CAPTIONING FEBRUARY 2, 2010 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 FEBRUARY 2nd, 2010. WOULD YOU PLEASE STAND FOR PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE AND AN INVOCATION. [PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE] HEAVENLY FATHER, AGAIN WE THANK YOU FOR THE MANY BLESSINGS THAT YOU'VE GIVEN US LIVING IN THIS WONDERFUL COMMUNITY. WE ASK THAT YOU GUIDE US AS WE DO THE WORK FOR THE PEOPLE OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY. WE ASK THAT YOU PROTECT OUR YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN THROUGHOUT THE WORLD WHO ARE FIGHTING FOR OUR FREEDOMS, AND WE ASK A SPEEDY RECOVERY FOR DEBBIE CHIARAMONTE, WHO'S JUST UNDERGONE A SERIOUS SURGERY. IN YOUR NAME WE PRAY. AMEN. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: THANK YOU. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. IS THERE ANYONE IN THE AUDIENCE THAT CARES TO ADDRESS THE ITEM -- ADDRESS ANYTHING ON THE AGENDA ITEMS? IF NOT, WE THANK YOU VERY MUCH. WE ASK THAT MR. JOE AMON REPORT TO THE BOARD ON THE CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE. THANK YOU, JOE. >> THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. MR. CHAIR AND MEMBERS OF THE MPO, THE CAC MET ON JANUARY 13th, AND OUR MEMBERS HAVE ALWAYS -- HAVE THINGS TO SAY AT THOSE MEETINGS, AS YOU KNOW, AND AS ALWAYS, PIERRE MATHURIN BRINGS A REPORT CONCERNING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, AND THIS REPORT THAT HE BROUGHT WAS A REPORT COMPARING MONIES SPENT IN PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION VERSUS SPENDING ON HIGHWAY INFRASTRUCTURE, AND THIS REPORT BASICALLY SAYS THAT FOR EVERY $1 BILLION SPENT THERE ARE TWICE AS MANY JOBS CREATED WHEN THE MONEY IS SPENT ON PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION THAN FOR THE HIGHWAY INFRASTRUCTURE. INTERESTING PIECE OF INFORMATION. PATRICK LEDUC EXPRESSED HIS CONCERN THAT THE I-4 CORRIDOR PROJECT DID NOT SEEM TO BE CREATING JOBS YET, AND HE WAS LATER TOLD IN THE MEETING THAT THAT WORK WAS TO START VERY QUICKLY. HE ALSO, BEING A NEW TAMPA RESIDENT, WAS STILL CONCERNED ABOUT THE WIDENING OF I-75 AND -- BEING IT WAS UNDER -- WITH I-275 BEING A HIGHER PRIORITY, AND HE WAS STILL CONCERNED ABOUT THAT, BUT HE LATER FOUND OUT IN THE MEETING THAT I-75 NOW HAS BEEN BROUGHT FORWARD. ACTION ITEMS, TIP/STIP AMENDMENT. AMENDMENT TO ADD A HALF-MILE SECTION OF SIDEWALK IN PLANT CITY USING THE SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOLS FUNDING AND ANOTHER AMENDMENT TO ADD SIGNAGE AND PAVEMENT MARKINGS ON HILLSBOROUGH AVENUE WERE BOTH APPROVED BY THE CAC COMMITTEE. AFTER DISCUSSION, THE MAIN THING THAT THE MEMBERS WERE INTERESTED IN IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE SIDEWALKS THAT WERE BEING BUILT WERE GOING TO TIE INTO SIDEWALKS ALREADY OUT THERE SO IT MADE A CONTINUOUS PATH FOR THE CHILDREN. CAC PASSED THE MOTION TO FORWARD THE T.I.P. AMENDMENTS TO THE MPO FOR THEIR APPROVAL. ANNUAL CTC EVALUATION. THE MPO CREATED THE TRANSPORTATION DISADVANTAGED COORDINATING BOARD TO OVERSEE THE TRANSPORTATION DISADVANTAGED PROGRAM IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, AND ONE OF THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES IS -- IS TO CONDUCT AN ANNUAL EVALUATION OF THE COMMUNITY TRANSPORTATION COORDINATOR. WE LEARNED IN THAT PRESENTATION THAT CTC MEETS AND EXCEEDS MOST OF THE EVALUATION CRITERIA AND FOUND THE RECOMMENDATIONS TO IMPROVE THEIR PERFORMANCE VALUABLE. AFTER A DISCUSSION, THE CAC PASSED A MOTION TO APPROVE THE 2008-2009 CTC EVALUATION AND TRANSMIT IT TO THE MPO FOR THEIR APPROVAL. I WANT TO SAY ONE THING ABOUT THAT. WE ALSO HAD MR. PLOTKIN, WHO'S A MEMBER OF THE CAC, VERY ACTIVE IN THIS, SO HE ANSWERED AS MANY QUESTIONS AS THE CONSULTANT DID. AIR QUALITY AND GREENHOUSE GAS RULES. A PRESENTATION WAS RECEIVED ON FEDERAL REVISIONS TO OZONE STANDARDS AND THE LIKELIHOOD THAT HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY WILL NOT BE IN ATTAINMENT. I REMEMBER BACK A NUMBER OF YEARS WE WEREN'T IN ATTAINMENT. WE CAME INTO ATTAINMENT BECAUSE THE RULES CHANGED. LOOKS LIKE THE RULES ARE CHANGING AGAIN, AND WE'RE GOING TO GO BACK OUT OF ATTAINMENT. AT LEAST THAT'S THE IMPRESSION WE'RE GETTING RIGHT NOW. WE'RE GETTING MORE INFORMATION ON THE GREENHOUSE GAS RULES AS WE SPEAK. WE JUST GOT AN E-MAIL IN THE FIRST PART OF THIS WEEK, SO THAT'LL BE HOPEFULLY FURTHER DISCUSSED ON OUR AGENDA COMING UP. TBARTA CONSULTANTS PRESENTED PRIORITY REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY. FDOT WORK PROGRAM WAS PRESENTED ALSO, THE WRAP-UP, AND IN THAT PROGRAM THE ADDITION OF THE WIDENING OF I-75 WAS MET WITH GREAT APPROVAL. WE WERE HAPPY TO SEE THAT THAT WAS BROUGHT FORWARD, SPECIFICALLY MR. LEDUC. AND ALSO THEY ANNOUNCED THAT THE I-4 CONNECTOR PROJECT WILL BEGIN ON MARCH 1st, WHICH ALSO ANSWERED ONE OF HIS CONCERNS ABOUT WHEN THAT WAS GOING TO START, SO WE WERE VERY PLEASED TO HEAR WHAT THE FDOT WAS DOING. AND THAT'S BASICALLY THE REPORT. OUR NEXT MEETING WILL BE FEBRUARY 10th AT 1:15 P.M. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU, JOE. ANY QUESTIONS OF JOE? ANY COMMENTS? IF NOT, WE THANK YOU VERY MUCH, JOE. GOOD JOB. >> YOU'RE WELCOME. THANK YOU ALL. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. NEXT IS TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE, NED BAIER. >>NED BAIER: GOOD MORNING, MR. CHAIRMAN, AND MEMBERS OF THE MPO BOARD. THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE MET ON JANUARY 25th, AND SIMILAR TO THE CAC, WE HAD MANY OF THE SAME ITEMS. OUR FIRST ACTION ITEM WAS THE ELECTION OF OFFICERS FOR THE TAC, AND MYSELF AND SHEILA MARTIN OF BACS AND NOW THE TBARTA, WE'RE RETAINING OUR POSITIONS OF CHAIRMAN AND VICE CHAIRMAN. THE NEXT ITEM WAS THE T.I.P. AMENDMENTS. THERE WERE TWO, AND THE FIRST AMENDMENT WAS TO ADD THE SIX- FOOT SIDEWALK ON MENDOSA ROAD IN PLANT CITY, AND THAT'S IN THE AMOUNT OF $203,000. THE TAC DID APPROVE THAT. THE SECOND AMENDMENT WAS FOR THE COLUMBUS STREET BRIDGE, AND THIS IS AN ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGE, AND IT'S CHANGING THE DISTANCE AND THE COST OF THAT PROJECT IN THE AMOUNT OF JUST OVER $8 MILLION, AND THE TAC, AFTER SOME DISCUSSION, WE DID ALWAYS -- WE ALSO ENDORSED THAT MOTION. WE HEARD PRESENTATIONS ON THE ANNUAL CTC EVALUATION WHICH JOE JUST PRESENTED TO YOU, AND WE ALSO ENDORSED THAT EVALUATION. IT'S VERY COMPREHENSIVE, AND THE ORGANIZATION THAT'S -- THAT'S VERY INVOLVED WITH THAT IS THE SUNSHINE LINE WORKING ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AND THEIR MANAGEMENT STAFF, AND THEY'VE BEEN PART OF THAT EVALUATION IN SOME DETAIL. BUT AGAIN, OUR -- OUR TAC, WE HAD LOTS OF QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT, BUT WE DID ENDORSE IT, THOUGHT IT WAS A VERY COMPREHENSIVE REPORT. AND UNDER STATUS REPORTS, THE AIR QUALITY AND GREENHOUSE GAS RULES WERE PRESENTED BY THE MPO STAFF, AND THAT'LL BE A PRESENTATION TODAY ON YOUR AGENDA. AND THE RULES ARE CHANGING, AND IT IS ON OUR RADAR SCREEN. IT'S REALLY THE NEXT BIG THING OF -- THAT WE WILL HAVE TO DEAL WITH AS TRANSPORTATION PLANNERS AND THIS BOARD AND OTHER AGENCIES ARE THE AIR QUALITY RULES AND HOW THAT IMPACTS TRANSPORTATION. WE ALSO HEARD A PRESENTATION ON THE TBARTA PRIORITIZATION OF PROJECTS, AND THIS WAS FROM THE TBARTA CONSULTANT, JACOBS, AND WE HAD LOTS OF QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS TOO AND HOW IT -- HOW IT INTERCONNECTS WITH THE OTHER ONGOING WORK AND ESPECIALLY WITH THE REGIONAL PROJECTS OF PINELLAS COUNTY AND PASCO COUNTY. IT WAS A COMPREHENSIVE REPORT, AND I THINK THE VIEWPOINT OF THE TECHNICAL STAFF IS THAT WE REALLY APPRECIATE THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FOR STEPPING UP AND FUNDING ON SUCH A COMPREHENSIVE WAY THESE -- THESE STUDIES TO KEEP THE MOMENTUM OF THIS LAST COUPLE YEARS AS FAR AS THE RAIL TRANSIT REGIONAL PROGRAM. AND THEN FINALLY WE HEARD A PRESENTATION ON THE FDOT WORK PROGRAM. THIS WAS I THINK ABOUT OUR THIRD PRESENTATION ON THIS. WE LEARN A LITTLE BIT MORE AT EACH PRESENTATION, AND WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY COMMENTS ON THAT. OUR NEXT TAC MEETING WILL BE HELD ON FEBRUARY 15th AT 1:30, AND THAT'S ON THE 18th FLOOR OF THE COUNTY CENTER BUILDING, AND THAT'S MY REPORT FOR YOU TODAY. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU, NED. ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FOR NED? >>NED BAIER: THANK YOU. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU FOR THE GOOD JOB. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY. WE NEED AN APPROVAL FOR THE MINUTES FROM THE JANUARY 5th, 2010, MEETING. >>ROSE FERLITA: SO MOVE, MR. CHAIRMAN. >> 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. WE HAVE TWO ACTION ITEMS. ONE IS A TIP/STIP AMENDMENT. WALLY BLAIN. >>WALLY BLAIN: GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE. WALLY BLAIN, MPO STAFF. THERE ARE TWO AMENDMENTS BEFORE YOU THIS MORNING. ONE IS FOR A SIDEWALK PROJECT OUT IN PLANT CITY ON MENDOSA ROAD. THE SECOND IS JUST SOME CLERICAL CHANGES THAT NEED TO BE MADE FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF THE COLUMBUS DRIVE BRIDGE OVER THE HILLSBOROUGH RIVER. THE SIDEWALK PROJECT IN PLANT CITY ON MENDOSA ROAD IS ON A COLLECTOR ROADWAY. THIS IS A REQUEST THAT WAS MADE BY BURNEY SIMONS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. THIS WOULD PROVIDE A SIDEWALK CONNECTION TO THAT SCHOOL WHICH IS WITHIN ONE MILE OF THAT AREA. THE SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL PROGRAM IS A STATE RUN PROGRAM. THE SCHOOL APPLIED FOR THAT MONEY AND HAS RECEIVED THAT MONEY. THE MONEY COMES OUT OF A CURRENT BOXED AMOUNT FOR THESE SIDEWALK PROJECTS, SAFE ROUTE TO SCHOOLS PROJECTS, SO IT WON'T AFFECT ANY OTHER PROJECTS IN THE T.I.P. THE SECOND PROJECT IS A CHANGE TO THE COLUMBUS DRIVE BRIDGE PROJECT. THIS IS A PROJECT THAT RECEIVED A FEDERAL EARMARK FOR THE PROJECT. THE LISTING OF THE PROJECT RIGHT NOW IS SHOWN AS 1.896 MILES, WHICH IS KIND OF LONG FOR THAT BRIDGE, WHICH IS A LITTLE BIT LONGER THAN A TENTH OF A MILE, A LITTLE BIT LONGER THAN A TENTH OF A MILE, SO THAT'S THE MAJOR CHANGE, AND BECAUSE THE LENGTH IS BEING CHANGED, IT CHANGES THE PROJECT DESCRIPTION MORE THAN 20%, WE HAVE TO DO AN AMENDMENT AND MAKE SURE EVERYONE IS NOTIFIED OF THAT. SO THERE'S A MAJOR CHANGE TO THAT. THERE'S ALSO A REDUCTION IN THE LOCAL FUNDS OF THAT PROJECT OF ABOUT $1.1 MILLION, REDUCING THE COST OF THAT PROJECT, SO THERE'S TWO THINGS BEING CHANGED, THE LENGTH AS WELL AS THE COST BEING REDUCED. THESE TWO AMENDMENTS STAND BY THEMSELVES OR THEY CAN BE TAKEN AS ONE ACTION, BUT THEY DON'T AFFECT ANY OTHER PROJECTS IN THE T.I.P. AS THEY ARE PRESENTED. BECAUSE THESE ARE AN AMENDMENT TO THE T.I.P., WE WILL NEED A ROLL CALL VOTE TO APPROVE THEM. >> [INAUDIBLE] >> [INAUDIBLE] >>JOE AFFRONTI: MOVED AND SECONDED. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. [CHORUS OF AYES] OPPOSED. >> ROLL CALL VOTE. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OH, I'M SORRY. SORRY ABOUT THAT. >> THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER HAGAN IS NOT HERE. 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. >> MR. WAINIO IS NOT HERE. AND MR. WAGGONER. >>JOE WAGGONER: YES. >> THANK YOU. THE MOTION CARRIED 11-0. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANKS, WALLY. >>WALLY BLAIN: THANK YOU. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. THE NEXT ITEM IS THE ANNUAL CTC EVALUATION, MICHELLE OGILVIE. >>MICHELE OGILVIE: GOOD MORNING. MICHELLE OGILVIE, MPO STAFF, HERE TO GIVE YOU THE COMMUNITY TRANSPORTATION COORDINATOR ANNUAL EVALUATION RESULTS. LET'S SEE IF I CAN GET THIS GOING. THE BACKGROUND FOR THIS, EACH YEAR THE STATE ASKS US TO EVALUATE THE CTC, WHICH IS A STATEWIDE PROGRAM FOR SENIORS AND PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES AND PROVIDES THEM TRANSPORTATION IN A COORDINATED MANNER FOR THEIR ESSENTIAL NEEDS, SUCH AS GOING TO THE DOCTOR AND OTHER EVENTS. THE BOCC, AS YOU HEARD, IS THE CTC FOR HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, AND THE SUNSHINE LINE IS THEIR TRANSPORTATION OPERATOR. THE PURPOSE OF THIS EVALUATION IS TO ENSURE THAT SERVICE IS RELIABLE, EFFECTIVE, EFFICIENT, AND MEETS THE NEEDS OF THE TRANSPORTATION DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITY. SOME OF THE BACKGROUND THAT WE FOUND IN THIS EVALUATION TIME PERIOD, AS YOU-ALL KNOW, HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY IS RATHER LARGE. IT'S ALMOST -- JUST 300 SQUARE MILES UNDER THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND, SO IT'S 1100 SQUARE MILES, AND ON YOUR SCREEN YOU SEE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THE CTC PROVIDED FOR OUR COMMUNITY THIS YEAR. ALMOST 8,000 PERSONS WERE SERVED. 3,502 DOOR-TO-DOOR CLIENTS GOT ON THE BUS AND GOT TO WHERE THEY NEEDED TO GO SAFELY. THERE WERE ALMOST A HALF MILLION TRIPS AND 120,000 HOURS ON THE ROAD. AS I SAID BEFORE, THE PROCESS IS TO EVALUATE THE CRITERIA OF RELIABILITY, SERVICE EFFECTIVENESS, SERVICE EFFICIENCY, SERVICE AVAILABILITY, AND SAFETY. IT IS A RATHER PRESCRIBED PROCESS FROM THE STATE, BUT WE ALSO IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY DO A CLIENT SURVEY OVER AND BEYOND WHAT IS REQUIRED TO ENSURE THAT THESE MEASURES ARE BEING MET. THE SUNSHINE LINE GETS A SURVEY AND SO DOES THE HART BUS PASS PROGRAM. AND -- LET'S SEE. WHERE ARE WE? WE DISTRIBUTED 2600 CLIENT SURVEYS. WE GOT MANY OF THEM BACK, AND IT WAS VERY ENLIGHTENING. BRANDIE MIKLUS OF JACOBS, WHO DID THE ACTUAL GRINDING OF THE NUMBERS AND SO ON, WILL NOW WALK YOU THROUGH WHAT THESE SURVEYS AS WELL AS THE STANDARDS TOLD US. >> GOOD MORNING MPO BOARD. MY NAME IS BRANDIE MIKLUS FROM JACOBS ENGINEERING, AND AS MICHELE STATED, THERE ARE NINE EVALUATION CRITERIA STANDARDS -- I'M SORRY, NINE STANDARDS WITHIN THE FIVE EVALUATION CRITERIA, TWO CLIENT SURVEYS, AND IT WAS PRETTY MUCH A BANNER YEAR. WE HAD EIGHT STANDARDS MET DURING THE 2008 THROUGH 2009 EVALUATION PERIOD. AND FOR THE SUCCESSES, THEY FELL UNDER RELIABILITY, SERVICE EFFECTIVENESS, AVAILABILITY, AND SAFETY, SO YOU SEE THOSE. AND THEN THESE ARE THE SPECIFIC RELIABILITY STANDARDS MET, ON-TIME PERFORMANCE, TRAVEL TIME, ON-DEMAND TRIPS, AND ROAD CALLS. AND FOR THE SERVICE EFFECTIVENESS WE HAVE TRIPS PER CAPITA THAT CONTINUES TO BE MET, SERVICE AVAILABILITY, AS WELL VEHICLES AVAILABLE, AS WELL AS PERCENTAGE OF DENIALS. AND THEN LAST FOR THE STANDARDS THAT WERE MET WOULD BE UNDER SAFETY, AND THAT'S ACCIDENTS PER 100,000 MILES. AND THE ONLY STANDARD THAT WAS NOT MET WAS THE COST PER TRIP, AND THIS BASICALLY IS CALCULATED BY, YOU KNOW, TAKING THE COST OF BOTH THE DOOR-TO-DOOR TRIPS AND THE BUS PASSES PLUS ANY RELATED ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS, BUT -- AND THE STANDARD MUST -- MUST -- WE'RE TRYING TO REACH THE -- LESS THAN THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX FOR TRANSPORTATION, BUT WHEN THAT FALLS -- USUALLY IT GOES UP AND THIS YEAR IT FELL, AND WITH ACTUALLY MORE DOOR-TO-DOOR TRIPS, THOSE TEND TO BE MORE EXPENSIVE, SO -- BUT THE -- AS YOU'LL SEE WHEN MICHELE COMES UP FOR THE RECOMMENDATIONS, THE TRANSPORTATION DISADVANTAGED BOARD, THEY'RE REALLY TRYING TO PUSH MORE, I GUESS, INVENTIVE AND INNOVATIVE WAYS TO APPLY FOR GRANTS, MAYBE POSSIBLY HAVE MORE FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES, SO YOU'LL SEE THAT. AND THEN FOR THE TWO CLIENT SURVEYS, FIRST IS THE HART BUS PASS PROGRAM, AND THESE RESULTS WILL -- IT WAS RECOMMENDED TO BE FORWARDED TO THE HART BOARD. THERE ARE, OF COURSE, CERTAIN SERVICE AND CUSTOMER SERVICE QUESTIONS THAT DID NOT HAVE THE -- THE BEST RATING, BUT THOSE ARE ALSO RELATIVELY NEW QUESTIONS. AND THEN FOR THE NOTICEABLE INCREASES, PROBLEMS WERE RESOLVED QUICKLY, AND FOR THE MOST NOTICEABLE DECREASES WE HAVE TELEPHONE CALLS ANSWERED PROMPTLY AS WELL AS COURTEOUS DRIVERS. AND THEN THE LAST SURVEY WOULD BE THE SUNSHINE LINE DOOR- TO-DOOR, AND THE SATISFACTION'S BEEN FAIRLY SIMILAR FOR THE PAST FEW YEARS, AND SAME WITH NOTICEABLE INCREASE, WE SEE THAT THE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN DROPPED OFF ON TIME AND THEN TELEPHONE CALLS ANSWERED PROMPTLY HAS BEEN THE MOST NOTABLE DECREASE, AND I JUST WANTED TO NOTE FOR THAT THEY ARE WORKING ON GETTING A THIRD LINE TO HOPEFULLY -- FOR THE NEXT EVALUATION PERIOD SO THEY CAN HOPEFULLY TAKE IN EVEN MORE -- ANSWER MORE CALLS THAT COME IN, AND WITH THAT, I WILL LEAVE YOU WITH MICHELE TO GO OVER THE 2009 RECOMMENDATIONS. >>MICHELE OGILVIE: AS BRANDIE SAID, THE CONCLUSION OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE EVALUATION ARE AS FOLLOWS: COST PER TRIP, WE ARE LOOKING FOR SOME MORE INNOVATION. FOR EXAMPLE, THE CTC SAVED $300,000 THIS YEAR JUST WITH A FILTRATION SYSTEM FOR OIL, WHICH IS ALSO SUSTAINABLE. EXPLORING FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES, THE TDCB EVALUATION SUBCOMMITTEE WILL BE EXPLORING AND IS EXPLORING AVAILABLE GRANT OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE AND BRING MORE MONEY TO THIS SERVICE. AND THE OTHER RECOMMENDATION WAS THE HART BUS PASS SURVEYS BE FORWARDED TO THE HART BOARD FOR THEIR CONSIDERATION. THAT WAS ONE OF THE TRANSPORTATION DISADVANTAGED BOARD RECOMMENDATIONS. FINALLY, ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT DID COME FROM THE TAC IS THAT THIS ALSO BE FORWARDED TO THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS FOR THEIR REVIEW. WE WOULD RECOMMEND TO THIS BOARD THAT THEY APPROVE THIS EVALUATION AND FORWARD IT TO THE FLORIDA COMMISSION FOR THE TRANSPORTATION DISADVANTAGED, WHICH WILL WRAP UP OUR REQUIREMENTS WITH THAT GROUP FOR THEIR GRANT THAT THEY PROVIDE US TO DO THIS PROJECT. THANK YOU. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU, MICHELE. ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FOR MICHELE? IF NOT, WE NEED A MOTION TO APPROVE TO SEND THIS TO THE FLORIDA COMMISSION -- >>THOMAS SCOTT: SO MOVE. >>JOE AFFRONTI: -- FOR THE TRANSPORTATION DISADVANTAGED. >> 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. THE NEXT ITEM IS THE TBARTA -- THE STATUS REPORT, PRIORITIZATION OF PROJECTS, BOB CLIFFORD. >> GOOD MORNING. BOB CLIFFORD WITH TBARTA, AND I'M JUST -- THERE WE GO. GOOD MORNING. I JUST WANTED TO BRING YOU UP TO SPEED ON WHERE TBARTA IS. YOU'RE ALL AWARE THAT WE HAVE ADOPTED OUR MASTER PLAN, WHICH IS -- WAS A GREAT THING, BUT NOW IT'S REALLY TAKING THAT PLAN AND BREAKING IT INTO INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS AS WE START MOVING FORWARD AND -- I THINK NED USED THE WORD EARLIER -- BUILDING MOMENTUM AND CONTINUING TO BUILD MOMENTUM WITH THE EFFORTS THAT ARE OCCURRING, NOT JUST WITH WHAT WE'RE DOING BUT WHAT'S OCCURRING HERE LOCALLY WITHIN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, WHAT RECENTLY OCCURRED WITH HIGH-SPEED RAIL AND THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF FUNDING FOR HIGH-SPEED RAIL, AND CONTINUING THAT MOMENTUM WITHIN THE REGION AND REALLY TAKING THOSE NEXT STEPS, TAKING MAPS ON A -- TAKING LINES ON A MAP AND ACTUALLY BREAKING THEM INTO INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS AND STARTING TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THE WAY I BEST DESCRIBE IT AS, WHAT IS IT, WHERE IS IT, HOW DOES IT WORK, WHEN DO YOU DO IT, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY HOW MUCH DOES IT COST SO THAT WE CAN START MOVING FORWARD AND LOOKING AT IMPLEMENTING VARIOUS PROJECTS. WE STARTED LOOKING AT THE VARIOUS SEGMENTS OF OUR PLAN AND WANTED TO BREAK IT INTO SEVERAL DIFFERENT AREAS. ONE WAS THE ISSUE OF MAKING SURE WE HAD A BALANCE BETWEEN THE ENTIRE REGION OF PROJECTS BOTH IN THE NORTH, CENTRAL, AND SOUTHERN AREAS; LOOKING AT BOTH BUS AND RAIL AS PART OF THAT, ACTUALLY THOSE PROJECTS THAT MAKE THE MOST SENSE AND LIKELY TO BE THE FIRST PROJECTS THAT YOU'LL BE LOOKING AT FIRST; LOOKING AT WORKING WITH OUR PARTNERS AT BOTH THE MPOs AND THE TRANSIT AGENCIES IN TERMS OF WHAT'S IN THEIR PLANS AND WHAT ARE THEY THINKING ABOUT MOVING FORWARD; AND ALSO COORDINATING WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION'S WORK PROGRAM, AND THERE'S ONE SPECIFIC PROJECT ON THERE THAT WE'LL TALK ABOUT IN A MINUTE THAT MADE SENSE FOR US TO COORDINATE AND WORK TOGETHER, AGAIN TRYING TO BE AS EFFICIENT AS POSSIBLE AND ANSWERING ALL OF THE QUESTIONS. WE LOOK AT VARIOUS PROJECTS THROUGHOUT THE REGION. I'M NOT GOING TO GO INTO DETAIL ON THIS MAP. JUST WANTED TO MAKE YOU AWARE THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT CITRUS COUNTY ALL THE WAY NORTH TO SARASOTA COUNTY TO THE SOUTH, SEVEN COUNTIES, VARIOUS PROJECTS THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE REGION, LOOKING AT THOSE FIRST PRIORITIES. WHEN YOU REMEMBER ABOUT WHERE WE'RE AT, SYSTEMS PLANNING WAS REALLY THE MASTER PLAN. THIS IS A PROCESS ALL THE WAY TO DEVELOPMENT OR IMPLEMENTATION OF A PROJECT. YOU ULTIMATELY GET DOWN INTO WHAT HART IS DOING NOW IN DEVELOPING AN ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS, LOCALLY PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE, UNTIL YOU ULTIMATELY GET TO THE POINT OF ACTUALLY IMPLEMENTING OR CONSTRUCTING A PROJECT, BUT THERE ARE VARIOUS STEPS THAT WE ALL MUST FOLLOW IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO SECURE FUNDING AT BOTH THE FEDERAL AND STATE LEVEL. WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT NOW ARE REALLY CONCEPTUAL AND FEASIBILITY ANALYSES WITH WORK DONE TOWARDS THE ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS SO WHEN THE TIMING IS RIGHT TO DO THOSE OFFICIAL ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS AND SUBMIT THEM TO THE FEDS, WE'VE DONE THE WORK NOW THAT WILL FIT RIGHT IN AND DOESN'T HAVE TO BE REDONE. IT'S USEFUL FOR THE ENTIRE EFFORT, SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING IN TERMS OF WHERE WE ARE IN THE STEPS OF THIS PROCESS THAT IS, UNFORTUNATELY AS WE'RE ALL AWARE, A LENGTHY PROCESS, BUT IT'S A NECESSARY ONE IN TERMS OF IF WE WANT TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN SECURING FUNDING. WE LOOKED AT THE VARIOUS PROJECTS. OUR FIRST PROJECTS EARLY ON ARE LOOKING AT REGIONAL BUS SERVICE ALL THE WAY FROM THE WESTSHORE AREA ALL THE WAY UP TO CITRUS COUNTY, BASICALLY UP THE VETERANS AND SUNCOAST PARKWAYS, SOMETHING THAT THE COUNTIES TO THE NORTH OF US HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT QUITE A BIT. THEY'D REALLY LIKE TO SEE SOME PARK-N-RIDE FACILITIES ALONG THE PARKWAY AND GET INTO THE URBANIZED AREA OF THE REGION, GET INTO THE WESTSHORE AREA OF THE REGION. WE ALWAYS GET ASKED CAN WE GET TO THE AIRPORT AS AN EXAMPLE, SO LOOKING AT THAT SERVICE. ALSO LOOKING AT STATE ROAD 54, 56 IN PASCO COUNTY, A KEY EAST-WEST CORRIDOR IN PASCO COUNTY THAT IS REALLY UNDERGOING A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN TERMS OF THAT IS GOING TO BE THEIR URBANIZED CORRIDOR IN PASCO COUNTY, PARTICULARLY FROM A LAND USE PERSPECTIVE. SO ENSURING THAT WE'VE GOT THE CONNECTIONS AND ARE ACCOUNTING FOR THAT CORRIDOR FROM A REGIONAL APPROACH. LOOKING AT BUS SERVICE UP THE INTERSTATE, BOTH IN A SOUTHERLY AND A NORTHERLY DIRECTION. AGAIN, REGIONAL EXPRESS SERVICE THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE REGION, UTILIZING THE INTERSTATE, POTENTIALLY USING THE ABILITY OF SOME TYPE OF MANAGED LANES AND SOME -- IN SOME SELECT AREAS IN TERMS OF BEING ABLE TO GET AROUND CONGESTION. THE PROJECT I WANTED TO SPECIFICALLY MENTION, THE HOWARD FRANKLAND BRIDGE. WE'RE ALL AWARE THAT THE HOWARD FRANKLAND BRIDGE, THE SPAN THAT COMES FROM PINELLAS COUNTY TO HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, THE SUBSTRUCTURE IS NEARING 50 YEARS OLD. IT'S GOING TO NEED TO BE REPLACED. THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION'S AWARE OF THAT, HAD IT IN THEIR WORK PROGRAM FOR 2013 TO DO A PD&E STUDY. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE IN TBARTA WERE GETTING ASKED OFTEN IS HOW DO WE MAKE THAT CONNECTION BETWEEN HILLSBOROUGH AND PINELLAS COUNTIES, WHAT IS IT, HOW DOES IT WORK, HOW MUCH DOES IT COST, AND A LOT OF SPECULATION OUT THERE, ALL SORTS OF NUMBERS AND IDEAS OF WHAT THE ANSWER TO THAT IS. WE THOUGHT IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR US TO -- TO PARTNER WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, LET'S ANSWER THAT QUESTION, AND LET'S ANSWER THAT QUESTION AS PART OF A STUDY THAT THEY HAVE TO DO, WHICH IS THAT BRIDGE REPLACEMENT STUDY IN TERMS OF THE HOWARD FRANKLAND BRIDGE SO WE CAN LOOK AT IF WE ARE TO PUT TRANSIT ON THE SAME STRUCTURE, WE KNOW HOW THAT'LL WORK, WHEN IT'LL WORK, WHAT IT WILL COST, SO WORKING TOGETHER WITH THEM, ADVANCING THEIR PROJECT FORWARD TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION THAT CONTINUALLY GETS ASKED, AND CONTINUALLY THERE'S A LOT OF INFORMATION, SOME OF IT I WOULD TELL YOU I DON'T BELIEVE IS ACCURATE, SO WE WANT TO GET SOME ACCURATE INFORMATION IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO ADDRESS THAT ANSWER. SO MOVING THAT PROJECT FORWARD AND ANSWERING THE QUESTION IN PINELLAS COUNTY OF HOW DO WE CONNECT TO THE ONGOING ACTIVITIES WITHIN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, HOW DOES THAT WORK, AND WHEN DO WE WANT TO MOVE FORWARD. I CAN TELL YOU IN PINELLAS COUNTY THEY'RE WATCHING THE DISCUSSION HERE IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY VERY CLOSELY RELATED TO A TRANSIT SURTAX AND THE DISCUSSION ABOUT A POTENTIAL REFERENDUM. THEY'VE JUST EMBARKED ON CREATING THEIR OWN TRANSPORTATION TASK FORCE IN PINELLAS COUNTY, AND THEY'RE HAVING DISCUSSIONS ABOUT AFTER HILLSBOROUGH's SUCCESSFUL MOVING FORWARD PROBABLY IN 2012 IN TERMS OF A REFERENDUM IN PINELLAS COUNTY. THEY'RE VERY INTERESTED, AND THEY WANT TO ENSURE THAT THEY CAN MAKE THAT CONNECTION, SO WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO GO AHEAD AND ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS NOW. ALSO LOOKING AT PROVIDING DATA AND INFORMATION TO THE NORTH, CONNECTING TO PASCO COUNTY FROM -- UP THAT BRUCE B. DOWNS CORRIDOR FROM THE USF AREA TYING IN WITH THE WORK THAT HART IS PRESENTLY DOING ALL THE WAY UP INTO PASCO COUNTY, INTO BASICALLY A NEW TOWN THAT'S BEING CREATED IN PASCO COUNTY CALLED WIREGRASS AND ENSURING THAT THAT CONNECTION OCCURS; WHAT HAPPENS WITHIN PINELLAS COUNTY PROPER IN TERMS OF THE CONNECTIONS OVER TO HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY; AND THEN ALSO SOME SIGNIFICANT WORK ADDING ON TO THE WORK THAT'S GOING ON IN SARASOTA COUNTY AS THEY LOOK AT CONNECTING SARASOTA AND BRADENTON BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTIES, SARASOTA AND MANATEE, SO LOOKING AT THOSE PROJECTS AS BEING THOSE FIRST PROJECTS THAT WE TAKE A STEP AND TAKE THE NEXT STEP, IF YOU WILL, MOVE FORWARD TO PROVIDE THE ANSWERS TO THOSE VARIOUS QUESTIONS SO THAT WE CAN START MAKING DECISIONS INDIVIDUALLY AND COLLECTIVELY OF HOW WE MOVE FORWARD TOWARDS IMPLEMENTATION. WE'VE TAKEN THIS THROUGH OUR PROCESS. WE'RE WORKING WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION IN THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS RELATED TO DEVELOPING SCOPES OF WORK AND ACQUIRING CONSULTANTS WHERE APPROPRIATE AND SO FORTH. WE'LL BEGIN THAT PROCESS. WORK WILL REALLY BEGIN THIS SUMMER AND GOING ON MOVING FORWARD IN THE VARIOUS DIFFERENT PROJECTS. JUST -- WE'LL CONTINUE OUR ENGAGEMENT EFFORT THAT WE ARE ALL VERY WELL AWARE OF, BUT IN TERMS OF THESE PROJECTS, IT'LL BE SPECIFIC TO THOSE INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS AND AREAS, A LITTLE MORE FOCUSED AS OPPOSED TO MORE OF A REGIONAL VISION ON A BIGGER PICTURE. THESE ARE NOW THE PIECES OF THAT BIGGER PICTURE THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO DO AND MOVE FORWARD, AND WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO ANY QUESTIONS YOU-ALL MAY HAVE. I JUST APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO UPDATE YOU-ALL. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU, BOB. ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? YES, MR. DINGFELDER. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: THANKS, BOB. I WAS JUST CURIOUS, AT THE BEGINNING YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT DOING THESE AAs, ALTERNATIVE ANALYSIS, IN ADVANCE, AND I WAS JUST WONDERING, IS THERE A SHELF LIFE FOR AN ALTERNATIVE ANALYSIS? HOW LONG BEFORE THEY GO STALE? >> WELL, WHAT I WILL TELL YOU IS THE WAY WE'RE STRUCTURING ALL THESE PROJECTS IS THEY'RE TASK DRIVEN, SO IT WOULD BE UP TO AN ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS. IT WOULD ONLY BE YOU WOULD DO AN ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS IF IT WAS APPROPRIATE FROM A TIMING PERSPECTIVE TO GO ALL THE WAY TO THE ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS AND SUBMIT IT TO THE FEDS. WE'LL DO WORK AS IF IT WOULD BE AN ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS, BUT WE MAY NOT NECESSARILY GO ALL THE WAY TO THAT LEVEL. EACH PROJECT WILL BE LOOKED AT ON A PROJECT-BY-PROJECT BASIS AND LOOK AT IT FROM THAT TIMING PERSPECTIVE BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT TO BE IN THAT SITUATION OF -- OF PROVIDING A BUNCH OF INFORMATION THAT MAY BE 15 OR 20 YEARS AWAY BEFORE YOU WOULD ACTUALLY DO THE ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS, BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF QUESTIONS WE NEED TO ANSWER NOW RELATED TO HOW THESE CONNECTIONS WORK AND WHAT THE ANTICIPATED EFFORT WOULD BE IN TERMS OF DOING THAT, SO THAT'S HOW WE'RE LOOKING AT PERFORMING THESE PROJECTS. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: BECAUSE IN OUR EXPERIENCE ON -- MANY OF US ON THE HART BOARD WITH OUR ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS, I MEAN, THERE'S CLEARLY A LOT OF STATISTICS, I GUESS, THAT HAVE TO BE CURRENT AND UP-TO-DATE BEFORE THEY'RE MEANINGFUL AND SIGNIFICANT WHEN YOU SUBMIT THEM, I GUESS. >> CORRECT. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: THANK YOU. >>JOE AFFRONTI: ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? YES, MARY. >>MARY MULHERN: YES. THANK YOU. IT'S INTERESTING WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR OR TWO MAKES, AND SINCE WE, YOU KNOW, ENACTED TBARTA AND ALL THE WORK YOU'VE DONE, I'M JUST WONDERING WITH THE HIGH-SPEED RAIL HOW TBARTA'S GOING TO BE INVOLVED WITH THAT AND IF -- I KNOW THERE AT FIRST WAS AN EFFORT TO GET AT LEAST POLK COUNTY INVOLVED. ANY CHANCE THAT THAT MIGHT HAPPEN, OR IS THERE A -- IS THERE TALK OF AN AGENCY SIMILAR TO TBARTA THAT MAYBE WOULD BE IN POLK AND ORANGE COUNTY AND -- >> WHAT'S -- WHAT'S -- SEVERAL COMMENTS THERE, COUNCILWOMAN, IS -- ONE IS IN TERMS OF HOW HIGH-SPEED RAIL FITS IN. WE THINK IT FITS IN VERY WELL BECAUSE WE ALL RECOGNIZE AT THE END OF THE DAY PEOPLE COMING TO TAMPA AREN'T COMING AND THEIR ULTIMATE DESTINATION IS THE STATION IN DOWNTOWN TAMPA. THEY'RE THEN GOING TO OTHER PLACES WITHIN THE REGION. THAT'S WHERE THE WORK THAT HART'S PRESENTLY DOING LOCALLY WITHIN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY AND THEN THE WORK WE'VE DONE BEYOND HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY REALLY STARTS TO COME INTO PLAY BECAUSE YOU ULTIMATELY WANT TO BE ABLE TO GET THEM WHERE THEY WANT TO GO IN A SEAMLESS MANNER, SO WE BELIEVE THAT WAS ACTUALLY A BIG PART OF BEING SUCCESSFUL WITH HIGH-SPEED RAIL IS WE'RE PLANNING FOR HOW YOU ULTIMATELY MAKE ALL OF THOSE CONNECTIONS. THAT'S KIND OF PART ONE. THE OTHER PART IS POLK COUNTY, WE'VE INCLUDED THEM IN ALL OF THE WORK EFFORT THAT WE'VE DONE TO DATE. WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO THAT. WE WOULD LOVE FOR THEM TO BECOME PART OF TBARTA. THEY'VE EXPRESSED AN INTEREST IN THAT. WE'VE TOLD THEM, NO, THAT'S SOMETHING THEY WILL HAVE TO ADDRESS LEGISLATIVELY. WE'LL BE SUPPORTIVE IF THEY SO CHOOSE TO DO THAT, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THEY WILL HAVE TO ADDRESS LEGISLATIVELY. I CAN TELL YOU RIGHT NOW THEY'RE A LITTLE MORE FOCUSED INTERNALLY WITHIN PASCO COUNTY BECAUSE WITHIN THE COUNTY ITSELF THERE ARE THREE DIFFERENT TRANSIT AGENCIES WITHIN -- WITHIN POLK COUNTY. THEY'RE ADDRESSING RIGHT NOW HOW DO THEY GET THEM INTO JUST ONE TRANSIT AGENCY, SO THAT'S REALLY BEEN THEIR FOCUS RIGHT NOW IS TO ADDRESS IT LOCALLY FIRST, THEN BECOME PART OF A BIGGER EFFORT. I WILL ALSO LET YOU KNOW THAT THEY'RE HAVING A SERIOUS CONVERSATION ABOUT ALSO GOING TO REFERENDUM IN 2010 RELATED TO A TRANSIT SURTAX RELATED TO THEIR NEEDS WITHIN POLK COUNTY. >>JOE AFFRONTI: YES, JOE. JOE WAGGONER. >>JOE WAGGONER: REGARDING THE PRIORITIZATIONS OF FUNDING, DID TBARTA CONSULT -- >> [INAUDIBLE] >>JOE WAGGONER: I'M SORRY. >> [INAUDIBLE] >>JOE WAGGONER: I DON'T OFTEN HAVE THAT PROBLEM. REGARDING THE PRIORITIZATION OF FUNDING, DID TBARTA TALK WITH HART ABOUT POTENTIAL FUNDING NEEDS TO CONTINUE THEIR CORRIDOR ANALYSIS THEY CURRENTLY HAVE UNDERWAY? >> WE HAVE A PROCESS THAT ALL OF OUR TRANSIT AGENCIES ARE PART OF, IT'S CALLED THE TRANSIT MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE, THAT WE RUN ALL OF THIS STUFF THROUGH AND SEEK THEIR SUPPORT AND GUIDANCE, AND THEY UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED US DOING THIS, SO YES, THAT WAS PART OF THE DISCUSSION. >>JOE AFFRONTI: ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? IF NOT, BOB, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. >> THANK YOU. APPRECIATE IT. >>JOE AFFRONTI: GREAT JOB, BOB. THANK YOU. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: MR. CHAIRMAN. >>JOE AFFRONTI: YES. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: BEFORE YOU MOVE ON, IS MICHELE STILL HERE? >>JOE AFFRONTI: MICHELE. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: I MISSED A QUESTION THAT I HAD -- THAT I HAD NOTED LAST NIGHT ON YOUR REPORT IF I COULD FROM BEFORE. >>JOE AFFRONTI: SURE. GO AHEAD. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: THANKS. MICHELE, ON PAGE 21 OF YOUR -- OF YOUR DRAFT IT SPEAKS TO THE FACT THAT THE CTC, I GUESS, HAS A GOAL OR A STANDARD OF -- OF $6.96 PER TRIP FOR -- I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY HOW THEY COULD COME UP WITH THAT STANDARD, BUT IT SAYS IT'S RELATED TO CONSUMER PRICE INCREASE -- INDEX, EXCUSE ME, BUT RIGHT NOW OUR COST IS $12.35 PER TRIP, DOUBLE -- ALMOST DOUBLE THAT, AND THEN IT SAYS WE'RE STRIVING TO PUSH THAT COST DOWN. HOW DO THOSE TWO JIVE TOGETHER, AND WHAT'S THE PROVIDER DOING TO ADDRESS IT? >>MICHELE OGILVIE: THIS -- THAT POINT HAS BECOME THE QUESTION OF ALL THE BOARDS OR COMMITTEES THAT HAVE REVIEWED THIS. THE DOUBLING IS THAT IT'S NOT -- IT'S TIED TO THE NATIONAL CPI, THE INDEX, WHICH IS NOT REAL FOR HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY. AS WE SAID BEFORE, IT'S A VERY LARGE AREA. THE COST COMES FROM PROVIDING THOSE BUS TRIPS DOOR-TO-DOOR AND THE REALITY OF ALL THE PIECES THAT GO IN. AND I KNOW THAT FROM THE STATE PERSPECTIVE -- BECAUSE -- AND WE REALLY STAND OUT BECAUSE WE ARE SUCH A LARGE COUNTY. WE ARE TRYING VERY HARD TO LOOK AT THOSE NUMBERS AND FIND WAYS IN WHICH TO PULL BACK. ONE OF THEM WOULD BE TO TRY AND GET MORE PEOPLE WHO ARE ABLE TO RIDE HART TO GET BUS PASSES AND TO MOVE IN THAT DIRECTION. OVER TIME, OF COURSE, AS WE GET MORE TRANSIT, WE WILL HAVE MORE OPPORTUNITY FOR PERSONS WHO NEED TO GET WHERE THEY'RE GOING GOING. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT LEONARD PLOTKIN WOULD TELL YOU IS THAT THIS IS THE LAST RESORT IN WHICH PEOPLE DO NEED TO GET TO THEIR DIALYSIS. THERE IS NO OTHER WAY FOR THEM TO DO THAT, AND THIS IS UNFORTUNATELY JUST THE COST FOR US. WE ARE LOOKING AS A PLANNING SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE TD BOARD FOR WAYS IN WHICH TO FIND MORE EFFICIENT FASHIONS TO GET PEOPLE WHERE THEY NEED TO GO, BUT THAT JUST IS THE REALITY OF OUR COSTS RIGHT NOW. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: SO THE $6.96 IS A NATIONAL NUMBER THAT EVERYBODY USES? >>MICHELE OGILVIE: IT'S A NATIONAL NUMBER EVERYONE USES, AND THAT CHANGED, I BELIEVE, A FEW YEARS AGO. WE -- IT HAS BECOME THE STANDARD, BUT THAT'S ANOTHER THING WE WANT TO EXPLORE IN THE -- IN THE UPCOMING YEAR IS HOW REAL IS THIS NUMBER AND WHAT SHOULD THE REAL NUMBER BE. YOU KNOW, IT'S -- EVERYONE WHO GOES TRAVELING GETS THIS NUMBER, SO YOU ONLY HAVE -- YOU KNOW, YOU'RE IN YOUR PRIUS, THAT FEEDS INTO IT. UNFORTUNATELY, THIS IS A TREMENDOUS EFFORT TO GET PEOPLE -- AS I TOLD ONE OF THE BOARDS, A DAY IN THE LIFE OF THE CTC IS THAT YOU'LL HAVE SOMEONE START A TRIP UP NEAR PASCO COUNTY AND END UP IN WESTSHORE AND BACK BECAUSE THEY NEED THAT SERVICE. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: THANK YOU. >>JOE AFFRONTI: ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? >>JOHN DINGFELDER: THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MICHELE. >>MICHELE OGILVIE: THANK YOU. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. CHAIRMAN'S REPORT. WE HAVE THE LIVABLE ROADWAYS, MARY MULHERN. >>MARY MULHERN: THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. BEFORE I READ THE REPORT, I'D LIKE TO TELL YOU THAT I'M GOING TO ASK FOR -- AT THE END ASK FOR ACTION -- MOTION TO APPROVE SOMETHING AT THE END. THE LIVABLE ROADWAYS COMMITTEE MET ON WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27th. MARTY STONE, PLANNING DIRECTOR OF THE EXPRESSWAY AUTHORITY, BRIEFED THE COMMITTEE ON THE GANDY CONNECTOR PROJECT. THERE WAS LIVELY DISCUSSION ON THE MERITS AND POSSIBLE IMPACTS THE PROJECT WOULD HAVE ON THE REGION AND ON THE IMMEDIATE AREA'S QUALITY OF LIFE. FRANK KALPAKIS, RENAISSANCE PLANNING, AND ANNA VASQUEZ OF HOK THEN INTRODUCED A PROPOSED CROSSTOWN GREENWAY PROJECT TO THE COMMITTEE. THE GREENWAY WOULD CONNECT YBOR CITY TO BAYSHORE AND HYDE PARK USING EXISTING RIGHT-OF-WAY UNDER THE CROSSTOWN THROUGH DOWNTOWN. THE MULTIUSE TRAIL WOULD ALSO INCREASE THE GREENSPACE IN DOWNTOWN, HAS THE POTENTIAL TO STRENGTHEN RETAIL IN DOWNTOWN INTO YBOR, AND ADD ANOTHER QUALITY AMENITY FOR RESIDENTS AND VISITORS TO USE. THE TRAIL COULD ALSO ALLOW ACCESS TO PALMETTO BEACH. THE LIVABLE ROADWAYS COMMITTEE IS EXCITED ABOUT THE POSITIVE IMPACTS OF THIS PROJECT ON OUR COMMUNITY; HOWEVER, IT CANNOT MOVE FORWARD WITHOUT A FEASIBILITY STUDY, AND SO THE COMMITTEE PASSED A MOTION ASKING THE MPO BOARD TO DIRECT STAFF TO BEGIN A WORK -- I'M SORRY -- TO BEGIN WORK ON A FEASIBILITY STUDY. SO ON BEHALF OF THE LIVABLE ROADWAYS COMMITTEE, WE ASK THAT THE MPO BOARD INDICATE SUPPORT TODAY FOR THE FEASIBILITY STUDY OF THE PROPOSED SELMON CROSSTOWN GREENWAY TO MOVE FORWARD. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: SECOND. >>JOE AFFRONTI: MOVED AND SECONDED. WHO MADE THE MOTION? >>JOHN DINGFELDER: SHE MADE THE MOTION. >>MARY MULHERN: I MADE THE MOTION. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OH. MOVED AND SECONDED. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. [CHORUS OF AYES] OPPOSED. MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. >>MARY MULHERN: AND THE NEXT LIVABLE ROADWAYS MEETING IS SCHEDULED FOR FEBRUARY 24th AT 9:00 A.M., AND I'D LIKE TO SUGGEST -- WE'LL SCHEDULE THIS MAYBE WITH MICHELE -- THAT WE SEE THE PRESENTATION FROM RENAISSANCE BECAUSE IT WAS REALLY GREAT, AND I THINK EVERYONE WOULD ENJOY SEEING HOW YOU CAN TURN AN EXPRESSWAY CORRIDOR INTO A GREENBELT. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. I MISSED ONE ITEM, BUT LET'S GO AHEAD AND TAKE THE BICYCLE/PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE, MICHELE OGILVIE, AND THEN WE'LL GET BACK TO THE AIR QUALITY AND GREENHOUSE GAS. >>MICHELE OGILVIE: THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. MICHELLE OGILVIE ON BEHALF OF THE BICYCLE/PEDESTRIAN COMMITTEE. THAT MET ON JANUARY 13th. OUR AGENDA WAS VERY DIVERSE. WE BEGAN WITH THE CITY OF TAMPA, GLORIA MOREDA, MANAGER OF TAMPA LAND DEVELOPMENT COORDINATION, PROVIDING AN UPDATE ON THE CITY OF TAMPA'S FORM-BASED CODE. THE REASON BEING IS THAT THIS IS AN EFFORT FOR THE CITY OF TAMPA TO START ALIGNING LAND USE AND TRANSPORTATION TO COMPLEMENT EACH OTHER. THE CITY'S CHANGES IN ITS LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE WILL OVER TIME PROMOTE ATTRACTIVE AND SAFER STREETS FOR PERSONS OF ALL AGES AND ABILITIES, AND THE BICYCLE/PEDESTRIAN GROUP WAS MOST APPRECIATIVE OF THAT AND GAVE MS. MOREDA AN APPLAUSE AT THE END. THE COMMITTEE CONTINUES ITS WORK ON ADVANCING A COMPLETE STREETS POLICY THROUGH -- WE HAD A ROLE-PLAYING SESSION IN WHICH WE TOOK OFF OUR BICYCLE HATS AND BECAME PEDESTRIANS, OTHER USERS OF THE ROADWAY, AND THE AUTOMOBILE. IT WAS VERY INTERESTING BECAUSE WE HAD TO BE TRANSIT PROVIDERS AS WELL. WE STRUGGLED A LITTLE WITH THAT, BUT THAT WAS A GREAT DEAL OF FUN. ALAN SNEL OF SWFBUD ANNOUNCED GOOD NEWS, THAT THE 2010 BICYCLE BASH WILL BE HELD IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY THIS YEAR AT THE FLATWOODS PARK. HE STATED THE LOCATION WILL ALLOW FOR MORE BICYCLE EVENTS TO BE OFFERED, IMPROVE OUR ECONOMY JUST BY THE ACTIVITY THAT IT WILL BRING, AND THE BASH WILL BE HELD ON NOVEMBER 7th, 2010. WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT. THE CHILDREN'S GASPARILLA BIKE RODEO WAS A GREAT SUCCESS THANKS TO THE EFFORT OF MANY, MANY VOLUNTEERS AND THE PARTNERSHIP OF MANY GROUPS, INCLUDING THE SHERIFF AND THE BICYCLE SHOPS. 250 CHILDREN WERE FITTED WITH NEW BICYCLE HELMETS, AND I -- I HAVE -- AS A FIRST-TIMER AT THIS EVENT, I HAVE TO SAY I WAS SO IMPRESSED WITH THE WONDERFUL SHOW OF CITIZENRY AND RESPECT. EVERYONE WAS JUST WONDERFUL, AND WE HAD A GREAT DEAL OF FUN. AND AGAIN, THE REASON WE DO THIS IS BECAUSE BICYCLE SKILLS THAT A CHILD LEARNS AT THIS AGE -- AND WE DID HAVE CHILDREN ON AT ABOUT TWO ALL THE WAY UP TO HIGH SCHOOL -- TRANSLATES TO GOOD DRIVING BEHAVIOR IN ADULTS. THE NEXT BPAC MEETING WILL BE HELD ON FEBRUARY 10th AT 5:30 IN THE PLANNING COMMISSION'S BOARDROOM. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU, MICHELE. ANY QUESTIONS OF MICHELE? IF NOT, THANK YOU SO MUCH. OKAY. AIR QUALITY AND GREENHOUSE GAS RULES, ALLISON YEH. >>ALLISON YEH: SORRY. I HAVE TO GET THIS ... GOOD MORNING. ALLISON YEH, MPO STAFF. THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF MOVEMENT REGARDING GREENHOUSE GAS AND AIR QUALITY IN THE LEGISLATURE, SO WE WANTED TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE AND TALK TO YOU ABOUT HOW IT PERTAINS SPECIFICALLY TO THE MPO TRANSPORTATION PLANNING PROCESS. ON JANUARY 6th THE EPA ANNOUNCED THAT THEY WOULD BE LOWERING THE OZONE LIMIT FOR AIR QUALITY, AND THE PAPER SAID THAT THREE TAMPA BAY COUNTIES ARE AFFECTED. ACTUALLY IT'S FOUR IN OUR AIRSHED. WE'LL GET INTO THAT LATER. I THINK EVERYBODY PROBABLY KNOWS THIS ALREADY, BUT JUST AS A RECAP, THE OZONE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS NOT THE ATMOSPHERIC OZONE THAT PROTECTS US FROM ULTRAVIOLET RAYS BUT THE GROUND-LEVEL OZONE THAT COMBINES NITROGEN OXIDE AND VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS WITH HEAT AND SUNLIGHT, AND THAT COULD BE FROM MOBILE SOURCES OR STATIONARY SOURCES SUCH AS FACTORIES. THE TAMPA BAY AIRSHED IS ACTUALLY COMPOSED OF HERNANDO, PASCO, PINELLAS, AND HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, AND THE MAP YOU SEE ABOVE YOU IS THE MONITORING STATIONS IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY. MONITORING IS DONE -- THEY LOOK AT IT IN THREE-YEAR PERIODS, EIGHT HOURS AT A TIME. AND THIS IS THE LATEST MONITORING MAP I HAVE, BUT WHEN WE GO FORWARD, IT'S GOING TO BE 2008, '09, AND '10 THAT WE LOOK AT FOR MONITORING. TAMPA BAY WAS ACTUALLY ALREADY A NONATTAINMENT AREA IN 2008. STANDARDS WERE ESTABLISHED IN 2008 FOR 75 PARTS PER BILLION, AND THE EPA FELT LIKE THEY WANTED TO GO BACK AND LOOK AT THE STANDARDS BECAUSE THEIR SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE DIDN'T QUITE AGREE WITH THOSE STANDARDS, DIDN'T FEEL LIKE THEY WERE STRINGENT ENOUGH, SO THEY TOOK SOME TIME AND RELOOKED AT IT, AND IN JANUARY WHAT THEY CAME UP WITH WAS A RANGE THAT THEY WERE GOING TO CONSIDER, WHICH WAS 60 PARTS PER BILLION TO 70 PARTS PER BILLION. SO EITHER WAY WE'RE A NONATTAINMENT. IN AUGUST, AT THE END OF THIS YEAR, THEY WILL ACTUALLY DECIDE ON THE EXACT STANDARD, BUT RIGHT NOW IT'S A RANGE THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, AND ALONG WITH THESE STANDARDS THAT THEY ANNOUNCED, THERE'S GOING TO BE A SECONDARY SEASONAL STANDARD WHICH TRIES TO PROTECT VEGETATION AND ECOSYSTEMS WHICH WAS NOT THERE IN 2008. THIS WAS A MAP OF THE 2008 STANDARDS AT 75 PARTS PER BILLION AND THE COUNTIES THAT WERE AFFECTED BY IT, AND YOU SEE WE HAVE HERNANDO, PASCO, PINELLAS, HILLSBOROUGH, MANATEE, AND SARASOTA, WHICH IS NOT PART OF OUR AIRSHED, BUT THEY WERE ALSO A NONATTAINMENT IN THREE COUNTIES AND THE PANHANDLE. AND THERE'S ACTUALLY -- YOU CAN'T SEE THE LITTLE RED TRIANGLES, BUT THREE MONITORS WERE EXCEEDING THE 75 PARTS PER BILLION IN OUR AREA. NOW, I GOT THIS MAP FROM THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION DEPARTMENT WHERE THEY SHOW WHAT WOULD HAPPEN AS THE STANDARDS CHANGED, SO ON THE LEFT, 75 PARTS PER BILLION, YOU SEE THAT WE'RE NONATTAINMENT AND PANHANDLE IS NONATTAINMENT. THEN YOU GO TO 70, THE ORLANDO AREA'S CAPTURED, AND DOWN TO 65 TO THE NORTH AND SOUTH OF US PLUS MORE THE PANHANDLE, AND FINALLY AT 60 TWO-THIRDS OF THE STATE WILL FALL INTO NONATTAINMENT. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN AN AREA FALLS INTO NONATTAINMENT? IT'S HAPPENED TO US BEFORE. IN 2004 WE'VE DONE THIS. YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH A TRANSPORTATION CONFORMITY, AND THIS IS MANDATED BY THE CLEAN AIR ACT LEGISLATION, THIS FEDERAL LEGISLATION. IT'S THE LINK BETWEEN WHAT'S CALLED A STATE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN OR THE SIP, WHICH IS AN AIR QUALITY PLAN, AND OUR TRANSPORTATION LONG-RANGE AND SHORT-RANGE T.I.P., SO THERE WOULD BE A REQUIREMENT TO EVALUATE ALL THESE PROJECTS FOR POTENTIAL EMISSIONS FROM THE T.I.P. OR ANY PROJECTS THAT ARE ACTUALLY REGIONALLY SIGNIFICANT, EVEN IF THEY'RE NOT FEDERALLY FUNDED. AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, THE LAST TIME WE DID THIS WAS 2004. THEN WE -- THE STANDARDS CHANGED AND WE CAME BACK INTO CONFORMITY. IT WAS DONE THROUGH KIND OF AN INTERLOCAL COORDINATION PROCESS, AND THERE WAS A COMMITTEE CALLED THE WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA AIR QUALITY COORDINATING COMMITTEE, WHICH PROBABLY WILL BE RECONVENED THIS YEAR IN ANTICIPATION OF FALLING INTO NONATTAINMENT. HOW DOES IT AFFECT THE MPO DIRECTLY? OUR LONG-RANGE PLAN THAT THIS BOARD JUST ADOPTED IN DECEMBER WOULD HAVE BEEN A FIVE-YEAR UPDATE AT THAT POINT BUT NOW WILL BE SHORTENED TO A FOUR-YEAR UPDATE CYCLE. ANNUAL T.I.P. UPDATES WILL BE SUBJECT TO CONFORMITY DETERMINATIONS AS WELL AS ANY AMENDMENTS THAT GO FORWARD. FEDERAL HIGHWAY AND TRANSIT PROJECTS THAT ARE FEDERALLY FUNDED AND REQUIRE APPROVAL WILL ALSO BE SUBJECT TO CONFORMITY DETERMINATION AS WELL AS REGIONALLY SIGNIFICANT LOCAL PROJECTS. SORRY. THERE'S AN ESTIMATED TIMELINE THE EPA GAVE US FOR THIS PROCESS. AS I SAID, IN AUGUST, AT THE END OF THIS YEAR, THEY'RE GOING TO DECIDE ON A SPECIFIC STANDARD UNLESS THEY TELL US OTHERWISE. BY JANUARY 2011 THE STATE WOULD HAVE MADE RECOMMENDATIONS AND DESIGNATED AREAS AS NONATTAINMENT SPECIFICALLY, AND THEN EPA IN -- WILL MAKE FINAL DESIGNATIONS, THE OFFICIAL DESIGNATIONS IN AUGUST 2011. THOSE DESIGNATIONS WILL COME INTO EFFECT, AND THE COUNTY WILL HAVE ONE YEAR TO MAKE OUR PLANS CONFORMING; HOWEVER, IN THAT TIME THE STATE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN MAY NOT BE READY YET, SO IN THE INTERIM, WHILE WE'RE WAITING FOR THE STATE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN TO BE READY -- THIS IS ACTUALLY MY NEXT SLIDE -- WE'LL HAVE TO STILL DO CONFORMITY DETERMINATION, BUT IT WILL BE KIND OF COMPARING A BUILD AND NO BUILD SCENARIO. IN DECEMBER 2013 WE'LL BE UPDATING OUR PLAN AGAIN, AND BETWEEN 2014 AND '31 WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO MEET THE STANDARDS THAT ARE ESTABLISHED, AND IT WILL DEPEND ON HOW SEVERELY WE VIOLATE THE STANDARDS. MENTIONED THIS EARLIER AS PART OF THE CONFORMITY PROCESS. WE'RE ANTICIPATING, YOU KNOW, A STATE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN DECEMBER 2013. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO SHOW IMPROVEMENTS. THERE'S GOING TO BE AN INTERAGENCY COORDINATION PROCESS, A CONFORMITY DETERMINATION. ONE THING, YOU KNOW, THAT WILL IMPACT THE MPO VERY DIRECTLY IS THE NUMBER OF MAN HOURS IT WILL TAKE TO DO THESE DETERMINATIONS, WHICH THEY'RE ESTIMATING AROUND 400 HOURS PER DOCUMENT, YOU KNOW, EACH TIME WE DO IT. ANOTHER AIR QUALITY ISSUE THAT'S BEEN IN THE LEGISLATURE IS THE GREENHOUSE GAS, AND JUST LIKE OZONE, GREENHOUSE GAS CAN BE GOOD OR BAD. GOOD GREENHOUSE GAS, YOU KNOW, COMES IN, WARMS THE EARTH, BOUNCES AWAY, BUT WHEN THERE IS A LOT OF GREENHOUSE GAS -- WHEN ULTRAVIOLET RAYS ARE TRAPPED BY GREENHOUSE GASES THAT WE PRODUCE AT THE GROUND LEVEL, IT TENDS TO HEAT THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH, AND CARBON DIOXIDE IS ONE OF THE GREENHOUSE GASES, BUT IT COMPRISES 50% OF THE PROBLEM, SO IT'S THE ONE WE LOOK AT THE MOST, AND ACTUALLY IT'S THE ONE THAT THE STANDARD IS MEASURED AGAINST. TRANSPORTATION HAS A SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION TO GREENHOUSE GASES, ABOUT 28% ACCORDING TO FEDERAL HIGHWAY, AND A THIRD OF THAT 28% IS PASSENGER CARS. A LOT OF STRATEGIES ARE LOOKED AT. IT'S KIND OF TYPICALLY LOOKED AT AS A FOUR-PRONG APPROACH, YOU KNOW, INCREASING VEHICLE EFFICIENCY, TRYING TO REDUCE THE CARBON AND FUELS, REDUCING VMT THROUGH LAND USE AND TRANSPORTATION MEASURES, AND INCREASING EFFICIENCY IN VEHICLE OPERATIONS. THE GOVERNOR -- GOVERNOR CRIST ACTUALLY IN AS EARLY AS 2007 HAD TAKEN SOME ACTION ON GREENHOUSE GASES. THERE WERE THREE EXECUTIVE ORDERS IN 2007 CALLING FOR LEADERSHIP IN THIS AREA AND CALLING FOR SETTING OF IMMEDIATE REDUCTION TARGETS. HE ESTABLISHED A FLORIDA GOVERNOR'S ACTION TEAM THAT CAME UP WITH MANY RECOMMENDATIONS BUT SOME THAT SPECIFICALLY IMPACTED TRANSPORTATION. THE ENERGY AND CLIMATE ACTION TEAM RECOMMENDED THAT WE AMEND THE FLORIDA TRANSPORTATION PLAN TO ADDRESS GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND OTHER MODAL ALTERNATIVES, AND THAT IS GOING TO BE COMPLETE IN DECEMBER 2010. THERE WAS A RECOMMENDATION TO MODIFY THE EFFICIENT TRANSPORTATION DECISION-MAKING PROCESS TO CONSIDER CLIMATE CHANGE AND TO ADD GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS TO A FUNDING CRITERIA FOR CAPACITY IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS. HOUSE BILL 697 ALSO ADDRESSED THIS, AMENDING THE GROWTH MANAGEMENT ACT, STATING THAT COMPREHENSIVE PLANS IN CERTAIN ELEMENTS, CONSERVATION, FUTURE LAND USE, HOUSING, AND TRANSPORTATION NEEDED TO ADDRESS GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS, AND THAT'S ACTUALLY IN THE RULEMAKING PROCESS RIGHT NOW. THERE WAS A WORKSHOP IN FORT LAUDERDALE JUST THIS PAST FRIDAY. ON THE FEDERAL LEVEL THERE ARE TWO BILLS, ONE IN THE HOUSE THAT'S A LITTLE MORE PROMINENT AND ONE IN THE SENATE. THE WAXMAN-MARKEY BILL EXPANDS THE TRANSPORTATION PLANNING PROCESS FOR STATE D.O.T.s AND MPOs, HAVING THEM LOOK AT SUSTAINABILITY AND LIVABILITY AND THE REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GASES. D.O.T. AND TMAs HAVE TO INCLUDE TRANSPORTATION-RELATED GREENHOUSE GAS TARGETS AND MULTIMODAL STRATEGIES, AND THESE WOULD BE PERFORMANCE MEASURES SET BY THE USDOT. THE HOUSE ACTUALLY PASSED THIS IN JUNE LAST YEAR, BUT THERE HASN'T BEEN MANY -- MUCH MOVEMENT ON THIS. I THINK ATTENTION HAS BEEN DIVERTED TO OTHER ISSUES LATELY. THE SIMILAR BILL IN THE SENATE WAS THE KERRY-BOXER CLEAN ENERGY JOBS AND AMERICAN POWER ACT. IT'S SIMILAR ON MANY FRONTS EXCEPT THAT THE USDOT REVIEWED THE LRTP AND THERE WERE CERTAIN GRANT PROGRAMS FOR TRANSIT FUNDING, GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION PLANS, AND IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES. SPEAKING TO THE PEOPLE WHO LOOK AT THE LEGISLATION VERY CLOSELY, THEY FEEL LIKE THIS IS PROBABLY NOT GOING TO GO ANY FURTHER THAN THE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS IT LANDED AT, SO THERE WAS AN ACTION IN NOVEMBER, BUT MORE THAN THAT, THEY THINK IT MIGHT BE A DEAD BILL. I WANTED TO ALSO UPDATE YOU ON WHAT'S GOING ON WITH TRANSPORTATION LEGISLATION. YOU PROBABLY ALL KNOW THAT SAFETEA-LU EXPIRED SEPTEMBER 30th, AND, YOU KNOW, THERE'S BEEN SOME LITTLE MINOR EXTENSIONS. THE CURRENT EXTENSION WILL TAKE US TO THE 28th OF THIS MONTH. THERE IS A HOUSE BILL 2847, WHICH IS A JOBS BILL. ALONG WITH THAT -- IT'S ACTUALLY NOT PROMISING, THEY SAY, BUT ALONG WITH THAT IT WOULD EXTEND THE SAFETEA-LU UNTIL THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR SEPTEMBER 30th. I'M SURE THEY'LL DO SOMETHING BEFORE THAT, AND WE'RE MONITORING THAT, BUT THIS IS WHAT WE -- WHAT WE KNOW OF RIGHT NOW. THAT'S THE END OF MY PRESENTATION. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER. >>JOE AFFRONTI: THANK YOU, MICHELE. ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FOR MICHELE? YES, MR. DINGFELDER. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: THANKS. JUST A FEW QUICK ONES. >>ALLISON YEH: OKAY. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: WE'RE CURRENTLY AT 79 PARTS PER BILLION ON THE OZONE STANDARDS. DID WE HAVE IT LOWER -- DID WE GET IT LOWER AND THEN IT'S CREEPED BACK UP OR WHAT? >>ALLISON YEH: I THINK IN 2004 WE CAME BACK INTO ATTAINMENT BECAUSE THEY -- THEY RAISED THE STANDARD, SO THERE WAS A CHANGE IN STANDARD. THEN IN 2008 THEY LOWERED IT TO 75 PARTS PER BILLION, WHICH TOOK IT -- PUT US IN NONATTAINMENT AGAIN. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: OKAY. AND THE LAST TIME WE WERE IN NONATTAINMENT -- YOU KNOW, THE BAD NEWS, WE'RE IN NONATTAINMENT. THE GOOD NEWS IS SOME MONEY CAME TO THE AREA, AS I RECALL, AND WE USED IT FOR DIFFERENT PROJECTS. IS THERE ANY MONEY ASSOCIATED WITH NONATTAINMENT? AND THEN -- AND MY LAST QUESTION IS IS THIS ALSO A PRIVATE- SECTOR ISSUE IN TERMS OF UTILITIES OR MANUFACTURING AND THAT SORT OF THING? >>ALLISON YEH: SURE. THE STATE -- >>JOHN DINGFELDER: AND DOES THE EPA CRACK DOWN ON THEM? >>ALLISON YEH: YEAH, EPC WOULD HAVE TO SPEAK ON THIS BECAUSE I'M ONLY SPEAKING ON THE TRANSPORTATION SIDE, BUT YEAH, THE STATE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN'S NOT JUST FOR MOBILE SOURCES, IT'S FOR STATIONARY SOURCES TOO, SO THAT STATE BUDGET IS US AND THE STATIONARY SOURCES. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: AND HOW ABOUT MONEY ASSOCIATED WITH NONATTAINMENT, HAVE YOU HEARD ANYTHING ON THAT? >>ALLISON YEH: WELL, THE TRANSPORTATION BILL HASN'T BEEN REAUTHORIZED. THAT'S UP IN THE AIR, SO CMAQ WAS -- YOU KNOW, USED TO BE - - THE KERRY-BOXER BILL HAD SOME MONEY ASSOCIATED WITH IT, AND ACTUALLY BOTH OF THOSE, WAXMAN-MARKEY AND KERRY-BOXER, WOULD HAVE FUNDING ASSOCIATED WITH IT, BUT THEY DON'T SEEM TO BE GOING ANYWHERE RIGHT NOW, SO WE'RE JUST KEEPING AN EYE ON THAT. >>JOHN DINGFELDER: THANK YOU. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? YES. >>RICK LOTT: YES, I HAVE A -- >>JOE AFFRONTI: MAYOR LOTT. >>RICK LOTT: -- QUESTION JUST FROM MORE CURIOSITY. IF THERE'S -- IF THERE WAS PURE AIR, WHAT IS IT, 50, 40, 30? WHAT ARE WE CONSIDERING? IF THERE WAS NO TRANSPORTATION, NO CONSTRUCTION, IF THERE WAS LITERALLY, I GUESS -- YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THE ULTIMATE GOAL THAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR? >>JOHN DINGFELDER: WHAT'S THE OZONE LEVEL IN ARIZONA OR IN NEW MEXICO OR WYOMING OR PLACES -- >>RICK LOTT: YEAH. I MEAN, WE HAVE JET STREAMS THAT BRING IN STUFF FROM, YOU KNOW, SOUTH AFRICA AND SO FORTH. WHAT -- I'M JUST WONDERING, YOU KNOW, IS THIS JUST A NUMBER THAT JUST ARBITRARILY IS PULLED OUT OF THIN AIR, OR HOW DO THEY COME UP WITH 60 OR 75? I REMEMBER BEFORE WHEN WE HAD CMAQ FUNDS. >>ALLISON YEH: WELL, ACTUALLY IN YOUR PACKET -- >>RICK LOTT: IF YOU REMEMBER HOW WE GOT ATTAINMENT, NOT THAT WE ACTUALLY LOWERED IT THAT MUCH, JUST THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT RAISED THE STANDARD TO PUT US IN ATTAINMENT, THAT WAY CMAQ FUNDING WENT AWAY, SO I'M JUST KIND OF TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHERE -- >>ALLISON YEH: THE REASON THEY WENT BACK AND LOOKED AT THE STANDARDS IS BECAUSE THERE WAS A SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND THEY DIDN'T ACTUALLY AGREE WITH THE 2008 STANDARDS THAT WERE SET. >>RICK LOTT: OKAY. >>ALLISON YEH: ACTUALLY, THERE'S TWO VERY GOOD FACT SHEETS IN YOUR PACKET FROM EPA AND FROM THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REGIONAL COUNCILS THAT GO INTO THE SCIENCE A LITTLE BIT MORE OF HOW THEY COME UP WITH THE STANDARDS, SO I'M NOT SURE I'M QUALIFIED TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION FOR YOU RIGHT NOW, BUT I CERTAINLY CAN FIND OUT. >>RICK LOTT: OKAY. >> [INAUDIBLE] >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? OH, MARY. OKAY. >>MARY MULHERN: YES. MY QUESTION IS SORT OF ON THE SAME LINE AS MR. DINGFELDER'S. I WAS CURIOUS ABOUT OUR -- OUR NONCOMPLIANCE WITH THE OZONE AND THE AIR QUALITY, AND WHEN YOU SHOWED THE MAPS AND HOW IT WAS -- IT LOOKED LIKE THE ONLY TWO AREAS CURRENTLY OUT OF COMPLIANCE WERE TAMPA BAY AND THE PANHANDLE. HOW DO YOU ACCOUNT FOR THAT? I KNOW THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY YOUR -- YOU CAN ANSWER THAT, BUT ALSO WHAT PERCENTAGE OF TRANSPORTATION EMISSIONS IS CONTRIBUTING TO THAT? I MEAN, ARE WE A SMALL PART? IS THAT A SMALL PART OF IT OR IS THAT A BIG PART OF IT? >>ALLISON YEH: 28% IS WHAT FEDERAL HIGHWAY -- THAT'S -- THAT'S NOT SPECIFIC TO THIS AREA, BUT GENERALLY 28%. >>MARY MULHERN: THAT WAS THE GREEN -- IS THAT THE SAME AS THE GREEN -- THAT'S WHAT YOU SAID OUR GREENHOUSE GAS -- >>ALLISON YEH: OH, THE OZONE? >>MARY MULHERN: I'M TALKING ABOUT THE -- YEAH, THE CURRENT NONCOMPLIANCE FOR AIR QUALITY. >>ALLISON YEH: I'M NOT SURE WHAT THE PERCENTAGE IS. I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL IN THE FUTURE TO HAVE EPC COME AND TALK IN DETAIL ABOUT HOW THAT'S ESTABLISHED AND WHAT -- YOU KNOW, HOW THAT CAME TO BE. I THINK YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THIS MAP. >>MARY MULHERN: DO YOU HAVE ANY THEORIES ABOUT WHY IT'S US AND THE PANHANDLE? THOSE TWO AREAS KIND OF SURPRISE ME. >>ALLISON YEH: WELL, WE HAVE THREE MONITORS THAT ARE EXCEEDING THE 75 PARTS PER BILLION. THAT'S WHY, YOU KNOW -- THERE'S THREE MONITORS RIGHT IN TAMPA BAY THAT ARE EXCEEDING. THEY HAVE THESE MONITORS SITUATED, AND THEY'VE MEASURED THEM IN INCREMENTS OVER A THREE-YEAR TIME PERIOD, SO BASED ON THIS STANDARD, WE'RE NOT IN COMPLIANCE. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? IF NOT, THANK YOU, ALLISON. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT, MR. CHIARAMONTE. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: THANK YOU. I'VE CONTINUED TO GO OUT TO THE COMMUNITY DISCUSSING THE MPO PLAN. I WAS AT THE SOUTHSHORE ROTARY CLUB ON JANUARY 6th, AND I GOT AN INTERESTING COMMENT AT THAT MEETING FROM A REALTOR TO KIND OF FRAME THE WHOLE ISSUE ABOUT THE REFERENDUM BECAUSE SHE SAID WHEN I CAME IN SHE WAS AGAINST IT, BUT WHEN I LEFT, NOW SHE UNDERSTOOD WHY IT WAS IMPORTANT, AND HER REASONING WAS THAT EVEN THOUGH THE FIRST THINGS WOULDN'T HAPPEN IN SOUTH COUNTY, AS A REALTOR, ATTRACTING COMPANIES HERE TO TAMPA, SOME OF THOSE PEOPLE ARE LIKELY TO BUY HOUSES IN THAT AREA. SO SHE TOOK ON THIS BROADER CONTEXT, AND WE MIGHT THINK ABOUT THAT AS WE GO AND SPEAK ABOUT THIS TO THE COMMUNITY ABOUT WHAT THE BENEFITS ARE TO WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO. I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THE LAND USE WORKING GROUP. BRUCE B. DOWNS IS STILL AN ISSUE AS WE TRY TO DO THAT -- THAT INTERIM STUDY TO QUICKLY KIND OF GET A GENERAL IDEA OF WHAT WE WANT TO DO WITH THE ISSUE OF SIX VERSUS EIGHT LANES. MET WITH THE BRANDON CHAMBER ON THE LITHIA-PINECREST ISSUE AND HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSIONS WITH THEM ON THAT. WORKED WITH THE TBARTA LAND USE WORKING GROUP MEETING, TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT STATION SKETCHES WE'RE WORKING ON WITH CONSULTANTS, AND ATTENDED A VISIONING MEETING WITH THE JURISDICTIONS IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY AND TEMPLE TERRACE ON JANUARY 14th. AFTER THAT, BECAUSE OF PERSONAL SITUATIONS, I HAVEN'T BEEN GOING TO A LOT OF THESE MEETINGS, BUT THAT SHOULD GET BACK TO NORMAL NOW A LITTLE BIT AND I'LL BE ABLE TO GO BACK OUT IN THE COMMUNITY. I WANT TO CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO A COUPLE OF HANDOUTS WHICH I REALLY THINK ARE IMPORTANT AND MIGHT BE HELPFUL TO YOU. WHAT WE'VE DONE IS WE'VE TRIED TO DIVIDE -- AND THEY LOOK LIKE THIS. WE TRIED TO DIVIDE THE PROJECTS IN THE MPO PLAN BY AREA OF THE COUNTY. CERTAINLY THERE WOULD BE CERTAIN AREAS YOU'RE MORE INTERESTED IN. AND THEN WHAT WE'VE DONE IS WE'VE TAGGED THE PROJECTS THAT ARE POTENTIALLY FUNDED BY THE SALES TAX IN EACH OF THE AREAS, AND THEN WE'VE PROVIDED ON THE BACK A MAP WHERE WE IDENTIFY PEDESTRIAN, TRANSIT, HIGHWAY PROJECTS, SO I THINK THIS WILL BE HELPFUL TO YOU AS YOU WORK WITH YOUR CONSTITUENTS IN THE COMMUNITY AND FOR PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHAT THE MPO PLAN IS PROPOSING. >>RICK LOTT: I THOUGHT YOU LAID THIS OUT VERY, VERY WELL. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: THANK YOU. >>RICK LOTT: THIS IS A TOOL WE CAN ACTUALLY TAKE OUT TO OUR -- >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: RIGHT. I'M EXCITED ABOUT THIS. THAT'S ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS WE WANTED TO DO. I WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT WE'RE STILL -- THERE'S STILL A LOT OF WORK GOING ON WITH THE PLAN BECAUSE OVER THE THREE MONTHS AFTER YOU PASS A NEW TRANSPORTATION PLAN YOU HAVE TO DO A LOT OF WORK ON CERTIFICATION WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, AND STAFF IS BUSY WITH THAT, BUT WE DID WANT TO GET SOMETHING OUT THAT'S A TOOL FOR ELECTED OFFICIALS TO HELP -- HELP EXPLAIN THE PLAN. FINALLY, I CAN'T NOT SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THE HIGH-SPEED RAIL. I WANT TO REMIND THIS BOARD THAT AS FAR AS I KNOW, THIS BOARD IS THE FIRST BOARD THAT TOOK ANY ACTION SUPPORTING THIS WAY BACK BEFORE I THINK THE STATE WAS EVEN AWARE OF THE IMPLICATIONS. THE FIRST MEETING ON THE HIGH-SPEED RAIL, THE ONLY PEOPLE FROM TAMPA IN TALLAHASSEE WERE ME AND JOE SMITH, WHO'S AN ACTIVIST, AND WE LOOKED AT EACH OTHER AND REALIZED THIS IS REALLY A BIG THING AND WE'VE GOT TO CONVINCE OTHER PEOPLE HOW IMPORTANT THIS IS. WITH WHAT'S HAPPENED IN THE LAST WEEK, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT -- I GOT AN E-MAIL WHERE I GUESS 128 ARTICLES HAD APPEARED