SOUTHWESTERN RURAL PLANNING ORGANIZATION

TECHNICAL COORDINATING COMMITTEE (TCC) MEETING

November 15, 2017 at 1:00 PM

Groves Center, SCC Macon Campus, 144 Siler Farm Rd, Franklin NC

AGENDA

Welcome and Housekeeping

1. Introductions and Quorum check (Paige Dowling, TCC Chair) 2. Ethics Reminder* (Dowling) 3. Agenda Approval/Modifications (Dowling) 4. Public Comment

Action Items

5. Minutes from September 13, 2017 SWRPO TCC meeting (Rose Bauguess)

Informational Items

6. NCDOT Bridge Project Selection Process (Josh Deaton) 7. NCDOT Division 14 Updates (Jonathan Woodard and Andy Russell) 8. NCDOT Transportation Planning Branch Update (Zack O’Keefe) 9. Prioritization 5.0 Update (Bauguess) 10. Division 14 Low Cost/High Impact Project Selection 11. CMAQ Update (Bauguess) 12. 2018 Meeting Schedule (Bauguess)

Other Items

13. TCC Member Updates (All) 14. Adjournment (Dowling)

*In accordance with the State Government Ethics Act, it is the duty of every TCC member to avoid conflicts of interest. If anyone has a conflict of interest with respect to any matters coming before the TCC today, please identify the conflict and refrain from any participation in the matter involved.

SOUTHWESTERN RURAL PLANNING ORGANIZATION (RPO) Technical Coordinating Committee (TCC) Meeting

September 13, 2017 TCC Meeting Summary Page 1 of 3

Meeting Date: September 13, 2017 Location: SCC Groves Center, Franklin, NC Attendees:

Jurisdiction Representative Title Present

Cherokee County Randy Wiggins County Manager ☐

Andrews Bill Bailey Town Manager ☐

Murphy Anne Payne Town Manager ☐

Clay County Mark Pullium County Manager ☒

Graham County Becky Garland County Manager ☒

Fontana Dam Zelerie Rogers Town Administrator ☐

Lake Santeetlah Peggy Carver Administrator ☐

Jackson County Michael Poston Planning Director ☒

Dillsboro Debbie Coffey Town Clerk ☒

Sylva Paige R. Dowling, Chair Town Manager ☒

Macon County Jack Morgan Planning & Development Director ☒

Franklin Justin Setser Town Planner ☒

Highlands Josh Ward Town Manager ☐

Swain County Ken Mills Economic Development Director ☒

Bryson City Chad Simons Town Manager ☒

Transit Kim Angel Macon Co. Transit Director ☐

EBCI Manual Maples Cherokee DOT ☐

NCDOT Division 14 Steve Williams Division Planning Engineer ☒

NCDOT TPB Zack O’Keefe RPO Coordinator ☒

TOTAL VOTING MEMBERS PRESENT: 11

Representing Name Title Present

Southwestern RPO Rose Bauguess RPO Director ☒

NCDOT Div 14 Andy Russell District Engineer ☒

NCDOT Div 14 Mark Hill Asst. District Engineer ☒

Town of Franklin Nathanael Moore Town Engineer ☒

TOTAL NON-VOTERS PRESENT: 9

SOUTHWESTERN RURAL PLANNING ORGANIZATION (RPO) Technical Coordinating Committee (TCC) Meeting

September 13, 2017 TCC Meeting Summary Page 2 of 3

Welcome and Housekeeping:

1. Chair Paige Dowling called the meeting to order. Introductions were made. Dowling determined a quorum was present.

2. Dowling read the ethics reminder.

3. Dowling reviewed the agenda and asked if there were any proposed modifications to the agenda. Ken Mills motioned to approve the agenda as presented; Michael Poston seconded the motion and it was approved unanimously.

4. Dowling offered the opportunity for public comment; no members of the public were present.

Action Items:

5. Rose Bauguess asked for a review of the minutes from the May 10, 2017, SWRPO TCC Meeting. Poston motioned to approve the minutes as presented, seconded by Jack Morgan; motion carried unanimously.

6. Bauguess presented a resolution for the Southwestern RPO to endorse the Jackson County CTP; the CTP has already been adopted by Jackson County and the four municipalities therein. Poston motioned to approve the Jackson County CTP endorsement, seconded by Justin Setser; motion carried unanimously.

7. Bauguess presented a resolution in support of Bryson City’s Bike-Pedestrian Planning Grant application. Ken Mills motioned to approve the resolution, seconded by Justin Setser; motion carried unanimously.

