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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - Citizens Transportation Oversight Commission - Meeting Date: 7/6/2023 Glendale ARIZONA MINUTES CITIZENS TRANSPORTATION OVERSIGHT COMMISSION 6210 W. GLENDALE AVE. -BLDG. A, SUITE 111/112 GLENDALE, ARIZONA 85301 JULY 6, 2023 6:00 P.M. 1. CALL TO ORDER Vice Chair Marsh called the meeting to order at 6:02 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL Present: Paul Marsh, Vice Chair Marc Floyd, Commissioner Sharon Nesbitt, Commissioner Tiana Roberts, Commissioner Absent: Bryon Joyce, Chair James Ho, Commissioner Also Present: Patrick Sage, Transportation Planner Purab Adabala , Transportation Deputy Director Marilu Garcia Ramirez, Senior Transportation Planner Russ Romney, Assistant City Attorney 3. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA -WITHDRAWALS AND CONTINUANCES ACTION BY CTOC: Approval of agenda for the July 6th, 2023 Citizens Transportation Oversight Commission (CTOC) meeting, as submitted. Motioned by Commissioner Tiana Roberts, seconded by Vice Chair Paul Marsh AYE: Vice Chair Paul Marsh Commissioner Marc Floyd Commissioner Sharon Nesbitt Commissioner Tiana Roberts Other: Chair Bryon Joyce (ABSENT) Commissioner James Ho (ABSENT) Passed 4. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES ACTION BY CTOC: Approval of the minutes from the June 1, 2023 CTOC meeting, as written. Motioned by Commissioner Tiana Roberts, seconded by Commissioner Sharon Nesbitt AYE: Vice Chair Paul Marsh Commissioner Marc Floyd Commissioner Sharon Nesbitt Commissioner Tiana Roberts Other: Chair Bryon Joyce (ABSENT) Commissioner James Ho (ABSENT) Passed 5. CITIZEN COMMENTS None. 6. DRAFT 10-YEAR TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM FY2024-2033 Ms. Garcia Ramirez gave a follow-up presentation on the Draft 10-Year Transportation Program FY2024-FY2033, which included information on the following: o Financial Forecast o FY2024 Transportation Budget o 10-Year Transportation Program Summary Commissioner Roberts relayed she read an article in the Arizona Republic about the riskiest intersections in the Valley, including intersections along 59th Avenue in Glendale. She asked whether the 10-Year Program addresses the riskiest intersections along 59th Avenue. Mr. Adabala explained that the City does evaluate how to best address safety issues at intersections that are identified on that annual list, and provided examples like the safety improvements that were recently constructed at the 59 th Avenue intersection with Olive Avenue. He said every year the Program is adjusted based on information available at that time. He said now that this updated information is available, staff can evaluate the safety issues to determine what projects can be included and prioritized when the Program is updated annually, while keeping the Program balanced and funded. Vice Chair Marsh noted the 10-Year Program is updated annually, and he recommended that the Commission accept the draft Program as presented. He said the Commission should trust staffs recommendations with the understanding that next year's Program and budget will be adjusted and updated pending new information, changes in priorities and funding opportunities. Mr. Adabala explained that staff regularly applies for federal funding for intersection safety improvements that may be in addition to projects and funding identified in the current version of the 10-Year Program. He said the typical process is to perform analyses to quantify issues and identify solutions that justify the grant request. Commissioner Roberts asked if the Program could include these additional efforts. She said that currently the Program is silent on those intersections. Commissioner Roberts requested language to be added to the 10-Year Program regarding the City's intent on addressing those intersections. Ms. Garcia Ramirez said the Program report can be updated to include the requested language; however, City Council has already approved the budget. Mr. Adabala said staff could come back to the Commission with language regarding the identified intersections. Vice Chair Marsh asked about any timing issues created by waiting on approval until the next meeting. Ms. Garcia Ramirez indicated the approval could be done next month. Vice Chair Marsh asked if the draft language would be received before the next meeting. Mr. Sage said that is correct. Commissioner Roberts inquired about what would happen if the CTOC made a recommendation that was different from the Council-approved CIP. Mr. Adabala said that