HomeMy WebLinkAbout7.12.23 UAPB MinutesMINUTES APPROVED
MPOJC URBANIZED AREA POLICY BOARD
WEDNESDAY, JULY 12, 2023 – 4:30 P.M.
CITY OF NORTH LIBERTY COUNCIL CHAMBERS
3 QUAIL CREEK CIRCLE, NORTH LIBERTY, IA
MEMBERS PRESENT: Coralville: Laurie Goodrich, Meghann Foster
Iowa City: Laura Bergus, John Thomas, Pauline Taylor,
Shawn Harmsen
Johnson County: Lisa Green-Douglass, Jon Green
North Liberty: Brian Wayson, Chris Hoffman
University Heights: Stepheny Gahn
University of Iowa: Greg Schmitt
Tiffin: Steve Berner
STAFF PRESENT: Kent Ralston, Emily Bothell, Hannah Neel, Tunazzina Binte Alam
OTHERS PRESENT: Cathy Cutler, Erek Sittig, Matthew Burkey
1. CALL TO ORDER
Thomas called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m. The meeting was held in the City of North
Liberty Council Chambers in North Liberty, Iowa.
a. Recognize alternates
Ralston recognized Stepheny Gahn as an alternate for Louise From and Lisa Green-
Douglass as an alternate for Rod Sullivan.
b. Consider approval of meeting minutes
Berner moved to approve, and Bergus seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
c. Set next Board meeting date, time, and location
Tentatively scheduled for September 20th, 2023, at 4:30 p.m.
2. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA
None.
3. ADMINISTRATION
a. Consider approval of a method for apportionment of Federal Transit Administration (FTA)
section 5307 Transit Operating funds for Iowa City Transit, Coralville Transit, and
University of Iowa Cambus
Ralston explained that the MPO is the designated recipient of Federal Transit
Administration (FTA) 5307 annual transit funds, and small transit-intensive community
funding. Those funds are distributed to the University of Iowa Cambus, City of Coralville
Transit, and Iowa City Transit. The funds are used for transit operating and capital
expenses. The allocations for FY22 slightly exceeded $4.5 million dollars.
Ralston stated that for over 10 years the MPO has used the same formula to distribute the
funds, which is based on prior year transit statistics. The criteria are 25% operating and
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maintenance costs, 25% locally determined income, 25% revenue miles, and 25% fare
revenue. Iowa City Transit requested a review of the formula as they will go fare-free
starting August 1st. In addition, the University of Iowa Cambus system does not charge a
fare and has never received credit for the fare revenue portion of the formula.
Ralston said that although the percentage/allocation to each of the transit agencies has
fluctuated over time, a review of past allocations shows that year-over-year changes are
small. After discussions with the transit managers, the consensus was to adopt a fixed
percentage-based allocation (starting with FY23 allocations and extending through FY27),
based on a historic average, and to review those percentages if/when there are major
changes to any system. The proposed fixed percentages to apportion FTA Section 5307
funding is as follows: Coralville Transit at 16.1%, Iowa City Transit at 60.5%, and the
University of Iowa Cambus at 23.4%. Staff is requesting approval of the proposed fixed-
percentage allocation method until further notice.
Wayson moved to approve and Green seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
4. TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
a. Consider approval of amendments to the adopted MPOJC 2050 Long Range
Transportation Plan
Bothell reminded the Board that at their March meeting, the Board approved the allocation
of $9.3 million dollars in Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) funding. The approval
was contingent upon an amendment to the MPO’s 2050 Long-Range Transportation Plan
to include Coralville’s Dubuque Street Northeast and Forevergreen Road project which
received $675,000 in funding. Any project receiving funding must be in the Plan.
The City of Coralville recommended the following amendments to add their project while
keeping the road and bridge project list fiscally constrained: 1) remove the Oakdale
Boulevard extension project - a 0.6-mile extension west of Jones Boulevard. The total
project cost is $2,465,000 and Coralville is constructing the project this summer with local
funds; 2) Move the new Heartland Drive and Highway 6 intersection project to the 2022-
2030 illustrative project list. The total project cost is $1,400,000; and 3) add the Dubuque
Street Northeast and Forevergreen Road roundabout project to the 2022-2030 fiscally
constrained road and bridge project list. The total project cost is $2,645,000.
