Title
CONTRACT K-1718-74: A CONTRACT BY AND BETWEEN THE CITY OF NORMAN, OKLAHOMA, AND HALFF ASSOCIATES IN THE AMOUNT OF $156,400 TO PROVIDE ENGINEERING DESIGN SERVICES FOR THE FLOOD AVENUE MULTIMODAL PATH PROJECT FROM ROBINSON STREET TO TECUMSEH ROAD AND BUDGET TRANSFER BETWEEN PROJECT ACCOUNTS AND BUDGET APPROPRIATION FROM THE CAPITAL FUND BALANCE.
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BACKGROUND: The Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) was authorized under Section 1122 of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), and is codified at 23 U.S.C. Sections 213(b) and 101(a)(29). Section 1122 provides for the reservation of funds apportioned to a State under Section 104(b) of Title 23 to carry out the TAP. The national total reserved for the TAP is equal to two percent (2%) of the total amount authorized from the Highway Act of the Highway Trust Fund for Federal-aid highways each fiscal year.
Recently the MAP-21 Act has been renamed the MAP-21/FAST Act, and the funding program is now called the Surface Transportation Block Group Program. However, the programs and projects are still referred to as Transportation Alternatives, which still wrap into a single funding source the previous programs of Transportation Enhancements, Recreational Trail (RTB), and Safe Routes to School (SRTS). Projects inside the Oklahoma City or the Tulsa urbanized areas are selected through a separate competitive process administered by the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments (ACOG) or the Indian Nations Council of Governments (INCOG). Eligible project sponsors under the MAP-21/FAST Act are the following entities:
• Local governments (cities and counties);
• Regional transportation authorities;
• Transit agencies;
• Natural resource or public land agencies;
• School districts, local education agencies, or schools (note: ACOG prefers that school districts partner with local governments for project applications);
• Tribal governments
For the Federal Fiscal Years 2015-2020, ACOG decided to have a single application period (applications were due May 12, 2017). ACOG invited eligible entities to submit project applications representing both large and small scale projects within the Oklahoma City Urbanized Zone. $8.4 million was available to Central Oklahoma entities. The assessment of projects was based on how well they met the published criteria. Requests could not exceed $600,000 in federal funds for a single project, and there is no limit on the overall project size.
The following is a summary of the funding requirements and project examples:
• Federal/local matching split - 80/20%
• Federal funding request maximum - $600,000
• Maximum project size - Unlimited
• Maximum number of applications - Unlimited
• Federal funding limit that a single entity - 56% can receive for submitted projects
Examples of projects include
• Multi-use trail
• Sidewalk connecting major pedestrian generators
• Protected bicycle facilities, like buffered bicycle lanes or cycle track
• Safe bicycle & pedestrian crossings
• Design for project that would be eligible for funding in the future
• Signals to increase pedestrian safety
• On-street bikeways and bike lanes (striping and signage)
Projects must have at least a 20% commitment of non-federal funds to the total project cost. In order to participate in the selection process, applicants had to provide a TAP Resolution, adopted at a public meeting of its governing body, which described the location of the project, type of improvement, total project cost, and source(s) of funds.
On April 27, 2017, Council’s Community Planning and Transportation Committee was briefed on the program and upcoming application cycle, and recommended that the following five projects and priorities be pursued:
Priority
1. Multimodal Path paralleling Constitution Street from Jenkins Avenue to Classen Boulevard, which includes a ten-foot wide paved path for pedestrians and bicyclists that will connect southeast Norman with the University of Oklahoma Main Campus.
2. Multimodal Path paralleling State Highway 9 (from 36th Avenue SE to 48th Avenue SE), which consists of a ten-foot wide paved path for pedestrians and bicyclists along the north side that will connect the urbanized area of Norman with Lake Thunderbird State Park.
3. Multimodal Path along Flood Avenue (West Side) from Robinson Street to Tecumseh Road and along Tecumseh Road (South Side) from Flood Avenue to 24th Avenue NW, which consists of a ten-foot wide paved path for pedestrians and bicyclists that will connect northwest Norman with Downtown Norman and the University of Oklahoma Main Campus, and completes an eight mile loop around Max Westheimer Airport.
4. Sidewalk Path along the east side of McGee Drive (from State Highway 9 to Lindsey Street), which consists of a five-foot wide pedestrian sidewalk along the east side of McGee Drive, between SH-9 and Cherry Stone Street that completes the pedestrian infrastructure along this heavily used corridor.
