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Home My WebLink About10-25-11 Special Common Council Meeting AgendaOFFICIAL NOTICE OF MEETING A Special meeting of Common Council will be held on Tuesday, October 25, 2011 at 5:00 p.m. in Common Council Chambers, City Hall, 108 East Green Street, Ithaca. Your attendance is requested AGENDA 1. SPECIAL ORDER OF BUSINESS: 1.1 Request to Approve Funding Match for TIGER III (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) Grant Application - Resolution 2. NEW BUSINESS: 3, ADJOURNMENT If you have a disability that will require special arrangements to be made in order for you to fully participate in the meeting, please contact the City Clerk at 274 -6570 at least 48 hours before the meeting. C t i ie Conley Holcomb, CMC City Clerk Dated: October 21, 2011 1.1 vvncmcmo, me unneo States Department of Transportation (USDOT) has announced the availability of funds in the TIGER III Discretionary Grants (TIGER III) program, which notice was published in the Federal Register on August 12, 2011, and WHEREAS, Common Council is interested in applying for a TIGER III grant so as to make a large investment in the transportation system in the central business district in order to maintain a state of good repair, to improve the connectivity between downtown and the Collegetown and Cornell, to make the downtown a more livable and sustainable environment, to strengthen the City of Ithaca's position as a hub for the county and region, and to encourage and support economic activity in the City, and WHEREAS, staff from the Department of Planning and Development have begun scoping a grant eligible project to include, but not be limited to, the following components: • Upgraded University/Commons Bus Rapid Transit Loop- Enhanced Buses and Stations, Queue Jumping, and Signal Preemption • Dedicated Bus Rapid Transit, East State/MLK Jr. Street Lane and Rebuild of Stewart Avenue • Commons Pedestrian Road Rebuild /Interactive Digital Bus Terminal • Commons Bike Share Station /Cornell Bike Share Station • Cornell Remote Parking • Ithaca Car Share Parking Space and Car • Electric Car Charging Stations • Privately- Sponsored Non - Transportation Amenities, now, therefore be it RESOLVED, That the Mayor of the City of Ithaca, or her designee, is hereby authorized to submit a TIGER III application for funding to the United States Department of Transportation in accordance with the provisions of the Notice of Funds Available, in a amount not to exceed $20,950,000.00, and upon approval of said request to enter into and execute a project agreement with USDOT, or its designee, for such financial assistance to the City of Ithaca for design, right -of -way acquisition, construction and construction inspection of the TIGER III application as submitted by the Mayor and approved by USDOT, and be it further RESOLVED, That Common Council hereby makes a commitment of funds, contingent upon an award of funds from the TIGER III program and environmental review, in an amount not to exceed $3,400,000, which funds will be derived from serial bonds. f7 CITY OF ITHACA 108 East Green Street — 3rd Floor Ithaca, New York 14850 -5690 DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT JOANN CORNISH, DIRECTOR OF PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT PHYLLISA A. DeSARNO, DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Telephone: Planning & Development - 607- 274 -6550 Community Development/IURA - 607- 274 -6559 Email: dgrunder @cityofithaca.org Email: iota @cityofithaca.org Fax: 607 - 274 -6558 Fax: 607 - 274 -6558 To: Common Council From: Jennifer Kusznir, Economic Development Planner Date: October 20, 2011 Re: TIGER III Grant Application The purpose of this memo is to provide information regarding the TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) Grant. On June 30, 2011, the US Department of Transportation announced that $526,944 million in funding was being made available through the TIGER III competitive grant program. This program provides funding for up to 80% of project costs for innovative transportation projects that will create jobs and have a significant impact on the nation, a region or a metropolitan area. The criteria for grant selection include: State of Good Repair and minimizing fife-cycle costs, economic competitiveness, fostering livable communities, improving energy efficiency, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and benefitting the environment, improving safety, encouraging retention and creation of jobs, and demonstrating a strong collaboration among a broad range of participants and /or integration of transportation with other public service efforts. Staff has begun preparing an application for a project that would create a multi -modal transportation district consisting of interconnected elements that would create strong transit linkages between the downtown, Collegetown, and Cornell. The district is being proposed to include the following: • Upgraded University /Commons Bus Rapid Transit Loop - Enhanced Buses and Stations, Queue Jumping, and Signal Preemption • Dedicated Bus Rapid Transit, East State /MLK Jr. Street Lane and Rebuild of Stewart Avenue • Commons Pedestrian Road Rebuild /Interactive Digital Bus Terminal • Commons Bike Share Station /Cornell Bike Share Station • Cornell Remote Parking Ithaca Car Share Parking Space and Car Electric Car Charging Stations Privately - Sponsored Non - Transportation Amenities. If funded, the project will require a minimum local match of 20% of which Cornell University has pledged $800,000. Enclosed for your consideration is a resolution authorizing the City to provide a local match of 3.4 million dollars, if it awarded the funds. If you have any concerns or questions regarding any of this information, feel free to contact me at 274- 6410.