Aug 18, 2026 Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)

WE HAVE A QUORUM AND WE HAVE THE REPRESENTATIVE FROM CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.

[00:00:04]

WE HAD A BOUNDARY EXPANSION, AND WE'RE ABLE TO APPROVE THE BYLAWS CHANGES AT OUR LAST MEETING.

AND SO SHE'S NOW OFFICIALLY ON THE BOARD. AND I ALSO HAVE WANT TO INTRODUCE A SPECIAL GUEST BRENNA TRONCOSO IS THAT RIGHT? AND SHE IS SHE WON THE PRIMARY IN JONES COUNTY.

DALE IS GOING TO BE RETIRING AT THE END OF THE YEAR.

AND BRENNA WILL BE STEPPING INTO THE ROLE OF COUNTY JUDGE IN JONES COUNTY.

WILL BE AN ELECTION IN NOVEMBER, BUT SHE'S UNOPPOSED.

SO LOOK FORWARD TO HER STEPPING INTO THE ROLE AND WITH THE TRAINING THAT WE'RE DOING TODAY, IT WAS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR HER TO RUN OUT WHAT SHE'S STEPPING INTO.

SO THANK YOU. AND WITH THE BOUNDARY EXPANSION, WE ALSO ADDED TO THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

SO BEFORE WE GET INTO THE OFFICIAL MEETING STUFF, I'D LIKE US TO JUST KIND OF GO AROUND THE ROOM AND INTRODUCE OURSELVES, SAY WHAT YOUR NAME IS, WHAT ORGANIZATION YOU'RE WITH, AND ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT TO SAY REAL QUICK ABOUT YOURSELF.

AND WE'LL START HERE AND COME AROUND AND END UP WITH GREG.

I'M AMANDA COURTNEY, I'M THE GM AT CITYLINK. OKAY.

CONRAD SMITH COMMUNITY PLANNER, DYESS AIR FORCE BASE.

AND I'M NORM ARCHIBALD AND I'M REPRESENTING THE ABILENE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

THAT'S MY ROLE. MAX JOHNSON, I'M THE DIRECTOR FOR PUBLIC WORKS IN THE CITY OF ABILENE.

ABILENE AREA OFFICE. TEXTILE. BRENDA JONES COUNTY.

I'M DALE SPURGEON, THE JONES COUNTY JUDGE. NIKKI CALLAHAN, COUNTY JUDGE SHANE PRICE, DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL JOE CROWLEY, COUNTY JUDGE JEREMY DEERING, ABILENE DISTRICT ENGINEER FOR TXDOT.

KELLY MESSER, ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY FOR CITY OF ABILENE.

KEVIN LAWRENCE, I'M THE FACILITY MANAGER FOR THE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION OF ABILENE.

ANTHONY BOWSHER, THE DIRECTOR OF TRANSPORTATION, PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT FOR. THE ABILENE DISTRICT PLANNER FOR TIKTOK.

RANDY WILLIAMS, TAYLOR COUNTY. PRECINCT ONE. BILLY RICHARDSON, MAYOR.

CITY OF HOLLY. JOHN OVERMAN. WITH THE TEXAS A&M TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE.

I'M CRAIG KASPER. I'M THE DIRECTOR OF THE ABILENE MPO.

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU EVERYBODY. WE HAVE ALSO SOME MEMBERS IN THE AUDIENCE.

AND WE'LL MOVE ON INTO THE SECOND ITEM, WHICH IS TO ANNOUNCE THAT PUBLIC COMMENT CAN BE MADE ON ANY AGENDA ITEM.

[2. Public Comment on any Agenda Item.]

AND SO THE LIVE BROADCAST IS NOT HAPPENING, BUT IT IS BEING RECORDED.

SO IT WILL BE AVAILABLE TO WATCH AT A LATER TIME ON THE CITY WEBSITE.

ITEM NUMBER THREE CONSIDERATION AND ACTION ON THE MINUTES FROM OUR JUNE 11TH, 2026 POLICY BOARD MEETING.

[3. Consideration and action on the minutes of the June 11, 2026 meeting.]

OKAY. I'LL SECOND. WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND.

ALL IN FAVOR, SAY AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? THE MINUTES HAVE BEEN APPROVED.

MOVE TO ITEM NUMBER FOUR. CONSIDERATION AND ACTION ON THE 2027 UNIFIED TRANSPORTATION PLAN.

[4. Consideration and action on the 2027 Unified Transportation Plan.]

IN THAT LAST MEETING IN JUNE, WE DID AS PART OF THE MPO PLAN AMENDMENT AND AS THE ADOPTION OF THE NEW TIP, WE ACCOMPLISHED MAJORITY OF APPROVAL OF THE UTP, BUT THE UTP HAD NOT BEEN RELEASED STATEWIDE FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.

IT NOW HAS BEEN RELEASED STATEWIDE AND COMMENTS RECEIVED.

WHAT IS INCLUDED AS ATTACHMENT ONE IN THE PACKET IS VERBATIM.

IT WAS DOWNLOADED FROM THE UTP LIBRARY THAT TXDOT HAS THAT THE TEXAS STATE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION WILL ACT ON NEXT WEEK.

THERE ARE 11 PROJECTS IN OUR MPO BOUNDARY AND LAST YEAR THE UTP.

THIS. THE UTP IS UPDATED EVERY YEAR. THERE ARE ALSO 11 PROJECTS.

HOWEVER, THEY ARE NOT THE SAME PROJECTS THERE WERE.

IF YOU LOOK AT ATTACHMENT TWO, THERE IS A COMPARISON CHART THAT SHOWS THAT SEVERAL OF THE PROJECTS ARE UNDER UNDERWAY, WHICH IS ALWAYS A GOOD THING. AND ANOTHER PROJECT HAS BEEN REPLACED WITH AN OPERATIONS PROJECT IN A DIFFERENT LOCATION.

[00:05:02]

PAGE 17 OF THE PACKET. THE YOU KNOW. OOPS.

IF I HAD DONE THIS. THERE WE GO. I WENT. BACK.

SO THE ON THE LEFT IS THE 2026 LIST. AND IT SHOWS THAT THE PROJECT ACROSS FROM IT THAT THE HIGHLIGHTED YELLOW WAS BLANK.

TO THE RIGHT OF THAT IS A FREEWAY OPERATIONS PROJECT.

THAT IS A NEW PROJECT THAT HAS BEEN INCLUDED.

AND ON THE RIGHT SIDE IS THE PROPOSED 2027 UNIFIED TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM.

THERE ARE THREE LINES THERE. THOSE PROJECTS HAVE HAVE BEEN BEGUN AND ARE NOT THEN INCLUDED IN THIS UTP.

THE BIGGEST CHANGE THIS UTP HAS FROM LAST YEAR AND IT HAPPENED STATEWIDE, IS THE FUNDING SHORTFALL IS MAKING ITSELF MORE WELL KNOWN. ON PAGE 11 OF THE DOCUMENT, THE PARAGRAPH ABOVE.

ALTERNATIVES. IT SPECIFIES IT. BUT THE STATEWIDE FORECAST IN FUNDING FOR TEN YEARS IS $95 BILLION.

THE STATEWIDE ESTIMATE TO ACCOMPLISH THE ADOPTED TARGETS IS $217 BILLION IN TEN YEARS.

SO THAT'S THE. WHEN YOU LOOK AT.

I'M SORRY. WE'LL GET THERE. I KEEP GOING BACK TO THE.

I DID IT AGAIN. GOING BACK TO THE BEGINNING. YEAH.

JUST THE FORECAST TEN YEAR FUNDING FORECAST IS $193 BILLION, BUT THE LEVEL OF FUNDING NEEDED TO ACCOMPLISH THE TARGETS OVER THE TIME, THE TIME FRAME IS $511 BILLION.

SO THERE IS A CRUNCH OF FUNDING COMING THAT IS IMPACTING THE PROJECTS THAT ARE BEING DEVELOPED.

THE EXHIBIT TWO OF THE DOCUMENT SHOWS THE LIST ALLUDES TO SOME OF THIS NPOS.

WHEN WE ADOPT A TEN YEAR PLAN OF PROGRAMS FOR THAT GO INTO THE MTP, WE HAVE TO DO YEAR OF EXPENDITURE COST BY YEAR.

TEXTILE ONLY HAS TO DO YEAR OF EXPENDITURE COST FOR THE FIRST FOUR YEARS OF THE TIP AND THEN THEY.

THEY EXTEND THE THE COST OF THE PROJECT OUT UNTIL THAT PROJECT ENTERS INTO THE STIP.

A STATEWIDE TIP I PUT IN THE FOURTH COLUMN THE YEAR OF EXPENDITURE COST.

AND THAT IS THE COST. SO THE. IF YOU LOOK AT MAP ID NUMBER TWO, I20 WIDENING FROM STATE HIGHWAY 351 TO CALHOUN COUNTY LINE, THE COST IN THE UTP IS $268 MILLION. THAT PROJECT HAS BEEN MOVED OUT TO 2035, SO TXDOT HAS NOT INCREASED THAT COST YET.

WHEN THE MPO PUTS THAT INTO THE MTP, WHICH WE'RE IN NO RUSH TO DO USING YEAR OF EXPENDITURE COST INFLATION FROM 2026 TO 2035, THE COST OF THAT PROJECT IS ABOUT $430 MILLION, SO WE WILL BE COMING UP SHORT IN THE FUTURE WHEN DOING A RETROSPECTIVE LATER IN. IN THE MEMO, I TALK ABOUT A PROJECT WHERE THIS HAPPENED.

SOMETHING SIMILAR HAPPENED. THERE WAS A PROJECT THAT IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION THAT WILL BE FINISHING VERY SOON.

IT WAS ORIGINALLY TEN YEARS AGO WHEN IT ENTERED THE UTP, A $12 MILLION PROJECT.

IT IS FINISHING UP THIS YEAR AS A $30 MILLION PROJECT.

THE FUNDING HAS ALL BEEN FOUND. IT'S JUST THE ROAD THAT IT TOOK TO GET FUNDING.

SO CHANGED. THE FUNDING CHANGED. IT WAS ORIGINALLY TWO THIRDS FEDERAL AND A THIRD STATE.

THEN FOR A WHILE IT WAS ALL STATE. AND THEN NOW IT'S BACK TO ABOUT HALF AND HALF OR TWO THIRDS FEDERAL AGAIN.

SO THE ROAD TO FUNDING WILL WILL WIND, BUT THE PROJECTS WILL EVENTUALLY GET FUNDED.

IT'S JUST THERE MAY BE SOME INTERIM STEPS THAT WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO DO.

AGAIN, GOING BACK TO WHAT THE PURPOSE OF THIS IS, IS THIS IS APPROVING THE UTP VERBATIM AS IT EXISTS ON TXDOT'S UTP LIBRARY.

THE. THE. ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS? ANY QUESTIONS FOR HIM? SO THE FUNDING YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT. SO HOW SOLID IS THAT TO HOLD ON TO AND HOLDING ON TO IT IS ANOTHER STORY.

[00:10:01]

ALL THE STATE FUNDING AND FEDERAL FUNDING THAT.

WELL, OKAY, SO I WILL HEDGE MY BET. IF CONGRESS DOESN'T DECREASE TRANSPORTATION FUNDING, THEN IT IS SOLID. IF CONGRESS IN THEIR NEXT BILL DECREASES THE FUNDING FOR TRANSPORTATION AND.

OKAY, SO THIS IS IN THE WEEDS. BUT SO THE LAST BILL THAT CONGRESS FUNDED TRANSPORTATION WITH INCLUDED A LOT OF THINGS OTHER THAN TRANSPORTATION.

IT WAS A $511 BILLION BILL NATIONWIDE. ABOUT 200 BILLION OF THAT WAS FOR TRANSPORTATION.

THE BILL THAT IS BEING TALKED ABOUT NOW IS ABOUT $200 BILLION AGAIN.

SO THE TRANSPORTATION PART HAS STAYED INTACT.

BUT THE SOME OF THE OTHER EXTRANEOUS THINGS THAT AREN'T TRANSPORTATION RELATED ARE FALLING OUT.

BUT IF STEPS ARE TAKEN TO REDUCE TRANSPORTATION, WHICH COULD HAPPEN, OR TRANSPORTATION COULD GO TO A YEAR, WORST CASE, A YEAR BY YEAR, WHERE WE WHERE TRANSPORTATION COMPETES AGAINST OTHER NATIONAL PRIORITIES, DEFENSE OR OR WHATEVER. THEN THEN IT COULD IT COULD DROP.

BUT YEAH, ALL CARDS ON THE TABLE. AS LONG AS CONGRESS DOESN'T DECREASE TRANSPORTATION FUNDING, THEN WE'RE GOOD. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? RANDOM QUESTION.

