CAPTIONING SEPTEMBER 1, 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. WELCOME TO OUR HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION MEETING FOR SEPTEMBER 1st, 2009. WOULD YOU PLEASE STAND FOR PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE AND AN INVOCATION. [PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE] HEAVENLY FATHER, AS ALWAYS, WE THANK YOU FOR THE MANY BLESSINGS THAT YOU'VE GIVEN US. WE ASK THAT YOU PROTECT OUR YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN WHO ARE IN HARM'S WAY AND THOSE THROUGHOUT THE WORLD WHO ARE FIGHTING FOR OUR FREEDOMS. WE ASK THAT YOU GUIDE US TODAY TO MAKE THE DECISIONS THAT ARE RIGHT FOR OUR CITIZENS OF OUR HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY. IN YOUR NAME WE PRAY. AMEN. >> AMEN. >> AMEN. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THIS MORNING WE HAVE A PUBLIC HEARING ON THE MPO'S PRIORITIES FOR THE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM FOR THE YEAR 2015 -- IS IT -- IS THAT RIGHT, 2015? 2010 TO 2015. MY NAME IS JOE AFFRONTI, AND I'M THE CHAIRMAN OF THE HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION. AS FOR THE FORMAT OF PUBLIC HEARING, FIRST WE WILL HEAR A SHORT PRESENTATION FROM STAFF ON THE PRIORITIES. THEN WE WILL OPEN UP THE HEARING FOR PUBLIC COMMENT. WE WILL TAKE PUBLIC COMMENT IN THE ORDER THAT YOU HAVE SIGNED IN. FOLLOWING PUBLIC COMMENT, WE WILL HAVE BOARD DISCUSSION AND TAKE ACTION ON THE PRIORITIES FOR THE T.I.P. PRIORITIES. WHEN YOU ADDRESS THE BOARD, PLEASE STEP UP TO THE MICROPHONE AND CLEARLY STATE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS. PLEASE LIMIT YOUR COMMENTS TO THREE MINUTES EACH IN ORDER THAT EVERYONE ELSE MAY HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK. BEFORE WE START THE HEARING, LET ME REMIND YOU THAT THERE ARE BLUE FORMS ON THE TABLE BY THE DOOR FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO SPEAK. IF YOU HAVE NOT SIGNED IN, PLEASE FILL OUT THE FORM AND GIVE IT TO LINDA FERRARO, WHO IS ON MY RIGHT, THE MPO SECRETARY. IF YOU WISH TO EXPRESS YOUR COMMENTS IN WRITING, THERE ARE BEIGE FORMS ON THE TABLE. I WILL CALL ON STAFF TO GIVE A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM. >>WALLY BLAIN: GOOD MORNING. WALLY BLAIN, MPO STAFF. I'M DISCUSSING WITH YOU THIS MORNING THE PRIORITIES FOR THE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM THAT WE'LL BE ADOPTING NEXT YEAR AND WILL GO INTO EFFECT IN OCTOBER OF 2010. THESE PRIORITIES WILL BE FOR THE NEW FIFTH YEAR THAT WILL BE ADDED ON AND ONCE THE PRIORITIES ARE ADOPTED ARE TRANSMITTED TO FDOT FOR THEIR PROGRAMMING INTO THE WORK PROGRAM. BACK IN APRIL THE BOARD WAS PRESENTED WITH A CHANGE IN THE DIRECTION THAT WE WOULD BE USING FOR SETTING PRIORITIES, AND THIS WOULD BE BASED ON THE UPDATE OF THE LONG-RANGE PLAN IN DECEMBER. IN THIS YEAR WITH THE TRANSITION TO THE LONG-RANGE PLAN BEING ADOPTED LATER ON AND A NEW WAY OF DOING PRIORITIES NEXT YEAR, WE HAVE TAKEN THE PRIORITIES THAT WERE ADOPTED LAST YEAR FOR THE FISCAL YEAR '13-'14, AND MOVED THOSE PRIORITIES FORWARD AND CONTINUED ON WITH THOSE SAME PROJECTS. WE'VE DONE SOME SLIGHT ADJUSTING WITHIN THE LIST IN THE PROJECT, AND WE'LL WALK THROUGH THOSE CHANGES AS WE GO THROUGH THE PRESENTATION, BUT THESE ARE -- THEY ALSO DO INCLUDE PROJECTS THAT WERE SUBMITTED FOR STIMULUS FUNDING AND THE BOARD TOOK ACTION ON IN BOTH THE FEBRUARY MEETING AND THE MARCH MEETING, SO WE'VE INCLUDED THOSE LISTS OF PROJECTS TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE PROJECTS STAY A PRIORITY AND ARE CONTINUED TO MOVE FORWARD WITH ADDITIONAL FUNDING THAT MAY COME IN. FOR THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY SYSTEM AND THE STATE'S STRATEGIC INTERMODAL SYSTEM WE HAVE ADDED IN AND MADE SURE THAT WE ARE CONSISTENT WITH THE STATE'S PLANNING FOR THE STRATEGIC INTERMODAL SYSTEM. THIS IS A STATEWIDE SYSTEM OF MAJOR ARTERIALS. THE TWO SPECIFIC PROJECTS THAT WE'VE LISTED IN HERE IS THE I-75 FROM FOWLER AVENUE TO STATE ROAD 56 IN PASCO COUNTY AND ALSO THE CONTINUED -- THE IMPROVEMENTS ON I-275 FROM HOWARD FRANKLAND TO THE HILLSBOROUGH RIVER. UNDER THE OTHER STATE AND FEDERAL FUNDS, THIS BEFORE WAS A CATEGORY WHERE WE HAD JUST PROJECTS LUMPED TOGETHER AND LISTED OUT IN BULLET FORMAT. WHAT WE'VE DONE THIS YEAR THROUGH DISCUSSION WITH D.O.T. AND THE DIRECTION OF THE BOARD AT THE APRIL MEETING TO CHANGE THE PRIORITIES AND TRANSITION THIS, WE'VE PUT THESE IN A NOMINAL ORDER SO THAT D.O.T. KNOWS WHAT THE RANKING ORDER IS OF THESE PROJECTS, AND THAT'S STATE ROAD 574/MLK BOULEVARD FROM PARSONS TO KINGSWAY IN THE SEFFNER/VALRICO AREA; U.S. 301 FROM TAMPA BYPASS CANAL TO FOWLER AVENUE; AND THE ALEXANDER STREET EXTENSION FROM I-4 TO KNIGHTS GRIFFIN ROAD IN PLANT CITY. FOR THE SURFACE TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM THIS HAS HISTORICALLY BEEN A CATEGORY OR A FUNDING CATEGORY WHERE WE'VE ACCEPTED APPLICATIONS FROM LOCAL GOVERNMENTS FOR SPECIFIC PROJECTS TO MOVE FORWARD IN RANK AND PRIORITIZE. THIS YEAR WE DID NOT ACCEPT APPLICATIONS. WE MOVED FORWARD WITH THE SAME PROJECTS THAT WERE SUBMITTED LAST YEAR FOR FUNDING FOR FISCAL YEAR '13-'14 AND ARE MAKING THOSE PRIORITIES FOR FISCAL YEAR '14-'15. SO THOSE INCLUDE THE 40th STREET SEGMENT "A," THIS WILL BE THE FINAL CONSTRUCTION SEGMENT ON 40th STREET; BRUCE B. DOWNS FROM PEBBLE CREEK TO THE COUNTY LINE, THIS WOULD BE THE NORTHERNMOST SEGMENT ON BRUCE B. DOWNS; THE WIDENING OF SAM ALLEN ROAD FROM STATE ROAD 39 TO PARK ROAD IN PLANT CITY; TRANSPORTATION DEMAND MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES, THIS WOULD BE FOR BAY AREA COMMUTER SERVICES, THE TAMPA DOWNTOWN PARTNERSHIP, THE NEW NORTH TRANSPORTATION ALLIANCE, AND THE USF AND NORTHWEST AREA, AND ALSO THE WESTSHORE ALLIANCE. THERE ARE BUS PURCHASES IN HERE FOR HART AND THERE IS AN I.T.S., INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM PROJECT, FOR THE CITY OF TAMPA TO UPGRADE THEIR SYSTEMS. FOR THE TRANSPORTATION ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM, THIS IS A PROGRAM WHERE WE HAD FOR SEVERAL YEARS A BACKLOG OF PROJECTS THAT HAVEN'T BEEN FUNDED OFF OF A CANDIDATE LIST. I'M HAPPY TO SAY THAT THAT LIST IS GETTING MUCH SHORTER AS THE YEARS HAVE GONE ON, SO THE PROJECTS THAT REMAIN CANDIDATES AND ARE READY TO MOVE FORWARD ON THAT ARE BAYSHORE BOULEVARD, INTERSECTION PROJECTS FOR THE DOWNTOWN REDEVELOPMENT IN TEMPLE TERRACE AT 56th STREET AND BUSCH, AND I UNDERSTAND FROM STAFF AT THE CITY AS WELL AS FROM DOT THAT MONEY HAS BEEN SECURED FROM OTHER SOURCES FOR THAT, SO THIS IS LIKELY TO COME OFF OF THE ENHANCEMENT LIST BUT STILL BE A PROJECT THAT IS FUNDED AND WILL MOVE FORWARD. THERE'S A TEMPLE TERRACE TRAIL ON THE EAST SIDE OF TEMPLE TERRACE, AND THEN THERE'S ALSO A PROJECT FOR THE FRIENDSHIP TRAIL. THIS WOULD BE SEGMENTS SOUTH OF GANDY, BE FOR A PD&E AND DESIGN STUDY ON THOSE SEGMENTS SOUTH OF GANDY. WE DID GO THROUGH COMMITTEES IN AUGUST AND GET THEIR APPROVAL. WE'RE BEFORE YOU KNOW AT THIS PUBLIC HEARING TO GET THE MPO'S COMMENTS AND APPROVAL BEFORE TRANSMITTING THE PRIORITY LETTER, WHICH IS INCLUDED IN YOUR PACKET, TO FDOT FOR PROGRAMMING BY SEPTEMBER -- OCTOBER 15th. SO IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS, I CAN DISCUSS THEM. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU, WALLY. THERE WAS NO ONE THAT SIGNED TO SPEAK ON THIS ISSUE, BUT IF THERE'S ANYONE IN THE AUDIENCE THAT CARES TO ADDRESS THE BOARD ON THIS ISSUE, PLEASE COME FORWARD. OKAY. IF NOT -- YES, MR. SHARPE. >>MARK SHARPE: WALLY, ON THE BAYSHORE BOULEVARD, THAT IS THE BICYCLE TRAIL? >>WALLY BLAIN: YES, SIR. >>MARK SHARPE: WHAT IS THAT EXACTLY? >>WALLY BLAIN: THIS IS AN APPLICATION THAT HAD BEEN SUBMITTED OVER SEVERAL YEARS FROM THE CITY TO PUT A BICYCLE TRAIL ON BAYSHORE BETWEEN PLATT AND BAY TO BAY. THIS HAPPENED BACK IN -- I BELIEVE THE FIRST APPLICATION WE RECEIVED ON THAT WAS IN 1999. THIS WAS BEFORE THE CURRENT STUDY THAT THE CITY HAS UNDERTAKEN TO REDESIGN, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S SOMEONE FROM -- GENA, DO YOU HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL -- >>MARK SHARPE: THAT'S -- AND I'LL ASK GENA WHEN SHE COMES UP. THAT'S FANTASTIC. ACTUALLY I'VE GOTTEN A NUMBER OF E-MAILS FROM INDIVIDUALS ASKING ME ABOUT BAYSHORE AND WHAT WE CAN DO, AND I KNOW THE CITY'S ON TOP OF IT, SO I APPRECIATE THE CITY COUNCIL FOR ALL THE WORK THEY'VE DONE IN THE PAST AND CONTINUE TO DO IN MAKING IT HAPPEN. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? OKAY. WE NEED A MOTION, AND THERE WILL BE A ROLL CALL VOTE ON THIS PARTICULAR ISSUE. >> [INAUDIBLE] >> SECOND. >>JOE AFFRONTI: MOVED AND SECONDED. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? IF NOT, ROLL CALL VOTE. >> COMMISSIONER HAGAN'S OUT. DINGFELDER. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: YES. >> BECKNER. >>KEVIN BECKNER: YES. >> MILLER. >>LOUIS MILLER: YES. >> LOTT. >>RICK LOTT: YES. >> AFFRONTI. >>JOE AFFRONTI: YES. >> SHARPE. >>MARK SHARPE: YES. >> MULHERN'S OUT. SCOTT. >>THOMAS SCOTT: YES. >> CAETANO. >>JOSEPH CAETANO: YES. >> FERLITA. >>ROSE FERLITA: YES. >> WAINIO. >>RICHARD WAINIO: YES. >> WAGGONER. >>JOE WAGGONER: YES. >> MOTION CARRIED. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, WALLY. GOOD JOB. OKAY. IS THERE ANY PUBLIC INPUT ON ANY ITEMS THAT ARE ON THE AGENDA? WE HAVE THREE PEOPLE THAT SIGNED UP TO SPEAK, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR -- WHETHER IT'S ITEMS ON THE AGENDA OR -- OR NOT, BUT WHY DON'T I JUST CALL ON YOU. KELLY CORNELIUS. >> GOOD MORNING. MY NAME'S KELLY CORNELIUS. MY ADDRESS IS 18732 DORMAN ROAD IN LITHIA, STILL BYPASS FREE, SO THANKS FOR THAT. I'M HERE TODAY REGARDING SOME CONCERNS OVER LITHIA- PINECREST. I KNOW YOU'VE SEEN ME BEFORE WHEN I WAS WORRIED ABOUT THE RURAL AREA, AND THAT SEEMS TO BE OUT OF HARM'S WAY FOR THE MOST PART, SO -- SO WHY AM I HERE? WELL, THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THE URBAN AREA, AND THAT STUDY IS NOT FINISHED YET, SO I THINK YOU GUYS NEED TO KNOW THE CONTROVERSY THAT IS OUT THERE, ESPECIALLY WITH SECTION "B." EVEN THOUGH THIS IS AN URBAN AREA, THIS IS A NEIGHBORHOOD, AND THESE PEOPLE ARE GOING TO LOSE THEIR PROPERTY AND POSSIBLY THEIR HOMES IF IT'S WIDENED. SO I WAS CONCERNED WHEN I HEARD THAT THIS COULD COME UP AS -- AS PART OF THE BALLOT QUESTION ON THAT RAIL REFERENDUM THAT A LOT OF YOU WANT SO BADLY, AND I THINK IT'S A MISTAKE TO ADD A SECTION THAT IS SO CONTROVERSIAL TO SOMETHING AS -- AS IMPORTANT AS THE RAIL QUESTION. I MEAN, THAT'S GOING TO BE HARD ENOUGH TO GET APPROVED LET ALONE TACKING ON CONTROVERSIAL PROJECTS, SO I -- I ASKED ABOUT IT, AND INDEED IT CAME UP ON A PRELIMINARY DRAFT. NOW, I'VE HEARD AS LATE AS THIS MORNING THAT IT HAS POSSIBLY BEEN DROPPED OFF IN THAT SECTION, BUT I JUST WANTED TO MAKE YOU GUYS AWARE THAT THERE IS A LOT OF OPPOSITION IN SECTION "B." AND SO TO ASK PEOPLE TO TAX THEMSELVES FOR A ROAD WIDENING AS PART OF A RAIL REFERENDUM WHEN YOU ONLY CHARGE -- IF I READ THE REPORT CORRECTLY -- 12% OF THE LEGAL IMPACT FEES TO DEVELOPERS IS DISTURBING, AND THEN YOU'RE GOING TO ASK TAXPAYERS TO PAY FOR MORE WIDENINGS IN GENERAL, LET ALONE A CONTROVERSIAL PROJECT. AND REMEMBER WHEN WE WERE UP HERE BATTLING THIS BEFORE? IT WAS THE ARGUMENT OF THE FEDERAL FUNDS, WE'RE DOING IT THIS WAY FOR THE FEDERAL FUNDS. WELL, GREAT. NOW YOU'RE GOING TO ASK FOR THE FEDERAL FUNDS AND PEOPLE TO TAX THEMSELVES ON A REFERENDUM? SO -- AND JUST TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY ON THAT LAST MEETING, IT REALLY SEEMS LIKE THIS IS SPECIAL INTERESTS THAT WANT THAT SECTION WIDENED. THE RESIDENTS THAT ACTUALLY LIVE THERE DON'T, SO I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS MORE OF A COMMUTERS VERSUS RESIDENTS ISSUE, BUT A LOT OF THE EVERYDAY RESIDENTS SEEM TO BE VERY OPPOSED, SO I HOPE YOU TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION, AND ALSO HOW CAN WE AFFORD THIS? I MEAN, THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS OUT THERE THAT, YOU KNOW -- THAT ARE NONCONTROVERSIAL PROJECTS THAT NEED TO BE PAID FOR, AND, I MEAN, WE'VE GOT OTHER THINGS TO SPEND OUR MONEY ON LIKE SEXUAL HARASSMENT SUITS IN THE COUNTY, SO PLEASE TAKE THIS INTO CONSIDERATION SINCE THIS ISN'T APPROVED AND DON'T TACK IT ON TO SOMETHING AS IMPORTANT AS A RAIL REFERENDUM. THANK YOU. >>JOE AFFRONTI: AS ALWAYS, KELLY, THANK YOU FOR YOUR INPUT. OKAY. DID YOU WANT TO COMMENT NOW OR YOU WANT TO WAIT? I GOT TWO MORE, RAY. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: OKAY. WAIT. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. LAUREN O'GRADY. >> GOOD MORNING. HI. MY NAME IS LAUREN O'GRADY. I LIVE AT 660 BRYAN TERRACE DRIVE IN BRANDON. I LIVE IN THE SECTION "B" AREA OF LITHIA-PINECREST ROAD, BUT MY HOME'S NOT AFFECTED REGARDING THE WIDENING OF SECTION "B." I HAVE HERE A PETITION OF ALMOST 250 RESIDENTS OPPOSED TO WIDENING SECTION "B," IF I CAN READ THIS. IT'S A PETITION TO SAVE OUR HOMES AND BUSINESSES ON LITHIA- PINECREST ROAD. YOUR HOME COULD BE NEXT. PLEASE HELP US. WE, THE UNDERSIGNED, ARE CONCERNED CONSTITUENTS OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY WHO URGE OUR REPRESENTATIVES TO VETO THE PROPOSED WIDENING OF LITHIA-PINECREST ROAD TO EITHER FOUR OR SIX LANES IN THE URBAN SERVICE AREAS BETWEEN BLOOMINGDALE AVE. AND HIGHWAY 60, AKA SEGMENTS "A" AND "B." BOTH FOUR- AND SIX-LANE PLANS WOULD ADVERSELY AFFECT HUNDREDS, POSSIBLY THOUSANDS OF RESIDENTS AND BUSINESS OWNERS BY EITHER BULLDOZING THEIR STRUCTURES AND FORCING THEM TO RELOCATE OR DEVALUE AND DAMAGE THE PROPERTY OF THE OTHERS. A SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP IN BRANDON INITIATED THIS WIDENING DEBACLE AND IS FURIOUSLY CAMPAIGNING TO BRING IT TO FRUITION. THESE PROPONENTS DON'T LIVE IN THE CONDEMNABLE AREAS AND SHOULD NOT HAVE A VOICE IN THE DECONSTRUCTION OF THE PROPERTY OF OTHERS. OUR -- SORRY. OTHER FIERCE PROPONENTS WHOSE HOMESTEADS ARE NOT ENDANGERED RESIDE IN THOSE CLUSTERED COMMUNITIES, EXAMPLE, FISHHAWK RANCH, OFF LITHIA-PINECREST ROAD SOUTH OF BLOOMINGDALE AVE. SINCE AN OVERWHELMING PERCENTAGE OF THESE COMMUTERS ARE TRAVELING TO AND FROM TAMPA, IT WOULD BEHOOVE OUR LEADERS TO SHIFT ATTENTION TO DEVELOPING AND/OR ENHANCING THE ADJACENT EAST-WEST CORRIDORS SUCH AS FISHHAWK BOULEVARD AND BOYETTE ROAD. IT MAKES NO STRATEGIC SENSE TO FORCE TRAFFIC ONTO LITHIA- PINECREST ROAD WHEN OUTLET ROADS SUCH AS LUMSDEN AND HIGHWAY 60 ARE ALREADY OVERBURDENED. THE INVASIVE PROJECT MAKES NO FISCAL SENSE, ESPECIALLY IN THESE HARSH ECONOMIC TIMES. THE COST TO TAXPAYERS FOR THE STUDY AND DESIGN OF THIS PROJECT, OVER 12 MILLION; THE COST OF COMPLETING THIS PROJECT, OVER 350 MILLION; SAVING OUR HOMES AND BUSINESSES FROM THE WRECKING BALL, PRICELESS. AND SOME COMMENTS FROM SOME OF THE RESIDENTS. NOT WITH MY TAX MONEY. DO NOT SACRIFICE LONG-TERM HOMEOWNERS FOR THIS STUPID PROJECT. I DON'T WANT LITHIA-PINECREST ROAD TO TURN INTO I-75. THE WIDENING OF LITHIA-PINECREST WILL FORCE HOMEOWNERS TO GO COMMERCIAL. AND SHAME ON YOU. AND MAY GOD HELP THOSE POOR FAMILIES AFFECTED. AGAIN, THESE ARE THEIR COMMENTS. THIS IS THE NEIGHBORHOOD -- THIS NEIGHBORHOOD IS WELL ESTABLISHED AND SOME RESIDENTS HAVE LIVED THERE FOR DECADES. I WANTED TO MAKE YOU AWARE OF THIS OPPOSITION BEFORE YOU MAKE A HASTY DECISION TO PAVE OVER THEIR HOMES, AND THANK YOU FOR LISTENING, AND THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU DO FOR OUR COMMUNITY. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU VERY MUCH, LAUREN. OKAY. ALAN SNEL. IS IT S-N-E-L? >> ALAN SNEL, 1203 EAST POWHATAN, TAMPA, FLORIDA. I'M THE DIRECTOR OF SWFBUD, SOUTHWEST FLORIDA UNITED BICYCLE DEALERS, AND I'M ALSO THE COFOUNDER OF THE SEMINOLE HEIGHTS BICYCLE CLUB. I'M HERE TO INVITE THE MPO BOARD TO THE BICYCLE BASH BY THE BAY. IT'S TAMPA BAY'S BICYCLE FESTIVAL, AND I'M HERE TO GIVE A BRIEF PRESENTATION ON BICYCLING IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY. ONE OF THE NEW FEATURES OF THE BICYCLE BASH THIS YEAR IS THAT WE'RE GOING TO GIVE AWARDS TO FOUR INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE PUBLICLY SUPPORTED BICYCLING, AND AS STUNNING AS IT MIGHT SEEM, WE ACTUALLY HAVE AN AWARD WINNER ON YOUR BOARD RIGHT NOW, AND THAT PERSON HAPPENS TO BE MARK SHARPE. I WANT TO PUBLICLY ACKNOWLEDGE MARK'S CONTRIBUTION TO BICYCLING IN THE HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY AREA. EVEN THOUGH HE'S A REPUBLICAN, HE DOESN'T EVEN OWN A BICYCLE OR DOESN'T EVEN BIKE, HE'S DOING JUST INCREDIBLE BICYCLE STUFF BEHIND THE SCENES. [LAUGHTER] IT'S WORTH THE PRICE OF ADMISSION RIGHT THERE. MARK ASKED ME -- MARK HAD THE FORESIGHT TO SEE THE BENEFITS OF BICYCLING, AND HE ASKED ME TO LIST I THINK TEN THINGS OF WHAT HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY CAN DO TO MAKE THIS PLACE MORE BICYCLE FRIENDLY AND BECOME THE PORTLAND OF THE EAST COAST. WE CAN DO IT, IT'S JUST A MATTER OF POLITICAL WILL AND RESOURCES. HERE'S SWFBUD'S TOP TEN RECOMMENDATIONS. NUMBER ONE, CHANGE YOUR ATTITUDES AS PUBLIC OFFICIALS, CHANGE IT FROM BICYCLE IS LEISURE TO BICYCLE IS TRANSPORTATION. THERE'S A MOVEMENT GOING AROUND THE COUNTRY CALLED COMPLETE STREETS. IT'S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE. WHEN YOU BUILD A ROAD, INCLUDE FACILITIES FOR OTHER WAYS OF GETTING AROUND SUCH AS A BICYCLE OR WALKING. NUMBER TWO, TRAILS. CONNECT THE UPPER TAMPA BAY TRAIL WITH THE SUNCOAST TRAIL AND ALSO BUILD TRAILS ALONG THE HILLSBOROUGH RIVER INTO DOWNTOWN AND ALSO BUILD A TRAIL ALONG THE BYPASS CANAL INTO DOWNTOWN AND MAKE TRAILS BICYCLE COMMUTER HIGHWAYS INTO DOWNTOWN. I USED TO LIVE IN DENVER. IN FACT, I COVERED CITY HALL IN DENVER, AND I'M QUITE FAMILIAR WITH THE SCENE THERE. THEY HAVE BIKE TRAILS ALONG THEIR TWO MAIN WATERWAYS GOING RIGHT INTO DOWNTOWN. IT'S EFFECTIVE, AND PEOPLE USE THEM. NUMBER THREE, WIDEN KEY NORTH-SOUTH ROADS SUCH AS LIVINGSTON AND WESTSHORE SO THAT BICYCLES CAN HAVE A SHOULDER OR A BIKE LANE. THE D.O.T., I BELIEVE, WIDENED 92 FROM TAMPA TO PLANT CITY TO MAKE IT BETTER FOR BICYCLISTS. I'M ON THAT ROAD, AND IT IS SAFER. THANKS, DON. NUMBER FOUR, READ A BOOK JEFF MAPE'S "PEDALING REVOLUTION." HE SHOWS THAT THE BEST CITIES ARE THE ONES THAT ARE BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN FRIENDLY. NOW WE HAVE SOME SPECIFIC SUGGESTIONS SPECIFICALLY FOR THE CITY OF TAMPA. CREATE A POSITION OF BICYCLE CZAR TO SHEPHERD SPECIFIC BICYCLE -- IS MY TIME UP? >>JOE AFFRONTI: YEAH, YOUR TIME IS UP. >> IS IT OKAY FOR ME -- >>JOE AFFRONTI: SO PLEASE WRAP IT UP. >> -- TO TALK TWO MORE MINUTES? >>JOE AFFRONTI: YEAH. WRAP IT UP QUICKLY. >> OKAY. I DON'T THINK WE HAVE LIKE A BARNSTORM OF PEOPLE HERE. >>JOE AFFRONTI: YEAH. GO AHEAD. >> CREATE A POSITION OF BICYCLE CZAR TO SHEPHERD SPECIFIC BICYCLE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS TO COMPLETION. WE NEED LEADERSHIP AT THE CITY LEVEL TO MAKE THINGS HAPPEN. NUMBER SIX, RECOGNIZE AND GIVE AWARDS TO DOWNTOWN BUILDINGS THAT DESIGNATE INSIDE SPACE FOR BICYCLE STORAGE, LOCKERS, AND STORAGE. SWFBUD JUST DID THIS FOR THE TAMPA CITY CENTER. I SUGGEST ALL YOU FOLKS GO TO THE TAMPA CITY CENTER AND SEE THE KIND OF STUFF THEY'VE DONE THERE. THEY HAVE A ROOM FOR BICYCLES, AND THE LANDLORD HAS PROMISED THE TENANTS THERE THAT THEY WILL INSTALL SHOWERS AND LOCKERS. NUMBER SEVEN, DESIGNATE A BIKE ROUTE FOR PEOPLE TO BIKE FROM SOUTH TAMPA TO USF. EVERY MONTH I GET CALLS FROM PEOPLE FROM SOUTH TAMPA. THEY WANT TO GET TO USF, BUT THEY'RE AFRAID TO BIKE FROM SOUTH TAMPA TO USF. NUMBER EIGHT, PAVE AND HAVE BIKE LANES ALONG THE ENTIRE STRETCH OF BAYSHORE. WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THAT FOR YEARS. NUMBER NINE, FOR THE PEOPLE WHO ARE IN THE BUSINESS OF PLANNING, PLEASE, YOU DO FANTASTIC WORK IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY. THE PLANS ARE ON THE BOOKS. IT'S A MATTER OF ELECTED OFFICIALS TO ENACT THEM. START -- LET'S GET OUT OF OUR OFFICES AND AVOID USING A LOT OF THE TECHNICAL PLANNING JARGON THAT DON'T RELATE TO AVERAGE PEOPLE. AND MY FINAL, TEN, IS FOR ELECTED OFFICIALS, PLEASE START ENACTING THE PLANS THAT ARE ALREADY ON THE BOOKS. YOUR PLANNING AGENCIES DO INCREDIBLE WORK. I'VE -- I ATTEND THE BICYCLE/PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COMMITTEES. THERE ARE -- THE PLANS, THE MASTER PLANS FOR EVERYTHING ARE THERE, AND IT'S JUST A MATTER OF HAVING THE POLITICAL WILL TO PUT THEM INTO PROCESS. I APPRECIATE THE EXTRA TIME. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU, ALAN. MS. FERLITA. >>ROSE FERLITA: ALAN, JUST ONE QUICK COMMENT, SIR. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ENTHUSIASM AND YOUR ENERGY, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THIS HELPS OR HURTS THE CANDIDATE, BUT THE REPUBLICAN OVER THERE, MARK SHARPE, DOESN'T HAVE A BICYCLE, BUT I KNOW WHERE HE PARKS, AND HE DOES RIDE A HARLEY. DOES THAT MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE HERE? >> WELL, MARK IS A [INCOMPREHENSIBLE] WE'LL WORK WITH HIM. >>MARK SHARPE: THANK YOU. >>JOE AFFRONTI: MARY MULHERN. >>MARY MULHERN: I JUST HAVE ONE QUESTION, ALAN. DO WE HAVE -- THAT LIST YOU JUST GAVE, DOES COUNCIL HAVE IT AND -- >> YEAH, I CAN JUST DROP IT OFF AT CITY HALL. >>MARY MULHERN: OKAY. THANKS. >>MARK SHARPE: I WAS GOING TO ASK AS WELL IF YOU COULD MAKE SURE THAT EACH ONE OF US GETS A COPY OF THE TEN, AND THEN HAVE YOU GIVEN THAT ALSO TO GENA BECAUSE I WAS GOING TO ASK WHEN GENA COMES UP THAT SHE AT THE NEXT MEETING GIVE US A REPORT ON EACH OF THE TEN POINTS. >> RIGHT, GENA -- I DON'T KNOW. GENA, I THINK, HAS A DIFFERENT POSITION NOW WITH THE PLANNING, BUT, I MEAN, I'LL -- I'LL HAND IT TO THE FOLKS -- >>MARK SHARPE: WE'LL DETERMINE -- OKAY. >> -- AT THE BPAC. >>MARK SHARPE: OKAY. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. THANK YOU. >> AND I JUST WOULD LIKE ALSO TO SUBMIT A STORY FROM THE MIAMI HERALD ABOUT THE CITY OF MIAMI -- >>JOE AFFRONTI: PLEASE WRAP IT UP BECAUSE -- >> RIDING THE GREENWAY -- I'M JUST GOING TO SUBMIT THE -- >>MARK SHARPE: THANKS, ALAN. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: MR. CHAIRMAN. >>JOE AFFRONTI: YES, MR. CHIARAMONTE. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: OKAY. GOING BACK TO THE LITHIA-PINECREST ISSUE, I WANTED TO LET THE BOARD KNOW THAT YESTERDAY THAT THE TRANSPORTATION TASK FORCE TURNED IN A REVISED LIST OF PROJECTS TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THE 25% PORTION OF THE POSSIBLE REFERENDUM, AND THEY DID TAKE OUT THE RECOMMENDATION OF THAT SECTION OF LITHIA- PINECREST FROM BLOOMINGDALE TO 60 TO -- THEY TOOK IT DOWN TO TWO LANES IS WHAT THEY SUBMITTED TO THAT, WHICH I AGREE WITH THAT POSITION AND HAD SPOKEN TO THEM BEFORE. I THINK THE LAST THING WE WANT TO DO IS PUT VERY CONTROVERSIAL ITEMS ON THE REFERENDUM, SO I THINK WE'RE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION TO ADDRESS THE CITIZENS' CONCERNS. >>RICHARD WAINIO: MR. CHAIRMAN. >>JOE AFFRONTI: YES. OH, YES. I'M SORRY. >>RICHARD WAINIO: I THINK THAT PRETTY MUCH ADDRESSED WHAT I WAS GOING TO ASK, BUT -- BECAUSE I UNDERSTOOD THAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY AS WELL, AND I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT I DO APPRECIATE THE CONCERNS THAT WERE EXPRESSED OVER THE SECTION "B" OF THE LITHIA-PINECREST ROAD. I WOULD LIKE -- I DON'T WANT TO BELABOR THINGS HERE TODAY OR SLOW THINGS DOWN, BUT RAY, COULD I -- COULD I JUST GET SOME KIND OF SUMMARY UPDATE ON WHERE WE ARE ON -- SPECIFICALLY ON THE VARIOUS PROJECTS IN THAT AREA BECAUSE I -- I -- WHEN YOU LOOK AT PRIORITIES, I -- I AGREE WITH THE ONE LADY THAT SPOKE, AT LEAST OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD THAT FISHHAWK -- FISHHAWK BOULEVARD, BELL SHOALS IS IN MY BOOK A HIGHER PRIORITY THAN FOUR-LANING SECTION "B" OF LITHIA-PINECREST. IT TOOK ME ALMOST AN HOUR TO GET IN TODAY BECAUSE I WAS BACKED UP ALL DOWN FISHHAWK BOULEVARD. THAT IS WHERE PEOPLE -- MOST PEOPLE COMMUTE INTO THE CITY, AS SHE SAID, FROM THAT WHOLE AREA DOWN THERE, AND AS YOU KNOW, WITH THE MOSAIC CONSTRUCTION, THEIR NEW HEADQUARTERS AND ALL THE NEW HOMES THAT ARE GOING TO GO INTO THAT AREA, IT'S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE. I KNOW THEY HAVE PLANS TO DO SOMETHING THERE, BUT I'D LIKE TO GET A LITTLE REFRESHER COURSE IF I COULD, IF YOU COULD JUST SEND ME SOME INFORMATION SO I KNOW WHERE WE ARE ON THOSE VARIOUS ROAD PROJECTS. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. >>RICHARD WAINIO: THANK YOU. >>JOE AFFRONTI: CAN YOU HANDLE THAT, RAY, QUICKLY. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: OKAY. >>THOMAS SCOTT: MR. CHAIRMAN, LET ME FOLLOW UP. >>JOE AFFRONTI: YES. >>THOMAS SCOTT: JUST FOR CLARIFICATION, RAY, THAT WAS THE TEN MEMBERS OF THE TASK FORCE -- >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: RIGHT. >>THOMAS SCOTT: -- THAT PUT TOGETHER THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THAT GOES BACK TO THE FULL TASK FORCE -- >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: THAT'S CORRECT. >>THOMAS SCOTT: -- AND EVENTUALLY COMES BACK TO THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSION -- >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: YES. >>THOMAS SCOTT: -- SO ULTIMATELY THE DECISION WOULD BE MADE BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSION. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: THAT IS CORRECT. >>THOMAS SCOTT: I WANTED IT TO BE CLEAR -- >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: I JUST MEANT THAT WE WERE MOVING IN THAT DIRECTION. >>THOMAS SCOTT: YEAH. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: IT'S NOT GOING TO BE FINAL UNTIL THE MPO PLAN IS ACTUALLY -- >>THOMAS SCOTT: JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT NO ONE THINKS THAT IT'S A DONE DEAL BECAUSE THAT'S NOT THE CASE, IT'S ONLY A RECOMMENDATION FROM THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE TO FORWARD AN EXECUTIVE REPORT TO THE TASK FORCE AND THEN TO THE BOARD. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. THANK YOU FOR THE CLARIFICATION. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? IF NOT, WE -- MR. AMON, CITIZENS ADVISORY COUNCIL. >> THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. WE MET ON AUGUST THE 12th, AND I HAVE A FEW ITEMS HERE WE'D LIKE TO BRING FORWARD TO YOU. FIRST I'LL START WITH MEMBERS' INTEREST. MR. STINSON BROUGHT TWO ITEMS FORWARD, ONE TO LET US KNOW THAT THE LEGISLATURE IS CONSIDERING ELIMINATING CELL PHONE USE WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY, AND THE SECOND IS IS THAT HE'S BEEN WATCHING THE MANHATTAN/GANDY BOULEVARD PROJECT VERY CLOSELY, AND APPARENTLY THEY'RE NOT SATISFIED WITH THE WAY IT WAS STRIPED DOWN THERE, SO THEY BROUGHT THAT FORWARD SO THAT THE CITY COULD TAKE A LOOK AT THE STRIPING. ANOTHER MEMBER, MR. LEDUC, IS INTERESTED IN THE CAC WEIGHING IN WITH THE TRANSPORTATION TASK FORCE. ACTUALLY, HE'S INTERESTED IN GETTING INTO THE WORDING OF WHAT IS GOING TO BE PREPARED TO BRING TO THE -- THE COUNTY COMMISSION CONCERNING THE 2010 REFERENDUM. WE'RE NOT REAL SURE WHERE WE'RE GOING WITH THAT YET, BUT WE'LL BE LOOKING AT THAT IN THE NEXT MEETING. ACTION ITEMS. THE T.I.P. PRIORITIES FOR 2014/2015 JUST FOR RECORD, WE UNANIMOUSLY SUPPORTED FORWARDING THE PRIORITIES TO THE MPO BOARD FOR APPROVAL. UNIFIED PLANNING WORK PROGRAM, AGAIN THERE, WE UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDED APPROVAL OF THE UPWP AMENDMENTS. HART STAFF PROVIDED US A SUMMARY OF THEIR TRANSPORTATION DEVELOPMENT PLAN. ALTHOUGH THIS WAS CONSIDERED A MINOR UPDATE, THERE WAS CONCERN EXPRESSED BY THE CAC MEMBERS THAT AS A NEEDS PLAN, A MORE COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF PROJECTS SHOULD BE INCLUDED. AN EXAMPLE, A NEED FOR UPGRADED BUSES WITH DOUBLE DOORS THAT OPEN UP IN THE BACK FOR A WHEELCHAIR USER AND FOR THOSE ENTERING FROM THE REAR OF THE BUS TO BE ABLE TO PAY THEIR FARES AT THE ENTRANCE, AND CURRENTLY WHEELCHAIR USERS MUST ENTER THE FRONT OF THE BUS AND BACK IN WITH LITTLE ROOM TO MANEUVER, SO THERE'S AN ISSUE. ANOTHER ISSUE THAT WAS BROUGHT UP BY THE BOARD -- BY THE MEMBERS OF THE CAC, THE CAC MEMBERS FOCUSED ON THE NEED FOR MORE OUTREACH IN MARKETING AIMED AT THE YOUNGER GENERATION WHO ARE APT TO MAKE A LIFESTYLE CHANGE TO ENCOURAGE THEM TO BECOME TRANSIT RIDERS. NOW, IF THE EXPERIENCE ON THE BUS IS A FOCUS AND NOT JUST MAKING A TRIP FROM "A" TO "B," THE PERCEPTION OF USING THIS MODE MAY CHANGE, CAPTURING MORE CHOICE RIDERS. WE RECEIVED STATUS REPORTS. THE EXPRESSWAY AUTHORITY UPDATE, MR. WAGGONER CAME OVER AND GAVE US A VERY COMPREHENSIVE UPDATE OF WHAT THEY'RE PLANNING, AND THAT WAS ASKED FOR BY ONE OF OUR MEMBERS, AND I CAN TELL YOU UNEQUIVOCALLY AT THE END OF THE MEETING WE ALL WERE HIGHLY ENLIGHTENED ABOUT WHAT THE HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY EXPRESSWAY AUTHORITY HAS GOT -- SOME OF THE THINGS ON THEIR AGENDA ANYWAY, AND AT THE END THE ENTIRE COMMITTEE WAS VERY PLEASED WITH WHAT THEY HEARD, AND THEY WERE VERY PLEASED TO HEAR THE WAY THAT MR. WAGGONER WAS TRYING TO USE THE MONEY VERY WISELY AND STAYING IN BUDGETS AND WORKING WITHIN THE PARAMETERS THAT THEY HAD, SO THE CAC WAS VERY IMPRESSED AND APPRECIATE YOU COMING BY. THE LRTP UPDATE, WE WERE GIVEN A HANDOUT. BECAUSE OF TIME CONSTRAINTS, WE DIDN'T GET INTO DETAIL. WE HAVE THE UPDATES. WE'RE LOOKING AT THEM AT THIS TIME, AND WE'LL GET A MORE IN-DEPTH BRIEFING AT OUR NEXT MEETING COMING UP IN SEPTEMBER. WE WERE INSTRUCTED THAT THE -- THERE'S A MULTIMODAL DISTRICT STUDY AT USF AREA. CAC LEARNED OF A STUDY AND IS INTERESTED IN IT AND WILL FOLLOW IT VERY CLOSELY. NO ACTIONS WERE TAKEN. OF COURSE, WE JUST FOUND OUT ABOUT THE STUDY. THE NEXT CITIZENS ADVISORY MEETING IS GOING TO BE SEPTEMBER 9th AT 1:15, NORMAL LOCATION, AND THAT'S BASICALLY OUR REPORT. THANK YOU. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU, JOE. ANY QUESTIONS OF JOE? ANY COMMENTS? YES. >>ROSE FERLITA: JUST VERY QUICKLY. >>JOE AFFRONTI: GO AHEAD. >>ROSE FERLITA: MR. AMON, IT SEEMS LIKE YOU'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR US FOR A LONG TIME, I WAS THINKING AS I WAS LISTENING TO YOU. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE TO US. WE REALLY APPRECIATE THAT. >> THANK YOU. APPRECIATE THAT. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU, JOSEPH. WE APPRECIATE IT. OKAY. NEXT WE HAVE THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE, NED. >>NED BAIER: GOOD MORNING. NED BAIER, HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY STAFF. THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE MET ON AUGUST 17th, AND LIKE THE CITIZENS COMMITTEE, WE ALSO REVIEWED THE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM PRIORITIES, AND YOU'VE ALREADY TAKEN ACTION ON THAT TODAY, BUT WE DID ALSO REVIEW IN DETAIL, AND WE APPROVED WITH IT, RECOGNIZING THAT IT IS A DOCUMENT IN TRANSITION AND YOU'LL BE GOING TO MORE OF A INTEGRATED LIST WITH YOUR HIGHWAY TRANSIT AND OTHER PROJECTS IN NEXT YEAR'S LIST. THE UNIFIED PLANNING WORK PROGRAM AMENDMENT, WE DID REVIEW AND APPROVE THAT -- AND IT'S A GREAT DEAL OF MONEY -- IN THE MPO WORK PROGRAM, AND OTHER AGENCIES BENEFIT FROM THAT FEDERAL PLANNING DOLLARS. WE LOOKED AT IT IN QUITE A LOT OF DETAIL, AND WE DID ENDORSE THAT. THE TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN, WHICH IS -- YOU'LL BE HEARING A PRESENTATION FROM THE HART STAFF, WE SPENT A LOT OF TIME ON THIS, AND THERE WERE QUESTIONS IN PARTICULAR FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION. AS YOU'RE GOING TO LEARN, IT'S DIVIDED INTO A NEEDS PLAN, A STATUS QUO PLAN, AND ENHANCED FUNDING, AND THERE ARE A LOT OF FRESH IDEAS. THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT BUS SERVICE TO THE -- EXPANDED BUS SERVICE, BUS RAPID TRANSIT, AND EXPRESS LINES TO WESTSHORE AND ALSO TO THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA AS DESTINATION POINTS, AND WE THINK THAT WAS REALLY GOOD IDEAS. THE TDP IS AN IMPORTANT DOCUMENT BECAUSE HART BENEFITS WITH ALMOST $3.5 MILLION OF STATE FUNDS, AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO UPDATE THAT DOCUMENT IN ORDER TO RETAIN THAT -- THAT STATE FUNDING. THE RAIL PLANS OF TBARTA, OF HART, THE MPO PLAN THAT WAS DISCUSSED IN SOME DETAIL, AND THERE'S A LOT OF SIMILARITIES IN THE PLANS, AND IT'S A CONTINUE -- A CONTINUED DIALOGUE TO MAKE ALL THOSE PLANS WORK, BUT I JUST WANTED TO REPORT THAT THERE WERE SOME QUESTIONS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION. I THINK MORE ON THE COORDINATION OF THE PLANS THEMSELVES, AND WE -- WE THINK THAT A LOT OF THAT HAS BEEN RESOLVED OVER THE LAST COUPLE WEEKS WITH MORE OF THE SENIOR STAFF FROM D.O.T. THERE WAS ALSO A STATUS REPORT ON THE MULTIMODAL DISTRICT STUDY, AND THAT'LL BE A PRESENTATION LATER TODAY, AND HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY IS TAKING THE LEAD WITH MPO STAFF ON THAT, AND THAT SHOULD SERVE THE UNIVERSITY AREA WELL AND REALLY HELP INTEGRATE TRANSIT PLANS AND PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE PLANS IN THAT AREA. THE NEXT TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING IS SEPTEMBER 21st AT 1:30. I KNOW JOE WAGGONER IS ON OUR AGENDA WITH THE EXPRESSWAY AUTHORITY, AND ALSO I THINK THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO TAKE UP THE BICYCLING RECOMMENDATIONS MADE BY ALAN SNEL. WE HAVE MANY OF THE AGENCY DIRECTORS AND MANAGERS AT THAT MEETING, SO I THINK IT WOULD BE A GOOD PLACE FOR US TO DISCUSS WHAT IS IN MR. SNEL'S REPORT AS WELL AS THE BICYCLE-PED COMMITTEE IF YOU WOULD LIKE US TO DO THAT, SO WITH THAT, THAT'S THE REPORT. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU, NED. ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FOR NED? OKAY. >>NED BAIER: THANK YOU. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK, NED. APPRECIATE IT. OKAY. WE HAVE FOUR ITEMS ON THE CONSENT AGENDA, ONE BEING THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES, AND RATHER THAN GO THROUGH -- FOR THE PUBLIC'S SAKE, I'D LIKE TO JUST GIVE A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE THREE ITEMS THAT WE'LL BE VOTING ON ON THE CONSENT AGENDA, AND I'M ADVISED THAT THE -- TO REAFFIRM THE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM AMENDMENT, WHICH IS THE LAST ITEM ON THE CONSENT AGENDA, WE'LL NEED A ROLL CALL VOTE. SO WE'LL JUST TAKE A ROLL CALL VOTE ON ALL FOUR ITEMS, UNLESS YOU WOULD LIKE TO PULL ONE FOR DISCUSSION. WE COULD DO THAT. SO -- ALL RIGHT. SO THE FIRST ONE IS THE -- THE MINUTES, OF COURSE. THE SECOND ONE IS THE UNIFIED PLANNING WORK PROGRAM AMENDMENTS. THE CURRENT UNIFIED WORK -- PLANNING WORK PROGRAM IS A TWO- YEAR DOCUMENT THAT LAYS OUT THE MPO'S PLANNING TASKS FOR THE PERIOD OF JULY 1, 2008, THROUGH JUNE 30th, 2010. THE PROGRAM MUST BE AMENDED TO REFLECT THE UNSPENT FUNDING REMAINING AT THE END OF THE YEAR, ONE THAT WILL BE CARRIED INTO YEAR TWO. THESE ARE REFERRED TO AS ROLL-FORWARD FUNDS AND CONSISTS OF PLANNING FUNDS FROM THE FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, PLANNING FUNDS FROM THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION, AND THE SURFACE TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM FUNDS. IN ADDITION, THE MPO HAS BEEN ADVISED THAT THE FEDERAL -- FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION FUNDING ALLOCATION IS $69,000 -- $69,644 GREATER THAN THE INITIAL ESTIMATE, SO THAT IS ONE ITEM ON THE CONCEPT AGENDA. THE SECOND ITEM ON THE CONSENT AGENDA IS THE TRANSPORTATION DISADVANTAGED SERVICE PLAN FOR 2006 TO 2010 AMENDMENTS. THE FLORIDA COMMISSION OF THE TRANSPORTATION DISADVANTAGED REQUIRES THAT A FEW COMPONENTS OF THE TDCSP BE REVIEWED AND UPDATED ANNUALLY. A SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY TRANSPORTATION DISADVANTAGED COORDINATING BOARD REVIEWED THESE COMPONENTS AND RECOMMENDED THE ATTACHED AMENDMENTS TO THE TDCB. THE TDCB APPROVED THE AMENDMENTS AT ITS AUGUST 27th, 2009, MEETING. THE AMENDMENTS COMPRISE OF NEEDS ASSESSMENT, NO CHANGES; GOALS, OBJECTIVES, AND STRATEGIES, NO CHANGES; IMPROVEMENT PLAN UPDATED TO INCLUDE FISCAL YEAR 2011 CAPITAL REQUESTS; AND FARE STRUCTURE UPDATED FOR FISCAL YEAR 2009 USING FLORIDA CTD RATE CALCULATION MODEL. SO THAT'S THE SECOND ITEM. ACTUALLY, THE THIRD ITEM, INCLUDING THE MINUTES. AND THE LAST ITEM IS REAFFIRM THE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM AMENDMENT. AT THE JULY 14th, 2009, MEETING, THE MPO APPROVED AN AMENDMENT TO THE T.I.P. TO INCLUDE FUNDING FOR STREETSCAPE IMPROVEMENTS ON HILLSBOROUGH AVENUE FROM THE VETERANS EXPRESSWAY TO TUDOR DRIVE. THE PROJECT HAS BEEN REVIEWED AND SUPPORTED BY THE MPO'S ADVISORY COMMITTEES IN JUNE AND WAS TO BE FUNDED WITH DISCRETIONARY FEDERAL FUNDS UNDER THE TRANSPORTATION COMMUNITY AND SYSTEM PRESERVATION PROGRAM. HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY RECEIVED FUNDS IN THE AMOUNT OF $237,500 FOR THESE IMPROVEMENTS. THE COUNTY PROPOSES TO REDUCE THE LIMITS OF THE PROJECT TO BE FROM TOWN 'N COUNTRY BOULEVARD TO AMBASSADOR DRIVE. THIS CHANGE IN SCOPE REQUIRES AN ACTION BY THE MPO. SO THOSE ARE THE ITEMS ON THE CONSENT AGENDA. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PULL AND DISCUSS ANY OF THEM, WE COULD DO THAT, OR -- >> MOVE TO APPROVE. >>ROSE FERLITA: SECOND. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. MOVED AND SECONDED. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION. OKAY. ROLL CALL VOTE. >> MR. DINGFELDER. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: YES. >> BECKNER. >>KEVIN BECKNER: YES. >> MILLER. >>LOUIS MILLER: YES. >> LOTT. >>RICK LOTT: YES. >> AFFRONTI. >>JOE AFFRONTI: YES. >> SHARPE. >>MARK SHARPE: YES. >> MULHERN. >>MARY MULHERN: YES. >> SCOTT. >>THOMAS SCOTT: YES. >> CAETANO. >>JOSEPH CAETANO: YES. >> FERLITA. >>ROSE FERLITA: YES. >> WAINIO. >>RICHARD WAINIO: YES. >> WAGGONER. >>JOE WAGGONER: YES. >> MOTION CARRIED. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY. NEXT WE HAVE AN ACTION ITEM. IT'S THE HART TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN, 2010 TO 2019, ALLISON YEH AND MARY SHAVALIER. >>ALLISON YEH: GOOD MORNING. ALLISON YEH, MPO STAFF. I'D LIKE TO DIRECT YOUR ATTENTION, THE SECOND TO THE LAST ITEM IN YOUR GREEN FOLDER IS WHAT WE'RE GOING TO -- I'M GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT FOR A MINUTE. THE ACTION -- THE ACTION YOU HAVE BEFORE YOU TODAY IS THE HART TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR 2010 TO 2019, WHICH IS A TEN-YEAR PLAN. THIS PLAN RECEIVES A MAJOR UPDATE EVERY FIVE YEARS, AND THE LAST TIME IT WAS UPDATED WAS JUNE 2006, SO WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT TODAY IS A MINOR UPDATE. NOW, THE MPO'S ROLE IN LOOKING AT THIS PLAN IS TO REVIEW AND COMMENT ON THE PLAN, SO WHAT STAFF HAS DONE IS WE'VE LOOKED AT THIS PLAN AND LOOKED AT IT AGAINST OUR CURRENTLY ADOPTED 2025 LONG-RANGE TRANSPORTATION PLAN, AND WE'RE ALSO WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH HART STAFF TO LOOK AT THE CHANGES THAT ARE -- THAT WILL BE IMPLEMENTED INTO OUR 2035 LONG- RANGE TRANSPORTATION PLAN. I'VE TAKEN OUR ANALYSIS AND PUT IT INTO A LETTER IN THE FORM -- IN THE FORM OF A LETTER TO THE HART CHAIRMAN. IN A MOMENT MARY SHAVALIER IS GOING TO PRESENT A SUMMARY OF THIS PLAN TO YOU, AND AFTER THAT WHAT WE'RE ASKING YOU TO DO IS CONSIDER TRANSMITTING THIS LETTER WITH OUR COMMENTS TO THE HART BOARD. TWO THINGS TO NOTE ABOUT THIS PLAN IS THE -- THE TRANS -- THE PLAN IS SUB -- WHEN WE'RE THINKING REGIONALLY, THE PLAN IS A SUBSET OF THE 2035 TBARTA MID-TERM TRANSPORTATION PLAN, SO THAT'S SOMETHING TO KEEP IN MIND. ALSO TO KEEP IN MIND THAT WHEN WE REVIEWED THIS DOCUMENT, WE RECEIVED A SUMMARY DOCUMENT, SO WE WERE ABLE TO REVIEW MOST OF THE PROJECTS, A LISTING OF THE PROJECTS, AND WHAT WAS GOING ON, BUT UNTIL WE RECEIVE A FINAL DOCUMENT WITH THE FINANCIAL PLAN, WE'LL NEED TO LOOK AT THAT AGAIN SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE WHEN HART COMPLETES THIS -- THIS UPDATE. SO NOW I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE MARY SHAVALIER, DIRECTOR OF PLANNING AT HART, AND AFTERWARDS, I'LL COME BACK TO YOU FOR THE ACTION ITEM ON THIS LETTER. THANK YOU. >>MARY SHAVALIER: GOOD MORNING. THANK YOU, ALLISON. I'M MARY SHAVALIER WITH HART, AND I'M GOING TO TALK BRIEFLY ABOUT OUR TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN TODAY, WHAT THE REQUIREMENTS ARE, WHAT DOES THIS EXCITING YEAR -- WHAT IS GOING ON IN THIS VERY EXCITING YEAR FOR TRANSIT AND TRANSPORTATION, AND THEN WHAT IS THE VERY -- VARIOUS ELEMENTS OF OUR PLAN AND OUR NEXT STEPS. AND AS ALLISON SAID, THIS IS AN ANNUAL REQUIREMENT OF FLORIDA -- EXCUSE ME -- DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION. WHAT DOES OUR MONEY LOOK LIKE, AND WHAT WOULD WE DO WITHOUT MONEY? OH, THANK YOU. AS PART OF THIS PLAN, WE TALK ABOUT WHAT ARE SOME OF OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE THINGS WE HAVEN'T GOT TO, AND AGAIN WHAT ARE OUR PRIORITIES. THIS YEAR AGAIN IT'S A VERY EXCITING YEAR, AND WE'VE COORDINATED OUR EFFORTS IN DEVELOPING THIS PLAN WITH THOSE REALLY KEY INITIATIVES THAT ARE UNDERWAY, THE MPO WITH THE UPDATING THE LONG-RANGE PLAN FOR TRANSPORTATION IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, THAT 2035 LRTP, THE EFFORT THAT HART JUST INITIATED THAT THE HART BOARD APPROVED IN LATE JUNE, THE ALTERNATIVE ANALYSIS STUDY THAT IS LOOKING AT TRANSPORTATION CHALLENGES AND NEEDS IN THE AREA BETWEEN UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA, DOWNTOWN AND FROM DOWNTOWN OVER TO WESTSHORE, WHAT WILL THOSE PROJECTS -- WHAT WILL THAT PROJECT BE, YOU KNOW, SELECTED AS TO ADDRESS THOSE NEEDS? THAT EFFORT IS ONGOING NOW. LOTS OF PUBLIC OUT -- INPUT GOING ON, LOTS OF AGENCY COORDINATING SO THAT WE CHOOSE THE BEST PROJECT AGAIN THAT ADDRESSES THAT NEEDS. AND LOCAL FUNDING AGAIN FOR THAT ELEMENT IS VERY IMPORTANT. THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED TO THE TAMPA RAIL PLAN. WE COULDN'T COME UP WITH THE LOCAL ELEMENT. AND THE THIRD ISSUE THAT IS NOT LISTED ON HERE IS THEN AGAIN THE COUNTY'S EFFORTS AT LOOKING AT EXPANDED FUNDING SOURCE FOR TRANSPORTATION AND TRANSIT. THE COUNTY TRANSPORTATION TASK FORCE -- AND THEY HAD A GREAT MEETING YESTERDAY LOOKING AT STRATEGIES, LOOKING AT NEEDS, AND HOW THOSE NEEDS SHOULD BE FUNDED, SO THAT EFFORT IS ALSO AFFECTING THIS PROGRAM. IT MAKES IT CHALLENGING FOR US TO PUT SOMETHING DOWN ON PAPER TODAY. TRANSIT -- OUR TRANSPORTATION OVER THE NEXT TEN YEARS, WHAT IS THE CONTEXT? HERE ARE SOME OF JUST THE GROWTH RATES, LOOKING AT BASICALLY A 21% GROWTH RATE IN POPULATION AND 26% GROWTH IN EMPLOYMENT OVER THE NEXT TEN YEARS. WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN, WE BASICALLY TALK ABOUT THREE DIFFERENT ELEMENTS, OUR NEEDS PLAN, WHAT WOULD WE DO, WHAT ARE THE NEEDS OUT THERE IF YOU DON'T CONSIDER FUNDING, WHAT ARE THE BASIC TRANSIT NEEDS OUT IN THE COMMUNITY; OUR STATUS QUO PLAN, WHAT DOES OUR EXISTING FUNDING ALLOW US TO DO; AND THEN THAT THIRD PLAN IS THAT EXCITING EFFORT THAT'S GOING ON NOW AGAIN IS IF THERE WAS ADDITIONAL REVENUE FOR TRANSIT, WHAT WOULD WE DO