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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1.21.20 TTAC MinutesMPOJC TRANSPORTATION TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE APPROVED TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2020 – 10:30 AM EMMA HARVAT HALL, IOWA CITY, CITY HALL MEMBERS PRESENT: Coralville: Dan Holderness, Vicky Robrock, Scott Larson (alternate) Iowa City: Simon Andrew, Jason Havel, Ron Knoche, Darian Nagle-Gamm, Mark Rummel Johnson County: Tom Brase, Greg Parker North Liberty: Ryan Rusnak Tiffin: Doug Boldt University Heights: Louise From University of Iowa: Brian McClatchey RTBC: None Iowa DOT: Catherine Cutler ECICOG: None STAFF PRESENT: Kent Ralston, Emily Bothell, Brad Neumann, Sarah Walz, Frank Waisath, Nate Bauer, Ian Klopfenstein OTHERS PRESENT: 1. CALL TO ORDER; RECOGNIZE ALTERNATES; CONSIDER APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES Neumann called the meeting to order at 10:31 AM. Scott Larson was recognized as an alternate for Kelly Hayworth (Coralville). Holderness moved to approve the meeting minutes, Knoche seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. 2. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA None. 3. CONSIDER A RECOMMENDATION TO THE MPOJC URBANIZED AREA POLICY BOARD REGARDING FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION SECTION 5307 TRANSIT OPERATING FORMULA FUNDING APPORTIONMENT FOR FY2020 AND TRANSIT STATISTICS FOR FY2019 Neumann indicated that the apportionment table reflects an approximate $300,000 increase in federal funding from FY19 to $2,856,872 for FY20. These funds are apportioned between Iowa City Transit, Coralville Transit, and CAMBUS using a board-approved formula considering the following factors: operating costs, locally-determined income, revenue miles, and fare revenues. The primary changes in formula output between fiscal years relates to increases in operating costs, and each transit agency has been apportioned a larger pool of funding for FY20 compared to FY19. The input numbers for determining the apportionment figures are approved by the Iowa Department of Transportation. Neumann further indicated that the money being apportioned has been granted by the Federal Government in FY19 – effectively completing the apportionment schedule using previous years’ funding. This serves the purpose of eliminating redundancies in funding applications in the case that Congressional apportionments are granted on a staggered schedule. Using funds from a completed FY cycle allows for the MPOJC apportionment process to operate using fully-available federal funds. Nagle-Gamm moved to recommend approval of the MPOJC Urbanized Area Policy Board (UAPB) the Section 5307 Transit Operating Formula Funding Apportionment for FY2020 and Transit Statistics for FY2019. Brase seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. 4. CONSIDER A RECOMMENDATION TO THE MPOJC URBANIZED AREA POLICY BOARD REGARDING APPOINTMENT OF A REPRESENTATIVE TO THE STATEWIDE URBAN DESIGN AND SPECIFICATIONS (SUDAS) BOARD OF DIRECTORS Ralston explained that the MPO is required to appoint a representative to the SUDAS Board of Directors biennially. Scott Larson of the City of Coralville has served as the MPOJC representative since 2005 and was recently elected as President of the SUDAS Board of Directors. Larson has indicated his willingness and desire to pursue another two-year term. Larson further fulfills the only requirement for the appointee, that they are a licensed engineer working for one of the MPO communities. Knoche moved to recommend to the MPOJC UAPB that Scott Larson be appointed as the representative to the SUDAS Board of Directors. Holderness seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. 5. DISCUSSION OF CHANGES TO THE IOWA DOT PAVEMENT DATA COLLECTION PROGRAM Bothell explained that the Iowa DOT has elected to change the funding of pavement management data collection to a four-year schedule. However, they will allow local agencies to ‘opt-in’ to purchase data on the current two-year cycle. A decision of ‘opt-in’ would require the expenditure of approximately $40,000 of Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) funding or local funding from MPO entities. If the MPOJC Urbanized Area Policy Board decides to ‘opt-out’ of the ‘Federal-Aid-Swap’, as done in previous years, the Iowa DOT will still allow the use of STBG funds for this purpose. Bothell indicated that no decision needs to be made until January 2023 and that the intent is to revisit this issue with the Committee at that time. 6. UPDATE ON THE MPOJC FY21 TRANSPORTATION PLANNING WORK PROGRAM & FY21-24 TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM SCHEDULES Neumann introduced the Transportation Planning Work Program, a document developed each year to identify projects which will be addressed