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HomeMy WebLinkAbout5.19.20 TTAC MinutesMPOJC TRANSPORTATION TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE APPROVED TUESDAY, MAY 19, 2020 – 10:30 AM ZOOM MEETING PLATFORM MEMBERS PRESENT: Coralville: Kelly Hayworth, Dan Holderness, Vicky Robrock Iowa City: Jason Havel, Ron Knoche, Darian Nagle- Gamm, Mark Rummel, Scott Sovers Johnson County: Tom Brase, Greg Parker North Liberty: Ryan Rusnak Tiffin: None University Heights: None University of Iowa: Brian McClatchey RTBC: None Iowa DOT: Catherine Cutler ECICOG: None STAFF PRESENT: Kent Ralston, Emily Bothell, Brad Neumannn, Sarah Walz, Frank Waisath OTHERS PRESENT: None 1. CALL TO ORDER; RECOGNIZE ALTERNATES; CONSIDER APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES Neumann called the meeting to order at 10:30 AM. The meeting was held online through the Zoom meeting platform in accordance with Iowa Code Section 21.8 due to complications preventing in-person meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic. Neumann indicated that votes would be cast verbally, per the voting system for in-person meetings. There were no alternates present. McClatchey moved to approve the minutes from the January meeting, with Knocke seconding. The motion carried unanimously. 2. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA None. 3. CONSIDER A RECOMMENDATION TO THE URBANIZED AREA POLICY BOARD REGARDING PARTICIPATION IN THE ‘FEDERAL-AID-SWAP’ WHEREBY STATE FUNDING COULD REPLACE FEDERAL FUNDING FOR LOCAL ROAD/BRIDGE PROJECTS Ralston explained that Iowa House File 203 was passed into law in 2018, permitting the Iowa Transportation Commission to participate in the ‘Federal-Aid-Swap.’ The ‘Federal-Aid-Swap’ is the general process by which road and bridge projects normally funded through federal transportation funding can be instead swapped for state funding. In years past, this has streamlined the completion timeline of local infrastructure projects. Ralston indicated that the MPOJC TTAC has unanimously recommended opting-in to the ‘Federal-Aid-Swap’ for the past two years, while the MPOJC Urbanized Area Policy Board (UAPB) has voted to opt-out of the ‘Federal-Aid-Swap’ for the same two years. Central to the Board’s decision to opt-out were concerns surrounding Davis-Bacon Wages and worker safety, along with a lack of data pertaining to benefits of the swap. Currently, only two MPOs in the state – MPOJC and the Bi-State Regional Commission in the Quad Cities – have selected to opt-out. Ralston indicated that unless a planning agency expressed a desire to opt-out of the program, the Iowa DOT would assume participation in the ‘Federal-Aid-Swap’ by default. As many of the projects funded by the initial aid-swap years of 2018 and 2019 have not been completed statewide, comprehensive data surrounding possible cost savings for opting-in are not yet available. The ‘Federal-Aid-Swap’ would only affect Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) funding and would not affect Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) funding. McClatchey inquired about whether projects not protected by Davis-Bacon Wages could disclose in the project specifications that workers must be payed the prevailing wage. Ralston and Knoche explained that the competitive bidding process under current State Code prevents the formulation of compensation agreements akin to ensuring prevailing wages for workers. Knoche expressed that while there wasn’t enough data to support a definitive opt-in or opt- out scenario, he supported opting-in to the ‘Federal-Aid-Swap.’ Ralston shared that the Iowa DOT has estimated a six-month reduction in project timeline for those opting-in, based on current projects funded through the program. Knoche indicated that this saving in temporal span of projects also has the anticipated benefit of reducing both front- and back-end fiscal expenditures surrounding projects. McClatchey asked Knoche if a single year of opting-in to the ‘Federal-Aid-Swap’ would provide sufficient time to document the savings associated with the shortened project schedules. Knoche identified that whether or not cost and time savings could be documented would depend on the development timeline of a project and whether it was completed within either a single year of opting-in or continued opting-in for the project’s full timeline to ensure holistic and continuous project data. Knoche moved for a recommendation to the UAPB to opt-in to the ‘Federal-Aid-Swap,’ with Hayworth seconding. The motion carried unanimously. 