RECOMMENDATION

It is recommended that the Agency:

1. Approve a revised annual Transportation Development Act (TDA) claim for the City of Anderson, and;

2. Authorize the Executive Officer to sign letters of support to Shasta Senior Nutrition and the City of Anderson's applications for funding.

3. Consider approving Resolution No. 01-11 designating the regional priority to be assigned to each RTSGP application.

SUMMARY

The City of Anderson and the Shasta Senior Nutrition Program are applying for Rural Transit System Grant Program funding. The intent of the program is to improve efficiency and effectiveness of the rural transit system within the State of California. Agency approval is requested to prioritize grant applications.

DISCUSSION

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. It is anticipated that many other counties statewide will have limited eligibility leading to a higher probability that there will be a second competitive grant process.

As a result of this "two-cycle" approach it is necessary to identify those projects that will be funded from the first, or "guaranteed" cycle. The California Transportation Commission at its April 2002 meeting will grant project approval.

Proposed Projects

Anderson and Shasta Senior Nutrition Program (SSNP) have both completed the necessary grant applications. In recommended priority order they are as follows:

1. Shasta Senior Nutrition Program is applying to replace two buses at a total cost of $108,472. The required match requirement for this application is 10%. If this grant is successful it is recommended that the match come from TDA funds. RTSGP funding requested is in the amount of $97,625. This will be requested from the "guaranteed" cycle.

2. Anderson is applying to replace one bus currently used on Route 9. The total cost of this bus is $290,000. The match requirement for this bus is 43.7%. RTSGP funding is approximately $163,270. This will represent Anderson's capital contribution to RABA's capital needs. This is consistent with treatment applied to other grants available exclusively to Redding and Shasta Lake. This will be requested from the "guaranteed" cycle.

3. Shasta Senior Nutrition is applying to replace three vans currently used in the rural areas at a total cost of $146,841. The required match requirement for this application is 10%. If this grant is successful it is recommended that the match come from TDA funds. RTSGP funding requested is in the amount of $132,157. This will be requested from the "competitive" cycle.

4. Anderson is applying to replace another bus currently used on Route 9. The total cost of this bus is $290,000. The match requirement for this bus is 43.7%. RTSGP funding is approximately $163,270. This will represent Anderson's capital contribution to RABA's capital needs. This is consistent with treatment applied to other grants available exclusively to Redding and Shasta Lake. This will be requested from the "competitive" cycle.

5. Anderson is applying to replace a demand response bus used in Anderson. The total cost of this bus is $75,000. The match requirement for this bus is 43%. RTSGP funding is approximately $42,225. This will represent Anderson's capital contribution to RABA's capital needs. This is consistent with treatment applied to other grants available exclusively to Redding and Shasta Lake. This will be requested from the "competitive" cycle.

ALTERNATIVES

An identified alternative to the staff recommendation would be to rearrange the priority of grant applications recommended by staff. This is not recommended because the staff recommendation reaches a balance between service provided by Anderson and by SSNP. SSNP has few funding sources available other than this program to provide needed services to the elderly in Shasta County. It is also reasonable to assume that SSNP's applications will score very well and do well in the "competitive" cycle. The staff recommendation provides both eligible applicants with a guaranteed project.

OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT

This item was discussed at the TAC meeting. No significant input was received at this time.

FINANCING

RTSGP funding represents "new" money available to the area. To the extent it is used for transit capital needs, it will ease pressure on other funding.

______________________________________

Daniel J. Kovacich, Executive Officer

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Attachments: Letters of Support from the RTPA (Morgan) and (Webster)