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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-07-2017 Item 05 SLOCOG MOU with Transit Operators in SLO Urbanized Area (UZA) Meeting Date: 3/7/2017 FROM: Daryl Grigsby, Public Works Director Prepared By: Gamaliel Anguiano, Transit Manager SUBJECT: SLOCOG MOU WITH TRANSIT OPERATORS IN SLO URBANIZED AREA (UZA) RECOMMENDATION Adopt a Resolution to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the San Luis Obispo Regional Transit Authority and the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG) regarding the process of planning and programming of Federal Transit Administration Funding. DISCUSSION Background The results of the 1990 Federal Decennial Census established San Luis Obispo and its adjoining developments (i.e. Cal Poly) as an "Urbanized Area" (see SLO UZA Map, Attachment B). This designation qualifies the City of San Luis Obispo to receive what is known as “Small Urban 5307” funding for its SLO transit operations from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). This is distinct from the “Rural 5311” funding, which uses a different formula for allocating amounts. Receipt of these funds compels the City to abide by several Federal requirements, one including the publishing, for public review, the intended use of FTA 5307 funds (the primary federal transit funds used by the City) in an approved “Program of Projects” (POP) notice. The approved POP process requires the approval of a coordinating agency and the involvement of other transit operators that are also eligible for FTA funding — namely the San Luis Obispo Regional Transit Authority. As the responsible coordinating agency, the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG) is required by federal law to develop agreements with transit operators within urbanized areas that establish the planning and budgeting process for the approved use of the area’s federal transit funds. These agreements, or Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), are required to be updated with each new congressional authorization of transit funding. The existing MOU for processing of FTA funding for the SLO UZA was adopted by Council in April 2003 and had been successful in processing annual federal funding since its adoption. . On December 4, 2015, President Obama signed the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act (Pub. L. No. 114-94) into law—the first federal law in over a decade to provide long-term funding certainty for surface transportation infrastructure planning and investment. As part of this process, FTA is requiring recipients to update existing agreements to address any Packet Pg. 23 55 changes in Federal guidelines. City staff in cooperation with SLOCOG and RTA have developed minor revisions to the current agreement and is recommending approval by Council of the revise d MOU as shown in Attachment A. Key Features of the MOU City, SLOCOG and SLO RTA staffs cooperatively developed the draft MOU to include: 1. Programming Criteria (Section 4. I) that will be used to establish funding priorities. It is important to note that" Maintenance of existing service levels" is the first criterion listed. 2. A Programming Process (Section 4.3 and 4.4), that involves transit operators, the public, and interested organizations, would be employed every two years to develop the POP, with the SLOCOG Board making the final decision to accept (or reject) the POP. 3. Maintenance of the existing Technical Committee where the City and RTA are voting members and SLOCOG and Air Pollution Control District act as ex-officio members, responsible for developing the draft POP. The MOU also maintains a Policy Committee that provides recommendations for resolving any disputes that could arise from the process. The flow chart shown in Exhibit A of Attachment 1 illustrates how the proposed process will work. CONCURRENCES The content of the draft MOU reflects the cooperative efforts of the City, RTA and SLOCOG staff. FISCAL IMPACT Execution of the MOU has no direct fiscal impact on the City’s General Fund but is critical to the City’s continued receipt of federal funds for transit purposes. The agreement establishes methods by which the federal funds will be divided among the operators and has been successful for many years in cording these activities at the regional level. ALTERNATIVES The City Council may: 1. Recommend specific modifications to the MOU and forward these recommendations to SLOCOG for consideration. 2. Continue this item pending resolution of any new issues identified by Council. (Since execution of the MOU is a prerequisite for the City receiving FTA funds, staff does not recommend continuance of this item.) Packet Pg. 24 55 Attachments: a - Resolution - Updated MOU SLOCOG - SLO Transit b - 2017 Updated MOU - SLO Transit, RTA & SLOCOG Packet Pg. 25 55 R ______ RESOLUTION NO. _____ (2017 SERIES) A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIFORNIA, APPROVING A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS, SAN LUIS OBISPO REGIONAL TRANSIT AUTHORITY AND THE CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO REGARDING PUBLIC TRANSIT PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING WHEREAS, the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (“SLOCOG”) has been designated by the Governor, pursuant to Section 134 of Title 23 USC, as the Metropolitan Planning Organization for the region; and WHEREAS, part 450.31 0 (b) of Chapter I of Title 23 CFR requires that there shall be an agreement between the Metropolitan Planning Organization and operators of publicly owned transit services which specifies cooperative procedures for carrying out transportation planning (including corridor and subarea studies) and programming; and WHEREAS, the City of San Luis Obispo (“City”) and the San Luis Obispo Regional Transit