| Citizens Advisory Committee - April 27, 2011 |
CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEEMeeting Notice Date: 6:00 p.m., Wednesday, April 27, 2011 Location: 100 Van Ness Avenue, 26th Floor Members: Glenn Davis (Chair), Chris Jones (Vice Chair), Joseph Flanagan, Brian Larkin, Fran Martin, Jacqualine Sachs, Robert Switzer, Peter Tannen, Wendy Tran, Rosie West and Conrad Wu
6:00 1. Committee Meeting Call to Order 6:07 2. Chair's Report - INFORMATION 6:10 Consent Calendar 3. Approve the Minutes of the March 23, 2011 Meeting - ACTION* attachment 4. Internal Accounting Report and Investment Report for the Nine Months Ending March 31, 2011 - INFORMATION* attachment The Authority's Fiscal Policy directs staff to give a quarterly report of expenditures including a comparison to the approved budget. The Authority's Investment Policy directs that a review of portfolio compliance be presented along with the quarterly report. The Internal Accounting Report for the nine months ending March 31, 2011, is presented for information. 5. Commitment of Up to $150 Million in Additional State Regional Improvement Program Funds, with Conditions, to the Central Subway Project to Provide Supplemental Assurances to the Federal Transit Administration in Support of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency's Plan to Cover Potential Cost Overruns Beyond the $1.578 Billion Baseline Project Cost - INFORMATION* attachment This item is being presented to the CAC for information. It was taken as an urgent item directly to the Plans and Programs Committee for recommendation at its April 19 meeting and will be brought to the Board for approval at its April 26 meeting. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) is currently targeting December 2011 for Federal Transit Administration (FTA) approval of a Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) for the Central Subway project. A FFGA is the FTA's official commitment of federal New Starts funds to the project and it is a necessary milestone that signals the project's ability to move into the construction phase. As shown in Attachment 1, the project's funding plan includes $942 million in federal New Starts funds, equivalent to 60% of the funding for the $1.578 billion project. One of the key milestones in seeking a FFGA is having a full funding plan for the project, which the SFMTA was able to develop in coordination with the Authority and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and submit to the FTA in February. FTA's review of the project's financial plan involves a determination as to whether the project has a full funding plan and a financial capacity assessment that includes evaluation of the SFMTA's plans to ensure that it can meet the cash flow needs of the project in the event that some of the funding is delayed or if costs increase over the baseline. These sensitivity tests are part of the FTA's FFGA approval process. The SFMTA has been working with the Authority, the City, and other funding partners to develop a strategy to respond to the FTA's request that a plan be in place to address both potential cost overruns of up to 10% of the overall project cost, about $150 million, and potential delays in the availability of funds. The SFMTA needs to have a solid plan in place by the end of the month to keep the project on track to receive approval of the FFGA in December. In order to leverage assurances from other funding partners, the Authority is proposing to commit up to $150 million in additional state Regional Improvement Program (RIP) funds to cover potential cost overruns equivalent to 10% of total baseline project costs. Other funding partners will need to address how to secure bridge financing to cover delays in the availability of both state bonds and federal funds earmarked for the project. The proposed action by the Committee will therefore be contingent on securing those assurances in time for the Authority Board meeting of April 26. In addition, the conditions attached to this specific Authority commitment of RIP funds are shown in Attachment 2, and have already been agreed upon by the SFMTA. This is an information item. 6. Update on Van Ness Avenue Bus Rapid Transit Administrative Draft Environmental Impact Report/Statement - INFORMATION The Administrative Draft Environmental Impact Report/Statement (DEIR/S) for the Van Ness Avenue Bus Rapid Transit Project (BRT) is complete, and currently under review by the project's NEPA lead agency, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), as well as Caltrans, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), and other partner agencies. Comments from these agencies are expected by the end of April, allowing public circulation of the DEIR/S in May. Following the required 45-day public circulation and comment period, staff will prepare a Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) Report, identifying a preferred BRT Alternative from among the four alternatives and design scenario analyzed in the DEIR/S. The LPA Report will be presented to the Committee in Summer 2011 for adoption. While