Title
Authorization to Apply for and Accept Federal Funding for Transportation Projects in Federal Fiscal Years 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022 (Ordinance S-43892)
Description
Request authorization for the City Manager, or his designee, to apply for, accept, and if awarded, enter into agreements for federal transportation funding through grant applications to the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) and Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT). The funding supports Bicycle and Pedestrian, Safety, PM-10 Street Sweepers, and PM-10 Paving of Unpaved Road and Alley projects. Further request authorization for the City Treasurer to accept and the City Controller to disburse all funds for purposes of this ordinance.
Report
Summary
In 2003, MAG Long-Range Regional Transportation Plan was adopted and set policy to use federal funds to support a multi-modal transportation system. Additionally, in FY2015-2017, ADOT modified the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) and its programming efforts. It is estimated that there will be $38.55 million of federal Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) and federal Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) funding available through MAG for federal fiscal years (FFY) 2018, 2021, and 2022. There are no funding opportunities or call for projects from MAG or ADOT for FY2019. Statewide, ADOT has $13 million of HSIP funding available in FFY2020. Information related to the five federal funding programs is included in Attachment A, Table 1.
The Street Transportation Department generally submits a minimum of one project for each category during the call for projects. However, City staff has identified a total of 14 potential projects (Attachment A, Table 2) for submission within these five federal funding programs. If all 14 projects were submitted and received subsequent approval, they would require approximately $20.18 million in federal funding. Through a regional competitive review and scoring process at MAG, only the projects with the highest ranking will be selected. For HSIP funding, the projects are first evaluated at the regional level, and then compete for funding at a statewide level.
Between now and the application due dates, staff will continue to refine the scope, length, and cost estimates of each project.
Financial Impact
The current regional process for federal transportation funding allows the awarded dollars to be used for the construction phase only. The maximum federal participation rate is 94.3 percent of the total construction cost, while local agencies are required to provide 5.7 percent of local funding for construction. Obtaining federal dollars allows the City of Phoenix to leverage local dollars to support a multi-modal system while improving air quality and providing safe routes to school.
If all 12 project applications are successfully awarded federal funds for construction, the City of Phoenix will need to commit $6 million to $7 million in local funds for construction due to the scale of the proposed projects. For the two proposed canal projects, the City would propose to use the Salt River Project (SRP) aesthetic program funds, which could reduce the City's cost share by $2 million to $5 million. Three of the four proposed bicycle/pedestrian projects are part of the City's Bicycle Master Plan, which is programmed with $2 million annually for implementation. There is an additional $5 million of local funds (estimated) for the design, engineering, and right of way expenses to develop these projects. The local matching funds are available in the Street Transportation Capital Improvement Program budget.
Concurrence/Previous Council Action
The Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee unanimously recommended City Council approval of the item on June 13, 2017.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Mario Paniagua and the Street Transportation Department.