THE WEDDING DATES ARE 20 VERSE 27 TO 3027 BUDGET IS ALREADY SET BY TEX DOT SO WE NEED TO MOVE THIS TO 28 TO 31.

IF IT'S NOT ALREADY CURRENTLY FUNDED, THEN YEAH, IF IT IS OUT BEYOND 2030, IT IS NOT CURRENTLY FUNDED.

OKAY. AND THEN THE UTP TEX DOT TAKES PAINS TO TO SAY THAT IF IT'S NOT IN THE TIP, IT IS NOT A GUARANTEE OF FUNDING.

IT IS, IT IS A, THE UTP IS A PLAN. IT'S A TEN YEAR PLAN.

AND IT SORT OF HARMONIZES BETWEEN THE PLAN AND THE FUNDED TIP.

SO EVEN THOUGH IT SAYS 2730, WELL, THE UTP PROJECT FOR PAGE 12 THIS ONE IS 2730 FREEWAY OPERATION IMPROVEMENTS, ABILENE, US 83 FY 27 TO 30 LEFT.

IF IT'S. SO IF THE FUNDS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED BY TEX DOT TO LET.

THE PROJECT IS. 27 BUDGET'S ALREADY BEEN PASSED, SO YES.

SO THE THE LETTING. YEAH. I'M NOT SURE HOW EXACT WHAT.

YEAH. IT SHOULD BE. THAT'S WHAT I'M ASKING. YEAH.

YEAH. NO, IF IF IT'S IN 27 IT SHOULD BE FROM THIS LIST.

IF IT'S ALREADY LET. YEAH. IF IT. YEAH. WELL SO THE, THE ARE YOU TALKING ON PAGE 12.

THE PICTURE. WELL THE PROJECT LIST ITSELF. 12010 PAGE 12 OF THE, THE ESTIMATED LET RANGE 27 IS ALREADY IDENTIFIED FOR LETTING BY TEXT.

YEAH. THEN THEY, WELL THEY HAVE UNTIL THE END OF SEPTEMBER TO LET. BUT I WOULD I, I BELIEVE THAT ALL THE 27 PROJECTS HAVE BEEN.

LET. NO, NO. OKAY. NOT ALL THE 27 PROJECTS HAVE NOT 26 HAS.

OH. OH YEAH. SO. 27. I'VE BEEN DEALING WITH IN AUSTIN ALREADY.

THAT'S CORRECT. SO ONE OF THOSE ON HERE CAN NOW BE TAKEN OFF THIS UDP OR UDP UTP.

SO THE THE ONES THAT CAN BE TAKEN OFF ARE THE ONES THAT ON THE, THE COMPARISON THAT I DID THAT SHOWS THE THE ONES THAT COME OFF.

SO NONE OF THESE ON THIS LIST ON PAGE 12 CAN BE TAKEN OFF.

YEAH. BECAUSE WE STILL HAVE FI 27 TO, TO MOVE.

SOME OF THOSE WERE TAKEN OFF BECAUSE THEY HAVE A DIFFERENT PAGE ON PAGE.

OH, I HAVEN'T GONE THAT FAR. SORRY. THANK YOU.

ALL RIGHT. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE THE UTP.

I'LL MAKE A MOTION. WE APPROVE THE UTP AS LAID OUT.

HAVE A MOTION TO HAVE A SECOND. OKAY, I'LL SECOND IT.

ALL RIGHT, WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR, SAY AYE. AYE.

ANY OPPOSED? UTP HAS BEEN APPROVED. MOVE TO ITEM NUMBER FIVE.

[5. Metropolitan Planning Organizations: History and Purpose (By the Texas Transportation Institute.)]

SINCE MY SCREEN IS NOT SYNCED WITH THAT SCREEN, I'M CARRYING A LOAD UP HERE, SO I'LL TRY AND KEEP THIS SYNCHRONIZED.

FOR YOU. THERE WE GO. SO I'LL INTRODUCE MYSELF AGAIN.

I'M JOHN OVERMAN WITH THE TEXAS A&M TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE AND RESEARCH SCIENTISTS THERE HAVE BEEN THERE 30 YEARS.

[00:15:01]

INTERESTING DISCUSSION ON THE, HOW THE FUNDING.

THIS IS OF COURSE, NATIONWIDE. IT'S NOT JUST TEXAS.

IF YOU REMEMBER, THE PREVIOUS AUTHORIZATION WAS THE LARGEST TRANSPORTATION AUTHORIZATION IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES, NOT BY A LITTLE BY A LOT. SO THE NEXT AUTHORIZATION WILL PROBABLY BE LESS THAN OR EQUAL TO.

SO IT'S NOT LIKE. SO A LOT OF DOTS ARE KIND OF LIKE TAPPING THE BRAKES A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S COMING.

THAT'S THE SHORT ANSWER. NOW WHAT WE'RE HERE TO TALK ABOUT TODAY.

LET ME GET MY SLIDE HERE. ARE YOU GOING TO DO IT. GET TO THIS FOR HOME PAGE.

I DON'T MIND DOING IT EITHER WAY. OKAY. SURE.

WELL, I USE BOTH MY FINGERS. SO THE OTHER THING I WANT TO LET YOU KNOW IS I'M HERE BY INVITATION.

WHO'S PAYING ME TO BE HERE AT VTEX DOT THE TPP DIVISION? HEADED BY TITO. BUT I WORK FOR CASEY WELLS AND A LOT OF TASKS.

THIS IS NOT THE FIRST MPO WE VISITED. THIS IS PROBABLY 6 OR 7 ON THE LIST OUT OF 24.

THIS IS A ROUTINE THING WE DO TO GO VISIT NPOS JUST SAY HI, EDUCATE BECAUSE THERE'S ALWAYS TURNOVER ON A BOARD.

OKAY. AM I RIGHT? AND IF YOU CAN SIT AT YOUR SEAT FOR 15, 20 YEARS, YOU DON'T NEED HELP ON ALL THOSE LITTLE THINGS.

SO WE'RE HERE TO HELP. I DON'T WANT TO COIN THAT TERM.

I AM WITH THE STATE. WE'RE HERE TO HELP. BUT WE ARE WE ARE A STATE AGENCY, AND WE CONTRACT WITH OTHER STATE AGENCIES AND INTER-LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES.

SO WE DO THIS PRETTY FREQUENTLY. ALL RIGHT. SO THAT'S THAT PART.

I WANT TO CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO A HANDBOOK THAT YOU HAVE THAT IN COOPERATION WITH TEXDOT.

WE WE PUT TOGETHER THERE USED TO BE ANOTHER ONE THAT WAS VERY COMMONLY USED.

I USE IT TO EDUCATE AND TEACH CLASSES ACROSS THE COUNTRY FOR NTI NATIONAL TRANSIT INSTITUTE AND NATIONAL HIGHWAY INSTITUTE ABOUT FOUR YEARS AGO.

THEY JUST QUIT IT. THEY WON'T POST IT. THEY DON'T DO IT.

SO WE HAD TEXAS NEEDED ITS OWN RIGHT. SO THAT'S JUST WHAT WE GOT.

I ENCOURAGE YOU THIS IS LIKE MP 0101. IT'S GOT A LOT OF WORDS IN IT.

IT'S KIND OF BUSY, BUT IT'S GOT A LOT OF GOOD GRAPHICS IN IT AS WELL.

SO IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION ON ANY OF THIS, THERE IS ONE MISTAKE I'LL POINT OUT RATHER THAN YOU POINTING IT OUT FOR ME, THE SHAPE OF ABILENE MPO IS INCORRECT ON THIS MAP, BUT WE HAVE CORRECTED IT.

ALRIGHT, CORRECTED IT ON THE SLIDE. THESE THINGS HAPPEN.

SHANE WOULD HAVE CORRECTED THEM. YEAH, I KNEW, SOMEBODY CATCH IT SO I'LL JUST TALK TO IT.

ALRIGHT. I'M JUST GOING TO OWN IT. BUT. BUT I WANT YOU TO TAKE A LOOK AT IT.

IT'S IT'S PRETTY DENSE STUFF. I GOT IT, I GOT IT, I CAN EVEN REMEMBER YOUR NAME.

I'LL NEED IT. RANDY. THERE YOU GO. SO THIS IS THE FIRST THING I WANT TO CALL OUT.

IT'S REALLY A GOOD BOOK. IT'S DESIGNED TO GO.

IF YOU WENT TO A HIGH SCHOOL CLASS, JUNIOR HIGH CLASS.

THIS IS WHAT'S AN MP. OH, AND WHAT DO THEY DO? THAT'S WHAT IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE. NOW I SAY HIGH SCHOOL.

OF COURSE, WE'RE WAY BEYOND THAT. BUT SOMETIMES YOU SPEAK A COMMON DENOMINATOR.

AND SO THAT'S WHAT THIS IS ABOUT. AND YOU'LL NOTICE SOME OF THE GRAPHICS ARE THE SAME.

SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE STRUCTURE OF MPOS, LET ME BLOW THIS UP A LITTLE BIT SO I CAN SEE GOOD ENOUGH.

YOU'LL SEE THERE'S THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF TEX-DOT PLANNING AND ADMINISTRATION ENGINEERING PROGRAM DELIVERY.

AND IT'S JUST KIND OF HIERARCHY OF A SUPPORT STRUCTURE.

EXCUSE ME FOR MC MPO SPORT SUPPORT. THERE ARE I'LL MENTION THIS AGAIN.

THERE ARE OVER 400 MPOS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. BIG ONES.

SMALL ONES, MEDIUM SIZED ONES. OKAY. THEY'RE ALL DIFFERENT.

THERE'S NOT ONE THAT'S VERY THE SAME. THEY'RE SIMILAR.

THEY'RE SIMILAR. BUT ANYWAY, THIS IS THE THE ONE ON ONE VERSION OF THAT.

LET'S START AT THE BEGINNING HERE. THE THREE C'S IS WHAT THEY'RE CALLED CONTINUING COOPERATIVE AND COMPREHENSIVE.

THIS GOES BACK 60 YEARS WHEN THEY FIRST HAD THE FIRST HIGHWAY ACT, AND THEY WANTED TO SAY, WHAT KIND OF TRANSPORTATION PLANNING DO WE WANT TO DO? AND IT INVOLVES THESE THREE WORDS CONTINUING BECAUSE WE'RE ALWAYS DOING IT.

COOPERATIVE BECAUSE IF WE DON'T WORK TOGETHER, IT DOESN'T GET DONE.

AND COMPREHENSIVE BECAUSE IT COVERS ALL THE MODES AND EVERYONE ELSE.

I SEE, THERE WE GO. ALL RIGHT. THIS IS DICK AND JANE 101.

[00:20:04]

SOME OF THE SIGNIFICANT MILESTONES AS FAR AS LEGISLATION GOES.

WE HAVE NEPA, WHICH IS NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT.

THAT WAS AN OUTCOME, ACTUALLY. HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF OVERTON V VOLPE, WHICH IS A FAMOUS SUPREME COURT CASE? IF YOU'VE BEEN TO MEMPHIS, ANYBODY BEEN TO MEMPHIS ON I-40? OKAY. WHEN YOU'RE GOING EASTBOUND AND YOU NOTICE WHEN YOU CROSS THE MISSISSIPPI, YOU SUDDENLY THIS INTERSTATE JUST TAKES A LEFT TURN AND GOES AROUND LIKE THIS.

WELL, ENGINEERS LIKE TO DRAW STRAIGHT LINES BACK THEN. AND THEY DREW A STRAIGHT LINE RIGHT FROM I-40, RIGHT THROUGH THIS PLACE CALLED OVERTON PARK.

AND THERE WAS A LOT OF DOCTORS, ENGINEERS, LAWYERS, AND THEY DIDN'T WANT INTERSTATE IN THE YARD.

AND THEY FOUGHT AND THEY WON AND THEY FOUGHT.

VOLPE WAS THE TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY AT THE TIME.

SO IT WAS A LANDMARK CASE. AND AS A RESULT OF THAT ACT, WE DO A LOT OF PUBLIC OUTREACH.

WE DON'T JUST DRAW LINES, WE TRY TO AVOID SENSITIVE RECEPTORS.

SO IF YOU'RE WONDERING WHY WE DO IT, IT GOES BACK TO 1969.

ALL RIGHT, SO WHAT ELSE WE GOT? CLEAN AIR ACT 1990 ICED TEA WAS LIKE THE FIRST COMPREHENSIVE TYPE TRANSPORTATION AUTHORIZATION. THEN WE HAD TEA 21 IN 98, 2012 WAS MATT 21.

IS THAT RIGHT? YEAH, I'M LOOKING UP THERE. AND THEN 2015 IS FIXING AMERICA'S FAST ACT.

AND THEN THE LAST ONE, 2021 WAS ISAIAH IS GENERALLY WHAT WE CALL IJA.

