DATE: November 5, 2019
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Steven E. White, Director
Department of Public Works and Planning
SUBJECT: Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality and Surface Transportation Block Grant Project Applications for Fresno Council of Governments Regional Competitive Bid
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Approve and authorize the submittal of recommended projects to the Fresno Council of Governments as candidate projects for Surface Transportation Block Grant Federal funding;
2. Endorse the City of Fresno’s submittal of joint City/County projects to the Fresno Council of Governments as candidate projects for Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality and Surface Transportation Block Grant Federal funding; and,
3. Adopt Resolution supporting and implementing timely use of funding.
REPORT
Approval of the recommended actions will authorize the Director of the Department of Public Works and Planning to apply to the Fresno Council of Governments (Fresno COG) for Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) projects and endorse the City of Fresno’s applications for both Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) and STBG funding for joint City/County projects in shared jurisdictions. Approval would also adopt a resolution supporting and implementing timely use of Federal funds as required by Fresno COG. This item pertains to locations in Districts 1 and 3.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Your board may elect to not authorize submittal of some or all of the proposed project applications, which would exclude the projects from funding consideration. If your Board does not endorse the County’s participation in some or all of the City of Fresno’s proposed joint projects, the City might choose to cancel the project(s) or revise the project limits.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. Both the CMAQ and STBG programs provide 88.53% reimbursement of project costs. The local match, of 11.47% will be paid out of Road Fund 0010. For joint projects with the City, the local match will be apportioned based on jurisdiction, so the County’s share of the local match will be less than 11.47% and would also be funded through the Road Fund 0010. Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues are included in the Department’s Roads Org 4510 FY 2019-20 Adopted Budget.
DISCUSSION:
The CMAQ program funds projects which improve air quality, by reducing ozone precursor emissions, including nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter emissions or particulate matter precursor emissions. The STBG program provides flexible funding that can be used for projects to preserve and improve the conditions of roads and pedestrian/bicycle infrastructure. For both programs, project applications are submitted to compete for funding against other projects submitted for programming within the region. The region consists of the County and the 15 incorporated cities within the County.
Acting in its role as a Metropolitan Planning Organization, Fresno COG programs and monitors delivery of the Federal transportation projects for the Fresno region. Fresno COG issued the Regional Competitive 2019-20 Call-for-Projects on September 26, 2019, with CMAQ project submittals due by November 15, 2019, and STBG project submittals due by December 6, 2019.
The Department recommends submission of the following projects on behalf of the County:
STBG - Lincoln Avenue Rehabilitation from State Route 145 to the Grantland Alignment
The project will rehabilitate eight miles of road using the cold-in-place recycling (CIR) method. This method involves removing and reusing the existing asphalt surface, reducing the amount of material needed to be hauled on and off site; therefore, reducing costs, fuel consumption and emissions. Design for the project is nearly complete, and only construction funding is being requested.
STBG - Jensen Avenue Rehabilitation from Fruit Avenue to West Avenue
The project will rehabilitate a half-mile of road using the CIR method and add bike lanes. Only construction funding will be requested, as preliminary engineering funding for Jensen Avenue from Fruit to 0.43 miles West of Fruit was awarded in 2017. The project has been expanded to include the last 0.07 mile, which is within the City of Fresno. The City will pay the local match for their portion of the project.
In addition to the projects submitted on behalf of the County, the City of Fresno is proposing to submit the following joint projects located in shared jurisdictions that will improve contiguous paths of travel:
STBG - Cedar Avenue Complete Streets from Jensen Avenue to Butler Avenue
The project will reconstruct portions of the roadway, reconstruct curb returns, place an overlay, and re-stripe and add bike lanes over 1.5 miles of road.
STBG - Clinton Avenue Complete Streets from Marks Avenue to Valentine Avenue
The project will widen the road, install sidewalks, and add bike lanes over a half mile of road.
CMAQ - McKinley Elementary Complete Streets on McKinley Avenue from Cecilia Avenue to Blythe Avenue
Sidewalks and bike lanes will be installed on portions of the project, as well as the installation of a traffic signal at the intersection of McKinley and Blythe.
Your Board’s approval of the second recommended action commits the County to share the local match based on the portion of each project located in the County only if CMAQ or STBG funding is awarded to the City. If any projects are awarded, the County’s share will be detailed in a Project Specific Supplement Agreement executed by the Department’s Director according to the procedure detailed in the Master Dual Jurisdiction Cooperative Agreement with the City.
Fresno COG requires that the governing board of each submitting agency approve a resolution committing to meet project delivery deadlines, to highlight the importance of allocating enough resources to each project so that goal is achievable.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #54, September 10, 2019
BAI #34, February 6, 2018
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Resolution
CAO ANALYST:
Sonia M. De La Rosa