Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutTransportation Board - Minutes - 12/17/1997r CITY OF FORT COLLINS TRANSPORTATION BOARD Meeting Minutes December 17, 1997 The meeting of the Transportation Board was called to order at 5:59 p.m. Board members present included: Tim Johnson, Steve Hanna, Dan Gould, Alan Beatty, Paul Perlmutter, Chris Ricord, Donn Hopkins and Sara Frazier. Staff members present included: Randy Hensley, Kelli Ann Cordova, Matt Baker, Kathleen Reavis, Gary Diede, Tom Frazier, Ron Phillips, and Cindy Scott. Approval of Minutes Minutes of the last meeting were not yet available for approval. Council Liaison Reports A report was given by Sally Craig, P & Z Board, stating that as part of the 1998 Work Plan they will interface with other boards. John Fooks of the Air Quality Board, stated how a large portion of the Air Quality issues are related to Transportation issues. Example: how more than 90% of the carbon monoxide comes from the vehicles on city streets. It was suggested that perhaps those projects that are identical to both the Air Quality Board and the Transportation Board could be worked on at the same time. And could help ease the confusion to City Council -- instead of getting numerous written recommendations on a project from several boards, they would instead receive only one recommendation from all boards, jointly, which may be involved in the particular project. Example of this confusion given was the growth rate which recently was received by Council from several boards with differing numbers. The boards should first meet jointly to reach a consensus on issues and then forward on those recommendations to Council. Some "like" issues for the Air Quality Board and Transportation Board are the Transportation Maintenance Fee, Street Oversizing, Alternate Transportation (being studied by the MPO), Mason Street Corridor, Traffic Light Systems, Intelligent Roadways, etc. The real goal is to form "joint committees." TRANSPORTATION BOARD REGULAR MEETING MINUTES DECEMBER 17, 1997 PAGE 2 Lucinda Smith, Natural Resources, thanked the Transportation Board for working on the carbon monoxide project. She stated how benchmarking has been used extensively in private industry over the past several years and how it is beginning to be used more in the public sector. She stated that the process they are currently using involves: (1) Developing a citizen's Air Quality survey; (2) Examine how other communities are accomplishing this issue; and (3) To recommend process improvements that are applicable to Fort Collins. She then stated some of the results of the citizen's Air Quality survey. A couple of results of interest included general improvements to the traffic system and addressing large truck traffic that passes through the northern corridor of Fort Collins. The three main issues which arose from this survey are related to Transportation issues also. The project which was selected to benchmark is Traffic Signalization and/or Control Systems. There was some discussion concerning the funding of the benchmark project and what funds were currently earmarked for this, priority ranking of this project, how other communities are handling this problem, etc. It was discussed how "timely communication" on joint projects is very important and how quickly a year can go by if boards are sending items back and forth for consideration and discussion. "Timely" means boards meeting together on the same night for discussions, or subcommittees being formed. Discussion was held on Street Oversizing and NEXUS and the steps that would be taken to explain it to the board, examples, etc. and possibly give the board the opportunity to redo their recommendation to City Council. A couple of important key concepts include NEXUS being a connection or link. What "we" usually refer to when talking about NEXUS is how it relates to the development process, and when we talk about the link we mean the impacts of the development and the exactions we impose on that development. The concepts we currently have on NEXUS are a matter of interpretation. Kathleen Reavis and Matt Baker discussed a recent development project that had come through the City. The project looked at this evening was the Jefferson Commons project on west Elizabeth. They discussed what was required when this project came in under the LDGS, what would be required if it came in today, and what can be required as related to NEXUS. Discussion was had on some problems that arose on this project and how they possibly could have been resolved under the current system, what could and could not have been required under NEXUS, etc. TRANSPORTATION BOARD REGULAR MEETING MINUTES PAGE 3 DECEMBER 17 1997 There was some discussion on the maps and how the calculations for new developments and redevelopments are arrived at and about adding up the costs of Street Oversizing and how they are attributed to development. There was also discussion about how the costs for capital improvements are calculated and the levels of service are determined. Gary briefly explained "levels of service" and increases to levels of service. There was brief discussion on "margin of error" in calculations regarding Transit service. Some discussion was held regarding the impact fees and the "loopholes" that were in the planning cycle years ago and whether or not they were still there. It was stated that back in the late 70's traffic studies were not required. It is believed that all the "loopholes" are now covered and that studies have to be done today. There was brief discussion on County Road 32 and its impact. Discussion was held on the County and how they are trying to come up with "County Wide" impact fees or "Area Fees" (example: between Loveland and Fort Collins) and that they'll have a different fee from what the City has. The County does not want to have three or four fees (i.e., inside the Urban Growth Area, Fort Collins, Loveland) because that would be a nightmare, but instead they are trying to balance all things out and moving toward trying to apply a fee on the impacts. There was discussion in consideration of the old letter from Paul Valentine to City Council recommending adoption of the staff Street Oversizing proposal. There was some discussion regarding the methodology used in calculating road impact fees, how development was to be congratulated for improving their standards, determining development impacts in trip generation, and how developers are now paying more for their portion, etc. It was stated that perhaps it should be emphasized that what is being looked at for Street Oversizing is modification of the program. We're trying to make sure the fee is appropriate for the cost. It was moved by Alan to send the recommendation to Council, seconded by Paul Perlmutter and carried unanimously. Tim and other board members will redo the language in the recommendation and come up with a final version. TRANSPORTATION BOARD REGULAR MEETING MINUTES DECEMBER 17, 1997 PAGE 4 II. Board Reports Sara Frazier passed out the Clean Cities Stakeholder letter, asking for recommendations that could be made to Council to pay for $250/year board membership. Sara moved to ask Council to pay for membership and Alan seconded. Motion carried unanimously. It was determined that staff needs to draft a letter to Council from the Transportation Board about the Clean Cities motion. Sara has attended most of the meetings and feels that this is a very important board. Paul asked if Streets could explain the impacts of the new street standards on snow plowing efforts (positive or negative). Both issues will be addressed by a Streets representative at the next board meeting. Chris suggested that someone from the Streets Division should be on the next agenda to discuss snow and gravel in the bike paths on east Drake and Timberline. Alan stated he'd like an update on Transfort and Dial -A -Ride on problems he's hearing from bus drivers. Dan would like to stay current on Transportation Alternatives Feasibility Study (TAFS) meeting times and dates, progress reports, etc. He would also like a short overview on the status of the transportation funding issues and would like the elements of the "vision" reviewed periodically. Tim wanted to thank the visitors at tonight's board meeting and asked board members to reciprocate with Air Quality and Planning & Zoning visitation. Board liaison volunteer assignments are: Steve Benchmark Committee Dan P & Z Alan P & Z Paul TAFS Chris P & Z Dan Mass Transit Sara Air Quality TRANSPORTATION BOARD REGULAR MEETING MINUTES PAGE 5 DECEMBER 17 1997 N x enda: It was suggested that the agenda for the next finance subcommittee include a Maintenance discussion. It was asked when will there be a replacement for Paul Valentine? It was suggested that a letter to Paul thanking him for his services be drafted and sent to him. Meeting was adjourned at 8:55 p.m.