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 Policy Board 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 Policy Board concerning the item before action is taken.

Approve Resolution 2020-29 adopting the City of Sanger's 2020-21 Transportation Development Act claims totaling $1,421,668.

Approve Resolution 2020-31 adopting the City of Kerman's 2020-21 Transportation Development Act claims totaling $814,731.

Approve Resolution 2020-32 adopting the City of Orange Cove's 2020-21 Transportation Development Act claims totaling $531,787.

Approve Resolution 2020-33 adopting the City of Mendota's 2020-21 Transportation Development Act claims totaling $513,058.

Summary:  Fresno COG leases EcoInteractive's web-based software FresnoTrak to manage millions of dollars of federal aid construction projects in Fresno County.  FresnoTrak provides online interactive coordination between member agency project sponsors and Fresno COG staff to ensure federal requirements are met.

Staff renegotiated a more beneficial contract term than was presented originally in June 2020. The new contract term allows for a cost-savings of at least $48,000 over a three-year term.

Action:  Staff and TTC/PAC recommend the Policy Board authorize the executive director to revise the renewed Ecointeractive contract for an amount not to exceed $190,060 for a three-year term starting July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2023.

Summary: The Environmental Justice Subcommittee supports Fresno COG’s Transportation Technical Committee (TTC). This subcommittee assists Fresno COG staff in setting thresholds for environmental justice populations for the Environmental Justice Report within each Regional Transportation Plan. 

The subcommittee includes 11 positions to provide a full, diverse and equitable representation of the region's environmental justice populations.

 The current positions include:

• Local agency-urban
• East side local agency-rural
• West side local agency-rural
• Fresno County
• A representative from each of the four major minority populations in Fresno County:
• Hispanic
• African American
• Asian
• American Indian
• Low income
• Senior (65 or older)
• Persons with disabilities

At the June Policy Board meeting, the Board requested a position representing the youth community be added to the EJ Subcommittee. The application to the subcommittee is attached, and any participants wishing to apply may submit an application by October 9 to traih@fresnocog.org.

Action: Staff and the TTC/PAC recommend the Policy Board add one seat to the EJ Subcommittee representing the youth community.

Summary: This is an update on tasks underway through Fresno COG's Circuit Planner and Engineer Program, which provides technical assistance to the small cities in Fresno County. Such assistance may include, but is not limited to: planning studies, delivering projects, grant applications, environmental documents, engineering services, etc.

Zoning Evaluation Tool and Model Zoning Ordinance

Several jurisdictions requested updates to their zoning code to comply with recent State laws and numerous new State zoning requirements in the last few years. Cities may have also adopted a new General Plan or amendments that create inconsistencies with their zoning ordinance, or their codes are just out of date, not user friendly, or are not accomplishing city goals.

Rincon Consultants, the Circuit Planner, developed an online tool that allows cities to assess their zoning ordinance and provide a list of sections that need to be updated. The tool is being further refined but is available as of September 9, 2020, at the link below. The circuit planner is available for any questions or comments about the tool or zoning ordinances.

ZONING EVALUATION TOOL: https://forms.gle/MAJzyneqAxxSvS5LA

Rincon and Collins & Schoettler are also developing model zoning code sections for cities to update their zoning codes based on evaluation results. These two tools are to work together to first identify needed areas for update, and then provide templates for updating those sections that can be customized to fit the individual cities.

Please contact Meg Prince at mprince@fresnocog.org for any project assistance needs or questions about the program.

Action: Information. The Policy Board may provide additional direction at its discretion.

Summary: Fresno COG initially designated funding in WE 148 from FY 19/20 SB 1 formula planning grant funds to conduct a transit on-board survey. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, transit ridership significantly decreased and would be too low for a statistically valid on-board survey. Therefore, the project advisory committee recommended terminating the project.

