REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
October 19, 2017
FROM: SCOTT MOZIER, PE, Director
Public Works Department
BY: ANDREW J BENELLI, PE, City Engineer / Assistant Director
Public Works Department
BRIAN RUSSELL, Public Works Manager
Public Works Department, Street Maintenance Division
SUBJECT
Title
Actions related to Senate Bill 1 (SB1) Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account (RMRA) revenues:
1. Review the Public Works Department’s current five-year capital improvement plan
2. Approve the Public Works Department’s SB1 street project list for FY2018
3. Approve a priority list for SB1 expenditures for FY2019 through FY2022
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the Council review the current five-year capital improvement plan as contained in the adopted FY2018 budget document, approve the Department’s SB1 street project list for FY2018 and approve a priority list for SB1 expenditures for FY2019 through FY2022.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
During the June 2017 budget hearings, the Council requested a five-year plan for street projects, including the new revenue from SB1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017. In order to receive SB1 revenue, all projects proposed for funding must be included in the City’s adopted budget. Furthermore the project list adopted by the Council must include description, locations, schedules for completion and estimated useful life of the improvement. Staff also recommends the Council review the current five-year capital program as included in the FY2018 budget document, which incorporates all known and projected revenue sources. However, given that the five-year capital program did not assume SB1 revenues for FY2019 through FY2022, staff recommends the Council approve the attached priority list for SB1 expenditures for those four years.
The current five-year capital program incorporates all known revenue streams and future year transportation grants the City has already been awarded. In addition to street maintenance priorities which can be funded by the RMRA dollars, the City has prioritized traffic signal improvements through the ranking lists which the Council reviews each year. The City has also prioritized active transportation pedestrian and bicycle projects through the Active Transportation Plan (ATP) as adopted by the Council on March 2, 2017. Under a separate agenda item, staff will recommend the Council adopt a resolution authorizing grant applications for recommended projects under the 2017 Fresno Council of Governments Call for Projects. The Call for Projects includes the Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) and Congestion Mitigation / Air Quality (CMAQ) funding programs. Staff will also bring forward to Council a list of recommended ATP grant applications in Spring 2018 when the State ATP grant cycle opens. Both grant programs will potentially bring additional dollars into the City’s capital improvement program in FY2020 through FY2022.
BACKGROUND
On April 28, 2017, the Governor signed SB1 (Beall, Chapter 5, Statutes of 2017), which is known as the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017. To address basic road maintenance, rehabilitation and critical safety needs on both the State highway and local street system, SB1 implements the following effective November 1, 2017: increases per gallon fuel excise taxes, increases diesel fuel sales taxes and vehicle registration fees, and provides for inflationary adjustments to tax rates in future years. Beginning November 1, 2017, the State Controller will deposit these new revenues into the newly created Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account (RMRA). The SB1 revenues are also known as RMRA revenues. The current revenue projects indicate the City of Fresno may receive $3 million during the latter portion of FY2018 (partial year) and $11.9 million for FY2019.
The California Transportation Commission has adopted Annual Reporting Guidelines which are attached to the staff report. The list must include the description, location, schedule and estimated useful life of each project. The bill as adopted specifies the following eligible uses:
• Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation
• Safety Projects
• Railroad Grade Separations
• Complete Streets Components (including active transportation purposes, pedestrian and bicycle safety projects, transit facilities, and drainage and stormwater capture projects in conjunction with any other allowable project)
• Traffic Control Devices
Streets & Highways Code Section 2030(b)(2) further states that funds made available by the RMRA program may also be used to satisfy a match requirement in order to obtain State or Federal funds, provided that the projects fall into the eligible SB1 categories.
The Public Works Department utilizes a pavement management system for the City’s 1,700 centerline-miles to evaluate the condition of the street network and to recommend pavement treatments. Streets are rated using an industry-standard pavement condition index (PCI) ranging from 0 to 100, with zero being a pothole-riddled crumbling street and 100 being a newly surfaced roadway. A PCI score of 80-100 is rated as “very good-excellent”, 70-79 as “good”, 60-69 as “fair”, 50-59 as “at-risk”, 25-49 as “poor” and 0-24 as “failed”. Based upon PCI ratings and field observations by trained engineering and maintenance professionals, projects are recommended including slurry seals, grinding and overlays, as well as total reconstruction. The City’s overall PCI has been in steady decline in recent years due to insufficient funding for street maintenance. In 2008, the overall PCI was estimated at 72, but the average was somewhat inflated due to the building boom and relatively large amount of new street mileage in residential subdivisions. By 2013, the average PCI had declined to 68 and as of 2016 stands at 63.
The current five-year capital program for the Public Works Department is contained in the FY2018 budget document as adopted by Council. This five-year projection included all traditional State gas tax revenues and Measure “C” as distributed by formula to the City. The five-year program also includes all Federal and State grants for those future years which had already been authorized by Council and awarded to the City.
The Public Works Department also has a street maintenance operating budget which provides for basic maintenance services including traffic signal maintenance, street light maintenance, payment of street light power bills, pothole filling, crack sealing, emergency street repair, minor paving/overlay work, maintenance of striping and pavement markings, traffic sign repair/replacement and repair of concrete curbs, gutters and sidewalks (known as the concrete strike team). The annual operating budget of the Street Maintenance Division is $25.3 million, composed of $4.0 million in Community Sanitation fees for Street Sweeping, and a mixture of $21.3 million in General Fund Maintenance of Effort dollars, gas tax and Measure “C” funds for all other operating programs (i.e. Asphalt, Concrete, Paint & Sign, Traffic Signals & Street Lights). Together with the current five-year capital program contained in the FY2018 budget document, these programs fully consume the available resources.
Staff recommends the Council approve a priority list of projects for SB1 revenues for the following four fiscal years. This action will not limit or reduce future Council authority to appropriate funding for projects each year in the City budget, in accordance with the Charter, but rather will establish a priority list for these upcoming road maintenance and rehabilitation revenues.
However, the City will have additional funding opportunities other than the revenues to be received through SB1, traditional gas tax, Measure “C” and grants obtained to date. The Fresno COG 2017 Call for Projects applications to the regional bid program are due on November 16, 2017 for STBG and on November 30, 2017 for CMAQ.
In addition, project applications for the STBG and CMAQ Lifeline allocations will be due to Fresno COG in February and April, respectively, providing additional opportunity to fund priority transportation projects in the latter portion of the five-year capital program (FY2021 and FY2022). Similarly, Caltrans will be issuing calls for projects for the Highway Safety Improvement Program and ATP within the coming year. The City utilizes the Citywide Traffic Signal Priority Ranking lists which are presented to the Council each year, along with the adopted ATP, to prioritize projects for potential funding. The ATP includes a recommended priority network of projects estimated to cost $90 million.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
Adoption of a budget or a project priority list is not defined as a project under the California Environmental Quality Act.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference is not applicable for adoption of a project priority list.
FISCAL IMPACT
All listed projects are included within the adopted City budget. Appropriations for these projects are contained within the Operating and Capital budget of the Public Works Department.
Attachments:
- SB1 Street Project List for FY2018
- Current Five-Year DPW Capital Program
- Priority List for SB1 Expenditures in FY2019 through FY2022
- Citywide Traffic Signal Priority Ranking Lists
- ATP Planned Networks and Priority Network
- ATP Priority Network Project Cost Estimates
- SB1 RMRA Annual Reporting Guidelines