8. Bauguess explained that for Prioritization 5.0, NCDOT funding regions and divisions have been encouraged to collaborate and consider revising the default components of the quantitative SPOT score to better suit the needs of the geographic area. Division 13 and 14 make up funding Region G. Both Divisions and all the Planning Organizations within met on June 12 to discuss changing the weights or criteria used to calculate the SPOT score. All organizations must agree to the change. The group decided not to make any changes at the Regional Tier. Division 14, along with the Southwestern RPO, Land of Sky RPO, Isothermal RPO, and the French Broad MPO all agreed to alternate weights at the Division Tier. The recommended change was to reduce the Accessibility/Connectivity criteria from 5% to 0%, Freight from 5% to 0%, and increase Pavement Condition from 0% to 10%. This will enable projects with a poor pavement condition to score higher. Bauguess presented a memo to the SPOT office from the Southwestern RPO concurring with the use of alternate weights. Poston made a motion to approve the memo as presented; with a second by Morgan, the motion passed unanimously.

9. Bauguess presented the Draft list of Project Submittals for Prioritization 5.0. These projects will be added to the list of Carryover projects and Division 14 submittals to make up all the projects

SOUTHWESTERN RURAL PLANNING ORGANIZATION (RPO) Technical Coordinating Committee (TCC) Meeting

September 13, 2017 TCC Meeting Summary Page 3 of 3

eligible for local input points in P5.0. Mills motioned to approve the list as presented, with a second by Chad Simons and the motion carried unanimously.

Informational Items:

10. Steve Williams provided updates from NCDOT Division 14 on major projects in the Southwestern RPO.

11. Zack O’Keefe provided the Transportation Planning Branch update:

• The Branch has just been renamed to the Transportation Planning Division.

• The Statewide Freight Plan will be adopted by the Board of Transportation in October.

• 25 Corridor Studies have been identified; they are in the process of being prioritized. They will develop master plans for each corridor.

• CMAQ applications are due in March.

• The draft CTP 2.0 document is ready for review.

Other Items:

12. TCC Members provided updates from their respective jurisdictions:

• Steve Williams mentioned an upcoming public meeting in Bryson City on the downtown intersection project – Thursday September 15 from 4-7 pm.

• Rose mentioned the upcoming Transit Community Workshops being held in Asheville October 13.

• Ken Mills reported on the new Swain County Greenways Committee.

• Justin Setser introduced Franklin’s new Town Engineer, Nathaneal Moore.

• Becky Garland said that Graham County’s board had recently voted to add a sidewal to the new bridge. There are also several meetings coming up on Corridor K.

13. The next TCC meeting is scheduled for November 15, 2017. Poston moved to adjourn, seconded by all.

% Weight 0 points 1 point 2 points

Current

Volume/AADT15 >= 750 750>1500 >= 1500

Number of

Restrictions10 no restrictions 1 restriction 2 or more

Accident rate 10below avg for type

of roadwithin 10% of avg > 10% above avg

existing lane

width

standard width or

abovebelow standard

existing shoulder

width20

standard width or

abovebelow standard

pavement

condition score80>100 70>=80 >=70

stopping sight

distance495 ft or more 251 ft to 494 ft 250 ft or less

intersection

turning radius20

standard radius or

abovebelow standard

LOS Improvement 1 letter grade 2 letter grades3 letter grades or

more

Non-Highway

modal

components

included in

project

15no non-highway

benefits

includes benefits

to at least one non-

highway mode

Other Funding

Availability10 no other funding 1% to 19.99% 20% or above

Total: 100

**DRAFT** Proposed High Impact/Low Cost Project Selection Criteria **DRAFT**

Roadway Characteristics

Level of Service (LOS)

Intersection LOS improvements may be measured for overall

intersection or individual approach improvements (up to two

approaches)

Traffic Volume

Use most recent AADT Map volume or other available traffic

volume count

Determined by Divisions

NCDOT/AASHTO Design Guidelines

NCDOT/AASHTO Design Guidelines

% weights for the scoring criteria selected must total to 100%

Traffic Restrictions

Safety

provided by mobility and safety

NCDOT/AASHTO Design Guidelines

NCDOT/AASHTO Design Guidelines

use most recent pavement condition survey score

Restriction types could include weight postings (roads and/or

bridges), lane width postings, no truck/limited truck access,

light traffic ordinances, or other local restrictions identified by

the Divisions/local governments

Other funding sources are available to offset project costs.

Other sources can include other highway funded program

dollars (contingency, economic development, small

construction, etc.) or local funding participation. With the

exception of trust fund economic development projects, STI

funds should not be considered.