4. CONSIDER A RECOMMENDATION TO THE URBANIZED AREA POLICY BOARD REGARDING ‘CORONAVIRUS AID, RELIEF, AND ECONOMIC SECURITY’ (CARES) ACT FUNDING ALLOCATIONS FOR LOCAL TRANSIT AGENCIES Neumann indicated that the CARES Act, signed into law in this past March, allocated $25 billion to Urbanized Areas currently receiving Section 53.07 funding – including the Iowa City Urbanized Area. The funding requires no local matching component and is used to support capital, operating, and other eligible expenses incurred after January 20th, 2020. Funds may be used to maintain transit services and personnel costs that may be otherwise affected due to decreased service. The Iowa DOT received just under $36 million of CARES Act funding, with just over $8.3 million allocated to the Iowa City Urbanized Area. Allocated funding will be apportioned between Iowa City Transit, Coralville Transit, and Cambus and will be subject to the same guidelines as Section 53.07 funds. Following discussion with managers of transit agencies, it was agreed that the same apportionment guidelines as used in the previous Section 53.07 funds approved for distribution in January would be used to apportion CARES funds. Neumann shared that funds may be distributed by the end of the current fiscal year, pending Federal Transit Agency (FTA) approval. Nagle-Gamm shared that Iowa City Transit is currently servicing 10-15% of normal ridership values and is operating with zero fares to encourage boarding from the back, and that the apportioned funds are beneficial for continuing service and rebuilding ridership moving forward. McClatchey identified the uncertainty of resuming ridership levels and shared that there will be an anticipated 25% decline in state transit assistance this coming year – compounding the importance of these apportioned funds. Rusnak inquired as to whether North Liberty would receive any apportioned funds through their contract with Coralville Transit to provide service to the community. Robrock indicated that Coralville Transit had not yet had an opportunity to explore the financial status of the contract pertaining to CARES Act funding. McClatchey provided clarification that the CARES Act funding provides reimbursements for operational expenses and is not a flat distribution of discretionary funds. However, operational expenditures normally covered by fare revenue is reimbursable through this framework. Ralston further indicated that the funding can be spread throughout the coming fiscal years and is not limited to the current fiscal cycle. Nagle-Gamm moved for approval of a recommendation to the UAPB regarding CARES Act funding allocations, with McClatchey seconding. The motion carried unanimously. 5. CONSIDER A RECOMMENDATION TO THE URBANIZED AREA POLICY BOARD REGARDING THE DRAFT MPOJC FY2021 TRANSPORTATION PLANNING WORK PROGRAM Ralston indicated that the Draft MPOJC FY2021 Transportation Planning Work Program includes all locally requested projects from member entities, as well as general projects and procedures required by the Iowa DOT, Federal Highway Administration, and Federal Transit Administration. Ralston further indicated that requests for additional projects would be yielded throughout FY2021 as time allows. Continuing projects are included in the Work Program but are excluded from the list of new projects at the end of the Work Program document. Holderness moved for approval of a recommendation to the UAPB regarding the Draft MPOJC FY2021 Transportation Planning Work Program, with Nagle-Gamm seconding. The motion carried unanimously. 6. CONSIDER A RECOMMENDATION TO THE URBANIZED AREA POLICY BOARD REGARDING AMENDMENTS TO THE ADOPTED FY2020-2023 MPOJC TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM (TIP) Neumann shared that both the City of Iowa City and the City of Coralville requested amendments to the current FY2020-2023 TIP, which was approved last July by the UAPB. Iowa City’s request is to update language surrounding the IWV Road Improvement Project, supporting the additional installation of a water main running between IWV Road and the Iowa City Landfill along Hebl Avenue. This project is programmed for FY2021 using STBG funding and is a joint project between the City of Iowa City and Johnson County. The language change