IMPERIAL COUNTY TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION

MINUTES FOR MARCH 22, 2017

6:00 p.m.

______________________________________________________________________

VOTING MEMBERS PRESENT:

                                                            City of Brawley                        George Nava

                                                            City of Calipatria                      Maria Nava-Froelich (Chair)

                                                            City of Calexico                       Bill Hodge

                                                            City of El Centro                      Cheryl Viegas-Walker

                                                            City of Holtville                       James Predmore

                                                            City of Imperial                        Robert Amparano

                                                            City of Westmorland                Larry Ritchie

                                                            County of Imperial                    Ryan Kelley

NON-VOTING MEMBERS PRESENT:        Caltrans District 11                   Marcelo Peinado

STAFF PRESENT:     Mark Baza, Kathi Williams, David Aguirre, Virginia Mendoza, Vicky Hernandez, Cristi Lerma

OTHERS PRESENT:  Sam Amen: Caltrans; David Salgado: SCAG

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 March 22, 2017 together with staff reports and related documents attached thereto and incorporated therein by reference.

I.                    CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL 

Chair Nava-Froelich called the Commission meeting to order at 6:11 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.                 Approved ICTC Board Draft Minutes:                                        February 22, 2017

B.                  Received and Filed:     

1.                   ICTC Management Committee Draft Minutes:               March 8, 2017

2.                   ICTC SSTAC Minutes:                                                 February 1, 2017

3.                   ICTC TAC Minutes                                                      February 23, 2017

A motion was made by Predmore and seconded by Ritchie to approve consent items A and B, Motion carried unanimously.

V.                 REPORTS

A.                 ICTC Executive Director

            Ms. Williams had the following announcements:

-          The FY 2017-18 Unmet Transit Needs Public Hearing process has concluded and the findings will be presented to the Social Services Transportation Advisory Council (SSTAC) at the April 5, 2017 meeting. Staff anticipates presenting to the Commission for consideration of approval at the April Commission meeting. Staff is working with the audit team on the TDA Triennial Performance Audit. They have requested that ICTC staff and agency staff upload all requested documentation to an FTD site. The audit team will be contacting agency staff to select a date to meet in person.

-          The contract agreement for the Regional Bus Stop Inventory Signage Replacement and Technology Assessment Project is anticipated to be on the Commission agenda in April.

-          The IVT Transit Services Maintenance Audit contract is being developed and may be on the April Commission agenda for consideration of approval in April. The proposed contract is for 3years at $14,000.00 per year. There were several questions regarding the nature of the maintenance audit. Ms. Williams stated that since ICTC has acquired all its fleet, this audit will provide a comprehensive review of the care and maintenance performed on the transit vehicles now owned by ICTC. The project goal is to have an annual report for use by ICTC that can be used to manage fleet resources and insure compliance with industry practices and contractual requirements. Another question was in regards to the respondents. Ms. Williams stated that the respondents are from San Diego and Florida, none locally.  

-          The IVT Adams Avenue Comprehensive Bus Operations Facility Evaluation Proposals are due on April 7, 2017. Mr. Aguirre did a walk-through of the facility last week prior to the pre-bid meeting that took place at the ICTC offices. ICTC and Caltrans Staff are working towards establishing a temporary lease agreement for the facility while the evaluation process is completed. Anticipated costs for the facility evaluation and proposed facility lease have yet to be established.

-          ICTC and transit operator staff has started an evaluation and review process of the performance data for the first 3 years of operation. The review will focus primarily on the Brawley, Calexico, Imperial and Westshores areas, as the City of El Centro service did not begin until July 1, 2016.  The Paratransit Coordinating Committee (PCC) met on March 13, 2017 to develop recommendations for service adjustments. If there are service adjustments it is likely they would be for Commission consideration in May/June timeframe, which then would be effective July 1, 2017. Ms. Williams stated that there has been a struggle with meeting the 10% fare box ratio.

            Mr. Baza had the following announcements:

-          Mr. Baza recognized Sam Amen from Caltrans and his 8.4 years of service. He stated that Mr. Amen will be greatly missed. Ms. Mendoza reviewed the status of each agencies RSTP and CMAQ obligations. Pending Request for Authorizations (RFA’s) were from the Cities of Brawley for the paving of Wildcat Drive; the City of Calexico for the paving of De Las Flores Street, additionally the City is pending a single audit approval by Caltrans; City of Imperial for Dogwood Road; County of Imperial for Dogwood Road and for a Pedestrian Master Plan; City of Westmorland for the paving of H Street; and, ICTC for the Design of the New Intermodal Transportation Center in the City of Calexico. Ms. Mendoza stated that for the County and the City of Westmorland, Amendment 17-02 was pending approval but has since been approved and can now move forward.

