IMPERIAL COUNTY TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION

MINUTES FOR JUNE 24, 2020

5:30 p.m.

_______________________________________________________________­­­­________________

VOTING MEMBERS PRESENT:

                                                            City of Brawley               George Nava – Chairman via zoom

                                                            City of Calexico               Lewis Pacheco

                                                            City of El Centro              Cheryl Viegas-Walker

                                                            City of Holtville               James Predmore via zoom

                                                            City of Imperial               Robert Amparano via zoom

                                                            City of Westmorland        Larry Ritchie via zoom

                                                            County of Imperial           Luis Plancarte via zoom

                                                            County of Imperial           Ryan Kelley

NON-VOTING MEMBERS PRESENT:        Caltrans District 11       Gustavo Dallarda via Zoom

STAFF PRESENT:     Mark Baza, David Aguirre, Cristi Lerma, Virginia Mendoza, Eric Havens (Counsel)

OTHERS PRESENT:  Kome Ajise, David Salgado: SCAG; Gustavo Dallarda: Caltrans; Daveline Villasenor: IVRMA;

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, June 24, 2020 together with staff reports and related documents attached thereto and incorporated therein by reference.

Given recent public health directives limiting public gatherings due to the threat of COVID-19 and in compliance with the Governor’s Order N-29-20, the meeting will be held telephonically and electronically.

I.                    CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL 

Chair Nava called the Commission meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. Roll call was taken, and a quorum was present.

II.                 EMERGENCY ITEMS

            There were none.

III.              CLOSED SESSION - 5:30 PM

A.                 Motion to Adjourn to Closed Session Viegas-Walker/Pacheco – Motion Carried

B.                  PUBLIC EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION (Government Code § 54957)          

                        Title:  ICTC Executive Director

C.                  CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATORS (Government Code § 54957.6)

            Agency Designated Representative:  Eric Havens

            Unrepresented Employee:  Executive Director

D.                 RECONVENE TO OPEN SESSION – 5:58 PM

Announcement of Closed Session Action(s) Mr. Eric Haven reported in open session. He stated that direction was given, and no reportable action was taken. A merit increase of 4% for the Executive Director will take effect on July 1, 2020. No final action was given.

IV.              PUBLIC COMMENTS

There were no public comments received.

V.                 CONSENT CALENDAR

A.        Approval of the ICTC Commission Draft Minutes:         May 27, 2020

B.                  Receive and File:

1.                   ICTC Management Committee Draft Minutes:   May 13, 2020

2.                   ICTC SSTAC Minutes:                                     May 6, 2020

3.                   ICTC TAC Minutes:                                         May 28, 2020

C.                  ICTC - Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (PTASP)

1.       Approved the ICTC Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (PTASP)

D.        FY 2020-21 Fifth Revision to Memorandum of Understanding (MOU); ICTC - Quechan Indian Tribe - Yuma County Intergovernmental Public Transit Authority (YCIPTA) for Turquoise Route #10 and Blue Route #5

1.       Authorized the Chairperson to sign the Fifth Extension to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Yuma County Intergovernmental Public Transportation Authority (YCIPTA), The Imperial County Transportation Commission (ICTC) and the Quechan Indian Tribe for the continued implementation and operation of a regional connector bus service (YCAT Turquoise #10) between Yuma AZ, Winterhaven and El Centro, California; and, a circulator route from Yuma with stops in the eastern Imperial County area (YCAT Blue #5) effective July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021 and provide a not to exceed subsidy to the Quechan Tribe and YCIPTA in an amount of $162,062.71.

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

            Motion Carried unanimously.

VI.              REPORTS

A.                 ICTC Executive Director

-          A full list of updates and announcements can be found on page 42 of the agenda.

B.                  Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG)

-          SCAG Executive Director Kome Ajise gave a presentation regarding Connect SOCAL. He stated that he is utilizing the 120 wisely and asking all stakeholders for their input. His presentation is on page 55 of the agenda.

-          Mr. Salgado also provided report and is on page 61 of the agenda.

C.                  California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)       

Mr. Dallarda was available via zoom to present on the Caltrans report.   

-          A full list of updates and announcements can be found on page 66 of the agenda.

D.                 Commission Member Reports 

-          Ms. Nava-Froelich requested an additional Caltrans staff to oversee Imperial County.

-          Chair Nava thanked all staff for their effort during these times.

-          Mr. Amparano announced that the City of Imperial has a new City Manager, Dennis Morita.

-          Ms. Viegas-Walker thanked all who participated in the caravan for fallen Officer Coronel.  

-          Mr. Kelley stated that the County submitted a letter to the State requesting local controls for covid-19. He did state that the letter conveys a message that the county is and continues to follow state and federal guidelines.

