MATS  Committee 

	Other Stories from The Meeting:
	New (or Old) SPLOST Monies for Macon Transit Authority? Director of the Macon Transit Authority, Mr Rick Jones reports: New Transit Busses will be Greener - less emmissions.  Old Fleet (manufactured in a defunct Mexico factory) is falling apart, and repair parts are very difficult to locate. Mayor Reichert asked Mr Jones, if MTA might be able to use some (New) SPLOST funds to help with the needed matching funds for the new busses.  Mr Jones, of course, said "yes".   A few minutes later, Lindsay Holliday suggested that Transit Authority  might could borrow some money from the (Old) 1994 SPLOST so they could proceed with matching Fed+State funds to get the new busses.    Reichert and Allen said that 1994 money is already allocated and it could Not be repurposed - to which Holliday replied that he could show them numerous instances where the 1994 SPLOST moneys were shifted around, and thus, they (some funds) have already been repurposed.    --They denied this, and then Reichert said that "in the interest of time," he was  going to limit further discussions to the Committee Members only.  This effectively shut Holliday out of further discussions.  After the meeting, someone mentioned that the 1994 SPLOST money might still be available "if the original legislation mentions the word transit...(or transportation)"    Nearby were Mr Jones and Mariam Paris - who volunteered that she might have the City Attorney, Pope Langstaff look into (review) the legislation wording to see if it might be used to front a short term loan to MTA for the needed busses.  Follow-up Info: The 1994-SPLOST-Authorization documents are now webposted here:   http://www.macon-bibb.com/MATS/1994-SPLOST-Authorization.pdf The documents clearly show that Macon Transit Authority was to benefit with Several Million $ for Capital Outlays.  See scanned pages 17/26  and 19/26.   So the MATS leaders were wrong to say the 1994 SPLOST had nothing to do with Transit.  Thus, any money left in various categories of the 1994 SPLOST may certainly be shifted to provide a short term loan to MTA to help them buy the "green" busses to help us clean up our dirty air. MATS-CAC might hold a called meeting to get an update of the 1994 SPLOST Finances.  It is interesting to read this old document to see how Many Projects were Shifted/Changed!  Examples: 1- Houston Rd was Supersized. 2- Ingleside was Downsized. 3- Wesleyan Drive was abandoned 4- Commissioners vote to shift funds on Dec. 11th 2006.pdf  5.- ...etc... PS- Please Note:   30% of Bibb adults do not have access to an automobile, and of the 70% who do own a car, 17% are too dangerous, and should not be on the roads.
	More Topics Discussed  **- 2nd Street Bridge  - see picture (to be posted) - Roundabout at Walnut St  and 7th Street - for Truck Route to keep trucks out of Museum District. - see picture (to be posted) - Fall Line Freeway - new Option - see picture (to be posted)    - Telegraph Article reprinted below; and found here: http://www.macon.com/local/story/1009944.html -1994 SPLOST Funds - What is current balance?  No one knew at the meeting. Who is watching the Money?  -
	Discussions concerning the Conformity Determination Report (CDR) We asked - How many local Air Quality Sensors?  Jim Thomas said there are 2. What do they measure besides Ozone? Particulates? NOX? SOX?  No answer. After the meeting: Follow-up by another Concerned Citizen: - Please Note - It was citizens who had to explain to the Mayor and to the Policy committee members how many air quality monitors there are in middle Georgia and their locations. Mayor Reichert has been chair of the Clean Air Coalition for two years and he didn't know. Don Tussing, of P&Z, said at the last Citizens Advisory Meeting  that EPD was not even monitoring air quality in Macon at the present time, and he was giving a presentation on the Conformity Determination Report which looks at, using,,, {drum roll, please} ......................."modeling" the impact transportation planning will have on local air quality, and he didn't know. He gave the same to the Policy Committee, but no one the Policy hardly ever asks questions!   Anyway, to make sure my answer was correct, I verified it yesterday with EPD. I will admit I was partially wrong when I said there was only one monitor -- there are physically 3 monitors in Middle Georgia, but I was correct that only one is actually monitoring "total" air quality. The one at Lake Tobosofkee is moth-balled and has been for two years. So, it's there, but not there!  The working monitor station at the Georgia State Forestry Center on Riggins Mill Road, tests the following compounds for determination of non-attainment, PM2.5, ground level ozone, and Sulfur Dioxide, although I think Sulfur Dioxide is in a "Regional Classification" by itself.  The monitor station also tests for other compounds, but they are not used in determination of non-attainment.  I also was reminded (I knew this, but had forgotten) that there is a monitoring station at Allied Chemical that only tests for PM2.5. I would give Jim Thomas who answered at the Policy committee credit for being correct when he said he thought there were two working monitoring stations in Macon, but he was referencing the second one at Lake Tobosofkee, and he of all people should know the correct answer! I hope this doesn't sound petty, but we run into this every day, and it's frustrating when citizens, more often than not, know more than the officials making the decisions for our future and adding insult to injury, the officials don't want to hear from us. - CCitizen. PS - According to the lady I spoke with at EPD, Sulfur Dioxide can also put a region into non-attainment, but we are not in it for that. We're in it because of PM2.5 and ground level ozone. Here are the EPD websites that the lady gave us: www.georgiaair.org  Click on "hot topics" on the left sidebar and then click on "EPD 2008 Ambient Air Monitoring Plan" for the .pdf file.  The other one is a long one. http://www.air.dnr.state.ga.us/amp/index.php  (Baby Blue page) Click on at bottom of page Ambient Monitoring Program---Annual Data Reports" and select 2008...or any year you choose.
