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Policy Advisory Committee

Date:
Time:
Place:

Friday, July 14, 2017
10:00 AM

COG Sequoia Conference Room
2035 Tulare St., Suite 201, Fresno, CA



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The Fresno COG offices and restrooms are ADA accessible. Representatives or individuals with disabilities should contact Fresno COG at (559) 233-4148, at least 3 days in advance, to request auxillary aids and/or translation services necessary to participate in the public meeting / public hearing. If Fresno COG is unable to accommodate an auxiliary aid or translation request for a public hearing, after receiving proper notice, the hearing will be continued on a specified date when accommodations are available.

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POLICY ADVISORY COMMITTEE

The Policy Advisory Committee will consider all items on the agenda.  The meeting is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m.

PAC Agenda and Annotated Agenda in PDF format - ALL EXHIBITS ARE AVAILABLE ON WEBSITE

JOINT Transportation Technical Committee/Policy Advisory Committee

1.
Caltrans Report (CALTRANS) [INFORMATION]

I.TRANSPORTATION CONSENT ITEMS

About Consent Items

All items on the consent agenda are considered to be routine and non-controversial by COG staff and will be approved by one motion if no member of the Committee or public wishes to comment or ask questions.  If comment or discussion is desired by anyone, the item will be removed from the consent agenda and will be considered in the listed sequence with an opportunity for any member of the public to address the Committee concerning the item before action is taken.

A.
Executive Minutes of June 9, 2017 [APPROVE]
B.
Measure C Claims Fiscal Year 2017-18 (Les Beshears) [APPROVE]

Summary:  Measure C funds are available in Fiscal Year 2017-18 for programs administrated through Fresno COG.  In accordance with Transportation Authority procedures, Resolution 2017-22 adopts claims for ADA/Senior/Paratransit in the amount of $569,379, Farmworker Van Pools in the amount of $418,025, Car/Van Pools in the amount of $418,025 and Administrative/Planning in the amount of $360,367 for funds totaling $1,765,796.

Action:  Staff recommends adoption of Resolution 2017-22 approving Measure C Claims for ADA/Seniors/Paratransit, Farmworker Van Pools, Car/Van Pools and Administrative/Planning.

C.
Measure C Citizen Oversight Committee Appointments (Brenda Veenendaal) [INFORMATION]

Summary: The Fresno Council of Governments Policy Board, acting as the County Mayors’ Select Committee and the Chair of the Fresno County Board of Supervisors, will be asked to appoint five new or returning members to the Measure C Citizen Oversight Committee (COC). The purpose of the Citizen Oversight Committee is to inform the public and to ensure that the Measure C funding program revenues and expenditures are spent as promised.

The Measure C Expenditure Plan states that the COC shall be composed of thirteen members, including six at-large public members who respectively reside in each one of the five Fresno County Supervisorial Districts and seven members who must be representatives drawn from a diverse mix of interested community organizations. Members of the COC must meet certain eligibility and residency criteria as noted in the Measure C Extension Expenditure Plan - Appendix G – Citizen Oversight Committee.  Appendix G also states the Committee’s duties and responsibilities. It is attached for your review as part of the application packet.

The following committee vacancies were advertised via email by Fresno COG and FCTA staff, on the Measure C and Fresno COG websites, and on the Measure C and Fresno COG Facebook pages. Applications were due to Fresno COG by Thursday, July 20, 2017:

There are currently five vacancies on the committee for 4-year terms to begin July 1, 2017:

  • Three positions for Community Organization Representatives (Organization/agency must provide applicant with a letter of recommendation.)
  • One for the unincorporated rural area west of State Route 99 (Supervisorial District 1)
  • One for the Fresno-Clovis Metropolitan Area (Supervisorial District 3)

Action: Information only. Direction may be provided at the discretion of the committee.

D.
Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) Technical Assistance Program (Meg Prince/Trai Her-Cole) [INFORMATION]

Summary: This program is administered by the Strategic Growth Council (SGC), and implemented by both the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and Natural Resources Agency. The Strategic Growth Council's Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) Program provides grants and affordable housing loans for compact transit-oriented development and related infrastructure and programs that reduce greenhouse gas ("GHG") emissions. These projects increase the accessibility of housing, employment centers, and key destinations via low-carbon transportation options (walking, biking, transit) resulting in fewer vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and mode shift.

On May 15, 2017, the SGC released a Request for Proposals for the 2016-17 AHSC Technical Assistance Program, aimed at delivering application support to applicants. San Joaquin COG (SJCOG), in partnership with and on behalf of the eight San Joaquin Valley Metropolitan Planning Organizations, submitted a joint application to provide assistance to applicants who submit projects within the Valley. On June 9, 2017, the SGC announced that the application was successful, and that they intend to provide one of the three selected awards to SJCOG. Additional details on the program will be made available following official approval of the award, scheduled for July 2017.

The 2016-2017 Final Draft AHSC Program Guidelines incorporate feedback obtained through public comments and workshops held in April 2017 on the initial draft guidelines, which were released on March 8, 2017. These Final Draft 2016-2017 AHSC Program Guidelines will be considered for adoption at the July 17, 2017 Strategic Growth Council meeting.

