DATE: July 25, 2013

Transcription

1 MULTIMODAL TRANSPORTATION PLANNING MINUTES OF THE JEFFERSON-ORANGE-HARDIN REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION STUDY (JOHRTS) AREA TRANSPORTATION PLANNING COMMITTEE (TPC) DATE: July 25, 2013 TIME: 10:00 a.m. PLACE: South East Texas Regional Planning Commission (SETRPC) Homer E. Nagel Conference Room, Beaumont, TX I. ROLL CALL OF VOTING MEMBERS AND CERTIFICATION OF A QUORUM Commissioner Jody Crump, Orange County, called the meeting to order, welcomed guests, and certified the presence of a quorum. II. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA Commissioner Jody Crump, Orange County, called for a motion to adopt the meeting agenda as prepared and distributed. Jimmie Lewis, Planning Director, City of Orange, made the motion and Taylor Shelton, Director of Public Works, City of Port Neches, seconded the motion. III. MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING April 19, 2013 Commissioner Jody Crump, Orange County, called for a motion to adopt the minutes as prepared and distributed. Jimmie Lewis, Planning Director, City of Orange, made the motion and Taylor Shelton, Director of Public Works, City of Port Neches, seconded the motion.

2 IV. REPORT ON THE STATUS OF TRANSPORTATION PLANNING ACTIVITIES STATUS ON SETRPC-MPO PLANNING ACTIVITIES The South East Texas Regional Planning Commission Metropolitan Planning Organization (SETRPC-MPO) staff continued work on the following activities: 1. The SETRPC-MPO staff, in conjunction with the TxDOT-Beaumont District, finalized updates to the functional classification of roadways and adjusted urban area boundaries in the JOHRTS area and submitted these updates to the TxDOT-Transportation Planning and Programming Division. 2. The SETRPC-MPO staff submitted the revisions to the Exempt Project JOHRTS FY Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) to the TxDOT-Transportation Planning and Programming Division for the May 2013 Quarterly Revision to the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program. 3. The SETRPC-MPO staff prepared the Draft FY 2014 Unified Planning Work Program for TxDOT review and subsequent approval by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) pending adoption by the Transportation Planning Committee. 4. The SETRPC-MPO staff participated in the annual meeting/workshop of the Texas State Data Center, where Census officials and the state demographer provided in-depth information on data resources available in the State of Texas. 5. The SETRPC-MPO staff hosted the Texas Department of Transportation-Freight Mobility Plan Listening Session on June 11th at the SETRPC offices. 6. The SETRPC-MPO staff developed, distributed, and collected surveys to determine the level of interest in express bus service in southeast Texas and to determine methods for increasing awareness of the area s transit services through public education. 7. The SETRPC-MPO staff, in conjunction with the TxDOT-Beaumont District, developed a timeline for an updated Metropolitan Transportation Plan with a forecast year of The SETRPC-MPO staff scheduled a series of public meetings to take place at the end of July 2013 to gather public input for the update to the JOHRTS MTP.

3 Scott Ayres Planning and Programming Engineer, TxDOT Beaumont District Scott Ayres discussed the letting of projects which include the City of Port Neches sidewalks at Port Neches Elementary and Port Neches Middle School, improvements to Highway 69 from the I-10 interchange to Highway 105, the rehab of Cow Bayou Bridge on Highway 73, the Kountze bike path, and the Beaumont Folsom bike path. The re-construction of I-10 in Orange County from Adams Bayou to the Sabine River has been delayed due to the growth of the project and efforts to trim the budget. Mr. Ayres mentioned that the Beaumont District began working on the 2014 Unified Transportation Program (UTP) in May and stated that the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is reviewing the Functional Classification changes approved at the last Transportation Planning Committee (TPC) meeting, but as of yet there have been no comments received from FHWA. V. REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF THE DRAFT FY 2014 JOHRTS UNIFIED PLANNING WORK PROGRAM (UPWP) Mr. Dickinson referred to the handout of the DRAFT FY 2014 JOHRTS Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP). The UPWP is a statement of work with a budget for the planning priorities and activities that will be conducted for a given one-year period. The UPWP is a requirement for the SETRPC-MPO to maintain its annual self-certification for the region and to receive planning and construction funds for transportation facilities and systems. Additionally, he stated that this annual UPWP is prepared for the specific purpose of showing the various transportation planning elements that are expected to be accomplished in the coming year. Each element will be integrated into the JOHRTS comprehensive transportation planning process. He also added that MPO s are required to set performance targets and measures after the United States Department of Transportation and the State of Texas set national and state targets and measures. The SETRPC-MPO will maintain awareness of the performance measures process at both the federal and state level and will implement performance measures as necessary.

