agenda Items Mr. Barnett asked for any public comments on agenda and non-agenda items. There were none. III. Review and Approval of the July 3, 2013 Technical Advisory Committee's (TAC) Meeting Minutes Mr. Barnett asked for any comments or corrections to the July 3, 2013 minutes. There were none. He then asked for a motion to approve the minutes. Mrs. Montgomery- Gagne made the motion to approve. Mr. Brown seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. Wichita Falls MPO TAC Meeting October 2, 2013 Page 1 of 5 IV. Review and Comment Regarding the July 17, 2013 Transportation Policy Committee's (TPC's) Meeting Minutes— No Action Required Mr. Barnett asked for comments on the July 17, 2013 TPC meeting minutes. None were received. The committee moved on to the next agenda item. V. Crane West Presentation of the Long-Range Project Readiness Plan Survey Tool Mr. Jeff Gordon, Programmer with Crane West, presented the Long-Range Project Readiness Plan project-scoring tool to the TAC committee for review, comment, and questions. He stated this was a presentation of the draft tool and would make changes based on TAC recommendations. Mr. Gordon provided the TAC board members with a demonstration of how the tool functions. He stated each TAC member would receive an email with a unique, encrypted URL directing him or her to a specific project. When the TAC board member clicks the URL, a web page where they can rank each project opens. After the TAC board member ranks a criterion, the box will turn green and progress will automatically save. When the TAC member reaches the bottom of the criteria page, they can press the "Next Project" button, which will advance them to the next project on their list. The TAC committee recommended locking out all of the pre-scored criteria for each project so that the TAC board member would know to disregard those ranked criteria and move on to the next criterion in the project. Mr. Gordon stated he would do this by shading the criterion box a darker shade of grey to differentiate the pre-scored criteria from the remaining criteria needing ranking. A second recommendation was to add a link that would open up a separate window so users could email comments regarding that specific project for use later in the vetting process. Essentially, this will act as a "flag" so that MPO staff can generate project advocacy charts for each project at the project- vetting meeting. Mr. Gordon stated that he enabled the survey tool with a responsive design so that members can rank their projects on any web platform via a desktop computer, tablet, or smart phone. Mr. Barnett asked for any other suggestions or questions about the project ranking process. Receiving none, he moved on to the next agenda item. VI. Establish the Deadline for TAC Board Members to Rank the Long-Range Project Readiness Plan Projects and Schedule the TAC Project Vetting Meeting. Mr. Barnett, in concurrence with the TAC committee, established a deadline for the TAC board members to rank the Long-Range Project Readiness Plan projects and schedule the TAC project-vetting meeting. The deadline to have the projects ranked was October 14, 2013. The project-vetting meeting was October 17, 2013 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. VII. Review and Recommendation to Approve Amendments to the 2010-2035 Metropolitan Transportation Plan Project List for October 2013 Mr. Barnett directed the committee's attention to the enclosed 2010-2035 Metropolitan Transportation Plan project list for October 2013. He explained that changes to the MTP project list included listing TxDOT short-range projects to show only the first four years of fiscally constrained projects as indicated by the TxDOT Unified Transportation Program. Wichita Falls MPO TAC Meeting October 2, 2013 Page 2 of 5 TxDOT's Unified Transportation Program (UTP) covers a 10-year list of projects, but provides identified funding for only the first four years of the program. MPO staff identified TxDOT's long-range 2021-2035 projects as fiscally constrained with planning funds based on the final six years of the current TxDOT UTP. Any projects listed after 2035 are placed into the long-range un-met needs schedule where, if a future UTP identifies available funding, the project can move up into the 2021-2035 Long-Range or 2010-2020 Short-Range project list. Mr. Barnett asked for any comments or questions regarding the 2010-2035 Metropolitan Transportation Plan project list. Mr. Beauchamp noticed an error in the City of Wichita Falls Long-Range Un-Met needs schedule of three safety projects listed as city projects. Mr. Beauchamp stated MPO staff should list them as TxDOT projects because they are on TxDOT's system. Mr. Barnett asked for any other comments. Receiving none, he asked for a motion to forward the MTP project list to the Policy Board, with revisions. Mr. Beauchamp made the motion to approve the document. Mr. Brown seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. VIII. Review of the Administrative Revisions to the 2014-2015 Unified Planning Work Program Mr. Barnett directed the committee's attention to page 23 of the meeting packet. He explained that he received notification from our partners at the TxDOT North Region Support Center (NRSC) that our 2014-2015 Unified Planning Work Program received FHWA approval upon first review. Mr. Barnett went over the administrative revisions in the 2013-2015 Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) with the TAC committee. Revisions included adding a disclaimer to the front of the document, adding information