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.

1.

City of Coalinga TDA Claim FY 2022-23 (Les Beshears) [ACTION]

2.

City of Clovis TDA Claim FY 2023-24 (Les Beshears) [ACTION]

3.

County of Fresno TDA Claim FY 2022-23 (Les Beshears) [ACTION]

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

In spring 2023, Fresno COG issued a formal call for projects for $1,831,812 in Fresno County Large Urban Area FTA Section 5310 funding. Staff received four applications totaling $1,746,898 for vehicle purchases and operations. The applicants requested $1,563,086 for capital expenses and $183,812 for FCRTA rural transit dial-a-ride operations. See the attached 2023 FTA Section 5310 Funding Allocation Recommendation Matrix for details. 

A scoring committee comprising volunteers from Fresno COG, Clovis, transit operators and Fresno County Economic Opportunities Commission staff evaluated the applications and issued the attached funding recommendations. The Social Services Transportation Advisory Council (SSTAC) approved the recommendation at their regular meeting on September 19, 2023. 

Action: Fresno COG staff, the 5310 Scoring Committee and the Social Services Transportation Advisory Council requests that TTC/PAC recommend the Policy Board approve awarding $1,746,898 in FTA Section 5310 Program funds for vehicle purchases and operations as outlined in the attached 2023 FTA Section 5310 Funding Recommendations Matrix.

Summary: On March 15, Fresno COG staff submitted its federal fiscal year (FFY) 2022/23 obligation plan to Caltrans' Division of Local Assistance. This plan documents Fresno COG’s estimated project delivery for the remainder of 2022/23. The obligational authority (OA) target for 2022/23 was $22,198,839; however, the region had obligated $28,230,326 as of Aug. 31.  The reason for the over delivery is explained below. The regional estimated OA is 127.2% delivered, leaving a negative balance of $6,031,487, which will roll into next year’s delivery target.  Attached is the list of obligated and de-obligated projects from July to August 31, 2023.

California has traditionally been a recipient of redistributed OA from other states that can’t deliver their full apportionments. After reviewing the initial March 15 obligation plans, Caltrans calculated the State would miss its 2023 OA target and embarked on a statewide campaign to solicit additional projects.  That effort was successful in exceeding the obligational authority target and, in August, California received additional federal funds redistributed from other states to projects pending authorization.

Fresno COG encouraged all agencies to continue submitting their requests for authorization and provided a significant contribution to the state’s goal to over deliver. As of this reporting, the final tab has not been calculated; however, Fresno COG is scheduled to receive August redistribution based on its over delivery. If projects do not receive authorization approval after August, they will be applied to the next federal fiscal year, which just began this October.

Please keep Fresno COG staff updated on any changes that could impact the region’s project delivery plan. Contact Ofelia Abundez at 559-233-4148 ext. 205 or oabundez@fresnocog.org with any questions regarding fiscal year deadlines or the process of obligating project funds. 

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

Summary: The Transportation Development Act (TDA) Trust received sales tax deposits of $60,074,797 during 2022-23, exceeding the original estimated of $52,000,000.  Combined with interest, this resulted in a surplus of $11,171,101.  The State Transit Assistance fund received $15,695,726 during  the year and was distributed to transit operators.

The 2022-23 TDA surplus will be distributed to claimants based on their 2022-23 adopted TDA claims and conditional on completion of the required 2021-22 TDA audit.

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

Summary: Fresno COG's 2023-24 Overall Work Program Amendment #2  includes two new Caltrans planning grant awards, a new work element for regional pavement management system updates, and various adjustments to grants and projects carried over from 2022-23. This amendment reconciles prior-year grant activity and balances to actual costs incurred per Caltrans requirements.