	Various Contacts: www.mta-mac.com Rick L. Jones General Manager/CEO Macon Transit Authority 200 Cherry St.  Macon 31201 478-803-2500 cell 335-7431 rjones@mta-mac.com David Gowan <dgowan@bibb.k12.ga.us>, Director of Risk Management Bibb BOE 765-8647 +Springdale PTO Sandie Parker sub-contr from URS-Corp. School Outreach Coordinator for Central Georgia www.SafeRoutesGA.org Sandie@SafeRoutesGA.org 877.GDOT.W2S c.  404-849-3563   Keeper of Minutes and Attendance.  Ken North Transportation Planner Macon-Bibb Planning & Zoning Office 478 751-7462 GaDOT - Transit Planner, Audrey Rivers 404.631-1790 arivers@dot.ga.gov www.dot.ga.gov
	http://www.macon.com/2010/02/04/1009944/new-fall-line-freeway-proposed.html Thursday, Feb. 04, 2010 New Fall Line Freeway plan goes much farther south By MIKE STUCKA - mstucka@macon.com Talk of the Fall Line Freeway bypass south of Macon’s downtown is back. Macon Mayor Robert Reichert offered a new proposal Wednesday to a regional planning group, which agreed to look at his suggestion. Bibb County commissioners are interested, and one frequent road critic thinks the plan may have merit. The original route was supposed to have extended Eisenhower Parkway east through swampland, the Traditional Cultural Property of the Muscogee Indians and land intended to be annexed into the Ocmulgee National Monument. The new proposal goes much farther to the south, starting in Byron, pushing south of the Middle Georgia Regional Airport in south Bibb County, and ultimately cutting across several miles of wetlands to tie into Interstate 16 in Twiggs County and a connection to Ga. 57. The route connects to Interstate 75 through Ga. 49 in Byron and through an under-construction interchange at Sardis Church Road in south Bibb County. The Macon mayor’s proposal would keep the road more than four miles outside the city limits. He said he’s more interested in the route than the Fall Line Freeway name. Reichert said the proposal could relieve traffic congestion in Macon, create more economic development opportunities and make it much easier to reach Robins Air Force Base from Interstate 16. Reichert said he’s thinking regionally about the plan ­ and things that benefit Macon, Bibb County, Houston County and Twiggs County benefit the others. “What I’m trying to do is build this transportation and logistics hub in south Bibb, north Houston County that would have rail, air and highway connections,” he said. “Plenty of land out there for industrial parks. It also provides a front door for Robins Air Force Base from I-16.” Bibb County Commissioner Elmo Richardson, an engineer, said officials have been talking about the proposal, which could bring needed help for the base. Richardson said the project has big hurdles of time, money and environment. “You’ve got to bridge the Ocmulgee River, you’ve got to bridge some swampy areas, and there’s a lot of environmental considerations as well,” he said. “It’ll take a lot of study and a lot of money, no question about that.” Tom Scholl, a founder of the volunteer CAUTION Macon group that monitors road projects, said he was intrigued by bits he learned Wednesday at a Macon Area Transportation Study committee meeting. It seems like an alternative to an Eisenhower extension, he said. “It seemed to be a thoughtful alternative that is well worth further study,” Scholl said. Reichert said the Eisenhower Parkway extension is all but dead. “It is not going to happen. It is as dead as a hammer,” he said. Crystal Paulk-Buchanan, spokeswoman for the Georgia Department of Transportation, said Wednesday that the Eisenhower Parkway Extension project is not officially off the state’s list of future road projects. However, “the department has determined, considering the environmental complications and Georgia DOT’s inadequate funding resources, the department cannot pursue the project at this time,” she said. Pieces of Reichert’s puzzle are falling into place. The state’s official Fall Line Freeway route moves from Ga. 49 east to I-75 in Byron. Reichert said the new route could run from there to U.S. 41 to the Sardis Church Road Extension and Avondale Mill Road that the state is working on. The new Sardis Church Road exit on I-75 provides another way to get to Ga. 247, he said. From there, he wants to build a road from Ga. 247 to Sgoda Road, across swamps and a river, connecting the path to I-16. Drivers could then take U.S. 23/U.S.129 to connect to the rest of the Fall Line Freeway route, which picks up again at Ga. 57 toward Wilkinson County. Other segments of the proposed route between Columbus and Augusta have not been built. The route now follows I-75 to I-16 through Macon. Telegraph staff writer S. Heather Duncan contributed to this report. To contact writer Mike Stucka, call 744-425