Following Caltrans' direction, Fresno COG is reallocating the remaining funds from the transit on-board survey to develop a Regional Transportation Safety Improvement Plan. To address safety issues and reduce collisions, injuries and fatalities, the four "Es" of safety countermeasures are used: engineering, education, enforcement and emergency response. Through discussions with Fresno COG's member agencies and other partners, it’s clear there is concern over regional traffic safety and a need for a more detailed analysis of incident causes and locations. During the 2018 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) and Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS) development, traffic safety was a large concern for Fresno County residents. Fresno COG's Safety Target Subcommittee meets a few times each year to discuss regional traffic safety and sets federal safety performance targets. The safety plan will assist in reducing fatalities and serious injuries, as well as achieving a safer transportation system for all motorized and non-motorized users in Fresno County. The safety plan will also support California's Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP), and in meeting the Strategic Highway Safety Plan's (SHSP) vision and goals.

The plan will include a spatial analysis of road traffic accidents by incident type for the Fresno County region, as well as provide a multi-modal safety report (motor vehicle, bike and pedestrian). It will include a comprehensive analysis of historical collision data in Fresno County, and identify trends, location characteristics, and contributing factors in each of the SHSP's challenge areas. The plan will identify countermeasures for urban and rural areas by mode and develop implementation strategies for the countermeasures. This process will include a robust public outreach component to engage disadvantage and hard to reach communities to collect input on safety concerns and recommendations for potential improvement and develop a Traffic Safety Education Program.

This project will be divided into two phases for a total of $210,000. Under WE 148, $174,959 will fund phase one. WE 140 is a new work element and would fund phase two with $35,041 from the 2020/21 SB1 Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Program.

Action: Information. The Policy Board may provide additional direction at its discretion.

1.

RTP Community Survey Report (Brenda Veenendaal) [INFORMATION]

2.

2022 RTP Project Scoring Criteria (Suzanne Martinez) [APPROVE]

3.

Legal Services for the 2022 RTP/SCS, Program Environmental Impact Report, and Regional Housing Needs Allocation Plan (Meg Prince) [APPROVE]

4.

2020 Transportation Needs Survey Outreach (Brenda Veenendaal) [INFORMATION]

Summary: Fresno COG is proposing a draft 2019 Federal Transportation Improvement Program Amendment No. 12, a draft 2018 Regional Transportation Plan Amendment No. 3, and the draft Corresponding Conformity Analysis.

While developing this amendment, Fresno COG staff and its air quality consultant worked to solve conformity analysis issues that arose from the SAFE Vehicle Rule adjustment factors. Staff ultimately achieved a passing result, but after a considerable delay, which put Fresno COG behind schedule with the other SJV MPOs, which are also processing type 5 amendments.

Consequently, staff is requesting that the Board grant delegated authority that authorizes the Executive Director to approve the upcoming formal Type 5 FTIP/RTP amendment and its corresponding air quality conformity analysis. Staff has already released the amendment for a 30-day public review period earlier this month (September 3, 2020 through October 2, 2020), with a public hearing held on Wednesday, September 16. The draft package is attached to the agenda. Once all public comments are sufficiently addressed, this action would give the executive director the authority to approve the documents and submit to Caltrans/FHWA directly for state/federal approval.

Delegated authority would accelerate the approval time by about a month, considering staff would not be delayed until October’s regularly scheduled COG Policy Board Meeting. This would help keep the original schedule on track with the other SJV MPOs and speed up state/federal approval. It would also alleviate any further delays for projects awaiting amendment approval to proceed.

If recommended for approval today, staff will bring the director-approved formal Type 5 amendment to the TTC, PAC, and Board as an informational item in October 2020.

Action: Staff, TTC and PAC recommend the Policy Board grant delegated authority authorizing the executive director to approve the upcoming formal Type 5 FTIP/RTP amendment and corresponding conformity analysis that was released for public comment on September 3, 2020.

Summary:  Fresno COG released the Measure C 2020 application for New Technology funding on April 10, 2020. Staff received four applications requesting approximately $8.2 million against an available $5.38 million.  On August 21, the scoring committee met to interview the applicants and discuss the applications. The following is a list of the applications and the funding recommendations:

For more information and links to the applications, please click HERE

The scoring committee included:

Action: Staff and TTC/PAC request that the Policy Board approve the New Technology scoring committee recommendations for funding and forward to the Fresno County Transportation Authority to enter into contracts with the applicants in the amounts recommended.