by MPOJC in the coming fiscal year. The FY21 Work Program includes all the state- and federally-required planning processes, routine planning documents, as well as the ongoing and requested projects by member entities. MPOJC will begin soliciting for FY21 projects in February to prepare the draft Work Program for submission to the Iowa DOT, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) by April 1. The Urbanized Area Policy Board will approve the final Work Program in May. Neumann went on to introduce the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), the programming document for federally-funded transportation improvements within the Iowa City Urbanized Area across all modes of transportation. The TIP designates specific projects to receive funding as well as which fiscal year the funding is programmed. The Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) program and Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) funding were programed in the previous year according to their biennial schedule, so no apportionments will be made this year. $6.7 million in STBG funding and $1.45 million in TAP funding were programmed in the previous year. Two projects previously receiving allocations were scheduled for FY24 and will be included in the coming FY21-24 TIP - Iowa City’s Dodge Street Improvement Project ($3,750,000 in STBG funding) and North Liberty’s North Liberty Trail project ($648,118 in TAP funding). The Urbanized Area Policy Board will consider adopting the FY21-24 TIP at their July meeting. 7. UPDATE ON CRANDIC PASSENGER RAIL STUDY Neumann explained that the MPO has been waiting since December of 2018 for the completion of the Phase III Passenger Rail Study – focusing on ridership, revenue forecasts, financial strategies, benefits to the community, and conceptual station design. The delay has been caused by discrepancies between previously collected data and Federal Transit Administration requirements. HDR Consulting has completed a bus ridership survey which is a necessary data component for the ridership forecast and revenue models. Over 1,200 surveys have been administered along CAMBUS and Coralville Transit routes. The additional funding for the data collection came from the Iowa DOT and CRANDIC Railroad, incurring no additional cost to MPO member entities. 8. OTHER BUSINESS Bothell updated the Committee on the MPO’s role in the 2020 Census. The Iowa City Urbanized Area was invited to take part in the Participant Statistical Areas Program to review and clarify census tracts and block groups. This includes reviewing boundaries and verifying any proposed changes for enumeration units - used both for the Census as well as for the American Community Survey (ACS). The MPO’s traffic analysis zones are nested within these boundaries to allow for the use of the most current demographic information in traffic forecasting models. Bothell indicated that the MPO plans to reach out to the Census Bureau to clarify how this process will affect each constituent community. McClatchey indicated that the CAMBUS maintenance facility renovations have been completed. From expressed that the bidding process for University Heights’ Olive Court project has opened and that project will hopefully be scheduled for this coming spring. The project is scheduled to be completed before the new Courtyard by Marriott hotel which is slated to open on September 1st. Knoche announced that the Iowa City Streets Department has joined the rest of the Public Works Departments at their new facility on South Gilbert Street. The Burlington Street/Madison Street intersection project is set to commence soon, including the installation of additional bike lanes on both streets to connect to the path along Riverside Avenue. The department is also set to accept bids for the McCollister Boulevard extension as well as for the Prentiss Street bridge replacement. Larson indicated that Coralville has two upcoming road projects, including the East 9th Street project and the 7th Avenue reconstruction. The Iowa River Trail connection between Rocky Shore Road and Clear Creek is scheduled to be constructed this year as well. Cutler shared that travel time signs have been posted along the I-80 and I-380 corridors to provide timing updates as construction progresses. Nagle-Gamm announced that the transit agencies will be holding open houses to discuss the transit study in the coming weeks. The public is expected to provide input on three different transit system designs: a high-frequency scenario, a constant-interval scenario, and a scenario involving system-wide transit improvements. Rummel expressed that Iowa City Transit will be conducting its triennial review in May. 9. ADJOURNMENT Nagle-Gamm moved to adjourn, McClatchey seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. Meeting adjourned by Neumann at 11:00 AM.