• WE 111 Regional Transportation Modeling –  reduced $26,540 to reflect work completed on the activity-based model in 2022-23.
• WE 120 Public Transportation -  increased $4,610 for work completed on the Coordinated Human Services Transportation Plan in 2022-23.
• WE 122 Regional Mobility Hub – FCOG was awarded an $840,000 grant to develop a plan for dedicated mobility hubs for public transit and electric vehicle charging.
• WE 141 Pavement Management System – Anticipating a future attempt to renew Measure C, a new FHWA PL funded work element provides $1,216,539  for a countywide pavement management index update.
• WE 145 Fresno County Transportation Improvement Plan for Climate Resiliency – Fresno COG was awarded $500,000 to continue environmental analysis for regional climate adapation that began in 2019.
• WE 154 Regional ATP Update  - decreased $51,737 to reflect work completed in 2022-23.
• WE 165 San Joaquin Household Travel Survey - increased $148,119 to finalize the survey.
• WE 166 Transit On Board Survey – Caltrans advised an additional $6,609 available for program management/administration.
• WE 168 California Inland Port Feasibility Study Phase III - reduced $61,156 and eliminated  to reflect work completed on the California Tradeport Study in 2022-23.
• WE 170 Regional Transportation Plan - $120,000 initially programmed for outreach is transferred to WE 141 regional pavement management system update.
• WE 171 Transit Performance Management – Minor adjustment to administrative costs. The total for the work element remain unchanged.
• WE 172 Congestion Management Plan - Approximately $100,000 for a CMP update was transferred to WE 141 regional pavement management system update.
• WE 173 Regional VMT Mitigation Plan - reduced $3,233 to reflect work completed in 2022-23.
• WE 174 Inland Port Feasibility Phase IV – The work element is reduced $412,041 and eliminated.
• WE 177 Regional Microtransit Study - increased $16,954 to accommodate additional work.
• WE 179 Complete Streets Planning - Minor administrative cost adjustments that reconcile to the 2023-24 FHWA complete streets apportionment from Caltrans. The total for the work element remains unchanged.

Aciton:  Staff requests the TTC/PAC recommend the Policy Board approve the 2023-24 Overall Work Program Amendment No. 2, increasing the budget $1,958,124 to $56,217,926.

Summary: In September and October, Fresno COG received nearly 90 applications with funding requests totaling nearly $124 million in response to its biennial call for projects for the Federal Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG), Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) Improvement Program and the new Carbon reduction Program (CRP).  Total funding available across all programs for the two-year cycle (2027-29) is $66.95 million.

Fresno COG received 36 CMAQ applications, totaling $56,232,566 requested. The CMAQ two-year apportionment estimate totaled $29,952,558. As approved by the Fresno COG Policy Board, the proposed category targets are as follows:

• Transit improvements – 18.5%
• Cleaner Fuel Technology – 8%
• Traffic Flow Improvements – 22.5%
• PM2.5/10 Reducing -25%
• Active Transportation Projects*** (Formerly Bike/Ped)- 25%
• Miscellaneous -1%

In addition, staff received 10 applications for the CRP requesting $6,081,810.00. The CRP's two-year apportionment estimate is $3,518,932.

Three weeks later, Fresno COG also received 41 STBG applications requesting $61,738,164.  The STBG two-year apportionment estimate totaled $33,498,449.

The applications will be distributed to the volunteers from those member jurisdictions who have agreed to staff the scoring committee for each funding stream.  Scoring committee members will meet in early December to determine project recommendations, which will be brought to the TTC/PAC and Policy Board in January 2024 for consideration.

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

Fresno COG was awarded a $500,000 2023-2024 Caltrans Sustainable Communities Planning Grant to fund a Fresno County Climate Resiliency Plan. This plan is a follow up to the Transportation Vulnerability Network Assessment (TNVA) that Fresno COG conducted in 2020.

The TNVA identified infrastructure and assets in Fresno County’s transportation network that are most vulnerable to potential risks of climate change, such as floods, wildfires, and extreme heat. The Fresno County Climate Resiliency Plan will build off the identified vulnerabilities in the TNVA by identifying short, medium, and long-term improvements in the transportation system for the next 50 years to address the climate risks in the region.

Planning level cost estimates will be developed for all the projects in the plan. A project-level climate hazard assessment will be conducted for the top five most vulnerable and critical projects. Fresno COG and its consultants will work with the community and local stakeholders (such as local flood control districts) to  conduct outreach among community members and state partners with technical expertise in climate related fields.

The improvement project list from the Climate Resiliency Plan will inform Fresno COG’s 2026 Regional Transportation Plan-Sustainable Communities Strategy (RTP/SCS). Local jurisdictions will be able to use the list to submit projects for the RTP/SCS and will also be able to conduct feasibility studies and hazard assessments for their priority projects on the list. Once such feasibility studies and hazard assessments have been completed, local governments will be able to pursue funding for implementation of the projects.

This project is expected to be completed in February 2026. The grant expires on June 30, 2026.

Action: Information/discussion. The Committee may provide additional direction at its discretion.

Summary:  SB 743 requires that level-of-service (LOS), used in measuring transportation impacts in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), be replaced with vehicle miles traveled (VMT).

Fresno COG developed its SB 743 Implementation Regional Guidelines in 2020, which provided tools for local governments to implement SB 743, should they decide to institute the recommendations. However, due to a lack of clear guidance, VMT mitigation remains an outstanding issue within SB 743 implementation. Projects with significant VMT impacts can’t move forward due to a lack of defined, quantifiable and feasible mitigation measures.

This study evaluated potential regional VMT mitigation programs to meet the CEQA transportation mitigation needs for the 16 jurisdictions comprising Fresno COG. Existing VMT mitigations that often rely heavily on existing transportation demand management (TDM) options are inadequate to fully mitigate many of the planned land use and transportation projects. As such, this study considers whether a programmatic approach, primarily through fee assessments to pay for VMT-reducing projects, is a feasible solution to address transportation-related CEQA mitigation needs within the Fresno region.

Several programmatic approaches to VMT mitigation, including VMT banking, VMT exchanges, and VMT mitigation impact fee programs were considered and analyzed. After completing the project analyses, outreach, framework evaluations, and reviewing all considerations, consultant Kimley-Horn determined that a fee-based VMT mitigation program is a feasible option for the Fresno COG region, and that VMT banking would be the most appropriate initial program framework. A variation of VMT banking, called VMT banking plus, which allows a project applicant to select a project to implement from a predetermined list, was also considered favorable. All these programs were identified as being the most appropriate given that they are more easily understood by the public and decision-makers.

Implementing a fee-based VMT mitigation program adds a new fee that may further increase the cost of housing and other development, as well as increase the cost of any capacity-enhancing projects. However, in the absence of more VMT mitigation solutions, significant uncertainty will remain for many projects, including those that might align with other plans and programs, continuing to impede their ability to progress. This regional program will be adopted by individual jurisdictions at their discretion and does not exclude them from doing their own VMT mitigation program.

Kimley-Horn, the consulting firm who conducted the regional VMT mitigation program study, will be offering a brief presentation to the TTC/PAC. The final report, completed in September 2023, is also attached to this agenda.

Action: Staff requests that the TTC/PAC recommend the Policy Board accept the Fresno COG Regional VMT Mitigation Program Study Final Report.

Summary: Fresno Council of Governments and Placeworks consultants are requesting an amendment to the Fresno County Multijurisdictional Housing Element (MJHE) contract. The housing element is the only general plan element that requires State Housing and Community Development Department (HCD) approval before being adopted. The general plan covers the planning period from 2023-2031. Each jurisdiction is responsible for completing their own housing element as an appendix to the Fresno County Multi-Jurisdictional Housing Element.

As a result of state requirements, each jurisdiction has faced its own set of obstacles, and has required additional resources to complete their housing element by the Dec. 31, 2023 deadline.

The initial April 29, 2022 agreement included a budget of $1,895,000. Placeworks is proposing a contract change order for additional funding to remaining tasks, including additional housing element land inventory analyses, more time to address new HCD requirements, and additional project administration costs, all totaling $210,125.

Due to HCD requirements new to this cycle, participating jurisdictions have needed additional time and resources to meet the Dec. 31, 2023, deadline. Fresno COG proposes to amend the contract  to avoid future sanctions for the region. For example, several federal, state, and regional funding programs consider housing element compliance as an eligibility or ranking criteria. To ensure future funding, it is crucial that the multi-jurisdictional Housing element follows HCD requirements by the deadline.

All participating jurisdictions will require additional funding to complete the public review draft documents for various reasons, including: staff turnover and/or additional modifications such as sites inventories, GIS maps, etc. 

Up to $1 million in funding for the MJHE and this amendment will come from Fresno COG's share of the Regional Early Action Planning (REAP) program; however, each jurisdiction may be responsible for its own expenses incurred for any work that is required beyond this amendment.

Action: Staff requests that the TTC/PAC recommend the Policy Board authorize the executive director to approve a contract amendment with Placeworks for the multijurisdictional housing element in an amount not to exceed $210,125.

Summary:  Fresno COG is accepting applications for the Regional Early Action Planning (REAP 2.0) program. Administered by the California departments of Housing and Community Development (HCD), Air Resources Board (ARB), Strategic Growth Council and the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, REAP 2.0 seeks to accelerate infill housing, reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT), and affirmatively further fair housing through innovative projects. Fresno COG received $13.6 million in funding for this effort. Fresno COG’s member agencies and subconsultant partners can apply Oct. 1–Dec. 15, 2023. Learn more at Fresno COG's REAP 2.0 webpage.

Eligibility

• All of Fresno COG’s member agencies are eligible to apply
• Community-based organizations and developers can apply as a subconsultant to a member agency

Project Eligibility Requirements

Projects must meet HCD’s strict criteria and demonstrate adherence to all REAP 2.0 program objectives:

• Accelerate infill housing development
• Reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT)
• Increase housing supply at all affordability levels
• Affirmatively further fair housing
• Facilitate the implementation of adopted regional and local plans

Key Dates

• Oct. 1, 2023: Project application opens to all Fresno COG member agencies
• TBD November: Fresno COG will hold virtual office hours for prospective applicants to learn more and ask questions
• Dec. 15, 2023: Project application period closes
• December 2023-January 2024: Scoring Committee convenes to review and score applications received
• January-February 2024: Recommendations to be finalized and submitted to the Board for consideration

Learn More - Visit Fresno COG’s REAP 2.0 program webpage to learn more.

