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03-17-2015 City Council Study Session Packet City of Grand Island Tuesday, March 17, 2015 Study Session Packet City Council: Linna Dee Donaldson Michelle Fitzke Chuck Haase Julie Hehnke Jeremy Jones Vaughn Minton Mitchell Nickerson Mike Paulick Roger Steele Mark Stelk Mayor: Jeremy L. Jensen City Administrator: Marlan Ferguson City Clerk: RaNae Edwards 7:00 PM Council Chambers - City Hall 100 East 1st Street Grand Island Study Session - 3/17/2015 Page 1 / 20 City of Grand Island Tuesday, March 17, 2015 Call to Order This is an open meeting of the Grand Island City Council. The City of Grand Island abides by the Open Meetings Act in conducting business. A copy of the Open Meetings Act is displayed in the back of this room as required by state law. The City Council may vote to go into Closed Session on any agenda item as allowed by state law. Invocation Pledge of Allegiance Roll Call A - SUBMITTAL OF REQUESTS FOR FUTURE ITEMS Individuals who have appropriate items for City Council consideration should complete the Request for Future Agenda Items form located at the Information Booth. If the issue can be handled administratively without Council action, notification will be provided. If the item is scheduled for a meeting or study session, notification of the date will be given. B - RESERVE TIME TO SPEAK ON AGENDA ITEMS This is an opportunity for individuals wishing to provide input on any of tonight's agenda items to reserve time to speak. Please come forward, state your name and address, and the Agenda topic on which you will be speaking. Grand Island Study Session - 3/17/2015 Page 2 / 20 City of Grand Island Tuesday, March 17, 2015 Study Session Item C1 Presentation of Grand Island Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (GIAMPO) Long Range Transportation Plan Staff Contact: John Collins, P.E. - Public Works Director Grand Island Study Session - 3/17/2015 Page 3 / 20 Council Agenda Memo From:John Adams, MPO Program Manager Meeting:March 17, 2015 Subject:Grand Island Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (GIAMPO) Long Range Transportation Plan Item #’s:1 Presenter(s):John Collins PE, Public Works Director Background On July 8, 2014, by Resolution No. 2014-187, City Council approved the program agreement with the Nebraska Department of Roads (NDOR) for the purpose of assisting the Local Public Agency (LPA) [i.e. the City of Grand Island] in obtaining Federal approval and financial assistance to ensure a continued, comprehensive, and cooperative transportation planning process between the state and local governments for the 2015 fiscal year. On August 12, 2014, by Resolution No. 2014-215 City Council approved the agreement with NDOR and the City for the purpose of Performance Based Long Range Transportation Planning, which allows the City to received federal funds for the development of this process. Such agreement was developed in accordance to Map-21, for the City of Grand Island; which upon approval became effective until such time the LPA’s Federal-aid project is finished and final financial settlement has been completed. If the LPA determines for any reason not to continue with the development of this project as a Federal-aid project, the LPA shall notify the State to negotiate any necessary project termination conditions. The Federal share payable on a portion of this project at that time was 80% of the eligible costs up to maximum of $150,000.00. City Council approved Resolution 2015-67 on March 10, 2015 which provided for the City to meet the core requirement of the Transportation Planning Process by developing a multimodal Long Range Transportation Plan, identifying existing and projected deficiencies in the Transportation System within the urbanized area. Discussion The Grand Island Metropolitan Planning Organization (GIAMPO) is preparing a 20- year Long Range Transportation Plan as well as implementing a transportation planning process, which is Comprehensive, Cooperative and Continuous. The plan will identify Grand Island Study Session - 3/17/2015 Page 4 / 20 areas where the existing and projected transportation system has deficiencies. This work is being closely coordinated with other regional efforts and on-going studies and comprehensive plans. The work products from this plan development will include maps, tables, graphics, travel modeling plots, and micro-simulation demonstrating the existing and proposed transportation system identified in the plan, and a long range planning document. A consultant, Olsson Associates has been contracted to complete the plan. A long range plan is one of the major work items that the federal government and Nebraska Department of Roads requires to be completed in order to receive federal or state funding for transportation. Over time, the Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration have developed a set of factors required for MPOs to include in these plans. There are eight (8) major planning factors that the plan needs to address from the federal perspective. These include: 1.Support the economic vitality of the metropolitan area, especially by enabling global competitiveness, productivity, and efficiency. 2.Increase the safety of the transportation system for motorized and non-motorized users. 3.Increase the security of the transportation system for motorized and non- motorized users. 4.Increase the accessibility and mobility of people and for freight. 5.Protect and enhance the environment, promote energy conservation, improve the quality of life, and promote consistency between transportation improvements and State and local planned growth and economic development patterns. 6.Enhance the integration and connectivity of the transportation system, across and between modes, people and freight. 7.Promote efficient system management and operation. 8.Emphasize the preservation of the existing transportation system. The Long Range Plan will include working with the staff, the MPO, the council and the public to identify what is important to the community and to then develop Goals, Objectives and Performance Measures to guide the plan. We will also identify existing transportation needs and project what the future transportation needs may be. This will involve identifying needs on the highway system, for major city streets and bridges, examining the need for railroad crossing improvements, summarizing needs for sidewalks and trails, for freight movement, for aviation and for transit. During the development of the Long Range Transportation Plan, a Travel Demand Model will be developed as a tool in making informed predictions about present and future Grand Island Study Session - 3/17/2015 Page 5 / 20 transportation needs, investigating and assessing alternative actions for meeting those needs, and making recommendations about which course of action to pursue. The information generated by this process will be used to assist decision-makers in selecting transportation policies and programs from the range of alternatives to improve safety, economic vitality, quality of life, and sustainably throughout the planning area. The plan will include a financial analysis to identify what revenues are available for projects and programs. The output of the project will be a community based plan that identifies projects to be funded over the next five years, the next 10 years and the following 10 years (a total of 20 years). This plan will reflect Grand Island’s intermodal needs and community input, and must be approved by the Grand Island Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (GIAMPO) Policy Board and, accepted by the Nebraska Department of Roads, Federal Highway Administration, and Federal Transit Administration. Conclusion This item is presented to the City Council in a Study Session to allow for any questions to be answered and to create a greater understanding of the issue at hand. Grand Island Study Session - 3/17/2015 Page 6 / 20 City of Grand Island Tuesday, March 17, 2015 Study Session Item C2 Presentation on Capital Improvement Program Budgeting and Funding Staff Contact: John Collins, P.E. - Public Works Director Grand Island Study Session - 3/17/2015 Page 7 / 20 Council Agenda Memo From:John Collins PE, Public Works Director Meeting:March 17, 2015 Subject:Capital Improvement Program Budgeting and Funding Item #’s:2 Presenter(s):John Collins PE, Public Works Director William Clingman, Interim Finance Director/City Treasurer Background The current practice is to budget capital improvement program (CIP) funds each year, rather than with each project. Many CIP projects take multiple years to design and construct. Discussion City staff would like to establish a dedicated CIP fund with payments set to the fund each budget year to allow funds to persist through fiscal years. This would allow projects to continue through the full construction season, avoid the delays and reduce staff time. There would be no other change in the existing approval process for capital projects; construction contracts, design contracts, real estate acquisition, change orders, payments, etc. would be approved individually as is currently done. The proposed CIP fund would be supported with the budget each year and funds would remain in the account until moved to a specific project. City Council’s approval of the CIP would determine the amount deposited into the dedicated fund. Conclusion This item is presented to the City Council in a Study Session to allow for any questions to be answered and to create a greater understanding of the issue at hand. It is the intent of City Administration to bring this issue to a future council meeting for approval of a dedicated Capital Improvement Program Fund. Grand Island Study Session - 3/17/2015 Page 8 / 20 PUBLIC WORKS Capital Improvement Program Budgeting and Funding Grand Island Study Session - 3/17/2015 Page 9 / 20 PUBLIC WORKS Goal Persistent funding. Improve project delivery. Reduce unnecessary effort, especially during construction season. Grand Island Study Session - 3/17/2015 Page 10 / 20 PUBLIC WORKS Capital funds vs Operating Funds The primary difference between Capital Funds and Operating funds is: •Operating funds may be used for any purpose and persist through the fiscal year. •Capital funds may only be used for capital assets and persist through the life of the project. Grand Island Study Session - 3/17/2015 Page 11 / 20 PUBLIC WORKS Issues CIP is presented with mostly Conceptual Estimates. Many Capital Projects take more than 1 fiscal year to complete. The design and construction time is dependent on factors outside of the City’s control. Budgeting occurs in the middle of Construction season. Grand Island Study Session - 3/17/2015 Page 12 / 20 PUBLIC WORKS The current fiscal year expenditures estimate occurs in May, which is the first part of construction season, prior to most construction or expenses; the estimate in May is little better than the one presented with the CIP. At the May estimate, projects where expenditures may occur after September 30 are often delayed to the next year. October, November and December payments are often from the prior fiscal year’s budget and activities. Grand Island Study Session - 3/17/2015 Page 13 / 20 PUBLIC WORKS Consequences Projects are cancelled or delayed Significant effort by Public Works and Finance staff estimating expenses repeatedly/frequently through the construction season. Frequent budget adjustments. Grand Island Study Session - 3/17/2015 Page 14 / 20 Establish a dedicated Capital Program Account Account funded with the budget each year. Current cash balance Projected expenditures for the coming year Maintaining a minimum balance Funds (cash) remain in account until spent on an approved project. The amount transferred for the Capital Program will be approved by Council each year. Projects will be approved on a contract by contract basis Grand Island Study Session - 3/17/2015 Page 15 / 20 PUBLIC WORKS Restricted Revenue The Finance Department maintains separate cash account for dedicated funds (gas tax, bridge funds, etc.) within the dedicated Capital Improvement Fund. The Public Works Department specifies which projects (or portions thereof) are eligible for which types of funding Grand Island Study Session - 3/17/2015 Page 16 / 20 Grand Island Study Session - 3/17/2015 Page 17 / 20 PUBLIC WORKS Recommendation Establish dedicated Capital Improvement Funding Set the transfers to the CIP fund with the budget each year. Funding will be tied to a project Grand Island Study Session - 3/17/2015 Page 18 / 20 PUBLIC WORKS MPO Will require City to be fiscally responsible on a program basis; meaning that we must be reasonably confident that sufficient funds will be available for all programed projects. Requires 5 year program Requires 20 year program Grand Island Study Session - 3/17/2015 Page 19 / 20 PUBLIC WORKS City Administration and Council Still Approve Annual Capital Program Individual projects Individual contracts for design, construction, receipt of funds, real estate acquisition, etc… Individual payments Un-programmed projects (Grand Generation, Delta drainage, etc.) Grand Island Study Session - 3/17/2015 Page 20 / 20