Draft Memorandum for the Record
Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization Unified Planning Work Program Committee Meeting Summary
August 16, 2018 Meeting
9:00 AM–9:45 AM, State Transportation Building, Conference
Rooms 2 and 3,
10 Park Plaza, Boston
Bryan Pounds, Chair, representing Stephanie Pollack, Secretary and Chief Executive Officer, Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT)
The Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization’s (MPO) Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) Committee agreed to the following:
Materials for this meeting included the following:
1. Meeting Summary of June 21, 2018, meeting
2. Third Quarter FFY 2018 UPWP Progress Reports
3. Fourth Quarter FFY 2018 UPWP Budget Adjustments
Bryan Pounds (MassDOT/UPWP Committee Chair) opened the meeting and members introduced themselves.
There were none.
Meeting Summary of
June 21, 2018, meeting B. Pounds asked for a motion to approve this Meeting
Summary. A member made a motion and another seconded it. The motion passed unanimously.
(Note: this action item was postponed to after Item 4 due to late arrival of a quorum.)
R. Mannion noted that members have seen the reports on a number of occasions. One report is retrospective, showing what has been spent through the third quarter of FFY 2018, and the other is prospective, showing what staff expects to be doing in the fourth quarter. R. Mannion invited the committee to ask any questions. Tegin Teich (City of Cambridge/Regional Transportation Advisory Council) asked whether anything was going on with the MPO Staff-Generated Research Projects budget line. R. Mannion replied that there are a couple of projects under consideration, but because of short-staffing it has been hard for staff to find time to work on such discretionary projects. T. Teich asked if there was a plan to reallocate these funds; R. Mannion replied that there currently is not. R. Mannion noted to the Committee that several studies would appear to have extraordinary expenses in the current year, but that has been due to short-staffing and all FFY 2018 projects are anticipated to finish within the proper time frame. B. Pounds clarified that all projects are still within budget, and that the Automated Vehicles (AV) study was amended out of the FFY 2018 UPWP because of the federal recertification process starting unexpectedly within FFY 2018. Steve Olanoff (Town of Westwood/Three Rivers Interlocal Council Alternate) suggested the AV work could be included in future UPWPs.
R. Mannion explained that some projects need extra funding and some have too much. One of the former is the Long-Range Transportation Plan. One of the major reasons for additional funding was that the Needs Assessment was planned to be run with the MPO region model, but because of unexpected developments was rerun with the statewide model, which increased expense. Everything is being switched over to the statewide model. B. Pounds asked for a motion to open up the budget adjustments for discussion. A motion was made by a member, seconded by another, and passed unanimously. T. Teich asked for clarification about the different models. R. Mannion explained that many things have been added into the statewide model and are being made consistent between the two models, and many performance and air quality measures must be run on the statewide model, so consistency is valuable. Some discussion ensued. S. Olanoff asked if there is a plan to phase out the regional model. R. Mannion replied that the regional model is part of the statewide model, and can be separated as needed. Some discussion ensued. B. Pounds asked members to vote on approving presentation of the budget adjustments to the MPO board for approval. The motion passed unanimously.
A. Kleyman, substituting for Sandy Johnston (UPWP Manager), who was serving on jury duty, told the committee that the Database is filled out comprehensively going back to 2012 and to some extent going back to 2008. The next step is to reach out to municipalities to gather information on to what extent recommendations have been implemented. This process started with Boston and Cambridge as a pilot to test the format and presentation. S. Johnston is currently using the database to find projects that could be part of the Community Transportation funding program. The database could also be used during Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) development to inform discussions with TIP contacts. T. Teich asked if there is a mechanism for feedback as to what determined study implementation. A. Kleyman replied that there is a notes column that allows respondents to give free-form feedback to Central Transportation Planning Staff. T. Teich suggested that it might be a good idea to ask specifically why something has or has not been implemented. A. Kleyman replied that that has been part of internal staff discussions. B. Pounds asked about a timeline. Matt Archer (MPO intern) replied that S. Johnston was seeking feedback from Boston and Cambridge; T. Teich suggested giving them a deadline. Tom Kadzis (City of Boston) suggested that staff not wait on full feedback from the City of Boston, and that staff give an option for respondents to note whether they agree with a recommendation or not. T. Kadzis noted that the work is worthwhile but might take a while. Some discussion ensued between T. Kadzis and T. Teich. R. Mannion said that the database came about in large part because the UPWP Committee wanted to ensure that the MPO’s money was being well spent on studies. Some discussion ensued. S. Olanoff suggested that the key to getting responses is sending questions to as many people in the relevant municipality as possible. A. Kleyman agreed and noted that staff would also talk to MassDOT district office staff.
There were none.
B. Pounds mentioned that the next meeting would cover outreach for the FFY 2020 UPWP. There was general agreement that it would be some time in October.
A motion to adjourn was made by an MPO Member and seconded by another Member. The motion carried unanimously.
|
Members |
Representatives
and
Alternates |
|
City of Boston (BPDA) |
Tom Kadzis |
|
Inner Core Committee (City of Somerville) |
Tom Bent |
|
Massachusetts Department of Transportation |
Bryan Pounds |
|
Regional Transportation Advisory Council |
Tegin Teich |
|
Three Rivers Interlocal Council (Town of
Norwood/Neponset Valley Chamber of Commerce) |
Tom O’Rourke |
|
Three Rivers Interlocal Council Alternate (Town of Westwood) |
Steve Olanoff |
|
MPO
Staff/Central Transportation Planning Staff |
|
Robin Mannion, Deputy Executive Director |
|
Ali Kleyman, Certification Activities
Group Manager |
|
Jen Rowe, Public Participation Process Manager Matt Archer, MPO intern |