Minutes | Regular Meeting
TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
February 25, 2021
Present:
Gordon Gaste City of Brawley
Abraham Campos City of El Centro
Veronica Atondo County of Imperial
Jesus Villegas City of Imperial
Lili Falomir City of Calexico
Jeorge Galvan City of Calipatria
Joel Hamby City of Westmorland
Frank Fiorenza IID
Others:
Virginia Mendoza ICTC
Marlene Flores ICTC
David Salgado SCAG
Guillermo Sillas City of Brawley
Manuel Cabrera City of Brawley
Andres Miramontes City of Brawley
Ana Gutierrez City of Brawley
Javy Luna City of El Centro
Christian Rodriguez City of El Centro
Felix DeLeon City of El Centro
Catherine Gutierrez City of El Centro
Ben Guerrero Caltrans
Deborha McGarrey SoCalGas Company
1. The meeting was called to order at 10:04 a.m. A quorum was present and introductions were made. There were no public comments made.
2. A motion was made to adopt the minutes for January 28, 2021 (Falomir / Hamby) Motion Carried.
3. Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) and Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) 2021 Call for Project Guidelines
The 2021 Call for Projects of new CMAQ and STBG funds for projects in Federal Fiscal Year (FFY)s 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25 will be paused and begin in fall 2021.
4. Regional Climate Action Plan (CAP) Draft Review
Marlene Flores provided TAC members a DRAFT of the CAP for their review. The DRAFT CAP includes the inventory, forecasts, and targets and TAC members will have the opportunity to provide comments. ICTC and consultant are currently working in establishing the dates for public comments on the CAP. ICTC will post the CAP on their website for public comments starting next week. We would be asking local agencies for their support in regards to posting the link to the CAP on their websites to reach out to the public.
5. ICTC Updates / Announcements
(Presented by ICTC Staff)
a. Transit Planning Updates:
- Virginia Mendoza provided a brief update on transit. ICTC is still operating under COVID-19 requirements. Free fares for Transit riders except for Medtrans.
b. Transportation Planning Updates:
- A list of projects is part of the agenda. ICTC updated the project list based on Federal and State projects that need to obligate in this current year. ICTC will revise the list and resend to all local agencies with updates and current status of projects.
6. SCAG Updates / Announcements (Presented by David Salgado):
- 2021 SCAG Sustainability Awards “Call for Nominations”: The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) is committed to highlighting excellence in sustainable planning and projects in the SCAG Region. These plans and projects are integral to carrying out the goals and policies of Connect SoCal, the 2020-2045 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy, and promote a cleaner, healthier and happier Southern California. Each year, SCAG honors projects that best exemplify the core principles of sustainability with awards. The Deadline is Friday, February 26 at 11:59 p.m.
- CAG Call for Collaboration 2021: SCAG is pleased to announce the release of the Call for Collaboration request for proposals. The program will fund several grants for non-profit organizations through two opportunities:
• Partnership Programs: Awards of up to $125,000 to support the expansion and/or implementation of existing plans, initiatives and/or partnerships that promote equitable growth strategies.
• Spark Grants: Smaller, capacity-building grants of around $50,000 to seed new models of collaboration and engagement to support community-driven approaches and partnerships that promote equitable growth strategies.
The deadline to apply is Tuesday, February 23, 2021.
- 2020 SCAG Sustainable Communities Program (SCP) Grant Program: SCAG has approved the 2020 SCP grant guidelines. The FY 2020/2021 program will fund projects in the following areas that support and implement the policies and initiatives of the 2020 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy (RTP/SCS), Connect SoCal: Active Transportation & Safety; Housing and Sustainability; Smart Cities, Mobility Innovation & Transportation Demand Management; and Green Region. The first Call prioritizes Active Transportation & Safety projects, and the second Call prioritizes efforts to increase housing production.
- Broadband and Closing the Digital Divide: SCAG, the California Emerging Technology Fund and the Inland Empire Regional Broadband Consortium are spearheading a study to facilitate broadband planning and deployment as part of transportation projects in the region. Improved broadband deployment, particularly in disadvantaged communities and unserved/underserved rural and urban areas, will support increased use of online learning, telehealth/telemedicine, telecommuting, e-commerce, and e-government, reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and greenhouse gas emissions. This is in addition to other regional efforts to bridge the critical digital divide that has been further exasperated by the onset of teleworking and other localized emergencies which could benefit from increased access to connectivity on the ground and throughout the region.
- SCAG Aerial Imagery Project 2020/21 Update: After numerous meetings to discuss the potential for SCAG to facilitate a new Aerial Imagery Flyover Project, the County of Imperial has agreed to facilitate a public procurement process. This will allow for more funds to be applied to the project to support the procurement. SCAG has set aside $250,000 for the project and will increase the support by $50,000 for a total of $300,000. The project is currently in the final phases. A meeting was held recently to discuss proposed member contributions in time for budget development. The proposed local contribution amount is attached for review.
David Salgado provided a breakdown of total cost and reserves per project partner.
7. Cities and County Planning / Public Works Updates:
- Local agencies gave an update on their local projects in progress.
8. Caltrans Updates / Announcements (Presented by: Ben Guerrero):
- Caltrans provided general information on inactive projects. The next deadline to submit Inactive projects and Future inactive invoices is February 19, 2021.
- Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 20/21 Requests for Authorization Obligations will be due by January 29, 2021.
- Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 20/21 Requests for Authorization Obligations are due. Funding Requests for Authorization (RFA) during this federal fiscal year were due by January 29, 2021.
- 2021 Local Assistance Publication Updates: Caltrans has released the 2021 Local Assistance Procedures Manual (LAPM) as well as updates to the Local Assistance Program Guidelines (LAPG). All changes have been documented in Local Programs Procedures 20-01 (LPP 20-01).
- Assembly Bill (AB) 1012 Cycle 22 Obligation Plan is due by February 23, 2021.
- New Federal Lands Access Program (FLAP) Call for Projects. The “FLAPplication” deadline will be May 27, 2021. The outreach plan includes webinars that assist tribal and local agencies, as well as Caltrans, with this process. (The final date is February 10, 2021, for all prospective applicants to hear the details during a live FHWA webcast.).
- New Invoice Form Required effective immediately. New version of LAPM Exhibit 5-A.
- Quality Assurance Program (QAP). A list with updated dates was provided. Ben Guerrero will update the list with updated dates.
9. General Discussion / New Business
- A brief update for next TAC meeting. Abraham Campos from the City of El Centro provided
a brief update on IVRMA and upcoming events happening around the County when it comes to IVRMA. IVRMA TAC meeting was cancelled for the month of February. Abraham asked local agencies to work together in updates or question in regards to deadlines and upcoming events from IVRMA.
- Next TAC meeting will be on March 25, 2021 via Zoom
10. Meeting adjourned at 11:30 a.m.