MATS POLICY COMMITTEE

MEETING NOTICE

DATE: Wednesday, August 5, 2015

TIME: 9:30 a.m.
PLACE: Bibb Co. Engineering Annex, 760 Third Street, Macon, GA

--Roll Call – establishment of quorum

--Approval of meeting agenda & minutes

--Committee Reports

--Public Input (5min./person limit)

Agenda Items

1. MATS By-Laws and MOU – Discussion of Items

2. Long Range Transportation Plan and Comprehensive Plan – Overview of Updates

3. Georgia State Rail Plan – Review of Plan

4. Project Status Report – Presented by Georgia D.O.T.

---Old Business

Seventh St. Route

CAC Membership

---New Business

Briefing: Regional Implications of H.B. 170

---Adjournment

MATS Policy Meeting

May 13, 2015

A meeting of the MATS Policy Committee was held on May 13, 2015 in the Bibb Co. Engineering Annex. There were 7 voting members present, thereby establishing a quorum. The meeting agenda and the minutes of the previous meeting were both introduced and approved. Jim Thomas gave an update on the Technical and CAC meetings that were held previously. The first item on the agenda was the Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) for FY 2016 presented by Mike Greenwald. He gave an overview of the MPO funding and reporting process. Under the MPO funding process, he discussed the PL funds and the Sec. 5303 funding sources that are distributed through Georgia D.O.T. to the Macon MPO. The reporting requirements for the MPO in terms of the LRTP, UPWP and the TIP were also discussed. Mayor Reichert inquired if FHWA has to refer to the U.S. DOT in regards to funding sources for the MPOs. It was stated that the FHWA should address this issue directly since they are a subset of the U.S. DOT.

In terms of UPWP funding, the 80/20 rule was reviewed in which the federal government provides 80% of the funding and the remaining 20% is provided by state and local sources. In the UPWP, there were no overall budget increases from last year but funding had been moved around to other task elements. The changes in the funding categories reflected the emphasis on the future LRTP tasks and better incorporation of transit into the regional transportation goals. In addition, the UPWP had been updated to incorporate performance based planning measures according to the MAP-21 regulations. The Mayor mentioned that Macon-Bibb Co. is in the process of preparing a final Tiger Grant application for electric bus service from the downtown area and inquired if this has to be in the LRTP. Tom McQueen stated that the application can include information confirming that the LRTP will be amended in the future on receipt of the grant. After further discussion, a motion was made by Scotty Shepherd and seconded by Craig Ross to adopt the final UPWP that was approved by the Policy Committee.

The next item on the agenda was the MATS Participation Plan that was reviewed by Ken North. He stated that the report had been presented at the previous Policy meeting but there had been some revisions since that time. The objectives section of the Participation Plan had been expanded as well as the Public Participation Techniques and the Amendment Process sections. In addition, there had also been a public review period for the draft Participation Plan but no public comments had been received. The Mayor inquired about the IAC process and Jim Thomas remarked that this process was in place due to air quality conformity requirements. The Mayor also had some concerns about the issue of cooperation among the Macon MPO and the adjacent Warner Robins MPO. Jim Thomas stated that according to the new planning emphasis areas, there is a focus on better coordination between adjacent MPOs. A motion was then made by Daylon Martin and seconded by Craig Ross to adopt the MATS Participation Plan that was subsequently approved.

The next item on the agenda was the MATS By-Laws that was discussed by Jim Thomas. He mentioned that the by-laws would have to be revised for the MATS Policy Committee since Payne City no longer existed. Therefore, a decision would have to be made if a replacement should be included for Payne City on the Policy Committee. Mayor Reichert suggested that one of the nonvoting members should be included as a possible replacement. Subsequently, a motion was made by Craig Ross and seconded by Daylon Martin to include the Chairman of the Macon-Bibb Industrial Authority as a voting member on the Policy Committee which was then approved by the members. However, a final decision on this matter would have to be made at the next Policy meeting.

Jack Reed of Georgia D.O.T. presented the project status report. He reviewed the status of certain projects for the Policy Committee. Under Jeffersonville Rd., he stated that the ROW acquisition is continuing but the Mayor had some concerns about the construction date for this project. It was stated that construction for certain sections of Jeffersonville Rd. is scheduled for late FY 2016. The Mayor commented that the construction date should not be delayed in the future and the Technical Committee should continue to monitor these projects. The Ocmulgee Heritage Trail is currently scheduled for construction in FY 2019 but an attempt is being made to move it up to an earlier date. The I-16/I-75 projects are on schedule for completion of plans by the winter of 2015 in anticipation of future construction funding. Dave Fortson stated that the concept for the Forest Hill Rd. project from Forsyth to Wimbish Rd. is currently being revised. The traffic counts in this area haven’t changed and therefore, the concept for this project will be scaled down. It was estimated that the revised concept will be ready within a year. Mayor Reichert had some questions about future airport projects. He mentioned that funding for a study to extend the runway at the downtown airport had been approved and asked if this should be included in the TIP. It was stated that Carol Comer at the Georgia D.OT. Intermodal Office should be contacted in regards to the airport projects.

Under Old Business, Jim Thomas stated the Seventh St. project is currently in the 2040 network. In order to move the project up, the project concept needs to be refined and the Policy Committee needs to vote to move the project into a new network year. In addition, funding for the project needs to be identified. Mayor Reichert then asked that the concept be refined for this project in order to allow possible funding for scoping. Under rail service, Mike Greenwald stated that he had reviewed the state rail plan. The plan called for passenger rail service to Macon from Atlanta as part of service to Savannah and Jacksonville. The plan presented a shared use option and a dedicated rail use option for the proposed passenger rail service. The proposed cost for the shared use option was $5 billion and $16.1billion for the dedicated use option. In addition, the proposed rail service could be done in separate project phases. It was suggested that the GDOT Intermodal Office be contacted in order to invite someone to attend a future meeting of the Policy Committee to provide more detailed information. Under New Business, the Mayor remarked that the General Assembly is considering a T-SPLOST as part of the new Transportation Bill. Also, Jim Thomas asked the members of the Policy Committee to please provide the proxy information for future meetings as previously requested. Finally, he stated that the MOU would have to be approved by the various agencies represented under MATS by the end of June. Being no further items to discuss, the meeting was adjourned.

MATS POLICY COMMITTEE MEETING

ATTENDANCE LIST

May 13, 2015

Those Attending Representing

1. Jim Thomas Macon-Bibb Planning & Zoning Comm. Exec. Director

2. Phil Ramati Macon Telegraph

3. Mike Greenwald Macon-Bibb Planning & Zoning Comm. Planning Dir.

4. Robert Reichert* Mayor, Macon-Bibb Co.

5. Clinton Ford Georgia D.O.T.

6. Ken North Macon-Bibb Co. Planning & Zoning Comm.

7. Craig Ross* Chairman, Macon Transit Authority

8. Tom McQueen* Russell McMurry, Georgia D.O.T. Commissioner

9. Morgan Simmons Georgia D.O.T. Planning Office

10. Mallory Jones* Macon-Bibb Co. Commission

11. Michel Wanna Macon Water Authority

12. Cam Yearty* Charlie Westberry, Middle GA Regional Commission

13. Jack Reed Georgia D.O.T.

14. Stella Tsai Citizen

15. Greg Brown Macon-Bibb Co. Planning & Zoning Comm.

16. Chuck Howard Macon Transit Authority

17. David Fortson Director, Macon-Bibb Engineering

18. Scotty Shepherd* Macon-Bibb Commission

19. Daylon Martin* Preston Hawkins, Jones Co. Commission Chairman

20. Krystal Harris Georgia D.O.T.

*Voting Member

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