AND IT WAS ALMOST DOUBLE WHAT THE PREVIOUS ONE WAS.

A LOT OF STUFF IN THERE. SO EVERYBODY GOT REALLY EXCITED AND BUILT LOTS OF STUFF.

THERE ARE LOTS OF MONEY FLOWING IN GRANTS AND THINGS. WE'LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.

ANY QUESTIONS SO FAR? I DON'T WANT TO MAKE THIS TOO MUCH OF A HISTORY LESSON.

I KEEP ALL THESE GOING STRAIGHT. ALL RIGHT, HERE'S THE FINE PRINT.

I'M NOT GOING TO GO THROUGH ALL THIS, BUT YOU HAVE IT FOR REFERENCE.

OKAY. THESE ARE ALL THE CODES, REGS AND TEXAS ADMINISTRATIVE CODES.

SO THAT FIRST COLUMN, USC, THAT'S BASICALLY THE LAW.

OKAY. THEY TAKE WHAT'S PASSED IN THE AUTHORIZATION.

THEY PUT IT INTO CODE TO CODIFY IT. THEN FROM THERE, THE ADMINISTRATION'S PUT MAKE REGULATIONS.

AND SO THERE ARE ALL THE REGULATIONS. WE DON'T INVENT THIS STUFF.

WE FOLLOW THE RULES AND THE CODES. AND THEN FINALLY IN TEXAS, THERE'S THE TAC.

AND THOSE ARE ALL THE LINKS AND THINGS THAT YOU NEED.

AND BELIEVE IT OR NOT, OCCASIONALLY YOU WILL GET INTO THE WEEDS AS AN MPO.

NOT OFTEN YOU'VE GOT CRAIG TO HELP YOU NAVIGATE THAT.

YOU CAN ALWAYS CALL US TO HELP YOU NAVIGATE IT. BUT IT'S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE.

IT'S JUST ALL THERE. SO WHAT IS AN MPO? ANYBODY WANT TO TELL ME WHAT MPO IS? NO. THAT'S WHY YOU BROUGHT ME HERE, RIGHT? THAT'S WHY I CAME.

BELIEVE IT OR NOT, AN NPO IS SIMPLY A POLICY BOARD.

THERE ARE NPOS IN THIS COUNTRY WHO HAVE NO STAFF.

THERE ARE NPOS WITH MILLIONS OF PEOPLE IN THEM THAT HAVE NO STAFF.

THEY CONTRACT EVERYTHING WITH CONSULTANTS OR WHATEVER.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE A STAFF. MOST DO BECAUSE YOU WANT YOUR LOCAL TALENT WORKING THERE.

SO THE POLICY BOARD OF THE AGENCY CREATED AND DESIGNED TO CARRY OUT THE METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION PLANNING PROCESS FOR AN URBANIZED AREA.

WHAT, MAY YOU ASK, DEFINES AN URBANIZED AREA IS GREATER THAN 50,000 PEOPLE.

SO IF YOU'RE 45,000 PEOPLE IN YOUR AREA, YOU'RE NOT AN MPO.

IF YOU'RE 5000, THAT IS THE FLOOR FOR BEING AN MPO.

THERE IS NO CEILING. THERE'S A STEP IN BETWEEN AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT.

SO THAT'S THE ONE THING YOU NEED TO KNOW. SO A LOT OF PLACES DON'T GROW.

AT THE LAST REAUTHORIZATION, THEY THOUGHT ABOUT JUST DOING AWAY.

THEY'RE GOING TO JUST TAKE THE FLOOR TO LIKE 100, 200,000.

BUT THERE'S A PRETTY BIG OUTCRY, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE.

THAT'S FEDERAL MONIES THAT YOU GET TO DO YOUR PLANNING.

THE CORE FUNCTIONS OF AN MPO ARE TO ONE, ESTABLISH A SETTING.

THAT'S BASICALLY YOUR BOUNDARY. HOW BIG ARE YOU AND HOW BIG YOU ARE IS BASICALLY YOUR URBANIZED BOUNDARY.

SO ONCE SHE GETS LESS DENSE OUTSIDE OF A CITY LIMIT, OUTSIDE OF A COUNTY LINE, WHATEVER IT MAY BE, THE BOUNDARY IS DEFINED BY CENSUS. ONCE YOU GET A CERTAIN DENSITY, IT'S NOT INSIDE YOUR YOUR PLANNING AREA.

OKAY. SO THE LIMIT THE AREA AN MPO HAS AUTHORITY TO APPROVE AND DIRECT TRANSPORTATION PRIORITIES IS SET BY THAT BOUNDARY. THE NEXT THING YOUR MAIN RESPONSIBILITY TO IS TO EVALUATE ALTERNATIVES.

[00:25:09]

OKAY, SO YOU'VE GOT TO LOOK AT THE VARIOUS OPTIONS YOU HAVE.

YOU ALSO HAVE SOME PRODUCTS, SOME THINGS THAT YOU'RE GETTING MONEY TO DO THAT YOU MUST PRODUCE.

BASICALLY, THIS IS WHAT I DID WITH THE MONEY.

OKAY. ONE OF THEM IS THE M T, P AND THAT IS YOUR LONG RANGE TRANSPORTATION PLAN.

OKAY. IT'S A 20 YEAR HORIZON. SO IT'S NOT FIVE YEARS.

IT'S NOT TEN YEARS. IT'S 20 YEARS. SO WHEN YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT YOUR PLAN, YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU'RE THINKING INTO THE FUTURE, NOT A THREE YEAR, FIVE YEAR LETTING SCHEDULE.

OKAY. THAT'S THE MANAGEMENT PART OF IT. OKAY.

AND THEN DEVELOP A TIP, WHICH IS THE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.

NOW THERE WAS A PLAN. A PROGRAM PROGRAM IS A LIST OF PROJECTS LIKE YOU SAW IN THAT UTP LIST.

OKAY. UTP UNIFIED TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM IS UNIQUE TO TEXAS.

IN ONE SENSE. THEY HAVE A NAME FOR IT, BUT MOST STATE DOTS HAVE LIKE 8 TO 10 YEAR LIST OF PROGRAM BECAUSE THAT'S HOW YOU CASH FLOW FORECAST.

YOU KNOW, EVEN THOUGH A TIP ONLY LIVES FOUR YEARS OF THE PROJECT OR FOUR YEARS OF PROJECTS, THE UTP GOES TO TEN BECAUSE IT'S IN ORDER TO GET THE CASH FLOW AND ROLLING, YOU KNOW HOW LONG THIS TAKES.

IT'S BETTER TO LOOK AT A TEN YEAR WINDOW THAN JUST A FOUR YEAR WINDOW, WHEN IT CAN TAKE YOU TWO YEARS TO GET FROM PLANNING TO DESIGN TO LETTING.

IS THAT ABOUT RIGHT? I MEAN, YOU KNOW, SMALL PROJECT.

YOU'RE LUCKY YOU CAN DO IT IN LESS THAN A YEAR WHEN THINGS START GETTING TO A CERTAIN SIZE.

IT'S A YEAR OR TWO, ESPECIALLY IF THEY'RE BIG.

ALRIGHT, SO THOSE OF YOU, THAT'S WHAT AN MPO IS.

LET'S GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE. TAKING A CHECK HERE.

I DON'T WANT TO PUT YOU TO SLEEP. THIS IS FASCINATING STUFF.

I'VE BEEN DOING IT FOR 25 YEARS. IT CHANGES A LITTLE BIT OVER TIME.

ALL RIGHT. OH, THAT ONE DIDN'T GO. I GOTTA GO BACKWARDS.

EXCUSE ME. I GOT TOO MANY BUTTONS. THERE WE GO.

COME ON. BUTTON. YEAH, I'LL JUST BEAR WITH ME.

I COULD DO IT WITHOUT MY NOTES. ALL RIGHT, SO WHO ARE THE MPO PARTNERS? YOU SEE ALL THESE LITTLE CIRCLES? AND IN THE CENTER OF THAT IS THE MPO POLICY BOARD.

THAT'S ALL YOU GUYS. OKAY. BUT YOU'VE GOT A LOT OF FOLKS WHO WORK WITH ALL THOSE PEOPLE ON THE OUTER RING OF THE CIRCLE.

WE'VE GOT THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, GOT FEDERAL HIGHWAYS, FEDERAL TRANSIT MEMBER AGENCIES.

THE PUBLIC AND AFFECTED. I CAN'T READ IT. EXCUSE ME.

INTEREST. INTEREST. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I'M GONNA BLOW THAT SOME MORE.

AND THEN. TRANSPORTATION PRACTITIONERS. I'M SORRY.

PROVIDERS, PROVIDERS AND OPERATORS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

APPRECIATE THE HELP. DOES THIS MAKE SENSE TO YOU, Y'ALL FOLKS? OKAY. Y'ALL FAMILIAR WITH ALL THIS GETTING NODDING HEADS? THESE ARE ALL THE PEOPLE THAT MAKE IT HAPPEN. ALL RIGHT. SO WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MPO, TXDOT, AND OTHER AGENCIES? YOU CAN MAKE IT SIMPLE.

IT CAN BE COMPLICATED, BUT YOU MUST ACKNOWLEDGE THAT IT'S THERE BECAUSE IT IS A COOPERATIVE PROCESS.

OKAY. NO SINGLE AGENCY HOLDS ALL THE KEYS. NO SINGLE AGENCY MAKES ALL THE DECISIONS.

OKAY? WE WORK TOGETHER TO GET THESE THINGS DONE.

STATES TYPICALLY OPERATE AND MAINTAIN THE HIGHEST VOLUME OF ROADWAYS.

I'LL PROBABLY SAY THIS AGAIN LATER. AN MPO DOES NOT DESIGN, BUILD, OPERATE ANYTHING.

OKAY. THAT'S ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS IS NO, YOU THE DOT STATE DOT PRETTY MUCH DOES 90% OF THE ROAD WORK IN THE STATE OF TEXAS COUNTY CITIES DO SOME MORE? IN SOME STATES, THE DOT ON EVERY INCH OF ASPHALT AND CONCRETE.

NOT THIS STATE. MOST STATES DON'T. IT'S MORE LIKE THE COMMONWEALTH STATES THAT OWN ALL THE SMALLER ONES.

SO KEEP THAT IN MIND. CITIES AND COUNTIES ARE MPO MEMBER AGENCIES THAT CONTRIBUTE AND MAINTAIN THEIR PRINCIPAL ROADWAYS, SO THEY HAVE A VESTED INTEREST ON IT.

TRANSIT OPERATORS PROMOTE AND RUN THE TRANSIT SYSTEMS. OKAY. FOR MOST MPOS AND ALL MPOS THAT ARE TMAS, WHICH MEANS THERE ARE GREATER.

TWO 200 000 MUST HAVE A SEAT ON THE POLICY BOARD THAT REPRESENTS THE TRANSIT AGENCIES.

[00:30:04]

SO MPOS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ACTIVELY SEEKING PARTICIPATION FROM ALL AGENCIES AND STAKEHOLDERS IN THAT METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION PLANNING PROCESS.

ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT WHO DOES WHAT? I WOULD ONLY ADD TO THE.

I THINK A FUNDAMENTAL, IMPORTANT ASPECT OF MPO IS.

THAT KEEPING THE FOCUS ON DEVELOPMENT WITHIN A JURISDICTION, YOU NEED LOCAL PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE WHO'VE WATCHED IT HAPPEN KNOW HOW IT IMPACTS THEIR COMMUNITY.

AND THAT'S AND PEOPLE MAYBE THAT WORK FOR THE STATE THEY MAY LIVE HERE, THEY MAY BE PART OF THAT.

LIKE WE HAVE FOLKS LIKE THAT, BUT THEY MAY NOT KNOW HOW ANYTHING THAT GETS PROPOSED MIGHT IMPACT THE COMMUNITY.

SO I THINK BILL PROVIDES THAT COLLABORATIVE INPUT ON FOLKS FROM THE LOCAL LEVEL, FROM MANY DIFFERENT JURISDICTIONS WITHIN THAT AREA. TO ME, THAT'S REALLY ONE OF THE MORE FUNDAMENTALLY IMPORTANT PARTS ABOUT BEING 100% AGREE.

AND THAT'S THE WAY MPOS WERE ESTABLISHED TO BE.

VERY GOOD POINT. THANK YOU. RANDY. ANYBODY ELSE? ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? OKAY. SO MPOS, WHAT ARE THEY? WELL. THEY'RE AN AREA, URBANIZED AREA GREATER THAN 50,000.

AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, THAT BOUNDARY IS DETERMINED BY.

DATA FROM THE US CENSUS THAT THE FHWA HAS THE FINAL SAY ON.

SO THEY TAKE CENSUS DATA AND MAKE THE BOUNDARY.

BECAUSE IT'S NOT AS SIMPLE AS JUST. THAT'S WHERE IT COMES FROM.

