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01-05-1999 - Application of MTA Funds: Call for Projects• TO: City Council City Manager FROM: Patricia Bommarito Acting Community Services Director City Of West Covina Memorandum AGENDA ITEM NO 13-6c DATE: January 5 1999 PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER SUBJECT: APPLICATION OF MTA FUNDS: CALL FOR PROJECTS SUMMARY: The Community Services Department is seeking authorization to apply for competitive funds through the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority — 1999 Call for Projects. If awarded, the funds would be utilized to offset the cost of the proposed West Covina Shuttle Extension (South -End). BACKGROUND The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is accepting applications for funding of the Regional Transportation Projects and Programs. The 1999 Call for Projects is a competitive process through which various federal, state and county transportation funds are awarded to the most promising regional projects. The MTA has identified that a total $508 million dollars for regional transportation improvement and/or enhancements will be made available to eligible agencies. For West Covina, funds available through the MTA are suggested to be utilized for the proposed West Covina Shuttle Extension. Because the Shuttle Extension encompasses a southern portion of the City (Amar & Azusa) not currently benefiting from service, the project is eligible under the Transit Capital and/or Transportation Demand Management (TDM) modal categories. Of course, due to diminishing fiscal resources and a budget of $25-35 million for TDM and $25-40 million for Transit Capital, the project evaluation process for these categories is highly competitive. Each modal category, therefore, has specific weights and questions which pertain to the particular evaluation criteria utilized within each responsive mode. DISCUSSION As indicated, the purpose of the application is to offset the cost of the proposed shuttle extension. A total of $300,000 would be requested to recover administrative and shuttle costs. Failure to receive the funds, however, will certainly delay the provision of the program to our south side residents. The 1999 Call for Projects application is due by January 29, 1999 to the MTA. By July of 1999, the Board expects to announce funding recipients. The monies awarded are provided for a maximum of two years, unless the modal category indicates otherwise. Thereafter, the recipient can solicit further funds at future funding cycles or utilize transportation entitlement funds to sustain its programs. The Community Services Department has yet to determine how a program of this sort will be sustained after two years. At this time, we are pursuing the MTA `seed' money as an opportunity to `test' the success of the extension. If an extension were successful, we would seek its implementation through an amendment to the Shuttle contract. FISCAL IMPACT Having pursued the application of competitive funds, there is no impact to the City's general fund. If awarded, an appropriation to the existing shuttle accounts (in.the amount of $300,000) would be necessary. ZALucy's StufAMORE DOCUMENTS\My Documents\agenda reports\ I 999-CallforProjects.Transportation.doc 0. 0 RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the City Council adopt the following Resolution authorizing the Community Services Director to apply for competitive funds through the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. RL Acting Community Services Director ZALucy's StufAMORE DOCUMENTS\My Documents\agenda reports\ I 999-CallforProjects.Transportation.doc