M Memo orand dum - Transportation Agency for Monterey County

MMemo
orand dum
To:
From:
Date:
Subject t:
RECOMMENDATIO
ON
RECEIV VE final com mpiled report t on single-c county Metroopolitan
Plannning
Organnization
propposal
and DIR RECT staff to o work with the Associa ation of Monnterey
Bay AArea
Governmments
(AMBBAG)
to reduce e duplication n of efforts, improve i the regional travvel
forecast model and iincrease
coordinat tion and coll laboration am mong agencies.
SUMMA ARY
The City of Salinas and a the Asso ociation of Monterey M Bayy
Area Goveernments
havve
voted to rretain
the
current fo our-agency transportatio
t on planning structure s witthin
the Monnterey
Bay AArea,
and havve
instead directed d AMB BAG to wor rk on perform mance and other
related improvemennts.
Transpoortation
Agency staff s sent a le etter indicati ing its willin ngness to woork
collaboraatively
with AMBAG annd
seeks
Board ap pproval of this
effort. In addition, sta aff has consoolidated
all oof
the informmation
gatheered
in
this multi-month
eva aluation into a single fina al report withh
a set of rellevant
attachhments.
FINANCIAL
IMPAC CTS
Board of Directors D
Debra L. Hale, H Execut tive Directorr
December r 7, 2011
Improving g Transporta ation Planninng
in the Moonterey
Bay RRegion:
An Evalua ation of AMB BAG, TAMC,
Santa Cruuz
RTC and San Benito COG
Staff’s an nalysis of the e restructurin ng effort wa as that it wouuld
utilize less
funding too
have a threee
agency tr ransportation n planning st tructure than n a four-agenncy
transporrtation
plannning
structuree
as
currently y exists, with h AMBAG conducting
fe ederal planniing
and TAMMC,
Santa CCruz
RTC annd
San
Benito COG C conduct ting state-lev vel transport tation planniing.
Under tthe
restructuuring,
some sstate
planning money wou uld be lost to o the region. However, bby
removingg
one agencyy,
the restruccturing
would also
free up so ome federal planning p fun nds allocate to the singlee-county
ageencies
to takee
on the
federal planning
activ vities, with money m left over o to reinvest
in improving
the reggional
travel forecast
model on n an ongoing g basis.
Working g with AMBA AG to make improvemen nts within thhe
existing fo four-agency sstructure
willl
require
a certain amount of staff s time on the part of all a four agenncies,
but thiis
staff time wwould
be
substanti ially less than n taking on the t federal metropolitan
m n planning orrganization
rresponsibilities.
That said d, there are no n additional l resources provided p for this regionaal
improvemeent
effort, annd
longterm
imp provements to t the region nal model will
require alll
agencies too
identify funnding
(new or existing) e to pay p for that effort e after th he current grrants
have expired.
P:\Committe ees\TAMC\Year 2011\December\
2
\DH - Single Cou unty MPO Final RReport.docx
TRANSPORTATTIONAGENCCYFORMONTEEREYCOUNTYY
55-B Plaza P Circle Salinas, S Califorrnia
93901-29902
(831) 77 75-0903 FAX (8 831) 775-0897 7 E-mail: debbbie@tamcmontterey.org
www.ta amcmonterey.oorg
Agendda
Item: 3.1. .5

Board of Directors December 7, 2011
Improving Transportation Planning in the Monterey Bay Region: Page 2
An Evaluation of AMBAG, TAMC, Santa Cruz RTC and San Benito COG
DISCUSSION
Per Board direction, Agency staff has been researching since June, 2011 the scenario of taking on
the federal metropolitan transportation organization (MPO) responsibilities that are currently
handled by the tri-county Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments (AMBAG). The purpose
of such a shift to a “single-county MPO” would be to improve cost effectiveness and increase
operational efficiencies by removing duplication of efforts across the agencies and freeing up
resources to increase investment in the regional transportation model. While there was interest in
making improvements, there appeared to be a reluctance to make a structural change that would
likely affect the ability of AMBAG to survive as a tri-county regional forum.
In October, 2011, the Salinas City Council voted to support retaining the current transportation
planning structure and asked that AMBAG return with a progress report in addressing identified
issues within one year. The AMBAG Board of Directors voted to:
1) Retain AMBAG in its current form as a regional COG and MPO; 2) Direct staff to
identify and address any and all performance related issues going forward and report
out to the Board of Directors at their January 2012 meeting along with a timeline for
addressing the issues; 4) Improve coordination and collaboration throughout the
region by conducting regional technical committee meetings, allowing other agencies
ex-officio status on the AMBAG Board of Directors, hold periodic joint executive
committee meetings, and identify specific areas of duplication and strategies for
addressing those. [….and] direct staff to discuss the MOU between AMBAG and the
RTPA’s in order to appropriately fund the Regional Transportation Demand Model
and avoid any duplication of transportation planning efforts.
Transportation Agency staff sent a letter indicating its willingness to work collaboratively with
AMBAG and seeks Board approval of this effort. In addition, staff has consolidated all of the
information gathered in this evaluation effort into a single final report (Attachment 1) with a set of
relevant appendices (Attachment 2), including a copy of that letter. Per the request of the City of
Salinas, a report back on the status of these activities will take place by the end of 2012. During that
year, certain developments may occur, including a proposed federal change in the allowable size of
metropolitan planning organizations that may affect the region’s ability to devolve into even smaller
agencies much less retain AMBAG without losing federal planning funds.
Staff recommends that the Board of Directors direct staff to work with the Association of Monterey
Bay Area Governments (AMBAG) to reduce duplication of efforts, improve the regional travel
forecast model and increase coordination and collaboration among agencies.
_______________________________________________ _____________________________
Debra L. Hale, Executive Director Date
Consent Agenda Counsel Review: N/A
Attachment: Improving Transportation Planning in the Monterey Bay Region:
An Evaluation of AMBAG, TAMC, Santa Cruz RTC and San Benito COG
Web Attachment: Improving Transportation Planning in the Monterey Bay Region: Appendices