Meeting_Body
PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING COMMITTEE
APRIL 14, 2021
Subject
SUBJECT: WEST SANTA ANA BRANCH (WSAB) TRANSIT CORRIDOR PROJECT
Action
ACTION: APPROVE RECOMMENDATIONS
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
CONSIDER authorizing the Chief Executive Officer to APPROVE additional funding of $353,530 and an extension to December 2022 of the existing Funding Agreement (FA# 920000000FACGGC03) with the Gateway Cities Council of Governments (COG) for Third-Party Administration participation in the WSAB environmental clearance study.
Issue
ISSUE
This is a request to authorize a time extension and additional funds to the existing Funding Agreement with the Gateway Cities COG. Funding Agreement 920000000FACGGC03 (Attachment A) was executed in October 2016 and included a Term of Agreement that ended on September 30, 2020.
The Agreement included a budget of $700,000 for corridor cities, the Gateway Cities COG and the Eco-Rapid Transit (Eco-Rapid) Joint Powers Authority (JPA) to participate in the Transit Oriented Communities (TOC) activities, environmental clearance study, participation in the WSAB City Managers Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), and other efforts. To date, several cities along with Eco-Rapid and the Gateway Cities COG have expended all of the funds allotted to them for this effort. Extending the Term of Agreement and providing additional funding is necessary to ensure that each of the corridor cities and Eco-Rapid participates in the review of the environmental document.
Background
BACKGROUND
In February 2016, the Board approved Motion 32.1 (Attachment B) authorizing up to $18 million to facilitate TOC predevelopment and planning activities for the WSAB Project in coordination with the City and County of Los Angeles, the Gateway Cities COG and the Eco-Rapid JPA. Multiple Funding Agreements have been executed to date as part of a collaborative effort to support Motion 32.1, including:
• A June 2016 Funding Agreement with the Gateway Cities COG to conduct near-term pre-development TOC activities;
• An October 2016 Funding Agreement with the Gateway Cities COG and Eco-Rapid for Third-Party Administration to support the WSAB environmental study and to conduct outreach for the corridor; and
• A July 2017 Funding Agreement with Eco-Rapid to support the development of the Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Strategic Implementation Plan, which was finalized in May 2019.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
At its September 22, 2016 meeting, the Board approved Item 12 (Attachment C), entering into a four-year Funding Agreement with the Gateway Cities COG, to be led by Eco-Rapid, for Third Party Administration to work with the 13 cities along the corridor for participation in the WSAB environmental clearance study, including review of the WSAB environmental document, participation in WSAB City Managers TAC meetings and conducting outreach for the corridor.
The WSAB City Managers TAC was formed within the Gateway Cities COG to serve as an effective forum for generating consensus positions on a range of technical, financial, and policy challenges confronting the corridor cities. The members include city managers or key staff for the cities and LA County staff. The monthly meetings are also attended by key Board deputies from Supervisor Hahn, Supervisor Solis, and Mayor Garcia offices and Eco-Rapid and the Gateway Cities COG staff. Metro has worked with the TAC to establish a collaborative approach to achieving the milestones required for the project to advance, including establishing ongoing engagement on the current project-level environmental process to protect interests of the cities and secure meaningful mitigation measures, supported by an effective monitoring system.
Since 2017, in addition to the City Managers TAC meetings, Metro has worked closely with cities on several technical issues requiring continued collaboration and feedback. As a result, several cities, as well as the Gateway Cities COG and Eco-Rapid have expended all funds allotted to them for this effort sooner than anticipated. Over the past few months, Metro staff has worked with COG staff to identify the need for additional funds for these cities to ensure their continued participation in the review of the environmental document through the completion of the WSAB final environmental study anticipated to be completed in summer 2022. It is anticipated that an additional $353,530 will be needed to complete this effort through the completion of the final WSAB environmental study. The funding agreement is being extended to December 2022. The table below shows the breakdown of the additional funding request:
|
Agency |
Funds |
Purpose |
|
Eco-Rapid Transit |
$60,450 |
Additional environmental review efforts and coordination with the Eco-Rapid Board of Directors and their efforts to address corridor-wide environmental impacts. |
|
Gateway Cities COG |
$60,000 |
To fulfill staff time to engage in WSAB planning and related administration. |
|
City of Paramount |
$20,000 |
Additional environmental review and technical study of the WSAB I-105/C-Line Freeway Station, ensuring community buy-in, and consideration of appropriate mitigations. |
|
The City of Artesia |
$72,000 |
Additional environmental review and project planning associated with the Artesia Station as the WSAB southern terminus, development of an economic development program for the corridor and to serve as the fiscal agent (formerly performed by Bellflower) responsible for the processing of Eco-Rapid Transit expenditures as part of this effort. |
|
City of Downey |
$29,875 |
Additional environmental review and local outreach efforts. |
|
City of South Gate |
$63,205 |
Additional environmental review and local outreach efforts. |
|
City Manager TAC |
$48,000 |
Continued facilitation and participation in the monthly WSAB City Manager TAC meetings. |
|
TOTAL |
353,530 |
|
Determination_of_Safety_Impact
DETERMINATION OF SAFETY IMPACT
Adding funds and extending the Term of Agreement for this effort will not have any impact on the safety of Metro customers and/or employees because this Project is in the planning process phase and no capital or operational impacts results from this Board action.
Financial_Impact
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The FY 2020-21 remaining budget contains $2,341,576 in Cost Center 4370 (Mobility Corridors Team 2), Project 460201 (WSAB Corridor Admin) for professional services. Since this is a multi-year contract, the Cost Center Manager and Chief Planning Officer will be responsible for budgeting in future years. The Project budget will be responsible for the additional funds.
Impact to Budget
This effort is funded by Measure R 35% funds. As these funds are earmarked for the WSAB Transit Corridor project, they are not eligible for Metro bus and rail capital and operating expenditures.
Implementation_of_Strategic_Plan_Goals
IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS
The projects and programs included in Countywide Planning & Development’s work program contribute to the implementation of multiple goals of Metro’s Vision 2020 Strategic Plan i.e., Goal 1: Provide high-quality mobility options that enable people to spend less time traveling, Goal 3: Enhance communities and lives through mobility and access to opportunity and Goal 5: Provide responsive, accountable, and trustworthy governance within the Metro organization
Alternatives_Considered
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
The Board could decide not to approve the recommended extension and additional funds. This alternative is not recommended, as ongoing coordination with local jurisdictions and Eco-Rapid is a necessary component of the environmental clearance process. Non-approval could result in strained relationships with corridor cities resulting in additional project delays and/or increased litigation risk.
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
Upon Board approval, staff will execute an Amendment to the existing Funding Agreement to extend the Term of Agreement through the completion of the Final environmental document as well as update the project funding allocation to reflect the additional funds.
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - Funding Agreement 920000000FACGGC03
Attachment B - Board approved Motion 32.1
Attachment C - September 22, 2016 Board Report, Item 12
Prepared_by
Prepared by: Meghna Khanna, Sr. Director, Countywide Planning & Development, (213) 922-3931
Dolores Roybal Saltarelli, DEO, Countywide Planning & Development, (213) 922-3024
Fanny Pan, DEO, Countywide Planning & Development, (213) 418-3433 Will Ridder, Executive Officer, Countywide Planning & Development, (213) 922-2887
David Mieger, SEO, Countywide Planning & Development, (213) 922-3040
Laurie Lombardi, Sr. EO, Countywide Planning & Development, (213) 418- 3251
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by: James de la Loza, Chief Planning Officer, Countywide Planning & Development, (213) 922-2920
