HomeMy WebLinkAbout1.31.18 UAPB Minutes1
MINUTES APPROVED
MPOJC Urbanized Area Policy Board
Wednesday, January 31st, 2018 – 4:30 PM
City of North Liberty – Council Chambers
1 Quail Creek Circle, North Liberty, IA
MEMBERS PRESENT: Coralville: Tom Gill
Iowa City: Susan Mims, Mazahir Salih, Pauline Taylor,
Rockne Cole, Kingsley Botchway
Johnson County: Lisa Green-Douglass, Mike Carberry
North Liberty: Terry Donahue
Tiffin: Steve Berner
University Heights: Louise From
University of Iowa: Jim Sayre
ICCSD: Lori Roetlin (non-voting)
STAFF PRESENT: Kent Ralston, Brad Neumann, Emily Bothell, Sarah Walz, Nate Bauer,
Kelly Brockway
OTHERS PRESENT: Cathy Cutler (DOT District 6), Jennifer Fencl (ECICOG), Jason Havel
(City of Iowa City)
1. CALL TO ORDER
Mims called the meeting to order at 4:30 PM.
a. Recognize alternates and welcome new board members
Ralston welcomed all new members of the Board, Mazahir Salih with Iowa City, Lisa
Green-Douglass with Johnson County, Lori Roetlin with ICCSD, Jim Sayre with the
University of Iowa, Chris Hoffman with North Liberty, and Megan Foster with Coralville.
b. Consider approval of meeting minutes
Motion to approve was made by Gill; Taylor seconded. The motion was unanimously
approved.
c. Set date of next meeting
The next meeting was set for Wednesday, March 28th, hosted by Coralville.
2. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA*
Ralston recognized Darian Nagle-Gamm for her service to the MPO and announced her
acceptance of the Director of Transportation Services position with the City of Iowa City.
3. ADMINISTRATION
a. Report from nominating committee for 2018 MPOJC Board officers
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Ralston stated that the Board nominated a three-person committee at their November
meeting to nominate a chair and vice chair. From, Carberry, and Donahue were on the
Committee and recommended appointing Berner as the Board chair, and Donahue as
vice-chair. The motion was unanimously approved.
b. Consider approval of the FY19 MPOJC Budget and financial forecast
Ralston stated that the MPO focus remains fulfilling federal and state requirements
necessary to receive state and federal funding, to produce local traffic studies, and grant
applications for all MPO communities. The overall budget for FY19 reflects a 12%
increase from FY18, primarily due to an increase in benefits, wages, and the 0.5 full-
time-equivalent that was approved at the November Board meeting. The assessments
are population based.
Motion to approve was made by Donahue; Mims seconded. The motion was
approved unanimously.
c. Consider approval of the FY19 Johnson County Assessments to the East Central Iowa
Council of Governments (ECICOG)
Ralston informed the Board that the MPO collects the ECICOG dues for Johnson County
and forwards them to ECICOG. Ralston stated that ECICOG assesses each county in
which they serve on a per-capita basis; the MPO then assesses each municipality within
Johnson County. ECICOG proposed a 2% rate increase for all counties it serves for
FY19. ECICOG is the regional planning affiliation.
Motion to approve was made by Gill; Carberry seconded. The motion was approved
unanimously.
d. Consider appointments of the ECICOG Board of Directors
Ralston stated that the entities responsible for appointments to the ECICOG Board of
Directors for 2018 include Iowa City, North Liberty, and Shueyville. The appointees from
each community include: Pauline Taylor from Iowa City, Terry Donahue from North
Liberty, and Mickey Coonfair from Shueyville (Council member Brent Foss as alternate).
Additionally, the citizen representative appointment position was advertised to replace
Aaron Moniza last month and 6 applications were received. The applicants included
Scott Kokotan, Jacob Heiden, Alan Wieskamp, Kirk Leifert, Randy Laubscher, and
Derrick Parker.
Donahue asked if any Board members had any personal recommendations. Berner
asked if there have been any interviews conducted with the individuals or if anyone knew
any applicants personally. Ralston stated that the one requirement is the representative
must reside in Johnson County. The MPO did not have a recommendation.
Mims recommended Randy Laubscher because the candidate had a background with
the environment, knowledge of area, career experience, watershed management, and
data analysis.
Motion to approve was made by Mims; seconded by From. The motion was approved
unanimously.
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e. Consider appointing an MPOJC representative to the Statewide Urban Design and
Specifications (SUDAS) Board of Directors
Ralston stated that the MPO appoints a representative to the SUDAS Board of Directors
on a bi-annual basis. SUDAS is an organization that maintains Iowa manuals for
specifications for public improvement projects. Scott Larson is the current representative
and is interested in serving another 2-year term.
