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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 09/07/1999 - RESOLUTION 99-110 SUPPORTING THE PRESERVATION OF T AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY ITEM NUMBER: 20 DATE: September 7, 1999 FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL STAFF: Randy Hensley SUBJECT: Resolution 99-110 Supporting the Preservation of the North Front Range Transportation and Air Quality Planning Council Transportation Improvement Program. i RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends adoption of the Resolution. i i EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: This Resolution expresses Council's support for the Transportation Improvement Program(TIP)of the regional planning organization and encourages the Colorado Department of Transportation j (CDOT) not to make changes or reductions in the TIP, even though the state Transportation Commission has reduced the funding available to our region. The reason behind this is that in the past CDOT has promised a certain percentage of funding to our region but has consistently delivered 9 a smaller amount than promised. By implication,this Resolution suggests that CDOT allocate the funding cuts to other regions that have received more than their promised share in the past. I i BACKGROUND: n The City of Fort Collins is a member of the North Front Range Transportation and Air Quality Planning Council (NFRT&AQPC),alone with several other municipalities,Larimer County,Weld County, and two state agencies. The NFRT&AQPC has been set up in accordance with federal guidelines to be the entity that decides how to spend federal and state transportation dollars in our a region. The document that shows the results of those planning decisions is called the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). i There are similar regional transportation planning organizations throughout the state,including three others that,along with the NFRT&AQPC,make up what is known as Region 4 within the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT). CDOT has six regions altogether, and the state Transportation Commission decides how much federal and state transportation dollars go to each CDOT region. At the regional level,each CDOT regional director decides how much will go to each planning organization. Recently, the state Transportation Commission revised its own resource allocation formula. which resulted in less dollars for CDOT Region 4. On September 14, CDOT Region 4 will be meeting with representatives of the four planning organizations within its boundaries, including the NFRT&AQPC. to decide how, to allocate the reductions in Region 4's budget. I DATE: September7, 1999 2 ITEM NUMBER: 20 In the past, CDOT Region 4 has had similar meetings with the planning organizations within its boundaries, and agreements have been made about the percentage of funds that would go to each planning organization. However,those agreements have always been stated as"20-year goals," and in the short-term the NFRT&AQPC has not been allocated the agreed-upon percentage. When questioned, CDOT would defend its inequitable allocation by saying that it would eventually reverse the inequities and make the NFRT&AQPC whole sometime in the future. The problem with this is that the inequitable trend has continued for many years with no sign of reversal. Now that CDOT Region 4 is being forced by the Transportation Commission to allocate reduced funding levels to its constituent planning organizations,there is a very real concern that the NFRT&AQPC will be asked to give up funding when its current allocation is already less than the amount that was agreed. This Resolution encourages CDOT to make no changes in the TIP for the NFRT&AQPC unless that Council first approves the changes, thus preserving the small amount of funding that has been promised to our region in the current TIP. RESOLUTION 99-109 • OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS SUPPORTING THE PRESERVATION OF THE NORTH FRONT RANGE TRANSPORTATION AND AIR QUALITY PLANNING COUNCIL TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM WHEREAS,the City of Fort Collins is a member of the North Front Range Transportation and Air Quality Planning Council (NFRT&AQPC); and WHEREAS,the Transportation Improvement Program(TIP)for the years 1999 -2004 has been approved and adopted by the NFRT&AQPC; and contains many projects that are worthwhile and beneficial to the North Front Range region; and WHEREAS, the federal and state funding for the NFRT&AQPC TIP is allocated by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) through its Region 4 office, which also has the responsibility to allocate funding for the Upper Front Range, the Eastern, and a portion of the Greater Denver transportation planning regions; and WHEREAS, the Transportation Commission of the State of Colorado has recently revised its Resource Allocation Plan and thereby reduced the amount of funding available to CDOT Region 4 for the years 2001 - 2004 by $29 million in the 'other regional priorities" category; and • WHEREAS,the current Vision Plan of the NFRT&AQPC includes an unfunded backlog of more than $861 million through the year 2020; and WHEREAS, in the past the North Front Range region consistently has been allocated less than its agreed-upon share of funds by CDOT Region 4. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS that the Council of the City of Fort Collins strongly supports the Transportation Improvement Program of the North Front Range Transportation and Air Quality Planning Council and urges the Colorado Department of Transportation to maintain the funding levels in the program at or above their current levels without alteration or reduction, unless such alteration or reduction is recommended and approved by the NFRT&AQPC. Passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the Council of the City of Fort Collins this 7th day of September, A.D. 1999. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk