December 11, 2018 10:00 a.m.
Lake Michigan Room 6100 Southport Road, Portage
Annotated Agenda
Pledge of Allegiance; Introductions
Meeting Participation Survey
INDOT requires NIRPC to develop a questionnaire to help evaluate the success of their efforts to reach out to all members of our community. Participation is strictly voluntary and anonymous.
Minutes of the November 13, 2018 meeting (pp. 1-2) ACTION REQUESTED: Approval
This is an opportunity for comments from members of the audience. The amount of time available to speak will be limited to 3 minutes. Commenters must sign the blue form.
2050 Plan Draft Strategies Identification.
NIRPC staff will discuss and solicit feedback on strategies to pursue in the 2050 Plan. The strategies identified in the 2050 Plan will be focused upon the four Plan vision statements and guide future NIRPC planning activities.
Various committees are invited to report out on their meetings.
Environmental Management Policy Committee (EMPC)
Ped, Pedal & Paddle Committee (3PC)
Transit Operators Roundtable (TOR)
Land Use Committee (LUC)
Surface Transportation Committee (STC)
Transportation Resource & Oversight Committee (TROC)
Federal Highway Administration & Federal Transit Administration
Neighboring Regional Planning Agencies
Other Business
Staff Announcements
NIRPC Meetings/Events
The Finance & Personnel Committee will meet on Thursday, December 20 at 8:00 a.m. in the Dune Room at NIRPC.
The NIRPC Offices will be closed in observance of the Christmas Holiday on December 24 and 25.
The Environmental Management Policy Committee will meet on Thursday, January 10 at 9 a.m. in the Lake Michigan Room at NIRPC.
The Ped, Pedal & Paddle Committee will meet on Thursday, January 3 at 11:00 a.m. in the Lake Michigan Room at NIRPC.
The Finance & Personnel Committee will meet on Thursday, January 17 at 8:00 a.m. in the Dune Room at NIRPC.
The Full Commission/Executive Board will meet on Thursday, January 17 at 9:00 a.m. in the Lake Michigan Room at NIRPC.
The Surface Transportation Committee will meet on Tuesday, January 3 at 9 a.m. in the Lake Michigan Room.
The Land Use Committee will meet on Wednesday, February 6 at 10 a.m. in the Dune Room at NIRPC.
The next Technical Planning Committee meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, January 8, 2019 at 9
a.m. in the Lake Michigan Room at the NIRPC office.
Requests for alternate formats, please contact Mary Thorne at NIRPC at least 48 hours prior at (219) 763- 6060 extension 131 or at mthorne@nirpc.org. Individuals with hearing impairments may contact us through the Indiana Relay 711 service by calling 711 or (800) 743-3333.
The Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission (NIRPC) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, marital status, familial status, parental status, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program.
NIRPC Lake Michigan Room, 6100 Southport Road, Portage November 13, 2018
Minutes
Kevin Breitzke called the meeting to order at 9:10 a.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance and self- introductions. Members present included Kevin Breitzke, George Topoll, Will Farrellbegg, Mark O’Dell, Kelly Wenger, Margot Sabato, Dean Button, Tyler Kent, Tom MacLennan, Duane Alverson, Stephen Stofko, Phil Gralik, Jeff Huet, Doug Ferguson, and David Wright. Others present included Jerry Siska, Bruce Lindner, Frank Rosado, Jr., Dennis Cobb, Mark Gordish, Laurie Keagle, Ron Wiederman, Phil Gralik, Chris Moore, Eric Wolverton, K-Todd Behling, Bob Thompson, Adam McAlpine, Mike Jabo, Don Oliphant and Christopher Murphy. Joyce Newland and Kay Nelson participated via conference phone. Staff present included Kathy Luther, Trey Wadsworth, Charles Bradskey, Scott Weber, Mitch Barloga, Dominique Edwards, Eman Ibrahim, James Winters, Gabrielle Biciunas, Peter Kimball, Candice Eklund and Mary Thorne.
The INDOT participation survey was available at the table in the lobby.
The minutes of the October 9, 2018 Technical Planning Committee meeting were approved on a motion by Dean Button and a second by Will Farrellbegg.
There were no public comments.
Dominique Edwards presented on the 2050 Plan Futures fall pop-up events which concluded October
20. Feedback was received from over 200 people.
Scott Weber presented performance targets for safety, pavement condition and bridge condition and system reliability, freight and congestion mitigation air quality. These are targets and not goals. On a motion by Dean Button and a second by Mark O’Dell, the committee majority voted to recommend the three targets to the NIRPC Commission for adoption with one no vote.
James Winters presented on the Coordinated Transit Plan public comment report. The most significant comments were from GPTC and some changes were made enhancing language in the document. Also, there is language in the document leading into the matrix. On a motion by Will Farrellbegg and a second by David Wright, the committee voted to recommend the Coordinated Transit Plan to the NIRPC Commission for adoption.
Mitch Barloga, Charles Bradsky and James Winters presented on the draft funding allocations and program rules for the 2020-2024 Transportation Improvement Program and the timeline for the Notice of Funding Availability. Discussion followed with several questions which were answered by staff.
Will Farrellbegg made a motion, seconded by Dean Button that municipalities that take jurisdiction over INDOT highways take at least 10 years of not making any applications for NIRPC funds. The motion failed on a show of hands with only two in favor. Discussion was held with regard to points being awarded to projects with previous phases, Dean Button made a motion, seconded by George Topoll for TPC to direct the topical committees to include in their scoring sheets preferential treatment to projects whose future phases are not yet funded. Motion passed. The funding application opens November 22. NIRPC will hold an application workshop on December 11 and pre-application scoping meetings will be held from December 12-January 4. Funding applications are due January 11.
Projects will be reviewed, scored and fiscally constrained by the topical committees. The draft TIP is
due to INDOT by February 15. The final draft will be reviewed by this committee on March 12. A 30- day public comment period will be held throughout the month of April. The anticipated adoption by the Commission is set for May 16. A timeline for future NOFAs was also provided. Kevin Breitzke highlighted an email sent to him by Dean Button with his concerns, which were addressed by staff.
Other concerns from the committee were also addressed. Kathy Luther commented that NIRPC is looking to address our local match which has not been addressed for 25 years. Any changes would need to be made through state legislation. Brief discussion followed. On a motion by Dean Button and a second by George Topoll, the TPC voted to recommend the funding program as presented with the amendments made to the Commission for adoption with one “no” vote.
There were no reports.
Joyce Newland said FHWA is having a course on January 8-9 on FHWA administration of planning and STR Part 1 funds.
Upcoming meetings were listed.
The Complete Streets workshop will be held at NIRPC on December 7 from 9-3. There is no meeting of the transit operators today.
The next Technical Planning Committee meeting is December 11 at 9 a.m. at NIRPC. Hearing no other business, Kevin Breitzke adjourned the meeting at 12:20 p.m.
A Digital MP3 of this meeting is filed. Contact Mary Thorne at the phone number or email below should you wish to receive a copy or a portion of it.