The Program Guidelines Final Draft and Quantification Methodology can be downloaded here: http://www.sgc.ca.gov/Grant-Programs/AHSC-Guidelines.html

The release of a 2016-2017 AHSC Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) and application are expected to occur on October 2, 2017.

If you plan to submit an application for the Affordable Housing Sustainable Communities Program, please contact Meg Prince at mprince@fresnocog.org or 559-233-4148 Ext. 203.

Action: Information only. Direction may be provided at the discretion of the committee. 

E.
Release of Fiscal Year 2017-2018 Infrastructure for Rebuilding America Grant Program - Formerly FASTLANE (Trai Her-Cole) [INFORMATION]

Summary: On June 29, 2017 the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) released a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2017-2018 Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) Grant Program. The new INFRA Grant Program will revise and build upon the pre-existing Fostering Advancements in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-term Achievement of National Efficiencies (FASTLANE) Grant Program, which was established under the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act (Pub. L. No. 114-94) of 2015. The application period will remain open for 120 days.

DOT has updated its project evaluation criteria to better align them with the new administration’s national and regional economic vitality goals and to leverage more non-federal funding.

Approximately $1.5 billion in FY 2017-2018 funding is available under this NOFO. DOT will award INFRA grants of at least $25 million for large projects and INFRA grants of at least $5 million under the small project category. DOT will set aside 10 percent of the total available INFRA funds for small projects each fiscal year. Additionally, DOT will preserve the statutory requirement to award at least 25 percent of total program funding for rural projects as outlined in the FAST Act.

Although eligible project costs, project types, cost share, project sizes and other requirements defined in the statutory requirements outlined in the FAST Act have not changed, the administration will seek out proposals that better align with new project evaluation criteria and principles that are outlined in the memo attached for your review.

For prior applicants, DOT will not select large projects from the existing FY 2017 pool of applications that were submitted during the final months of the Obama administration. Those applicants may resubmit their previous FY 2017 FASTLANE application for consideration for the combined FY 2017-2018 federal funding available under this NOFO; however, the next submission must address how the proposed large project will address the new grant evaluation criteria. DOT will move forward with small project selections from the existing pool of FY 2017 applications.

Refer to the DOT website below to see the Full NOFO, INFRA vs. FASTLANE Fact Sheet, Build America Fact Sheet, Instructions for Repeat Applications, and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

https://www.transportation.gov/buildamerica/infragrants

Action: Information only. Direction may be provided at the direction of the Committee.

F.
Upcoming Meeting of Fresno COG Programing Subcommittee to discuss Fiscal Year 2017-18 Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality/Surface Transportation Block Grant Program (RSTP) (Jennifer Soliz/Lauren Dawson) [INFORMATION]

Summary:  Fresno COG is beginning the fiscal year 2017-18 Call-for-Projects process for the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ) and the Surface Transportation Block Grant Program (STBG), formerly known as the Regional Surface Transportation Program (RSTP).  With this in mind, the Programming Subcommittee will convene on July 19, 2017 at Fresno COG in the Sequoia Conference room from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. to meet with COG staff to discuss possible updates and/or changes to the call-for-projects procedures and criteria.  The Programming Subcommittee is comprised of city and county planning, public works and engineering staff.  The Call-for-Projects' initiation is anticipated in September 2017.

Background:  The U.S. Congress is responsible for adopting a federal surface transportation act — Congress’ authorization to spend tax dollars on highways, streets, roads, transit and other transportation related projects. The current Act, Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act continues the authorization of the Surface Transportation Program by converting it to the STBG Program and continuing the CMAQ Program.  FAST Act gives the State Department of Transportation the flexibility to administer these funds.  Caltrans assigns a significant portion of these two programs to regional planning agencies, such as Fresno COG, to be used at their own discretion, subject to federal regulations.  Fresno COG further develops and administers its own funding criteria using STBG and CMAQ funds in an effort to address some of the Fresno County region’s transportation needs in accordance with the Regional Transportation Plan.

Reminder:  All projects that will be applying for STBG and/or CMAQ funds need to be entered as a 2018 RTP project into Fresnotrak by July 28, 2017.

If you have any questions regarding the CMAQ Call-for-Projects please contact Lauren Dawson at 559-233-4148 ext. 217 or ldawson@fresnocog.org.  For questions on the STBG Call-for-Projects please contact Jen Soliz at 559-233-4148 ext. 223 or jsoliz@fresnocog.org.

Action: Informational only.  Direction may be provided at the discretion of the Committee.

G.
2018 Regional Transportation Plan Action Element Chapter Development (Lauren Dawson/Jennifer Soliz) [INFORMATION]

Summary: The development of the Draft Action Element for the 2018 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) was presented to the RTP and Sustainable Communities Strategy Roundtable Committee as an information item on June 28, 2017.

The Action Element describes the programs and actions necessary to implement the RTP, and assigns implementation responsibilities.  The Draft will describe transportation projects that are anticipated to be completed during the RTP plan’s horizon (2042) and will consider congestion management activities within the region.  All transportation modes (highways, local streets and roads, mass transportation, rail, bicycle, aviation facilities and services) are addressed. The Draft Action Element provides direction about the roles and responsibilities of the MPO and other agencies as RTP projects and policies are established.