-          Assembly Bill 28 provides a three year extension to the existing delegation of the NEPA to Caltrans, and is very critical to the Imperial region’s federal-aid funded projects. Mr. Hovley from Caltrans District 11 works on Imperial County’s local projects. The bill is on the Governor’s chair pending signature. Once it is signed it will be submitted to FHWA.

-          Mr. Baza stated that a partnership was initiated with Smart Border Coalition. Mr. Baza participated on a Border Tour in Mexicali. He also stated that General Services Administration (GSA) is part of a project with the New River Committee. There was further discussion regarding New River issues.

-          Estimates of the State Legislation for Transportation Funding through proposed AB 1 and SB 1 were provided in the Executive Director’s report. For estimates of annual revenue for Cities and the County of Imperial, please see the report.

-          Mr. Baza stated that the Presidents 2018 proposed Budget may have impacts on transportation projects locally. The Imperial Mexicali Binational Alliance Meeting was held on March 17, 2017 and there was a great turnout. A presentation was provided by Kevin Kelly from the IID regarding Mexicali/Imperial water agreement and transmission updates.

-          A complete list of ICTC updates can be found on Page 23 of the agenda.

B.                  Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG)

                        Mr. Salgado had the following announcements:

-          The 2017 SCAG Scholarship Program is offered to students that would like to develop long-term career goals. Applications are due by April 21, 2017. For more information please contact David Salgado.

-          The SCAG 2017 Local profiles were sent to planning directors and stakeholders for review. Comments are due on March 24, 2017.

-          There will be a SCAG Regional Council District 1 Election on March 23, 2017. The election is for the District 1 seat.. All interested candidates please contact David Salgado.

-          The 2017 SCAG Regional Conference and General Assembly will be held on May 4-5, 2017 in Palm Desert. Mr. Salgado stated that all electeds will be comped and can reserve a room for $124 a night.

-          A second round of the GoHuman campaign is being developed and will be released at the end of May.

-           A SCAG report can be found on page 36.

C.                  California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)

            Mr. Peinado had the following updates:

-          The first three segments of the Interstate 8 Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavement Project (CRCP) are under construction.

o   Segment 1, is near El Centro from 0.6 mile west of Anderholt Road overcrossing to 0.5 mile east of the East Highline Canal Bridge. Expected to be completed by June 2017. 

o   Segment 2, which is located 26 miles east of El Centro from 0.8 mile west of SR-98/I-8 separation to 0.6 mile east of the All American Canal. Expected to be completed by July 2017.

o   Segment 3, near Winterhaven from 0.7 mile west of the SR-186/I-8 separation to 0.3 mile east of Fourth Avenue overcrossing. Expected to be completed by early 2018.

The two remaining segments were advertised in November 2016 and are scheduled to begin construction in summer 2017.

o   Segment 4, near El Centro from 0.6 mile west of I-8/SR-111 separation to 0.6 mile west of Anderholt Road overcrossing and from 0.5 mile east of the East Highline Canal Bridge to 0.8 mile west of I-8/SR-98 separation.

o   Segment 5, near Winterhaven from 0.7 mile west of Ogilby Road overcrossing to 0.7 west

-          The March 2017 edition of the Mile Marker was distributed to all.

-          A full Caltrans report can be found on page 39 of the agenda.

D.                 Commission Member Reports 

-          Mr. Ritchie stated that N. Center Street is at the end of the project.

-          Ms. Nava-Froelich stated that she will attend the LAFCO and League of California Cities Imperial meetings. She also stated that she will be receiving an Iron Woman Award, sponsored by the Sure Helpline.

-          Mr. Hodge thanked ICTC and staff for their participation on the Transit Needs Assessment Study.

-          Mr. Predmore stated the City of Holtville submitted 2 RFP’s for a total of $3million. The Farmers Market in Holtville will be on March 30, 2017 and everyone is invited.

-          Ms. Viegas-Walker stated the RFP will released today for security services and available. Today we had 2,000 plus hits on our website.

