APPROVED MINUTES

SHASTA COUNTY REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION PLANNING AGENCY (MPO)
Tuesday, December 11, 2001 4:00 p.m.
Board of Supervisors' Chambers, Courthouse
1500 Court Street, Redding, California

(Note: These minutes are not intended to serve as a transcript or verbatim record of the proceedings of the Shasta County Regional Transportation Planning Agency, but rather as a record of meeting time, place and attendance; the order and general nature of discussion; Agency deliberations; and action taken, if any.)

Agency Members Clarke, Comnick, Hawes, Kight, McGeorge, Wilson, and Alternate Agency Member Duryee were present. Agency Member Reno was absent. Representatives of the RTPA, Shasta County staff, Caltrans, City of Redding, City of Anderson, City of Shasta Lake, and RABA were present.

• Call to Order:

Chair Comnick called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m.

Chair Comnick presented Vi Klaseen with a resolution from the RTPA thanking and commending her for her hard work and dedication towards transportation planning over the years. Ms. Klaseen thanked the Agency.

• Public Comment Period:

There were no requests to speak during the public comment period.

3-1 Minutes of October 23, 2001, RTPA Meeting

3-2 RTPA Meeting Schedule Through October 2002

3-3 RTPA Fiscal & Compliance Audits and Independent Auditor's Management Letter for Year Ended June 30, 2000

3-4 Advised the Agency of Letter of Support for Redding Area Bus Authority (RABA) Planning Grant

By motion made, seconded and carried, the items on the Consent Calendar were approved.

• Update on Trial Transit Services - Information Only

Executive Officer Kovacich reported that at the October RTPA meeting staff did not have financial information concerning the farebox ratio for the new/expanded transit services in the Intermountain, Cottonwood and Airport Road areas. Staff now has the financial data and it is as follows:

Staff has ridden all of the routes and spoken with the riders. The the passengers seem to enjoy the service. However, the farebox ratio for the first 19 days of the service is not positive. Staff will continue to monitor the routes and update the Agency at regular meetings.

• Accept Final Draft of Transportation Concept Report (TCR) for the Shasta County Portion of State Route 89 and Authorize Executive Officer to Sign the Final Document- Consider Action

Executive Officer Kovacich reported that at the last RTPA meeting staff from Caltrans gave a presentation on the Draft TCR for State Route 89. The report is expected to be finalized in January. Caltrans' staff has requested that the Agency authorize the Executive Officer to sign the final report. There have been no changes to the report concerning the portion of State Route 89 in Shasta County since the October meeting when it was presented to the Agency. Kathy Grah from Caltrans was available to answer any Agency Member questions on the matter. There were no questions.

By motion made and seconded (Clarke/Hawes) the Agency unanimously voted to accept the report and authorize the Executive Officer to sign the final version.

• Consider Transit Productivity Report- Consider Action

Executive Officer Kovacich stated that the Transportation Development Act (TDA) requires RTPAs to work with the transit provider to improve transit productivity, monitor key factors and to prepare a report with any suggested improvements. During the past year RABA's fixed route productivity has remained status quo. An increase in passengers and service hours was noted for the demand response services.

Agency Member Duryee noted that the RTPA will need to address the fact that $150,000 from the Department of Social Services is being used to implement the new/expanded transit services. The RTPA may have to reconsider the farebox issue in the future.

By motion made and seconded (Hawes/McGeorge) the transit productivity report was accepted by unanimous vote.

• Consider Approving Resolution in Support of Proposition 42 - Consider Action

Executive Officer Kovacich reported he was approached by proponents of Proposition 42 to endorse the proposition to be included in the March 2002 General Election. The proposition will make available the existing sales tax on gasoline be used to fund street, road, highway and public transit improvements. It will ensure that the sales tax motorists pay at the gas pump will be used for transportation projects. The proposition will not increase the sales tax, but dedicate the sales tax to transportation issues. The estimated amount of revenue to Shasta County after 2008 over 20 years will be approximately $92 million. The money will be apportioned as follows:

Shasta County $68 million
City of Redding $20.7 million
City of Anderson $2.2 million
City of Shasta Lake $2.3 million

By motion made and seconded (Clarke/Hawes) the staff recommendation passed unanimously.

• Approve Project Priority List for Rural Transit System Grant Program - Consider Action

Executive Officer Kovacich reported that in recent years the California legislature has recognized under funded transportation needs; both for infrastructure and for operating and maintenance purposes. As a result the state enacted the Traffic Congestion Relief Program which is making over $5 billion available for transportation purposes over the next several years. Unfortunately, little if none of this windfall is earmarked for rural transit needs. Recognizing this gap the legislature has authorized the Rural Transit System Grant Program (RTSGP). This program makes available $18M on a one-time basis statewide and earmarks it to be used in non-urban areas.

The guidelines for implementing this legislation specify that each California county will be "entitled", or "guaranteed" an amount that equals their pro-rata share of the non-urban California population. As a result of this provision, Shasta County applicants are virtually guaranteed $276,401. Additionally, there may be a competitive cycle of grants as well. This competitive cycle will occur if counties do not apply for their guaranteed entitlement. This may occur because the requirements for eligibility are that 1) the applicant not have claimed any TDA funds in 2001/02 for Streets and Roads purposes, and, 2) the applicant must be in a non-urban area.

Only Anderson (non-urban and zero Streets and Roads) and Shasta Senior Nutrition Program (serving the non-urban area and zero Streets and Roads) are eligible within Shasta County. The cities of Shasta Lake and Redding are urban. These two cities and the County of Shasta have all claimed TDA funds for Streets and Roads.

The City of Anderson owes Streets & Roads money to the RTPA. This year's claim for Anderson will go to fund past costs.

The applications have been ranked and the results are as follows:

 

Cycle	Agency	RTSGP Request	Project
Guaranteed	SSNP	$97,625	Replace two buses
Guaranteed	City of Anderson	$163,270	Replace Bus on Route 9
Competitive	SSNP	$132,157	Replace three vans
Competitive	City of Anderson	$163,270	Replace another Route 9 bus
Competitive	City of Anderson	$42,225	Replace a demand response bus

Executive Officer Kovacich asked that the Agency recognize the hard work of staff member Thomas Hays. Originally, Shasta County was guaranteed only $70,000 from this grant. Mr. Hays researched census data and discovered that Shasta County was actually due $280,000 in guaranteed RTSGP funding. After reviewing the issue with Caltrans, it was decided that Shasta County will be guaranteed $270,000.

By motion made and seconded (Clarke/Hawes) the Agency voted unanimously to:

• Approve a revised annual Transportation Development Act (TDA) claim for the City of Anderson, and;
• Authorize the Executive Officer to sign letters of support to Shasta Senior Nutrition and the City of Anderson's applications for funding.
• Consider approving Resolution No. 01-11 designating the regional priority to be assigned to each RTSGP application.

Scott Morgan, City Manager for the City of Anderson thanked the Agency for its support and praised the efforts of RTPA staff for the hard work and dedication they gave to this project. He stated the entire region will benefit from their efforts.

• Conduct Public Hearing and Adopt 2001 Social Service Transportation Action Plan Update - Consider Action

Executive Officer Kovacich explained that TDA requires the Social Service Transportation Action Plan Update be revised every two years. During the last two years, Shasta Senior Nutrition Programs, the CTSA for Shasta County, has made a continuous effort to combine purchasing and maintenance to reduce the overall costs to the social service transportation providers in the area. An updated report has been prepared and it is recommended the Agency accept it.