CAPTIONING JULY 14, 2009 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. I'D LIKE TO CALL OUR HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION MEETING TO ORDER FOR JULY 14th, 2009. WOULD YOU PLEASE STAND FOR PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE AND A BRIEF INVOCATION. [PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE] HEAVENLY FATHER, AGAIN, WE THANK YOU FOR ALL THE BLESSINGS THAT YOU'VE GIVEN US. WE ASK THAT YOU GUIDE US TODAY AS WE CONDUCT THE BUSINESS FOR OUR CITIZENS OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, AND WE ASK THAT YOU PLEASE PROTECT THE YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN WHO ARE SERVING OUR COUNTRY THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. IN YOUR NAME WE PRAY. AMEN. >> AMEN. >>JOE AFFRONTI: SO WELCOME. WE -- THIS MORNING WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A PUBLIC HEARING, WHICH WILL BE THE FIRST ITEM ON THE AGENDA, BUT WHAT I WANT TO SAY IS MY NAME IS JOE AFFRONTI. I'M THE CHAIRMAN OF THE HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION. WE'RE FIRST GOING TO HEAR A SHORT PRESENTATION FROM STAFF ON THE T.I.P. AMENDMENT OR T.I.P. PROGRAM. THEN WE WILL OPEN UP A PUBLIC HEARING FOR PUBLIC COMMENT. WE WILL FIRST RECOGNIZE PUBLIC OFFICIALS AND THEN TAKE PUBLIC COMMENT IN THE ORDER THAT YOU HAVE SIGNED IN. FOLLOWING PUBLIC COMMENT, WE WILL HAVE A BOARD DISCUSSION AND TAKE ACTION ON THE T.I.P. WHEN YOU ADDRESS THE BOARD, PLEASE CLEARLY STATE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS AND LIMIT YOUR COMMENTS TO THREE MINUTES IN ORDER THAT EVERYONE MAY -- EVERYONE ELSE MAY HAVE A CHANCE TO SPEAK. BEFORE WE START THE HEARING, LET ME REMIND YOU THAT THERE ARE YELLOW FORMS IN THE BACK FOR YOU TO SIGN TO SPEAK. IF YOU HAVE NOT SIGNED IN, PLEASE FILL OUT A FORM AND GIVE IT TO LINDA FERRARO, WHO IS OVER HERE ON OUR RIGHT, THE MPO SECRETARY. IF YOU WISH TO EXPRESS YOUR COMMENTS IN WRITING, THERE ARE PINK FORMS ON THE TABLE. NOW I'LL CALL ON STAFF TO GIVE A BRIEF OVERVIEW. WALLY BLAIN. >>WALLY BLAIN: GOOD MORNING. WALLY BLAIN, MPO STAFF. WHAT WE'RE BRINGING TO YOU THIS MORNING IS THE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM FOR THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR. THIS DOCUMENT WILL GO INTO EFFECT IN OCTOBER OF 2009 AND BE THE DOCUMENT THAT'S USED FOR REVIEWING TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS THROUGH THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR, THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30th OF 2010. IT IS A COMPILATION OF ALL THE TRANSPORTATION AGENCIES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY. THAT INCLUDES THE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, MUNICIPALITIES, INCLUDES OUR TRANSPORTATION PARTNERS AS HART, THE HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY EXPRESSWAY AUTHORITY, THE TAMPA PORT AUTHORITY, THE AVIATION AUTHORITY. WE ALSO HAVE PROJECTS IN HERE THROUGH THE TRANSPORTATION DISADVANTAGED COORDINATING BOARD, AND THESE ARE PROJECTS THAT WILL BE FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS. IT'S A REQUIREMENT UNDER CURRENT STATE STATUTE THAT THE MPO UPDATE THE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM EVERY YEAR, AND IT IS THE DOCUMENT THAT'S REVIEWED BY THE FEDERAL TRANSPORTATION AGENCIES WHEN THEY REVIEW PROJECTS FOR AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDS. JUST TO REVIEW SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS AND THE PRIORITIES THAT THE MPO SET LAST YEAR FOR THIS PROGRAM, UNDER THE SURFACE TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM WE HAD PROJECTS LIKE 40th STREET, TRANSPORTATION DEMAND MANAGEMENT FOR ALL OF OUR ORGANIZATIONS AT OUR WESTSHORE ALLIANCE, THE TAMPA DOWNTOWN PARTNERSHIP, BAY AREA COMMUTER SERVICES, AND NEW NORTH TAMPA TRANSPORTATION ALLIANCE. THERE'S BUS REPLACEMENTS IN HERE FOR HART, SAM ALLEN ROAD WIDENING BETWEEN STATE ROAD 39 AND PARK ROAD, AND ALSO A SEGMENT ON BRUCE B. DOWNS, WHICH IS THE NORTHERN SEGMENT FROM PEBBLE CREEK TO THE COUNTY LINE. WE ALSO HAVE A LIST OF TRANSPORTATION ENHANCEMENT PROJECTS THAT HAVE BEEN BACKLOGGED. YOU CAN SEE THESE PRIORITIES IN THE T.I.P. DOCUMENT ON PAGE -- IN TABLES 1 AND 2. WHAT I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT IS BECAUSE OF REVENUES -- AND WE'LL GET INTO THE REVENUE SITUATION IN JUST A BIT -- NONE OF THESE PRIORITIES WERE ADDED INTO THE NEW FIFTH YEAR BECAUSE OF REVENUE PROBLEMS AND NOT HAVING ENOUGH REVENUES TO PROGRAM WHAT WAS CURRENTLY IN THIS YEAR'S PROGRAM AND CARRY THAT OVER TO THE NEXT YEAR. SOME OTHER PRIORITIES THAT WERE SET FOR THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY SYSTEM INCLUDED THE CROSSTOWN CONNECTOR. WE'VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME DISCUSSING THAT, GOING THROUGH THE STIMULUS MONEY THAT'S COMING IN FOR THE CROSSTOWN CONNECTOR. ALSO I-75 FROM FOWLER AVENUE TO STATE ROAD 56 WAS A PRIORITY. OTHER STATE AND FEDERAL FUNDS, CAUSEWAY BOULEVARD, THE WIDENING BETWEEN 301 AND 41, THE EXPANSION OF ALEXANDER STREET, AND BUS RAPID TRANSIT IMPROVEMENTS EMPHASIS CORRIDORS FOR HART. SOME THINGS THAT HAVE CHANGED SINCE THE CURRENT PROGRAM AND WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR AT THE NEXT PROGRAM, SOME PROJECTS THAT HAVE BEEN ADDED ON 275, I.T.S., INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS, AS WELL AS ON I-75 IN SOUTH COUNTY. THE I-4/CROSSTOWN CONNECTOR HAS BEEN MOVED AND ADVANCED INTO THE WORK PROGRAM. THE CONSTRUCTION WILL BEGIN THE BEGINNING OF NEXT YEAR. AND THEN THERE'S A RESURFACING PROJECT ON STATE ROAD 60 BETWEEN LITHIA AND VALRICO. THIS PROJECT WAS SPECIFICALLY ADDED TO THE WORK PROGRAM BECAUSE OF CITIZEN CONCERNS AND QUESTIONS THAT HAD COME IN AND HAD BEEN RAISED OVER THAT PROJECT. THERE WERE ALSO SOME PROJECTS THAT WERE DEFERRED WITHIN THE WORK PROGRAM AND SOME THAT WERE DEFERRED OUTSIDE OF THE WORK PROGRAM. THOSE INCLUDE THE DESIGN STUDY ON THE DALE MABRY HIGHWAY FRONTAGE ROAD. THIS IS UP IN THE CHEVAL-LUTZ AREA. REGIONAL EXPRESS FOR HART. THIS WOULD BE ON THE VETERANS EXPRESSWAY IN THE WEST PART OF THE COUNTY. IT APPEARS FROM THESE NUMBERS THAT IT WAS DEFERRED TWO YEARS. HART HAS ACTUALLY RECEIVED A REGIONAL GRANT THROUGH THE STATE FOR 2011 AND 2012 INITIALLY. WHAT'S HAPPENED NOW IS THE 2011 MONEY HAS BEEN DEFERRED TO 2013, SO IT'S A DEFERRAL OF ONE YEAR, NOW IT WILL BE 2012 AND 2013. I-275 FROM STATE ROAD 60 TO THE HILLSBOROUGH RIVER HAS BEEN DEFERRED FROM 2012 TO 2014. THIS IS THE SOUTHBOUND CONSTRUCT OF WHAT'S CURRENTLY UNDERWAY RIGHT NOW IN THE NORTHBOUND DIRECTION. THE DESIGN AND RIGHT-OF-WAY ON SAM ALLEN ROAD WERE DEFERRED, AND ALSO THE RIGHT-OF-WAY -- OR THE DESIGN -- EXCUSE ME -- THE CONSTRUCTION ON STATE ROAD 574 FROM HIGHVIEW TO PARSONS WAS DEFERRED. THE REASON A LOT OF THESE DEFERRALS AND NEW PRIORITIES NOT BEING ADDED TO THE WORK PROGRAM THIS YEAR HAVE TO DO -- AT THE STATE LEVEL THERE HAVE BEEN SIX REVENUE ESTIMATING CONFERENCES SINCE JULY OF LAST YEAR. THAT'S THE STATE'S FEDERAL FISCAL YEAR. THAT RESULTED IN ABOUT A THREE AND THREE-QUARTER BILLION DOLLAR REDUCTION STATEWIDE. SO YOU CAN SEE AT THE STATE LEVEL THERE'S A LOT OF REDUCTION IN THE REVENUES. WE ALSO ARE SEEING AT THE LOCAL LEVEL A REDUCTION IN REVENUES. RIGHT NOW THE COUNTY'S TRANSPORTATION TASK FORCE IS REVIEWING A LIST OF PROJECTS ABOUT $360 MILLION IN SCOPE, EITHER DEFERRING THOSE PROJECTS OR DELETING PROPOSE PROJECTS AND MAKING DECISIONS ON HOW TO DEAL WITH THOSE PROJECTS. THAT'S GOING TO AFFECT WHAT'S IN THE T.I.P. AS FAR AS THE COUNTY AND CITY PORTIONS OF PROJECTS BECAUSE THE PROJECTS THAT ARE IN THERE NOW ARE ON THE CURRENTLY ADOPTED PROGRAMS, SO ANY CHANGES THAT ARE MADE THROUGH LOCAL GOVERNMENT DECISIONS IN THE UPCOMING BUDGET CYCLE WILL LIKELY NEED TO BE REFLECTED INTO -- AS AMENDMENTS INTO THE T.I.P. DOCUMENT. WITH ALL THAT SAID, LOOKING OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, WHAT DO WE EXPECT AS FAR AS REVENUES, THERE'S ABOUT $2.8 BILLION PLANNED TO BE SPENT ON TRANSPORTATION AT THIS POINT IN TIME FROM THE PROJECTS THAT ARE IN THERE, AND THE BULK OF THAT COMES OUT OF STATE AND FEDERAL FUNDING, SO ABOUT 50% OF THE MONEY COMES IN FROM STATE AND FEDERAL SOURCES, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS ABOUT 16%, TRANSIT ABOUT 7%, AVIATION ABOUT 2%, PORT 13%, EXPRESSWAY 10%, AND THEN THE TURNPIKE ENTERPRISE ABOUT 3%. WHAT WILL YOU SEE LIKELY IN THE NEXT YEAR, SOME PROJECTS THAT ARE COMING UP IN THE NEXT YEAR, FISCAL YEAR OF 2009- 2010? THE 40th STREET SEGMENT FROM HILLSBOROUGH TO DIANA WILL BE THE LAST SEGMENT TO GO UNDER CONSTRUCTION. SHOULD BEGIN CONSTRUCTION NEXT YEAR. BRUCE B. DOWNS FROM PALM SPRINGS TO PEBBLE CREEK IS ALREADY UNDERWAY. THE COLUMBUS DRIVE AND PLATT STREET BRIDGES, THE REHABILITATION OF THOSE BRIDGES SHOULD BE BEGINNING NEXT YEAR, AS WELL AS THE DOWNTOWN RIVERWALK, THE BROREIN SEGMENT -- THE SEGMENT FROM BROREIN TO THE USF PLAZA. THIS IS DOWN AT THE SOUTH END OF DOWNTOWN. THE I-4/SELMON CROSSTOWN EXPRESSWAY CONNECTOR. PARK ROAD BETWEEN I-4 AND SAM ALLEN ROAD WILL BEGIN. ON MARTIN LUTHER KING BOULEVARD BETWEEN HIGHVIEW AND PARSONS, THIS IS -- THE RIGHT-OF-WAY ACQUISITION WILL BEGIN NEXT YEAR, SO YOU WON'T ACTUALLY SEE CONSTRUCTION TAKE PLACE BUT THE RIGHT-OF-WAY WILL BEGIN NEGOTIATIONS. ON DALE MABRY HIGHWAY BETWEEN HILLSBOROUGH AVENUE AND WATERS AVENUE. THE RESURFACING OUT HERE IS A KEY NOTE FOR THE MPO BECAUSE WE'VE HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT SIDEWALKS ON DALE MABRY HIGHWAY. THIS RESURFACING PROJECT WILL INCLUDE THOSE SIDEWALKS AT THOSE LIMITS. THE DESIGN FOR THE INTERCHANGE BETWEEN STATE ROAD 60 AND I- 275. THIS IS THE MEMORIAL/275 INTERCHANGE. THIS WILL BE THE -- THE -- EXCUSE ME -- THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE I-275 WIDENING THAT'S GOING ON NOW AS WELL AS THE TAMPA AIRPORT INTERCHANGE PROJECT THAT'S UNDERWAY. AS WELL AS THE SELMON EXPRESSWAY, THERE WILL BE SOME DECK REPLACEMENT ON THAT FACILITY. VETERANS HIGHWAY, VETERANS EXPRESSWAY BETWEEN MEMORIAL HIGHWAY AND GUNN HIGHWAY, THE DESIGN -- THE TURNPIKE ENTERPRISE WILL BEGIN DESIGN ON THAT PROJECT. HART IS IN THE PROCESS OF IMPLEMENTING TWO BUS RAPID TRANSIT ROUTES. AT THE PORT THERE'S A DEVELOPMENT AT PORT REDWING AND ALSO AT EAST PORT, AND THEN TAMPA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IS BEGINNING THE PREPARATIONS FOR THE EXPANSION OF THE NORTH TERMINAL. WE DID GO THROUGH ALL THE COMMITTEES AS A STATUS REPORT BACK IN MAY, CAME TO THE MPO IN JUNE AS WELL FOR A STATUS REPORT. IN JUNE WE WENT TO THE COMMITTEES. AT THE CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE THEY HAD A QUESTION REGARDING MONEY BEING SPENT BY HART FOR TRANSIT SIGNAL PRIORITY PROJECTS. THEY HAD A QUESTION ABOUT THE AMOUNT OF MONEY BEING SPENT. HART HAS RESPONDED TO THAT COMMENT AND SATISFIED THE CONCERN OF THE COMMITTEE. WE ALSO PRESENTED TO THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE WHERE THEY APPROVED FORWARDING THIS TO THE MPO. WE PRESENTED TO THE POLICY COMMITTEE AS WELL AND HAVE THEIR RECOMMENDATION FOR APPROVAL THIS MORNING. WHAT WE SEEK FROM THE MPO THIS MORNING IS ADOPTION OF THE T.I.P. SO IT CAN BECOME EFFECTIVE FOR THE FISCAL YEAR OF 2009-2010. BECAUSE THIS IS ACTION ON ONE OF OUR MAJOR DOCUMENTS, IT DOES REQUIRE A ROLL CALL VOTE. AND WITH THAT I'LL CONCLUDE MY PRESENTATION. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU, WALLY. BEFORE WE OPEN IT UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OF WALLY? YES, JOE. >>JOSEPH CAETANO: HAS THE SEGMENT OF PALM SPRINGS BOULEVARD TO PEBBLE CREEK, I BELIEVE -- HAS THAT GONE OUT TO BID YET? >>WALLY BLAIN: DO YOU KNOW, NED? I BELIEVE IT HAS. I KNOW THEY'RE WORKING NOW ON THE UTILITY WORK. >>JOSEPH CAETANO: RIGHT. >>WALLY BLAIN: AS FAR AS THE OPERATIONS D THE DETAILS OF THAT, I'M NOT SURE. I BELIEVE IT HAS, THOUGH. >>JOSEPH CAETANO: OKAY. >>JOE AFFRONTI: ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS OF WALLY? OKAY. IF NOT, WE HAVE NEIL COSENTINO WHO SIGNED TO TALK TO THE MPO. >> GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE, AND THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY. FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW CAMELOT FLORIDA, MY NAME IS NEIL COSENTINO. I LIVE IN TAMPA, AND I'M A MEMBER OF CAMELOT FLORIDA. CAMELOT FLORIDA IS A PUBLIC INTEREST THINK TANK OR INSTITUTE WITH A THINK TANK, WIKIPEDIA-LIKE THINK TANK. I'M NOT THE CABLE GUY, I'M THE TRANSPORTATION GUY IN THE THINK TANK, AND I BRING TO THE TABLE TODAY SOME FACTS AND SOME VERY, VERY IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT TRANSPORTATION AND THE FUTURE OF THIS BUSINESS COMMUNITY, NOT JUST HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY BUT ALL OF TAMPA BAY, AND TO UNDERSTAND IT, I'LL READ -- THIS WAS PRINTED IN OUR NEWSPAPERS, AN EDITORIAL SECTION, AND IT SAYS, NEWER AIRCRAFT NOT FIT -- DON'T FIT AT TIA. WHAT THAT MEANS -- AND IT GOES ON TO SAY, REALITY CHECK FOR TAMPA BAY, THE BIRTHPLACE OF COMMERCIAL AVIATION AND A REALITY CHECK FOR OUR MEDIA, OUR GOVERNMENT, THE MPO, OUR REPRESENTATIVES WHO ARE ON THE MPO, THE TAMPA BAY BUSINESS TOURISM AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCILS, AND THE PLANNING DEPARTMENTS THAT TAMPA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IS A GREAT AIRPORT. WE KNOW THAT. I HAVE 6,000 HOURS OF FLYING. I'VE LANDED AT MANY AIRPORTS, AND TAMPA IS AN EXCELLENT AIRPORT, NO QUESTION ABOUT IT, BUT LAGUARDIA WAS AN EXCELLENT AIRPORT. AND IT GOES ON TO SAY, NEW YORK CITY HAD TO BUILD A NEXT- GENERATION AIRPORT BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH IT WAS A GOOD AIRPORT IN 1960, IT WASN'T GOOD ENOUGH FOR WHAT'S COMING, AND IN THOSE DAYS, IT GOES ON TO SAY, THAT AT JFK, THE NEXT-GENERATION AIRCRAFT AT THAT TIME WAS THE BOEING 707 AND THE 747, SO THE SMART PEOPLE MADE A DECISION, AND WHAT DID THEY DO? THEY WENT OUT TO IDLEWILD AIRPORT AND THEY BUILT JFK. IT IS A FACT -- NOW, THIS IS FACT NOW -- THAT THE FAA HAS DESIGNATED TAMPA INTERNATIONAL, OUR AIRPORT, AS AN ALTERNATE-ONLY AIRPORT FOR NEXT-GENERATION AIR SERVICE. ORLANDO AND MIAMI ARE THE ONLY TWO PRIMARY AIRPORTS. AND IN CONCLUSION, AS GOOD AS TIA IS, IT WILL ALWAYS BE TOO SMALL FOR PRIMARY NEXT-GENERATION AIR SERVICE, AND UNLESS WE BUILD A NEXT-GENERATION AIRPORT NEARBY, WE WILL GRADUALLY BECOME A FIRST-CLASS SECOND-TIER BUSINESS COMMUNITY, FOR NEW BUSINESS STARTUPS, EXPANSIONS, AND RELOCATIONS WILL GO TO WHERE THE BEST TRANSPORTATION IS. ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS? >>JOE AFFRONTI: ANY QUESTIONS? IF NOT, WE THANK YOU. >> MR. CHAIRMAN, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO ASK OUR MPO TO RESPOND TO THIS AND WHAT THEIR INTENTIONS ARE, WHETHER THIS IS TRUE AND INDEED WHETHER OUR WHOLE COMMUNITY UNDERSTANDS THAT UNLESS WE DO SOMETHING -- >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. >> MR. MILLER WILL BE GONE BY THAT TIME, BUT WE WILL SLOWLY AND GRADUALLY SINK INTO -- AND EVERYBODY WILL WONDER WHAT HAPPENED. WELL, IT'S RIGHT NOW THAT WE'RE AT THE CROSSROAD, AND WE'RE JUST SAYING WE'RE AT THE CROSSROAD EVERYONE. THANK YOU. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY. IS THERE ANYONE ELSE IN THE AUDIENCE THAT CARES TO ADDRESS -- THIS IS A PUBLIC HEARING. IF NOT, WE THANK YOU VERY MUCH. MPO MEMBERS HAVE ANY COMMENT? DO WE HAVE A MOTION? IT'S GOT TO BE A ROLL CALL. >> [INAUDIBLE] >> SECOND. >>JOE AFFRONTI: MOVED AND SECONDED. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? OKAY. WE'LL TAKE A ROLL CALL VOTE. >> COMMISSIONER HAGAN I BELIEVE IS ABSENT. COUNCILMAN DINGFELDER. COMMISSIONER BECKNER. >>KEVIN BECKNER: YES. >> MR. MILLER. >>LOUIS MILLER: YES. >> MAYOR LOTT. MAYOR AFFRONTI. >>JOE AFFRONTI: YES. >> COMMISSIONER SHARPE. >>MARK SHARPE: YES. >> COUNCILWOMAN MULHERN. ABSENT. COUNCILMAN SCOTT. >>TOM SCOTT: YES. >> COUNCILMAN CAETANO. >>JOSEPH CAETANO: YES. >> COMMISSIONER FERLITA. >>ROSE FERLITA: YES. >> MR. WAINIO. MR. WAGGONER. >>JOSEPH WAGGONER: YES. >> THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUS. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU VERY MUCH, AND THAT CLOSES THAT PUBLIC HEARING. THANK YOU. OKAY. IS THERE ANYONE THAT CARES TO ADDRESS THE MPO ON ANY ITEMS THAT ARE ON THE AGENDA? IF NOT, WE THANK YOU. JOE AMON OR -- OKAY. YOU DON'T LOOK LIKE JOE. >>GENA TORRES: THANK YOU. GENA TORRES, MPO STAFF, AND I'LL READ THE REPORT FOR JOE. THE CAC HELD A MEETING ON JUNE 10th, AND UNDER MEMBERS INTEREST, PIERRE MATHURIN GAVE US A SUMMARY OF SOME RESEARCH THAT HE CONDUCTED ON TRANSIT FARES IN OVER 20 AREAS WITH SIMILAR SERVICE THAT WE HAVE, AND TAMPA AND ST. PETE CONTINUE TO CHARGE HIGHER FARES THAN MOST OTHER AREAS. MR. PATRICK LEDUC MADE A SUGGESTION TO THE COMMITTEE THAT JUST AS THE CAC LED THE WAY IN SUPPORTING TRANSIT, HE THOUGHT WE SHOULD CONSIDER A NEW WAY OF APPROACHING ROADWAY PROJECTS AND CONCURRENCY. HIS EXAMPLE WAS INSTEAD OF BUILDING NEW AND HAVING DEVELOPERS SUCH AS IN THE RURAL AREA OF FISHHAWK, WE REQUIRE THE DEVELOPER TO IMPROVE FISHHAWK BOULEVARD; WHEREAS, THE IMPACTS ARE BEING FELT ON 301 AND UP INTO THE URBAN AREA, SO HE JUST WANTS THE COMMITTEE TO GIVE SOME THOUGHT TO HOW WE LOOK AT FUTURE TRANSPORTATION PLANNING. UNDER THE ACTION ITEMS FOR THE T.I.P. AMENDMENT, THEY ADD THE STIMULUS FUNDED PROJECT FOR STREETSCAPE IMPROVEMENTS ON HILLSBOROUGH AVENUE. IT PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. THEY JUST WANTED TO ADD THAT THAT PROJECT IS REALLY BENEFICIAL TO THE TOWN 'N COUNTRY RESIDENTS WHO SPENT A LOT OF TIME ON THEIR COMMUNITY PLAN, SO THE COMMITTEE FELT THEY GOT TO SEE THE FRUITS OF THEIR LABOR. FOR THE SECOND ACTION ITEM, THE T.I.P. THAT WE'VE JUST PASSED, THE COMMITTEE JUST HAD A COUPLE COMMENTS, AND THOSE WERE HANDLED WELL, BUT I JUST WANTED TO MENTION THAT THERE WAS A QUESTION ON THE HART'S TRAFFIC SIGNAL WORK, BUT HART CONFIRMED THAT THE MONEY WASN'T JUST FOR THE BRT ROUTES. THEY THOUGHT IT WAS. IT WAS FOR THE ENTIRE SYSTEM, SO THEY WERE HAPPY WITH THAT. AND THEY DID MAKE AN OBSERVATION THAT THERE SEEMS TO BE A LOT OF FUNDING, A LOT -- MUCH MORE FUNDING SHOWING IN THE OUTER YEARS, AND THEY WANTED TO MAKE SURE THERE WEREN'T GOING TO BE EXPECTATIONS THAT WEREN'T GOING TO BE MET. THAT'S JUST THE WAY THAT THIS PROGRAM WORKS, I SUPPOSE, BUT THEY JUST WANTED TO BRING THAT UP, THAT THE LATER AMOUNTS SEEM VERY HIGH. UNDER SOME STATUS REPORTS, COMMUNICATING AIR QUALITY HEALTH RISKS AROUND THE AIRPORT, WE JUST WERE ENCOURAGED FROM A CONSULTANT WORKING WITH THE AIRPORT TO NOT ALWAYS JUST LISTEN TO THE MEDIA WHEN THEY REPORT ON POOR AIR QUALITY AROUND THE AIRPORT BUT TO PAY MORE ATTENTION TO THE SOURCES OF INFORMATION AND NOT BECOME ALARMED. WE ALSO HEARD ABOUT THE COUNTY'S WATERBORNE TAXI PROJECT, AND THAT'S VERY EXCITING. THE COMMITTEE WAS HAPPY TO SEE, YOU KNOW, THAT IT IS ALSO SUPPORTED BY THE TBARTA PLAN AND THE MPO'S LONG-RANGE TRANSPORTATION PLAN, THAT WE LOOK AT WATER TAXI AS A POSSIBLE OPTION FOR LOCAL AND REGIONAL MOBILITY, AND THEY ARE INTERESTED TO SEE WHERE THE FIRST PHASE OF THE STUDY WILL BE FOCUSED, BUT THAT'S WHAT THE STUDY WILL DETERMINE, AND THE CAC WILL CONTINUE TO RECEIVE UPDATES ON THAT. THE TASK FORCE FOR THE -- HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY'S TASK FORCE, THE CAC WAS BRIEFLY UPDATED ON THAT PROJECT, AND THEY JUST WANTED TO SAY HOW EFFECTIVE -- SEVERAL OF THE MEMBERS HAD GONE TO THOSE MEETINGS, AND THEY WERE REALLY HAPPY AT HOW EFFECTIVE THOSE MEETINGS WERE RUN AND HOW THEY NOW UNDERSTAND BETTER THE ROLES OF THE TASK FORCE AND TBARTA AND THE MPO AND HART, SO THEY'RE VERY SUPPORTIVE OF THAT WORK. THE INTERMODAL FEASIBILITY STUDY WAS ALSO PRESENTED. THIS IS A STUDY THAT THE D.O.T. HAD DONE PREVIOUSLY LOOKING AT A COUPLE SITES, THREE SITES FOR POSSIBLE INTERMODAL CENTERS, AND NOW THEY'RE GOING TO BE DOING A FOLLOW-UP STUDY. THE CAC JUST WANTED TO EMPHASIZE THAT THE LOCATION OF THOSE INTERMODAL CENTERS MUST TIE INTO ALL THE RAIL ALIGNMENTS THAT MAY COME, HIGH-SPEED RAIL AND LIGHT RAIL, TO AVOID HAVING PEOPLE HAVING TO TRANSFER. THE LAST PRESENTATION WAS A LEGISLATIVE UPDATE, AND THE MEMBERS WERE JUST INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE DCA, SECRETARY PELHAM'S VIRTUAL FORUM, TO HEAR AN UPDATE ON SENATE BILL 360. AND THE NEXT CAC MEETING IS TOMORROW, JULY 15th, AND IT'S ON THE 14th FLOOR OF THE COUNTY CENTER AND NOT ON OUR FLOOR. THANK YOU. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU, GENA. ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FOR GENA? IF NOT, WE THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY. NEXT, TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE. NED. >>NED BAIER: GOOD MORNING. NED BAIER, CHAIRMAN OF THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE, HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY STAFF. WE MET ON JUNE 15th WITH A QUORUM, AND WE DID TAKE ACTION ON SOMETHING YOU'RE CONSIDERING IN YOUR CONSENT AGENDA ITEM. IT'S AN AMENDMENT TO THE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM. IT'S AN AMENDMENT FOR FEDERAL DISCRETIONARY FUNDING OUT OF THE TRANSPORTATION COMMUNITY AND SYSTEM PRESERVATION PROGRAM IN THE AMOUNT OF $237,000. THERE'S ALSO OVER A HALF MILLION DOLLARS OF LOCAL MONEY GOING INTO THAT PROGRAM, AND IT'S FOR A STREETSCAPING PROGRAM ON HILLSBOROUGH AVENUE THAT'S BEEN SUPPORTED BY HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY. IT'S ALSO CONSISTENT WITH THE TOWN 'N COUNTRY COMMUNITY PLAN. IT'S A VERY POPULAR PROGRAM IN THAT COMMUNITY. THIS WILL BE IN THE 2010 PROGRAM. WE ALSO HEARD DIFFERENT PRESENTATIONS ON A VARIETY OF TOPICS, INCLUDING THE AVIATION AUTHORITY CONSULTANT, WHICH WAS REALLY WORK WELL DONE WITH NADINE JONES. WE ALSO HEARD A PRESENTATION FROM THE COUNTY'S TRANSPORTATION TASK FORCE WHICH YOU'RE WELL AWARE OF. WE ALSO HEARD A PRESENTATION ON FEDERAL FUNDING FOR WATER FERRY SERVICES IN THE AREA THAT'S PART OF THE COUNTY PROGRAM OF THE BOARD, BUT IT'S ALSO PART OF THE TBARTA MASTER PLAN AND ALSO PART OF THE LONG-RANGE TRANSPORTATION PLAN, AND WE HEARD THE STATUS ON THAT. AND WE ALSO HEARD A PRESENTATION ON THE INTERMODAL CENTER STUDY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND AGAIN JUST THE IMPORTANCE OF COORDINATING THE HIGH-SPEED RAIL PROGRAM WITH THE TBARTA PLAN AND THEN THE LOCAL HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY RAIL PLAN. THE NEXT TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE IS ON JULY 20th, AND THAT'S ON THE PLANNING COMMISSION BOARDROOM ON THE 18th FLOOR AT 1:30. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU, NED. >>NED BAIER: THANK YOU. >>JOE AFFRONTI: ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FOR NED? IF NOT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY. POLICY COMMITTEE. COMMISSIONER FERLITA. >>ROSE FERLITA: THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. THE POLICY COMMITTEE MET ON JUNE 23rd ON THE 26th FLOOR OF THE COUNTY CENTER BUILDING. THE MINUTES OF THE MAY 26, '09, COMMITTEE MEETING WERE APPROVED AS SUBMITTED. THE ACTION ITEMS, AMENDMENT OF THE CURRENT T.I.P.: HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY HAS APPLIED AND RECEIVED DISCRETIONARY FEDERAL FUNDS UNDER THE TRANSPORTATION COMMUNITY AND SYSTEM PRESERVATION -- TCSP -- PROGRAM IN THE AMOUNT OF 237,500 AND 512,020 OF LOCAL FUNDS FOR FY 2010 FOR HILLSBOROUGH AVENUE. THE POLICY COMMITTEE APPROVED AND FORWARDED THE AMENDMENT TO THE FULL MPO FOR ACTION AT TODAY'S MEETING. T.I.P. FOR FY 09-10/FY 13-14 APPROVED AND FORWARDED AMENDMENT TO THE FULL MPO FOR ACTION AT TODAY'S PUBLIC HEARING. 2009 FHWA/FTA DRAFT CERTIFICATION REPORT: ACCEPTED CERTIFICATION REPORT, AND THAT AS WELL WAS FORWARDED TO THE MPO FOR APPROVAL AT TODAY'S MEETING. STATUS REPORTS: HEARD PRESENTATIONS FROM STAFF ON THE 2035 LONG-RANGE TRANSPORTATION PLAN REVENUES AND NEXT STEPS AS WELL AS UPDATE ON LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES. AS A REMINDER, IN CLOSING, THE NEXT POLICY COMMITTEE MEETING IS SCHEDULED FOR JULY 28th AT 9:00 A.M. IN THE PLANNING COMMISSION BOARDROOM, AND AS ALWAYS, ALL MPO MEMBERS ARE INVITED TO ATTEND. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER FERLITA. ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? IF NOT, WE THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY. WE HAVE TWO ITEMS ON THE CONSENT AGENDA. ONE IS THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FOR THE JUNE 2nd, 2009, MEETING AND ALSO THE AMENDMENT FOR THE CURRENT TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM. THAT -- THE AMENDMENT HAD BEEN VOTED ON BY THE POLICY COMMITTEE ON JUNE 23rd TO APPROVE, CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON JUNE 10th TO APPROVE, AND TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON JUNE 15th TO APPROVE, SO IF ANY OF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE WALLY ADDRESS THAT, WE COULD DO THAT. OTHERWISE WE'RE GOING TO NEED A ROLL CALL VOTE FOR ITS APPROVAL. ANY -- ANYBODY -- >> MOVE APPROVAL. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE. >> SECOND. >>JOE AFFRONTI: MOVED AND SECONDED. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ROLL CALL VOTE. >> COUNCILMAN DINGFELDER. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: YES. >> COMMISSIONER BECKNER. >>KEVIN BECKNER: YES. >> MR. MILLER. >>LOUIS MILLER: YES. >> MR. AFFRONTI. >>JOE AFFRONTI: YES. >> COMMISSIONER SHARPE. >>MARK SHARPE: YES. >> COUNCILMAN SCOTT. >>TOM SCOTT: YES. >> COUNCILMAN CAETANO. >>JOSEPH CAETANO: YES. >> COMMISSIONER FERLITA. >>ROSE FERLITA: YES. >> MR. WAGGONER. >>JOSEPH WAGGONER: YES. >> THE VOTE IS UNANIMOUS. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY. HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY MPO CERTIFICATION. SHAKIRA CRANDOL. I HOPE I PRONOUNCED THAT CORRECTLY. >> GOOD MORNING. MY NAME IS SHAKIRA CRANDOL. I'M WITH THE FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION. >>JOE AFFRONTI: CLOSE. >> YOU WERE CLOSE. AND I'M -- IT IS MY PLEASURE TO BE HERE WITH YOU TODAY TO PRESENT THE 2009 FEDERAL CERTIFICATION REVIEW FINDINGS FOR THE HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY MPO. I WILL BEGIN THIS PRESENTATION BY PROVIDING A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE PURPOSES, PROCESSES, AND EXPECTED OUTCOMES OF THE CERTIFICATION REVIEW, AND I WILL CLOSE THIS PRESENTATION BY HIGHLIGHTING THE NOTEWORTHY PRACTICES AND RECOMMENDATIONS THAT RESULTED FROM THE REVIEW. THE FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION AND FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION REQUIRES US TO JOINTLY CERTIFY THE TRANSPORTATION PLANNING PROCESSES FOR TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT AREAS WITH POPULATIONS OF 200,000 OR MORE. THE TAMPA BAY TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT AREA IS -- CONSISTS OF THE HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION, THE PASCO COUNTY METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION, AND THE PINELLAS COUNTY METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION, AND WE'RE REQUIRED TO JOINTLY CERTIFY TMAs EVERY FOUR YEARS. THE PURPOSE IS TO ENSURE THAT TMAs ARE FOLLOWING FEDERAL POLICIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS AND PROCEDURES IN DEVELOPING THEIR TRANSPORTATION PLANNING PROCESS. THIS REVIEW CONSISTS OF THREE PRIMARY ACTIVITIES. IF A FEW OF YOU-ALL WOULD RECALL I WAS WITH YOU IN FEBRUARY, FEBRUARY 3rd AND 4th OF THIS YEAR, AND I WAS JOINED BY A MEMBER OF THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION, MS. ELIZABETH MARTIN, AND ANOTHER MEMBER OF THE FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, MS. TAMARA CHRISTION, WHO COULD NOT BE WITH US HERE TODAY. THE PURPOSE OF THIS SITE VISIT IS TO PROVIDE OPPORTUNITY FOR THE PUBLIC TO COMMENT ON THE TRANSPORTATION PLANNING PROCESS. THERE WAS A PUBLIC MEETING THAT WAS HELD ON FEBRUARY 3rd BEFORE THE POLICY BOARD MEETING, AND THERE WAS AN ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITY PROVIDED TO THE PUBLIC ON FEBRUARY 3rd AT 6:00 P.M.; HOWEVER, THERE WERE NOT ANY COMMENTS RECEIVED AT THAT TIME. AND WE JUST SIT WITH THE STAFF FOR A DAY AND A HALF AND WE DISCUSS THE TRANSPORTATION PLANNING PROCESSES OF THE MPO. WE MEET WITH MEMBERS FROM FDOT, LOCAL PUBLIC TRANSIT AGENCIES. THERE'S A DESK AUDIT THAT OCCURS BEFORE WE COME FOR WHICH WE SUBMIT QUESTIONS TO THE METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION, AND WE DISCUSS THOSE RESPONSES TO THE QUESTIONS, AFTER WHICH THERE IS A REPORT THAT IS PREPARED BY THE FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION FEDERAL TRANSIT. THAT REPORT TAKES A FEW MONTHS BECAUSE THERE ARE REVISIONS. WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF THE INFORMATION COMPRISED IN THE REPORT IS ACCURATE, AND THEN THERE IS A CLOSE-OUT PRESENTATION, WHICH I'M PROVIDING FOR YOU TODAY. MAJOR OBJECTIVES OF THE CERTIFICATION REVIEW IS TO ENSURE THAT THERE IS A 3-C -- CONTINUING, COOPERATIVE, AND COMPREHENSIVE -- PROCESS; ENSURE THAT TRANSPORTATION PLANNING PROCESSES ARE INTERMODAL IN SCOPE, INTERRELATED, AND BASED ON CURRENT INFORMATION; ENSURING THAT REQUIREMENTS AND OBJECTIVES OF APPLICABLE FEDERAL LAWS ARE FOLLOWED AS APPROPRIATE; AND ENSURING THAT ISSUES OR CORRECTIVE ACTIONS RAISED DURING THE PREVIOUS REPORT HAVE BEEN ADDRESSED. NOW FOR THE GOOD NEWS. BASED ON THE OVERALL FINDINGS, THE FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION AND THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION JOINTLY CERTIFIED THAT THE TRANSPORTATION PLANNING PROCESSES OF THE TAMPA BAY TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT AREA, INCLUDING THE HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY MPO, SUBSTANTIALLY MEETS THE FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS AS INDICATED IN 23 CFR 450, SUBPART "C," SUBJECT TO THE PASCO COUNTY MPO SATISFACTORILY ADDRESSING THE CORRECTIVE ACTION IDENTIFIED IN THIS CORRECTIVE REPORT -- IN THE CERTIFICATION REPORT, EXCUSE ME. THE CERTIFICATION WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT UNTIL JUNE 2013, AND WHAT THIS BASICALLY MEANS IS BECAUSE HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY IS PART OF A LARGER TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT AREA, THEY ARE CERTIFIED JOINTLY, AND SO THE CERTIFICATION -- THE CORRECTIVE ACTION FOR THE PASCO COUNTY IS SUBJECT TO BE CORRECTED BY MARCH 2010 HOPEFULLY, AND AT THAT POINT WE WILL BE ABLE TO CERTIFY THE ENTIRE TMA. NOW I'M GOING TO HIGHLIGHT A FEW NOTEWORTHY PRACTICES THAT CAME AS A RESULT OF THIS REVIEW. BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN: THE HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY MPO IS COMMENDED FOR ITS EFFORTS RELATED TO BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN PLANNING. IN ADDITION TO A DETAILED COMPREHENSIVE PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE PLAN, THE MPO HAS PARTNERED WITH CUTR, CENTER FOR URBAN TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH, FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN MAP. THE MPO ALSO FEATURES A BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN NEWSLETTER ON THEIR WEB SITE ENTITLED "BIKE-PED NEWS" AND HAS A VERY ACTIVE BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE THAT IS FULLY ENGAGED IN THE TRANSPORTATION PLANNING PROCESS. TRANSIT: THE MPO IS COMMENDED FOR THE CREATION OF THE RIDE GUIDE, YOUR GUIDE TO GETTING A RIDE IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY. THE RIDE GUIDE IS A BROCHURE THAT IS FILLED WITH A COMPREHENSIVE LISTING OF SERVICES THAT MAY BE USED FOR THE TRANSPORTATION DISADVANTAGED. PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT: THE MPO IS COMMENDED FOR THEIR PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES. THE FEDERAL REVIEW TEAM BELIEVES THAT THE MPO HAS GONE ABOVE AND BEYOND IN DEVELOPING TECHNIQUES IN A CLEAR AND EASILY ACCESSIBLE FORMAT SUCH AS MAPS, PICTURES, AND/OR DISPLAYS TO PROMOTE IMPROVED UNDERSTANDING OF THE EXISTING OR PROPOSED TRANSPORTATION PLANNING PROCESSES. OF SPECIAL NOTE IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE JOY OF LOOKING BROCHURE. THIS JOY OF LOOKING IS A CREATIVE BROCHURE WHICH UTILIZES COOKING AND FOOD REFERENCES TO EXPLAIN THE ROLE, PURPOSE, AND BENEFIT OF MANY ASPECTS OF THE PLANNING PROCESS. THE MPO IS COMMENDED FOR THE UPDATE TO THEIR PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PLAN. LIKE MANY OF THE DOCUMENTS USED IN THE STAFF'S PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT TOOLBOX, THE MPO'S PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PLAN IS A VERY COMPREHENSIVE DOCUMENT THAT INCLUDES GRAPHICS AND EASY-TO-UNDERSTAND TERMINOLOGY. THE MPO'S COMMENDED FOR ITS PUBLIC OUTREACH ACTIVITIES RELATED TO TRANSIT. THE MPO CONDUCTED A SERIES OF TRANSIT CONCEPT WORKSHOPS USED TO ENGAGE THE PUBLIC IN ASSESSING THEIR PREFERENCES FOR TRANSIT. THE MPO -- TRANSPORTATION AND LAND USE: THE MPO PREPARES - - THE MPO PREPARES FOR THE UPDATE TO ITS 2035 LRTP, THE FEDERAL REVIEW TEAM COMMENDS THE MPO FOR THEIR EFFORTS IN CONNECTING TRANSPORTATION AND LAND USE AND THEIR EMPHASIS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF LIVABLE COMMUNITIES. IF YOU-ALL WILL RECALL, THE CERTIFICATION REVIEW REPORT IS DIVIDED INTO THREE SECTIONS. THERE IS A FOURTH SUBSECTION, AND THE FOURTH SUBSECTION IS RELATED TO REGIONAL COORDINATION. I WOULD LIKE TO ALSO COMMEND THE HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY MPO STAFF FOR THEIR EFFORTS RELATED TO REGIONAL COORDINATION. THE FEDERAL REVIEW TEAM NOTED THAT REGIONAL COORDINATION WORKS WELL FOR THIS AREA AND ENSURES INTERRELATEDNESS AND MULTIMODAL SCOPE FOR THE ENTIRE AREA. AND NOW FOR A FEW RECOMMENDATIONS. I ALWAYS LIKE TO INFORM BOARDS THAT RECOMMENDATIONS ARE GIVEN FOR THESE CERTIFICATION REVIEWS BECAUSE IT INCLUDES - - IT IMPROVES THE TRANSPORTATION PLANNING PROCESS, SO THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A FEW RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO OFFER THE STAFF JUST TO MAKE THEM BETTER. AIR QUALITY: THE FEDERAL REVIEW TEAM RECOMMENDS THAT THE MPO CONTINUE TO MONITOR AND TAKE NECESSARY STEPS TO MEET CONFORMANCY DEADLINES. IF SO DESIGNATED AS A NONATTAINMENT AREA FOR GROUND-LEVEL OZONE, THE MPO WOULD NEED TO REVISE THE LRTP TO MEET CONFORMANCY STANDARDS. FREIGHT: THE PLANNING REGULATION'S EMPHASIS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF INCORPORATING PROVIDERS OF FREIGHT AND FREIGHT STAKEHOLDERS IN A PLANNING PROCESS AND THE UPCOMING UPDATE OF THE MPO'S LRTP, THE FEDERAL REVIEW TEAM RECOMMENDS THE CREATION OF A FREIGHT COMMITTEE OR OTHER PROCESS TO INCORPORATE THE FREIGHT PERSPECTIVE IN THE PLANNING PROCESS. THE MPO IS PART OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION'S DISASTER RECOVERY PLAN, AND IN THE EVENT THAT THE MPO WAS DESTROYED, THEY WOULD OPERATE UNDER THE COMMISSION'S GUIDELINES. AS IT RELATES TO SECURITY, THE FEDERAL REVIEW TEAM WOULD LIKE TO RECOMMEND THAT THE HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY MPO ENCOURAGE ITS -- DEVELOP A STAND-ALONE COOP. PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT: IN ACCORDANCE WITH 23 CFR 450.316 SUBPART A(1)(X), THE HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY MPO NEEDS TO MODIFY THE EVALUATION PROCESS TO ADEQUATELY EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THEIR INNOVATIVE TOOLS BEING USED. IN THE PREVIOUS CERTIFICATION REPORT, THE TEAM RECOMMENDED THAT THE STAFF CONTINUE THEIR EFFORTS TO ACHIEVE CITIZEN REPRESENTATION OF THE MPO'S ADVISORY COMMITTEES THAT REFLECTS THE COMPOSITION OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY. RECOGNIZING THAT THIS EFFORT MAY NOT BE THE EASIEST TASK, THE FEDERAL REVIEW TEAM STRONGLY ENCOURAGES THE MPO STAFF TO FOCUS THEIR EFFORTS AND DEVELOP A STRATEGY TO ACHIEVE THIS GOAL. TRIBAL COORDINATION. THE FEDERAL REVIEW TEAM RECOMMENDS THAT THE MPO MAINTAIN DOCUMENTATION OF I: COORDINATION AND CONSULTATION EFFORTS WITH LOCAL INDIAN TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS AND FEDERAL LAND MANAGEMENT AGENCIES. ENVIRONMENTAL COORDINATION: THE PLANNING REGULATIONS REQUIRE THAT LONG-RANGE TRANSPORTATION PLANS BE DEVELOPED IN CONSULTATION WITH STATE, TRIBAL, AND LOCAL AGENCIES RESPONSIBLE FOR LAND USE MANAGEMENT, NATURAL RESOURCES, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, CONSERVATION, AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT THE MPO EXPAND ITS CURRENT EFFORTS OF CONSULTATION. CONGESTION MANAGEMENT PROCESS: DURING THE REVIEW, THE STAFF WAS ASKED ABOUT THEIR PROCESS FOR EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE CMP. THE HILLSBOROUGH MPO SHOULD DEVELOP A PROCESS FOR MONITORING AND EVALUATING THE PERFORMANCE OF THE -- OF THEIR MULTIMODAL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM. THERE WERE NO CORRECTIVE ACTIONS IDENTIFIED DURING THIS REVIEW. IN SUMMARY, THE HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY MPO CONTINUES TO CONSISTENTLY DELIVER ON THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE TRANSPORTATION PLANNING PROCESS. THE MPO STAFF IS COMMENDED FOR THEIR COMMITMENT TO QUALITY AND ENSURING THAT THE PRODUCTS OF THE TRANSPORTATION PLANNING PROCESS ARE SERVING THE MEMBERS OF THE URBANIZED AREA. YOUR STAFF IS DOING A VERY GOOD JOB. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, YOU CAN ASK THEM AT THIS TIME. >>JOE AFFRONTI: YES, KEVIN. >>KEVIN BECKNER: THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. WELL, THANK YOU FOR THAT GREAT, COMPREHENSIVE REPORT. SO IT LOOKS LIKE THAT OVERALL WE'RE DOING A -- AN EXTRAORDINARILY GOOD JOB IN THE PLANNING PROCESS. DOES THAT GOOD JOB STICKER COME WITH A CHECK FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOR TRANSIT DOLLARS? [LAUGHTER] >> I KNEW I LEFT SOMETHING IN TALLAHASSEE. [LAUGHTER] >>KEVIN BECKNER: THANK YOU. >>JOE AFFRONTI: ANY OTHER COMMENTS? WELL, I GUESS THAT'S REALLY A TESTIMONY OF THE WONDERFUL JOB THAT OUR STAFF IS DOING, SO WE COMPLIMENT RAY AND ALL THE STAFF WHO'S DOING THIS GREAT JOB FOR US. WE APPRECIATE THAT VERY MUCH. >> THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. >>JOE AFFRONTI: AND THANK YOU SO MUCH. OKAY. THAT'S AN ACTION ITEM. WE NEED A MOTION TO APPROVE THE REPORT. >>ROSE FERLITA: SO MOVE. >> SECOND. >> SECOND. >>JOE AFFRONTI: MOVED AND SECONDED. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. [CHORUS OF AYES] OPPOSED. MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU. OKAY. THE NEXT IS THE WESTSHORE AREA PEDESTRIAN SYSTEM PLAN ADDENDUM. LAUREN BROOKS. >> CHRIS WEBER. GOOD MORNING. CHRIS WEBER, WESTSHORE ALLIANCE. I'M TECHNICALLY CHALLENGED [AUDIO INTERFERENCE] APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME OUT HERE THIS MORNING TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT OUR PEDESTRIAN PLAN. THANK YOU. SOME OF YOU HAVE PROBABLY SEEN THIS BRIEFING ONCE, TWICE, SO I'LL TRY TO GO THROUGH IT AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN. BASICALLY WE DID THIS BECAUSE WE HAVE A 2005 STUDY THAT REALLY JUST COVERED THE ESSENTIAL BUSINESS DISTRICT, SO WE WANTED TO EXPAND THAT TO COVER THE ENTIRE WESTSHORE AREA AND ALSO BECAUSE WE WANTED TO SPEND OUR SPECIAL ASSESSMENT FUNDS FOR PEDESTRIAN IMPROVEMENTS, WHICH WE'RE STARTING TO DO. IN ORDER TO DO THAT, WE HAD TO EXPAND THE PLAN TO COVER THE ENTIRE WESTSHORE AREA. URS WAS THE CONTRACTOR. THEY DID A GREAT JOB ON THIS PLAN. ONE OF THE OTHER PURPOSES IS IF YOU LOOK AT THE PHOTOS -- THIS IS SOME OF THE CONDITIONS WE HAVE OUT IN WESTSHORE. OBVIOUSLY WE WOULD LIKE TO IMPROVE THAT, AND THAT'S ONE OF OUR GOALS. WE HAVE A LOT OF THOSE -- UNFORTUNATELY, WE HAVE A LOT MORE OF THESE PICTURES THAN WE DO HAVE GOOD PICTURES, SO -- AND THAT'S -- THAT'S THE STUDY AREA THERE JUST VERY QUICKLY. IN YELLOW IS WHAT WE EXPANDED IT TO. IT INCLUDES ROCKY POINT AND ALL THAT OVER THERE BY HIMES. THE COMPONENTS OF THE PLAN ARE FAIRLY SIMPLE. WE WANTED TO FIND OUT EXACTLY WHAT WE HAD, EXISTING CONDITIONS. FROM THERE WE WANTED TO GO TO A NEEDS ASSESSMENT, SEE, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE NEEDED. WE HAD AN ON-LINE SURVEY. WE TALKED TO THE COMMITTEES, NEIGHBORHOOD COMMITTEES AND YOUR COMMITTEES HERE. WE WANTED TO COME UP WITH A PRIORITIZED IMPLEMENTATION PLAN AND ALSO SOME DESIGN GUIDELINES. WE HAD ALL THE TYPES, SIDEWALKS, INTERSECTIONS, BIKEWAYS, TRANSIT STOPS, GATEWAYS, AREA EMPHASIS. WE LOOKED AT ALL THOSE TYPES. THEN WE WENT TO -- THIS IS KIND OF JUST A SAMPLE OF WHAT I WANT TO SHOW YOU, THE DETAIL, NETWORK ASSESSMENT. THIS IS FOR SIDEWALKS. IF YOU LOOK AT THAT, IT COVERS DALE MABRY TO HIMES NORTH AND SOUTH AND KENNEDY TO I-275, SO THAT RECTANGLE WE SPLIT INTO SEGMENTS. IF YOU NOTICE UP AT THE TOP, SEGMENT 10.1 -- I'LL GO TO THE NEXT ONE. FAIRLY DETAILED. IF YOU LOOK UP AT THE LEFT, IT SAYS SEGMENT 10.1. IT GOES ALL THE WAY OVER, TALKS ABOUT SIDEWALKS, CROSSWALKS, PEDESTRIANS, SIGNING. SO YOU CAN SEE HOW DETAILED WE GOT ON THIS DATABASE, AND THAT'S REALLY WHAT WE WANTED. SO HOW DO WE PRIORITIZE THIS STUFF? THAT'S WHAT WE LOOKED AT. COMMUNITY SUPPORT, SCHOOL PRESENCE, BUS STOPS. ALL THOSE ITEMS THERE, WE ACTUALLY GAVE THEM NUMBERS. WE ACTUALLY GAVE LIKE DRAINAGE CONFLICT A NEGATIVE NUMBER SO WE COULD KIND OF COME UP AND SEE WHAT WE COULD DO. THIS IS, AGAIN, JUST ANOTHER EXAMPLE. SIDEWALK ENHANCEMENTS. IT COVERS THE WHOLE AREA. IF YOU LOOK IN RED, THAT'S WHAT WE DEEMED AS PRIORITY ONE. THEY HAVE LITTLE NUMBERS TO THEM, LIKE S-1 IS UP ON TOP, UP AT HILLSBOROUGH AVENUE. THE NEXT ONE, REALLY HARD TO READ, BUT THE S-1 UP ON TOP GOES ALL THE WAY ACROSS, TELLS US HOW LONG IT IS, WHERE THE SIDEWALK IS, WHAT'S MISSING, SO VERY DETAILED PLAN THERE. SO I DON'T WANT TO BORE YOU ANYMORE, BUT THIS IS BASICALLY WHAT WE -- THE ACTION PLAN THAT WE HAD. WE DID TALK TO ALL THE NEIGHBORHOODS. WE'RE HERE. WE WERE AT THE CITY ONCE. WE'RE GOING BACK AFTER WE TALK TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD, AND WE'D APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT. ANY QUESTIONS? >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU. ANY -- ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU VERY MUCH. >> THANK YOU. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THE CITIZENS ADVISORY COUNCIL RECOMMENDED APPROVAL BY CONSENSUS. THEY DIDN'T HAVE A QUORUM. THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY COUNCIL SAID THE -- RECOMMENDED THAT THE WESTSHORE PEDESTRIAN PLAN PROJECTS BE SUBMITTED TO THE CITY OF TAMPA FOR CONSIDERATION WITH OTHER CITY NEEDS. FURTHERMORE THAT THE PROJECTS BE CONSIDERED FOR INCLUSION IN THE MPO PLAN. A MOTION WAS PASSED TO FORWARD THE ADDENDUM WITH THE ABOVE COMMENTS TO THE MPO BOARD FOR CONSIDERATION. SO WITH THAT, WE -- IT'S AN ACTION -- YES, MR. DINGFELDER. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: THANK YOU. APPRECIATE THE HARD WORK OF THE ALLIANCE. MR. CHIARAMONTE, WHAT FISCAL RAMIFICATIONS ARE THERE ASSOCIATED WITH APPROVAL OF THIS, AND ALSO, DOES IT TIE THE CITY'S HANDS IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, ANY TYPE OF RANKING OR IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE MIGHT WANT TO BE MAKING IN THE ALLIANCE AREA? YOU KNOW, IN OTHER WORDS, IF THERE WAS SOMETHING THE CITY THOUGHT WAS A GREATER PRIORITY THAT THE ALLIANCE HAD NOT SUBMITTED, DOES IT NECESSARILY TIE THE CITY'S HANDS? >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: I'LL PROBABLY ASK STAFF TO HELP ME WITH THIS, BUT I DON'T BELIEVE THAT IT TIES THE CITY'S HANDS. THIS IS THE WESTSHORE ALLIANCE'S RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE PLANNING, GIVES THEM GUIDANCE ON WHAT THEY FEEL IS IMPORTANT, BUT THEY'LL HAVE TO GO TO THE CITY, AND THE CITY WILL HAVE TO AGREE TO THE PARTICULAR PROJECTS. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: IT'S NOT LIKE IT'S GOING IN ANY MASTER LONG-TERM PLAN OF OURS THAT WOULD TIE EVERYBODY'S HANDS AND WOULD HAVE TO BE AMENDED OTHERWISE? >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: WHAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING IS THAT THIS PLAN BE USED AS A GUIDELINE THAT WOULD HELP THE CITY PICK PROJECTS, BUT I DON'T BELIEVE THAT IT TIES THEIR HANDS AND SAYS THAT THEY HAVE TO DO THESE. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: CAN WE ASK YOUR STAFF TO CONFIRM THAT? >> IT DOES NOT. WE DID NOT DESIGN IT THAT WAY. WE DON'T WANT TO TIE ANYBODY'S HANDS. BASICALLY THESE ARE JUST RECOMMENDATIONS, AND IF IT'S IN YOUR LONG-TERM PLAN, IT'S JUST A RECOMMENDATION ON WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE. WE PRIORITIZED IT JUST FOR US BASICALLY FOR OUR SPECIAL ASSESSMENT FUNDS. THAT'S THE WAY -- THAT'S KIND OF THE WAY WE WANT TO SPEND OUR SPECIAL ASSESSMENT FUNDS. IT DOES NOT TIE THE CITY OR THE COUNTY TO ANY PLAN. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: THANK YOU. >>JOE AFFRONTI: ANY OTHER -- ANY OTHER COMMENTS, QUESTIONS? IF NOT, THAT'S ALSO AN ACTION ITEM FOR US -- >> MOVE APPROVAL. >> SECOND. >>JOE AFFRONTI: MOVED AND SECONDED. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. [CHORUS OF AYES] OPPOSED. MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY. CHAIRMAN'S REPORT. SORRY ABOUT THAT. LIVABLE ROADWAYS. GENA. >>GENA TORRES: THANK YOU. GENA TORRES AGAIN, MPO STAFF. THE LIVABLE ROADWAYS COMMITTEE MET ON JANUARY -- ON JUNE 24th, AND WE RECEIVED A PRESENTATION FROM HART ON THEIR NEW STARTS PROJECT, AND WE LEARNED ABOUT THEIR PREVIOUS EFFORT IN 2002 AND HOW THAT HELPED ADVANCE THIS PROJECT, BUT THERE'S STILL A LOT OF WORK TO BE DONE TO VERIFY THE ALIGNMENT AND THE SIDE ON TECHNOLOGY. AT FIRST GLANCE, IT APPEARS THAT THE EXISTING CSX LINE FROM USF TO DOWNTOWN WILL MAKE THE MOST SENSE ECONOMICALLY AND LOGISTICALLY. THERE WERE COMMENTS THAT UNLIKE SUNRAIL IN ORLANDO, OUR CSX LINE CARRIES CONSIDERABLY LESS FREIGHT. THE COMMITTEE WILL RECEIVE UPDATES AS THE PROJECT PROGRESSES. OUR SECOND PRESENTATION WAS D.O.T. GAVE AN UPDATE ON THE COURTNEY CAMPBELL CAUSEWAY, FIRST TO ANNOUNCE THE 75th ANNIVERSARY OF ITS OPENING, WHICH WAS THE FOLLOWING DAY FROM THIS MEETING. THAT WAS -- IT WAS REALLY HOT OUT, BUT IT WAS AN EXCITING EVENT. THE MONUMENT WAS UNVEILED, AND WE HAD SOME SPEAKERS FROM BOTH SIDES OF THE BAY, AND IT'S A VERY COOPERATIVE PROJECT. AND SECONDLY, WE RECEIVED THE NEWS, THE GREAT NEWS THAT THE D.O.T.'S GOING TO BE RESURFACING PORTIONS OF THE COURTNEY CAMPBELL, PRETTY EXTENSIVE PORTIONS, AND THEY'RE BUILDING A MULTIUSE TRAIL ALONG WITH THAT RESURFACING PROJECT, SO WE WERE -- THE COMMITTEE WANTED TO COMMEND LEE ROYAL, LORI SNIVELY. THE D.O.T. IS DOING A GREAT JOB TO TRY TO PROMOTE LIVABLE ROADWAY GUIDELINES AND MULTIMODAL TRANSPORTATION. THE NEXT -- THE LIVABLE ROADWAYS MEETING FOR JULY WAS CANCELED, BUT OUR NEXT MEETING WILL BE ON AUGUST 26th. >>JOE AFFRONTI: ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FOR GENA? YES, MR. DINGFELDER. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: THANK YOU. THANK YOU, GENA. THE -- IN REGARD TO THE BAYSHORE, THE -- I CAN'T REMEMBER IF IT WAS THE CITY OR OTHER FOLKS LIKE YOURSELF ORGANIZED SOME PUBLIC MEETINGS RECENTLY ABOUT POTENTIAL ENHANCEMENTS TO THE BAYSHORE AND THE ADDITION OF A BIKE LANE GOING -- WHAT IS IT? -- SOUTHBOUND? >>GENA TORRES: RIGHT. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: WHICH I'M SURE YOU'VE BEEN DEEPLY INVOLVED WITH FOR MANY YEARS. BUT OBVIOUSLY THE ISSUE OF FUNDING AROSE. >>GENA TORRES: RIGHT. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: AND THEY SAID THEY HAVE SOME SHORT-TERM IMPROVEMENTS AND SOME ENGINEERING PART OF IT THAT COULD AMOUNT TO A COUPLE MILLION DOLLARS, WHICH IS SIGNIFICANT, BUT THEY'RE STILL LIKE $6 MILLION SHORT, AND I'M WONDERING TO YOU AND THEN TO STAFF AS WELL WHAT WE CAN DO SORT OF IN THE MID-TERM, NOT NECESSARILY SHORT-TERM BUT IN THE MID- TERM TO TRY AND LINE UP THAT FUNDING EITHER COMING OUT OF ENHANCEMENT DOLLARS OR OTHER DOLLARS TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT PROJECT GETS DONE. >>GENA TORRES: CAN I -- I'LL RESPOND TO THAT, AND THEN IF ANYBODY ELSE HAS ANYTHING -- THERE ARE SEVERAL -- WELL, THERE ARE ENHANCEMENT DOLLARS THAT WE HAVE ASSIGNED TO THIS PROJECT, AND THERE'S A LOT OF HISTORY TO IT, SO I WON'T GO THROUGH THAT EITHER, BUT I KNOW THAT IT IS GOING TO COUNCIL ON JULY 23rd, SO MAYBE YOU CAN HELP INFLUENCE WHAT'S FUNDED, BUT THE -- THE DESIGN THAT WAS PRESENTED TO THE MPO BOARD IS EXCELLENT. IT'S EVERYTHING THAT I COULD POSSIBLY WANT AS A BICYCLE- PEDESTRIAN PLANNER, BUT IT DOES COME DOWN TO THE FUNDING, SO IT SEEMED AS THOUGH THOSE PEDESTRIAN CROSSWALKS WOULD BE THE MOST DOABLE PROJECTS, BUT THE PROJECT BEGAN AS A BIKE LANE PROJECT THAT WE REALLY NEEDED, THAT SOUTHBOUND BIKE LANE, AND I SUPPOSE IT'S JUST GOING TO BE THE FUNDING PROJECT. I MEAN, I THINK THAT AT LEAST IN THE PORTION THAT'S SIX LANES GOING TO FOUR, THAT THAT WOULD BE AN EASY OPPORTUNITY TO STRIPE DIFFERENTLY AND ADD THE BIKE LANE AT LEAST THERE, AND MAYBE WE CAN PHASE THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE SO THAT WE COULD DO THAT PART FIRST AND THEN -- AND CARRY -- IT'S JUST A LONG SECTION OF ROAD, SO THAT'S WHY IT'S SO EXPENSIVE IS JUST THE LENGTH. WE'LL KEEP TRYING TO GET THAT PART FUNDED. WE DEFINITELY ARE PASSIONATELY WANTING BIKE LANES ON THAT ROAD THE WHOLE WAY. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: UH-HUH. RAY, ANY THOUGHTS ON THAT IN TERMS OF NOT LONG-TERM BUT THE MID-TERM? APPARENTLY THERE'S TWO OR THREE MILLION DOLLARS FOR THOSE SHORT-TERM PROJECTS AND THE ENGINEERING OF IT, WHICH IS FINE. I MEAN, IT'S A START, BUT THEN WE STILL HAVE ABOUT A $5- OR $6-MILLION SHORTFALL TO ACTUALLY GET THE BIG PART OF IT DONE, INCLUDING THE BIKE LANE. HAVE WE TALKED ABOUT POSSIBLY LOOKING AT THOSE AND LINING UP THOSE FUNDS LONG-TERM? >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: WE CAN LOOK INTO THAT AND SEE WHAT TYPE OF GRANTS WOULD BE AVAILABLE AND DO OUR BEST, AND I'LL REPORT BACK TO YOU WHAT WE FIND OUT. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: OKAY. YEAH. I MEAN, IT'S DEFINITELY -- I THINK IT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY, YOU KNOW. THE BAYSHORE IS SUCH AN ASSET FOR THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY, WE PROBABLY NEED TO GET OUT THERE AND POLL PEOPLE AND SEE WHERE THEY'RE FROM BECAUSE I HAVE A FEELING THAT IT'S REALLY A REGIONAL -- A REGIONAL ASSET. THANK YOU. >>GENA TORRES: CAN I ADD ONE THING? WE MIGHT WANT TO LOOK BEYOND ENHANCEMENT DOLLARS FOR THOSE TYPES OF PROJECTS. WE DO HAVE OTHER ROADWAY FUNDS OUT THERE? >>JOHN DINGFELDER: DO WE? >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU, GENA. GOOD REPORT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY. THE TRANSPORTATION DISADVANTAGED COORDINATING BOARD. WE MET ON JUNE 28th. DURING THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD, SANDRA SROKA, HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY'S ADA LIAISON, SPOKE ABOUT THE DIFFICULTIES THAT ORGANIZATIONS FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES ARE HAVING DUE TO BUDGET CONSTRAINTS. IN RESPONSE TO THESE COMMENTS, THE BOARD DIRECTED STAFF TO DRAFT A LETTER OF SUPPORT TO THE HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS URGING THEM TO CONTINUE FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR THESE VITAL ORGANIZATIONS WHICH AID PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES. THE TDCB ALSO APPROVED THE CONSENT -- BY CONSENT THE RATES FOR TRIPS PAID THROUGH THE TRIP EQUIPMENT GRANT FROM THE COMMISSION FOR THE TRANSPORTATION DISADVANTAGED. THE RATES ARE CALCULATED EACH YEAR USING THE STATE'S STANDARD RATE CALCULATION MODEL, WHICH GENERATES RATES PER MILE OR PASSENGER TRIP FOR AMBULATORY, WHEELCHAIR, STRETCHER, AND GROUP TRIPS USING PROJECTED TRIPS AND MILES, THE BUDGETED EXPENDITURES AND REVENUES FOR THE UPCOMING FISCAL YEAR. RATES FOR EACH SPECIFIC TYPE OF SERVICE ARE BASED ON PREASSIGNED WAITING USING STATEWIDE AVERAGE WAIT TIMES AND PROJECTED GROUP MILES. THE ONE-WAY TRIP CALCULATED BY THE MODEL THIS YEAR ARE $21.17 FOR AMBULATORY TRIPS, $36.28 FOR WHEELCHAIR TRIPS, AND $10.19 FOR GROUP TRIPS. THE BOARD ALSO DISCUSSED THE ACCESSIBILITY IMPROVEMENTS BEING MADE ON BUSCH BOULEVARD BY FDOT -- FDOT AND DIRECTED THE STAFF TO FOLLOW UP ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS MADE IN THE APRIL 2006 BUSCH BOULEVARD ACCESSIBILITY EVALUATION REPORT. STAFF IS FOLLOWING UP THIS REQUEST AND WILL DISCUSS THE PROPOSED STRATEGY FOR THIS FOLLOW-UP EVALUATION AT THE NEXT TDCB MEETING. FINALLY, THE TDCB RECEIVED A REPORT ON THE PROGRESS OF THE MPO'S LONG-RANGE TRANSPORTATION PLAN UPDATE AND STATUS REPORT FROM THE COMMUNITY TRANSPORTATION COORDINATOR. THE NEXT TDCB MEETING IS SCHEDULED FOR AUGUST 27th ON THE 18th FLOOR AT THE COUNTY CENTER. IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS, I'D BE HAPPY TO TRY TO ANSWER THEM. IF NOT, WE THANK YOU. OKAY. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I HANDED OUT A COUPLE THINGS THAT ARE IN YOUR PACKETS. I'M NOT GOING TO GO THROUGH ALL THE MEETINGS I'VE ATTENDED, BUT I DO WANT TO SUMMARIZE THAT WE HAD SEVERAL MEETINGS WITH THE TRANSPORTATION TASK FORCE OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, HART, TBARTA, AND THE MPO, PRESENTING OUT IN THE COMMUNITY. I THINK WE HAD ABOUT 500 CITIZENS THAT ATTENDED THE 12 MEETINGS THAT WE'VE HAD. OUR LAST ONE IS SCHEDULED IN SUN CITY TOMORROW AT 10:00 IN THE MORNING, AND THAT WILL KIND OF COMPLETE THIS GROUP OF MEETINGS THAT WE'RE DOING ON THE PLAN UPDATE AND HELPING THE CITIZENS UNDERSTAND HOW ALL THE AGENCIES ARE WORKING TOGETHER TO TRY TO PROCEED IN A MORE TRANSIT-ORIENTED PLAN FOR THE FUTURE. AGAIN, I'VE ATTENDED NUMEROUS MEETINGS, CCC MEETINGS. THAT'S THE CHAIRMAN'S COORDINATING COUNCIL OF THE OTHER MPO DIRECTORS. MAYOR AFFRONTI AND I WILL BE ATTENDING A MEETING FRIDAY IN POLK COUNTY FOR THE ORLANDO AND TAMPA AREA MPOs TO MEET AS WE DO PERIODICALLY ON JOINT ISSUES. I HANDED OUT SOMETHING ABOUT ECONOMIC GROWTH IN TRANSIT THAT I THINK IS INTERESTING IN YOUR PACKET THAT I WOULD REQUEST THAT YOU LOOK AT AND ALSO A SUMMARY OF LEGISLATION THAT RECENTLY PASSED IN THE HOUSE AND ITS RELATION TO TRANSPORTATION. AT THE STATE LEVEL, YOU'VE PROBABLY READ ABOUT HIGH-SPEED RAIL. THAT APPLICATION IS PROCEEDING AND MAY HAVE ALREADY BEEN TURNED IN TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. AGAIN, IT APPEARS THAT FLORIDA IS IN A FAIRLY ADVANTAGEOUS POSITION WITH THIS PROJECT BECAUSE OF WORK THAT WAS DONE IN THE EARLY PART OF 2000 TO 2004, SO WE'RE PROCEEDING WITH SUPPORTING THAT. WE HAVE ASKED THAT -- WE ARE HAVING AN IMPORTANT MEETING IN SEPTEMBER. IT'S A JOINT MEETING BETWEEN YOU ALL AND THE PINELLAS MPO. I'M NOT SURE THAT WE'VE EVER DONE THIS BEFORE, BUT WE THINK IT'S IMPORTANT IN LIGHT OF TALKING ABOUT REGIONAL TRANSIT AND THE HIGH-SPEED RAIL. STAFF FROM FDOT IS GOING TO PRESENT AT THAT MEETING ALSO. ONE OTHER THING. I WANTED TO BRING UP SOMETHING THAT I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT DOING WITH THE PERMISSION OF THE BOARD IS POSSIBLY ORGANIZING A TRIP TO CHARLOTTE FOR BOARD MEMBERS. COUNCILMAN SCOTT AND I WENT ON A TRIP THERE WHERE YOU CAN DO IT IN ONE DAY WITH THE EXCELLENT AIRLINE CONNECTIONS WE HAVE TO CHARLOTTE, LEAVING EARLY IN THE MORNING, GETTING BACK ON THE SAME DAY, SO THE COST IS PRETTY MINIMAL. WE CAN ARRANGE MEETINGS WITH THE PLANNERS FROM CHARLOTTE, RIDE THE LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM, GO TO THE MAINTENANCE YARD, TALK TO THE OPERATORS, TALK TO PEOPLE ON THE SYSTEM. I WILL TELL YOU AFTER GOING THERE, I JUST THINK ACTUALLY EXPERIENCING IT JUST MAKES YOU UNDERSTAND A LOT OF QUESTIONS AND THINGS THAT MIGHT BE IN BOARD MEMBERS' MINDS THAT HAVE NOT SEEN A LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM BECAUSE IT'S VERY DIFFERENT THAN THE NORMAL TRANSIT SYSTEMS WE SEE IN THE LARGER CITIES UP NORTH. IT'S A DIFFERENT SYSTEM, AND I WOULD LIKE TO PURSUE THAT MAYBE FOR AN OCTOBER TIME FRAME IF THAT'S OKAY. I'LL GET THE INFORMATION ON WHAT THE COST WOULD BE, WHICH I THINK IT WOULD BE FAIRLY MINIMAL DOING A ONE-DAY FLIGHT, LEAVING IN THE MORNING AND COMING BACK THE SAME DAY. >>JOE AFFRONTI: DO YOU WANT TO LEAVE THAT WITH THE MEMBERS CONTACTING RAY AND LET HIM KNOW IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO GO? >>JOHN DINGFELDER: DO WE BRING OUR OWN PB&J OR WHAT? >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: I DON'T KNOW IF WE HAVE TO GO THAT -- WE CAN USE OUR PER DIEM AMOUNT OF LUNCH MONEY. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. YES, COMMISSIONER SCOTT. >>TOM SCOTT: IT'S AN EXCELLENT TRIP. I ENCOURAGE YOU TO GO IF YOU CAN. IT'S AN EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY TO GO AND SEE WHAT CHARLOTTE HAS DONE, AND I THINK YOU'LL REALLY, REALLY ENJOY THE TRIP. IT'S WORTH IT. SECONDLY, I GUESS I HAVE A QUESTION, RAY, IN TERMS OF THE MEETING WITH PINELLAS, FOCUSING ON THE REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM, I GUESS. WHAT WOULD BE -- WHAT'S THE AGENDA FOR THAT -- DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE AGENDA IS GOING TO BE? >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: NOT EXACTLY, BUT I KNOW AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE AGENDA WOULD PROBABLY BE DISCUSSING OUR LONG- RANGE TRANSPORTATION UPDATES. I WILL TELL YOU WE SEEM A LOT MORE CERTAIN ON WHAT IT IS WE WANT TO DO THAN THE OTHER COUNTIES. I THINK IT WILL BE VALUABLE FOR PINELLAS TO UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, WHAT OUR THOUGHT PROCESS IS AND MAYBE GET -- LISTEN TO SOME OF THE ISSUES THEY HAVE ON CONNECTING TO WHAT WE'RE DOING. THERE'S A DEBATE THERE ABOUT WHETHER A NORTH CONNECTION OR A SOUTH CONNECTION ACROSS THE HOWARD FRANKLAND SHOULD BE FIRST, THESE KIND OF ISSUES, AND I THINK IT WOULD HELP FOR BOTH COUNTIES TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE ISSUES ARE. >>TOM SCOTT: SECONDLY -- AND I STAND TO BE CORRECTED ON THIS ISSUE -- ARE WE AWARE WHEN WE CONTINUE TO TALK ABOUT REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION, WHICH IS FINE, THAT HILLSBOROUGH STANDS TO LOSE ABOUT, WHAT, $3.5 MILLION? >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: I'M NOT SURE WHERE YOU'RE -- >>TOM SCOTT: IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING, BASED ON LOOKING AT THE REVENUE, HOW A REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM WOULD BE ESTABLISHED THAT SOME OF THE MONEY COMING OUT OF HILLSBOROUGH -- IF YOU EVENTUALLY MOVE TOWARDS THAT, SOME OF THAT MONEY, WE WOULD LOSE SOME REVENUE STREAM GOING TO OTHER AREAS OR OTHER COUNTIES, IS THAT -- >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: YEAH, I DON'T THINK ANYTHING LIKE THAT'S BEEN DECIDED YET. >>TOM SCOTT: YEAH. WELL, YOU MAY WANT TO LOOK INTO THAT. THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN INFORMED AND TOLD, THAT WE STAND TO LOSE ABOUT THREE MILLION. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: YEAH, I DON'T KNOW WHERE THAT INFORMATION'S COMING FROM OR WHAT -- MAYBE WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT AFTER. >>JOE AFFRONTI: RAY, DO YOU HAVE ANY RECOMMENDED DATES FOR THAT TRIP TO CHARLOTTE? >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: I WAS THINKING MAYBE IN LATE OCTOBER, EARLY NOVEMBER IS KIND OF WHAT I THOUGHT, BUT, YOU KNOW, I'M COMPLETELY OPEN TO -- >>JOE AFFRONTI: THAT'S FOR THE MEETING IN -- >>ROSE FERLITA: I'M SORRY, MR. CHAIRMAN. I WAS ASKING THE CHAIRMAN ABOUT DATES, AND MAYBE HE THOUGHT I MEANT THE TRIP. I DIDN'T HEAR YOU SAY WHAT THE SUGGESTED MEETING WAS FOR THE JOINT MEETING? >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: I BELIEVE IT'S SEPTEMBER 22nd. IT'S ALREADY BEEN AN ESTABLISHED DATE FOR THE JOINT PINELLAS-HILLSBOROUGH MEETING. >>ROSE FERLITA: IS THAT A HALF-DAY EVENT OR AN ALL-DAY EVENT? >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: NO, I THINK IT WOULD BE A MORNING EVENT, YEAH, LIKE A REGULAR TWO-HOUR MEETING. >>ROSE FERLITA: IF WE GOT THAT INFORMATION, I'M SORRY, I DIDN'T SEE IT. SO MAYBE YOU CAN GIVE ME THE SPECIFICS AGAIN IF YOU DON'T MIND. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: YEAH. >>ROSE FERLITA: THANKS. >>JOE AFFRONTI: ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? YES, MR. DINGFELDER. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: I WAS GOING TO SAY I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S BY COINCIDENCE OR DESIGN, BUT HART AND HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY IS MEETING WITH OUR EQUIVALENT -- WHATEVER THEY CALL THEMSELVES -- >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: PSTA. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: -- PSTA IN THE NEXT COUPLE WEEKS ACTUALLY, AND THEY'RE COMING OVER HERE TO MEET WITH US BOARD TO BOARD, AND I THINK IT'S ALL GOOD REGIONAL COOPERATION AND HANDS ACROSS THE BAY. >>JOE AFFRONTI: CAN'T HURT. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: RIGHT. THE LEVEL OF COORDINATION BETWEEN ALL THE DIFFERENT COUNTIES IS JUST WAY ABOVE WHAT IT'S EVER BEEN BEFORE NOW, SO EVERYBODY'S TALKING TO EVERYBODY. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. NEXT ITEM IS THE 2035 PLAN REVIEW. BETH ALDEN. >>BETH ALDEN: GOOD MORNING. BETH ALDEN, MPO STAFF. AND I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU AN OVERVIEW OF WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW IN UPDATING THE LONG-RANGE TRANSPORTATION PLAN. ALL OF THE STAFF HAVE BEEN WORKING VERY HARD AND VERY CONTINUOUSLY TO MOVE THIS PROJECT FORWARD, AND WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW IS LOOKING AT AVAILABLE REVENUES AND HOW TO MOVE FORWARD WITH PRIORITIZING PROJECTS SO THAT WE CAN COME BACK TO YOU WITH A RECOMMENDATION NEXT MONTH. AS YOU KNOW, IT IS A MULTIMODAL PLAN. IT'S A PLAN FOR FEDERAL DOLLARS TO FLOW INTO THIS COUNTY AND FOR THIS BOARD TO PRIORITIZE THOSE EXPENDITURES. THE PRELIMINARY COST ESTIMATE THAT WE HAVE ON THOSE HIGHWAY PROJECTS IS MORE THAN $8 BILLION, AS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT PREVIOUSLY. THE COST ESTIMATE ON THE RAIL TRANSIT AND ASSOCIATED BUS SYSTEM EXPANSION ALSO IN THE RANGE OF $8 BILLION TOTAL. HOW DOES THAT COMPARE TO OUR AVAILABLE FUNDS? WE HAVE ABOUT $17 BILLION WORTH OF CAPITAL COSTS, MAYBE ANOTHER $4 BILLION IN OPERATING COSTS FOR ABOUT TEN YEARS OF RAIL AND BUS EXPANSION. YOU COMPARE THAT TO ABOUT $6 BILLION OF REASONABLY AVAILABLE REVENUES, AND IT'S CLEAR THAT WE HAVE SOME PRIORITIZATION TO DO. SO HOW DO WE MOVE THROUGH THAT PROCESS? WE ARE REQUIRED TO IDENTIFY PROJECTS IN FIVE-YEAR INCREMENTS, SO WE'RE GOING TO LOOK AT THOSE AVAILABLE FUNDS IN TERMS OF WHAT'S AVAILABLE DURING EACH OF THE FIVE YEARS FROM 2016 THROUGH 2035. THE MAJOR CATEGORIES OF FUNDS THAT THE MPO WILL BE LOOKING AT IN THIS PLAN, I'M JUST GOING TO WALK THROUGH THOSE KIND OF QUICKLY. THE STRATEGIC INTERMODAL SYSTEM FUNDS AVAILABLE TO THIS AREA OVER THIS TIME FRAME, A LITTLE BIT LESS THAN A BILLION DOLLARS TOTAL. THOSE PRIORITIES ARE DETERMINED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND ESSENTIALLY RATIFIED BY MPOs IN URBANIZED AREAS BY ADOPTING THOSE PRIORITIZED PROJECTS INTO THE PLAN. ELIGIBLE PROJECTS FOR THOSE FUNDS ARE ON THE STRATEGIC INTERMODAL SYSTEM NETWORK. YOU'VE SEEN SOME OF THOSE PROJECTS MOVING FORWARD. CONTINUED WORK ON I-275 OVER THE NEXT TEN YEARS, A PROJECT ON I-75 NEAR THE PASCO COUNTY LINE. THE NEXT CATEGORY OF FUNDS, OTHER ARTERIALS. THIS ALSO IS A LITTLE LESS THAN A BILLION DOLLARS OVER THE PLANNING PERIOD, KIND OF MORE EVENLY DISTRIBUTED IN FIVE- YEAR INCREMENTS. SPENDING PRIORITIES ARE RECOMMENDED BY MPOs FOR THIS CATEGORY. THE FOCUS IS THE STATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM SUCH AS U.S. 301, STATE ROUTE 574, ALEXANDER STREET IN THE PLANT CITY AREA. SOME OF THE PROJECTS THAT YOU'VE SEEN US MOVE FORWARD WITH WOULD CONTINUE TO BE ELIGIBLE. THE TRANSIT PROGRAM FOR STATE FUNDS, THAT'S A LITTLE LESS THAN HALF A BILLION DOLLARS OVER THE PLANNING PERIOD, AND THE TYPES OF PROJECTS THAT ARE FUNDED OUT OF THIS CATEGORY INCLUDE VEHICLES, SERVICE DEVELOPMENT, PARK-N-RIDE LOTS, COMMUTER ASSISTANCE, THE TRANSPORTATION DISADVANTAGED PROGRAM. THIS CATEGORY IS BROKEN INTO A LOT OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF PROGRAMS THAT YOU'VE SEEN MOVE THROUGH HERE, AND IN COMPARISON, WE HAVE ALMOST A BILLION DOLLARS' WORTH OF BUS SYSTEM JUST CAPITAL NEEDS, NOT INCLUDING OPERATING. OUR TRANSPORTATION ENHANCEMENT CATEGORY TOTAL FUNDS, 71 MILLION OVER THE PLANNING PERIOD, OVER 20 YEARS, SO THIS IS A RELATIVELY SMALL POT OF FUNDS, AGAIN SPENDING PRIORITIES DETERMINED BY MPOs. WALKING, CYCLING, HISTORIC PRESERVATION PROJECTS. WE HAVE ABOUT $244 MILLION OF PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE NEEDS THAT WOULD BE ELIGIBLE IN THIS CATEGORY. AND OUR MOST FLEXIBLE CATEGORY, TMA, TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT AREA, ASSOCIATED FUNDS, A LITTLE LESS THAN HALF A BILLION DOLLARS OVER THE PLANNING PERIOD. THESE ARE THE -- AGAIN THE PROJECTS THAT YOU PRIORITIZE EVERY YEAR, A LOT OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF PROJECTS. ALL OF THE ONES THAT YOU PREVIOUSLY SAW ARE ELIGIBLE IN THIS CATEGORY PLUS A LOT OF OTHER THINGS. OTHER MAJOR ROADWAYS, SMART TRAFFIC SIGNALS, TELECOMMUTING, VANPOOL, TRAIL BRIDGE REHAB. RAIL, OF COURSE, IS PROBABLY TOO EXPENSIVE FOR US TO DO ANY MAJOR RAIL PROJECTS IN THIS CATEGORY, WATER TRANSIT, AND AGAIN ANY OF THE TYPES OF PRODUCTS THAT I PREVIOUSLY LISTED. THE PLAN WILL ALSO SHOW SOME LOCALLY PRIORITIZED FUNDS. AGAIN, THESE ARE PRIORITIZED BY THE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. THE MOST COMMON ONES, GAS TAX AND IMPACT FEES. ALSO USED PROPERTY TAX, BUT OF COURSE, THERE ARE MANY COMPETING USES FOR THAT REVENUE STREAM. HART SYSTEM REVENUE IS MOSTLY FARES USED FOR HART OPERATIONS, AND THEN A LOCAL OPTION SALES TAX IS AN OPTION IN THIS AREA, YOU KNOW, BEING CONSIDERED BY THE COUNTY COMMISSION AS A POSSIBLE PURSUIT AT THIS TIME. THIS IS ONE CATEGORY THAT CAN BE USED FOR TRANSIT OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE. THERE ARE VERY FEW FUNDING SOURCES THAT CAN BE USED FOR THAT, AND THAT WILL BE CRITICAL IF WE'RE GOING TO EXPAND OUR TRANSIT SERVICES IN THIS AREA. SO OVERALL, AGAIN, THOSE REASONABLY AVAILABLE FUNDS, ALMOST $6 BILLION OVER THE PLANNING PERIOD. SOME OF THE FUNDS THAT WOULD TAKE ADDITIONAL ACTION TO IMPLEMENT, A 1% CHARTER COUNTY TRANSPORTATION SURTAX, EXTENSION OF THE COMMUNITY INVESTMENT TAX, EXTENDING THE EXISTING GAS TAXES. IF YOU ADD ALL OF THOSE TOGETHER, THEN YOU WOULD GET ALMOST $10 BILLION, SO WE DO HAVE SOME CAPACITY HERE IN THIS COUNTY. WITH THE DISCUSSION ABOUT A 1% SALES TAX, WE LOOKED AT WHAT WOULD THAT MEAN FOR AN AVERAGE PERSON IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, AND LOOKING AT THE IRS STANDARDIZED DEDUCTION TABLES, IT WOULD COST FOR A YEAR FOR A FAMILY -- AVERAGE INCOME FAMILY HOUSEHOLD $142 A YEAR; FOR A LARGER FAMILY, LIKE FIVE PEOPLE, AROUND $158 A YEAR; FOR A SOLITARY HOUSEHOLD -- THIS IS A LITTLE BIT LESS THAN 30% OF OUR HOUSEHOLDS IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY -- $85 A YEAR. SO RAY MENTIONED THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THE COUNTY TO GO OUT AND TALK WITH MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ABOUT THESE OPTIONS FOR MEETING OUR TRANSPORTATION NEEDS. WE'VE ALSO -- AND RAY HAS GONE EVERYWHERE TALKING TO LOCAL COMMUNITY GROUPS. WE'VE BEEN OUT TO 63 PUBLIC MEETINGS AND EVENTS, FESTIVALS, INFORMATIONAL DISPLAYS, REACHED OVER 4,000 FOLKS JUST OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS AND HELD THESE JOINT MEETINGS WITH THE TRANSPORTATION TASK FORCE WITH ABOUT 500 PARTICIPANTS, ASKING FOLKS HOW WOULD YOU WANT TO INVEST IN HILLSBOROUGH'S TRANSPORTATION FUTURE. AT THOSE WORKSHOPS WITH THE TRANSPORTATION TASK FORCE, FOLKS WERE GIVEN FUNNY MONEY TO PLAY WITH, THESE PRETEND DOLLAR BILLS AND ASKED TO SPEND IT ON FOUR DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS. WE ALSO DISTRIBUTED A SURVEY IN THE NEWSLETTER AND AT ALL OF THOSE EVENTS. SO OVERALL WE GOT MORE THAN 300 SURVEYS RETURNED, AND WE HAD 343 PARTICIPANTS IN THE MONEY GAME. THESE FOLKS CAME FROM AROUND THE COUNTY, UNINCORPORATED HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FROM CITY OF TAMPA WERE THE TWO GREATEST GEOGRAPHIC AREAS COVERED BY THE RESPONDENTS, CAME FROM DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS, MOSTLY CONCERNED CITIZENS AND BUSINESS PERSONS BUT ALSO FOLKS THAT SAID THAT THEY WERE AFFILIATED WITH COMMUNITY GROUPS OR ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS AND GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES. SO WE ASKED THEM IN THAT SURVEY, HOW CAN WE BEST IMPROVE THE EXISTING TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM? THE MOST FREQUENT RESPONSE WAS ADD RAIL SERVICE WITH TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT AROUND STATIONS. NEXT, INCREASE BUS FREQUENCY -- BUS SERVICE FREQUENCY AND HOURS OF OPERATION AND BUILD NEW ROADS OR IMPROVE THE ONES WE HAVE. TOP STRATEGIES FOR ADDRESSING OUR GROWTH, PROVIDE TRANSPORTATION CHOICES, REUSE AND/OR REVITALIZE EXISTING ASSETS BY FAR OUR BIGGEST PICKS. AND HOW DO WE ENHANCE OUR LOCAL FUNDING? THE NUMBER ONE PICK WAS LET'S CHANGE OUR VEHICLE REGISTRATION FEES SO THAT THEY'RE BASED ON ENGINE SIZE AND WEIGHT AND SO THEY GENERATE MORE REVENUE. SECOND PICK WAS SALES TAX, AND THIRD PICK WAS GAS TAX. BOTH SALES TAX AND GAS TAX HAD TWICE AS MANY RESPONSES IN SUPPORT AS THE ANSWER, I WOULD NOT SUPPORT ANY NEW OR INCREASED FEES OR TAXES. SO GETTING BACK TO THAT QUESTION HOW SHOULD WE SPEND OUR MONEY, IN OUR SURVEY 42% TRANSIT, 25% HIGHWAYS. WE ASKED PEOPLE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, A PERCENT SPLIT BASICALLY OF HOW THEY WOULD SPEND THEIR MONEY AND COMPARED THAT WITH THE MONEY GAME AT THOSE JOINT MEETINGS WITH THE TRANSPORTATION TASK FORCE, A REAL SIMILAR KIND OF PROFILE. $47 TRANSIT, $23 HIGHWAYS, $14 INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS, $16 WALKING AND BICYCLING. SO WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE IN MOVING FORWARD WITH THE PRIORITIZATION PROCESS? WE'RE LOOKING AT THOSE PUBLIC COMMENTS AT WHAT FOLKS' PRIORITIES ARE. WE'RE ALSO SIDE-BY-SIDE LOOKING AT TECHNICAL ANALYSIS, AND I WANTED TO GIVE YOU KIND OF A QUICK PREVIEW OF SOME OF THEIR RESULTS OF THE TRANSIT SYSTEM MODELING. OUR NEXT STEPS WILL BE TO LOOK AT HIGHWAY PROJECTS AND HOW THOSE PERFORM. BUT RIGHT NOW I CAN SHARE WITH YOU A LITTLE BIT OF THE RESULTS ON THE RAIL ANALYSIS, LOOKING AT WHAT CAN WE AFFORD, WHAT PERFORMS BEST. WE'VE STARTED OUT BY MODELING RAIL ON WHAT'S BEEN CALLED THE "U" LINE, WHICH IS CONNECTING THOSE MAJOR ACTIVITY CENTERS HERE IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, USF AREA, DOWNTOWN TAMPA, OVER TO THE AIRPORT, AND THEN EXTENDING THAT TO SOME OF OUR MAJOR SUBURBS, UP TO CARROLLWOOD, THROUGH THE AIRPORT, AND UP TO NEW TAMPA PAST USF. SO LOOKING AT WHAT WE CAN AFFORD, ASSUMING 75% OF A ONE- CENT SALES TAX, SOME OF THE SCENARIOS WE LOOKED AT WERE ADDING TO THE "U" AN EXTENSION TO SOUTH TAMPA OR THE "U" PLUS A LINE TO BRANDON OR THE "U" PLUS A CONNECTION OVER TO PINELLAS IN THE CARILLON AREA AND UP TO PASCO IN THE WESLEY CHAPEL AREA OR LOOKING AT THAT "U" WITH A LINE ALONG LINEBAUGH AND BUSCH BOULEVARD THROUGH OLDSMAR. OVERALL, OUR RIDERSHIP COMPARISON INDICATED THAT OUR HIGHEST RIDERSHIP WAS IN THAT "U" PLUS THE PINELLAS CARILLON AND WESLEY CHAPEL EXTENSION FAR OUTPERFORMED THE OTHERS IN TERMS OF ATTRACTING RIDERS. IN LOOKING AT CONGESTION ON PARALLEL HIGHWAYS, THE BIGGEST REDUCTIONS WERE RIGHT IN THE CENTER OF TAMPA AS YOU MIGHT EXPECT, SO THOSE FIRST TWO LINES THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT, THAT HART HAS BEEN TALKING ABOUT WITH DOWNTOWN NORTH UP TO THE USF AREA AND DOWNTOWN WEST, SO I-275 HAVING THE GREATEST REDUCTIONS IN CONGESTION. OPPORTUNITIES FOR REDUCED TRAVEL TIMES VERSUS TAKING YOUR CAR AT PEAK HOUR, THE MOST SIGNIFICANT BENEFITS THERE WERE IN THE BRUCE B. DOWNS CORRIDOR AND THE HOWARD FRANKLAND BRIDGE WHERE YOUR TRAVEL TIME MIGHT BE 40% LESS IF YOU'RE TRAVELING BY RAIL THAN IF YOU'RE DRIVING AT PEAK HOUR. AND THEN THE BUSCH-LINEBAUGH CORRIDOR COMING IN AT 35% LESS. COST PER MILE TO BUILD. THOSE -- THE MOST EXPENSIVE SEGMENTS, THE HOWARD FRANKLAND BRIDGE AND TAKING IT THROUGH THE AIRPORT WITH SOME ELEVATED RAIL GOING UP AND DOWN, THE LEAST EXPENSIVE SEGMENT BEING THE BRUCE B. DOWNS CORRIDOR WITH RIGHT-OF-WAY BEING SET ASIDE NOW WORKING THROUGH THAT PROJECT, SO NOT HAVING TO BUILD IN ANY COSTS FOR NEGOTIATING WITH THE CSX FOR EXAMPLE. AND SO IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT WHAT IS THE COST PER PASSENGER MILE, BECAUSE OF THAT HIGHER RIDERSHIP, IT'S THE "U" LINE PLUS THE CONNECTION ACROSS THE HOWARD FRANKLAND TO PINELLAS AND CARILLON AND UP TO WESLEY CHAPEL IS ACTUALLY OUR LOWEST COST PER PASSENGER MILE OF THESE ALTERNATIVES, AND THAT'S BECAUSE IT'S ATTRACTING THE MOST RIDERS, SO EVEN THOUGH IT HAS SOME MORE EXPENSIVE PIECES OF THAT, IT'S ACTUALLY LOWER PER PASSENGER MILE. SO SOME OF OUR NEXT STEPS WILL BE LOOKING AT THE REAL ESTATE MARKET IN SOME OF THESE CORRIDORS SO THAT WE CAN COME BACK TO YOU AND TELL YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL AROUND THOSE. WE'RE DOING THAT IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE PLANNING COMMISSION AND WITH HART, AND OUR NEXT STEPS WITH THIS SCHEDULE, TO ANALYZE AND REFINE THESE SCENARIOS, ADDING IN COST-AFFORDABLE HIGHWAY PROJECTS, BALANCING THAT BUDGET, AND THEN, OF COURSE, LOOKING TOWARDS THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD IN OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER. SO WE'LL BE LOOKING NEXT MONTH AT HIGH-PRIORITY PROJECTS FOR EACH OF THOSE FIVE-YEAR PHASES OF THE LONG-RANGE TRANSPORTATION PLAN AND BRINGING SOME RECOMMENDED PRIORITIES FOR YOUR REVIEW. AND THAT'S THE END OF MY UPDATE TODAY. I'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS. >>JOE AFFRONTI: GOOD REPORT, BETH. ANY COMMENTS? MR. DINGFELDER. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. THANK YOU, BETH. THE -- I GUESS THE QUESTION I HAVE IS WHAT IS THE INTERRELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE LONG-RANGE TRANSPORTATION PLAN AND -- WELL, LET ME PUT IT A DIFFERENT WAY. DOES THE LONG-RANGE TRANSPORTATION PLAN CONSTRAIN ULTIMATELY THE ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS FOR THE RAIL SYSTEM AS THE -- AS HARTLINE IS PROCEEDING WITH THAT ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS? I MEAN, IT ALMOST SEEMS TO BE KIND OF A SIMILAR PROCESS. THE LANGUAGE THAT'S USED AND THE ANALYSIS THAT'S USED SOUND RATHER SIMILAR TO WHAT WE'VE HEARD OVER AT HARTLINE, SO I'M JUST WONDERING, ARE THEY -- IS OUR -- IS THE 2035 PLAN RUNNING PARALLEL WITH THAT ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS OR RUNNING AHEAD OF IT, AND IF WE COME UP WITH A DIFFERENT CONCLUSION, DOES IT CONSTRAIN WHAT HAPPENS OVER AT HARTLINE? >>BETH ALDEN: IT'S AN EXCELLENT QUESTION. THE PLANS ARE RUNNING PARALLEL, AND WE ARE WORKING VERY CLOSELY SO AS NOT TO DUPLICATE EFFORTS, BUT THE -- THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION IN CONSIDERING FUNDING A PROJECT PUT FORWARD BY HART WOULD WANT TO KNOW THAT IT FITS INTO A BIG PICTURE FOR TRANSPORTATION IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, AND SO IT'S OUR JOB TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT BIG PICTURE IS IN TERMS OF DEMAND, IN TERMS OF WHAT THE NEXT STEPS MIGHT BE AFTER THAT INITIAL PROJECT THAT'S BEING PURSUED BY HART. NOW, WHEN HART DOES GO FORWARD WITH AN APPLICATION TO FTA, THEY'LL HAVE TO SHOW THAT THE PROJECT IS INCLUDED IN THE MPO LONG-RANGE TRANSPORTATION PLAN, BUT WE DON'T HAVE TO GET TO AT THIS POINT THE LEVEL OF DETAIL THAT HART IS GOING TO GET TO, AND AS HART REFINES ITS PLAN OVER THE NEXT YEAR, THEY WILL PROBABLY BE COMING BACK TO THIS BOARD SAY NEXT SPRING OR SO I THINK IS WHAT'S ON THEIR CALENDAR AND ASKING THIS BOARD TO, YOU KNOW, AMEND AND ADJUST THE PLAN TO MAKE SURE THAT THE DETAILS OF THAT HART ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS ARE CONSISTENT WITH THE LRTP. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: THAT'S GOOD. SECOND THING I HAD WAS THE SOUTH TAMPA LEG NEVER SEEMS TO SCORE OUT VERY WELL, WHICH I'D BE CURIOUS TO SEE, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE NUMBERS BECAUSE IT IS A POPULATION, YOU KNOW, INTENSE AREA, BUT I'D HATE TO SEE US -- AND I'VE BEEN PREACHING THIS A LITTLE BIT RECENTLY. I'D HATE TO SEE US ELIMINATE THAT -- I LIKE TO CALL IT INSTEAD OF A "U," THE "Y" THAT POTENTIALLY GOES DOWN TO -- I THINK YOU'RE SHOWING DALE MABRY, YOU KNOW, ALONG THE EXISTING RAIL LINE BECAUSE I THINK IT DOES HAVE GREAT FUTURE POTENTIAL, SO IS THAT -- I MEAN, IF IT DOESN'T SCORE OUT, DOES IT JUST FALL OFF THE 2035? >>BETH ALDEN: WE DID TEST IT ALL THE WAY DOWN TO GANDY, AND IT'S -- AT THIS POINT IT'S INCLUDED IN THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT, SO THAT MEANS IT WOULD CONTINUE TO BE STUDIED AND EVALUATED, AND I WOULDN'T SAY THAT IT PERFORMS BADLY EITHER. YOU KNOW, I THINK BOTH THE SOUTH TAMPA LINE AND THE BRANDON LINE AND THE LINE -- LINEBAUGH WEST TOWARDS WESTCHASE, ALL THOSE ARE PICKING UP QUITE A FEW RIDERS, SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK ALL -- THEY'RE ALL GOOD CANDIDATES. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: OH, WELL, THAT'S GOOD TO HEAR. I WAS LOOKING AT YOUR NUMBERS. I THOUGHT IT WAS SHOWING POORLY. I WAS SORT OF DISAPPOINTED ABOUT THAT BECAUSE AS WE KNOW, DOWN AT RATTLESNAKE POINT, YOU'VE GOT POTENTIAL FOR, YOU KNOW, TENS OF THOUSANDS OF NEW RESIDENTS ON PROJECTS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN APPROVED, AND SO HOPEFULLY MAYBE THEY'LL BE RAIL RIDERS SOME DAY. THANK YOU. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU. JOE -- JOSEPH CAETANO. >>JOSEPH CAETANO: BETH, YOU GAVE US TWO FIGURES ON WHAT IT WOULD COST PER FAMILY. WHAT WERE THOSE FIGURES? DO YOU REMEMBER THEM? >>BETH ALDEN: YEAH. I THINK IT WAS $142 PER YEAR FOR -- THAT WAS FOR A THREE- PERSON HOUSEHOLD AND $158 PER YEAR FOR A FIVE-PERSON HOUSEHOLD. >>JOSEPH CAETANO: WHAT WOULD THAT -- >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: AND 80-SOMETHING FOR A SINGLE -- >>BETH ALDEN: 85 FOR A SINGLE -- >>JOSEPH CAETANO: WOULD WHAT WOULD THAT GENERATE PER YEAR? >>BETH ALDEN: IT'S 178 MILLION A YEAR RIGHT NOW. >>JOSEPH CAETANO: OKAY. THANK YOU. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? GOOD REPORT, BETH. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. >>BETH ALDEN: THANK YOU. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. PEDESTRIAN SAFETY ACTION PLAN. GENA TORRES. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: [INAUDIBLE] >>GENA TORRES: GOOD MORNING. IT'S NOT ME THIS TIME, THE ONE TIME I WAS CALLED TO PRESENT, BUT THIS IS DEMIAN MILLER FROM TINDALE-OLIVER, AND HE'S DOING SOME WORK WITH D.O.T., AND HE'LL PRESENT THIS ITEM. [INAUDIBLE] >> I'LL FIGURE IT OUT. [INAUDIBLE] YOU-ALL HAVE A LOT OF PRESENTATIONS TODAY. LET ME FIND MINE. GOOD MORNING. I'M DEMIAN MILLER, CONSULTANT FOR FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION SAFETY STUDIES, AND I'M HERE TODAY TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE ONGOING HILLSBOROUGH COUNTYWIDE PEDESTRIAN SAFETY ACTION PLAN. PEDESTRIAN SAFETY ACTION PLAN -- I GUESS WE TALK ABOUT PEDESTRIANS AND BIKES A LOT IN THIS AREA. WE GOT SOME GOOD MARKS EARLIER FOR OUR EFFORTS IN THAT REGARD. PEDESTRIAN SAFETY ACTION PLAN IS A PLANNING STRATEGY DEVELOPED BY FEDERAL HIGHWAY, AND THEY'RE TRYING IT OUT AROUND THE COUNTRY, AND FLORIDA IS ONE OF THE FIRST STATES, PARTICULARLY HILLSBOROUGH AND PINELLAS COUNTY SOME OF THE FIRST JURISDICTIONS TO GET A CRACK AT TRYING TO USE IT. THE IDEA WAS HOW DO YOU GET DOWN TO THE ROOT ISSUES, GET A MULTIAGENCY -- MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO THE PROBLEM AND REALLY TRY TO GET SOME RESULTS. SO WE USED THE TERM 3-E OR 4-E, WHICH MEANS EDUCATION, ENFORCEMENT, ENGINEERING, AND ALSO WE INCLUDE EMS SOMETIMES DEPENDING ON WHAT WE'RE DOING. WE WANT TO CONSIDER SPECIFIC PLANS AND POLICIES, SO WE WANT TO ALLOW SOME GOALS BUT ALSO LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE YOU DOING, HOW CAN YOU GET AT THIS THROUGH YOUR WORK PROGRAM, HOW CAN YOU GET AT IT THROUGH WHAT YOU'RE DOING IN THE SCHOOL BOARD, WHAT VEHICLES DO YOU HAVE AT YOUR DISPOSAL TO GET AT THIS ISSUE? A LOT OF DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDERS. WE DON'T WANT TO JUST GO ONE AT A TIME AND DEAL WITH DIFFERENT AGENCIES BUT GET THEM ALL IN THE ROOM TOGETHER. HOW CAN THESE STAKEHOLDERS INTERACT MORE EFFECTIVELY TO GET THE JOB DONE AND REALLY LOOK AT IT FROM A BUSINESS PLAN APPROACH. LET'S BE REASONABLE AND LET'S BE SYSTEMIC ABOUT HOW WE DO THIS. SO THE FIRST PART OF THIS IS TO DEFINE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES. WE DO A LOT OF THAT HERE. OUR PRINCIPAL GOAL IS TO REDUCE THE CRASH RATE, BUT TO DO THAT WE HAVE TO SATISFY SOME INTERIM GOALS. WE WANT TO LOOK AT THE BASELINE CONDITIONS, KNOW YOUR ENEMY, SEE WHAT WE CAN DO TO DEAL WITH IT, AND THEN SELECT APPROPRIATE TREATMENTS. WE DON'T WANT TO DO THINGS THAT ARE NOT FEASIBLE TO IMPLEMENT, WE WANT TO TRY TO DO THINGS THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY GET DONE. SO THE REASON FEDERAL HIGHWAY IS INTERESTED IN FLORIDA -- AND THERE'S ABOUT EIGHT OTHER STATES THAT THEY CONSIDER AREAS OF CRITICAL CONCERN -- IS BECAUSE FLORIDA CONSISTENTLY RANKS TOWARDS THE TOP OF THE NATION IN TERMS OF PER CAPITA PEDESTRIAN FATALITIES. WE'RE ON AVERAGE SECOND RIGHT BEHIND NEW MEXICO. FOR 2007 I THINK WE'RE EITHER FIRST OR SECOND AGAIN. NEW MEXICO IS AN ITTY-BITTY LITTLE STATE, SO IN TERMS OF BIG STATES, FLORIDA'S RIGHT THERE AT THE TOP OF THE LIST, NOT AN ENVIABLE POSITION. THE INTERESTING THING ABOUT THIS IS HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY IS NOT AS BAD AS THE STATE AS A WHOLE BUT STILL WORSE THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGES, AND, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A PROBLEM. I'D POINT OUT IN HERE, WE TALK ABOUT FLORIDA BEING A SUNBELT STATE, BUT EVEN WHEN YOU COMPARE US TO TEXAS, ARIZONA, CALIFORNIA, PLACES THAT HAVE A SIMILAR NEW DEVELOPMENT PATTERN, AUTO-DOMINATED LAND USE, WE'RE THE WORST AMONG THEM, SO WE CAN'T STAND ON THAT AS THE REASON FOR OUR PROBLEM. AS FAR AS PEDESTRIAN CRASHES, IT'S A PARTICULARLY TRICKY ISSUE, PARTICULARLY FROM AN ENGINEERING STANDPOINT BECAUSE THEY DON'T -- AND THIS IS GOING TO SOUND COUNTERINTUITIVE, BUT THEY DON'T MAKE UP A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF OVERALL CRASHES. IF I'M DEALING WITH RIGHT-ANGLE CRASHES AT INTERSECTIONS, I CAN GO FIND MY WORST TEN INTERSECTIONS, HAVE A REALLY, YOU KNOW, CLEARLY DEMONSTRATED CRASH PROBLEM AND START DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT. PEDESTRIAN CRASHES ARE SOMEWHAT RANDOM EVENTS, AND YET WE SEE SOME PATTERNS I'LL TALK ABOUT IN A MINUTE. THAT SAID, WHEN A PEDESTRIAN DOES GET HIT, FOR OBVIOUS REASONS IT TENDS TO BE A VERY SERIOUS CRASH. SO THEY'RE 2% OF CRASHES BUT OVER 20% OF FATALITIES. SO WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT IN A BIG WAY, BUT IT'S HARD TO GET AT THE PROBLEM. WE GO LOOK AT THE DATA, AND I SAID THERE ARE SOME PATTERNS. WE FIND OUT THAT THE VAST MAJORITY OF PEDESTRIAN CRASHES, PARTICULARLY THE MORE SEVERE ONES, OCCUR WHEN PEDESTRIANS ARE CROSSING MAJOR ROADWAYS. PEOPLE GET HIT IN PARKING LOTS, THEY GET HIT WALKING ALONG THE SIDEWALK, THEY GET HIT ALL OVER THE PLACE, BUT WHEN THEY TRY TO CROSS A MAJOR MULTILANE ROAD, HIGHER-SPEED, HIGHER-VOLUME FACILITIES, THAT'S WHERE THEY GET HIT THE MOST AND THAT'S WHERE THEY GET HURT THE WORST. AND MOST OF THIS IS AT UNSIGNALIZED LOCATIONS, WHICH IS NOT ILLEGAL TO CROSS THAT, IT JUST IS A LITTLE BIT MORE DANGEROUS. SO IT'S A 60/40 SPLIT BETWEEN UNSIGNALIZED AND SIGNALIZED LOCATIONS. WE HAVE SOME SIGNALIZED INTERSECTIONS THAT ARE A LITTLE INTIMIDATING TO DEAL WITH AS WELL. WE NEED TO ADDRESS BOTH OF THESE ISSUES. AND THERE'S SOME OTHER CONTRIBUTING FACTORS AS WELL. WE LOOK AT PEDESTRIAN CRASHES BY AGE. WE HAVE SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOLS. MOST OF YOU-ALL ARE PROBABLY FAMILIAR WITH THAT. WE TRY TO LOOK AT SCHOOLS AND DEAL WITH THAT, AND THERE ARE A LOT OF PROGRAMS IN PLACE, AND SCHOOLCHILDREN, PARTICULARLY IN THE PRIMARY SCHOOLS, TEND TO BE FAIRLY WELL EDUCATED ABOUT HOW TO ACT AS A PEDESTRIAN, BUT WHAT WE FIND OUT IS THAT MIDDLE-AGED ADULTS ARE THE BULK OF THE PROBLEM, AND OF THOSE, IT'S MOSTLY MEN, AND THE QUESTION IS HOW DO YOU TEACH A GROWN MAN TO CROSS THE STREET, AND IT'S A LITTLE BIT TRICKY, SO WE'RE CHALLENGED FROM AN EDUCATION STANDPOINT. THAT'S A SAD FACT. A COUPLE OTHER LITTLE THINGS I MIGHT POINT OUT. MANY MORE PEDESTRIAN CRASHES OCCUR AT NIGHT THAN IN THE DAYTIME. THAT HELPS US OUT. PEDESTRIANS DON'T HAVE HEADLIGHTS, THAT'S IT'S FAIRLY OBVIOUS, BUT STREET LIGHTING IS SOMETHING WE CAN DO. WE'VE SEEN IN THE NEWS LATELY WHERE PEOPLE ARE QUESTIONING THE VALUE OF STREET LIGHTING BASED ON BUDGETARY CONCERNS AND OPERATING COSTS, BUT FOR PEDESTRIANS, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT. THERE'S A PERCEPTION THAT ALCOHOL AND DRUGS ARE PREDOMINANT -- YOU KNOW, PREDOMINANT CONTRIBUTING CAUSE TO PEDESTRIAN CRASHES, AND THEY ARE OVERREPRESENTED IN PEDESTRIAN CRASHES, PARTICULARLY AMONG FATALITIES, BUT THAT'S NOT THE SOLE EXPLAINING FACTOR OF IT. A LOT OF PEDESTRIANS ARE NOT DRUNK WHEN THEY'RE HIT. SO IT'S MORE, BUT WE CAN'T -- AGAIN, WE CAN'T DISMISS IT BECAUSE OF THAT. WE ALSO LOOK AT IT GEOGRAPHICALLY. AS I SAID, IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF A RANDOM EVENT, SO THEY'RE SPREAD AROUND. WE HAVE SOME TRENDS. GENERALLY ABOUT HALF THE PEDESTRIAN CRASHES IN HILLSBOROUGH AND UNINCORPORATED AREA, 45% IN TAMPA, AND THE REMAINDER USF, TEMPLE TERRACE, AND PLANT CITY. WE LOOK THERE IN THE URBAN AREA. IF I PUT THE URBAN SERVICES BOUNDARY HERE, YOU CAN SEE IT'S PRIMARILY WITHIN THAT AREA. AND WE GO LOOK AT IT AND WE FIGURE OUT WE'VE GOT SOME SORT OF CONCENTRATIONS. YOU MIGHT PICK OUT HILLSBOROUGH AVENUE, PARTS OF WATERS AVENUE, BRANDON BOULEVARD, AND THE SINGLE GREATEST CONCENTRATION IS IN THE VICINITY OF THE USF CAMPUS. I'M GOING TALK ABOUT THAT SOME MORE BECAUSE THAT'S THE CORE OF WHERE OUR ACTION PLAN'S HEADED. SAME PATTERN, [INCOMPREHENSIBLE] CRASHES WE REALLY CARE ABOUT ARE CONCENTRATED IN A SIMILAR WAY. SO WE LOOK AT THE USF VICINITY -- AND I WAS HERE BEFORE THIS BOARD MAYBE FOUR, FIVE YEARS AGO TALKING ABOUT FLETCHER AVENUE AND WHAT A PROBLEM THAT WAS BASED ON A STUDY THAT THE COUNTY HAD DONE, AND FLETCHER AVENUE CONTINUES TO BE AN ISSUE, ALSO OTHER ROADS. WHAT'S AMAZING, AS I SAID PREVIOUSLY, MOST OF THE CRASHES OCCUR ALONG THE MAJOR ARTERIAL MULTILANE ROADWAY SYSTEM. IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD, IN THIS AREA, WE HAVE CRASHES ALONG TWO-LANE COLLECTOR ROADS, WHICH IS A LITTLE BIT UNUSUAL AND CERTAINLY A CAUSE FOR CONCERN. I DON'T WANT TO SAY IT'S NOT A POSITIVE THING, BUT I GUESS FROM AN IMPLEMENTATION STANDPOINT, WE CAN FOCUS IN ON SOMETHING. WHEN WE TRY TO DO THINGS COUNTYWIDE, THE MESSAGE OFTEN GETS LOST, BUT HERE WE HAVE A SUBAREA WITH A REASONABLE NUMBER OF MILEAGE AND INTERSECTIONS WE CAN DEAL WITH. SO OUR PRELIMINARY ACTION PLAN AT THIS POINT, WORKING WITH THE STAKEHOLDERS, D.O.T., AND OTHERS, IS TO REALLY FOCUS IN ON THE UNIVERSITY AREA. OUR BOUNDARIES ARE ROUGHLY BEARSS, NEBRASKA, 56th, AND BUSCH BOULEVARD. THE BENEFIT OF THIS IS THAT THIS COVERS MANY OF OUR JURISDICTIONS. WE DEAL WITH TEMPLE TERRACE, WE DEAL WITH THE COUNTY, WE DEAL WITH THE CITY OF TAMPA. WE HAVE STATE ROADS, COUNTY ROADS, CITY ROADS, DIFFERENT SCHOOL SYSTEMS, DIFFERENT POLICE DEPARTMENTS, SO WE CAN USE OUR MULTIAGENCY STAKEHOLDER MODEL AND APPLY THIS ALMOST AS A PROTOTYPE. IF WE CAN GET SOMETHING TO WORK HERE, WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO APPLY IT ELSEWHERE IN THE AREA. SOME POSITIVE THINGS HAPPENING RIGHT AWAY. THE COUNTY, TRAFFIC ENGINEERING IS PUTTING TOGETHER A PROJECT FOR ENHANCEMENTS ON FLETCHER. THIS WOULD BE MIDBLOCK ISLANDS, POTENTIALLY SOME UNSIGNALIZED CROSSWALKS, AND SIDEWALK ENHANCEMENTS, AND RIGHT NOW WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF THE COUNTY PUTTING THAT PROJECT TOGETHER AND D.O.T. MAKING SURE IT CAN QUALIFY FOR FEDERAL HIGHWAY MONEY BASED ON BENEFIT COST. WE THINK THAT THAT'S GOING TO GO POSITIVELY. WE'RE GOING TO IDENTIFY OTHER INFRASTRUCTURE ISSUES IN THE AREA, AND A REALLY NEAT THING WE CAN DO IS WE CAN COORDINATE WITH THE MULTIMODAL TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT PROJECT, WHICH IS NOT OUR ENTIRE STUDY AREA BUT A GOOD CHUNK OF IT, SO WE CAN SHARE SOME PUBLIC MEETINGS AND PIGGYBACK AND WORK TOGETHER. MOBILITY IS PART OF SAFETY, AND SO THAT WORKS OUT WELL. SOME OTHER ACTION ITEMS ARE IMMEDIATELY TO -- TO BASICALLY PROVIDE GOOD CRASH DATA TO LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES SO THEY CAN GO OUT AND BE A LITTLE BIT MORE FOCUSED IN THEIR EFFORTS, AND THEN ALSO THE D.O.T. IS HELPING THE CITY OF TAMPA WITH SOME DESIGN SUPPORT ON SIDEWALKS, SO THESE ARE THOSE ARE A QUICK FEW THINGS THAT WE'VE ALREADY IDENTIFIED. IN TERMS OF TIME FRAME, WE HAD OUR WORKSHOP IN FEBRUARY. WE'RE DEVELOPING THE DRAFT PLAN NOW, AND WE'LL COME BACK IN SEPTEMBER WITH A FINAL PLAN. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ANY -- ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? IF NOT, WE THANK YOU. GOOD REPORT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY. FDOT STRATEGIC INTERMODAL SYSTEM. SUSAN VanHOOSE. MAYBE I GOT ONE RIGHT THIS TIME. >> YES, YOU DID. VERY GOOD. GOOD MORNING. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS TIME THIS MORNING TO PRESENT TO YOU. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION IS UNDERGOING AN EFFORT TO UPDATE OUR PLAN FOR THE SIS, AND THE PLAN IS BASICALLY A DOCUMENT THAT HAS THE GOALS, THE CRITERIA, AND THE IMPLEMENTATION FOR THE SIS FACILITIES. IN THIS AREA, SIS FACILITIES ARE THE BACKBONE OF YOUR TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM. ANOTHER THING THAT'S GOING TO BE IMPORTANT OR OF INTEREST TO YOU IS WE'RE STARTING TO LOOK AT THE CRITERIA FOR PASSENGER RAIL TO BE PUT ON THE SIS SYSTEM, SO ANY OF YOUR COMMENTS THAT YOU HAVE CONCERNING THAT ARE OF PARTICULAR IMPORTANCE, ESPECIALLY IF YOU GO ON THIS TRIP TO CHARLOTTE. WHAT YOU LEARN FROM THERE WOULD BE VERY IMPORTANT TO US. SO TODAY WE HAVE A POWERPOINT PRESENTATION THAT HAS A VOICEOVER, AND IT'S GOT A LOT OF INFORMATION ON THAT SO THAT YOU CAN COMMENT ON THIS, AND THEN I'M FORTUNATE TO BE JOINED BY SHANNON ESTEP WITH THE TURNPIKE, AND SHE'S GOT A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION FOR YOU. AND THEN WE'LL TAKE COMMENTS IF YOU HAVE ANY AT THE END. [POWERPOINT PLAYED] >> FLORIDA'S STRATEGIC INTERMODAL SYSTEM WAS ESTABLISHED IN 2003 TO ENHANCE FLORIDA'S ECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESS BY FOCUSING LIMITED STATE RESOURCES ON THOSE TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES THAT ARE CRITICAL TO FLORIDA'S ECONOMY AND QUALITY OF LIFE. THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION IS UPDATING THE STRATEGIC INTERMODAL SYSTEM PLAN THAT INCLUDES HIGHWAYS; AIR, SEA, AND SPACE PORTS; RAIL; AND WATERWAYS. WE NEED YOUR COMMENTS IN GUIDING FLORIDA'S TRANSPORTATION FUTURE. RECOGNIZING THAT THE STATE HAS LIMITED REVENUES, THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE AND GOVERNOR ESTABLISHED FLORIDA'S STRATEGIC INTERMODAL SYSTEM OR SIS IN 2003 TO EFFICIENTLY SERVE THE MOBILITY NEEDS OF FLORIDA'S CITIZENS, BUSINESSES, AND VISITORS, TO HELP FLORIDA BECOME A WORLDWIDE ECONOMIC LEADER, TO ENHANCE THE STATE'S ECONOMIC PROSPERITY AND COMPETITIVENESS, TO ENRICH OUR QUALITY OF LIFE, AND TO REFLECT RESPONSIBLE ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP. THE SIS IS A DESIGNATED SYSTEM OF TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES WITH OBJECTIVE CRITERIA AND THRESHOLDS. THOSE CRITERIA AND THRESHOLDS WERE RECOMMENDED BY A 41- MEMBER SIS STEERING COMMITTEE REPRESENTING 31 STATEWIDE TRANSPORTATION PARTNERS. THROUGH A SERIES OF STATEWIDE WORKSHOPS AND A STEERING COMMITTEE, THE STRATEGIC INTERMODAL SYSTEM WAS FORMED. THE SIS IS A NEW WAY OF PLANNING AND MANAGING FLORIDA'S TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM, FOCUSING ON ALL MODES OF TRANSPORTATION AND HOW EACH BEST CONTRIBUTES TO AN INTEGRATED SYSTEM OF MOVING PEOPLE AND GOODS ON COMPLETE END-TO-END TRIPS. IT PROVIDES A STRONGER LINK BETWEEN FLORIDA'S TRANSPORTATION POLICIES AND THE STATE'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES. THE SIS IDENTIFIES HIGH-PRIORITY TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES SUCH AS HUBS, WHICH INCLUDE AIRPORTS OR PASSENGER TERMINALS, CORRIDORS SUCH AS HIGHWAYS AND RAIL LINES, AND CONNECTORS THAT LINK THE HUBS AND CORRIDORS. SIS FACILITIES ARE DESIGNATED BASED ON OBJECTIVE CRITERIA FOR TRANSPORTATION AND ECONOMIC ACTIVITY. IT IS IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE THAT THE SIS IS INTENDED TO BE STRATEGIC. IT CANNOT ADDRESS EVERY TRANSPORTATION ISSUE IN FLORIDA AND IS NOT INTENDED TO DO SO. IT ALSO SERVES INTERNATIONAL, INTERSTATE, AND INTERREGIONAL TRAVEL AND IS NOT INTENDED TO MEET LOCAL OR REGIONAL NEEDS, BUT IT CAN HELP. TO KEEP CURRENT WITH CHANGES IN FLORIDA, THE PLAN IS REQUIRED TO BE UPDATED EVERY FIVE YEARS. WE ANTICIPATE THIS UPDATE AND NEW PLAN TO BE ADOPTED BY JANUARY 2010. THIS FIRST UPDATE WILL REVIEW THE GOALS, OBJECTIVES, AND POLICIES AND DESIGNATION CRITERIA OF THE SIS AS WELL AS THE FIVE LEGISLATIVELY MANDATED ELEMENTS OF THE PLAN. THOSE FIVE ELEMENTS INCLUDE A MAP OF SIS AND EMERGING SIS FACILITIES AS WELL AS PLANNED FACILITIES, A NEEDS ASSESSMENT, A PROJECT PRIORITIZATION PROCESS, A FINANCE PLAN BASED ON REASONABLE REVENUE PROJECTIONS FOR THE 10- AND 20-YEAR COST-FEASIBLE COMPONENTS, A SUMMARY OF SIS CONNECTIONS TO MAJOR MILITARY FACILITIES. AS MENTIONED, THE STRATEGIC PLAN INVOLVES SEVERAL GOALS. THESE INCLUDE A SAFER MORE SECURE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM, EFFECTIVE PRESERVATION AND MANAGEMENT OF FLORIDA'S TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES, INCREASED MOBILITY FOR PEOPLE AND FOR FREIGHT, ENHANCED ECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESS AND DIVERSIFICATION, ENRICHED QUALITY OF LIFE AND RESPONSIBLE ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP. THE OBJECTIVES SUPPORT EACH OF THE FIVE GOALS OF SAFETY AND SECURITY, PRESERVATION, MOBILITY, ECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESS, QUALITY OF LIFE. TRADITIONALLY, TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS ARE PLANNED BY MODE. THE SIS INTRODUCES A NEW APPROACH BY FOCUSING INSTEAD ON THE FUNCTION OF THE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM. FOR TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES THAT ARE OF STATEWIDE OR INTERREGIONAL SIGNIFICANCE, THE STATE HAD THE LEAD PLANNING ROLE. FOR TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES THAT SERVE PEOPLE AND GOODS WITHIN A PARTICULAR REGION, REGIONAL PARTNERSHIPS OF MPOs AND COUNTIES HAVE THAT PLANNING RESPONSIBILITY. FINALLY, PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES OF LOCAL SIGNIFICANCE RESTS WITH INDIVIDUAL MPOs, CITIES, AND COUNTIES. TO STRATEGICALLY INVEST OUR LIMITED RESOURCES, SPECIFIC CRITERIA AND THRESHOLDS WERE IDENTIFIED FOR THE VARIOUS MODES TO BE CONSIDERED SIS FACILITIES. THIS INCLUDES CRITERIA FOR EMERGING SIS FACILITIES, RECOGNIZING GROWTH POTENTIAL. THE DEPARTMENT SEEKS PARTICIPATION AND COMMENTS FROM YOU AND OUR TRANSPORTATION PARTNERS THROUGH METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATIONS, REGIONAL PLANNING COUNCILS, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, TRANSPORTATION PROVIDERS, AFFECTED PUBLIC AGENCIES, AND CITIZENS. TO ASSIST THE DEPARTMENT WITH THE UPDATE, A 29-MEMBER LEADERSHIP COMMITTEE WAS CONVENED TO GUIDE THE PLAN UPDATE AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE DEPARTMENT. THE MEMBERS REPRESENT STATE, REGIONAL, AND LOCAL AGENCIES, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL, GROWTH MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL SECURITY, AND ALL MODES OF TRANSPORTATION. THE LEADERSHIP COMMITTEE WILL BE MEETING BETWEEN MAY AND JUNE TO PROVIDE INITIAL RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE DEPARTMENT. BETWEEN JULY AND AUGUST, REGIONAL WORKSHOPS WILL BE HELD THROUGHOUT THE STATE AS THE LEADERSHIP COMMITTEE CONTINUES TO MEET. A DRAFT PLAN WILL BE POSTED ON THE DEPARTMENT'S WEB SITE FOR REVIEW AND COMMENT BY OCTOBER, AND A NEW PLAN WILL BE ADOPTED IN JANUARY 2010. A SPECIAL SIS UPDATE WEB SITE HAS BEEN CREATED FOR YOU TO GET THE LATEST UPDATES ON MEETINGS AND THE PLAN DEVELOPMENT. YOU CAN SUBMIT COMMENTS AT YOUR CONVENIENCE AND SIGN UP FOR E-MAIL UPDATES FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION. OTHER PLANS AVAILABLE INCLUDE THE UPDATE OF THE 2060 FLORIDA TRANSPORTATION PLAN TO BEGIN IN THE FALL, THE 2008 FLORIDA RAIL SYSTEM PLAN, AND SEAPORT SYSTEM PLAN UPDATE THAT IS UNDERWAY. THE CONTINUING FLORIDA AVIATION SYSTEM PLANNING PROCESS ALLOWS AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED ON AN ONGOING BASIS. WE LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR COMMENTS AND PARTICIPATION IN GUIDING FLORIDA'S TRANSPORTATION FUTURE. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK TO A DEPARTMENT REPRESENTATIVE OR SCHEDULE A MEETING IN YOUR AREA, PLEASE CONTACT SUSAN VanHOOSE, DISTRICT 7 SIS COORDINATOR AT AREA CODE 813-975- 6450. THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN FLORIDA'S TOMORROW. [END OF POWERPOINT] >> HELLO. I'M SHANNON ESTEP WITH FLORIDA'S TURNPIKE, AND I'M JUST HERE TO BRIEFLY GIVE YOU AN UPDATE OF OUR SIS UPDATE. THE FLORIDA TURNPIKE IS PART OF THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION. THE ENTERPRISE OWNS AND OPERATES A 460-MILE SYSTEM OF LIMITED ACCESS TOLLED HIGHWAYS. ALL OF OUR FACILITIES ARE CONSIDERED SIS FACILITIES. IN THIS MPO AREA, THE TURNPIKE OWNS AND OPERATES THE VETERANS EXPRESSWAY AND THE SUNCOAST PARKWAY, AND THE TURNPIKE IS WORKING WITH THE DISTRICTS AND WITH CENTRAL OFFICE FOR THE SIS UPDATE, AND WE WILL BE PREPARING A NEEDS PLAN AS A PART OF THAT UPDATE. AND WE'RE HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU. ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS OR -- IF NOT, WE THANK YOU VERY MUCH. GOOD REPORT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY. WE HAVE ONE PERSON THAT WANTS TO SPEAK ON THE PUBLIC INPUT. NEIL COSENTINO. >> THANK YOU AGAIN. I WANTED TO MENTION THAT CAMELOT FLORIDA MISSION, VISION, AND GOAL IS FLORIDA FIRST IN QUALITY OF LIFE, SO THAT'S WHAT WE BELIEVE IN AND THAT'S WHAT I'M HERE. EVERYTHING WE DO EITHER TAKES AWAY FROM OR ADDS TO OUR QUALITY OF LIFE, INCLUDING THIS BOARD. IN REGARD TO CURRENT TRANSPORTATION, THE GANDY CORRIDOR, WE ASK THE MPO STAFF AND THE BOARD TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS IN REGARD TO THE CROSSTOWN EXPRESSWAY, THE U.S. 92 I BELIEVE IT IS. THE ISSUES ARE REAL BASIC. IT'S A DECISION BETWEEN AN ELEVATED HIGHWAY, DO NOTHING, OR CUT-AND-COVER. FDOT 7 STUDIED AND PAID FOR STUDIES ON THE CUT-AND-COVER. IT IS FEASIBLE, AND WE BELIEVE IT IS THE LOWEST COST PER LANE MILE, AND WE HOPE THAT THE MPO WILL STUDY THAT AND MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO THE CITIZENS OF THIS COMMUNITY. IN REGARD TO THE FRIENDSHIP TRAIL BRIDGE, WE ASK THE MPO STAFF TO STUDY THE FRIENDSHIP TRAIL BRIDGE ISSUES. OUR RECOMMENDATIONS ARE TO RELOOK AT THE SUFFICIENCY RATING OF THE BRIDGE. IF YOU DON'T KNOW, A SUFFICIENCY RATING IS THE STATUS OF A BRIDGE AT THE LAST TIME IT WAS CONDUCTED, AND THE LAST TIME WAS BEFORE THE BRIDGE WAS REPLACED. WELL, YOU CAN EXTRAPOLATE FROM THE SUFFICIENCY RATING AND YOU FLAT-LINE WE BELIEVE THE DESCENT BECAUSE IT'S NOT USED FOR TRUCKS ANYMORE, IT'S ONLY PEOPLE, SO THERE CAN'T BE THIS TYPICAL DECLINE IN STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY BASED ON HOW IT NORMALLY WOULD BE USED. WHAT DOES THE MPO RECOMMEND TO THE CITIZENS? AND BECAUSE THERE'S A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF MONEY INVOLVED AND WE FEEL THAT THE MPO SHOULD ACT AS A THIRD PARTY. WE ALSO RECOMMEND A SECOND OR THIRD PROFESSIONAL OPINION ON THE INTEGRITY OF THE BRIDGE. IN REGARD TO SIS, STRATEGIC TRANSPORTATION PLANNING, IF YOU BELIEVE WHAT I'M SAYING -- AND I HOPE SOMEONE WILL CHALLENGE IT, BUT IF NO ONE CHALLENGES IT, IT STANDS BECAUSE IF LOCOMOTIVES, RAILROAD STATIONS, AND RAIL WERE THE PRIMARY MODE OF TRANSPORTATION IN THE 19th CENTURY AND AUTOMOBILES, HIGHWAYS, AND INTERSTATES WERE THE PRIMARY MODE IN THE 20th CENTURY, WE BELIEVE THAT AVIATION, AIRPORTS, AND AIR TRAVEL WILL BE THE PRIMARY ROAD IN THIS CENTURY. THIS IS STRATEGIC PLANNING. IF YOU HAVE THE RIGHT STRATEGIC PLANNING, THE REST OF THE PLANNING WILL BE GOOD. IF YOU DON'T HAVE THAT RIGHT, IT WON'T BE GOOD. WE LOOK FORWARD TO COMING BACK NEXT MONTH. HOPEFULLY THERE WILL BE SOME ANSWERS TO OUR QUESTIONS. THANK YOU. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? IF NOT, IS THERE ANY OLD BUSINESS WE NEED TO DISCUSS? ANY NEW BUSINESS? IF NOT, WE ADJOURN. THANK YOU. SEE YOU NEXT MONTH. >>ROSE FERLITA: THANK YOU. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU. 1