HomeMy WebLinkAbout11.18.20 UAPB MinutesMINUTES APPROVED
MPOJC URBANIZED AREA POLICY BOARD
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2020 – 4:30 PM
ZOOM MEETING PLATFORM
MEMBERS PRESENT: Iowa City: Laura Bergus, Pauline Taylor
Johnson County: Pat Heiden, Lisa Green-Douglass
University Heights: Louise From
North Liberty: Terry Donahue, Chris Hoffman
Coralville: Laurie Goodrich
University of Iowa: Erin Shane
OTHERS PRESENT: None
STAFF PRESENT: Kent Ralston, Emily Bothell, Brad Neumann, Sarah Walz, Frank
Waisath, Alex Koberoski
1. CALL TO ORDER
Donahue called the remote meeting (pursuant to Iowa Code Section 21.8) to order at
4:34 PM.
a. Recognize alternates
None.
b. Consider approval of meeting minutes
From moved for approval, Heiden seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
2. PUBLIC DISUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA
None.
3. ADMINISTRATION
a. Consider approval of amendments to the adopted MPOJC Bylaws
Ralston provided a summary of the results of the Urbanized Area Board
recommendations that were established by the bylaws committee on June 29th, 2020
and approved by the Urbanized Area Policy Board at their previous meeting on
September 23rd, 2020. The recommendations were then reviewed by the Rural Policy
Board on November 4th, 2020, where they came to the following conclusions:
1. Recommendation: The Johnson County Board of Supervisors should appoint a
citizen representative to the ECICOG Board with no term limit. This position would no
longer be advertised by the MPO. Ralston explained that the Rural Policy Board
approved the motion by a 5-1 vote under the idea that using a strategic approach as
well as extending the term limit may result in more effective citizen representation.
2. Recommendation: Johnson County Board of Supervisors should have one
permanent representative on the ECICOG Board with the remaining two
appointments on rotation from the five urbanized area communities (Iowa City,
Coralville, North Liberty, Tiffin, and University Heights). Rural communities would no
longer be a part of this rotation. Ralston explained that the Rural Policy Board was
unanimously opposed to this recommendation, as the rural communities did not want
to relinquish their representation on the ECICOG Board.
3. Recommendation: Term limits for ECICOG Board appointees should be increased
from one to two years. If approved, rural communities would only get a chance to
represent once every 14 years rather than once every 7 years on the ECICOG Board.
Ralston explained this recommendation was also unanimously opposed, due to the
rural communities’ preference to continue ECICOG representation.
4. Recommendation: Review of amendments to the current MPOJC bylaws regarding
elimination of the Rural Policy Board. The Board was opposed to the previous
recommendations regarding representation, and the members felt that the Rural
Policy Board should continue to hold meetings to share information and discuss
pertinent issues. Furthermore, there was a concern as to the difficulty of
reestablishing the Rural Policy Board in the future.
Ralston proposed an alternative recommendation that would remove Iowa City from
its current biennial rotation and place them in the same rotation as Coralville, North
Liberty and Solon. This will increase the rotation for Iowa City from two-to-four years
and Coralville, North Liberty and Solon from three-to-four years. The rural
communities would remain in rotation, unchanged.
Hoffman asked for some context surrounding the recommendation of establishing a
Johnson County Supervisor for representation every year. Ralston replied that
through his discussions with Rod Sullivan and Karen Kurt (ECICOG Director), it was
brought to his attention that more permanent position on the ECICOG Board could
result in more effective representation.
Green-Douglass agreed that consistent representation was in the best interest of the
community.
Taylor admitted that it took her awhile to feel comfortable on the ECICOG Board, and
that she felt her term ended too soon.
Ralston indicated that draft bylaws reflected these changes and would be provided
30-days in advance of the January Board meetings where both the Urban and Rural
Boards would formally consider the amendments.
b. Confirm which entities will nominate Johnson County representatives to East Central
Iowa Council of Governments (ECICOG) Board of Directors
Ralston explained that under the MPOJC Bylaws, each January the Urbanized Area
Policy Board appoints three elected official representatives to serve on the ECICOG
Board, as well as one citizen representative.
