AGENDA #1f
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Proposed Use of Transportation Grants in 2006-07
DATE: March 20, 2006
The purpose of tonight’s forum is to receive citizen comments on potential uses of State and federal transportation grant funds.
Preliminary recommendations for use of funds are as follows:
Operating Assistance
These funds would support services of the public transit system in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro area, which currently operates 28 bus routes, demand-responsive shared ride service, and service for the elderly and mobility-impaired people.
The estimated amount of operating assistance to be requested for 2006-07 is $1,115,308 from the Federal Transit Administration and $3,300,000 from the N.C. Department of Transportation, or about 33 percent of the operating cost of the transit system.
Urbanized Area Formula Funds
Capital Projects
About $818,000 in federal funds would be requested. The State would provide approximately $59,000 representing a 10 percent match for bus replacement and the local match requirement would be about $146,000 for small capital items no longer matched by the State and the additional 10 percent match requirement for bus replacement. The local match would come from the Transportation Department’s Capital Reserve Fund. The proposed uses of funds are:
Planning
Federal funds totaling $160,000 would be requested for transit planning activities, including the annual Transportation Improvement Plan, transportation ridership counts, air quality conformity reviews and a feasibility study for a downtown transit transfer facility.
Discretionary Funds (Capital)
The Town is scheduled to replace eight 1995 buses and twenty 1996 buses that have either passed or are approaching the end of their useful lives. The fleet also contains three 2000 mid-size buses that will have reached the end of their useful lives in FY 2006-07. The State has recently announced that the Town has been allocated $3,984,000 in federal funds (80 percent) for replacement buses and the State would provide 10 percent ($498,000). The local matching share of 10 percent ($498,000) is budgeted in the Transportation Department’s Capital Reserve Fund.
The Town has also received $742,500 (80 percent) from a federal earmark for bus replacement. The State would provide 10 percent ($92,800) and the local matching share of 10 percent ($92,800) is budgeted in the Transportation Department’s Capital Reserve Fund.
The Town has also received $285,500 in federal funds for a park and ride lot project identified for the 15-501 North corridor. This same amount is expected in FY 2007-08 and FY 2008-09. The proposed use of the first year’s allocation is for a transit study and the purchase of land for this project. The State would provide 10 percent ($35,700) and the local matching share of 10 percent ($35,700) would be budgeted in the Transportation Department’s Capital Reserve Fund.
RECOMMENDATION
We recommend that the Council refer comments from tonight’s forum to the Manager for consideration in development of a budget proposal.