is necessary to finalize the contract with the Iowa DOT. Coralville’s request is to update the language in the Iowa River Trail Project for the inclusion of trail lighting along the north side of the trail. The language change is also necessary to finalize the contract with the Iowa DOT. These amendments will allow the projects to accept the necessary funds and move forward with the anticipated project schedules. Havel indicated that the proposed water main along Hebl Avenue is intended to support fire protection at the Iowa City landfill. The current water line scheme does not support efficient fire protection, particularly as the landfill faces annual fire incidents due to materials disposed at the site. Knoche moved for approval of a recommendation to the UAPB regarding amendments to the adopted FY2020-2023 MPOJC TIP, with Holderness seconding. The motion carried unanimously. 7. CONSIDER A RECOMMENDATION TO THE URBANIZED AREA POLICY BOARD REGARDING APPROVAL OF DRAFT FY2021-2024 MPOJC TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM (TIP) PROJECTS Neumann shared that the TIP project list includes all federal and state projects for both road and transit projects. All projects programmed for FY2020 automatically carry over into FY2021, and any project currently under contract with the Iowa DOT will be removed. Two new projects are included in the draft FY2021-2024 TIP project list, including Iowa City’s Dodge Street Improvement Project ($3.7 million in STBG funds programmed for FY2024) and North Liberty’s North Liberty Trail Project ($648k in TAP funds programmed for FY2024). Numerous Iowa DOT projects surrounding the I-80/I-380 Interchange Project are also included along with North Liberty’s Highway 965 Improvement Project. An increase in cost of 4% will be adjusted to all projects carried over from FY2020, while funding programming is to remain the same. The transit portion of the TIP includes all operating funds apportioned during FY2021, including bus and equipment replacement. The City of Iowa City has requested electric buses to replace existing buses and the Iowa DOT will be providing updated cost forecasts in the future. The amended language for the IWV Road and Iowa River Trail projects will be included in the TIP project list, pending UAPB approval. Holderness indicated that updated cost estimates for the I-80/First Avenue Interchange project would be coming from the Iowa DOT District 6 office. Holderness moved for approval of a recommendation to the UAPB regarding approval of the draft FY2021-2024 MPOJC TIP project list, with Knoche seconding. The motion carried unanimously. 8. UPDATE ON THE MPOJC FY2021 TRANSIT PROGRAM OF PROJECTS Neumann enumerated that the Federal Transit Administration requires each agency receiving federal project funds to provide an annual updated program of projects. The program of projects is further incorporated into the consolidated transit funding application coordinated with the Iowa DOT, which includes an approval process separate from the MPOJC board structure. Iowa City’s program of projects includes additional funding requirements for the acquisition of electric buses, anticipated to be met through a mixture of grant and public funding sources. 9. UPDATE ON THE MPOJC LONG RANGE TRANSPORTATION PLAN REVISION PROCESS Bothell shared that the MPOJC Long Range Transportation Plan is designed to guide planning and funding for all modes of transportation spanning 28 years, between 2022 to 2050. Components of the plan include the MPO’s arterial streets plan as well as future forecasted street deficiencies. The plan is required every five years by the United States DOT as a component of the FAST Act to maintain eligibility for dispersal of federal transportation funds. Each iteration of the Long-Range Transportation Plan takes around two years for completion and staff will be soliciting input from member entities for transportation improvement projects to include in the plan. Ralston added that Phase One of the project concerns the identification of proposed transportation projects for modeling during later phases. The next iteration will likely be revisionary in nature as the previous MPOJC Long Range Transportation Plan was a significant update. 10. OTHER BUSINESS None. 11. ADJOURNMENT Knoche moved to adjourn, with Rusnak seconding. The motion carried unanimously. The meeting was adjourned by Neumann at 11:10 AM.