Fresno COG Policy Board

Summary: The Transportation Development Act (TDA) trust account received sales tax deposits of $60,558,736 during 2023-24, exceeding the original estimate of $57,000,000.  Combined with interest, this resulted in a surplus of $4,732,442. The State Transit Assistance (STA) fund received $13,937,903 during the year and was distributed to transit operators.

The 2023-24 TDA surplus will be distributed to claimants based on their 2023-24 adopted TDA claims and conditional on completion of the required 2023-23 TDA audit.

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

2024-35 Master Fund Transfer Agreement Resolution 2025-2034

Summary: Caltrans has updated its Master Fund Transfer Agreement (MFTA) with Fresno COG. The agreement includes the provisions applicable to the Federal Consolidated Planning Grant, State Highway Account and SB 1 Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Program funds programmed in Fresno COG’s Overall Work Program (OWP) that flow through the Office of Regional Planning. The agreement is set to run for 10 years. Pursuant to the MFTA, each year Fresno COG and Caltrans will adopt an amendment to update funds carried in the adopted OWP.

Action: Staff and TTC/PAC recommend the Board adopt Resolution 2024-35 adopting the Master Fund Transfer Agreement and authorize the interim executive director to sign.

Summary: Fresno COG receives Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Section 5310 Program funds for the Fresno County region, which provides capital and operating assistance grants for projects that meet the transportation 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; that exceed the requirements of the ADA; that improve access to fixed-route service, and; that provide alternatives to public transportation.

On Sept. 19, Fresno COG was awarded $1,729,832 in FTA Section 5310 program funding across four different applications, which include:

Action: Staff and TTC/PAC recommend the Policy Board authorize the Fresno COG interim executive director to enter into contracts with FAX, FCRTA, and UCPCC for the purchase of the approved number of vehicles and transit operating service for the awarded amounts.

Summary: The Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Program (49 U.S.C. 5339) makes federal resources available to states and designated recipients to replace, rehabilitate and purchase buses and related equipment, and to construct bus-related facilities including technological changes or innovations to modify low- or no-emission vehicles or facilities. Funding is provided through formula allocations and competitive grants.

Fresno County Rural Transit Agency (FCRTA) is constructing a new operations and maintenance facility in Selma. FCRTA’s new state-of-the-art facility will include a 10,000-square-foot maintenance shop to service FCRTA’s vehicle fleet, a 5,000-square-foot office, solar bus ports, charging infrastructure, and a bus wash. FCRTA was awarded funding from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) through the Low or No Emission for the Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Competitive Program for Phase II of the Selma Maintenance Facility project.

Phase II comprises a solar field, a solar bus port, electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, workforce development training, and battery back-up storage. For this project, $2,162,886 was awarded in FTA Section 5339(b) to purchase the electric charging infrastructure, including solar panels from the 2023 Low or No Emission Grant Program, under the Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Program.

Action:  Staff and TTC/PAC recommend the Policy Board authorize the Fresno COG interim executive director to enter into a contract with FCRTA for the awarded amount for Phase II of the Selma Maintenance Facility.

FY 23-24 OA Quarterly Report October 2024

Summary: On March 15, Fresno COG staff submitted its Federal fiscal year (FFY) 2023/24 obligation plan to Caltrans’ Division of Local Assistance, which documents Fresno COG’s estimated project delivery for the remainder of the year. The obligational authority (OA) target for 2023/24 was $19,775,275. Of that, the region has obligated $25,712,888 or 130% as of Aug. 31, leaving a balance of -$5,937,575 and exceeding the OA target. Attached is the list of obligated and de-obligated projects from July to Aug. 31.

The federal fiscal year ended Sept. 30. It is the State’s goal to exceed the OA target and, in August, receive additional federal funds redistributed from other states to projects pending authorization. Fresno COG continues to encourage all agencies to continue submitting their requests for authorization. If projects did not receive authorization approval in August, they will be delayed to October, the beginning of the new federal fiscal year 2024/25.

Please keep Fresno COG staff updated on any changes that could impact the region’s project delivery plan. Contact Jennifer Rodriguez at 559-233-4148 ext. 203 or jrodriguez@fresnocog.org with any questions regarding fiscal year deadlines or the process of obligating project funds.