Each mode section has a team leader who is beginning to draft the text for each section. The sections are divided into the following categories; Multimodal; Highways, Streets, and Roads; Urban Mass Transportation; Rural Area Public Transportation & Social Service Transportation; Aviation; Non-Motorized; Rail; Specific Transportation Strategies and Management Systems and Air Quality.

Each mode or transportation strategy will be presented in a separate section and will include a discussion of the existing system, an assessment of needs, and proposed actions. The latter will be divided into short-range (0-4 years) and long-range (5-26 years) actions. Proposed actions will be based upon projected travel demand and appropriate policy. The short-range measures will then form the basis for the Regional Transportation Improvement Program (state funding) and the Federal Transportation Improvement Program (federal funding).

Tentative timeline for the development of the Draft Action Element:

  • June 2017 through mid-August 2017 write text for Action Element sections.
  • 9/27/2017 Draft Action Element to 2018 RTP Roundtable for review/comment.
  • 12/8/2017 All Draft documents completed for internal administrative draft version of the 2018 RTP.

The basic format of the draft Action Element will follow the 2014 RTP which can be accessed here:

http://www.fresnocog.org/sites/default/files/publications/RTP/Final_RTP/2014_RTP_Chapter_Five_Final_.pdf

The members of the Roundtable commented on the need to see the administrative draft. Staff explained it was to provide all documents to consultant working on the Environmental Impact Report, in time for that work to be completed by February 2018.  The Roundtable members also requested that they be allowed to review and comment on the Action Element Chapter in October and November.

Action: Informational only. Direction may be provided at the discretion of the committee.

H.
End of Federal Fiscal Year E-76 and Federal Transit Administration Transfer Deadlines and Obligational Authority Updates (Jennifer Soliz) [INFORMATION/DIRECTION]

Summary:  The 2016-17 Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) ends on September 30, 2017.  All funds programmed in FFY 2016-17 in the 2017 FTIP should be obligated prior to October 1, 2017.  This requires that requests for authorizations be submitted to Caltrans Local Assistance no later than Friday, July 28, 2017 in order to allow them time to process and submit to Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).  District staff will continue to work on requests submitted after this date on a first-come first-served basis, but authorization approval before October 1, 2017 will no longer be guaranteed.

Federal Transit Administration (FTA) transfer requests must be submitted to Caltrans Local Assistance by Friday, July 14, 2017.  If your agency cannot submit the FTA transfer requests to the district office by the deadline please contact your Local Assistance Engineer directly. 

As previously reported at the April and June 2017 Committee meetings, the overall total Obligational Authority (OA) Target for CMAQ and RSTP federal funding sources in FFY 2016-17 is $21,964,855.  As of May 31, 2017, $4,760,874 of CMAQ and RSTP has been obligated, which reduces our 2016/17 OA target balance to $17,203,981.  This indicates that we have only met 21.7% of our estimated OA target for this FFY.  Our region should deliver the complete $21,964,855 of OA to comply with the “Use It or Lose It” provisions of AB 1012 enacted in October 1999 and to avoid having some of our OA redistributed to other regions to advance their projects.

It is imperative that projects programmed within FFY 2016-17 get obligated within the programmed year to avoid reprogramming of those funds.  Also, agencies with projects scheduled in later years can take advantage of the Expedited Project Selection Procedures (EPSP) to deliver their projects early.  Obligating funds programmed in later years can help our region get closer to our target.  If our region was able to deliver more than our OA Target we might be eligible to capture any available funds during the statewide open obligation period.  Keep in mind that the use of toll credits may be applicable for project phases that have not been obligated at 100% federal reimbursement if residual federal funds are available.  Furthermore, if funds need to be reprogrammed and financial capacity is not available, it is possible that projects can become substantially delayed if moved to the outer years of the FTIP.  Fresno COG will continue working with each of our member agencies to ensure that projects planned for obligation in 2016-17 are obligated on time.

If you have any questions regarding the FFY deadlines or process of obligating project funds, please contact Jennifer Soliz at 559-233-4148 ext. 223 or your District 6 Local Assistance Engineer.

Action: Information only.  Direction may be provided at the discretion of the Committee.

II.TRANSPORTATION ACTION/DISCUSSION ITEMS

A.
Class IV Separated Bikeways/Cycletracks Feasibility Study - Presentation on Final Draft (Peggy Arnest) [ACCEPT]

Summary: The Separated Bikeways Feasibility Study evaluated potential Class IV separated bikeway routes on corridors strategic to developing a comfortable and connected active transportation network in the Fresno-Clovis Metro area.     

Separated bikeways are bicycle facilities that include a vertical physical barrier, such as flexible bollards, a curb, on-street parking or planter boxes between the bikeway and moving traffic.  Separated bikeways can improve safety by reducing conflicts between people biking and driving and they appeal to less confident or experienced bicyclists because of the protection they offer from moving vehicles.  Separated bikeways have the potential to improve the transportation network and the health of the community in Fresno County. When well designed and integrated into an active transportation network, separated bikeways can also help the region meet goals and performance measures in adopted local and regional planning documents by promoting the use of bicycles for transportation.

The Separated Bikeways Feasibility Study presents a review of design guidance and implementation needs, evaluates existing corridors in the Fresno-Clovis area and identifies key locations where separated bikeways will likely provide the greatest benefit or return on investment.  To do this, the project compared area demographics to activity generators, the existing bicycle network, and bicycle related collision maps to provide the foundation for developing the evaluation criteria that was used to assess the feasibility and priority of separated bikeways in the Fresno-Clovis Metro area. 

