HomeMy WebLinkAbout4.6.22 UAPB MinutesMINUTES APPROVED
MPOJC URBANIZED AREA POLICY BOARD
April 6, 2022
Johnson County Health and Human Services Building – 2nd Floor Conference Room
855 S. Dubuque St, Iowa City, IA
MEMBERS PRESENT: Coralville: Laurie Goodrich
Iowa City: John Thomas, Janice Weiner, Pauline Taylor,
Laura Bergus, Megan Alter, Kellie Fruehling
Johnson County: Rod Sullivan, Jon Green
North Liberty: Eric Sittig, Brian Wayson
University Heights: Louise From
University of Iowa: Erin Shane
Tiffin: Doug Boldt
STAFF PRESENT: Kent Ralston, Emily Bothell, Frank Waisath, Sarah Walz, Hannah Neel
1. CALL TO ORDER
John Thomas called the meeting to order at 4:30 PM. The meeting was held at the Johnson
County Health and Human Services Building in the 2nd floor conference room.
a. Recognize alternates
Kellie Fruehling was recognized as an alternate for Shawn Harmsen (Iowa City). Doug
Boldt was recognized as an alternate for Steve Burner (Tiffin). Eric Sittig was recognized
as an alternate for Chris Hoffman (North Liberty).
b. Consider approval of meeting minutes
Motion to approve January 26th, 2022 meeting minutes made by Sullivan, Weiner
seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
c. Set next Board meeting date, time and location
Thomas proposed a tentative date for May 25, 2022. Ralston concurred – location to be
determined.
2. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA
No recognitions were made.
3. ADMINISTRATION
a. Consider action regarding participation in the ‘Federal-Aid Swap’ whereby State funding
could replace Federal funding for local road/bridge projects
Ralston explained that in 2018, House File 203 was signed into law, permitting the Iowa
DOT Commission to allow for federal aid swaps. This means road and bridge projects that
would’ve been federally funded can instead use state funding in an attempt to minimize
federal regulation and streamline local projects to save money when possible.
Ralston stated that for the last four years the Transportation Technical Advisory Committee
(TTAC) has unanimously recommended participating in the swap, however the Urbanized
Area Policy Board has ultimately voted to opt out of the swap each year. Previous concerns
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noted by Board members included Davis-Bacon Wages, worker safety, and lack of data
supporting the benefits of the swap. Currently, MPOJC and the Bi-State Quad Cities MPO
are the only two MPOs in the state to opt out of the swap. Ralston added that, similar to
previous years, unless the MPO opts out of the swap, the Iowa Department of
Transportation (DOT) will assume the Board wishes to participate.
Ralston explained that because the first few large swap projects have now been completed,
the Iowa DOT is now able to quantify some of the savings. Ralston presented the fact sheet
the DOT provided about the swap, noting the 6 months, on average, saved in the project
development timeline and the $7.4 million saved annually by local agencies and the DOT
combined. Ralston also presented the Board past meeting minutes and the Iowa DOT’s
swap policy language for reference, then reminded the Board that only Surface
Transportation Block Grant (STBG) projects, and not Transportation Alternatives Program
(TAP) projects, are impacted by the swap. Ralston explained that the decision the
communities make will be used in the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), which is
due by the end of May.
Ralston also noted that the Iowa DOT has a committee meeting in two weeks to determine
whether or not MPOs will be able to use the swap at all in the future. So although the decision
is made by the Board for this year’s projects, ultimately the DOT will determine whether
funding is available to allow for the swap to continue. The DOT’s concern with the swap is
partially due to the large amount of federal infrastructure funding coming to the state of Iowa,
which will exceed the amount of state funds actually available for a swap by about $50
million. Ralston opened the floor to questions.
Bill Gearhart, a member of the public, resident of Johnson County, and former president of
the Iowa State Building and Construction Trades Council, spoke about the organization’s
concern with the swap. Gearhart expressed that the state uses this swap to save money at
the cost of workers by avoiding two federal laws: the Davis-Bacon Act, which requires a
certain wage on federal construction projects, and the Buy American Act, which requires
projects to use American-made materials when possible. Gearhart stated the scheme
removes an important safety net for workers for not very much cost savings. Gearhart
encouraged the Policy Board to opt out of the swap.
Taylor, who has in prior years voted to opt out of the swap, explained that the labor rights
concerns Gearhart brought up are a major factor in her opposition. Taylor quoted the DOT
fact sheet and explained that minimizing federal regulations seemed to have the intent of
bypassing the Davis-Bacon Act, which has been an important federal labor law protecting
livable wages for construction workers since 1931. Taylor thanked the DOT for collecting
cost savings data, but requested more data about wages paid on projects that use the swap
before she could support opting in.
Green advocated for opting out of the swap as well, citing interactions he’d had with road
construction laborers in the past about both wage benefits and safety benefits from a
workplace culture following federal regulations.
Motion to opt out of the federal aid swap was made by Taylor, Sullivan seconded. Goodrich,
Thomas, Weiner, Taylor, Bergus, Alter, Sullivan, Green, Sittig, Wayson, and Shane voted
in favor of opting out. Boldt and From voted in opposition. The motion carried.
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4. TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
a. Consider approval of the Locally Determined Projects list for the MPOJC FY2023
Transportation Planning Work Program
Ralston presented the list of Transportation Planning Work Program (TPWP) projects for
the upcoming fiscal year. The process is required by the Federal Highway Administration
(FHWA) and Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT), but also used by staff to collect data
and schedule work for the fiscal year. Ralston added that the list of projects only accounts
for about a quarter of the work staff does in any given year, and if other requests are
submitted throughout the year, staff can accommodate it most of the time, bringing larger
projects to the Board for approval as needed. Ralston explained that communities should
submit any updates or revisions they have for the TPWP, and the final version will be brought
back to the Board for approval in May. He added that the Transportation Technical Advisory
Committee unanimously recommended approval of the project list.
