Appoint chairman to the City Selection Committee, term effective April 1, 2021, replacing Mayor David Cardenas, whose term will expire April 1, 2021. The new term will be April 1, 2021 to April 3, 2023.

Appoint Vice Chairman of the City Selection Committee, term effective April 1, 2021, replacing Robert Silva, whose term will expire April 1, 2021. The new term will be April 1, 2021, to April 3, 2023.

Appoint one (1) primary member (large city) to the San Joaquin Valley Regional Early Action Planning (REAP) Committee, term effective immediately, replacing Mayor Lee Brand. The term is set to expire December 31, 2024.

Appoint one (1) Westside member to the Transportation Authority, to fill the vacancy of Councilmember Amarpreet Dhaliwal, whose term will expire June 30, 2021.

This portion of the meeting is reserved for a person desiring to address the City Selection Committee on any matter the committee has jurisdiction over which is not on this agenda.

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 2021-07 adopting the City of Clovis' 2020-21 Transportation Development Act claims totaling $5,803,658.

Approve resolution 2021-08 adopting the City f Coalinga's 2019-20 Transportation Development Act claims totaling $830,554.

Approve resolution 2021-09 adopting the City of Reedley's 2020-21 Transportation Development Act claims totaling $1,249,480.

Summary:  The County Auditor/Controller has estimated the fiscal year 2021-22 Local Transportation Funds (LTF) apportionment at $43,000,000. This represents a $3,392,432 (9 percent) increase from last year's estimate; however, amounts to member agencies may vary due to population changes.  A spreadsheet distributing the funding to member agencies is provided for budgeting purposes.  The population estimates will be updated for 2021 when the Department of Finance releases its numbers in May.

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

Summary:  The State Controller’s Office has estimated the fiscal year 2021-22 State Transit Assistance (STA) apportionment at $8,349,702. This is down $1,507,242 (15 percent) from the May 2020 final estimate last year and reflects the SB 878 methodology, requiring the State Controller’s Office to distribute STA.  A spreadsheet distributing the funding to member agencies is provided for budgeting purposes.  The population estimates will be updated for 2021 when the Department of Finance releases its numbers in May.

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

Summary:  The State Controller’s Office has estimated the fiscal year 2021-22 State of Good Repair (SGR) apportionment at $1,785,808. This is up $208,902 (13 percent) from the May 2020 final estimate and reflects SB 878 methodology, requiring the State Controller’s Office to distribute STA. A spreadsheet distributing the funding to member agencies is provided for budgeting purposes. The population estimates will be updated for 2021 when the Department of Finance releases its numbers in May.

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

Summary: Fresno COG's Electric Vehicle Readiness Plan (EVRP) was developed in partnership with the Fresno County Rural Transit Agency (FCRTA), AECOM and funding from the Caltrans Sustainable Planning Grant. The EVRP was developed to meet local needs and state targets for increased electric vehicle adoption, and to serve as a regional resource in guiding electric vehicle charging infrastructure installation. The EVRP includes a holistic analysis of existing local conditions, a data-driven forecast, funding sources, and stakeholder engagement to develop recommendations for priority sites of charging infrastructure, as well as policy and permitting recommendations. The draft EVRP was released on January 8th for public review and comment.

A supplemental map of proposed charging locations within Fresno County's unincorporated areas was published as an addendum to the draft document and has been incorporated into the final plan. Troy Hightower and Fresno State's Office of Community and Economic Development submitted comments generally in agreement with the components presented or discussing next steps (e.g. specific locations and considerations for siting) that are beyond the EVRP's immediate scope. All comments have been documented. Additionally, all comments to the extent relevant have been addressed and incorporated into the final EVRP. The final EVRP is available at: https://www.fresnocog.org/project/special-studies/.

Action: Staff, TTC and PAC recommend the Policy Board accept the Fresno COG Electric Vehicle Readiness Plan.

Summary:  The call for applications is now open for the Fresno County Local Housing Planning Grants Program. The funds are intended for planning efforts that will accelerate housing production and meet sixth cycle Regional Housing Needs Allocation Plan requirements. Approximately $900,000 is available in this round of funding, with a second round anticipated later this year.

Applications will be due March 5, 2021.

The final guidelines and application are available on Fresno COG’s website:

https://www.fresnocog.org/project/fresno-cog-administered-grant-programs/

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

Fresno COG is the designated recipient of FTA Section 5310 program funds for the Fresno Metropolitan Area, which provides capital and operating assistance grants for transportation projects that meet the needs of seniors and individuals with disabilities.  The funds may be used for projects where public mass transportation services are otherwise unavailable, insufficient or inappropriate; exceed the requirements of the ADA; that improve access to fixed-route service and; that provide alternatives to public transportation.

