Minutes | Regular Meeting
IMPERIAL COUNTY TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION
MINUTES FOR JANUARY 27, 2016
6:00 p.m.
________________________________________________________________________
VOTING MEMBERS PRESENT:
City of Calipatria Maria Nava-Froelich
City of Calexico Maritza Hurtado
City of El Centro Cheryl Viegas-Walker
City of Holtville Jim Predmore
City of Imperial Doug Cox
City of Westmorland Lawrence D. Ritchie
County of Imperial Jack Terrazas
County of Imperial Ryan Kelley
Imperial Irrigation District Bruce Kuhn
NON-VOTING MEMBERS PRESENT:
Caltrans District 11 Bill Figge for Laurie Berman
STAFF PRESENT: Mark Baza, Kathi Williams, Virginia Mendoza, David Salgado, Michelle Bastidas, Cristi Lerma, Digna Herrera
OTHERS PRESENT: Sam Amen: Caltrans; Arnold San Miguel: SCAG; Charles Brockwell: First Transit; Bill Brunet: County of Imperial
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 January 27, 2016 together with staff reports and related documents attached thereto and incorporated therein by reference.
I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL
Chair Kuhn called the Commission meeting to order at 6:57 p.m. Roll call was taken and a quorum was present.
II. EMERGENCY ITEMS
A. Mr. Baza stated that there was an emergency item. He stated that the Low Carbon Transit Operations Program (LCTOP) for FY 2015-16 has funds available and ICTC proposes to submit an application if the request is approved. The application is due on February 1, 2016.
A motion was made by Cox and seconded by Hurtado to approve the consent calendar, Motion carried unanimously.
Mr. Baza stated that the LCTOP funds, if approved, will be used to operate the Garnet Line in the City of Calexico. The Red Line in the City of Imperial was also considered, however after the program guidelines are that the funds are used in disadvantaged communities. ICTC will need $350,000 annually to fund this service
A motion was made by Predmore and seconded by Hurtado to approve the following:
1. Directed staff to submit an application to the Low Carbon Transit Operations Program (LCTOP);
2. Authorized for the execution of the certifications and assurances and authorized agent forms for the LCTOP;
3. Authorization for the Execution of the LCTOP Project: Operating and capital costs associated with Imperial Valley Transit – Garnet Line.
The motion was carried unanimously.
III. PUBLIC COMMENTS
There were none.
IV. APPROVAL OF CONSENT CALENDAR
A motion was made by Predmore and seconded by Kelley to approve the consent calendar, Motion carried unanimously.
A. Approved ICTC Board Draft Minutes: December 9, 2015
B. Received and Filed:
1. ICTC Management Committee Minutes: December 9, 2015
2. ICTC Management Committee Draft Minutes: January 13, 2016
3. ICTC SSTAC Minutes: December 2, 2015
C. Transportation Development Act (TDA) and Miscellaneous Fiscal Audits for FY 2014-15
1. Received and file the Transportation Development Act and other fiscal audits for the Imperial County Transportation Commission, for FY 2014-15.
2. Directed staff to transmit the fiscal audits to the State Controller’s Office.
V. REPORTS
A. ICTC Executive Director
Mr. Baza and staff had the following announcements:
- On January 15th, SeaPort Airlines announced that it will discontinue all scheduled service to destinations in California and Mexico as of 11:59 pm on January 15, 2016. According to their press release, the company was forced to take this action because of the impact on SeaPort’s business and operations following the effects of the shortage of airline pilots in the United States. Stations will be closed and service is to be ceased at the following California cities: Imperial, Burbank, Sacramento, San Diego, and Visalia, as well as, San Felipe, BC, Mexico. Ms. Walker stated that the RFP has been released to replace the EAS service for Imperial County. The bids close on February 3, 2016.
- ICTC is partnering with Antelope Valley Transit Authority (AVTA), Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District (AVQMD), and the Imperial County Air Pollution Control District (ICAPCD) to submit a grant under the California Air Resources Board (CARB) Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Pilot Commercial Deployment program. The project proposed will deploy a mixture of 23 zero emission battery electric buses. ICTC will acquire 6 of the 23 vehicles for a cost of $2,700,000. The vehicles will operate in the cities of Brawley and El Centro on the established circulator routes. The project requires a 25% matching amount which totals $675,000. ICTC is partnering with the ICAPCD, which has agreed to match ICTC’s cash match amount of $337,500, covering the required 25% match dollar amount. The grant is competitive and is expected to be awarded in the April/ May 2016 time frame with potential implementation Fall 2017.
- The annual Unmet Transit Needs (UTN) hearing process has been scheduled for Thursday, February 11, 2016 at 3:30pm. The meeting will be held at the City of Brawley Council Chambers located at 383 Main Street in the City of Brawley. Free bus transportation to the hearing will be provided from the 7th and State St. Transit Transfer Terminal in the City of El Centro at approximately 2:30pm. Reservations must be made no later than 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, February, 10, 2016 for transportation to the hearing from El Centro. A return trip back to 7th and State St. in El Centro will be provided at the conclusion of the hearing. Public comment in the form of letters or e-mails will be read into the record and should be provided to ICTC 1405 N. Imperial Ave., Suite 1, El Centro, CA 92243 Attn: Hearing Coordinator, no later than 5:00 p.m., Wednesday, February 10, 2016. The panel members are:
o George Nava, City of Brawley
o Maria Nava-Froelich, City of Calipatria
o Martiza Hurtado, City of Calexico
o Jack Terrazas, County of Imperial
o Ryan Kelley, County of Imperial
o Larry Ritchie, City of Westmorland (alternate)
o Doug Cox, City of Imperial (alternate)
- The Imperial Mexicali Binational Alliance meeting was held on January 14, 2016 at CETYS University in the City of Mexicali. Presentations and discussions covered updates for the following:
o Recap of the Strategic Planning efforts, yearly meetings every October
o Election of a Chair and Vice Chair
§ Sergio Tagliapietra, CDEM – Chair
§ Tom DuBose, IVDEC – Vice-Chair
o Border Infrastructure Updates regarding the Calexico West/Mexicali I POE and Calexico East/Mexicali II POE
o Economic Development
o The next meeting is scheduled for March 10, 2016 at the Barbara Worth Country Club in Imperial County.
