HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 09/16/2014 - SECOND READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 117, 2014, APPROPRAgenda Item 5
Item # 5 Page 1
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY September 16, 2014
City Council
STAFF
Nancy Nichols, Safe Routes to School Coordinator
Rob Mosbey, Chief Construction Inspector
Paul Sizemore, FC Moves Program Manager
SUBJECT
Second Reading of Ordinance No. 117, 2014, Appropriating Unanticipated Grant Revenue in the
Transportation Services Fund for the FY 2013-14 Safe Routes to School Program and Transferring
Appropriations to the Cultural Services and Facilities Fund for the Art in Public Places Program.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This Ordinance, unanimously adopted on First Reading on September 2, 2014, appropriates $314,903 in Safe
Routes to School grant funding to design and build a new multi-use path along Lindenmeier Road serving
Tavelli Elementary School.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on Second Reading.
ATTACHMENTS
1. First Reading Agenda Item Summary, September 2, 2014 (w/o attachments) (PDF)
2. Ordinance No. 117, 2014 (PDF)
Agenda Item 9
Item # 9 Page 1
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY September 2, 2014
City Council
STAFF
Nancy Nichols, Safe Routes to School Coordinator
Rob Mosbey, Chief Construction Inspector
Paul Sizemore, FC Moves Program Manager
SUBJECT
Items Relating to the FY 2013-14 Safe Routes to School Program
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
A. Resolution 2014-077 Authorizing the Execution of a Project Construction Grant Agreement Between
the City and the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT).
B. First Reading of Ordinance No. 117, 2014, Appropriating Unanticipated Grant Revenue in the
Transportation Services Fund for the FY 2013-14 Safe Routes to School Program and Transferring
Appropriations to the Cultural Services and Facilities Fund for the Art in Public Places Program.
The purpose of these items is to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with CDOT and appropriate
$314,903 in Safe Routes to School grant funding to design and build a new multi-use path along Lindenmeier
Road serving Tavelli Elementary School.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends adoption of this resolution and ordinance on first reading.
BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION
The City of Fort Collins Safe Routes to School program has received a $244,903 federal grant through the
Colorado Department of Transportation for the FY 2013-14 Safe Routes to School program. This project
requires a minimum 20% local match, which will be paid by Poudre School District in the amount of $70,000.
The total amount of this appropriation request, including CDOT grant funding and matching funds, is $314,903.
This is the latest of several CDOT grants received by the City’s Safe Routes to School program (SRTS) since
2007, totaling $730,725.
This new funding will allow the SRTS program (administered and staffed by the FC Moves Dept.) and
Engineering to construct a new multi-use path and signalized crosswalk serving Tavelli Elementary. The grant
also requires an educational component, which will provide events and programming to teach the Tavelli
community about the benefits of walking and biking to school as well as safety precautions. (City and CDOT
Intergovernmental Agreement; and Grant Application attached).
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, Safe Kids Larimer County, Boys & Girls Clubs of
Larimer County, University of Colorado Health, Kaiser Permanente, Coalition for Activity and Nutrition to
Defeat Obesity, Bike Fort Collins, various City departments (Traffic Operations, Police, Engineering,
Recreation, Streets), individual schools and parents.
ATTACHMENT 1
Agenda Item 9
Item # 9 Page 2
Providing a safe, encouraging environment for children to bike or walk to school requires adherence to the Five
Es of Safe Routes to School: Education, Encouragement, Engineering, Enforcement, and Evaluation. This
project focuses on “Engineering” by providing a 10-foot multi-use path and signalized crosswalk along a stretch
of Lindenmeier Road where no sidewalks and only a very narrow road shoulder currently exist. The project
was identified as high priority for both the City and PSD because of the severe traffic congestion problems in
the vicinity of the school during arrival and dismissal times. This new bike-ped facility will help to alleviate traffic
congestion associated with parents driving their children to school.
This multi-use path will run on the east side of Lindenmeier from Forest Hills Lane north to the front door of
Tavelli Elementary and will utilize the existing bike-ped path on the bridge over Larimer Weld Canal (also
known as Eaton Ditch). The project also will include a short stretch of new multi-use path on the west side of
Lindenmeier, filling the gap from an existing sidewalk on the west side to the new signalized crossing; this will
allow children from the west side to safely access the signalized crosswalk and east-side path. (See
conceptual drawings in Attachment 2, Grant Application).