Fresno COG released an application for FTA Section 5310 funding in the Fresno/Clovis urbanized area on Feb. 9, 2021. The deadline for applications is March 24, 2021. Approximately $1,066,478 will be available for traditional capital projects and another $118,497 for other capital and operating projects, totaling $1,184,976.  For more information, see http://www.fresnocog.org/fresno-cog-administered-grant-programs or contact Peggy Arnest at parnest@fresnocog.org or 559-824-7343.

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

Summary: California Government Code Section 65080 requires each RTP to include an action element that describes the programs and actions necessary to implement the RTP and assigns implementation responsibilities.  It will consist of short and long-term activities that address regional transportation issues and needs and will address all transportation modes. The action element will also consider congestion management activities within the region.

The action element is critical to providing clear direction about the MPO's and other agencies' roles and responsibilities to follow through on the RTP’s policies and projects. The action element will support the approved policies and strategies developed through the policy element subcommittee. The action element will also be consistent with the financial element to identify investment strategies, alternatives and project priorities.

The draft action element outline will be available for review and comment prior to bringing the draft action element outline to the RTP Roundtable for approval in May 2021.

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

Summary: Fresno Council of Governments opened another cycle of the Unmet Transit Needs Assessment for fiscal year 2021, with the Social Services Transportation Technical Committee (SSTAC) meeting held on Tuesday, Feb. 23.

Under California’s Transportation Development Act, Fresno COG’s Policy Board must determine that public transportation needs within Fresno County will be reasonably met in 2020-21 before approving Local Transportation Funds (LTF) claims for streets and roads. Fresno COG’s SSTAC is responsible for evaluating unmet transit needs.

Public outreach and feedback is an essential component of the Unmet Transit Needs Assessment. Because of the extraordinary circumstances resulting from COVID-19, public outreach will be different from years past. Outreach, this year will be primarily virtual and broken down into two main components: virtual meetings and an online survey.

Four virtual meetings are planned, with three scheduled through ZOOM and a fourth planned for Facebook. The virtual meetings scheduled are as follows:

Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021
10:30 a.m. via ZOOM
2:30 p.m. via ZOOM

Tuesday, March 2, 2021
Noon via Facebook
5:30 p.m. via ZOOM

The second major form of outreach will be an online survey providing stakeholders with the ability to electronically submit comments and feedback. Both the virtual meetings and survey will be heavily marketed online and through Facebook. Notification will also take place via email to COG mailing lists and on social media. 

Facebook campaigns will be highly targeted and limited to Fresno County.  

Both campaigns started on Feb. 8, 2021, with messaging for virtual events running through March 2, 2021, the final virtual event date. Messaging for the online surveys will run through the end of March 2021.

Comments can be submitted via email to comments@fresnocog.org

Comments can also be submitted via conventional mail to:

Brenda Veenendaal, Administrative Services Manager

Fresno Council of Governments

2035 Tulare St., Suite 201, Fresno, CA 93721

The public hearing satisfying the unmet transit needs requirements is scheduled for the March Fresno COG Policy Board meeting, March 25, 2021.  

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

1.

Draft Policy Element Outline (Meg Prince) [APPROVE]

2.

Sustainable Community Strategy (SCS) Scenario Concepts (Seth Scott) [APPROVE]

3.

Telecommute Survey Results (Trai Her-Cole) [INFORMATION]

4.

Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) Project Submittal (Suzanne Martinez) [INFORMATION]

Summary: The Eastside Transportation Corridor Improvement Study is intended to determine future transportation needs within the eastern portion of Fresno County, focusing primarily on the major north-south and east-west transportation corridors, Academy and Manning avenues. The project seeks to plan a future for both corridors that is safe, connected for all modes, provides a better experience for users, and supports the local economies.

Throughout project development, a steering committee participated to identify challenges and solutions for the eastside corridors. The steering committee included representatives from FCOG, Fresno County, Caltrans, project area cities: City of Fresno, Clovis, Sanger, Parlier, Kingsburg, Fowler, Selma, Reedley, and Orange Cove, and local stakeholders including business organizations and bicycling groups. Outreach efforts also included public workshops and were intended to be inclusive and maximize diverse community and stakeholder participation.