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

Annual Calendar 2025

Summary: Staff annually provides a listing of all anticipated Policy Board and committee meetings, as well as office holidays, for the coming calendar year.

Action: Staff and TTC/PAC recommend the Policy Board adopt the 2025 Fresno COG meeting calendar.

2024-36 Measure C Expenditure Plan Update - Rural Projects Resolution

Summary: The 2006 Measure C ordinance established separate urban and rural capital project funds for major regional street and highway infrastructure projects.

The Rural Tier I list included a project to connect Interstate 5 to State Route 180. Fresno COG studied several alignments and eventually designated a 23-mile corridor between Mendota and I-5 as the preferred alternative. The designated corridor includes an environmentally sensitive area where 14.5 miles of proposed roadway presently does not exist.

A 2006 cost estimate of $305 million has been carried in the expenditure plan since 2009; however, anticipated revenues have never been enough to cover the estimated cost, so the project was programmed in the last year of the Measure resulting in a deficit that has averaged between $200-$220 million. More recently a 2023 Caltrans Project Study Report indicates the project could cost as much as $316 million.

The current Measure expires in 2027, and while efforts are underway to extend it, the project is clearly not viable within the existing life of the Measure without a significant contribution from some yet-to-be-identified funding source.  It is therefore appropriate to consider substituting $75-$100 million in deliverable projects against the rural residual balance.

Measure C’s enabling legislation allows Fresno COG to amend the expenditure plan to include new projects with an affirmative vote by both the Fresno COG and Fresno County Transportation Authority boards; however, it stipulates priority should be given to the intent of the projects promised to the voters in 2007. Therefore the projects should:

• Be on or related to projects on the voter-approved Tier I and Tier II list approved by the voters in 2006
• Facilitate regional connectivity to Interstate 5

Staff has conferred with Caltrans to identify four projects meeting these criteria.

• Passing Lane on State Route 33 between Mendota and Firebaugh -$16 million
• Passing Lane on State Route 180 between Kerman and Mendota – $16 million
• Passing Lane on State Route 198 between Kings County Line and Interstate 5 – $9 million
• Widen State Route 145 North of Whitesbridge connecting to State Route 180 – $5 million

Fresno COG staff met with FCTA staff, Caltrans, and the rural westside mayors to discuss swapping these projects with the SR 180/I-5 project. Various alternatives were discussed including:

• Improvements to Manning Avenue and State Route 145 between San Joaquin and Kerman.
• A roundabout to address a safety issue at State Route 33 and Manning Avenue
• A safety Issue on State Route 33 near Mendota High School
• A bike/pedestrian trail proposal to connect westside cities

There has been no preliminary engineering or cost estimates for any of these additional projects. Caltrans agreed to explore the safety issues related to SR 33/Manning Avenue and SR 33 in Mendota, and if appropriate, to initiate projects that may be eligible for State funding.

The current estimated cost of the four recommended projects is $46 million, which does not fully program the rural residual balance; however, these cost estimates could increase, and FCTA presently has three major priority projects totaling $218 million in various phases of project development and approaching construction in the next two years that could also experience cost increases. Those priority projects are: Golden State Boulevard Corridor, the State Route 99/American Avenue Interchange, and State Route 41 Elkhorn-Excelsior gap closure. In light of recent inflationary pressures, staff recommends leaving a prudent reserve to cover unexpected cost increases until these projects are bid for construction and substantially complete.

During the meeting with the westside mayors, they requested a list of additional priority projects be discussed in the future that could also be appropriate for the proposed extension of Measure C; however, there was unanimous support for moving forward with the four recommended regional projects listed above.

Action: Staff recommends the Policy Board adopt Resolution 2024-36 authorizing an amendment to the Measure C Regional Transportation Program Expenditure Plan and recommend the FCTA add the following projects to the Rural Tier I list.

• Passing Lane on SR 33 between Mendota and Firebaugh – $16 million
• Passing Lane on SR 180 between Kerman and Mendota – $16 million
• Passing Lane on SR 198 between Kings County Line and I-5 – $9 million
• Widen SR 145 North of Whitesbridge connecting to SR 180 – $5 million

Summary: Fresno COG and the Fresno County Transportation Authority have a long history of working cooperatively in all things related to Measure C, whose enabling legislation provides that the regional transportation planning agency (Fresno COG) shall develop the expenditure plan for the ballot measure.

To that end, FCTA has requested that Fresno COG hire a project manager, a survey firm, public outreach firm and a facilitator to convene the executive committee overseeing the expenditure plan.

These contracts will be funded pursuant to a cooperative agreement for $1.75 million between the FCTA and Fresno COG. FCTA will propose approving the same cooperative agreement in December; however, to avoid losing additional time, staff will begin issuing requests for proposals for these activities.

Specifically, staff is proposing the $1.75 million be allocated as follows over a roughly 18-month timeframe:

• Project manager, to organize and manage statutory requirements and information/input from the public, MC3 renewal committee(s), stakeholders and elected representatives, develop and craft the final draft expenditure plan, as directed: $650,000
• Public outreach firm, to coordinate and hold a minimum, anticipated 40 public workshops/meetings throughout the region, create and manage social media and radio advertising, billboards, focus groups, and multiple other strategies designed to maximize transparent, thorough and meaningful public input from community residents on specific project ideas, program areas and other components that make up the next Measure C initiative: $750,000, with a minimum $150,000 reserved for community-based organizations to host public workshops/meetings
• Meeting/Community Facilitator to bring together disparate interests, stakeholders, jurisdictional representatives and the public as part of one or more committees to receive, address and consider public input as well as professional, technical and policy analysis in making recommendations to the Fresno COG and FCTA boards of directors: $200,000
• Survey firm to provide statistically valid survey results to determine public familiarity with Measure C and its performance to date, test voter sentiment regarding the viability of a renewal initiative and recommend communications/messaging suitable for a renewal effort: $150,000

The intent is to release all four requests for proposals simultaneously at the beginning of November, anticipating contracts by the end of January; however, not all contracts would necessarily have to be activated at once

Two actions are required:

Action: Staff, TTC and PAC recommend the Board authorize the interim executive director sign a cooperative agreement for $1.75 million with FCTA.

Action: Staff, TTC and PAC recommend the Board authorize an amendment to the 2023-24 Overall Work Program and budget to increase Work Element 210 – Measure C Planning by $1.75 million.

Summary: The 2026 Regional Transporation Plan (RTP) call-for-projects started on Oct. 1 and will end on Dec. 1. Fresno COG staff held a workshop on Sept. 25, to guide member agencies on submitting new projects and modifying existing, carried-over projects through FresnoTrak. Members also received instructions on the scoring process. Instructions and the workshop recording were emailed to all member agencies. Fresno COG staff will send friendly reminders about the deadline and encourage member agencies to reach out with any questions.

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

Summary: This month’s Regional Clearinghouse Calendar containing “project notification and review reports” for grant proposals.

1. USDA Rural Development

Project Subject to Review:

The Regional Clearinghouse is a process of informing local agencies of Federal grant requests, providing an opportunity to comment, and potentially avoid duplication of effort. Clearinghouse items are brought before the Policy Advisory Committee (PAC) and, if appropriate, the Transportation Technical Committee (TTC) for review and comment. Any resulting TTC/PAC comments, and any comments received from other agencies as a result of the Clearinghouse notification process, are noted on a monthly report brought forward to the Fresno COG Policy Board.

COG Policy Board action authorizes staff to forward any comments received to the State Clearinghouse and other appropriate agencies. The applicants have been notified of this meeting. While participation by the agency is optional, they have been personally requested to attend the Policy Board meeting in case there should be any questions. Project notification and review reports describing these projects are attached.

Action: Per Board procedure, unless an item is pulled from the Consent Calendar, tacit authorization is given for staff to 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 serves as the fiscal agent for the San Joaquin Valley Regional Early Action Planning (REAP) Committee, which is responsible for distributing nearly $19 million in state housing planning funds. Those funds are intended to assist member jurisdictions and regional planning agencies prepare for the sixth-cycle Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) and housing element update process.

To date, approximately $5.5 million has been reserved for tasks, activities and deliverables intended of a Valleywide scope and benefit among all eight counties.

Phase two of Valleywide activities, tasks and deliverables involves technical assistance work with several consultant firms to assist San Joaquin Valley jurisdictions with different components of their housing element updates.  Fresno COG is proposing a San Joaquin Valley Objective Design Standards Study and Guidebook as the last major deliverable in the Valleywide program.

