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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-05-10 TAC MINUTES• • • City of Englewood, Colorado ENGLEWOOD TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING Minutes of May 10, 2007 The regular monthly meeting of the Englewood Transportation Advisory Committee was called to order by Chair Anderson at 6:34 p.m. in the City Council Conference Room, City of Englewood Civic Center. Members Present: David Anderson, Chair Andy Berger Mark Craft Danielle Gregory James Weeks, Alternate Member Ray Tomasso, Council Liaison Rick Kahm, Director of Public Works, ex officio Members Absent: Daryl Kinton A quorum was present. Also Present : Bernie Zimmer, President, Colorado Rail Association Ladd Vostry, Traffic Engineer Linda Wilks, Recording Secretary Sergeant Mark McKay Approval of Minutes Chair Anderson asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes of April 12, 2007. There being none, a motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes as presented. With Members Anderson, Craft and Berger voting aye, the motion passed. Committee Member Gregory abstained. Public Comment There were no visitors present. Old Business • Director Kahm noted that the Power Point presentation of Citizen Survey results will be postponed until the June ETAC meeting. • Director Kahm advised that, based on ETAC's desire to go forward with the 25 mph speed limit project for Englewood residential streets, as well as the results of the Citizen Survey, the Traffic Division has applied for funding in the 2008 capital Projects budget. If this budget request is approved, staff will initiate an ordinance for Council approval to establish a city-wide speed limit of 25 mph, unless othe!Wise posted. New Business Mr. Bernie Zimmer, President, Colorado Rail Association, was introduced, followed by introductions of ETAC Members and staff. Mr. Zimmer discussed plans, designed by the Rocky Mountain Rail Authority, for a proposed high speed rail line to run along the 1-25 corridor from casper, Wyoming, through Colorado, to Belen, New Mexico. Mr. Zimmer explained that CDOT appropriated grant funding in the amount of $1,246,000 for a feasibility study covering corridors from the north border of Colorado to the south border, and from DIA west to the Utah 1 border. The Rocky Mountain Rail Authority was established as a quasi-governmental agency to accept and administer CDOT's grant money. Mr. Zimmer noted that 27 municipalities along the proposed corridors have thus far signed on with the Authority, and committed approximately $450,000, $311,000 of which covers the Authority's portion of the 80/20 match for CDOT's grant. Mr. Zimmer said that another $250,000 will be needed to cover grant administrative costs, commenting that the organization asks each municipality to agree to a two-year commitment and a contribution of $10,000 per year, realizing, however, that each municipality is different and may only be able to commit to lesser dollar amounts, for which their seat on the Authority will not be diminished. Funding left over would be used, potentially, toward a ballot issue in 2008. Mr. Zimmer asked that the City of Englewood commit to joining these 27 municipalities in serving on the Rocky Mountain Rail Authority, by contributing funds for the study and providing a representative who will keep the public informed on the proposed high speed rail system. Discussion ensued regarding the funding processes of various other cities and counties; relocation of freight lines; cost of the project overall and possible choices for raising the funds; differences between high speed rail and Amtrac; etc. Mr. Zimmer asked if ETAC members would give him some sense of their view on the feasibility of conducting a study on the proposed high speed rail line. Chair Anderson opined, as a citizen, that the feasibility study would be a good first step, and he would be thrilled if a station was located in Englewood. Vice-chair Gregory inquired about the pros and cons of serving on the Rocky Mountain Rail Authority. Mr. Zimmer responded that members of the Authority would be working closely with consultants, and determining the locations of tracks, the number of trains running daily, etc. Brief discussion ensued regarding who would run the trains, i.e., private vs. public. Mr. Anderson inquired whether or not, when the study is complete, a referendum would then be presented to the voters for a tax increase. Mr. Zimmer stated that the Authority has looked at a variety of tax methods, i.e., statewide sales tax, vehicle miles tax, increase in gas tax, etc., however, the best one has not yet been determined. Alternate Member Weeks said it definitely seems worthwhile to pursue the feasibility study, that perhaps we could all benefit, city and metro wide, whether the line goes through Englewood or elsewhere. Committee Member Craft asked about the possibility of keeping the study moving so that "it doesn't die", as do many projects. Mr. Zimmer stated that, by this time next year, they should be receiving information from the study and the Authority will take the lead and hopefully have the issue on next year's ballot. Mr. Anderson inquired about the frequency of Authority meetings. Mr. Zimmer advised that meetings are