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ORANGE COUNTY <br />ORANGE UNIFIED TRANSPORTATION BOARD <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: February 21, 2018 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. 8.c. <br />SUBJECT: Burlington- Graham Metropolitan Planning Organization (B -G MPO) Update <br />DEPARTMENT: Planning and Inspections <br />ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Abigaile Pittman, Transportation /Land <br />Use Planner, 919 - 245 -2567 <br />PURPOSE: Receive an update on recent B -G MPO Technical Coordinating Committee (TCC) <br />Subcommittee activities of the BG MPOs SPOT 6.0 Criteria and Process. <br />BACKGROUND: In November, 2017 Orange County staff expressed concerns regarding the <br />process for submitting and scoring transportation projects within the B -G MPO for the NCDOT <br />SPOT process. Specifically, staff was concerned with the following process issues: <br />1. Infrequent meetings restricted review of projects prior to NCDOT submission (four times <br />a year); <br />2. Being too dependent on NCDOT scores alone; and <br />3. Local input, plans and criteria were not being given due consideration. <br />Orange County staff proposed a TCC SPOT Subcommittee to address these concerns for <br />SPOT 6.0 cycle as SPOT 5.0 projects had already been submitted to NCDOT. The SPOT 6.0 <br />Subcommittee was approved by the Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) and meetings <br />began in December, 2017. In addition to Orange County staff, Graham, Mebane, Burlington, <br />and Alamance County are also represented on the Subcommittee. <br />The following revisions have already been made to the B -G MPO planning process: <br />1. TCC and TAC will meet more frequently, ten times a year rather than quarterly; and <br />2. A full -time staff person has been hired as MPO staff, where previously it was contractual. <br />In December, the Subcommittee reviewed previously approved identical SPOT 4.0 and 5.0. The <br />subcommittee reviewed several other MPO /RPO SPOT processes and selected TARPO and <br />Fayetteville MPO processes due to their consideration of local input, plans and criteria, <br />presentation and process clarity. Wilmington MPO process was added to the list January 30th. <br />These three processes will be studied in greater detail at the March 8t" Subcommittee <br />meeting. MPO staff will take some B -G MPO SPOT 5.0 projects through all three processes and <br />compare the results with the B -G MPO process. <br />FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact associated with this item. <br />RECOMMENDATION(S): Staff recommends that the OUTBoard: Receive the update <br />67 <br />