about the transportation reauthorization laws in the introduction, and updating the Definition of Area in Section B. Mr. Barnett informed the committee that the administrative revisions did not require approval because there was no change in scope of work or in financing any of the Subtasks. He stated Item VIII was for informational purposes only. Mr. Barnett asked for any questions regarding the administrative revisions to the 2014- 2015 Unified Planning Work Program. Receiving none, he moved on to the next agenda item. IX. Review of the Administrative Revisions to Section VI — Federally Funded Transit Projects of the 2013-2016 Transportation Improvement Program Mr. Barnett directed the committee's attention to page 28 of the meeting packet. He stated the revisions included a notification from the Federal Transit Administration regarding the actual funding amounts available for the programming of the FY 2013 annual transit-operating grant. Mr. Barnett stated the grant was currently in the process of creation and was awaiting approval of a Texas Transportation Commission Minute Order concerning a request for Transportation Development Credits. With that, and approval from FTA, the City of Wichita Falls manager can execute the transit grant. Mr. Barnett asked for any questions regarding the administrative revisions to Section VI — Federally Funded Transit Projects for the 2013-2016 Transportation Improvement Wichita Falls MPO TAC Meeting October 2, 2013 Page 3 of 5 Program. Mr. Barnett informed the committee that the administrative revisions did not require approval because there was not a 25% increase or decrease in FTA funding the City of Wichita Falls will receive. He stated Item IX was for informational purposes only. Receiving no further comment, he moved on to the next agenda item. X. Other Business: A. Discussion & Overview of Progress on Local Transportation Projects-City and TxDOT staff (Quarterly Review) TxDOT Report: Mr. Rohmer reported that construction of the US 82/287 Windthorst Road Bridge was complete and open. He reported that a mill and overlay project on SH 240 near Missile Road to the Wichita River was complete. Projects on IH 44 and US 82 near Maurine Street, Windthorst Road, and McNeil Avenue would receive a Dynamic Message Sign, which meant the signs would upgrade to LED lighting for more visibility. He stated the signs were currently in procurement because of a delay in materials. Mr. Rohmer reported on three Safe Routes to School projects that were complete and in the cleanup phase of the project. The State Highway 79/Professional Drive project has been awarded and will have a preconstruction meeting on October 17. Lastly, he reported that US 82/287 Galveston to McKinney Road, awarded to the Zack Burkett Co., would receive a mill and overlay. That project should begin construction next spring. City Report: Mr. Powell reported the 2013 Street Rehab Project from Rhea Road, Kemp Street, and McNeil was 60% complete. He stated Kemp Street was currently under construction. Cherokee Drainage Improvements Project, awarded to A&M Construction, was 20% complete. Mr. Powell reported on the 2013 Holliday Rd/30th Box Culvert Demo project for demolition of triple box culverts and construction of 24" storm sewer pipes. Moffett Sewer Rehab was awarded October 1 and should begin in November. The McNiel drainage project should begin construction in July of 2014. B. MPO Quarterly Financial Report (3rd Quarter FY 2013-April, May, June) Mr. Barnett reported on the third quarter expenses for the MPO. He stated that the MPO had spent 65.91% of its allocation for FY 2013. Mr. Barnett asked for any other questions or comments about the third quarter report. Receiving none, he moved on to the next agenda item. C. Grouped TxDOT CSJ Projects Report Mr. Barnett directed the committee's attention to page 43 of the TAC meeting packet and asked Ms. Lee to give her report. Ms. Lee reported to the committee that MPO staff did not add any new projects to the Grouped TxDOT CSJ Project report for this quarter. However, a few old projects had been removed from the list. Mr. Barnett asked for any comments to the Grouped TxDOT CSJ project report. Receiving none, he moved on to the next agenda item. D. MPO Director's Report: Transit Oriented Development Study(p. 44) Mr. Barnett informed the TAC committee that Freese and Nichols (FNI) reviewed data provided by WFMPO and began creating maps in GIS. Freese and Nichols Wichita Falls MPO TAC Meeting October 2,2013 Page 4 of 5 packaged written descriptions with the maps and sent them out to the WFMPO for initial reviews and comments. FNI conducted a City demographic profile for baseline analysis and gathered information from US census and American Community Surveys that included historic populations, growth charts, compound growth rates, race and ethnicity, age distribution, education attainment, incomes, commute times, household types, housing types, and employment industry. Mr. Barnett stated WFMPO will continue with monthly conference calls to review progress of work. E. Other Items — FHWA Workshop on MAP-21 Performance-Based Planning (p. 45) Mr. Barnett informed the committee that MPO staff would attend the FHWA sponsored workshop on Performance-Based Planning down in Austin on November 131h. He stated Performance-Based Planning would become crucial to the next phase of transportation planning. XI. Adjourn The meeting adjourned at 11:40 a.m. Ada Irvan F. "Lin" Barnett Jr. MPO Transportation Planning l irector Wichita Falls MPO Wichita Falls MPO TAC Meeting October 2, 2013 Page 5 of 5