TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE

MINUTES

October 22, 2020

            Present:          

                Guillermo Sillas                        City of Brawley

            Abraham Campos                     City of El Centro

            Veronica Atondo                       County of Imperial

            Isabel Garcia                             City of Imperial

            Lily Falomir                             City of Calexico

            Jeorge Galvan                           City of Calipatria

            Frank Fiorenza                          IID

            Others:

            Marlene Flores                          ICTC

            David Salgado                           SCAG

            Gordon Gaste                           City of Brawley

            Manuel Cabrera                        City of Brawley

            Andres Miramontes                   City of Brawley

            Ana Gutierrez                           City of Brawley

            Javier Luna                               City of El Centro

            Christian Rodriguez                   City of El Centro

            Angel Hernandez                      City of El Centro

            Felix DeLeon                            City of El Centro

            Catherine Gutierrez                   City of El Centro

            Rachel Fonseca                         City of Westmorland

            Kariza Preciado                         City of Holtville                       

            Ben Guerrero                            Caltrans

            Kevin Hovey                            Caltrans

            Victor Garcia                            Holt Group

            Lorianne Esturas                       SCAG

            Kimberly Clark                         SCAG

            David Von Stroh                       Cambridge Systematics

            Reema Shakra                          

            Greig Asher                             

            Adriana Amezcua

Due to the COVID-19 and Executive Order N-25-20, teleconferencing is recommended for the public, however measures will be taken to have access for those who wish to participate in person while still abiding by local, state and federal mandates. Following is teleconference information.

            The meeting was called to order at 10:06 a.m. A quorum was present, and introductions were made. There were no public comments made.

1.       Introductions

2.       A motion was made to adopt the minutes for September 24, 2020 (Galvan/Falomir) Motion Carried.

3.       Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) Presentation: SCAG Climate Adaptation Framework (Presented by: Lorianne Esturas, Assistant Regional Planner)

SCAG and Consultant team provided an overview of the SoCal Climate Adaptation Framework to TAC members. SCAG shared new tools for local jurisdictions on communication and outreach strategies that can help local agencies and community-based organizations engage with residents to understand better how climate related hazards are affecting community members. As part of the overall Framework, SCAG will be working with local municipalities to assess the unique issues affecting the SCAG region, available planning tools and resources, scientific data, and messaging strategies. After the presentation, Q&A time was open for TAC members. Angel Hernandez from the City of El Centro requested an example of the General Plan Model Policies and other local agencies as well were interested.

SCAG will host a “Southern California Regional Climate Adaptation Framework” Toolbox on Tuesday, December 8th from 10:00-11:00a.m.  The training will give a more in-depth walk-through of the Adaptation Framework tools and resources.

4.       ICTC Updates / Announcements

(Presented by ICTC Staff)

a.       Transit Planning Updates- Marlene Flores provided a brief update on transit. Based on the current events surrounding the COVID-19 Pandemic, ICTC is still operating under COVID-19 requirements.

b.       Transportation Planning Updates (by Marlene Flores):

-          Regional Climate Action Plan (CAP) Update

Marlene Flores provided a quick update on the Regional CAP. ICTC is in the process of conducting Stakeholder meetings to gain insights from local agencies and hear their ideas on how the greenhouse (GHG) reduction measures ICTC is considering can be most effective for the community.

The stakeholder meetings are scheduled for October 27th through November 5th for a one-hour meeting on one of those days. A Doodle Poll was created for stakeholders to provide their availability. ICTC encourages stakeholders to provide their available times no later than October 23, 2020.

c.       FFY 2019-20 Programmed Project 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. Agencies provided a quick update on their projects. Ben Guerrero asked if we can provide the list of projects and he will add comments to each project.

d.       LTA Bond Updates: 2012 and 2018

          -      Brawley provided an update on their LTA Bond for 2012. Brawley completed

                 the process to submit.                             

5.       SCAG Updates / Announcements (by David Salgado)

-          The 11th Annual Southern California Economic Summit: On Tuesday, Dec. 1, SCAG will host the Southern California Economic Summit virtually for the first time in its 11-year history. This annual conversation about the state of the region’s economy comes at a time of unprecedented crisis. General admission tickets are $50. The ticket fee may be waived for elected officials and city managers of SCAG’s member jurisdictions. There will be no general admission refunds after Nov. 9. Online registration closes Nov. 30.

-          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.

6.       Cities and County Planning / Public Works Updates:

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

7.       Caltrans Updates / Announcements (By: Ben Guerrero)

Local Assistance: Ben Guerrero provided updates on local assistance.

Inactive Projects- As of October 9, 2020, the INACTIVE and Future Inactive list was updated. Action is required by the Imperial County Transportation Commission, as well as these cities: Brawley and El Centro. November 20, 2020 is the deadline to submit Inactive invoices. District 11 must receive accurate and complete invoices to prevent de-obligation of federal funds! Verify on the “Inactive” link shown below for Inactive Project dates.

November 2, 2020 – Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) Cycle 10 Call for Projects (update) Caltrans Division of Local Assistance announced the local HSIP Cycle 10 Call-for-Projects on May 5, 2020. The application deadline is November 2, 2020.

November 2020 – New Federal Lands Access Program (FLAP) Call for Projects (due in April 2021) An announcement calling for new Federal Lands Access Program (FLAP) projects is anticipated in November 2020. The deadline for “FLAPplications” is expected to be in April 2021. The outreach plan is to schedule webinars that assist tribal and local agencies, as well as Caltrans, with this process.

At-Risk Preliminary Engineering (PE) – Office Bulletin (OB) 20-03

Caltrans Division of Local Assistance released OB 20-03 on August 11, 2020, with these policy changes:

Except for projects with federal funds that require California Transportation Commission (CTC) allocation (Active Transportation Program, Trade Corridor Enhancement Program, State Transportation Improvement Program, etc.), local agencies may begin reimbursable Preliminary Engineering (PE) work prior to receiving federal authorization for such work, assuming the project and PE phase are included in a federally-approved Federal Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (FSTIP) document or an FSTIP amendment prior to incurring costs. Programming projects in the FSTIP or starting reimbursed work prior to authorization does not necessarily ensure a project is eligible for federal aid reimbursement.

National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) approval will not occur until subsequent Right of Way and Construction phases are identified as fully funded and programmed in the FTIP.

FHWA Virtual Tradeshow Resources- The Tribal, Rural and Local Road Safety Virtual Tradeshow is available via this FHWA website.

This Virtual Booth links to many safety resources (reports, brochures, videos, etc.) on the FHWA Safety website.

New Caltrans Architectural & Engineering (A&E) Oversight Videos Online- Now available are short videos about key topics on the A&E Resources.

Federal Aid Series Recordings Now Available for Project Contract Administration- Recording of a recently delivered class is now available online. Training focuses on both State and federal aid highway projects.

8.       General Discussion / New Business

- A brief update for next TAC meeting. ICTC will have a presentation for the Regional Climate Action Plan. 

- Next TAC meeting will be on November 19, 2020 via Zoom.

9.       Meeting adjourned at 11:46 a.m.