Join the Scoring Committee:  Project applications will be evaluated and scored by a scoring committee panel. Scoring committee members will be selected through a fully transparent, inclusive, and equitable process. If you are interested in serving on the committee, please contact Brenda Thomas at bthomas@fresnocog.org.

Action: Information/discussion.  The Committee may provide additional information at its discretion.

Summary:  Over the last several months, a group of 10 proponents and opponents of the recent Measure C renewal effort have been meeting in an effort to determine if there was enough “trust” between both sides to continue work on a new renewal effort. Based on several conversations with stakeholders who participated, collectively, there does not appear to be consensus for the 2024 election cycle.

One of the challenges with a sales tax renewal effort is that the public sector is responsible for developing the expenditure plan, but once that plan has been approved by the appropriate public sector bodies, the process moves into the hands of the private sector, which must raise campaign funds to help ensure passage.

Keep in mind, when it comes to sales tax measures, the public sector can only “educate”, not “advocate.”  It is up to the private sector to raise the campaign funds to “advocate” for passage of the measure.  

The immediate issue or concern is that the public sector could develop a Measure C Renewal Expenditure Plan for the 2024 ballot that has strong support among the public sector, but if there is no private sector support to raise the campaign funds necessary for passage, the effort would likely be pointless.

In addition, in analyzing the potential for having a Measure C renewal on the 2024 ballot, there are two very important, related, statewide ballot measures to consider. The first is Assembly Constitutional Amendment 1 (ACA 1), which the State Legislature recently approved for the November 2024 ballot. In summary, ACA 1:

     …would authorize a local government to impose, extend, or increase a sales and use tax or transactions and use tax imposed in accordance with specified law or a parcel tax, as defined, for the purposes of funding the construction, rehabilitation, or replacement of publicinfrastructure, affordable housing, or permanent supportive housing if the proposition proposing that tax is approved by 55% of its voters voting on the proposition and the proposition includes specified accountability requirements.

If ACA 1 is approved by the voters (requires 50%+1 to pass), the Measure C renewal would only require a 55% threshold for approval. Keep in mind, the 2022 renewal effort resulted in 58% support despite considerable opposition.

The other statewide ballot measure that has qualified for 2024 is the Taxpayer & Government Accountability Act (TGAA).  If passed, this would raise the percentage threshold required for citizen initiative tax increases from the current 50% plus one threshold to a two-thirds (66.1%) vote .

FCTA and COG staff do not believe that sufficient time exists to develop a “new” Measure C Renewal Expenditure Plan with the requisite public outreach and community participation process, and still have time for the private sector to raise campaign funds.

In terms of the renewal planning process, ideally the expenditure plan would be approved by the Board of Supervisors (BOS) sometime in early spring (April/May) 2024.  The earlier BOS approval date would then allow the private sector to begin its campaign and fundraising efforts much sooner and increase the chances of passage.   

Arguably just as important, the results of ACA 1 and TGAA will not be known until after the November 2024 election, so the question when developing an expenditure plan for the 2024 ballot becomes - what is the necessary threshold for passage - 55% or 66%? An expenditure plan that requires 55% voter support for passage will likely look much different than one that requires 66% support.      

One of the issues that affected the outcome of the 2022 renewal effort was the last-minute rush to obtain concurrence from each of the cities and the County Board of Supervisors (BOS). Changes offered to the plan near the end of that process led to wavering support from critical constituents and ultimately voter confusion.

Further, as noted above, BOS final approval did not occur until mid-August, which hampered efforts to raise the funds necessary to pursue a successful campaign. As a result, staff believes that a 2026 target for renewal is more appropriate. Given the existing time constraints, the only way to consider a renewal effort in 2024 would be to simply rerun the plan presented in November of 2022.

Somewhat independent of renewal, but critical to identifying the pavement needs within our region, Fresno COG will be hiring a consultant to update our existing countywide pavement condition survey. The last pavement survey was conducted before last year’s significant winter storms.

Based on all three surveys FCTA commissioned, it remains clear that fixing roads remains the public’s No. 1 priority. Data from this new countywide pavement condition survey will be critical for determining the level of investment necessary to bring roads throughout Fresno County from poor/fair to good condition.

Recommendation: Fresno COG and FCTA staff are recommending that both agencies begin preparing for a November 2026 renewal of Measure C.  The first step should be a Fresno COG/FCTA review of the summary report of the group of 10 meetings. That would be followed by engaging a survey firm to reassess voter priorities as they relate to renewing Measure C.

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.