Motion to approve Scott Larson was made by Mims; seconded by From. The motion
was approved unanimously.
f. Discuss MPOJC Orientation opportunity for Board members
Ralston stated that an orientation is available for current and new Boards members
interested in discussing the role of the MPO.
4. TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
a. Consideration of Federal Transit Administration Section 5307 Transit Operating Formula
funding apportionment for FY2018 and transit statistics for FY2017
Neumann stated the MPO has approximately $2.5 million available in FY18 FTA Section
5307 funding. The funding is slightly less than FY17 due to a decrease in federal
funding. Funds are apportioned between Iowa City Transit, Coralville Transit, and
University of Iowa Cambus. MPO apportions this money based on a formula with four
factors: operating cost, locally determined income, revenue miles, and fare revenue.
Neumann stated that the proposed FY18 apportionments and the FY17 performance
statistics for all three systems are attached to the memo.
The MPO is asking the Board to consider a change to the MPO’s definition of Locally
Determined Income (LDI). Neumann explained the original definition of LDI includes four
revenue sources, with the exclusion of Federal Transit Administration and State Transit
Assistance funding. The new definition would take the total operating funding and
subtract the federal and state funding. This will remove any accounting inconsistencies
between the three agencies.
The TTAC unanimously recommended approval for the apportionment and the change
to the LDI definition.
Motion to approve was made by Mims; Green-Douglass seconded. The motion was
approved unanimously.
b. Consideration of an amendment to the adopted FY18-21 MPOJC Transportation
Improvement Program – adopting State safety targets for the urbanized area.
Ralston stated that in November the Board had unanimously recommended adopting the
State’s safety targets to meet new Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
requirements for the adoption of safety performance measures. The new requirements
are part of the Highway Safety Improvement Program and require the MPO to either
support the State’s 2018 safety targets or set our own quantifiable targets for each of the
five required safety measures.
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Ralston informed the Board that to comply with the FHWA requirements, the Iowa DOT
is requiring new language be added to the adopted FY18-21 MPOJC TIP. The language
indicates that if there is a Highway Safety Improvement Program in the area; the MPO
would include the project in the annual TIP.
The TTAC unanimously recommended approval for the addition of this language to the
current TIP.
Motion to approve was made by From; Mims seconded. The motion was approved
unanimously.
c. Discussion of the potential for a ‘Federal-Aid-Swap’ in Iowa whereby State funding could
replace Federal funding for road/bridge projects
Ralston stated that House File 203 permits the Iowa DOT to participate in a ‘Federal-Aid-
Swap’. Road and bridge projects in the State of Iowa that previously received Federal
funding can be swapped with State funding. The intent of the ‘Federal-Aid-Swap’ is to
minimize federal requirements that can often delay projects and increase projects costs
for local governments. Ralston stated that the Iowa DOT would still require a competitive
grant process and project programming in the TIP.
Ralston informed the Board that the Iowa DOT has completed their stakeholder
consultation process and has released a draft of the policy. The DOT is seeking Iowa
Transportation Commission approval and implementation to begin in FY19. MPOs will
be assumed to be opting-in, unless they choose to opt-out. Each year the MPO will need
to choose whether to opt-in or out.
Ralston stated that this swap will only be applied to the Surface Transportation Block
Grant (STBG) funds which are typically allocated to road projects. The Transportation
Alternative Program (TAP) funds are not eligible for the swap. The TTAC unanimously
recommended approval to opt-in to the swap.
Carberry stated that federal contracts require Davis Bacon and prevailing wage, while
state contracts do not. Jason Havel, engineer with Iowa City, confirmed that Davis
Bacon and Buy America would not have the same requirements for local projects. Some
municipalities have considered following the federal requirement on their own, but
overall that requirement would not exist.
Berner asked if ICAAP was federal money and if the current roundabout project in the
City of Tiffin would be affected. Havel responded that any project receiving federal
money would keep the federal requirements. If a project is receiving both state and
federal funding, the federal requirements would still take precedence. Havel stated that
there are other projects besides the STGB that are eligible for the swap. If ICAAP was
one of those programs, there would be the possibility to swap that money.
Ralston informed the Board that the Iowa DOT will be reviewing the TIP and will let the
MPO know which projects are eligible for the swap. This information should be available
in May.
Green-Douglass noted the advantage of the time savings for potential projects which
would lead to overall cost savings. However, she expressed hesitation regarding the
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concept of the swap. Havel stated the Iowa DOT does benefit from the swap in regards
to efficiencies and in the reduction of oversight. The swap is intended to provide
efficiency benefits to both the DOT and local agencies.