VII.           ACTION CALENDER

            A.        Draft ICTC Overall Work Program (OWP) and Budget, FY 2020-21

                        Mr. Aguirre presented the FY 2020-21 OWP and Budget. Total budget is $19,882,859.

                        Highlights from the letter include:

·         Completed the 2020 State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) that includes Planning, Programming and Monitoring funds for ICTC transportation planning and project implementation, and the construction funds for the I-8 Imperial Ave. Interchange Re-Construction Project;

·         In partnership with the City of El Centro and Caltrans construction began for the I-8/Imperial Avenue Interchange Reconstruction, and extension of Imperial Avenue south to McCabe Road;

·         Near completion of the 2019-20 Regional Transportation Improvement Program (RTIP) that includes all local road and state highway improvements throughout our region that include federal funds;

·         In partnership with Caltrans completed the Project Approval and Environmental Document for the Calexico East Port of Entry Bridge Widening Project, and initiated the procurement for the Design-Build project (simultaneous design and construction). Procurement process of Request for Qualifications and Request for Proposals is scheduled to be completed in March 2021;

·         Completed a required agreement with the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration for the $20 million award for the Calexico East POE Bride Widening Project;

·         In partnership with the City of Calexico and Caltrans completed the Calexico West POE Traffic Management Plan;

·         Completed the transition for ICTC administration of the Imperial Valley Resource Management Agency (IVRMA) and hiring of new Project Manager, and completing steps toward transition of the Service Authority for Freeway Emergencies (SAFE) beginning July 1, 2020;

                        The ICTC Management Committee met on June 10, 2020 and forwarded this item to the Commission for their review and approval after public comment, if any:

1.       Adopted the Draft ICTC Overall Work Program (OWP) and Budget for FY 2020-21.

                        A motion was made by Viegas-Walker and seconded by Nava-Froelich, roll call:

                        Motion Carried unanimously.

            B.         Tri-ennial Performance Audit of the Administration/Management of the Imperial County Transportation Commission – FY 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19

                        Mr. Aguirre stated that the consultant, Ms. Kathy Chambers would provide a detailed overview of the Triennial Performance Audit for the ICTC for fiscal years 2016/2017 – 2018/2019. Ms. Chambers stated that the audit is guided by the TDA Caltrans guidebook. There was a total of 6 reports for the following agencies/services: ICTC, IVT, IVT Access, IVT Ride, IVT Medtrans, and YCAT. The auditor had site visits with ICTC, First Transit, YCIPTA and the Quechan Tribe. The following findings were addressed:

·         Ensure State Controller Reports are submitted in a timely manner.

·         Ensure the RTPA’s fiscal audits are completed no later than 12 months following the end of the fiscal year.

·         For any operator using STA funds for operating purposes, ICTC should include the test against the two qualifying efficiency standards as part of the TDA claim process.

·         Prepare and implement a standardized orientation process for new ICTC Board members.

·         Reaffirm ICTC’s definitions of “unmet transit need” and “reasonable to meet” as part of each annual unmet transit needs finding.

·         IVT should ensure its website is fully usable for monolingual Spanish-speaking individuals.

·         Identify supplemental local revenues that will bring the farebox recovery ratio up to at least 10 percent – IVT Access

·         Review opportunities for increasing local revenue to boost farebox recovery – IVT Medtrans Service

·         Conduct regular passenger surveys to gauge customer satisfaction and service need – IVT Medtrans Service

·         Ensure TDA fiscal audits of all IVT operations are completed no later than 270 days following the end of the fiscal year – IVT Ride

                        Staff has begun addressing most of the finding and has an action plan to complete all tasks. The agency and Transit Services audits are published on the ICTC website at: http://www.imperialctc.org/publications-&-reports/financial-reports/

                        The ICTC Management Committee met on June 10, 2020 and forwarded this item to the Commission for their review and approval after public comment, if any:

1.       Approved the FY 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19 Tri-ennial Performance Audit of the Imperial County Transportation Commission.

2.       Directed staff to forward the FY 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19 Tri-ennial Performance Audit of the Imperial County Transportation Commission to Caltrans.

                        A motion was made by Amparano and seconded by Nava, roll call:

                        Motion Carried unanimously.

VIII.         NEXT MEETING DATE AND PLACE

A.                 The next meeting of the Imperial County Transportation Commission will be held on July 22, 2020 at 6:00 p.m., at the ICTC Offices, 1503 N. Imperial Ave., Suite 104, El Centro, CA 92243 and via Zoom Meeting.

IX.              ADJOURNMENT

A.                 Meeting adjourned at 8:05 p.m. (Nava/Nava-Froelich).