IMPERIAL COUNTY TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION

MINUTES FOR February 28, 2024

6:00 p.m.

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VOTING MEMBERS PRESENT:

                                                                City of Brawley                                       Absent

                                                                City of Calipatria                                    Maria Nava-Froelich

                                                                City of Calexico                                      Raul Ureña

                                                                City of El Centro                                    Martha Cardenas-Singh

                                                                City of Imperial                                      Robert Amparano

                                                                City of Holtville                                       Mike Goodsell                

                                                                City of Westmorland                           Ana Beltran                                   

                                                                County of Imperial                                Luis Plancarte               

                                                                County of Imperial                                John Hawk

                                                                Imperial Irrigation District                 Absent

STAFF PRESENT:               David Aguirre, Cristi Lerma, Michelle Bastidas, Angela Delgadillo

OTHERS PRESENT:            Eric Havens: Counsel; Everett Townsend: Caltrans, David Salgado: SCAG, Jacob Swim: Micheal Baker Internation, Francis Roque, Roger Martinez: Auditors

PUBLIC:                                None

The following action minutes are listed as they were acted upon by the Imperial County Transportation Commission and as listed on the agenda for the meeting held Wednesday, February 28, 2024, together with staff reports and related documents attached thereto and incorporated therein by reference.

I.                    CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL 

Chair Plancarte called the Commission meeting to order at 6:44 p.m. Roll call was taken, and a quorum was present.

II.                   EMERGENCY ITEMS

                There were none.

III.                PUBLIC COMMENTS

There were none.

IV.                CONSENT CALENDAR

A.            ICTC Commission Minutes:                                                                           January 24, 2024

                B.            Received and filed:

1.                   ICTC Management Committee Minutes: January 10, 2024

2.                   ICTC TAC Minutes:                                           January 25, 2024

3.                   ICTC SSTAC Minutes:                                      January 03, 2024

A motion was made by Amparano and seconded by Nava-Froelich to approve the consent calendar as presented, roll call:

                                Motion Carried.

V.                  ACTION CALENDAR

A.                  Imperial County 2023 Long Range Transportation Plan

The ICTC Management Committee met on February 14, 2024, and forwarded the following recommendations to the Commission for their review and approval after public comment, if any:

·         A brief presentation was given by Jacob Swim from Micheal Baker about the final report of the 2023 Long Range Transportation Plan.

1.            Approved the 2023 Long Range Transportation Plan Final Report Dated January 2024.

A motion was made by Cardenas-Singh and seconded by Ureña to approve the Action A as presented, roll call:

                                Motion Carried.

B.         Imperial County Transportation Commission (ICTC) resolution for Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2024/2025 – 2029/2030 Federal Transportation Improvement Program

The ICTC Management Committee met on February 14, 2024, and forwarded the following recommendations to the Commission for their review and approval after public comment, if any:

1.            Authorized the Chairman to sign the resolution that certifies funding has been identified for the projects in the FFY 2024/2025 - 2029/2030 FTIP and affirms our commitment to implement all projects in the program.

A motion was made by Goodsell and seconded by Amparano to approve the Action B as presented, roll call:               

                                Motion Carried.

C.            2023 Call for Projects – Carbon Reduction Program (CRP), Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ), and Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) Programming Project List – FFY 2023/24 to FFY 2025/26

The ICTC Management Committee met on February 14, 2024, and forwarded the following recommendations to the Commission for their review and approval after public comment, if any:

1.                   Approved the 2023 Call for Projects- Carbon Reduction Program (CRP), Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ), and Surface Transportation Block Grant Program (STBG) Programming Project List for FFY2023/24 to FFY2025/26

2.                   Directed staff to program projects in the next available Federal Transportation Improvement Program Formal Amendment upon receipt of approval.

A motion was made by Nava-Froelich and seconded by Amparano to approve the Action C as presented, roll call: 

Motion Carried.

D.            First Amendment to the Employment Agreement for the Position of Executive Director

Following ICTC Counsel review, staff forwarded this item to the Commission for their review and approval after public comment, if any:

1.                   Approved the Executive Director Agreement, Amendment #1

2.                   Authorized the Chairman to sign the Agreement

A motion was made by Nava-Froelich and seconded by Beltran to approve the Action D as presented, roll call:               

                                Motion Carried.

