IMPERIAL COUNTY TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION

MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

MINUTES OF MARCH 9, 2022

10:30 a.m.

VOTING MEMBERS PRESENT:

STAFF PRESENT: Virginia Mendoza, Cristi Lerma, Michelle Bastidas

OTHERS PRESENT:  David Salgado: SCAG; Rafael Reyes, Hanh-Dung Khuu: Caltrans; Coley Delaney: The Pun Group

The following minutes are listed as they were acted upon by the Imperial County Transportation Commission Management Committee and as listed on the agenda for the meeting held Wednesday, March 9, 2022, together with staff reports and related documents attached thereto and incorporated therein by reference.

I.                    CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL

Chair Nick wells called the meeting to order at 10:32 a.m., roll call was taken, and a quorum was present.

II.                  ACTION CALENDAR

A.                     Adopt resolution authorizing remote teleconference meetings in accordance with Assembly Bill 361

1.            Approved the resolution of the Imperial County Transportation Commission authorizing remote meetings in accordance with the provisions of the State Assembly Bill (AB) 361.

2.            Authorized the Chairperson to sign the resolution.

A motion was made by Salcido seconded by Medina to approve this item with a change to the resolution to include the City of Imperial; Roll call was taken:

                Motion carried unanimously.

III.                EMERGENCY ITEMS

There were none.

IV.                PUBLIC COMMENTS

There were none.

V.                  CONSENT ITEMS

A motion was made by Morita seconded by Colio-Warren to approve the consent calendar as presented; Roll call was taken:

Motion carried unanimously.

VI.                REPORTS

A.                  ICTC Executive Director

-          Mr. Aguirre had the following updates:

o   The State Route 86 (Northbound) Border Patrol Checkpoint project will begin construction in the next few months with completion in late 2022.

o   The Calexico Intermodal Transportation Center Project continues to be underway. Environmental phase has been completed. Design is expected to be completed in March 2022 and Right of Way Acquisition is underway. ICTC is exploring funding opportunities to complete the required construction efforts. The Calexico ITC site is located at 3rd Street between Rockwood and Heffernan.

o   Calexico East Port of Entry Bridge Widening Project is underway. The design portion of the project is ongoing. The project is estimated to begin construction in early 2022 and is scheduled for completion in 2023.

o   Funding for Phase 2 of the Calexico West Port of Entry project was awarded in the amount of $103.4 million. Work for phase 2B will include demolition of the old port building and construction of the new pedestrian building. The total estimated investment for the Calexico West POE improvements is $416.2 million.

-          Ms. Mendoza had the following updates:

o   The STBG and CMAQ Call For applications were submitted on Friday, February 25th to ICTC staff. All agencies submitted except for the City of Westmorland and IID. A total of 10 STBG and 11 CMAQ applications were submitted. Funding requests exceeded the CMAQ and STBG amounts available for the three (3) fiscal years. Below is a summary of the program, total funding available, and the amount requested by all applicants.

o  The next IMBA meeting is scheduled for March 10, 2022 via Zoom.

o  The Imperial County Transportation Commission completed the Regional Active Transportation Plan (ATP) to improve access, mobility, and safety for non-motorized modes of travel, including walking, bicycling, and riding trans it. The final plan was adopted by ICTC on February 23, 2022. The Plan and all supporting documents are available to all ICTC member agencies, and is also posted on the ICTC website at:

https://www.imperialctc.org/assets/documents/transportation-plans-and-studies/ICTC-ATP_Final-Document_2022.02.28_Reduced-Size.pdf

o  ICTC staff completed a Request for Proposal (RFP) to prepare a full update of the Imperial County LRTP. Michael Baker International was the selected consultant. The goal of the LRTP is to provide the following:

o    Identify and promote the relationship between the transportation system to existing and future land use and community comprehensive plans and programs.

o    Provide guidance to promote the improvement of multi-modal transportation circulation of people and goods, using both motorized and non-motorized transportation modes, new technologies and infrastructure facilities.

o    Recommendations and guidance to provide a safe, efficient, accessible, socially equitable and cost-effective transportation system.

o    Ensure compliance with state and federal transportation planning regulations

o    Develop recommendations that ensure environmentally sustainable planning practices.

o    ICTC Staff is working with the consultant team in finalizing the project implementation plan. The stakeholder list for the LRTP will be comprehensive and include local and regional partners with special attention to upcoming developments in Imperial County.