5. Fabrication/Installation of Wayfinding Signs on five city corridors (Robinson Street, Flood Avenue, 24th Avenue West, Tecumseh Road, and State Highway 9), which will aid travelers in finding certain important destinations in Norman, and fully implements the Wayfinding Plan previously adopted by City Council.
On May 9, 2017, City Council adopted resolutions R-1617-103 thru 107 requesting that the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation consider the five city-wide projects previously described as candidates for federal funding under the Transportation Alternatives Program.
On May 12, 2017, City staff submitted five of the thirty eight project applications that were considered in the formulation of the Federal Fiscal Year 2015-2020 TAP. ACOG staff and the TAP review committee evaluated the different applications and awarded funds to the twenty higher ranked projects.
In August of 2017, ACOG’s Intermodal Transportation Technical and Policy Committees recommended and adopted the TAP plan, which includes the City’s top two priority projects (the Constitution Multimodal Path and Phase 2 of the State Highway 9 Multimodal Path). The plan also includes two back-up projects that could be partially funded if there are any project cancellations, savings or a higher than estimated appropriation of federal funds. The first project on the back-up list is the Flood Avenue Multimodal Path project, between Robinson Street and Tecumseh Road.
DISCUSSION: The Public Works Department prepared a Request for Proposal (RFP 1718-21) to solicit engineering services proposals for three multimodal path projects in Norman. The RFP instructions indicated that the firms could propose on any number of these projects. One of the projects was to design a 10-foot wide multi-modal path along the west side of Flood Avenue, between Robinson Street and Tecumseh Road. Thirteen proposals for this project were submitted for consideration. A Selection Committee was formed consisting of Angelo Lombardo - City Transportation Engineer, Michael Rayburn - Capital Projects Engineer, James Briggs - City Parks Planner, and two at-large citizen volunteers (Dr. Tom Woodfin - Chair of the City’s Bicycle Advisory Committee, and Charlie Bright - a Civil Engineer with the University of Oklahoma Architecture and Engineering Services Department). As all three projects in the RFP were similar, the Selection Committee met on October 12, 2017 to evaluate proposals for all of the projects. The proposals were reviewed, and there was consensus that the overall top three firms would be selected, one for each project. At the end of the process, the committee selected Halff Associates of Oklahoma City as the best suited firm for the Flood Avenue Multimodal Path project.
Staff has negotiated a contract fee of $156,400 with Halff and Associates to provide design services for the Flood Avenue Multimodal Path. A portion of the funding, $70,000, is available in the City’s fiscal year 2017-2018 (FYE 2018) Capital Improvement Budget, Other Traffic Special Projects, Design (account 050-9688-431.62-01; project TR-0112). The remaining portion of the contract fee ($80,000) can be transferred from the State Highway 9 - Phase 3 project, between 48th Avenue SE and 60th Avenue SE, Design (account 050-9688-431.62-01; project TR0107); supplemented by an appropriation ($6,400) from the Capital Fund Balance. The original time table outlined for development of the State Highway 9 - Phase 3 project was developed on the assumption that federal funds were going to be available in FYE 2018, which the City was pursuing at the time of budget preparation. The Oklahoma Department of Transportation did not select this project and will reconsider it during the next application cycle expected for 2020.
Staff anticipates completion of the design process in the Summer of 2019, the bid opening in the fall of 2019 and the beginning of construction in early calendar year 2020.
RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of Contract K-1718-74 between the City of Norman and Halff and Associates in the amount of $156,400, for the engineering services associated with the design of the Flood Avenue Multimodal Path project, between Robinson Street and Tecumseh Road.
If approved, staff also recommends that Council authorize a transfer in the amount of $80,000 from Project TR0107, State Highway 9 Multimodal Path, Phase 3, from 48th Avenue SE to 60th Avenue SE, Design (account 050-9688-431.62-01) to Project TR0112, Flood Avenue Multimodal Path from Robinson Street to Tecumseh Road, Design (account 050-9688-431.62-01) and the appropriation of $6,400 from the Capital Fund Balance (account 050-0000-253.20-00) to Project TR0112, Flood Avenue Multimodal Path from Robinson Street to Tecumseh Road, Design (account 050-9688-431.62-01)