Other Funding Availability

Multimodal Benefits

* Projects funded through this program, unless otherwise approved by the Secretary of Transportation, are expected to be under construction

(contracts awarded) within 12 months of funding approval by the Board of Transportation (Board Agenda Item H).

* Total project costs for any project funded through this program shall not exceed $1.5M, unless otherwise approved by the Secretary of Transportation

* Any project exceeding $250k total project cost (all funding sources) will require resolution of support from the appropriate local government agency

prior to authorization of funding

* Division Engineers, in conjunction with their partnering MPOs and RPOs, shall select a minimum of 7 criteria to be used in evaluating projects within

their Division based on regional/local needs and priorities.

* Division Engineers shall determine the appropriate scoring weights for each of the critieria selected based on regional/local needs.

* Projects must receive at least half of the total possible scoring points to be considered for funding.

* For projects meeting the mininum threshold for funding consideration, Division Engineers, in conjunction with their partnering MPOs and RPOs, shall

determine which projects are funded based on local priorities and budgetary constraints with priority consideration given to projects that promote job

creation and economic growth.

* If desired, Division Engineers, with concurrence from each of their partnering MPOs and RPOs, may develop additional scoring critieria beyond those

provided in the above list. Any new critieria shall include metrics for scoring on the established 0 to 2 point scale.

County Route Location Project Description

Cherokee

US19/74

westbound turning left onto US 64 in Murphy Left turn lane extension for motorists .

Cherokee US19 Business

At the intersection with Whitaker Lane in

Andrews Remove traffic signal .

Cherokee US19/74 Intersection with NC141 Park & Ride Lot

Cherokee US19/74 Bulldog Drive, SR1649 Left turn Lane improvements/extensions

Clay

US 64 between NC69 and Meyers Chapel Road,

SR 1140 Access Management

Clay

Hinton Center

Road Clay County Transfer Station

Right Turn Lane into Clay County Transfer

Station.

Clay US 64 at SR1131, Green Cove Road westbound left turn lane onto SR1131

Graham US 129 US 129/ NC 143 Intersection

Install right turn lane onto NC143 from

north bound US129 in Robbinsville.

Graham NC 143 Bus. NC143 Business and Atoah Street

Improve intersection of NC143 Business and

Atoah Street

Jackson SR 1432

Intersection of Skyland Drive and Chipper

Curve Road Realign Intersection

Jackson SR 1336

Intersection of Old Cullowhee Road to

Intersection of Ledbetter Road

Widen roadway, add bike lanes, sidewalk,

replace bridge # 159

Jackson SR 1513

Intersection of Grindstaff Cove Road and

Jackson Plaza/Justice Center Realign Drives and construct LTL

Jackson SR 1513

Intersection of Grindstaff Cove Road and

Mill Street (US 23 Bus.) Construct RTL onto Mill Street

Jackson NC 107 Intersection of Frank Allen Road Construct LTL or Roundabout

Jackson US 23/74

Intersection of SR 1170, 1536, 1768, 1461,

1472, 1576, 1446, 1471 Construct RTL at each intersection

Jackson US 23/441 Intersection of SR 1578 and SR 1559 Construct RTL at each intersection

Jackson US 64

0.5 miles west of Transylvania Co. Line

(Chrysler Curve)

Extend RC Box Culvert, Widen Shoulder,

Reset Guardrail

Macon

SR1660, Siler

Road from US441 to SR1734, Old Siler Road

2’ Paved Shoulders on SR1660, Siler Road

from US441 to SR1734, Old Siler Road

Swain US 19 Intersection of Buckner Branch Road Realign Intersection and construct LTL

Swain US 19/74 Intersections of SR 1305, 1392, 1126, Construct RTL at each intersection

Swain NC 28 S Intersections of SR 1301, 1121 Construct RTL at each intersection

Potential Mobility and Modernization Projects - Division 14 - Southwestern RPO

SOUTHWESTERN RURAL PLANNING ORGANIZATION

2018 Meeting Schedule

Technical Coordinating Committee (TCC) Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC)

1:00 PM on the 2nd Wednesday 5:00 PM on the 4th Monday (unless otherwise noted) (unless otherwise noted)

Wednesday, January 10, 2018 Monday, January 22, 2018

Wednesday, March 14, 2018 Monday, March 26, 2018

Wednesday, May 9, 2018 Wednesday, May 23, 2018

No July meeting No July meeting

Wednesday, September 12, 2018 Monday, September 24, 2018

Wednesday, November 14, 2018 Monday, November 26, 2018