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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTransportation Board - Minutes - 03/25/1998CITY OF FORT COLLINS TRANSPORTATION BOARD Meeting Minutes March 25, 1998 The meeting of the Transportation Board was called to order at 6:35 p.m. This meeting of the Board was held at the Streets Facility and a tour of the facility was given to Board members. Board members present included: Sarah Frazier, Steve Hannah, Tim Johnson, Ray Moe, Chris Ricord, Mark Egeland, Alan Beatty, Dan Gould, and Heather Trentham. Staff members present included: Mike Herzig, Randy Hensley, Ron Phillips, Larry Schneider, Susanne Edminster, and Tom Frazier. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Tom explained why minutes from the previous meeting were not available. Cnr1e Chanaes: A presentation was made by Mike Herzig regarding code revisions to the Land Use Code. Mike stated that in April, changes would be going back to Council on changes that are still being refined. Changes by the Transportation Department for the Land Use Code include: 1. i andscaoina Section - 2:1 slope without protection. It was stated that it was preferred to use the Soil Reports (3:1) to see if there should be stabilization on the slope. Parks department did not object to this change. 2. C ert4ficate of Occuoancv - if a person applies for a certificate of occupancy and puts up money that improvements would be constructed, language was added -"and the health, safety and welfare of the public is not at risk" to allow the Director to consider all conditions prior to issuing a certificate of occupancy. Previously, the City would have been obligated to issue a certificate even if there were a problem for the public. 3. Deleting the word "connector" from the language because a "connector street" is a "local street" and that is already mentioned. "Connector" is one category of "local street" so that need not be mentioned separately. 4. Same as #3 above. TRANSPORTATION BOARD REGULAR MEETING MINUTES MARCH 25, 1998 PAGE 2 5. The word "connector' was once again deleted for the same reasons as #3 above. Deletion of the term "at least" clarifies the intent to require 660 foot spacing between street intersections on arterial streets. Planning and other departments stated a concern regarding this issue if someone came in with less than 660. It was stated that the Alternative Compliance section where they can present a plan and if a traffic analysis indicates that it works, then they can come up with an alternative dimension. 6. The phrase "at least" was changed to "at most" to deal and clarify the language with connections to adjacent developments. 7. Transportation APF (Adequate Public Facilities) - changed to state 50 "peak hour" trips versus "50 trips a day". 8. Adding a definition for improvements in the Code. This clarifies the definition currently in the Code to say anything that is man-made, immovable, which becomes a part of, is placed upon, or is affixed to, real estate. This gives more foundation to stand on in interpreting the other sections of the Code. This statement came from a standard handbook from Harvard University on development terms. The P & Z Work Session is going to go over these changes and more (planning changes) on Friday. Scheduled to go to Council for first reading on May 5th and a request for an endorsement from the Transportation Board to recommend adoption of these changes. A motion to aoorove these changes was made, seconded,and passed, A brief question and answer period ensued on change #6, clarifying the change and going into a little more detail on the change. Mike went into a little detail clarifying the 3 different types of streets; arterial, collector, and local. +z ••i, • - inurlurmi- A brief presentation was given by Mike regarding the LOS (Level of Service) proposed revision. It was originally thought this would need to be a Code change but instead need only be changed Administratively. This revision involves changing the definitions of "constrained corridors" and "backlogged facilities." He also clarified "funded" and "unfunded" improvements. There was some general discussion and comments on these revisions from various Board members. No action was required for this item, it was presented for discussion only. TRANSPORTATION BOARD REGULAR MEETING MINUTES MARCH 25, 1998 PAGE 3 A presentation was given by Susanne Edminster on the new Downtown Parking Structure and the existing Downtown Parking Garage. Susanne stated the RFP (request for proposal) for the Parking Structure is out and is due back to the City on April 22nd. The staff team is currently expected to do interviews on May 8th so that the Design Build Team will be in place sometime in May. The three entities involved, the City, the County, and the DDA (Downtown Development Authority) will vote to see if they approve the design. Susanne showed a "preliminary" design to the Board. Susanne also stated that a walkway was requested in the RFP between the facility and the Opera Galleria (walkway would be approximately 15 feet above the alley). Susanne also stated that per Stormwater, the "main" level of the facility will need to be higher than the current surface, since it is in a flood plain. Susanne stated the RFP also includes a request for 25 bike lockers. Susanne discussed some of the financing and the restrictions. The facility will not originally be owned by the City, the County, nor the DDA. It needs to be held by a trust agency (non-profit). After 20 years, the ownership reverts to the City. The City will, however, operate and maintain the facility. The agreement states that all three entities (City, County, DDA) will share equally in the number of spaces. Susanne stated that a Transportation Impact Analysis is currently underway. This will not only look at traffic movement but pedestrian and bicycle movement as well. Susanne stated we may very well see our first diagonal crosswalk. Alan questioned whether it was wise for the City to offer all of these parking spaces when we are trying to get people to use alternate modes of transportation. He questioned that if we offer more parking, won't it just give rise to more people driving their own vehicles into the downtown area? Susanne stated that it was somewhat of a compromise -- we need parking for those who drive and wish to shop in the downtown area; if there is no parking, people will go elsewhere to shop -- as well as to "push" the use of alternative modes of transportation. Maintaining a balance between these two issues is very delicate. Susanne discussed some of the options that would be available with the existing parking structure, i.e., special event usage, etc. IV. Transportation