MPO Executive Board

BRISTOL TENNESSEE / VIRGINIA URBAN AREA METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION Abingdon, Virginia ▪ Bristol, Tennessee ▪ Bristol, Virginia ▪ Sullivan County, Tennessee ▪ Washington County, Virginia July 27, 2020 To: MPO Executive Board and Staff From: Rex Montgomery Transportation Planning Manager Subject: Executive Board Meeting – August 6, 2020 The Bristol Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) will meet electronically on Thursday, August 6 at 10:00 A.M. For your review, please find enclosed the agenda packet. In light of the COVID pandemic and pursuant to Tennessee Executive Order 51 and Virginia HB29, the MPO meeting will be held electronically with Executive Board members not physically present in one location. Executive Board members and meeting participants will receive a ZOOM meeting invitation prior to the meeting date. The meeting will also be broadcast live at www.youtube.com/user/WatchBTNTV, BTES Channel 16, and Charter Spectrum Channel 192. Additional information on how to provide public comment is available at www.bristoltn.org/1420/COVID‐19‐Updates. If you have any questions or comments, please contact me at rmontgomery@bristoltn.org or 423‐989‐ 5519. Rex L. Montgomery Enclosures P. O. Box 1189 ▪ Bristol, Tennessee 37621-1189 Phone: 423-989-5519 ▪ rmontgomery@bristoltn.org  BRISTOL TENNESSEE ‐ VIRGINIA URBAN AREA METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION Meeting Agenda Thursday, August 6, 2020 10:00 A.M. *** Electronic Meeting (No Physical Location) *** 1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call 3. Necessity for Conducting Electronic Meeting 4. Approval of Minutes of June 4, 2020 5. Comments from the Public 6. Amendment #4 to the FY 2020‐2023 Transportation Improvement Program Resolution 20‐08 7. Other Matters a) Preston Elliott ‐ Deputy Commissioner, TDOT Bureau of Environment and Planning b) Federal Updates (FHWA/FTA) c) State Updates (TDOT/VDOT) 8. Adjournment  Bristol Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization June 4, 2020 NOTICE: THE JUNE 4, 2020 BRISTOL MPO EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING WAS CONDUCTED ELECTRONICALLY (NO PHYSICAL LOCATION). THE MEETING WAS BROADCAST LIVE ON YOUTUBE AND BTN‐TV AND PUBLIC COMMENT WAS AVAILABLE BY THE USE OF VIDEO CONFERENCING. Board Members Present: Bill Sorah ‐ Bristol, Tennessee Ambre Torbett ‐ Sullivan County, Tennessee Supervisor Phillip McCall ‐ Washington County, Virginia Ronda Sawyer ‐ Tennessee Department of Transportation Blake Ailor ‐ Virginia Department of Transportation Members Absent: Bristol, Virginia Abingdon, Virginia Others Present: Rex Montgomery Tim Beavers David Metzger Mike Russell Sean Santalla Pam Kordenbrock Troy Ebbert Item 1 ‐ Call to Order / Roll Call: Chairman Ambre Torbett conducted roll call. A Quorum being available, the meeting was called to order at 10:00 a.m., June 4, 2020. Item 2 – Discussion of Necessity for Conducting Electronic Meeting Rex Montgomery read the following statement: Tennessee Executive Order No. 16 (which has been extended by Executive Order No. 34) and Virginia House Bill 29 suspended State Law in reference to open meetings to the extent necessary to allow governing bodies to conduct their essential business by electronic means, rather than being required to gather a quorum of members physically in the same location. The Governing body should make a determination that meeting electronically is necessary to protect the health, safety and welfare for all concerned in light of the COVID‐19 outbreak. At this time it would be appropriate for the members to discuss whether they believe that meeting electronically is necessary, and vote accordingly. If the members do not agree that meeting electronically is appropriate at this time, then this meeting should be adjourned until such time as the members can meet in person. A roll call vote was conducted with YES indicating concurrence that an electronic meeting was necessary. Ms. Sawyer, YES Mr. Ailor, YES Mr. Sorah, YES Supervisor McCall, YES Chairman Torbett, YES. Item 3 ‐ Approval of Minutes: Mr. Sorah moved to adopt the