AND THEY PUBLISH THAT IN THE CFR. THERE ARE MORE THAN 430 MPAS DESIGNATED NATIONWIDE.

THERE ARE SOME THAT ARE NOT EVEN 50,000, BUT THEY HAVE ENOUGH VISITORS TO MERIT BEING CALLED AN MPO.

AND I GOT SPECIAL DISPENSATION FOR THAT. YOU CAN THINK OF LAKE TAHOE IF YOU'VE EVER BEEN IN LAKE TAHOE.

IT'S NOT THAT POPULATED EXCEPT IN PEAK SEASON.

AND THEY GOT A THAT'S THAT'S CHASING THE BUNNY TRAIL ANYWAY IN TEXAS, WHICH IS WHAT WE REALLY CARE ABOUT, RIGHT? THERE ARE 24 MPAS. THERE USED TO BE 25.

THEY CONSOLIDATED THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY FROM 3 TO 1.

AND THEN WE HAVE A NEW ONE. THE NEWEST MPO IS EAGLE PASS, TEXAS.

SO VERSE 24, IN TEXAS, WHEN YOU HAVE POPULATIONS WITHIN AN URBANIZED AREA THAT EXCEED THEN IT'S CALLED A TMA, BUT IF YOU TAKE ZOOM OUT AND YOU LOOK AT ALL THE MPOS IN TEXAS REPRESENTED BY MPOS, THAT'S 25.6 MILLION PEOPLE LIVING IN MPOS IN TEXAS, WHICH IS A LOT.

THE TOTAL POPULATION OF TEXAS RIGHT NOW IS 30, 29, 30 MILLION, GIVE OR TAKE.

PRETTY CLOSE. ANY QUESTIONS ON HOW YOU STACK UP? SO WHO ARE THESE MPOS? HERE'S A MAP. THIS 1ST MAY NOT HAVE BEEN CORRECTED, BUT I'D HAVE TO GO ZOOM IN.

I THINK IT IS. I THINK I GOT THE NEW ONE FOR ABILENE TO MAKE SURE YOU GET THE RIGHT BOUNDARY.

THERE'S LOTS OF THEM. OKAY, SO WE'VE GOT WE CALL THEM THE BIG SIX, WHICH IS DFW, HOUSTON, GALVESTON, AUSTIN, ALAMO, RIO GRANDE VALLEY, AND EL PASO.

THEY'RE ALL IN THE MILLIONS. ALL RIGHT. DFW IS ABOUT 8 TO 9 MILLION.

HOUSTON IS ABOUT THE SAME. BIG. OKAY. THEN WE HAVE THE TMA OTHER TMAS, WHICH INCLUDE AMARILLO, BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, CORPUS KILLEEN, TEMPLE, LAREDO, LUBBOCK AND PERMIAN BASIN.

OKAY. THOSE ARE OVER 200,000. AND THERE ARE CERTAIN SPECIAL RULES FOR TMAS.

THEN WE HAVE NON TMAS THERE UNDER 200 K, INCLUDING ABILENE.

ALWAYS COMES FIRST ON THE LIST BECAUSE IT'S ALPHABETICAL. I'M SURE YOU'RE USED TO THAT. BUT EVERY TIME I DO A SORT I ALWAYS KNOW WHERE TO START.

EAGLE PASS, GRAYSON COUNTY, LONGVIEW, SAN ANGELO, SOUTHEAST TEXAS, WHICH IS BASICALLY BEAUMONT, PORT ARTHUR, TYLER, VICTORIA I FORGOT TEXARKANA, WACO AND WICHITA FALLS.

THAT'S EVERYBODY. I DON'T SEE ANOTHER ONE COMING ALONG.

COULD BE. WHO KNOWS. SO WHAT IS THE MPO PLANNING AREA FOR ABILENE? SO IT WAS DESIGNATED IN 1974. 2025 POPULATION 154,000.

EXPECTED TO GROW IN THE NEXT 25 YEARS TO 176.

[00:35:04]

SERVES 788MI². AND YOUR BOUNDARY WAS LAST UPDATED IN 2026.

AND THAT'S WHY WE HAD THE MISTAKES IN THE MAP BECAUSE WE DIDN'T GET THE UPDATE ON THAT.

ANY QUESTIONS ON THAT. DOES IT LOOK LOOK RIGHT.

Y'ALL HAVE GOTTEN BIGGER AND AND URBANIZED. NOW IF YOU GET THE YOUR BASE EXPANSION OR WHATEVER, THINGS MIGHT CHANGE. I CAN TELL YOU SIMILAR STORY WITH WICHITA FALLS THAT HAS AN AIR FORCE BASE.

THEY SEASONALLY GO UP AND DOWN. BUT THEY GREW AND GREW AND GREW AND THEN THEY WENT DOWN AND DOWN.

AND I MEAN, THEY'RE ALWAYS RIGHT AROUND 100,000.

THEY HAVEN'T CHANGED A WHOLE LOT. IF I WAS GOING TO GUESS THIS, THIS IS FROM WHAT I'VE SEEN IN OTHER TEXAS AREAS.

YOU'RE PROBABLY GOING A LITTLE FASTER, WHICH IS A GOOD THING.

WE LOVE THAT. WE LOVE THAT. SO WHAT IS AN MPO REALLY? THE MPO, LIKE I MENTIONED EARLIER, IS BASICALLY A POLICY BOARD.

MANY MPO NOT A HUGE NUMBER OR SMALL. THEY JUST HIRE OUT EVERYTHING AND THEY DO ALL THE STUFF THEMSELVES.

IN TEXAS, WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING LIKE THAT. BUT YOU'LL SEE TRANSPORTATION POLICY BOARD AND THEN THERE'S A FISCAL AGENT.

SO IF YOU'RE SUCH A SMALL ORGANIZATION, YOU DON'T NEED HR DEPARTMENT, YOU DON'T NEED YOUR OWN ACCOUNTING SYSTEM.

YOU DON'T NEED JUST LIKE LOTS OF GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, IS THERE A SUBSET OR EQUIVALENT OF ANOTHER AGENCY? SO YOU GET EFFICIENCY RUNNING, DOING THE BUSINESS END OF AN ORGANIZATION.

OKAY, SO IN THIS CASE, THE FISCAL AGENT IS THE CITY OF ABILENE.

CORRECT. OKAY. MAKING SURE IN SOME PLACES IT'S A COG.

COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS WHICH GO BEFORE WHICH WERE CREATED BEFORE MPOS WERE ESTABLISHED ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.

SO IN TEXAS, IT'S ABOUT HALF AND HALF. HALF MPOS HAVE A COG AS A FISCAL AGENT AND ABOUT HALF IS CITIES.

I'VE GOT THE ACTUAL COUNT, BUT IT'S CLOSE TO THAT ABOUT A HALF AND A HALF.

MANY MPOS. AFTER YOUR TRANSPORTATION BOARD, YOU HAVE A TECHNICAL COMMITTEE THAT WOULD BE THE CITY ENGINEER PEOPLE, TECH STOCK MEMBERS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. PEOPLE WHO TECHNICALLY KNOW ABOUT THE TRANSPORTATION PLANNING, PROGRAMING AND ENGINEERING ASPECT. AND WHAT YOU HAVE ON THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE WILL INCLUDE ELECTED LEADERS, POLICY LEADERS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

THE COMPOSITIONS. THERE ARE RULES FOR HOW A BOARD CAN BE COMPOSED.

I SAY ONE OF THOSE. ONE OF THOSE RULES IS IF YOU'RE OVER 200,000, YOU MUST HAVE.

AND I USE THE WORD MUST LIGHTLY HAVE A MEMBER FROM TRANSIT.

IT'S A GOOD IDEA TO DO THAT ANYWAY. OKAY. I SHOULD HAVE SILENCED THAT.

ALL RIGHT. MOVING AHEAD HERE. WHO IS A MEMBER OF THE POLICY BOARD? THERE WE GO. COMPOSITION IS COOPERATIVELY, COOPERATIVELY DETERMINED BY STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.

THERE'S WIDE VARIATION. I DON'T KNOW HOW WIDE THE SIZE.

YOU GO TO A BIG METRO AREA LIKE DALLAS FORT WORTH, 32 BOARD MEMBERS.

OKAY. BUT YOU'VE GOT 60, 70 MEMBER CITIES, SO IT'S A DIFFERENT SCALE.

THERE ARE NO TWO ALIKE, BUT SCALE REALLY MATTERS A LOT.

GENERALLY IT'S A SOCIO ECONOMIC MIX. SO YOU WANT TO REPRESENT THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY? BOARD MUST REPRESENT 75% OF THE AFFECTED POPULATION WITHIN YOUR URBANIZED AREA.

QUESTIONS ON THAT. THIS IS ONE ON ONE. SO WHAT IS THE POLICY BOARD? AND WE HAVE OUR POLICY BOARD HERE TODAY. THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH FOR COMING IN AND TAKING TIME TO LISTEN.

WE IN SOME AREAS IT'S GOOD TO SEE TURNOUT BECAUSE IN SOME AREAS IT'S HARD TO GET TURNOUT.

SO WE APPRECIATE PEOPLE WHO DRIVE ON THE ROADS, APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT YOU SHOW UP AND DO YOUR JOB.

ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S IMPORTANT TO A LOT OF US WHO ARE IN THIS BUSINESS IS THAT WHEN YOU HAVE A BOARD LIKE THIS, IT'S IMPORTANT TO THINK I MENTIONED BEFORE MORE THAN 3 TO 5 YEARS OF THE LENDING SCHEDULE.

YOU KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE, YOU KNOW WHAT GOES ON IN YOUR COUNTY, YOUR CITY.

YOU NEED TO THINK ABOUT YOUR TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM AND WHAT YOU NEED IT TO BE.

NOT IN FIVE YEARS, BUT IN TEN YEARS. IN 20 YEARS, THINK LONGER TERM.

[00:40:06]

THEIR FIRST AGREEMENT IS THE DESIGNATION WHICH IS SIGNED AND APPROVED BY THE GOVERNOR.

OKAY. THE SECOND ONE IS A TXDOT PLANNING AGREEMENT.

WHAT THAT MEANS IS YOU ARE ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE FEDERAL FUNDS BECAUSE YOUR PLANNING FUNDS COME FROM THE FEDS TO THE STATE AND THEN TO YOU.

OKAY. FTA IN SOME OF THEIR FUNDING, LIKE 5307 FOR A LARGE URBAN, MAYBE NOT A SMALL URBAN.

THEY RECEIVED THEIR FUNDS DIRECTLY, THEY'RE CALLED A DIRECT RECIPIENT.

THERE IS SOME LANGUAGE IN THE NEW AUTHORIZATION THAT WAS THINKING ABOUT OR MENTIONS.

LONG WAY TO GET PASSED AS HAVING MPOS BECOME DIRECT RECIPIENTS.

SO YOU WOULD NOT GET YOUR FEDERAL FUNDS DIRECT.

YOU WOULDN'T GET THEM FROM TEXDOT. THEY WOULD COME DIRECTLY TO YOU.

IT'S NOT A LAW YET. IT'S JUST DISCUSSION. LET ME SEE IF I CAN GET THIS TO.

I AM FROZEN THERE, BUT I CAN KEEP GOING ON THE OTHER.

AND THEN YOU HAVE THE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION OPERATOR, WHICH SPECIFIES HOW THE COOPERATION TRANSPORTATION PLANNING WORKS BETWEEN THE MPO AND TRANSIT AGENCIES. IN MOST PLACES, YOU HAVE A TRANSIT AGENCY WITH A SMALL, URBAN, LARGE, URBAN OR METRO AGENCY.

YOU'RE NOT A METRO AGENCY HERE. IS THAT CORRECT? IT IS A METRO AGENCY. NO, DIDN'T THINK SO. DO YOU HAVE A SALES TAX DEVOTED TO.

OKAY. SO DEPENDING ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TRANSIT AGENCY IS YOU AGREE ON A RELATIONSHIP.

OKAY. TRANSIT HAS A SPECIFIC PURPOSE AND MISSION THEY NEED TO ACCOMPLISH.

SO THE MPO AGENCY SHOULD WORK TOGETHER, HAVE THE COMMON GOAL.

IN FACT, YOUR METROPOLITAN PLAN, YOUR OVERALL GOALS SHOULD BE CONSISTENT WITH THE STATE GOALS ARE YOU DON'T NEED TO GO ROGUE.

LET'S MOVE THE SHIP IN THE SAME DIRECTION AND ACTUALLY AVOIDS THINGS LIKE BUILDING A ROAD TO NOWHERE OR DOING THINGS IS NOT REALLY NEEDED.

THAT'S MY OPINION. NEXT UP, WHAT ARE THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES IN MPO? MPOS AREN'T EVERYTHING TO EVERYBODY. LET ME MAKE SURE I GET THIS ONE UP HERE.