Authority (“RTA”) are the providers of publicly owned transit systems serving the San Luis Obispo urbanized area (UZA), and WHEREAS, on April 2, 2003, SLOCOG, the City and RTA entered into an agreement for the planning and programming of Federal transit funds that has been successful in coordinating annual appropriations of funding, and WHEREAS, Subsequent Federal regulations now require that the existing planning and programming agreement be updated and as required by those regulations SLOCOG, the City and RTA have met in good faith and have revised said agreement. BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of San Luis Obispo that the Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) between the City, SLOCOG and RTA attached hereto is hereby approved. Upon motion of _______________________, seconded by _______________________, and on the following roll call vote: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: The foregoing resolution was adopted this _____ day of _____________________ 2017. ____________________________________ Mayor Heidi Harmon Packet Pg. 26 55 Resolution No. _____ (2017 Series) Page 2 R ______ ATTEST: ____________________________________ Carrie Gallagher City Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: _____________________________________ J. Christine Dietrick City Attorney IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the official seal of the City of San Luis Obispo, California, this ______ day of ______________, _________. ____________________________________ Carrie Gallagher City Clerk Packet Pg. 27 55 MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO, SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS, AND SAN LUIS OBISPO REGIONAL TRANSIT AUTHORITY REGARDING PUBLIC TRANSIT PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING This Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is entered into on March 7, 2017 is made by and between the City of San Luis Obispo (“City”), the San Luis Obispo Regional Transit Authority (“SLORTA”), referred to herein as OPERATOR(S) and the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (“SLOCOG”), and, collectively referred to herein as AGENCIES. WHEREAS, the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments has been designated by the Governor, pursuant to Section 134 of Title 23 USC, as the Metropolitan Planning Organization for the region; and WHEREAS, part 450.31 0 (b) of Chapter I of Title 23 CFR requires that there shall be an agreement between the metropolitan planning organization and operators of publicly owned transit services which specifies cooperative procedures for carrying out transportation planning (including corridor and subarea studies) and programming; and WHEREAS, the OPERATOR(S) are the providers of publicly owned transit systems serving the San Luis Obispo urbanized area (UZA), shown by Exhibit A; and WHEREAS, SLOCOG and OPERATOR(S) desire to establish the basic structure for cooperative planning and decision making for transit planning, and programming pursuant to the above requirements. IT IS THEREFORE MUTUALLY AGREED: 1. Limitation of Statutory Construction. Nothing in this agreement shall be construed to interfere with the authority, under any State law in effect on the date of the enactment of Section 134 of Title 23 USC, of a public agency with multimodal transportation responsibilities to develop: a. Plans and programs for adoption by a metropolitan planning organization; and b. Develops long-range capital plans, coordinates transit services and projects, and carries out other activities pursuant to State law. 2. Area wide Transit Coordination. SLOCOG and OPERATOR(S) agree to work cooperatively with each other and with other public and private transit providers, and local governmental agencies to ensure the provision of coordinated, cost-effective, area-wide transit services. Such coordination includes, to the extent feasible and subject to action by governing bodies: fares; operating service agreements; pass policies; transit information and marketing; schedule and service coordination; capital needs; shared support facilities; data needs to meet periodic reporting requirements; and other activities Packet Pg. 28 55 as agreed upon by the parties. 3. Planning. SLOCOG and OPERATOR(S) shall coordinate, to the extent feasible, planning efforts and studies as required by state and federal law. This coordination shall include but not be limited to: 3.1 Overall Work Program. In accordance with state and federal requirements, SLOCOG annually prepares, adopts, and updates an Overall Work Program (OWP) describing regional planning activities. The OWP relates regionally significant planning activities of the State, transit operators, local governments, and SLOCOG in an integrated, comprehensive program document. OPERATOR(S) agrees to annually prepare a list of regionally significant transit related planning studies for the future fiscal year to be completed by the OPERATOR(S): a. A brief description of said studies by December 1st of each year. b. A detailed description of said studies by January 14th of the following year. c. The contemplated funding sources to support such studies and a timeline. Examples of regionally significant transit related studies include the joint preparation and update of Short-range Transit Plans, input and review of the Long-Range Transit Plan and route studies that involve intercity transit connections. 3.2 Short-Range Transit Plan(s): OPERATOR(S) agree to prepare, adopt, and maintain a Short Range Transit Plan, as required by law. This document will provide the planning basis for transit capital and operating projects submitted by OPERATOR(S) to SLOCOG for inclusion in the Federal and Regional Transportation Improvement Programs (FTIP and RTIP). 3.3 Regional Transportation Plan Update. To comply with 23 USC 134, 23 CFR 450.