ACROSS THE COUNTRY ABOUT THE TAMPA BAY AREA, AND THE THING YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND, THE OTHER PROJECTS THAT GOT MONEY, IN MY OPINION, ARE REALLY NOT HIGH-SPEED RAIL IN THE CONTEXT OF WHAT WE'RE DOING, THEY'RE SPEEDING UP EXISTING TRAINS MAYBE TO 100 MILES AN HOUR, SOMETHING LIKE THAT. OURS WOULD BE, AS FAR AS I KNOW, THE FIRST HIGH-SPEED RAIL, TRUE HIGH-SPEED RAIL IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE IN BOTH NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA. THERE IS NO OTHER HIGH-SPEED RAIL THAT EXISTS THAT WOULD RUN AT THESE SPEEDS. SO IF YOU THINK OF THE IMPLICATIONS OF THAT AND THE ATTENTION THAT IT'S GOING TO BRING TO THIS REGION, I MEAN, IT IS GOING TO CHANGE US JUST LIKE SOME OF THE OTHER MAJOR DECISIONS, BUILDING TAMPA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO THE QUALITY IT WAS, USF. THIS IS A BIG DECISION FOR THIS COMMUNITY AND A VERY EXCITING OPPORTUNITY. TO CLOSE I JUST WANT TO SAY WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT HOW IT COULD IMPACT A PERSON'S LIFE, I MEAN, ONE OF MY NEPHEWS COULD ACTUALLY LIVE HERE AND WORK IN DISNEY WORLD. I MEAN, IT JUST OPENS UP A WHOLE NEW JOB DYNAMIC AND IN A FAIRLY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME, SO I JUST THINK THIS HAS TREMENDOUS IMPLICATIONS, AND I THINK THIS IS ABSOLUTELY A BOOST FOR WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO WITH TBARTA AND THE LIGHT RAIL PLAN BECAUSE IT EVEN MAKES MORE SENSE NOW. >>JOE AFFRONTI: YES. YES, KEVIN. >>KEVIN BECKNER: THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. AND AGAIN, I THINK THIS IS A GREAT TOOL FOR US TO USE THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY, SO GREAT JOB ON THIS, RAY. I DID WANT TO JUST HAVE ONE CLARIFICATION. SO, THEN, WHERE IT'S MARKED WITH THE YELLOW DOTS OR THE ORANGE DOTS WHERE IT SAYS, PROJECTS MAY BE FUNDED OR IMPLEMENTED SOONER THROUGH A POTENTIAL SALES TAX REFERENDUM, IF THOSE PROJECTS DON'T HAVE THAT DOT BY THEM, DOES THAT MEAN THAT THOSE PROJECTS ARE NOT IMPACTED BY THE REFERENDUM? >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: NO, I BELIEVE THAT THEY WOULD BE IMPACTED, AND WE WERE TRYING TO BE A LITTLE BIT NOT TIGHT IN THE LANGUAGE SINCE WE DON'T HAVE THE FINAL PROJECTS FROM THE HILLSBOROUGH TRANSPORTATION TASK FORCE. YOU KNOW, THIS WAS DONE AT THE POINT THAT WE DID THE PLAN AND WHAT WE UNDERSTOOD THE COUNTY WAS GOING TO DO, BUT OBVIOUSLY THERE COULD BE CHANGES, SO WE DIDN'T WANT TO BE SO, YOU KNOW, DEFINITE. >>KEVIN BECKNER: SO ARE THERE -- IS THERE ANY INDICATION, THEN, THROUGHOUT THIS BROCHURE WHAT SOME OF THE OTHER PROJECTS LISTED MAY BE IMPACTED WITH OR WITHOUT THE -- THE REFERENDUM, OR IS THAT SOMETHING YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET TO US -- >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: WE COULD -- YEAH. I MEAN, HONESTLY, GENERALLY SPEAKING, MOST OF THE PROJECTS WOULD NOT HAVE FUNDING, SO THEY'D BE IMPACTED IN THE SENSE THAT THE ONLY WAY THEY COULD GO FORWARD IS TO GET FUNDING FROM SOME OTHER SOURCE, BUT WE CAN -- WE CAN ADDRESS THAT MORE COMPLETELY AT THE NEXT MPO MEETING IF YOU'D LIKE. >>KEVIN BECKNER: YEAH, IF YOU COULD DO THAT, THAT WOULD BE GREAT BECAUSE THAT WOULD HELP CLARIFY, YOU KNOW, AS PEOPLE ARE STARTING TO REALLY LOOK AT THIS A LITTLE BIT MORE CAREFULLY WHEN WE'RE OUT THERE, AND IF SOMEBODY SAYS, WELL, WHAT ABOUT THIS PROJECT, YOU KNOW, IF THE REFERENDUM DOESN'T GO THROUGH, WILL THIS PROJECT BE FUNDED, THEN WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO GIVE THEM A MORE CLEAR ANSWER. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: RIGHT. ONE OF THE THINGS I DID WANT TO CLARIFY, I'M SURE IF THE REFERENDUM GOES FORWARD, MORE OF THE FOCUS IS GOING TO BE ON THOSE PROJECTS WITH THE ORANGE DOT. WE WANTED TO DO A COMPLETE THING TO SHOW WHAT OTHER PROJECTS ARE IN THE MPO PLAN THAT ARE FUNDED FROM DIFFERENT SOURCES AND KIND OF, YOU KNOW, BRING IT INTO CONTEXT, BUT IN DISCUSSING THE REFERENDUM, IT'S CLEARLY GOING TO BE FOCUSED ON THOSE PROJECTS WITH THE ORANGE DOT BEING FUNDED BY THAT. >>KEVIN BECKNER: OKAY. THANK YOU. >>THOMAS SCOTT: MR. CHAIRMAN. >>JOE AFFRONTI: YES, MR. SCOTT. >>THOMAS SCOTT: LET ME GO BACK AND -- GO BACK TO THE HIGH- SPEED RAIL WHICH WE'RE ALL EXCITED ABOUT, THE 1.2. IN THE OVERALL SCHEME OF THINGS, WHAT IS GOING TO BE THE TOTAL COST IS NUMBER ONE? NUMBER TWO, WHO WILL HAVE OVERSIGHT OF THAT MONEY, IS IT GOING TO THE STATE FDOT, THAT GOING TO BE TBARTA, IS IT GOING TO BE THE COUNTY? >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: MAYBE MR. SKELTON CAN ANSWER THAT. IT'S BASICALLY HALF OF THE MONEY THAT IT COSTS WITH -- >>THOMAS SCOTT: RIGHT. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: -- THE IMPLICATION THAT IF WE DID A GOOD JOB GETTING IT GOING, WE WOULD SOMEHOW GET THE OTHER PART WAS THE WAY IT WAS PHRASED. >>THOMAS SCOTT: I THOUGHT I HEARD FIVE YEARS OUT FROM THERE THERE MAY BE ADDITIONAL FUNDING. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: WELL, IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS THERE'S CERTAIN MONEY PER YEAR THAT'S ALLOCATED TO IT. AGAIN, I FEEL LIKE THE MESSAGE KIND OF UNDER THE SURFACE WAS, YOU KNOW, IF YOU GET GOING AND DO A GOOD JOB, THERE WILL BE A WAY TO GET THE REST OF THE MONEY, BUT -- >>JOE AFFRONTI: MR. SKELTON. >>DON SKELTON: THE APPLICATION THAT WAS PUT TOGETHER FOR HIGH-SPEED RAIL IDENTIFIED $2.6-BILLION WORTH, OF WHICH FLORIDA RECEIVED 1.25 BILLION. I THINK RAY IS CORRECT, I THINK GETTING GOING IS THE INITIATIVE. WE'VE NOT DETERMINED HOW WE'RE GOING TO DO THAT. THOSE FUNDS ARE FOR THE STATE OF FLORIDA. THEY WILL BE ADMINISTERED BY THE NEWLY FORMED RAIL ENTERPRISE, WHICH WAS FORMED UNDER SPECIAL SESSION BACK IN DECEMBER, AND SO AS RAIL MOVES FORWARD, PASSENGER RAIL MOVES FORWARD IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA, PARTICULARLY HIGH- SPEED RAIL, THE RAIL ENTERPRISE WILL BE THE ENTITY THAT WILL OVERSEE THAT. THEY ARE A PART OF THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION. >>THOMAS SCOTT: SO THE RAIL ENTERPRISE IS A NEW FORMED ENTITY. WHO IS ON THAT? >>DON SKELTON: THE RAIL ENTERPRISE, MUCH LIKE THE TURNPIKE ENTERPRISE, IS A PART OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, SO IT'S -- IT'S OVERSEEN BY THE SECRETARY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION. >>THOMAS SCOTT: OKAY. SO THE SECRETARY WILL OVERSEE THAT? >>DON SKELTON: AND IT WILL HAVE AN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AN INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR HAS BEEN NAMED AS KEVIN THIBAULT -- HE'S CURRENTLY THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY IN TALLAHASSEE -- WHILE THEY GO OUT AND DO A SEARCH FOR AN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SO IT WOULD HAVE A COUNTERPART TO MYSELF AS THE DISTRICT SECRETARY. THEY'LL HAVE AN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR THAT WILL ACT JUST LIKE A DISTRICT SECRETARY OVER RAIL ENTERPRISE. >>THOMAS SCOTT: I JUST THINK IT NEEDS TO BE CLEAR OF ALL THE PARTIES, ALL THE PEOPLE INVOLVED BECAUSE IF WE'RE BEING GIVEN 1.2 AND IT'S PREDICATED ON GETTING ANOTHER 1.2 OR WHATEVER -- AND AS YOU SAID, WE GOT TO GET STARTED, SO I WAS JUST WONDERING WHO ARE THE PARTIES, WHO ARE THE PEOPLE -- WHO ARE THE PLAYERS? WHO'S AT THE TABLE, YOU KNOW, AND HOW IS THIS GOING TO BE HANDLED? I THINK THAT'S GOING TO BE VERY KEY. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. ANY OTHER -- ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? IF NOT, IS THERE ANYONE IN THE AUDIENCE THAT CARES TO ADDRESS THE BOARD ON ANY ITEMS? IF NOT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: CAN I SAY SOMETHING THAT I FORGOT? >>JOE AFFRONTI: WHAT? >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: I NEED TO SAY SOMETHING. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OH, YEAH. OKAY. RAY. >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: ONE THING I WANTED TO REMIND THE BOARD, AND IT ISN'T CORRECT ON THERE, IT'S VERY LIKELY THAT OUR MPO MEETING WILL START AT 10:00 NEXT MONTH. THE TAMPA BAY BUSINESS JOURNAL IS SPONSORING A TRANSPORTATION FORUM THAT MORNING, AND THEY ASKED IF WE COULD PUSH BACK THE MEETING BECAUSE SOME OF THE BOARD MEMBERS ON THE MPO BOARD AND OTHER ELECTED OFFICIALS ARE GOING TO BE PARTICIPATING IN THAT. WE'LL DEFINITELY SEND OUT A NOTICE, YOU KNOW, ON THAT IF THAT'S DEFINITE, BUT AT THIS POINT WE HAVE AGREED -- I TALKED TO CHAIRMAN AFFRONTI ABOUT THAT -- TO DELAY OUR MEETING START TILL 10:00 TO ACCOMMODATE PEOPLE COMING FROM THAT OTHER MEETING HERE. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. >>ROSE FERLITA: [INAUDIBLE] >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: THE OTHER MEETING'S EARLY, LIKE 8:00 OR 7:30. >>ROSE FERLITA: [INAUDIBLE] >>RAY CHIARAMONTE: YEAH. >>JOE AFFRONTI: OKAY. IS THERE ANY OLD BUSINESS? ANY NEW BUSINESS WE NEED TO DISCUSS? IF NOT, WE THANK YOU VERY MUCH. WE ADJOURN. 1