Summary: The Blackstone/Shaw Activity Center (BSAC) Project was funded by federal planning dollars and was requested by the City of Fresno to identify and assess transportation improvements in service of mixed-use development in the project area as envisioned in the City of Fresno's General Plan. 

To complement the envisioned land use changes and built environment, the Blackstone/Shaw Activity Center Project identified and analyzed transportation projects that would:

• Increase access and safety along the corridor for all travel modes and users, including the elderly, disabled, low-income, students and youth;
• Address deficiencies in the existing street design that are incompatible with the planned land uses outlined in the General Plan and impact business opportunities and performance in the project area;

It also recommended projects that would:

• Improve multi-modal access and safety for pedestrians and bicyclists as well as transit riders;
• Enhance potential sidewalk and streetscape to support pedestrian comfort, access to transit, and access to businesses and services.

In addition, the project evaluated 11 intersections in the vicinity and assessed the following transportation improvements:

• New traffic signals at the following intersections:
• Blackstone Avenue & the Yosemite Falls driveway
• Blackstone Avenue & Santa Ana Avenue
• Shaw Avenue & Effie Street – This intersection was not recommended by Caltrans because the traffic study showed possible queueing backing up on the SR 41 mainline during peak hour traffic
• Pedestrian half-signal at Shaw Avenue & Glenn Avenue
• Converting the outside motor vehicle lanes on Blackstone Avenue in each direction to business access and transit (BAT) lanes
• Leading pedestrian intervals for signalized intersections of Blackstone Avenue between San Jose Avenue and Santa Ana Avenue

The BSAC project provided the City of Fresno with several sidewalk widening alternatives, each with various funding scenarios. Also included are alternatives for providing a separated bikeway along Blackstone with several specific suggestions on how these bikeways could be constructed in conjunction with the BRT stations.

The project also included an opinion of probable costs, a funding matrix and an estimate of right of way necessary to complete projects that will help the City with future grant applications.

Attached is the Final Summary Report for the BSAC project.

Action: Staff and TTC/PAC request that the Policy Board accept the Blackstone/Shaw Activity Center Project final summary report.

Summary: 

BACKGROUND

Fresno COG is required to develop a methodology and allocation plan to distribute housing needs determined by the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to jurisdictions within the region (Government Code Section 65584). Each local jurisdiction must then update the Housing Element of its General Plan in accordance with the community’s housing needs.

Senate Bill 375 (Chapter 728, Statutes of 2008) strengthened coordination between housing and transportation planning, and amended the RHNA schedule and methodology to align with Regional Transportation Plans and Sustainable Communities Strategies (RTP/SCS). Fresno COG’s 2022 RTP/SCS development will happen in tandem with the sixth cycle RHNA process.

The next RHNA Plan for Fresno County is due to the State in August 2022. Historically, Fresno COG has prepared the RHNA plan in-house via coordination with its member jurisdictions and HCD. For the sixth cycle RHNA plan update, however, Fresno COG is seeking a qualified consultant to complete the project, because new State requirements have made the RHNA plan development more complex, and new funding is available for RHNA development from HCD through the Regional Early Action Planning (REAP) grants program.

CONSULTANT SELECTION

Fresno COG released a request for proposals in June for the RHNA process and received two proposals. A consultant selection committee comprising representatives from the County, Clovis, Fresno, Kerman, Reedley, and Fresno COG conducted consultant interviews on August 21.

The consultant selection committee unanimously chose PlaceWorks as the preferred consultant to assist with the sixth cycle RHNA process. PlaceWorks is a leader in housing planning in California, has experience developing RHNA plans, and has a strong track record of building consensus among agencies and stakeholders.

PlaceWorks’ original bid was for $186,400; however, Fresno COG requested that PlaceWorks add an optional $12,118 task if any appeals are filed regarding a local jurisdiction’s allocation. If no appeals are filed, the funds will not be spent. The cost estimate including the optional task is $199,748.

RHNA SUBCOMMITTEE

Staff will convene a RHNA subcommittee comprising local government representatives and key stakeholders to advise Fresno COG in developing an allocation methodology. It’s anticipated that the RHNA subcommittee will meet seven times, with the first meeting in October 2020. Fresno COG will reach out to potential subcommittee members once the contract with PlaceWorks is executed and will keep the website up to date with relevant information for those interested in the process.