The draft Eastside Transportation Corridor Improvement Study was circulated for a 30-day public comment period on Dec. 21. The study can be found on the project website: http://fcogeastsidecorridor.rinconconsultants.com/ and is also at: https://www.fresnocog.org/project/special-studies/.

Action: Staff, the TTC and PAC recommend the Policy Board accept the final Eastside Transportation Corridor Improvement Study.

Summary: Future Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) funding cycles will soon require all jurisdictions to have a Local Roadway Safety Plan (LRSP) or an equivalent document. To ensure the Fresno region can continue to receive its share of HSIP funds, Fresno COG is seeking to develop a Multi-Jurisdictional Local Roadway Safety Plan (MLRSP) for those agencies that do not have one. These include: Fresno County, Coalinga, Clovis, Huron, Firebaugh, San Joaquin, Orange Cove, Kerman, Mendota and Selma.

On Jan. 4, 2021, Fresno COG released a request or proposal for qualified consultants to develop the MLRSP. Proposals were due January 22^nd and Fresno COG received three proposals. A scoring committee comprised of representatives from Fresno COG, County of Fresno, City of Clovis, and City of Coalinga scored each proposal and recommended Kittleson and Associates as the preferred consultant.  

Kittleson and Associates has extensive experience developing local roadway safety plans for jurisdictions and has worked closely with several valley cities on public engagement. Kittleson is also the consultant developing the Regional Transportation Safety Plan which will inform the MLRSP, both documents will require close coordination and will be developed concurrently to ensure completion by March of 2022 before the next HSIP Cycle in April 2022.

The contract amount is not to exceed $271,536.18 and is expected to kick off in March with the Policy Board’s approval on February 25^th.

Action: Staff, TTC and PAC recommend that the Policy Board authorize the executive director to enter into an agreement with Kittelson and Associates to develop the Multi-Jurisdictional Local Roadway Safety Plan in an amount not to exceed $271,536.18.

Summary: The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) and the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) require metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) to set annual targets for five safety performance measures as follows:

• Number of fatalities
• Rate of fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT)
• Number of serious injuries
• Rate of serious injuries per 100 million VMT
• Number of non-motorized fatalities and serious injuries

MPOs can choose to support the statewide target or set a separate regional target. In the previous target-setting iterations, Fresno COG set evidence-based targets for 2018 and supported the statewide targets for 2019 as well as 2020. 

This year, Caltrans set the statewide safety targets using evidence-based (trend line) approach consistent with the California Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP). The trend line approach extrapolates the existing changes in fatalities and serious injuries into the future and is a data-driven process that estimates the impacts of external factors and safety improvements based on collision history derived from various datasets. The 5 years average 2021 safety targets have the annual reduction in fatalities and serious injuries as 2.9% and 1.3% respectively. The white paper for Caltrans’ PM1 2021 Safety Performance Management Target-Setting can be found here: Caltrans’ PM1 2021 Safety Target-Setting Whitepaper.

Each year, Fresno COG compares the statewide targets with its regional evidence-based targets. Since Caltrans is already using the evidence-based approach this year, Fresno COG does not see the need to carry out its regional analysis separately. Please see below for the 2021 statewide safety targets:

Caltrans’ Statewide Safety Target for 2021

Action: Staff and TTC/PAC recommend the Policy Board support the statewide targets for all five safety performance measures for 2021.

Summary: The traffic model has been a key tool in many planning activities such as SB 743 implementation, developing the Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy (RTP/SCS), air quality conformity, environmental impact report (EIR) development, corridor studies, etc.

The model's integrity relies on the data it receives. San Joaquin Valley transportation agencies' models, including Fresno COG's ABM, were based on the household travel survey that Caltrans conducted in 2010/11. Valley residents' travel behavior has changed in that time. In addition, federal air quality conformity regulations require that models applied in the conformity process cannot be more than 10 years old. Most of the models in the Valley are close to that age limit. Fresno COG's AMB, which has a base year of 2014, will expire in 2024.

Caltrans conducted two statewide household travel surveys in the past two decades but will no longer be leading them. Instead, regional agencies are taking on the responsibility. The eight Valley MPOs have collectively decided to pursue funding to conduct a Valleywide household travel survey. The project is estimated to cost around $1.5 million, and if all funding falls in place, the project will kick-off later this year and will be wrapped up in 2022.

The survey will reach approximately 6,700 households, with targeted outreach for low-income and minority communities to ensure a high and unbiased response rate from all counties. About a third of the cost may potentially come from Regional Early Action Plan (REAP) funding to address housing-related issues and hopefully inform housing element development over the next few years. 

