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MPO Meeting Minutes 09/13/2019 Page 1 COLLIER METROPLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION (MPO) BOARD MEETING Board of County Commissioner Chambers 3299 E. Tamiami Trail, Naples 9:00 a.m. September 13, 2019 Meeting Minutes 1. Call to Order Councilman Buxton called the meeting to order at approximately 9:00 a.m. 2. Roll Call Ms. Brandy Otero called roll and confirmed a quorum was present. Members Present Councilman Reg Buxton, City of Naples, Chair Commissioner William L. McDaniel, Jr., Collier County BCC District 5 Commissioner Donna Fiala, Collier County BCC District 1 Commissioner Penny Taylor, Collier County BCC District 4 Councilwoman Elaine Middelstaedt, City of Everglades City, Vice-Chair Councilman Terry Hutchison, City of Naples Councilman Erik Brechnitz, City of Marco Island (by phone) Commissioner Burt Saunders, Collier County BCC District 3 Members Absent Commissioner Andy Solis, Collier County BCC District 2 MPO Staff Anne McLaughlin, MPO Executive Director Brandy Otero, MPO Principal Planner Eric Ortman, MPO Senior Planner Karen Intriago, MPO Administrative Assistant FDOT Wayne Gaither, FDOT Victoria Peters, FDOT LK Nandam, FDOT District 1 Secretary Others Present Scott Teach, Deputy County Attorney Lorraine Lantz, Collier County Transportation Planning (CCTP) Tara Jones, Jacobs Engineering Mark Dillon, Citizen April Olsen, Conservancy of Southwest Florida Joe Bonness, Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) Lauren O’Neil, Quest Corporation of America Patrick Riley, Naples Daily News Gisela Gorfinkel, Minute Taker Page 2 3. Pledge of Allegiance Commissioner Fiala led the Pledge of Allegiance. Commissioner Saunders made a motion to allow Councilman Brechnitz to participate by telephone due to exceptional circumstances. Seconded by Commissioner McDaniel. Carried unanimously. 4. Approval of the Agenda, Previous Minutes, and Consent Items Councilman Buxton, Chair, announced that staff wished to remove item 4D from the agenda. A. June 14, 2019 MPO Board Meeting Minutes B. Approval of Zero Dollar Change Order for Transit Impact Analysis C. Approval of Revisions to Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) and Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Bylaws D. Approval of Revisions to Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) Bylaws Commissioner McDaniel made a motion to approve the Agenda, Previous Minutes, and Consent Items. Seconded by Commissioner Fiala. Carried unanimously. Commissioner McDaniel asked if without a quorum the committee cannot pass those bylaw adjustments and if the MPO Board would like to defer it until they finally can meet. Ms. McLaughlin – A committee cannot take action when it has no quorum. Commissioner McDaniel made a motion to approve the explanation of 4D removal from the agenda and Councilman Buxton seconded it. Carried unanimously. Commissioner Penny Taylor suggested changing the meeting time for the CAC from 2pm to 12pm. 5. Public Comments for Items not on the Agenda None 6. Agency Updates A. FDOT Ms. Peters provided updates: Event Updates  FDOT celebrating 2nd annual statewide Mobility Week October 25 - November 1,,2019. Cities, counties and transportation agencies host events to promote transportation choices, highlight transportation achievements, roll out new initiatives or policies. Last year FDOT had 28 community events to promote multimodal choices with approximately 50 community partner agencies.  E-Public Hearing week October 21 - October 25, 2019. Public input will be taken at the Orange Blossom library. Monday, October 21, from 12-3pm. Online video will be posted. FDOT Project Managers and staff holding public meeting on State Road 82, project segments from Gator Slough Lane to SR 29 and the SR82/SR29 roundabout. Meeting at IFAS Center on SR 29 and Immokalee Road on Thursday, October 10 from 4:30pm-6:30pm. Ms. Ms. Peters will attend the Immokalee CRA meeting next week and the Chamber breakfast to talk to community about any questions that may have about the roundabout and State 82 segments. Page 3 Commissioner Fiala – The Bayshore CRA is just starting their own roundabout at the Bayshore and Thomasson intersection, so they could use some guidance there. Ms. Peters – Will reach out to Debrah Forester. Project updates:  The Immokalee sidewalk project on SR 29 from 1st St to 9th St (Main Street Project). Pedestrian safety improvements; will be let on October 9th; start construction April 1, 2020.  SR951 Resurfacing Project from Judge Jolley Bridge to Fiddlers Creek Pkwy – Construction began on August 26, 2019. Scope: milling and resurfacing, shoulder treatment, drainage improvements, curb and gutter, sidewalk, guardrail, pavement marking and signalization.  US41 from SR951 to Rich King Greenway – Lighting Project (#441088-1): Project underway. Commissioner McDaniel – There were subsurfacing infrastructure issues that caused roads to be bumpy. Has that been addressed or is FDOT just leveling it? Secretary Nandam – I’m sure we are taking care of it because we determine how the subsurfacing base looks, but we’ll check into it later. Will provide information to your staff. B. MPO Executive Director Ms. McLaughlin – Nearly all evaluations have been completed. Will do formal review at October meeting (on schedule this year). Had to postpone Joint meeting with Lee County due to scheduling conflict with Florida Association of Counties conference in Washington DC. Looking for opportunities to meet, possibly in the spring, to coordinate our two long-range plans. Received call from the Rederal Highway Administration (FHWA) reminding me that the MPO’s next quadrennial review will occure next August. This is when FHWA, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and FDOT review and recertify the MPO. 7. Committee Chair Reports 7.A. Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) 7.A.1. Citizens Advisory Committee Chair Report Ms. McLaughlin - There is no Chair report due to lack of quorum. 7.B. Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) 7.B.1. Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) Chair Report Lorraine Lantz, TAC Chair – Presented Chair report in agenda packet. Explained that the majority of committee members believe their function is to review and comment on plans to promote the coordination of the MPO with the agencies that the committee individually represents; the MPO Director and staff are in charge of compliance for federal and state regulations. The TAC reviews documents to make sure plans are coordinated. Although the TAC endorsed revisions to their bylaws, this was a concern for the committee because there are changes to the requirements of how to attain a quorum. The CAC has a hard number to attain a quorum whereas TAC has to reach it as a majority. Page 4 Scott Teach - The general rule is there should be majority, but the MPO staff can set the quorum. If there is a need to lower the majority, that can be done. Ms. Lantz – Completed Chair report in the agenda packet - The committee endorsed the Park and Ride Study Scope and the Transit Development Plan (TDP) and the Comprehensive Operational Analysis (COA) Scope. The TAC discussed the timing of both studies as they relate to the 2045 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP); the studies’ findings need to be coordinated with the LRTP. Commissioner McDaniel – Would like to identify a mechanism where citizen volunteers on committees can meet to make recommendations, even if there isn’t a quorum attained per bylaws, to obtain opinions and advice from those who do show up. May need to adjust the meeting time. Scott Teach – If someone can’t attend, there could be an alternate in their place, as a way of engaging the full quorum and participation of the committee. Commissioner Taylor – The CAC meets at 2 pm; a very tough time to attend a meeting for people who work. Commissioner Fiala – LCB is able to achieve a quorum meeting at 2pm on Wednesday, but that may be because they answer to that organization [the Transportation Disadvantaged Commission]. Councilman Buxton – Can a committee set their own hours? Would think this falls on the committee itself, to find a suitable time to meet. Agree with Commissioner McDaniel, the committee controls this. Ms. McLaughlin – The MPO Board controls everything through your bylaws; but the Board has indicated you are open to suggestions [regarding meeting times] from your committees. They need to take into consideration whether the proposed meeting time is reasonable for the public to attend also. We will ask the CAC when they would like to meet and report back to you. Commissioner Saunders – How many members are typically in these committees? Ms. McLaughlin – They vary. The two committees composed of citizen volunteers are the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) and CAC. The TAC has become very large, with 13 members. BPAC has 11 possible seats, currently 9 positions filled and 2 vacancies. Scott Teach – Every member in the TAC is required by the statute. Ms. McLaughlin – The CAC has 13 members and 0 vacancies. This is a very strong committee right now that usually achieves a quorum. Councilman Buxton – Did the TAC grow because you needed to have more members? Lorraine Lantz – TAC membership changed due to bylaw change. Added people from non-voting members to voting ones - the RPC [Regional Planning Commission] and School Board. Councilman Buxton – Are they showing up? Lorraine Lantz – The bylaws were just changed [at this Board meeting.] Commissioner Saunders – How many of these meetings lack a quorum in general? Page 5 Ms. McLaughlin – It is rare now. Trouble about a year ago - down quite a few seats in the CAC, made it hard to achieve a quorum when the rule was you needed majority of all seats whether they were filled or not. Now all seats are filled. When we bring the amendment forward for the CAC, there will be a hard number [to achieve a quorum], which works better for them. BPAC typically has a quorum; it’s one of the most motivated committees the Board has; can’t recall a quorum issue with TAC. Lorraine Lantz – We did recently have a quorum issue. In the past, we were able to give recommendations, and go through the agenda anyway even though we didn’t officially have a quorum. Commissioner Saunders – Ignoring the TAC that is set up by statute, in terms of the other three, for BPAC that is a quorum for 6 and for CAC, a quorum of 7. Scott Teach indicated we could set a different quorum. If the quorum is 6 now and that is the majority of the 11 members, we can reduce that by 1 to a quorum of 5. The same can be done for all other committees, which would address Commissioner McDaniel’s concern. You don’t have the quorum but at least you have enough members there to conduct some business. Just throwing it out there for consideration. 