Tuesday, April 27, 2021, 1:00 pm CST
6100 Southport Road
Portage, Indiana 46368
(219) 763-6060
Zoom Information: https://zoom.us/j/91577714497?pwd%=WlNjSVdCekczMXpOc3VBWllZc3lVdz09
Meeting ID: 915 7771 4497
Meeting Passcode: 435544
Call in: (312) 626-6799
(This is a virtual meeting)
Agenda
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 indicate their wish to comment on the sign-in sheet.
The NOFA Summary spreadsheet is available separately by clinking HERE. This spreadsheet is a summary of all applications.
ACTION REQUESTED: For Discussion
Description:
Federal funds,
80/20 funds only,
Can be used in conjunction with other funds (CMAQ, TA, HSIP, STBG),
Can be used for any phase (PE, ROW, CN),
Cannot be used for new roads.
Guidelines:
2020 NOFA applications only,
Accelerate projects from 2025 & 2026 if possible,
Assess for risk (RR, ROW, ect),
No category will be favored (Tiers will not play a difference),
If a project slips, it will not be considered a legacy project,
Focus on: Score, Readiness, Equity among communities, Solution to an issue.
Discussion and choosing of projects.
ACTION REQUESTED: Approval & Recommendation to the TPC
Local Quarterly meetings are Mon Aug 3, Mon Aug 10, Tue Aug 11, or Thu Aug 13
Other Business not discussed earlier
The next TROC LaPorte Meeting is scheduled for July 27, 2021 at 1 p.m.
You will be informed of the location and format one week prior to the meeting.
This meeting was convened as an electronic meeting, pursuant to Governor Holcomb’s Executive Order 20-04, extended by Executive Order 20-52. All persons were meeting remotely on a Zoom platform that allowed for real time interaction and supported the public’s ability to observe and record the proceedings. When the agenda item was provided for public comment, this was supported as well.
Charles Bradsky called the meeting to order at 1:02 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance. Roll call was taken by Candice Eklund. In attendance were Mitch Bishop (LaPorte County), Jay Sullivan (LaPorte County), Nick Minich (City of La Porte), Shannon Eason (Michigan City), Beth West (LaPorte TransPorte), Kevin Breitzke (Porter County Surveyor), and Skyler York (Michigan City).
NIRPC staff included Charles Bradsky, Kevin Polette, Flor Baum, and Candice Eklund.
Under General Consent, the minutes of the October 27, 2020 and December 16, 2020 TROC meeting minutes were approved on motion by Shannon Eason and second by Nick Minich with Mitch Bishop, Jay Sullivan, Nick Minich, Shannon Easton, and Beth West voting in the affirmative, and no one voting in the negative, the motion passed.
There were no public comments.
Charles Bradsky displayed the spending plan during the Zoom conference call. Charles said there was a surplus of $94,000 in FY 2020, which will be further discussed at the quarterly meetings in February. There is also a surplus of $448,000 in 2022, a surplus of $300,000 in 2024, and a deficit in 2023. Charles will investigate if he can shift some projects to balance the spending plan.
Charles Bradsky stated the Technical Planning Committee (TPC) requested the TROC Committees make a recommendation of projects at the next TPC meeting. Charles presented the draft list of projects in the NOFA, which he reiterated was not a final document and was open for discussion. Projects were recommended based on the scores the projects received at each of the topical committees and available funding for the year requested. TROC will make the following recommendations to TPC:
Off Road Trails:
LaPorte County - Lincoln Trail; Award $1,315,000 for CN in 2025.
Michigan City - Singing Sands Phase A for $1,900,000 for CN in 2026.
Michigan City - Singing Sands Phase 3D; Awarded for $70,000 for ROW in 2024; creating a legacy project. (Mitch Bishop and Nick Minich support this legacy project.)
Roadway Improvements:
City of La Porte - Emergency Communication Equipment for $33,000 in 2024. Nick Minich noted that once the project is programmed, he wants to move the project forward, with the city paying for PE.
New Transit Vehicles:
La Porte Transporte - Awarded 176,000 for two new buses (one in 2025 and one in 2026)
Michigan City Transportation - Awarded $280,000 for two buses in 2024
New Roadways:
North-South Corridor - Award $847,000 for PE funding in 2025.
Mitch Bishop requested additional funding of $184,000 (80% of $230,000) in FY 2022 to purchase parcells for the Marquette Trail. Mitch stated the environmental study was completed last month. This is in addition to the $105,000 for ROW services in the TIP. Charles Bradsky informed Mitch this would require an amendment to the TIP.
Charles will send the updated NOFA projects recommendations spreadsheet to the TROC Committee after the meeting and will include the updated list of recommended projects in the TPC meeting materials for their meeting on February 9, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. The committee decided to table the vote to recommend the approval of NOFA projects to the TPC.
Nick Minich noted the County Bridge project did not have any funds allocated to the project on the spending plan. Charles will include the funding for this project in the updated spreadsheet.
Charles reminded the Committee of the virtual Local Quarterly Meetings that are scheduled for February 4, 10, and 11. The meeting schedule has been sent out and is also included in the meeting packet for today’s meeting.
Nick Minich said an informational meeting with LaPote County and the City of La Porte was scheduled on February 3 to discuss the North-South Corridor project.
Having no further business, the meeting adjourned at 1:26 p.m. The next meeting will be held on April 27, 2021 at 1:00 p.m.