the Administrative DEIR/S is under review, staff has been working on a number of fronts to progress the project development effort. First, a public notification and outreach approach and supporting collateral materials have been drafted and reviewed by the Van Ness Avenue BRT Citizens Advisory Committee. In addition, early tasks in support of the Conceptual Engineering Report and 30% engineering are underway. The 30% engineering effort will begin in full following the selection of an LPA. Finally, coordination continues with the FTA; this month, the FTA released their Small Starts Readiness Review Report for the project. The report confirms the reasonableness of the project cost estimates and implementation timeframe, and identifies project development priorities for the September Small Starts annual report. The project team is focused on supporting and overseeing the SFMTA's vehicle identification and procurement process, specifically, undertaking a review of the vehicle cost estimates and vehicle need analysis. The purpose of this item is to provide a status update on the Van Ness Avenue BRT project, focusing on the public notification and outreach approach that will support the DEIR/S circulation period. This is an information item. End of Consent Calendar 6:15 7. Adopt a Motion of Support for the Programming of $579,000 in San Francisco Safe Routes to School (SR2S) Capital Funds to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency for the Sunset Elementary School and AP Giannini Middle School SR2S Project - ACTION* attachment San Francisco's share is $1,079,000. We have been working with the San Francisco Safe Routes to School Coalition to develop a two-pronged approach (i.e., education/outreach and capital projects) to enhance the existing SR2S efforts in San Francisco and best achieve the objectives for SR2S set by MTC. On January 20, 2011, we issued a call for San Francisco SR2S capital projects applications to San Francisco project sponsors. By the March 8, 2011 deadline, we received one project application from the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) for a SR2S project at Sunset Elementary School and AP Giannini Middle School, requesting all $579,000 in available SR2S capital funds. At its March 23, 2011 meeting, the Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) deferred the consideration of this item to the April meeting to provide an opportunity for an SFMTA project manager to respond to concerns raised by a few members of the CAC. We are seeking a motion of support to program $579,000 in San Francisco SR2S capital funds to the SFMTA for the Sunset Elementary School and AP Giannini Middle School SR2S Project. 6:30 8. Fiscal Year 2011/12 Prop K Annual Call for Projects - INFORMATION* attachment The intent of the annual call for Prop K projects is to bring as many of the programmatic and other individual capital project allocations to the Authority Board for action in June. This allows project sponsors to incorporate the level of Prop K funding in their annual budget processes, and to put into place the staff and other resources necessary to deliver Prop K projects and programs. Project sponsors that can demonstrate need and project readiness can also receive allocations for individual projects and programs during the year. We received 15 applications by March 25 in response to the Fiscal Year 2011/12 Prop K annual call for projects, requesting approximately $25 million in Prop K funds. This month we are presenting these projects to the Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) for information and without recommendations. We will bring our recommendations for the annual call to the CAC for action in May. Attachment 1 summarizes the applications received, including project phases and the proposed leveraging compared to Expenditure Plan assumptions. Attachment 2 provides a brief description of each project. Attachment 3 highlights issues of potential interest to the CAC and policy considerations that we are exploring as part of our on-going review of the allocation requests. We are seeking input and guidance from the CAC. This is an information item. 6:45 9. Update on Initial Vision Scenario of the Bay Area's Sustainable Communities Strategy - INFORMATION* attachment The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) are developing the Bay Area's first Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS) an integrated transportation, housing, and land use plan that will form the basis for the 2013 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) and Regional Housing Needs Allocation process. In March 2011, MTC and ABAG released the Initial Vision Scenario (IVS) for the RTP/SCS, which responds to requirements that the SCS must identify a strategy to accommodate the region's entire housing need by income level. In April and May, MTC and ABAG will seek input from San Francisco stakeholders. This input will be used to develop multiple Alternative Scenarios (varying transportation and land use assumptions) that will build on the IVS. While the IVS does not assume any funding constraints