MPO Executive Board

Bristol Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization June 6, 2012 Board Members Present: Jeffrey J. Broughton - Bristol, Tennessee Mayor Irene Wells - Bluff City, Tennessee Ambre Torbett - Sullivan County, Tennessee Deborah Fleming - Tennessee Department of Transportation Donny Necessary - Virginia Department of Transportation Councilman Guy Odum - Bristol, Virginia Members Absent: Washington County, Virginia Others Present: Rex Montgomery - Bristol MPO Angie Midgett - TDOT Steve Drummer - Bristol, Virginia Larry McGoogin - TDOT Jay Detrick - Bristol, Virginia Kimery Smith - TDOT Mike Todd - Virginia DRPT Kim Thompson - TDOT Call to Order / Roll Call: A Quorum being present, Chairman Broughton called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m., June 6, 2012, in the Conference Room of the City of Bristol Tennessee Annex Building. Agenda Additions: None Approval of Minutes: There being no additions or corrections to the minutes of December 15, 2011; Councilman Odum moved to adopt the minutes as submitted, seconded by Ambre Torbett, motion carried unanimously. Comments from the Public: None Old Business: None New Business: A. FY 2011-2014 Transportation Improvement Program Amendment #3 Rex Montgomery presented Amendment #3 to the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). The Tennessee Department of Transportation has requested amendment to the TIP to program additional funds for the I-81 northbound exit ramp widening at SR-394 (Exit 69) in Blountville, Tennessee. The project also includes signalization. Engineering and design for the improvements have been completed and the project is scheduled for bid letting. Amendment to the TIP includes an additional $350,000 in funding allocated for the construction phase. As a result, a grand total of $650,000 has been programmed in FY 2012 construction funding, which consists of $585,000 in Interstate Maintenance funds administered by the Tennessee Department of Transportation and $65,000 in State matching funds. Ambre Torbett questioned why the northbound exit ramp was being signalized, but not the southbound. Sullivan County has had numerous inquires about the project not including signalization for both ramps. Angie Midgett stated she would request additional information from the TDOT project manager for the MPO. There being no further discussion, Deborah Fleming moved to adopt Resolution 12-01 approving Amendment #3 to the FY 2011-2014 Transportation Improvement Program, seconded by Councilman Odum, motion carried unanimously. B. FY 2011 Unified Planning Work Program Rex Montgomery summarized the Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) for FY 2013 which describes the transportation planning activities to be undertaken by the MPO for the fiscal year. The UPWP contains many day-to-day activities for grant administration as well as long-range planning projects. Among the priorities for the upcoming fiscal year will be development of the FY 2014-2017 Transportation Improvement Program and adjustments to the MPO’s metropolitan planning boundary related to the Census 2010 designation of urbanized areas. Comments from Federal and State agencies have been received and addressed by staff. Revisions to the UPWP were distributed to the Executive Board for review. Rex Montgomery requested adoption of the UPWP contingent on Federal and State approval of the revisions. There being no further discussion, Deborah Fleming moved to adopt Resolution 12-02 approving the FY 2013 Unified Planning Work Program, seconded by Councilman Odum, motion carried unanimously. Page 2 Other Matters of Mutual Interest: Item 1 – Census 2010 Urbanized Area Designations Rex Montgomery provided a presentation on the urbanized area designations based on the 2010 Census. Urbanized areas are utilized by MPOs to establish the metropolitan planning boundary for transportation planning activities and programs. Additionally, many Federal and State programs allocate funding based on the urbanized area population. For 2010, two major changes in the Bristol urbanized area include 1) the addition of Abingdon, Virginia to the Bristol Tennessee/Virginia Urbanized Area, and 2) the designation of Piney Flats/Bluff City, Tennessee area (previously part of the Bristol urbanized area) to the Johnson City Urbanized Area. Discussion incurred on the Census Bureau’s criteria and reason for designating the Bluff City/Piney Flats area to Johnson City. Staff will continue to research requirements for the MPO structure and metropolitan planning boundaries. Item 2 – Meeting Schedule The next meeting for the MPO Executive Board was scheduled for August 13, 2012 at 3:00 p.m. Adjournment: There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned. Page 3