minutes of March 12, 2020 as submitted; seconded by Ms. Sawyer. Chairman Torbett called the roll. Ms. Sawyer, YES Mr. Ailor, YES Mr. Sorah, YES Supervisor McCall, YES Chairman Torbett, YES. Motion carried unanimously Item 4 ‐ Comments from the Public: None. Item 5 – Amendment #1 to the FY 2020‐2021 Unified Planning Work Program: Presenter: Rex Montgomery. The Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) identifies the MPO’s annual transportation planning activities and programmed grant funding to accomplish those tasks. The Executive Board adopted a 2‐ year UPWP for fiscal years 2020 and 2021 on August 8, 2019; however, estimated funding allocations were utilized for FY 2021 UPWP planning activities. For VDOT grant funding, Virginia requires the UPWP to be approved prior to the July 1 [State] fiscal year. As a result, Amendment #1 pertains to the Virginia portion of the UPWP only and incorporates the final funding allocations from VDOT for FY 2021. There being no discussion, Mr. Sorah moved to adopt Resolution 20‐06, approving Amendment #1 to the FY 2020‐2021 Unified Planning Work Program; seconded by Mr. Ailor. There being no discussion, Chairman Torbett called the roll. Ms. Sawyer, YES Mr. Ailor, YES Mr. Sorah, YES Supervisor McCall, YES Chairman Torbett, YES. Motion carried unanimously. Item 6 – Virginia Smart Scale Application Endorsements Presenter: Rex Montgomery. SMART SCALE is the Commonwealth Transportation Board’s prioritization process for selecting and funding transportation projects. SMART SCALE is an application process and is available to regional agencies (MPO), counties, cities, and towns to submit project proposals for funding. Applications for the SMART SCALE Round 4 funding are due August 3. As part of the application process, the eligibility for various jurisdictions to submit for Smart Scale funding requires support from the MPO. Bristol, Virginia and Washington County have both requested MPO endorsement for Smart Scale funded projects. Each project application was discussed with the Board. Funding is available under two grant programs; district‐wide funding and state‐wide funding. It was noted the MPO will be submitting several projects for state‐wide funding on behalf of Bristol, Virginia and Washington County. Blake Ailor provided and overview and timeframe for the final application process. There being no further discussion, Supervisor McCall moved to adopt Resolution 20‐07, approving MPO endorsement for Round 4 SMART SCALE applications; seconded by Mr. Sorah. There being no debate, Chairman Torbett called the roll. Ms. Sawyer, YES Mr. Ailor, YES Mr. Sorah, YES Supervisor McCall, YES Chairman Torbett, YES. Motion carried unanimously. Item 7 – Other Matters  Supervisor McCall asked about the timeframe for the Exit 17 and Exit 19 improvements. Blake Ailor indicated the both projects have been delayed due to COVID‐19.  Pam Kordenbrock, with the Tennessee Division of the Federal Highway Administration, introduced herself and thanked the Executive Board for the opportunity to participation in the Bristol MPO meeting. She indicated the challenge for MPOs to conduct business during the COVID‐19 pandemic has been a national concern, particularly with public hearings. This is an issue that has not been formally resolved at the Federal level.  Ronda Sawyer, with the Tennessee Department of Transportation, provided an update on the I‐26 Corridor. The final draft is available. In the near future, TDOT will be contacting jurisdictions that have resurfacing projects in an effort to reduce conflicts with utility projects or other local activities. Item 8 ‐ Adjournment: There being no further business to discuss, Ms. Sawyer moved to adjourn the meeting; seconded by Supervisor McCall. Chairman Torbett called the roll. Ms. Sawyer, YES Mr. Ailor, YES Supervisor McCall, YES Chairman Torbett, YES. The meeting was adjourned.  Agenda Item 6 BRISTOL TENNESSEE / VIRGINIA URBAN AREA METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION Meeting Date: August 6, 2020 Agenda Item 6: Amendment #4 to the FY 2020-2023 Transportation Improvement Program Resolution 20-08 Summary: Projects that are not considered to be of appropriate scale for individual identification are grouped in the Transportation Improvement Program by function, work type or geographic area. The Virginia Department of Transportation has requested amending the TIP groupings Preventative Maintenance and System Preservation, and, Preventative Maintenance for Bridges to increase the funding obligations for Federal Fiscal Year 2020 as follows: Project Grouping Funding Source Amendment Preventative Maintenance and National Highway Performance Add $27,786,419 for FFY20 System Preservation Program (NHPP) Preventative Maintenance for National Highway Performance Add $6,700,773 for FFY20 Bridges Program (NHPP) Amendment #4 updates the funding programmed in the FY 2020-2023 Transportation Improvement Program for VDOT maintenance groupings as referenced. Please note this funding will be obligated district-wide as projects are selected for funding. Recommendation: Staff recommends adoption of Resolution 20-08, approving Amendment #4 to the FY 2020-2023 Transportation Improvement Program. MPO TIP Report 11/18/2019 Bristol MPO Preventative Maintenance and System Preservation OLD TIP PAGE Project Groupings GROUPING Maintenance : Preventative Maintenance and System Preservation PROGRAM NOTE Funding identified to be obligated districtwide as projects are identified. ROUTE/STREET TOTAL COST FUND SOURCE MATCH FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 CN Federal ‐ NHS/NHPP $0 $0 $0 $8,194,023 $0 Federal ‐ STP/STBG $0 $3,460,781 $2,835,024 $2,837,003 $3,605,146 CN TOTAL $0 $3,460,781 $2,835,024 $11,031,026 $3,605,146 MPO Note TIP AMD to update FFY20 planned obligations based on revised projected revenue. Add $8,194,023 MPO TIP Report 7/13/2020 Bristol MPO Preventative Maintenance and System Preservation NEW TIP PAGE Project Groupings GROUPING Maintenance : Preventative Maintenance and System Preservation PROGRAM NOTE Funding identified to be obligated districtwide as projects are identified. ROUTE/STREET TOTAL COST $48,718,396 FUND SOURCE MATCH FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 CN Federal ‐ NHS/NHPP $0 $0 $0 $35,980,442 $0 Federal ‐ STP/STBG $0 $3,460,781 $2,835,024 $2,837,003 $3,605,146 CN TOTAL $0 $3,460,781 $2,835,024 $38,817,445 $3,605,146 MPO Note TIP AMD ‐ add $27,786,419 (NHPP) FFY20 Grouping Name Grouping Work Type Description Preventative Maintance and System Preservation Projects with the following examples of eligible work: area wide programs for cleaning drainage facilities, corrosion protection activities, highway sign face cleaning, and retrofitting of dowel bars. Pavement preservation projects that are of a preventative nature. Pavement preservation activities that extend pavement life between 2 and 10 years and typically involve the surface layer of the pavement structure. Also includes pavement resurfacing, restoration, and rehabilitation (3R) activities that are limited to the bound layers of the pavement and typically extend pavement life between 12 to 20 years. MPO TIP Report 11/18/2019 Bristol MPO Preventative Maintenance for Bridges OLD TIP PAGE Project Groupings GROUPING Maintenance : Preventative Maintenance for Bridges PROGRAM NOTE Funding identified to be obligated districtwide as projects are identified. ROUTE/STREET TOTAL COST FUND SOURCE MATCH FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 CN Federal ‐ BR $0 $1,258,691 $1,031,102 $0 $1,311,197 Federal ‐ NHS/NHPP $0 $0 $0 $1,000,000 $0 Federal ‐ STP/STBG $0 $2,438,021 $1,997,193 $6,826,507 $2,539,722 CN TOTAL $0 $3,696,712 $3,028,295 $7,826,507 $3,850,919 MPO Note TIP AMD to update FFY20 planned obligations based on revised projected revenue. Add $6,826,507 MPO TIP Report 7/13/2020 Bristol MPO Preventative Maintenance for Bridges NEW TIP PAGE Project Groupings GROUPING Maintenance : Preventative Maintenance for Bridges PROGRAM NOTE Funding identified to be obligated districtwide as projects are identified. ROUTE/STREET TOTAL COST $25,429,899 FUND SOURCE MATCH FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 CN Federal ‐ BR $0 $1,258,691 $1,275,492 $0 $1,311,197 Federal ‐ NHS/NHPP $0 $0 $0 $7,700,773 $0 Federal ‐ STP/STBG $0 $2,484,324 $2,033,193 $6,826,507 $2,539,722 CN TOTAL $0 $3,743,015 $3,308,685 $14,527,280 $3,850,919 MPO Note TIP AMD ‐ add an addit'l $6,700,773 (NHPP) FFY20 Grouping Name Grouping Work Type Description Preventative Maintance for Bridges Projects including the eligible bridge activities outlined in the March 2015 PM/3R Agreement (i.e. seal/replace/reconstruction of joints, deck overlays, painting, cathodic protection, retrofit of fracture critical members and fatigue prone details, and some concrete repairs). Also included are bridge safety inspections.  