Action: Elect

1)  Chair

2)  Vice-Chair

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.

Action: Approve Resolution 2024-18 adopting the City of Kerman's 2023-24 Transportation Development Act claims totaling $1,161,622.

Summary: Fresno COG is proposing a final 2023 Federal Transportation Improvement Program Amendment No. 17 (2023 FTIP Amendment No. 17); 2022 Regional Transportation Plan Amendment No. 3 (2022 RTP Amendment No. 3) and; the 2024 Conformity Analysis. Associated documentation is attached.

• 2023 FTIP Amendment No. 17: Attachment 1 includes the 2023 FTIP Amendment No. 17.  The FTIP is a near-term listing of capital improvement and operational expenditures using Federal and State funding for transportation projects in Fresno County during the next four years. The attachment also includes the corresponding updated FTIP financial plan.
• 2022 RTP Amendment No. 3: Attachment 2 includes a summary of programming changes to the 2022 RTP and corresponding financial table updates. Final Amendment No. 3 is necessary to reflect funding, open-to-traffic dates, and scope changes to regionally significant, capacity-increasing projects. The amendment changes are consistent with the design concept and scope or schedule of existing regionally significant projects and do not change the timeframe of the transportation plan.
• Conformity Requirements: Attachment 3 includes the Final 2024 Conformity Analysis, which supports a finding that the 2023 FTIP Amendment No. 17 and 2022 RTP Amendment No. 3 meet air quality conformity requirements for ozone and particulate matter. The Final 2024 Conformity Analysis also addresses upcoming conformity budgets in the SJV 2016 Moderate Area PM2.5 Plan for the 2012 PM2.5 standard and 2018 PM2.5 Plan addressing the 1997 PM2.5 and 2012 PM2.5 serious nonattainment area requirements, which are undergoing EPA review. Should EPA act on these additional SIP elements, this conformity analysis includes an “upcoming budget test” in case the new transportation conformity budgets become available.
• Public Involvement: Attachment 4 includes the public notice and adoption resolution.  Staff held a public hearing on May 15 to receive comments regarding 2023 FTIP Amendment No. 17; 2022 RTP Amendment No. 3 and; the corresponding air quality conformity analysis. Comments received were addressed in the attached.

Action: Staff requests the TTC/PAC recommend Fresno COG's Policy Board approve Resolution 24-11, adopting the 2023 FTIP Amendment No. 17; 2022 RTP Amendment No. 3 and; the corresponding 2024 Air Quality Conformity Analysis.

Summary:  The Fresno Area Express (FAX) and Fresno County Rural Transit Agency (FCRTA) urban and rural Consolidated Transportation Services Agencies’ (CTSA) Operations, Program, and Budget (OPB) for fiscal year, 2024-2025 provides an overview of how and in what manner the CTSA will be providing services over the next fiscal year.  The proposed adoption is scheduled for Thurs., June 27 at the Fresno COG Policy Board meeting.

Action:  Staff and SSTAC request that TTC/PAC recommend two actions to adopt the Urban and Rural Consolidated Transportation Services Agency’s Operations, Program, and Budget:

1) that the FCOG Policy Board approve Resolution 2024-19 for the Urban CTSA, and;

2) that the FCOG Policy Board approve Resolution 2024-20 for the Rural CTSA.

Summary: The Clovis Consolidated Transportation Services Agency’s (CTSA) Operations Program and Budget (OPB) for FY 2024-2025 for the Clovis Urban area provides an overview of how and in what manner the Clovis CTSA will provide service over the next fiscal year.  The proposed adoption is scheduled for Thurs., June 27, at the Fresno COG Policy Board meeting.

Action: Staff and SSTAC request that TTC/PAC recommend the Fresno COG Policy Board approve Resolution 2024-21, adopting the Clovis Consolidated Transportation Service Agency’s Operations, Program, and Budget for FY 2024-2025.

Summary: A round-up of upcoming Federal and State grant opportunities for local jurisdictions.

Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles (CHDV) Grants

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a request for applications (RFA) for Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles (CHDV) Grants authorized by the Inflation Reduction Act (P.L. 117-169). The program helps replace Class 6 and Class 7 heavy-duty vehicles with zero-emission (ZE) vehicles. EPA expects to award $932 million in funding, with at least $400 million set aside or projects serving one or more communities designated as nonattainment areas. The agency intends to allocate approximately 70 percent of total funding toward the School Bus Sub-Program and 30 percent of funding toward the Vocational Vehicles Sub-Program. EPA expects to award 40 to 160 grants, ranging from $500,000 to $60 million each. Cost share requirements vary and are outlined on page 17 of the RFA.  The application deadline is July 25, 2024.

2024 Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) Stage 1 Grants

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has issued a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for fiscal year (FY) 2024 Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) Stage 1 Grants.  The program supports demonstration projects involving advanced smart city and community technologies or systems that improve transportation efficiency and safety to solve real-world challenges. DOT expects to award $50 million in total program funding through grants ranging from $250,000 to $2 million each. There is no cost share requirement.

There are two stages for funding in the SMART Grants Program: Stage 1 Planning and Prototyping Grants (Stage 1 grants) and Stage 2 Implementation Grants (Stage 2 grants). Stage 1 grants  support partnerships with stakeholders, refinement and prototyping of concepts, and results reporting. Stage 1 awardees will be eligible to apply for $50 million worth of Stage 2 grants of up to $15 million each that support the scaled-up demonstration of those concepts in a separate solicitation that will be released later in 2024. Please note that DOT will only award Stage 1 grants under this solicitation. The application deadline is 5 p.m. Eastern time, July 12.

Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit (48[e]) Program

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) have opened submissions for the 2024 Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit (48(e)) Program, which supports solar and wind facilities in low-income communities. The agencies will allocate credits for projects up to 2.1 gigawatts (GW) in capacity. A bonus credit of 10 or 20 percent will be applied on top of the existing Section 48 Investment Tax Credit (ITC), depending on project category.

Those categories include: located in a low-income community (Category 1); Located on Indian land (Category 2); qualified low-income residential building projects (Category 3); and qualified low-income economic benefit projects (Category 4).

At least 50 percent of the capacity in each category will be reserved for facilities meeting additional selection criteria based on ownership or geography. IRS and DOE's 30-day initial application window ends June 27. The agencies will then accept applications on a rolling basis.

Charging and Fueling Discretionary Grant Opportunity

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has issued a NOFO for the second round of the Charging and Fueling Discretionary Grant Opportunity, which supports electric vehicle (EV) charging and alternative fueling infrastructure in urban and rural communities and along designated highways, interstates, and major roadways.

FHWA expects to award approximately $1.3 billion in funding, of which $800 million is available for new Round 2 applications, and the remaining $521.2 million is set aside for unsuccessful applications previously submitted under the first round of the program.

Within the larger opportunity, FHWA will award grants under the Community Charging and Fueling Program Grants (Community Program) and Alternative Fuel Corridor Grants (Corridor Program). Award sizes for the Community Program range from $500,000 to $15 million each. The minimum award size for the Corridor Program is $1 million, and there is no maximum award size.

There is a minimum 20 percent nonfederal cost share requirement for all awards. The deadline for non-awarded Round 1 sponsors to request reconsideration for Round 2 funding is July 1. The deadline to submit new applications for Round 2 will be Aug. 28.

Those jurisdictions seeking a letter of support or partnership for a CFI Project from Caltrans District 6 will need to coordinate with their respective Caltrans district representative.

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

Summary: The San Joaquin Valley metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) have been working with interagency consultation (IAC) partners to improve the project-level conformity (or particulate-matter hot-spot process) to clearly meet and document public participation requirements in 40 CFR 93.105(e). Trinity Consultants has been leading this effort by drafting Valley-specific hot-spot guidelines that describe the new procedures step by step, highlighting enhanced coordination between the MPOs and the project sponsor. The main change involves scheduling a simultaneous interagency conference call and public meeting to review each non-exempt project and PowerPoint associated with each project sponsor. This new process will allow the public and IAC partners, including Caltrans, FHWA and EPA, to ask project sponsor questions directly to make conformity determinations “live” during the conference. The new process will include posting project information on each individual COG website for a seven-day public comment period, responding to public comments, and scheduling an IAC call that can also be attended by the public.

The first hot-spot determinations for the cities of Fowler and Sanger were successfully conducted last month. Both received "live" concurrence from IAC partners. For future hot-spot assessments, Fresno COG staff will work closely with Trinity Consultants and IAC partners to ensure that project sponsors provide complete information to ensure a smooth and transparent project-level conformity process.

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

Summary: On May 31, Fresno COG submitted the Draft 2025 Federal Transportation Improvement Program (FTIP), Draft 2022 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) Amendment No. 4, and Draft Corresponding Conformity Analysis for interagency consultation and public review. Associated documentation is attached.

• 2025 FTIP: The 2025 FTIP is a near-term listing of capital improvement and operational expenditures using Federal and State monies for transportation projects in Fresno County during the next four years.

• 2022 RTP Amendment No. 4: Includes a summary of programming changes to the 2022 RTP and corresponding financial table updates. Draft Amendment No. 4 reflects funding, open-to-traffic date, and scope changes to regionally significant, capacity-increasing projects. The amendment changes are consistent with the design concept and scope or schedule of existing regionally significant projects, and does not change the timeframe of the transportation plan.

• Conformity Requirements: The Draft Air Quality Conformity Analysis supports a finding that the 2025 FTIP and 2022 RTP meet air quality conformity requirements for ozone and particulate matter. The Conformity Analysis Documentation Checklist is included as Appendix A of the document.

• Public Involvement: Includes the Draft Public Notice and Adoption Resolution.

The public review and comment period is open for 30 days commencing May 31 through June 30. Staff held a public hearing on June 12 at Fresno COG's Sequoia Board Room and via Zoom webinar. Public comments are due orally or in writing by 5:30 p.m. on June 30.

