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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 09/03/2013 - SECOND READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 112, 2013, APPROPRDATE: September 3, 2013 STAFF: Nancy Nichols Paul Sizemore AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL 9 SUBJECT Second Reading of Ordinance No. 112, 2013, Appropriating Unanticipated Grant Revenue into the Transportation Services Fund for the Safe Routes to School Program and Transferring Appropriations in the Keep Fort Collins Great Fund from the Operating Budget to the Grant Program. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The purpose of this Ordinance is to request appropriation of unbudgeted funds received through a grant for the Safe Routes to School Program. This Ordinance, unanimously adopted on First Reading on August 20, 2013, appropriates a federal grant in the amount of $22,700, through the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) for the 2013–14 Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program. This funding will allow the City’s Safe Routes to School Program (administered and staffed by FC Moves) to enhance its 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 20, 2013 (w/o attachments) COPY COPY COPY ATTACHMENT 1 DATE: August 20, 2013 STAFF: Nancy Nichols Paul Sizemore AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL 17 SUBJECT First Reading of Ordinance No. 112, 2013, Appropriating Unanticipated Grant Revenue into the Transportation Services Fund for the Safe Routes to School Program and Transferring Appropriations in the Keep Fort Collins Great Fund from the Operating Budget to the Grant Program. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The purpose of this ordinance is to request appropriation of unbudgeted funds received through a grant for the Safe Routes to School Program. The City of Fort Collins FC Moves Dept. has received a $22,700 federal grant through the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) for the 2013–14 Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program. This funding will allow the City’s Safe Routes to School Program (administered and staffed by FC Moves) to enhance its pedestrian and bicycle safety education programs. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading. BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION This is the latest of several CDOT grants received by the City’s Safe Routes to School program since 2007, totaling $390,000. The City of Fort Collins FC Moves staff develops and administers the local SRTS program. The success of the program is based on collaborations with local partners including Poudre School District (PSD), Thompson School District, Bicycle and Pedestrian Education Coalition, Healthier Communities Coalition, Safe Kids Larimer County, Boys & Girls Clubs of Larimer County, Volunteers of America, Bike Fort Collins, various City departments (Traffic Operations, Police, Engineering, Streets), individual schools and parents. Both the 2008 Bicycle Plan and the 2011 Bicycle Safety Education Plan (BSEP) call for the City and community partners to provide bicycle education for children. BSEP specifically recommends that at least 11,000 K–12 students are engaged in safety education annually and that each school has at least one trained bicycle-safety educator. A major goal of the overall SRTS program is to double the number of children who safely bike and walk to school — from an average of 20% to 25% of local schoolchildren currently to 50% in 2015 and beyond. Per the grant scope of work, the Fort Collins SRTS program will work with local schools during the 2013–14 school year. Specific objectives of the grant include: • Walking School Buses and Bike Trains – Establish new walking school buses and/or bike trains at a minimum of eight schools, and support existing walking school buses at PSD schools. • Train the Trainers – Train parents and community volunteers on how to organize and lead walking school buses and bike trains at local schools. • Family Bike Rodeos – Continue hosting Family Bike Rodeos to teach bike safety to schoolchildren and their parents. • Safe Routes to School Resource Notebooks and Technical Assistance for Schools – Create and distribute SRTS Resource Notebooks to local schools, providing all schools with a comprehensive how-to COPY COPY COPY August 20, 2013 -2- ITEM 17 guide for school-based education and encouragement programs. • Safe Routes to School Bike Fleet – Expand bike fleet to a total of 63 bikes through addition of 10 “balance bikes” used to teach children how to ride. This project directly supports City Plan and the City’s Transportation Master Plan: City Plan: Policy SW 2.3 - Support Active Transportation Support means of physically active transportation (e.g., bicycling, walking, wheelchairs, etc.) by continuing bike and pedestrian safety education and encouragement programs, providing law enforcement, and maintaining bike lanes, sidewalks, trails, lighting, and facilities for easy and safe use, as outlined in the Pedestrian Plan and Bicycle Plan. Transportation Master Plan: Policy T 8.1 – Support Active Transportation Support physically active transportation (e.g., bicycling, walking, wheelchairs, etc.) by continuing bike and pedestrian safety education and encouragement programs, providing law enforcement, and maintaining bike lanes, sidewalks, trails, lighting, and facilities for easy and safe use. FINANCIAL / ECONOMIC IMPACTS The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is providing $22,700 of the total grant value ($28,375), with a 20 percent required local match ($5,675). The funds will be allocated as outlined in the CDOT-approved scope of work (Attachment 1). The City can begin utilizing the funds immediately upon City Council’s approval of this appropriation. Many governmental and nonprofit research organizations are beginning to quantify the economic benefits of active transportation. Economic savings are a clear result when people shift away from motor vehicle use, particularly for short trips, and opt instead to walk or bike. These savings are realized by both individual families as well as the larger community. Choosing to walk or bike translates to personal savings for families through fewer car trips and reduced costs for vehicle maintenance and fuel. For the larger community, reduced automobile emissions combined with a more physically active populace translates to lower health-care costs by reducing the incidence of disease associated with physical inactivity and air pollution. Shifts to active transportation modes also impact the community’s economy through less wear and tear on roadways (reducing road maintenance expenditures) and higher home values in areas with less traffic congestion and air pollution. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS Public-health and environmental agencies are recognizing the connection between active transportation choices and improved health of both people and the environment. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Although motor vehicle emissions have decreased significantly over the past three decades, air pollution from motor vehicles continues to contribute to the degradation of our environment and adverse respiratory and cardiovascular health effects.” The following is an excerpt from a CDC webpage on transportation-related health issues: Active transportation is any self-propelled, human-powered mode of transportation, such as walking or bicycling. Physical inactivity is a major contributor to the steady rise in rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and other chronic health conditions in the United States. Many Americans view walking and bicycling within their communities as unsafe due to heavy traffic and a scarcity of sidewalks, crosswalks, and bicycle facilities. Improving these elements could encourage active transportation such as children biking to school or employees walking to work. Safe and convenient opportunities for physically active travel also expand access to transportation networks for people without cars, while also spurring investment in infrastructure to increase the comfort of the on-road experience to improve the appeal of active modes to all people. COPY COPY COPY August 20, 2013 -3- ITEM 17 The CDC specifically mentions Safe Routes to School as a means of ameliorating the negative impacts of motor vehicle emissions and chronic diseases stemming from physical inactivity among children. BOARD / COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION The Transportation Board and its Bicycle Advisory Committee receive periodic updates from the SRTS program. Both groups have shown strong support for the program’s goals as well as for grant funding to support the program. PUBLIC OUTREACH The 2013–14 SRTS grant application was developed by the City’s FC Moves staff after consultation with key partners, including PSD teachers and staff, the Bicycle and Pedestrian Education Coalition, the Healthier Communities Coalition, Volunteers of America and the Poudre School District superintendent. Public outreach will continue throughout the school year. Student, teacher, principal, PTA/PTO, and parent feedback will be used to refine current and future programs to be responsive to community needs. ATTACHMENTS 1. 2013–14 SRTS Non-infrastructure Grant Application ORDINANCE NO. 112, 2013 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS APPROPRIATING UNANTICIPATED GRANT REVENUE INTO THE TRANSPORTATION SERVICES FUND FOR THE SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL PROGRAM AND TRANSFERRING APPROPRIATIONS IN THE KEEP FORT COLLINS GREAT FUND FROM THE OPERATING BUDGET TO THE GRANT PROJECT 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 FC Moves Division has received a Safe Routes to School Program (the “Program”) grant in the amount of $22,700 from CDOT for State fiscal year 2013 - 2014; and WHEREAS, the grant funds will be used to continue and expand the “Train the Trainer” program, establish new Walking School Buses and Bike Trains, develop Safe Routes to School Resource Notebooks and Technical Assistance for Schools, expand the Family Bike Rodeo program, and maintain and transport the Safe Routes to School bike fleet; and WHEREAS, there is a 20 percent required local match in the amount of $5,675 that has been appropriated in the Keep Fort Collins Great Fund and these appropriations will be moved to a Safe Routes to School Grant project under the Transportation Services Fund; 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 $22,700 will not cause the total amount appropriated in the Transportation Services Fund - FY 2013-2014 Safe Routes to School program to exceed the current estimate of actual and anticipated revenues to be received during the fiscal year; and WHEREAS, Article V, Section 10, of the City Charter authorizes the City Council to transfer by ordinance any unexpended and unencumbered appropriated amount or portion thereof from one fund or project to another fund or project, provided that the purpose for which the transferred funds are to be expended remains unchanged. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: Section 1. That there is hereby appropriated for expenditure from unanticipated grant revenue in the Transportation Services Fund the sum of TWENTY-TWO THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED DOLLARS ($22,700) for the Safe Routes to School program. Section 2. That the unexpended appropriated amount of FIVE THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED SEVENTY-FIVE DOLLARS ($5,675) is authorized for transfer from the Keep Fort Collins Great Fund operating budget to the grant project for the Safe Routes to School program. Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 20th day of August, A.D. 2013, and to be presented for final passage on the 3rd day of September, A.D. 2013. _________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _____________________________ City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading on the 3rd day of September, A.D. 2013. _________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _____________________________ City Clerk