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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTrans 2011-07-18 Item 3 - SCATBd - 6/21/11 Meeting Summary and 7/19/11 Agenda SOUTH COUNTY AREA TRANSPORTATION BOARD (SCATBd) MEETING Tuesday, July 19, 2011 9:00 11:00 a.m. SeaTac City Hall 4800 South 188 Street SeaTac DRAFT AGENDA 1. Open Meeting Action 9:00 a.m. Introductions Approve summary of June 21, 2011 SCATBd Meeting* 2. Reports, Communications and Citizen Requests to Comment Reports and 9:10 a.m. Chair or Vice Chair Discussion Participant Updates from TPB, RTC, PSRC Boards, Other Citizen Comment 3. Rep. Judy Clibborn Looking Ahead to the 2012 Legislative Report and 9:30 a.m. Session Discussion 4. King County's Metro Transit's Congestion Reduction Charge Discussion 10:15 a.m. 5. PSRC Project Prioritization Update (Charlie Howard, PSRC) Report and 10:30 a.m. Discussion 6. Preparing for the 2012 Legislative Session Discussion 10:50 a.m. *Attachment to agenda 69 SOUTH COUNTY AREA TRANSPORTATION BOARD (SCATBd) June 21, 2011 MEETING SUMMARY Members Councilmember Wayne Snoey City of Covington (Chair) Mayor Dave Hill City of Algona (Vice- Chair) Tom Gut City of SeaTac (Alternate) Shuming Yan WSDOT (Alternate) Elizabeth Leavett Port of Seattle Dennis Dowdy City of Auburn (Alternate) Councilmember Gordon Shaw City of Burien Kelly McGourty PSRC (Alternate) Emiko Atherton Councilmember Patterson (Alt) Chris Arkills King County Executive (Alternate) Councilmember Joan Hernandez City of Tukwila Deputy Mayor Victoria Laise -Jonas City of Maple Valley (Alt) Councilmember Les Thomas City of Kent Councilmember Jeannie Burbidge City of Federal Way Grant Fredricks City of Des Moines (Alternate) Kelly Hayden Pierce Transit Len Madsen City of Des Moines (Alternate) I. May 17, 2011 Meeting Summary The May 17, 2011 meeting summary was approved. II. Reports: Chair Snoey reminded members of SCATBd's adopted mission, and expressed his belief that SCATBd has worked hard to achieve this. He thanked members for their support in this accomplishment. He also reminded members that Rep. Judy Clibborn will attend the July meeting to give her perspective on expectations for the 2012 legislative session. He would like to discuss funding for SCATBd's priority state highway projects and also the Street Maintenance Utility. He asked for suggestions of other topics and specific questions to send her in advance of the meeting. Chair Snoey reminded members of the PSRC Executive Board meeting on Thursday, suggesting that any questions or issues should be directed to the Suburban Cities representatives on the Executive Board. He also reported that ridership on Metro was up 4% in April. 70 SCATBd Meeting Minutes June 21, 2011 Page 2 The SR 509 Executive Committee met on Monday to review the alternatives to be considered in the next study phase. Members of the committee were encouraged by the participation of Rep. Upthegrove and Sen. Prentice at the meeting, their recognition of the benefits of this corridor for freight and helping to absorb the growth occurring in South King County. Cathy Mooney reported that Sen. Prentice had reminded the SR 509 Executive Committee that SCATBd had endorsed the project, and that SCATBd's support was of importance to her. Both she and Rep. Upthegrove were supportive of advancing the work of this corridor. Shuming Yan noted that both are on the respective transportation committees. He added that a public opinion survey was underway, and a full report on this can be provided at the next SCATBd meeting. Kelly McGourty reported on the actions of the Transportation Policy Board at the June 9 meeting, including approving transit funding from the approved contingency list and approving conditional approval of the Alaskan Way Viaduct tunnel project. This will be an item for action by the PSRC Executive Board on June 23. Kelly Hayden report on the recent 15% service reduction for Pierce Transit, based on the Pierce Transit Board's direction to focus on efficiencies. The result is the elimination of service to most of eastern Pie_ rce County, and concentrating more service in the urban areas. Service from Bonney Lake to the Sumner commuter rail station will continue until February; Pierce Transit hopes to partner with Sound Transit to retain some service. In addition, some peak hour service to Northeast Tacoma will be retained. Services to Gig Harbor, Lakewood and Olympia also have been eliminated, although Intercity Transit will continue to provide most of the service for Gig Harbor state employees, as it has in the past. Mr. Hayden also reported the Pierce Transit continues to address the problems created by the C &G explosion in February. Diesel buses scheduled for retirement have been obtained from Metro and Sound Transit as backup to the CNG buses. The CNG buses are being fueled at SeaTac. As a result of these problems, Pierce Transit is considering diversifying its fleet when additional funding is available. Will Knedlik, Eastside Rail Now, noted that low interest rates and a healthy bidding climate make this a good time to try to advance light rail in South King County. Since it appears that the East side has not settled on alignments for light rail, he urged SCATBd to ask the East King subarea to lend Sound Transit funds to the South subarea so that the light rail could be extended south. In response to Chair Snoey's question about the reaction to this proposal at the Eastside Transportation Partnership, Mr. Knedlik indicated that several people after the meeting expressed interest. Chris Arkills added that several others would not want to consider this, and Mr. Knedlik