IMPERIAL COUNTY TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION

MINUTES FOR October 23, 2024

6:00 p.m.

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VOTING MEMBERS PRESENT:

                                                                City of Brawley                                       George A. Nava

                                                                City of Calipatria                                    Maria Nava-Froelich

                                                                City of Calexico                                      Camilo Garcia

                                                                City of El Centro                                    Martha Cardenas-Singh

                                                                City of Imperial                                      Robert Amparano

                                                                City of Holtville                                       Mike Goodsell             

                                                                City of Westmorland                           Absent                                            

                                                                County of Imperial                                Absent            

                                                                County of Imperial                                Absent

                                                                Imperial Irrigation District                 Karin Eugenio                                                                                                                

STAFF PRESENT:               David Aguirre, Michelle Bastidas (Zoom), Gustavo Gomez, Esperanza Avila

OTHERS PRESENT:            Eric Havens: Counsel; Everett Townsend (Zoom), John Garcia: Caltrans, David Salgado: SCAG, Antonella Galvez: IVRMA

PUBLIC:                                None

The following action minutes are listed as they were acted upon by the Imperial County Transportation Commission and as listed on the agenda for the meeting held Wednesday, October 23, 2024, together with staff reports and related documents attached thereto and incorporated therein by reference.

I.                    CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL 

Vice Chair Amparano called the Commission meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Roll call was taken, and a quorum was present.

II.                   EMERGENCY ITEMS

                Action D was pulled from the agenda.

III.                PUBLIC COMMENTS

There were none.

IV.                CLOSED SESSION

A.                  Motion to Adjourn to Closed Session

                A motion was made by Goodsell and seconded by Nava, roll call was taken:

                                Motion Carried.

B.                  PUBLIC EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION (Government Code § 54957)         

Title: ICTC Executive Director

C.                  Announcement of Closed Session Action(s): Mr. Havens stated that the Commission met in closed session to discuss the Public Employee Performance Evaluation for the Executive Director pursuant to government code § 54957. Direction was given, but no action was made.

V.                  CONSENT CALENDAR

A.            ICTC Commission Minutes:                                           September 25, 2024

                B.            Received and filed:

1.                   ICTC Management Committee Minutes: September 11, 2024

2.                   ICTC TAC Minutes:                                            September 26, 2024

3.           ICTC SSTAC Minutes:                                    October 2, 2024

A motion was made by Nava-Froelich and seconded by Garcia to approve the consent calendar as presented, roll call:

                                Motion Carried.

VI.                REPORTS

A.                  ICTC Executive Director

-          ICTC was awarded a total of $274,133 in funding from the Reap 2.0 Subregional Partnership Program to provide technical support to our local agencies with housing planning and to facilitate housing production. More information is to come about the potential project selections.

-          ICTC was recently awarded a grant from the Low Carbon Transit Operations Program for the Calexico Microtransit Service – Calexico On Demand in the amount of $520k to continue funding operations for the service. ICTC is finalizing the submittal of an additional grant through the CMO program to continue funding the service. ICTC also received an additional funding commitment to further continue the service beyond the current grant funding received.

-          2024 Local Partnership Program, Cycle 5: The Competitive Call for Projects for the CTC opened on August 16, 2024, with a deadline of November 20, 2024. There is also a competitive call for projects that is open for submittal directly to CTC. ICTC is coordinating with agency staff for project submittals.

-          The Bus Stop Improvement Project design is ongoing and expected to finish in a few months. Additionally, ICTC secured funding for more bus stop locations, which will be integrated into the overall design.

-          Staff is currently working on the development of the Scope of Work (SOW) for the Imperial County EV Charging Infrastructure Feasibility Study to proceed to the issuance of a Request for Proposals. Staff reviewed the proposed SOW with the ICTC TAC to obtain additional feedback. Staff is anticipating releasing the RFP in the coming weeks.

-          ICTC was recently informed that it had received a funding commitment for the completion of the design/environmental phases of the ICTC/IVT Operations and Maintenance Facility project. ICTC is working towards completing a phase 1 site assessment for the proposed site. ICTC is seeking to obtain NEPA clearance from the FTA to utilize federal funding to offset a portion of the acquisition costs.

-          It is anticipated that the Calexico Intermodal Transportation Center (ITC) project will start construction in January 2025. The final set of contract documents are being prepared in anticipation of the construction bidding phase. ICTC is also working on integrating CPFCDS funding into its existing FTA RAISE Agreement.

-          All other updates on the Directors Report on page 21 of the agenda.