FIRST YOU HAVE FUNDING CONSTRAINTS. WOULDN'T IT BE NICE IF YOU HAD ALL THE MONEY YOU NEEDED? OKAY. BUT YOU DON'T. YOU GET A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF PLANNING MONEY.

YOU DO GET DECISION MAKING AUTHORITY OF A PRETTY GOOD CHUNK OF CONSTRUCTION DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION MONEY, WHICH IS A GOOD THING. THERE ARE REGULATORY LIMITS.

ALL RIGHT. LET ME FIND THIS SLIDE BECAUSE I'M NOT GETTING COOPERATION FROM IT.

THIS MACHINE. GIVE ME JUST A SECOND SO I DON'T MISS ANYTHING.

16. GOING TOO FAR IN THE WRONG DIRECTION. GEOGRAPHIC RESTRICTION.

THAT, OF COURSE, IS BOUND BY YOUR URBANIZED AREA AND WHAT THAT IS.

AND THEN DEPENDANCE ON EXTERNAL POLICY FRAMEWORK.

CAN YOU SAY WHAT IS THE CURRENT LAY OF THE LAND, LAND OF THE LAW AND WHAT YOU CAN AND CAN'T DO? THOSE ARE FAIRLY WELL DESCRIBED. IN THE RULES THAT I SHOWED EARLIER.

THERE'S ALSO STATE RULES. NOW THE STATE RULES MAY ADD TO A LITTLE BIT.

SO AN EXAMPLE OF THIS. THERE USED TO BE A TIME WHEN BEFORE WE HAD UTPS.

OKAY. THE STATE DIDN'T HAVE THEM. OKAY. BUT WHEN THE STATE DID IT, THEY WANTED ALL THE NPOS TO DO IT.

SO NOW IT'S A STATE REQUIREMENT THAT EACH MPO DOES THIS TEN YEAR PROGRAM OF WORK, WHICH MAKES SENSE.

OKAY. SO THAT'S AN INSTANCE WHERE THE STATE SAID WE'RE GOING TO ADD ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITY.

EXTENDED ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITY. YOUR COORDINATION ROLE.

IT IS YOUR JOB TO COORDINATE WITH YOUR LOCAL MUNICIPALITIES, COUNTIES, TRANSIT AGENCIES AND STAKEHOLDERS.

THAT'S THE MTA'S JOB TO BE COOPERATIVE. REGIONAL ENDPOINTS DETERMINE INVESTMENT PRIORITIES. THAT'S YOUR BASICALLY NUMBER TWO, IT'S YOUR JOB TO PRIORITIZE HOW YOU INVEST IN TRANSPORTATION.

THREE BE MULTIMODAL IN YOUR APPROACH. NOW THESE ARE WRITTEN INTO LAWS.

I DIDN'T MAKE THESE UP. OKAY. THE RULES ARE THERE FOR A REASON.

YOU NEED TO ADDRESS A BROAD SPECTRUM. NOW, I HAPPEN TO BE A CYCLIST, SO I ALWAYS APPRECIATE WHEN WE HAVE CYCLING PROJECTS APPROVED.

[00:45:03]

IT WASN'T ALWAYS THIS WAY, BUT FREIGHT IS VITALLY IMPORTANT TO OUR ECONOMY.

AND THEN DATA AND ANALYSIS CAPACITY. YOU GOT TO COLLECT DATA.

THESE ARE INFORMED DECISIONS BASED ON DATA, NOT ON THIS IS WHAT I WANT.

NEXT UP WHO IS THE STAFF. WELL IN THIS CASE YOU HAVE NOT THE BIGGEST MPO IN THE STATE, BUT NOT AN UNUSUAL SITUATION WHERE YOU HAVE AN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR IN CRAIG.

THERE'S TWO VACANCIES I SEE MPO PLANNER AND A COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER.

THAT IS NOT UNUSUAL. IF YOU LOOK AT MOST MPO.

NOW YOU TAKE DFW AND CT COPY. THERE'S PROBABLY 200 STAFFERS, BUT THEY'RE ALSO TALKING OF BEING SOMETHING DOLLARS A YEAR.

RIGHT. SCALE IS DIFFERENT, RIGHT. SO YOU KIND OF NEED TO KNOW WHAT THE DIFFERENCES ARE.

ALL RIGHT. BIG PICTURE PLANNING PROCESS. I'M GOING TO WRAP IT UP HERE PRETTY QUICK.

IF YOU GO THIS DIAGRAM, THIS IS BASICALLY SCHEMATIC PART OF HOW YOU WOULD DO THIS.

LET ME GET DOWN HERE. THERE WE GO. FINALLY EVERYONE'S MOVING AND I CAN SEE IT.

YOUR JOB WHEN YOU DO THE MTP IS TO PROVIDE VISION AND GOALS.

WHAT DO YOU WANT ABILENE METROPOLITAN AREA TO BE LIKE IN 20 YEARS, NOT FIVE YEARS.

20 YEARS. OKAY. YOU NEED TO HAVE DIFFERENT STRATEGIES.

NOT ONE SOLUTION FOR ALL. GOING DOWN THE CYCLE, YOU CAN SEE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM OPERATIONS AND MANAGEMENT.

LOTS OF THINGS. NOW ON A BIG MPO, THIS GETS QUITE COMPLICATED.

BUT YOU CAN DO IT BECAUSE YOU GOT THE STAFF TO DO IT.

ANOTHER METHOD IS ON A HOW TO BASIS. IT'S CALLED PLAN WORKS.

CRAIG KNOWS THIS QUITE WELL. AND THIS USED TO BE THE FRAMEWORK FOR HOW WE DID A LOT OF THINGS.

IN MANY PLACES IT STILL IS, BUT IT'S AN EXCELLENT WAY TO GET THINGS DONE.

IT'S THE WAY TO, TO FORM THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS.

SO ANYTHING ALONG IN THIS FRAMEWORK WORKS WELL BECAUSE IT IS BETTER PLANNING AND IT IS COMPREHENSIVE.

NOW, THIS IS YOUR REPORT CARD. HERE'S WHO DOES WHAT.

ALL RIGHT. WHAT ARE THE KEY PRODUCTS? THE STATE HAS A STATEWIDE LONG RANGE PLAN.

THAT TOP ROW. OKAY. THEY ALSO HAVE A STIP. EVERYBODY KNOW WHAT THE STIP IS AND I WON'T EXPLAIN IT.

STIP IS THE COLLECTION OF ALL THE TIPS. AND THE MPOS CREATE THE TIPS GOES TO THE STATE.

THEY MAKE A TIP. THE STIP ALSO INCLUDES ANY NON-METRO PROJECTS.

OKAY. RURAL. AND THEN WE HAVE OUTREACH PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT AT EACH STAGE.

NOW AN MPO THERE'S THE UP. DOES EVERYBODY KNOW WHAT THE UP IS.

YOU CAN RAISE YOUR HAND. THIS IS THIS IS THE QUESTION.

IS THERE A UNIFIED PLANNING AND WORK PROGRAM? BASICALLY, THIS IS WHAT I'M GOING TO DO WITH THE MONEY.

AND THIS IS HOW I SPENT THE MONEY. THIS IS MY SCOPE, BUDGET AND SCOPE OF WORK FOR BEING AN MPO.

YOUR NUMBER ONE JOB IS TO DO THE PLAN MTP. OKAY, NEXT YOU DO THE TIP TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM, WHICH IS FOUR YEARS. ALL YOUR PROJECTS IN THE TIP MUST COME FROM YOUR PLAN.

THAT'S IN THE RULE. CONSISTENT WITH IS THE WORD MOST FREQUENTLY USED.

AND THEN YOU ALSO NEED A PARTICIPATION PLAN. THE LOCAL LEVEL YOU HAVE YOUR BUDGETS, APPROPRIATIONS, HOW YOU GET YOUR MONEY. THOROUGHFARE PLANS AT VARYING SIZES, YOUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM AND MUNICIPAL PRODUCTS AS SUCH.

SO WHO DEVELOPED WHO APPROVES? HERE WE GO. I WON'T GO THROUGH EVERY DETAIL, BUT IF YOU WANT TO KNOW THE RESPONSIBILITY, THIS IS IT. OKAY. THE STATE DOES THE PLAN. THEY'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR IT.

OKAY. THE UP IS APPROVED BY THE FEDS. ALL THESE PRODUCTS.

ARE COOPERATIVE, WORKING TOGETHER WITH BASICALLY THE FEDS.

THEY DO A LOT OF APPROVAL AND PROVIDE DATA. STATE, WHICH PROVIDES A LOT OF DATA AND RULES, AND THEN THE MPO CRANKING OUT THE WORK. OKAY, BUT NOBODY CAN DO THE JOB ALONE.

SO WHAT ARE THE POLICY BOARD'S PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES? THERE YOU CAN SEE IT'S THE UP THE PARTICIPATION PLAN, THE METROPOLITAN LONG RANGE PLAN, THE TIP.

NOW YOU ALSO CREATE OTHER TYPES OF PRODUCTS SUCH AS YOUR REGIONAL FLIGHT PLAN, YOUR REGIONAL RESILIENCY PLAN.

[00:50:01]

SO IT'S NOT JUST THE UP THE TIP AND THE MTP. WHAT IS THE ORDER? THERE YOU GO. YOU GOT TO HAVE A SCOPE OF WORK BEFORE YOU DO IT IN A BUDGET.

YOUR PRIMARY PRODUCT IS MTP, WHICH IS YOUR LONG RANGE PLAN.

YOUR TEN YEAR UTP, WHICH IS A TEXAS UNIQUE THING.

AND THEN YOU HAVE THE TIP. HERE'S A DESCRIPTION AND ALL THE LEGAL LEASE FOR A UUPWP. BELIEVE IT OR NOT, I HAVE READ MOST EVERY PWP IN THE STATE.

ISN'T THAT EXCITING? HOW WOULD YOU LIKE THAT? SOMEBODY'S GOT TO CHECK THEM. ALRIGHT, SO THIS IS ONE THING.

WE WORK TOGETHER WITH TEXDOT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE DOING IT.

AND WE MIGHT COACH OR HELP OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT IF SOMEBODY NEEDS SOME WORK.

BUT MOST MPOS HAVE BEEN DOING THIS, THEY GOT IT DOWN.

BUT THE ONE PROBLEM WE HAVE WITH, WITH IT'S NOT A PROBLEM CHALLENGE WE HAVE IS GETTING PEOPLE IN A PIPELINE TO WANT TO DO THE KIND OF WORK.

THAT THAT'S ANOTHER CHALLENGE WE HAVE IS MAKE SURE WE KEEP GETTING, WHETHER IT BE ENGINEERS, PLANNERS OR WHATEVER TO KEEP THIS PROCESS ROLLING.

SO YOU ASK YOURSELF SELF, MAYBE YOU DO, MAYBE YOU DON'T.

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PLANNING AND PROGRAMING? WELL, THEY BASICALLY GO TOGETHER. I TEACH A CLASS FOR NTI NATIONAL TRANSIT INSTITUTE BASICALLY ONLY ON PROGRAMING, BUT I CAN'T TEACH PROGRAMING HOW THAT'S DONE, LIKE DOING YOUR TIP AND YOUR STEP WITHOUT THE PLANNING PROCESS, BECAUSE THE PLANNING PROVIDES THE FRAMEWORK FOR HOW YOU PROGRAM FINANCIAL PROGRAMING.

SO YOU GOT TO NEED, YOU NEED TO KNOW WHAT YOU GOT.

WHAT IS THE PLAN? HERE WE GO. ALL THE STEPS, ALL PLANS ARE A LITTLE DIFFERENT.

YOU WANT TO KEEP IT SPECIFIC ENOUGH SO IT CALLS OUT TYPES OF PROJECTS AND PROJECTS.

BUT YOU WANT TO KEEP IT BROAD ENOUGH SO IT INCLUDES YOU DON'T MISS ANY BIG ROCKS, LET ME PUT IT THAT WAY.

YOU GET THE KIND OF PRIORITIZE WHERE YOU WANT TO SPEND YOUR MONEY.

YOU UPDATED AT LEAST EVERY FOUR YEARS. BIGGER AGENCIES, LARGER ENTITIES MIGHT DO AN ANNUAL TWEAK AMENDMENT.

I WON'T GO INTO THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AMENDMENTS AND ADMINISTRATIVE MODIFICATIONS, BUT YOU DON'T HAVE TO JUST COMPLETELY REDO IT.

BUT YOU DO NEED TO UPDATE IT AT LEAST EVERY FOUR YEARS.

WHAT IS THE TIP? TIP IS THE COLLECTION OF ALL THE PROJECTS YOU CAN DO IN THE NEXT FOUR YEARS.