B.                  Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG)

-      The 2022 SCAG Regional Conference and General Assembly is scheduled for May 4-6, 2022. The Regional Conference and General Assembly will be held at the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa in Palm Desert, CA. Agencies must appoint their delegates for them to be a voting member.

-      Applications are now available for the 2022 SCAG Scholarship Program. The SCAG Scholarship Program offers a $4,000 scholarship award for seven high school seniors or community college students from the SCAG region (and potentially two additional scholarship awards that are not tied to a specific county but may be awarded at the Regional Council’s discretion) and the opportunity to meet with elected officials and practicing planners to learn more about careers in public service. To be eligible for the scholarship, students must be a resident within the SCAG region, enrolled as a high school senior or community college student, have at least a 3.0 GPA and be eligible to work in the United States. Applicants must complete an application form and submit an essay, two letters of recommendation, and a current transcript. All materials must be submitted by Friday, April 1. For more information visit www.scag.ca.gov/students.

-      SCAG ToolBox Tuesday: Regional Data Platform & Local Data Exchange Process will take place on Tuesday, March 15th from 1 – 2:30 p.m.

-      The SCAG Housing Policy Leadership Academy kickoff was in February.

-      The Regional Data Platform will standardize regionally significant datasets, provide opportunities for local partners to update their data in real-time, and draw insights from local trends. More specifically, it will be an online tool for SCAG and local jurisdictions to access data necessary for local general plan development and general decision making by monitoring transportation, land development trends, housing and economic growth, and sustainability conditions. One-on-one meetings will be set up with all agencies for the 2024 Connect SoCal.

C.                  Caltrans Department of Transportation – District 11

-          Mr. Reyes had the following updates:

o   The I-8/Imperial Avenue Interchange project was opened to traffic on December 21, 2021. The community identifier installation was completed on February 8th. The contractor will continue with plant establishment and close out activities through 2023.

o   Progress has been made on Stage 1 of the SR-98 widening project, between Rockwood and Ollie Avenue. Stage 2 is expected to begin in April 2022. The project is estimated to be completed by late 2022.

D.                  Committee Member Reports

⁻                      There were no updates.

VII.              ACTION CALENDAR

A.                  Transportation Development Act (TDA) and Program Fiscal Audits for FY 2020-21

It was requested that the Management Committee forward this item to the Commission for review and approval after public comment, if any:

1.       Receive and file the Transportation Development Act and other program fiscal audits for the Imperial County Transportation Commission, for FY 2020-21.

2.       Direct staff to transmit the fiscal audits to the State Controller’s Office.

A motion was made by Morita seconded by Colio-Warren to approve Action A. Roll call was taken:

                Motion carried unanimously.

B.                  Low Carbon Transit Operations Program (LCTOP) Application for FY 2021-22 Funds

It was requested that the Management Committee forward this item to the Commission for review and approval after public comment, if any:

1.       Authorize the ICTC Chairperson to sign the attached resolution.

2.       Authorization for the Execution of the LCTOP Project application: Free Fare Program for eligible ICTC administered transit services.

A motion was made by Salcido seconded by Figueroa. Roll call was taken:

                Motion carried unanimously.

VIII.             The next meeting is scheduled for April 13, 2022, at 10:30 a.m. at the ICTC Offices and via Zoom Meeting.  

IX.                 ADJOURNMENT

A.                  Meeting adjourned at 11:22 a.m.