WITH THAT REVENUE. OUR NEEDS PLAN -- AND I KNOW YOU'VE HEARD A LOT. THE MPO HAS BEEN WORKING ON THIS AS WELL AS THE TASK FORCE. WE HAVE A VERY DEFICIENT TRANSIT SERVICE IN THIS, YOU KNOW, HUGE OVER 1,000-SQUARE-MILE COUNTY. WE NEED SERVICE ON OUR EXISTING ROUTES. FREQUENCY IS A KEY ISSUE WHEN THE BUSES DON'T RUN OFTEN. LATER-NIGHT SERVICE, WE NEED MORE LOCAL ROUTES, MORE EXPRESS ROUTES, A LOT MORE SERVICE. WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO STRUCTURE IN OUR PLAN THEN IS IN THE CORE AREAS IS TO PUT MORE INTENSIVE SERVICE TO TRY TO SERVE THOSE NEEDS, AND THEN OUT IN THE SUBURBAN AREAS, THE OUTER AREAS OF THE COUNTY, GIVE THEM THE TYPE OF TRANSIT THAT'LL BE MORE RESPONSIVE TO THOSE CONDITIONS. AND AGAIN, HERE IS JUST AGAIN SOME OF THE ELEMENTS IN OUR PLAN. OUR EXISTING SERVICE, BEEFING THAT UP RIGHT AWAY, INCLUDING FREQUENCY, MORE WEEKEND SERVICE, MORE ROUTES ON OUR EXPRESS BUSES. NEW LOCAL SERVICE, LOTS OF DIFFERENT ROUTES UP IN THE NORTHWEST OF THE COUNTY, DOWN IN THE SOUTH, OVER IN THE EASTERN PART. EXPRESS SERVICE, GETTING A BIGGER NETWORK OF EXPRESS ROUTES AND THE SUPPORTING PARK-N-RIDE LOTS, AGAIN, ESPECIALLY SERVING THAT SOUTH AND EASTERN AREA OF THE COUNTY. CIRCULATORS AND FLEX. AGAIN, WE HAVE SOME AREAS THAT WE NEED NOT SO MUCH THE TRADITIONAL TRANSIT BUT SOMETHING TO TRY TO CONNECT PEOPLE FROM THE LOCAL ROUTES AND SOME OF THE HIGHER-PERFORMING ROUTES TO BRING PEOPLE RIGHT TO THEIR DESTINATION. WE'VE TALKED ABOUT FLEX SERVICE IN SOME OF THOSE AREAS, AND HART HOPES TO INTRODUCE THAT -- SOME NEW FLEX SERVICE IN MARCH OF THIS YEAR, AND THEN THE CIRCULATORS, WE'VE -- AGAIN, WE ARE STUDYING THE THREE BIG -- THE THREE BIG ACTIVITY CENTERS, WESTSHORE, DOWNTOWN, AND THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA AREA. HOW DO WE GET PEOPLE FROM HIGHER-CAPACITY SERVICE TO THE DESTINATION, TO THE HOSPITALS, TO THE BUSINESSES, TO WHERE PEOPLE ARE GOING, SO THESE ENHANCED CIRCULATORS ARE IMPORTANT FOR THAT. BUS RAPID TRANSIT, THAT'S A SERVICE OPERATING ON THE STREET. SIGNAL PRIORITY, WE'RE WORKING CLOSELY WITH FDOT AND HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY AND CITY OF TAMPA ON THIS. HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY FUNDED -- IS FUNDING THAT NORTH-SOUTH, THAT NEBRASKA LINE, WHICH IS OUR HIGHEST RIDERSHIP ROUTE. WE SEE THIS CONCEPT APPLIED TO OTHER AREAS OF THE COUNTY AND ALSO WHERE WE CAN TO TRY TO BORROW A LANE FROM CARS TO AGAIN TRY TO ENHANCE THAT SERVICE FOR THE BUSES. AND THEN FINALLY, LIGHT RAIL OR HIGH-CAPACITY TRANSIT. THIS WOULD BE THE SERVICE TO REALLY -- YOU KNOW, THAT HIGH- CAPACITY SERVICE, FREQUENT SERVICE. SEVERAL LINES BEING TALKED ABOUT IN THE COUNTY RANGING FROM AGAIN THOSE CONNECTING USF TO DOWNTOWN OVER TO WESTSHORE, OTHER LINES OVER TO BRANDON, SOUTH TAMPA, UP TO LINEBAUGH AREA, SO AGAIN THAT NETWORK WOULD BE SORT OF THE SPINE OF THE SYSTEM WITH THE OTHER SERVICES COMPLEMENTING IT. THIS IS A -- STATE OF GOOD REPAIR IS AN INCREASING ISSUE. IF YOU SEE IN THE NEWS BETWEEN WAMADA AND SOME OF THE OTHER TRANSIT AGENCIES WE HAVE TO DEVOTE MONEY TO MAINTAINING OUR SERVICE. WHEN WE GET INTO RAIL SERVICE THAT'S CRITICAL. AS THAT SYSTEM AGES MORE RESOURCES NEEDED TO MAINTAIN IT AND GOOD LIFE. BUS REPLACEMENT IS CRITICAL, AND WE'RE APPRECIATIVE OF THE SURFACE TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM MONEY PRIORITIZED TODAY, BUT OUR OTHER FACILITIES TOO NEED CONSTANT UPGRADING. AND THEN OTHER CAPITAL PROJECTS, ACCESSIBILITY IMPROVEMENTS, WHICH THE CAC TALKED ABOUT; ONGOING BUSES; TECHNOLOGY TO HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND HOW TO USE OUR SERVICE; CUSTOMIZATION, ALL THE JAZZY THINGS WITH CELL PHONES TO FIND OUT WHERE NEXT BUS IS; AND PARK-N-RIDE LOTS AND MORE FACILITIES. SO AGAIN, WHAT ARE OUR NEEDS? WE'RE TALKING ABOUT GREATLY ENHANCING OUR BUS SERVICE, OUR FLEET, AND INTRODUCING HIGHER-CAPACITY PROJECTS. NOW WE'RE BRINGING DOWN TO OUR EXISTING SITUATION, WHAT WOULD WE LIKE TO DO, BUT WHAT DOES OUR FUNDING TODAY ALLOW US TO DO? OUR FUNDING RIGHT NOW, OUR BIGGEST SOURCE IS THE AD VALOREM, THE HART AD VALOREM. WE GET SOME STATE, FEDERAL MONEY, AND PASSENGER FARES. AGAIN, WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT, OUR STATUS QUO PLAN IS ADDING IN THOSE TWO BRT LINES THAT WE'RE TRYING TO GET, THE NORTH- SOUTH UP TO NEBRASKA AND THAT TEMPLE TERRACE OVER TO WESTSHORE BUS RAPID TRANSIT. WHAT DOES IT MEAN LOOKING AT OUR MONEY? WE HAVE SEVERE CHALLENGES THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT. HART HAS A PROPOSED BUDGET FOR 2010 AND 2011 THAT IS BALANCED. WE'VE BALANCED IT WITH SOME COST SAVINGS, SOME TRIMMING OF AGENCY COSTS, BUT AFTER THAT WHEN WE ADD THESE BRT LINES, THAT SERVICE CANNOT BE SUSTAINED WITH OUR EXISTING FUNDING. AGAIN, JUST LIKE THE COUNTY AND THE CITIES, OUR AD VALOREM WAS HIT AGAIN THIS YEAR. AND AGAIN, THIS -- OUR FUNDING IS ALSO IMPACTING SOME OF THE CAPITAL PROJECTS, I.E., THIS ONGOING BUS REPLACEMENT THAT'S CRITICAL. THIS GRAPH IS DISPLAYING THAT IF THE AD VALOREM CONTINUES TO GO DOWN, OUR OPERATING COSTS GO UP WITH THESE NEW SERVICES. AGAIN, WE HAVE A SHORTFALL, AND THAT SHORTFALL WILL CONTINUE OVER THE NEXT TEN YEARS, SO FINDING ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR TRANSIT IS VERY CRITICAL, AND THE TASK FORCE, WE'RE GREATLY APPRECIATIVE OF THEIR EFFORTS AND UNDERSTANDING OF THIS ISSUE. AGAIN, THIS IS THE PLAN RIGHT NOW THAT'S HARD TO PUT ON PAPER FOR A STATIC DOCUMENT. WORK IS ONGOING ON THIS, WORKING AGAIN WITH THE TASK FORCE. WE ARE COORDINATING HEAVY. WE HAD A GREAT MEETING WITH THE COUNTY AND THE CITY ON FRIDAY ABOUT FUNDING PROJECTIONS, WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE WHEN YOU ADD ALL THESE REVENUE SOURCES TOGETHER, WHAT CAN YOU SUPPORT. SO AGAIN, WE'RE WORKING CLOSELY WITH ALL OUR PARTNERS AND INCLUDING THE TRANSPORTATION TASK FORCE ON A FUNDING SCENARIO. JUST AGAIN, AS WE PRIORITIZE WE'VE GOT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ADD EXISTING SERVICE, AND THIS LITTLE BAR GRAPH IS SHOWING THAT OUR FREQUENCY AGAIN IS LOW ON SOME ROUTES. WE'VE REALLY GOT TO ENHANCE SOME FREQUENCY TO GET PEOPLE -- TO MAKE TRANSIT MORE ATTRACTIVE TO PEOPLE. PARATRANSIT FOR THE DISABLED, WE HAVE TO PUT MONEY TOWARDS THAT SERVICE. IT'S NOT ONLY A FEDERAL REQUIREMENT, IT'S IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO -- TO USE TRANSIT. BEEFING UP THE FEEDER BUS NETWORK FOR RAIL, STATE OF GOOD REPAIR, AND AGAIN, IF WE GREATLY ENHANCE OUR BUS SERVICE, OUR LIGHT RAIL, AS THE YEARS GO BY, MORE AND MORE OF THAT SALES TAX -- POTENTIAL SALES TAX WOULD BE NEEDED TO COVER OPERATING, SO THAT'S A KEY CHALLENGE THAT THE TRANSPORTATION TASK FORCE WAS LOOKING AT. WHAT ARE WE DOING? WE'RE DOING OUTREACH RIGHT NOW FOR THIS DRAFT PLAN. WE'RE DOING OUTREACH FOR THIS ALTERNATIVE ANALYSIS AS WELL. WE'VE GOT WORKSHOPS WITH THE PUBLIC COMING UP, LOTS OF COORDINATION, WESTSHORE MEETING TODAY. WE ARE REFINING THESE ALTERNATIVE FUNDING SCENARIOS, AGAIN COORDINATING CLOSELY WITH THE COUNTY, THE CITIES, THE MPO. AND THIS DOCUMENT AGAIN -- WHICH IS A VERY CHALLENGING TIME RIGHT NOW TO DO A DOCUMENT AS TO WHAT WE'RE DOING OVER THE NEXT TEN YEARS. WE'LL BE PRESENTING OUR FINAL DRAFT TO THE HART BOARD IN LATE SEPTEMBER. SO THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION -- >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU. >>MARY SHAVALIER: -- AND LOOKING FOR YOUR SUPPORT. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU, MARY. ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? WE NEED A -- THERE'S A LETTER THAT WE PROPOSE TO SEND TO THE CHAIRMAN OF THE -- OF HART REGARDING THE COMMENTS AND REVIEW OF THE PLAN. SO WE NEED A MOTION TO -- >> [INAUDIBLE] >> SECOND. >>JOE AFFRONTI: MOVED AND SECONDED. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. [CHORUS OF AYES] OPPOSED. MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANKS, ALLISON. THANKS, MARY. OKAY. I KNOW THAT THERE'S SOME OF YOU THAT HAVE TO LEAVE, BUT I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE HEAR FROM BOB CLIFFORD REGARDING THE TBARTA PLAN, THE MASTER PLAN. >> VERY IMPORTANT? >>JOE AFFRONTI: VERY IMPORTANT. VERY IMPORTANT. >> YES. WELL, THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR, AND MAYOR LOTT. I'LL LET EVERYBODY KNOW I'M GOING TO SPARE YOU THE POWERPOINT PRESENTATION TODAY. I HAVE ONE. IF YOU-ALL REALLY WANT TO SEE IT, I CAN SHOW IT TO YOU, BUT MANY OF YOU HAVE ALREADY SEEN IT. I REALLY WANT TO TALK ABOUT SEVERAL THINGS WITH YOU-ALL, REALLY WHERE WE'RE HEADED AND WHAT THOSE NEXT STEPS ARE. FIRST THING I WANT TO LET YOU-ALL KNOW IS IT'S BEEN A PLEASURE WORKING WITH YOUR STAFF, AND WE'VE WORKED VERY CLOSELY IN ENSURING THAT EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE DOING IS CONSISTENT AND COORDINATED, WHICH IS ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL AS WE ALL MOVE FORWARD TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE ONE VOICE, AND THAT'S GOING TO BE ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL FOR US AS WE ALL MOVE FORWARD IN THE FUTURE THAT WE'RE ALL SAYING THE SAME THING, TALKING ABOUT THE SAME PROJECTS, UNDERSTANDING WHAT THE SEQUENCING IS AS WE ALL MOVE FORWARD, SO THAT'S ONE THING I WANTED TO SAY. BUT THE OTHER THING THAT WE REALLY WANT TO MAKE YOU AWARE OF THAT WE'RE REALLY SEEING IS HILLSBOROUGH'S THE LEADER OF THE REGION. THE REST OF THE REGION IS SEEING THAT AND LOOKING AT HILLSBOROUGH TO MOVE FORWARD. AS I'VE BEEN OUT AROUND THE REGION, I WAS JUST DOWN IN MANATEE COUNTY LAST WEEK, AND THEY TALKED ABOUT THAT VERY ISSUE OF HILLSBOROUGH MOVING FORWARD FIRST AND HOW EXCITED THEY WERE TO HAVE THE ABILITY TO ULTIMATELY CONNECT TO HILLSBOROUGH AND HAVE THAT CONNECTION. PASCO AND PINELLAS, THOSE SAME -- THOSE SAME DISCUSSIONS ARE GOING ON NOW AS THEY SEE WHAT'S OCCURRING IN HILLSBOROUGH AND THE DISCUSSION ABOUT MOVING FORWARD WITHIN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY BUT THEN ALSO TAKING THOSE FIRST STEPS WITHIN THE REGION. WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT FROM THAT REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE, YOU'RE THE -- YOU'RE THE LEADER GEOGRAPHICALLY, YOU'RE CLEARLY THE LEADER ECONOMICALLY AND EMPLOYMENT-BASED, AND EVERYBODY'S LOOKING TO MAKE THOSE CONNECTIONS WITHIN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY AS WE LOOK AT THAT COORDINATED PLAN AND AS EVERYTHING FITS TOGETHER. AS WE START TALKING ABOUT RAIL, WE START TALKING ABOUT ENHANCED BUS SYSTEM, WE START TALKING ABOUT MANAGED LANES AND MAKING USE OF OUR EXISTING ROADWAY FACILITIES IN SOME DIFFERENT WAYS, THEY'RE LOOKING TO MAKE THOSE CONNECTIONS AND BE PART OF THAT. THEY'RE REALLY WATCHING. THEY WANT TO SEE HOW IT WORKS IN HILLSBOROUGH SO THEY CAN TAKE