Fresno COG and REAP program manager Sigala, Inc. issued a request for proposals for the study from the remaining consultants already contracted to offer technical assistance under the program. Staff and consultant Michael Sigala selected Raimi Associates from the three proposals received, which also included Mintier-Harnish and Precision Engineering. Raimi’s $89,270 proposal demonstrated the architectural elements and understanding that Fresno COG was seeking, as well as the tight timeline restrictions.

Action: Staff and PAC recommend that the Policy Board authorize the interim executive director to sign a contract with Raimi Associates for the San Joaquin Valley Objective Design Standards Study for an amount not to exceed $89,270 through Dec. 31, 2024.

Summary: Fresno COG serves as the fiscal agent for the San Joaquin Valley Regional Early Action Planning (REAP) Committee, which is responsible for distributing nearly $19 million in state housing planning funds. Those funds are intended to assist member jurisdictions and regional planning agencies prepare for the sixth-cycle Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) and housing element update process.

The Valleywide Objective Design Standards Study contract proposed in the agenda item above represents the final deliverable in the scope of Valleywide products under the SJV REAP program. REAP funding has a Dec. 31, 2024 deadline for expenditure.

With nearly $2.9 million remaining available to SJV jurisdictions, Fresno COG is proposing to use the remainder of Valleywide REAP funding to offset local juridictions’ expenses to date for costs related to housing element updates throughout the Valley. Fresno COG estimates its share of those funds at approximately $900,000.

Following its memorandum of understanding with Fresno COG for the regional multi-jurisdictional housing element (MJHE), the City of Fresno used Local Early Action Planning (LEAP) funds at the outset to cover early MJHE-related expenses until Fresno COG began covering MJHE invoices fully in July 2023.

Because LEAP funds are ineligible for reimbursement, the City of Fresno is requesting an amendment to PlaceWorks’ contract totaling $49,554 to prepare the errata document, address additional rounds of review from the Department of Housing and Community Development, and to include a small contingency.

This approach will ensure — to the extent possible — that all housing element-related costs for all jurisdictions are 100% covered by State funds.

Action: Staff and PAC recommend the Policy Board authorize the interim executive director to amend PlaceWorks’ MJHE contract, increasing the total by $49,554 to $2,218,892.

Summary:   Fresno COG’s One Voice effort brings together multiple agencies, jurisdictions and transportation stakeholders to rally around an approved list of policy issues and/or funding requests. After a five-year hiatus, the One Voice effort was revived earlier this year with a public-private delegation visiting Congressional and Federal agency representatives in Washington, D.C. to pursue funding, grant opportunities and policy changes. One Voice delegates agreed that the advocacy trip was successful and should be scheduled annually.

Some of Fresno COG’s partnering agencies, including the Fresno County Economic Opportunities Commission, Workforce Development Board and Westlands Water District, have expressed an interest in participating in a 2025 One Voice effort. However, staff seeks the Policy Board’s assistance in identifying regional transportation-related issues or projects that could be carried to D.C. next spring.

With anticipation, staff is developing a Regional Priority Submittal Form, which could be released to the public this month. Any public or private entity is welcome to submit a priority for consideration by the One Voice Steering Committee and the Fresno COG Policy Board. Submitting entities must commit to sending or assigning a representative to Washington D.C. with the delegation to speak on the priorities’ behalf. Staff proposes the trip be tentatively set for late spring 2025.

The 2024 Priorities Summary and additional trip information is available here:  Fresno COG’s One Voice Webpage.

Action:  Staff and PAC recommend the Policy Board approve moving forward with One Voice 2025 advocacy trip planning.

Summary: Labor Negotiations Committee will discuss contract negotiations with the Policy Board for Executive Director, which will be considered in closed session.

Unrepresented employee: Executive Director

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

Return to Regular Session

Action: The Labor Negotiation team, consisting of Mayors Beltran, Fast, and Pursell, recommend that the Policy Board approve and authorize the chair to execute an employment agreement with Robert Phipps to serve as the Executive Director of FCOG, in exchange for an annual salary of $197,735.00, subject to the terms and conditions carried forth from prior Executive Director agreements, except that the proposed agreement include eight days of administrative leave as opposed to seven.