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.