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.
This CDOT grant also requires an educational component. The educational component of this grant will
include an open house at Tavelli Elementary for Tavelli staff and parents, as well residents who live in the
area, after the design is complete. The SRTS program also will conduct in-school education after the path is
built to show parents and children how best to use the path and signalized crosswalk.
FINANCIAL / ECONOMIC IMPACTS
The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is providing $244,903, with a minimum of 20% matching
funds required; the matching funds will be paid by Poudre School District in the amount of $70,000. The funds
will be allocated as outlined in the CDOT-approved scope of work (City and CDOT Intergovernmental
Agreement attached). No other City funding is required.
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.
Agenda Item 9
Item # 9 Page 3
The total project appropriation of $314,903 includes $3,149 for 1% Art in Public Places (APP). Of this amount
$2,456 will be transferred to the APP project in the Cultural Services and Facilities Fund for the artwork and
the remaining $693 will be transferred to the same fund for the maintenance of the artwork and operations of
the APP program. The total amount transferred for APP will be $3,149, or 1% of the total project cost.
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 website 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.
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
This project has been reviewed and supported by the PSD SRTS Steering Committee as well as PSD
administration, including the superintendent. Public outreach will include an open house at Tavelli Elementary
for Tavelli staff and parents, as well residents who live in the area, after the design is complete.
ATTACHMENTS
1. City and CDOT Intergovernmental Agreement (PDF)
2. Grant Application (PDF)
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ORDINANCE NO. 117, 2014
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
APPROPRIATING UNANTICIPATED GRANT REVENUE IN THE TRANSPORTATION
SERVICES FUND FOR A SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL PROJECT AND TRANSFERRING
APPROPRIATIONS TO THE CULTURAL SERVICES AND FACILITIES FUND FOR THE
ART IN PUBLIC PLACES 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 of Fort Collins Safe Routes to School Program has received a
federal grant through the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) in the amount of
$244,903 for a Safe Routes to School Project; and
WHEREAS, this grant requires a minimum 20% local match which has been paid for by
Poudre School District in the amount of $70,000; and
WHEREAS, the grant and matching funds will be used to construct a new multi-use path
and signalized crosswalk serving Tavelli Elementary School and to provide events and
programming to teach the Tavelli community about the benefits of walking and biking to school
as well as safety precautions; and
WHEREAS, the total amount of this appropriation request, including the CDOT grant and
matching funds, is $314,903; and
WHEREAS, $3,149, which represents one percent of the appropriation for the
construction project, must be transferred to the Cultural Services and Facilities fund for a
contribution to the Art in Public Places (APP) program, with $2,456 reserved for the APP artwork
project and $693 reserved for the maintenance of the artwork and operations of the APP 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 the grant funds as
described herein will not cause the total amount appropriated in the Transportation Services
Fund to exceed the current estimate of actual and anticipated revenues to be received in that fund
during any 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
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from one fund (project) to another fund (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
revenue in the Transportation Services Fund the sum of THREE HUNDRED FOURTEEN
THOUSAND NINE HUNDRED THREE DOLLARS ($314,903) for the grant project to
construct a path serving Tavelli Elementary School.
Section 2. That the unexpended appropriated amount of TWO THOUSAND FOUR
HUNDRED FIFTY-SIX DOLLARS ($2,456) in the Transportation Services Fund - Safe Routes
to School Grant Project is authorized for transfer to the Cultural Services and Facilities Fund and
appropriated therein for the Art Project.
Section 3. That the unexpended appropriated amount of SIX HUNDRED NINETY-
THREE DOLLARS ($693) in the Transportation Services Fund - Safe Routes to School Grant
Project is authorized for transfer to the Cultural Services and Facilities Fund and appropriated
therein for the Art in Public Places Program Maintenance and Operations.
Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 2nd day of
September, A.D. 2014, and to be presented for final passage on the 16th day of September, A.D.
2014.
__________________________________
Mayor
ATTEST:
_______________________________
Chief Deputy City Clerk
Passed and adopted on final reading on the 16th day of September, A.D. 2014.
__________________________________
Mayor
ATTEST:
_______________________________
City Clerk