HomeMy WebLinkAbout1.27.21 UAPB MinutesMINUTES APPROVED
MPOJC URBANIZED AREA POLICY BOARD
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2021 - 4:30 PM
ZOOM MEETING PLATFORM
MEMBERS PRESENT: Iowa City: Laura Bergus, Pauline Taylor, John Thomas,
Janice Weiner
Johnson County: Rod Sullivan, Royceann Porter
University Heights: Louise From
North Liberty: Terry Donahue
Coralville: Laurie Goodrich, Meghann Foster
University of Iowa: Erin Shane
ICCSD: Ruthina Malone
STAFF PRESENT: Kent Ralston, Brad Neumann, Emily Bothell, Sarah Walz, Frank
Waisath
OTHERS PRESENT: Karen Kurt (ECICOG), Chris Taylor (Mayor of Swisher), and
Barbara Beaumont
1. CALL TO ORDER
Donahue called the remote meeting (pursuant to Iowa Code Section 21.8) to order at 4:30 PM.
a. Recognize alternates
None, but Ralston made note that Rod Sullivan and Royceann Porter will be rotating on the
Board replacing Lisa Green-Douglass and Pat Heiden for Johnson County.
b. Consider approval of meeting minutes
Motion to approve was made by Taylor, Sullivan seconded. The motion carried
unanimously.
c. Set next Board meeting date, time and location
The next meeting was tentatively set for Wednesday, March 31st.
2. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA
None
3. ADMINISTRATION
a. Report from nominating committee for 2021 MPOJC Board officers
i. Consider action
Ralston informed the group that in November the Board appointed a three-person nominating
committee for the Chair and Vice Chair. The committee was comprised of Louise From of
University Heights, Chris Hoffman of North Liberty, and Pat Heiden of the Johnson County
Board of Supervisors. Ralston explained that he reviews agendas and major work items with
the chair prior to each meeting, and the vice chair fills in for the chair when the chair is
unavailable. Terry Donahue, mayor of North Liberty, is the current chair. He has served one
1-year term, and there is a two-term limit for the position. The current vice chair is John
Thomas of the Iowa City City Council who has also served one 1-year term with a two-term
limit for the position.
Ralston asked for From to provide the recommendation of the nominating committee. From
reported that Hoffman, Heiden, and herself met and unanimously agreed that Donahue and
Thomas should be nominated for a second term in their respective positions.
Motion to approve was made by Sullivan, Taylor seconded. The motion carried
unanimously.
b. Consider approval of FY22 MPOJC Budget and financial forecast
Ralston informed the group of MPOJC functions and stated the overall budget reflects about
a 3.6% increase over last year’s budget. The increase is primarily due to increases in staff
wages and benefits. The budget also reflects the continued use of about $30,000 in internal
carryover funds and $230,000 in planning funds received from the Iowa Department of
Transportation.
Motion to approve was made by Thomas, Porter seconded. The motion carried
unanimously.
c. Consider approval of the FY22 Johnson County Assessments to the East Central Iowa
Council of Governments
Ralston stated that the MPO also collects dues for ECICOG. Dues are calculated on a per
capita basis for each county. The FY2022 ECICOG budget proposes a 2% increase for all
counties that it serves. Ralston briefly explained ECICOG functions and noted that the Director
of ECICOG, Karen Kurt, was present.
Kurt elaborated briefly on the ECICOG functions in Johnson County.
Motion to approve was made by Sullivan, From seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
d. Consider approval of amendments to the adopted MPOJC Bylaws
Ralston explained that the MPOJC Bylaws are to be reviewed a minimum of every five years
by a committee of five representatives, one of which needs to be from the Rural Area Policy
Board. Amendments must be approved by a two-thirds majority vote by the Urban Area Policy
Board and a simple majority vote by the Rural Area Policy Board. Ralston mailed the revised
amendments to the Board on December 17th to provide at least thirty days of review.
The revised bylaws reflect the Rural Area Policy Board’s desire to maintain rural community
representation on the ECICOG Board and provide the Johnson County Board of Supervisors
with the ability to appoint the citizen representative.
The revised bylaws also reflect the Urban Area Policy Board’s desire to provide the Johnson
County Board of Supervisors with an annual ECICOG appointment by revising the rotation of
appointments as discussed in the UAPB’s November 18th meeting.
Ralston also explained that the bulk of the changes were on page 8 of the document, and
both UAPB and RAPB must approve the revisions for them to be used going forward.
Motion to approve was made by Taylor, Porter seconded. The motion carried unanimously,
meeting the necessary two-thirds majority to approve amendments.
e. Consider appointments to the ECICOG Board of Directors
Ralston informed the group that MPO member communities are responsible for appointments
to the ECICOG Board of Directors. For calendar year 2021, Johnson County, North Liberty,
and University Heights are responsible for appointments. North Liberty was unable to fulfill
the appointment this year, so the opportunity was provided to the City of Solon, who accepted
the offer. Ralston clarified that the new amendments to the MPOJC Bylaws will not affect this
rotation, nor the citizen appointment that was already voted on by both Boards. Appointees
include Rod Sullivan from Johnson County, Louise From from University Heights, and Lauren
Whitehead from the City Council of the City of Solon.
Motion to approve was made by Weiner, Goodrich seconded. The motion carried
unanimously.
f. Discuss MPOJC Orientation opportunity for Board members
Ralston informed the group that there will be an orientation for Board members who wish to
become familiar with MPO activities. Scheduling will be determined by interested member
availability.
4. TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
a. Consider approval of Federal Transit Administration Section 5307 Transit Operating
Formula funding appointment for FY2021
Neumann stated that over $2.9 million in transit funding is available for FY2021. The funding
formula is based on four factors including operating cost, locally determined income, revenue
miles, and fare revenue. Neumann informed the group that data would normally come from
the prior year’s statistics, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic’s effect on transit service, it was
decided to use the FY20 multiplier and FY19 statistics. Once the apportionment amounts are
approved, MPOJC will inform the Federal Transit Administration and begin drafting the grant
applications for the three transit agencies. The Transportation Technical Advisory Committee
unanimously recommended approval of the apportionment amounts. Neumann noted that the
apportionment amount increased for each agency because of the slight increase in federal
funding.
Motion to approve was made by Sullivan, Thomas seconded. The motion carried
unanimously.
b. Consider approval of ‘Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act’
(CRRSAA) funding allocations for local transit agencies
Neumann explained that the Federal Transit Administration has provided over $14 billion
in additional funding as part of CRRSAA, a supplement to the CARES act received last
year. CRRSAA funds include over $1.5 million for the urbanized area. Like the CARES
act, CRRSAA is intended to cover payroll and operational needs for transit. After
discussing with transit managers, it was proposed to use the same multiplier that was
used in the CARES act last year. Once the apportionment is approved, the FTA will be
informed, and the grant application will be drafted.
The Transportation Technical Advisory Committee (TTAC) recommended approval of the
apportionments, with the University of Iowa abstaining from the vote.
Motion to approve was made by Taylor, From seconded.
The University of Iowa representative Erin Shane clarified that the University of Iowa was
happy to receive a portion of these funds as relief but believed that the distribution of these
funds is not in alignment with the impacts that Cambus has felt. Shane acknowledge that
the University of Iowa has agreed to the distribution of the funds based on formulas used
every year and understand that Cambus has a different funding mechanism than Coralville
and Iowa City, but specific to relief funds, the university’s impacts are just as significant.
Shane offered to explain more about how Cambus is funded and reiterated that the
inequities in fund distribution was why the University of Iowa abstained from voting at the
TTAC meeting.
The motion carried with one recorded opposition from Erin Shane.
c. Consider Resolution approving Federal Functional Class designations for urbanized area
roadways
Bothell explained that the MPO has been working with the Iowa Department of
Transportation to update the federal functional classification system map for the Iowa City
Urbanized Area. The functional classification system map is a hierarchy of five roadway
classes designating roads that are federal aid routes. Updates are typically done every
other year in conjunction with STBG and TAP funding cycle for roadways that are
functionally classified as collector or higher. In the fall local communities were solicited for
any roadways needing reclassification or roadways added to the system map, and 21.56
miles of amendments were received from Coralville and North Liberty. Following the
November TTAC meeting, amendments were sent to the Iowa DOT for preapproval, and
7.12 miles of roadway were approved, while 14.44 were denied. The MPO is looking for
approval of the 7.12 miles of amendments and authorization for the Board chair to sign
the related resolution.
Motion to approve was made by Thomas, Sullivan seconded. The motion carried
unanimously.
d. Update on the MPOJC FY22 Transportation Planning Work Program and FY22-25
Transportation Improvement Program
Neumann informed the group that the Transportation Planning Work Program is a document
that identifies major projects to be addressed in the following fiscal year, in this case FY22. It
includes all state and federally required planning processes and documentation for ongoing
and routine projects and special projects requested by the member entities. Solicitation will
start in February, and the draft work program must be submitted to the Iowa DOT, FHWA, and
FTA by April 1st.
The Transportation Improvement Program is a programming document for federally funded
transportation improvements for all modes of transportation within the Iowa City Urbanized
Area. This TIP will cover projects programmed in FY22 through FY25. The MPO will again be
awarding funding for the Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) and Transportation
Alternatives Program (TAP) with $7.5 million in STBG and $525,000 in TAP funds available.
STBG funding is higher this time because it includes $1.8 million returned by the City of North
Liberty from their Highway 965 Phase 2 project completed in 2014. The projects submitted
this spring will be programmed in FY25-26. The MPO will distribute STBG and TAP
applications on February 1st and will be due February 22nd for final approval by the Board in
July.
e. Update on Surface Transportation Block Grant & Transportation Alternatives Program
grant funding process
Ralston explained the STBG and TAP grant funding process, starting in the spring every other
year. The biennial process has historically reflected the desire of the Transportation Technical
Advisory Committee and the Urbanized Area Policy Board to allow two years of funding
allocated at once. Ralston repeated the available funding mentioned by Neumann for STBG
and TAP funding and offered to provide more information on the programming and funding
cycle.
Ralston stated that the members of the Transportation Technical Advisory Committee will be
receiving grant applications on February 1st. Communities will have three weeks to submit
applications, then Board approval will be necessary in March.
5. OTHER BUSINESS
a. Report on the MPOJC Trails-to-Tables Challenge
Walz informed the Board that member communities raised money and made donations to
community food banks as part of the annual Severson Charity Challenge. Difficulties imposed
by Covid-19 resulted in a modified Severson Charity Challenge this year, which started
December 1st. The Community Foundation of Johnson County helped to set up a fund to
accept donations, which will be divided between the Iowa City, Coralville, and North Liberty
food banks. Around $2,500 was raised for this fund. A secondary goal to encourage people
to continue utilizing metro area trails through the winter was identified, and MPO staff ran,
walked, and biked the 100 miles of paved trails and side paths in the area, produced thirteen
different route maps, and held six zoom sessions about the trails. Walz stated that maps and
recordings of zoom sessions are available on the MPOJC website, and the challenge will be
helpful to the development of the Long-Range Transportation Plan in coming months.
Ralston reiterated the MPO’s gratitude to the Board for their support of the project.
6. ADJOURNMENT
Motion to adjourn was made by Taylor; Sullivan seconded. Meeting adjourned by Donahue
at 5:07 PM.