IT'S NOT A WISH LIST. OKAY, VERY CLEARLY DEFINED WITH CLEARLY DEFINED PROJECTS.

PROJECT LIMITS. DESCRIPTIONS OF THOSE PROJECTS ARE VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE THAT'S USUALLY THE FIRST THING THAT GETS SCRUTINIZED BY WHETHER IT BE THE FEDS, YOUR PUBLIC, BECAUSE THEY GO, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? AND THEY'RE GOING TO READ THAT 20 WORD DESCRIPTION.

SO YOU WANT TO BE VERY TIGHT, VERY TIGHT, VERY ACCURATE.

AND THEN FUNDING REALITIES. WE TALKED ABOUT THIS EARLIER AND I'M WRAPPING THIS UP.

NOTHING IS GUARANTEED. IF I WAS LOOKING AT THE CRYSTAL BALL, WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? IT'LL BE ABOUT THE SAME OR LESS THAN LAST LAST AUTHORIZATION.

MY GUESS IS A LITTLE BIT LESS LESS. ONE OF THE THINGS THEY'RE GOING TO DO IS MAKE FUNDING MORE PROGRAMMATIC AND LESS COMPETITIVE AND DISCRETIONARY.

SO I DID A LOT OF WORK HELPING AGENCIES, STATE, LOCAL, WHATEVER, TRANSIT AGENCIES, LOTS OF TRANSIT AGENCIES PURSUE GRANTS.

SO I'D HELP THEM WRITE THE GRANTS, FILL OUT THE FORMS, DO ALL THE STUFF.

MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. THERE'S NOT GOING TO BE THAT.

THERE'S GOING TO BE MORE OF IT SAYS WE'RE JUST GOING TO PROGRAM THIS MONEY STRAIGHT TO THE PEOPLE WE THINK NEEDS IT, AND THAT'S AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL. SO THEY MIGHT HAVE A DIRECT PIPELINE IF THEY DO THIS, INSTEAD OF SENDING THE MONEY THROUGH THE STATE TO GO TO THE MPO, IT MAY BE THAT THEY GO RIGHT TO THE MPO BECAUSE THEY DO THAT ON THE TRANSIT SIDE.

THERE'S LOTS OF FUNDING PROGRAMS IN TRANSIT. DOESN'T GO THROUGH THE STATE TO GET THERE.

IT GOES STRAIGHT TO THE AGENCY AND OTHER AGENCIES OUTSIDE TRANSPORTATION DO THAT AS WELL.

THIS IS IT'S IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO KNOW IF YOU DON'T TRAVEL OUTSIDE THE STATE MUCH, GO TO OTHER MPOS MUCH.

TEXAS IS LUCKY AS HECK. PEOPLE WOULD KILL TO HAVE THE FUNDING WE HAVE.

IT IS UNMATCHED ANYWHERE IN THIS COUNTRY THAT I'VE VISITED.

ALRIGHT, PROP ONE AND PROP SEVEN PRODUCE A LOT OF MONEY.

IF YOU GO TO A LOT OF OTHER STATES, THEY GET 90% OF THEIR MONEY BACK AND THEY THINK THEY'RE GREAT.

WELL GUESS WHAT? IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, IT'S ABOUT 70, 80%.

WE, WE, WE MIGHT GET BACK, BUT WE FUND SO MUCH MORE.

[00:55:02]

SO YOU'RE LUCKY WE GOT LOTS OF MONEY COMPARED TO OTHER PLACES.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION. THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT IT SAYS IT IS.

TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY. IT HELPS. THIS IS ANOTHER THING THE FEDS LOOK AT RIGHT AWAY.

WHEN IT COMES TO ENGAGING THE PUBLIC, THIS IS JUST DIED ON ME, SO I GOTTA LOOK AT THIS INSTEAD.

DOO DOO DOO DOO. EXCUSE ME. SEE, WHEN WE'RE SYNCED UP, IT'S EASIER, BUT I'M NOT SYNCED UP.

YOU'LL HAVE TO PARDON ME ON THAT. THERE WE GO.

TAKE IT SERIOUSLY. HIRE PROFESSIONALS WHO KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING. DON'T SCHEDULE YOUR MEETINGS.

THIS IS CLICHE AT, YOU KNOW, TIMES WHEN NOBODY CAN MAKE IT.

I THINK IT'S GREAT IF YOU'RE IN A LIBRARY. I'M GUESSING THIS WASN'T ALWAYS.

IT COULD HAVE BEEN A FOOT LOCKER, FOR ALL I KNOW BEFORE THIS, BUT IT'S GOOD.

IT'S GOOD. HERE'S THE UTP DEFINITION. IT'S BASICALLY THE FRAMEWORK THAT TEXDOT WORKS WITH.

AND THEY WORK WITH ELECTED OFFICIALS AND LOCAL PLANNING ORGANIZATIONS.

IT'S VERY COOPERATIVE PROCESS TO DO PRIORITIZATION, PROJECT LEVEL PRIORITIZATION ON STATEWIDE BASIS.

THIS IS NOT A REQUIRED PRODUCT OF THE FEDS. IT'S SOMETHING TEXAS DOES THAT'S UNIQUE, BUT IT'S BASICALLY TEN YEARS OF THE STATE.

CREATING MULTIMODAL PLANNING, VERY IMPORTANT.

LOTS OF EMPHASIS ON THIS. LOTS OF INVESTMENT IN THIS, ESPECIALLY IN RAIL AND TRUCKS.

YOU DO HAVE A REGIONAL FREIGHT PLAN, CORRECT? THOUGHTS ON THAT. MAYBE I WAS MISTAKEN. BUT YOU KNOW WHERE THE TRUCKS ARE GOING.

YEAH. YEAH. YOU HAVE THE DATA. YOU NEED SAFETY PLANNING.

THIS SHOWS ACTIVITY. DON'T KNOW IF IT'S CRASHES WE HAVE.

OH, CRASHED BY TIME OF DAY. IS THAT TOP GRAPH? CRASHED BY MONTH, CRASH BY YEAR. AND IT TAILS OFF AT THE END THERE BECAUSE IT'S ONLY A HALF A YEAR REPORTING WE DID WE ALL PART OF THAT ONE? WE DID TWO YEARS AGO. THE ANALYSIS THERE'S BEEN QUITE A BIT OF ANALYSIS DONE ON THIS.

IF YOU NEED IT, ASK CRAIG. WE CAN FIND IT FOR YOU.

WE'VE GOT TONS OF DATA ON THAT. SO AS WE CLOSE IT OUT YOU NEED FOCUS ON THREE THINGS.

FUNDING. MAKE SURE YOU SPEND YOUR MONEY. WELL STAFF, THERE'S LOTS OF TURNOVER AND STAFF TYPICALLY AT, YOU KNOW, ENTRY AND LOWER LEVELS AND THEN DEMAND ON THE EXECUTIVE LEVEL.

WE HAVE 24 MPOS. THAT'S A LOT. OKAY. PLUS, MORE AND MORE IS DEMANDED OF YOU.

IT'S NOT AN EASY JOB. CONCLUDING. WHY ARE THERE MPOS? BECAUSE THEY PROVIDE A FORUM FOR TRANSPORTATION DECISION MAKING.

THEY LOOK AT THE LENS COMPREHENSIVELY. THEY LOOK AT THE LENS LONG TERM.

THEY MUST MAINTAIN AGREEMENTS WITH SEVERAL OTHER AGENCIES.

THEY CAN'T DO IT ALONE. SO THE BETTER YOU ARE AT INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS, STAY LOCAL, ADMIRE WHAT YOU DO. AND THE OTHER THING IS THAT YOU HAVE TWO SETS OF RULES.

YOU HAVE THE FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS AND THE STATE REQUIREMENTS.

SORRY, I WENT A LITTLE LONGER THAN I THOUGHT, BUT I WANT TO LEAVE SOME LEAVE SOME TIME FOR QUESTIONS.

I KNOW THAT WAS A LOT. I'M SICK OF HEARING MY OWN VOICE NOW.

I'M SURE YOU ARE TOO, BUT PLEASE ASK ME ANY QUESTIONS.

I DON'T MIND PLAYING STUMP. THE SPEAKER. YEAH.

THANK YOU. JOHN. SURE. AT THE BOTTOM, YOU CAN SEE THE CONTACT INFORMATION FOR CASEY AND BOB AND YOURSELF.

AND SO IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, YOU CAN REACH OUT TO CRAIG OR REACH OUT TO ME.

I'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER EMAILS IF SOMEONE HAD QUESTIONS AS WELL.

SO THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO COME HERE AND GIVE US A LITTLE HEADS UP ON WHAT WE'RE DOING AND HOW YOU'RE DOING A GREAT JOB, AND WE ALL APPRECIATE IT WHEN THINGS WENT SMOOTH.

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. MOVE TO ITEM NUMBER SIX.

[6. Discussion and review of transportation projects. (TxDOT Staff, City Staff, CityLink Staff)]

I WILL START OFF REALLY QUICK WITH THE REGIONAL COORDINATION PLAN.

SO EVERY FIVE YEARS WE HAVE TO PARTICIPATE IN PLANNING FOR SPECIALIZED TRANSIT, WHICH IS DISABLED VETERANS,

[01:00:03]

THEY WE DO NOW HAVE A IN WITHIN THE REGION A COORDINATOR FOR THAT.

IT, IT'S I JUST LOST THE NAME, BUT THE PLAN IS UNDERWAY AND THAT IS THE ADOPTION OF THAT PLAN BY US SHOULD HAPPEN IN YOUR NEXT MEETING. SO THAT IS INCLUDED.

SECOND IS UPDATE FROM TRANSIT. I INCLUDED JUST SOME PICTURES OF THE OF THE WORK, THE PHYSICAL FACILITIES, IMPROVEMENTS THAT THEY HAVE BEEN DOING.

AND NOW I HAVE TO GO SWITCH TO ANOTHER MAP IN ORDER FOR BRYCE TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE. DO IT.

GOOD AFTERNOON. BRYCE TARANTINE AREA OFFICE. MY PLEASURE, AS ALWAYS, TO PRESENT A FEW OF OUR SELECTED PROJECTS.

I'M NOT GOING TO GO THROUGH THE WHOLE LIST TODAY.

WE'LL JUST HIGHLIGHT A FEW. THANK YOU. I WASN'T SURE IF IT WOULD BE ABLE TO COME UP, SO I APOLOGIZE.

EVERYBODY IN THE AUDIENCE, I DIDN'T GET MY MAP OUT IN TIME FOR THE PACKET.

THAT GOES WITH EVERYTHING. WE'LL START THE TABLE ON TOP FOR THE CURRENT CONSTRUCTION.

JUST WANT TO HIT ON THE FIRST ONE. FM 89 BUFFALO GAP ROAD.

YES. BARRICADES ARE STILL UP. GOOD NEWS IS WE'RE DOWN TO WORKING WITH THE CONTRACTOR ON A PUNCH LIST SO THAT WE CAN GET THAT PROJECT DONE AND CLOSED OUT AND GET EVERY LAST SIGN OF THE LAST FOUR AND A HALF, FIVE YEARS OF CONSTRUCTION OUT OF THE WAY.

SO HAPPY TO SEE THAT ONE MOVING FORWARD. THE NEXT ONE IS ANOTHER MPO FOCUSED PROJECT.

IT'S OUR INTERCHANGE NORTH OF TOWN WITH FM 3034.

A LOT OF PEOPLE CALL IT BELTWAY NORTH. SOME PEOPLE CALL IT THAT OLD LANDFILL ROAD.

WE'RE BUILDING AN OVERPASS OVER THERE. WE'VE GOT THE WALLS PRETTY MUCH DONE, AND WE'RE HAVING OUR FIRST SLAB POUR TONIGHT.

SHOULD START ABOUT 1 A.M. IF ANYBODY'S INTERESTED.

YOU GOING TO BE THERE? I'LL BE THERE AT SOME POINT.

JUDGE. I MAY NOT BE THERE RIGHT AT ONE, BUT I'LL HAVE A LOT OF FOLKS ON SITE, THAT'S FOR SURE.

YEAH, WE'LL BE CHECKING THAT OUT LATER ON TONIGHT, THIS MORNING.

AND THE LAST ONE I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT WAS PROJECT NUMBER NINE.

IT'S OUR RECENT PROJECT ON FM 89 BUFFALO GAP ROAD.

IT RUNS FROM BASICALLY 707 DOWN TO BUFFALO GAP.

MAKES IT ALMOST A BUFFALO GAP. THAT PROJECT HAS STARTED.

NOW IT'S GOING TO INTRODUCE SOME TURN LANES FOR INCREASED SAFETY THROUGH THAT WHOLE CORRIDOR, WHICH WE KNOW HAS BEEN A CONCERN FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS.

