SOUTHERN ALLEGHENIES PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION

Transcription

1 SOUTHERN ALLEGHENIES PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION RURAL TRANSPORTATION TECHNICAL COMMITTEE AND RURAL TRANSPORTATION COORDINATING COMMITTEE August 26, :00 AM PennDOT District 9-0 Hollidaysburg, PA ACTION SUMMARY The following are the major actions taken by the Rural Transportation Coordinating Committee (RTCC) at the combined Rural Transportation Technical Committee (RTTC) and RTCC meeting held on August 26, 2015, at PennDOT District 9-0 in Hollidaysburg, PA. 1. Approved the May 13, 2015, RTTC meeting minutes and the May 20, 2015, RTCC meeting minutes as presented with noted changes. 2. Approved the Limited English Proficiency Plan as presented. 3. Approved the selection of Michael Baker International as the consultant to update the Coordinated Public Transit Human Services Plan.

2 SOUTHERN ALLEGHENIES PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION RURAL TRANSPORTATION TECHNICAL COMMITTEE AND RURAL TRANSPORTATION COORDINATING COMMITTEE August 26, :00 AM PennDOT District 9-0 Hollidaysburg, PA MEETING MINUTES I. Welcome The following RTCC members were present at the meeting: Commissioner Kirt Morris, Bedford County Commissioner Craig Cutchall, Fulton County Commissioner Jeff Thomas, Huntingdon County Commissioner John Vatavuk, Somerset County Frank Hampton, PennDOT Central Office Tom Prestash, PennDOT District 9-0 Steve Howsare, SAP&DC Brandon Carson, SAP&DC The following RTTC members were present at the meeting: Rick Suder, Bedford County Planning Commission Mary K. Seville, Fulton County Planning Commission Mark Colussy, Huntingdon County Planning Commission Brad Zearfoss, Somerset County Planning Commission Karl King, Rails to Trails of Central PA Julia Dovey, Fulton County Family Partnership, Inc. Amy Wise, Huntingdon County Business & Industry Vince Greenland, PennDOT District 9-0 Greg Garthe, SAP&DC Others in attendance included: Kathy Dimpsey, FHWA Jim Pruss, PennDOT District 9-0 David Lybarger, PennDOT District 9-0 Anne Stich, PennDOT District 9-0 Justin Ruggles, SAP&DC

3 Each participant was ed a meeting packet in advance of the meeting that included: Agenda May 13, 2015 RTTC Meeting Minutes May 20, 2015 RTCC Meeting Minutes Southern Alleghenies RPO Draft 2015 LEP Plan Southern Alleghenies RPO TIP Adjustments July 2015 Southern Alleghenies Construction Progress Report PennDOT/DCED Multimodal Comparison Coordinated Public Transit-Human Services Plan RFP Transit Plan Proposal Scoring Sheet II. Review and Approval of the May 13, 2015 RTTC Meeting Minutes and Action Items and the May 20, 2015 RTCC Meeting Minutes and Action Items Tom Prestash welcomed the committee to the meeting and Brandon Carson conducted roll call. Tom asked the committee to review the May 13, 2015, RTTC and the May 20, 2015, RTCC meeting minutes that were provided to them in advance with the meeting packet. The minutes were shown onscreen for the committee members reference. Tom noted a change to the May 20, 2015, RTCC minutes. In section IV, Federal Functional Classification/NHS Updates, the action summary and motion listed US 30 as Somerset County and it should be changed to Bedford County. Tom asked for a motion to approve the minutes with changes. With no further discussion, Frank Hampton made a motion to approve the May 13, 2015, RTTC meeting minutes and the May 20, 2015, RTCC meeting minutes with noted changes. Commissioner Kirt Morris seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously. III. LEP Plan Update Greg Garthe informed the committee that the Limited English Proficiency Plan, which was adopted in 2012, will be updated for the FY TIP. This is a federal requirement under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and provides meaningful access to federally funded programs and activities, which includes written and oral translation services for those who speak a language at home other than English as their primary language, and who speaks or understands English less than very well. Our region does not meet the threshold to require written translation services. Oral interpretation services will continue to be provided upon request through a telephone interpreter service. The minor revisions to the plan included updating the data sets from the ACS 5-yr Estimates to ACS 5-yr Estimates. Greg reviewed the changes with the committee, answering any questions they had. He also mentioned that once the revisions are approved, the revised plan will be posted on the SAP&DC website.

4 With no further discussion, Frank Hampton made a motion to approve the Limited English Proficiency Plan as presented. Commissioner Jeff Thomas seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously. IV. FY TIP Modifications and Amendments David Lybarger reviewed the FY TIP Modifications with the committee, answering any questions they had. There were no amendments requiring a vote. Since the meeting packets are now being sent out to the committee members in advance of the meetings, questions can be ed to David at that time or asked at the meeting. V. Projects Review Tom noted that the Construction Progress Report is also provided by in advance of the meeting with links to the project information in the MPMSiq system. He asked if anyone had comments or questions on the information provided. Vince Greenland gave a presentation on one project from each county in the region. The first was the Osterburg Covered Bridge in Bedford County. Commissioner Morris commented that the project was completed before the Chestnut Ridge prom and it quickly became a popular place for prom pictures. The other projects highlighted included the Big Cove Tannery Bridge in Fulton County, the Lower Trail Flood Protection Wall in Huntingdon County, and the US 219 Somerset to Meyersdale project in Somerset County. It was pointed out that the municipalities listed on two of the Upcoming Lets in Huntingdon County were incorrect. Vince made a note and will correct them. VI. FY TIP Updates Tom reminded the committee that it is once again time to begin the TIP process. Typically, the update process begins with Financial Guidance. At this time the federal budget has not been finalized, although the funding levels are expected to be less than in the past. District 9 staff prepared a draft funding summary to show to the committee at the meeting to give them a basic idea of what funding levels could be anticipated. Tom reviewed the draft with the committee explaining that it does not include the Public- Private Partnership (P3) projects. The Southern Alleghenies Region had 32 P3 bridge projects and there will be a line item on the TIP beginning in to begin reimbursement to the contractor for the work. This line item will remain on the TIP for years until the debt has been repaid. PennDOT determined that the anticipated funding amount available for new projects may be very low and this is a concern. However, Tom added that the percent of structurally deficient (SD) bridges in the Southern Alleghenies Region is decreasing and he thanked the group for deciding to fund the projects that would bring the number of SD bridges down. The 2017 TIP is expected to be approximately 81% highway projects and 19% bridge projects, with 71% highway projects and 29% bridge projects being carried over from the current TIP.

5 David explained the project visioning process used by PennDOT. They look at the number of carryover projects and estimate the approximate number of projects that could be added over the next six years. Projects of importance are then identified using the bridge risk assessment tool and something new, a roadway ranking system. David added that for visioning, they looked at projects on two and three-digit SRs and any type of resurfacing project on a four-digit SR with a structurally deficient bridge. This information was provided to the County Planners and their feedback was incorporated into the projects. PennDOT then conducted site visits to look at any known environmental issues, review the cost estimates, and evaluate the possible scope of work. That information is then entered it into the Level 2 LPN Forms. Next, the County Planners will meet with PennDOT to discuss their priority projects. PennDOT will then draft a TIP that will be provided to the committees in advance of their next meetings. The draft will be presented for approval at the next RTCC meeting. VII. Other Business DCED/PennDOT Multimodal Funds Greg reminded the committee that information on the DCED and PennDOT Multimodal Funds was sent out with the meeting packet. The DCED Multimodal Fund runs annually from March to July. The PennDOT Multimodal Fund will open in October of each year. Greg reminded the committee that the two programs are similar, but the information provided should help them understand their minor differences. Vince added that these programs do require a 30% funding match, and applicants cannot use state or federal funds for this purpose. Transportation Alternatives Program Greg reviewed the draft timeline for the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) with the committee. The program guidance is currently being developed. The draft guidance indicates that applications may be submitted November 9, 2015, through January 8, 2016, and final selections are expected to be announced in May Greg added that he is involved with the workgroup for the program and mentioned that Central Office will be taking comments from the workgroup through Friday. Greg stated that he previously provided comments to the committee on behalf of the RPO. The final guidance is due to be released in late September. A number of potential applicants in the region have already expressed interest in the program. LTAP Greg introduced Justin Ruggles, the new Transportation Planner, who started in April and is very involved with LTAP. Justin informed the committee that since May, eight courses have been held in the Southern Alleghenies Region with only one cancellation. Average attendance at the courses was 14 and a total of 98 municipal employees were trained over the summer session. Additionally, 2 Road Shows were held, 42 new user accounts were set up on the LTAP website, and 6 Tech Assists were conducted. During May and June, Justin visited with as many municipalities throughout the RPO as time allowed to discuss LTAP. Additional materials were mailed out to the municipalities he was not able to visit with. Nine courses have been scheduled for the fall in five of the six counties. Justin

6 indicated that a few of the courses are new offerings from the LTAP, and some are existing courses that have not been offered in the Southern Alleghenies Region before. He added that he has been trying to schedule classes in new locations to draw additional attendance and looking for ways to better serve Fulton County due to their distance from many of the region s larger communities. Justin added that fall LTAP course booklets and flyers on the registration reimbursement program for Penn State s Center for Dirt and Gravel Road Studies Annual Maintenance Workshop are available here at the meeting today. VIII. Vendor Presentations: Coordinated Public Transit Human Services Transportation Plan Greg updated the committee on the Coordinated Public Transit Human Services Transportation Plan. The plan addresses the transportation needs of individuals with disabilities, older adults, and people with low incomes. The plan must be developed through a process that includes representatives of public, private, and nonprofit transportation and human services agencies, and members of public. MAP-21 requires that projects selected for Federal Transit Authority (FTA) funding are included in a locally developed Coordinated Public Transit Human Services Plan. Since the current plan was adopted in 2008, which was prior to the passage of MAP-21, a full update is needed. Greg reviewed the required elements of the plan and the tentative timeline for the update. The two consultants who responded to the Request for Proposals (RFP) to develop the new Coordinated Public Transit Human Services Plan gave presentations to the committee, answering any questions they had. The consultants were Delta Development Group and Michael Baker International. After the presentations, the committees scored and ranked the proposals. The scores were tallied and the results presented to the committee. After much discussion, Commissioner Jeff Thomas made a motion to select Michael Baker International as the consultant to update the Coordinated Public Transit Human Services Plan. Commissioner Kirt Morris seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously. IX. Adjournment Commissioner Craig Cutchall made a motion to adjourn. NOTE: The next meeting of the RTTC is scheduled for November 4, 2015, at the PennDOT District 9-0 in Hollidaysburg beginning at 9:00 AM. The date of the next meeting of the RTCC is TBD.

7 SOUTHERN ALLEGHENIES PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION RURAL TRANSPORTATION TECHNICAL COMMITTEE AND RURAL TRANSPORTATION COORDINATING COMMITTEE August 26, 2015 ACTION ITEMS Date Issued Action Items By Whom Due Date There were no action items at this meeting.