TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES

January 28, 2021

            Present:          

            Gordon Gaste                           City of Brawley

            Abraham Campos                     City of El Centro

            Veronica Atondo                       County of Imperial

            Jesus Villegas                           City of Imperial

            Lili Falomir                              City of Calexico

            Jeorge Galvan                           City of Calipatria

            Adriana Amezcua                      City of Holtville

            Joel Hamby                              City of Westmorland

            Frank Fiorenza                          IID

            Others:

            Virginia Mendoza                     ICTC   

            Marlene Flores                          ICTC

            David Salgado                           SCAG

            Tyler Salcido                            City of Brawley

            Guillermo Sillas                        City of Brawley

            Manuel Cabrera                        City of Brawley

            Andres Miramontes                   City of Brawley

            Ana Gutierrez                           City of Brawley

            Christian Rodriguez                   City of El Centro

            Felix DeLeon                            City of El Centro

            Robert Ureña                            County of Imperial

            Adolfo Garcia                           County of Imperial                   

            Ben Guerrero                            Caltrans

1.       The meeting was called to order at 10:03 a.m. A quorum was present and introductions were made.  There were no public comments made.

2.       Rotation of Chair and Vice-Chair Positions

A motion was made by Gordon Gaste and seconded by Veronica Atondo to nominate the City of El Centro as the Chair for 2021, Motion Carried.

A motion was made by George Galvan and seconded by Joel Hamby to nominate the City of Brawley as the Vice-Chair for 2021, Motion Carried.

3.       A motion was made to adopt the minutes for December 17, 2020 (Galvan/Gaste) Motion Carried.

4.       Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) and Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) 2021 Call for Project Guidelines

Virginia Mendoza summarized both the Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) and Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) 2021 Call for Project Guidelines with TAC members and made a recommendation for approval.

TAC members made recommendations to the Call for Projects Guidelines:

·         A DRAFT resolution will be acceptable. Applicants may submit a draft resolution with each application; however, applicants must state the anticipated adoption date of the resolution.

ICTC staff forwards this item to the Technical Advisory Committee for discussion and recommendation to submit to the ICTC Management Committee and Commission after public comments, if any:

1.                   Approve and adopt the Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ)

and Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) 2021 Call for Projects

Guidelines;

2.                   Direct staff to open a competitive call for projects for member agencies for

estimated STBG and CMAQ funds, effective February 26, 2021 through

April 15, 2021;

3.                   Direct staff to convene an evaluation committee to score and rank the projects; and,

4.                   Direct staff to return with a list of recommended projects for approval by

the Commission.

A motion was made to approve both Call for Projects Guidelines with recommended changes by the TAC Committee, (Atondo/Falomir) Motion Carried

5.       ICTC Updates / Announcements

(Presented by ICTC Staff)

a.       Transit Planning Updates:

-          Virginia Mendoza provided a brief update on transit. ICTC is still operating under COVID-19 requirements. Free fares for Transit riders except for Medtrans.

b.       Transportation Planning Updates:

-          Beginning October 1, 2020 agencies are allowed to move forward with request for authorization (RFA) for CMAQ, STBG and ATP programmed in FY2020/2021. A list of projects is part of the agenda. ICTC updated the project list based on Federal and State projects that need to obligate in this current year. ICTC will revise the list and resend to all local agencies with updates and current status of projects.

6.        SCAG Updates / Announcements (Presented by David Salgado):

-          Call for Collaboration request for proposals. SCAG is pleased to announce the release of the Call for Collaboration request for proposals. In partnership with California Community Foundation (CCF), SCAG is launching the Call for Collaboration program that will fund the development of community-based policies and plans that help cities and counties reach the 6th Cycle Regional Housing Needs Assessment goals of 1.3 million new housing units across the six-county SCAG region.

The program will fund several grants for non-profit organizations through two opportunities:

• Partnership Programs: Awards of up to $125,000 to support the expansion and/or implementation of existing plans, initiatives and/or partnerships that promote equitable growth strategies.

• Spark Grants: Smaller, capacity-building grants of around $50,000 to seed new models of collaboration and engagement to support community-driven approaches and partnerships that promote equitable growth strategies.

The deadline to apply is Tuesday, February 23, 2021

-          SCAG Aerial Imagery Project 2020/21 Update: After numerous meetings to discuss the potential for SCAG to facilitate a new Aerial Imagery Flyover Project, the County of Imperial has agreed to facilitate a public procurement process. This will allow for more funds to be applied to the project to support the procurement. SCAG has set aside $250,000 for the project and will increase the support by $50,000 for a total of $300,000. The County of Imperial has received proposals and will be moving forward with recommendations to the Board of Supervisors this month.

-           2020 SCAG Sustainable Communities Program (SCP) Grant Program: SCAG has approved the 2020 SCP grant guidelines. The FY 2020/2021 program will fund projects in the following areas that support and implement the policies and initiatives of the 2020 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy (RTP/SCS), Connect SoCal: Active Transportation & Safety; Housing and Sustainability; Smart Cities, Mobility Innovation & Transportation Demand Management; and Green Region.

-          2020 Local Early Action Planning Grant (LEAP) Program: The Local Early Action Planning (LEAP) grant program’s deadline has been extended to January 31, 2021.

7.       Cities and County Planning / Public Works Updates:

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

8.       Caltrans Updates / Announcements (Presented by: Ben Guerrero):

-          Caltrans provided general information on inactive projects. The next deadline to submit Inactive projects and Future inactive invoices is February 19, 2021.

-          Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 20/21 Requests for Authorization Obligations will be due by January 29, 2021.

-          New Federal Lands Access Program (FLAP) Call for Projects. The “FLAPplication” deadline will be May 27, 2021. The outreach plan includes webinars that assist tribal and local agencies, as well as Caltrans, with this process. (The final date is February 10, 2021, for all prospective applicants to hear the details during a live FHWA webcast.).

-          New Invoice Form Required effective immediately. New version of LAPM Exhibit 5-A.

-          Quality Assurance Program (QAP). A list with updated dates was provided. Ben Guerrero will update the list with updated dates.

9.       General Discussion / New Business

-     A brief update for next TAC meeting.

-     Next TAC meeting will be on February 25, 2021 via Zoom

10.   Meeting adjourned at 11:52 a.m.