(214) SLOCOG will prepare a Regional/Metropolitan Transportation Plan which also meets the requirements of California Government Code Sections 65080 et. seq. and the California Transportation Commission's (CTC) Regional Transportation Planning Guidelines, hereinafter referred to as RT P. SLOCOG agrees to use each OPERATOR’s most recent Short Range Transit Plan as the basis for the short-range transit and paratransit components of the RTP. SLOCOG will then use the short-term assumptions as a starting point to project long-range transit conditions. The RTP will bedirected at achieving a coordinated and balanced regional transportation system. The RTP, updated every 4 years, will be developed with the full cooperation and participation of all affected or interested agencies, including OPERATOR (s), air quality agencies, Caltrans, the public and private sectors and similar agencies from adjacent counties. Any RTP provision proposed to achieve a coordinated regional transit system that necessitates amendment to an OPERATOR’s Short-Range Transit Plan will be identified and referred to the OPERATOR for consideration prior to adoption or amendment of the RTP. OPERATOR may choose to amend its SRTP to achieve Packet Pg. 29 55 consistency with proposed RTP provisions, consistent with the intent of this section, or not pursue said amendment. 3.4 Regional and Federal Transportation Improvement Programs. SLOCOG is responsible for the periodic development, endorsement, and amendment of both a Regional Transportation Improvement Program (RTIP) and a Federal Transportation Improvement Program (FTIP), pursuant to state and federal requirements, respectively. a. SLOCOG agrees that the RTIP/FTIP will be prepared cooperatively on a fair and equitable basis as mutually agreed with OPERATOR(S) and all public agencies eligible to receive project funding. This cooperative effort will prioritize projects, whenever annual transit needs for scarce funding outstrip the available funding levels b. The OPERATOR(S) agree to report to SLOCOG a listing of projects for which federal funds were obligated in the previous fiscal year by October 1 st of every year. c. SLOCOG agrees to include in the RTIP/FTIP projects recommended by OPERATOR(S), which relate to FTA Section 5307, FTA Section 5339 and other FTA funds that may become available, subject to provisions of this agreement, and subject to a finding by SLOCOG of consistency with adopted, short-range transit plans and the Regional Transportation Plan. 4. Programming. SLOCOG and OPERATOR(S) shall coordinate, to the extent feasible, programming efforts and studies as required by state and federal law. This coordination shall include but not be limited to: 4.1 Programming Criteria. SLOCOG and the OPERATOR(S) will employ the following selection criteria to establish priorities for urban transit funding: a. Maintenance of existing service levels b. Project purpose and need c. Anticipated benefits (including mobility and air quality) d. Degree of improvement to transit viability and availability e. Degree of improvement to transit system performance f. Cost-effectiveness of transit improvements g. Leveraging other funding sources and balancing the allocation of resources among the three (3) small urbanized areas in the region Prior to the preparation of the initial Program of Projects (POP) as specified by Section 4.3 below, the SLO UZA Technical Committee shall establish definitions, performance measures, standards, protocols and methodologies for ranking prospective transit projects using each of the six programming criteria listed above. Packet Pg. 30 55 4.2 Transit Fund Programming. Pursuant to Section 134 (h)(5) of Title 23 U.S.C., except as otherwise provided in Section 5305(d)(1) of that code, and in addition to the transportation improvement program development required under subsection (b) of that code, the selection of federally funded projects for implementation in metropolitan areas shall be carried out, from the approved transportation improvement program, by: a(1). in the case of projects under Title 23, the State; or a(2). in the case of projects under Chapter 53 of Title 49, the designated transit funding recipients; and a(3). This programming covers the allocation of the Urbanized Area funds (Section 5307), the Capital Section 5339 funds and other Federal discretionary programs, as they may become available to the region. Such programming will be performed in cooperation with SLOCOG, serving as the Metropolitan Planning Organization. 4.3 Program of Projects (POP) On a 2-year programming calendar, involving the OPERATORS and SLOCOG and their advisory bodies, the following assignments in developing the Program of Projects (POP), using urbanized area Federal funds per most recent apportionment or as derived from historical levels, are as follows: 4.3.1 OPERATORS:  Based on the Federal Register’s publication of Federal full 12-month apportionments in the SLO UZA, supply best estimate of Federal funds available for the first year of the POP (year 1, including carryovers from prior years). In addition, develop projections of Federal funds likely to be available in the second year of the POP (year 2 values based on historical).  Develop respective wish lists of candidate projects with their target Federal amounts under the Federal urbanized area program and other eligible funding sources over the next two (2) years; spell out the rationale for each project , identify the proposed source(s) and levels of local match by project type, and conform with the OPERATOR’s short-range transit plan.  Meet with SLOCOG and other members of the Technical Committee (see 4.3.3) to review the list of candidate projects and reach a consensus on the final scope of the POP within each year’s funding allowance.  