San Francisco County Transportation Authority
Moving the City

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PLANS AND PROGRAMS COMMITTEE

Meeting Notice
Date: 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, September 14, 2004
Location: Room 263, City Hall
Commissioners: Dufty (Chair), Peskin (Vice-Chair), Daly, Maxwell, Sandoval, and McGoldrick (Ex-Officio)
CLERK: Pooja Jhunjhunwala

1. Roll Call

2. Approval of Minutes of the August 10, 2004, Meeting – ACTION* (attachment 1)

3. Citizens Advisory Committee Report – INFORMATION* (attachment 2)

4. Recommend the De-obligation of $4,024,750 in TCRP and Sales Tax Funds Allocated for Construction of Segments B, E, and Metro East Soil Stabilization, and Allocation of $14,024,750 in Prop K Funds for the Construction of the Third Street Light Rail Project – ACTION* (attachment 3)

This is a funding request for various line segments of the Third Street Light Rail Project. The requested action will bring funding for the remaining segments into conformance with the adopted project budget, by de-obligating $4,024,750 from Segments B, E and Metro East Soil Stabilization. These segments are currently funded in excess of the required budget. The Authority, as part of it financial management strategy, has been providing funding to the Third Street Light Rail project as needed. We are proposing allocation of $14,024,750 for the construction of Segment C, F, and J. We anticipate providing additional funding in late 2004/early 2005. This action requires an amendment of the FY2004/05 Authority budget to address the de-obligation of $133,775 in TCRP funds from Segment B, which is part of the $4,024,750 shown above. We are seekinga recommendationfor the de-obligation of $4,024,750 in TCRP and sales tax funds allocated for construction of segments B, E, and Metro East Soil Stabilization, and allocation of $14,024,750 in Prop K funds for the construction of the of the Third Street Light Rail project.

5. Recommend Authorization for the Executive Director to Enter into a Loan Agreement with MUNI in the Amount of $22,570,000, and Authorize a Maximum Draw Against the Loan of $12,059,000 for Reimbursement of Construction Costs for the Metro East Maintenance Facility of the Third Street Light Rail Project, with Conditions – ACTION* (attachment 4)

This item is a request to provide a loan to MUNI for the construction of the Metro East Maintenance Facility (MME) of the Third Street Light Rail Project for $22,570,000. MMEis budgeted at $129 million. This loan is needed because State Transportation Improvement Program funds programmed to the project will not be available until FY2008. The State has approved the reimbursement of the local funds once the State funds become available. This item is also to request that MUNI be able to draw up to $12,059,000 against the loan for the reimbursement of construction expenses associated with the MME. This will be used for the next round of trade contracts being issued by the Construction Manager/ General Contractor. The funding is for elevators, mechanical systems, building components, and the overhead catenary system trusses. Over thenext few months we will be submittingincremental funding requests until the project is fully funded. We are seekinga recommendation to authorize the Executive Director to enter into a loan agreement with MUNI in the amount of $22,570,000, and to authorize a maximum draw against the loan of $12,059,000 for reimbursement of construction costs for the Metro East Maintenance Facility of the Third Street Light Rail Project.

6. Recommend Allocation, with Conditions, of $3,725,000 in FY 2004/05 Prop K Funds to the Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA) for Preliminary Engineering Part 1 of the Caltrain Downtown Extension/Transbay Terminal Project, with a Commitment to Allocate $1,770,000 in FY 2005/06 Prop K Funds to Complete the Preliminary Engineering Part 1 Scope of Work – ACTION* (attachment 5) (attachment 5-a) (attachment 5-b) (attachment 5-c) (attachment 5-d) (attachment 5-e) (attachment 5-f) (attachment 5-g) (attachment 5-h) (attachment 5-i)

