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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 09/06/2011 - SECOND READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 103, 2011, APPROPRDATE: September 6, 2011 STAFF: Matt Wempe AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL 12 SUBJECT Second Reading of Ordinance No. 103, 2011, Appropriating Unanticipated Grant Revenue in the Transportation Services Fund for the FY 2011-2012 Safe Routes to School Program. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Ordinance, unanimously adopted on First Reading on August 16, 2011, appropriates a $99,800 federal grant received through the Colorado Department of Transportation for the FY 2011-12 Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program. This funding will allow the City of Fort Collins’ Safe Routes to School Program (administered and staffed by the Transportation Planning Division) to provide pedestrian and bicycle safety education programs. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on Second Reading. ATTACHMENTS 1. Copy of First Reading Agenda Item Summary - August 16, 2011 (w/o attachments) COPY COPY COPY COPY ATTACHMENT 1 DATE: August 16, 2011 STAFF: Matt Wempe AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL 16 SUBJECT First Reading of Ordinance No. 103, 2011, Appropriating Unanticipated Grant Revenue in the Transportation Services Fund for the FY 2011-2012 Safe Routes to School Program. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The City of Fort Collins Transportation Planning Division has received a $99,800 federal grant through the Colorado Department of Transportation for the FY 2011-12 Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program. This funding will allow the City of Fort Collins’ Safe Routes to School Program (administered and staffed by the Transportation Planning Division) to provide pedestrian and bicycle safety education programs. BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION The City of Fort Collins Transportation Planning staff develops and administers the local SRTS program. The success of the program is based on collaborations with local partners including PSD, BPEC and its local members, Bicycle Colorado, various City departments (Traffic Operations, Police, Engineering), individual schools and parents, and FC Bikes. Both the 2008 Bike Plan and 2011 Bicycle Safety Education Plan (BSEP) call for the City and community partners to provide bicycle education for children. The BSEP specifically recommends that at least 11,000 K-12 students are engaged in safety education annually, and that at least one “train the trainer” graduate is in each school in Fort Collins. Per the grant scope of work, the Fort Collins SRTS program will work with fourteen local schools during the 2011-12 school year. City staff and community partners are working to confirm schools, based on selection criteria such as location, safety issues, student demographics, and school wellness initiatives. SRTS activities include in-class education, “train the trainers” program and training material development, and walking and bicycling safety and encouragement events. The Fort Collins SRTS program involves a variety of partners, including but not limited to, Poudre School District (PSD), Bike Co-op, the Bicycle and Pedestrian Education Coalition (BPEC) and Bicycle Colorado. Additionally, the funds will cover the costs of free bicycle helmets for low-income students, federally- mandated data collection on walking and bicycling at local schools, and staff costs for contract administration. The funding will allow the Fort Collins SRTS program to build on past walking and cycling successes and provide these services to fourteen additional schools and approximately 10,000 students. The grant funding will be available starting August 2011 and will fund the following activities: • Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Education Classes ($73,300): Bicycle Colorado and the Bicycle and Pedestrian Education Coalition (including the Bike Co-op) will conduct walking and bicycling safety education classes at fourteen PSD elementary and middle schools. Children will participate in a combination of classroom learning (pedestrian and vehicle awareness, proper helmet fit, street sign identification, rules of the road/trail) and practical "bike rodeo" and pedestrian activities (being a visible pedestrian, straight line riding, starting/stopping, proper signaling and turning) at each school. Safe Kids Larimer County will incorporate pedestrian and bicycle education into their existing programs aimed at third grade students. • “Train the Trainers” Program and Education Training Materials ($14,500): The previous school year SRTS grant included funding to train 50 individuals (teachers, parents, volunteers) how to teach safe bicycling and walking throughout local schools. The Bike Co-op and City will continue to partner on this aspect of the SRTS program to build a group of local instructors in schools. In addition to the training, mentoring opportunities are provided to the trainees as part of the bicycle and pedestrian education classes hosted by the Bike Co-op. BPEC will also work to create a “train the trainers” information clearinghouse to ensure graduates of the program have the materials they need to teach pedestrian and bicycle safety on a regular basis. The goal is to allow schools to continue to provide safe bicycling and walking classes beyond the current grant funding cycle to create a sustainable program at each school. COPY COPY COPY COPY August 16, 2011 -2- ITEM 16 • Encouragement and Safety Events ($3,000): The City and BPEC will host walking and bicycling events throughout the school year including International Walk to School Day, Autumn and Spring Bike to School Days, Bike to School Week, and similar events. Educational materials promoting safety, healthy/active lifestyles, and encouragement messages will be distributed by community partners at individual schools. • Additional Grant Activities ($9,000): The grant includes $2,000 for the City to distribute free bicycle helmets for students who receive free or reduced lunch. The grant also includes $7,000 for City staff to cover the cost of administering the grant contract management responsibilities. This includes contract management and program oversight, activity coordination with PSD Administration and individual schools, organization of program volunteers, public awareness campaigns and website maintenance, management of the grant partnerships, and evaluation and reporting. The Fort Collins SRTS program will focus