and represents an aspirational goal for how the region would ideally develop, the Alternative Scenarios must be financially constrained as required by Federal air quality conformity rules. Refinement of the Alternative Scenarios will lead to the selection of a preferred RTP/SCS scenario in late 2011. We have been leading coordination among City agencies to develop a unified set of San Francisco messages about the IVS. Our initial staff reaction to the IVS, informed by input from other San Francisco agency staff, is detailed in this memorandum. Two of the key messages include: 1) the amount of growth targeted for San Francisco, while consistent with San Francisco's own vision, should not be taken for granted and will require significant policy and funding support from the region to achieve; and 2) development of the Alternative Scenarios should be accompanied by an accelerated discussion of regional discretionary transportation policy to clarify the link between regional transportation and land use policy and provide incentives for achieving SCS housing and carbon reduction goals. This is an information item. We are seeking input and guidance from the Citizens Advisory Committee. 7:00 10. Adopt a Motion of Support for the Approval of Local Project Screening Criteria for the Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy (RTP/SCS) Call for Projects and Funding Principles to Support Regional RTP/SCS Advocacy - ACTION* attachment Every four years, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) leads development of the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP), which sets policy and transportation investment priorities in the nine Bay Area counties. As congestion management agency, the Authority coordinates San Francisco's local priorities for the RTP and submits these to the MTC. Inclusion in the financially constrained portion of the RTP, either as an individual project listing or by inclusion in a programmatic category, is mandatory for all projects seeking state or federal funds or a federal action (e.g., approval of an environmental document). This RTP has a new element, the Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS). Required under Senate Bill 375, the SCS is an integrated land use, housing, and transportation plan that must meet a greenhouse gas emission reduction target set by the California Air Resources Board by reducing vehicle travel. The SCS has the potential to alter the distribution of transportation funding across the region if new policies and incentives are put into place to support the implementation of Priority Development Areas, including those in San Francisco. On February 18, we released a joint call for San Francisco projects for the RTP/SCS, and the San Francisco Transportation Plan (SFTP), which will update the county's 25-year transportation plan. We performed significant outreach to agency sponsors and the public, focusing on improving access to the process for low-income and minority communities (see Attachment 2). The deadline to submit project ideas was March 24. Attachments 3 and 4 show the nearly 300 project ideas we received from members of the public and public agencies respectively. All projects submitted through this call for projects will also be considered for potential inclusion in the SFTP. There will also be a second opportunity to submit projects for the SFTP later this summer. At the April Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) meeting, we will discuss the proposed local project screening criteria (see Attachment 6) that will guide the development of the list of projects and programs we will submit to MTC for consideration for inclusion in the RTP/SCS. We are still waiting to receive some critical information from project sponsors, so we will distribute a draft list of projects that would meet the proposed screening criteria at the CAC meeting. We will also present proposed funding principles to support our RTP/SCS advocacy (Attachment 7), developed in coordination with our Commissioners and other San Francisco partner agencies. The RTP/SCS process calls for development of alternative scenarios this spring/summer, leading to a financially constrained preferred alternative in late 2012. We will continue to keep the CAC informed and seek its input at key milestones during this process. We are seeking a motion of support to approve local project screening criteria for the RTP/SCS call for projects and funding principles to support regional RTP/SCS advocacy. 