7.C. Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) 7.C.1. Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee Chair Report Mr. Bonness, gave Chair Report included in packet. Agency staff presented project submittals for potential programming in FY24/25 using MPO’s SU funds. Process revised to align with the MPO Bike/Ped Plan adopted March 2019. Board will adopt prioritized list of bike/ped projects in June 2020. Ten projects submitted, cost $16.3 million; $4.1 million available in SU funds. Committee discussion focused on 3 topics: 1) should certain projects be separated into two separate projects given their geographic separation? 2) Were other treatments better than those proposed for certain projects, e.g., would a bike lane be better than a sidewalk? 3) Should the Freedom Park Pedestrian Overpass be considered ineligible based solely on the cost estimate of $6 million? Committee Actions: Voted 9:1 in favor of not separating any of the submitted projects into separated projects. Voted 9:1 in favor of declaring the Freedom Park Overpass ineligible based solely on its $6 million cost estimate. Commissioner Taylor – Can’t staff budget a project over a 2-year timeframe? Ms. McLaughlin – Yes. We are meeting with committee again to discuss all possible ways of funding these projects taking into consideration eligibility and budgeting issues. FDOT recommends showing all the costs of a project to get big picture. Commissioner Taylor – The bike/ped overpass [at Freedom Park] will be an extraordinary project; should remain on list; break the project up into different phases and MPO Boardwill try to fund each of them. If we show the agencies there is a commitment, funds will be found. Ms. Peters – Important to show whole cost of a project. FDOT will look into what [funding] is available in the years 2023-2026. Funding comes from a variety of sources. Secretary Nandam – Don’t take projects off the priority list if they are important for the community. We don’t know what the opportunities would be as far as sources of funds, like MPO [SU], local, our resources, etc. Page 6 7.D.1 Congestion Management Committee Chair Report N/A. 7.E.1 Local Coordinating Board (LCB) Commissioner Fiala provided a summary to the Board based on the Chair report in the packet. The Local Coordinating Board (LCB) met on September 4th, a quorum was attained. The Board took these actions: Review and Approval of LCB Membership Certification, Review and Approval of the FY 2018- 19 Annual Operating Report (AOR), Collier Area Transit (CAT) Connect Service Scheduling Performance Improvement Update, Process Community Transportation Coordinator (CTC) Quarterly Report, FDOT Report. The next LCB meeting is scheduled on December 4th at 2:30 p.m. 8. Regular Board Action (Roll Call Required) 8.A. Approve the Roll Forward Amendment to the FY 2020-2024 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) Mr. Ortman presented the Executive Summary included in the packet. Commissioner Taylor moved Approval; Councilman Buxton seconded. Roll call vote was taken with the motion passing unanimously. Commissioner Taylor Yes Councilwoman Middlestaedt Yes Councilman Brechnitz Yes Commissioner McDaniel Yes Commissioner Fiala Yes Councilman Buxton Yes Commissioner Saunders Yes Councilman Hutchison Yes 9. Regular Board Action (No Roll Call) 9.A. Appointment of Representative to Multi-use Corridors of Regional Economic Significance (M-CORES) Southwest Central Florida Connector Task Force (SCFC) Ms. McLaughlin - Presented the Executive Summary included in packet. Attended organizational meeting in August as interim representative for MPO. County Attorney’s Office has determined that the MPO Board should appoint one of its members (an elected official) to the task force. Councilman Buxton has volunteered to serve in that capacity if the Board so desires. Councilman Buxton – At the last MPOAC we discussed this topic and the County Commission can pick 1 or 2 representatives to the taskforce [in addition to the MPO]. Ms. McLaughlin – The Growth Management Division Director, Thaddeus Cohen filled in as interim representative for the Board of County Commissioners. Commissioner McDaniel is representing the Regional Planning Council (RPC). Page 7 Commissioner McDaniel – Confirmed that he is on the task force representing the RPC. Commissioner Fiala – Can it be more than one person besides Councilman Buxton if they want to participate? Secretary Nandam –The statute is very prescriptive regarding membership on the task force. One representative per agency. However, you can designate an alternate, if Councilman Buxton can’t attend. Commissioner McDaniel made a motion to appoint Councilman Buxton the representative for the MPO and Commissioner Fiala the alternate. Seconded by Commissioner Fiala. Carried unanimously. Commissioner Taylor – Listening to the RPC meeting yesterday; Director characterized the task force as not being able to make any decisions; they will be made by the Legislature; the task force is just a public relations committee. Secretary Nandam – I disagree. There is a very specific charge that has been given to the taskforce. The taskforce is to identify guiding principles, recommendations on what needs to be avoided, mitigated and enhanced as we prepare alignment of this multiuse corridor. For example, identify the infrastructure that needs to be included, decide the type of crossings / corridors that need to be maintained, recognize the environment litigations, etc. The only thing the taskforce is not going to do is defining the alignment for the corridor. It is a different process, a project development process. The taskforce report will be submitted to theLegislature and the Governor’s office. Once approved, this will be used as part of our project development process. We are going to have stakeholder’s involvement through this process. All is linked. This taskforce has a huge role. Commissioner McDaniel – Understand the statute but the process is backwards. The alignment should be determined first, then go through public process involving people affected by the alignment. Commissioner Penny Taylor – What is your response to that, Secretary Nandam? Secretary Nandam – There’s a planning process and a project development process that needs to be done. The Legislature says if you are going through the planning process, you need to have the right representation, that is why they created the taskforce. The responsibility of the taskforce is to define the principles mentioned earlier which then will be used to define the alignment. We want to make sure we have the right stakeholders involved to define those principles to move forward with the alignment. It is not backwards. 9.B. Approval of the Supplemental Public Transportation Joint Participation Agreement (JPA) for Federal Transit Administration (FTA) 5305 (d) funding Ms. Otero - Presented the Executive Summary. This is for the MPO’s transit planning funding; there is a supplemental agreement to the MPO’s existing Joint Participation Agreement (JPA). After completion of the Transit Impact Analysis, there will be approximately $115,000 remaining that can be reprogrammed to another transit study that is identified in the current Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP). Close to $115,000 will be reprogrammed for additional studies. In order to do that, we must identify the new UPWP in the JPA and the supplemental JPA is the vehicle to do that. Therefore, we are recommending amending the agreement to allow for studies identified in the current UPWP. Commissioner Taylor moved to approve the Supplemental JPA. Seconded by Commissioner McDaniel. Carried unanimously. Page 8 9.C. Approval of the 2019 Priority Planning Project – the 2045 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) Ms. McLaughlin - This is a continuation of a topic that was previously brought before the MPO - how to fund the 2045 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP). SU funds on the order of $90,000 - $100,000 were needed to cover the expenses of add-on opportunities that Jacobs Engineering has offered in the contract. MPO staff learned there is an opportunity to request an exception to FDOT’s “80/20” rule restricting the use of SU funds for planning if more than 20% of the annual allocation of Planning Funds (PL) is carried forward. This MPO and other MPOs are in an odd situation. We have been carrying over PL funds in order to fund the LRTP, which puts us out-of-compliance with the 80/20 rule. This rule was on the books for quite a while but is now being enforced. An exception is allowed when an MPO policy board has identified using SU funds to do the 2045 LRTP as a priority project. The MPOAC has mentioned a possible recission of any unspect PL funds, so we opted to show the total contract amount of $590,418 as potentially SU funded; but we anticipate requiring just $150,000 in SU funds. The essential game plan for funding the LRTP is same as first presented to the Board last winter. Commissioner Taylor moved to approve the 2019 Priority Planning Project LRTP. Seconded by Commissioner McDaniel. Carried unanimously. Ms. Fiala - Regarding funds that may be rescinded, can they take our funds that haven’t been spent? Ms. McLaughlin – Mechanics of a recission are complicated, but this potential recission refers to “unobligated funds” – that would be funds that haven’t been programmed yet in the MPO’s Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). Recissions are pretty rare but do happen. May be possible for the DOT to rescind unobligated PL funds without causing harm to the MPOs. 10. PRESENTATIONS (MAY REQUIRE BOARD ACTION) 10.A. Envision 2045 - Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) Update Ms. Otero – The TAC received same presentation in August; consultant team working on incorporating their comments; will go back to committees for another review before Board takes