on reaching students, parents, school administrators, and teachers. The goal of the program is to increase the number of children safely bicycling and walking to school, enhance safety education, and increase awareness about the benefits of walking and bicycling. In order to gauge the success of the program, students and parents will be surveyed before and after the program using the National Center for Safe Routes to School student travel tally and parent survey. These surveys will be administered by City staff at the beginning of the school year and at the end of the program. These surveys allow for the collection of data on student travel behaviors as well as attitudes about walking or biking to school. Program success will also be gauged by participation levels, such as approximately 30 percent of McGraw’s total enrollment participating in the 2008 Spring Bike to School Day. FINANCIAL / ECONOMIC IMPACTS The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is providing 100 percent of the funds, with no required local match. The funds will be allocated as outlined in the CDOT-approved scope of work (Attachment 1). A purchase order from CDOT will identify a “start date” when the City can begin utilizing the grant funds. This date is expected to coincide with the start of the 2011-12 school year. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS Both the 2009 Citizen Survey and 2010 North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization Household Travel Survey noted the relative ease of traveling by walking or cycling in Fort Collins (approximately 17 percent of trips in Fort Collins are completed by walking or cycling). The top concern at the 2009 Bicycle Safety Summit at Colorado State University was a lack of education/awareness of rules among bicyclist and motorists. The Fort Collins Safe Routes to School program will address concerns about lack of walking and bicycle safety education to promote healthy lifestyles and increased walking and biking to school. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading. BOARD / COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION The Bicycle Advisory Committee reviewed the 2011-12 SRTS grant application at its November 8, 2010 meeting prior to submittal to CDOT. The BAC did not provide any comments at the meeting, but was invited to share any additional thoughts with City staff via email. No additional comments were received. COPY COPY COPY COPY August 16, 2011 -4- ITEM 16 PUBLIC OUTREACH The 2011-12 SRTS grant application was developed and written by the City’s Transportation Planning staff and the Bicycle and Pedestrian Education Coalition (BPEC). BPEC held several meetings to discuss a scope of work, partnerships, and prepare the grant application with City staff. This collaborative approach incorporates new ideas and partners. The following groups are receiving funding or donating time and services to accomplish the activities outlined in the grant: City of Fort Collins Safe Routes to School and FC Bikes programs, Healthier Communities Coalition, Poudre School District, Bicycle Colorado, Bike Co-op, Safe Kids Larimer County, Colorado Injury Control Research Center (CSU), Poudre Hospital Paramedic Reserves, and FC Bike Library. A total of $68,600 in committed local funds and/or in-kind donations from partnering organizations is included in the grant, an increase of $46,600 from last year’s grant. Public outreach will continue throughout the school year. Student, teacher, and principal feedback will be used to refine the current and future programs to be responsive to community needs. ATTACHMENTS 1. 2011-12 Safe Routes to School Scope of Work 2. Bicycle Advisory Committee Meeting minutes, November 8, 2010 ORDINANCE NO. 103, 2011 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS APPROPRIATING UNANTICIPATED GRANT REVENUE IN THE TRANSPORTATION SERVICES FUND FOR THE FY 2011-2012 SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL PROGRAM WHEREAS, the Safe Routes to School Program established by the Colorado Department of Transportation (“CDOT”) is designed to promote the safety of students traveling to and from school and to encourage more students to choose walking or bicycling to and from school; and WHEREAS, the City’s Transportation Planning Division has received a Safe Routes to School Program (the “Program”) grant in the amount of $99,800 from CDOT to fund non- infrastructure programming in fourteen local schools that will be identified by City staff and its community partners over the summer based on selection criteria such as location, safety issues, student demographics, and school wellness initiatives; and WHEREAS, the programming will include in-class education; a “Train the Trainers” program; walking and bicycling safety and encouragement events; free bicycle helmets for low- income students; federally-mandated data collection on walking and bicycling at the fourteen schools; and staff costs for program administration; and WHEREAS, there is no requirement for local matching funds associated with the Program; and WHEREAS, Article V, Section 9, of the City Charter permits the City Council to make supplemental appropriations by ordinance at any time during the fiscal year, provided that the total amount of such supplemental appropriations, in combination with all previous appropriations for that fiscal year, does not exceed the current estimate of actual and anticipated revenues to be received during the fiscal year; and WHEREAS, City staff has determined that the appropriation of grant funds totaling $99,800 will not cause the total amount appropriated in the Transportation Services Fund - FY 2011-2012 Safe Routes to School program to exceed the current estimate of actual and anticipated revenues to be received during the fiscal year. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS that there is hereby appropriated for expenditure from unanticipated grant revenue in the Transportation Services Fund the sum of NINETY-NINE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED DOLLARS ($99,800) to provide non-infrastructure programming for fourteen local schools in the Safe Routes to School Program. Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 16th day of August, A.D. 2011, and to be presented for final passage on the 6th day of September, A.D. 2011. _________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _____________________________ City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading on the 6th day of September, A.D. 2011. _________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _____________________________ City Clerk