One elected official seat is by the two largest entities (Johnson County and Iowa City),
which alternate every other year, with the current representative being from Iowa City.
The 2021 representative is scheduled to be designated by Johnson County.
The elected official seat for the third through the fifth largest entities alternates
annually. The City of Coralville sends the current representative, while the seat in
2019 was held by Solon. Therefore, the representative for 2021 will be designated by
the City of North Liberty.
The elected official seat for the remaining entities alternates annually. The current
seat is held by the City of Tiffin, and the 2021 representative will be designated by
the City of University Heights.
The citizen representative seat is currently held by Randy Laubscher who resides
within Johnson County. The citizen representative for 2021 will be designated by the
Johnson County Board of Supervisors, as this action was supported by the Urban
Policy Board on September 23rd, and approved by the Rural Policy Board on October
28th.
c. Appoint nominating committee for Calendar Year 2021 Urbanized Area Policy Board
officers
Ralston explained that in January the Urban Policy Board will vote on a Chairperson
and a Vice Chairperson for calendar year 2021. The Chairperson will be responsible
for presiding over all meetings, and the Vice Chairperson will assume the work duties
if the Chairperson is unavailable. The current Chair for Johnson County is Terry
Donahue (Mayor, North Liberty) and the Vice-Chair is John Thomas (Iowa City, City
Council). A three-person committee will be established for nominating the Chair and
Vice Chair for the 2021 Urbanized Area Policy Board.
Heiden, From, and Hoffman volunteered to participate in the nominating committee.
d. Preliminary discussion of FY22 MPOJC Budget
Ralston explained that staff is not proposing any changes or updates of MPO
services or operations for FY22. FY22 expenses are expected to be similar to those
in previous years, and there is an expected 3.6% increase in the total MPO budget
primarily due to increases in staff salaries and health benefit costs.
Ralston also mentioned that the MPO was expecting to use $230,000 of Iowa
Department of Transportation ‘Planning Funds’ in FY22 as was done in FY21. This
ensures that there is an appropriate balance of funds per DOT guidelines and
minimizes increases in assessments.
4. TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
a. Public Hearing and consideration of an amendment to the adopted FY2021-2024
MPOJC Transportation Improvement Program (TIP)
Neumann presented the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) amendment,
which was initially approved at the Urbanized Area Policy Board meeting on May
27, 2020. Unfortunately, due to the Department of Transportation’s new tracking
system, amendments do not carry over to the following fiscal year. In order to
remedy this, the MPO is to reapprove the project for the FY2021-2024 TIP.
Neumann explained that the project was requested by Iowa City, and involves the
Installation of a water main between IWV Road from Hebl Avenue to Highway 218,
and on Hebl Avenue from the Iowa City Landfill to IWV Road.
Hoffman moved for approval, Heiden seconded. The motion carried
unanimously.
b. Consider approval of safety targets and performance measures for the MPO as
required by the Federal Highway Administration
Ralston explained that as part of the Highway Safety improvement Program, the
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) now requires that MPO’s set targets for
five safety performance measures and report them to the State DOT by February
27th each year. MPO’s can either accept the targets set by the state or set their
own. This is also true for pavement and bridge infrastructure, and these consist of
system reliability performance measures, which must be reported to the State DOT
every two years.
In 2018, the MPO chose to accept the state’s established targets, and staff
recommends doing so again. Ralston explained there is no downside to adopting
the state’s safety measures, and there is no penalty for not reaching the targets.
Bergus moved for approval, Green-Douglass seconded. The motion carried
unanimously.
c. Consider approval of Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) and
Transportation Alternative Program (TAP) scoring criteria for funds allocated by
MPOJC
Bothell explained that during the September Urbanized Area Policy Board meeting,
the Board indicated support for including stormwater management practices under
the ‘Environment’ criteria. This revision was provided in advance of the Surface
Transportation Block Grant (STBG) and Transportation Alternative Program (TAP)
scoring criteria for review in order to prepare for the upcoming STBG and TAP
funding cycle. Staff has included three points for projects that involve stormwater
management practices. The Transportation Technical Advisory Committee
approved the criteria at their November 10th meeting.