THE LESSONS LEARNED AND TAKE THOSE NEXT STEPS AND MOVE FORWARD WITHIN THOSE COUNTIES, AND I THINK THAT'S VERY EXCITING AS YOU LOOK FORWARD. WHERE TBARTA'S GOING. WE ADOPTED THE MASTER PLAN, AND SOMEBODY SAID AT THE TIME REALLY THAT WAS NOTHING MORE THAN THE END OF THE BEGINNING BECAUSE NOW WE START TAKING THOSE NEXT STEPS WITH THE ADDITIONAL RESOURCES AND FINANCIAL RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, WHO'S BEEN OUR PARTNER, OUR STRONG PARTNER THROUGHOUT THIS ENTIRE EFFORT, SPECIFICALLY LOOKING AT WHAT ARE THOSE NEXT STEPS, WHAT ARE THOSE NEXT CONNECTIONS THAT WE NEED TO START MAKING, WHAT ARE THE NEXT ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS THAT NEED TO BE DONE, DO WE NEED TO LOOK AT CONNECTING FROM USF UP TO WESLEY CHAPEL, DO WE NEED TO LOOK AT CONNECTING ACROSS THE BAY TO PINELLAS COUNTY, WHAT ABOUT VARIOUS BUS AND MANAGED LANE SERVICES THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE SYSTEM? THE TBARTA BOARD IS GOING THROUGH THAT PROCESS RIGHT NOW AND LOOKING AT TAKING THE PLAN, BREAKING IT DOWN INTO SPECIFIC PROJECTS AND PRIORITIES TO TAKE THOSE NEXT STEPS FOR WHAT WE CALL IS -- WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO PUT OURSELVES COLLECTIVELY IN A POSITION TO EFFECTIVELY COMPETE FOR MONEY, AND IN ORDER TO DO THAT, YOU HAVE TO HAVE DONE THAT WORK IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO GO OUT THERE AND EFFECTIVELY COMPETE FOR THOSE DOLLARS AND LEVERAGE THOSE DOLLARS AT BOTH THE STATE, FEDERAL, AND FRANKLY PRIVATE-SECTOR LEVELS THAT -- YOU KNOW, WE TALK ABOUT THREE LEGS OF THE STOOL. WE REALLY SEE IT AS FOUR LEGS OF THE STOOL, AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR IS A BIG COMPONENT OF WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IN TERMS OF DEVELOPMENT OF SYSTEMS. THAT'S WHERE WE REALLY SEE IT. WE'VE LOOKED AT THIS AT LENGTH, AND TO US THIS IS REALLY -- IT'S ABOUT MOBILITY, IT'S ABOUT QUALITY OF LIFE, IT'S ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY IT'S REALLY ABOUT ECONOMICS AND HOW INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE IS TO ECONOMICS AND IN PARTICULAR, AS WE START TALKING ABOUT IT FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION OR MASS TRANSPORTATION, HOW INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT THAT IS TO ECONOMICS. THAT'S BEEN WHAT WE'VE BEEN FOCUSING ON, THAT'S HOW WE'RE LOOKING TO MOVE FORWARD. WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THE ACTIVITIES THAT ARE GOING ON IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY. WE STAND READY TO SUPPORT YOU IN ANY WAY THAT YOU SEE FIT FOR US TO DO THAT. WE WILL BE THERE EVERY STEP OF THE WAY AND ARE REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS REGION WITH HILLSBOROUGH IN THE LEAD TAKING THOSE NEXT STEPS AND GOING BEYOND TALKING ABOUT IT, WHICH THE RESIDENTS OF THE REGION KEEP SAYING, STOP TALKING ABOUT IT AND START DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT. THAT'S WHERE WE SEE GOING FORWARD AND WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT IT. AND MR. CHAIR, I JUST -- IN LIEU OF A POWERPOINT PRESENTATION, I JUST WANTED TO TALK TO YOU TODAY. >>JOE AFFRONTI: BOB, WE WANT TO THANK YOU AND THE TBARTA BOARD FOR ALL THE GREAT -- THE GREAT JOB THAT YOU FELLAS HAVE DONE PUTTING THIS THING TOGETHER IN SUCH A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME, AND WE CONGRATULATE YOU. >> I APPRECIATE IT. >> [INAUDIBLE] >>JOE AFFRONTI: YES. >>RICK LOTT: MR. CLIFFORD, IT SOUNDS TO ME LIKE [INAUDIBLE] >> IS YOUR MICROPHONE ON? >>RICK LOTT: I DO THAT ON PURPOSE. [LAUGHTER] NOTHING'S ON THE RECORD THEN. SOUNDS TO ME LIKE -- THE TRANSPORTATION TASK FORCE, THE RECOMMENDATION HAS TO BE MADE TO THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRETTY SOON. IT SOUNDS TO ME LIKE TBARTA IS IN FULL SUPPORT OF THAT PLAN. IS THAT CORRECT IN SAYING SO? >> AS WE UNDERSTAND THE DETAILS OF IT, YES. I THINK REALLY THE KEY FOR TBARTA IS UNDERSTANDING HOW WE ULTIMATELY MAKE THOSE CONNECTIONS -- >>RICK LOTT: RIGHT. >> -- THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE REGION, BUT WE'RE IN SUPPORT OF YOU-ALL MOVING FORWARD, ABSOLUTELY. >>RICK LOTT: OKAY. THANK YOU. >>THOMAS SCOTT: MR. CHAIRMAN. >>JOE AFFRONTI: MR. SCOTT. >>THOMAS SCOTT: BOB WAS INVOLVED YESTERDAY IN THE DISCUSSION, BUT I KNOW THE TRANSPORTATION TASK -- THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, I GUESS IT IS, RECOMMENDED THAT IN THE REFERENDUM THAT WE LOOK AT HAVING THE STUB-OUTS TO PASCO, PINELLAS, YOU KNOW, GOING AHEAD AND PUTTING THOSE THERE SO THAT WHENEVER THOSE OTHER COUNTIES ARE READY TO COME ON, THEN THEY CAN COME ON-LINE, SO THAT'S ONE THING THAT WAS DISCUSSED AT LENGTH ON YESTERDAY, AND I THINK YOU WERE -- >> ABSOLUTELY, AND WE SEE THAT AS KEY BECAUSE THOSE COUNTIES ARE REALLY LOOKING AT -- CHOMPING AT THE BIT READY TO GO DEPENDING ON WHAT HAPPENS WITH HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY. >>JOE AFFRONTI: ANY OTHER COMMENTS? >> THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE IT. >>JOE AFFRONTI: IF NOT, WE THANK YOU, BOB. THANKS FOR THE GREAT JOB. >> OKAY. THANK YOU. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. WE'RE SORT OF JUGGLING THIS AGENDA AROUND A LITTLE BIT, BUT WE NEED TO DO THAT IN ORDER FOR AS MANY OF THE BOARD MEMBERS TO HEAR THE HIGH-PRIORITY ITEMS. ONE IS THE -- NEXT I'D LIKE TO ASK LYNN MERENDA AND BETH ALDEN TO PRESENT THE LONG-RANGE PLAN UPDATE FOR 2035. >>LYNN MERENDA: GOOD MORNING. LYNN MERENDA, MPO STAFF. TODAY WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE COST-AFFORDABLE PHASE OUTREACH THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING, PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT, AS WE LEAD TOWARDS OUR DECEMBER 2009 APPROVAL OF THE PLAN. AS YOU KNOW, THE 2035 PLAN IS A MULTIMODAL PLAN FULL OF CHOICES REFLECTING THE WAY WE WANT TO LIVE AND TRAVEL, AND IT'S A CRITICAL INVESTMENT IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY'S FUTURE MORE THAN EVER, SO WE DID WANT TO RAISE THE BAR THIS TIME. SO FAR DURING THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT PHASE, BETWEEN MARCH AND JUNE, WE HAD 63 PUBLIC MEETINGS AND EVENTS AND FESTIVALS THAT WE ATTENDED INVOLVING OVER 4,000 PEOPLE THAT WE INTERCHANGED IDEAS WITH. IN THE COST-AFFORDABLE PHASE, WE'RE GOING TO DELIVER OUR KEY POINT MESSAGES LIKE SAFER ROADS FOR ALL USERS AND FACILITATING EVACUATION, ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES AND JOB CREATION, CONGESTION RELIEF AND AIR QUALITY, CONNECTING COMMUNITIES, AND DISCUSSING FUNDING OPTIONS. WE ARE GOING TO CONTINUE SUCCESSFUL METHODS WE USED DURING THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT, INCLUDING PRESENTATIONS TO COMMUNITY GROUPS AND DISPLAYS AT FESTIVALS, OUR INTERAGENCY COMMUNICATION COORDINATION, AND WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE USING THE MPO NEWSLETTER WITH SURVEYS AS A KEY TOOL. NOW WE WANT TO RAISE THE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT BAR. FIRST OF ALL, LINDA JUST PASSED OUT TO YOU THIS "ON TRACK." THIS WILL BE KEY POINT MESSAGING THAT WILL COME OUT TO YOU EVERY FEW WEEKS. WE'LL GIVE YOU TALKING POINTS SO THAT WE HAVE LOTS OF INFORMATION TO TALK TO PEOPLE ABOUT AND WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE, AND IF YOU HAVE IDEAS FOR THINGS TO BE ON THAT, PLEASE LET ME KNOW, AND WE'LL BE HAPPY TO INCLUDE FACTOIDS THAT YOU COME ACROSS AS WELL. ALSO IN ADDITION TO OUR CURRENT MPO WEB SITE, WE'RE GOING TO ADD A 2035 VISION ASPECT TO OUR WEB SITE, AND WE'RE GOING TO ADD FACEBOOK TO OUR ALREADY SUCCESSFUL TWITTER. IF YOU HAVEN'T JOINED US ON TWITTER, WE'RE AT /HILLSBOROUGHMPO. WE'RE AT A THOUSAND VISITORS RIGHT NOW, AND WE HAVE ALMOST A FIVE MILLION REACH ALTOGETHER, SO WE HOPE THAT YOU'LL JOIN IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN ON IT ALREADY. AND FINALLY STARTING THIS AFTERNOON, WE'RE GOING TO PRODUCE A VIDEO FOR THE LRTP, AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO GIVE THAT TO YOU IN CD FORM FOR YOU TO GIVE TO YOUR CONSTITUENTS. ALSO YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SEE IT ON WEB SITES, AND WE'LL PUT IT ON PSAs ON HTV, CITY OF TAMPA, WHOEVER WILL USE IT, SO THE VIDEO SHOOT STARTS AFTER THIS BROADCAST. YOU'RE ALL WELCOME TO PARTICIPATE. WE'D LOVE YOUR IDEAS AND INPUT INTO WHAT IS IN THE LONG- RANGE PLAN, AND WE'LL BE GOING UPSTAIRS TO HTV TO RECORD THAT AFTER THIS. ALSO WFLA'S JACK HARRIS WILL BE THE NARRATOR FOR THE VIDEO, SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED. WE'RE ALSO GOING TO BE DOING E-MAIL BLASTS AND TWO TOWN CALL MEETINGS IN NOVEMBER. THESE ARE THE BIG I-TOWN HALL MEETINGS LIKE TBARTA HELD. SEVERAL THOUSAND PEOPLE AT A TIME CAN BE ON THESE PHONE CALLS. THE DATES ARE TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10th; WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18th; AND WE HAVE A BACKUP RAIN DATE IN CASE HURRICANE SEASON KICKS IN FOR MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30th, AND AGAIN, SEVERAL OF YOU WILL BE ASKED TO PARTICIPATE, OR IF YOU'D LIKE TO PARTICIPATE, IF YOU'D LET RAY CHIARAMONTE OR MYSELF KNOW. FOLLOWING THE MEETING WE'LL BE PENCILING IN, BOARD MEMBERS, TO SIT AND TALK ON THOSE CALLS. DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? >>JOE AFFRONTI: ANY QUESTIONS OF LYNN? >>LYNN MERENDA: ALL RIGHT. >>JOE AFFRONTI: GREAT JOB, LYNN. BETH, DID YOU HAVE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT TO ADD OR -- >>BETH ALDEN: I WANTED TO GIVE THE BOARD MEMBERS AN UPDATE ON THE PRIORITIZATION OF PROJECTS, IF I MIGHT. AND I'LL TRY TO MAKE THIS AS BRIEF AS POSSIBLE ALSO. AS YOU RECALL, WE ARE MOVING OUR PRIORITIZATION PROCESS INTO THE LONG-RANGE PLAN FROM THAT BEING PART OF OUR TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM, SO THIS IS A NEW EFFORT THIS YEAR WITH THIS UPDATE OF THE PLAN. WE ARE BALANCING PROJECTS THAT ARE DIFFERENT MODES AGAINST EACH OTHER TO SET THOSE PRIORITIES, AND SO WE'RE LOOKING AT SOME MEASURABLE CRITERIA LIKE DELAY, COLLISIONS, VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED. WHAT WE'RE LOOKING TO DO IS TO ENSURE HIGH-END PERFORMING PROJECTS ARE INCLUDED IN THAT FINAL COST-AFFORDABLE PLAN. THE CRITERIA ARE BASED ON THE GOALS THAT YOU ADOPTED EARLIER, THOSE SIX GOALS OF IMPROVING QUALITY OF LIFE, SUPPORTING ECONOMIC VITALITY, PROMOTING ACCESSIBILITY AND MOBILITY, COORDINATING TRANSPORTATION AND LAND USE, ENHANCING SAFETY AND SECURITY, AND PRESERVING EXISTING FACILITIES, AND THOSE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES ARE IN YOUR PACKET AGAIN IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THEM. THE WEIGHTING OF THOSE DIFFERENT CRITERIA BASED ON THE INPUT FROM YOUR COMMITTEES, THE ONLY CHANGE RECENTLY ON THAT IS TO MAKE SAFETY THE MOST STRONGLY WEIGHTED CRITERION. SO THE DATA THAT WE'VE LOOKED AT TO DEVELOP THE DRAFT PRIORITIZATION WHICH IS IN YOUR PACKET, WE'RE LOOKING AT HIGH CRASH AREAS, FORECASTS OF CONGESTION, FORECASTS OF TRANSIT RIDERSHIP, ACTIVITY CENTER LOCATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED BOTH FOR ECONOMIC, JOB ACTIVITY, AND FOR FREIGHT AND GOODS MOVEMENT ACTIVITY, LATENT DEMAND FOR WALKING AND BICYCLING, REGIONAL PLANS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN DEVELOPED, COMMUNITY PLANS, TRUCK ROUTES, GOODS MOVEMENT HOT SPOTS, EVACUATION ROUTES, AND ENVIRONMENTAL DATA, SO ALL OF THOSE HAVE FED INTO THE PRIORITIZATION PROCESS. WE'VE ALSO CIRCULATED THIS PRIORITIZATION METHOD THROUGH THE COMMITTEES, GOTTEN A LOT OF GOOD FEEDBACK, INCLUDING LET'S MAKE SURE THAT WE MAINTAIN OUR COMMITMENT TO OUR EXISTING PROJECTS, LET'S MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD IN MEASURING HOW THE DIFFERENT PROJECTS ARE SCORED, LET'S NOT PENALIZE NEW ROADS, LET'S MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE PROVIDING ACCESS TO OUR BIGGEST ACTIVITY CENTERS, LET'S MAKE SURE WE HAVE INPUT FROM OUR SECURITY STAKEHOLDERS WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THINGS LIKE EMERGENCY EVACUATION. SO WE'VE CONTINUED TO MAKE CHANGES TO THAT SCORING PROCESS, AND THAT IS THE MARK-UPS THAT YOU SEE REFLECTED IN YOUR BOARD PACKET. SO THE DRAFT LIST OF RECOMMENDED PRIORITIES WHERE WE'VE GONE THROUGH AND SCORED THE MORE THAN 500 PROJECTS IN THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT -- SO THAT PRELIMINARY DRAFT OF THE SCORING SHOWS MAINTAINING EXISTING PROJECTS UP AT THE TOP OF THE LIST, THEN IT SHOWS THAT WE WOULD REFLECT THE HIGH PRIORITIES OF LOCAL AGENCIES FOR POTENTIAL SALES TAX FUNDING, AND THEN THE MANY PAGES AFTER THAT ARE IN THE ORDER OF THAT WEIGHTED SCORING FOR THE DIFFERENT PROJECTS. WE ARE STILL TAKING COMMENTS FROM AGENCY STAFF AS PART OF THIS REVIEW PROCESS AND ADJUSTING A FEW OF THE SCORES, BUT WE'RE GOING TO BE USING THIS LIST TO PROGRAM REVENUES, TO ALLOCATE REVENUES TO THE PROJECTS, LOOKING AT OTHER ARTERIALS, TRANSIT PROGRAM FUNDS, AND SO FORTH, AND MOVING THROUGH THE LIST. SO IN SEPTEMBER WE'LL HAVE A DRAFT FUNDED PROJECTS FOR COMMITTEE REVIEW AND THEN IN OCTOBER BRINGING THAT DRAFT BACK TO YOU FOR BOARD REVIEW. AND THAT CONCLUDES MY PART OF THIS PRESENTATION. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU, BETH. ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FOR BETH? IF NOT, THANK YOU, BETH. GOOD JOB. OKAY. WE'LL GET BACK TO OUR REGULAR AGENDA NOW. CHAIRMAN'S REPORT, MARY MULHERN, LIVABLE ROADWAYS. >>MARY MULHERN: THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. THE LIVABLE ROADWAYS COMMITTEE MET ON AUGUST 26th. PLANNING COMMISSION STAFF GAVE AN OVERVIEW OF THE WORK THEY HAVE DONE TO ADVANCE TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES. THE IDEA IS TO HAVE LANGUAGE IN THE LOCAL COMPREHENSIVE PLANS ALREADY IN PLACE THAT WILL ENABLE STATION DEVELOPMENT IF/WHEN OUR COMMUNITY MOVES FORWARD -- I'M JUST GOING TO CROSS OUT THAT "IF" -- WHEN OUR COMMUNITY MOVES FORWARD WITH FIXED GUIDEWAY TRANSIT. A DRAFT DESCRIBING TRANSIT STATION TYPES AND PRINCIPLES WAS DISTRIBUTED, AND THE COMMITTEE WAS VERY INTERESTED IN BEING PART OF THE JOINT LAND USE WORKING GROUP WITH HART FOR THEIR NEW STARTS APPLICATION. MPO STAFF PROVIDED AN UPDATE ON A STUDY THEY ARE CONDUCTING WITH PLANNING AND GROWTH MANAGEMENT TO DETERMINE IF THE USF AREA IS A GOOD CANDIDATE TO BECOME A MULTIMODAL TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT. AFTER THE ANALYSIS, COMPREHENSIVE LANGUAGE WILL BE DEVELOPED ALONG WITH A LIST OF TRANSIT, BICYCLING, AND PEDESTRIAN PROJECTS THAT WILL EASE TRAVEL AND IMPROVE THE LEVEL OF SERVICE FOR THOSE MODES. A PUBLIC MEETING IS SCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER 9th AT THE UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY CENTER. THE PRIORITIES FOR THE 2035 LRTP UPDATE WERE DISTRIBUTED. COMMITTEE MEMBERS AGREED TO REVIEW THE SCORING AND RANKING OF THE PROJECTS AND WILL PROVIDE COMMENTS TO MPO STAFF. AN OFF-THE-AGENDA TOPIC WAS THE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION'S MEETING REGARDING NEIGHBORHOOD ELECTRIC VEHICLES. THE COMMITTEE PASSED A MOTION TO SEND A LETTER TO THE HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION IN SUPPORT OF NEIGHBORHOOD ELECTRIC VEHICLES AND THE SERVICE THEY PROVIDE THE COMMUNITY. ALSO AT THIS MEETING CONCERN WAS RAISED THAT STATE STATUTE REGARDING ADA IS UNDER APPEAL BY FLORIDA INTERIOR DESIGNERS. THE COMMITTEE PASSED A MOTION TO SEND A LETTER TO SUPPORT THE CONTINUED REGULATION OF INTERIOR DESIGNERS UNDER FLORIDA STATUTES. THE NEXT LIVABLE ROADWAYS MEETING IS SCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER 23rd AT 9:00 A.M. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU, MARY. ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FOR MARY? OKAY. WITH THAT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY. NEXT IS BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE, MICHELLE OGILVIE. >>MICHELE OGILVIE: GOOD MORNING. MICHELE OGILVIE, MPO STAFF, REPRESENTING BICYCLE-PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE. THE BICYCLE-PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE MET ON AUGUST 12th. AN ELECTION OF OFFICERS WAS HELD, AND TINA RUSSO AND JIM SHIRK WERE AFFIRMED AS CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR FOR ANOTHER YEAR. A PRESENTATION WAS MADE BY A MEMBER OF SWFBUD WHO SHARED WITH THE COMMITTEE THE IMPORTANT CONNECTION BETWEEN BICYCLES AND A THRIVING LOCAL ECONOMY. ENTITLED "HOW CAN WE BE MORE LIKE PORTLAND, OREGON," THE PRESENTER REPORTED THAT TODAY THE INCREASED POPULARITY OF BICYCLING FOR TRANSPORTATION AS WELL AS RECREATION MEANS THAT THE BICYCLE INDUSTRY'S PLAYING AN INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT ROLE IN OUR LOCAL ECONOMIES. NATIONALLY BICYCLING IS A $5.8-BILLION INDUSTRY, EMPLOYING CLOSE TO 100,000 PEOPLE IN RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, MANUFACTURING, DISTRIBUTION, RETAIL SALES SERVICES, AND TOURISM. IN 2006 IT WAS REPORTED THAT 125 BICYCLE-RELATED BUSINESSES IN PORTLAND CONTRIBUTED $63 MILLION AND A THOUSAND JOBS TO THE LOCAL ECONOMY. THE SPEAKER CONCLUDED THAT HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY TOO CAN FOSTER SUCH ECONOMIC PROSPERITY. IT WAS ANNOUNCED THAT THE FOURTH ANNUAL SUSTAINABILITY AND GREEN EXPO WILL BE HELD OCTOBER 8th THROUGH THE 10th, 2009, AT THE TAMPA CAMPUS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA. THE FOURTH ANNUAL BICYCLE BASH BY THE BAY WILL BE HELD ON OCTOBER 11th IN THE ST. PETERSBURG STRAUB PARK. THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE IS EXPLORING OPPORTUNITIES TO LINK THESE TWO EVENTS AND PROMOTE BICYCLING AND WALKING ACTIVITIES. THE NEXT BPAC MEETING IS SCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER 9th AT 5:30. >>JOE AFFRONTI: ANY QUESTIONS OF MICHELE? ANY COMMENTS? IF NOT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MICHELE. >>MICHELE OGILVIE: THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. NEXT IS THE TRANSPORTATION DISADVANTAGED COORDINATING BOARD. WE HELD OUR MEETING ON AUGUST 27th, 2009. THE BOARD REVIEWED AND APPROVED THE ANNUAL AMENDMENTS TO THE TRANSPORTATION DISADVANTAGED SERVICE PLAN AND HAS FORWARDED THE AMENDMENTS TO THE MPO BOARD FOR THEIR SUPPORT, WHICH WE ACTED ON TODAY. THE BOARD RECEIVED A PRESENTATION ON HART'S 2010-2019 TRANSPORTATION DEVELOPMENT PLAN AND STRONGLY ENCOURAGED HART TO ACQUIRE BUSES WITH TECHNOLOGY THAT WILL ALLOW PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES TO BETTER ACCESS TRANSIT AND USE TRANSIT WHICH INCREASES INDEPENDENCE AND LOWERS THE COST OF PROVIDING PARATRANSIT SERVICE. THE BOARD RECEIVED A PRESENTATION FROM CUTR ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN EXPERIMENTAL TRAVEL ASSISTANCE CELL PHONE TOOL THAT COULD BE USED BY A WIDE RANGE OF USERS, CHILDREN AND PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES INCLUDED. THE DEVICE ALLOWS REAL-TIME TRACKING OF BUSES AND ASSISTS THE TRAVELER IN KNOWING WHEN THEIR STOP IS CLOSE. FIELD TESTING OF THE DEVICE IS BEING CONDUCTED BY USF STUDENTS. THE BOARD IS ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN A TRICOUNTY ACCESS PLAN UPDATE AND THE COMMUNITY TRANSPORTATION COORDINATOR'S EVALUATION, BOTH TO BE COMPLETED IN THE FALL. THE NEXT TDCB MEETING WILL BE HELD ON AUGUST 22nd, AT 9:15, ON THE 18th FLOOR OF THE COUNTY CENTER. IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS, I'LL BE HAPPY TO TRY TO ANSWER THEM. IF NOT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY. NEXT IS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT, MR. CHIARAMONTE. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: THANK YOU. I'M JUST GOING TO GO OVER SOME OF THE MEETINGS THAT I ATTENDED OVER THE LAST MONTH. I ATTENDED HART'S QUARTERLY BRIEFING WITH MAYOR IORIO WHERE WE TALKED ABOUT THE PROGRESS ON STUDYING THE PIECES OF THE LIGHT RAIL; ATTENDED THE DOWNTOWN PARTNERSHIP'S DEBRIEFING SERIES THAT FOCUSED ON NEW RESIDENTS DOWNTOWN AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS, WHICH WAS A VERY INTERESTING PRESENTATION; PRESENTED TO U-CAN AND THE SEFFNER COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION THE MPO PLAN; ATTENDED OUR MONTHLY MEETING WITH MAYOR IORIO AND OTHERS, AGAIN TO DISCUSS LIGHT RAIL; PARTICIPATED IN THE BOCC TRANSPORTATION WORKSHOP ON AUGUST 12th; MET WITH FDOT, HART, AND TBARTA AND THE HIGH-SPEED RAIL AUTHORITY REPRESENTATIVE FOR FDOT FROM TALLAHASSEE ON A MEETING UPDATING US ON THE STATUS OF HIGH-SPEED RAIL, WHICH SEEMS TO BE MOVING ALONG AT A GOOD PACE TO PUT US IN A GOOD POSITION TO COMPETE FOR THAT MONEY; PARTICIPATED IN THE HART'S NEW START PROJECT MEETING WHERE WE'RE DISCUSSING AGAIN ALTERNATIVE ANALYSIS THAT WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH. I'M A MEMBER OF THE MOBILITY STAKEHOLDERS, A REPRESENTATIVE FOR DISTRICT 7 FDOT, AND ATTENDED A MEETING IN TALLAHASSEE ON THAT. THAT'S MOVING AHEAD, AND THERE SHOULD BE THREE OTHER MEETINGS THAT ARE GOING TO TAKE PLACE WITH A REPORT DUE IN DECEMBER ON THE MOBILITY FEE TO THE STATE LEGISLATURE FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AFFAIRS. I PRESENTED THE RAIL TO THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY ASSOCIATION OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, AND IF THERE'S ANY REPUBLICANS THAT WANT OUR MPO PLAN PRESENTED TO THEM, I'M HAPPY TO VOLUNTEER TO DO THAT TOO. I PRESENTED TRANSIT RAIL PRESENTATION TO THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF OFFICE PARK DEVELOPERS; WAS AT THE KICKOFF OF THE HIGH-SPEED RAIL COMMITTEE. JUST TO REMIND YOU, ON SEPTEMBER 22nd WE ARE HAVING, I BELIEVE, OUR FIRST JOINT HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY-PINELLAS COUNTY MPO MEETING. THAT'S ON SEPTEMBER 22nd, AND THAT WILL REPLACE THE POLICY COMMITTEE MEETING, BUT WE WOULD CERTAINLY LIKE AS MANY OF OUR BOARD MEMBERS TO ATTEND THAT MEETING WITH THE PINELLAS MPO BOARD MEMBERS. WE HAVE A FEW ITEMS THAT WE NEED TO DISCUSS, ONE BEING IS POSSIBLE FUTURE CONNECTIONS FOR RAIL AND HOW WE MIGHT DO THAT ACROSS THE BAY AND GET A BRIEFING ON WHAT PINELLAS IS TALKING ABOUT WITH THEIR PLANS RIGHT NOW. ATTENDED THE CCC MEETING. THAT'S THE CHAIRMENS COORDINATING COUNCIL OF MPO DIRECTORS FROM THE TAMPA BAY REGION AND THE TBARTA FUNDING AND FINANCING COMMITTEE. OUR NEXT MPO MEETING WILL BE OCTOBER 6th. REMEMBER, THOUGH, WE HAVE THAT MEETING SEPTEMBER 22nd WITH THE PINELLAS MPO, AND THAT WILL BE ON THE 26th FLOOR OF THIS BUILDING. ALSO WANTED TO REMIND SOME OF YOU ABOUT THE TRIP TO CHARLOTTE. WE HAVE 19 PEOPLE NOW GOING, WHICH IS GOOD. OUR CAPACITY'S 30, SO WE STILL HAVE A LITTLE ROOM LEFT, BUT 19 IS MORE THAN I HAD HOPED FOR, SO I'M VERY PLEASED WITH THAT. AND LINDA WILL GET YOU DETAILS OF THAT CLOSER TO THE DATE. IT'S IN OCTOBER. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU, RAY. ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FOR RAY? GOOD JOB, RAY. OKAY. THE LAST ITEM IS MULTIMODAL DISTRICT STUDY, USF AREA. GENA. >>GENA TORRES: GOOD MORNING. THANK YOU. WE HAVE KICKED OFF A STUDY ALONG WITH PLANNING AND GROWTH MANAGEMENT JUST TO LOOK AT THE USF AREA AND SEE IF IT WOULD BE A GOOD CANDIDATE TO BE A MULTIMODAL DISTRICT. WHY ARE WE DOING THAT? IF WE LOOK AT OUR STATE OF OUR ROADS IN THE FUTURE, I THINK WE ALREADY KNOW THIS, WE CAN'T JUST CONTINUE TO WIDEN. THESE RED AND BLUE LINES ARE ROADS THAT ARE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO HANDLE THE TRAFFIC IN THE FUTURE. ALSO, EVEN WITH SENATE BILL 360 PASSING, IF YOU'RE NOT IN A TRANSPORTATION CONCURRENCY EXCEPTION AREA, YOU STILL HAVE TO ABIDE BY THE CURRENT LOCAL COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, AND IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE ABILITY TO MEET YOUR CONCURRENCY, YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO DEVELOP THERE, AND THERE ARE PLACES WHERE WE REALLY DO WANT TO ENCOURAGE INFILL AND DEVELOPMENT AND REALLY, IF -- I JUST LOVE THIS PICTURE, AND I TRY TO FIND A WAY TO PUT IT IN EVERY PRESENTATION. BUT THE USF AREA, THEY WANT A COMMUNITY THAT IS VIABLE AND ABLE TO MOVE AROUND AND ACCESS ALL THE GREAT THINGS THAT ARE -- THAT ARE IN THE AREA TO ACCESS, THE HOSPITALS AND THE SCHOOLS AND THE CAMPUS. SO WE, ALONG WITH THE COUNTY -- REALLY, THE COUNTY WANTED US TO LOOK AT SOME WAYS THAT THEY CAN MAYBE AMEND THEIR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN TO ALLOW SOME OTHER KINDS OF TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS BESIDES WIDENING, SO THIS IS THE STUDY AREA THAT WE WERE LOOKING AT TO DETERMINE IF THIS WOULD BE A GOOD AREA FOR THIS MULTIMODAL DISTRICT. AND THE D.O.T. HAS THIS WONDERFUL HANDBOOK THAT PEOPLE -- THAT WE CAN LOOK AT ALL THESE DIFFERENT MEASURES TO DECIDE IF AN AREA IS -- CAN QUALIFY, AND WHAT WE MEAN BY QUALIFYING IS, YOU KNOW, IF WE CAN OFFSET THE IMPACTS OF THE DEVELOPMENT THERE BY LOOKING AT BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN AND TRANSIT PROJECTS TO KEEP THE MOBILITY -- KEEP PEOPLE ABLE TO MOVE AROUND. THAT HANDBOOK LOOKS -- GIVES THRESHOLDS FOR DIFFERENT LAND USES AND APPROPRIATE DENSITIES AND INTENSITIES THAT -- THAT THAT AREA SHOULD MEET TO BECOME A DISTRICT, AND WHAT WE FOUND SO FAR IN OUR STUDY -- AND WE'RE PROBABLY ABOUT 30%, 40% THROUGH THE STUDY. THIS IS JUST -- THE USF AREA HAS A VAST NUMBER OF PLACES THAT PEOPLE WANT TO ACCESS. THIS IS JUST ALL THESE DIFFERENT ACTIVITY CENTERS IN THE AREA, AND IT -- AND THE -- THIS AREA DOES DEFINITELY MEET THE THRESHOLDS IN THE HANDBOOK SET OUT FOR THE ACTIVITY CENTERS. ANOTHER COMPONENT OF MAKING A GOOD DISTRICT IS THE EXISTING LAND USE, AND AGAIN, THE USF AREA THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED HAS ENOUGH JOBS AND EMPLOYMENT CENTERS AND ALL THESE OTHER GREAT FACILITIES TO BE A REGIONAL CENTER FOR MULTIMODAL DISTRICTS, SO IT DID QUALIFY ACCORDING TO THE D.O.T. GUIDELINES. FOR EMPLOYMENT DENSITY AND INTENSITIES, THERE'S POCKETS OF AREAS THAT DEFINITELY MEET THE THRESHOLD. AS A WHOLE, THOUGH, THE WHOLE AREA IF YOU AVERAGE OVER THE EMPLOYMENT, COULD DO BETTER WITH MAYBE INFILLING SOME EMPLOYMENT IN THESE OTHER AREAS THAT NEED IT, BUT IT WAS CLOSE AND IT ALLOWS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT. AND WHEN WE LOOK AT THE RESIDENTIAL DWELLING UNITS, IT DEFINITELY SUPPORTS WHAT THE THRESHOLDS HAVE IDENTIFIED AS GOOD DENSITY FOR RESIDENTIAL, BUT IT COULD ALSO BE KIND OF INTERSPERSED IN A BETTER WAY, BUT IT DEFINITELY MEETS THE QUALIFICATIONS THERE. ONE OTHER THRESHOLD THAT WE LOOK AT TO SEE IF THIS WOULD BE A GOOD DISTRICT IS THE NUMBER OF BLOCKS PER SQUARE MILE, AND THIS REALLY DOES MORE SO FOR THE MODE OF TRANSPORTATION, LIKE CYCLING, IF YOU GET TO AN END OF A STREET THAT DOESN'T CONTINUE, IT MAKES IT REALLY DIFFICULT TO USE THAT AS A MODE OF TRANSPORTATION TO ACCESS, BUT ONLY ONE OF THE QUADRANTS MEET THE 50 BLOCKS PER SQUARE MILE, BUT AGAIN, THIS IS GOOD TO ME. I THINK THIS IS WHERE WE CAN FIND SOME IMPROVEMENTS TO BE MADE IN THE FUTURE TO HELP MAKE IT MORE INTERCONNECTED. ALSO IN THE STUDY WE'VE LOOKED AT WHAT'S EXISTING -- LOOK AT THAT "E" FOLLOWED OVER -- ANYWAY, WHAT'S EXISTING AS FAR AS TRANSIT AND BICYCLING AND PEDESTRIAN, SO THERE'S A GOOD NETWORK THERE, BUT IT DEFINITELY HAS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT, BUT WE HAVE SOME GOOD THINGS TO PLAY OFF OF, SOME GOOD FACILITIES ALREADY, AND THE USF BOULEVARD IS ANOTHER ASSET. IT DOES COME OFF CAMPUS AND GOES TO THE TRANSIT CENTER AND THE MALL, SO THERE'S SOME GOOD THINGS HAPPENING AROUND THAT AREA. WHEN YOU PULL IT ALL TOGETHER, THOUGH, AND YOU LOOK AT THE LEVEL OF SERVICE OF THOSE MODES, THERE'S ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT. THE -- YOU KNOW, WE SEE EXISTING SIDEWALKS, BUT DEFINITELY THERE'S PLACES WHERE IT ISN'T COMFORTABLE TO WALK. THERE'S A LOT OF Es AND Fs ON THIS MAP. AND BICYCLE LEVEL OF SERVICE, AGAIN, THERE'S LITTLE PLACES THAT MAY BE A LITTLE BIT MORE COMFORTABLE TO RIDE AND CYCLE. MAYBE PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO ACCESS THOSE POINTS, BUT IT COULD BE IMPROVED AGAIN WITH TRANSIT. THERE'S LOTS OF PLACES THAT COULD BE IMPROVED, AND THIS IS ALL GOOD BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT THE STUDY IS GOING TO POINT OUT. AND I'M GOING TO GO PAST BECAUSE IT'S SEPTEMBER 9th AND NOT 10th. BUT WHAT HAPPENS NEXT, WHAT WE'RE DOING NEXT IS WE'RE GOING TO SET SOME LEVEL-OF-SERVICE STANDARDS FOR THE AREA, DO WE WANT BICYCLING LEVEL OF SERVICE "B" AND A PEDESTRIAN "C," AND THEN WE LIST THOSE EXACT PROJECTS TO GET US TO THAT POINT. MAYBE A TRAIL CONNECTION FROM CAMPUS ON TO A PARTICULAR RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD. THERE WILL BE A SPECIFIC LIST OF PROJECTS THAT IF A DEVELOPER COMES IN AND WANTS TO -- IT NEEDS TO MEET HIS CONCURRENCY, WE CAN MAYBE HAVE HIM BUILD A SIDEWALK FROM HERE TO HERE OR ADD TO TRANSIT HEADWAYS, AND WITH ALL THESE DIFFERENT THINGS, WE'LL BE ABLE TO REACH A LEVEL OF SERVICE AND HAVE A LIST OF THOSE PROJECTS THAT WILL DO THAT. SO WHAT WE'VE DONE NOW IS REALLY JUST LOOK AT THE EXISTING SITUATION. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A PUBLIC MEETING ON SEPTEMBER 9th, AND THEN WE'LL COME BACK WITH COMPREHENSIVE PLAN LANGUAGE THAT THE COUNTY CAN USE TO AMEND THEIR COMP PLAN AND MAYBE HOPEFULLY MAKE THIS A MULTIMODAL DISTRICT. THE CITY OF TEMPLE TERRACE DID SO. THEY LED THE WAY IN THIS AREA. SO THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING. I JUST WANTED TO KEEP YOU UP-TO-DATE ON WHAT I'M UP TO NOW THAT I'M NOT NECESSARILY BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN PLANNING ANYMORE. SO THANK YOU. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER. >>JOE AFFRONTI: I'M GLAD YOU MENTIONED THAT, GENA, BECAUSE WE ARE ONE OF THE FEW DISTRICTS IN THE ENTIRE STATE THAT HAVE A MULTIMODAL DISTRICT SET UP. >>GENA TORRES: RIGHT. >>JOE AFFRONTI: AND WITH ALL THE HELP WE GOT FROM THE PLANNING COMMISSION, WE REALLY APPRECIATE THAT, SO THANK YOU, GENA. ANY QUESTIONS OF GENA? ANY COMMENTS? OKAY. THANK YOU. OKAY. THAT -- THAT'S PRETTY MUCH IT. WE'VE GOT -- IS THERE ANYONE IN THE AUDIENCE THAT CARES TO ADDRESS THE BOARD ON ANY ITEMS? THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY. RIGHT AFTER THIS THERE'S GOING TO BE A FILMING FOR THE TRANSIT, RAY? >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: YES. I BELIEVE LYNN PROBABLY CONTACTED YOU. ANY OF THE BOARD MEMBERS, WE CAN GET SOME QUOTES FOR THE FILM ON THE PLAN, AND LYNN, YOU WANT TO EXPLAIN WHERE IT'S GOING TO BE OR HOW IT'S GOING TO WORK? >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. ANY OLD BUSINESS? YES, MR. SKELTON. >>DON SKELTON: THANK YOU, CHAIRMAN. I JUST WANT TO REMIND THIS BOARD THAT TONIGHT AT 5:00 AT OUR OFFICES UP ON McKINLEY WE'RE HAVING OUR STRATEGIC INTERMODAL SYSTEM REGIONAL WORKSHOP. IT'S REALLY THE FORUM TO GIVE SOME INPUT. WE'RE AS AN AGENCY UPDATING OUR STRATEGIC INTERMODAL SYSTEM, LOOKING AT THE CRITERIA, WHAT QUALIFIES TO BE ON THE SIS, WHAT FACILITIES SHOULD BE ADDED, SUBTRACTED, THOSE TYPE THINGS, SO IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO GET THAT INPUT INTO THE LEADERSHIP COMMITTEE, AND WE'RE HAVING THAT TONIGHT. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ANY OTHER -- LYNN, DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING YOU WANTED TO SAY OR -- >>LYNN MERENDA: [INAUDIBLE] >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: OKAY. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. ONE OTHER THING I WANT TO MENTION IS ON THE 10th OF THIS MONTH -- TEMPLE TERRACE HAS BEEN WORKING VERY HARD ON A REDEVELOPMENT OF THE SOUTHEAST QUADRANT OF 56th AND BUSCH, AND OUR DEVELOPER FROM ATLANTA WILL BE BRINGING HIS LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT AND -- ARCHITECT TO TEMPLE TERRACE FOR A PRESENTATION TO SHOW WHAT THEIR PLAN IS FOR THE -- FOR THAT PARTICULAR QUADRANT, SO ANYBODY THAT'S INTERESTED IN ATTENDING, WE'D SURE LOVE TO HAVE YOU. IT'S GOING TO BE AT LIGHTFOOT CENTER, WHICH IS AT 56th AND WHITEWAY, AND IT'S GOING TO BE AT 7:30 ON THE 10th OF SEPTEMBER, SO WE WOULD WELCOME ANYBODY TO BE THERE. WE'RE VERY PROUD OF NINE YEARS OF HARD WORK, AND WE'RE FINALLY GETTING TO THE POINT WHERE WE FEEL WE'RE MOVING FORWARD VERY WELL. SO ANY -- ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? IF NOT, WE ADJOURN. THANK YOU SO MUCH. 1