Action: Staff and TTC/PAC recommend the Policy Board authorize the executive director to enter into an agreement with PlaceWorks to produce the sixth cycle RHNA Plan for an amount not to exceed $199,748.

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 Policy Board 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 Policy Board concerning the item before action is taken.

Summary: In January 2016, Fresno COG's Policy Board authorized the executive director to enter into a contract with Mark Thomas Engineering for the Golden State Corridor Economic Development & Infrastructure Improvements Project.  The project's design engineering portion is expected to be completed by the end of  2020.  Bidding assistance and construction support tasks are also Mark Thomas's responsibilities and will continue into the 2021-22 budget year. There are no additional costs associated with this contract extension.

Action:  Staff and TTC/PAC request that the Policy Board authorize the Executive Director to extend the Mark Thomas contract for the Golden State Corridor Economic Development & Infrastructure Improvements Project through fiscal year 2021-22.

Summary:  The Clearinghouse Calendar contains “project notification and review reports” for grant proposals.

Summary: In June 2020, Fresno COG's Board accepted a request to act as the fiscal agent for the San Joaquin Valley Regional Early Action Planning (REAP) Committee, and adopted Resolution 2020-24 authorizing the executive director to enter into agreements with California's Housing and Community Development (HCD) Department for REAP funds. Through the REAP program, the eight Valley COGs are expected to receive approximately$18.5 million in housing planning assistance, which Fresno COG will administer.

Fresno COG staff filed its first application for $4.5 million in February 2020; however, in May, HCD invited the SJV COGs to submit a second application. Between the two applications, HCD proposed to place approximately $10.2 million under one master agreement, whose funds would be provided in advance rather than on a typical reimbursement basis.

Staff submitted the second application in early June and has received and returned the master agreement, whose funds are intended to be incorporated into Fresno COG's 2020-21 Overall Work Program Amendment No. 1, also in this agenda.

Of the first $10.2 million in funding, $6 million is expressly set aside for tasks, activities and products with a Valleywide scope and impact, such as housing and land inventories, identifying common obstacles to housing construction and a composite of best practices to encourage housing development.  Most of the other $4.2 million will be distributed on a pro-rata basis to the seven other Valley COGs, which are expected to pass their share of the funding to their member jurisdictions, either directly or indirectly.

Staff is developing a set of guidelines for the regional share of REAP funding that will encourage local jurisdictions to apply to Fresno COG for planning projects they would like to see funded.  Each local jurisdiction is likewise eligible for a pro-rata share of Local Early Action Planning (LEAP) funds through the state.  Both LEAP and REAP funds may be used in conjunction on the same project.  Eligible projects include, but are not limited to infrastructure plans, updating housing elements, general plans and/or zoning codes.

Action: Information only.  The Policy Board may provide additional direction at its discretion.

Summary:   Fresno Council of Governments' 2020-21 Overall Work Program (OWP) Amendment No. 1 increases the budget $5,769,772 to $27,507,551. It includes new revenues from the San Joaquin Valley Working Group Regional Early Action Plan (REAP) funding and adjusts carry-over projects from the 2019-20 fiscal year that are programmed in the 2020-21 budget so the project work element (WE) matches the residual contract and programmed grant funding per the requirements of grant funding agencies.

Specific changes, classified by work element, include:

Work Elements 140 and 148 Regional Safety Program – This $210,000 project is funded from 2019-20 and 2020-21 State Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation (RMRA) grants.  The project is programmed in two phases to satisfy procedural guidelines per Caltrans. WE 148 will program $174,959 for Phase I, and WE 140 will program $35,041 for Phase II.  WE 148 was initially reserved for a transit on-board survey, which was canceled when transit ridership imploded during the lockdown.  This amendment increases WE 148 $45,769 and WE 140 $35,041.

Work Element 142 – FCRTA Operational Plan - $40,095 remains in the Walker Inc. contract for this 2018-19 RMRA grant. This amendment increases WE 142 $25,095.