currently held once a month during daytime hours, at various locations for the convenience of members. Mr. Zimmer gave a brief account of his experience as a public servant. Mr. Zimmer thanked ETAC Members for their time; Members thanked Mr. Zimmer for his presentation. He then departed the meeting. Council Liaison Tomasso suggested that the Greyhound Bus Station off of Hwy. 285 in Englewood, as well as numerous other buses coming from the west on Hwy. 285 into Englewood, would create a ploy for constructing a high speed rail stop in our City. Mr. Tomasso also noted that the number of engines currently 2 • • • • • required to pull the trains over Monument would be reduced by moving the freight lines to the plains east of metro Denver . Director Kahm commented that, in the event ETAC wishes to recommend to City Council that Englewood should be represented on the Rocky Mountain Rail Authority, there is a small amount of funding in the ETAC budget that could be contributed to the Authority. Mr. Kahm agreed that this rail concept is probably worth studying. There was brief discussion regarding Englewood's budget concerns. Chair Anderson made a motion, seconded by Vice-chair Gregory, to recommend to City Council that $5,000 be appropriated from ETAC's budget to cover two years' membership to the Rocky Mountain Rail Authority, and, additionally, that City Council appoint a representative to serve on the Authority for a two year period. Following brief discussion, the motion passed unanimously. Director Kahm suggested that Recording Secretary Wilks prepare a memo from ETAC to City Council advising of ETAC's recommendation, with a comment that Mr. Tomasso, as Council's liaison to ETAC, be considered to represent the City on the Authority. Director's Choice • Director Kahm had no items to discuss under Director' Choice. Chairperson's Choice • Chair Anderson inquired about an accident this morning involving a truck that overturned on Santa Fe. Director Kahm advised that the truck involved was from the Sheridan Redevelopment Project. Since the project began 11 weeks ago, there have been approximately 42,000 truckloads of debris hauled from the redevelopment site, resulting in accidents with numbers in the teens, two of which are known to have been rollover accidents. Brief discussion ensued. • Mr. Anderson noted that the Power Point presentation, originally scheduled for this evening, will be rescheduled for the June ETAC meeting, as well as discussion regarding lowering the speed limit to 25 mph on residential streets. Mr. Kahm noted that, because of timing, he went ahead and included implementation of the 25 mph speed limit as a potential capital Project for 2008; the City's budget process calls for capital Projects to be turned in by May gth (yesterday). • Mr. Anderson inquired if contact has been made with Judge Atencio regarding speaking with ETAC at a future meeting. Recording Secretary Wilks advised that she contacted Court Administrator Wolfe, and will be notified of the Judge's schedule. Committee Members' Choice • Council Liaison Tomasso noted that he heard on KOOL radio recently that there was a "revenue producing operation" taking place on Santa Fe, i.e., the Englewood Police Department was generating revenue. Brief discussion ensued. Referring to earlier discussion, Mr. Tomasso inquired that, if 30 mph signs are posted on collector streets while residential streets are assumed to be 25 mph, will the proposed $80,000 cost for signs be • reduced? Mr. Kahm explained that the new ordinance will establish the speed limit at 25 mph/ city-wide/ 3 unless otherwise posted, but since speed limit signs must be placed on residential streets at all points of entry into the City, the number of signs will not be reduced. • Committee Member Craft thanked Traffic Engineer Vostry for installing the brightly lit no left turn sign on Floyd Ave. at Broadway. Mr. Vostry said this sign is blank until the traffic light on Floyd turns green, at which time the sign shows very brightly; the sign, however, cannot be programmed to flash. Mr. Vostry stated that an identical sign will also be placed at Dartmouth and Tejon as back up signage for the railroad preemption. Mr. Craft reiterated the concern of several Simon Center residents regarding the noise levels of motorcycles traveling on Broadway. Sergeant McKay stated that officers currently do not have equipment to monitor decibel levels, and no funding has been budgeted to purchase that equipment. Brief discussion ensued regarding the practicality of trying to enforce that type of noise making activity. Mr. Kahm asked if Sergeant McKay could check into the cost of noise monitoring equipment. • Committee Member Berger inquired about the safety of the railroad tracks on Navajo St. north of Stanford Ave. Director Kahm advised that his staff is currently working to remove this abandoned section of track. • Sergeant McKay reported that, as requested, he checked with the City Attorney regarding the "pickle man" and other similar commercial advertising, and was advised that the City does not have an ordinance or code violation prohibiting that activity, unless they are in the traveled portion of a roadway. Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m. Linda WilkS, Recording Secretary 4 • • •