4 Commissioner Jody Crump, Orange County, called for a motion to approve the DRAFT FY 2014 JOHRTS UPWP. Taylor Shelton, Public Works Director, City of Port Neches, made the motion. Patrick Donart, Public Works Director, City of Beaumont, seconded motion which carried unanimously. VI. REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF AMENDMENTS TO THE FY 2013 JOHRTS UNIFIED PLANNING WORK PROGRAM (UPWP) Mr. Dickinson informed the committee that the FY 2013 UPWP describes the transportation planning activities to be undertaken by the SETRPC-MPO from October 1, 2012 to September 30, The FY 2013 UPWP was adopted by the JOHRTS TPC on July 26, The proposed amendments to the FY 2013 UPWP include the purchase of a plotter for printing maps and visual aids related to transportation planning and the modification of the budget table for Task 4 and FY 2013 UPWP budget summary to reflect TxDOT s final allocation of Transportation Planning Funds to the SETRPC- MPO. Commissioner Jody Crump, Orange County, called for a motion to approve the amendments to the FY 2013 JOHRTS UPWP. Jimmie Lewis, Planning Director, City of Orange, made the motion. Mayor Kenneth Crawford, City of Vidor, seconded motion which carried unanimously. VII. REPORT ON THE STATUS OF THE SOUTH EAST TEXAS REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION-METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION (SETRPC-MPO) CONGESTION MITIGATION AND AIR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT (CMAQ) PROGRAM PROJECTS Mr. Dickinson explained that during the process of the TxDOT-Beaumont District obligating the funds for projects approved in the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) Program 2012 Call for Projects, TxDOT- Transportation Planning & Programming (TxDOT-TPP) advised there is no money available. SETRPC and TxDOT-Beaumont District staff worked extensively to draft a letter to TxDOT-TPP outlining the details of the situation. The response from TxDOT-TPP did not resolve the issue. The SETRPC-MPO is requesting that the

5 TxDOT-TPP restore CMAQ/Category 5 funding to the JOHRTS area to allow for the implementation of CMAQ/Category 5 projects recently selected by the SETRPC- MPO. These projects and their timely implementation are of critical importance to the local jurisdictions and entities in the southeast Texas area. Mr. Tucker Ferguson, TxDOT-Beaumont District, added that this is being looked at on a statewide basis. There are other MPO s in the state that have received CMAQ funds over the years which have not advanced to the point where they can be obligated. A reconciliation or re-evaluation will be conducted in October for a decision to restore some, all, or none of the funds. Mr. Ferguson is in support of all efforts to date and also supports the resolution prepared by the SETRPC-MPO. VIII. REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION BY THE SETRPC-MPO REQUESTING THAT THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION- TRANSPORTATION PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING DIVISION RESTORE CONGESTION MITIGATION AND AIR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT (CMAQ)/CATEGORY 5 FUNDING TO THE JOHRTS AREA TO ALLOW FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CMAQ PROJECTS RECENTLY SELECTED BY THE SETRPC-MPO Mr. Dickinson advised that this resolution officially states the sequence of events followed and the position of the SETRPC-MPO in supporting the importance of funding pending CMAQ projects that were previously approved. Commissioner Jody Crump, Orange County, called for a motion to approve the resolution requesting the CMAQ funding be restored to the JOHRTS area. Commissioner Eddie Arnold, Jefferson County, made the motion. Taylor Shelton, Public Works Director, City of Port Neches, seconded motion which carried unanimously.

6 IX. OTHER BUSINESS Mr. Dickinson brought the committee s attention to handouts in the packet. Included for review are a copy of the letter of joint approval for the May 2013 Quarterly Revision to the Transportation Improvement Program from the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, and the Federal Highway Administration, a Metropolitan Transportation Plan 2040-Timeline, public meeting flyers and press releases, a newspaper article, and a public meeting survey. X. SET NEXT MEETING DATE The next meeting date was tentatively set for Thursday, October 24, 2013 at 10 a.m. at SETRPC in the Homer E. Nagel Conference Room. XI. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 10:59 a.m. MEMBERS PRESENT Eddie Arnold Kenneth Crawford Jody Crump Patrick Donart Tucker Ferguson Bobby Franklin Steve Hamilton Jimmie Lewis Joe Moreno Gerald Robinson Taylor Shelton David Smyth Commissioner, Jefferson County Mayor, City of Vidor Commissioner, Orange County Public Works Director, City of Beaumont District Engineer, TxDOT-Beaumont District Commissioner, Hardin County Director of Public Works, City of Nederland Planning Director, City of Orange Public Works Director, City of Silsbee Public Works Director, City of Bridge City Director of Public Works, City of Port Neches Director of Public Works, City of Groves

7 GUESTS PRESENT Scott Ayres Steve Clark Sarah Dupre Duane Gordy Larry Kelley Mike Kunst Don Rao John Roby Marc Shepherd Leanna Sheppard Steve Stafford Mark Viator Planning Engineer, TxDOT-Beaumont District City Manager, City of Lumberton Public Information Officer, TxDOT-Beaumont District CEO, Community Development Education Foundation Deputy Port Director, Port of Port Arthur City Manager, City of Vidor Director of Engineering, Jefferson County Director, Customer Service, Port of Beaumont Public Information Officer, TxDOT-Beaumont District Environmental Specialist, TxDOT-Beaumont District Engineering Supervisor, Jefferson County Director, HR & Communications, Jefferson Energy Co. SETRPC STAFF PRESENT Bob Dickinson Megan Campbell Paige Callaway Director, Transportation and Environmental Resources Transportation Planner/GIS Analyst, Transportation and Environmental Resources Administrative Assistant, Transportation and Environmental Resources