Motion for approval of the Locally Determined Projects list was made by Green, Bergus
seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
b. Consider a Resolution approving participation in the Iowa DOT pavement data collection
program
Bothell explained that pavement condition data has been collected and distributed by the
Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) every two years, but due to rising costs and
competing priorities, local route data will now be collected every four years with the option
for local jurisdictions and MPOs to opt-in to continue receiving data on a two-year cycle.
Local route data was last collected in 2021 and the next data collection year would be 2023.
Bothell added that the Transportation Technical Advisory Committee (TTAC) recommended
to opt-in to purchase pavement condition data as an MPO at their last meeting.
Bothell explained that if the Board decided to opt-in, Surface Transportation Block Grant
(STBG) program funding would be used to pay for data collection, which would cost
approximately $50,000 compared to the $7 million in STBG funding normally apportioned
over two years.
Ralston explained that pavement data provides communities context about the condition of
pavement, which can inform capital needs for following years of resurfacing, reconstruction,
or rehabilitation.
Bothell also noted that because STBG uses federal funding, which cannot be applied to
local routes, the funding for this program would need to be swapped. Ralston added that
the DOT would allow this swap because it does not cover construction costs, only data
collection. Bothell added that the DOT went through the request for proposals process and
selected a vendor for data collection for the next six years.
Motion to opt-in to the 2023 Iowa DOT pavement data collection program as an MPO was
made by From, Wayson seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
c. Update regarding the MPOJC FY 2023 Transit Program of Projects
Waisath presented the program of projects which the Federal Transit Agency requires to be
updated each fiscal year. These projects are eventually included in each transit agency’s
consolidated funding application and the MPO’s Transportation Improvement Program,
which will be considered for approval by the Board in the summer. Waisath added that not
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every project on the list is guaranteed funding, but they must be included to be eligible for
federal funding. Waisath explained that transit managers from all three systems were
contacted to determine desired buses, facilities, and projects for this list. Waisath added that
the program of projects does not need to be approved at this time.
d. Update on the MPOJC Long Range Transportation Plan revision process
Bothell presented on the Future Forward Connecting Communities 2050 final draft,
development timeline, public engagement efforts, plan highlights (trends, planned projects,
travel demand model outputs, and performance measures), and next steps for the plan.
Thomas asked if there were any trends in vehicle miles per capita, and Bothell answered
that number was going up, and more detailed information is included in the plan.
Sullivan asked if there has been any consistent feedback the staff has received throughout
the public engagement process, and Bothell answered that a lot of resident’s comment on
bike and pedestrian projects, but not many comments with a recurring theme. Ralston
agreed that bicycle and pedestrian groups have been vocal over the last few years. Ralston
also added that public comments have been positive about the organization and readability
of the plan, which is a reflection on the staff’s hard work to create visualizations of data that
are more easily understood than in written format. Ralston explained that more public
comment is expected to arise as project implementation actually starts, because a smaller
net of impact generally creates more thorough feedback.
Shane asked about what kinds of trips were included in the fifteen person trips per
household per day number, as it seems high. Bothell explained that socioeconomic data
about population, households, employment, current network efficiency, and people per
housing unit generates that number. Trips evaluated include trips from home to work, work
to home, and non-home based work trips to account for shopping, recreational activities,
and other activities. Bothell added that more details about trip generation are included in the
plan.
Ralston said that staff is available to give presentations or provide information to
communities, community organizations, and other groups as requested.
e. Update on local trail counts in the urbanized area
Walz presented trail count data and explained that the volumes include pedestrian and
cyclist counts for average annual daily traffic. She added that counts on more remote
sections of trail likely represent a higher proportion of cyclists than trails closer to
development. Walz also explained that the counts are short in duration, only one to two
weeks long, and factors like weather or closures can impact the counts. This makes trends
difficult to spot year-to-year, but easier to see over longer time periods, such as the decade
of trail counts the MPOJC has access to. More connections to trails and trail improvements
might also impact volumes.
Walz presented data on counts, noting that in 2020 and 2021 volumes were higher than
previous years in part due to the pandemic, with people working, attending school, and
exercising at home. Walz explained that winter counts have been collected since 2020. Walz
stated that volumes have dipped slightly since 2020/21 though winter volumes have stayed
roughly the same. Additionally, volumes increased near areas of new development such as
near Iowa River Landing, where a new trail connection near CRANDIC Park has opened,
and on Sycamore Greenway Trail, where neighborhood promotion of the trail has been high.
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Walz added that with more counters available now, long-term (two-to three-month) counts
will be conducted throughout the summer and in the future. The focus for data collection will
be on the Clear Creek Trail and Iowa River Corridor Trail. Additionally, Johnson County trail
counters will be used in coordination in order to collect data from the rural areas of these
regional trails. Walz emphasized this data collection will be useful for measuring bicycle
tourism. Walz added that local cycling groups have been very active in promoting Johnson
County as a bicycling destination. Communities/Board members may be interested in efforts
by BikeIowaCity.com to market metro events and trails to a wider audience. MPO staff is
happy to assist with special counts in locations of interest.
5. OTHER BUSINESS
Ralston explained that there was no formal item on the agenda for CRANDIC passenger rail,
which had been discussed at the last meeting. Ralston said he has had conversations with the
city managers of North Liberty, Coralville, and Iowa City, and is hoping to reach out to Johnson
County and the University of Iowa next. Ralston said there would likely be an agenda item
regarding the CRANDIC passenger rail at the next meeting.
6. ADJOURNMENT
Motion to adjourn was made by Green; Bergus seconded. Meeting adjourned by Thomas
at 5:21 PM.