MPO Executive Board

Bristol Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization May 9, 2019 Board Members Present: Bill Sorah - Bristol, Tennessee Vice-Mayor Kevin Wingard - Bristol, Virginia Ambre Torbett - Sullivan County, Tennessee Councilman Al Bradley - Abingdon, Virginia Supervisor Phillip McCall - Washington County, Virginia Troy Ebbert - Tennessee Department of Transportation Donny Necessary - Virginia Department of Transportation Members Absent: Bristol, Virginia Others Present: Rex Montgomery Tim Beavers Katie Schwing Matt Bolick Chase Milner David Metzger Wallace McCulloch Troy Ebbert Randy Hamilton Jay Detrick Mike Russell Eric Kerney Morine Smith-Steffey Molly Gale Emily Wood Randy Dodson Candance Gump Call to Order / Roll Call: A Quorum being present, Chairman Ambre Torbett called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m., May 9, 2019, in the Ewell L. Easley Annex Building, Bristol, Tennessee. Approval of Minutes: Bill Sorah moved to adopt the minutes of February 7, 2019 as submitted; seconded by Councilman Bradley; motion carried unanimously with Vice-Mayor Wingard abstaining. Comments from the Public: None Old Business: None New Business: Item A: Virginia FY 2021-2022 Unified Planning Work Program [Presented by Rex Montgomery] The Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) describes the MPO’s transportation planning activities for the fiscal year and programs transportation grant funds allocated to the MPO to achieve those planning tasks. Planning priorities for the FY 2020-21 UPWP will include an update to the regional Travel Demand Model and the Long-Range Transportation Plan, Round 4 of the Virginia Smart Scale grant applications, and Census 2020 product releases, as available. The FY 2020-21 UPWP represents a 2-year work program; however, the funding for FY 2021 is estimated. For VDOT’s grant funding cycle, Virginia requires the UPWP to be approved prior to the July 1 start of the State’s Fiscal Year. As a result, Resolution 19-03 only pertains to the Virginia portion of the UPWP and is contingent on pending federal requirements. Vice-Mayor Wingard questioned any funding repercussions if the UPWP did not receive federal approval. Mr. Montgomery explained the funding allocations are in plan and based on a statewide formula. Any subsequent federal comments would be in reference to the UPWP text or policy references. There being no additional discussion, Councilman Al Bradley moved to adopt the 2020 Unified Planning Work Program for Virginia allocated funds [Resolution 19-03]; seconded by Supervisor McCall; motion carried unanimously. Item B: FY 2017-2020 Transportation Improvement Program Amendment #10 [Presented by Rex Montgomery] Mountain Lynx Transit, owned and operated by the District Three Governmental Cooperative, provides public transportation to the Town of Abingdon and surrounding areas of Washington County. At the request of Abingdon and Washington County, Mountain Lynx Transit will be providing expanded transit service for these jurisdictions beginning October 1, 2019. Mountain Lynx Transit staff provided a description of the expanded services. Funding for the new service will be provided by an increased allocation of Federal Transit Administration Section 5307 (Urban Area Program) funds for FY 2020. As a result, the additional FTA 5307 funding requires amendment to the Transportation Improvement Program. Amendment #10 to the FY 2017-2020 TIP programs $131,434 FTA Section 5307 funds in FY 2020 for transit operating assistance. When matched with state and local funding, a total project budget of $262,868 is available for transit service within the urbanized area of Abingdon and Washington County. Councilman Bradley indicated the Town of Abingdon has already approved the matching funds and moved to adopt Resolution 19-04 amending the FY 2017-2020 Transportation Improvement Program; seconded by Supervisor McCall: motion carried unanimously. Due to previous commitments, Chairman Torbett excused herself and requested Vice-Chairman Supervisor McCall to moderate the remainder of the meeting. Item C: Public Participation Plan [Presented by Rex Montgomery] It is a requirement for the MPO to obtain public involvement for specific transportation planning needs. In response to this requirement the MPO has an adopted Public Participation Plan that documents procedures to provide citizens and interested parties opportunities to be involved in the transportation planning process. Periodically the Public Participation Plan is assessed to identify opportunities for improvement and is amended as needed. The most significant revision to the draft update of the Public Participation Plan is the inclusion of social media, which has become a major medium to post and receive information from the public. Other elements of the Public Participation Plan have not changed. With Executive Board concurrence, staff will publish the updated Public Participation Plan for public review and comments prior to formal MPO adoption (Federal regulations require a 45-day comment period). Bill Sorah moved to publish the Public Participation Plan for public comments; seconded by Troy Ebbert; motion carried unanimously. Other Matters:  Katie Schwing (VDOT) provided a presentation on the on-going development of the state’s long range multimodal transportation plan (VTrans).  Troy Ebbert provided information of the Interstate 26 corridor study underway by the Tennessee Department of Transportation. A similar study for the Interstate 40/81 corridor will be initiated in the fall of this year.  Jason Farmer (TDOT) and Donny Necessary (VDOT) provided updates for on-going state projects.  The next meeting of the MPO is scheduled for August 8 at 10:00 AM. Adjournment: There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned.