MPO Executive Board

Bristol Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization February 8, 2018 Board Members Present: Bill Sorah - Bristol, Tennessee Vice-Mayor Kevin Wingard - Bristol, Virginia Ambre Torbett - Sullivan County, Tennessee Councilman Wayne Craig - Abingdon, Virginia Tim Estes - Washington County, Virginia Troy Ebert - Tennessee Department of Transportation Donny Necessary - Virginia Department of Transportation Members Absent: None Others Present: Rex Montgomery Jay Detrick Tim Beavers Molly Gale Randy Dobson Wallace McCulloch Matt Bolick David Richardson Russ Davis Matthew Cox David Metzger Nick Britton Darrel Johnson Call to Order / Roll Call: A Quorum being present, Chairman Ambre Torbett called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m., February 8, 2018, in the Ewell L. Easley Annex Building, Bristol, Tennessee. Approval of Minutes: Correction to Others Present in the minutes was made. Troy Ebert moved to adopt the minutes of November 9, 2017; seconded by Donny Necessary; motion carried unanimously. Comments from the Public: None Old Business: None New Business: Item A: Amendment 6 to the FY 2017-2020 Transportation Improvement Program [Presented by Rex Montgomery] Mountain Lynx Transit (formally District Three Public Transit), owned and operated by the District Three Governmental Cooperative, provides public transportation services for the Town of Abingdon. Previously this service has been funded by Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Section 5311 rural funding. Now that Abingdon has been designated part of the Bristol Tennessee/Virginia Urbanized Area by the U.S. Census, FTA rural funding is no longer eligible for this type of service. To continue providing public transportation for the Town of Abingdon, District Three Governmental Cooperative is currently working with FTA to become a designated recipient for FTA Section 5307 urban area funding. As a result, Section 5307 funding allocated to Mountain Lynx Transit needs to be programmed in the TIP being in Fiscal Year 2019. There being no discussion, Councilman Craig moved to adopt Resolution 18-01 approving Amendment #6 to the FY 2017-2020 TIP; seconded by Bill Sorah; motion carried unanimously. Item B: Amendment 7# to the FY 2017-2020 Transportation Improvement Program [Presented by Rex Montgomery] The Tennessee Department of Transportation has redistributed Federal Fiscal Year 2014 and earlier FTA Section 5307 program funds to Tennessee’s small urban transit systems. These funds represent earlier grant applications, which were not fully disbursed or utilized and subsequently lapsed back to the State. Bristol, Tennessee’s allocation represents $220,808 in federal funding, which will be programmed for replacement of two fixed-route transit buses. For the City to obligate these funds, they must be programmed in the FY 2017-2020 Transportation Improvement Program and approved by the MPO Executive Board. The percent of local match was questioned. Rex Montgomery explained the bus replacements are ADA vehicles, which qualifies for 85% federal funding. The balance would be 7.5% TDOT match and 7.5% local funding. It was noted these funds would be available for Fiscal Year 2019. There being no further questions, Tim Estes moved to adopt Resolution 18-02, approving Amendment #7 to FY 2017-2020 TIP; seconded by Bill Sorah; motion carried unanimously. Item C: Obligated Project Listing for Federal Fiscal Year 2017. [Presented by Rex Montgomery] To ensure that the public will have an accurate understanding of how federal funds are actually being spent on transportation projects, federal legislation requires that organizations responsible for approving the Transportation Improvement Program publish an annual listing of project obligations. In response to that directive, the MPO has published a list all transportation projects in the Bristol Metropolitan Planning Area that were obligated federal funds in Federal Fiscal Year 2017 (October 1, 2016 – September 30, 2017). The project obligations were reviewed and discussed with the Board. It was noted no formal action by the MPO is required. Page 2 Item D: VDOT Smart Scale Rex Montgomery stated that planning for Smart Scale applications have been ongoing. Two funding programs are available, High Priority Project Program where application are scored on a statewide basis and the District Grant Program where projects are within the Bristol District. It is anticipated the MPO will submit several projects on behalf of localities for the statewide funding program. The next MPO meeting will include requests for project endorsements; however, projects are still in the development phase. It was noted the project selections for Smart Scale are the responsibility of the local jurisdictions governing boards; however, VDOT will provide technical support as needed. Donny Necessary [VDOT] reviewed the projects and proposed improvements currently being considered by local jurisdictions. Discussion incurred on the various Smart Scale projects for Bristol, Abingdon, and Washington County. Rex Montgomery explained the project overview by Donny Necessary gives the MPO Board the opportunity to review project proposals prior to a formal request for endorsements. Other Matters of Mutual Interest: Item A: Next Meeting Date Due to a scheduling conflict, the next MPO meeting for May 10 was rescheduled to May 3 at 10 AM. Item B: Overmountain Victory Trail Ambre Torbett announced the Master Plan for the Overmountain Victory Trail has been ongoing. A stakeholders meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Tuesday, February 27th at the Sullivan County Courthouse. The meeting is open to the public. Adjournment: There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned. Page 3