The Prop K Expenditure Plan includes $270 million (2003 $'s) for the Caltrain Downtown Extension to a Rebuilt Transbay Terminal project (Transbay Terminal Project). On August 5 we received a request from the TJPA that included a request for $9 million in Prop K funds for Part 1 Preliminary Engineering, intended to match $17.8 million in MTC RM2 (bridge toll) funds for a total budget of $26.8 million. The request is part of a two-plus year $56 million preliminary engineering scope that relies on Prop K and RM2 funding. We have been discussing the TJPA's preliminary engineering request with the TJPA and MTC, in anticipation of concurrent allocations by the Authority and MTC in September. Evidence of local match commitment is a significant factor in RM2 allocations decisions. Both MTC and Authority staff have expressed concerns to the TJPA that the scope needs to circumscribe preliminary engineering, at least at the initial stages, to those tasks that will help to appreciably reduce project costs, increase potential for revenue generation at the terminal, and restructure the delivery schedule so as to reduce the severe financing cost burden that characterizes the current funding plan. Given that 56% of the funding for Transbay depends on passage of the high speed rail bond in late 2006, the fact that the project still has a $200 M funding gap, and the fact that Prop K accounts for most of the secure funding so far, we find this early review absolutely critical not only to manage the risk to the Prop K program and other Authority programmed funds, but also to ensure the financial viability of the project. We have work closely with TJPA and MTC staff to review the project scope to identify those tasks that are critical to this effort. We have come to agreement on a revised scope totaling $20,990,000, covering about a 14-month period. When the preliminary engineering scope is combined with the $10 million that the Authority has already set on reserve to address the 80 Natoma issue, the total ($30.99 million) will be funded 50% by the Authority and 50% by MTC. We are seeking a recommendation for allocation, with conditions, of $3,725,000 in FY 2004/05 Prop K funds to the TJPA for Preliminary Engineering Part 1 of the Caltrain Downtown Extension/Transbay Terminal Project, with a commitment to allocate $1,770,000 in FY 2005/06 Prop K funds to complete the Preliminary Engineering Part 1 Scope of Work.

7. Recommend Reserving $1,500,000 in Prop K Funds for Development of 5-Year Prioritization Programs – ACTION* (attachment 6)

On November 4, 2003, San Franciscans passed Prop K, approving a continuation of the existing local ½-cent sales tax for transportation, and adopting a new Expenditure Plan (NEP) to guide the use of the new funds. The NEP contains new projects and programs, as well as new requirements, one of which is the development of 5-Year Prioritization Programs, which must be approved by the Authority Board. Prioritization programs must be developed for each of the programmatic categories in Prop K. We have identified over 20 programmatic categories including transit enhancements, new signals and signs, street resurfacing, and traffic calming. The Prioritization Programs are intended to focus project selection on performance and to support on-time, on-budget project delivery, and timely and competitive use of state and federal matching funds. The Prioritization Programs concentrate on five-years at a time, in recognition of the difficulties in predicting specific project needs beyond that horizon. The Prioritization Programs will be informed by and provide input to the Prop K Strategic Plan, which provides the 30-year road map (focusing on 10-years at a time) for Prop K allocations. Our schedule calls for Board-adoption of the Prioritization Programs by March 2005 so that they can be used to inform the FY 2005/06 annual call for projects. We are recommending setting aside a reserve of $1.5 million in Prop K funds for development of the programs. Over the next month, we will finalize discussions with project sponsors regarding designation of lead agencies, specific scopes, and allocation amounts. These items would be presented to the Plans and Programs Committee for action in October. We are seeking a recommendation to reserve $1,500,000 in Prop K funds for development of 5-Year Prioritization Programs.

8. Bicycle Project Delivery - INFORMATION

At the July Plans and Programs Committee meeting, Commissioner Peskin noted he was surprised at how few of the top 20 bicycle plan projects in DPT's Bicycle Plan Update were included in DPT's FY 2004/05 Prop K funding request and asked how implementation could be speeded up. Staff suggested that the Authority might be able to take on an integrator function, with the intent of helping to expedite the work of various agencies involved in bicycle project development and implementation. This would enable the Authority Board to keep better tabs on the status and would help ensure that the Authority, as funding agency, gets a bigger bang- for-the-buck out of Prop K investments. The Committee requested that we explore possible roles for the Authority, and the use of staff and/or consultants, to become an integrator. We have been discussing strategies to speed up bicycle project implementation with DPT staff, as well as bicycle advocates. At the September Plans and Programs Committee meeting we will report on our suggestions for how the Authority can help accelerate delivery of bicycle projects. DPT staff will also be present at the meeting to answers any questions the committee may have. This is an information item.

9. Status Report on the Third Street Light Rail Project – INFORMATION* (attachment 7)

This is a status report on the Third Street Light Rail Project. Construction activities are currently ongoing throughout the entire corridor. As of June 30, 2004 the project had spent approximately 49% of the total budget and it is anticipated to start spending up to $15 million per month when the Metro East Maintenance Facility begins construction. As of the end of July 2004, total local hires for the corridor reached 160. Efforts continue to address environmental concerns along Third Street, and MUNI continues to publish its air monitoring results. During July 2004, 95% of the tests were below the action threshold. Completion of the rail line is scheduled for the end of 2005 with the Metro East Facility contract completion expected one year later. This is an information item.

10. Introduction of New Items – INFORMATION

11. Public Comment

12. Adjournment

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