Funding Issues: Randy Hensley gave a presentation/discussion session regarding Transportation (Maintenance) Funding issues. He also had a slide presentation for the Board members. He discussed the slides as he was going through them and briefly explained the 3 areas of funding: Capital, Operations, and Maintenance. TRANSPORTATION BOARD REGULAR MEETING MINUTES MARCH 25, 1998 PAGE 4 Some of the major maintenance categories include: Pavement Management System (one of the biggest areas of maintenance), Signal Maintenance, Signal Controllers, Health and Safety, Alleys, Sidewalks, and Support facilities and equipment. Out of the $9.3 million which is funded in maintenance, pavement management is a big chunk. He stated that some projects are shown in both areas, funded and unfunded. Pavement management is one example of an area in both categories. For maintenance, there is a $12.6 million in need with $9.3 million funded, with a $3.3 million maintenance gap. Funding sources for the $9.3 million funded maintenance amount is Sales Tax, HUTF (primarily motor fuel taxes and vehicle registration fees), General Fund, Road and Bridge (property tax levy administered by the County), Auto Specific Ownership, etc. Randy stated that out of the $3.3 million gap, approximately 38% ($1.275 million) of that is for Pavement Management. The next biggest chunk (25%) is for signal maintenance, signing, striping. Streets needs amount to approximately 15%. There are also small pieces for pedestrian, parking, and miscellaneous projects. He also stated that even though some projects may be shown as "one time", it does not mean that the money will not be needed the following year, as "one time" projects come up every year and are determined by department heads through the budgeting process. Potential revenue sources include: a new tax, a new fee, reallocation of existing resources, new state funding (may not be a long-term, dependable source), or something else. Advantages with taxes is that they are flexible but there are no restrictions on how they can be used. Fees, on the other hand, come with a set of restrictions, but they do not have to be voted upon and can be approved by Council. Randy stated that an analysis is currently being done to see how much General Fund has gone to Transportation over the last few years. Randy said he would have those numbers ready by the next meeting. Randy stated that an analyst in Boulder stated that they receive no General Fund money for the Transportation services. They do have a dedicated 6/10 of a cent sales tax though which funds 3/4 of their Transportation needs. It may is conceivable, over the long-term, that Transportation General Fund monies could be reduced since there is competition for General Fund dollars from other City services. In summary, Randy stated that obviously the needs exceed available resources. He stated that we definitely need to account for growth in the system. It was stated that it costs approximately $14,000/year/mile for maintenance and we have about 385 miles of roads in Fort Collins. Randy stated that the value of the street system, a couple of years ago, was $150 million, $5 million in signals, and $1 million in signs, etc, for a total of about $156 million. A fairly good estimate at this point, for the asset value of the system, would be $150 to 160 million. Discussion was had on the pros and cons of various financing options (ownership tax, sales tax, etc.) TRANSPORTATION BOARD REGULAR MEETING MINUTES MARCH 25, 1998 PAGE 5 Tom Frazier gave a report on the ASCSU (Associated Students of Colorado State University) Contract negotiations. Tom stated that we are looking to generate an increase of $2.75/student/semester to add evening service, Sunday and Saturday night (open to the public, but those routes that service CSU). Tom briefly went through the approval process that would be needed. If it passes, Tom stated they want to sit down and do a strategic plan with the student body and administration in developing the course of action for future contracts. Tom stated that "Night Ride" is partially funded through marketing by the City, ASCSU, and private taverns. It is currently running but there is no committed funding source to it. He stated that if students approve the $2.75, "Night Ride" would go away and this new service would take its place. Students DO NOT currently pay anything into "Night Ride." :�•;� a '�' Mark Egland: Report on HP and the parking situation. Dan Gould: Stated that after the last snow storm, he felt the bike lanes were plowed nicely. Mason Street Corridor: a group of senior students have been working with Susanne and Mark Sears on the project. Kim Wilson, Landscape architect from CSU, is really interested in helping out on this and would make a good team member on the Transportation Planning side. Tim Johnson: Reminder to put in names for those that want to re -apply for the Board. Those that will be are: Tim Johnson, Mark Egland, Heather Trentham. VII. STAFF REPORTS: T.i :. , • 3PkiA It is going real well. Final design is proceeding. It's going to bid and they hope to get responses by no later than June, 1998. There will probably be more traffic on Prospect, County Road 32, and in talking with CDOT they are planning on putting a signal at the Windsor exit in order to deal with the increased traffic they expect on County Road 32. TRANSPORTATION BOARD REGULAR MEETING MINUTES MARCH 25, 1998 PAGE 6 We've put in a report on the Fossil Creek Reservoir plan. If the Board has any questions, Tom will be happy to answer. A lot of issues have been resolved. The County Commissioners are scheduled to review it. Phase I is done and Phase II is out on the street and they hope to have someone collect it by early summer and begin Phase II (more investigation into the alternatives proposed; rail, expansion of 1-25, HOV lanes, etc.) The route has been changed and it's going real well. Great responses are being received from different groups. The time has been extended a little bit and have received lots of positive response. Some responses received say that the shuttle needs to run 12-14 hours per day instead of just the 6 hours per day. Fort Collins High School and Rocky Mountain High School have the highest "public" ridership. • • G-• •1. ..•. •� ,� It probably won't be possible to have the plan adopted by the North Front Range Council in April, but it probably will not happen until May or June. There are some issues that need to be worked out. Front Range Council needs to look at funding and which projects to fund. Richard's Lake Development - Metro District (similar to special improvement districts) Finance Committee - deficit The meeting was adjourned at 9:12 p.m.