June 23rd, 2022 at 10:00 AM

Minutes | Regular Meeting

 

TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE

MINUTES

 

June 23, 2022

            Present:          

            Guillermo Sillas                        City of Brawley

            Adriana Anguis                         City of Holtville

            Abraham Campos                     City of El Centro

            Lily Falomir                             City of Calexico

            Veronica Atondo                       County of Imperial

            Jesus Villegas                           City of Imperial

            Ramiro Barajas                         City of Westmorland

            Ismael Gomez                           Imperial Irrigation District

 

            Others:

            David Aguirre                           ICTC

            Virginia Mendoza                     ICTC   

            Marlene Flores                          ICTC

            Angela Delgadillo                     ICTC

            Phillip Ramirez                         City of Brawley

            Juan Manuel Cabrera                 City of Brawley

            Andrea Montano                       City of Brawley

            Felix De Leon                           City of El Centro

            Andres Miramontez                   City of El Centro

            Christian Rodriguez                   City of El Centro

            Angel Hernandez                      City of El Centro

            Alex Chavez                             City of Holtville

            Marco Coronel                          City of Imperial

            John Gay                                  County of Imperial

            Nicole Falvey                           Caltrans

            Alex Araiza                              Caltrans

            Rafael Reyes                            Caltrans

            David Salgado                          SCAG

            Alisha James                            SCAG
            Jacob Noonan                           SCAG

            Jessica Reyes Juarez                  SCAG

 

 

1.       The meeting was called to order at 10:04 a.m. A quorum was present, and introductions were made. There were no public comments made.

 

2.       Adopted resolution authorizing remote teleconference meeting in accordance with Assembly Bill 361. ICTC requested a motion to adopt. (Atondo/Campos). Motion Carried.

 

3.       A motion was made to adopt the minutes for May 26, 2022 (Atondo/Anguis) Motion Carried.

 

4.       AB 1383 Discussion:

(Presented by: David Aguirre, ICTC)

-          Mr. Aguirre stated to please disregard this item. It has already been discussed in the IVRMA TAC Meeting.

 

5.       SCAG REAP 2.0 Presentation:

(Presented by: Jacob Noonan, SCAG)

-          REAP 2.0 Grant was created in AB140 last fiscal year (2021-2022)

-          There is $600 million statewide available

-          $246 million is going to SCAG region’s formula

-          Funds need to be obligated by June 2024 and it was expended by June 2026

-          Funds are for transformative planning focused on realizing Connect SoCal

-          The objective is to leverage activities that can be implemented quickly and in line with community-driven, pandemic recovery

-          Outreach and public comment April-May 2022; proposed adoption July 2022

-          REAP 2.0 Application Timeline:

-          Early Application-Submitted May 2022

-          Actions: Outreach and Engagement for Program Development

-          Full Application: must be submitted by December 2022

-          Proposed Programs: Early Action Iniatives Housing Supportive Infrastructure CTC Partnerships

-          Some outreach that has been done are SCAG Policy Committee Engagement, COG outreach, public agency engagement, public opinion survey, and public convenings

-          Some next steps are virtual focus groups, listening sessions, industry forum, and one on one meetings

-          If there are any more questions regarding SCAG REAP 2.0, please contact Alisha James, james@scag.ca.gov or David Salgado, salgado@scag.ca.gov 

 

6.       CRRSAA Funds Update:

(Presented by: Marlene Flores)

-          Marlene Flores gave a brief update and congratulated that all imperial projects have been approved by CTC in the May 19th meeting.

-          See below the link for CRRSAA process

-          https://dot.ca.gov/programs/local-assistance/fed-and-state-programs/crrsaa/crrsaa-process

-          Please work with Caltrans District 11 Representative to submit all documents:

-          CTC approval page

-          Allocation Form: State Form, LAPM 25A attached

-          ePPR

 

7.       Caltrans Updates / Announcements:

(Presented by: Rafael Reyes & Alex Araiza)

-          As part of the Calexico West POE Expansion project, SR-98 and Cesar Chavez Blvd were widened and improved to serve the expansion to the west

-          The project is expected to be “Provide a safe and reliable transportation network that serves all people and respects the environment” substantially completed and open to traffic in late 2022. The total project cost is estimated at $8.2 million.

-          David Aguirre, ICTC, commented that if Caltrans can conduct updates to the council of Calexico to know the progress taking place.

-          Various members from the group stated a concern of the SR-98 Widening Project regarding traffic control and adjusting the flow of traffic.

-          Clean California Projects: District 11 will be delivering projects funded by the Clean California Grant Program. They include bus shelter improvements in Niland(SR111), and bus shelter installations in Calipatria(SR111), Brawley(SR86) and Holtville(SR115).

-          Additionally, median island improvements in El Centro(SR86) and a gateway beautification project at SR-7/Nina Lee Rd just north of the Calexico Port of Entry are also included as part of this effort. The projects are expected to be completed by July 2023.

-           Alex Araiza shared with the group that the D11 CAT Plan has completed its final review phase and is on track to be completed in summer 2022. Caltrans will feature the completed plan and products on a new webpage that will launch this summer as well.

-           Bridge Investment Program (BIP): Applications Due Soon!

-           The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) issued a first notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for the Bridge Investment Program (BIP) on June 10, 2022.

-           BIP funding is separate from, and supplemental to, the $5.3 billion in bridge formula funding distributed nationwide earlier this year.

-           This NOFO seeks applications for three categories: 1. Planning Projects due July 25, 2022. 2. Bridge Projects (projects with eligible costs less than $100 million) due September 8, 2022. 3. Large Bridge Projects (projects with eligible costs exceeding $100 million) due August 9, 2022

-          On May 24, 2022 the INACTIVE and Future Inactive list was updated. Action is required by the County of Imperial, as well as these two cities: Brawley and El Centro.

-          For more information, please contact Rafael Reyes at rafael.reyes@dot.ca.gov or Alex Araiza at alexander.araiza@dot.ca.gov

 

8.       SCAG Updates / Announcements:

(Presented by: David Salgado)

-          Mr. Salgado shared an email from a one-on-one Local Data Exchange Meeting with SCAG staff.

-          For more information regarding the Local Data Exchange Meeting please contact, list@scag.ca.gov or David Salgado, salgado@scag.ca.gov

-          SCAG President Jan Harnik had the pleasure of hosting a recent meeting with Senate Transportation Committee Chair Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach) to discuss our region’s housing and transportation budget priorities, such as the Regional Council’s support for an augmentation to the Infill Infrastructure Grant program and using budget surplus dollars to fully fund the Active Transportation Program”

-          Mr. Salgado shared with the group a presentation regarding (Economic) Forecast for Imperial County presented by Michael Bracken, Managing Partner & Chief Economist, and the REAP 2.0 presentation presented by Jacob Noonan.

 

9.       Cities and County Planning / Public Works Updates:

      -     No updates were given during the meeting.

 

10.   ICTC Updates / Announcements                                                                                                  (Presented by ICTC Staff)

 

a.       Transit Planning Updates

- In the process of pursing Federal Transit Funding to reinstate the free fare program that was ongoing during the pandemic.

 

b.    Transportation Planning Updates 

1.       CMAQ & STBG Programming Status

-          Projects were programmed under Amendment #21-25.

-          Once FTIP Formal Amendment gives their approval by: SCAG, Caltrans and FHWA, local agencies can move forward.

2.       FY 21/22 Federal & State Project Obligation Status

 

11.   General Discussion / New Business

1.       Going Dark in July

 

Next TAC meeting will be August 25, 2022 via Zoom at ICTC offices

 

12.   Meeting adjourned at 11:56 a.m.