TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES

February 27, 2020

            Present:          

            Gordon Gaste                           City of Brawley

            Victor Garcia                            City of Brawley

            Lily Falomir                             City of Calexico

            Abraham Campos                     City of El Centro  

            Veronica Atondo                       County of Imperial

            Jesus Villegas                           City of Imperial

            Joel Hamby                              City of Westmorland

            Others:

            Marlene Flores                          ICTC

            David Salgado                           SCAG

            Beth Landrum                           Caltrans

            Bing Luu                                  Caltrans

            Ben Guerrero                            Caltrans

            Seth Cutter                               Caltrans

            Vanessa De La Rosa                  Caltrans

            Felix DeLeon                            City of El Centro

            Catherine Gutierrez                   City of El Centro

            John Kilps                                IID

            The meeting was called to order at 10:08 a.m. A quorum was present, and introductions were made. There were no public comments made.

1.       Introductions

2.       Regional Climate Action Plan: (Presented by Poonam Boparai from Ascent)

Poonam provided a quick update on the Regional Climate Action Plan to TAC members. Moving forward with the project, local agencies and county will be provided with a form including a list of GHG reductions policies for each jurisdiction and a template intended to easily analyze the success and progress implementing each identified policy for the Existing Conditions Analysis. Local agencies will need to complete this task by no later than March, 20, 2020. ICTC and consultant team continue their efforts in collecting as much data from all local agencies for this project.

3.       A motion was made to adopt the minutes for January 23, 2020 (Hamby/Campos) Motion Carried.

4.       American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Imperial County Division

(Presented by Abraham Campos, City of El Centro)

Mr. Campos mentioned ASCE stands at the forefront of a profession that plans, designs, constructs, and most important it provides a collaboration among cities. Abraham mentioned how in the past there was an ASCE Imperial County Division and he wants to bring the ASCE back to Imperial county. Abraham Campos introduced John Kilps from the Imperial Irrigation District and he as well is very interested in getting the ASCE started. Abraham mentioned how they can start with quarterly meetings and having the meetings in different locations. Abraham will provide more information on this topic and see if local agencies are interested.

5.       Caltrans District 11: Active Transportation Plan Development Presentation

(Presented by Vanessa De La Rosa and Seth Cutter from Caltrans)

Caltrans is developing an Active Transportation Plan for San Diego and Imperial County. This plan will include and existing conditions analysis and a prioritized list of identified bicycle and pedestrian needs on and around the State Highway System. The purpose of this presentation is to obtain input from our local agencies and see if we can participate in the Active Transportation Plan Working Group (ATPWG). Next steps to follow, local agencies need to fill out an excel sheet identifying areas of need.  Upcoming meeting dates will follow.

6.       ICTC Updates / Announcements

(Presented by ICTC Staff)

a.       Transit Planning Updates- No updates at this moment.

b.       Transportation Planning Updates (by Marlene Flores):

-          Phase II of the Calexico West Port of Entry- Funding for phase 2B is in the President’s Budget Proposal in the amount of $99.7 million. Work for Phase 2B will include demolition of the old port building and construction of the new pedestrian building.

-          Imperial Mexicali Binational Alliance Meeting- The next IMBA meeting is scheduled for March 18, 2020 in the City of Calexico CA (421 Heffernan Ave. #2741) We will have presentations from Dr. Todd Finnell from the Imperial County Office of Education and from Caltrans on the 2020 Border Master Plan.

-          SR-78/Glamis Multiuse Grade Separated Crossing Feasibility Study- The third technical working group meeting was held on February 13, 2020 in San Diego, CA. Currently the consultant team is conducting an analysis of the alternatives and the next technical working group meeting is scheduled for May 14, 2020.

-          FFY 2019-20 Programmed Project Updates (by Marlene Flores): Update on State and Federal funding obligations. A complete list of programmed projects was provided as an attachment to the agenda. Each agency provided an update on the current status of each project. See attachment with updated status of each project. 

c.       LTA Updates 2012 and 2018 (by Marlene Flores):

-          2012 LTA Bond- City of Brawley still has a balance on their respective 2012 LTA Bond account of ($666,629).