VI.               ACTION CALENDAR

A.                 Low Carbon Transit Operations Program (LCTOP) Application for FY 2016-2017 Funds

Ms. Mendoza stated that ICTC proposes to submit the LCTOP grant application for FY 2016-17.  She also stated that the LCTOP was created to provide operating and capital assistance for transit agencies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve mobility, with a priority on serving disadvantaged communities. Approved projects in LCTOP will support the following:

1.         Expenditures that directly enhance or expand bus or rail service, new or expanded water-borne transit, or expanded intermodal transit facilities, and may include equipment acquisition, fueling, and maintenance, and other costs to operate those services or facilities.

2.         Operational expenditures that increase transit mode share.

3.         Expenditures related to the purchase of zero-emission buses, including electric buses, and the installation of the necessary equipment and infrastructure to operate and support these zero-emission buses.

                        In FY 2015-2016, ICTC requested the rollover of $193,483 for the future use of the planned Calexico Intermodal Transportation Center (ITC).  It is the intent of ICTC staff to also roll over the FY 2016-2017 funds toward capital costs associated with the planned Calexico ITC.  The Calexico ITC will be a large multi-modal bus transit transfer facility and access point. A site selection study has been completed by ICTC and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funding has been obtained through a call for projects to fund the environmental and design phases of the project.  Following the LCTOP guidelines, ICTC staff recommends to submit an application requesting the roll-over of FY 2016-2017 LCTOP funds in the amount of $89,254 to FY 2017-2018 with the intent to use the funds for the Calexico ITC.  The total LCTOP for both FY 2015-2016 and FY 2016-2017 is $282,737.  Implementation of the Calexico ITC is not proposed for FY2016-2017.  The rollover funding will be used as match to possibly leverage other cap and trade funding for the overall construction of the facility.

                        The ICTC Management Committee met on March 8, 2017 and forwarded this item to the Commission for their review and approval after public comment, if any:

1.                   Direct staff to submit an application to the Low Carbon Transit Operations Program (LCTOP) for FY 2016-17;

2.                   Authorize the ICTC Chairperson to sign the attached resolution;

3.                   Authorization for the Execution of the LCTOP Project: Capital construction costs for the Calexico Intermodal Transportation Center (ITC).

A motion was made by Hodge and seconded by Ritchie, Motion carried unanimously.

VII.            INFORMATION CALENDAR

A.                 Detailed Briefing of Upcoming California Transportation Commission (CTC) Town Hall Meeting

Mr. Baza stated that an Imperial County Town Hall Meeting is set for April 12, 2017 from 12-4 p.m. at the Carmen Durazo Cultural Arts Center in Calexico, immediately after the regularly scheduled ICTC Management Committee meeting.  He encouraged all to attend.  He also stated that the next day, April 13, 2017 from 8:30 a.m.-12 p.m., ICTC will be hosting a Border Tour of the Calexico East Port of Entry and CHP truck inspection facility for CTC Commissioners, CTC staff and Caltrans. Mr. Baza stated that everyone is welcome to join the border tour. Pick up and drop off will be at the Fairfield Inn and Suites in El Centro.  If you are interested please notify ICTC. A draft agenda was also provided to the Commission.

B.                  Update for Proposed Expansion of SR-86 Border Patrol Checkpoint

Mr. Baza presented the Commission with the design and cost of the proposed alternative, which includes a truck inspection approach lane, a vehicle inspection approach lane, primary and secondary vehicle  inspection sites, truck inspection primary and secondary sites; employee parking; and, an  impound storage. The proposed design will cost $1.5 million in capital costs and $900 thousand in support costs for a total of $2.4 million. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is committed to man the expansion if created. CBP is not prepared to pay for it due to the frozen federal budget.  Mr. Baza stated that he planned to bring a fund request to the LTA Board in April from the 5% set-aside state highway fund. Mr. Kelley stated he did not expect it to cost so much. Mr. Nava commented in regards to the cost as well.  Mr. Baza stated that all parties (ICTC, Caltrans and CBP) can revisit the design and cost and bring it back to the Commission for review.

VIII.         NEXT MEETING DATE AND PLACE

A.                 The next meeting of the Imperial County Transportation Commission will be held on Wednesday, April 26, 2017 at 6:00 p.m., at the County of Imperial Board Chambers, at 940 W. Main Street, El Centro, CA.

IX.              ADJOURNMENT

A.                 Meeting adjourned at 7:52 p.m. (Viegas-Walker/Hodge) Motion carried.