could happen, but Council holds the final authority to make the decisions. Commissioner Floyd said if the while CTOC's role is to provide oversight, he had yet to receive a comprehensive answer regarding an audit process to reconcile expenses on specific projects. He said a true Program oversight would include this responsibility. Vice Chair Marsh mentioned that CTOC doesn't have oversight of the day-to-day responsibilities of the Transportation Department in his understanding of the Commission's role. He said the CTOC should trust management and the budget and finance offices to keep proper track. He said this request may be digging deeper than the CTOC is tasked to oversee. Commissioner Floyd said public funds were being utilized for the services and this was an oversight Commission. Mr. Romney explained that the CTOC establishing ordinance outlines the Commission's responsibilities. He said the Commission is not tasked with performing forensic examinations of the budget. He said City Council has that responsibility, and the City has a team that audits all departments, not just Transportation. He said it was up to Council to make the dollars count and to understand how the dollars were spent, which was done in a different public forum. He said the powers of the CTOC were defined by the establishing ordinance. Mr. Adabala said all City of Glendale spending was available on the City's website and the Commissioners could view line item information. He said that in addition to the City's internal audits the GO Program is specifically audited every three years by an outside consultant. Mr. Romney encouraged the Commissioners to make their concerns known to Council to ensure that there was accounting for the way funds were spent. Vice Chair Marsh reiterated that staff will prepare the requested draft language to include in the Program report so the Commission can provide their recommendation at the next CTOC meeting. 7. 67TH AVENUE BIKE LANE PROJECT Mr. Sage gave an update on the 67th Avenue Bike Lane project, which included the following information: •The project involves the installation of bike lanes on 67th Avenue between Missouri Avenue and Cholla Street. •Project design is near completion. •The project emerged from the Glendale Active Transportation Plan (2019). Vice Chair Marsh asked if there was a lot of commercial vehicle traffic on 67th Avenue or if it was mostly automobiles. Mr. Sage did not see there was a large percentage of commercial vehicles, such as semi-trucks. Vice Chair Marsh asked if 67th Avenue was primarily residential. Mr. Sage said it was primarily residential north of the 67th Avenue bridge over Grand Avenue. Vice Chair Marsh asked if there were generally accepted bike lane standards. Mr. Sage relayed there are national standards and guidelines that are followed. Mr.Adabala said there are minimum standards such as striping, symbols and the inclusion of"Bike Lane" signs that are required to identify formal bike lanes. Vice Chair Marsh asked if there was an public meeting on the project recently. Mr. Sage relayed that the City held an open house public meeting a couple of weeks ago. 8. ARIZONA BICYCLING SUMMIT 2023 Mr. Sage gave a presentation on the Arizona Bicycling Summit 2023, which included information on the following: •The Summit was held on March 31, 2023 in Mesa. •Ms. Zhang and Mr. Sage attended the Summit, which is an annual event held by the Arizona Bicycle Coalition. •Topics included the benefits of cycling, shared best practices, innovative strategies, policies and initiatives. •Session included: •Education and Bike Law Panel •Infrastructure Roundtable •Policy and Advocacy Roundtable •Free bicycle program •Projects from various Arizona cities were shared at the event 9. DEPUTY DIRECTOR'S REPORT Mr. Adabala gave an update on the following: •MAG Design Assistance Application •MAG Design Assistance Application •RAISE Grant Application 10. COMMISSIONER UPDATES No comments. 11. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS No new topics suggestions were made. Commissioner Floyd inquired about the proposed sound wall on SR101L. Mr. Sage said staff is working to bring this item to the Commission as part of a near-term future meeting. 12. NEXT MEETING The next regular meeting of the Citizens Transportation Oversight Commission will be held on Thursday, August 3, 2023 at 6:00 p.m. 13. ADJOURNMENT Vice Chair Marsh adjourned the meeting at 7:26 p.m. he f i ens Transportation Oversight Commission meeting minutes of July 6, 2023 were submitted and pp,o -• this 3rd day of August 2023. Pal k Sage Rec.rding Secretary