- Recruitment is underway the Mobility Coordinator position at ICTC. This is a federally grant funded role that is a common position in transit service agencies. The primary duties will include the certification and eligibility process for the Americans with Disabilities Act, mobility travel training and other interaction with seniors and persons with disabilities. The interviews were scheduled for the second week in January. It is anticipated that the hiring process will be completed in early February 2016.
- A complete list of ICTC updates can be found on Page 107 of the agenda.
B. Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG)
Mr. San Miguel had the following announcements:
- The comment period for the SCAG RTP/SCS 2016/2040 is open until February 1, 2016. The Elected Officials only workshop was held prior to the Commission meeting. Mr. San Miguel thanked all for attending.
- Ms. Viegas-Walker mentioned that the League meeting is January 28th and can distribute the RTP/SCS Fact Sheets to all who missed the workshop today.
C. California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)
Mr. Figge had the following updates and announcements:
- The new Mile Marker Quarterly Performance Report has been released and copies were available if desired.
- Local Assistance update on the HSIP program. All three applications from the County of Imperial were successful.
- The Southern California Local Assistance Management Meeting (SCLAMM) will be held at Caltrans District 7 on March 24, 2016 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- A Regional Safety Summit will be held on February 24, 2016 at the SCAG Offices and on February 25, 2016 at the Caltrans District 11 Offices.
- A full report of Caltrans updates can be found on page 126 of the agenda.
D. Commission Member Report
- There were various reports by Commission members of countywide issues and events happening in each of their respective cities/county.
VI. ACTION CALENDAR
A. Rotation of Chair and Vice-Chair Positions
Mr. Baza stated that both positions serve for one year.
1. It was requested that the Commission take any appropriate action in the consideration of the rotation and assignment of the two positions.
James Predmore, City of Holtville was nominated to be the Chair of the ICTC for 2016. Doug Cox, City of Imperial was nominated to be the Vice-Chair of the ICTC for 2016.
A motion was made by Kelley and seconded by Kuhn, Motion Carried unanimously.
B. ICTC Overall Work Program (OWP) and Budget FY 2015-2016, Amendment #1
Ms. Williams presented the item to the Commission. The additional revenues are the result of new grant funding, as well as, an increase in the State revenue above our budgeted amounts. The increase allows us to proceed with additional vehicle purchases in order to achieve the goal of ICTC ownership of the entire bus fleet.
The attachment provided illustrated the requested Budget Amendment. There were no changes in the Regional Transportation Planning Budget at this time. The result is an overall increase in revenue and expenses by 8.1%, or from $19,698,389 to $21,423,136. The changes are summarized as follows:
Revenues
1. Addition of the federal 5310 grant program revenue for the Mobility Management Coordinator position and program
2. Increase in the receipt of the Local Transportation Fund (LTF) revenue
3. Increase in the receipt of the Public Transit Modernization Improvement and Service Enhancement Account (PTMISEA) and California Transit Security Grant revenues
Expenditures
1. Addition of the program expense for the Med-Express paratransit services for public outreach
2. Addition of the program expense for the IVT RIDE – El Centro consolidated paratransit services for public outreach
3. Increase in the capital expense for ten (10) IVT Access cutaway buses
4. Increase for the ICTC agency vehicle expense
5. Increase in the capital expense for fixed route Automated Vehicle Location (AVL) system
6. Addition of the program expense for the Mobility Management Coordinator position and program, and adjustments for liability insurance and staff travel expense
7. Adjustment to the ICTC transit vehicle capital reserve for future bus replacement
8. Adjustment to the TDA Operating reserve
The ICTC Management Committee met on on January 13, 2015 and l forwarded this item to the Commission for review and approval after public comment, if any:
1. Approved the FY 2015-16 Overall Work Program and Transit Finance Plan Budget Amendment #1
A motion was made by Walker and seconded by Nava-Froelich, Motion Carried unanimously.
C. Appointment to the California Council of Governments (CALCOG)
1. Appointed Cheryl Viegas-Walker (El Centro) as the representative and Maritza Hurtado (Calexico) as an alternate from the Commission to the CALCOG Board.
A motion was made by Walker and seconded by Nava-Froelich, Motion Carried unanimously.
VII. NEXT MEETING DATE AND PLACE
A. The next meeting of the Imperial County Transportation Commission will be held on Wednesday, February 24, 2016 at 6:00 p.m., at the County of Imperial Board Chambers, at 940 W. Main Street, El Centro, CA.
VIII. ADJOURNMENT
A. Meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m. Motion by Kelley, seconded by Nava-Froelich. Motion Carried.