7:20 11. Adopt a Motion of Support for the Adoption of the Proposed Fiscal Year 2011/12 Annual Budget and Work Program - ACTION* attachment Pursuant to State statutes (PUC Code Sections 131000 et seq.) and the Authority's Fiscal Policy, the Authority Board must adopt an annual budget for the following fiscal year by June 30. The proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2011/12 Annual Budget includes projections of sales tax revenues; federal, state and regional grants; investment income for the fiscal period; and projections of operating and administrative costs, capital expenditures, and associated financing costs. The proposed FY 2011/12 Annual Budget also includes a description of the Authority's proposed Work Program for the coming fiscal year. Total revenues are projected to be $105.4 million, including $72.2 million in sales tax revenues. Total expenditures are projected to be $157.8 million. Capital project expenditures are projected to be $142.3 million or about 90.2% of total expenditures. The budgeted other financing sources and uses includes a bond issue of $300 million, which would be used to fund Prop K capital projects and to redeem outstanding commercial paper debt. The final proposed FY 2011/12 Annual Budget and Work Program will be presented to the Finance Committee and Authority Board in May. A public hearing will precede consideration of the FY 2011/12 Annual Budget and Work Program at the Authority's May meeting. We are seeking a motion of support for the adoption of the proposed FY 2011/12 Annual Budget and Work Program. 7:30 12. Adopt a Motion of Support for Adoption of Alternative 2B as the Locally Preferred Alternative for the Yerba Buena Island Ramps Improvement Project - ACTION* attachment The Authority is working jointly with the Treasure Island Development Authority (TIDA) and the Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD) on the development of the I-80/Yerba Buena Island (YBI) Ramps Improvement Project. Under Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) 07/08-46, TIDA has the responsibility to reimburse all Authority costs incurred on the project. Caltrans and the Authority working in partnership have jointly prepared the draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS) and circulated the document for public comment. The public review comment period ended on April 11, 2011. The Project Development Team (PDT) consisting of members from the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), US Coast Guard, TIDA and the Authority unanimously chose Alternative 2B as the Preferred Alternative at its April 12, 2011 PDT meeting. We are seeking a motion of support for adoption of Alternative 2B as the Locally Preferred Alternative for the YBI Ramps Improvement Project. 7:40 13. Adopt a Motion of Support for the Appropriation of $55,000 in Prop K Funds for the US101 Candlestick Interchange Project Study Report, Subject to the Attached Fiscal Year Cash Flow Distribution Schedule - ACTION* attachment The US101 Candlestick Interchange Re-Configuration Project is one of several projects identified by the Authority and its partner agencies in San Francisco and San Mateo County as a shared high-priority investment that is needed to address existing and future needs in the Visitacion Valley/Bi-County area. Authority staff have presented on this and other recommended high-priority projects emerging from the Bi-County Transportation Study at the Citizen Advisory Committee's February and October 2010 meetings, as well as at numerous community meetings. In parallel with the Bi-County Transportation Study, the City of Brisbane is leading a Project Study Report (PSR), the initial alternatives analysis and project appraisal document that is required for a project proposed on the state highway system. To date, the PSR expenses of $611,000 have been funded by developer contributions, including sponsors of the San Francisco Southeast Waterfront and Brisbane Baylands projects. The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has recently begun requiring reimbursement for its staff time to provide oversight on projects such as the Candlestick Interchange. As a result, the project budget is in need of an additional $110,000 (or 15% of the total estimated budget of $721,000) to fund Caltrans' remaining review of the PSR. The San Mateo County Transportation Authority approved $55,000 (or 50%) for this expense in February 2011, contingent upon a similar amount to be provided from San Francisco. We are seeking a motion of support for the appropriation of $55,000 in Prop K funds for the US101 Candlestick Interchange PSR, subject to the attached Fiscal Year Cash Flow Distribution Schedule. 7:55 14. Public Comment 8:00 15. Adjournment
* Materials Attached Next Regular Meeting: May 25, 2011
CAC MEMBERS WHO ARE UNABLE TO ATTEND SHOULD CONTACT ERIKA CHENG AT (415) 522-4831 This meeting location is wheelchair accessible. In order to allow individuals with environmental illness or multiple-chemical sensitivity to attend the meeting, individuals are requested to refrain from wearing perfume or other scented products. All times shown are for information only. Items will be called at the discretion of the Chair. If any materials related to an item on this agenda have been distributed to the Citizens Advisory Committee after distribution of the agenda packet, those materials are available for public inspection at the San Francisco County Transportation Authority at 100 Van Ness Avenue, Floor 26, San Francisco, CA 94102, during normal office hours. If you prefer receiving future agendas via email instead of regular mail, please send your request to
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