Item 7: Oregon MPO Consortium Legislative Policy Concepts and Objectives

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Excerpted from the minutes to the September 13, 2007 MPC Meeting Note: these minutes have yet to be approved by the MPC. Oregon MPO Consortium (OMPOC) Legislative Policy Concepts and Objectives Mr. Vanderpool reviewed the second draft of the OMPOC legislative statement and said changes reflected in legislative format had come from other MPOs. He asked for feedback from MPC members on any changes they wished to see in the document so that an updated version could be considered for approval at the next MPC meeting. Ms. Piercy commented that the document had been referred to the Eugene City Council’s Intergovernmental Relations Committee but a response had not yet been received. Mr. Evans asked that advocacy for funding for senior and disabled transit accessibility be more specifically stated in the last bulleted item in the statement. He said accessibility was currently an unfunded mandate for transit and the demand for those services was growing each year. Mr. Leiken emphasized the importance of having clear, written directives from the Oregon Transportation Commission to assure consistency, particularly when policies related to allocation or reprogramming of funds and match requirements were involved. Mr. Van Vactor noted that the first and fourth bulleted items were similar, although the fourth item did not mention capacity. He suggested those items be merged. Ms. Volta suggested rewording the second bulleted item as follows: Engage Oregon’s Congressional delegation to secure and prioritize strategic and sustainable federal investments in Oregon’s transportation infrastructure. She said that sometimes priorities established by certain bodies did not meet an area’s needs. She said all jurisdictions needed more funding, but was not certain how decisions about the allocation of funds was made and who was involved in those decisions. Ms. Ballew said it was always a challenge to decide where to spend funds in an area with small, medium and large jurisdictions.