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Bi-State Coordination Committee |
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Below is the meeting report for the Bi-State Coordination Committee meeting, held on Thursday, March 16, 2006, from 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. at the Clark County Public Service Center, 1300 Franklin Street, Vancouver, Washington. An agenda for this meeting is also available.
Chair Rex Burkholder called the meeting to order at 7:34 am. Those in attendance follow:
Committee Members Sam Adams, City of Portland (via phone)
Rex Burkholder, Metro Council
Shirley Craddick, City of Gresham (Alternate)
Lynne Griffith, C-TRAN
Fred Hansen, TriMet
Susie Lahsene, Port of Portland (Alternate)
Cathy Nelson, ODOT
Dennis Osborn, City of Battle Ground (Alternate)
Larry Paulson, Port of Vancouver
Royce Pollard, City of Vancouver
Don Wagner, WSDOTStaff Andy Cotugno, Metro
Joe Klodzinski, Metro
Dean Lookingbill, RTC
Mark Turpel, MetroInterested Guests Robert Burco
Kate Deane, ODOT
Rob DeGraff, Columbia River Crossing
John Gillam, PDOT
Warren Jimenez, City of Portland
Thayer Rorabaugh, City of Vancouver
Phil Selinger, TriMet
Kelly Sills, Clark County
Chair Burkholder stated that, because of timing issues regarding the I-5 / Delta Park project, a special Bi-State meeting is being proposed for late April. There is no proposed date for this meeting yet, but Chair Burkholder wants to get approval from this group to go ahead and try to get something scheduled.
Several dates were proposed, and eliminated as possibilities due to various conflicts.
Chair Burkholder stated that they will try to find a date that works around everyone's schedules.
Mr. Dean Lookingbill asked if they are thinking about scheduling this for either the 3rd or 4th week in April.
Ms. Kate Deane said that she would prefer the week of April 24th, but she can be flexible.
Chair Burkholder explained that some of the members of this committee are on a panel that is hearing testimony this week on the I-5 Delta Park project, and that they will, in turn, make a recommendation to this committee.
Chair Burkholder referred to the RTC / Metro memo, "Consideration of Approval of Coordinated Forecasts of Households and Jobs for Year 2030 Transportation Planning Purposes," a copy of which has been included as part of this meeting record. He reiterated that the goal here is to come up with a unified set of numbers to be used in modeling for the Columbia River Crossing project.
Mr. Lookingbill provided the following context: Both RTC and Metro had a 2030 Forecast that had been used in their respective Metropolitan and Regional Transportation Plans. Commissioner Stuart, at the last meeting, stated that Clark County is in the process of redoing their growth management plan, and had asked for more time, to use what will likely be one of the alternatives as the base for crafting the Clark County portion of the 2030 Forecast: a 2024 Clark County Forecast with a different land development pattern. The Bi-State Committee agreed to the time extension, and Clark County staff were then tasked with the job of making the 2024 Forecast into a 2030 Forecast. This was followed by a coordination effort among Clark County jurisdictions, RTC and Metro.
Mr. Lookingbill stated that the final numbers are a little bit higher than the previous 2030 forecast, but not much. He stated that the Columbia River Crossing project is at a point where, this year, they will be selecting the range of alternatives to carry over into the EIS, so they need to have the most up-to-date forecasts available. He said that they fully recognize that, as they move into the EIS, they will need to take another look at the land use forecasts.
Chair Burkholder indicated that Mr. Sam Adams is stuck in traffic, but is listening via speaker phone.
Chair Burkholder asked if there are any concerns or comments regarding these numbers.
Mr. Lookingbill stated, that since Commissioner Stuart is still in route, he noted that staff had met with him and had the understanding that the county was comfortable with these numbers.
Mr. Fred Hansen stated that the original differences resulted from fundamentally different perspectives on land use assumptions, and he wants to make sure that they are not just glossing over the differences.
Mr. Lookingbill stated that there are differences in the methodology used to formulate the forecast. However, they are also similar in that they are both based in the proposed land use plan. Clark County numbers look at vacant land capacity, beginning on the household end and working into employment from there.
Mr. Andy Cotugno stated that Metro's forecast uses site-specific real estate. He stated that the land use assumptions are a moving target that will continue to move, and that in the project's next phase, they will have more opportunities, as more of these issues settle down, to get a more precise forecast.
Mr. Royce Pollard congratulated the staff for their hard work on this forecast coordination.
Chair Burkholder stated the recommendation as follows: To approve the 2030 Forecast numbers as presented in the memo, which will then be forwarded on to the Columbia River Crossing Task Force and the agencies involved in that project.
A motion for approval of this recommendation was made by Mr. Hansen, and seconded by Mr. Pollard. The motion was unanimously APPROVED.
There being no further business, Chair Burkholder adjourned the meeting at 7:48 a.m.
Dean Lookingbill
Transportation Director, RTC
360-397-6067Andy Cotugno
Transportation Director, Metro
503-797-1763
       
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