-          2018 LTA Bond- The City of Holtville already utilize all their 2018 LTA money and City of Calexico ($7,986,721) and City of Calipatria ($1,392,482).

7.       SCAG Updates / Announcements (by David Salgado)

-          2019 SCAG 54th Annual General Assembly: The 55th Regional Conference and General Assembly will be on May 6-8 at the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa in Palm Desert, CA. Registration for the 2020 Regional Conference is available. The event is free for elected officials and city managers in the region, and a room block is currently available through the SCAG General Assembly Website.

-          RHNA Update: The final RHNA methodology should be approved in the March 2020/April 2020 time frame for formal ratification at the 2020 SCAG General Assembly.

-          ATP Training: Cory Wilkerson from SCAG will be providing an ATP training for TAC members in the month of March. ICTC will provide more information in regards to the training.

8.       Cities and County Planning / Public Works Updates:

-          Local agencies gave an update on their local projects in progress.

Calexico- Lily Falomir was proud to announce that the City of Calexico had been selected as a recipient of the California Department of Parks and Recreation 2020 Proposition 68 Statewide Park Grant Program. The City of Calexico obtained a $8.5 million grant to expand the Heber Park.

El Centro- Abraham Campos provided an update on I-8/Imperial Avenue Interchange Reconstruction. Construction will begin in April 2020 and expect closures to begin in April/May. Additional outreach will be done for this project. The bridge will be removed in June 2020.

City of Brawley- Victor Garcia mentioned a water line replacement project.

County of Imperial- Veronica Atondo provided an update on several on-going projects. Heber Avenue project is moving along with bids and the County is preparing to award in two months.

City of Imperial- Aten and Clark intersection project will start construction soon.

9.       Caltrans Updates / Announcements (By: Bing Luu and Beth Landrum)

Local Assistance: Bing Luu provided updates on local assistance.

Quality Assurance Program (QAP)- A quick reminder, City of Calexico, City of El Centro and City of Westmorland need to renew the QAP if federal funds are anticipated for future projects. A list with specific dates for each agency was provided. An updated QAP package must be submitted as soon as possible to the Local Area Engineer, Ben Guerrero.

FY 2018-19 Single Audit Reporting (SAR)- Bing Luu mentioned the packages are due by March 31, 2020. Caltrans sent instructions for submitting the required SAR packages.

Inactive Projects- A quick reminder on the inactive projects. February 20, 2020 was the deadline to submit Inactive invoices.

2020 Updates- Local Assistance Procedures Manual and Program Guidelines- Updates to the LAPM and LAPG have been documented in Local Programs Procedures and can be viewed on the website.

Preparation Schedule for California Transportation Commission (CTC)- Bing Luu provided the schedule with deadlines to send allocation request packages for CTC approval. March 13, 2020 is the next deadline.

Call for Local Roadway Safety Plan (LRSP) Applications- Caltrans announced a Call for Local Roadway Safety Plan (LRSP) Applications on October 8, 2019. The funds will be awarded to the applicants on a “first-come, first-serve” basis.  There is no application deadline.  Caltrans will continue to accept applications as long as funding is available.

Planning: Beth Landrum provided an update on the SR-78/Glamis Grade Separated Crossing Feasibility Study. Beth mentioned how Caltrans is looking at the BUILD grant for possible grant funds for this project.

10.   General Discussion / New Business

-Abraham Campos from the City of El Centro mentioned if the Border Master Plan (BMP) TWG meetings will be the same day as TAC. He is part of the committee and it is hard for him to attend the BMP meeting. Beth Landrum will check with Caltrans to see what are the upcoming dates of the BMP and will get back to Abraham.

- Bing Luu mentioned how he wants to bring to the Imperial County more workshops for our local agencies. If anyone has a topic of preferences to let him or Ben Guerrero know.  

11.   Meeting adjourned at 11:49 a.m.