IMPERIAL COUNTY TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION

MINUTES FOR September 27, 2023

6:00 p.m.

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VOTING MEMBERS PRESENT:

                                                                City of Brawley                                       Absent

                                                                City of Calipatria                                    Maria Nava-Froelich

                                                                City of Calexico                                      Raul Ureña

                                                                City of El Centro                                    Absent

                                                                City of Imperial                                      Robert Amparano

                                                                City of Holtville                                       Mike Goodsell                

                                                                City of Westmorland                           Absent

                                                                County of Imperial                                Absent

                                                                County of Imperial                                John Hawk

                                                                Imperial Irrigation District                 Karin Eugenio

STAFF PRESENT:               David Aguirre, Cristi Lerma, Maricela Galarza, Michelle Bastidas, Angela Delgadillo

OTHERS PRESENT:            Eric Havens: Counsel; Gustavo Dallarda, Ann Fox: Caltrans, Dave: Transdev

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, September 27, 2023, together with staff reports and related documents attached thereto and incorporated therein by reference.

I.                    CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL 

Chair Goodsell called the Commission meeting to order at 6:10 p.m. Roll call was taken, and a quorum was present.

II.                   EMERGENCY ITEMS

There were none.

III.                PUBLIC COMMENTS

There were none.

IV.                CLOSED SESSION CALENDAR

A.                  Motion to Adjourn to Closed Session

A motion was made by Nava and seconded by Amparano to approve the closed session, roll call:

                                Motion Carried.

B.            CONFERENCE WITH REAL PROPERTY NEGOTIATOR, Government Code (§ 54956.8)

                Property: 216 Rockwood Avenue, Calexico, CA, Assessor’s Parcel Number #058-482-001

                Agency negotiator: David Aguirre, ICTC

                Negotiating parties: Jose Loo et al, Property Owner

                Instructions to negotiator will concern price, terms of payment

C.            CONFERENCE WITH REAL PROPERTY NEGOTIATOR, Government Code (§ 54956.8)

Property: 2204 N La Brucherie Rd, El Centro, CA 92243 Assessor’s Parcel Number #064-450-076

                Agency negotiator: David Aguirre, ICTC

                Negotiating parties: Cushman and Wakefield

                Instructions to negotiator will concern price, terms of payment

D.            Announcement of Closed Session Action(s)

Mr. Havens stated the following: The Commission met in a closed session regarding CONFERENCE WITH REAL PROPERTY NEGOTIATOR, Government Code (§ 54956.8), direction was given, no action was taken.

V.                  CONSENT CALENDAR

A.            ICTC Commission Minutes:                                           August 23, 2023

B.                  Received and filed:

1.                   ICTC Management Committee Minutes: August 09, 2023

2.                   ICTC TAC Minutes:                                           August 24, 2023

C.                  Memorandum of Understanding (MOU); SCAG - ICTC – REAP 2.0 CTC Partnership Program – Calexico Intermodal Transportation Center

The ICTC Management Committee met on September 13, 2023, and forwarded this item to the Commission for their review and approval after public comment, if any:

1.            Authorized the Executive Director to sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) and the Imperial County Transportation Commission (ICTC) for the use of REAP 2.0 CTC Partnership Program Funds for the Calexico Intermodal Transportation Center. The MOU shall be effective July 6, 2023, through December 31, 2025, and provide funding in the amount of $1,000,000.00.

A motion was made by Amparano and seconded by Eugenio to approve the consent calendar as presented, roll call:       

                                Motion Carried.

VI.                ACTION CALENDAR

A.                  Agreement for Professional Maintenance Audit Reporting Services of the ICTC Transit Operations – Calendar Years 2023-2025

The ICTC Management Committee met on September 13, 2023, and forwarded this item to the Commission for their review and approval after public comment, if any:

1.                   Authorized the Chairman to sign the agreement for the IVT Transit Maintenance Audit effective October 1, 2023, for the audit period of calendar years 2023, 2024 and 2025, with the firm of TRC Engineering Services, LLC:

A.      For the fiscal reporting period of July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024, the annual not to exceed fee is set at $18,025.00

B.      For the fiscal reporting period of July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025, the annual not to exceed fee is set at $18,477.81

C.      For the fiscal reporting period of July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026, the annual not to exceed fee is set at $18,887.27

D.      For the In Plant inspection, Buy America Inspections and post-delivery inspection service fee of up to $1,600 per event. The in plant, Buy America and post delivery inspection services are upon request by ICTC.

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

                Motion Carried.

VII.              REPORTS

A.                  ICTC Executive Director

-          Mobility 21 Summit- September 29, 2023: The Mobility 21 Summit is being held on September 29, 2023, at the Disneyland Hotel. Chairman Mike Goodsell and Executive Director David Aguirre will be attending. Mr. Goodsell will be participating in the Chair’s Roundtable breakout session, along with other Southern California transportation leaders, to discuss challenges and solutions transportation agencies have faced post-pandemic.

-          Imperial Valley Transit (IVT) FREE FARES PROGRAM: Due to the previous labor issues, ICTC implemented free fares for all services to assist with the inconvenience to further notice. ICTC was also able to secure a second grant to provide free fares for all services with the exception of the Calexico On Demand service.

-          Calexico Intermodal Transportation Center (ITC): Right of Way Acquisition is underway. ICTC was recently awarded multiple grants to complete the required construction efforts for the project. ICTC received grant awards from the Regional Early Action Planning (REAP) 2.0, Active Transportation Program (ATP), and Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Grant Programs.

-          2022 Long Range Transportation Plan: The draft LRTP is currently under review and was presented to TAC and the Steering Committee at the end of August. The completed draft LRTP public review and comments period ended on September 6, 2023. It is anticipated that the document adoption will be in the of October/November timeframe. To access the completed documents and draft project listing, please visit the project website located at https://ictc-lrtp2023.org/new-page-2.

-          Calexico East Port of Entry Bridge Widening Project: The design portion of the project is complete. The project construction is underway, and construction is anticipated to be completed at the end of 2023 due to delays with the issuance of the presidential permit. The Presidential Permit was received on July 7, 2023. ICTC is working with the contractor to restart the project as quickly as possible. A ribbon-cutting event will be held sometime in September or October, or as soon as construction for the bridge portion is completed. It is anticipated that the overall project will be completed before the end of the 2023 calendar year.

-          State Route 86 (Northbound) Border Patrol Checkpoint: Border Patrol, Caltrans, and ICTC are having weekly meetings toward completing design plans and obtaining Caltrans Permits and Environmental Clearance. The improvement plans will be submitted to Caltrans for review and comment.

-          All other updates are on the Executive Director report on page 47 of the agenda.

B.                  Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG)

-          The 34th Annual Demographic Workshop was presented in person and online on Wednesday, September 20th at 9 a.m. All information is made available online pertaining to this workshop.

-          In September, the Regional Council Approved the release of SCAG’s recommendations on the reformation of the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) process.

-          Regional Council Approved updates to PATH Guidelines, RUSH Call for Applications. This is a competitive Call for Applications with an estimated budget of $35 million available through REAP 2.0. SCAG staff will be presenting to the TAC group on September 28th.

-          Regional Utilities Supporting Housing (RUSH) Workshop will be held on OCTOBER 4th, at 10:00 a.m. REAP 2.0 PATH Program Application Session (jotform.com)

-          Save the Dates: December 7th- Economic Summitt in downtown Los Angeles, Before the ICTC Commission meeting SCAG will be holding Connect SOCAL Regional Transportation Plan Elected official workshop on November 8th.

-          SCAG updates were provided separately to the group.

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

-          District 12 Director left Caltrans to join Orange County. Until a new distract director is found, Mario Orso has been appointed the acting district 12 director. Mario Orso is the chief deputy for the capital in District 11 covering Imperial County. While Mario is out, Evert Townsend will be covering the capital program. This is expected to last for the next 2-3 months.

-          On August 31st, Caltrans awarded some planning grants for sustainable transportation projects throughout the state. In Imperial County, $184,000 was received for electric vehicle feasibility study.

-          Starting on all contracts that are advertised after October 1st, all state-funded contracts will now have an additional 5% small business goal. 

-          On October 10th, Caltrans is holding a statewide in-person disadvantaged business enterprise summit. This is a great opportunity for small firms.

-          All other updates are on the Caltrans report on page 56 of the agenda.

D.                  Commission Member Reports

-          Updates were provided by various commissioners.

VIII.            The next meeting will be on October 25, 2023, 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.

IX.                ADJOURNMENT

A.                  Meeting Adjourned at 7:53 p.m.