Action: Staff recommends that TTC and PAC accept the Separated Bikeways Feasibility Study final report.

B.
Regional Active Transportation Plan Status Report (Peggy Arnest) [INFORMATION]

Summary: The Fresno County Regional Active Transportation Plan (ATP) will be a comprehensive guide that creates a vision for a network of shared-use paths, bike lanes, sidewalks and other elements to support safe walking and bicycling in each city in Fresno County.  The ATP will develop project recommendations for the 11 cities and the county and incorporate project recommendations from the four cities that have already developed or will soon complete their own ATPs.  The plan will meet all requirements set forth by the California Transportation Commission and fulfill a key requirement for applying for Active Transportation Programs funds. The projects developed in this plan will also be incorporated into the Fresno COG Regional Transportation Plan currently being developed.

Activities-to-Date

On May 2, 2017 a kickoff meeting was held at Fresno COG. Staff and the public from all jurisdictions participating were invited.  Discussion included: the schedule for the project, data needs from each jurisdiction, the scope of work and opportunities for providing input into the plan.

During the month of May consultant staff collected data on existing and planned bicycle and pedestrian facilities and background information relating to the project. The data was shared with each jurisdiction in an online map so that local feedback could be provided.

From June 1-9 FCOG and consultant staff visited each of the 12 Fresno County jurisdictions which have not developed their own ATPs. In each jurisdiction, FCOG and consultants met with local staff and the public, reviewed maps of existing and planned bicycle and pedestrian facilities, received recommendations for improvements to local facilities, and discussed open data needs. The consultants also conducted field visits in each city to understand local conditions first-hand.

In parallel with these meetings, a web page http://www.fresnocog.org/atp was established on the FCOG website with information about the project. This website includes a link to an interactive web-based mapping survey (in both English and Spanish) http://gis.fehrandpeers.com/FresnoRegATP/  where the public can provide comments about local biking and walking conditions and recommend improvements to local walking and bicycling facilities.

The consultant team is now reviewing all input received in the local ATP meetings, the online maps and the local RTP meetings to develop a draft project list that will improve conditions for bicycling and walking in each jurisdiction. The list will identify short-term priorities, such as projects that will fit within the existing right-of-way or require relatively simple infrastructure changes or serve high demand areas; and long-term priorities, such as projects that require land acquisition or more complex infrastructure development or serve low demand areas.

Next Steps 

The consultant team will coordinate a conference call with each of the 11 small cities to review updated maps and recommended bicycle and pedestrian improvement projects.  Additionally, on August 2, 2017 FCOG will host an open house from 4:00 -6:00 p.m. for local jurisdiction staff and the public to review the recommended bicycle and pedestrian improvement projects and updated maps. The meeting will be held in an open house format, displaying maps for each city and the county depicting recommended projects. All attendees will be invited to submit their comments.

Local jurisdiction staff will be provided with updated project maps so they may gather additional public input from August 3 - 8, 2017.  They are encouraged to schedule public meetings and begin publicizing them now in preparation to receive the updated maps.  Neither consultant nor FCOG staff will be present at these local agency public meetings.  After August 8th each local agency will be asked to send the edited/marked-up maps and any other written agency or public comments to the consultant for review and incorporation into the plan.

Plan Development and Approval

After feedback on the draft recommendations are received, consultant staff will update the recommendations and incorporate them into a full draft Active Transportation Plan. The draft plan will be released for comment in mid-September, with comments due back by the end of the month.  A final plan incorporating these comments will be released in mid-October for approval by city councils and the Board of Supervisors by the end of the year.  FCOG approvals will be completed in January 2018.

Action: Information only. Direction may be provided at the discretion of the Committee.  

C.
Measure C Expenditure Plan Pedestrian/Trails Facilities Program Amendment #2A - Resolution 2017-24 (Les Beshears) [APPROVE]

Summary:  In 2015 the Fresno COG and Fresno County Transportation Authority (FCTA) adopted resolution 2015-05 amending language in the Measure C Expenditure Plan to include additional provisions to allow eligibility for limited maintenance on new trail projects funded, in whole or in part, with non-Measure C trail funds.

The amended provisions initially went into effect for a one-year trial period.  At the end of the one-year trial period the FCTA was to perform a public review of the effectiveness of the policy and determine whether or not to continue the program.  However, the FCTA lost their Executive Director and the program expired after the first year with no action by the FCTA Board.  At the June 2017 FCTA Board meeting the FCTA requested the Executive Director coordinate with Fresno COG to consider extending this program and making it permanent.  An amendment to the Expenditure Plan requires joint approval by Fresno COG and the FCTA.  The action before you is to readopt the provisions of Amendment #2 retroactive to February 25, 2015 with the one-year trial period and expiration date removed; otherwise the amended provisions are unchanged.

The amended provisions provides that if a local agency builds a new trail or a new extension of an existing trail using non-Measure C trail funds, the local agency will qualify to use Measure C trail funds for ongoing maintenance of up to 20% within maximums of the cost of the non-Measure C trail funds used to construct the project and subject to certain provisions spelled out in the resolution.