Bothell explained that the MPO published a 30-day public comment period for the
proposed amendments in the local media and notified interested parties. The public was
also invited to discuss the amendments in person. To date, the MPO has not received any
public comments on this item. Staff is requesting the Policy Board consider approval of
the proposed amendments.
Green moved to approve, and Hoffman seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
b. Public Hearing and consideration of resolutions of adoption and certification for the FY24-
27 MPOJC Transportation Improvement Program
i. Staff Presentation
Neel presented the FY24-27 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for the
Board’s approval. The TIP is the programming document for all surface transportation
projects that receive state or federal funds. This includes projects for street and
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highway, transit, rail, bike, and pedestrian projects in the Iowa City urbanized area.
The MPO submits the TIP to the Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT)
annually for documentation of projects using state and federal funds. To utilize these
funds, projects must be in the TIP with an accurate scope and funding source.
Neel reminded the Board of their approval of the draft TIP at their May meeting, which
included the draft project list and the transit apportionment amounts. The transit
apportionment was approved at the Board’s January meeting. The MPOJC received
$4,600,000 in FY22 Federal Transit Association (FTA) 5307 operating assistance
funds. The TIP also includes three new projects receiving Surface Transportation
Block Grant (STBG) program funding. These projects are programmed in FY27; and
include Coralville’s Dubuque Street and Forevergreen Road roundabout project, North
Liberty’s South Dubuque Street Reconstruction Phase 2 project, and University
Heights’ Sunset Street and Melrose Avenue Project.
Neel explained that since the draft TIP was approved in May, a few changes have
been made. Coralville and North Liberty requested the Forevergreen Road extension
project be included as the communities received federally earmarked funds in the
amount of $2,500,000. The total project cost is estimated to be $18,000,000. In
addition, the Iowa DOT requested a few nonsubstantive changes which have been
addressed. All Iowa DOT projects in the area are included in the TIP. All local projects
will continue to be completed according to federal guidelines as they have been.
Neel stated the MPO published a 30-day public hearing notice in the Gazette and
Press-Citizen and notified interested parties. The MPO did not receive any public
comments regarding the TIP. Staff is requesting approval of the final FY24-27 TIP.
ii. Public Hearing
Thomas opened the public hearing and there were no members of the public present
for the public hearing. He then closed the public hearing.
iii. Consider a resolution adopting the FY24-27 Transportation Improvement Program for
the Iowa City Urbanized Area and authorizing the MPO Chairperson to sign associated
documents contained therein.
Bergus moved to approve, and Goodrich seconded. The motion carried
unanimously.
iv. Consider a resolution certifying compliance with federal requirements for conducting
the urban transportation planning process in the Iowa City Urbanized Area
Berner moved to approve, and Green seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
c. Update on CRANDIC Bus Rapid Transit Study from MPO Staff
Ralston reminded the Board of the three previous passenger-rail studies completed for
the CRANDIC corridor. Last fall the Board gave staff direction to complete a bus rapid
transit study in the same corridor. Since that time, Ralston has worked with the Board’s
respective entities to fund the study and unfortunately, a consensus had not yet been
reached. Ralston noted he had a meeting scheduled for July 18th to further discuss the
funding with representatives from Iowa City, Coralville, Johnson County, North Liberty,
and the University of Iowa.
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Bergus asked which entities Ralston approached for funding.
Ralston stated that he contacted the same five entities that helped fund the passenger-
rail studies: Iowa City, North Liberty, Coralville, Johnson County, and the University of
Iowa. The study is $250,000 and is about the same cost as the three previous passenger-
rail studies. A reputable consultant replied to the request for proposals.
Wayson asked if the consultant would be able to complete an engineering assessment of
the project to see if it is technically feasible. Ralston said he thought that the consultants
could do that if there was a point where the current study could not be funded.
Green-Douglass asked if this study was for a rail becoming a pathway for bus instead.
Ralston indicated that was correct. Green-Douglass then asked how many studies the
MPO would fund because they received a lot of information from the previous studies even
though it is a different mode of transportation.
