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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOUTBoard minutes 042011 Approved 5.18.11 1 MEETING MINUTES 1 ORANGE UNIFIED TRANSPORTATION BOARD REGULAR MEETING 2 APRIL 20, 2011 3 4 5 MEMBERS PRESENT: Nancy Cole Baker, Pedestrian Access & Safety Advocate; Julian (Randy) Marshall, Bingham 6 Township; Sam Lasris, Cedar Grove Township; Paul Guthrie, Chapel Hill Township; Amy Cole, Transit Advocate; 7 Annette Jurgelski, Eno Township; Renee Price, CFE Representative; Al Terry, Transportation Services Board; 8 9 MEMBERS ABSENT: Dan Barker, Hillsborough Township; Jeff Charles, Bicycle Advocate; Planning Board Liaison - 10 Vacant; Economic Development Commission -Vacant; Cheeks Township - Vacant; Little River Township-Vacant; 11 12 STAFF PRESENT: Karen Lincoln, Transportation Planner; Mila Vega, Transportation Planner; Tina Love, 13 Administrative Assistant 14 15 I. Call to order 16 17 Chair Nancy Baker called the meeting to order. 18 19 II. Consideration of additions to the agenda 20 21 Mila Vega asked the Board to add time for an overview for an Orange Public Transportation –Chapel Hill Transit 22 consolidation study steering committee which is seeking a volunteer from the OUTBoard. 23 24 III. Approval of Minutes 25 26 The OUTBoard approved the minutes from March 16, 2011 with change by affirmation. 27 28 IV. Orange Public Transportation System Safety Program Plan 29 30 Al Terry came before the Board and presented information on an Audit performed by the Federal Government on 31 NCDOT and found they had not followed some regulations. Orange Public Transit is now going through multiple 32 audits from NCDOT to find out and correct any Federal regulation that was being missed. He continued that one of 33 those programs is a System Safety Program Plan which has several elements. He briefed the OUTBoard on this 34 program and advised that he had compiled and taken this to NCDOT to ensure that the core elements are covered 35 and NCDOT has verbally approved the plan. Al advised that Orange Public Transit must have an approved System 36 Safety Program Plan in order to receive administrative and operating fund for next year. The transportation advisory 37 board for the transit agency must approve a System Safety Program Plan to forward to NCDOT for approval. 38 39 Al reviewed the components of the plan and the corrections made and answered questions. 40 41 The OUTBoard unanimously approved the Orange Public Transportation System Safety Program Plan as presented. 42 43 V. Discussion of information presented at last three meetings 44 45 Al Terry gave the OUTBoard some background on the Hillsborough Circulator Route. Orange County applied for and 46 received a Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) grant for three years operating assistance for a 47 Hillsborough in-town bus route that will hopefully reduce congestion in and around the Town of Hillsborough. It is a 48 twenty mile route and there are seventeen stops. The Board reviewed the map of the routes. 49 50 Al Terry advised that a newsletter is going out on May 4th to all Town of Hillsborough residents. There will be a video 51 tape on the local cable channel and News of Orange will be contacted. 52 53 54 55 Approved 5.18.11 2 VI. Orange County Transportation Priority List for 2014-2020 Transportation Improvement Project (TIP) 56 57 Karen Lincoln explained that because of changes in DOT procedures and the deadlines, NCDOT wants regional 58 transportation planning agencies to submit any new projects for the 2014-2020 transportation improvement program. 59 NCDOT will use updated priority criteria to reprioritize projects submitted for the last Transportation Improvement 60 Program (TIP) update that were not funded in the draft TIP and new projects. NCDOT will provide those results to 61 regional planning agencies before the regional agencies submit their prioritized lists in October. DOT has told the 62 regional planning organizations, Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) and Rural Planning Organizations 63 (RPOs) it will accept 15 new highway projects and 10 bike and 10 pedestrian projects from each organization. 64 DCHC MPO has requested priority lists from its member jurisdictions, and has asked local jurisdictions to submit no 65 more than three new highway projects, no more than 6 bike projects and no more than 6 pedestrian projects. She 66 related that anything to be submitted for the next round has to be approved by the Transportation Advisory 67 Committees (TACs) of the regional agencies at their meetings in June. She advised that it would need to go to the 68 Board of County Commissioners in May for its input and approval. Karen went through the handouts and 69 recommended the OUTBoard submit the same projects and hold off on any new projects for this update. 70 71 The Board discussed the projects and reviewed handouts. There was discussion about linking the Orange Grove 72 Road extension project and the rail station. The consensus was to keep the list as submitted and once the scores 73 come back take another look. 74 75 Randy Marshall summarized that the list on page seven, attachment three is the one submitted last year but items 76 one, two, three, and four are all now in the DCHC or Mebane MPO so they disappeared from the RPO list because 77 they are now on a MPO list somewhere. The only things really left on the RPO list is items one, two, and three from 78 last years list and those are now carried forward to the proposed TARPO list. 79 80 The Board decided to add Dairyland Road bicycle facilities in both lists. 81 82 VII. Board Comments/Updates 83 84 Mila Vega gave the Board a brief overview of the plan for an Orange Public Transportation –Chapel Hill Transit 85 consolidation study steering committee and asked for a volunteer from the OUTBoard. 86 87 Al Terry explained the current level of services for Chapel Hill Transit and Orange Public Transit (OPT) and told the 88 Board some about the guidelines and boundaries and the level of services available to the public for each jurisdiction. 89 He noted OPT currently takes clients into Chapel Hill and Carrboro but does not pick up Chapel Hill/Carrboro clients 90 and gave examples of other overlapping services and needs. Al expressed that he believes it will improve the 91 efficiencies of both services and probably improve the costs as well. 92 93 Paul Guthrie volunteered for the OPT-CH Transit Consolidation Study Steering Committee. 94 95 Randy Marshall let the Board know that the CTP Steering Committee met earlier in the day and reviewed their 96 presentation for the Board of County Commissioners for May 17th which is the day before the next scheduled 97 OUTBoard meeting. This presentation will bring the BOCC up to date on where the Comprehensive Transportation 98 Plan (CTP) process is at this time and hopefully the BOCC will endorse the committee’s work so far and the 99 deficiency analysis. He noted that Sarah Lee from NCDOT will be making the presentation. 100 101 Paul Guthrie updated the Board regarding the North Carolina legislative bills that could kill North Carolina’s high-102 speed rail projects. 103 104 VIII. Adjournment 105 106 There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned. 107 ___________________________________ Nancy Baker, Chair