This concept was thoroughly and publicly vetted through the Fresno COG process, the Measure C Citizens Oversight Committee and the FCTA Board when Amendment #2 was originally approved.  To be approved, the amendment must obtain a majority vote of the Fresno COG Policy Board and FCTA Board.

Action:  Staff recommends the TTC and PAC approve Resolution 2017-24, amending the Measure C Expenditure Plan, Pedestrian/Trails Facilities Program to include additional provisions to reinstate Amendment #2, per procedures provided in the Measure C enabling legislation and adopted by the Fresno Council of Governments and Fresno County Transportation Authority.

D.
Measure C Expenditure Plan Earmarks for Bicycle Facilities Program Amendment 4 - Resolution 2017-25 (Les Beshears) [APPROVE]

Summary:  The Measure C Bicycle Facilities Earmark Program allows funding to be used to retrofit bicycle lanes that existed as of January 2007 or the adoption of the Master Plan.  A recent study of bicycle mobility, done by the Fresno COG recommends a list of projects that include Class II, Class III and Class IV type facilities.  The City of Fresno and local bicycle advocates have requested Fresno COG and the Fresno County Transportation Authority (FCTA) amend the Expenditure Plan to allow these additional categories.

  • Class II facilities are striped safety lanes along the right of way with signage.
  • Class III facilities have no designated safety lane and consist of signage notifying vehicular traffic of the presence of bicycle riders in the right of way.
  • Class IV facilities designate a safety lane in the right of way that is separated from vehicular traffic by a physical barrier.

The concept has been vetted with the FCTA staff and the Measure C Citizens Oversight Committee, both concur with the recommendation.  An amendment to the Expenditure Plan requires an affirmative vote of both the Fresno COG Policy Board and FCTA Board.

Action:  Staff recommends the TTC and PAC approve Resolution 2017-25, authorizing Measure C Expenditure Plan, Earmarks for Bicycle Facilities Program Amendment #4.

E.
Revised Measure C Transit-Oriented Development Program Policies and Guidelines (Kristine Cai) [APPROVE]

Summary:  The Measure C Transit-Oriented Infrastructure for In-Fill Development (TOD) program was created to boost transit ridership and encourage transit supportive land use such as mix uses and compact development within proximity of transit stops. The TOD Program Policies and Guidelines was developed and approved by the Fresno COG Policy Board and the Fresno County Transportation Authority Board in 2011, and more than $6 million has been granted to projects for 5 funding cycles since 2012. The TOD program accrues approximately $850,000 annually. The original program guidelines designated 3 Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridors in City of Fresno as the only eligible areas for the TOD program fund.

In late 2016 and early 2017, the Fresno COG Policy Board and the Transportation Authority Board directed that the TOD Guidelines be updated to open the TOD program to eligible projects throughout the entire region. The original TOD Program Policies and Guidelines stipulate that this should be done after the first five funding cycles.

The TOD Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) had several meetings to discuss how to update the Guidelines so that urban and rural projects can compete fairly, the goals of the TOD program can be achieved and the principles of transit-oriented development be advanced.

The major changes made in the revised guidelines, based on the recommendation from the Technical Advisory Committee include:

  • the project location requirement from the original Guideline is removed so that projects from the entire region can apply
  • projects with proximity (1/2 mile) to existing and planned fixed route transit, BRT and the High Speed Rail station are eligible
  • two tiers of residential density are created for projects in the Fresno Clovis Metropolitan Area (FCMA)  and the rest of the County: projects in the FCMA are required to have a minimum of 15 units/acre to score and 30 units/acre and above to receive full density points; projects outside of the FCMA is required to have a minimum of 10 units/acre to score and 20 units and above to receive full density points
  • In order to ensure the quality of projects funded through this program, projects are required to receive a minimum of 70 out of 100 points to quality for funding.
  • Clovis Transit and Fresno County Rural Transit Agency are added to the TOD Scoring Committee
  • scorers do not score projects submitted by or through the agency they represent
  • other changes made accordingly

Attached is the revised TOD Program Policies and Guidelines, which has incorporated all the comments from the TAC.

Action: Staff recommends that TTC/PAC approve the revised TOD Program Policies and Guidelines.

F.
Circuit Planner and Circuit Engineer 2017-2018 Programs (Meg Prince) [INFORMATION]

Summary: The Fresno COG Board recently approved extended contracts with VRPA Technologies, Inc. and Willdan Associates to provide planning and engineering services through the 2017 Fresno COG Circuit Planner and Engineering Services Programs.  Projects completed through the Programs are “intended to augment the existing planning and engineering staff and teams within your jurisdiction, not to supplant those efforts.” 

The tasks of the Circuit Planner and Circuit Engineer teams will be to provide mechanisms for agencies to identify and help eliminate obstacles in the funding or delivery of projects and possibly complete smaller transportation-related projects that support the Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy (RTP/SCS), so an agency’s own staff/consultant teams can remain focused on larger or higher-profile projects as identified by their respective agency. 

To initiate the 2017 round of projects, VRPA Technologies, Inc. (VRPA), the Circuit Planner and Willdan Engineering (Willdan), the Circuit Engineer are available to meet with each city’s administration, planning, and public works/engineering staff to discuss potential circuit planning and engineering services that would be of benefit.  They will also discuss previous year projects, potential funding sources, and the project evaluation process.

