Everett Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC)

TAC MINUTES April 17, 2014 In attendance: Members Staff Guests Victor Harris Tim Miller, Public Works Keri Moore – Snohomish Health Robert Strickland George Baxter, Everett Transit District J.T. Dray Jeffrey Marks, Public Works William Weber Ryan Sass, Public Works Kris Hausmann Bruce Bosman, Everett Police Tom Norcott Trevor Townsend, Everett Police Bruce Bosman, Everett Police 8:15 a.m. Victor Harris called the meeting to order. He welcomed Sgt. Trevor Townsend to the Committee, replacing Jeraud Irving.  M/S/P approving the March 2014 meeting minutes. Announcements & Requests to Add Agenda Items  Victor announced that Paul Roberts was unable to attend and sends his regards.  Victor also talked about the Council meeting he had attended. There was discussion about a Transportation Benefit District and the assessment of car tab fees or voter approval for increased sales tax for transportation goals.  There was discussion about the SDAT and the notion of paid parking in the downtown area in order to increase funds. Ryan explained some of the complexities of instituting such fees. A mention of increased transit fares might be possible. As a member of ORCA Everett Transit has the longest trip lengths and lowest fare in comparison to Seattle and Tacoma.  No future agenda items were requested to be added. Citizen’s Comments  None Engineering Report  Ryan talked about the SDAT briefing and the idea of the Transportation Benefit District. He went over a few options to increase money, 1) Institute a $20 fee on car tabs; or 2) up to a 0.2 percentage sales tax increase, with voter approval. The money would go toward road maintenance thereby reducing the contributions from the General Fund. The Transportation Benefit District is a tool created by the Legislature to allow local agencies to raise funds for their own projects, rather than depending on State and Federal funding alone. It has the benefit of local control and funds can be used broadly on transportation related items. If implemented, staff recommendation would be to use it to focus it on maintenance; street infrastructure. Ryan stated the $20 car tab would amount to about $1.3 million a year, while  the City’s overlay contribution from the General Fund is at $1M – $2.5M per year. The percentage tax increase option would generate about $2.5M per tenth percentage.  Ryan also spoke about the “Pay to Park” option for the SDAT. He stated that Pay to Park only benefits businesses based on demand; it was not something that can quickly be implemented. The revenue would go into the Downtown fund, parking enforcement, parking structures and streetscape improvements. It would not be a direct supplement to the general fund.  Ryan talked about the possibility of increasing the trip mitigation fees in transportation ordinance. The current rates have been in place since 1999. The mitigation fund is a way of leveraging grant funds as a match. The City of Everett has one of the lowest trip mitigation fees of western Washington agencies. In 2008-2009, the City did consider raising the fees, but then the market downturned, so the revision was shelved. Some discussion ensued on how the cost is determined through projected metrics. Administration is supporting raising the fee to $2,400 per PM peak hour trip. This will still be slightly below the average fee of western Washington cities.  William Weber asked if development was encouraged by the low fees. Ryan stated that in earlier years, the low fees may have been a significant factor. Currently, however, the mitigation fee is a small percentage of a developer’s cost package and is not a deterrent to new development.  Tom Norcott asked where mitigation dollars go. Ryan stated that they do not go into the General Fund. The mitigation fees go into a dedicated fund solely for transportation purposes. The old economic paradigm allowed the City to keep about a $2 - $3M balance in the account. The current economic situation has resulted in a declining fund balance each year with a current balance of just over $1M.  Ryan mentioned that the mitigation fee is a bit different around Boeing, as Boeing is in the SW Everett Planned Action area which had a detailed analysis to establish the $1,006 fee per new PM peak hour trip generated. The money obtained from the SW Everett Planned Action development is used city-wide, as the City does not hold money to particular districts and prefers to use it for mitigation wherever it can best be utilized.  Ryan updated the committee that the negotiations with WSDOT on the Broadway Bridge funding share is complete. Originally, the City has asked for $4.46M in additional funding from the State, based on a cost estimate of the final design. The State countered, saying it would only give half that amount. After several iterations and the Mayor writing a letter, $3.49M of the $4.46M requested was promised. The rest of the money will come from the Transportation Mitigation fund. As such, the project is still moving forward, going out to bid in the June to September timeframe. There are BNSF seasonal restrictions on over track work from October through December.  Ryan mentioned that we are currently in “grant application season” and will bring forward what we’re seeking. He explained that there has been a change in how to ask for funds. The State and Federal governments are making things more constrained. We used to be able to get money for design, ROW and Construction phases all at once. Now we are more likely to get design funding only, with the requirement to self-fund construction even if no grant funds for construction are obtained. Also, deadlines are becoming more rigid. He characterized it as a “high risk environment” in going after funds. For example, if a project does not meet the scheduled deadlines, the money is revoked and given to the next qualifying agency, and the City must pay back any funds expended in the work to that point.  