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HomeMy WebLinkAboutC.054.93010_0600 (2)IREDELL COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS RURAL TRANSPORTATION PLANNING PRESENTATION & BRIEFING MINUTES NOVEMBER 20 2001 The Iredell County Board of Commissioners met for a presentation on Rural Transportation Planning Organizations at 4:30 p.m., and a Briefing Session at 5:00 p.m„ on Tuesday, November 20, 2001, in the Iredell County Government Center, 200 South Center Street, Statesville, NC, Present: Chairman Sara Haire Tice Vice Chairman Steve D. Johnson (arrived at 5:05 p.m.) Tommy E. Bowles Karen B. Ray R. Godfrey Williams Staff Present, County Manager Joel Mashburn, Finance Director Susan Blumenstein, Planning Supervisor Ron Smith, Planning/Inspections Director Lynn Niblock, County Assessor Brent Weisner, Support Services Director Jim Vernon, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Administrator Terry McLain, GIS Analyst Lee Ann Owens, Asst. Jail Supervisor Terry Beck, and Clerk to the Board Jean Moore. CALL TO ORDER by Chairman Tice. TRANSPORTATION itOpLANNING lisweOogizaoPlanning SupervisorRon Smith sadthat n North Carolina, RPOORGANIZATIONS ns composed of between three to fifteen counties. He said the total population of a certified RPO had to be at least 50,000 people. Smith said areas included in a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) could not be included in an RPO. However, an MPO could be in the center of an RPO as long as the population stipulation was met. Smith said a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) needed to be signed by all of the municipalities and counties included in an RPO, Mr. Smith said Frank Johnson, a member of the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) Board, had been instrumental in creating an RPO consisting of Cleveland County and its 15 municipalities, a portion of Gaston County and two of its municipalities, Iredell County with its five municipalities, and Lincoln County with its one municipality. Mr. Smith said the RPO had been named the Lake Norman Rural Planning Transportation Organization. Smith said it would be beneficial for Iredell County to be included in an RPO. He said the North Carolina Secretary for Transportation had appropriated $100,000 a year, for the next three years, for each approved RPO. Smith said this money could be used for a full time staff person, along with planning services and equipment. He said that recently, the counties of Alexander, Caldwell, Burke, and Catawba had agreed to establish the Unifour RPO. He said the Unifour counties all shared the same council of governments and this agency would provide the administrative guidance, or be the lead agency. Smith said a similar arrangement could be developed using the Centralina Council of Governments (COG), out of Charlotte, NC, for the Lake Norman RPO. Mr. Smith said an RPO would aid in: I. Developing long-range local and regional transportation plans. 2. Providing a forum for public participation in the transportation planning process. 3. Assisting in the development and prioritizing of projects for North Carolina's Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). 4. Providing transportation information to local governments and other interested parties. Smith said that in addition to the $100,000 funded by the state, each municipality or county would allocate $500 or $1,000, respectively, toward a local match, plus any remaining allocation would be based upon the percentage of the total RPO population that was included in the member's jurisdiction. He estimated that $5,150 would be required from Iredell County each year. He said that if the commissioners were not ready to enter into an MOU, they could approve a resolution just stipulating an interest.