Regional Transportation Plan and Sustainable Communities Strategy Roundtable

Summary: Fresno COG staff has developed a webmap where users can view the locations, descriptions, and other details of the projects submitted for analysis in the 2026 RTP/SCS.  Projects can be filtered and viewed by mode, jurisdiction, and individual projects can be selected to view details such as project limits/description, estimated cost, open to traffic date, etc.

Staff will be providing a brief demonstration of this map, as well as instructions on how to access it.

 Action: Information only. Direction may be provided at the discretion of the RTP Roundtable.

2026 RTP Revenue Projection w. Cost Banding

Summary: As required by federal transportation law (23CFR450.322), the RTP shall be financially constrained. To meet this requirement, the RTP compares revenue projections for its 20+ year planning horizon against all projects submitted during the RTP call-for-projects to ensure that the adopted program of projects will not exceed reasonably foreseeable future revenues. The revenue assumptions include revenue estimates for specific governmental funding programs, local contributions, and tax initiatives.

The attached draft base revenue projection lists all reasonably available funding sources, the base year annual funding estimate, the source of the base year estimate, the inflated annual funding estimate in 2030, and the RTP lifetime cumulative estimate based on estimated 2030 dollars. 2030 is used as a starting point for the revenue projections because the first four years of the RTP’s planning horizon will be accounted for in the 2025 Federal Transportation Improvement Program (FTIP).

Fresno COG will rely on the following assumptions to develop revenue and cost projections:

• The RTP’s estimated revenues assume an inflation rate of two percent and are reported in expenditure year dollars.
• Local Transportation Fund revenues are assumed to be constant throughout the RTP’s life
• The Surface Transportation Block Grant Program (STBG) and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) Program, will continue or be replaced by similar programs throughout the RTP’s life.
• Federal and State Transit funds are assumed to remain at their present levels throughout the plan’s life.
• Projected state and federal highway revenues reflect the average amounts programmed in the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) and are consistent with the CTC-adopted, five-year STIP fund estimate.
• Measure C, Fresno County’s local ½-cent sales tax for transportation improvements, will be renewed and/or augmented before it expires in 2027. Voters have extended the measure once already, in 2006.

Action:  Information only. Direction may be provided at the discretion of the RTP Roundtable.The final 2026 RTP/SCS Revenue Projections will be brought back to the Roundtable later this Spring for final approval.

Summary: Since its inception, the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) has served as a green building and sustainable development resource to local governments. We support elected and appointed officials, staff, and community advocates on a range of issues and programs related to improving people’s lives and the health of our planet. Our rating system LEED for Cities goes beyond buildings to measure and manage the sustainability and resilience of entire jurisdictions. USGBC’s Vice President for Sustainable Cities, Hilari Varnadore, is pleased to join the Fresno Council of Governments meeting to discuss how regional governments can help to advance this important work.

 Action: Information only. Direction may be provided at the discretion of the RTP Roundtable.

Summary:  In January, Fresno COG’s Policy Board approved four contracts totaling nearly $1.75 million for the 2026 Measure C expenditure plan development and renewal effort, including $199,629 for a steering committee facilitator.  This contract, along with the overall program manager’s contract, was awarded to DKS, with a variety of subconsultants in various supporting roles.

On Feb. 5, Fresno COG and Fresno County Transportation Authority (FCTA) staff held its kick-off meeting with facilitator and program manager Kendall Flint to review expectations and approaches to forming the renewal committee and how it will operate.  To date, Fresno COG has received more than a dozen “expression of interest” forms from different stakeholders and stakeholder groups to serve on the committee.

While no selections have been made, the applications cover a wide range of interest groups, including the Fresno Cycling Club, the Sequoia Safety Council, Tree Fresno, the Central Valley Community Foundation, Center for Community Voices at Fresno State, Tranquility Resource Conservation District, Central Labor Council and several others.

Kendall Flint is a transportation sales tax measure veteran who has produced or helped produce six prior expenditure plans, from as nearby as Madera County in 2024 to Placer County in the north, along with measures in Merced and Stanislaus counties also in the San Joaquin Valley.

Ms. Flint has already begun connecting with a wide variety of stakeholder groups throughout the region to supplement Fresno COG’s solicitation for committee members and will continue to conduct research and interviews throughout February and into March, with a goal of the first renewal committee meeting occurring in March or April.

The process will work toward early consensus on those issues that are considered non-controversial for the overall regional good.  Reports from the committee’s progress will follow Fresno COG’s regular agenda process, coming through the TTC/PAC and Board on a monthly or semi-monthly basis. Updates regarding Measure C’s renewal will be provided to the RTP Roundtable periodically over the course of the development of the 2026 Measure C Renewal Expenditure Plan, which is anticipated to be finalized in the Spring of 2026.

Action: Information only. Direction may be provided at the discretion of the RTP Roundtable.