Tim mentioned Richard Tarry will present the 6-year TIP next month to the committee. Police Report  Sgt. Bosman reported that the Horizon school zone grant was working well, with the prospect of Broadway and Hawthorne schools on the horizon. He stated there are some logistics about manning and equipment.  Sgt. Bosman said Everett Police Department was recognized and received an award for their efforts at speed enforcement along I-5.  Discussion ensued about vacancies in the police force. It was stated that there are about 9-10 vacancies in the force. Some positions are being held due to budget, while some are designated for people currently attending the Police Academy. Transit Report  George reported that with the assistance of Public Works, ET has been providing shuttle service for recovery workers to the Oso slide area. Employees have been volunteering to do it on their days off (though the City is paying for their hours). He stated they are primarily moving people and search dogs.  George reported that labor arbitration has been completed, and that employees had been working without a contract since 2011. He mentioned that the arbitration had been accomplished through binding arbitration, and the final decisions from the arbiter will come in July.  George stated he had staff down in Seattle for a grant request to assist in purchasing 6 new articulated buses.  Tom had asked how many drivers were in the union. George responded that it was a little over a hundred between fixed route and paratransit. Tom asked if they were being asked to contribute to health care benefits. George stated that 2011 is when the process got started, and at that time health care wasn’t originally part of the issue; however, at the end of this year, negotiations will begin for the years of 2015, 16, 17, and health care will likely come up as part of it. He stated that Transit unions cannot go on strike, but must use binding arbitration instead.  J.T. mentioned he had heard that there might be some increase in levels of service to Everett Transit in August. George stated that no such service increase was being considered because we do not know if the budget would allow it. Plus there are public outreach timing rules that could not be fulfilled at this stage if such changes were to be occurring. Agenda Item: Item 1: Scheduled Comments – J.T. Dray  J.T. stated that he has been following Transit a long while and would like to express some of what he has seen and suggest possibilities on how to better address concerns when it comes specifically to Everett Transit. He felt that the TAC may not be the right forum for the discussions, and that perhaps a new board could be created that would be designed specifically for overseeing Everett Transit. He stated that Everett Transit is only one of two WA agencies that have municipal transit service (Yakima being the other). He stated that transparency with the public was not what it could be. J.T. felt that Everett Transit did not have an operational oversight that compares to Community Transit to address issues, and that there needed to be something in place to apply more scrutiny to Everett Transit’s processes.  Some discussion ensued about what type of board J.T. was proposing and what it would do. George felt that J.T. was suggesting a type of Transit Advisory Board, which other transit agencies have. There was also some discussion about the type of agreement the City of Everett has with SWIFT. Bob Strickland requested J.T. give reasons/benefits justifying his suggestion of a new ET oversight board. J.T. indicated he will do so in writing this week. More discussion ensued stating the City Council acts as the Board of Directors of ET, but only has involvement with setting fares. The Mayor and his staff oversee the operations of ET. Everett does not have any representation on the CT Board since we are not part of the PTBA. Everett does have a 10 year agreement with CT to provide the Swift bus service. The original amount paid to CT was $1M, but since that is tied to tax revenues, our payment has dropped proportionally. CT has discontinued Sunday Swift service. Item 2: Eisenhower Middle School Flashers – Tim Miller  Tim gave a PowerPoint presentation showing the flashers that have been put on school speed limit signs on 100th Street SE near \ Eisenhower Middle School. These flashers are solar powered, to flash a top and bottom light on the speed limit signs. A timer triggers the lights during school days, at arrival and departure times for students. The materials were purchased via a grant and were installed by City staff. Item 3: TAC Discussion of Everett Comprehensive Plan Transportation Element, Part III Transportation Goals, Objectives and Policies (pages 32-44) – Victor Harris  Ryan gave some background on how the current plan was designed, and re-iterated how important the TAC’s input was on this particular section. George stated ET is also reviewing this and will give input. Victor asked if ET favors continuing to reference possible Trolley service in the plan. George stated it would be very expensive, and for that reason ET will be recommending it be taken out of the plan. Meeting adjourned at 9:47 am The Next Scheduled Meeting is Thursday May 15, 2014.