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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11.13.19 UAPB MinutesMINUTES APPROVED MPOJC Urbanized Area Policy Board Wednesday, November 13, 2019 - 4:30 PM Johnson County Health and Human Services Building, 2nd Floor Conference Room 855 S. Dubuque St, Iowa City, IA MEMBERS PRESENT: Coralville: Tom Gill, Meghann Foster Iowa City: Mazahir Salih, Pauline Taylor, Bruce Teague, John Thomas, Eleanor Dilkes Johnson County: Pat Heiden North Liberty: Terry Donahue, Chris Hoffman Tiffin: Steve Berner University Heights: none University of Iowa: Erin Shane ICCSD: Ruthina Malone STAFF PRESENT: Kent Ralston, Brad Neumann, Emily Bothell, Sarah Walz, Frank Waisath OTHERS PRESENT: Greg Parker (Johnson County) 1. CALL TO ORDER Berner called the meeting to order at 4:30 PM. a. Recognize alternates Ruthina Malone was recognized as an alternate for Lori Roetlin of the Iowa City Community School District. Eleanor Dilkes was recognized as an alternate for Susan Mims (Iowa City). b. Consider approval of meeting minutes Motion to approve was made by Gill, Donahue seconded. The motion carried unanimously. c. Set next Board meeting date, time and location (January 29, tentatively hosted by Iowa City) The next meeting was tentatively set for Wednesday, January 29th, hosted by Iowa City. 2. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA Ralston thanked Lori Roetlin and Rockne Cole, two outgoing board members, for their service on the Board and presented certificates of appreciation. 3. ADMINISTRATION a. Appoint nominating committee for Calendar Year 2020 Urbanized Area Policy Board officers Ralston indicated that a three-person nominating committee is responsible for nominating the Urbanized Area Policy Board Chair and Vice-Chair. The current Chair and Vice-Chair, Steve Berner of Tiffin and Terry Donahue of North Liberty, have reached their two-year term limits. Ralston further expressed that it is preferred that the three members of the nomination committee represent different communities. Tom Gill, Mazahir Salih, and Erin Shane volunteered to serve on the nominating committee. Ralston indicated that there is no defined rotation of communities which serve as officers. The nominating committee will be contacted prior to the January 29th meeting for their recommendations. b. Confirm which entities will nominate Johnson County representatives to East Central Iowa Council of Governments (ECICOG) Board of Directors Ralston explained that each January, the MPOJC Urbanized Area Policy Board nominates three representatives to the ECICOG Board of Directors as well as one citizen representative. Appointments are made according to rotations identified in the MPOJC Bylaws. One seat represents the two largest entities in Johnson County and alternates every other year, with the 2020 seat scheduled to be filled by Iowa City. Another seat represents the third through fifth largest entities in Johnson County - currently occupied by Solon and scheduled to be filled by Coralville. A third elected official seat rotates between the remaining seven entities in Johnson County - currently held by Lone Tree and scheduled in 2020 to be represented by the City of Tiffin. The current citizen seat has been held for two years by Randy Laubscher. There is no term limit for this seat. Ralston indicated that he would reach out to each community scheduled to designate a representative at the January meeting. Taylor expressed that Laubscher is a prepared and effective representative and that an offer to continue his status on the Board should be extended. This was seconded by Donahue. Ralston also stated that Rod Sullivan (Johnson County Board of Supervisors) mentioned the year-long seat limits create an impediment to successful participation and familiarization with board processes and that it may be advantageous to amend the bylaws to extend term lengths. Ralston expressed, however, that such amendments would need to be approved by both the UAPB and the Rural Policy Board which meets once annually. This will be discussed at future Board meetings. c. Preliminary discussion of FY21 MPOJC Budget Ralston stated that MPOJC is under the administration of the City of Iowa City and follows budgeting procedures regarding salary and benefit schedules as established by the City. Capital expenses for FY21 are like past years and include expenses for equipment replacement and software upgrades. Changes in staffing levels were made a few years back and will be maintained. Ralston noted an anticipated increase of 6.5% in the MPOJC budget to a total of $740,000 - $745,000 for FY21, primarily reflecting increases in employee salaries and benefits. As in past years, approximately $230,000 in funding from the DOT will be used to supplement the budget. Internal carryover from previous fiscal years will further supplement the budget. 