Ralston replied that there is some overlap and the selected consultant acknowledged that
with their proposal. That said, this study is necessary because one of the three transit
agencies would likely absorb this new service. The three transit agencies were asked to
review the Request for Proposals to ensure the consultant would provide the necessary
information for the service.
Green-Douglass asked which three transit agencies the area has. Ralston explained that
they are Coralville Transit, Iowa City Transit, and the University of Iowa Cambus.
Bergus asked what would happen if there was not a consensus reached to fund the
proposal. Ralston stated that the Policy Board asked the MPO to complete this project
and if there is this much difficulty in funding the project, he wondered how that would
translate when/if this project were to be implemented. He believes a consensus could be
reached on July 18th and that there has been some discussion regarding the use of MPO
reserve funds to help fund the study. His reservation with that approach is other
communities (Swisher, Shueyville, University Heights) pay into the organization and they
would not be approving the use of the reserve funds and also would not directly benefit
from the service.
Green-Douglass asked what the endpoints of this are. Up to Swisher or beyond? Ralston
replied that the study would evaluate the corridor from Penn Street in North Liberty to
Burlington Street in Iowa City.
Ralston further stated that it is unprecedented to use MPO reserve funds for a study. MPO
reserve funds help to keep community assessments down or flat.
Bergus stated that if this is a priority of the Board, she would like to find a consensus. She
said Iowa City and the County are on board and then asked North Liberty and Coralville
where they stood.
Thomas asked if the study would include an analysis of how the system would impact land
use at transit stations. Ralston said that is included in the Request for Proposals, but it is
difficult to quantify. Thomas further elaborated and said part of the reason he asked is that
if we are going to be asking for millions of dollars to implement, having an understanding
of what potential value the system will have at the stations might help communities jump
on board.
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Green asked Ralston if he said the excess reserve funds were approximately $200,000.
Ralston said the MPO has approximately $500,000 in reserves but keeps approximately
35% of the MPO’s budget as savings.
Ralston clarified that he asked five entities for $50,000 each, for a total of $250,000. He
further said that it may be feasible for each of the five entities to pay $25,000 and the rest
coming from MPO reserves.
Green stated that given the Rural Policy Board meets annually in January and would not
have an opportunity to vote on using the reserves, he would like to see less than $125,000
used for this project. He would support up to $100,000 from reserves.
Green-Douglass had a question about the study going as far north to Penn Street. Was
the decision to stop at Penn Street based on the parking lot or was there another factor in
that decision? Ralston stated that the corridor is approximate. The proposal stated it would
be roughly from Penn Street to Burlington Street. If the consultant identifies an opportunity
to continue further north or south, we will rely on them to share that finding.
Bergus asked Board members their thoughts on giving Ralston some direction regarding
the reserve funding. She then stated that the question is whether this is viable. The
concept of moving people is a problem that needs to be solved.
Hoffman asked when the last time was that the MPO used the reserve funds. Ralston
replied that they have never been used for a special study to his knowledge, which makes
this unprecedented and may increase community assessments in the future.
Hoffman stated that historically, North Liberty has not been in support of the studies and
has not contributed financially. That said, North Liberty is now supportive of this study but
is concerned about the funding percentage that has been asked of them.
Ralston asked for and received a consensus to use MPOJC reserve funds up to $125,000
for the bus rapid transit study.
5. Other Business
Ralston updated the Board on the Urbanized Area Boundary update. The Iowa Department
of Transportation (Iowa DOT) contacted Ralston about the boundary as it is typically updated
with every decennial census. The boundary is used for statistical analyses and other functions
such as the way streets are federally classified. Ralston indicated he would work with
respective Staff to update and approve the boundary changes and ask that the Board chair
sign off on those changes.
Lastly, Ralston mentioned that the Iowa Department of Transportation was holding a ribbon
cutting for the Interstate 80/380 interchange on August 25th at 10:00 AM. All are invited to
attend.
6. ADJOURNMENT
Motion to adjourn was made by Bergus; Green-Douglass seconded. The meeting was
adjourned at 5:18 PM.