Survey data will be used to update all the Valley COGs' travel models. The model update would take place in 2023 for Fresno COG and later for other COGs. The updated models will be applied in the 2026 RTP/SCS, and SB 743 baseline information will be updated with the new model. 

Fresno COG is leading the project, working closely with the other seven Valley COGs to pursue Caltrans' Sustainable Transportation Planning grant and REAP funding. Other funding sources for this project include left-over federal planning dollars from Kings County Association of Governments and SB 1 formula planning dollars from all the COGs.

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

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:  Fresno COG released a request for proposals on Nov. 30 for qualified consultants to prepare the 2022 RTP/SCS program environmental impact report (PEIR) for the 2022 RTP/SCS. Proposals were due on Dec. 9 and Fresno COG received two proposals.

A consultant selection committee comprising representatives from Fresno County and the cities of Clovis, Reedley, Coalinga, the RTP Roundtable, and Fresno COG reviewed the proposals and selected VRPA Technologies as the preferred consultant.

The contract amount is not to exceed $173,491.42 and is expected to kick off in March with the Policy Board’s approval on Feb. 25.

Action: Staff, the RTP Roundtable, and TTC/PAC recommend the Policy Board authorize the executive director enter into a contract with VRPA Technologies to develop the 2022 RTP/SCS environmental impact report for an amount not to exceed $173,491.42.

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

Action:  Forward any comment(s) received or any Committee/Board comment(s) generated as a result of this informational item to the appropriate agency.

Summary: Fresno COG's legislative platform includes advocacy priorities in state and federal legislative matters. It provides a consistent, reliable voice when communicating legislative priorities to state and federal lawmakers as well as to relevant state and federal agencies. It also offers Fresno COG staff and advocacy partners guidance when advocating on behalf of the Policy Board. A draft document was released for review and comment in January, no comments were received.

Action: Staff, TTC and PAC recommend the Policy Board approve the 2021 Legislative Platform.

Summary: The fiscal year (FY) 2021-22 Overall Work Program (OWP), totaling just over $35 million, is submitted for Board and public review. The proposed budget increased $7.22 million from last year. Operational revenues remain intact, reserves are adequate, and the agency continues to operate within the bounds of prudent management.

The largest part of the increase is attributed to a $5 million FTA 5339 grant awarded to FCRTA for its maintenance facility. Another significant factor affecting this increase is that the budget contains fully-funded multi-year projects, and as these “one-time” funds are spent they are not reflected in subsequent years’ budgets. Generally, operating expenses are not affected this way.

Federal revenues increased 19 percent ($2 million), mostly associated with the previously mentioned FTA 5339 grant. However, an additional $1.1 million in FTA 5310 apportionments will also be distributed to transit operators for bus procurement. Kings County Association of Governments, (KCAG) agreed to transfer $325,000 in FHWA planning funds to perform a Valleywide household travel survey.  

State revenues decreased 257 percent ($4,588,834). The largest portion of this decrease centers around the State Regional Early Action Planning grant (REAP), which this year provided $10 million to Fresno and Central Valley MPOs to assist local governments with housing plans and produce Valleywide activities for housing as well. Staff anticipates spending approximately $3 million of that and carrying over the balance into next year’s budget. Specific budget and activity highlights follow.

Staffing & Benefits:

There are no new Fresno COG planning positions included in this year’s proposed budget. Contingencies are carried for merit-based salary increases as well as for anticipated health insurance increases. The overall proposed budget for salaries increased by 4 percent and benefits by 3 percent.

Consulting

The overall consulting budget is $10.7 million, which is a decrease of $107,450, corresponding to projects associated with revenue reductions discussed above regarding multi-year projects.  New consulting projects are discussed below under the work element discussion.

Measure C Commuter Vanpool Subsidy

The budget decreased $228,000 reflecting reduced activity from COVID restrictions.

Measure C Farm Worker Vanpool Subsidy

The budget decreased $175,000, reflecting reduced activity from COVID restrictions.

FTA Section 5339

This is a new $10.2 million budget for FCRTA’s maintenance facility infrastructure. FCRTA will match the federal funds with $5.1 million.

Agency Pass-Through

This account decreased by $3.2 million related to the State REAP funds paid to Valley COGs.

You can review the document on our website https://www.fresnocog.org/project/overall-work-program-owp/.

Action: Staff, TTC and PAC recommend the Policy Board release Fresno COG's 2021-22 Overall Work Program and budget for its 30-day public review.

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