DATE: November 2, 2021
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Steven E. White, Director
Department of Public Works and Planning
SUBJECT: FY 2021-22 Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality and Surface Transportation Block Grant Applications for Fresno Council of Governments Regional Competitive Bid
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Retroactively approve and authorize the Director of Public Works and Planning’s previous submittal of recommended projects to the Fresno Council of Governments as candidate projects for FY 2021-22 Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality and Surface Transportation Block Grant Federal funding ($13,212,307); and
2. Retroactively adopt a Resolution supporting and implementing timely use of funding related to project delivery schedules for Federal transportation selection, in accordance with Assembly Bill 1012.
REPORT
Approval of the first recommended action will retroactively authorize the Director of the Department of Public Works and Planning (Department) to apply to the Fresno Council of Governments (FCOG) for FY 2021-22 Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) and Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) projects. The Department submitted the applications contingent upon your Board’s approval to meet the application deadlines of September 17, 2021 and October 1, 2021 respectively. The list of projects is shown in Attachment A.
Approval of the second recommended action would retroactively adopt a resolution supporting and implementing the timely use of Federal funds as required by Fresno COG, per Assembly Bill 1012 (AB 1012) (Chapter 783 of the Statutes of 1999). This item pertains to locations in District 4.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
The CMAQ applications were submitted to FCOG by the Department on September 17, 2021 and the STBG application was submitted on October 1, 2021; however, your Board may choose to withdraw one or all of the applications from funding consideration. If the recommended actions are not approved, the grant applications will no longer be considered for Federal funding in the current FY 2021-22 cycle.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. The project estimates total $23,581,839, out of which $13,212,307 in competitive Federal funding has been requested. If any of the grants are awarded, additional Federal funding sources will be combined to provide reimbursement of project costs up to 88.53% of project costs. The local match for each project will be paid with the County’s SB-1 allocation in Road Fund 0010 and this is included in the FY 2021-22 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 localities may use for projects to preserve and improve conditions and performance on any Federal-aid highway, bridge and tunnel projects on any public road, pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, and transit capital projects. 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, FCOG programs and monitors delivery of the Federal transportation projects for the region. As a requirement for acceptance of an agency’s project submittal for certain Federal and/or State programs, Fresno COG requires that the governing board of each submitting agency approve a resolution, in accordance with AB 1012 legislation, committing to meet project delivery deadlines to highlight the importance of allocating enough resources to each project so its goals are achievable.
FCOG issued their Regional Competitive 2021-22 Call-for-Projects on June 24, 2021, with CMAQ project submittals due by September 17, 2021, and STBG project submittals due by October 1, 2021. The Department prepared a preliminary list (Attachment A) and proceeded to scope eligibility of these projects. Once scoped, the Department made its final determination and submitted applications for four CMAQ projects and one STBG project for funding on behalf of the County. The additional Federal funding sources for these projects include the County’s Targeted Performance Program CMAQ and STBG allocations, as well as a pending congressional earmark allocation for the Mt. Whitney project of $3 million.
Your Board’s approval of the recommended actions will allow for retroactive approval of submittal of the applications and adopt a Resolution in accordance with AB 1012, supporting and implementing timely use of funding for the CMAQ and STBG projects, pending approval by FCOG’s Scoring Committee and Policy Board.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #49, March 10, 2020
BAI #41, November 5, 2019
BAI #45, March 1, 2016
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
Attachment A
Location Maps
On file with Clerk - Resolution
CAO ANALYST:
Ron Alexander