Agenda - 01-24-2017 - 6-a - Minutes

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29 1 Jeff Mann said the full commitment of funds would not be until June 2018. 2 Commissioner Burroughs asked if the actual expenditure starts in June 2018. 3 Jeff Mann said no, any additional local revenues would not be needed until 2020. 4 Commissioner Burroughs asked if there is a larger expenditure that will occur between 5 2018 and 2020. 6 Jeff Mann said yes, if the full general engineering and program management consultant 7 contracts are executed, there will be a significant expenditure for design, as well as program 8 management. He said there are sufficient funds to do this now, without these additional local 9 revenues, but there would be an accelerated rate of expenditure to move the project from 10 where it is today, at 30% design, to final design. 11 Commissioner Burroughs said if in June 2018 the County decides not to proceed, there 12 would be no reimbursement from the federal funds. 13 Jeff Mann said that is correct, and federal reimbursement would be granted upon 14 reaching a full funding grant agreement. He said if a full funding grant agreement is not 15 received, the project would not be subject for reimbursement. 16 Commissioner Burroughs said the County has to make a decision by April 2017. 17 Commissioner Price said there will be no increase in funding between now and April, 18 and asked if staff and GoTriangle will be working on finding additional funding. 19 Jeff Mann said there is a project team working on funding, value engineering and 20 continues to work with the Funding and Community Collaborative. He said the bus portion will 21 also be updated. 22 Commissioner Price asked if Jeff Mann feels the federal funds are secure given the 23 upcoming change in administration. 24 Jeff Mann said, while nothing is guaranteed, the funding is expected without issue. 25 Commissioner Jacobs clarified that Jeff Mann said there are sufficient local funds to 26 begin the engineering studies in April, but with a faster expenditure rate. 27 Jeff Mann said when the final design phase is entered, money will be spent at a faster 28 rate. He said this will be done with local funds until a full funding grant agreement is reached 29 with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), and state funding begins in 2019. 30 Commissioner Jacobs asked for the timeline, if one looks at a calendar. 31 Jeff Mann said state funding would not be available until 2019/2020, and federal funding 32 not until 2020. 33 Commissioner Jacobs said April 2017 is not a hard deadline, as there are funds to 34 proceed; but the funds will just be spent at a faster rate. 35 Jeff Mann said it is an internal checkpoint for them to see if the project is clear to go into 36 the engineering phase. 37 Commissioner Jacobs referred to the bus side of the funding, and said the BOCC 38 received a presentation, and no consultation, regarding a bus rapid transit project (BRT) in 39 Chapel Hill, which exceeds $100 million. He asked what would happen to this money if this 40 project was removed from the bus side of the equation. 41 Jeff Mann said the local share of the Chapel Hill BRT project is about $40 million. 42 Commissioner Jacobs said the total is triple the amount of the original projection. 43 Jeff Mann said yes, as the project was extended and more dedicated lanes were added. 44 Commissioner Jacobs asked if this $40 million is removed, where would the funds go. 45 Jeff Mann said removing the BRT project would be a modification to the bus and rail 46 investment plan, and the BOCC would make a recommendation for the allocation of these 47 funds. He said GoTriangle would not determine the purpose of these funds. 48 Commissioner Jacobs said the funds could be put toward the gap. 49 Jeff Mann said yes. 50