Resolution 20‐08 A Resolution Amending the Fiscal Year 2020‐2023 Transportation Improvement Program WHEREAS, in accordance with Federal requirements of the U. S. Department of Transportation, the Metropolitan Planning Organization is required to maintain a Transportation Improvement Program of Federally funded projects; and WHEREAS, State and local agencies involved with transportation planning for the Metropolitan Planning Area cooperatively developed the Fiscal Year 2020‐2023 Transportation Improvement Program; adopted by the Bristol Tennessee/Virginia Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization on November 7, 2019; and WHEREAS, Amendment #4 to the Fiscal Year 2020‐2023 Transportation Improvement Program identifies increased funding for Virginia Department of Transportation Project Maintenance Groupings Preventative Maintenance and System Preservation, and Preventative Maintenance for Bridges. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Executive Board of the Bristol Tennessee/Virginia Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization as follows: That the Bristol Tennessee/Virginia Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization does hereby approve Amendment #4, attached and incorporated hereinafter, to the Bristol Urban Area Fiscal Year 2020‐2023 Transportation Improvement Program. Ambre Torbett Executive Board Chairperson Date Secretary Bristol Tennessee / Virginia Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization  Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process Certification In accordance with 23 CFR 450.336, the Bristol Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Tennessee Department of Transportation, and the Virginia Department of Transportation hereby certify that the metropolitan transportation planning process is addressing major issues facing the Bristol, TN‐VA urbanized area, and is being carried out in accordance with the following requirements: I. 23 U.S.C. 134 and 135, 49 U.S.C. 5303 and 5304 (Highways and Transit). II. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2000 d‐1) and 49 CFR part 21. III. 49 U.S.C. 5332, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, creed, national origin, sex, or age in employment or business opportunity. IV. Section 1101 (b) of the FAST‐ACT (Pub. L 114‐357) and 49 CFR part 26 regarding the involvement of disadvantaged business enterprises in USDOT‐funded projects. V. 23 CFR part 230, regarding the implementation of an equal employment opportunity program on Federal and Federal‐aid highway construction contracts. VI. Provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq) and 49 CFR parts 27, 37, and 38. VII. In nonattainment and maintenance areas, sections 174 and 176 (c) and (d) of the Clean Air Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 7504, 7506 (c) and (d), and 40 CFR part 93. VIII. The Older Americans Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 6101), prohibiting discrimination on the basis of age in programs or activities receiving Federal financial assistance. IX. Section 324 of Title 23 U.S.C. regarding the prohibition of discrimination based on gender. X. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794) and 49 CFR part 27 regarding discrimination against individuals with disabilities. ______________________ _______ Date: ________________________ Ambre Torbett, Executive Board Chairperson Bristol Metropolitan Planning Organization __________________________________________ Date: _________________________ D.A. “Donny” Necessary, Jr. VDOT Bristol District Administrator