Mims stated if there are a lot of small projects that have federal funding those projects
must have more oversight and detail. Now those smaller pots of funding could be moved
to a much bigger project, thus the smaller projects would not need as much oversight
and would increase efficiency.
Ralston stated that the swap policy is attached in the memo. Some benefits to opting -in
would include that with the state funding there would be no 20% local match
requirement, the MPO can still create their own policies for the swap, such as a required
local match. If there is DOT funding available, a TIP project can be front-loaded and in
turn shift projects to earlier years.
Havel confirmed that the swap would reduce oversight on future projects. An example
would be in regards to the environmental aspect. While environmental review would no
longer be required at the federal level, there are still state laws in place. Overall the
swap is designed to save small amounts of funding throughout the overall project.
Carberry stated that some of the efficiencies that come from the elimination of federal
and environmental review can also affect non-union labor and the Buy American
regulation.
Cole stated that a big concern with the swap was lowering of workers’ wages for the
projects.
Botchway asked if a decision regarding the policy needed to be made tonight. Ralston
clarified that a decision was not needed at this meeting, though a decision should be
made at the May meeting. There is time for further discussion at the March meeting.
Ralston suggested that before the next meeting Board members should discuss the
swap implications with their city engineer. In regards to Botchway’s statement, the MPO
could still require a 20% match if the Board chooses to opt-in. But in reality MPO
projects are typically only funded at 60%.
Ralston stated that moving funding forward would require the Board and the DOT to
prioritize projects. While this may have benefited projects like American Legion Road in
Iowa City, the Board can still request advanced construction funds through the DOT. If
the Board chooses to opt-out, the MPO could continue to request advanced construction
for some projects.
Berner asked Ralston how often the opt-in and opt-out process would be. Ralston
clarified that the process would be annually and around the May meeting. Berner stated
that the Board could choose to opt-out and work on local policy over the course of the
year.
Taylor asked if the State was looking to hear the Board’s concerns on the policy. Ralston
stated that there have been representatives in the local communities and city
departments, such as city administrators, engineers, and public works directors that
have been aware and have been receiving materials regarding the swap and may have
taken part in stakeholder meetings.
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Carberry motioned to defer discussion to the next meeting. Cole seconded.
Ralston stated that this item would be included on the March meeting agenda for
consideration. Ralston also stated that he would forward all information to city
administrators and the county chair. Ralston stated that that the MPO is automatically
opted-in, unless there is a vote to opt-out.
d. Update on the MPOJC FY19 Transportation Planning Work Program and FY19-22
Transportation Improvement Program
Neumann stated that both the Transportation Planning Work Program and the
Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) are both annual programs for the MPO. The
Transportation Planning Work Program is a document that identifies projects for the
following fiscal year. This is a coordinated effort between this Board, TTAC, and Iowa
DOT. The Annual Work Program items include all state and federally required planning
processes and documentation, ongoing and routine projects, and special projects
requested by member entities.
Neumann stated that the MPO will be requesting projects in February and will be
presenting a draft in March. The draft Work Program must be submitted to the Iowa
DOT, FHWA, and FTA by April 1st. Approval of the final Work Program will be in May.
Neumann stated the TIP is the annual programming document for all federally funded
transportation improvements within the Iowa City Urbanized Area. It includes all modes
of transportation. The TIP formalizes the specific projects to receive federal funding and
the year in which the project is programed.
Neumann reminded the Board that they will not be apportioning new STBG or TAP
projects this year. However, two STBG projects that were awarded funding in 2017 will
be included in the FY19-22 TIP. Those projects include North Liberty’s Hwy 965 project
and University Heights’ Melrose Ave project; both are programmed for FY22.
Neumann stated the Board will review the draft TIP in May and will adopt the final TIP in
July.
e. Discussion of a CRANDIC Passenger Rail Study
Neumann stated that in September, Phase II of the Iowa City-North Liberty Passenger
Rail Feasibility Study was presented to the Board. Phase II indicated the project would
cost between $30-40 million.
Neumann informed the Board that the Iowa DOT had conducted additional study in the I-
380/CRANDIC corridor looking at alternative transportation options, including passenger
rail and autonomous vehicles. The Iowa DOT concluded that the Iowa City to North
Liberty section for passenger rail was warranted for further study.
Neumann stated that Phase I, Phase II, and the Iowa DOT studies are complete, but the
MPO is seeking more direction for Phase III. The Iowa DOT developed ridership
estimates which will allow forecasting for revenue. Phase III would focus on a benefit-
cost analysis, financial plan, securing operating funding, operation oversight, and
proposed station stops. The Iowa DOT and CRANDIC have stated that they are willing
to cover a portion of the cost of the Phase III study.
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In addition, the MPO met with the City of Iowa City, the Iowa City Area Development
Group, the Iowa City/Coralville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Alliant Energy, and
the CRANDIC Railroad to discuss ways to preserve the rail corridor if local officials
determine not to move forward with passenger rail. The group supported completion of
the Phase III study and proposed a “rails-to-trails” option.
Neumann stated that this could become part of the Phase III study for passenger rail or it
could be done separately and would require additional funding.
Green-Douglass asked if the Iowa DOT decided to pursue the passenger rail, would the
“rails-to-trails” require new infrastructure. Neumann clarified that the infrastructure would
only support one option.
Neumann stated the Iowa DOT will not provide funding for any portion of the trail study
because they are using federal rail funding. The “rails-to-trails” scope of study includes
rail banking, rail abandonment and conversion processes, CRANDIC liability issues, trail
distance, and infrastructure costs.
Neumann asked the Board for future direction on the Phase III passenger rail study. The
trail portion is a newly purposed concept and the MPO is not looking for concurrence on
the trail portion.
Green-Douglass asked for clarification on the end destination for North Liberty and
whether the study included a location further into the city or if it stopped at the south city
boundary. Neumann stated that Phase II ended at Forevergreen Road to maximize cost
savings. However, the MPO can request the future study to include service into North
Liberty if desired. Green-Douglass asked if North Liberty was included the ridership
projections.
Neumann stated that he would request more information on the ridership model from
Iowa DOT. Donahue acknowledged that previous funding hesitations from North Liberty
included lack of available land for infrastructure investments, such as a parking lot or
station.
Carberry stated the Johnson County Board of Supervisors unanimously support
proceeding with Phase III. Carberry mentioned that while there is current trail
infrastructure from North Liberty to Iowa City, and it is too cost prohibitive to proceed
north to Cedar Rapids with rail service, there is not a direct bike path for commuting to
Cedar Rapids.
Gill stated that passenger rail service would be an asset to Coralville but would like to
investigate both rail and trail options. The corridor is a key connection between
Coralville, Iowa City, and North Liberty.
Cole stated the focus should remain on the rail component. Cole asked if this would be
the first light rail in Iowa. Neumann clarified that the only rail service in Iowa is Amtrak ’s
southern route. There is no light rail service in the state of Iowa.
Kim Casko, the President and CEO of the Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce
mentioned their support for the Phase III passenger rail study. The Chamber supports
transportation options within the community for three reasons: it increases equity
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amongst our communities, it provides sustainable alternatives to car travel, and it can be
a catalyst for economic and community development.
Green-Douglass expressed agreement with Cole on maintaining focus on rail for Phase
III. Mims clarified that Phase III’s focus would remain on rail, but the request was to
expand interest to include a trail alternative in case the study indicated the rail was not
feasible at this time. Mims stated that if it is determined that rail service would not be
feasible for 10-15 years, the trail study would provide another option in preserving the
corridor for future rail use. Mims acknowledge her support for Phase III rail study and the
expansion to include trail aspects if rail is not viable.
Ralston stated that there was enough support and interest to proceed with the Phase III
passenger rail study. The MPO will move forward with pursuing quotes from consultants
for both the rail and trail studies.
Donahue asked if the list presented in the memo would be the final scope of services.
Ralston clarified that this will be the minimal objectives to be included in the scope of
services, but the consultant will include what is needed.
Sayre stated that he would like to include cost per rider and cost of operation to the
Phase III rail study.
Ralston stated that the intent is for this study to be the last study regarding passenger
rail. The MPO will reach out to member entities regarding funding.
Neumann stated that the scope of service focuses more on the financial and operational
aspects, while the other two phases were focused on capital investment.
Cole asked which governing body will make the final decision on implementation of the
rail. Ralston answered that implementation of the rail will come from all the different
communities because of the individual financial components. The Board does not hold
power to enforce funding requirements for each community. All communities involved
will have to agree on funding and management.
5. Other Business
a. Report on the Severson Cup Charity Challenge; Award Severson Cup
Walz informed the Board the Severson Cup Charity Challenge total contributions were
up 12% overall this year and University Heights was the winner. Walz also called
attention to Coralville staff who had a 49% increase and attributed to over 50% of total
contributions this year.
6. Adjournment
Motion to approve was made by Botchway seconded by Donahue. The motion was
approved unanimously.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:58 PM.