4. TRANSPORTATION PLANNING a. Consider action regarding safety target setting for the MPO as required by the Federal Highway Administration Ralston established that the Federal Highway Administration requires each MPO to set safety targets pertaining to five performance measures within the Highway Safety Improvement Program and report them to the Iowa DOT by February 27th of each year. For each measure, the Board will need to determine whether MPOJC is to follow the State’s targets or if independent targets should be established. Ralston indicated that staff recommends adoption of the State’s targets. However, the opportunity to establish local targets is still possible before the February submission deadline. The Transportation Technical Advisory Committee unanimously recommended adoption of the State’s targets in their meeting the previous week. Teague moved to adopt the State’s targets. Heiden seconded. The motion passed unanimously. b. Update on the Metro Area Bike Master Plan Walz indicated that the MPO is currently in the process of updating the Metro Area Bike Master Plan. Iowa City adopted their own Bike Master Plan in 2017, so this Metro plan will focus on the rest of the metro communities. North Liberty and Coralville have worked to establish paved trails and other bicycle facilities, and the update in the plan will focus on providing linkages between the MPO communities. Walz further expressed that the update to the plan will provide continuity guidelines regarding wayfinding signage, youth education, and general municipal regulations concerning bicycle traffic. Current infrastructure projects include a trail connection to Tiffin, which will complete trail linkages between all MPO communities. This connection will follow the completion of the I-80/I-380 interchange. Johnson County is currently completing trail connections north to Linn County, providing connections to the Cedar Valley Trail. These larger-scale trail corridors will provide the opportunity for bicycle tourism and increased recreational opportunities between communities. c. Update on the MPO Trail Count Program Walz explained that counts of trail users are completed annually based on a list of locations approved by the Regional Trails and Bicycling Committee. Counts are executed at key trail locations every two to three years, scheduled between May and October. Points are measured for week-long periods and observations are analyzed with consideration for weather conditions and surrounding road and trail closures. Walz indicated that there have been positive trends showing increased trail usage along key recreational corridors, including at the Terry Trueblood Recreation Area and along the North Dubuque Street Trail. Hoffman inquired about the accessibility of trail count data for community members and individual jurisdictions. Walz explained that trail count data is shared with the communities and respective staff members and that count locations are generated by representatives to the TTAC. Ralston further indicated that while UAPB members have not historically provided input into prospective count locations, there is nothing prohibiting them from suggesting locations for count scheduling. d. Update on the CRANDIC Phase III Passenger Rail Study Neumann explained that while Phase III was scheduled to be complete in December of 2018, there were issues surrounding the ridership models used by HDR Consulting which required approval from the Federal Transit Administration in Kansas City. An on-board survey will be performed over the coming weeks on bus routes serving the University of Iowa to obtain origin and destination information. The Cambus Research Park route and Coralville 10th Street, Lantern Park, and Express routes serve the same traffic market as the proposed passenger rail. Neumann noted that the study should be completed by February 2020. 5. OTHER BUSINESS a. Update from Johnson County staff on significant community projects Parker distributed the scheduling of construction projects for the coming fiscal years for Johnson County. Funding source, expected completion, and project title were all included in a spreadsheet shared with members of the Board. A map was distributed highlighting the corresponding locations of projects enumerated in the spreadsheet. Parker noted that the construction program has been approved by the Johnson County Board of Supervisors and will be amended this coming March to include upcoming construction projects. Parker identified the 120th St project as a carryover from last year due to weather issues delaying the construction process. The Herbert Hoover Highway Project has combined Phases 1 and 2 together to expedite construction, which is scheduled to be completed in the coming construction season. b. Discuss the ‘Severson Charity Challenge’ for this holiday season Walz introduced the Severson Charity Challenge, established in memory of Linda Severson. Ralston and Walz indicated that the MPO is happy to continue the challenge for as long as the Board is interested. All Board members were in favor of continuing the challenge. 6. ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn made by Heiden; Foster seconded. The motion was approved unanimously. Meeting adjourned by Berner at 5:23 PM.