About Presentations:

Action: Review and approve, or approve with edits, the December 14, 2017 Oversight Committee minutes.

Summary:  Fresno County Rural Transit Agency, in partnership with CalStart, was granted $2,538,291 in Measure C New Technology Funding to purchase & operate two 35 foot low-floor electric transit buses and two new Solar Tree DCFC charging stations.  Buses will run on four new express routes connecting rural communities with  rail & transportation hubs the Fresno-Clovis Metropolitan Area (FCMA). 

FCRTA's Director, Moses Stites, will introduce FCRTA's New Technology project to the Oversight Committee.  

Action: Information Item. 

Summary:  The Fresno Council of Governments (Fresno COG) released a Request for Proposals (RFP) seeking assistance from community-based organizations, etc., to implement diverse and extensive grassroots outreach to people throughout the Valley who may qualify for subsidies in the Measure C AgWorker Vanpool (AVP) program.  The program’s expected overall outcome goal is to double the current participation and ridership in the Measure C Ag-Worker Vanpool Program.

Approximately 0.6% of Measure C funding is provided to fund the Agricultural Worker Vanpool Program (formerly known as the Farmworker Vanpool Program) offerring vouchers to help farm laborers pay for their transportation to various job sites when they ride in an approved Ag Worker Vanpool. Funds are available on a first-come first-serve basis until the program funds are exhausted. All groups interested in participating in the Ag Worker Vanpool Program are required to use an authorized vanpool provider or form an employer-sponsored vanpool. Owner-Operator vanpools are not eligible to receive these vouchers.

Measure “C” funds can subsidize Ag worker Vanpool programs that originate within Fresno County. These funds are designed to spark the development of new vanpools, offer financial support and assistance to existing vanpools, and increase vanpool ridership.  Eligible subsidies for Ag worker Vanpools include capital and operational expenses.  A weekly lease subsidy pays $30 for each day of operation (not to exceed $150 in one week) for up to one year. This subsidy may be renewed on an annual basis.

The RFP was issued January 12, 2018. All proposals must be received by noon on Monday, February 5, 2018. 

View the Proposal

Action:  Information Item.

Summary:  Les Beshears, Fresno COG's Finance Director, will present the following item regarding the Measure C Regional Program involving the urban and rural lists of approved programs.  The attached information was presented and approved by the Fresno COG Policy Board and the Fresno County Transportation Authority Board.

In total, cost estimates for the Measure C Regional Transportation Program increased $1.6 million from the prior plan. Revenues increased $4.5 million, reducing the total overall deficit in the 20-year plan to $267.7 million.

The urban program has estimated revenues of $730.2 million and projected expenses of $763.7 million, for a net deficit of $33.5 million. Net project costs decreased $5.4 million.

Approximately $4.1 million in increased funding is provided for three projects in fiscal year (FY) 2017-18: Willow – Shepherd to Copper; Herndon – Temperance to DeWolf and; Shaw – DeWolf to McCall. Staff anticipates the Willow project will be the initial candidate for the new Senate Bill 1 (SB1) Local Partnership Program. In addition, a $2 million contingency has been restored to the State Route (SR) 41, SR 180 and SR 168 braided ramps projects until the final cost is available.  The SR 180 West Landscaping project, scheduled in FY 2021-22, increased $923,000.

Veterans Boulevard is anticipated to increase $6.9 million from the previous plan. The project is expected to be ready to list in FY 2018-19. The urban plan provides two options for delivering Veterans Boulevard.  The City of Fresno is applying for a $44.5 million federal Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant.  If the INFRA grant application is successful, the City intends to start construction in FY 2018-19, as required by the INFRA grant; however, if the grant is not successful, Measure C's Expenditure Plan provides an alternative to deliver the project in FY 2019-20 using State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), Measure C and Regional Transportation Mitigation Fee (RTMF) funds. Delivering Veterans Boulevard in FY 2019-20 includes a tentative plan for the City to borrow $13.4 million of its Measure C local allocation. 

SR 99 – North to Cedar is anticipated to cost $86 million, including 15 percent for environmental and design cost. About $3 million in STIP APDE funding is programmed in FY 2018-19 to start the environmental process. Caltrans anticipates environmental work will be complete by October 1, 2021. Another $43.4 million is programmed to start design and right-of-way in FY 2021-22. Finally, $50.7 million for construction is scheduled in FY 2023-24.

The rural program has $491.5 million in estimated revenues and $725.7 million in planned expenses for a net deficit of $234.2 million. Net project costs have increased $6.98 million.

Following requests from local jurisdictions and the County, Mark Thomas Engineering has updated its 30 percent design specifications for Golden State Avenue and revised various scopes. The revised specifications call for enhanced pavement requirements per geotechnical testing; a realignment for Stroud, including a traffic signal and rail road requirements; moving a traffic signal from DeWolf to McCall; replacing a deteriorated bridge and culvert on the Fowler Switch Canal; various lighting and; extending the project limits from Lincoln Avenue back to American Avenue. The scope changes add $5.5 million to the project, which is on schedule to begin construction in FY 2018-19. The plan carries 10 percent for construction engineering and a 20 percent contingency, which may be spread around to project components or reduced as design nears completion.

The next major project for the rural plan is SR 99 American Avenue interchange, one of five half-interchanges that allow traffic to get on the freeway going one direction and off from the other direction. The others are located at North, Cedar, Central and Chestnut. Together, they provide complete access to a growing industrial area and the proposed High Speed Rail Heavy Maintenance facility.  Because Caltrans no longer uses the half-interchange structure, the network of access points will have to be adjusted, reducing the number to three complete interchanges. For this reason, economies of scale will be realized by environmentally clearing all three interchanges at the same time.

Approximately $350,000 is programmed in FY 2017-18 for a Project Study Report (PSR) for American Avenue, which due to the proximity to North/Cedar, will likely include an analysis of the entire SR 99 corridor between the two interchanges and $3.3 million in FY 2018-19 for environmental work. This coincides with the $3 million APDE funding programmed for North/Cedar. Once environmental work is complete, Caltrans will better determine how construction should be phased; however, the plan joins the schedule for American with North\Cedar, programming $7.2 million in design and right-of-way for American in FY 2021-22 and $49.3 million in FY 2023-24 for construction. These estimates are based on very preliminary numbers that were devised in 2004 for the ballot. Actual costs will be better known once the PSR is complete.

Action:  Information Item.

A.  2018 COC tentative meeting dates:

• March 8
• April 12
• May 10
• June 7
• July 12
• August 9
• September 13
• October 11
• November 8
• December 13

B.  Items for next agenda - discussion

C.  Upcoming Meetings of other related Boards/Committee

• Transportation Technical Committee - 8:30 am and Policy Advisory Committee - 10:00 am on February 9, 2018
• Fresno COG Policy Board Meeting - Thursday, February 22, 2018 at 5:30 pm at Fresno COG
• Fresno County Transportation Authority Board Meeting -