CAPTIONING DECEMBER 2, 2008 METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION ***This is not an official, verbatim transcript of the ***following meeting. It should be used for informational ***purposes only. This document has not been edited; ***therefore, there may be additions, deletions, or words ***that did not translate. >>JOE AFFRONTI: GOOD MORNING. WELCOME TO OUR HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY MPO MEETING FOR DECEMBER 2nd, 2008. WOULD YOU PLEASE STAND FOR PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE AND AN INVOCATION. [PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE] HEAVENLY FATHER, WE THANK YOU AGAIN FOR ALL THE MANY BLESSINGS THAT YOU'VE GIVEN US, AND WE ASK THAT YOU GUIDE US IN OUR DECISIONS THAT WE MAKE FOR THE RESIDENTS OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY. WE ASK THAT YOU PROTECT OUR YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN WHO ARE OVERSEAS FIGHTING FOR OUR FREEDOM, ESPECIALLY DURING THESE HOLIDAYS COMING UP. THEY AND THEIR FAMILIES, WE RECOGNIZE THE GREAT SACRIFICES THEY'RE MAKING. IN YOUR NAME WE PRAY. AMEN. >> AMEN. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. FIRST, I WANT TO INTRODUCE OUR NEWEST MEMBER ON THE MPO IS MR. KEVIN BECKNER. KEVIN. >>KEVIN BECKNER: THANK YOU VERY MUCH. IT'S A PLEASURE TO BE HERE. >>JOE AFFRONTI: IT'S GREAT TO HAVE YOU WITH US. >>KEVIN BECKNER: THANK YOU. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU. AND WE HAVE TWO THAT WILL NOT BE ATTENDING TODAY. KEN HAGAN WILL NOT ATTEND, HE HAD A CONFLICT, AS WELL AS MR. RICK LOTT, MAYOR OF PLANT CITY, SO WITH THAT, I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE THE FIRST ITEM. YOU KNOW, BACK IN JUNE WE APPOINTED MR. CHIARAMONTE AS THE INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AND I BELIEVE MR. DINGFELDER RECOMMENDED THAT WE GIVE HIM A YEAR, 12 MONTHS, TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT RAY IS THE RIGHT GUY FOR THE JOB, AND IF NOT THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO GO OUT AND DO A SEARCH, SO -- MANY THINGS HAVE HAPPENED IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS. NUMBER ONE, THIS TRANSIT ISSUE IS VERY, VERY VITAL TO OUR COUNTY, AND -- AND WE'RE AT THE POINT NOW WHERE WE REALLY NEED TO GET INTO OVERDRIVE, AND I THINK WE'VE BEEN -- RAY'S DONE AN EXCELLENT JOB. THERE'S NO QUESTION ABOUT THAT. HE JUMPED IN WITH BOTH FEET, AND I GOT THE EVALUATION -- PERFORMANCE EVALUATION THAT WE SENT OUT. LINDA SENT THEM OUT, AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FROM LINDA REGARDING THE PROCEDURE, YOU'RE CERTAINLY WELCOME TO ASK HER, BUT IN THE EVALUATION -- I'LL GET INTO THAT FIRST -- OUT OF A POSSIBLE 5.0, WHICH IS THE ABSOLUTE BEST PERFORMANCE, RAY AVERAGED 4.7, WHICH IS PRETTY DARN GOOD. THE HIGHEST -- THE HIGHEST RATING THAT HE GOT OUT OF FIVE IS 4.9, AND THE LOWEST WAS 4.5, SO I THINK THAT SPEAKS VERY WELL FOR THE EXCELLENT JOB THAT RAY HAS DONE, AND LIKE I SAY, THE -- IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY MOVE FORWARD WITH OUR TRANSIT PLANS, AND I THINK THAT WAS PRETTY EVIDENT THE OTHER DAY WHEN REPRESENTATIVE MICA WAS HERE, AND WE'RE NOT EVEN ON THE LIST FOR FEDERAL FUNDS AT THIS POINT. OTHER CITIES, OTHER MUNICIPALITIES LIKE MIAMI AND NEW YORK GOT REQUESTS IN FOR BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, AND WE'RE SITTING THERE, WE HAVE NOTHING AT THIS POINT. SO WE JUST NEED TO MOVE FORWARD AND WE NEED TO MOVE FORWARD QUICKLY, AND NOT THAT WE DON'T WANT TO DO IT RIGHT, WE HAVE TO DO IT RIGHT, BUT AT THE SAME TIME WE REALLY NEED TO MOVE FORWARD AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN AND AS EFFICIENTLY AS WE CAN, SO WITH THAT, I -- I WOULD LIKE TO RECOMMEND THAT WE -- AND THEN THIS AFTERNOON ALSO THE FLORIDA DELEGATION -- LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION IS IN PLANT CITY, AND WE WILL BE ADDRESSING THEM THIS AFTERNOON, SO IT WOULD BE NICE TO ADDRESS THEM AND INTRODUCE MR. CHIARAMONTE AS OUR PERMANENT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. SO WITH THAT, I WOULD LIKE TO RECOMMEND THAT SOMEBODY MAKE A MOTION TO -- >>ROSE FERLITA: MR. CHAIRMAN. >>JOE AFFRONTI: YES, ROSE. >>ROSE FERLITA: I'D BE HAPPY TO DO THAT. I KNOW THAT COUNCILMAN DINGFELDER HAD SUGGESTED THAT A WHILE BACK, AND AT LAST MEETING, IF YOU REMEMBER, COLLEAGUES, MAYOR LOTT WAS WILLING TO MAKE THE MOTION THEN. IN ADVANCE OF THE EVALUATION, WE THOUGHT MAYBE IT MADE BETTER SENSE TO GET THE EVALUATION FIRST, BUT, IN FACT, HE WAS CORRECT, AS WAS MR. DINGFELDER, AND IT'S MY PLEASURE TO MAKE A MOTION TO REMOVE THE INTERIM FROM HIS -- >> SECOND. >>ROSE FERLITA: -- HIS TITLE. >> SECOND. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? YES, LINDA. >>LINDA SAUL-SENA: WE ARE SO FORTUNATE AT THIS VERY DYNAMIC TIME AT THE MPO'S EXISTENCE TO HAVE SUCH A STRONG EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING CLOSELY WITH RAY AS OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO GET US TO TRANSIT. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? IF NOT, ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. [CHORUS OF AYES] OPPOSED. MOTION CARRIES. CONGRATULATIONS, RAY. [APPLAUSE] >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: THANK YOU VERY MUCH. >>JOSEPH CAETANO: [INAUDIBLE] >>JOE AFFRONTI: WOULD YOU LIKE TO -- >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: YES. I WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE BOARD FOR ALLOWING ME NOT TO PUT THAT INTERIM IN FRONT OF MY -- I WAS STARTING TO FEEL LIKE A TEMP WORKER, AND IT WAS REALLY MAKING ME NERVOUS, BUT I WANT TO REALLY THANK THE STAFF OF THE MPO, LUCY AND JOE AND ALL THE MEMBERS OF OUR TEAM. THEY'VE BEEN GREAT, AND THAT'S WHAT'S MADE THIS A REALLY GREAT EXPERIENCE IS HAVING A STAFF AS PROFESSIONAL AS OUR MPO STAFF IS, AND I TOTALLY APPRECIATE THAT. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU, RAY. OKAY. NEXT ITEM, THE ELECTION OF OFFICERS. ADAM. >>ADAM GORMLY: THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. WE HAVE TWO OFFICER POSITIONS THAT ARE UP FOR NOMINATION TODAY, THE CHAIR AND THE VICE CHAIR. WE'LL START WITH THE CHAIR POSITION AND OPEN THE FLOOR TO NOMINATIONS. ONCE ALL THE NOMINATIONS HAVE BEEN MADE, THE NOMINATIONS WILL CLOSE, AND THERE'LL BE A VOTE TAKEN ON EACH CANDIDATE AS -- IN THE ORDER THAT THEY WERE -- HE OR SHE WAS NOMINATED, SO AT THIS POINT IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE TO OPEN THE FLOOR FOR NOMINATIONS TO THE CHAIR POSITION. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. MS. FERLITA. >>ROSE FERLITA: MR. CHAIRMAN, MR. GORMLY, THANK YOU. I THINK WE'VE DONE VERY WELL UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF OUR CHAIRMAN, SO IT'S MY PLEASURE TO MAKE A MOTION TO NOMINATE MR. AFFRONTI AGAIN AS CHAIRMAN. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: SECOND. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. MOVED AND SECONDED. ANY OTHER NOMINATIONS? I GUESS -- DO I ASK THAT OR DO YOU -- >>ADAM GORMLY: IF THERE ARE OTHER NOMINATIONS. [LAUGHTER] THEN WE'LL CLOSE, AND JUST FOR FORM, JUST VOTE ON THE ONLY CANDIDATE. ALL IN FAVOR OF MR. AFFRONTI FOR CHAIR POSITION. [CHORUS OF AYES] >>LINDA SAUL-SENA: AYE WITH ENTHUSIASM. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OPPOSED. >>ADAM GORMLY: OPPOSED NO. MR. CHAIR. >>JOE AFFRONTI: I JUST WANT TO LET YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I APPRECIATE THE VOTE OF CONFIDENCE YOU'VE GIVEN ME. I REALLY APPRECIATE IT. YOU KNOW I'LL WORK AS HARD AS I CAN TO MAKE SURE THAT THE MPO MOVES FORWARD. >>LINDA SAUL-SENA: WE APPRECIATE YOUR SERVICE. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU. THANK YOU. OKAY. >>ADAM GORMLY: MR. CHAIR, I'M SORRY. JUST FOR THE RECORD, WHO SECONDED THE MOTION? MR. DINGFELDER. THANK YOU. AND THE SECOND POSITION WOULD BE FOR THE VICE CHAIR, SAME PROCEDURE. >>JOE AFFRONTI: COULD I NOMINATE OR NO? >>ADAM GORMLY: YES. >>JOE AFFRONTI: YES. I WOULD LIKE TO NOMINATE MS. FERLITA. >>LINDA SAUL-SENA: SECOND. >>ROSE FERLITA: THANK YOU. >>ADAM GORMLY: OKAY. MS. ROSE FERLITA. ANY OTHER NOMINATIONS FOR THE POSITION? FOR FORM AGAIN, IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE TO VOTE ON ROSE FERLITA FOR VICE CHAIR. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. [CHORUS OF AYES] ALL OPPOSED. MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. >>ROSE FERLITA: THANK YOU, COLLEAGUES. I APPRECIATE IT, AND NOW THAT WE'VE DONE THAT, WE HAVE I THINK ALL SEEN THAT WE HAVE SOME EXCITING TIMES AND CHALLENGING TIMES IN TERMS OF TRANSIT AND TRANSPORTATION ISSUES OVERALL, SO WE ARE A VERY -- MAYBE I'M PREJUDICE, BUT I DON'T THINK SO. WE'RE A VERY GOOD MPO TEAM, AND NOW WITHOUT THE INTERIM IN FRONT OF RAY'S NAME AND WITH OUR NEW COLLEAGUE, COMMISSIONER BECKNER, I THINK WE ARE SET TO DO SOME GOOD THINGS IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE REST OF THE GROUPS, LIKE TBARTA. OF COURSE BOB IS HERE THIS MORNING, SO THIS SHOULD BE WELL, SO THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH. APPRECIATE IT. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU. OKAY. DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM OUR LAST MEETING? >>ROSE FERLITA: SO MOVE, MR. CHAIRMAN. >> SECOND. >>JOE AFFRONTI: MOVED AND SECONDED. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? IF NOT, ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. [CHORUS OF AYES] OPPOSED. MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY. DO WE HAVE ANYONE IN THE AUDIENCE THAT CARES TO ADDRESS THE MPO ON ANY ITEMS? IF NOT, OKAY, THANK YOU. OKAY. CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPORT, MR. AMON. >>LINDA SAUL-SENA: CUTE TIE. >> GOOD MORNING, MR. CHAIRMAN, MEMBERS OF THE MPO. JOE AMON, CHAIR OF THE CAC. WE MET ON NOVEMBER 12th AT 1:15 P.M. WE STARTED WITH OUR MEMBERS' INTEREST. MR. MATHURIN DISTRIBUTED HIS INFORMATION, AS HE ALWAYS DOES, CONCERNING TRANSIT. WE LEARNED THAT THERE'S A HUGE -- I THINK THERE'S A HUGE, FROM LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS, INCREASE IN TRAVEL ON OUR PUBLIC TRANSIT SYSTEMS ALL OVER THE STATE, BUT ALL OVER -- WE LOOKED AT 20 DIFFERENT CITIES, AND IT LOOKS LIKE TRANSIT HAS GONE THROUGH A HUGE INCREASE IN PUBLIC PARTICIPATION, AND TAMPA HAD A FAIRLY LARGE NUMBER OF ADDITIONAL RIDERS DURING THAT TIME PERIOD, WHICH IS VERY GOOD. SECOND PART OF HIS INFORMATION THAT HE GAVE US WAS REFERENDUMS. HE GAVE US A STATUS ON REFERENDUMS THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES, AND IT TURNS OUT THIS PARTICULAR ELECTION CYCLE WAS NOT VERY GOOD FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. A LOT OF REFERENDUMS ASKING FOR SALES TAX INCREASES OR TAX INCREASES WERE VOTED DOWN BY THE -- BY THE CONSTITUENTS, AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT BODES YET, BUT IT WAS QUITE INTERESTING TO HEAR THAT -- THE CAC TO HEAR THAT. MR. STEENSON DISCUSSED CURRENT CLOSING OF THE FRIENDSHIP TRAIL. HE'S CONCERNED ABOUT THE CLOSING, AND THEY -- HE LOOKS AT THAT AS A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF THE BIKE TRAIL AND PUBLIC USE FOR TRAILS, AND HE THINKS IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN PREMATURE. WE'RE NOT SURE ABOUT THAT, BUT I BRING THAT TO YOU TO LET YOU KNOW THAT THE -- WE HAVE MEMBERS THAT ARE VERY INTERESTED IN KEEPING THAT TRAIL OPERATIONAL. MR. STEENSON ALSO DISCUSSED THE NEED FOR A CROSSWALK AT THE HART BUS SHELTER ON GANDY AND MANHATTAN. THE REAL ISSUE THERE WAS WHEN THEY REDID THE ROADWAY, THERE IS A CROSSWALK THERE, BUT THERE'S A DISCONNECT BETWEEN WHERE THE BUS STOPS AND WHERE THE CROSSWALK IS. THAT'S A TYPICAL PROBLEM THAT WE SEE, AND WE'RE ASKING THAT HART GO BACK TO THE CITY AND TRY TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE THAT BETTER. WHERE THE BUS -- WHERE THEY LET PEOPLE OFF ON THE BUS IS NOT AT THE CROSSWALK, SO THERE'S A DISCONNECT THERE, AND SO PEOPLE WHO ARE TRYING TO GET ACROSS MANHATTAN HAVE TO -- THE BUS HAS TO PASS, THEY HAVE TO WALK A CERTAIN DISTANCE TO GET TO THE CROSSWALK, AND IT'S A PROBLEM, SO WE'RE ASKING THAT HART AND THE CITY OF TAMPA GET TOGETHER AND TAKE A LOOK AT THAT. OKAY. LET ME GO TO OUR ACTION ITEMS. TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM AMENDMENT FOR FISCAL YEAR '08-'09 TO '12-'13, THERE IS A -- FDOT IS LOOKING TO AMEND THE T.I.P. BASICALLY IT'S A SIDEWALK PROJECT ON McMULLEN ROAD FROM BALM RIVER ROAD TO BOYETTE ROAD. AFTER DISCUSSION, WE MADE A MOTION AND IT PASSED UNANIMOUSLY THAT WE APPROVE THE T.I.P. AMENDMENT AND PASS IT TO THE MPO FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION AND ADOPTION HOPEFULLY. WE ALSO HAD A BRIEFING ON THE FIVE-YEAR TENTATIVE WORK PROGRAM. THE FDOT WAS NOT READY TO PRESENT THAT PROGRAM TO US, PRIMARILY BECAUSE THEY WERE STILL GETTING NUMBERS IN AND THE PROGRAM WASN'T READY. IT IS GOING TO BE PRESENTED TO US ON JANUARY 20th, 2009, AND THE REASON THEY WEREN'T READY IS BECAUSE NO ONE CAN PREDICT -- AT LEAST FROM OUR BRIEFING THAT WE GOT, THEY WERE STILL HAVING TROUBLE PREDICTING WHAT MONEY WAS GOING TO BE AVAILABLE. PREDICTIONS WERE NOT AT ALL ACCURATE, AND THEY WERE LITERALLY BEING CHANGED IN REAL-TIME, SO WE'RE WAITING FOR A PRESENTATION TO HAPPEN LATER IN THE YEAR. IT'S GOING TO COME UP ON JANUARY 20th, I BELIEVE TO YOU- ALL, AND HOPEFULLY RIGHT BEFORE THAT IS WHEN WE'RE TENTATIVELY SCHEDULED TO MEET ON THE 14th. FLORIDA'S TURNPIKE ENTERPRISE FIVE-YEAR TENTATIVE WORK PROGRAM WAS REVIEWED. MS. GILMARTIN PRESENTED THAT TO US. AFTER A DISCUSSION IT WAS MOVED AND VOTED UNANIMOUSLY TO PASS IT TO YOU FOR YOUR APPROVAL, YOUR CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL. THE ONLY UNFINISHED BUSINESS THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW IN FRONT OF US IS, AGAIN, THE HART AND THE CITY OF TAMPA GETTING TOGETHER LOOKING AT THE CROSSWALK AT GANDY AND MANHATTAN. ITEMS FOR OUR NEXT MEETING COMING UP, MR. MATHURIN ASKED FOR AN UPDATE ON THE COUNTY'S TRANSPORTATION TASK FORCE, AND THERE IS A JOINT CAC MEETING TODAY THAT WILL HAPPEN OUT AT THE D.O.T.'S OFFICE, AND I'LL PARTICIPATE IN THAT AT 3:00 THIS AFTERNOON. THAT'S OUR NEXT MEETING, AND THEN THE NEXT MEETING FOR OUR CAC DEPENDS ON WHETHER YOU APPROVE THE SCHEDULE FOR 2009 OR NOT TODAY, BUT I THINK WE'RE TENTATIVELY SCHEDULED FOR THE 14th, AND WITH THAT, THAT'S BASICALLY THE ONLY DIRE THAT'S THE COMPLETION OF OUR REPORT. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU, JOE. ANYBODY -- YES, MS. FERLITA. >>ROSE FERLITA: THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. JUST ONE QUICK COMMENT TO SOMETHING THAT MR. AMON BROUGHT UP. JOE, WITH REFERENCE TO THAT FRIENDSHIP TRAIL ISSUE AND FACT THAT THEY HAVE TEMPORARILY CLOSED IT, I KNOW THAT WE ARE WAITING -- BOB GORDON WITH PUBLIC WORKS AS WELL IS WAITING FOR SOME RESULTS FROM -- FDOT I GUESS IS WHO'S DOING IT. I KEEP LOOKING OVER AT MR. CLIFFORD, AND I HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT THAT DOESN'T PLAY ANYMORE, BUT ULTIMATELY I THINK WE HAVE TO LOOK AT WHAT COMES BACK IN TERMS OF ACTIVE LOADS, PASSIVE LOADS, ET CETERA, SO IT WAS JUST AN ISSUE OF PUBLIC SAFETY I THINK THAT PROMPTED EVERYBODY TO CLOSE IT. I SAT ON THAT COMMITTEE FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS, AND I BELIEVE AT THE ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING THAT RESPONSIBILITY HAS GONE, IF MY RECOLLECTION IS CORRECT, TO MR. HIGGINBOTHAM WITH MR. NORMAN AS HIS BACKUP, BUT WE WILL KEEP INVOLVED IN THAT, AS I'M SURE OUR COLLEAGUES AT THE CITY WILL, BECAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE -- MR. STEENSON IS ABSOLUTELY RIGHT, A LOT OF PEOPLE DO USE THAT. WE'VE WORKED HARD WITH PINELLAS TO MAKE THAT SOMETHING THAT'S VIABLE, SO IF YOU WOULD KEEP US INFORMED, AND IF WE KNOW SOMETHING, WE'LL KEEP YOU INFORMED IN TERMS OF YOUR COMMITTEE. >> WE APPRECIATE THAT. WE WILL. PROMISE YOU. THAT'S AN IMPORTANT ISSUE. >>JOE AFFRONTI: ANY OTHER -- YES, MR. DINGFELDER. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: YES. I JUST WANTED TO FOLLOW UP WITH ROSE, AND I'M GLAD YOU BROUGHT UP THAT POINT ABOUT THE FRIENDSHIP TRAIL BECAUSE IT'S DISTURBED ME GREATLY THAT -- YOU KNOW, THAT WE HAD TO CLOSE IT. AS I DRIVE AROUND THE STATE, I SEE OTHER SIMILAR, YOU KNOW, TYPE OF TRAILS. AS A MATTER OF FACT, I THINK THE -- I OBSERVED ONE OVER THE MANATEE RIVER DOWN BY BRADENTON THAT APPEARED TO BE A FISHING BRIDGE OR SOMETHING. IT LOOKED LIKE A FORMER ROAD, SO IT LOOKS LIKE THE OTHER COMMUNITIES HAVE FIGURED OUT HOW TO KEEP THESE BRIDGES AND MAINTAIN THEM AS TRAILS, AND I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE DO. YOU KNOW, I THINK IT WAS A GREAT MOVE A DECADE AGO TO SAVE THAT BRIDGE, AND I WOULD GUESS MORE THAN A MILLION PEOPLE HAVE PROBABLY USED IT SINCE, AND WE SHOULD DO EVERYTHING WE CAN -- AND I'M NOT SPEAKING TO YOU NECESSARILY, JOE, BUT TO EVERYBODY UP HERE WHO'S INVOLVED IN THAT -- WE NEED TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO KEEP THAT -- TO GET THAT BRIDGE REOPENED AND TO KEEP IT WELL MAINTAINED. >> THANK YOU. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. >>ROSE FERLITA: I'M SORRY. >>JOE AFFRONTI: YES, MR. SKELTON. >>DON SKELTON: YEAH. JUST TO ADDRESS A COUPLE THINGS. THE -- I BELIEVE THE INSPECTIONS ARE ACTUALLY BEING DONE BY THE COUNTIES THEMSELVES. >>ROSE FERLITA: I'M SORRY. I THOUGHT YOU GUYS WERE INVOLVED IN THAT TOO. >>DON SKELTON: THE DEPARTMENT IS NOT INVOLVED. AS WE TRANSFERRED THAT FACILITY OVER TO THE COUNTIES AS A SHARED AGREEMENT, THEY BECAME RESPONSIBLE. I HAVE BEEN IN CONTACT WITH BOB GORDON. HE'S ASKED SOME OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT PEDESTRIAN USE ON THE -- ON THE MAIN SPANS OF GANDY NOW, WHICH I HAVE SOME SAFETY CONCERNS WITH THAT THAT I'LL BE GETTING BACK WITH HIM ON, BUT I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY THAT, AND THE ISSUE OF MAINTAINING THESE STRUCTURES, AGAIN, THE DEPARTMENT HAD TO TAKE A SIMILAR POSITION ON THE SKYWAY FISHING PIERS RECENTLY BECAUSE AT SOME POINT IN TIME IT BECOMES A PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUE, AND AT SOME POINT STRUCTURES CANNOT BE REHABILITATED. I KNOW THE COUNTY'S LOOKING AT WHAT IT'S GOING TO TAKE TO KEEP THIS ONE UP, BUT AT SOME POINT THEY DO HAVE TO COME DOWN AND EITHER BE REBUILT COMPLETELY OR SOMETHING ELSE HAPPEN. >>ROSE FERLITA: AND I'M GLAD YOU CLARIFIED. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: YOU GUYS HAD CARS ON THAT SKYWAY THING. I DON'T KNOW IF THAT MADE A BIG DIFFERENCE, BUT YOU DID ALLOW CARS TO GO OUT THERE. >>DON SKELTON: WELL, I MEAN, THE CARS WERE ON IT, BUT AGAIN, WE HAD TO CLOSE IT TO BOTH PEDESTRIANS AND CARS BECAUSE AT SOME POINT -- AND THIS IS WHAT SOME FOLKS IN THE PUBLIC MAY NOT UNDERSTAND. THE PUBLIC SAFETY ASPECT IS IT DOESN'T MATTER WHETHER IT'S A CAR OR A PERSON. WHEN THE STRUCTURE ITSELF STARTS TO COLLAPSE AND SOMETHING CAN HAPPEN INSTANTANEOUSLY, YOU CAN'T TAKE THAT RISK, WE'RE NOT GOING TO ALLOW THE PUBLIC TO TAKE THAT RISK, AND THAT'S THE CONDITION THAT THE SKYWAY FISHING PIERS IS IN IS AT ANY MOMENT SOMETHING COULD HAPPEN AND IT COULD BE VERY CATASTROPHIC. >>JOE AFFRONTI: RAY, YOU HAVE -- >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: YES. JOE, I HAD A QUESTION. YOU TALKED ABOUT THE TRANSIT REFERENDUMS OR MAYBE IT WAS TRANSPORTATION REFERENDUMS BECAUSE WHAT I HAVE BEEN READING IS BASICALLY 70% OF THE AT LEAST TRANSIT REFERENDUMS PASSED. THAT'S WHY I WAS CURIOUS ABOUT THE PERSON REPORTING THAT A LOT OF THEM DIDN'T PASS, AND I WAS WONDERING IF YOU HAD ANY BACKUP ON THAT OR HE HAD LEFT YOU WITH ANYTHING. >> AS A MATTER OF FACT, WE'D LIKE TO HEAR THAT AT THE MEETING COMING UP TOMORROW, IF THAT'S INDEED THE CASE, BECAUSE WHAT WE HEARD IN OUR RECORD FROM MR. MATHURIN, WHO'S VERY GOOD AT KEEPING TRACK OF DATA -- THIS GUY'S -- EVEN BEFORE HE WAS ON THE CAC, HE WAS THERE AT EVERY MEETING GIVING HIS DATA -- THAT THE MAJORITY OF THEM FAILED IN HIS EYES. NOW, WE NEED TO CONFIRM THAT. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: I GUESS IT'S -- I DON'T KNOW WHAT HE INCLUDED IN THAT LIST. >> PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: ONLY PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, NOT ROADS OR OTHER THINGS? >> NO, NO. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: THAT'S DIFFERENT THAN WHAT I'VE BEEN READING IN THE PAPER AND OTHER PUBLICATIONS. >> CAN YOU HELP US ON THAT? >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: YES. >> OUR MEETING'S TOMORROW AT 1:15, SO I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR THAT. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: I'LL DIG UP WHAT I CAN. >> GOD. THANK YOU, RAY. >>JOE AFFRONTI: MS. SAUL-SENA. >>LINDA SAUL-SENA: THANK YOU. ACTUALLY, MS. MULHERN HAD HER HAND UP BEFORE ME. >>JOE AFFRONTI: SORRY ABOUT THAT. >>MARY MULHERN: THAT'S OKAY. THANK YOU, MR. SKELTON, FOR KIND OF CLARIFYING A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE WHAT I'VE HEARD FROM PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY WAS THAT THE PEOPLE WHO USED THE BRIDGE WERE SURPRISED. THEY JUST SHOWED UP TO RIDE THEIR BIKES, AND IT WAS CLOSED, SO I'M NOT CLEAR YET, ALTHOUGH BETWEEN YOU AND MS. FERLITA YOU EXPLAINED IT A LITTLE BIT. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW EXACTLY -- AND I THINK THIS MIGHT BE FOR YOU TO EXPLAIN TO ME -- THAT THE DECISION -- WHO MADE THIS DECISION THAT WE HAD TO CLOSE IT AND WHO -- WHO - - WHO WERE THE PEOPLE LOOKING AT THE STRUCTURE ALREADY AND WHO'S GOING TO BE LOOKING AT IT NEXT BECAUSE MY -- MY FEELING WAS WE NEED A SECOND OPINION. I'M NOT SURE WHO MADE THE FIRST ONE, BUT WE NEED SOME MORE INVESTIGATION, AND OF COURSE, PUBLIC SAFETY COMES FIRST, BUT BECAUSE IT WAS SUCH A SURPRISE TO EVERYONE -- AND I KNOW WE ALL WORRY ABOUT OUR INFRASTRUCTURE AND OUR BRIDGES, AND THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE ONES THAT HAS THE LEAST HEAVY LOAD ON IT, SO I WAS SURPRISED TO SEE THAT IT HAD TO CLOSED, AND I THINK WE ALL NEED TO FIND OUT -- TO HAVE MORE INVESTIGATION AND TO FIND OUT EXACTLY WHY IT WAS CLOSED AND TO MAYBE OPEN UP A DISCUSSION ABOUT WHO -- WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT, AND IF WE NEED TO MAYBE LOOK AT OTHER -- OTHER WAYS TO SUPPORT THAT BRIDGE AS PERHAPS A STATE PARK OR A COUNTY PARK -- COUNTIES BETWEEN THE COUNTIES OR WHATEVER NEEDS TO BE DONE BECAUSE I SUSPECT IT MAY BE WORRY ABOUT WHO'S GOING TO BE FUNDING THE UPKEEP OF IT, SO I THINK WE NEED -- THERE'S A LOT MORE STUDY THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN, AND I'D KIND OF LIKE TO HEAR FROM ANYONE WHO KNOWS WHAT'S NEXT. >>ROSE FERLITA: WELL, FIRST OF ALL, IF I MAY GIVE SOME CLARIFICATION TO THIS CONVERSATION. I JUST WALKED OVER AND THANKED MR. SKELTON FOR CLARIFYING THAT TO ME, SO WHAT WE'LL DO IS AT OUR NEXT COUNTY BOCC MEETING, I WILL ASK MR. GORDON TO COME BACK IN A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME AND GIVE US A REPORT, AND THAT'S JUST THE FIRST STEP. >>MARY MULHERN: IS THAT -- MR. GORDON, IS HE A COUNTY -- >>ROSE FERLITA: PART OF PUBLIC WORKS. YEAH, HE'S IN CHARGE OF PUBLIC WORKS. SO I'LL ASK HIM TO COME AND DO A REPORT, AND ONCE THAT IS DONE, THAT IS CERTAINLY NOT THE END, THAT'S THE BEGINNING, BECAUSE WE CAN GET SOME PEOPLE INVOLVED. I'LL BE HAPPY TO TAKE ON THAT RESPONSIBILITY MYSELF IN TERMS OF AN ENGINEERING COMPANY OR SOMETHING TO SEE IF WHAT THEY'RE SAYING IS ACCURATE. YOU'RE RIGHT, NUMBER ONE IS THE PUBLIC SAFETY FROM THE STANDPOINT OF FDOT, US, AND THE CITY, I'M SURE. BUT AT THE SAME TIME -- AND I DON'T KNOW IF THESE ARE APPROPRIATE TERMS BUT ACTIVE LOAD VERSUS PASSIVE LOAD. THIS IS SOMEPLACE WHERE PEOPLE BIKE AND WALK, ET CETERA, IT'S NOT, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING ELSE, AND WE HAVE WORKED VERY HARD TO TRY TO HELP FUNDING ALONG WITH PINELLAS COUNTY, AND I HAVE TO TELL YOU IN MANY CASES WE ARE TRYING TO CATCH UP WITH WHAT PINELLAS HAS DONE ON THEIR SIDE, AND WE WERE JUST ABOUT AT THE POINT TO DO A MIRROR IMAGE OF WHAT THEY HAVE ON THEIR SIDE, BUT THAT BEING SAID, WHAT'S HOLDING US BACK IS A PUBLIC SAFETY STANDPOINT. ONCE WE GET THAT REPORT, ONCE WE HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WE NEED TO DO COLLECTIVELY, THEN I'LL BE HAPPY TO GIVE THAT INFORMATION TO TAMPA CITY COUNCIL, AND THEN WE CAN WORK TOGETHER. I BRIEFLY TALKED ABOUT IT WITH CONGRESSWOMAN CASTOR, AND I DON'T KNOW IF AT SOME POINT THIS WILL BE SOME AVAILABILITY IN TERMS OF HELP FROM HER, BUT THOSE ARE ALL JUST KIND OF INITIAL PLANS, AND ONCE WE GET A BETTER FEEL FOR WHERE WE ARE, THEN CERTAINLY WE WILL SHARE IT WITH EVERYBODY, OKAY. >>JOE AFFRONTI: MS. SAUL-SENA. >>LINDA SAUL-SENA: THANK YOU. I WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU-ALL THE HISTORY OF HOW THIS CAME TO BE. I SERVED ON THE MPO, AND WE HAD A REPORT FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION THAT THE BRIDGE WAS NO LONGER VIABLE AS A BRIDGE, WE BUILT THE NEW ONE, AND THAT IT WOULD COST ABOUT $7 MILLION TO TEAR IT DOWN, AND A GROUP OF CITIZENS CAME TO US AS THE MPO AND SAID, FOR $7 MILLION I THINK YOU COULD REHAB IT AND USE IT FOR PEDESTRIANS AND BICYCLISTS. THERE WAS A COUNTY ENGINEER, I DON'T REMEMBER HIS NAME, BUT HE WAS VERY BRAVE, AND HE SAID, I THINK YOU CAN DO THIS, AND HE GOT A LOT OF PRESSURE -- I DON'T KNOW IF YOU-ALL REMEMBER AT THE TIME -- TO NOT COME UP WITH THAT CONCLUSION, BUT HE DID, AND WE GOT AN OUTSIDE OPINION, AND SURE ENOUGH, IT WOULD WORK, AND IT HAS WORKED FOR TEN YEARS, AND IT'S BEEN A SOURCE OF PRIDE AND A SOURCE OF ECOTOURISM, A SOURCE OF FURTHERING THE HEALTH OF THIS AREA AS WELL AS THE BEAUTY, AND I THINK THAT IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD REALLY BE COMMITTED TO. AT OUR LIVABLE ROADWAYS COMMITTEE MEETING THE OTHER DAY, AS YOU COULD IMAGINE, EVERYBODY WAS CONCERNED ABOUT THIS. MS. MULHERN BROUGHT IT UP, AND WE ASKED THE MPO TO ADDRESS IT, SO I'M GLAD THAT WE'RE DOING THAT NOW, BUT SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE COUNTED IN, THERE ARE A COUPLE OF THINGS. ONE IS THAT AS REPRESENTATIVE MICA SAID THE OTHER DAY, THE NEW FEDERAL AUTHORIZATION IS SORT OF UP IN THE AIR. WELL, THERE HAVE BEEN SOME PRESSURES ON THE FEDS TO SHIFT THE FUNDING ON FEDERAL EXPENDITURES FROM 80% HIGHWAY, 20% OTHER TO MORE OF A 50/50 SPLIT. IF THAT WERE TO OCCUR, I THINK YOU COULD MAKE A CASE THAT THIS COULD BE FOR PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE, YOU KNOW, TRANSPORTATION AND, THEREFORE, WORTHY OF SOME FEDERAL DOLLARS. I'M SAYING LET'S NOT PRECLUDE THIS DECISION BEFORE WE SEE WHAT HAPPENS WITH THAT FEDERAL LEGISLATION BECAUSE WE HAVE A GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA WHO REPRESENTS -- WHOSE HOME COMMUNITY IS AFFECTED BY THIS, AND WE HAVE -- WE HAVE A LOT OF CITIZENS AND TOURISTS WHO REALLY DEPEND ON THIS FACILITY, SO I'M -- I REALLY THINK THAT WE NEED TO GATHER A LOT OF INFORMATION FROM A VARIETY OF SOURCES BEFORE ANYTHING IS DETERMINED. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. ANY OTHER -- YES. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: ROSE, DO YOU THINK YOU COULD ASK MR. GORDON TO COME REPORT BACK TO THE MPO SINCE THERE SEEMS TO BE A LOT OF INTEREST HERE, AND THAT WOULD BE GREAT, AND THEN WE COULD HAVE THAT DIALOGUE WITH YOU AND WITH BOB. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THAT'S A GOOD IDEA. >>ROSE FERLITA: YEAH, AND I THINK THAT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA. THE ONLY REASON I WAS LOOKING AT THE VENUE OF THE BOCC TOO IS IN CASE WE HAD TO TAKE SOME ACTION -- >>JOHN DINGFELDER: OH, SURE. >>ROSE FERLITA: -- AND GIVE HIM THAT DIRECTIVE. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: [INDISCERNIBLE CROSS TALK] >>ROSE FERLITA: NO, BUT I WILL BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO DO THAT, AND I'M SURE THAT MY COLLEAGUES WOULD BE SUPPORTIVE OF THAT, SO I'LL INCLUDE THAT IN MY SUGGESTION. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: THANK YOU. >>ROSE FERLITA: THANKS, JOHN. >>JOE AFFRONTI: COMMISSIONER SHARPE, DID YOU HAVE A COMMENT? >>MARK SHARPE: I JUST HAD SOME INFORMATION REGARDING THE REFERENDUM FOR 2008. THERE'S A GOOD WEB SITE, CENTER FOR TRANSPORTATION EXCELLENCE, AND THEY TRACK ALL TRANSPORTATION INITIATIVES NATIONWIDE. I THINK THEY SHOW 70% APPROVAL FOR THE NOVEMBER BALLOT INITIATIVES. THERE WAS ONE IN CALIFORNIA. I THINK THEY'RE LOOKING AT -- I'M NOT FOLLOWING THE NUMBERS, BUT ANYWAY, I'VE GOT THE INFORMATION RIGHT HERE AS WELL. THIS KIND OF GIVES YOU AN UPDATE AS TO SOME OF THE MAJOR -- >> THANK YOU. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER. RAY. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: JOE, ALSO, I WAS LOOKING IN THE ARTICLES THAT WE HAD GIVEN THE MPO AND THE BACKUP, AND ACTUALLY THE ARTICLE WAS IN THERE, SO LINDA HAS AN EXTRA COPY OF ALL THE DIFFERENT ARTICLES RELATED TO TRANSIT THAT I INCLUDED IN THE MPO'S PACKET, SO SHE'LL GIVE YOU THAT. >> GOOD. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: THAT SHOULD GIVE YOU THE INFORMATION THAT YOU NEED FOR YOUR MEETING TOMORROW. >> WE'LL DO THAT BECAUSE WHAT WE WERE LEFT WITH -- AND I HAVE TO FIND OUT EXACTLY WHAT MATHURIN IS TRACKING. HE NORMALLY TRACKS JUST TRANSPORTATION, PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION ISSUES. HE DOESN'T GET INVOLVED IN ANYTHING TO DO WITH ROADWAYS AND THINGS LIKE THAT OR AIR FACILITIES, PORT FACILITIES OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, SO I HAVE TO GET A LITTLE BIT MORE, BUT IT CAME ACROSS AS IF DURING THE ELECTION CYCLE WE HAD LOST, AND I'M NOT HEARING THE SAME THING FROM YOU-ALL. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? YES, MARY. >>MARY MULHERN: I'M SORRY TO KEEP MR. MATHURIN UP HERE, BUT I'M SURE ALL OF THE CITIZENS WOULD BE INTERESTED IN A LOT OF THIS DISCUSSION. I'M SORRY THAT I MISSED -- I WAS OUT OF TOWN, AND I WASN'T ABLE TO GO TO CONGRESSMAN MICA'S BRIEFING, BUT I DID GET A REPORT ON IT, AND I WONDERED IF SOMEONE HERE COULD CLARIFY. THERE WAS ONE THING IN THERE THAT WAS REALLY INTERESTING THAT, LINDA, I GUESS YOU BROUGHT UP THAT -- ABOUT THE SPLIT BETWEEN THE DOLLARS -- FEDERAL DOLLARS FOR ROADS AS OPPOSED TO TRANSIT AND OTHER THINGS, AND CONGRESSMAN MICA SAID SOMETHING -- I THINK HE SOUNDED LIKE HE THOUGHT IT SHOULD BE MORE -- THE BALANCE SHOULD BE MORE THAN 50/50. WAS HE SAYING MORE FOR TRANSIT OR MORE FOR ROADS? >> ROADS. >>MARY MULHERN: MORE FOR ROADS. >>LINDA SAUL-SENA: HE COULDN'T GET HIS MIND AROUND THE SHIFT. >>MARY MULHERN: OKAY. THAT'S WHAT I -- THANK YOU. THANKS. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? IF NOT, JOE, THANK YOU FOR THE REPORT. WE APPRECIATE IT. >> THANK YOU ALL. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THE NEXT ITEM IS THE CONSENT AGENDA. WE HAVE FIVE PEOPLE WHO ARE NOMINATED TO FILL THE VACANCIES ON THE BICYCLE-PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: I'LL MOVE THE SLATE. >>LINDA SAUL-SENA: SECOND. >>JOE AFFRONTI: MOVED AND SECONDED. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. [CHORUS OF AYES] OPPOSED. MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. NEXT ITEM IS FDOT FIVE-YEAR TENTATIVE WORK PROGRAM. >> GOOD MORNING. LINDA STACHEWICZ WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION. I AM HERE TO GIVE YOU AN OVERVIEW OF WHAT THE DEPARTMENT IS WORKING TO DEVELOP, THE FIVE-YEAR TENTATIVE WORK PROGRAM. WE DON'T HAVE A COMPLETE WORK PROGRAM YET, BUT WE'VE PROVIDED FOR YOU TODAY A DRAFT OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PROGRAM IN YOUR PACKET FOR HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY. WE ARE STILL EXPERIENCING REDUCTIONS IN OUR REVENUE, AND WE STILL HAVE NOT RECEIVED ALL OF THE NUMBERS. IN THE LAST TWO YEARS THE DEPARTMENT'S PROJECT COMMITMENTS WERE REDUCED BY 6.5 MILLION FROM THE WORK PROGRAM -- BILLION. 6.5 BILLION. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: EXCUSE ME ONE SECOND. YOU REFERRED TO A DOCUMENT. CAN YOU TELL US WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE? >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: YES. IT'S IN THE YELLOW FOLDER. WE JUST RECEIVED THIS YESTERDAY, AND IT'S IN YOUR FELLOW FOLDER. IT'S A YELLOW DOCUMENT, ACTUALLY, IN A YELLOW FOLDER. >> THREE FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTED TO THE REDUCTION OF THESE REVENUES OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS WERE ESTIMATED STATE AND FEDERAL FORECASTS OF TRADITIONAL TRANSPORTATION REVENUES THAT CONTINUE TO DECLINE. THE GROWTH RATE FOR FUTURE FORECASTS ARE TEMPERED AS FUEL CONSUMPTION HAS DROPPED, AND HIGHER THAN EXPECTED CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL COSTS, NOT CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL COSTS ESCALATING LIKE THEY WERE BEFORE OUTRAGEOUSLY, BUT THEY ARE STILL HIGH. THIS HAS RESULTED IN TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS WHICH STIMULATE THE STATE ECONOMY BEING DEFERRED. THIS YEAR WE HAD TWO FLORIDA CONSENSUS REVENUE ESTIMATING CONFERENCES IN THIS MONTH ALONE, NOVEMBER 5th AND NOVEMBER 21st. ONE OF THEM LOOKED AT THE GENERAL TRUST FUNDS, AND THE OTHER THE GROWTH MANAGEMENT FUNDS. WE'VE RECEIVED THE INFORMATION ON THE REDUCTION IN REVENUES FROM THE FIRST BUT NOT THE SECOND. WE'RE HOPING TO GET THAT INFORMATION THIS WEEK. TO KEEP PROJECTS IN THE PROGRAM BASICALLY WITH THE REVENUES THAT WE'VE BEEN RECEIVING SO FAR, WE HAD TO STRETCH THE FOUR-YEAR PROGRAM THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE, THE ADOPTED PROGRAM, INTO A FIVE-YEAR PROGRAM, AS THERE'S REALLY NO NEW FUNDS IN 2014 TO DATE. THE SUMMARY OF THE WORK PROGRAM IN YOUR PACKET TODAY HAS SEVERAL SIGNIFICANT FACTORS. THERE'S NEARLY 1.8 BILLION PROGRAMMED IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY OVER THE FIVE-YEAR PERIOD IN THE NEW PROGRAM. THERE'S SEVERAL PROJECTS YOU'LL SEE ON THE LIST THAT ARE DEFERRALS TO ACCOUNT FOR THE REVENUE SHORTFALLS. SOME PROJECTS WERE DEFERRED IN ORDER TO PRESERVE THE PROGRAM. THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THE DEPARTMENT DID NOT HAVE TO DEFER ANY PROJECTS OUTSIDE OF THE FIVE-YEAR PROGRAM. THE NEW REVENUES WERE APPLIED TO THE STRATEGY ALONG WITH INCREASED MATERIAL COSTS AND MAINTENANCE. THEREFORE, THOUGH, WE HAVE NO NEW PROJECTS IN 2014. ALL OF THE EXISTING PROJECTS HAVE REMAINED IN THE PROGRAM TO GO FORWARD WITH. THERE WERE FOUR PROJECTS ADDED. THEY WERE BASICALLY ADDED FROM OTHER FUNDING STREAMS. YOU CAN SEE THAT TWO OF THEM WERE I.T.S. RESURFACING, AGAIN, THE SYSTEM PRESERVATION AND SAFETY OF THE -- IS THE DEPARTMENT'S NUMBER ONE PRIORITIES. 16 NEW RESURFACING PROJECTS WERE ADDED TO THE PROGRAM THAT TOTALED OVER $87 MILLION WITH PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING IN 2010 AND CONSTRUCTION IN 2012, SO IN TOTAL THERE ARE 32 RESURFACING PROJECTS IN HILLSBOROUGH. THAT'S OUR FIRST PRIORITY. THERE'S FIVE TRANSPORTATION ENHANCEMENT PROJECTS ON YOUR LIST THAT WERE ADDED TO THE PROGRAM. THESE ARE THE PROJECTS THAT THE MPO PRIORITIZES AND GET FUNDED BASED ON FEASIBILITY AND PROJECT READINESS. THESE PROJECTS TOTAL 1.6 MILLION. THEY INCLUDE THE DESIGN OF THE UPPER TAMPA BAY TRAIL, THEY INCLUDE THE DESIGN OF THE SIDEWALKS ALONG DALE MABRY FROM LAKEVIEW TO CHEVAL, AND THEY INCLUDE THE FUNDING RECOMMENDED FOR THE COLUMBUS AND PLATT STREET BRIDGE REHAB AND REPAIRS. THE MOST SIGNIFICANT PROJECTS IN HILLSBOROUGH THAT WERE MAINTAINED WAS THE I-275 LINKS PROJECT. TOTALS $455 MILLION IN THE PROGRAM. WE ALSO WERE ABLE TO PRESERVE THE CROSSTOWN CONNECTOR, INCLUDING THE "Z" MOVEMENT, IN THE PROGRAM FOR $400 MILLION. CONSTRUCTION ON THE CONNECTOR FROM THE SELMON TO I-4 IS ANTICIPATED TO OPEN BETWEEN 2013 AND 2014. AT THIS TIME THERE WERE NO NEW TRIP -- TRANSPORTATION REGIONAL INCENTIVE PROGRAM FUNDS OR CIGP, WHICH IS COUNTY INCENTIVE GRANT PROGRAM, OR SURFACE TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM, NEW PROJECTS ADDED TO THE PROGRAM. WE ARE FINALIZING THE PROGRAM THIS WEEK. WE ARE VERY HOPEFUL THAT WE'LL HAVE ALL OF THE FINAL NUMBERS TO BRING TO THE PUBLIC HEARINGS NEXT WEEK. IN YOUR PACKET I BELIEVE YOU HAVE AN INFORMATION NOTICE SHOWING THAT WE'RE HOLDING OUR TWO PUBLIC HEARINGS NEXT WEEK, ONE ON TUESDAY, THE 9th, IN THE PASCO COUNTY GOVERNMENT CENTER, AND ONE ON THURSDAY AT DISTRICT HEADQUARTERS HERE IN TAMPA. THERE IS A PERIOD FOR REVIEW. GIVEN THAT YOU'VE JUST RECEIVED THIS, THAT IT'S DRAFT FORM, THE MPO HAS THE ABILITY TO MAKE ANY COMMENTS ON THE PROGRAM THROUGH JANUARY 20th, SO WE WILL BRING THE PROGRAM BACK THROUGH YOUR COMMITTEES IN THIS UPCOMING MONTH, AND IN JANUARY WE'LL BRING YOU BACK A FINALIZED TENTATIVE WORK PROGRAM. WE WANTED TO SHARE SOME OF THESE HIGHLIGHTS WITH YOU AS -- BEFORE WE GO INTO THE PUBLIC HEARINGS AS A PREFERENCE TO THE BOARD. SO AT THIS TIME WE'LL BE GLAD TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS. >>JOE AFFRONTI: MS. SAUL-SENA. GO AHEAD, MR. SKELTON. >>DON SKELTON: YES. I JUST WANT TO ADD SOME INFORMATION TO WHAT LINDA HAS PRESENTED HERE. IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH THE BOOK "WHO MOVED MY CHEESE," NOT ONLY IS THE CHEESE MOVING ALL OVER THE PLACE, THERE'S LESS OF IT. THE REASON WE DON'T HAVE A PROGRAM TO GIVE TO YOU TODAY IS BECAUSE IT'S STILL MOVING. THERE ARE GOING TO BE MORE CHANGES, SO WE FELT THE BEST WAY TO APPROACH THIS IS TELL YOU WHAT HAS CHANGED RIGHT NOW KNOWING THAT THIS ARE FURTHER CHANGES COMING. WHAT YOU SEE HERE HAS NOT TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT THE FULL $2.1- BILLION SHORTFALL FROM THE NOVEMBER 5th REVENUE ESTIMATING CONFERENCE NOR ANY OF THE GROWTH MANAGEMENT FUNDS AS A RESULT OF THE NOVEMBER 21st REVENUE ESTIMATING CONFERENCE, SO THERE WILL BE FURTHER MOVES IN THIS PROGRAM. THE STRATEGIC INTERMODAL SYSTEM WILL BE AFFECTED IN SOME WAY, WE JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS. WHILE THE MPO DOES HAVE TILL JANUARY 20th TO FILE ANY OFFICIAL OBJECTIONS TO THIS, WE WILL GET THIS ENTIRE BOARD THE PACKAGE AS SOON AS WE HAVE IT. WE'RE NOT GOING TO WAIT FOR THE NEXT MPO MEETING FOR YOU TO GET IT. WE ARE TRYING TO GET IT DONE BEFORE OUR PUBLIC HEARINGS NEXT WEEK. WE'RE HOPEFUL THAT WE CAN DO THAT, AND -- SO THAT WE CAN PRESENT A FULL PROGRAM, SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY UNDERSTOOD THE PROGRAM IS STILL CHANGING AND IN A STATE OF FLUX. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU, MR. SKELTON. YES, MS. SAUL-SENA. >>LINDA SAUL-SENA: THANK YOU. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAD DISCUSSED AT A PREVIOUS MEETING WAS TAKING A BROAD OVERVIEW OF HOW WE SPEND OUR RESOURCES AND RESHIFTING THE ALLOCATIONS TO SUPPORT MORE EFFICIENT CITY AND COUNTY DEVELOPMENT, THAT WE WANT TO ENCOURAGE DENSER DEVELOPMENT WHERE PEOPLE CAN PERHAPS NOT ALWAYS USE THEIR CARS FOR EVERYTHING, WHERE WE CAN HAVE -- WE'RE LOOKING AT BOTH THE COUNTY, CITY, AND THE OTHER COMMUNITIES AT CHANGING OUR LAND USE PATTERNS TO SUPPORT TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT, AND I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR US -- I WANT TO COMPLIMENT THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION IN NOT RADICALLY CHANGING THINGS AND KEEPING OUR PROJECTS HERE, BUT I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR US TO LOOK AT OUR PROJECTS IN TERMS OF HOW MUCH WE'RE SPENDING AND WHETHER THE EXPENDITURES HAVE ANY COMPONENT THAT RELATES TO PEDESTRIANS, TO BICYCLISTS, TO TRANSIT USERS. UP TO NOW OUR TRADITIONAL WAY OF SPENDING MONEY HAS BEEN ALMOST COMPLETELY BASED ON FACILITATING FOLKS IN CARS, AND I DON'T DENY THAT WE HAVE A HUGE LAUNDRY LIST, BUT THERE ARE SOME PROJECTS THAT WILL GIVE US MORE BANG FOR THE BUCK BECAUSE THEY ALSO HELP WITH THOSE OTHER MODES OF TRANSPORTATION, AND WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS ASK OUR MPO STAFF TO LOOK AT THE LIST AND SEE -- YOU KNOW, YOU CAN COME UP WITH SOME SYSTEM, SOME SORT OF MATRIX, WHAT'S THE DOLLAR AMOUNT OF THE PROJECT, AND ARE ANY -- AND WHAT ARE THE FORMS OF TRANSPORTATION THAT ARE IMPACTED BY THIS SO WE CAN LOOK AT USING OUR LIMITED RESOURCE -- INCREASING THE LIMITED RESOURCES IN THE MOST EFFICIENT MANNER. WE'VE ALWAYS SAID THAT YOU HAVE TO MAKE TRANSIT AND YOU HAVE TO MAKE LAND USE DECISIONS AND TRANSPORTATION DECISIONS WORK TOGETHER. THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT WE ARE ALMOST THERE IN TERMS OF OUR LONG-RANGE LAND USE AND COMPREHENSIVE PLANS. NOW WE NEED TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE USING OUR LIMITED TRANSPORTATION DOLLARS TO SUPPORT THOSE LAND USE DECISIONS AND VICE VERSA. I THINK WE HAVE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY, AND SOME OF THESE PROJECTS OBVIOUSLY ARE MORE HELPFUL TO A VARIETY OF MODES OF TRANSPORTATION THAN OTHERS, AND I THINK WE NEED TO LOOK AT THAT, AND WE NEED TO BE COGNIZANT OF IT AS WE MOVE FORWARD. SO WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS ASK THE STAFF IF YOU-ALL CAN DO THAT. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: OKAY. JUST TO CLARIFY, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT WITH THESE PROJECTS OR THE NEW LIST OF THESE PROJECTS TO DEFINE WHICH ONES ARE RELATED TO ROADWAYS AND, IF THEY ARE, IF THEY HAVE ANY PEDESTRIAN AMENITIES IN THEM? >>LINDA SAUL-SENA: YES. LET ME BE MORE SPECIFIC. SOME OF THEM ARE RESURFACING PROJECTS, WHICH WE NEED, BUT WE KNOW THAT SOMETIMES RESURFACING PROJECTS ALSO INCLUDE SIDEWALK IMPROVEMENTS AND SOMETIMES THEY DON'T, AND I'D LIKE TO MOVE -- I MEAN, I THINK AS LONG AS WE'RE SPENDING THE MONEY, GETTING THE MACHINERY OUT THERE TEARING THINGS UP, WE MIGHT AS WELL IMPROVE THE SIDEWALKS TOO. EVEN THOUGH SOMETIMES THAT'S EXPENSIVE, SOMETIMES IT ISN'T. SOMETIMES IT'S JUST AN OPPORTUNITY. THE DEPARTMENT'S BEEN VERY HELPFUL IN THAT, AND I JUST THINK WE NEED TO LOOK AT THAT BECAUSE WE'RE GOING TO BE MAKING VERY DIFFICULT CHOICES WITH -- WITH FEWER -- FEWER ZEROS AT THE END, AND WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GETTING THE MOST SYSTEM WE CAN FOR OUR COMMUNITIES. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. YES, MR. DINGFELDER. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: QUICK QUESTION TO -- EITHER TO D.O.T. OR PERHAPS TO CITY STAFF. THE VERY FIRST ITEM AT THE TOP OF THE LIST SAYS BAYSHORE BOULEVARD, PLATT TO GANDY, BIKE TRAIL 1.9 MILLION DEFERRED TO 2010 BY REQUEST TO THE CITY OF TAMPA. I THINK THAT'S THE FIRST WE'VE HEARD OF THAT, AND I'D LIKE TO KNOW WHY THE REQUEST WAS MADE, AND I HAVE A COUPLE OF OTHER RELATED QUESTIONS. >> JEAN DORZBACK, CITY OF TAMPA. YES, THAT PROJECT WE DID MAKE A REQUEST TO THE D.O.T. TO MOVE THOSE FUNDS FORWARD. WE HAD AN ISSUE WITH MEETING THE DESIGN SCHEDULE. WE HAD TO GO TO CONSTRUCTION BY, I THINK IT WAS JULY OF LAST YEAR, AND WE COULD NOT MEET THAT DESIGN SCHEDULE, SO WE MADE A REQUEST TO THE D.O.T. TO MOVE THOSE FUNDS FORWARD, AND AS FAR AS I UNDERSTAND, THAT'S BEING CONSIDERED, AND WE'RE ANTICIPATING THAT TO BE DONE AND WORKING ON A DESIGN THAT'S GOING TO MEET THAT SCHEDULE. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: OKAY. >>DON SKELTON: COUNCILMAN, IF I COULD ADD TO THAT. >>JOE AFFRONTI: YEAH. >>DON SKELTON: ONE OF THE THINGS WE HAVE TO LOOK AT IN OUR WORK PROGRAM IS THE PRODUCIBILITY OF A PROJECT, SO IN COORDINATION WITH THE CITY, IT WAS DETERMINED BY JUNE OF THIS YEAR, WHICH IS WHERE THAT MONEY CURRENTLY SAT -- IT SITS IN THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR -- IF IT CAN'T BE PRODUCED AND COMMITTED BY THEN, YOU END UP JEOPARDIZING THAT FUNDING BECAUSE OF ROLL-FORWARD ISSUES WITH THE BUDGET IN THE STATE LEGISLATURE. IT MAY NOT ROLL FORWARD IN THE NEXT YEAR, SO IT'S BETTER TO MOVE THAT MONEY NOW, CAPTURE THE BUDGET IN THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: OKAY. AND I'M GOOD WITH THAT EXPLANATION. WE'VE HAD A QUICK DISCUSSION AT CITY COUNCIL ABOUT GETTING BICYCLES BACK AND FORTH FROM THE HOWARD AREA TO DOWNTOWN BUT NOT NECESSARILY ON THE BAYSHORE BUT VIA PLATT AND CLEVELAND. >>LINDA SAUL-SENA: AS OPPOSED TO KENNEDY. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: YEAH, AS OPPOSED -- WELL, YEAH, AS OPPOSED TO KENNEDY OR IN THIS CASE AS OPPOSED TO BAYSHORE. AND I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF GOOD OPPORTUNITY FOR BICYCLE TRAFFIC BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN THE SOHO AREA AND DOWNTOWN, AND ACCORDING TO STAFF THAT WE JUST TALKED TO TODAY, THAT ONLY INVOLVES SOME PAINT BECAUSE -- YOU KNOW, BECAUSE THERE'S PLENTY OF ROOM ON PLATT AND CLEVELAND, THERE'S NO PARKING ON MOST OF PLATT AND CLEVELAND, AND ALL IT INVOLVES IS LOOKING AT THE FOUR FEET ON THE RIGHT-HAND SIDE OF BOTH OF THOSE PARALLEL ROADS AND STRIPING THEM FOR A BIKE LANE AND PUTTING IN THE LITTLE BIKE PICTURE, I GUESS, SO -- WELL, I'M GOING TO GUESS WE COULD PROBABLY DO THAT FOR A VERY MODEST SUM OF MONEY WITHOUT A WHOLE HUGE AMOUNT OF ENGINEERING, ET CETERA, ET CETERA. IT'S NOT THE FIX THAT WE WANTED ON THE BAYSHORE, AND I DON'T KNOW IF WE'LL EVER GET TO THE BAYSHORE AT THE RATE WE'RE GOING BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY THE CITY, YOU KNOW -- WE HAVE SOME PROBABLY FINANCIAL ISSUES AS RELATED TO THE DESIGN AND ET CETERA, ET CETERA. BUT PERHAPS THERE'S A CHEAP WAY OUT THAT WE COULD DEFER A LITTLE BIT OF THIS MONEY TO LOOK AT THE PLATT/CLEVELAND ALTERNATIVE BEFORE WE FINALIZE THIS PLAN, AND ANYWAY, I'D LIKE YOU ALL TO TAKE A SERIOUS LOOK AT THAT, YOU KNOW, OVER THE NEXT MONTH BEFORE WE GET TO FINALIZING THIS PLAN. >> I CAN SAY THAT WE WILL LOOK AT PLATT AND CLEVELAND. I THINK THERE WAS A MOTION MADE ON THAT FOR -- WE CAN TAKE A LOOK, BUT IN TERMS OF MIXING THAT REQUEST WITH THE BAYSHORE REQUEST, I DON'T REALLY BELIEVE THAT THAT'S GOING TO BE POSSIBLE. WE HAD TO GO THROUGH A VERY EXTENSIVE APPLICATION PROCESS WITH THE D.O.T. AND THE MPO, DEFINE SPECIFICALLY THE BAYSHORE PROJECT, AND THEN BE SELECTED AND PRIORITIZED, YOU KNOW, THROUGH OUR NORMAL PROCESSES. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: WELL, AT THE END OF THE DAY IT'S THIS BODY, I THINK, THAT MAKES THOSE DECISIONS, SO I THINK WE COULD LOOK AT IT. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. MARY. MARY MULHERN. >>MARY MULHERN: YES. LINDA, I THINK THIS QUESTION IS FOR YOU. FIRST OF ALL, UNDER SIGNIFICANT RESURFACING PROJECTS, THE ONE THING IS STATE ROAD 573. IS THAT BAYSHORE? WHAT ROAD IS THAT? >> UNDER SIGNIFICANT -- UNDER RESURFACING? >>MARY MULHERN: UH-HUH. >> 573? >>JOHN DINGFELDER: THAT'S WHAT IT SAYS. >>MARY MULHERN: YEAH. IS IT A TYPO? >> I DON'T SEE A 573. >> [INAUDIBLE] >>MARY MULHERN: OKAY. GO DOWN TO THE BOTTOM. IT'S THE SECOND -- OH, ON THE FIRST PAGE, THE SECOND TO THE LAST HIGHLIGHT -- OR BOLDED CATEGORY. >> I SEE -- YEAH, I SEE IT, MARY. ACTUALLY, I'M NOT REALLY SURE. I'LL HAVE TO GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: YEAH, I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT IT WAS EITHER. >>JOE AFFRONTI: YOU'LL GET BACK TO MARY WITH THAT? >> YES, I SURELY WILL. >>MARY MULHERN: AND IF YOU COULD MAYBE WITH THE STATE ROADS -- MOST OF THESE YOU HAVE THE ROAD NAMES IN PARENTHESES, SO MAYBE THAT ONE JUST DIDN'T GET ADDED. >> [INAUDIBLE] >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. ANY OTHER -- YES. >>MARY MULHERN: OH, IT'S DALE MABRY? >>DON SKELTON: YEAH, I BELIEVE THAT'S DALE MABRY FROM SOUTH OF GANDY. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: GANDY DOWN TO THE BASE. >>MARY MULHERN: OKAY. THANK YOU. >>JOE AFFRONTI: COMMISSIONER SHARPE. >>MARK SHARPE: I JUST HAVE A QUESTION REFERRING BACK TO THE BAYSHORE BOULEVARD, PLATT TO GANDY. IN PARTICULAR, AT THE BAY TO BAY AND BAYSHORE INTERSECTION, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WALKABILITY, BICYCLES AND SUCH, AND IT SEEMS THAT -- IN FACT, RIGHT NOW I'M CERTAIN SOMEONE'S RISKING THEIR LIFE TRYING TO GET FROM BAY TO BAY ACROSS THE STREET AT THAT LIGHT TO BAYSHORE. IT'S THE WORST -- I DON'T WANT TO OFFEND ANYBODY, BUT IT'S THE WORST INTERSECTION I HAVE SEEN FOR PEDESTRIAN TRAVEL. IT'S -- >>LINDA SAUL-SENA: [INAUDIBLE] >>MARK SHARPE: I MEAN, THIS IS THE AREA THAT WE BRAG ABOUT, PEOPLE RIDING THEIR BIKES, SKATE, KIDS, PEOPLE WITH STROLLERS, DOGS. IT'S HORRIBLE. EVERY TIME -- I GET CALLS ALL THE TIME TO MY OFFICE ABOUT THAT INTERSECTION. IS THAT PART OF THIS IMPROVEMENT WE'RE LOOKING AT BETWEEN PLATT AND GANDY BOULEVARD? IS THERE GOING TO BE ANY -- IS THERE ANY PLAN TO REMEDY THIS CROSS AREA -- CROSSING AREA FOR PEDESTRIANS? >> I CAN SAY AT THIS POINT WE ARE DOING A FULL DESIGN BETWEEN THAT AREA, AND WE'RE GOING TO REVISIT WHAT IS EXISTING OUT THERE, SO -- BUT AT THIS POINT I CAN'T SAY WHAT WOULD POSSIBLY BE CHANGED, BUT WE ARE LOOKING AT THROUGH OUR DESIGN THAT INTERSECTION, YES. >>MARK SHARPE: WELL, COULD I JUST -- BECAUSE I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW -- I'M IN COUNTY GOVERNMENT. I HAD NO IDEA WHO TO CALL ABOUT THIS ONE, SO I'M GOING TO PASS IT TO YOU -- >> OKAY. >>MARK SHARPE: -- THAT IF I CAN JUST SAY THIS IS SOMETHING I'D LIKE SOMEONE TO TAKE A LOOK AT AND BEGIN TO SEE IF WE CAN'T COME UP WITH SOME -- >> OKAY. WE'LL MAKE A NOTE TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT IS LOOKED AT THOROUGHLY AS PART OF OUR DESIGN. >>MARK SHARPE: THANK YOU. >>LINDA SAUL-SENA: CAN YOU COME BACK AND GIVE A FULL REPORT AT A FUTURE MPO MEETING? >> OKAY. >>MARK SHARPE: I MEAN, I THINK IF YOU SPENT -- I'M SURE YOU HAVE AN HOUR AT ANY POINT JUST WATCHING THESE PEOPLE GO BACK AND FORTH, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A FATALITY AT SOME POINT AGAIN. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU. SO YOU'LL GET BACK TO US WITH THAT? THANK YOU. YES, MARY. >>MARY MULHERN: I JUST WANTED TO MENTION WITH REGARD TO THAT THAT BACK WHEN I WAS JUST A CITIZEN WHO FINALLY DECIDED NOT TO EVER CROSS BAYSHORE BECAUSE IT WAS TOO DANGEROUS, WE DID -- THE CITY HAD A BAYSHORE ADVISORY GROUP THAT STUDIED THIS, AND MAYBE WE COULD HAVE A REPORT ON WHAT -- BECAUSE THAT WAS SEVERAL YEARS AGO. YOU WERE BOTH ON COUNCIL. >>ROSE FERLITA: [INAUDIBLE] ON THAT TASK FORCE? >> I WAS ON THE TASK FORCE. >>MARY MULHERN: AND ROSE WAS TOO; RIGHT? SO MAYBE WE COULD HEAR JUST A BRIEF REPORT ABOUT WHAT HAS BEEN DONE WITH RELATION TO THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THAT COMMITTEE BECAUSE I THINK THAT IT WAS NOT ENOUGH, AND MAYBE IT'S TIME FOR US TO REVISIT THAT BECAUSE IT'S NOT JUST BAY TO BAY, IT'S THE ENTIRE LENGTH OF BAYSHORE THAT PEOPLE HAVE TO GET ACROSS, AND THERE ARE NOT SAFE OPPORTUNITIES TO DO THAT. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU. MR. DINGFELDER, DO YOU HAVE A -- >>JOHN DINGFELDER: YEAH. I'M GOING BACK TO MY PLATT/CLEVELAND IDEA. [LAUGHTER] I WANTED TO GO AHEAD AND MAKE A MOTION FOR A REPORT FROM STAFF AND ANYBODY WHO WANTS TO BE INVOLVED TO COME BACK AND TELL US THE POSSIBILITIES OF LOOKING AT PLATT AND CLEVELAND AS A FUNDING OPPORTUNITY, A VERY MINIMAL FUNDING OPPORTUNITY -- >>LINDA SAUL-SENA: SECOND. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: -- IN A CYCLE TO BE DETERMINED. MAYBE IT'S NOT -- MAYBE IT'S NOT '08 BUT MAYBE IT'S '09 OR POSSIBLY EVEN '10, SOMETHING. >> MAY I ASK WHO SECONDED THAT MOTION, PLEASE? >>LINDA SAUL-SENA: I DID. >> I'M SORRY. I CAN'T HEAR YOU UNLESS YOUR MIKE IS ON. >>LINDA SAUL-SENA: WE'RE SHARING A MIKE. >> OH, ARE YOU? >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. SO YOU'LL GET BACK TO US WITH -- >> I GUESS, IF YOU DON'T MIND, A CLARIFICATION ON YOUR REQUEST, YOU WANT INFORMATION ON FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR CLEVELAND AND PLATT? >>JOHN DINGFELDER: YES. WHEN I SAY STAFF, I'D SAY CITY STAFF, D.O.T., AND MPO STAFF TO GET TOGETHER AND TALK ABOUT IT AND LOOK AT IT AND COME UP WITH SOME, YOU KNOW, BALLPARK FEASIBILITY AMOUNT AND -- YOU KNOW, AND ALSO LET US KNOW WHAT'S REASONABLE -- EXCUSE ME. I'LL USE THE MIKE -- WHAT'S REASONABLE IN TERMS OF TIMING. OBVIOUSLY I'M JUST THROWING IT AT YOU, YOU KNOW, TODAY, AND I DON'T EXPECT ANSWERS TODAY, BUT MAYBE, YOU KNOW -- I'D LIKE TO DO IT BEFORE WE -- >>LINDA SAUL-SENA: JANUARY. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: WHEN ARE WE GOING TO BE ADOPTING THIS WORK PROGRAM? >>LINDA SAUL-SENA: JANUARY. >>JOE AFFRONTI: WELL, WE'VE GOT THE TWO PUBLIC HEARINGS COMING UP, THE 9th AND 11th, I BELIEVE. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: SO AT OUR NEXT MEETING IN JANUARY -- >>JOE AFFRONTI: MR. SKELTON, WHEN DO YOU THINK YOU'LL HAVE A PROPOSAL FOR US? >>DON SKELTON: AGAIN, I THINK WE'LL BE ABLE TO MAIL OUT PACKAGES. WE'LL OBVIOUSLY HAVE TAKE IT UP IN YOUR JANUARY MEETING TO PRESENT THE FULL WORK PROGRAM. WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO REITERATE, THOUGH, IS THERE IS A FORMAL PROCESS THAT THE MPO HAS FOR ENHANCEMENT OF PROJECTS, AND SO I DON'T THINK THAT THIS WOULD GET CONSIDERED AS PART OF THIS WORK PROGRAM, I THINK IT NEEDS TO GET CONSIDERED AS PART OF A FUTURE WORK PROGRAM. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: WELL, WHAT DOES THAT TAKE IT TO, 2015? >>DON SKELTON: WHEREVER THE ENHANCEMENT FUNDS -- IF THERE ARE ENHANCEMENT FUNDS THAT ARE AVAILABLE IN SOME YEAR BETWEEN NOW AND THEN. THAT'S THE NORMAL ENHANCEMENT CYCLE. THEY TAKE APPLICATIONS, GO THROUGH THE FEASIBILITY, GO THROUGH THE ELIGIBILITY PROCESS, AND THE MPO TAKES THOSE APPLICATIONS FROM THE LOCAL JURISDICTIONS. THIS BEING CITY ROADS, THE D.O.T. WOULD NOT BE PART OF THAT APPLICATION PROCESS OTHER THAN REVIEWING THE ELIGIBILITY AND FEASIBILITY DETERMINATION. >>JOE AFFRONTI: MAYBE RAY CHIARAMONTE COULD GET WITH YOU. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: YES, THAT IS CORRECT. WE HAVE A PROCESS THAT WE NORMALLY DO WHERE THE JURISDICTIONS SUBMIT THE PROJECTS THAT THEY WANT EACH YEAR, AND THEY'RE GRADED BASED ON CRITERIA THAT THE MPO BOARD ADOPTED A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO TO PUT THEM IN LINE FOR FUNDING. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: THE ONLY ISSUE I HAVE WITH THAT IS THAT IT DOESN'T GIVE THIS BOARD A WHOLE LOT OF LATITUDE -- >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: NO, YOU HAVE THE LATITUDE TO ADOPT THOSE PROJECTS. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: I KNOW, BUT IT DOESN'T GIVE US A WHOLE LOT OF LATITUDE IN TERMS OF NOMINATING PROJECTS OURSELVES, YOU KNOW, AND PARTICIPATING IN THAT EARLY PHASE. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: RIGHT. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: IT JUST INVOLVES THE FACT OF GOING BACK TO OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT, YOU KNOW, IN WHICH CASE WHAT IF THE ADMINISTRATION DIDN'T NECESSARILY SEE THIS AS A PRIORITY, BUT THIS BOARD MIGHT SEE IT AS A PRIORITY, SO IT DOESN'T GIVE US AN OPPORTUNITY TO PLUG IN, AND THAT'S JUST AN EXAMPLE. I DON'T WANT TO TAKE A LOT OF TIME ON THIS, BUT I -- YOU KNOW, I'D LIKE US TO VISIT IT AT SOME POINT. >>LINDA SAUL-SENA: I'D LIKE TO -- OH, I'M SORRY. >>ROSE FERLITA: GO AHEAD. >>JOE AFFRONTI: GO AHEAD, MS. SAUL-SENA. >>LINDA SAUL-SENA: I'D LIKE TO ADD ON THAT THE MPO FIVE YEARS AGO HAD A STUDY DONE OF KENNEDY BOULEVARD, AND ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE STUDY IS THAT WE NOT PUT BICYCLES ON KENNEDY BECAUSE IT'S A VERY BICYCLE HOSTILE STREET BUT THAT WE DO PUT THE BICYCLE TRAFFIC ON THE PAIR OF CLEVELAND AND PLATT, SO THAT WAS PART OF THE STUDY THAT THIS BOARD FUNDED MANY YEARS AGO. IT WAS A RECOMMENDATION, AND WE -- THIS WOULD ALMOST BE A FOLLOW-UP COROLLARY TO THAT STUDY, AND I KNOW WE CAN DIG IT OUT OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION LIBRARY, SO -- >>JOHN DINGFELDER: OKAY. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. THANK YOU. DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING? >>ROSE FERLITA: I HAVE A QUESTION. I REALLY DON'T KNOW WHO TO DIRECT THIS TO, BUT MAYBE, MR. SKELTON, YOU CAN HELP ME. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE DEFERRAL REQUESTS IN THE CITY OF TAMPA AND WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IN TERMS OF FDOT WORK PROGRAMS, BUT IS NOT BAYSHORE BOULEVARD A COUNTY ROAD? MAINTENANCE TO THEM, COUNTY ROAD OWNERSHIP TO THE COUNTY? >>DON SKELTON: I'M NOT ENTIRELY SURE OF THE JURISDICTION. I KNOW IT'S NOT A STATE ROAD. >>ROSE FERLITA: I KNOW THAT. >>DON SKELTON: IT'S MAYBE A COUNTY ROAD WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS. >>ROSE FERLITA: AND I BELIEVE IT'S A COUNTY ROAD, AND NOT TO MUDDY UP THE WATERS, BUT I THINK THIS IS A GOOD TIME TO HAVE MORE COMPREHENSIVE INFORMATION WHEN IT COMES BACK. SOME OF THE TIMES THAT I'VE MET WITH SOME OF MY DISTRICT 1 COMMISSION CONSTITUENTS IN SOUTH TAMPA, THERE'S ALWAYS BEEN A QUESTION ABOUT THE SMOOTHNESS OF THE ROAD FOR LACK OF A BETTER WAY TO EXPLAIN IT, AND OUR PUBLIC WORKS PEOPLE HAVE TAKEN A CERTAIN SECTION OF BAYSHORE TO CHECK TO SEE WHAT IT WOULD TAKE TO MAKE THOSE JOINTS SMOOTHER WITHOUT KEEPING THIS ROAD IMPOSSIBLE TO NAVIGATE OVER MANY, MANY, MANY MONTHS, BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE A HUGE PROGRAM, BUT I THINK THAT THE COUNTY'S LOOKING AT DOING SOME OF THAT IMPROVEMENT DEPENDING ON WHERE THAT PILOT TEST GOES, AND BASED ON WHAT OUR COLLEAGUES AT THE CITY HAVE SAID AND WHAT COMMISSIONER SHARPE HAS SAID, IT PROBABLY WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA FOR US AT THE SAME TIME TO MAKE A MOTION OR A REQUEST, WHICHEVER IS APPROPRIATE, MR. CHAIRMAN, TO HAVE PUBLIC WORKS PEOPLE HERE, PERHAPS MAYBE BOB GORDON, COME AND LET US KNOW WHAT THE LATEST IS THAT WE'RE DOING SO THAT WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THE TRAFFIC PATTERNS AND THE PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUES THAT MARK HAS BROUGHT UP, WE CAN GET AN UPDATE ON WHAT THEY'RE DOING WITH THOSE REPAIRS, AND I DON'T KNOW IF YOU-ALL ARE FAMILIAR WITH THAT, BUT THEY DID TAKE A CERTAIN SECTION TO SEE IF IT WOULD HELP OR WOULDN'T HELP AND WHAT IT WOULD TAKE TO SMOOTH OUT THOSE JOINTS. I MEAN, IT'S A HUGE ENDEAVOR, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A SEPARATE MOTION BUT IN CONCERT WITH THAT -- >>MARK SHARPE: SECOND. >>ROSE FERLITA: -- THAT BOB GORDON COMES AND GIVES US AN UPDATE ON THAT PART OF IT. >>JOE AFFRONTI: YES, JOE. >>MARY MULHERN: I HAD A QUESTION. WOULD THAT -- >>JOE AFFRONTI: JOE. >>MARY MULHERN: OH, I'M SORRY. GO AHEAD. >>JOSEPH CAETANO: I THINK, LINDA, DIDN'T I BRING THAT UP AT A MEETING? >>LINDA SAUL-SENA: YES. >>JOSEPH CAETANO: BECAUSE YOU SAID 20 YEARS AGO WHEN YOU WERE GOING TO THE HOSPITAL, YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO HAVE YOUR BABY IN THE CAR. I WENT OUT THERE WITH STEVE DAIGNAULT, AND THEY DO HAVE SOME NEW TYPE OF SURFACE THAT THEY'RE GOING TO ATTEMPT TO FIX THOSE JOINTS BECAUSE EVIDENTLY THOSE JOINTS ARE SUSPENDED, AND THEY ARE WORKING WITH IT. I DON'T KNOW, YOU KNOW, AT WHAT STATE IT'S AT NOW, BUT THEY ARE WORKING AT IT. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY, MARY. >>MARY MULHERN: YEAH. I WAS REMEMBERING THAT TOO. >>ROSE FERLITA: WHY, YOU HAD YOUR BABY THERE AS WELL? >>MARY MULHERN: I DID, I HAD MY BABY, BUT IT WAS ONLY TEN YEARS AGO. BUT I WAS THINKING OF OTHER THINGS. I DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE THE ROAD. [LAUGHTER] WHAT I'M CURIOUS ABOUT IS WHO -- WHO -- THAT PEDESTRIAN -- YOU DON'T KNOW? THAT WAS A CITY THING, RIGHT, WHEN THEY HAD THE BAYSHORE TASK FORCE, BUT IT'S A COUNTY ROAD, SO IS IT BECAUSE THE CITY TAKES CARE OF THE SIDEWALKS, IS THAT THE DIFFERENCE? MAYBE WE COULD HAVE -- I'D MAKE A MOTION THAT WE HEAR FROM BOTH MR. GORDON ABOUT THE ROAD AND FROM CITY STAFF, WHOEVER IT WAS THAT WAS IN CHARGE OF -- >>LINDA SAUL-SENA: [INAUDIBLE] >>MARY MULHERN: WELL, WHOEVER. SOMEBODY. JEAN, I GUESS, IS LEFT THERE. SO IF WE COULD GET A REPORT AT THE SAME TIME, MAYBE WE COULD PUT THAT ON THE AGENDA FOR A COUPLE MONTHS OR JANUARY. >>ROSE FERLITA: I THINK THAT -- I THINK THAT MS. SAUL-SENA AND MR. DINGFELDER ALREADY ASKED THAT THE CITY COME ABOUT THAT; RIGHT? >>MARY MULHERN: NO, THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT PLATT. WE'RE GOING BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN STREETS. I'M TALKING -- YOU AND I ARE TALKING ABOUT BAYSHORE, THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT PLATT AND CLEVELAND. >>ROSE FERLITA: OKAY. WELL, THEN, THE MOTION THAT'S ON THE FLOOR, LET'S ADD YOUR FRIENDLY AMENDMENT TO THAT THAT INSTEAD OF JUST THE COUNTY, LET'S ASK THE RESPONSIBLE PARTIES BOTH ON THE CITY SIDE AND THE COUNTY SIDE TO GIVE US A COMPREHENSIVE REPORT BACK TO MPO ABOUT WHAT THE COUNTY IS DOING ABOUT THOSE JOINTS, WHAT THE CITY CAN DO ABOUT THE MARKED TRAFFIC PATTERNS, ET CETERA, FROM THE STANDPOINT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, AND THEN WE CAN HAVE THEM BOTH COME IN. >>MARY MULHERN: AND THE STRIPING. >> YEAH. >>JOE AFFRONTI: WE'LL HAVE MR. CHIARAMONTE -- >> I'LL SECOND. >>JOE AFFRONTI: -- COORDINATE THAT SO WE'LL GET BOTH REPORTS BACK. YES, JOE. >>JOSEPH CAETANO: AND MR. CHAIRMAN, I THINK WE SHOULD INCLUDE ALL OF THE COUNTY ROADS WITHIN THE CITY BECAUSE WE'RE HAVING A TERRIBLE TIME UP ON BRUCE B. DOWNS IN MY DISTRICT. THEY SAY, WELL, IT'S A COUNTY ROAD WITHIN THE CITY, AND IF WE'RE GOING TO DO ONE OF THEM, WE SHOULD INCORPORATE ALL OF THEM TOGETHER TO FIND OUT WHO'S GOING TO DO THE REPAIRS BECAUSE THERE'S ALWAYS SOME DISSENSION ON WHO'S GOING TO REPAIR SOMETHING. >>JOE AFFRONTI: ARE WE SORT OF GETTING AWAY FROM OUR PROCEDURE? >>DON SKELTON: IT'S GOOD DISCUSSION. I'M NOT SURE IT PERTAINS NECESSARILY TO OUR WORK PROGRAM. >>JOSEPH CAETANO: WE'LL WAIT ANOTHER FIVE YEARS. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. ALL RIGHT. RAY, WILL YOU COORDINATE THAT? >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: YES, I WILL DO MY BEST TO DO THAT. >>JOE AFFRONTI: IF YOU UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHAT WE WANT. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: I THINK I DO. >>LINDA SAUL-SENA: DO YOU NEED A MOTION? >>JOE AFFRONTI: YEAH. FIRST OF ALL, THIS -- FOR THE PRESENTATION THAT WAS MADE BY FDOT, THAT WAS STRICTLY FOR DISCUSSION, AND ANY INPUT THAT WE PROVIDE -- AND WE DID PROVIDE A LOT OF INPUT -- THERE'S NO QUESTION ABOUT IT, BUT WE DO NEED A MOTION IF YOU WANT TO -- >>ADAM GORMLY: I THINK WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND ON THE FLOOR ALREADY FROM MS. SAUL-SENA AND MR. DINGFELDER. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. >>LINDA SAUL-SENA: ABOUT PLATT AND CLEVELAND. >>ADAM GORMLY: ABOUT PLATT AND CLEVELAND. >> LINDA SAUL-SENA: AND REPORT BACK -- >>ADAM GORMLY: IT WAS ADDED ON THEIR REPORT FROM THE COUNTY STAFF AND ADDED ON THE REPORT FROM THE CITY STAFF REGARDING TRAFFIC PATTERNS AND THE BIKE LANES AND THE STRIPING ON BAYSHORE. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: BUT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE MAINTENANCE ON ALL COUNTY ROADS WITHIN THE CITY -- >>LINDA SAUL-SENA: ABOUT PLATT AND CLEVELAND. [INDISCERNIBLE CROSS TALK] >>ADAM GORMLY: REPHRASE THE MOTION. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: YEAH, LET'S DO THEM CLEAN AND SEPARATELY BECAUSE I THINK TO A CERTAIN EXTENT I THINK THEY ARE SEPARATE, SO I'M JUST GOING TO BREAK MY MOTION OUT AS TO PLATT AND CLEVELAND TO ASK STAFF TO COME BACK AT OUR NEXT MEETING WITH A REPORT ON, YOU KNOW, THE FEASIBILITY, A HISTORIC REPORT GOING BACK FIVE YEARS, THE ONE LINDA WAS TALKING ABOUT, AND ANY OTHER INFORMATION THAT WE CAN GET FROM GENA AND FROM THE CITY STAFF ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF STRIPING PLATT AND CLEVELAND FOR BICYCLES, AND I'LL JUST -- LET'S JUST LEAVE THAT AS A SEPARATE MOTION, AND YOU GUYS DO YOUR OWN ON THE OTHER ISSUES. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. SO WE HAVE A MOTION. DO WE HAVE A SECOND? MS. SAUL-SENA. OKAY. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. [CHORUS OF AYES] OPPOSED. MOTION CARRIES. OKAY. NOW, THAT'S ONE FOR -- >>MARY MULHERN: THEN, I'D LIKE TO -- I THINK MS. FERLITA, WHAT SHE BROUGHT UP WASN'T IN THE FORM OF A MOTION, SO I WOULD MOVE HER RECOMMENDATION AS A MOTION THAT WE GET A REPORT ON -- FROM THE COUNTY ON WHAT THEY'RE DOING AS FAR AS RESURFACING OR LOOKING INTO THAT ON BAYSHORE AND THEN MY FRIENDLY AMENDMENT TO HAVE A REPORT FROM THE CITY ABOUT WHAT HAS BEEN DONE TO IMPLEMENT THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE BAYSHORE TASK FORCE OF A FEW YEARS AGO AS FAR AS PEDESTRIAN SAFETY. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. >>LINDA SAUL-SENA: AND MIGHT WE ADD AND SPECIFICALLY ADDRESS THE ISSUE RAISED BY COMMISSIONER SHARPE ABOUT THE SAFE CROSSING AT BAY TO BAY AND BAYSHORE. >>MARY MULHERN: RIGHT. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: SECOND. >>JOE AFFRONTI: MOVED AND SECONDED. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. [CHORUS OF AYES] OPPOSED. MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. >> OKAY. I'D LIKE TO JUST BRING UP ALICE GILMARTIN WHO'S GOING TO PRESENT THE TURNPIKE WORK PROGRAM PIECE. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. >> THANK YOU VERY MUCH. >> GOOD MORNING AGAIN. I'M ALICE GILMARTIN, FLORIDA TURNPIKE ENTERPRISE. BEFORE I GET STARTED, I HAVE A REAL SHORT POWERPOINT PRESENTATION TO GO OVER, BUT I JUST WANTED TO SHOW YOU SOMETHING THAT YOU HAVE IN YOUR PACKET. I HAVE A BROCHURE FOR YOU TO TAKE WITH YOU, KIND OF BRING YOU UP TO SPEED ON THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING AT THE TURNPIKE, AND THERE'S AN INSERT IN IT THAT SHOWS ON THE BACK SIDE IS A LISTING OF THE PROJECTS OF THE TURNPIKE IN THE DISTRICT 7 AREA TO INCLUDE HILLSBOROUGH, AND THEN THERE'S A MAP. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. >> ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. AGAIN, THIS IS THE TENTATIVE WORK PROGRAM '09-10 TO '13-14 IN THE DISTRICT 7 AREA. BEFORE I GET STARTED, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE TWO CLARIFICATIONS. NUMBER ONE, LIKE OUR SISTER D.O.T. DISTRICTS, OUR REVENUES ARE DOWN ALSO, AND THE WORK PROGRAM THAT WE'RE BRINGING TO YOU, THE FIVE YEARS IS LESS THAN THE ADOPTED CURRENT PROGRAM; HOWEVER, HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY DID CONTINUE TO GET THE PROJECTS THAT WAS IN THE ORIGINAL ADOPTED WORK PROGRAM, AND I'LL GO OVER THAT, AND SECONDLY, TO THE TAC AND THE CAC, WE ONLY SHOWED THE PROJECTS THAT WERE IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY BECAUSE WE TOO WERE FINE-TUNING THE PROJECTS IN THE REST OF THE DISTRICT 7 AREA, BUT TODAY I HAVE THE WHOLE DISTRICT 7 AREA TO SHOW YOU BESIDES JUST HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, AND THESE PROJECTS INCLUDE THE VETERANS, THE I- 4/CROSSTOWN CONNECTOR, AND THE SUNCOAST PARKWAY I AND II. THE VETERANS EXPRESSWAY IS IN THE WORK PROGRAM, AND I'M HAPPY TO SAY THAT IT REMAINED. A NUMBER OF CAPACITY PROJECTS DID MOVE OUT OF THE TURNPIKE'S WORK PROGRAM, BUT WE DID AN ANALYSIS, AND THIS WAS ONE OF THE MORE CONGESTED EXISTING ROADWAYS, AND THE -- THE ONES THAT HAD THE WORST OF -- CONGESTION DID STAY IN THE WORK PROGRAM, SO THIS ONE WILL CONTINUE, AND WE'RE LOOKING AT CONSTRUCTION BEING FUNDED IN 2012. WE ARE WIDENING FROM FOUR TO EIGHT LANES FROM MEMORIAL TO SOUTH OF GUNN HIGHWAY AT AN AMOUNT OF $328 MILLION. NOW, I JUST WANTED TO SHOW YOU HOW WE'RE GOING TO CLEAN UP THE TOLL PLAZA AREA WHERE ANDERSON IS, AND THIS IS THE EXISTING SITUATION, AND WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO IN THE FUTURE -- AS YOU CAN SEE, THE TOLL PLAZA IS -- AND YOU'LL SEE THE NEXT ONE IT'S MOVED, BUT THIS WAS CLEANING UP THE ANDERSON EXIT, AND THEN THE TOLL PLAZA IS MOVING A LITTLE BIT FURTHER NORTH, SO THAT'S ONE IMPROVEMENT FOR THE VETERANS THAT WE'RE REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO TO CLEAN UP THAT AREA, AND ALSO, WE WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT THE VETERANS WILL BE GOING ALL ELECTRONIC TOLLING. WE'RE KIND OF REALLY USING A SHOEHORN TO GET EIGHT LANES INTO THE EXISTING RIGHT-OF-WAY, AND WITH THAT WE ARE NEEDING TO GO ALL ELECTRONIC TOLLING AND DO AWAY WITH SOME OF THE -- OF THE RAMPS. THE NEXT -- THE NEXT PROJECT IS THE CROSSTOWN CONNECTOR, WHICH IS A PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM WITH DISTRICT 7 AND THE EXPRESSWAY AUTHORITY, AND WE WERE ABLE TO INCREASE OUR CONTRIBUTION TO THIS PROJECT BY 20 MILLION AND -- TO A TOTAL OF 102 MILLION IN FISCAL YEAR 2010. AND FURTHER UP THE ROAD IN THE SUNCOAST PARKWAY I WE HAVE A RESURFACING PROJECT, AND THEN SUNCOAST PARKWAY II, WE'RE LOOKING AT FUNDING RIGHT-OF-WAY. ORIGINALLY FUNDING WITH RIGHT-OF-WAY WAS IN THE FIRST TWO YEARS OF THE WORK PROGRAM, BUT WE'VE HAD TO SPREAD IT OUT FOR THE WHOLE FIVE YEAR OF THE WORK PROGRAM. WE DID HAVE TO DEFER AN INTERCHANGE IN PASCO COUNTY AT RIDGE ROAD, AND AGAIN, THAT ONE MOVED OUT OF THE WORK PROGRAM, AND WE'LL BE COMMUNICATING -- WE HAVE COMMUNICATED THAT TO PASCO COUNTY, AND LASTLY, THE PUBLIC HEARINGS OF DISTRICT 7, THEY GRACIOUSLY ALLOW US TO PIGGYBACK THEIR PUBLIC HEARINGS, AND HERE'S THE DATES AND THE PLACES, SO I'M AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE ON THE TURNPIKE'S WORK PROGRAM. >>JOE AFFRONTI: ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? YEAH, MR. DINGFELDER. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: I'M THRILLED TO SEE THAT THE TURNPIKE IS PARTICIPATING SO GRANDLY AND $102 MILLION IN THE INTERCHANGE, IN THE SELMON EXPRESSWAY INTERCHANGE, AND I JUST WANTED TO SAY, JOE WAGGONER AND ALSO THE D.O.T. -- IS THAT 2010 -- I KNOW IT'S SORT OF BEEN A MOVING TARGET OVER THE YEARS, BUT HOW DO WE FEEL ABOUT 2010? >>DON SKELTON: RIGHT NOW THAT'S THE -- THE TIME FRAME THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT. WE'RE LOOKING AT ACTUALLY PRODUCING THIS PROJECT TO OPEN BIDS IN SEPTEMBER OF NEXT YEAR, 2009, WHICH IS THE 2010 FISCAL YEAR. AGAIN, A LOT OF THAT WILL STILL BE PREDICATED ON THE BUDGETARY IMPACTS THAT WE'VE NOT YET FULLY ADDRESSED IN OUR WORK PROGRAM. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: OKAY. AND IS THE EXPRESSWAY AUTHORITY ALSO CONTRIBUTING MONETARILY, OR ARE YOU GUYS JUST SUPERVISING, OR WHAT'S YOUR ROLE? >> ACTUALLY, IT IS A D.O.T. PROJECT. IT'S GOING TO BE MANAGED BY DISTRICT 7. THE FUNDING PLAN IS -- INCLUDES MONIES FROM THE TURNPIKE. THE -- THE EXPRESSWAY AUTHORITY HERE IS WORKING WITH THE DEPARTMENT AND THE TURNPIKE TO -- WE HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN PARTICIPATING IN PART OF THE FUNDING PLAN FOR THIS. WHAT WE'VE FOUND THROUGH REPEAT ANALYSIS IS THAT THERE IS A PORTION OF THE SELMON EXPRESSWAY THAT WE NEED TO WIDEN TO MAKE SURE THE NEW CONNECTION IS SUCCESSFUL, SO IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE TURNPIKE AND THE D.O.T., WE'RE EXPLORING WAYS FOR US TO REAPPLY THE FUNDING WE HAD BEEN PARTICIPATING WITH ON THE CONNECTOR TO A WIDENING PROJECT ON OUR FACILITY. THERE'S A LARGE PORTION OF BRIDGE DECK, ABOUT A ONE-MILE SECTION THAT RUNS THROUGH DOWNTOWN TAMPA THAT IS IN THE PROGRAM NOW FOR DECK REPLACEMENT. IT HAPPENS TO BE ON THE SAME TIMELINE BASICALLY AS THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE I-4/CROSSTOWN CONNECTOR, SO IF WE CAN WIDEN THAT WHILE WE'RE DOING THE DECK REPLACEMENT, WE'LL ASSURE THAT WE GET A SUCCESSFUL CROSSTOWN CONNECTOR PROJECT IN PLACE THAT WON'T BE JAMMED AS SOON AS YOU GET ON THE EXPRESSWAY AND WILL MINIMIZE -- THIS IS CRITICAL -- WILL MINIMIZE THE DISRUPTION OF -- BY HAVING TO COME BACK LATER AND DO THAT WIDENING BECAUSE WE HAVE TO DO THE DECK REPLACEMENT. THAT'S A GIVEN. IT'S A PRESERVATION PROJECT THAT HAS TO BE DONE IN THE VERY NEAR TERM, SO IF WE CAN DO THE WIDENING WHILE WE'RE DOING THAT, WE'LL SAVE DISRUPTION AND WE'LL SAVE COST BECAUSE IF YOU HAVE TO COME OUT THERE THREE TO FOUR OR FIVE YEARS AT THE MOST LATER BY OUR PROJECTIONS AND DO THAT WIDENING, YOU'RE GOING TO INCUR REMOBILIZATION, YOU'RE GOING TO INCUR THE MAINTENANCE OF TRAFFIC IMPACTS, AND YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE THE INFLATIONARY IMPACTS OF CONSTRUCTION COSTS, SO WE'RE WORKING AS A TEAM WITH THE DEPARTMENT, WITH THE TURNPIKE TO TRY TO GET BOTH OF THOSE NEEDS ADDRESSED. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: I THINK IT'S A GREAT PROJECT, I ALWAYS HAVE. I THINK THAT ULTIMATELY I WOULD -- I WOULD ASSUME THAT IF YOU'RE -- I SPECIALLY IF YOU'RE A TRUCK OR A TOURIST AND YOU WANTED TO HEAD TO ST. PETERSBURG OR BACK AND FORTH FROM ORLANDO TO ST. PETERSBURG, YOU'RE GOING TO USE THAT INTERCHANGE AND GO DOWN TOWARD THE GANDY, WHICH, OF COURSE, THEN LEADS YOU TO DROPPING DOWN ONTO THE GANDY AND THE CONGESTION THAT WE HAVE DOWN THERE, WHICH IS A SUBJECT FOR ANOTHER DAY, BUT IT'S KIND OF -- IT'S AN INTERESTING CONUNDRUM SORT OF THAT ONCE WE FIX IT OVER HERE NEAR DOWNTOWN, THEN WE'RE LEFT WITH SOME PROBLEMS ON THE OTHER END. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? OKAY. THIS IS STRICTLY FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES. >> NO, THIS IS AN ACTION ITEM, SIR. >>JOE AFFRONTI: NO, IT SAYS HERE -- >> I'M SORRY. >>JOE AFFRONTI: -- PROVIDE ANY COMMENTS ON THE TURNPIKE WORK PROGRAM. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: WE APPRECIATE THE TURNPIKE'S ASSISTANCE. THANK YOU. >>JOE AFFRONTI: IT DOESN'T SHOW THAT WE NEED A MOTION IT APPROVE IT. IT'S JUST -- >> WELL, I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT YOU WOULD -- YOU WOULD PROVIDE A MOTION. IT IS AN ACTION ITEM. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: IT IS LISTED AS AN ACTION ITEM. >>JOE AFFRONTI: YEAH. BUT AT THE SAME TIME RECOMMENDED ACTION, PROVIDE ANY COMMENTS ON THE TURNPIKE WORK PROGRAM. >>ADAM GORMLY: IT'S A TENTATIVE WORK PROGRAM AT THIS POINT. IT'S STILL A TENTATIVE WORK PROGRAM AT THIS POINT. >>JOE AFFRONTI: SO DO WE NEED A MOTION? >>ADAM GORMLY: NO, NOT UNLESS THERE WAS ANY ACTION THE BOARD WAS -- OR COMMENTS THE BOARD WAS -- >>DON SKELTON: JUST FOR CLARIFICATION, IT WILL REMAIN TENTATIVE UNTIL JULY 1 WHEN IT GETS ADOPTED, SO I WOULDN'T HANG ON THAT "TENTATIVE" WORD. I THINK THE TURNPIKE'S PROGRAM, DIFFERENT FROM WHAT DISTRICT 7'S IS, I THINK THIS IS THE FINAL PROGRAM THAT YOU'RE GOING TO SEE, SO I THINK IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE TO TAKE AN ACTION, AS YOU WOULD HAVE ON THE DISTRICT 7 PORTION IF WE HAD A PROGRAM LIKE THIS. >>ROSE FERLITA: TO MAKE A MOTION TO SUPPORT WHAT HAS BEEN SUBMITTED? OKAY. THEN SO MOVE. >> SECOND. >>JOE AFFRONTI: MOVED AND SECONDED. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. [CHORUS OF AYES] OPPOSED. MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU. >> THANK YOU VERY MUCH. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. NEXT ITEM IS THE MPO CALENDAR OF MEETINGS. MR. CHIARAMONTE. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: THANK YOU. IN YOUR PACKAGE YOU HAVE A LIST OF THE MEETING DATES FOR NEXT YEAR FOR ALL OUR COMMITTEES, THE CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE, TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE, POLICY COMMITTEE, AND AS WELL THE MPO. THE ONLY QUESTION HERE WOULD BE -- AND I'M NOT GOING TO GO THROUGH ALL THE DATES. CAN YOU SEE WE TRIED TO AVOID CONFLICTS WHERE POSSIBLE -- WOULD BE WHETHER WE CHOOSE TO HAVE A MEETING IN JULY WHEN CITY COUNCIL, I BELIEVE, AND THE BOCC TAKE A BREAK AT THAT TIME. WE CAN DECIDE THAT LATER IF YOU WANT, DEPENDING ON WHAT MIGHT BE ON OUR AGENDA, BUT THAT'S AN OPTION WE HAVE OF NOT HAVING THE JULY MEETING. >>JOE AFFRONTI: RAY, I NOTICED IN APRIL FOR SOME REASON, IT'S NOT GOING TO BE ON THE FIRST TUESDAY, AND I JUST WONDER IF THERE'S A REASON FOR THAT. >> [INAUDIBLE] >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: OKAY. THERE'S A CONFLICT WITH THIS ROOM BECAUSE OF THE COUNTY'S LAND USE MEETING. THAT'S WHY WE MOVED IT A WEEK BACK. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. ALL RIGHT. >> [INAUDIBLE] >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. >> SECOND. >>JOE AFFRONTI: MOVED TO APPROVE AND SECOND. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. [CHORUS OF AYES] OPPOSED. MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY. THE NEXT ITEM IS T.I.P. PROGRAM, WALLY BLAIN. >>WALLY BLAIN: GOOD MORNING. WALLY BLAIN, MPO STAFF. THIS IS A T.I.P. AMENDMENT, TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM, FOR THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR. WE'VE HEARD A LOT FROM D.O.T. AND THE TURNPIKE ENTERPRISE ABOUT THE NEXT YEAR'S WORK PROGRAM. THIS IS INDEED THE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM THAT IS CURRENTLY IN PLACE AND DOES INCLUDE THE D.O.T.'S WORK PROGRAM. THIS AMENDMENT IS TO ADD AN ENVIRONMENTAL PHASE FOR A SIDEWALK PROJECT ON McMULLEN ROAD. THIS IS A PROJECT THAT THE MPO HAS APPROVED AND PRIORITIZED THROUGH THE TRANSPORTATION ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM AND IS FUNDED FOR CONSTRUCTION IN 2013 BASED ON THAT PRIORITY. IN D.O.T.'S PROCESS OF MAKING THAT PROJECT READY TO GO, THEY'RE GOING THROUGH THE DESIGN OF THAT PROJECT NOW AND HAVE DETERMINED, AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE MAP THAT'S ATTACHED WITH THIS, ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE ROAD THERE'S SOME ENVIRONMENTAL LANDS THAT COULD BE IMPACTED, AND THE CURRENT DESIGN DRAWINGS ARE SHOWING THERE'S GOING TO BE SOME IMPACT TO THOSE ENVIRONMENTAL LANDS. BASED ON FLORIDA STATUTE, THERE'S A REQUIREMENT THAT SWFWMD -- THAT PROPERTY BE PURCHASED FROM SWFWMD FOR PERMITTING OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL LANDS, AND THERE'S A CALCULATION IN THE WRITE-UP THAT SHOWS HOW THAT COMES ABOUT. THIS ABOUT A TENTH OF AN ACRE IN PROPERTY, SO THE COST OF THAT IS JUST OVER $9,000. WHAT WE'RE ASKING THE MPO TO DO IS PRIORITIZE OR ADOPT THE AMENDMENT THAT FUNDS THE ENVIRONMENTAL PHASE OF THAT IN THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR OUT OF THE TRANSPORTATION ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM. ONE NOTE I DO WANT TO MAKE TO THIS, JUST TO THE EAST SIDE OF THE PROJECT, THERE'S A SCHOOL THAT WAS NOTED AT THE CAC MEETING -- A QUESTION WAS ASKED IS THAT A SCHOOL. THAT SCHOOL IS ROGERS MIDDLE SCHOOL, SO THERE WAS A QUESTION THAT CAME UP DURING THE CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE ABOUT THAT, SO WE DO NEED THIS ADOPTED AND APPROVED BY THE MPO THROUGH A VOTE OF A -- A ROLL CALL VOTE TO APPROVE THIS. >>JOE AFFRONTI: RIGHT. THAT HAS BEEN APPROVED BY THE CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE, AND ALSO THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED APPROVAL, SO -- >>JOHN DINGFELDER: SO MOVE. >> MOVE APPROVAL. >> SECOND. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. MOVED AND SECONDED. OKAY. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? IF NOT, TAKE A ROLL CALL VOTE. >> AFFRONTI. >>JOE AFFRONTI: YES. >> BECKNER. >>KEVIN BECKNER: YES. >> CAETANO. >>JOSEPH CAETANO: YES. >> DINGFELDER. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: YES. >> FERLITA. >>ROSE FERLITA: YES. >> MILLER. >>LOUIS MILLER: YES. >> MULHERN. >>MARY MULHERN: YES. >> SAUL-SENA. >>LINDA SAUL-SENA: HERE. >> YES. >>LINDA SAUL-SENA: YES. >>ROSE FERLITA: HERE AND YES. >> SHARPE. >>MARK SHARPE: YES. >> WAGGONER. >>JOSEPH WAGGONER: YES. >> MOTION CARRIED 10-0. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANKS, WALLY. OKAY. NEXT ITEM IS THE CHAIRMAN'S REPORT. LIVABLE ROADWAY, LINDA SAUL-SENA. LINDA. >>LINDA SAUL-SENA: THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. I WAS COMMENTING ON THE VERY ATTRACTIVE NEW LOGO THAT THE COMMISSION HAS INSTALLED. THE LIVABLE ROADWAYS COMMITTEE MET ON OCTOBER 29th AND AGAIN ON NOVEMBER 19th, WHICH IS WHY THIS IS SORT OF A LONG REPORT. THE COMMITTEE HAD HEARD OF SEVERAL EXCITING DOWNTOWN PROJECTS, THE UNVEILING OF THE NEW WAVE FINDING SIGNAGE, WHICH INCLUDES PEDESTRIAN-ORIENTED AS WELL AS CAR-ORIENTED SIGNS, CONTINUING INTEREST FOR DEVELOPING WATER TAXIS -- AND THERE'S A MEETING ON THAT AT THE DOWNTOWN PARTNERSHIP NEXT WEEK, WHICH IS VERY EXCITING -- AND EFFORTS TO MAKE CYCLING AND WALKING THE MODE OF CHOICE FOR INNER CITY TRIPS WITH THE START OF SELF-GUIDED WALKING TOURS -- WHICH THERE'S ONE THIS FRIDAY AT NOON BEGINNING IN LYKES PARK -- AND RESEARCH INTO A BICYCLE-SHARING PROGRAM. THE COMMITTEE HEARD A PRESENTATION ON THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION'S PEDESTRIAN SAFETY ACTION PLAN UNDER DEVELOPMENT IN PINELLAS COUNTY. THE COMMITTEE HOPES TO SEE A PLAN DONE FOR HILLSBOROUGH AS WELL WITH AN OVERALL GOAL OF REDEFINING WHAT IS ACCEPTABLE IN OUR COUNTY REGARDING PEDESTRIAN MOBILITY AND HOW TO DEVELOP SOLUTIONS SPECIFIC TO THE PROBLEMS PEOPLE FACE FOR WALKING IN OUR COUNTY AND CITIES. WE NEED TO CATCH UP WITH PINELLAS. THERE'S CONTINUED INTEREST IN THE PROCESS FOR TRANSFERRING ROADWAYS FROM ONE AGENCY TO ANOTHER. CITY STAFF WILL FOLLOW UP WITH FDOT ON THE SPECIFIC EXAMPLE OF SWAPPING A PORTION OF KENNEDY BOULEVARD WITH TWIGGS STREET IN CHANNELSIDE. AND THEN WE TALKED ABOUT THE GANDY TRAILBRIDGE. SEVERAL -- SEVERAL COMMITTEE MEMBERS ATTENDED TBARTA PUBLIC WORKSHOPS AND WERE CONCERNED WITH THE LACK OF INFORMATION PRESENTED OR DISPLAYED ON THE IMPORTANT ROLE WALKING AND BICYCLING WILL HAVE ON THE SUCCESS OF TRANSIT. PROVIDING TRAILS, SIDEWALKS, AND BIKE LANE CONNECTIONS AS WELL AS BENCHES, BIKE SHARING, BIKE PARKING, AND OTHER AMENITIES AT THE STATIONS WILL INCREASE THE LIKELIHOOD THAT PEOPLE WILL ACTUALLY USE TRANSIT WITHOUT HAVING TO DRIVE AND PARK A MOTOR VEHICLE. THE COMMITTEE WILL BE FORWARDING A LETTER TO TBARTA REQUESTING THAT PEDESTRIANS AND CYCLISTS ARE INCLUDED IN THEIR PLANNING WITH THE ADDED REQUEST TO DEDICATE A PROFESSIONAL ON THE TBARTA STAFF FOR THAT VERY PURPOSE. WE LOOKED -- YOU-ALL HAVE SEEN THE MATERIALS FROM TBARTA, AND THEY'RE BEAUTIFUL, BUT THERE'S NO RECOGNITION OF THE INCLUSION OF BICYCLING AND WALKING. THE LAST TOPIC OF CONCERN WAS THE DELAY ON THE CONSTRUCTION START DATE OF THE STREETCAR EXTENSION. THE LIVABLE ROADWAYS MEMBERS RECOGNIZED THAT EXTENDING THE STREETCAR WILL MAKE IT EVEN MORE ATTRACTIVE TO DOWNTOWN VISITORS, RESIDENTS, AND EMPLOYEES. OUR NEXT MEETING, SCHEDULED FOR DECEMBER 17th, AT 9:00 A.M., WILL BE HELD AT THE RAMPELLO DOWNTOWN PARTNERSHIP SCHOOL. PRESENTATIONS WILL BE HEARD ON THE UPDATE TO THE WESTSHORE PEDESTRIAN PLAN AND ON THE SCHOOL BOARD'S GOING GREEN INITIATIVE, WHICH IS ENCOURAGING KIDS TO BE ABLE TO WALK TO SCHOOL. ALSO, PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR JANUARY 28th WHEN THE LIVABLE ROADWAYS COMMITTEE WILL MEET AT THE OLD MARION STREET JAIL, WHICH WILL SOME DAY BE HOPEFULLY A TRANSIT FACILITY. AS A GATEWAY INTO DOWNTOWN, THE COMMITTEE WILL DISCUSS IDEAS FOR INTERIM REDEVELOPMENT OF THE EVENTUAL INTERMODAL CENTER WHEN IT'S BUILT. AS ALWAYS, ALL MPO BOARD MEMBERS ARE ENCOURAGED AND INVITED TO ATTEND THESE UPCOMING MEETINGS. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU. MARY. >>MARY MULHERN: YES. THANKS, LINDA. I WANTED TO FOLLOW UP BECAUSE SINCE THAT LIVABLE ROADWAYS COMMITTEE MEETING, THE STREETCAR -- HISTORIC STREETCAR BOARD HAD A MEETING, AND WE DID GET A REPORT FROM HART, AND IT IS -- THE PROJECT IS GOING TO HAPPEN, THE EXTENSION OF THE STREETCAR. THERE'S A WHOLE CALENDAR SET UP. I DIDN'T BRING IT WITH ME, SO I CAN'T GIVE YOU THE DATES, BUT IT WAS VERY ENCOURAGING, AND IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN. >>LINDA SAUL-SENA: MAYBE WE COULD GET THAT REPORT AT OUR NEXT MPO MEETING. >>MARY MULHERN: WE COULD, YEAH. LET ME LOOK AT -- LET ME TALK TO HART AND SEE WHAT -- IF THEY'LL HAVE ANYTHING NEW TO REPORT. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. >>MARY MULHERN: IT MIGHT NOT BE -- MAYBE THE NEXT MEETING MIGHT BE A BETTER TIME TO DO THAT. >>LINDA SAUL-SENA: THANK YOU. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, LINDA. OKAY. GENA TORRES, THE BICYCLE/PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE. >>GENA TORRES: GOOD MORNING. GENA TORRES OF YOUR STAFF. I'M REALLY EXCITED TO WORK WITH OUR NEW OFFICIAL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND OUR NEW BOARD, SO -- AND I HAVE TO TELL YOU, I'M ALMOST GIDDY SITTING IN MY SEAT ABOUT THE AMOUNT OF ATTENTION BICYCLING AND WALKING HAVE GOTTEN AT THIS MEETING, AND I FEEL LIKE THE BOARD IS REALLY SUPPORTIVE OF THE THINGS WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO DO. BACK IN '94 WHEN I STARTED THIS POSITION, COMMISSIONER TURANCHIK WAS ON THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, AND HE HAD STARTED WANTING TO GET PLATT STRIPED FOR BICYCLING, AND IT WAS UP FOR RESURFACING AT THE TIME. I TALKED TO JEAN. IT REALLY IS IN GOOD CONDITION, BUT THAT'S HOW WE'VE GOTTEN A LOT OF OUR BIKE LANES STRIPED IS WHEN A ROAD IS GOING TO BE RESURFACED, AND YOU JUST KIND OF MOVE THE LANE OVER AND YOU STRIPE THE BIKE LANE, SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE CITY ON THIS, WHICH ALSO MAY -- I HAVE TO MAKE A COMMENT ABOUT BAYSHORE BEFORE I TELL YOU -- I HAVE A VERY SHORT REPORT, SO -- AND THE TASK FORCE, I WAS ALSO INVOLVED WITH THAT, AND THE CITY HAS DONE A LOT TO -- FIRST OF ALL, THE CITIZENS WERE FANTASTIC. I'VE NEVER EVEN BEEN AROUND A GROUP OF CITIZENS THAT WERE SO THOUGHTFUL IN THEIR IDEAS ON HOW TO MAKE THAT SAFER, AND YOU PROBABLY REMEMBER THERE WAS A FATALITY -- THERE'S BEEN SEVERAL, BUT THAT KIND OF PROMPTED THAT GROUP, AND A LOT OF IMPROVEMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE, BUT THERE'S A LOT MORE THAT STILL COULD CONTINUE. I THINK THE EXPRESSWAY -- THE CROSSTOWN WOULD BE -- IT WOULD BE GREAT IF WE WOULD ENCOURAGE MORE PEOPLE THAT ARE USING BAYSHORE TO CUT THROUGH AND DRIVE FAST TO GET TO, YOU KNOW, BRANDON, IF WE COULD JUST GET THEM ON THE EXPRESSWAY, IT WOULD BENEFIT YOU AND BENEFIT ALL THE PEOPLE USING BAYSHORE. THAT'S JUST MY ASIDE. WE DID HOLD -- THE BICYCLE-PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE DID HOLD A MEETING ON NOVEMBER 12th. OF COURSE, WE TALKED ABOUT THE GANDY TRAILBRIDGE. I THINK WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THAT A LOT TOO. OUR CHAIRPERSON IS THE PARKS DEPARTMENT STAFF AS WELL, AND SHE KIND OF STAYED AT THE ENTRANCES TO THE TRAILBRIDGE BECAUSE SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE BEEN USING THAT AS A COMMUTE HOME, AND IT WAS CLOSED AT 5:00, SO THEY STAYED THERE AN EXTRA HOUR TO TRY TO HELP PEOPLE GET HOME. BELIEVE IT OR NOT, THOSE OF US WHO ARE CAR OWNERS AND HAVE ACCESS TO OTHER WAYS OF GETTING AROUND, IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE CYCLING AND WALKING TO TRANSIT BUT CYCLING FOR COMMUTE TRIPS TO GET TO THEIR WORK. IT HAPPENS A LOT. WE DON'T SEE THEM. THEY DON'T COME TO MEETINGS LIKE THIS USUALLY, BUT THERE IS A LOT OF PEOPLE OUT THERE. THE BPAC WILL BE HOSTING THE GASPARILLA CHILDREN'S BICYCLE RODEO ON SATURDAY, JANUARY 24th. USUALLY PEOPLE LIKE TO HEAR THAT DATE SO THEY CAN AVOID BAYSHORE, BUT I REALLY WOULD LOVE TO GET YOU TO COME TO BAYSHORE. THE PARADE IS LATER IN THE AFTERNOON, BUT FROM 11:00 TO 2:00 WE'LL BE HOLDING THE BIKE RODEO. WE'LL BE GIVING HELMETS AWAY TO THE KIDS, AND THEN WE HAVE BIKES THAT THEY CAN USE TO GO THROUGH A COURSE, A BICYCLE SKILLS TRAINING COURSE. THAT'S IT. THE NEXT BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING IS OUR FESTIVE MEETING. IT'S ON DECEMBER 17th, AND WE'LL HOLD IT AT THE UPPER TAMPA BAY TRAILHEAD. IT'S ON WATERS AND SHELDON. EVERYONE'S WELCOME. IT'S AT 5:30 ON THE 17th. THANK YOU. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ANY QUESTIONS OF GENA? IF NOT, THANK YOU. OKAY. THERE WAS NOT A POLICY COMMITTEE MEETING LAST MONTH, SO THERE'S NO REPORT FROM THEM. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT. MR. CHIARAMONTE. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: DID YOU -- >>JOE AFFRONTI: OH, DID YOU HAVE A COMMENT? >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: YES, I'M READY FOR THAT. I JUST WANT TO LET YOU KNOW SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE BEEN DOING OVER THE LAST MONTH. I HAVE BEEN ATTENDING THE TBARTA LAND USE WORKING GROUP MEETINGS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE IN GOOD COORDINATION WITH ANYTHING TBARTA'S PLANNING. MAYOR AFFRONTI AND I MET WITH USF, TEMPLE TERRACE, HART, AND CUTR TO BOTH DISCUSS TRANSIT ISSUES OF CONNECTING TEMPLE TERRACE'S NEW DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT WITH USF IN A BETTER WAY, BUT ALSO TO MEET WITH USF FOR THE SECOND TIME TO DECIDE HOW WE'RE GOING TO TREAT RAIL TRANSIT AND HOW THEY WOULD LIKE THAT RAIL TRANSIT TO INTERACT WITH THE CAMPUS, AND WE HAVE A CLEAR IDEA OF WHAT WE WANT, AND WE'RE IN AGREEMENT WITH THAT DIRECTION, WHICH WE'LL BE PROPOSING IN OUR LONG-RANGE TRANSPORTATION PLAN. MAYOR AFFRONTI AND I ATTENDED THE FLORIDA URBAN TRANSPORTATION COALITION MEETING IN ORLANDO ON NOVEMBER 6th, AND HARRY BARLEY WILL BE REPORTING SOME OF THE RESULTS OF THAT VERY GOOD MEETING WE HAD WITH THE OTHER URBAN AREAS HAD IN FLORIDA. NOVEMBER 7th I ATTENDED THE CHAIRS COORDINATING COUNCIL, WHICH IS ALL THE MPO DIRECTORS OF THE TAMPA BAY REGION. I PRESENTED THE MPO TRANSIT PLAN TO THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF INDUSTRIAL OFFICE PARK DEVELOPERS ON NOVEMBER 11th, ATTENDED THE URBAN LAND INSTITUTE'S EMERGING LAND AND REAL ESTATE ON NOVEMBER 12th, ALSO WENT TO THE DEDICATION OF THE YBOR CITY 7th AVENUE, WHICH YOU MAY OR MAY NOT BE AWARE WAS VOTED AS ONE OF THE TOP TEN STREETS IN THE UNITED STATES BY THE AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION. THAT'S A 40,000 MEMBER ASSOCIATION. THAT WAS A VERY GREAT HONOR TO BE INCLUDED AS ONE OF THE TOP TEN STREETS. NOVEMBER 12th I PRESENTED THE TRANSIT PLAN TO THE WESTSHORE ALLIANCE, AND WE TALKED ABOUT IDEAS FOR MULTIMODAL STATIONS IN WESTSHORE. NOVEMBER 13th TAUGHT A CLASS IN URBAN COMMUNITY DESIGN AT USF, TRYING TO GET YOUNGER PEOPLE AT USF INTERESTED AND EXCITED ABOUT RAIL TRANSIT, WHICH THEY ALL SEEM TO GET, AND I WANT TO DEFINITELY KEEP COLLEGE STUDENTS INVOLVED BECAUSE THEY'RE BIG TRANSIT USERS. AGAIN, I ATTEND ALL THE TBARTA BOARD MEETINGS, WHICH I DID ON NOVEMBER 14th. NOVEMBER 17th I PARTICIPATED WITH MAYOR IORIO IN THE TAMPA BAY PARTNERSHIP'S TRANSPORTATION TASK FORCE MEETING TO DISCUSS TBARTA PLANS AND ALSO WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO HERE IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY TO HELP IMPLEMENT THOSE PLANS WITH OUR MPO PLAN AND RESURRECTING THE TAMPA RAIL PROJECT. MPO RAIL STUDY, I PRESENTED TO THE APARTMENT DEVELOPERS, ABOUT 200 APARTMENT DEVELOPERS, ON NOVEMBER 18th AND ASSURED THEM THAT THEY ARE AN IMPORTANT PART OF THIS PROCESS BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY MULTIFAMILY IS A SUPPORTING LAND USE TO TRANSIT, AND WE WANT THEM TO BE TOTALLY INVOLVED IN WHAT WE'RE DOING. I SPOKE ALSO TO THE ENGINEERS. THE LOCAL ENGINEERS GROUP WAS INTERESTED IN HAVING ME PRESENT THE MPO TRANSIT STUDY, WHICH I DID ON NOVEMBER 20th. ATTENDED ON NOVEMBER 21st TAMPA BAY PARTNERSHIP'S ANNUAL MEETING, AND I WANT TO LET THE BOARD KNOW THAT YOU MAY OR MAY NOT BE AWARE, BUT THERE'S A PROPOSAL FOR A WATER TAXI SERVICE THAT WAS ACTUALLY -- SOME OF US GOT TO RIDE, NOT ON THE WATER TAXI BUT ON ANOTHER BOAT THAT WAS THERE THAT WAS REALLY KIND OF A THRILLING RIDE, SO IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR A TOURISTY THING TO DO, THERE'S A NEW JET 60-MILE-PER-HOUR BOAT THAT IS PARKED BEHIND THE SHERATON THAT HOLDS 39 PEOPLE, AND I WILL TELL YOU THAT WAS ONE OF THE MOST EXHILARATING EXPERIENCES OF MY LIFE WAS RIDING ON THAT BOAT WITH 20 OTHER MEMBERS OF THE PARTNERSHIP. IT'S AWESOME. AND TAMPA LOOKED ABSOLUTELY SPECTACULAR FROM THE PLACES THEY TOOK US IN THE BAY. IT'S VIEWS THAT I'VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE, AND THEY RUN IT ABOUT FOUR TIMES A DAY, AND THEY'RE JUST STARTING IT UP. THIS WAS THE DAY AFTER THEY GOT THE PERMIT FROM THE COAST GUARD TO START RUNNING THIS BOAT. >> COOL. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: SO IF YOU WANT TO DO SOMETHING TO GIVE YOUR FAMILY A THRILL, IT'S WITH HARD ROCK MUSIC AND 60- MILE-AN-HOUR SPEEDS AND 360 SPINS. IT WAS REALLY GREAT. I WAS IN A VERY EUPHORIC MOOD WHEN I GOT OFF THE BOAT. [LAUGHTER] IT WENT OUT IN THE BAY. IT CRUISES VERY SLOWLY UNTIL YOU GET PAST HARBOUR ISLAND, WHICH THE VIEWS WERE GREAT, AND THEN IT GOES OUT AND DOES ALL KINDS OF THINGS. WE WERE ALL IN SUITS, SO THEY DIDN'T WET US TOO MUCH, BUT I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND DOING THAT. IT WAS VERY EXCITING. >> [INAUDIBLE] >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: RIGHT. I THINK THEY'RE GETTING READY FOR THE SUPER BOWL, AND WE'VE GOT A BIG KIND OF TOURIST THING, YEAH. AGAIN, FOUR TIMES A DAY, AND IT'S AT THE SHERATON. THEY JUST BUILT A NEW DOCK THERE, AND THE WATER TAXI WILL BE JOINING SOON, SO SOME POSITIVE THINGS. I WANTED TO LET YOU ALL KNOW THAT THE MPOAC, WHICH IS AN ORGANIZATION OF MPOs, IS HAVING A WEEKEND INSTITUTE FOR ELECTED OFFICIALS TO BE HELD MAY 1st TO 3rd, 2009, AT THE RENAISSANCE TAMPA HOTEL. PLEASE LET LINDA KNOW IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN ATTENDING. I WOULD REALLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU ATTENDING BECAUSE YOU'LL LEARN ABOUT WHAT DIFFERENT MPOs ARE DOING AND JUST WHAT ALL THE POSSIBILITIES ARE, WHICH I'VE LEARNED OVER THE LAST SIX MONTHS, THERE'S ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT MPOs AND ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WE COULD BE DOING, SO I THINK IT WOULD BE VERY VALUABLE FOR THE BOARD MEMBERS OF OUR MPO TO TRY TO ATTEND THAT. AGAIN, IT'S MAY 1st TO 3rd, 2009, AT THE RENAISSANCE HOTEL. LINDA FERRARO, IF YOU'RE INTERESTED, PLEASE LET HER KNOW, AND SHE CAN GIVE YOU MORE INFORMATION ON THOSE ARRANGEMENTS. THE POLICY COMMITTEE MEETING WILL BE HELD DECEMBER 16th AT 9:00 A.M., AND THE NEXT MPO MEETING WILL BE JANUARY 6th, JUST AFTER OUR HOLIDAY FOR NEW YEAR'S, AND AGAIN, THAT WILL BE ON THE 6th. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. >>JOE AFFRONTI: SOUNDS LIKE YOU'VE BEEN BUSY. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: YES, I HAVE, AND I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT THE AREAS THAT YOU GUYS ARE LOOKING AT AND ALL THE THINGS WE'RE DOING. IT'S GOING TO BE A BUSY YEAR WITH THE LONG-RANGE TRANSPORTATION UPDATE, SO WE NEED ENTHUSIASTIC INVOLVEMENT. I WILL AGAIN REITERATE I WANT TO TAKE THE MPO TO A HIGHER LEVEL. I WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE INVOLVED IN EVERY TRANSPORTATION DECISION GOING ON AND THAT WE'RE THE PREMIER LONG-RANGE PLANNING PLAYER IN THOSE DECISIONS. >>MARK SHARPE: MR. CHAIRMAN. >>JOE AFFRONTI: YES, I'M SORRY. >>MARK SHARPE: I APOLOGIZE. I WAS LATE, AND I WASN'T ABLE TO VOTE TO CONFIRM RAY AT THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. OBVIOUSLY I WOULD HAVE DONE THAT, AND I JUST WANT TO REAFFIRM MY STRONG ADMIRATION FOR THE WORK YOU'VE DONE JUST IN THE SHORT TIME THAT YOU'VE BEEN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. YOU'RE EXACTLY THE LEADER THAT WE NEED. THE GOOD STORY -- EVEN THOUGH I'M NOT CHOOSING SIDES IN THE SEC CHAMPIONSHIP, BUT THERE'S A GOOD STORY IN THE SPORTS PAGE TODAY ABOUT SABAN, AND IT TALKS ABOUT HOW HE'S BEEN ABLE TO BUILD A SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM AND THE ELEMENTS, INTENSITY, BUT ALSO ATTENTION TO DETAIL, FOCUSED, AND REALLY THE ATTENTION TO DETAIL, AND THAT'S WHAT YOU BROUGHT TO THIS JOB, AND THE FACT THAT YOU'VE BEEN TO ALL THESE MEETINGS, YOU PARTICIPATE IN ALL THE EXCHANGES BETWEEN ALL THESE DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS AND YOU'RE, I THINK, VERY FLUENT, OBVIOUSLY, IN THE SUBJECT, BUT AS WELL, YOU YOU'VE GOT A GOOD PERSONALITY. MAINTAIN THAT BECAUSE PEOPLE REALLY ENJOY WORKING WITH YOU PROBLEM SOLVING, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE WHAT YOU'VE DONE BECAUSE WE DO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY, BUT IT'S GOING TO HAVE TO BE PERFECT, AND IT'S GOING TO HAVE TO BE DONE JUST RIGHT OR -- OR IT WON'T HAPPEN FOR US, AND I'M AFRAID IF WE DON'T MOVE -- WE'VE HEARD THAT FROM CONGRESSMAN MICA AND OTHERS. IF WE'RE NOT -- IF IT'S NOT JUST RIGHT, IT WON'T SUCCEED WITH THE VOTERS, BUT WE ALSO WON'T SUCCEED IN WASHINGTON, SO YOU'RE THE RIGHT GUY, AND I JUST APPRECIATE WHAT YOU'RE DOING. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: THANK YOU VERY MUCH. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU, MR. SHARPE. OKAY. WE HAVE TWO CONGESTION PRICING PRESENTATIONS. KAREN. KAREN BRUNELLE. >> GOOD MORNING. MY NAME IS LEE ANN JACOBS. I'M WITH THE FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION IN THE FLORIDA DIVISION OFFICE OF TALLAHASSEE, AND WITH ME IS KAREN BRUNELLE. SHE'S THE DIRECTOR OF PLANNING RIGHT-OF-WAY, ENVIRONMENT, AND SAFETY NOW, SO WE'RE BOTH VERY GLAD TO BE HERE, AND WHILE WE'RE HERE, I THINK WE NEED TO CHECK OUT THAT BOAT RAY WAS TALKING ABOUT. THAT SOUNDS PRETTY AWESOME. THEY DON'T LET US OUT A WHOLE LOT, BUT WE'VE BEEN MAKING THE ROUNDS LATELY WITH THIS PRESENTATION, SO IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO HEAR WHAT DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES ARE DOING AND, YOU KNOW, BEING ABLE TO TAKE A PART IN THAT AS WELL. I JUST WANTED TO CALL TO YOUR ATTENTION BEFORE I GET STARTED HERE THE HANDOUTS THAT YOU HAVE RELATED TO THIS PRESENTATION. YOU HAVE TWO DIFFERENT HANDOUTS CALLED PERFORMANCE MEASURES SUMMARY. ONE HIGHLIGHTS SOME OF THE MEDIUM GROUP LEVEL OF URBAN AREAS, OF WHICH SARASOTA-BRADENTON IS ONE, AND THE OTHER ONE IS THE LARGER URBAN AREAS AROUND THE COUNTRY, AND TAMPA-ST. PETE, MORE DETAILED INFORMATION IS IN THERE, AS WELL AS YOU HAVE A CONGESTION PRICING PRIMMER THAT WAS PUT OUT BY FEDERAL HIGHWAY AND A COPY OF THIS PRESENTATION. I WANTED TO TALK TO YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT CONGESTION, CONGESTION PRICING, SOME BENEFITS OF THAT INITIATIVE, AND THEN HOPEFULLY GET SOME INPUT FROM YOU-ALL AS WE MOVE THROUGH THIS. THE WHOLE IDEA OF CONGESTION AND TRYING TO DEAL WITH CONGESTION HAS REALLY TAKEN CERTAINTY STAGE NATIONALLY. THE U.S. D.O.T. SECRETARY MARY PETERS IS VERY SUPPORTIVE OF THIS INITIATIVE, AND WITH FUNDING GETTING SHORT -- I KNOW WE'VE ALL TALKED ABOUT THAT, ESPECIALLY JUST RECENTLY WITH YOUR WORK PROGRAM. FEDERAL FUNDING, STATE FUNDING IS ALL VERY TIGHT, AND HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR CURRENT SYSTEM IS REALLY ONE OF THE WAYS TO TRY TO SQUEEZE THAT DOLLAR WHEREVER IT'S COMING FROM AND GET THE MOST OUT OF IT THAT WE CAN. THIS IS -- I'M JUST GOING TO GO OVER REAL QUICKLY SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTED INFORMATION THAT COMES FROM THE DOCUMENTS THAT YOU HAVE THERE BASED ON A TEXAS TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE REPORT THAT WAS DONE IN 2007. ON A NATIONAL LEVEL -- THESE ARE JUST SOME OF THE STATISTICS THAT ARE PART OF THAT STUDY -- YOU'RE SEEING BILLIONS OF HOURS THERE OF DELAY AND GALLONS OF FUEL WASTED ANNUALLY. REALLY PUTTING IT INTO PERSPECTIVE, I THINK, FOR A LOT OF FOLKS IS THE WEEKS OF VACATION, YOU KNOW, THAT ARE -- THAT YOU COULD EQUATE THAT TO, BUT ALSO THAT LAST ONE WITH THE 38 HOURS, 26 GALLONS OF FUEL AT THE COST OF 710 PER TRAVELER. THAT WAS IN 2005. GAS AT THAT TIME WAS ABOUT 2.30 A GALLON, SO WE'RE DOING A LITTLE BETTER THAN THAT RIGHT NOW, BUT WHEN WE MADE THIS PRESENTATION A COUPLE MONTHS AGO, YOU KNOW, IT WAS OVER $4 A GALLON, SO THAT FIGURE KIND OF REALLY HITS HOME. JUST SOME OF THE INFORMATION LOOKING AT TAMPA AND THEN THE SARASOTA-BRADENTON AREA IN COMPARISON WITH SOME OTHER STATE CITIES AND URBAN AREAS. YOU CAN SEE THERE OUT OF THE AVERAGE -- TWO AVERAGES, OUR NATIONAL -- 85 URBAN AREAS OVER A NATIONAL LEVEL AND THEN ALL 437 THAT WERE LOOKED AT AT A NATIONAL LEVEL, YOU CAN SEE THERE WHERE TAMPA HITS ABOUT JUST ABOVE AVERAGE ON THE 85, THE LARGER 85, AND THEN FAIRLY WELL ABOVE AVERAGE THERE FOR THE 437 URBAN AREAS. YOU CAN SEE SARASOTA-BRADENTON IS JUST UNDER THAT. A LITTLE MORE INFORMATION TALKING ABOUT TRAVEL TIME INDEX. IF YOU LOOK AT A 20-MINUTE FREE-FLOW TRIP FOR THE TAMPA AREA, IT WOULD TAKE YOU ABOUT 25, ALMOST 26 MINUTES; SARASOTA, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE LESS THAN THAT, AROUND 24 MINUTES BUT STILL ABOVE THAT 20-MINUTE FREE-FLOW. LOOKING AT THE ANNUAL FUEL WASTED PER TRAVELER, YOU CAN SEE TAMPA THERE IS UNDER THE AVERAGE FOR THE 85 LARGER URBAN AREAS THAT WERE LOOKED AT IN MORE DETAIL. YOU CAN SEE SARASOTA IS WELL BELOW THAT AVERAGE FOR THE ALL 437. COMPARED TO SOME OF THE OTHER LARGE URBAN AREAS AROUND THE COUNTRY THERE'S SOME OF THE STATISTICS. TAMPA-ST. PETE MUCH HIGHER CONGESTION, A HIGHER LEVEL OF DELAY, SLOWER GROWTH, THOUGH, BUT FASTER TOTAL DELAY HAS GROWN QUICKER. SAME THING FOR SARASOTA. THEY'RE IN A LITTLE BETTER SHAPE, LOWER -- LOWER CONGESTION AS RELATED TO THE OVERALL AND SLOWER GROWTH. JUST LOOKING AT SOME OF THE STATISTICS IN A CHART, YOU CAN SEE THERE THAT THE LANE MILES CONGESTED HAS REALLY STAYED RELATIVELY STABLE THERE FOR SARASOTA AND BRADENTON OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS. TAMPA-ST. PETE HAS, YOU KNOW, GONE UP AND THEN COME DOWN. NOT REALLY SURE ABOUT THE DIP THERE BETWEEN '95 AND 2000. IT COULD BE THAT A LOT OF FACILITIES MAY HAVE OPENED OR IMPROVED OR, YOU KNOW, THERE MAY HAVE BEEN SOME INITIATIVES THAT REALLY KICKED IN TO MAKE THAT -- TO DROP THAT JUST A LITTLE BIT. NUMBER OF RUSH HOURS, YOU CAN SEE THAT THAT'S DRAMATICALLY INCREASED FOR SARASOTA-BRADENTON. IT'S ALMOST DOUBLED IN A 20-YEAR PERIOD FROM JUST OVER FOUR TO ABOUT 7.5. YOU SEE TAMPA-ST. PETE HAS GRADUALLY INCREASED ON UP TO ABOUT THE SAME LEVEL AS SARASOTA NOW. DELAY PER PEAK TRAVELER, THAT'S TAKEN THAT SAME CLIMB THERE FOR TAMPA. STAYED RELATIVELY LOWER FOR THE SARASOTA AREA. SO YOU CAN SEE THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF THINGS THAT ARE -- ARE BEING DONE CURRENTLY IN THE TAMPA AREA, OPERATION STRATEGIES IN PLACE THERE AT THE BOTTOM THAT HAVE REALLY DECREASED THE ANNUAL HOURS OF DELAY PER TRAVELER TO ABOUT THREE HOURS, SO THAT 7.5 WOULD BE 10.5 IF IT HADN'T BEEN FOR THAT. SIMILAR THERE'S THINGS GOING ON IN THE SARASOTA AREA THAT HAVE SAVED ABOUT AN HOUR OF ANNUAL DELAY. INTERESTING IN THIS STUDY AND OTHER STUDIES THAT HAVE BEEN MADE THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY AS FAR AS CONGESTION GOES THAT IT'S BEEN FOUND THAT OVER HALF OF THE PEAK-PERIOD DRIVERS ARE NOT ACTUALLY COMMUTERS, SO THERE'S PEOPLE OUT THERE ON THE ROADS IN THE MORNINGS THAT ARE NOT COMMUTING TO WORK BUT ARE TAKING UP THAT CAPACITY THAT COULD BE USED FOR FOLKS THAT ARE ACTUALLY COMMUTING, AND THEIR TRIPS MIGHT COULD BE DELAYED OR DONE EARLIER OR LATER IF THEY'RE NOT IN THAT SPACE BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO BE. SO LOOKING AT HOW TO MANAGE THAT CAPACITY IS REALLY SOMETHING THAT WE WANT TO FOCUS MORE ON AND TRYING TO COME UP WITH A -- I GUESS A SIMILE THAT YOU COULD THINK ABOUT RELATED TO THAT IS HOW RICE WOULD GO THROUGH A FUNNEL. IF YOU POUR THE RICE THROUGH A FUNNEL AT A REGULAR RATE, RICE FLOWING AT A LESSER AMOUNT GOING QUICKLY, IT'LL GO THROUGH THERE MUCH QUICKER, WHEREAS, AS YOU SEE ON THE FUNNEL ON THE RIGHT-HAND SIDE, YOU DUMPED IT IN ALL AT ONCE AND IT'S JUST BARELY COMING OUT A LITTLE AT A TIME AT THE BOTTOM, SO THAT'S KIND OF THE CONCEPT BEHIND THE WHOLE CONGESTION AND CONGESTION PRICING INITIATIVES, AND SO I'M GOING TO LET KAREN TAKE IT NOW AND TALK TO YOU A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT SOME OF THE TOOLS AND METHODS AND SOME OF THE BENEFITS OF CONGESTION PRICING. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU. >> GOOD MORNING. I'M KAREN BRUNELLE, AS LEE ANN SAID, WITH THE FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION. BEFORE I GET INTO THE NEXT SET OF SLIDES, ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE DATA THAT LEE ANN JUST PRESENTED THAT YOU HAD? >>JOE AFFRONTI: ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? >> OKAY. GREAT. >>JOE AFFRONTI: NO. >> WE'RE REALLY FORTUNATE IN FLORIDA THAT TEXAS TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE DID LOOK IN-DEPTH WITH SO MANY CITIES IN FLORIDA, AND THE HANDOUTS THAT YOU HAVE GO MORE INTO DEPTH OF -- ONE IS FOR SARASOTA AND THE OTHER ONE IS FOR TAMPA, SO YOU HAVE THAT INFORMATION TO KIND OF LOOK BACK AND SEE ALL OF THE DATA THAT THEY HAVE COLLECTED. SO ONCE YOU SAY YOU HAVE A PROBLEM, THE NEXT THING IS YOU HAVE TO HAVE A SOLUTION; RIGHT? THE FIRST THING PEOPLE USUALLY SAY IS, WELL, LET'S BUILD A NEW LANE, BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE COST OF INVESTMENT, THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT, IT'S ABOUT $10 MILLION PER LANE MILE TO BUILD A NEW ROADWAY, BUT YOUR RETURN ON THE GAS TAXES IS ONLY ABOUT $60,000 PER YEAR, SO IT'S NOT NECESSARILY THE BEST SOLUTION FROM A INVESTMENT JUST STRICTLY ON THE GAS TAXES. THERE ARE, OF COURSE, OTHER BENEFITS TO BUILDING THE ROADWAYS THAT WE ALL KNOW. ANOTHER OPTION THAT HAS BEEN -- IS VERY SUCCESSFUL IS INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SOLUTIONS, AND THAT IS AN EXCELLENT TOOL TO HELP MANAGE THE EXISTING CAPACITY, NOTIFY TRAVELERS OF WHAT'S GOING ON, LETTING THEM MAKE THE CHOICES ABOUT WHAT ROADWAYS THEY WANTED TO SELECT AND -- TO MOVE OR OTHER OPTIONS SUCH AS TRANSIT. THE THIRD TOOL THAT WE WANT TO FOCUS ON TODAY IS CONGESTION PRICING, SO USUALLY THE FIRST THING SOMEBODY TELLS ME IS, OH, WELL, WE ALREADY DO TOLLING, WE DO CONGESTION PRICING, AND I WAS LIKE, WELL, NOT QUITE. THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TOLLING AND CONGESTION PRICING. TOLLING, THE PURPOSE OF TOLLING IS TO RAISE REVENUES. THAT'S THE MAIN PURPOSE, AND IT'S USUALLY A FLAT RATE. THE PURPOSE OF CONGESTION PRICING IS TO MANAGE THE AVAILABLE CAPACITY ON YOUR ROADWAY, AND MOST OF THE TIME WHEN YOU DO CONGESTION PRICING, THOSE TOLLS VARY. THERE'S FOUR TYPES OF CONGESTION PRICING. YOU HAVE HIGH OCCUPANCY VEHICLES OR HOV LANES THAT YOU CONVERT TO HIGH OCCUPANCY TOLL LANES OR HOT LANES, AND BASICALLY WHAT THAT IS, AN HOV LANE, YOU HAVE A REQUIREMENT TO HAVE SO MANY PEOPLE IN THE VEHICLE, SO IF YOU HAVE THREE PEOPLE IN THE VEHICLE AS YOUR REQUIREMENT, SOMEBODY WITH LESS THAN THAT, EITHER ONE OR TWO PEOPLE, CAN USE THAT LANE FOR A FEE. EXPRESS TOLL LANES MEANS THAT EVERY VEHICLE, REGARDLESS OF THE CAPACITY, PAYS A FEE TO USE THAT LANE. NOW, VARIABLE TOLLS WORK ON EITHER TYPE OF FACILITY, AND BASICALLY WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT THE TOLL VARIES EITHER BASED ON A FIXED TIME OR ON THE LEVEL OF DEMAND FOR THAT ROADWAY OR THAT LANE. IT COULD BE DURING RUSH HOURS, IT COULD BE DURING OTHER EVENTS. THEN THE LAST OPTION IS CALLED AREAWIDE PRICING WHERE IT'S BASED ON PER-MILE FEES RATHER THAN ON THE GAS TAX. SO LET'S JUST TALK ABOUT A COUPLE OF PROJECTS REAL QUICK. AS I'M GOING THROUGH HERE, IF YOU HAVE SOME QUESTIONS, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO JUMP IN. ONE PROJECT OUT IN SAN DIEGO IS I-15. THEY HAVE EIGHT MILES, AND THAT'S AN HOV TO A HOT LANE CONVERSION, SO THAT'S THE ONE WHERE OTHER PEOPLE CAN USE THE ROADWAYS, NOT JUST A HIGH OCCUPANCY VEHICLE, AND THEY VARY THEIR TOLL ANYWHERE FROM $2 TO $9, AND IT VARIES DYNAMICALLY, CHANGES EVERY SIX MINUTES. THERE'S A SIGN AT THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE SECTION, AND THAT TELLS OF THE TRAVELER AS THEY ENTER THE FACILITY WHAT THAT FEE IS. PROJECT CLOSE TO HOME, WHICH IS OPENING TODAY ACTUALLY, IS THE 95 EXPRESS LANES IN MIAMI. THEY ALSO VARY THE TOLL BY TIME OF DAY AND THE CONGESTION LEVEL. THEIR MAIN BASIS FOR VARYING THE TOLL IS TO MAINTAIN A 50- MILE-PER-HOUR CAPACITY SPEED THROUGHOUT THAT LANE, AND THAT TOLL IS GOING TO VARY BETWEEN 25 CENTS AND $6.20, DEPENDING ON THE SITUATION. TIED TO THAT AS WELL IS SOME ENHANCED TRANSIT PROJECTS AS - - WITH THAT. AN EXPRESS TOLL LANE EXAMPLE, THIS IS WHERE EVERYTHING IS TOLLED. AGAIN, IN CALIFORNIA THEY HAVE FOR MEDIUM LANES, AND THEY VARY BASED -- THEIR TOLLS BASED ON A FIXED SCHEDULE, SO FOR THREE MONTHS THEY LOOK AT THE CAPACITIES, THEY LOOK AT THE ROADWAYS, AND THEN THEY SET A FIXED RATE FOR THOSE THREE MONTHS, AND THEN THEY COME BACK AND EVALUATE IT. VARIABLE TOLLS ARE VERY FREQUENTLY ON BRIDGES, MOSTLY IN NEW YORK ON THEIR WATER CROSSINGS, AND CLOSER TO HOME, THE FT. MYERS BRIDGE. INTERESTING WITH THE FORT MYERS BRIDGE, IT KIND OF GOES TO THE COMMENT THAT LEE ANN MADE ABOUT NOT ALL TRAVELERS IN THE PEAK TIME ARE COMMUTERS. THEY ACTUALLY OFFERED A PRICE DISCOUNT DURING THEIR HIGH PEAK TIMES, A COUPLE -- A HALF HOUR BEFORE, A HALF HOUR AFTER. IN THE PRESENTATION YOU'LL NOTICE THE GREEN SEGMENTS. THAT IS THE TIME WHEN THEY WERE ABLE TO SHIFT THE TRAVELERS JUST -- THE ORIGINAL PEAK TIME WAS IN THE RED AREAS, AND WHEN THEY OFFERED THE DISCOUNT JUST BEYOND THE PEAK TIMES, THEY WERE ACTUALLY ABLE TO SHIFT THEIR TRAVEL TO MAKE IT MORE LEVEL THROUGHOUT THE DAY INSTEAD OF FOCUSED JUST ON THOSE COUPLE OF AREAS. ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF CONGESTION PRICING IS CALLED QUEUE JUMP. THIS IS A PROJECT IN LEE COUNTY RIGHT NOW JUST UNDER DESIGN, AND IT'S BASED AT AN INTERSECTION, AND THE TOLL CAN VARY BASED ON THE TIME OF DAY, THE LEVEL OF CAPACITY, AND YOU BASICALLY PAY A FEE AND YOU GO AROUND THE CONGESTED INTERSECTION. OREGON AND WASHINGTON HAVE DONE SOME PILOTS ABOUT LOOKING AT DIFFERENT WAYS TO NOT ONLY RAISE REVENUE BUT TO LOOK AT CONGESTION PRICING. THE OREGON STUDY BASICALLY -- THEY BOTH USED A GPS TYPE DEVICE, AND THE OREGON STUDY, BASICALLY WHAT THEY REQUIRED THE PARTICIPANTS TO DO WAS FILL UP AT A PARTICULAR STATION TWICE A MONTH, AND THERE WAS THREE GROUPS. THERE WAS A CONTROLLED GROUP WHICH PAID THE GAS TAX, THERE WAS A GROUP THAT PAID A FLAT FEE, AND THERE WAS A GROUP THAT PAID A VARIABLE FEE, AND THE WHOLE POINT OF THIS PARTICULAR STUDY WAS TO SEE IF YOU COULD HAVE DIFFERENT METHODS FOR PAYING FOR THE ROADWAYS, AND BASICALLY WHAT THEY FOUND IS THE -- THE SYSTEM WORKED VERY WELL WITH HAVING THOSE THREE DIFFERENT METHODS. THE WASHINGTON PILOT WAS LOOKING AT ALL MAJOR ROADWAYS. THEY -- INSTEAD OF PAYING A FLAT FEE WITH THE GAS TAX, THEY GAVE PEOPLE AN ONBOARD DEVICE, AND YOU GOT -- AND THE PERSON GOT A CREDIT, SO AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR THEY HAD THE CREDIT, AND WHAT THEY DID IS THEY WERE CHARGED BASED ON THE TIME OF DAY AND THE TYPE OF ROADWAY THEY WERE ON, AND THEY GOT CHARGED THEIR CREDITS -- CHARGED AGAINST THE CREDITS. AT THE END OF THE TIME, IF THEY HAD ANY CREDITS LEFT, THAT CONVERTED TO CASH AND THEY GOT CASH BACK, AND WHAT THEY DID SEE WAS THAT THERE WAS SOME BEHAVIOR CHANGE, AND PEOPLE AVOIDED THE ROADS THAT WERE MORE COSTLY, AND SO THAT KIND OF SPREAD OUT, SO IT WAS AN EXCELLENT TOOL -- PILOT TO SHOW THAT, YES, YOU COULD CHANGE BEHAVIORS AND YOU COULD MANAGE THE CAPACITY BASED ON VARYING THE PRICE. THE MAIN DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TOLLING AND CONGESTION PRICING IS TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU GAIN PUBLIC ACCEPTANCE. IT'S ONE KEY TO SUCCESS. HAVING A TRIAL SYSTEM, AND LIKE IN THE WASHINGTON STUDY, RETURNING SOME SURPLUS TO THE MOTORISTS, PROVIDING ALTERNATIVE TRAVEL SYSTEMS, HAVING TRANSIT, MAKING SURE YOU OPTIMIZE THE TRAFFIC SIGNAL SYSTEMS ON YOUR ARTERIAL ROADWAYS SO THAT THE TRAVELERS DO HAVE OTHER OPTIONS TO GET TO THEIR DESTINATION AS WELL, AND THEN TOLL DISCOUNTS FOR THE LOW-INCOME POPULATION AS WELL. SO BASICALLY, WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACHIEVE IS A HIGH- PERFORMANCE HIGHWAY, AND THERE'S NO SILVER BULLET. IT'S JUST LIKE WITH SAFETY. YOU KNOW, THERE'S LOTS OF DIFFERENT THINGS THAT YOU COULD BE DOING TO ADDRESS THE CONGESTION. THIS IS JUST ONE FACTOR WITH THAT. AND MR. WAGGONER E-MAILED ME A PRESENTATION, A VALUE PRICING PRESENTATION PROPOSAL THAT YOU ALL HAVE PUT FORWARD, SO I WAS VERY EXCITED TO SEE THAT, AND BASICALLY WHAT WE'RE WANTING TO DO AT THIS POINT IS JUST TO OPEN IT UP FOR DISCUSSION, FIND OUT WHAT THE LOCAL PRIORITIES WERE NOW THAT YOU KIND OF HEARD WHAT CONGESTION PRICING WAS AND ANY ISSUES FOR MOVING FORWARD AND WHAT CAN FEDERAL HIGHWAY DO TO FACILITATE THAT. >>JOE AFFRONTI: MR. WAGGONER. >>JOSEPH WAGGONER: THANK YOU. I WANT TO LEND A LITTLE MORE INFORMATION TO THE BOARD MEMBERS. THEY'RE PROBABLY NOT AWARE THAT THEA HAS SUBMITTED A PLANNING STUDY REQUEST FOR FUNDING TO FHWA UNDER WHAT'S CALLED THE VALUE PRICING PILOT PROGRAM. IT'S FOR THE BUS TOLL LANE CONCEPT THAT I DID A PRESENTATION TO YOU-ALL ON. I'M REALLY HAPPY TO SEE FHWA HERE AND TALKING ABOUT CONGESTION PRICING, AND I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH YOU REMEMBER OF THAT PRESENTATION I GAVE, BUT IT HITS ON ALMOST EVERY ITEM MENTIONED HERE, ESPECIALLY IN TERMS OF MAXIMIZING THE BENEFIT OF THE CONCEPT. YOU NOT ONLY WANT TO BE ABLE TO CHANGE THE BEHAVIOR OF DRIVERS, YOU WANT TO GIVE THEM CHOICES, AND THE CONCEPT THAT WE'RE PROMOTING, THE BUS TOLL LANE CONCEPT, I WOULD WANT TO ADD A FOURTH OR MAYBE IT'S A FIFTH TYPE OF CONGESTION PRICING OUT THERE, WHICH -- THE ONE WE'RE CALLING BUS TOLL LANES, WE'RE PUTTING THAT OUT THERE AS A TRANSIT SOLUTION BECAUSE WE'RE NOT JUST CONTROLLING THE THROUGHPUT ON A LANE AND ANSWERING THE RICE QUESTION OR SHOWING THE RICE DEMONSTRATION THAT WAS THERE, WE'RE ACTUALLY AMPLIFYING THAT BY SAYING IT'S A BUSWAY, IT'S A BUS TRANSIT FACILITY. YOU'RE MAXIMIZING THROUGHPUT BY PUTTING BUSES ON THERE. YOU'RE ALSO ADDRESSING A FINANCIAL CHALLENGE WITH TRANSIT AND TRANSPORTATION IN GENERAL IN THAT YOU'RE -- WE'RE INVITING TRANSIT INTO THE TOLL BUSINESS IN EFFECT, AND THAT WOULD PROVIDE TRANSIT WITH A REVENUE -- A SUSTAINABLE REVENUE SOURCE THAT IS INFLATION SENSITIVE. THOSE ARE THE KEY ELEMENTS. THE STUDY WE'VE ASKED FUNDING FROM FHWA FOR IS TO LOOK AT THE KEY FACTORS THAT WERE MENTIONED OUT OF THIS TEXAS TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE STUDY. I AGREE, IT'S A GREAT SOURCE, AND I USED THE HECK OUT OF IT IN MY APPLICATION OR IN OUR APPLICATION TO FHWA. WE'D LIKE TO BE ABLE TO ASSESS WHAT KIND OF FUEL SAVINGS, WHAT KIND OF TIME SAVINGS COULD YOU GENERATE WITH A NETWORK OF BUS TOLL LANES FOR OUR REGION, AND WE'D ALSO LOOK AT WHAT KIND OF REVENUE COULD YOU GENERATE AS A SUSTAINABLE TRANSIT SOURCE OF FUNDING TO HELP PAY FOR YOUR TRANSIT. THAT'S ONE THING TRANSIT IS ALWAYS IN NEED OF IS A REVENUE SOURCE. THE TRENDS TYPICALLY LOOKING AT GRANTS TO COVER ALL OF THEIR CAPITAL NEEDS, 100% OF THAT, AND THEN FOR OPERATING, ITS FARES, AND AGAIN, IT'S A -- SOME OTHER SOURCE OF FUNDING PAYING THE OPERATING COSTS. YOU'RE LUCKY IF YOUR FARES COVER 25% OF YOUR OPERATING COSTS. INVITING THEM INTO THE TOLL BUSINESS COULD MEAN THAT ON BUS TOLL LANES, IF TRANSIT IS AN EQUITY INVESTOR IN THE SYSTEM, IF IT IS THEIR SYSTEM, AND THE TOLL AGENCY IS JUST THERE TO PROVIDE THE FUNCTION OF COLLECTING THE TOLLS AND MAINTAINING THAT INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSIT COULD USE THE EXCESS TOLL REVENUES TO ACTUALLY PAY DOWN OR PAY FOR THE OPERATING COSTS OR AS ANOTHER SOURCE OF FUNDS FOR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS, SO I'M GLAD TO HAVE YOU HERE, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. >>JOE AFFRONTI: MR. DINGFELDER, DID YOU HAVE -- >>JOHN DINGFELDER: YEAH. WE CHATTED ABOUT THIS, AND WE APPRECIATE YOU-ALL COMING DOWN AND GIVING THIS PRESENTATION, AND I THINK IT'S HEALTHY DISCUSSION. THE -- I LIKE THE IDEA THAT MR. WAGNER WAS TALKING ABOUT IN TERMS OF PUTTING MASS TRANSIT IN THESE TYPES OF LANES AND MOVING EVEN MORE PEOPLE. I THINK THAT'S A POSITIVE DIRECTION. THE PART THAT CONCERNS ME GREATLY IS THE SOCIAL EQUITY SIDE OF THIS, WHICH I'M SURE THAT YOU GUYS ARE WELL VERSED IN, AND I'M SURE IT'S BEEN STUDIED -- I WOULD HOPE THAT ISSUE HAS BEEN STUDIED WHEN YOU COME -- WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT CONGESTION PRICING. THE -- YOU KNOW, I THINK BACK A LITTLE BIT BEFORE I WAS BORN, BUT, YOU KNOW, WHEN PRESIDENT EISENHOWER STARTED THE INTERSTATE SYSTEM IN THE EARLY '50s, AND -- WHICH I GUESS PROBABLY RESULTED IN YOUR AGENCY -- >> YES, SIR. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: -- FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION -- AND, YOU KNOW, THE INTERSTATE SYSTEM WE CAN CRITICIZE IN A LOT OF WAYS, BUT IN A LOT OF OTHER WAYS, YOU KNOW, IT'S DONE GREAT THINGS IN TERMS OF CONNECTING OUR COUNTRY BUT CONNECTING OUR COUNTRY FOR EVERYBODY, AND -- YOU KNOW, AND YOU TALK ABOUT GIVING DISCOUNTS TO LOW-INCOME FOLKS, BUT, YOU KNOW -- WHICH IS FINE. I'M NOT REALLY SURE, YOU KNOW, HOW WE DEFINE LOW INCOME, BUT HOW ABOUT EVEN MIDDLE-INCOME FOLKS? I MEAN, HAS ANYBODY DONE -- DID THE RICE PEOPLE OR ANYBODY ELSE -- HAS ANYBODY STUDIED WHO'S ACTUALLY USING THESE LANES, YOU KNOW, WHAT LEVEL OF SOCIO -- SOCIOECONOMIC LEVEL FOLKS ARE ACTUALLY USING THESE LANES? DOES IT GO DOWN INTO THE MIDDLE CLASS OR IS IT JUST THE UPPER CLASS BECAUSE I KNOW, YOU KNOW, FOR ONE I WOULD BE ANNOYED IF I'M SITTING IN -- STUCK IN TRAFFIC AS A MIDDLE- INCOME PERSON AND -- I'M SURE MANY OF MY CONSTITUENTS WOULD FEEL THAT WAY -- AND YOU LOOK OVER INTO THESE NEW LANES AND YOU SEE, YOU KNOW, NICE FANCY CARS AND RICH PEOPLE GOING BY, SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT -- YOU KNOW, AND I'VE EXPRESSED THESE CONCERNS TO OUR D.O.T. IN THE PAST AS WELL. BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS I THINK THAT, AS JOE SAYS, IF WE CAN ACCOMMODATE THOSE AND MAKE THEM SORT OF A BRT TYPE OF APPROACH, YOU KNOW, WITH BUSES AND OTHER -- OTHER MODES OF TRANSPORTATION THAT WOULD GET DOWN TO THE OTHER RUNGS OF SOCIETY, THEN IT MIGHT BE SOMETHING THAT I KNOW I COULD LOOK AT A LITTLE MORE FAVORABLY. >>JOE AFFRONTI: MR. SHARPE. >> I'M SORRY. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OH, I'M SORRY. >>MARK SHARPE: WELL, I JUST WANTED TO COMMENT ON TOP OF MR. DINGFELDER'S COMMENT. MY SENSE IS, JOHN -- AND I APPRECIATE YOUR CONCERN FOR THE WELL-BEING OF THE FRUGAL TRAVELER, BUT WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN IS THAT THOSE WITH AN INCOME -- BECAUSE WE'RE GETTING TO A POINT NOW WHERE THERE'S JUST NOT A LOT OF RESOURCES. WE'VE GOT TO LOOK FOR INNOVATIVE WAYS TO PAY FOR THESE ROADS, AND SOMETIMES USER FEES ARE THE BEST WAY, BUT WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN THEN IS THE WELL-TO-DO WILL FREE UP SPACE ON THE FREE LANES, SO IF PEOPLE WILL MOVE OVER AND USE -- PAY FOR A LANE, IT WILL OPEN UP -- IT WILL OPEN UP, YOU KNOW, LANES IN THE -- IT MIGHT ACTUALLY BE A WAY FOR THE WELL-TO- DO TO HELP PAY FOR BETTER MOBILITY ON OUR REGULAR HIGHWAYS. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: YEAH. I WOULD -- THE ONLY -- >>MARK SHARPE: LOOK AT IT THAT WAY. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: I THINK THAT THAT'S A POSSIBILITY AS AN ECONOMIC REALITY. THE CONCERN I HAVE, IS AS A POLITICAL REALITY, WILL THOSE FOLKS WHO ARE SITTING OVER IN THOSE SLOWER LANES -- THEY MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT FASTER THAN THEY WERE BEFORE, BUT THEY'RE STILL GOING TO BE THE SLOW LANES. WILL THEY EVEN HAVE ANY IDEA HOW THOSE FASTER LANES WERE BUILT, OR WILL THEY JUST LOOK OVER AND BE RATHER ANNOYED THAT, YOU KNOW, THE WELL-TO-DO ARE OVER THERE AND THEY'RE NOT? >> WELL, IN RESPONSE -- >>JOE AFFRONTI: MR. WAGGONER. I'M SORRY. >> IN RESPONSE TO THAT COMMENT, THERE HAVE BEEN STUDIES DONE, AND WHAT THEY DID FIND IN SOME AREAS, THAT IT WAS FOR ANYBODY WHO HAD DAY CARE, AND IF YOU HAD TO GET TO THE DAY CARE BY A CERTAIN TIME OR YOU'RE CHARGED $15 OR HOWEVER MUCH IT WAS, THAT IT WAS WORTH IT FOR THEM TO PAY THE $6 TO GET ON THAT LANE TO KNOW THEY COULD GET TO THE DAY CARE ON TIME TO PICK UP THEIR CHILD TO AVOID THE FEE, SO YOU MIGHT BE PAYING A FEE ONE WAY OR THE OTHER, BUT THERE ARE SOME OPTIONS, AND IT WASN'T JUST FOCUSED ON THE LOW-INCOME OR THE HIGHER-INCOME FOLKS ON THOSE. >>JOE AFFRONTI: MR. WAGGONER. >>JOSEPH WAGGONER: THERE WERE SURVEYS DONE BY ORANGE COUNTY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY, OCTA. THEY RUN S.R. 91 IN CALIFORNIA, WHICH IS ONE OF THE SAMPLE'S MENTIONED HERE. THEY FOUND THAT YOU HAD USE ACROSS THE SOCIOECONOMIC SPECTRUM. THERE WAS DEFINITELY THOSE OF HIGHER INCOME THAT USED IT MORE FREQUENTLY, BUT ALL PEOPLE NEEDED ACCESS AND CHOICE, AND IT PROVIDED THEM THE CHOICE WHEN THEY NEEDED IN THE KIND OF IDEA OF MAYBE IT'S DAY CARE, MAYBE IT'S A DENTAL APPOINTMENT, MAYBE IT'S AN AIRPLANE I'VE GOT TO CATCH. IT WAS THERE FOR EVERYBODY. ON THE ONE CONCEPT WE'RE PROMOTING, BUS TOLL LANES, IS THE FOCUS IS ON TRANSIT. WE WANT TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO GET ON THE BUS, ON THE BUS RAPID TRANSIT SYSTEM. THAT WILL GIVE YOU THE LOWEST COST IN TERMS OF USE OF THE FACILITY, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY PROVIDE YOU THE FASTEST TRIP. YOU WON'T GET THERE ANY FASTER IN YOUR PERSONAL CAR, YOU'LL GET THERE AT A LOWER COST, AND THAT'S KEY TO ENCOURAGING TRANSIT RIDERSHIP. THAT'S THE KIND OF THINKING WE THINK WE HAVE TO DO HERE FOR OUR REGION. THERE ARE ALL KINDS OF OTHER ADVANTAGES THAT I COULD GO ON ABOUT, BUT I'LL STOP NOW. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: AND JOE, MAYBE YOU CAN SHARE THAT STUDY WITH US FROM ORANGE COUNTY. THAT WOULD BE GREAT. >>JOSEPH WAGGONER: I'LL SEE IF I CAN FIND IT. WHAT I'VE MOSTLY SEEN IS VARIOUS TALKS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE FOCUS IS ON, YOU KNOW, YEAH, IT'S THERE FOR EVERYBODY, BUT I CAN SEE IF I CAN FIND THE DETAILED REVIEW OF IT. >> AND WE'LL TRY TO FIND IT AS WELL. >>JOSEPH WAGGONER: I'D APPRECIATE IT. >>JOE AFFRONTI: COMMISSIONER BECKNER. >>KEVIN BECKNER: THANK YOU. I THINK AS WE START GOING FORWARD WE HAVE TO START TAKING A LOOK AT DIFFERENT OPTIONS BECAUSE AS WAS MENTIONED BEFORE, WHEN FUNDING IS LIMITED, WE HAVE TO HAVE DIFFERENT WAYS TO PAY FOR OUR HIGHWAYS. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WAS KIND OF LOOKING AT, WHICH I FIND FASCINATING, HAVE THERE BEEN RESULTS FROM THE STUDIES AS FAR AS THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT IT SAVED, THE TRAVEL TIME, FOR PEOPLE THAT ARE GOING -- THAT ARE USING THESE TYPES OF SYSTEMS AS FAR AS HOW MUCH TIME IS RELIEVED ON CONGESTIONS AND PERSONAL TIME IS GIVEN BACK? >> FOR ANY OF THE SYSTEMS? I THINK THERE WAS -- I DON'T HAVE THAT NUMBER RIGHT ON MY FINGERTIPS RIGHT NOW, BUT THERE HAS BEEN TIME SAVED, AND LIKE THE FORT MYERS STUDY WHERE THEY -- WHERE THEY SHOWED THE TRAFFIC SPREADING OUT THROUGHOUT THE DAY TO MANAGE THOSE LANES BETTER, THOSE KIND OF RESULTS ARE OUT THERE AS WELL. >>KEVIN BECKNER: NO, AND I WOULD ALSO AGREE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE ALSO HAVE TO FOCUS ON CHANGING PART OF THE BEHAVIORS, AND IF TIME IS MORE VALUE TO A PERSON, THE INDIVIDUALS WILL FIND A WAY TO PAY FOR THAT, AND THEY'LL BE WILLING TO PAY FOR THAT IF IT'S GOING TO SAVE THEM A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TIME, SO I'M VERY INTERESTED AND FASCINATED BY THIS. THANK YOU. >>JOE AFFRONTI: MR. SKELTON. >>DON SKELTON: JUST TO REITERATE EXACTLY WHAT EVERYBODY'S BEEN SAYING, THIS IS A MECHANISM TO USE TO FINANCE TRANSPORTATION. WITHOUT IT YOU GO WITHOUT THE IMPROVEMENTS, PERIOD, SO YOU DO HAVE TO FACE THE ISSUES OF WHO'S PAYING FOR WHAT, AND USUALLY EVERYBODY WINS BECAUSE THERE IS LESS CONGESTED ON ALL THE LANES. THE DEPARTMENT IS ALSO LOOKING AT THESE TYPE CONCEPTS FOR PRETTY MUCH OUR ENTIRE INTERSTATE SYSTEM, I-275 THROUGH HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, I-75 THROUGH HILLSBOROUGH AND UP TO THE NORTH, I-4 AS WELL, TO SEE WHAT THE REVENUE STREAMS ARE, TO SEE WHAT THE FEASIBILITY IS, AND HOW TO WORK THE TRANSIT SYSTEMS INTO THOSE SOLUTION, SO I THINK A LOT OF WORK'S GOING ON BECAUSE WE REALIZE THAT THIS IS A FINANCING WAY TO GET MORE TRANSPORTATION WITH LIMITED ROW SOURCES. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU VERY -- YES. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: I HAD A QUESTION ON A VERY SIMPLE SLIDE THAT YOU HAD ON PAGE 4 WHICH INTERESTED ME. IT SAID TO ADD A NEW LANE, THE COST IS 10 MILLION PER MILE, BUT THE GAS TAX ONLY GENERATES $60,000 PER YEAR? >> UH-HUH. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: BEING MORE INVOLVED IN TRANSIT, I ALWAYS GET THE QUESTION DOES TRANSIT PAY FOR ITSELF, AND MY ANSWER IS ALWAYS, WELL, DOES DALE MABRY PAY FOR ITSELF, SO WHAT YOU'RE TELLING ME HERE IS THE GAS TAX REALLY DOESN'T COVER THE WHOLE COST OF THE ROAD. IS THAT THE CORRECT ASSUMPTION? >> RIGHT. AS WE CAN SEE FROM THE DWINDLING TRUST FUNDS. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: AND IT LOOKS EVEN LIKE LESS OF A PERCENT THAN OUR HART SYSTEM RECOVERS, WHICH MIGHT BE 19% OR 20%. I'M NOT SURE IF I'M RIGHT ABOUT THAT, BUT THAT'S MY GUESS. SO THIS COULD EVEN BE LESS OF A PERCENT. >> IT COULD BE. YEAH. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: OKAY. >> IS THAT THE FEDERAL SHARE OF THE GAS TAX THAT'S ENTERING 60,000, OR IS IT THE STATE AND FEDERAL SHARE OF THE GAS TAX? >> I BELIEVE THAT WAS JUST THE FEDERAL SHARE. >> OKAY. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU FOR THE EXCELLENT PRESENTATION. WE APPRECIATE THAT VERY MUCH. >> YOU'RE VERY WELCOME. APPRECIATE THE TIME. AND I'LL JUST POINT OUT ON THE VERY LAST SLIDE THERE WAS THREE WEB SITES THAT YOU COULD GET INFORMATION, ONE IS THE TTI WEB SITE, WHICH IS WHERE THE DATA CAME FROM; FIGHT GRIDLOCK NOW IS WHERE ALL THE CONGESTION INFORMATION IS COMING FROM IF YOU NEED MORE INFORMATION ON WHAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT. WE APPRECIATE YOUR TIME THIS MORNING. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU VERY MUCH. CENTRAL FLORIDA COMMUTER RAIL PROJECT, KELLEY TEAGUE. >> ALL RIGHT. WELL, GOOD MORNING, MR. CHAIRMAN, AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS THE BOARD THIS MORNING. I AM FROM METROPLAN ORLANDO, JUST DOWN THE ROAD, JUST DOWN I-4, AND I WANTED TO INTRODUCE HARRY BARLEY, WHO'S GOING TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON THE CENTRAL FLORIDA COMMUTER RAIL PROJECT. I SUSPECT YOU ALL MAY HAVE HEARD A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS, AND SO HARRY WANTED TO TAKE YOU THROUGH THE PROJECT AND MOST SPECIFICALLY WHAT IT HAS TO DO WITH OUR LONG-RANGE TRANSPORTATION PLAN, SO HARRY. >> THANK YOU, KELLEY, AND GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE. MAYOR AFFRONTI, CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR REELECTION THIS MORNING, AND RAY, CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR APPOINTMENT. I WAS HERE FOR THE MEETING WHEN YOU WERE APPOINTED IN AN ACTING CAPACITY, AND THIS HAS BEEN MY SECOND VISIT BACK, AND IT WAS REALLY NICE TO BE HERE TO HAVE IT COINCIDE WITH YOUR APPOINTMENT. WE'VE ALWAYS HAD A GREAT RELATIONSHIP WITH THE HILLSBOROUGH MPO, AND UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF MAYOR AFFRONTI AND RAY CHIARAMONTE, I'M SURE THAT THAT WILL CONTINUE. METROPLAN ORLANDO, WE ARE A REGIONAL METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION, AND WE SERVE ORANGE, SEMINOLE, AND OSCEOLA COUNTIES. WE HAVE A 19-MEMBER BOARD, AND WE HAVE GREAT RELATIONSHIPS WITH OUR NEIGHBORING COUNTIES AND OUR NEIGHBORING MPOs. WE CALL THAT THE CENTRAL FLORIDA MPO ALLIANCE, WHICH IS VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT YOU HAVE IN THE TAMPA BAY AREA CALLED THE CHAIRS COORDINATING COMMITTEE. WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING ON AN UPDATE TO OUR LONG-RANGE PLAN, AND I'VE GOT TO TELL YOU, RATHER THAN CATCHING UP AND RATHER THAN DOING ALL THE THINGS WE NEED TO DO TO MEET OUR REGION'S NEEDS, THIS I'M AFRAID IS GOING TO BE A VERY PAINFUL PROCESS, PERHAPS NOT UNLIKE WHAT YOU WILL BE GOING THROUGH HERE. WHEN YOU LOOK AT OUR REVENUE STREAMS -- AND I'VE HEARD SOME OF THE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THOSE TODAY -- OUR PICTURE IS NOT MUCH BRIGHTER. WE ARE LIKELY TO BE REMOVING PROJECTS IF WE CONTINUE BUSINESS AS USUAL, AND THAT IS NOT FULFILLING WHAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT, REMOVING PROJECTS RATHER THAN ADDING PROJECTS TO MEET OUR REGION'S NEEDS. SO FOR THAT REASON, WE'VE KIND OF CHOSEN A RADICAL APPROACH TO GIVE OUR BOARD SOME OPTIONS. THIS VISUAL SHOWS YOU KIND OF A COMPELLING PICTURE, AND DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE DETAIL, BUT LOOK AT THE RED. THE MAP ON THE LEFT SIDE IS THE ROADS IN THE ORLANDO METROPOLITAN AREA TODAY THAT ARE FAILING. A LOT OF RED UP THERE ALREADY. THE MAP ON THE RIGHT SIDE ARE THE ROADS THAT ARE EXPECTED TO BE FAILING BY THE YEAR 2050 GIVEN THE PATH WE ARE CURRENTLY ON. THIS IS NOT A PRETTY PICTURE. WE SOMETIMES REFER TO THESE AS THE BLOOD MAPS. BUT EVEN IF ALL THE MONEY WERE TO FALL OUT OF THE SKY THAT WE'D NEED TO DO THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT THE MARKET DEMANDS, WE COULDN'T BUILD HALF THOSE PROJECTS BECAUSE OF CONSTRAINTS, EITHER POLICY CONSTRAINTS, ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS, OR WITHOUT TAKING OUT COMPLETE NEIGHBORHOODS TO SATISFY OUR TRANSPORTATION NEEDS. SO THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE CONSIDER TO BE ACCEPTABLE. SO AS A RESULT, WE'VE CHOSEN A VERY DIFFERENT PATH ON THIS, LOOKING AT THE PROSPECTS OF DOUBLING OUR REGION'S POPULATION, WHICH AT A MINIMUM WOULD BE DOUBLING THE NUMBER OF ROADS, DOUBLING THE NUMBER OF LANES ON EXISTING ROADS, AND DOUBLING THE NUMBER OF PARKING SPACES, AND AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE'D HAVE NOTHING BETTER THAN WE HAVE IN PLACE TODAY. THIS IS NOT A SMART PATH TO BE ON, SO WE STARTED ON A NEW AMBITIOUS EFFORT A FEW YEARS AGO, A REGIONAL GROWTH VISIONING EFFORT VERY SIMILAR TO THE ONE THAT YOU HAVE NOW UNDERWAY HERE CALLED ONE BAY, WHICH WAS TO GIVE US A NEW VISION FOR CENTRAL FLORIDA. AND THERE'S A VERY, VERY IMPORTANT CONNECTION, AS YOU-ALL KNOW, HAVING TO DO WITH TRANSPORTATION AND LAND USE PLANNING THROUGH THAT PROCESS. ONE OF THE IMPORTANT RESULTS AS A RESULT OF THAT PROGRAM, WHICH WE WRAPPED UP PHASE ONE IN AUGUST OF 2007 WITH LEADERS FROM THROUGHOUT THE REGION COMING TOGETHER TO APPROVE THE NEW REGION'S GROWTH VISION -- ONE OF THE RADICAL CHANGES WAS LEANING MUCH MORE HEAVILY ON TRANSIT THAN WE DO TODAY, AND KNOWING WHERE YOU HAVE BEEN AS AN MPO, KNOWING WHERE YOU HAVE BEEN AS A REGION, AND HEARING YOUR CONVERSATION TODAY, WE HAVE A LOT IN COMMON IN TERMS OF THE CHANGE WE'RE ALL TRYING TO BRING ABOUT WITH PUTTING MORE EMPHASIS ON TRANSIT AND BRINGING ABOUT MORE OF A BALANCE THAN WE HAVE IN PLACE TODAY. SO THAT WAS A VERY, VERY LARGE PART OF THE PROGRAM WAS PUTTING MORE EMPHASIS ON TRANSIT. AND THAT WILL BE A LARGE THEME OF OUR NEW LONG-RANGE PLAN. NOW, WHEN WE LOOKED AT THE HOW SHALL WE GROW PROCESS, WHICH INVOLVED THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE THROUGHOUT THE REGION, WE WANTED TO KNOW HOW CAN WE ENVISION A BETTER COMMUNITY FOR OUR FUTURE WHEN THIS IS WHAT IT IS LIKELY TO LOOK LIKE? WELL, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO LOOK LIKE THIS IN OUR URBAN AREAS. IT COULD LOOK MORE LIKE THIS OR MORE LIKE THIS. OUR PROBLEM IS NOT THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE, OUR PROBLEM IS THE NUMBER OF CARS, BOTH MOVING THEM AND STORING THEM, AND I THINK YOU'VE PROBABLY SEEN SOME OF THESE VISUALS BEFORE, BUT THIS DOES A NICE JOB OF PUTTING THE PROBLEM REALLY INTO CONTEXT. WELL, AS WE MOVE AHEAD WITH PUTTING MORE EMPHASIS ON TRANSIT, OUR PREMIER PROJECT RIGHT NOW IS THE CENTRAL FLORIDA COMMUTER RAIL PROJECT. THIS IS A 61-MILE PROJECT THAT WILL START IN VOLUSIA COUNTY, CONTINUE THROUGH SEMINOLE, ORANGE, AND OSCEOLA COUNTIES, RUNNING PARALLEL TO INTERSTATE 4, EVERYONE'S FAVORITE THOROUGHFARE IN ORLANDO AND TAMPA; RIGHT? THIS WILL CARRY ONE ADDITIONAL LANE OF TRAFFIC IN EACH DIRECTION, AND ON OUR CURRENT SCHEDULE, THE FIRST SEGMENT OF THIS PROJECT WILL OPEN IN 2011. THAT WILL COINCIDE WITH SOME MAJOR WIDENINGS OF THE I-4 FOOTPRINT. RIGHT NOW A LOT OF THE EMPHASIS HAS BEEN ON INTERCHANGES, BUT WE WANTED TO HAVE THIS ALTERNATIVE IN PLACE FOR WHEN THE HEAVY-DUTY WORK BEGINS ON INTERSTATE 4 IN THE EARL AREA. WE'VE GOT SOME MAJOR MILESTONES THAT HAVE BEEN ACCOMPLISHED OVER THE PAST YEAR. FIRST, ALL THE LOCAL FUNDING PARTNERS ARE IN PLACE, AND THIS WAS NOTHING SHORT OF EXTRAORDINARY. WE HAD FIVE VOTES, FOUR COUNTY COMMISSIONS AND THE CITY OF ORLANDO, ALL WITH UNANIMOUS VOTES TO SUPPORT THIS PROJECT. NOW, WE WORKED HARD TO BRING THAT ABOUT, BUT THERE WAS STILL SOME RISK GOING INTO THIS, BUT TO HAVE UNANIMOUS VOTES BY FIVE PUBLIC BODIES WAS NOTHING SHORT OF EXTRAORDINARY, AND THAT WAS A VERY POWERFUL STATEMENT TO MAKE IN OUR CRUSADE IN WASHINGTON. IN AUGUST OF THIS YEAR WE GOT THE GREEN LIGHT FROM THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION. THERE WERE 200 PROJECTS FROM THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY COMPETING TO GO INTO FINAL DESIGN. FIVE WERE CHOSEN, AND THE CENTRAL FLORIDA COMMUTER RAIL PROJECT WAS ONE OF THOSE. THIS IS THE LAST STEP BEFORE WE GET THE FULL FUNDING GRANT AGREEMENT IN PLACE TO LOCK IN ALL THE FEDERAL MONEY THAT'S NEEDED FOR THE PROJECT. AND FINALLY, WITH THE HELP OF THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, WE HAVE THE STATE FUNDING COMMITTED FOR THIS PROJECT, SO WE'VE GOT FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL FUNDING IN PLACE. A LITTLE BIT OF THE FINANCIAL PICTURE FOR THE PROJECT. THE PROJECT ITSELF IS $615 MILLION. 50% OF THAT WILL BE PAID FOR BY FEDERAL FUNDS, 25% THROUGH STATE FUNDS, MOST OF WHICH WOULD HAVE BEEN COMING TO THE ORLANDO AREA ANYWAY FOR OTHER PROJECTS, BUT GIVEN THE FACT THAT OUR BOARD MADE THIS A TOP PRIORITY, THAT'S WHERE WE'RE PUTTING OUR MONEY, AND THE FINAL 25%, AS I MENTIONED, IS COMING FROM LOCAL FUNDS. SO THIS MEANS THAT 150 MILLION -- 154 MILLION IN STATE FUNDING HAS LEVERAGED A $300-, $320-MILLION FEDERAL TRANSFUSION INTO THE FLORIDA PROGRAM. I KNOW CONGRESSMAN MICA WAS HERE WITH YOU RECENTLY. HE'S FROM OUR NECK OF THE WOODS. WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE FEDERAL MONEY AS WE AS FLORIDIANS SEND TO WASHINGTON, FOR EVERY DOLLAR WE SEND UP IN GAS TAX MONEY, 80 CENTS OF THAT GOES INTO THE HIGHWAY PROGRAM, 20 CENTS GOES INTO THE TRANSIT PROGRAM, AND IF WE DON'T HAVE ANY TRANSIT PROJECTS, THAT'S MONEY THAT GOES ELSEWHERE. AND I HAVE TO TELL YOU, IN THE ORLANDO AREA, WE LEARNED THAT IN A VERY, VERY PAINFUL WAY IN 1999 WHEN WE HAD WHAT WE CALL THE GREAT LIGHT RAIL MELTDOWN. WE HAD EVERYTHING IN PLACE READY TO DO THE FIRST SEGMENT OF OUR LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM. IT LOST ON A 4-3 CRITICAL VOTE BY A COUNTY COMMISSION, AND THAT FEDERAL MONEY THAT WE HAD LOCKED IN AT THE TIME, ABOUT $300 MILLION, WENT TO CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA, AND THEY ARE NOW RIDING THOSE TRAINS UP THERE, DOUBLE THE RIDERSHIP THEY HAD EXPECTED, WITH AMBITIOUS PLANS TO EXPAND. SO WE HAVE FUMBLED THE BALL BEFORE. WE CANNOT AFFORD TO FUMBLE THE BALL AGAIN. JUST TO PROVIDE A BIT OF PERSPECTIVE ALSO ON THIS INVESTMENT PICTURE, IF YOU LOOK AT DOING THAT ONE ADDITIONAL LANE ON I-4 IN EACH DIRECTION, THE EQUIVALENT COST OF THAT WOULD BE ABOUT $7 BILLION. NOW, I DON'T MEAN TO CONTRADICT ANYTHING KAREN SAID EARLIER ABOUT THOSE RULES OF THUMB NUMBER. WE ALL USE THOSE THINGS, BUT IT KIND OF DEPENDS ON THE CONTEXT. WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE THAT ADDITIONAL WIDENING ON I-4, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT BRIDGE REPLACEMENTS AND VERY, VERY EXPENSIVE RIGHT-OF-WAYS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, BUT IT'S A $7-BILLION HIGHWAY INVESTMENT VERSUS A $615-MILLION TRANSIT INVESTMENT, AND WE ALSO NEED TO CONSIDER THE ECONOMIC STIMULUS IMPACTS OF THIS AS WELL, BRINGING MONEY BACK INTO OUR ECONOMY, PARTICULARLY FEDERAL MONEY. AS WE SPEAK, THE STATIONS ALONG THE FIRST PHASE OF THE PROJECT ARE TAKING SHAPE. THIS IS A RENDERING OF THE CHURCH STREET STATION IN DOWNTOWN ORLANDO. THIS PARTICULAR STOP PROVIDES DIRECT ACCESS TO DOWNTOWN, INCLUDING OUR NEW EVENT CENTER, THE NEW NAME OF THE HOME FOR THE ORLANDO MAGIC. THAT IS CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION, AND WE'VE GOT A NEW PERFORMING ARTS CENTER THAT'S ABOUT TO BREAK GROUND AS WELL. THIS SYSTEM ALSO HAS STOPS AT TWO OTHER VERY, VERY LARGE EMPLOYERS IN DOWNTOWN ORLANDO, FLORIDA HOSPITAL TO THE NORTH, AS WELL AS ORLANDO HEALTH, FORMERLY ORLANDO REGIONAL HEALTH CARE, TO THE SOUTH. AND THIS IS REALLY, THOUGH, THE FIRST PIECE OF A LARGER REGIONAL RAIL TRANSIT SYSTEM THAT WE ENVISION FOR THE ORLANDO METROPOLITAN AREA. IT ALL HAS TO START WITH A SINGLE SEGMENT. NOW, I MOVED TO ORLANDO, ADOPTED CENTRAL FLORIDA AS MY HOME 12 YEARS AGO, AND THE FIRST 23 YEARS OF MY CAREER WAS SPENT IN THE WASHINGTON, D.C., AREA PLANNING AND BUILDING THE METRO SYSTEM, AND WHEN I WENT TO WORK THERE FRESH OUT OF GRADUATE SCHOOL IN 1974 -- FEELING REAL OLD, BUT IT WAS 1974 -- CONSTRUCTION WAS UNDERWAY, BUT NOTHING HAD GONE INTO OPERATION. AND THE DEBATE WAS STILL RAGING, WHAT A WASTE OF MONEY. WHY ARE WE DOING THIS? WHO WILL EVER RIDE THIS THING? BUT AS SOON AS THAT FIRST SEGMENT OPENED IN DOWNTOWN ORLANDO -- DOWNTOWN WASHINGTON -- AND IT WAS A PHASED SYSTEM THAT GREW OVER TIME, NOW 103 MILES -- THE DEBATE IMMEDIATELY SHIFTED TO DO WE NEED THIS TO WHEN AM I GOING TO GET MINE. AND FOR ALL THE SKEPTICS BACK THEN IN THE '70s THAT DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THE NEED OF IT AND THE DESIGN WAS TOO GRAND, THE CRITICISM HAS NOW SHIFTED. WHO WERE THE SHORTSIGHTED PEOPLE THAT EVER DESIGNED STATIONS THAT COULD ONLY TAKE EIGHT-CAR TRAINS? WHO WERE THE SHORTSIGHTED PEOPLE THAT ONLY ALLOWED FOR 90- SECOND HEADWAYS IN DESIGNING THE SYSTEM WHEN TODAY MORE THAN THAT IS NEEDED BECAUSE OF THE ENORMOUS RIDERSHIP NUMBERS? IT'S JUST BEEN AN EXTRAORDINARY METAMORPHOSIS, AND THAT'S OFTEN THE WAY IT IS WITH PROJECTS LIKE THAT. YOU GET THE FIRST PIECE GOING AND THE DEBATE SHIFTS TO HOW ARE WE GOING TO BUILD A REGIONAL SYSTEM. NOW, WE'RE NOT QUITE THERE YET WITH THE REGIONAL PROJECT, EVEN THOUGH WE'VE MADE AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF PROGRESS IN RECENT YEARS. WE'VE GOT TO MAKE ONE MORE STOP IN TALLAHASSEE, AND THAT HAS TO DO WITH SOME LIABILITY LANGUAGE AND SOME INSURANCE ISSUES. YOU MAY HAVE HEARD A LOT OF ABOUT THAT. THAT IS THE CURRENT CONTROVERSY UP THERE. IT'S THE ONE STOP WE NEED TO MAKE TO GET EVERYTHING IN PLACE TO PROCEED. WHAT WE'RE SEEKING TO DO -- SINCE THIS IS A PARTNERSHIP WITH CSX INVOLVING CSX TRACKS AND A PURCHASE OF THEIR TRACKS, THE COMMUTER RAIL PROJECT WILL BE OPERATING WITH FREIGHT TRAFFIC. WHENEVER THERE IS AN ARRANGEMENT LIKE THIS, THERE MUST BE SOME SHARED JOINT LIABILITY. THAT'S THE WAY IT'S BEEN WITH TRIRAIL FOR 20 YEARS SINCE TRIRAIL HAS BEEN IN OPERATION, AND THAT'S THE WAY IT WORKS WITH 23 COMMUTER RAIL SYSTEMS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY. WHAT WE ARE SEEKING TO DO IS TO GET GENERIC LANGUAGE IN PLACE IN STATUTES THAT WILL SAY NOTHING ABOUT THE CENTRAL FLORIDA COMMUTER RAIL PROJECT. IT WILL BE GENERIC PROJECT WHICH WILL ALLOW SIMILAR PROJECTS, WHETHER THEY BE IN THE TAMPA BAY AREA OR JACKSONVILLE OR SOUTH FLORIDA, BUT TO ALLOW FOR A GENERIC TEMPLATE FOR THESE PROJECTS TO MOVE AHEAD, AND THAT'S SIMPLY A NECESSITY GIVEN THE NATURE OF THE DEAL WITH MIXED TRAFFIC. ALSO, RAY MENTIONED EARLIER THE FLORIDA URBAN TRANSPORTATION COALITION, AND I WANTED TO MENTION A BIT ABOUT THAT TO YOU. WE HAD SOME CHALLENGES DURING THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION EARLIER THIS YEAR, AND AS A RESULT OF THAT, WE THOUGHT, GEE, MAYBE IT WOULD BE BETTER IF WE TRIED TO GET THE VARIOUS INTERESTS IN FLORIDA, THE URBAN INTERESTS, JACKSONVILLE, CENTRAL FLORIDA, TAMPA BAY, SOUTH FLORIDA BETTER ALIGNED, AND MAYBE WE COULD DO BETTER BY WORKING WITH ONE ANOTHER, BUT WE'VE HAD A SERIES OF ONE-ON-ONE MEETINGS REGARDING THAT. THE FIRST STOP I MADE WAS TO SPEAK TO MAYOR AFFRONTI, BECAUSE OF OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE TAMPA BAY AREA, TO SEE IF THERE WAS INTEREST IN THIS, AND THERE WAS. AND THOSE CONVERSATIONS CONTINUED OVER THE SUMMER, AND IT WAS BACK ON NOVEMBER 6th, JUST ABOUT A MONTH AGO, WE HAD THE KICKOFF MEETING BRINGING TOGETHER THE MPOs, THE RTAs, THE D.O.T. SECRETARIES, AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR FROM THOSE FOUR URBAN MARKETS TO SEE IF WE COULD FIND SOME COMMON GROUND, SOME THINGS THAT WE COULD, IN FACT, WORK ON TOGETHER. I TELL YOU, THE TAMPA BAY AREA WAS WELL REPRESENTED AT THAT MEETING. YOU COULD IMAGINE WHAT IT WAS LIKE FINDING A DATE THAT WORKED FOR EVERYBODY. IT DIDN'T, BUT WE HAD A GOOD BALANCE, AND FROM TAMPA BAY REPRESENTATIVE GALVANO WAS WITH US THAT DAY AS ONE OF THE LEGISLATORS WHO WAS THERE, MAYOR AFFRONTI OF COURSE, RAY WAS WITH US, DON SKELTON AND BOB CLIFFORD WERE WITH US FROM FLORIDA D.O.T. DISTRICT 7, NED BAIER WAS THERE FROM HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY. LOOKING AT YOUR LARGER FOOTPRINT HERE, COUNCILMAN JEFF DANNER WAS THERE FROM ST. PETERSBURG REPRESENTING MAYOR BAKER, COMMISSIONER RONNIE DUNCAN WAS THERE REPRESENTING BOTH PINELLAS COUNTY AND TBARTA, SARAH WARD WAS THERE FROM THE PINELLAS MPO, AND STUART ROGEL WAS THERE FROM THE TAMPA BAY PARTNERSHIP. COLLECTIVELY WE DECIDED AT THE CONCLUSION OF THAT MEETING THAT THERE WERE FIVE THINGS WHERE THERE WAS COMMON GROUND THAT WE WOULD MOVE AHEAD IN TERMS OF A SHORT-TERM AGENDA, WORKING TOGETHER, FOUR LARGE URBAN AREAS IN FLORIDA, FOR THE UPCOMING LEGISLATIVE SESSION. THOSE FIVE ITEMS WERE PROTECTING THE STATE TRANSPORTATION TRUST FUND. THERE WAS A LOT OF TALK ABOUT NEW REVENUE, BUT WHY FOCUS ON NEW REVENUE IN THE BUCKET IF YOU'VE GOT A HOLE IN THE BOTTOM OF THE BUCKET THAT'S LEAKING? SO THIS WHOLE IDEA OF PROTECTING THE TRUST FUND FROM RAIDS WAS AN IMPORTANT ONE. SECOND ITEM WAS TO GET THAT GENERIC LANGUAGE APPROVED, NOT JUST FOR ORLANDO BUT ALSO FOR SOUTH FLORIDA, TAMPA BAY, AND JACKSONVILLE HAVING TO DO WITH THOSE INSURANCE ISSUES, TO GET THAT STRAIGHTENED OUT ONCE AND FOR ALL IN TALLAHASSEE. THE THIRD ITEM WAS LEGISLATIVE APPROVAL FOR THE LOCAL OPTION RENTAL CAR SURCHARGE. THAT HAS BEEN DISCUSSED WITH THIS BOARD BEFORE, IMPORTANT FOR ALL FOUR MARKETS SO THAT WE COULD CONSIDER LOCALLY PUTTING THAT IN AS A SOURCE OF DEDICATED TRANSPORTATION REVENUE. FOURTH ITEM WAS SOMETHING CALLED THE CHARTER COUNTY TRANSIT SURTAX. THAT SALES TAX IS AVAILABLE ONLY TO SEVEN COUNTIES TODAY IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA. IT'S IN THERE BY VIRTUE OF A DATE. ANYBODY WHO WAS A CHARTER COUNTY 1984 OR EARLIER, IT LIMITS IT TO SEVEN COUNTIES. WE WANT THE DATE REMOVED SO THAT ALL COUNTIES OR AT LEAST ALL CHARTER COUNTIES COULD HAVE THAT AS AN OPTION. AND THE FIFTH ITEM THAT WAS CONSIDERED IMPORTANT TO EVERYBODY WAS RESTORING FUNDING FOR THE ROAD RANGERS PROGRAM, IMPORTANT AGAIN FOR THE URBAN AREAS. IN FACT, DON, I BELIEVE YOU WERE THE ONE THAT CALLED ATTENTION TO THE FACT IF THE LEGISLATURE STARTS GETTING INTO D.O.T. BUSINESS AGAIN -- THIS WAS KIND OF MICROMANAGEMENT THAT WAS CONSIDERED TO BE BY MANY OF US INAPPROPRIATE. WE AT METROPLAN ORLANDO WANTED TO PROVIDE AN ADDITIONAL $500,000 TO ROAD RANGERS BECAUSE WE FELT THAT PROGRAM WAS SO IMPORTANT. BUT BECAUSE OF THE WAY THE LEGISLATURE TOOK THE ACTION, THEY COULDN'T ACCEPT THE MONEY FROM US. SO WHAT WE'D ALSO BE ASKING FOR IS THAT IF THE LEGISLATURE HAS TO DO SOMETHING WITH D.O.T., AND WE HOPE THEY DON'T, BUT JUST TO GIVE THEM A BENCHMARK TO REACH AND NOT GO INTO INDIVIDUAL PROGRAMS. THAT'S KIND OF THE -- NOT THE RIGHT WAY TO MANAGE, SO THOSE WERE THE FIVE ITEMS WE'VE AGREED TO WORK ON TOGETHER, AND WE'VE GOT SOME WORK UNDERWAY. SO WE LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING THE WORK WITH THE TAMPA BAY AREA, INCLUDING THE HILLSBOROUGH MPO, IN THE UPCOMING SESSION. I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO COVER A LOT OF GROUND VERY QUICKLY, AND MAYOR, IF YOU OR ANY OF YOUR COLLEAGUES ON THE BOARD HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'LL DO MY BEST TO ANSWER THOSE. >>JOE AFFRONTI: ANY QUESTIONS OF HARRY? YES, MR. SHARPE. >>MARK SHARPE: GREAT REPORT. WHAT ABOUT PLANS TO LINK THE COMMUTER RAIL, CENTRAL FLORIDA AND OUR REGION, WHO'S WORKING THAT PROBLEM? >> WELL, THERE ARE CURRENTLY A FEW EFFORTS UNDERWAY ON THAT FRONT. ONE BIG PIECE OF THAT WILL CONCLUDE WORK THIS WEEK. FLORIDA D.O.T. HAS A STATEWIDE RAIL PROJECT OR STATEWIDE RAIL PLAN ALREADY IN PLACE. THEY'RE WORKING ON AN UPDATE TO THAT. SOME GOOD WORK HAS BEEN UNDERWAY, COMMISSIONER, FOR PROBABLY THE LAST SIX OR EIGHT MONTHS TO UPDATE THAT DOCUMENT. THIS THURSDAY THE GROUP WILL HOLD ITS FINAL MEETING IN ORLANDO, ACTUALLY, AND THERE ARE REPRESENTATIVES FROM AREAS THROUGHOUT THE STATE. THIS WILL BE THE POLICY DOCUMENT ON A STATEWIDE RAIL PLAN. THE NEXT PHASE OF THAT WILL GET INTO SPECIFIC PROJECTS, SO WE LOOK TO THE COMMUTER RAIL PROJECT AS A PROJECT THAT IS REGIONAL IN NATURE. IT WAS NOT REALLY DESIGNED TO SERVE INTERCITY NEEDS, BUT THOSE NEEDS ARE CERTAINLY THERE. THIS PLAN WILL PROVIDE A STEPPING STONE IN TERMS OF HOW WE GET THERE. THE OTHER BIG THING THAT'S HAPPENED SINCE THE WORK ON THAT PROJECT BEGAN IS SOME VERY EXCITING FEDERAL LEGISLATION THAT CONGRESSMAN MICA MAY HAVE MENTIONED TO YOU IN THE MEETING RECENTLY WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PUTTING A LOT MORE EMPHASIS ON INTERCITY RAIL TRAVEL, AND I THINK IN FLORIDA HERE WE'RE IN AN EXCELLENT POSITION TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT. >>MARK SHARPE: AND IT JUST SEEMS LIKE THE REASON WE HAD TROUBLE A DECADE OR SO AGO WITH THESE PLANS TO LINK, YOU KNOW, THE -- THE HIGH-SPEED RAIL PLAN WAS THAT THERE WAS NO -- THERE WAS NOTHING -- ONCE YOU GOT OFF THE HIGH-SPEED RAIL SYSTEM TO YOUR DESTINATION, THERE WAS NOTHING TO TAKE YOU AROUND. WE'RE STARTING TO SOLVE THAT PROBLEM NOW. WE'VE GOT REGIONAL PLANS. NOW I WANT TO SEE THE LINKAGE AGAIN, AND WE'RE INVOLVED IN A NUMBER OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS, ACTUALLY WITH COMPANIES IN ORLANDO WHERE WE'RE WORKING TOGETHER, AND THEY REALLY GET EXCITED ABOUT THE IDEA OF LINKING HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY AND TAMPA ALONG WITH ORLANDO, SO -- >> THESE MARKETS HAVE GOT TO CONNECT, AND YOUR THINKING IS RIGHT ON. THE ANALOGY I LIKE TO GIVE TO PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT AS WELL VERSED AS MOST OF YOU ON THIS AND PEOPLE WHO ARE MAYBE NEW TO THE WORLD OF TRANSIT, IF YOU THINK OF OUR HIGHWAY SYSTEM, WHICH EVERYONE RELATES TO, AND YOU KIND OF HAVE THE INTERSTATE SYSTEM, YOU'VE GOT ARTERIALS AND YOU'VE GOT LOCAL ROADS, BUT WHEN YOU THINK OF I-4 OR I-75, THINK ABOUT IT, THOSE ROADS SERVE NO ORIGINS AND NO DESTINATIONS. YOU MUST GET TO THE INTERSTATE AND GET OFF THE INTERSTATE OR YOU DON'T USE THE INTERSTATE, AND FOR THAT REASON, WE HAVE THE ARTERIALS, AND THE OR MATERIALS, OFTEN STATE ROADS, WILL LEAD YOU TO A LOCAL ROAD, WHICH MIGHT TAKE YOU TO YOUR HOME OR YOUR BUSINESS, BUT IT'S THAT TYPE OF THINKING. THERE'S A HIERARCHY IN TRANSIT JUST AS THERE'S A HIERARCHY WITH OUR HIGHWAY SYSTEM, SO YOU WOULDN'T INVEST IN A HIGH- SPEED RAIL SYSTEM AT 250 MILES AN HOUR TO GO FROM DOWNTOWN ORLANDO TO FLORIDA HOSPITAL. THERE ARE OTHER MODES OF TRAVEL, BUT IT'S THAT SAME TYPE OF THINKING THAT HAS TO BE BROUGHT TO TRANSIT FOR OUR STATEWIDE RAIL SYSTEM AND OUR NATIONAL RAIL SYSTEM, SO THESE ARE ALL PIECES THAT NEED TO FIT TOGETHER, AND I THINK WE'RE FINALLY MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. >>JOE AFFRONTI: HARRY, IS THERE A WAY THAT WE COULD PARTICIPATE IN THAT PROCESS WITH OUR -- WITH DESIGNING A STATEWIDE SYSTEM? >> MAYOR, I AM CONFIDENT THAT A NUMBER OF PEOPLE FROM THE TAMPA BAY AREA ARE ALREADY INVOLVED IN THAT RAIL STAKEHOLDERS GROUP AS IT IS CALLED. I DON'T HAVE THE FULL MEMBERSHIP ROSTER WITH ME. ACTUALLY, THEY'VE ASKED ME TO BE THEIR LUNCHEON SPEAKER ON THURSDAY, BUT I'M SURE THERE HAVE GOT TO BE SOME PEOPLE FROM TAMPA BAY INVOLVED IN THAT. >>JOE AFFRONTI: I THINK WE SHOULD JUST MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE REPRESENTED IN SOME WAY. YES, MR. SKELTON. >>DON SKELTON: YEAH. LET ME JUST ADD A LITTLE BIT TO THAT AGAIN. I'M PART OF THAT RAIL STAKEHOLDERS ADVISORY COMMITTEE AS -- THE MPOAC HAS A REPRESENTATIVE. IT'S A STATEWIDE BODY. IT'S ALL ENCOMPASSING. WHAT'S BEING WORKED ON NOW IS THE POLICY FRAMEWORK, THE ACTUAL DETAILS OF THE PLAN IS THE NEXT STEP, AND THERE WILL BE A LOT MORE INVOLVEMENT AT THE LOCAL LEVEL IN THAT PLAN, THE PRODUCING OF THAT PLAN. >>JOE AFFRONTI: AS IT DEVELOPS. OKAY. THANK YOU. >>MARK SHARPE: THE LAST PART I WAS GOING TO SAY, WE'RE GOING TO BE MEETING WITH OUR LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION THIS AFTERNOON, AND I WAS GOING TO MAKE IT VERY CLEAR THAT OUR BOARD IS SUPPORTIVE OF THE CENTRAL FLORIDA RAIL PLAN. WE WANT TO SEE YOU SUCCEED. >> THANK YOU. >>MARK SHARPE: I KNOW THAT YOUR SUCCESS WILL BE OUR SUCCESS, SO WE WISH YOU WELL. >> AND I LOVE TO HEAR THOSE WORDS, AND THAT WAS PART OF THE THING THAT MAYOR AFFRONTI AND RAY CHIARAMONTE HAVE BEEN INVOLVED WITH WITH THE CENTRAL FLORIDA RAIL PROJECT. IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT ORLANDO. THIS IS ABOUT SHOWING THAT WE AS A STATE CAN DELIVER ON A PROJECT, IT'S ABOUT OUR CREDIBILITY IN WASHINGTON, AND ALL THE CHANGES THAT WE'VE MADE IN TALLAHASSEE ARE REALLY OF A MORE GENERIC NATURE. TRIRAIL IN SOUTH FLORIDA NEEDS TO CONTINUE THRIVING FOR US TO SUCCEED. OUR PROJECT NEEDS TO SUCCEED AND GET OVER SOME OF THE HURDLES TO MAKE IT A LITTLE EASIER FOR SOME OF THE PROJECTS THAT YOU HAVE UNDER DISCUSSION HERE, AND JACKSONVILLE'S A LITTLE FURTHER BEHIND YOU, BUT THEY'RE IN THAT PROCESS AS WELL, SO I AM CONVINCED, AND I THINK MAYOR AFFRONTI -- EVERYONE WHO WAS AT THAT MEETING THAT DAY -- WE MUST HAVE HAD 60 PEOPLE THERE -- >> OH, YEAH. >> -- MEMBERS IN A ROOM OF OVER 100. EVERYONE WAS IN AGREEMENT, WE CAN ACCOMPLISH MORE BY WORKING TOGETHER THAN COMPETING AGAINST ONE ANOTHER. THIS WHOLE THING HAVING TO DO WITH COMPETITION HAS BEEN TOTALLY OVERBLOWN AND IN MOST INSTANCES IS NOT EVEN TRUE, BUT THERE'S THIS IMPRESSION THAT WE ARE WORKING AT CROSS- PURPOSES AND ACCOMPLISHING VERY LITTLE, AND IF WE COULD POOL THE ENERGIES OF THOSE FOUR URBAN MARKETS, WE COLLECTIVELY AGREED WE COULD ACCOMPLISH A LOT MORE, AND A LOT OF THAT HAS TO DO WITH THE LEGISLATURE, SO THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER, FOR MAKING THAT POINT. EVERY TIME WE GET AN OPPORTUNITY WITH OUR INDIVIDUAL DELEGATIONS OR WITH THESE LARGER DELEGATION MEETINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING, YOU HAVE BALD OVER HERE, NEXT WE HAVE OUR WHOLE CENTRAL FLORIDA DELEGATION COMING TOGETHER. IF WE COULD SPEAK ON BEHALF OF THOSE FOUR URBAN AREAS, I THINK THAT'S A VERY POWERFUL STATEMENT. THANK YOU. >>JOE AFFRONTI: HARRY, YOU'RE TO BE COMMENDED FOR PUTTING THIS COALITION TOGETHER. I THINK IT WAS AN EXCELLENT MEETING AND WONDERFUL TURNOUT AND GREAT EXCHANGE OF IDEAS. THANK YOU. >> WORK IS JUST BEGINNING, MAYOR, AND WE'RE COUNTING ON YOU AND RAY TO BE A PART OF THAT. >>JOE AFFRONTI: WE'LL DO THAT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. >> THANK YOU. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. LET ME SEE. DO WE HAVE ANYBODY IN THE AUDIENCE THAT CARES TO ADDRESS THE MPO ON ANY ITEMS AT ALL? IF NOT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. TWO THINGS I WANT TO MENTION UNDER NEW BUSINESS IS I KNOW WE'RE VERY PROUD OF OUR AIRPORT, AND MR. MILLER SAID, OH, I WOULDN'T EVEN MENTION IT, BUT TWO TRAVEL ORGANIZATIONS RATED THE TAMPA AIRPORT, ONE AS NUMBER ONE AND THE OTHER AS NUMBER TWO, AND THESE ARE -- ARE THESE INTERNATIONAL OR ORGANIZATIONS? >> [INAUDIBLE] >>JOE AFFRONTI: NATIONAL. THAT'S WONDERFUL, AND CONGRATULATIONS. YOU'RE DOING A WONDERFUL JOB. AND BOB CLIFFORD ALREADY LEFT, BUT I JUST WANTED TO CONGRATULATE BOB ON BEING SELECTED AS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR TBARTA. AND SO WITH THAT, ANYTHING ELSE? ANY OTHER BUSINESS? IF NOT, WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. WE ADJOURN. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: THANK YOU. 1