VI.                REPORTS

A.                  ICTC Executive Director

-          Imperial Valley Transit and Associated Services Operations and Maintenance Request for Proposals: ICTC’s existing agreement with its current operator (Transdev) is concluding. As required by federal law, ICTC has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to qualified transit operations and maintenance operators. The RFP was issued on February 16th, 2024. ICTC’s goal is to complete the procurement process and award a contract to a qualified firm by the end of the fiscal year. The proposed new agreement will be for a 5-year fixed period with two additional single-year options. More information to come.

-          Calexico East Port of Entry Bridge Widening Project: Stage 2 is now completed. Stage 3 is scheduled to be completed at the end of this month. The overall project is estimated to be completed in May 2024.

-          Imperial Mexicali Binational Alliance (IMBA): At the strategic planning meeting, the committee developed the schedule for the year. The following dates are tentatively scheduled for IMBA in 2024. March 14th – Imperial County, May 9th – Mexicali, July 11th – Imperial County, September 12th – Mexicali, and November 14th (Strategic Planning and IMBA meetings) – Imperial County.

-          Calexico Intermodal Transportation Center (ITC): The project construction management RFP has been released and is available for bidding by qualified engineering firms.

-          Transit Comprehensive Operational Analysis – Staff was able to secure grant funding to complete a Transit Comprehensive Operational Analysis (COA). ICTC intends to evaluate all ICTC operated services in addition to incorporating an assessment of the feasibility of intercity passenger rail. Staff are currently working on the development of the Request for Proposals (RFP) and it is anticipated that the RFP will be released in the coming months.

-          Forrester Road Project Study Report (PSR): The updated PSR was recently received, and staff will be reviewing the updated document.

-          All other updates are on the Executive Director report on page 89 of the agenda.

B.                  Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG)

-          2024 SCAG Scholarship Program Call for Projects: Applications for the scholarship are now open. The program offers a $4,000 scholarship for up to 9 high school or community college students from the SCAG region interested in pursuing planning or public service‐related careers. Applications are due electronically on March 22. More information is available is available on the SCAG website.

-          Proposed State Budget would cut funding for Regional Early Action Planning Grant Program: The February Regional Council meeting agenda included an informational item on Governor Gavin Newsom’s proposed state budget, which proposes a reduction of $300 million for the Regional Early Action Planning program of 2021 (REAP 2.0). SCAG is working to assess the specific impacts of the proposed cuts and will partner with key stakeholders to use the state budget approval process to advocate for the protection of critical housing programs funded by REAP 2.0.

-          SCAG 2024 SAVE THE DATE! 2024 REGIONAL CONFERENCE & GENERAL ASSEMBLY: SCAG will host the 59th annual Regional Conference & General Assembly on May 2-3, 2024, at the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa in Palm Desert.

-          SCAG 2024 General Assembly Delegate and Alternate Selection: SCAG sends an email to all cities asking for respective councils to take action to appoint a specific General Assembly Delegate and an Alternate. Elected Officials and City Managers are comped on registrations.

-          All other updates are on the SCAG report on page 96 of the agenda.

C.                  California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)- District 11   

-          SR-98 Widening Project: The construction of Stage 2 is now substantially complete. Stage 3 is underway with completion estimated in January 2024. Completion of Stage 4 is estimated for Spring 2024.

-           I-8, SR-78 Bridge Rehab at Various Locations: These bridge repairs will install a long-term automated traffic control signal at both locations for reversible 1-way traffic throughout the duration of construction.

-          I-8 Roadside Safety Improvements: The expected completion date is late summer 2024.

-          Clean California Projects: The Brawley bus shelter (SR86) is in progress. The gateway project is complete along with three (3) of the median island improvements.

-          SR-111 Roadside Improvements: The construction start date is February 2024.

-          Many maintenance and traffic operations occur daily.

-          All other updates are on the Caltrans report on page 99 of the agenda.

D.                  Commission Member Reports

-          Updates were provided by various commissioners.

VII.              The next meeting will be on March 27, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. at the ICTC Offices, 1503 N. Imperial Ave., Suite 104, El Centro, CA 92243, and via Zoom Meeting for the public.

VIII.            ADJOURNMENT

A.                  Meeting Adjourned at 8:14 p.m.