Hoffman moved for approval, Taylor seconded. The motion carried
unanimously.
d. Consider approval of several elements of the MPOJC Long Range Transportation
Plan Revision
Bothell explained that the Urbanized Area Policy Board agreed with the overall
vision and guiding principals included in the Long Range Transportation Plan and
that staff revised the scoring criteria to include storm water management practices.
After the revision involving stormwater management practices, staff is requesting
that the Board review and approve the transportation vision, guiding principles, and
scoring criteria for projects included in the Long Range Transportation Plan.
a. Vision “To ensure the strategic use of public investments and policies for
the creation of a safe, efficient, and equitable transportation network that
enhances economic opportunity and growth while preserving our
environment and quality of life.”
b. Guiding Principles – “Economic Opportunity, Environment, Quality of Life,
System Preservation, Choice, Safety, Efficiency, Health, Equity.”
c. Scoring Criteria – Changes are reflected in the Agenda Packet
Goodrich moved to approve, Hoffman seconded. The motion passed
unanimously.
e. Discussion regarding the pending ‘Needs Assessment’ required for the MPOJC
Long Range Transportation Plan revision
MPO staff will be administering a needs assessment, asking MPO entities to
submit capital infrastructure needs (projects) to be considered for inclusion in the
2050 Long Range Transportation Plan. Once the projects are screened and
submitted, staff will host public input opportunities where the public will be invited
to comment on the submitted projects. Projects will then be scored by staff using
the Urbanized Area Policy Board approved criteria. The scores and public input
will be provided to the Transportation Technical Advisory Committee (TTAC) and
Policy Board, who will be responsible for ensuring the final project is fiscally
constrained using the MPO’s forecasted federal transportation infrastructure
budget for 2022-2050. The final project list will be included in the Long Range
Transportation Plan to be adopted in May of 2022.
f. Update on the Metro Trail Count Program
Walz presented the Metro Trail Count Program, weekly counts that are taken along
regional trails between May and October each year. The infrared device used does
not differentiate between bicycles and pedestrians, and multiple factors may affect
the counts, including weather, the month or week, trail or road closures, and
increased development near count locations. This makes it difficult to compare
year-to-year observations but is useful for studying trends over long periods of
time.
Staff noticed a marked increased in use of trails compared to previous years,
possibly due to the public preferring outdoor activities as opposed to indoor
(schools, gyms, recreation centers). Staff theorizes this may be attributed to the
Covid-19 pandemic.
5. OTHER BUSINESS
a. Discuss the ‘Severson Charity Challenge’ for this holiday season
Walz explained that every year MPO communities and staff donate to local
charities as part of the ‘Severson Charity Challenge,’ named after Linda Severson,
the MPO’s Human Services Coordinator who passed away in 2011. Previously,
each community has chosen a charity to raise money for, with most choosing local
food pantries. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, communities are facing difficulties
in coordinating ways to safely raise funds. MPO staff has proposed an alternative
solution, called the ‘Severson Trails-to-Table Challenge.’ MPO staff will walk, run,
or bike the over 100 miles of trails and side paths in Johnson County, with the goal
of raising money for local food banks. This is in conjunction with the Community
Foundation of Johnson County. The challenge’s goals are threefold: 1. Raise
money for much-needed food resources. 2. Encourage community members to
engage in outdoor activities that benefit physical and mental health. 3. Raise
awareness and take advantage of the extensive trail networks in Johnson County.
Walz added that staff will be posting weekly or biweekly walks, runs, and bikes on
social media, including links where community members can donate funds for the
food banks. MPO staff encourage staff, local officials, and the public to share these
posts and post their own experiences on trails to social media.
6. ADJOURNMENT
Motion to adjourn made by From, Taylor seconded. Meeting adjourned by Donahue at
5:25 PM.