THEY HAVE GOT STARTED ON IT. AND RIGHT NOW WE'VE GOT A WHAT'S KIND OF UNIQUE AND EXCITING FOR OUR AREA IS THEY'RE DOING A JACK AND BORE CULVERT UNDER THE HIGHWAY WITH LIVE TRAFFIC.

SO IT'S KIND OF COOL. THAT'S ALL THE ONES I'M GOING TO COVER UNDER CURRENT CONSTRUCTION.

UNLESS THERE ARE QUESTIONS WE'LL MOVE DOWN TO THE PLAN PROJECTS.

JUST WANT TO HIGHLIGHT TWO OF THOSE WILL BE PROJECTS NUMBER FIVE AND SIX.

NUMBER FIVE IS THE WALDRIP INTERCHANGE WHERE WINTERS FREEWAY, LOOP THREE, 22, AND TREADWAY ALL COME TOGETHER.

THAT'S THE PROJECT THAT THE BOARD JUST PUT INTO THE TIP RECENTLY.

WE THINK THOSE OPERATIONAL IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE'RE GOING TO DO THERE, WE'RE GOING TO REALIGN THE LOOP RAMP THAT'S BEEN PROBLEMATIC AND DO SOME OTHER CHANGES TO ADDING OXYGEN. SO THESE PROJECTS ARE NOT SOME OF OUR BIGGEST PROJECTS, BUT WE THINK THEY'RE GOING TO BASICALLY PUNCH ABOVE THEIR WEIGHT CLASS.

IF YOU WANT TO BRING US ABOUT SOME OUTSIZED POSITIVE IMPACT FOR OUR SAFETY AND OPERATIONS.

SO THAT'S THE ONE THAT'S MOVING RAPIDLY FORWARD THANKS TO IN AND UP ON THE TIP.

THE NEXT ONE IS THE PROJECT SIX. THAT IS INTERSECTION IMPROVEMENTS AT LUKE 322 AND STATE HIGHWAY 36 OR EAST SOUTH 11TH.

IT ALSO INCLUDES SOME IMPROVEMENTS ALONG THE ACCESS ROADS IN FRONT OF THE EXPO CENTER.

IN ORDER TO IMPROVE THE OPERATIONS, WE'RE LOOKING AT A COUPLE DIFFERENT CONFIGURATIONS FOR THE INTERSECTIONS AND ANALYZING THOSE TO DETERMINE WHAT THE BEST APPROACH IS GOING TO BE.

WE'RE GOING TO LOOK AT REALIGNING SOME RAMPS AND DOING SOME OTHER STUFF TO IMPROVE THOSE OPERATIONS.

SO WE THINK THAT'S GOING TO BE A REALLY POSITIVE BENEFIT TO ALL THE TRAFFIC IN THAT AREA.

THAT'S ALL THE ONES THAT I, PICKED OUT TO CHOOSE.

I'LL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT ANYTHING ON THE TABLE IF ANYBODY'S GOT ANY.

I'M THE ONE YOU JUST MENTIONED WHEN THAT WAS TALKED ABOUT BEFORE, RIGHT THERE BY THE EXPO CENTER, THERE WAS A LOT OF FEEDBACK FROM THE CITIZENS THAT LIVE IN THAT AREA.

[01:05:02]

IT'S NOT TO SAY WE WOULD JUST BE DONE AT AN MPO MEETING OR.

RIGHT. YEAH. WE'RE WORKING ON A LAYOUT RIGHT NOW.

I THINK IT'S ALREADY INCLUDED IN THE PLAN. SO I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY ACTION REQUIRED BY THE BOARD.

THE PROJECT'S ALREADY FUNDED AND PROCESSED. THE DESIGN IS ALREADY DONE.

BUT YEAH, THE DESIGN, WE'RE JUST WORKING ON THE FINAL DESIGN AND P.S.A.

HAS HAS JUST GOT KICKED OFF. AND SO WE COULD DEFINITELY BRING SOME UPDATES TO SOME OF THE MEETINGS.

IF YOU'D LIKE A MORE DETAILED LAYOUT THAN WHAT WE NORMALLY HAVE. THAT WAS IT BROUGHT ABOUT A LOT OF ATTENTION.

SO MAYBE I SHOULD HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE CHANGES FROM WHAT A PREVIOUS ITERATION OF IT WAS TO TRY TO ADDRESS SOME OF THE CONCERNS OF, PARTICULARLY FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD. THE AREA, I THINK WE'VE BEEN THROUGH A SERIES OF INPUTS FROM NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS AND THE EXPERTS AND THE PUBLIC, AND HOW ALL THAT TIES IN.

SO IF Y'ALL GOT SOME DESIGNS OR SOME IDEAS, I THINK WE PROBABLY NEED TO SEE THOSE TO CONTINUE TO HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT THAT'S PROBABLY GOING TO LOOK LIKE IT'D BE A GOOD IDEA. SO JUST TO HIGHLIGHT, REALLY START WITH WHAT THE CHALLENGE IS.

THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW FOR THAT WHOLE AREA IS THE FACT THAT THE.

WEST ACCESS ROAD FOR LUKE 322 FROM STATE HIGHWAY 36 DOWN TO EAST.

SOUTH 27TH IS A TWO WAY OPERATION RIGHT NOW. AND THAT'S HAVING A DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACT ON THE OPERATION OF THAT ENTIRE INTERSECTION.

AND WITH THE ADDITION OF THE LYFT CAMPUS OVER BY THE AIRPORT AND SOME EXPANSION BY TSTC.

PLUS THE CHEESE FACTORY AND NOW ANOTHER WAREHOUSE.

THE TRAFFIC AT THIS INTERSECTION IS DRAMATICALLY INCREASED COMPARED TO JUST, YOU KNOW, TEN YEARS AGO EVEN.

SO WE'RE DEFINITELY SEEING SOME OPERATIONAL ISSUES AND WE'RE HAVING SOME SAFETY CONCERNS.

WE DO HAVE BECAUSE THE TWO WAY FRONTAGE ROAD, WE'VE GOT A MASSIVE OF A POTENTIAL CONFLICT POINT WHERE THE ENTRANCE RAMP IS LOCATED, HAVING TO CROSS THE NORTHBOUND TRAFFIC. SO I THINK PREVIOUS ITERATIONS OF A DESIGN OR BEFORE MY TIME, BUT BASICALLY THERE WAS A POTENTIAL THAT A LOT OF TRAFFIC WAS GOING TO BE ROUTED THROUGH THE NEIGHBORHOOD IF IT WAS MADE ONE WAY, BASICALLY ALL THE WAY DOWN TO EAST, SOUTH 27TH.

THIS ITERATION OF THE DESIGN ACTUALLY WILL MAINTAIN TWO WAY FUNCTION FROM EXPO DRIVE DOWN TO SOUTH 27TH AND AROUND TWO 1750.

IT'LL ONLY BE ONE WAY FROM STATE HIGHWAY 36 DOWN TO EXPO, AND WE'LL DO THAT BY RECONFIGURING THE INTERSECTION THAT'S ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE FAIRGROUND TO DIRECT THE NORTHBOUND TRAFFIC, TO GO ON TO EXPO DRIVE AND AROUND TO 36.

SO THAT'S THE KEY DIFFERENCE IS IT'S NOT GOING TO ROUTE THE TRAFFIC THROUGH THE NEIGHBORHOOD THAT DOESN'T HAVE ANYWHERE ELSE TO GO TO GET BACK TO STATE HIGHWAY 36. GREAT. THERE'S SOME OTHER OPTIONS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT FOR THE INTERSECTION.

SO NOT REALLY PREPARED TO GO INTO A LOT OF DETAIL, BUT WE ARE CONSIDERING SOME INNOVATIVE APPROACHES AS WELL AS PLUGGING IN A U-TURN ON THE SOUTH SIDE. SO WE GOT TO WEIGH THOSE DIFFERENT OPTIONS AND SEE WHAT IS GOING TO PERFORM THE BEST FOR US.

AND YEAH, I THINK WE CAN COME UP WITH THE A LAYOUT AND BE PREPARED TO PRESENT IT THE NEXT MEETING, OCTOBER MEETING. OKAY. SO SO AT THE OCTOBER MEETING, WE CAN PLAN ON LETTING THE PUBLIC KNOW THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE A PRESENTATION TO SHOW WHAT THAT'S GOING TO LOOK LIKE. OKAY. OKAY. GREAT.

SOUNDS GOOD TO ME. THANK YOU. HE POINTED OUT SOME OF THE CHANGES, THOUGH, AND YOU MAY HAVE SAID THIS, AND I APOLOGIZE IF I'M REPEATING. I MAY HAVE GONE TOO FAST AND MISSED SOMETHING.

MOVING THE ON RAMP ON THE 320. THAT'S CORRECT.

BACK. THAT'S A GOOD POINT. THE NORTH. GET IT AWAY FROM WHERE THAT TRAFFIC COMING FROM.

COMING FROM FAIR AND FOOTBALL GAMES AND ALL THAT.

YEAH. MOVING THAT ARM BACK BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE QUITE DANGEROUS TO TO DO WHAT WE'RE DOING AND NOT DOING THAT.

THAT'S RIGHT. WE'VE WORKED THAT OUT WITH THE EXPO CENTER IN TERMS OF HOW THAT OPERATION UTILIZES THEIR TRAFFIC FLOW IN AND OUT.

AND I THINK WE'VE GOT GOOD COOPERATION WITH ROCHELLE JOHNSON ON THAT.

GOOD. AND SO I THINK THAT'S A GOOD KEY. YEAH.

AND I THINK A BETTER PRESENTATION NEXT TIME I SHOULD POINT THAT OUT.

YES. ONE OF THE KEY FACTORS THAT HE JUST DESCRIBED IS RELOCATING THE SOUTHBOUND ENTRANCE RAMP NORTH OF WHERE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE NORTHBOUND TRAFFIC TAKE EXPO SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE THAT CONFLICT OF POTENTIAL FOR HEAD ON CRASHES.

THAT IS ABSOLUTELY THE MAIN PURPOSE OF THE RECONFIGURATION THERE AT THAT INTERSECTION.

AND IT'S ALSO WORTH MENTIONING, YES, SOME OF THE BIGGEST STAKEHOLDERS OBVIOUSLY ARE GOING TO BE THE EXPO CENTER.

AND SO WE'VE ALREADY DONE SOME GROUNDWORK WITH THEM AND WITH COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS AND COMMISSIONER STATLER TO GET SOME ENGAGEMENT FROM SOME OF OUR BIGGEST

[01:10:05]

SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO THOSE TYPES OF COORDINATION WITH ANYBODY.

AND IF WE NEED TO GO MEET WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION OR SOMETHING, I'M SURE WE CAN DO THAT, BUT WE'LL DEFINITELY PLAN ON HAVING A LAYOUT TO PRESENT AT THE NEXT BOARD MEETING. GREAT. THANKS, BRIAN. DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT ANY OF THE CURRENT OR PLANNED PROJECTS FOR TEXDOT? U-TURN IS COMING BACK, RIGHT? IT'S BEEN IT'S BEEN THERE BEFORE.

WE JUST ELIMINATED IT MANY, MANY YEARS AGO. YEAH.

SO TECHNICALLY THERE NEVER WAS A U-TURN THERE.

WHAT YOU SEE THERE IS THE REMNANTS OF WHAT USED TO BE BASICALLY A RIGHT TURN BAY TO TAKE THE EAST ACCESS ROAD THAT USED TO BE TWO WAY.

OKAY. THERE WAS A RIGHT TURN BAY ESSENTIALLY TO TURN SOUTH, BUT THAT GOT REMOVED ONCE THAT ACCESS ROAD BECAME ONE WAY.

SO. ALL RIGHT. VERY GOOD. THANK YOU BRIAN. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU.

AND SO FOR CITY OF ABILENE. SORRY I JUMPED AHEAD.

DO YOU HAVE A GRAPHIC? OH, I HAVE TO SWITCH BACK.

SO RICHARD HARBERT, CITY OF ABILENE, PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER AND THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.

I WILL START WITH THE PROJECTS IN YELLOW. THOSE ARE OUR CURRENT CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.

I'LL JUST HIT SOME OF THE HIT SOME OF THE BIG TICKET ITEMS. WE DON'T HAVE THEM. OH, YEAH. ALL RIGHT. GIVE ME JUST A SECOND.

MAYBE YOU DON'T HAVE. I DO NOT HAVE THEM. I'M SORRY.

OKAY. BE MORE DESCRIPTIVE. I WILL TRY MY BEST.

OKAY. SO THE LIST IS STILL KIND OF RUNNING ON FROM WHAT IT WAS LAST TIME.

SO KIND OF TALK ABOUT JUST THE BIG TICKET ITEMS. SO S TEN B IT'S THE CW GILL PARK UP THERE ON 14TH AND BARROW KIND OF NORTH WEST OF THAT.

