Title
Authorization to Apply for, Accept and Disburse Federal Funding for Transportation Projects in Federal Fiscal Years 2019, 2021, and 2022 (Ordinance S-44394)
Description
Request to authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to apply for, accept and if awarded, enter into agreements for disbursement of federal transportation funding through grant applications to the Maricopa Association of Governments. The funding supports three different program areas including: Achieving Transit Accessibility Now, Safe Routes to School Non-Infrastructure Projects, and Highway Safety Improvement Program.
Report
Summary
The Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) is soliciting applications for the following three grant opportunities:
1. Achieving Transit Accessibility Now (ATAN) - The MAG Regional Council has approved $840,536 of transit funds to improve accessibility at transit stops in the MAG region. Applications from local jurisdictions are evaluated on a "rolling-application" cycle every six months. This is the third application cycle. The ATAN program will contribute a maximum of $40,000 per location, with a limitation that no single agency can be awarded more than 70 percent of available funding. The Street Transportation Department has 11 shovel ready projects that meet the application requirements, and plans to request $440,000 as part of a comprehensive grant application.
2. Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Non-Infrastructure Projects for Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 21 and FFY 22 - MAG sent a formal call for Safe Routes to School grant applications to all school districts and charter schools in Maricopa County. A total of $93,103 is available in FFY 21, and a total of $163,309 is available in FFY 22. Applicants are required to submit grants through the city or town where the school is located. Only one school district in Phoenix expressed interest. The Street Transportation Department plans to request between $25,000 and $100,000 on behalf of the Wilson Elementary School District for traffic studies that will focus on parking and accessibility. As part of the FAST (Fixing America's Surface Transportation) Act, the City is required to receive Federal Highway (FHWA) grant monies on behalf of participating schools. An Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) will be drafted between the City and the Wilson Elementary School District that details the requirements to use the grant funds in order to receive reimbursement from the City.
3. Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) for FFY 2021 and FFY 2022 - The goal of HSIP is to improve safety and reduce fatalities. A total of $23 million is available through MAG in FFY 2021 and $32 million in FFY 2022, of which a maximum of $2 million may be requested per project. The Street Transportation Department plans to submit up to three project applications for locations where there have been a high number of fatalities or serious injuries, totaling up to $6 million combined for FFY 21 and 22.
The Street Transportation Department aims to pursue federal funding whenever solicitations are made by MAG that align with the City’s Transportation goals and objectives. These three funding programs are opportunities to leverage City dollars while increasing the City’s ability to complete more transportation related projects that enhance the community. Each program funding has its own competitive review and ranking process that will happen under the MAG purview. For HSIP funding, the projects are first evaluated at the regional level and then compete for funding at the State level.
Between now and the application due dates, staff will continue to refine the locations, cost and scope of each grant submittal to be competitive with local and regional submittals. The only exception is the ATAN application which is nearly complete.
Financial Impact
ATAN requires local jurisdictions to contribute a minimum 20 percent match towards the eligible project costs per project (up to $50,000 federal participation per location). This equates to a $10,000 local match per project site, or a total of $110,000 for the 11 shovel ready projects. The total cost for these projects is estimated to be just under $1.8 million. These projects have already been programmed using Transportation 2050 (T2050) funds. If awarded, this will free up $440,000 to be used for other T2050 projects.
There is no cost to the City for the SRTS submittal. The Wilson Elementary School District will be responsible for contributing the local match if funding is awarded.
For HSIP projects, the maximum federal participation rate is 94.3 percent of the total construction cost, while local agencies are required to contribute 5.7 percent of local funding for construction. The current regional process for federal funding allows the awarded dollars to be used for the construction phase only. If all three HSIP applications are awarded, the City of Phoenix will need to contribute $342,000. Funding is available in the Street Transportation Department's Capital Improvement Program budget.
Concurrence/Previous Council Action
This item was recommended for approval by the Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee at the March 13, 2018 meeting by a vote of 3-0.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Mario Paniagua and the Street Transportation Department.