VRPA and Willdan staff will be available during and following the July TTC/PAC meetings to discuss the 2017 request for planning and engineering projects and how they can best serve each of the cities.  

If you would like to learn more or have a project in mind, please contact Meg Prince at mprince@fresnocog.org or 559-233-4148 x203.

Action: Information only. Direction may be provided at the discretion of the Committee. 

G.
Regional Transportation Plan Progress (Kristine Cai)

1
Regional Transportation Plan Project Evaluation Criteria (Suzanne Martinez) [APPROVE]

Summary:  The Financial Element Technical Group developed an RTP Project Evaluation Criteria Focus Group to discuss in-depth revisions and updates to the 2018 RTP Project Evaluation Criteria. The 2018 Project Evaluation Criteria will be used to score the priority of projects submitted during the RTP Call for Projects process in terms of forecasted funding available through the sunset year of the RTP (2042).  The focus group met on five separate occasions in May and June, up from the two meetings originally planned, in an effort to assure a comprehensive set of criteria.

The focus group consisted of representatives from Fresno, Clovis, Fresno County, a rural westside representative (Mendota), a rural eastside representative (Reedley), a transit representative (FCRTA), as well as a few representatives from various non-governmental organizations with interest in bike/ped, air quality, health, and transportation equity.  The Focus Group collaborated on the revisions made, and is in agreement with the totality of the revised document.

Highlights of the revisions made include:

  • A health priority index criterion was added to bike/ped and transit sections, in an effort to steer at least some project preference to areas that are the most health burdened, and are also likely the most disadvantaged.

  • Level of Service in Capacity Increasing Criteria was updated to “Congestion Relief” instead, but the premise behind the criteria is basically the same - to prioritize capacity-increasing projects by the level of congestion a roadway is experiencing.

  • The Streets and Roads Non-capacity Increasing section was broken into two separate evaluation criteria: one for Maintenance, and the other for Operations.  The Maintenance criterion has been updated with criteria that was not in this section previously.  The thought behind this was to try to accurately evaluate the merits of maintenance projects.  Previously, the criteria in the Capacity Increasing section was used to score maintenance and operations projects.  The criteria didn’t work well when evaluating priorities for maintenance projects. Therefore, the Operations criteria were also re-worked.

  • The remaining revisions were mostly grammatical in nature; word choice, sentence structure, clarifications, etc.

It is important to note that this criteria will be used solely to determine a project's ranking in the RTP in terms of projected funding; not actual funding available during a program Call-for-Projects.  The criteria will be used to create the RTP's constrained and unconstrained list of projects.

The Project Evaluation Criteria Focus Group, the Financial Element Technical Group, and the RTP Roundtable recommended approval of the 2018 RTP Project Evaluation Criteria.

Action:  Staff recommends that the TTC and PAC recommend approval of the final draft of the 2018 RTP Project Evaluation Criteria to the Fresno COG Policy Board.

2
Regional Transportation Plan Project Scenario Determination and Project Prioritization (Suzanne Martinez/Seth Scott) [APPROVE]

Summary: In this current update to the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) staff proposes that the Financial Element Project Scenarios closely align with the SCS scenario concepts that were developed and subsequently approved by the Fresno COG Policy Board at their June 2017 meeting.

The vast majority of the funding sources that can be projected to fund scenario projects are designated for particular modes.  Those funding sources will be allocated in this process towards the particular modes for which they are designated.  The remaining funding sources, which are mainly RSTP (which is now known as STBGP - Surface Transportation Block Grant Program), and partially CMAQ (Congestion Mitigation & Air Quality Program), are the funding sources that are more flexible, therefore they are the only sources that will be used to create the variations between the four (4) Project Scenarios.  After funds from all other sources are allocated to the highest-scoring projects (according to the Project Evaluation Criteria, by mode), a methodology must be employed to determine which remaining projects (if any) should be considered to receive funding from RSTP and CMAQ, for each SCS Scenario.

The methodology that staff proposes to use involves using elements from the Project Evaluation Criteria that correspond to the levels of investment that have been determined for each SCS Scenario concept.  This way, the methodology can be completely objective and would require neither additional work nor separate scoring criteria to evaluate projects for flexible funding eligibility.

The attached materials outline the eight SCS Scenario funding priorities, as well as their rank for each of the four approved scenario concepts.  For each of these priorities, it also shows which modes’ Project Evaluation Criteria include applicable measures that would apply to that priority.  In the proposed methodology, the applicable scoring criteria for each project to be considered for flexible funding will be scaled in proportion to the investment priorities specified by the SCS Scenario.

For example, SCS Scenario D demonstrates a higher priority for increasing roadway capacity than the other scenarios.  (Quantitatively, Scenario D’s investment in capacity increasing projects is represented by a value of 3, compared to a value of 1 for other scenarios.)  As such, the project scenario corresponding with SCS Scenario D should reflect this emphasis by increasing the weighted importance of capacity increasing projects.

Staff has developed a tool to automate this process, and they will demonstrate the tool’s performance at the meeting.

Action:  Staff and the RTP Roundtable recommend that the TTC and PAC recommend approval of the process for determining the RTP Project Scenarios and the methodology for prioritizing projects within each Project scenario to the Fresno COG Policy Board.