Fresno COG's Policy Board will consider adopting the 2025 FTIP, 2022 RTP Amendment No. 4, and corresponding Air Quality Conformity Analysis during its regular meeting at 5:30 p.m. on July 25.

The Draft 2025 FTIP, Draft 2022 RTP Amendment No. 4 and Draft Corresponding Air Quality Conformity Analysis is available on Fresno COG's website at Federal Transportation Improvement Program (FTIP) - Fresno Council of Governments (fresnocog.org)

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

Summary: Access for All (AFA) is a state-funded program that Fresno COG administers regionally. Senate Bill 1376 established AFA in 2018 by directing the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to design a program that offers accessibility for persons with disabilities to transportation network companies’ (TNCs, e.g., Uber & Lyft) services, including wheelchair users who need a wheelchair-accessible vehicle (WAV).

To fund the program, the CPUC instituted a $0.10 access fee collected on each TNC ride. There are two different ways to meet the statute’s overall goal of expanding and improving on-demand WAV transportation in California. The first is for TNCs to invest access fee revenue to expand or improve on-demand WAV service in a particular county. In return, they can file offset requests allowing the TNC to keep some of the revenue they collect, equal to the amount they invest in a particular county.

The second method allows the CPUC to set aside remaining monies (not claimed by the TNCs in the offset process) in a Access Fund. These funds are then distributed to access providers, such as transit operators, through Local Access Fund Administrators (LAFAs), which is how Fresno COG has been classified since 2021. The CPUC allocates funds annually proportional to the percent of fees originating in that county.

As of June 30, 2024, Fresno COG has awarded a total of $373,534 to fund projects and improvements toward “dial-a-ride” services to both the Fresno County Rural Transportation Agency (FCRTA) and Clovis Transit.

Action: Staff requests that the TTC/PAC approve Fresno COG to serve another year as the designated Local Agency Fund Access for eligible transit operators and to distribute $191,651 towards eligible projects focused on “on-demand” para-transportation by signing both the “LAFA Board Resolution 2024-23” and “LAFA Consent Form.”  

Summary: Fresno COG has completed the FY 2025 cycle of the Unmet Transit Needs process, which includes the Unmet Transit Needs Asessment Report.  Fresno COG released the FY 2024-2025 draft Unmet Transit Needs Assessment Report with the agenda for the May 6 Social Services Transportation Advisory Committee (SSTAC) meeting, during which the Committee approved the release of the draft report for a 30-day public review and comment period.

Fresno COG staff regularly exceeds minimum public outreach requirements, this year holding seven public meetings, six of which were in-person, and two that took place virtually. 

Feedback was also collected online with a survey, social medial posts, a dedicated email address, and an “800” line during February and March. The sole public hearing requirement was satisfied at the April 25 Policy Board meeting, where staff received two public comments, both of which have been added to the draft report.  

Examples of public comments received, included:

• ·        Feedback on FAX, FCRTA, and Clovis Transit routes and services,
• ·        Questions on FAX, FCRTA, and Clovis Transit routes and services, and
• ·        General transportation-related comments.

This cycle, 38 comments were received, five of which were unmet needs, none of which were found to be reasonable to meet. All comments received, transit agency responses, and determinations of unmet needs are within the report and include the comment letter received from Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability, along with Fresno COG’s official response.

Action: Staff and SSTAC request the TTC/PAC recommend that the Policy Board adopt Resolution 2024-22, approving Fresno COG’s FY 2024-2025 Unmet Needs Assessment Report, and to find that there are five unmet needs, none of which are “reasonable to meet.”

Summary:  Fresno COG released its Draft 2024 Public Participation Plan (PPP) for a 45-day public review and comment period beginning May 17 through June 30, 2024. The PPP identifies opportunities for the public to participate in Fresno COG’s planning processes and provides the Fresno COG Policy Board and staff with guidance on conducting public outreach and interagency consultation early and often during the regional planning process. It contains policies, guidelines, processes, and procedures Fresno COG commits to implementing while seeking and fostering open public involvement during the decision-making process, regarding all matters within its discretion.

At 5:30 p.m. on June 27, Fresno COG’s Policy Board will conduct a public hearing during its normal monthly meeting in the Sequoia Conference Room at 2035 Tulare Street, Fresno, CA 93721 in downtown Fresno. The meeting is accessible to the people with disabilities. Individuals with disabilities may call Fresno COG (with three-working days’ advance notice) to request auxiliary aids necessary to participate. Translation services are available (with three-days’ advance notice) to participants speaking any language other than English. Public comments are welcomed at the public hearing or they may be submitted in writing via mail or email to the following:

Brenda Thomas, Fresno COG Administrative Services Manager

• bthomas@fresnocog.org
• 2035 Tulare Street, Suite 201, Fresno, CA 93721

After addressing all submitted comments, the 2024 Public Participation Plan will be considered for adoption, by resolution, on July 25 by the Fresno COG Policy Board at its regularly scheduled meeting. All documents are available for review or download on the Fresno COG website at fresnocog.org or in hard copy at the Fresno COG offices.

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

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.