acknowledged that this was probably correct. IL Legislative Wrap -Up/ Looking Forward to the 2012 Legislative Session 71 SCATBd Meeting Minutes June 21, 2011 Page 3 Genesee Adkins, King County State and Federal Government Relations Manager, provided the Partnership an overview of transportation related bill in the 2011 state legislative session. Ms. Adkins discussed the following bills: SB 5457 Congestion Reduction Charge: Allows King County Metro to establish a temporary congestion reduction charge for a period of two years. The measure can be passed by the County Council with a two thirds majority approval or by a majority vote of the people. The congestion reduction charge will be for up to 20 dollars per vehicle. This charge remains in effect until two years after it is imposed or June 30, 2014, which ever comes first. SB 5700 Setting Toll Rates: The Legislature approved three actions taken by the Transportation Commission in January. This includes adoption the schedule of toll rates applicable to the SR 520 corridor, adoption of the schedule of photo toll charges applicable to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, and adoption of the assessment of administrative fees for toll collection processes. HB 1382 I =405 Express Toll Lanes: The imposition of tolls is authorized for express toll lanes on I -405 between the junction with Interstate 5 on the north end and Northeast 6th Street in Bellevue on the south end. The Transportation Commission is directed to set the schedule of toll rates for the express toll lanes, which may vary by time of day, level of congestion, and other criteria determined by the Commission. Toll charges may not be assessed on transit buses and vanpools. SB 5836 Allowing Private Transportation Providers to Use Certain Public Facilities: The Mate and local jurisdictions can allow certain private transportation provider vehicles to use HOV lanes and lanes reserved for public transportation on highways, except BAT lanes. Also, transit agencies that receive state funding for park and ride lots are required to make reasonable accommodations for private transportation providers to use those facilities. HB 2053 Increasing Various Transportation License Fees: This bill did not pass, despite the last minute passage in the House and a push in the Senate to get the bill passed before the end of the special session. This bill would have increased various license fees related to transportation for additional revenue to the State Patrol, a new state ferry, operating special needs transit, highway preservation and maintenance, and additional safe routes to schools grants. This would also have provided funding for the FMSIB, TIB, and CRAB grant programs. The governor is pulling together a transportation advisory group (TAG) to begin developing options for a future transportation funding package. The governor is interested in structuring the TAG similarly to the Regional Transit Task Force. The primary charge will be to identify the need and to identify revenue sources probably a mix of sources —that would address the need. The tentative schedule is to begin engaging the public next summer regarding the package, with the expectation to bring the package to voters in fall of 2012._ Initiative 1053 requires a super majority of the legislative to enact new taxes, and based on recent legislative discussions about transportation issues, it appears that a super- majority is 72 SCATBd Meeting Minutes June 21, 2011 Page 4 unlikely. The Transportation Commission is currently polling voters to understand the type of package to develop. In response to questions, Ms. Adkins explained that the Transportation Partnership will likely wait for the TAGs recommendations and prepare to promote them once they are issued. Chair Snoey commented that eastern Washington legislators seem to be more cognizant of the need to keep transportation in the Puget Sound Area moving in order to maintain the economy of the entire state. In response to Vice Chair Hill's question, Ms. Adkins indicated that the TAG is expected to take a holistic approach, with recommendations for a range of transportation needs. She added that the primary challenge for the TAG, considering the magnitude of the need for maintenance, preservation and improvements in all modes, will be to make choices about what level of need should be addressed in a new revenue package. The growing expectation of a ballot measure in 2012 will add urgency to the TAG's charge. III. Metro Transit Update: John Resha, Legislative Analyst for King County Council, described the striking amendment (SA) to Metro's Draft Strategic Plan that the chair had requested to respond to concerns and issues identified through the review process. On June 1, the RTC Chair proposed the SA based on significant dialogue with RTC members and staff, including the following revisions: Provide an annual review of how King County is implementing the Guidelines in addition to the biennial performance review identified in Chapter III; Establish a regular review of the Strategic Plan and Guidelines, especially in the first few years to ensure that the Plan and Guidelines are achieving the policy intent of the RTC; Move from a concept of alternatives to traditional transit service delivery to delivering a 5 -year implementation plan to the Council; Establish a substantive collaborative process in 2013 to review and update the factors, methodologies and prioritization of adding service with a primary focus on jurisdiction actions to create transit supportive communities; Confirm the need for outreach in the case of major changes; and Make technical corrections and changes to the Strategic Plans and Guidelines to increase the clarity ant transparency of how the Transit Division will make decisions within its scope of authority. Other changes include adding new performance measures related to financial and cost effectiveness, providing a clear explanation of how the guidelines work as part of the introduction, clarifying the definition of existing centers and explaining how new centers could be added, and explaining how restructuring of services is undertaken. 73 SCATBd Meeting Minutes June 21, 2011 Page 5 Mr. Resha reported that the Regional Transit Committee had unanimously approved the Metro Strategic Plan and Striking Amendment on June 15. Councilmember Burbidge thanked Mr. Resha for his report and agreed that it was an impressive process with hard work by many involved. Vice Chair Hill remarked that he was convinced to support the action because of the recognition that the plan is a living document, which would be regularly reviewed by the Regional Transit Committee. He added that he is interested in seeing the implementation plans for alternative transit service delivery. Victor Obeso thanked the RTC members for spending the time to review all the materials and engaging in an open dialog about the issues. He agreed that the plan as finalized is a living document that allows refinement to respond to these volatile times. He noted that transit agencies throughout the country are feeling the effects of the recession on their revenues. Since 2009 Metro has made a concerted effort to control costs, and has raised fares by 80 As a result, they have made significant progress toward closing the budget gap. However, a shortfall of $60 million remains. On June 20, the Executive transmitted an ordinance to the County Council seeking council action to enact the $20 temporary Congestion Reduction Charge authorized by the Legislature. This would provide approximately $50 million for a two year period and would largely avoid service cuts. Without this additional revenue, a 17% cut, or 100,000 hours would be needed, with the first reductions in February of 2012. This reduction would be the first increment of the total 600,000 service reduction that would need to occur over the next few years in order for Metro to sustain services within existing revenues. The Executive has transmitted an ordinance to begin the service reduction process in the event that the Congestion Reduction Charge is not enacted. John Resha provided a timeline for Council's consideration of the different components: Metro Strategic Plan Consideration by Committee on June 28, Action by Council on July 11 Congestion Reduction Charge Consideration by Committee July 6 and 19 Congestion Reduction Plan and Service Reduction Consideration by Committee 7/12 Congestion Reduction Charge Action by Council on July 25 In response to questions, staff explained that a brochure describing the proposals is being distributed, briefings with city councils and businesses are being scheduled, and a website has been established for more information. Chair Snoey questioned what was being asked of SCATBd. Mr. Arkills replied that SCATBd's endorsement of the Congestion Reduction Charge would be helpful, noting that Council adoption would allow continuation of existing service levels while efforts proceed on developing a statewide revenue package for 2012. This would also allow time to use the Metro Strategic Plan to restructure services in a way that manages and improves the system. If reductions begin as early as February 2012, this will not be possible. 74 SCATBd Meeting Minutes June 21, 2011 Page 6 Vice Chair Hill asked if the Congestion Reduction Charge would be placed on the November ballot if the council does not enact it. Mr. Arkills explained that the Executive's proposal is for council action, but the option of a public vote in November, or possibly February, is available. Mr. Resha noted that July 25 is a key date if a measure is to be on the November ballot. Decisions made by that time will also inform budget choices. Chair Snoey asked that this topic be included on the July SCATBd agenda. He noted that service reductions would have a disproportionate impact on lower income households. Both he and Vice Chair Hill expressed support for the work by Metro staff and the changes Metro has made to address the funding gap. Chair Snoey also commented that representatives of the Seattle City Council have been helpful throughout the process of developing the plan. Vice Chair Hill expressed his thanks to Councilmember Paterson for her leadership. IV. Preparing for the 2012 Legislative Session Chair Snoey suggested that SCATBD may want to update the list of local priority projects that was developed for discussions with legislators during the 2011 session. He indicated that it was helpful in making legislator aware of local needs. He also suggested that SCATBd's 2012 legislative agenda be closely patterned after the 2011 agenda, including consideration of the Street Maintenance Utility legislation. Elizabeth Leavitt agreed, adding that the focus should be on reasons why the 2012 agenda should differ from the previous one. Members agreed to consider this further at the next meeting. Other Attendees: Cathy Mooney, City of Kent Larry Blanchard, City of Burien Victor Obeso, King County Metro Amy Danberg, PRR Deborah Miller AECom Bob Giberson, Tukwila Jim Seitz, City of Renton Will Knedlik, Eastside Rail Now Ed Conyers, WSDOT John Resha, King County Council Andrew Glass Hastings, King County DOT Sally Marks, King County DOT Emiko Atherton, King County Council Genesee Adkins, King County Executive Office 75