IT'S A NEIGHBORHOOD PROJECT THAT WE HAD FROM 2025 WORKING THE CONCRETE ON THAT.

MAKING OUR WAY THROUGH THERE. IT'S KIND OF BY CROCKETT HEAD START OVER THERE.

ANOTHER PROJECT ON THE LIST THAT WE HAD IS THE N9 PROJECT THAT IS FROM GRAPE TO HICKORY, NORTH 13TH TO NORTH 18TH.

THAT'S ANOTHER NEIGHBORHOOD PROJECT. THAT ONE'S 95, 99% DONE.

JUST A LITTLE BIT OF A SMALL COUPLE ITEMS THERE.

ANOTHER BIG TICKET PROJECT WE HAVE IS THE NORTH 18TH FROM WILLIS TO MOCKINGBIRD.

THAT'S COMPLETELY CLOSED DOWN RIGHT NOW. THEY ARE DOING THE CONCRETE WORK RIGHT NOW.

AND IN THE NEXT WEEK OR TWO THEY SHOULD BE WORKING ON THE PAVING OPERATIONS.

AND THEN WE, THE NEXT BIG ITEM WE HAVE THERE IS THE ANTLION DIRECTORS FLASHING YELLOW FLASHING YELLOW ARROWS PROJECT.

THAT IS CURRENTLY WE'RE WAITING ON MATERIALS FOR THAT SHOULD BE IN ABOUT A MONTH, WE SHOULD GET THOSE MATERIALS AND THEN IT'LL TAKE ABOUT APPROXIMATELY A MONTH TO GET THAT DONE. SO THAT'S ALL THE UPDATES I HAVE FOR THE CURRENT PROJECTS.

ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY. THAT LAST PROJECT IS A BIG ONE.

IT'S DOWN AROUND THE HENDRICKS HOSPITAL ON ANTHONY ROAD.

IT'S PROVIDING YELLOW TURNS THAT WE HAVE GOTTEN LOTS OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT NOT BEING ABLE TO TURN DURING RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC, SO THAT'S IMPROVING THAT INTERSECTION TO MAKE IT A LOT MORE SAFE.

YES. AND THEN ON TO THE DESIGN PROJECTS. THEY'VE ALL KIND OF STAYED THE SAME.

WE DO HAVE TWO NEW ADDITIONS. IT'S THE IN 11 A AND 11 B.

THOSE ARE PROJECTS SELECTED BY THE STREET MAINTENANCE BOARD.

AND THEY ARE. BOTH OF THOSE PROJECTS ENCOMPASS FROM NORTH 10TH TO NORTH 18TH AND RICHLAND DRIVE TO WESTWOOD.

JUST ANOTHER NEIGHBORHOOD PROJECT WE HAVE ON THE NORTH SIDE.

ANY QUESTIONS? ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU RICHARD AND SIBLING. I NEED TO APOLOGIZE FOR NOT GETTING THAT.

I'M SORRY ABOUT THAT. WE WILL. YEAH WE WILL. WE WILL BE BETTER NEXT TIME.

CITY LINK PRESENTATION. YEAH. JUST JUST THE THEY HAVE TWO PROJECTS.

A, THE REPAVING IS COMPLETED AND THEN THEY REPAINTED THE OUTSIDE OF THE BUILDING.

OKAY, GREAT. SO AND IT LOOKS MUCH NICER, LIKE A LOT.

WE'LL MOVE TO ITEM NUMBER SEVEN, DIRECTOR'S REPORT. AS YOU CAN SEE, WE CONTINUE TO BE UNDER BUDGET PRIMARILY DUE TO LOW STAFFING.

[7. Director's Report. ]

AS WAS MENTIONED IN THE EARLIER PRESENTATION, WE HAVE TWO STAFF MEMBERS, A FULL TIME PLANNER, TWO AND A PART TIME OFFICE MANAGER, COMMUNICATIONS PERSON.

[01:15:04]

AND THEN MY PLAN IS TO USE THE FUNDING THAT WOULD GO TO THE FULL TIME PLANNER.

AS FOR ON CALL CONSULTANTS, WE HAVE ADDITIONAL FUNDS BEYOND THAT HAVE BEEN CARRIED OVER FROM PAST YEARS THAT WERE PLANNING ON USING TO BUILD SOME OF THE TOOLS WE NEED FOR OUR NEXT PLANNING PROCESS, AND THAT WILL HELP FUND THAT.

ON CALL CONSULTANT. WE RELEASED THE REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS ABOUT A MONTH AND A HALF TWO MONTHS AGO.

WE GOT THREE RESPONSES. I'M VERY HAPPY WITH ALL THREE RESPONSES.

WE HAVE NOT HAD A CHANCE TO SIT DOWN WITH THE COMMITTEE AND GO THROUGH WHAT THE QUALIFICATIONS BY THE DIFFERENT TASKS THAT ARE IN OUR UP, BUT WE'LL BE DOING THAT SHORTLY. BUT I THINK IT THE PATH FORWARD IS, IS BRIGHT AS FAR AS, AS GETTING WORK DONE AND USING THAT PLANNER TWO FUNDING BY PROFESSION, BY PRIVATE CONSULTANTS.

OKAY, JUST A GENERAL QUESTION. DO YOU KNOW WHY WE'RE HAVING TROUBLE FILLING THOSE SPOTS? THEY'VE BEEN OPEN FOR A WHILE. AND ALSO MY SECOND QUESTION WOULD A CONSULTING FIRM.

WOULD I GET THE JOB DONE IN TERMS OF PLANNING ANYTHING? OKAY, SO THE FIRST ANSWER, THE FIRST QUESTION GOES BACK TO WHAT WAS TALKED ABOUT EARLIER.

THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH PEOPLE GRADUATING WITH TRANSPORTATION, ENGINEERING, TRAFFIC, TRANSPORTATION, PLANNING DEGREES TO FILL THE NEED. THE, FOR THE LAST 8 OR 10 YEARS, THE MAJORITY OF THOSE HAVE BEEN COMING.

THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN COMING INTO THE BUSINESS HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN COMING IN FROM INTERNATIONALLY. THAT NUMBER HAS DROPPED PRECIPITOUSLY.

AND LIKE I TRIED SO HARD. I HAVE A SON WHO STARTED COLLEGE THIS YEAR.

I TRIED TO LEAN IN THAT DIRECTION. THERE'S LITERALLY JUST NO INTEREST.

WE NEED TO FIGURE SOMETHING OUT. THE SECOND IT WOULD BE THE SCOPE OF WORK FOR THE CONSULTANTS WOULD BE WORKED OUT WITH THE TAC AND FOLLOW THE PLANNING PROCESSES THAT WERE TALKED ABOUT TO, TO PROVIDE BECAUSE ULTIMATELY WHAT WE, WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO IS PROVIDE YOU WITH INFORMATION TO HELP THEM WITH HELP YOU WITH DECISION MAKING.

THAT'S, THAT IS THE WHOLE FOCUS OF THE ANALYSIS THAT WE DO AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL.

THERE ARE THREE PERFORMANCE MEASURES, P ONE, TWO, AND THREE, WHICH ARE BASICALLY SAFETY, INFRASTRUCTURE CONDITION AND CONGESTION.

THOSE ARE THE CORE PARTS OF INFORMATION THAT TO HELP YOU WITH YOUR DECISION MAKING.

BUT IF YOU HAVE OTHER THINGS, OTHER INFORMATION YOU WOULD LIKE, LIKE RESILIENCY OR.

A MORE SPECIFIC SAFETY ACTION PLAN, THAT RESILIENCY IS A, IS A KEY ONE.

A FREIGHT PLAN THAT CAN HELP WITH YOUR DECISION MAKING.

THAT IS WHAT AS STAFF, THAT'S MY JOB. SO ARE WE OFFERING A COMPETITIVE SALARY? I BELIEVE WE ARE. THERE, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY THE SALARY.

AFTER. SO I'VE DONE WORK IN, IN I'VE BEEN MPO DIRECTOR IN FOUR STATES AND SO I STILL STAY IN TOUCH.

WHAT THE WHAT ARE BEING LOOKED AT NOW ARE WORK REMOTE DAYS.

MOST MPOS ARE MINIMUM OF THREE DAYS REMOTE ONLY TWO DAYS IN THE OFFICE AND ALSO PAID TIME OFF.

20, 20 DAYS A YEAR IS PRETTY BASELINE FOR AN MPO TRAFFIC PLANNER NOW.

SO THAT'S HOW, THAT'S, THAT'S WHERE WE'RE AT, RIGHT.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR CRAIG ON THE DIRECTOR'S REPORT? I'LL MENTION ONE THING REAL QUICK THAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE TESTING OUT LITTLE SHORT VIDEOS.

OH, YES. I KIND OF EXPLAIN HOW THINGS WORK WITHIN THE MPO JUST FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC TO UNDERSTAND.

SO JUST WANTED TO COMPLIMENT. YEAH. AND SO YEAH, I, SO I WILL SEND THAT OUT.

I HAD ORIGINALLY PLANNED ON DEMOING IT. IT'S A MINUTE.

I'M AIMING FOR A MINUTE, BUT I THOUGHT THIS MEETING MIGHT RUN LONG AND I DIDN'T WANT TO COME, BUT. SO I WILL SEND THAT OUT TO EVERYBODY. BUT YEAH, SO IT EXPLAINS SORT OF THE PRESENTATION WE GOT, BUT IN ONE MINUTE CHUNKS BECAUSE THAT'S APPARENTLY PEOPLE'S ATTENTION SPAN NOW.

SO HOW WILL THEY BE USED? SO I, WE PUT THEM ON THE WEBSITE AS PART OF A MORE INFORMATION AND HAVE LIKE AN FAQ FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION.

AND THEN WHEN YOU TOUCH IT, YOU GET THAT A ONE MINUTE RESPONSE VIDEO TO THAT FAQ.

SO THEY STILL HAVE TO FIND IT ON A WEBSITE. YEAH, IT WOULD BE ON THE WEBSITE.

WE HAVE OKAY, WE HAVE, WE'VE HAD IDEAS. ONE OF THE THINGS WE NEED TO DO, OUR PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PLAN WAS LAST

[01:20:02]

SO WE'RE GOING TO BE TAKING ONE OF THE THINGS THAT OUR RFQ IS GOING TO BE DOING IS WORKING WITH TEX DOT.

SUSAN HOWARD PUT OUT A GOOD PUBLIC PARTICIPATION STATEWIDE CONCEPT.

SO WE'LL BE BRINGING THOSE CONCEPTS INTO OURS AND FINE TUNING IT FOR GETTING THE WORD OUT.

AND THERE'S THERE'S A HOST OF WAYS WE CAN DO THAT.

SOME PLACES IT'S ON BUS STOP, THE BUS, BUS STOP BENCHES OR OTHER SIGNS.

IN NASHVILLE, ONE OF THE THINGS I DID WAS AT THE START OF MOVIES, THERE'S THOSE LITTLE COMMERCIALS THAT STARTED MOVIES.

THEY'RE ACTUALLY RELATIVELY INEXPENSIVE AND YOU CAN DO, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, A SHORT VIDEO THERE AND RUN.

SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS ABOUT.

SO ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? THANK YOU.

THANK YOU CRAIG. WE'LL MOVE TO ITEM NUMBER EIGHT.

[8. Recommendation of Items for Consideration at a Future Meeting.]

ARE THERE ANY TOPICS WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT A FUTURE POLICY BOARD MEETING.

SO I'LL JUST JUST BASED ON WHAT I HEARD TODAY, THE SPECIALIZED COORDINATION PLAN IS LIKELY TO BE A TOPIC NEXT TIME.

THE TXDOT PRESENTATION ON THE PLANNING PROJECT SIX, WHICH.

THE NAME ESCAPES ME, BUT I'LL GET. I'LL HAVE THAT DOWN. POPULATION AND JOBS FORECASTING.

IF YOU ARE AMENABLE TO IT, I CAN GET EITHER THIS TEXAS DEMOGRAPHER OR ASSISTANT DEMOGRAPHER TO COME TALK ABOUT THE STATE CONTROL. AND HOPEFULLY I HAVE AN ULTERIOR MOTIVE TO TRY TO, AS A KICKOFF FOR OUR TASK FORCE FORECAST TASK FORCE THAT YOU ALL BROUGHT INTO BEING. SO I WOULD LIKE TO, TO MAYBE HAVE THAT AS A POSSIBLE.

WE CAN TALK OBVIOUSLY MORE ABOUT IT. AND I HOPE TO ANNOUNCE THE RFQ AND TASKS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT.

OKAY, GREAT. ANYBODY ON THE BOARD HAVE ANY TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT NEXT TIME? ALL RIGHT. IT IS NOW 205 AND THIS MEETING IS ADJOURNED.

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.