3.
Environmental Justice Subcommittee SCS Indicator (Trai Her-Cole) [APPROVE]

Summary: The Environmental Justice (EJ) Subcommittee was asked to assist Fresno COG in identifying an EJ Performance Indicator that will be used to evaluate the impact of each scenario modeled under the 2018 Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS). The subcommittee met and discussed the following performance measures.

  • Accessibility - the ease of reaching destinations as measured by the percentage of commuters who can get to work within a given period of time; measured by calculating average travel times during the peak morning commute to defined major job centers
  • Mobility - the ability to move throughout the region within a reasonable amount of time, measured by calculating average travel times on highways and transit during the evening peak travel time.
  • Access to Community Resources - combination of accessibility and mobility
  • Transit Investment Effectiveness - measures maximized return on transit investments; estimated by dividing the new added average number of daily passenger miles traveled served by RTP transit projects in the full project list by the total $1,000 of investment inside and outside the EJ TAZs
  • Distribution of Investments - ensuring equitable distribution of transportation investment benefits; compares the ratio of person-miles traveled on roadway & transit projects in an area to the total investment in roads and transit in that area.
  • Reliability - compares the percentage of on-time arrivals; calculates vehicle miles traveled on congested highways or in transit vehicles

After much discussion the EJ subcommittee ultimately recommended Access to Community Resources as the EJ SCS indicator.

Action: Staff, the EJ Subcommittee, and the RTP Roundtable recommend that the TTC and PAC approve “Access to Community Resources” as the Environmental Justice Indicator for the 2018 Sustainable Communities Strategy. 

4.
Safety Performance Target - Historical Safety Data Analysis (Lang Yu) [INFORMATION]

Summary: Federal transportation bills MAP-21 and FAST Act require Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) to conduct performance based planning.  As presented during the previous meetings, safety performance is one of the first performance measure areas that needs to be included in the Fresno COG 2018 RTP.  Future year targets need to be set for each of the five following performance measures:

  • number of fatalities
  • rate of fatalities per 100 Million VMT
  • number of serious injuries
  • rate of serious injuries per 100 Million VMT
  • number of non-motorized fatalities and serious injuries

To support this target setting process, staff has gathered historical crash data in Fresno County from various sources and conducted trend analysis for each of the performance measures. Staff will present the results and findings of the historical crash data analysis.

Action: Information only. Direction may be provided at the discretion of the Committee.

5.
Regional Transportation Plan Project Suggestions Community Outreach Workshops Summary (Brenda Veenendaal) [INFORMATION]

Summary: Fresno COG staff, working with the seven Regional Transportation Plan Mini-Grant recipient organizations, hosted 15 community workshops throughout the County between June 5 and July 6, 2017.  Each of the 15 workshops included dinner, childcare, and Spanish presentations when needed as well as translation and interpretation services. Fresno COG also developed an online survey in English and Spanish to provide opportunity for transportation project input to those who could not attend the workshops.  The survey was available through July 9, 2017. These outreach efforts were focused on providing the public an opportunity to provide transportation project suggestions that could be submitted by local agencies in response to the RTP Call for Projects issues July 1, 2017.

The workshops were advertised through many means by Mini-Grant organizations and Fresno COG.  Television advertisements were produced for each workshop and aired on KSEE 24 and KGPE 47 and interviews were scheduled with Central Valley Today and Univision.  Flyers and information were posted to websites, emailed to databases and shared through social media.  Many organizations shared workshop information at existing organization or group meetings and some even went door to door canvasing neighborhoods. Staff is waiting for final reports from each Mini-Grantee on their individual efforts.

During the workshops and through the online portal Fresno COG received suggestions for projects separated into three categories:

1. Streets and Roads - Repairing roads, adding lanes, improving intersections, improving safety, reducing congestion or "other"

2. Transit - Adding bus stops or new service, improving service, improving safety, repairing assets or "other"

3. Active Transportation - Adding bike lanes, adding or repairing sidewalks or trails, improving safety, adding bike racks, or "other"

Fresno COG staff is processing the workshop and online suggestions received and will provide handouts of the workshop suggestions, participation demographics and final counts at the meeting.

Action: Information only. Direction may be provided at the discretion of the Committee.

III.ADMINISTRATIVE CONSENT ITEMS

About Consent Items

All items on the consent agenda are considered to be routine and non-controversial by COG staff and will be approved by one motion if no member of the Committee or public wishes to comment or ask questions.  If comment or discussion is desired by anyone, the item will be removed from the consent agenda and will be considered in the listed sequence with an opportunity for any member of the public to address the Committee concerning the item before action is taken.

A.
Regional Clearing House (Jennifer Soliz) [APPROVE]

 

Project

Applicant

1.

Housing Preservation Grant Program for Low and Very Low-Income Households-Providing Loans/Grants for Housing Rehabilitation

Self-Help Enterprises

2.

Community Center Roof and Floor Replacement/Repair

City of San Joaquin

3.

Owner-Occupant Housing Rehabilitation Project in Rural Unincorporated Fresno County

County of Fresno

Summary: Your agenda package includes this month’s Clearinghouse Calendar containing “Project Notification and Review Reports” for grant proposal.