B.                  Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG)

                                Mr. Salgado had the following updates:

-          The 2024 Southern California Demographic Workshop was on September 24. SCAG collaborated with the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy. The workshop consisted of morning and afternoon panel experts. For those of you that missed it, a recording will be available online.

-          A big thank you to the County of Imperial for hosting a tour with SCAG leadership to Lithium Valley. Southern California leaders also participated in the League of California Cities Imperial Division meeting the night before, where SCAG President spoke about SCAG's commitment to Imperial County and its regional partners. Mr. Salgado also thanked ICTC for providing the transportation on the tour.

-          All other updates on the SCAG report on page 30 of the agenda.

C.                  California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)- District 11

                Mr. Abboud had the following updates:

-          SR-111 Roadside Improvements is completing in October 2024.

-          Upcoming Maintenance Projects: Due to budget issues, some deliveries may be moved to next year. 

-          Feasibility Studies: District 11 Truck Parking and Medium/Heavy Duty ZEV Charging Station Site Assessment – The Project Initiation Document (PID) to be
completed by June 2026.

-          Calexico East Land Port of Entry Joint Operations Systems- Feasibility Study is completed.  The Project Initiation Document (PID) to be
completed by June 2026.

-           Calexico Travel Corridor Improvements: Continuing to work towards plans.

-          Congratulations to David Aguirre and ICTC on the TRCP Grant. 

-          All other updates are on the Caltrans report on page 36 of the agenda.

D.                  Commission Member Reports

-          Updates were provided by various commissioners.

VII.              ACTION CALENDAR

A.                  Extension of the ICTC Lease and Sublease Agreements – 1503 N. Imperial Ave., Suite 104, El Centro, CA  92243, Addendum 6

The ICTC Management Committee met on October 9, 2024, and forwarded this item to the Commission for their review and approval after public comment, if any:

1.                   Approved the sixth amendment of the current lease and sub-lease agreements with Pico Group, LLC, for the property on 1503 N. Imperial Ave., Suite 104 in El Centro; and authorize the Executive Director to execute the lease agreement.

2.                   Authorized the Executive Director to sign the sub-lease amendments between ICTC and SCAG with same terms as the original agreement.

A motion was made by Nava-Froelich and seconded by Garcia to approve Action A as presented, roll call:

                                Motion Carried.

B.            Amendment to the Agreement between the Imperial County Transportation Commission (ICTC) and Nomad Transit, LLC (Via) for the operation of the Calexico Microtransit Service funded by the Clean Mobility Options (CMO) Voucher Pilot Program

                The ICTC Management Committee met on October 9, 2024, and forwarded this item to the Commission for their review and approval after public comment, if any:

1.            Approved the Second Modification to the agreement between ICTC and Nomad Transit, LLC (VIA) for the Calexico On Demand service in the amount of $500,000 modifying the total contract value to $1,998,875. The modification is contingent upon receipt of said additional funding.

2.            Utilized one (1) of the single year mutual options to extend the existing agreement for up to 1 year. 

3.            Authorized the Executive Director to sign Modification No. 2.

A motion was made by Garcia and seconded by Cardenas-Singh to approve Action B as presented, roll call:

                                Motion Carried.

C.            Amendment to the Agreement between ICTC and Nicklaus Engineering for Various Bus Stop Improvement Project – Design Services

The ICTC Management Committee met on October 9, 2024, and forwarded this item to the Commission for their review and approval after public comment, if any:

1.                   Approved the First Modification to the agreement between ICTC and Nicklaus Engineering, Inc. for design services of Various Bus Stop Improvement Project in the amount of $23,632.00 modifying the total contract value to $94,859.00.

2.                   Authorized the executive director to sign Modification No. 1.

A motion was made by Nava and seconded by Nava-Frolich to approve Action C as presented, roll call:

                                Motion Carried.

E.            Award of Contract for Consulting Services - Comprehensive Operational Analysis (COA)

Due to timing constraints, staff brought this item to the commission only for their review and approval after public comment, if any:

1.            Approved the award of the contract for the completion of the Comprehensive Operational Analysis to Jarrett Walker + Associates in the amount of $485,790.

2.            Authorized the executive director to sign the agreement.

A motion was made by Nava-Froelich and seconded by Goodsell to approve the Action E as presented, roll call:

                                Motion Carried.

VIII.            INFORMATION ITEMS

A.            ReCREATE Edible Food Recovery Inspection Program, Final Report of Recommendations

                                Presented by Antonella Galvez.

IX.                The next meeting will be on November 13, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. at the ICTC Offices, 1503 N. Imperial Ave., Suite 104, El Centro, CA 92243, and via Zoom Meeting for the public.

X.                  ADJOURNMENT

A.                  Meeting Adjourned at 7:36 p.m.