Item 2C: Ratification of IGR Committee Minutes

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Ms. Wilson mentioned the Transportation Reauthorization bill. She said that a Congressman DeFazio staff person had said that if it wasn't done by the end of the year, she would send out a call for new projects. She said that it had been quite a lengthy process for the UF to come up with projects for that. The UF would go through that process again because now some of the projects on the list were already beyond the point of the funding UF requested in the first place. As a result, the UF would be modifying the list. Mayor Piercy said that she was very committed to issues related to transit even though the COE did not have oversight of it. From her perspective, she wanted to see the UF do everything in its power to support fund- ing for operations for transit. She said that the COE wanted to play its role and speak loudly in support of high speed rail in the Northwest. Mr. Smith said that both of these issues were important. He said that funding for transit operations was a major challenge for LTD and transit authorities all over the U.S. because of declining revenue bases, which were forcing transit authorities to cut services and lay off employees. SDA worked closely with the Oregon Congressional delegation, particularly Senator Wyden, to get him interested in the issue. As a result he co- sponsored legislation that was introduced a few weeks prior that would provide temporary emergency oper- ating assistance to transit authorities across the country. SDA had hoped that that legislation might get at- tached to the Emergency War Supplemental appropriations bill because it was unlikely to pass Congress on its own. It did not make it onto the War Supplemental bill but SDA was continuing to push it. There was a recognition across the capital that this was a major problem that needed to be addressed. Mr. Smith said that high speed rail was a major priority for the Obama Administration, and they had put a lot of money into it for construction and planning. Many states were far along in the process, and some had formed bi-state compacts and had been successful in securing the first round of funding. He said that his only advice on this issue would be to work with local partners in the state, such as ODOT, as well as other communities up and down the line. As soon as the COE thought it was ready, SDA could help guide them in accessing some of the planning dollars they would want to begin the process and get to the point where it had a project and was ready to spend construction dollars. Ms. Wilson reminded Mr. Smith that Mayor Piercy was the Co-Chair of the Advisory Committee to the OTC. The COE would be monitoring the issue and would be very much engaged in the process. The second and third rounds of funds were announced, but the COE did not have the match, which would be $17 million. Mr. Smith asked what project this was for. Ms. Wilson said it was to build a layover platform and a layover track, because as it was, the COE did not have a track for trains to pull over. If the COE had either of these, they would be better set up to have more frequent trains coming into the depot. Mayor Piercy said that the COE was in a lot of conversation with the chairs for the State of Washington and Vancouver, BC. All of Cascadia, from Vancouver south to Eugene, were actively involved. As a result, the COE just had to leverage whatever the rest of the corridor had going. If there was more activity from muni- cipalities south of Eugene, Eugene would be between Vancouver and San Francisco, which was an advan- tage. Mr. Smith asked if there was a focal point inside ODOT for this effort. MINUTES—Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations June 30, 2010 Page 10