IMPERIAL COUNTY TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION

MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

MINUTES OF January 10, 2024

10:30 a.m.

VOTING MEMBERS PRESENT:

STAFF PRESENT: Cristi Lerma, Maricela Galarza, Katie Luna, Angela Delgadillo

OTHERS PRESENT: Alejandro Lopez, Bryan Ott, Maria Ibarra: Caltrans, David Salgado: SCAG

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The following minutes are listed as they were acted upon by the Imperial County Transportation Commission Management Committee and as listed on the agenda for the meeting held Wednesday, January 10, 2024, together with staff reports and related documents attached thereto and incorporated therein by reference.

I.                    CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL

Vice-Chair Morita called the meeting to order at 10:33 a.m., roll call was taken, and a quorum was not present. The meeting began with reports and continued as usual when a quorum was met at 10:40 a.m.

II.                  EMERGENCY ITEMS

There were none.

III.                 PUBLIC COMMENTS

There were none.

IV.                CONSENT ITEMS

A.                  Approval of Management Committee Draft Minutes:       December 13, 2023

B.                  Received and Filed:

1.                   ICTC Commission Minutes:                                          December 13, 2023

2.                   ICTC TAC Minutes:                                                           November 16, 2023

3.                   ICTC SSTAC Minutes:                                                      December 6, 2023

A motion was made by Salcido seconded by Wells to approve the consent calendar as presented; Roll call was taken:

Motion carried.

V.                  ACTION CALENDAR

A.                   Rotation of Chair and Vice-Chair positions

It was requested that the Management Committee take any appropriate action in the consideration of the rotation and assignment of the two positions.

A motion was made by Wells seconded by Salcido to nominate Mr. Dennis Morita from the City of Imperial as the Chairperson. A second motion was made by Wells and seconded by Salcido to nominate Mr. Cedric Ceseña from the City of El Centro as the Vice-Chairperson of the ICTC Management Committee for 2024. Roll call was taken:

                                Motion carried.

B.                  Coordinated Border Infrastructure Funding – Project Identification and Recommendation

It was requested that the ICTC Management Committee forwarded this item and the recommended project to the ICTC Board for their review and approval after public comment, if any:

1.                   Approved the recommendation of CBI funding in the amount of $2,000,000 for the selected agency and project,

2.                   Authorized the Executive Director to coordinate the necessary agreements between Caltrans, the Imperial County Transportation Commission, and the recommended agency.

The ICTC Management Committee met on January 10, 2024, to discuss the projects that potentially met all the criteria of CBI funding requirements. The Management Committee provided a short list for the Commission to consider in order of priority.

1.            Priority to the City of Calexico for their 2nd Street/All American Canal Bridge Replacement project or their 2nd Street Bridge Widening at the New River project.

2.            Second Priority to the City of El Centro for their Dogwood Road Widening project.

3.            Third Priority to the County of Imperial for their Picacho Road Replacement project.

A motion was made by Wells seconded by Salcido to approve Action B. Roll call was taken:

                                Motion carried.

VI.                REPORTS

A.                  ICTC Executive Director

o   Mr. Aguirre had the following updates:

o   Imperial Mexicali Binational Alliance (IMBA): The next IMBA meeting and strategic planning session will be held in the City of Mexicali’s Preparatoria y Universidad 16 de Septiembre, on January 16, 2024.

o   Regional Utilities Supporting Housing Pilot Program (RUSH): The City of Calipatria was awarded $1.5 million for their Delta Street Pump Station Improvements. The funding recommendations were approved by SCAG Regional Council at their last meeting on January 4, 2024.

o   Calexico East Port of Entry Bridge Widening Project: Stage 2 is estimated to be completed by mid-February and Stage 3 should be completed by the end of March. The overall project is estimated to be completed in May 2024.

o   Imperial Valley Transit (IVT) FREE FARES PROGRAM: ICTC was able to secure a second grant to provide free fares for all services except the Calexico on Demand service. There will be a public hearing held to reinstate the fares.

o   Calexico Intermodal Transportation Center (ITC): It is anticipated that the project will start construction in July 2024.

o   2022 Long Range Transportation Plan: This item will be presented to the TAC group in January, to the Management Committee and Commission in February. To access the completed documents and draft project listing, please visit the project website located at https://ictc-lrtp2023.org/new-page-2.

o   Surface Transportation Block Grant Program (STBG), Carbon Reduction Program (CRP), and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Program (CMAQ) 2024 Call for Projects – FFY 2023-2024 to FFY 2025/2026: Deadline to submit project applications to ICTC is January 26, 2024 at 5 pm.

o   All ICTC Executive Directors updates can be found on page 24.

B.                  Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG)  

o   Mr. Salgado had the following updates:

o   Connect SoCal 2024 Public Comment Update: The comment period closes on Jan. 12, after which staff will review comments and revise the draft accordingly; the Regional Council is expected to consider the final Connect SoCal 2024 for adoption in April 2024.

o   SCAG Regional Council Approves $35 Million to Support the Regional Utilities Supporting Housing Pilot Program: Congratulations to City of Calipatria as they were awarded $1.5 million for their Delta Street Pump Station Improvements.

o   2024 Sustainability Awards Call for Nominations: The winners of the SCAG Sustainability Awards will be presented at the 2024 Regional Conference and General Assembly at the JW Marriott Resort & Spa in Palm Desert on May 2. Nominations will be accepted through Jan. 12.

o    Imperial County to Use REAP Funds to Create Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District: The first public hearings are scheduled for the first quarter of 2024.The development of the EIFD is funded by SCAG allocations from the Regional Early Action Planning grant program.

o    SCAG 2024 SAVE THE DATE! 2024 REGIONAL CONFERENCE & GENERAL ASSEMBLY: SCAG will host the 59th annual Regional Conference & General Assembly on May 2-3, 2024, at the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa in Palm Desert.

o    SCAG 2024 General Assembly Delegate and Alternate Selection: SCAG sends an email to all cities asking for respective councils to take action to appoint a specific General Assembly Delegate and an Alternate. Elected Officials and City Managers are comped on registrations.

o    2024 Go Human Community Streets Grant Program Guidelines: SCAG, with input from community stakeholders, has prepared funding guidelines and anticipates opening the Call for Applications upon Regional Council approval, in early 2024.

o    SCAG to Sponsor Two RHNA Reform Bills: The Regional Council, in a vote at its January 2024 meeting, authorized staff to pursue two legislative bill concepts related to Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) reform.

o   SCAG updates can be found on page 31.

C.                  Caltrans Department of Transportation – District 11

o   Mr. Lopez Rangel had the following updates:

o   Maintenance and Traffic Operations: El Centro Traveled Way Crew – Sweeping I-8/SR111, lateral support SR111, El Centro Functional/Marking Crew – Sign/landscape maintenance, Refresh school crosswalks-Heber, Midway Traveled Way Crew – Crack sealing SR98, storm response/repairs, fence repair I-8, sidewalk repair-Holtville, Brawley Traveled Way Crew – Sweeping/brush control, mowing and dig outs/paving, Clean CA Dump Day-Brawley, and El Centro Clean CA Crew Litter control/landscaping activities I-8/4th, SR86 in Brawley.

o   2025 Active Transportation Program (Cycle 7): The January 10th workshop will discuss applications, the February 6th workshop will discuss scoring rubrics, and the February 27th workshop will focus on region-specific issues for Imperial County and questions relating to the upcoming 2025 ATP Cycle. Registration link: https://catc.ca.gov/programs/active-transportation-program

o   California Transportation Commission (CTC) Allocation and Approval Requests: Friday, January 19, 2024 – deadline for the next CTC meeting(March 21-22, 2024)

o    Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): Westmorland and Imperial County have not confirmed their UEI.

o   Active Notice of Funding for Bridge Investment Program (BIP), Funding opportunities and deadlines: Bridge Investment Program, Planning Project Grants and Bridge Project Grants: Planning: FY 2023 + 2024: 2/19/2024, FY 2025: 10/1/2024, FY 2026: 10/1/2025

o   Bridge Project: FY 2023 + 2024: 3/19/2024, FY 2025: 11/1/2024, FY 2026: 11/1/2025

o   All Caltrans updates can be found on page 34.

VII.              The next meeting is scheduled for February 14, 2024, at 10:30 a.m. tentatively at the City of El Centro and via Zoom Meeting for non-voting members and the public.  

VIII.             ADJOURNMENT

                The meeting was adjourned at 11:20 a.m.