City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: NOVEMBER 5, 2014
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
FROM: RASHAD M. YOUNG, CITY MANAGER/s/
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Consideration of Adoption of a Resolution for a Competitive Grant Application to the Virginia Department of Transportation for Fiscal Year 2016 Revenue Sharing Program Funding. [ROLL-CALL VOTE]
BODY
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ISSUE: City Council consideration of a competitive grant application to the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) in the amount of $2,425,000 for the Citywide street and alley reconstruction and resurfacing of major roads. If City Council approves the request, a formal Council Resolution must be fully executed and submitted to VDOT by November 25, 2014.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council:
- Adopt the attached resolution (Attachment 1) to apply for a FY 2016 Revenue Sharing Program funding allocation from the Virginia Department of Transportation for the Citywide street and alley reconstruction and resurfacing of major roads; and
- Authorize the City Manager to submit this resolution and enter into any agreements with the State that may be required to receive these funds should the requested allocation be approved.
BACKGROUND: The Commonwealth of Virginia's Revenue Sharing Program provides additional funding for use by a county, city, or town to construct, reconstruct, improve, or maintain the highway systems within such county, city, or town, and for eligible rural additions in certain counties of the Commonwealth. Locality funds are matched, dollar for dollar, with State funds, with certain limitations on the amount of State funds authorized per locality. When it has had eligible projects and match funding, the City has availed itself of this Revenue Sharing Program.
Applications for Revenue Sharing funds must be made by resolution of the governing body of the applicant jurisdiction, and funding is allocated by resolution of the Commonwealth Transportation Board. The Revenue Sharing Program is intended to provide funding for immediately needed improvements or to supplement funding for existing projects.
In 2012, the General Assembly approved several changes to the Revenue Sharing Program, the most significant of which included re-establishing maintenance projects as eligible for Revenue Sharing funding. Beginning in 2014, the Revenue Sharing Program considered applications for maintenance projects consistent with VDOT's operating policies. This includes maintenance work including mill-and-overlay, guardrail replacement, sidewalk repairs, and curb & gutter repairs.
DISCUSSION: Consistent with the submission in FY 2015, staff proposes to submit the entire paving program for Revenue Sharing funding. Funding for this project would be available to the City in the spring of 2016 in order to support the completion of the proposed FY 2017 paving schedule.
The proposed FY 2017 paving schedule, which was developed using the City's pavement management system, can be found in Attachment 2. The schedule reflects streets identified in a 2013 Citywide assessment, which created a Pavement Condition Index (or PCI) for every block evaluated. The use of matching funds from the Revenue Sharing Program allows the City to increase the percentage of streets resurfaced, with a target of 10% (or 56 lane miles) annually.
FISCAL IMPACT: VDOT requires that local matching funds are included in the City's Capital Improvement Program (CIP) at the time of the Revenue Sharing Program application submission. The application reflects a request for transportation projects for $2,425,000 in State revenues to match the City's proposed share of $2,425,000.
The existing Adopted FY 2015-2024 City Capital Improvement Program includes a planned amount of $5,200,000 in FY 2017 for street resurfacing, of which $4,200,000 is programmed to come from City sources. This $4,200,000 (not all of which meets VDOT's eligibility criteria) will provide the source for the $2,425,000 match to the Revenue Sharing Program. If the Revenue Sharing application is approved at the full requested amount, the planned City funds in FY 2017 would be utilized for the required 1:1 match. If City funding in FY 2017 is less than the approved Revenue Sharing amount, the City may not receive full reimbursement of the VDOT approved Revenue Sharing award. To receive the full amount awarded, the City would need to identify additional resources to match the Revenue Sharing award. Only non-VDOT funds can be used as the match from Revenue Sharing funds. It is also important to note that the VDOT Revenue Sharing funding is subject to availability and approval.
Should the FY 2016 VDOT Revenue Sharing amount (or the City match from the FY 2017 CIP) be reduced from the requested $2,425,000, the scope of the Citywide street and alley reconstruction and resurfacing of major roads will be adjusted accordingly.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: VDOT FY 2016 Revenue Sharing Program Resolution
Attachment 2: Proposed FY 2017 Paving Schedule
Attachment 3: FY 2016 Revenue Sharing Program PowerPoint
STAFF:
Mark Jinks, Deputy City Manager
Yon Lambert, AICP, Acting Director, Department of Transportation & Environmental Services (T&ES)
Nelsie L. Birch, Director, Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
Christopher Bever, Assistant Director, OMB
Jeffrey DuVal, Acting Deputy Director, T&ES
Antonio Baxter, Division Chief, T&ES
Maurice Daly, Division Chief, T&ES