1.  2017 Housing Preservation Grant
2.  USDA Rural Development Financial Assistance
3.  2017 Housing Preservation Grant

Action:  Per Board procedure, unless an item is pulled from the Consent Calendar, tacit authorization is given for staff to forward any comment(s) received or any Committee/Board comment(s) generated as a result of this informational item to the appropriate agency. It is understood that if in the event this item should be pulled from the consent calendar, discussion and comment by the board members and the public will be taken.

B.
Request for Fresno COG Policy Board Letter of Support for Temperance Flat Dam (Tony Boren) [APPROVE]

Summary:  The San Joaquin Valley Water Infrastructure Authority has informed Fresno COG that August 14, 2017, is the deadline for submittal of the San Joaquin Valley Water Infrastructure Authority’s application to the California Water Commission for state bond funding for the Temperance Flat Dam and Reservoir project.  With this in mind, and as a demonstration of our regional support for the project, Fresno COG has been requested to provide a letter of support for the Temperance Flat project (attached.)

Temperance Flat Reservoir would be located on the San Joaquin River in the foothills northeast of Fresno. This dam would actually be located in the upper portion of the Central Valley Project’s Millerton Lake. It would be a huge project, creating an additional 1.26 million acre-feet of water storage. That would add up to 1.78 million acre feet or be 3.4 times the existing capacity in Millerton Lake behind Friant Dam.

Action:  Fresno COG staff recommends the Fresno COG Policy Board forward the attached letter of support for the Temperance Flat Dam project to the California Water Commission.

C.
Monthly Legislative Update (Trai Her-Cole) [INFORMATION]

To locate current and past year state bill information go to the Official California Legislative Information webpage at: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/

To locate current and past year federal bill information go to THOMAS, The Library of Congress’s bill information website (in the spirit of Thomas Jefferson) at: http://thomas.loc.gov/

Please contact staff person, Trai Her-Cole, if you have any questions or comments.

IV.ADMINISTRATIE ACTION/DISCUSSION ITEMS

A.
Westside City Appointment to Fresno County Economic Development Action Team (Tony Boren) [INFORMATION]

Summary:  Earlier this summer, the Fresno County Board of Supervisors approved the formation of the Fresno County Economic Development Action Team, as outlined in the Economic Development Action Element of the County of Fresno 2000 General Plan.   The general purpose of the Fresno County Economic Development Action Team is to work with cities, the private sector, education and other organizations to foster and facilitate:

1.  Job Creation through regional leadership, agricultural productivity, and development of high-value-added processing firms and implementation Programs.
2.  Economic Base Diversification through the expansion of non-agriculture industry clusters and through the development and expansion of recreation and visitor serving attractions and accommodations.
3.  Labor Force Preparedness by providing the local workforce with the skills needed to meet the requirements of an increasingly diverse business sector in the 21stcentury global economy.

The Action Team will consist of 13 members (attachment), one of whom is a city representative from the west side of Fresno County to be selected by the Fresno Council of Governments Policy Board.

Action:  Fresno COG staff recommends the Fresno COG Policy Board appoint the west side city representative to the newly created Fresno County Economic Development Action Team.

B.
Regional Transportation Plan Roundtable Proxy Voting (Kristine Cai) [INFORMATION]

Summary:  Fresno COG has been in the process of developing the 2018 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP)/Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS) since the fall of 2016. The RTP Roundtable Committee was set up to provide guidance and advisory recommendations to the RTP process. Because of its broad and inclusive membership that includes a representative from each of Fresno COG’s member agencies, representatives from transit operators, Caltrans, the Air District, building industry, air quality sector, environmental justice, health, water ag. Industry, education, etc., the Roundtable provides input, and recommendations that represent the voices of different sectors and various interests.  The Roundtable meeting has been held monthly as a great resource for Fresno COG staff to vet the RTP/SCS process

However, small city representation at the Roundtable meeting has been scarce due to various reasons which include lack of staff resources. The RTP is a long-range transportation plan that includes a Sustainable Community Strategy which is an important component representing the vision/direction for land use/transportation development in this region that could have implications for local policies.  So, because it is critical that all voices are heard and all votes are counted, members of the RTP Roundtable are strongly encouraged to attend the monthly meetings in person. However, in the case of conflicting schedules and unavoidable absence at the RTP Roundtable meeting, it has been suggested that a proxy voting system be set up so that members can request another RTP Roundtable member to vote on their behalf.  It should be noted that with the proxy voting system members may need to speak with Fresno COG staff prior to meetings to develop a thorough understanding of the action items.  In addition, members should notify Fresno COG staff to verify that their proxy will vote on their behalf on action items. Members will have to inform their proxy whether they want to delegate the vote if the action is modified by the Committee and different from the original staff recommendation.  The proxy system will be voluntary and available to any members who wish to use it.

The pros of proxy voting are that more votes would be counted. The cons are that the member loses their opportunity for discussion and for offering alternative approaches and constructive ideas during the discussion of items.

Action: Information only. Direction may be provided at the discretion of the Committee. 

V.OTHER BUSINESS

A.
Items from Staff

B.
Items from Members

VI.PUBLIC PRESENTATIONS

A.
Public Presentations

This portion of the meeting is reserved for persons wishing to address the Committee on items within its jurisdiction but not on this agenda.  Note:  Prior to action by the Committee on any item on this agenda, the public may comment on that item.  Unscheduled comments may be limited to 3 minutes.