Work Element 143 – Industrial Triangle Study - $88,409 remains in the GHD contract for this State Planning grant (SPR).  This amendment decreases WE 143 $30,347.

Work Element 144 – Electric Vehicle Infrastructure - $36,630 remains in the AECOM contract for this 2018-19 RMRA grant. This amendment decreases WE 144 $38,370.

Work Element 146 – Better Blackstone Design Challenge - $70,128 remains in the Fresno Ministries contract for this 2018-19 RMRA grant.  This amendment decreases WE 146 $4,872.

Work Element 147 – Fresno County Trail Master Plan - $85,123 remains in the Toole Inc. 2018-19 RMRA grant. This amendment increases WE 147 $10,123.

Work Element 149 – Transportation Impact Analysis - $81,732 remains in the LSA contract for this 2019-20 RMRA grant. This amendment increases WE 149 $51,732.

Work Element 160 – Better Blackstone Phase II - $437,383 remains in the Fresno Ministries contract for this FTA 5304 grant. This amendment increases WE 160 $216,901.

Work Element 162 – Sustainable Communities Grant – There is $71,732 budgeted for the 2020-21 Sustainable Communities program.  Funding was transferred to WE 140 to perfect funding for the Regional Safety Program.  No project selection process has occurred yet. Staff will keep the Board apprised on the status.  This amendment decreases WE 162 $20,361.

Work Element 420 – The State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) is providing $10,218,831 for the San Joaquin Valley Working Group to develop Regional Early Action Plans in anticipation of the sixth cycle Regional Housing Needs Assessment program, increasing the work element $5,468,971.

Action: Staff, TTC and PAC recommend the Policy Board adopt the 2020-21 Overall Work Program Amendment No. 1, increasing the budget $5,769,772 to $27,507,551.

Summary:  The San Joaquin Vallley Regional Planning Agencies Executive Directors Committee (COG Directors) is responsible for all Valleywide Regional Early Action Plan (REAP) administrative work. Collectively, the eight Valley COGs are eligible to receive approximately $18.5 million through California's REAP program for local jurisdiction housing planning assistance.

Of that $18.5 million, HCD has designated $6 million for tasks, activities and deliverables that are Valleywide in scope, as opposed to any specific region or county.  Some of those activities and deliverables will include a Valleywide inventory of housing stock, available land, and obstacles endemic to housing production; a zoning code template; a catalog of best practices for housing planning, and; other deliverables.

The COG Directors, or their designee, reviews and recommends contracts, funding arrangements and other administrative matters relevant to the SJV REAP program. The California Housing and Community Development Department (HCD) required the SJV COGs and their elected REAP Committee to appoint a “fiscal agent” for the REAP funding, which Fresno COG accepted. Fresno COG is responsible for administering revenues and entering into contracts on the REAP Committee’s behalf.

In March 2020, HCD invited Fresno COG to apply for approximately $5.5 million in REAP funds, representing the balance of funds available for Valleywide deliverables. Subsequently, on May 11, 2020, Fresno COG released a request for proposals (RFP) for a program manager to oversee an anticipated network of consultants who will be responsible for producing all Valleywide tasks, activities and deliverables.

In response to the RFP, Fresno COG received four proposals:

• Michael Baker International:        
• Regional Government Services (RGS):  
• Precision Civil Engineering
• Sigala Inc:         

Over a two-day period, June 24-25 2020, a scoring committee comprising one staff member from each of the eight SJV COGs reviewed, interviewed and scored the proposals. The results of that process are identified in the table below, which provides a summary by average score and total project budget.

Firm                                                  Average Score           Total Cost

Michael Baker, Intl.                              72.35                       $330,022.70

Precision Engineering                           71                            $450,000

Sigala, Inc.                                        91.8                         $314,200

Regional Government Services (RGS)       77.06                       $509,854

The COG Directors’ scoring committee and the Valleywide REAP Committee recommends that Sigala Inc. be awarded the contract for Housing Program Manager.

Action: Staff and PAC recommend the Policy Board authorize the executive director enter into a contract with Sigala, Inc. for an amount not to exceed $314,200.

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 three minutes.