Bring the draft POP to respective transit advisory bodies for their review and comment. Then incorporate their feedback, as applicable.  If needed, reconvene a meeting of the Technical Committee and make any refinements to the POP assumptions, based on the transit and regional advisory bodies’ feedback (see 4.3.2). Packet Pg. 31 55  Delegate to SLOCOG the responsibility to issue a public notice on behalf of both operators and consistent with the FTA public participation requirements and the SLOCOG Public Participation Plan. 4.3.2 SLOCOG:  Bring the proposed POP to the Social Services Transportation Advisory Council, the Technical Transportation Advisory Committee and the Citizen’s Transportation Advisory Committee for their review and recommendations prior to consideration by the SLOCOG Board.  Consolidate and integrate comments received from above transit advisory committees, regional committees and the public at large, based on consensus reached by Technical Committee. Provide a summary of comments to the SLOCOG Board.  Prepare a written description of the proposed POP elements by geographical area and grantee (as part of the region -wide definition among all UZA’s) with review by the OPERATORS, before its release for publication. This should be in sufficient detail to enable affected citizens, private transportation providers and, as applicable, local elected officials, the opportunity to examine the proposed POP and comment on the projects identified in each year, whether local or regional.  At least 3 weeks ahead of the SLOCOG Board meeting, publish public hearing notices in local print media and on SLOCOG’s website, ensuring adequate geographical coverage for the proposed projects. The approach will be adhere to the most recent policies of the SLOCOG’s Public Participation Plan. In addition, all notices will be published on behalf of the designated FTA grantees (OPERATORS) for the FTA Section 5307, FTA Section 5339 and other pertinent FTA programs per the FTA national guidelines on public participation and public noticing.  Per formal action by the SLOCOG Board, amend the FTIP with the final version of the 2-year POP. Upon Board action, SLOCOG will keep the OPERATORS abreast of the status of the formal state and Federal FTIP amendment approvals, both by forwarding those electronically upon receipt and their timely posting for easy downloading from the SLOCOG website. 4.4 Committees The following committees are put in place through this agreement, as shown in Exhibit B: a) The “San Luis Obispo Urbanized Area Technical Committee ”, made of three (3) voting staff members. Those consist of two (2) from City of San Luis Obispo and one (1) from the RTA. Two (2) non-voting staff members will respectively Packet Pg. 32 55 represent SLOCOG and the Air Pollution Control District (APCD); both are ex- officio members. b) The “San Luis Obispo Urbanized Area Policy Committee”, made of four (4) voting members: Two (2) elected officials from the City of San Luis Obispo and Two (2) elected County supervisorial representatives with the highest population in the San Luis Obispo UZA. Such Committee only meets if there is an unresolved dispute regarding the POP at the level of the Technical Committee. It also may be convened by request of the signatories to this agreement. c) No amendment to this MOU is warranted if individual staff or individual policy makers change due to turnover or elections’ results. Potential reasons for formal amendments might be changes in composition or size of the Technical Committee and/or the addition of voting members (representatives from other agencies, such as the APCD or Caltrans District 5). 5. Labor Standards. Pursuant to Title 49 Section 5333(b)(2)(A) through Section 5333(b)(2)(F), SLOCOG and OPERATOR(S) shall ensure that interests of employees affected by the assistance of federal funds shall be protected under arrangements of the Secretary of Labor concluded to be fair and equitable. These rights include the preservation of rights, privileges, and benefits under existing collective bargaining agreements, the continuation of collective bargaining rights, the protection of individual employees against a worsening of their positions related to employment, assurances of employment to employees of acquired mass transportation systems, priority of reemployment, and paid training or retraining. 6. Cooperation. The parties to this Agreement pledge full cooperation and agree to assign representatives to serve as official members of the San Luis Obispo Urbanized Area - Technical and Policy Committees. 7. Withdrawal and Dissolution. Any party to this agreement may terminate its participation in this Agreement by resolution of its governing board. The withdrawal of the member shall have no effect upon the continuation of the Agreement among the remaining members. The Agreement as specified and required by federal law shall remain in full force and effect in regard to the remaining members in order to continue to receive applicable Federal transit funding. City of San Luis Obispo _________________________________ Heidi Harmon Mayor Date: ________ __________________________________ Katie Lichtig City Manger Date: ________ Packet Pg. 33 55 _________________________________ Christine Dietrick City Attorney Date: ________ San Luis Obispo Council of Governments _________________________________ Lynn Compton SLOCOG President Date: ________ _________________________________ Timothy McNulty Legal Counsel Date: ________ __________________________________ Ronald L. De Carli Executive Director Date: ________ San Luis Obispo Regional Transit Authority _________________________________ Lynn Compton SLORTA President Date: ________ __________________________________ Geoff Straw Transit Manager Date: ________ _________________________________ Timothy McNulty Legal Counsel Date: ________ Packet Pg. 34 55 Packet Pg. 35 55 Packet Pg. 36 55