June 11, 2020
FROM: SCOTT MOZIER, PE, Director
Public Works Department
BY: BRIAN RUSSELL, Public Works Manager
Public Works Department, Street Maintenance Division
SUBJECT
Title
RESOLUTION - Adopting a list of proposed Public Works projects to receive Senate Bill 1 (SB 1) Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account funding for City Fiscal Year 2021.
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the Council adopt a resolution approving the list of proposed City of Fresno (City) projects to be submitted to the California Transportation Commission (CTC) for receipt of Senate Bill 1 (SB 1) Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account (RMRA) funds for City FY2021.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On August 15, 2018, the CTC adopted its program reporting guidelines for SB 1 funding, which require that in order to receive funding in the 2020-21 fiscal year, the governing body of a local agency must adopt a resolution with the list of projects proposed for SB 1 funds, prior to May 1, 2020. The attached resolution meets CTC’s submission criteria. The recommended projects reflect pavement conditions, traffic studies, leveraging of dollars with grant funding, and significant input from Council district offices. The revenue figures shown on the attached project list reflect the latest projections from the State of California and League of Cities, with a 10.5% drop in new FY2021 SB 1 revenue, a reduction of $1,061,000 from the pre-COVID-19 projections. The anticipated revenue reduction in Measure “C” and the various gas tax funds for FY2020 and FY2021 combined is $6.3 million, impacting the available funding for Public Works operations, maintenance and capital improvement projects.
BACKGROUND
On August 15, 2018, the CTC adopted guidelines for SB 1 RMRA funding designated for cities and counties. Pursuant to the guidelines, a proposed project listing must be submitted to the CTC prior to May 1, 2020, for consideration. The submission must include a resolution of the Council adopting the list. The CTC will then adopt a list of cities and counties which have met its guidelines at its June Commission meeting and forward the list to the State Controller, who will in turn release SB 1 funds to the appropriate recipients (cities and counties). The attached resolution is, therefore, required for the City to receive SB 1 funding for its eligible street projects.
At its April 29, 2020 meeting, the CTC extended the deadlines for the FY20-21 program cycle. The City must now submit its project list to the CTC for consideration by July 15, 2020. Should the City not adopt a proposed project list via resolution by July 15, 2020, the Controller will retain what would have been the City’s monthly share for a period of 90 days. Should a list not be provided within that time frame, the CTC will reapportion what would have been the City’s share of SB 1 funds to other eligible cities and counties. To prevent delays in SB 1 projects, staff recommends the project list be adopted by resolution and submitted to the CTC by July 15, 2020.
SB 1 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
Further, Streets & Highways Code Section 2030(b)(2) 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 SB 1 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 2019 is estimated at 58. The Department plans to complete a comprehensive update of Citywide PCI ratings within the next 12 months.
The adoption of the resolution 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 comply with State requirements to become eligible for receipt of funds. Per the CTC’s adopted guidelines, the project list does not limit the flexibility of an eligible city or county to fund projects in accordance with local needs and priorities, so long as the projects are consistent with SB 1 RMRA priorities.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15378 this approval is not a “project” for purposes of CEQA.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference is not applicable for adoption of a project priority list.
FISCAL IMPACT
Adoption of the attached resolution will not impact the General Fund. Project costs would be paid for from SB 1 funds and funds appropriated by the Council in the adopted budget.
Attachments:
Resolution
SB 1 Project List for FY2021
SB 1 RMRA Annual Reporting Guidelines