MACON-BIBB COUNTY PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION

200 CHERRY ST., SUITE 300, MACON, GEORGIA 31201

MATS CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING – MINUTES SUMMARY

Meeting Description:
MATS Citizens Advisory Committee – Regular Meeting
Date:
01.09.19    

Time:
6:00PM     Location:
Macon-Bibb County P & Z Commission, 3^rd Floor Conference Room

MINUTES

• Called to Order: 6:02PM by Dr. John Swint, CAC Chairman

• Election of Officers: Dr. John Swint was re-elected as chair, and Mary Lou Ezell was re-elected as vice-chairman

• Adoption of Agenda – Action Item: A motion was made by Ms. Ezell and properly seconded by Mr. Martin to approve the agenda as presented. Approved

• Public Comment Period (5 Minutes): There were no visitors in attendance to offer public comments. However, MATS CAC members introduced themselves during this portion of the meeting.
  

• Approval of previous special called MATS CAC meeting minutes (October 30, 2018) – Action Item: A motion was made by Mr. Ricketson and properly seconded by Ms. Neal to approve the minutes as presented. Approved

• Revisions to Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) FY 2020 document – Action Item: Mike Greenwald provided an overview of the UPWP funding process as it relates to the percentages allocated from the Federal, State and Local governments. It was mentioned that the FY 2020 UPWP will have a different budget than the FY 2019 UPWP. The reason for the change is due to the reconciliation by GDOT Intermodal’s (i.e., Transit & Multimodal) funding model to agree with model used by GDOT Office of Planning (i.e., Roads & Bridges), and because of the increased baseline allocations in both roads & bridges and Transit planning activities budget. The changes in categorical budgets from UPWP 2019 reflect: Shift towards staff training and community outreach, and continued assistance to MTA with system planning/review tasks. After discussion, a motion was made by Mr. Ingram and properly seconded by Mr. Komlo to approve the final FY 2020 UPWP, including the proposed revisions. Approved.
• Amendments to Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) and Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP: Mike Greenwald briefly mentioned that because the Federal Court of Appeals recently vacated the 2008 standards for ozone levels, the maintenance status for the MATS area in terms of nonconformance was returned. Therefore, new projects must be reviewed again by the IAC. As a result, the TIP and LRTP must be amended to include language to reflect the IAC process and the draft amendment that is currently being developed.
• Restoration of Air Quality Conformity: Mike Greenwald provided background information regarding MATS originally being designated as non-conforming for Ozone (8-hour Concentration) and PM 2.5 under the 1997 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (1997 NAAQS). MATS eventually came into compliance with updated NAAQS. April 16, 2015, the 1997 Ozone NAAQS were replaced by the 2008 Ozone NAAQS and the older standard was revoked. On October 26, 2016, the 1997 PM 2.5 NAAQS were replaced with 2012 PM 2.5 NAAQS and the older standard was revoked. Because the 2040 LRTP Update and FY 2018 – 2021 TIP were adopted after the new NAAQS standards were in place, air quality conformity/inter-agency coordination were not included.
• Re-establishment of the Interagency Coordination (IAC) Stakeholders Group: Mike Greenwald provided information and a timeline of occurrences that’s led to the re-establishment of the IAC. In February 16, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals vacated the 2008 NAAQS for Ozone, and upheld revocation of 1997 standards. This created an “Orphan Area” MPOs (82 throughout the country). In November 29, 2018, the U.S. EPA issued regulatory guidance on how to deal with the court decision. As of February 16, 2019, Transportation Conformity returned for those MPOs not conforming under 1997 NAAQS for Ozone. A new regional analysis is not required, but projects must be identified in terms of air quality exempt or non-exempt, which is the reason why IAC will be reestablished.

• Review of GDOT Project Status Report – Agenda Item: Gregory L. Brown presented the GDOT project status report submitted by the GDOT District 3 office for informational purposes. There was no discussion regarding the report.
• Old/Unfinished Business
  
  • Bass Road Concept Project: No discussion
    
  • Jeffersonville Road (Phase 3) Project Status: No discussion
    
  • Update of Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) Vacant Positions / Reappointments: Gregory L. Brown announced the vacant positions which are Commission Districts 1 and 2.
    
  • Completion of MATS Citizen Transportation Planning Orientation 101: No discussion

• New Business:
  
  
  • Mr. Martin distributed the following articles to CAC members for information: Atlanta initiative aims beyond bike lanes, instead for complete streets’; When covering car crashes, be careful not to blame the victim; and, Is traffic metric Level of Service stuck in the Stone Ages?
• Next meeting dates: The next regular meeting of the CAC is scheduled for Wednesday, April 10, 2019.

• Adjourn: The meeting was adjourned at 7:00PM