action. Tara Jones – Presents slide show provided in agenda packet. Focus is on Phase 1 of 2045 LRTP update. Occurs every 5 years; opportunity for citizens, businesses and elected officials to take part in process identifying transportation system needs projected out to 2045. The LRTP must be consistent with state/federal requirements, address all modes of transportation, environmental and economic factors, safety, security and quality-of-life for citizens of Collier County. Key items new to 2045 update: 1) Scenario planning, 2) Resiliency to extreme weather relating to Climate Change, 3) Autonomous/Connected Vehicles incorporating information provided by FDOT, and 4) Performance Measures and Monitoring updates Commissioner Taylor – Is team working closely with the leaders of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Project? Ms. McLaughlin – Yes. We plan on including any information we can obtain from that study in the LRTP. Staff is very much engaged with that task force. Tara Jones- The Adaption of Coastal and Urban Natural Ecosystems (ACUNE) is a database tool still in development; purpose is to identify high-risk areas for climate change, flooding and how to best handle those instances. May not be available until June 2020; how it will be incorporated into LRTP is still in discussion. Page 9 [Slide show continues] Presents overview of Public Involvement Plan (PIP) and County Interactive Growth Model (CIGM); references use of two population forecasts – the Bureau of Economic and Business Research (BEBR) and CIGM, for 2045; coordinating with FDOT on 2015 base year statistic. Presented overview of vision, objectives and goals; performance measures and evaluation criteria. TAC comments included a recommendation to consider BEBR High population projection (in addition to Medium) and the County’s Community Character Plan. Initial eight LRTP goals have been expanded following TAC review to include: 1) Promoting Sustainability in Planning of Transportation and Land Use, 2) Consider Climate Change Vulnerability and Risk in Transportation Decision Making, and 3) Consider Autonomous and Connected Vehicles Technology in Future. Activities for next quarter include: continued coordination with FDOT on Districtwide Travel Model, 2045 Socio-Economic data due in January and Existing plus Committed (E+C) transportation network due in November of 2019. Will continue to refine deliverables for Phase I with MPO staff and CAC, TAC before going back to MPO Board for action. Commissioner McDaniel - Regarding staff’s Executive Summary - replace bullet points with numbers for ease of identification. Cautioned about jumping to highest population projection as can easily overestimate population, which places high burden on taxpayer. Using the CIGM will save MPO money on outside consulting for modeling as can make different decisions along those lines. The Community Character Plan needs to be updated before given consideration with regard to LRTP. New population has not been engaged to determine what is important to the community - utilizing document developed 18-20 years ago is not prudent. Supports the Complete Streets emphasis and thought process and how it bring County closer to multi-modal transportation network for the 21st century. Councilman Hutchison - Regarding transportation resilience - will there be some critical analysis for road elevation, related to elevation of physical structures? Tara Jones – consideration is given now, based on current policies, but policies might change pending outcome of studies currently underway. 11. DISTRIBUTION ITEMS 11.A. Letter Requesting Termination of Naples Beach Access Sidewalk Project Ms. McLaughlin - provided in response to request by FDOT. The Board will be asked to take formal action on any future occurrence. Commissioner Fiala asked if this would limit beach access for people. Councilman Buxton - Beach access is still there but residents don’t want sidewalks in the neighborhood. Ms. McLaughlin - Pedestrian access on these blocks is currently provided within the roadway instead of on sidewalks, but these are low-speed roadways with relatively wide lanes, which makes it safe to consider. 11.B. Metropolitan Planning Organization Advisory Council (MPOAC) Freight Priorities Ms. McLaughlin – provided for informational purposes; the MPOAC Freight priorities are another opportunity for MPO to submit projects. Trying to “boost up” timing of construction and clarifying funding sources. The MPOAC and the consultants for FDOT were helpful in the process and Collier MPO has projects on SR29 on the list. Page 10 11.C. Revised 2019 MPO Calendar Ms. McLaughlin - providing MPO Board the latest 2019 MPO Calendar, showing Joint Meetings [with Lee County MPO] were deleted due to scheduling conflicts, but the staffs are still looking for opportunities to meet. 11.D. Draft 2020 MPO Calendar Ms. McLaughlin - Draft 2020 MPO Calendar in packet. Please let MPO staff know if there is any potential conflicts with other event schedules. 12. MEMBER COMMENTS None. 13. NEXT MEETING DATE Regular Meeting: October 11, 2019 – 9:00 a.m. 14. ADJOURN With no further comments Councilman Buxton adjourned the meeting at approximately 10:31 a.m.